Chapter 481

Walking in the martial world, wanting to make a name for oneself is perfectly normal.

After all, living in this world, with your head tied to your pants belt, coming out with a knife, if you don't seek fame or profit, could it be that you're just playing around?

There are many ways to become famous and seek profit.

Some are stubborn, thinking of making a name for themselves by relying on the knife in their hands.

Others are quick-witted, knowing that the martial world isn't just about knives, but also rules and human relationships; when everyone lifts the flowery sedan chair, fame is spread from others' mouths.

Thus, more and more people are drilling into this path.

Asking for advice in public is one such path.

Note that it is "asking for advice," not "challenging."

This becomes two different things.

Since others are humbly asking for advice, you shouldn't strike too hard; after all, they are all people with status, and it wouldn't sound good if it spread.

And those who come to "ask for advice," after being defeated, are not angry at all; instead, they will be convinced and say "I am not as good as you," from then on spreading your name, and they might even generously take out money to treat you to a meal or drinks.

When talking to others in the future, they can't help but sigh, "You know who that is? I know, he's truly powerful; I even exchanged moves with him back then, losing by one move."

Once this is said, it raises their own status.

And the reputation of the challenged person will also become louder and louder.

To tell the truth, although there is a suspicion of sponging off fame, there is no harm, and it is beneficial to both sides.

But for Li Yan, it became a big problem.

And it was very disgusting.

These people specifically choose to appear in public.

Can you imagine an old man over fifty suddenly popping out, treating you with the etiquette of a teacher, and asking for your advice...

Not long after leaving Longquanyi, a bunch of people suddenly ran over to "ask for advice," their attitudes respectful, polite, and full of flattery.

One or two could be tolerated.

But appearing one after another had already interfered with his itinerary.

Li Yan didn't hide his tracks, but what he wanted to attract wasn't these people.

……

Sure enough, seeing Li Yan's disdainful expression, the young swordsman was not angry but happy, immediately cupping his hands respectfully and saying loudly, "I know that my own ability is insufficient and I am not worthy of exchanging moves with Hero Li, but I still want to ask you not to begrudge your advice."

After finishing, he couldn't help but flash a hint of pride in his eyes.

If Li Yan didn't agree after these words, he would be arrogant and conceited. And he had already laid the groundwork—it was normal to lose.

Next, he just needed to follow the steps.

Get beaten up, shout "good," and in the future, he would have something to tell others, and if he wanted to take on some jobs, his value would also increase quite a bit.

Li Yan was also amused.

On Wudang Mountain, he had heard a little story.

When Master Sanfeng was famous throughout the world, those coming to ask for advice were endless, and even Mystic Sect sorcerers started doing this.

So much so that Wudang Mountain still has rules to this day.

If you want to ask for advice, you must start from the bottom-level disciples step by step; you can't just have any Tom, Dick, or Harry come and name the founder to ask for advice.

Even so, Master Sanfeng was forced into helplessness; when walking the world, he dressed sloppily, laughing and scolding, without the look of an expert.

Although it was just a rumor, it showed the trouble these people caused.

Li Yan didn't expect that one day, he would also encounter such a thing.

Fortunately, facing this situation, his predecessors had already summarized two routines. One was to set thresholds through disciples and grand-disciples, and the other was to show off a unique skill, which could at least block some people.

Thinking of this, Li Yan grabbed the melon seeds, flipped over, jumped down from the inn window, and arrived on the street.

"Good! Good!"

The surrounding commoners immediately cheered.

The young swordsman also leaked a hint of joy in his eyes.

But what surprised him was that Li Yan didn't take action, didn't even bother to speak to him, just cracked melon seeds and walked to an old house.

The old town of Wufengxi had a long history. This house had moved old wharf stone strips from somewhere and pressed them under the wall as a foundation; the moss was mottled, and it looked exceptionally hard.

Li Yan ate melon seeds while pinching a melon seed shell, his fingertips trembling and exerting force, actually piercing the melon seed shell into the bluestone.

One after another, forming the character "Li."

The surroundings immediately became silent.

The so-called "laymen watch the excitement, experts watch the doorway."

Although the commoners didn't understand, this move was truly shocking; they couldn't figure out how a brittle, soft melon seed shell could be pierced into bluestone.

And the martial arts people who knew the ropes widened their eyes even more.

This was the manifestation of concentrating the entire body's dark energy into one point, achieving the state of "flying flowers and picking leaves, all can hurt people."

And this move of Li Yan's was even harder.

Melon seeds are very crisp and would break if one wasn't careful. Moreover, he applied powerful energy, so to pierce the bluestone, the control of the energy had to be precise to the millisecond.

Only by reaching the Hua Jin (Transformation Energy) level could one do this.

People in the martial world waste their whole lives, and those who can reach Hua Jin need both aptitude and opportunity; it is enough to be a martial arts tycoon in one area.

