Chapter 28: Chapter 25: Unity of Three Martial Arts_1
The Martial Arts Avatar, surprisingly, merged into one.
After a while, the three Martial Arts Avatars reduced to just one.
The display above his head read: Second-Rate Martial Arts Avatar, Nameless, Unity of Man and Martial Arts.
Simultaneously, the Qi-blood within Lu Yan and the collateral channels he had opened up underwent violent changes, causing a faint pain.
Furthermore, information kept feeding back to him, which he absorbed.
This was about the new martial arts techniques and experiences after the fusion.
This process lasted several hours.
Clang!
Lu Yan threw a punch, and blew a large hole in a piece of bluestone more than a man’s height in the practice room, scattering debris.
"The total amount of Qi-blood is the same, but the quality is higher, it is indeed a second-rate martial art,"
Lu Yan was overjoyed.
He never expected that the three third-rate martial arts could be merged into one after the Unity of Man and Martial Arts, transforming into a second-rate martial art.
The only thing that worried Lu Yan was the number of collaterals he had unblocked had decreased.
Originally, the three third-rate martial arts of the Unity of Man and Martial Arts each opened up 576 collateral channels.
Combined, there were 1,728 collateral channels.
But now, only 1,152 collateral channels remained, precisely the number of collateral channels opened up by a second-rate martial arts Unity of Man and Martial Arts.
Let’s have a try!
Lu Yan immediately ate half a pound of dried martial food and began to practice according to the new techniques.
Half an hour later, Lu Yan stopped, with a look of surprise on his face.
The number of collaterals unblocked was reduced, but the speed of accumulating Qi-blood had actually increased.
After thinking for a while, Lu Yan understood the principle.
Although there were more collateral channels unblocked before, they each belonged to different martial arts and were independently functional, unrelated to each other.
For example, when practicing Iron Thread Fist, Qi-blood could only circulate to the collateral channels opened by Iron Thread Fist, while the collateral channels opened by Liuhe Kick remained unresponsive.
And the same principle applied the other way round.
This was equivalent to having only 576 collateral channels in operation during your practice.
But now, the remaining 1,152 collateral channels were united as one. When cultivated, they all operated together, naturally more efficient and faster in accumulating Qi-blood.
After this fusion, Lu Yan’s combat power had increased significantly.
"What shall I name it?",
Lu Yan started to ponder.
"Leg, fist, palm, these three all integrated, with the legs powering the movement, body as the axle, and the force channeled to the hands, twisting into one strike. Let’s call it Gale Hand."
Lu Yan murmured.
As soon as Lu Yan finished, the word "Nameless" disappeared from the avatar, and the three words "Gale Hand" emerged.
"The Dao book is sentient. In those stories I read, all those magical treasures had artifact spirits. Could the Dao book have an artifact spirit too?"
Lu Yan speculated.
Immediately, Lu Yan continued to practice Gale Hand, and only stopped after several hours.
Three days later, news was confirmed that the Liu and Wu families reached an agreement to team up to eliminate the bandits in the mountains.
At the Red-clad Guard’s martial arts field, about sixty neatly lined up Red-clad Guards were present.
Among them were the people recruited to eliminate the bandits, Lu Yan included.
This left Lu Yan speechless.
Originally, he wanted to hide his cultivation level, hoping to avoid this, but he didn’t manage to evade it in the end.
Among them were those he was somewhat familiar with, such as Wang Lin and Zhang Jun.
"Five of the nine squad leaders are in action, including three who have broken the limit five times."
Lu Yan observed quietly.
The five squad leaders remained silent, just waiting quietly.
Soon, a group of people walked in.
There were nine in total, of which seven were young people, aged between fifteen and thirty.
Behind these young individuals, two old men followed.
"The direct descendants of the Liu Family,"
Lu Yan’s mind stirred.
"That one in the middle is Liu Xingren,"
Wang Lin said quietly next to him.
"So, it’s him,"
Like Liu Xingchao, Lu Yan had heard of Liu Xingren even though he hadn’t met him.
Liu Xingren was considered the Liu family’s most promising new generation. Before Liu Xingchao rose to prominence, he was acclaimed as the most gifted of the Liu family’s new generation.
Now, he is just twenty-three years old and already a five-time limit-breaking warrior. By the age of thirty, he was expected to infuse Qi-blood into his bones, cultivate bone strength, and become a Martial Arts Marquis.
The other six young people were also all vigorous and elite figures of the Liu Family’s new generation.
"The two old men are retainers of the Liu Family,"
The elder Red-clad Guard beside stated, a hint of admiration in his eyes.
The retainers were not of the Liu bloodline, but their status was much higher than that of the Red-clad Guards.
However, it wasn’t easy to become a retainer of the feudal lord’s family. It required significant accomplishments and absolute loyalty to possibly become a retainer.
Retainers were involved in the decision-making process within the feudal lord’s family, naturally their treatment was not comparable to that of the Red-clad Guards.
