Chapter Fifty-Two: No Longer a Master! (Please vote and support with monthly votes)

Martial artists who have cultivated their internal energy utterly outclass ordinary people in every aspect of physical ability.

If one has fully mastered the art of internal energy, the chances for a regular person wielding contemporary firearms to successfully kill them are almost nonexistent.

At this very moment.

On a training ground so vast that a hundred wild bulls could rampage across it, Guo Decheng stood barehanded, while Li Shuwen wielded a long spear.

They stood fifty paces apart; Li Shuwen had already assumed a battle-ready stance, tense as if facing a formidable foe, whereas Guo Decheng was completely relaxed, his posture casual. It seemed less like awaiting a challenge and more like a carefree stroll in the countryside.

Strong!

Exceptionally strong!

As a master who had obsessively studied martial arts, absorbed the strengths of a hundred schools, and integrated martial practice into every movement and breath, Li Shuwen didn’t even need to engage in combat. Just arriving in Jinling and seeing these extraordinary martial artists with his own eyes was enough to understand their immense power.

It was as if the strength of dragons and elephants had been compressed into the human body, forging flesh into something as resilient as rubber reinforced with steel plates!

Faced with such absolute power and physiological disparity, Li Shuwen’s past feats—such as instantly defeating martial artists from Dongyang or striking down flying insects with precise spear thrusts—seemed trivial.

Now...

Before being granted the true martial arts, Li Shuwen would challenge a master of internal energy with nothing but a mortal’s body.

Of course, calling it a mortal’s body wasn’t entirely accurate. Others couldn’t perceive it, but Lan Yi, gifted with spiritual vision, could see with perfect clarity: at Li Shuwen’s chest, a mass of innate energy was rapidly maturing.

This martial arts master had tempered his body for years, and upon entering Jinling—a place rich in spiritual energy and conducive to human affinity—his body adapted astonishingly fast even without the true transmission of martial arts. It wouldn’t be long before he would achieve internal cultivation; Guo Decheng might well suffer an unexpected setback.

There is a peculiar pleasure in witnessing the embarrassment of a confident, elegant individual.

And things unfolded just as Lan Yi had predicted.

From the very start of their duel, Li Shuwen was utterly overwhelmed.

Guo Decheng moved like a raging storm, his fists and feet alone suppressing Li Shuwen's spear techniques. With precise control, he forced Li Shuwen’s spear back, inch by inch, gradually depriving him of space to maneuver. Any long weapon, once confined, is nearly doomed to defeat.

Xiao Hongzhu’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

Could the human body truly reach such strength?

Wasn’t there supposed to be an insurmountable barrier between armed and unarmed combat?

Seated with Lan Yi atop the grandstand, Xiao Hongzhu had an unobstructed view from afar.

Guo Decheng moved like the wind, leaving afterimages in his wake. Each punch and kick unleashed visible waves of force, forming a hemisphere that steadily pressed the struggling Li Shuwen into an ever-shrinking zone.

Just as Xiao Hongzhu judged the outcome to be settled, his vision blurred.

Inside the confined hemisphere, Li Shuwen’s hands suddenly vanished, and as the air rippled violently, Guo Decheng’s canine-like head jerked backward. The shattered spear struck his face directly, forcing him to retreat several steps, provoking laughter from the martial artists in attendance.

They saw clearly: Li Shuwen’s final move, the "returning horse spear," struck Guo Decheng squarely on the forehead.

Though it didn’t break the skin, Guo Decheng, whose dog’s head had suffered a direct blow, was left reeling.

That "returning horse spear" was Guo Decheng’s master’s signature technique.

With that last move, Li Shuwen had publicly embarrassed Guo Decheng, serving as a stand-in for his friend Kuang Yimin to chastise the rebellious disciple. Having lost his weapon, Li Shuwen decisively tossed aside the shattered spear shaft and raised his hands in surrender. The fact he’d held out so long and managed a counterattack was remarkable for an ordinary man.

Guo Decheng’s face burned with pain.

“You old scrawny ape,” he muttered. If Lan Yi, the immortal master, weren’t watching, Guo Decheng might have been tempted to slap Li Shuwen.

“Deception is part of warfare, worthy nephew. Forgive my poor display,” Li Shuwen replied with a cheerful grin.

Kuang Yimin, watching from the sidelines, was equally delighted.

These two masters, having successfully pulled off their little trick, wore expressions so joyful they nearly laughed themselves into a blossom.

Though Lan Yi’s reputation in the north had been demonized, his deeds were undeniably beneficial to the Star Han of this era, serving the nation and its people. Therefore, his moral character should not be lacking—certainly higher than those officials who, while receiving imperial salaries, chose self-preservation and tore the country apart.

It was precisely this quality that made today’s martial demonstration before the immortal master an opportunity to discipline the wayward disciple.

“Are you willing to stop?” came Lan Yi’s voice from afar.

Though he addressed both men, the question was meant for Guo Decheng: would he be willing to let this matter rest?

“I am willing to stop,” Guo Decheng bowed toward Lan Yi.

He considered it paying off old debts. As a notorious assassin under a warlord, with countless enemies, the immortal master had not abandoned him but granted him the true martial path and a mission to revitalize Star Han. Compared to this, a slap to the face was insignificant.

“Thank you, Immortal Master,” Li Shuwen also offered a respectful salute.

If internal energy martial artists are dragons, elephants, lions, and tigers in human form, then the one seated atop the grandstand was a walking calamity. Li Shuwen felt not the slightest urge to challenge him; just a glance told him, with rough intuition, that they weren’t even contending in the same world. If Lan Yi lost control of his power, everyone present might perish.

A sharp intuition indeed.

Lan Yi noticed the peculiar quality of Li Shuwen’s innate energy.

Though it hadn’t yet reached the level of bestowing supernatural abilities, in certain artificial divine realms, he would certainly be considered a cultivable talent for any sect.

Next came the granting of martial arts.

Clearly, no one would be foolish enough to refuse Lan Yi’s gift.

Li Shuwen, Kuang Yimin, Sun Lutang, Li Jinglin—these four experts qualified to advance toward spiritual cultivation and would receive better treatment.

With a wave of Lan Yi’s hand, the trailing flying sword carried the four martial artists to his side. The honor of riding a flying sword left their bodies trembling with excitement.

But their excitement quickly turned to horror.

The [Azure Splendor], like a waterfall, suddenly unfolded, piercing and invading the four masters, beginning the transformation of their bodies and the construction of innate energy. If it hadn’t been declared in advance as a blessing of martial arts, others might have suspected they were witnessing the practice of demonic arts.

Xiao Hongzhu watched, paling. Being impaled from head to toe—wouldn’t that be agonizing? He had once aspired to be a martial arts master, but now, he wanted no part of it!

As for the next group of martial artists seeking patronage, though they didn’t get to ride the flying sword, they still benefited from abundant spiritual energy, facilitating the awakening and cultivation of internal energy.

With the advancement of Daoist techniques, Lan Yi’s precision improved considerably.

Previously, he could only transform one martial artist at a time; now, handling four simultaneously posed no challenge. Lan Yi was somewhat eager to see how many of these four could achieve spiritual cultivation.

He had no choice.

With his domain expanding rapidly, more martial artists capable of spiritual cultivation were needed for conquest and suppression.

Lan Yi would spend at most a month in the artificial divine realm of 1909 before returning to the main world. Ultimately, this world would depend on its own martial artists to develop technology and expand its territory.