Chapter 96: Chapter 95: Encounter on the Road

The Main World.

The Dazhou Dynasty.

On a main road, about a hundred li from Hejian Prefecture.

"Giddy-up!"

"Giddy-up!"

A dozen or so riders on strong steeds galloped wildly, kicking up trails of dust and showing no regard for the other travelers on the road.

"Ptooey! Ptooey!"

A man spat out the dirt that had flown into his mouth, cursing under his breath.

"What’s the rush? In a hurry to get reincarnated?"

"Shh..." His companion’s face fell. He quickly tugged on the man’s sleeve and said,

"Are you crazy?!"

"Didn’t you see their uniforms? They’re Tunqi Mansion Soldiers. If they’re in such a hurry, something big must have happened."

"Something big?" Someone’s eyes flickered.

"Don’t tell me something has happened in Hejian Prefecture, too?"

"Impossible!" The other man shook his head.

"Menqi Mansion just fell. Even if the Blood Flood Dragon Bandits could fly, they couldn’t possibly attack here so soon."

"Exactly!"

"Don’t scare yourself for no reason!"

"If Hejian Prefecture is also breached, our only option will be to cross the Ancient Northern Pass and try to survive in the Southern Barbarian Lands."

"..."

The crowd whispered amongst themselves, all wearing worried expressions.

"Young man," a sallow-faced, middle-aged woman holding a flatbread looked at Zhu Ju and asked,

"Where are you from? Are you also headed to Hejian Prefecture?"

"Yes." Dressed in plain clothes, Zhu Ju came back to his senses.

"I am from Leping County. I’m on my way to Hejian Prefecture to stay with relatives." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Leping County?" The farmer-like man beside the woman looked over curiously.

"I heard that place was taken by the Blood Flood Dragon Bandits about a month ago."

"That’s right."

Zhu Ju nodded.

"I’ve been hiding out in the mountain forests to avoid the disaster and only came out yesterday."

"Careful and cautious," the farmer praised.

"In times like these, that’s the only way to live long enough."

"Young man, I’ve noticed you haven’t eaten this whole way. You must not have much food on you," the woman said with a warm expression.

"Let me give you a piece of this flatbread."

"No, thank you," Zhu Ju demurred.

"There’s a post station not far ahead. I can just buy some food when I get there."

"True enough." The woman didn’t insist. Her gaze paused on the bundle slung over Zhu Ju’s shoulder as she said,

"My husband and I are from Menqi Mansion. After the Blood Flood Dragon Bandits ravaged the area, we just couldn’t survive anymore..."

"So we came to Hejian Prefecture to find a way to live."

RUMBLE!

As they were talking, a sudden commotion erupted ahead.

For some unknown reason, several figures from the Martial World had started fighting. The radiating Powerful Qi even injured nearby passersby.

PENG!

Two figures leaped high into the air and clashed, setting off a series of explosive bangs.

’Inner Qi Release!’

Zhu Ju’s pupils contracted.

’The upper limit of Martial Arts in the Main World is too high.’

’A Limit-Breaking Grandmaster from the Qi Blood Martial Arts World is only comparable to someone Nurturing Inner Qi here. Limit-Breaking Grandmasters are exceedingly rare, yet I’ve seen plenty of Inner Qi Martial Artists on this journey.’

’With Menqi Mansion destroyed, who knows how many masters from the Martial World have flocked to Hejian Prefecture recently.’

’For example...’

’These two right beside me!’

"Giddy-up!"

"Whoa..."

While he was lost in thought, the dozen or so riders charged in from behind. As they drew near, they all yanked their reins, halting their powerful steeds.

A powerfully built man shouted loudly:

"Red Silk Hand! Faqing the Monk! You two ambushed my Young Master and stole his Treasure! Surrender and die!"

As he spoke, he leaped from his horse and lunged straight for the man and woman who had just been talking to Zhu Ju.

While still in mid-air, his Palm Force was already crashing down.

"Hee hee..."

The sallow-faced woman let out a charming laugh. She twisted her body and moved to meet the attack, her five fingers caressing the air.

"You can only blame your Young Master for being too naive. Haven’t you ever told him the story of a child carrying gold through a busy market?"

"A common man is innocent; his only crime is carrying a treasure!"

