Chapter 5: The Xiantian Realm

Li Muxian tucked the silver note into his chest and glanced around.

The situation in the courtyard had drastically changed—the Zhe River Seven Bandits had been pinned down by pressure points, and all the disciples and apprentices were now out of immediate danger.

Yet at this moment, everyone’s eyes were fixed on Li Muxian, filled with astonishment, unfamiliarity, disbelief, and other strange emotions.

Li Muxian paid them no mind; in the fifteen years he’d spent at the martial arts academy, his innate talent had been so poor that he was never favored by anyone there, so he wasn’t close to any of them.

“Old Yu, since you’re so straightforward, I’ll lend you a hand.”

Li Muxian raised an eyebrow and suddenly slapped out a palm toward a man beside him.

Yu Zhentian didn’t understand what he meant, but the next instant, his face turned pale with shock as he shouted urgently:

“Stop!”

But Li Muxian didn’t halt—he pressed his palm downward toward Yu Xian’s head without pause.

Clearly, given the power Li Muxian had just displayed, this blow, if it landed, would kill Yu Xian without doubt.

At that very moment, Yu Xian, who had been lying on the ground with broken limbs and barely breathing, suddenly snapped his eyes open.

He unleashed a powerful surge of energy from his feet, stomping hard enough to crack and fling the floor tiles, while his entire body slid flat along the ground backward, trying to escape Li Muxian’s palm.

But he had clearly overestimated himself—no matter how fast his reaction, he couldn’t escape Li Muxian’s grasp.

Midway through his slide, he felt his dantian’s internal energy stall, his body instantly numb, and he collapsed helplessly onto the ground, unable to move.

Instantly, terror filled Yu Xian’s eyes, for he had never seen how his pressure points had been sealed.

“What just happened?”

Yu Zhentian rushed to Yu Xian’s side at once.

After seeing the man’s flawless movement just now, even if he still didn’t understand the reason, he knew his eldest son was not who he seemed.

Li Muxian didn’t even glance at the man on the ground; he rubbed his chin and said:

“The Zhe River Seven Bandits should have seven members. I suspect this is their final one.”

Hearing this, Yu Zhentian reached down and grabbed the skin on Yu Xian’s face.

Sure enough, he tore off a human mask, revealing the face of a stranger, a middle-aged man well over fifty.

Seeing this, the others—including Zha Laosan—felt their hearts sink.

“Are you Zha Laoda, the leader of the Zhe River Seven Bandits?”

A chill surged down Yu Zhentian’s spine; this man wasn’t just deeply skilled—he was truly treacherous.

He had impersonated Yu Xian and deceived him. If not for Li Muxian exposing him, Yu Zhentian would have been ambushed—and he might not have died, but he’d certainly have been gravely wounded.

Thinking of this, Yu Zhentian’s beard and hair seemed to bristle with rage as he seized Zha Laoda from the ground and roared:

“Where is my son now?”

But Zha Laoda only stared back at him, utterly unable to speak.

Yu Zhentian was awestruck—Li Muxian’s pressure-point technique was utterly unheard of; in an instant, he’d even sealed the mute point!

He immediately channeled his internal energy into his fingers, trying to unseal Zha Laoda’s mute point.

But to his shock, Zha Laoda’s mute point was as solid as a rock—his internal energy couldn’t budge the sealed energy flow even slightly.

“Let me handle it.”

Li Muxian flicked his finger lightly. Zha Laoda felt his throat loosen, and at last he could speak—he stared at Li Muxian in shock and cried:

“Martial Qi? A Xiantian expert? Who are you?”

The martial path is divided into three realms: Hou Tian, Xiantian, and Tianren!

The Hou Tian realm focuses on refining tendons, bones, and skin, cultivating internal energy to flow through the body’s meridians.

Only by fully unblocking the Twelve Regular Meridians and piercing the Ren and Du Meridians can one draw martial Qi into the body and enter the Xiantian realm.

In a remote small city like Shun’an, Hou Tian experts are rare; those who reach Xiantian are rarer still.

Zha Laoda, a half-step Xiantian expert, never imagined he’d encounter a true Xiantian master here.

Li Muxian glanced at Zha Laoda in Yu Zhentian’s grip, ignoring him entirely, and said:

“These guys aren’t good people. Do with them as you see fit.”

Yu Zhentian watched Li Muxian cautiously; after a rapid shift in expression, he nodded.

Li Muxian said nothing more and turned toward the academy’s back courtyard.

Halfway there, he looked back at Zhang Dazhuang, still standing frozen in shock:

“Big Zhang, this has nothing to do with you anymore. Aren’t you leaving?”

Hearing this, Zhang Dazhuang rubbed his cheeks vigorously, glanced briefly at Yu Zhentian and Zha Laoda, then hurried after Li Muxian.

At this moment, he finally understood: Li Muxian had deliberately sent him to carry Yu Ermei to save his life.

Otherwise, if he’d fallen into the hands of the fake Yu Xian, how could he have survived?

But in truth, Zhang Dazhuang had overthought it—even if he’d been captured by Zha Laoda, as long as Li Muxian didn’t want him dead, he couldn’t die even if he tried.

As for why he’d acted that way earlier, it was simply because Li Muxian had never intended to flee.

…

Not long after, Li Muxian arrived at a small, dilapidated, cramped room in the far corner of the back courtyard and began packing his belongings.

Zhang Dazhuang stood outside the door, peering in for a while, unsure what to say, and finally asked cautiously:

“Asheng, how did you suddenly become so strong? Even the infamous Zhe River Seven Bandits couldn’t match you.”

“Guess.”

“Did you secretly take an ultimate master as your teacher? Or find a divine martial scripture? Or maybe…”

Li Muxian picked up his packed bundle, slung it over his shoulder, and grinned:

“None of the above. Purely because I’m naturally gifted and self-taught!”

Hearing this, Zhang Dazhuang involuntarily rolled his eyes.

Everyone knew that in the entire Yu family academy, only he and Li Muxian had the worst talent—they’d trained for years without a single improvement, their status lower than the servants’.

But remembering Li Muxian’s current power, he quickly controlled his expression, afraid of angering this man and getting slapped across the courtyard!

“I know you don’t believe me, but it’s the truth!”

Li Muxian spread his hands, bent down, and after searching a moment, pulled out a crumpled stack of cheap paper from beneath the broken leg of his bed.

He shoved the paper into Zhang Dazhuang’s hands and said casually:

“Before I go, I’ve got nothing better to give you. This is a divine art called Golden Immovable Body—perfect for you. Take it!”

Zhang Dazhuang took the paper, both thrilled and hesitant, uncertain whether the divine art scribbled on this cheap paper was real.

But soon, he sighed and shook his head:

“Asheng, I appreciate your kindness, but I know myself—I’m too talentless. I doubt I could ever master this art.”

Li Muxian patted his shoulder and smiled:

“Don’t worry—this martial art doesn’t require talent or innate aptitude. It only demands perseverance and character. If you stick with it, you’ll be able to protect yourself in the martial world.”

(End of Chapter)