Chapter 111: Creating My Own Martial Arts, The Soul-Snatching Ghost

"Of course!"

On the tatami mat, Takov's expression was icy and his voice cold and hard; his words were filled with killing intent:

"He caused our General Ogliev to be severely wounded and bedridden, nearly losing his life. Even if he recovers, his foundation for cultivation is damaged, which may prevent him from ever reaching the highest realm in the future. How could we so easily forgive this culprit?"

Although Guangye Shensi did not speak, his eyes also revealed a sinister, murderous aura.

Today, the Sunlight Country is full of confidence after its great victory; ambition has sprouted, and it has begun to plot against the vast territory of the Jin Dynasty, while also contending with the established great powers.

Under such circumstances, the honor of the Empire is greater than Heaven. That defeat of Sangtian Hengyi on the ring can be called unforgivable. He has also received severe reprimands from the Cabinet and the military these past few days, and his status and future have been greatly affected as a result.

This undoubtedly makes him feel incomparably resentful, viewing the culprit Lu Yuan as a thorn in his side, and he wishes to restore the Empire's reputation.

Although the one-armed Sangtian Hengyi begged to send word to the country to invite the master of the Tianxin Sword Dojo, Guanshi Masamune, to fight another battle, in his view, mobilizing such an Imperial God General, who is famous throughout the country, to deal with a mere greenhorn is truly too much of a fuss and would lose national dignity, so he did not agree and still intends to use the simplest method.

That is, direct physical elimination!

"That brat is incomparably arrogant and truly deserves to die."

Seeing the clear attitude of both sides, Deng Xiaolin said pessimistically:

"However, everything on the ring that day has already proven that this person is a top-tier expert comparable to a Grandmaster. Experts below the Seventh Realm and even ordinary means may not necessarily be able to kill him. What do you all think?"

Beside Takov, the bald, burly man named Leonid said disdainfully:

"Being merely comparable does not mean he is a true Martial Arts Grandmaster! Moreover, a Martial Arts Grandmaster is also of flesh and blood and by no means invincible. What era is this? Even an ordinary sharpshooter has the possibility of killing a Grandmaster! As long as it is arranged properly, I, leading the elites of the Special Action Team, will be enough to handle him; there is no need for other idlers to interfere!"

His words seemed to be pointed, and the leader of the second assassination squad of the Black Dragon Society opposite him, named Watanabe Ue, gave a cold, dark laugh:

"Your Excellency should not be so arrogant. If I remember correctly, that General Ogliev of yours was the same at the beginning, not taking his opponent seriously, and the result was that he was beaten into a cripple as soon as he stepped onto the stage, ruining his own future. You surely wouldn't want to see such a scene repeated, would you?"

"Hmm?"

Leonid's eyes were fierce, and a bloody, baleful aura surged out:

"You bastard, you dare to question me? It's not as if I haven't arranged for people to assassinate Seventh Realm experts before. Aside from being a bit faster in reaction and having higher alertness, they still get injured and bleed when hit by a barrage of bullets or cannon fire, and they still die! He is just a mere greenhorn. You cowards may be afraid, but the warriors of my Sha'e Empire are not!"

Watanabe Ue's eyes were cold, his gaze like that of a king cobra, making people shudder:

"Stupid bear, you dare to insult me here? If you have the ability, go outside and fight me, and let's see who is the truly useless coward!"

The two were at daggers drawn within a few words, and the smell of gunpowder rose, causing Takov and Guangye Shensi to shout in unison:

"Shut up, don't be rude!"

"You two, stop arguing!"

Takov looked at the bald, burly man beside him and said helplessly:

"Lieutenant General Leonid, I have already said that this Jin Dynasty person has extraordinary strength and lives outside the Concession, so he is definitely not easy to deal with. If he escapes or counterattacks and causes huge casualties to our people, it would be a very bad thing. What do you think?"

Leonid snorted coldly, which counted as accepting his words.

Guangye Shensi also stopped the fierce and murderous Watanabe Ue:

"Watanabe-kun, that Lu Yuan is strong and is outside the Concession. If we want to eliminate this person at the lowest cost, our two sides must cooperate sincerely; otherwise, if we alert the enemy and let the other party escape, I am afraid there will be few such opportunities in the future."

Watanabe Ue stared coldly and no longer spoke.

"Very good, it seems we have reached a consensus."

Takov then turned to Guangye Shensi:

"Consul Guangye, since you are the initiator, when shall we take action?"

Guangye Shensi said slowly:

"Deng-kun has already helped me find out this person's residence; it is in the Inner City. We will spend another two or three days figuring out the surrounding environment, and then we can take action."

"Good!"

Takov said darkly:

"Then it is agreed: three days from now, we will act together to completely eliminate that despicable and base Jin Dynasty person, so that everyone in Jin-Jin will know that their so-called hero is, to us, nothing but a stray dog that can be slaughtered at any time!"