She had clearly been in disguise. Now, her eyes were filled with seduction, captivating despite her farmer’s wife attire.

"HAH!"

The farmer let out a great shout and rose to his feet. Clenching his fists, his skin took on a golden hue as he charged toward the group of riders.

A Hard Skill!

And an extremely impressive one at that.

The farmer, now identified as Faqing, swung his fists, forcibly knocking down several men before snatching a horse and leaping onto its back.

"Quick, get on the horse!"

"Coming!"

The woman giggled charmingly. Her body drifted over like a red cloud and landed on the horse. The two of them spurred the horse into a frantic gallop on a single mount.

"Bastards!"

The man roared in anger and leaped toward the horse’s back.

"After them!"

The chaos came and went in a flash.

The moment the riders had charged, Zhu Ju, along with others who sensed trouble, had already scrambled to the sides of the road.

Now, seeing the horsemen ride off, they didn’t dare to linger. They hurried on their way, afraid of getting drawn into more trouble.

Who could have imagined that the unassuming couple who had been chatting and laughing with everyone just moments before were actually masters from the Martial World? And from the sounds of it, they were murderous bandits, too.

Zhu Ju blended into the crowd, completely inconspicuous.

Chaos!

When the Court lost its authority and bandits ran rampant, chaos became the norm.

「Nightfall.」

Due to malnutrition, the common people of Dazhou widely suffered from night blindness, but this certainly did not include Martial Artists.

The poor study literature, the rich practice martial arts.

Without enough wealth and ample resources, it was difficult to have any future in the path of Martial Arts.

Even under the cover of night, many people were still traveling.

"Young brother."

As he walked along a forest path, two figures silently appeared before Zhu Ju. One of them spoke, her voice laced with charm.

"We meet again."

’Red Silk Hand?’

’The sallow-faced woman from this afternoon.’

Now that she had shed her disguise, the woman was stunningly beautiful. Her eyes were like autumn pools, stirring with faint ripples.

Just a few glances were enough to make one feel captivated.

’Red Silk Hand?’

’The name probably doesn’t just refer to her Palm Technique, but also the innate seductive power of her eyes.’

"You two."

Zhu Ju feigned surprise as he looked at the man and woman before him.

"Why have you come back?"

"Heh..." The farmer, Faqing, removed his wig and rubbed his bald head.

"Things were urgent back there, and it was inconvenient for my wife and me, so we secretly placed something in your bundle."

"I hope you don’t mind, young brother."

"Is that so?" Zhu Ju untied his bundle and, sure enough, found an iron box that didn’t belong to him.

"Clever trick!"

"You flatter me," the woman chuckled lightly.

"My little trick isn’t exactly dignified, but it comes in handy sometimes, so I haven’t given it up."

"Hah..." Zhu Ju shook his head. He took the iron box and tossed it in his hand, but didn’t look inside.

"In that case, let me return this to its rightful owner."

He held out the iron box and said,

"I’ll be on my way!"

"Wait a moment." Faqing held out a hand to stop him, a simple-minded smile on his face.

"We didn’t just put that one item in your bundle. There was something else, too."

"Hm?" Zhu Ju glanced at his bundle, checked it again, and then spoke.

"Are you certain, Master, that you put something else in my bundle besides this box?"

"Of course." Faqing put his palms together.

"A monk does not lie. Besides the box, we also put some gold in your bundle. About a hundred taels or so."

’?’

Zhu Ju raised an eyebrow. He unhurriedly placed the iron box back into his bundle and smiled.

"I think you two must be mistaken. There’s nothing of yours in my bundle. Everything here belongs to me."

"So you’re planning to deny it?" Hearing this, Faqing’s smile vanished. The honest farmer instantly transformed into a ferocious figure with a murderous expression.

"I knew you were a dishonest young man. My Buddha is compassionate, willing to slice his own flesh to feed an eagle, but he also possesses the Vajra’s Furious Gaze."

"Die!"

He strode forward, clenched his fist, and threw a straight punch.

Vajra Fist!

As he threw the punch, a golden luster appeared All Over Faqing’s Body. The Inner Qi within him circulated rapidly, and his Powerful Qi gathered in a sudden burst. Facing this ’unremarkable’ young man, he had unleashed his full strength from the very first move.

