The Eternal Way-Chapter 12: Origins

In the darkness, the two burly men fought fiercely, but Lu Shan felt his punches and kicks hindered, as if every move was anticipated by his opponent.

Li Qi seemed to have a premonition, always intercepting his techniques mid-execution, preventing him from completing his attacks!

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With his combat skills rendered ineffective and his strength no match for Li Qi's, even his blows couldn't penetrate Li Qi's thick skin. Under such disadvantage, Lu Shan quickly lost, having both hands broken and ankles crushed by Li Qi.

Around them, there was no one left except Li Qi and Lu Shan.

"Puff..." Li Qi wiped the mixture of blood and sweat from his forehead, feeling slightly nauseous.

It wasn't because of killing; he had no particular feelings about it. Neither did it excite nor disgust him. But to scare off the boat pullers by appearing terrifying, he ate several chunks of raw human flesh, the stench making him feel sick.

Additionally, despite his tough skin from the Ox Strength Technique, the powerful strikes shook his internal organs and cracked his skin. Though not severely injured, his wounds were significant.

If those twenty or so boat pullers had been willing to risk their lives in formation, he might have indeed fallen here.

Fortunately, even with some level of training, they remained an undisciplined mob.

"Shan Dazhuang, you've really messed up this time. Are you convinced?" Li Qi sat down, maintaining the Ox Strength Technique, and said to Lu Shan.

"Spit!" Lu Shan spat weakly, his pain too great to muster any force, the spit barely reaching half a meter before landing on his own belly.

"Li Qi, you cunning scoundrel, I'll never admit defeat!" He shouted, cursing.

"But, losing is losing, I acknowledge that. Yet, after killing so many people, why didn't you kill me? Instead, you broke my limbs. Let me tell you, trying to humiliate me is just a dream!" He struggled, shouting at Li Qi.

"Alright, I'm not crazy. Why would I want to humiliate you?" Li Qi shook his head, wondering why he would ever want to humiliate Lu Shan.

He kept Lu Shan alive merely to ask a few questions.

"You're already crippled. Answer a few questions for me, and I'll let you go back without dying here. As a gang leader for so long, you must have some savings. Go back and heal your injuries. Even though you'll be a cripple, unable to lift anything, you won't starve. How about it? Do we have a deal?" Li Qi spoke bluntly.

"You and I both know that despite our prolonged fight, we've been honest. I wouldn't deceive you now. So, are you willing?" Li Qi sat beside him, continuing.

"What do you want to ask?" Lu Shan's caution lessened slightly, though still wary.

"You definitely aren't a boat puller. Where do you come from?" Li Qi asked first.

"Hmph, what kind of talk is that? Aren't you also a boat puller?" Lu Shan sneered, painfully adjusting himself to lean against a rock. "Fifty steps laughing at a hundred. You suddenly appeared three years ago, dressed strangely, completely powerless, showing no signs of cultivation. Perhaps someone shattered your innate treasures and threw you into Lizhou?"

Hearing this strange term, Li Qi's expression became serious.

He knew he had guessed correctly.

But now wasn't the time to show weakness, so Li Qi shook his head. "Why do you care about my affairs? It's my turn to ask."

"Hmph." Lu Shan sneered, no longer asking questions.

"You haven't answered me yet. Where do you come from?" Li Qi pressed.

"Song Kingdom, a deserter," Lu Shan answered impatiently. "At that time, Song Kingdom was attacked by Tang Kingdom, the entire country fell, generals dared not fight, soldiers dared not advance, so I fled, following the Li River all the way to Lizhou."

Li Qi suddenly understood.

That explained everything.

The military discipline, the morale-based battle formations, must have been learned by Lu Shan during his time in the army.

But thinking further, something seemed off?

"No, if you're a deserter from Song Kingdom, given your level, how could these two boat puller gangs compete with you? Shouldn't they have been annexed long ago? With today's battle formation and your combat skills, shouldn't you have already won?" Li Qi frowned.

"Do you think I didn't want to? If it weren't for you, Paibo Gang and Water Horse Gang would have been taken over long ago!" Lu Shan glared. "Lizhuang Gang is the youngest gang. Six years ago, I escaped here alone, building Lizhuang Gang from scratch. My cultivation technique comes from the basic training methods of Song Kingdom's army, integrating battle formations during practice. After four years of perseverance, I finally achieved something, but then you appeared, forcing me to accumulate more strength."

Lu Shan grew angrier as he spoke: "If it weren't for you, I would have ruled here two years ago!"

Li Qi thought carefully.

Indeed!

When he first arrived, Lizhuang Gang often encroached upon the other two gangs. At that time, for self-preservation, he devised a strategy to ally with the Water Horse Gang, resisting several suppressions. Using the geographical advantage and the water-based advantages of Paibo Gang's techniques, they held off Lizhuang Gang multiple times.

Afterward, Lu Shan likely realized he couldn't easily win, hiding his formation tactics as a last resort?

So, when he could obtain a cultivation technique, he immediately launched his plan.

Unexpectedly, Li Qi learned the Ox Strength Technique within a day and swiftly planned a counterattack.

Thinking about it... Lu Shan seemed quite unlucky.

But if he hadn't been unlucky... the unlucky one would have been Li Qi.

"Then your formation—" Li Qi tried to ask again.

"Dream on! Even if you kill me here, I will never teach you!" Lu Shan shouted angrily, reacting violently.

Indeed, in this world, cultivation techniques were things one would rather die than share. Unless joining an organization and proving loyalty, establishing a master-disciple relationship, or exchanging equally, obtaining another person's technique was nearly impossible.

Look at how Water Horse Gang and Paibo Gang were almost driven to extinction, yet neither exchanged their techniques.

To them, being exterminated was preferable to sharing their secrets.

"Ah, alright then. Since you're already crippled, Lizhuang Gang will probably fall apart after today. Take care of yourself." Li Qi said.

Then, he stood up and crushed Lu Shan's head under his foot.

Let him live?

Joke, this man was clearly ambitious. Even crippled, he couldn't be trusted! What if he came back for revenge?

Li Qi was generally honest, but he wouldn't sacrifice his life for honesty.

Eliminating the threat, he returned to think about how to handle the authorities.