A vast Sha'e Empire naturally does not lack experts; even if they were top-tier Seventh Realm experts, they could be secretly transferred from the country.

However, there is an unwritten rule among countries that does not allow the dispatch of experts of this level into another country's territory to carry out sabotage, decapitation, or assassination activities, so he can only settle for the next best thing and invite Leonid's Special Action Team to do it.

And the impression Lu Yuan left on him that day was very deep; he was also deeply afraid that Leonid would not be able to complete the mission, which is why he agreed to Guangye Shensi's invitation to jointly eliminate Lu Yuan as an explanation to the family behind Ogliev.

"Good, then three days from now, at twelve o'clock at night, we will carry out the decapitation operation."

Guangye Shensi looked at the restless Deng Xiaolin:

"Deng-kun, we are, after all, unfamiliar with the Inner City. I hope you can also personally participate and assist us at that time. On the night of the action, please bring your men to provide support and handle the aftermath for us. Can you?"

"Me?"

This was clearly asking him to submit a letter of intent. Deng Xiaolin, who did not expect to be dragged into this whirlpool, had his expression change repeatedly:

"But I have injuries, I am afraid I cannot handle this!"

Doing business with the Sunlight Country is one thing, but colluding with them to assassinate a figure who has just become famous throughout the world and is comparable to a Grandmaster is another.

Although he suffered some infamy for the former, he also made a fortune; but the latter... could cost him his life!

Admittedly, in this era, ten paces away, a Firearm is more powerful than Martial Arts. A martial arts expert who specializes in marksmanship can even easily kill an expert who is a whole major realm higher than himself in a head-on confrontation by relying on the advantage of a Firearm.

These Leonid and Watanabe Ue are clearly fierce characters in the military who have killed countless people. If they lead elites to carry out an assassination, that Lu Yuan will surely not be able to escape death.

But if he participates in it, it is equivalent to handing a big handle to the Sunlight Country. Once it is exposed, he will be confirmed as a traitor, or even branded a sinner of the nation, and he will never be able to survive in this Jin-Jin again!

And facing Deng Xiaolin's evasion.

"What, you are unwilling?"

Guangye Shensi narrowed his eyes:

"Deng-kun, before we entered the Jin-Jin Concession, our cooperation was very pleasant. The Silver Yuan you earned from us is at least hundreds of thousands. Do you also want to hesitate about such cooperation and friendship?"

Almost instantly, the eyes of Leonid and Watanabe Ue opposite him became dangerous, staring at Deng Xiaolin as if looking at a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Whether facing these two top experts or the entire Sha'e and Sunlight, a small deputy leader of the Boatmen's Guild could never resist, not to mention that he had already heard these deadly conversations.

Sensing the danger, Deng Xiaolin's eyelids twitched violently, and he immediately changed his words:

"Consul Guangye is joking. I am not refusing, it is just that I was also injured by that Lu Yuan on the ring some days ago, and I have not recovered until now, so I am worried that I will not be able to help much during the operation."

Guangye Shensi's expression suddenly softened, and he smiled:

"No need to worry, I have already said that the main force will be Mr. Leonid and Watanabe-kun; you only need to provide support from the sidelines and handle the aftermath."

Knowing that if he did not agree today he might not even be able to walk out of here, and furthermore, he truly wanted Lu Yuan to die, Deng Xiaolin said immediately:

"Fine, I will personally lead men to assist, no problem!"

"Very good!"

Takov let out a laugh that stole the spotlight, then raised the wine glass in front of him:

"Speaking of which, killing such a genius-like figure is quite satisfying."

"A toast in advance to our victory, everyone, cheers!"

The group had varied expressions, and they all raised their wine glasses together.

Naturally, they were unaware of the collusion between the two sides of Sha'e and Rihzhao.

After Lu Yuan returned from Qi Yuanjiang's place, he remained reclusive, not stepping out of his front or back gates.

Aside from cultivation, what he was busy with was preparing for the dojo he was about to establish, especially preparing the foundation for the dojo's opening: the Martial Arts cultivation methods used to instruct and teach disciples.

He could not casually pass on the Martial Arts of the Shenquan Sect, so he had no choice but to create a brand-new Martial Arts style himself.

In fact, a few days ago, he had obtained several common Martial Arts stake-training methods, practice methods, and fist techniques from the pugilistic world through Lin Xingchao, Gu Kanshan, and others; he had been spending these days integrating these secret manuals and recreating them.

Creating one's own Martial Arts sounds impossible, but in reality, it was not an inconceivable matter for him.

Because although Lu Yuan's experience in practicing Martial Arts could not compare to a true Martial Arts Grandmaster, he was the only immortal cultivator in this world; the Guiding Technique he practiced was peerless and profound, a true method for becoming an immortal, and from such a high vantage point, combining a few Martial Arts manuals to create new Martial Arts was not a difficult task.