He was originally a disciple of the Vajra Sect. The Method he cultivated was extremely formidable, a top-tier External Skill that combined motion and stillness.

In terms of rank,

it was in no way inferior to the Thirteen Body Refinement.

It was even slightly stronger!

Among the world’s Cultivation Techniques, Inner Power and External Skills were different. Inner Power required seated meditation, while External Skills demanded physical tempering. However, some Methods found unique ways to cultivate both internally and externally.

For example, some Lightweight Body Techniques could increase one’s Inner Power with every circuit one ran.

The Vajra Fist was the same.

Every time one practiced the Fist Technique, their Inner Power, Hard Skill, and Fist Technique would all advance together, allowing for rapid progress.

"Hmph!"

Zhu Ju snorted lightly and met the attack with a clenched fist of his own.

CRACKLE!

A series of small, firecracker-like pops echoed from his limbs and bones, causing the expressions of the man and woman before him to change drastically.

A single one of those crackles is worth a thousand pieces of gold!

Such crisp pops were enough to prove that this young man possessed an unfathomably deep foundation.

’Crap!’

’We’ve run into a tough one!’

A vicious glint appeared in Faqing’s eyes as his Fist Force suddenly intensified. The woman let out a seductive laugh and, with a flick of her fair hand, sent several steel needles shooting out.

PENG!

The two fists collided.

"Argh!"

Faqing felt an unstoppable Giant Power surge from the other’s fist, and the bones in his own hand shattered.

TING...

The steel needles struck an invisible layer of Qi Force and instantly fell to the ground.

"The Water and Fire Immortal Robe!"

The woman’s eyes went wide. Without a second word, she turned to flee.

She and Faqing were merely Martial Artists at the Inner Qi Emission Level. Even if they joined forces, they could contend with someone at the Qi Circulation stage. But against an Innate Qi Refiner...

...it was simply suicide!

In her eyes, anyone who possessed the Water and Fire Immortal Robe had to be an Innate Qi Refiner.

PENG!

Zhu Ju strode forward and shattered Faqing’s skull with a single palm strike. He immediately drew his saber and slashed viciously, the Sword Qi shooting out over ten feet.

Demon Saber—Shocking God!

As the Sword Intent descended upon her, the woman’s body suddenly stiffened. Before she could even struggle free, she was sliced in two by the Sword Qi.

"Greed is a snake that tries to swallow an elephant."

Zhu Ju sheathed his saber and shook his head.

"I had no intention of coveting your things. To court death for no reason... really, why bother?"

He extended his hand.

The few steel needles on the ground flew into his palm.

’To think they could pierce Protective True Qi. If not for the Water and Fire Immortal Robe being an Innate-level defense, that would have been unpleasant.’

’The material is very strange!’

He weighed them in his hand, casually tossed them into his bundle, and quickened his pace toward Hejian Prefecture.

「The next day.」

On the main road, Mansion Soldiers had established a blockade.

"Why won’t you let us pass?"

"We’re common people, not bandits! We have travel permits! What right do you have to block our way?"

"..."

"Everyone!"

A man in heavy armor shouted,

"The Mansion Master has given an order! To prevent bandits from infiltrating and to stop a flood of refugees, no one is to approach the Prefecture City."

"If anyone dares to force their way through this line, don’t blame this general for being merciless!"

SWISH!

He swung his saber with one hand, sending Sword Qi shooting out over ten feet and carving a deep gash into the ground.

CLANG CLANG CLANG...

A crowd of Soldiers surged forward, completely blocking the road.

"Huh?"

"Could it be Young Master Zhu Ju from Leping County?"

The armored man’s eyes lit up. He leaped up and landed beside Zhu Ju.

"I am Fengx Yue of San Fen Hall, under orders to guard this place."

"Brother Fengx," Zhu Ju said, clasping his hands in a salute.

"I wish to go to the Prefecture City to see my sister."

"Haha..." Fengx Yue laughed heartily and pulled an object from his robes, handing it over.

"The Prefecture City is safe for now, so there’s no need to rush. In fact, a massive opportunity awaits you."

"The world is in turmoil, and the Immortal Sects have opened their doors. Brother Luu specifically prepared this letter for you. You can go and try for an immortal opportunity."

An immortal opportunity!

Zhu Ju’s heart skipped a beat.