Chapter 19: The Sunflower Manual

Inside the Fu Lai Inn.

Yu Canghai dismissed his subordinates, and after carefully checking that no one was around, he unfolded the cassock in his hands to examine it closely.

After only a moment, a look of wild joy appeared in Yu Canghai's eyes.

He could not help but tremble as he said, "This is the real Evil-Warding Sword Technique; it is truly miraculous."

"Back then, Lin Yuantu was able to use this mental cultivation method and sword technique to defeat my master and dominate the pugilistic world.

Today, I, Yu Canghai, have obtained this sword technique. Once I reach Major Accomplishment in this divine skill, hegemony over the martial arts world will be within my grasp."

Lu Li had merely crossed out the eight characters at the beginning of the cassock—"To dominate the martial arts world, one must first castrate oneself"—and even during the subsequent aging process, he had accidentally deleted a few more characters, but overall, it remained that genuine martial arts manual.

The sword techniques and mental cultivation methods recorded within were all solid, fundamental principles of martial arts.

At this moment, Yu Canghai read through it once and naturally could not detect anything unusual, believing he had obtained the Evil-Warding Sword Manual.

Little did he know that the sword technique he held had already been tampered with by Lu Li.

The moves of the Evil-Warding Sword Technique were bizarre, and its mental cultivation method was as explosive as fire.

If he were to truly practice according to it, he would likely suffer from Qi deviation, his meridians would burn up, and he would die.

By then, the more he practiced, the faster he would die.

Just as Yu Canghai was rejoicing, he suddenly heard a faint sound from the roof.

Yu Canghai's heart tightened; he immediately tucked the cassock into his robes and snatched up his long sword.

Boom!

The wooden window of the room was shattered in an instant, and Yu Canghai's figure suddenly flipped out.

With wind beneath his feet, he had already reached the roof.

He saw that there were indeed two people on the roof spying in the dark.

"Pugilistic rats, how dare you run wild on your Daoist master's watch!"

The sword light was cold and clear, leaving behind streaks of blood.

A moment later, the clashing figures on the roof gradually quieted down.

Yu Canghai's expression was solemn, his brows slightly furrowed.

This was already the third group of people.

"Master, it's bad."

Just as he returned to the room, a disciple knocked on the door to report.

"What is it?"

Yu Canghai asked.

"Master, everyone in the pugilistic world knows you have obtained the Evil-Warding Sword Manual."

"What?"

... Inside the Fuwei Escort Agency, Lu Li was practicing his sword in the courtyard.

One could see his sword technique was bold and unconstrained, the moves ruthless and fierce; it was precisely the new Evil-Warding Sword Technique he had modified.

The Lin Family's incomplete Evil-Warding Sword Manual was mediocre, merely a bottom-tier sword technique in the martial arts world.

But the sword technique and mental cultivation method recorded on the cassock were extremely bizarre; that sword technique sought only speed, catching people off guard.

However, aside from its bizarre nature, the explosive and scorching internal energy cultivation method also gave Lu Li inspiration.

Why not modify the sword technique slightly and drive it with the vast Purple Mist of the Purple Mist Divine Skill to create a new sword technique? Relying on his own sword cultivation and the concept of "winning without moves" from the Dugu Nine Swords, Lu Li modified the moves of the Evil-Warding Sword Technique.

The modified sword technique had grand moves and fierce strikes.

"Falling Meteor"

, "Straight Thrust to the Dragon's Heart"

, "Sweeping Away the Demons"

... One could see wind rising from Lu Li's sword; as each move was executed, it truly became a righteous and awe-inspiring Sword of Evil-Warding!

Nearby, Lin Zhennan and Lin Pingzhi saw their family's ancestral sword technique being performed by Lu Li, and it had completely changed its appearance.

Such a sword technique was far stronger than the original Evil-Warding Sword Technique!

After Lu Li finished practicing, he saw the Lin Zhennan family walking over and asked, "Has the news been spread?"

"It has all been spread according to your wishes."

Lin Zhennan said, "Now, everyone in Fuzhou City knows that as soon as I obtained the sword manual, I was tracked down by the Qingcheng Sect, and before I could even look at it, it was snatched away by Yu Canghai."

"Furthermore, I have already issued a notice that the Fuwei Escort Agency has joined the Huashan Sect and become an asset of the Huashan Sect."

Lu Li nodded and said, "Mm, in this way, your Lin Family should be spared quite a bit of trouble."

"

"Yes, thank you, young hero, for saving our lives."

The three members of the Lin Family bowed low.

Lu Li helped the three of them up, but he saw that Lady Lin's face was flushed, and she seemed to have something to say but hesitated.

"Lady Lin, if you have something to say, just say it."

"Young Hero Lu, your sword technique just now, could it be..."

She left her sentence unfinished, but thinking of the method recorded on the cassock, she could not help but blush and could not continue.

Lu Li naturally knew what she was asking and smiled, "Naturally not."

"How could my sword technique require such an extreme method?"