To use an inappropriate analogy, it is like someone who has already learned calculus; having them solve a system of two linear equations is naturally as easy as turning over one's hand, with no difficulty at all.

And after several consecutive days of pondering, as of today, the Martial Arts he created had gone from having an initial prototype to becoming increasingly perfected.

This day at dusk.

Inside Lu Yuan's own small courtyard.

Lin Xingchao, whose injuries had improved much more, and Gu Kanshan stood in the corner of the courtyard, while in the center stood Lu Yuan, standing tall and upright, slowly performing a set of fist techniques.

He used both fists and palms, his footsteps advancing, his movements neither fast nor slow, yet they gave people a sense of the majesty and surging power of a ten-thousand-foot divine mountain sitting amidst a vast ocean.

Although they were several steps away, both men could faintly hear the sound of Lu Yuan's heartbeat, the rushing of his Qi and blood, and even the sound of his breathing, as if his entire body had been mobilized under the fist techniques.

Soon, Lu Yuan finished the final move, his exuberant vitality retracted, and the movement and stillness within his body returned to nothingness.

He looked at Lin Xingchao and Gu Kanshan nearby and smiled:

"Uncle-Master, Old Gu, what do you think of this fist technique I created? Can it serve as the foundation for the Guangwu Hall to instruct disciples?"

At this moment, Lin Xingchao and Gu Kanshan were both stunned, looking as if they had seen a ghost as they said:

"A Yuan, you aren't joking, are you?"

"Is this set of fist techniques you just performed really something you created in these few days?"

Lu Yuan laughed:

"Why would I lie to you? I have named this fist technique the Guangwu Body-Forging Fist; it is something I created by combining the Martial Arts manuals you gave me. At present, it should be able to be practiced to the Three Realms Bone Forging level; I still need time for the subsequent techniques."

Lin Xingchao and Gu Kanshan looked at each other, completely bewildered, doubting their lives.

The reason was none other than that the fist technique Lu Yuan demonstrated was simply too brilliant, completely like those supreme fist techniques that had been tempered through a hundred battles, perfected by the heart's blood of generations, and only existed in the great sects of the previous dynasty!

Yet those Martial Arts were all things that took several generations and over a hundred years to perfect and become famous throughout the world; how could they, these old veterans of the pugilistic world, believe that Lu Yuan had created one in just a few days of effort?

However.

Since coming to Jinjin, Lu Yuan himself had been a massive mystery and miracle, and Lin Xingchao was already numb to it, so he could only sigh:

"You kid are truly not human. This set of fist techniques is absolutely no less than the heritage of our Shenquan Sect; if taken out, I fear people would break their heads trying to snatch it. It is fully qualified to serve as the heritage of a dojo."

Lu Yuan nodded in satisfaction:

"Then I am relieved."

Although he had only created a fist technique that could be practiced up to the Third Realm of Martial Arts for the time being, it was not a difficult task to create the subsequent realms if given more time.

Moreover.

The Guangwu Hall he intended to establish did not have the primary goal of spreading Martial Arts and taking in disciples, but rather recruiting talent to build a foundation; having enough Martial Arts heritage was sufficient.

"By the way."

At this time, Lin Xingchao asked again:

"With such a big move as establishing a sect, have you notified your master?"

Jinjin was a major city under direct administration; any major news would be spread to other provinces by tabloids, so it was impossible to hide it from the world. Lu Yuan nodded and said:

"Not yet. I will take time in these two days to write a letter and ask Commandant Fan to send someone to deliver it to Fengyang Prefecture."

Gu Kanshan could not help but say:

"If Little Li were to know that in less than a month, his disciple had transformed into a Grandmaster establishing a sect in Jinjin, his expression would certainly be very interesting."

Lu Yuan smiled without a word.

After arriving in Jinjin, he could be considered to have completely let himself go, and his actions began to develop toward being uninhibited.

Although he would write to inform Li Junxian, the things he did subsequently should not involve any friends or family, and he was prepared to sever all ties and become a loner.

Like now, no one in Jinjin knew of his relationship with Lin Xingchao and the others, which was also a form of protection for them.

Just like that.

After some idle chatter, Lu Yuan sent off Lin Xingchao and Gu Kanshan, then entered the fire room to begin his great undertaking of alchemy.

Amidst the busyness.

Soon the sun slanted to the west, falling below the horizon, and the night curtain shrouded the entire Jinjin City.

And in this situation where no one disturbed him, time passed in the blink of an eye to late at night; Lu Yuan in the fire room seemed to have forgotten himself in his alchemy and had never come out.

It was not until the third watch, when the night filled the sky and the lights of ten thousand homes were extinguished.

On the street outside Lu Yuan's small courtyard, more than ten fully armed figures suddenly appeared silently in the darkness, like ghosts coming to claim lives.

(End of chapter)