"My name is Liu Xingren, I believe you are all familiar with me. I will be fully in charge of this operation to eliminate the bandits in the mountains," Liu Xingren, being nearly two meters tall, echoed throughout the field. After pausing, he continued, "we in the Liu family, reward according to one’s merit. Whoever beheads a limit-breaking bandit will be rewarded, the amount of which will be determined according to your battle achievements,"
"For the one who finds the bandits’ hideout, a reward of a thousand taels of silver will be given, and the one who cuts off the bandit leader’s head will be rewarded with three thousand taels of silver."
At this statement, everyone’s eyes lit up with greed.
At first, they thought they were risking their lives for nothing, they didn’t expect there would be a substantial reward.
The cultivation of martial artists is very costly, the meager monthly salary is never enough, let alone enough.
The higher the cultivation level, the more funds needed.
Why do the direct heirs of the Feudal Lords progress so quickly? At such a young age, they’ve reached the fourth and fifth level of Limit Breaking. It’s because they eat martial food at every meal.
Seeing that everyone was ready for battle, Liu Xingren waved his hand, signaling to depart.
Their destination was Juchi Mountain, towards the southern area of Changfeng City.
No doubt, the biggest mountain around Changfeng City was Changfeng Mountain itself, but the most treacherous one was Juchi Mountain.
Juchi Mountain, with its steep peaks and odd-shaped rocks, resembled sharp teeth, hence its name.
After several days of investigation and speculation, the two major Feudal Lords deduced that the bandits’ hideout was within Juchi Mountain.
At the foot of Juchi Mountain, they came across the Wu Family.
The main force of the Wu Family was the wind patrol, led by the young people of the Wu Family, numbering one more than the Liu Family, eight in total.
Both major Feudal Lords sent out their young ones, obviously planning to train them through this.
Once both sides met, the atmosphere immediately tensed, even becoming slightly hostile.
Especially Liu Xingren and one young man from the Wu Family, with each glance sparks flew, murder lurking in the air.
"Wu Chaokong."
Lu Yan immediately guessed who the young leader of the Wu Family was.
The extraordinary of the Wu Family’s contemporary generation, the first among the younger ones, was always at odds with Liu Xingren from childhood.
According to rumors, they had private duels more than once, with no decisive winner.
"Liu Xingren, what about a bet?"
Wu Chaokong said.
"What’s the bet?"
Liu Xingren asked.
It’s a bet on who can kill more Limit Breaking bandits. The wager, ten thousand taels of silver. Dare you?"
Wu Chaokong said.
"Alright, it’s settled."
Liu Xingren would naturally not show weakness.
"Haha, the money is mine."
Wu Chaokong laughed loudly, leading his people towards Juchi Mountain.
"This time, I have one request, we must win. We can only win."
Liu Xingren stared intently, shooting everyone a glance. He said coldly then led his people into the mountain.
After entering the mountain, they started to break into groups.
After all, Juchi Mountain was huge, and finding the bandits within was exceedingly difficult. By splitting up, the chances of success increased.
Five people in one group, they dispersed within the treacherous mountain.
The leader of Lu Yan’s group was Ma Pengxin, a squad leader from the Sixth Squad and a fourth-stage Limit Breaking Warrior.
The search took up most of the day, but to no avail.
Let alone bandits, they didn’t even see a shadow.
After exchanging information with other teams, it was the same situation for them.
Liu Xingren wore a heavy expression and ordered to continue the search.
Two hours later, they had penetrated deep into Juchi Mountain.
Suddenly...
Two figures ran towards them in front, stumbling, terrified.
"The cuffs are stained with blood, they are from the Red Sleeve Army."
The eyes of Lu Yan and the others lit up. They immediately picked up the pace, intending to intercept the two before they could escape.
Seeing Lu Yan and his team, the two not only didn’t flee, they rushed towards them, all the while shouting: "Help, help us."
Lu Yan and his team were somewhat dumbfounded.
What’s happening?
The Red Sleeve Army, instead of fleeing, is running towards them and yelling for help.
This wasn’t the reunion they’d expected.
Could it be that these two weren’t from the Red Sleeve Army, but victims who had been captured and were now wearing their clothes to run away?
Lu Yan and his people completely surrounded the two.
These two men, both in their thirties, looking somewhat similar, their faces full of fear, shaking uncontrollably, kept muttering: "Go, go, quickly take us away from here, or we will all die..."
Whack! Whack!
Ma Pengxin slapped each of them twice, knocking them to the ground with swollen faces. Although their consciousness was a little clearer, the fear in their eyes was still very strong.
"I ask, you answer. If you don’t. you’ll die now."
Ma Pengxin held the knife handle, and said coldly: "You are part of the Red Sleeve Army, right?"
"Yes, yes, we are the Red Sleeve Army, please spare us."
The older man was kowtowing repeatedly, although he became a bit clearer-headed, the terror in his eyes remained intense.
This fear wasn’t from Lu Yan’s group, but...somewhere else.
Ma Pengxin and his fellows were overjoyed, they were finally right, these two were indeed from the Red Sleeve Army.
"Why were you crying out for help just now?" Ma Peng said, continuing his questioning.
"The Bandit Chief went mad. He killed his concubine and grinded her flesh and bone into a pulp, and mixed it with yellow mud to build a wall. Others who tried to dissuade him were also killed."
"Then, then...others also went mad."
The Red Sleeve Army member said tremblingly.