"This is a new Evil-Warding Sword Technique I created after slightly modifying the original."

The Lin Family suddenly realized.

Seeing Lu Li's sword technique was so monstrous, Lin Zhennan realized this was equivalent to creating a brand-new sword technique.

He immediately had Lin Pingzhi kneel down and asked Lu Li to accept him as a disciple.

Who would have thought, Lu Li shook his head and said, "I do not take disciples."

Lu Li had never thought of taking Lin Pingzhi as a disciple.

Lin Pingzhi knelt on the ground, a look of disappointment flashing in his eyes.

But then he heard Lin Zhennan say, "Young Hero Lu's martial arts are peerless; the boy is naturally unworthy.

But since my Lin Family is now an asset of the Huashan Sect, if he could be admitted under your tutelage, he would not bring shame to you while walking the jianghu in the future."

Upon hearing this, Lu Li could not help but laugh: "What the Chief Escort Lin says is indeed reasonable.

How about this: I will set off in a few days to attend the Golden Basin Hand-Washing Ceremony of Liu Erye at Mount Heng (Hunan), so let Lin Pingzhi follow along."

"If my master agrees at that time, then he can be admitted into the Huashan Sect."

Lin Pingzhi was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately began to kowtow.

Lu Li did not dodge, accepted the bow calmly, and said, "How about this: I will pass this modified Evil-Warding Sword Technique to you.

This sword technique is not a martial art of my Huashan Sect, so it does not count as a violation.

I have observed your family's sword techniques, and now that I pass them to you, you and I do not count as master and disciple."

In the following days, Lu Li passed this sword technique to Lin Pingzhi.

Lin Pingzhi's aptitude was average and could not be compared to Lu Li's.

However, having suffered such a great disaster, his mind had become increasingly resilient; he practiced the sword diligently every day, and his progress was not slow.

After only a few days, he was able to wield the frame of the sword technique with great vigor.

It was just that his sword technique lacked a trace of spiritual nature and was always rigid and formulaic.

In the way of swordsmanship, it was actually somewhat similar to Yue Buqun.

On this day, Lin Zhennan handed another booklet to Lu Li.

"Young Hero Lu, I went to the old residence to look through things these past few days and discovered that this booklet was left behind by our ancestor Lin Yuantu.

I took a rough look at it; it seems to be related to the origin of the Evil-Warding Sword Technique."

Lin Zhennan knew that Lu Li had some interest in the Evil-Warding Sword Technique, and since his Lin Family no longer cared about this sword technique, he let Lu Li look over the book.

Lu Li opened the aged pages and saw that every page began with a date; the first few pages were all trivial daily matters from his time at South Shaolin.

This was actually the diary of Lin Yuantu from back then.

Lu Li could not help but find it amusing.

Who writes a diary if they are a serious person?!

He tilted his head.

But Lu Li still flipped through it page by page.

He saw that the first half of it was written sporadically about Lin Yuantu's daily life as a monk at South Shaolin, while the second half was the process of him founding the escort agency after returning to secular life.

Only one page in the middle contained a paragraph.

"Winter of the Zhengton era, heavy snow.

Yue Su and Cai Zifeng of the Huashan Sect, along with Master Yuanxing of North Shaolin, pursued the Imperial Court's wanted criminal Wang Chen, obtained the secret record 'Sunflower Manual', and discussed martial arts at South Shaolin..."

Lu Li flipped through it again, but there were no other records.

He returned the book to Lin Zhennan, thinking to himself that this detail differed somewhat from the original work, but there was no difference in the overall picture.

It stood to reason; if there were no cause, Yue Su and Cai Zifeng would not have traveled thousands of miles to South Shaolin to peek at a secret manual.

If they were pursuing a wanted criminal together with a high monk of the Shaolin Sect, it would be understandable.

And this wanted criminal actually possessed the 'Sunflower Manual'? Lu Li shook his head secretly; if that person had really practiced the martial arts above, he feared that neither Yue nor Cai would have been his match.

This matter was mostly related to that Master Yuanxing.

This 'Sunflower Manual' might not have been specifically intended for Yue and Cai to see.

But as for the specifics, Lu Li was unwilling to delve deeper.

One reason was that the era was long ago, and he feared it could not be verified.

On the other hand, in Lu Li's view, the Sword-Qi Conflict was something the Huashan Sect stirred up itself.

Combined with what Feng Qingyang said, the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth had declined, and Huashan had already split into the two schools of thought: sword and Qi.

It just so happened that at this time, the two, Yue and Cai, brought back the secret manual, which led to what happened later.

It was equivalent to someone digging a pit and saying to the Huashan Sect, "Jump."

And then, the Huashan Sect jumped in.

Lu Li stretched, looked at the bright spring scenery outside the window, and muttered: "Whatever happened back then, I do not care anymore.

But if the Shaolin Temple makes trouble during my time, then I will meet this titan of the righteous path."

Another day passed, and Lu Li bid farewell.

He rode on horseback with Lin Pingzhi, heading toward Mount Heng (Hunan).