Just like the old Monkey Zhou back then.

As long as he didn't provoke strong enemies, his life was as comfortable as could be.

Many of the martial arts people present had complex expressions.

Most of the Hua Jin experts they had seen were old and decrepit; if one was in their prime, they were gifted, and no one dared to look down on them.

How old is this Li Yan in front of us...

In the future, he might be an expert whose name is recorded in history!

As for the young swordsman who came to "ask for advice," his face turned pale, and he didn't dare to talk nonsense anymore, slipping into the crowd and fleeing.

The gap was too large; playing this game would only make him a laughingstock.

Li Yan didn't pay attention, but looked around.

"Don't touch the melon seeds, don't damage the stone; if you can take them out, come find me again!"

After saying that, he turned and entered the inn while eating melon seeds.

This is also a kind of martial arts rule.

Want to sponge off my reputation?

Fine! But you have to follow my rules.

If you can't do it.

Go stay wherever it's cool!

……

Unknowingly, night fell.

Wufengxi Wharf, although not comparable to Chongqing's Chaotianmen Wharf, also had a large flow of people, so naturally, it lacked nothing in terms of eating, drinking, and playing.

But this place wasn't a wealthy area; those staying overnight were either martial arts people, or traveling merchants and boatmen.

Working hard and traveling, not many were willing to spend money.

Therefore, most of the teahouses and eateries on the wharf were relatively simple.

Even the prostitutes were a few degrees lower in appearance.

But the liveliness was not inferior at all.

The night was shrouded in river mist, fishing lights dotted the riverside, the teahouses and wine shops in the ancient town were brightly lit, and the sounds of finger-guessing games and shouting were constant.

In the guest room, Li Yan was drinking tea.

People in Sichuan love tea, and he had learned a trick along the way.

Here, they play with the covered bowl kung fu tea; the cover, bowl, and saucer are called the "Three Talents Bowl," implying the unity of Heaven, Earth, and Man.

Putting in tea, pouring water, flipping the tea bowl—it was dazzling.

Pouring for himself and drinking, it was quite interesting.

However, his mind was on other things.

Since showing off that move during the day, it was indeed much easier, and until now, not a single person had come to harass him.

But these people were all insignificant.

Li Yan could feel that he was being watched all the time.

When he appeared during the day, his back even felt cold, as if a sharp sword was pointed at his back, ready to pierce him through at any time.

This was someone monitoring him using sorcery.

But the opponent's methods were brilliant, and he hadn't found the person yet.

This journey was definitely full of dangers. It was possible that someone had already set a trap.

Li Yan knew what these people were worried about.

It was nothing more than fear of him summoning underworld soldiers.

They clearly wanted to lay out a plan to offset this advantage.

But what they also didn't know was that Li Yan's "Gang Order" had already been used up, and he hadn't received a mission since, so he didn't have this card in his hand at all.

Therefore, he must figure out the background of the person in the dark, and only when he was completely sure could he set off.

The first step is to eliminate the person monitoring him!

In the past, such things were Lu San's task, and he didn't need to worry about it at all, but now he could only rely on himself to break the situation.

Thinking of this, Li Yan got up, pulled open the door, and shouted downstairs, "Waiter, send me some hot water again."

Soon, the waiter brought hot water and hurried to the door, full of diligence, nodding and bowing, "Young Master, the water is here. The shopkeeper said, if you have any instructions, just ask."

Li Yan laughed dumbly, "Fine, get me some wine and food too..."

!.

As he spoke, he dipped his finger in the tea and wrote a few words on the wooden table: one jin of earth paper, bamboo sticks, paste.

The waiter was also a clever person; although he didn't understand why Li Yan wanted this, he understood and didn't expose it, nodding and smiling, "Young Master, wait a moment, the wine and food will be here in a while."

After saying that, he hurried out of the room.

Li Yan smiled slightly and took out the "Dragon Snake Token" to play with.

This was his second reliance.

With this object, some of the opponent's long-range curse spells couldn't find a target, nor could they detect his sorcery aura.

If he wasn't mistaken, the opponent used means to observe through others.

Just right, to carry out targeted suppression...

……

A thousand meters away, in a dilapidated warehouse.

The ground was covered with yellow cloth, on which an Eight Trigrams was drawn, with lamps and candles lit all around.

A seven or eight-year-old child sat cross-legged in the middle, naked from the waist up, having finished drawing blood-colored talismans with cinnabar, eyes tightly closed, hands pressed together.

And in front of this child, a rice frame was placed.

It was filled with five grains, with an Eight Trigrams mirror inserted in the middle, small flags inserted all around, and a soul-guiding lamp lit in front of the Eight Trigrams mirror.

He saw an old Daoist in black, chanting words, rubbing the child's eyes with withered palms, while his left hand formed a seal.

"Do you see it?"

