Chapter 88: – He Was Actually a Junior Disciple

The dragon‑like sword technique was something Bai Lang had never seen before, and it contained some inexplicable elements. The sword did not touch Bai Lang's body, but his Golden Bell Shield was already activated, "Something cutting?" Bai Lang let out a tiger‑like roar and threw a punch, yet it could not reach Mu Ronghua's body—before that, the sword was like a blooming flower, catching Bai Lang's punch with its blossoms.

"Mud ox entering water…" The force of the punch was empty, giving no solid impact and no feedback at all. Bai Lang's true Qi seemed to go astray, his chest feeling as if it had been hammered by himself. "The punch power is decent, but as for this technique… Bai Lang, haven't you ever learned real fist‑palm skills?" Mu Ronghua, still full of energy, could even comment on Bai Lang's attack.

Bai Lang gave a wry smile, then intensified his assault, fists, palms, claws and kicks continuously launching—he now realized that Mu Ronghua was feeding him techniques, so there was no need to worry about hurting him; honestly, Bai Lang didn't yet have that right. "If you ask me, this outfit doesn't suit you; I've long thought you'd look better in armor like a foot soldier." Mu Ronghua talked a lot, apparently Bai Lang's moves didn't pressure him much.

Indeed the pressure was low; Mu Ronghua only attacked a few times at first, then began defending Bai Lang's strikes. The more Bai Lang fought, the more uneasy he felt, "Is the technique really that crude?" he muttered, and with a roar the White Tiger Killing Aura erupted fully. Opposite, Mu Ronghua's expression hardened briefly, then a sword was thrust out, like a setting sun over a long river, instantly extinguishing the White Tiger Killing Aura, and effortlessly tapping three points on Bai Lang's chest.

The three points merely grazed the skin, but Bai Lang knew his Golden Bell Shield had been completely breached… Though his flesh remained tough, if Mu Ronghua had been serious with that sword, Bai Lang would be seriously injured now.

Bai Lang withdrew, letting out a long sigh. "Your martial skill is decent, especially your Internal Force at this level is quite good. But in a branch of the Chang Le Gang, there's no future, brother… you practice the cross‑training technique, right? It seems to be the kind that works from the outside in, and judging by the killing aura on you, you've also slain many people in 'that place' to nurture this aura… If possible, I suggest you exchange for some fist‑palm arts; your current fist‑foot technique is a bit crude and can't fully utilize your Internal Force."

Mu Ronghua still earnestly pointed out the flaws in Bai Lang's martial arts—after all they were on the same boat, a stronger companion's skill benefits oneself, and Bai Lang's relationship with him was non‑competitive, which was even better. Bai Lang tugged his hair, "So in your view, Brother Mu, my martial skill…" Mu Ronghua's expression remained serious, "From the jianghu's perspective, you could be counted as a third‑ or fourth‑tier cultivator… Don't be discouraged; the Huanhua Sword‑Washing Gate I belong to is already a renowned sect, and I am considered one of its young masters."

"Third‑ or fourth‑tier, huh… sigh." Bai Lang exhaled, "Listen to me, finding a suitable fist‑foot art to train is the fastest way to improve now, but I lack such skills myself… How about this: next time I'll bring you some of that material. Don't refuse; once your martial art is refined it will also benefit our affairs in 'that place', and the fist‑foot techniques I can give you are commonplace in the jianghu; if you can leave this small branch, you could actually gather them yourself…"

After saying that, Mu Ronghua greeted Bai Lang and immediately used Lightness Skill to float away… Bai Lang shook his head, "Hmph, Bai Junior Protector? Hahaha, Bai Junior Protector." Originally Bai Lang had swelled with arrogance, his hubris reaching several levels, now it was smashed like a hammer hitting the ground… "You're just a junior disciple!" Bai Lang muttered to himself.

Junior Disciple Bai Junior Protector stood on the hilltop for a while, feeling the cold wind, then used the Grass Flying Lightness Skill to return. In the world Yu Yu sent him to, the unbridled arrogance he had cultivated was gone, and Bai Lang sobered up—at first his return was just a habitual shrinking; had Mu Ronghua not arrived, he would likely have quickly shown his original inflated demeanor, so its suppression was a good thing.

Bai Lang remained modest as a fighter, this time sincerely; in this small city he could be considered a good hand, but zoomed out it's just a loser. This time Bai Lang earnestly went to the city's book‑selling shops to look for various volumes, but was disappointed to find few on geography; however he found what he needed elsewhere. "I truly didn't expect to locate these items within the government's accumulated archives."

He still had to pull some strings, but they didn't mind letting him inspect the old archives in the storeroom—records of money, grain, and criminal names were off‑limits, but imperial announcements and other items were fine. Only then did Bai Lang realize how vast this world was and how small his own locale was, "It turns out it's just a subsidiary town beneath a county city, this Great Yan Dynasty… it's actually Great Yan? I don't know whether the royal surname is Ji or Murong. The Great Yan Dynasty spans ten thousand li, yet it's still only one of the Seven Kingdoms." Bai Lang thought maybe it was a reference to the Warring States Seven Hegemons.

Sure enough, the archives listed the names of seven nations, indeed the Warring States Seven Hegemons, because there was also a nominal Son of Heaven, the Zhou Emperor, listed. Although the Zhou Emperor has long since become a dead man, his domain now only covers a hundred‑plus li around Haojing, it still counts as a higher‑level Son of Heaven above the seven kingdoms. Even if it's just a county or a subsidiary town, the officials here are only one of the county magistrate's deputies, yet the document rooms consist of seven massive storerooms.

Bai Lang flipped through the rooms, the countless announcements over the years piled like a sea of smoke; although there was a rule to periodically destroy old notices, it hadn't been enforced for years… After three days and three nights of searching, Bai Lang gained a preliminary understanding of his world. The Seven Kingdoms occupied a vast region, yet beyond them lay seas and other nations, though none possessed the central continent's prime spiritual essence that the seven held, leaving the realm brimming with endless masters.

The continent they occupied also has a name, and Bai Lang knows it well: "Southern Shanbu Continent… the most populous and expansive continent. East Victory Divine Land is a continent of archipelagos, while West Niuhe Continent and North Julu Continent have no records at all—perhaps they don't exist?" Such matters should be the concern of the heavens' deities, and in martial‑world terms only the highest‑tier or second‑tier masters have the capacity to investigate; now Bai Lang can only call himself a junior disciple of the martial world. He also confirmed that Mu Ronghua said nothing wrong: his cultivation, when compared to the larger gangs listed in those announcements that the court has arrested for wrongdoing, is merely at the level of an ordinary gang member, just as countless martial‑world practitioners of his caliber exist.