"Master, I see your hands glowing."

"Keep looking, look carefully!"

The old Daoist snorted coldly, and the boy immediately frowned tightly. Although his eyes were closed, he seemed to be trying hard to see something clearly.

Finally, the boy said, "I see a window."

"What's in the window?"

"I can only see a human shadow, as if reading a book..."

The two asked and answered, and they were the sorcerers monitoring Li Yan.

This method is called the "Round Light Sorcerer" in the Gold Gate.

Monitoring and investigating through a medium.

Generally speaking, most of them are martial arts world swindlers.

Those with average methods will find an apprentice to cooperate with them.

Those who are more powerful will find a child in the home of the person asking for help, smear some hallucinogenic drugs on the palm, and cooperate with verbal traps to make the child say things about the home.

Most of the commoners who see this will be fooled.

But true Mystic Sect sorcerers use secret methods to cooperate with "Divine Eye Children," which are children who have awakened the "Intent Yi Shentong" or "Eye Yi Shentong."

This technique is mysterious, but it causes no small harm to the medium.

Proper sorcerers generally disdain using it.

In the warehouse, besides this Daoist and child, several others were standing by, all with gloomy eyes and extraordinary momentum.

The strange man with a painted face from the Prince of Shu's estate was among them.

"This brat really has leisure..."

Hearing that Li Yan was reading, a burly man with a black face couldn't help but mock, "Having caused such a big trouble, why not run quickly? Does he really think he has three heads and six arms?"

"Three heads and six arms is not the case."

An old man who looked like a scholar shook his head, "But those underworld soldiers of the living underworld official, anyone who sees them gets a headache. If I don't lure this thing out, I wouldn't dare to take action."

These people were all heterodox experts gathered by the Prince of Shu's estate.

They were ordered to take back the "Ruyi Treasure Pearl" and kill Li Yan at the same time.

They had already thought of a trick, using secret treasures to cover up, placing explosives on the boat, and as soon as Li Yan got on the boat, they would blow him to smithereens.

But unexpectedly, Li Yan was delayed by those challengers, which also destroyed their plan, so they could only continue monitoring.

The man with the painted face said in a deep voice, "Have you found out clearly? Which force is releasing the news, using 'killing with praise' on this brat?"

"Not clear."

A charming woman shook her head, "Too many people are spreading it; we didn't find the source. We accidentally caught some clues, but the people who knew were all silenced; they were even more ruthless than us when they took action."

The black-faced man sneered, "How many enemies has this brat provoked? He doesn't understand the rules of the martial world; even if he has some talent, he won't live long."

Between his words, he couldn't hide his jealousy.

The strange man with the painted face glanced at him, "Dragging it out like this is not a way. I have a trick, maybe it can kill him directly!"

"Didn't he say that challengers must take out melon seeds first? This thing won't stump you all. We'll go in the name of asking for advice; he won't use underworld soldiers, so we'll just kill this brat while sparring!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at each other.

This method is not bad, it's just too shameful.

They are all famous experts, and it doesn't matter if they hide their identities to kill, but playing this game in public will surely be ridiculed by others in the future.

Although they defected to the Prince of Shu's estate, they weren't all loners.

Playing like this, their disciples wouldn't have the face to see anyone.

And this brat is not a soft persimmon either.

If they fail...

For a time, no one responded.

"Forget it, I'll do it."

The black-faced man looked at the crowd and said coldly, "Everyone has received benefits from the Prince of Shu; if we can't get the job done, what will we use to report back?"

"Brother Wang is right."

"If Brother Wang takes action, he will surely succeed!"

Everyone didn't spare any flattery.

This black-faced man is no one else, but the leader of the Lotus Sect in Sichuan.

The Lotus Sect originated in Xiangxi and is considered a folk Dharma lineage combining Daoism and martial arts, famous for its martial arts of inviting gods to possess the body.

Of course, the Lotus Sect in Sichuan is far inferior to the main sect in Xiangxi, and they even had conflicts, which is why they defected to the Prince of Shu.

And this leader of the Lotus Sect in Sichuan is famous for his jealousy; he couldn't even tolerate his own disciples, so seeing someone like Li Yan, he naturally hated him and wanted to kill him quickly.

"Good!"

The strange man with the painted face nodded, "Since Sect Leader Wang is taking action, we will wait and see. Let's finish the errand early and avenge Fellow Daoist Pei!"

After setting the plan, everyone left the warehouse one after another.

They held their status in high regard and didn't want to stay here and suffer.

Moreover, they were afraid that Li Yan would use underworld soldiers to catch them all in one net.

In the warehouse, only the Daoist and the child remained.

"Is he still there?"

"Back to Master, he is still there."

……

In the inn room, the candle flame flickered.

A paper puppet sat at the table reading a book, emitting a faint aura, the smell exactly the same as Li Yan's...

(End of chapter)