Martial arts ascend to the gods

Chapter 321 Missing
Dragon Boat Festival, early morning.

Hu Yi bought a zongzi (sticky rice dumpling), then waited in a long line to buy a hamburger and a Coke, before driving to the Longyou Riverbank.

After getting off the bus, he walked to the bridge, held onto the railing, and looked out at the river.

He ate the zongzi (sticky rice dumpling), the hamburger, picked up the cola, put it back, drank it all, crumpled the packaging into a ball, and stuffed it into the overflowing trash can next to him.

He walked back to the bridge, expressionless, gazing ahead.

After a long while, he opened his phone and found new messages in the pinned group chat he shared with Zhou Leng and Feng Wenhao.

Click on Feng Wenhao's voice message.

"Hu Yi, did you eat zongzi and hamburgers today?"

"have eaten."

Has Zhou Leng contacted you?

“He’s like a ghost now. He always turns off his computer to cultivate at night and then disappears for ten days, half a month, or even a month. This time he said he was running the Innate Battle Path with a friend, but we haven’t heard from him for almost a month.”

“He’s really amazing now, second only to Shanheyuan in the City’s Vitality Stage. However, I always feel that he’s hiding his true strength,” Feng Wenhao said.

Hu Yi said, "It can't be that bad. He's about the same level as Shanheyuan and even Zhang Xinglie now. He's already giving it his all."

"That's not necessarily true. Before, when he got stronger, he would come to class to show off. Now that he's even stronger, he doesn't like to show off anymore. He hasn't come to class since the Ancient River Trial. There must be something going on."

"Among our old friends, I guess he's the most successful."

"Once he becomes a genius, we'll trick him into setting up a development company, and the two of us can just laze around there, how awesome would that be?"

"The innate realm must be a very distant concept," Hu Yi said.

"You're behind the times. Right now, everyone's guessing whether he'll advance to the Innate Realm this month or next month."

"I'm not a martial arts student, so I don't know much about it. But once he reaches the Innate Realm, I'll treat him to a big meal—a king crab feast!"

"Hehe, definitely! By the way, have you heard about Rao Mingxian?"

"A while ago, everyone in our classmates' groups, taxi driver groups, and forums was talking about it. It's really terrible."

"Yes, I secretly saw the photos. It was so tragic. There were four people in his family, three of whom were sacrificed by the Demonic Cult, even torn to pieces. Some school leaders from No. 59 Middle School and their families were also involved, all mixed together and covered in a thick layer of blood. Sigh..."

Where is Rao Mingxian?

"It's said that they ran away because they were afraid of being targeted by the Demon Worship Cult."

"That's strange, shouldn't we contact the Armed Police Bureau?"

"Yes, so there are many different opinions, and no one knows what happened. After learning about this, Zhou Leng didn't eat for a whole day, and Xu Qingjin comforted him all day. Then, Zhou Leng cooperated with the Martial Guard Bureau to hunt down the Demon Worshiping Cult. After that, he went to cultivate on the Innate Battle Path."

"I guess he'll be in a better mood when he gets back."

"Your aunt and your cousin haven't been found yet?"

"No." Hu Yi sighed softly.

"Don't be discouraged, he might just be a kidnapper. Once Zhou Leng finishes his Innate Battle Path, we'll contact him. He'll definitely be able to help. He's a big name in the martial arts school now, and he even has Master Wang's martial arts credentials. His status is extraordinary."

"Ah."

Hu Yi raised his head and looked at the shimmering Longyou River.

After his mother resigned from Minghe Martial Arts Academy, she changed jobs and worked in a shopping mall with her cousin.

Ten days ago, his mother and his cousin went into the mall and never came back.

They contacted the police and armed forces bureau, checked the surveillance footage, and found that the two had mysteriously disappeared inside the mall and could not be found no matter how hard they searched.

It was later discovered that the two were likely transported through a garbage chute, and their final destination remains unknown.

In recent days, a large number of women have gone missing; some have been rescued, but most have disappeared.

All the evidence points to the Demon Worship Cult.

Hu Yi's father was so anxious that his hair turned white, and he kept searching.

Hu Yi searched for ten days.

Until today, I am completely heartbroken.

It is common knowledge that the Demonic Cult captures people to cultivate demonic potions.

This is a large-scale looting, happening all over the world. In some small countries, entire villages and towns have been abducted, and videos of these abductions have even been secretly filmed and posted online.

Hu Yi never expected that this would happen to him.

He sent another message to Zhou Leng, then clicked on "Second Uncle" in his contacts to answer the phone.

"Second Uncle, I want to learn how to drive a big vehicle, like a truck, a mining truck, a tanker truck, or anything like that."

“You just got your driver’s license, and you have to wait three years before you can take the B license test. You can’t learn to drive now.”

"I just wanted to drive it for fun, not to take a driving test. Your company has these, that's why I contacted you."

"You really have a lot of free time."

"Last time you were bragging at the dinner table, saying this and that, and I said I wanted to learn, and you readily agreed. Now you're going back on your word? No wonder everyone says you're unreliable, but I'm the only one who trusts you."

"What are you saying? Is your second uncle an unreliable person? Set a time for him to come to our company, and I guarantee I'll arrange everything perfectly!"

"Okay, thank you, Second Uncle."

"Still haven't found your mother?"

"No."

"Ugh……"

After hanging up the phone, Hu Yi looked up at the sky.

The plane soared through the sky and landed at Rucheng Airport.

Zhou Leng and his group of Ancient River Sect disciples disembarked from the plane.

They were all travel-worn, their faces weathered, but their eyes were reserved, their breaths deep, and their figures steady.

Twenty days ago, a large group of them began the Innate Battle Path together.

Venture deep into the Shennongjia jungle, run along the winding mountain roads of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, climb the Himalayas, gallop across the Antarctic ice sheet, and finally swim from outside the West Sea Demon City to the nuclear island occupied by demons.

After a fierce battle, they swam back.

Two grandmasters accompanied them on the way, and the group returned safely. In the past, these people would have already devoted themselves to breaking through to the Innate Realm, but now, practicing the Ancient River Technique, they were no longer in a hurry to advance, but instead took a steady and methodical approach.

Even with such a solid foundation, Elder Song still slowly worked on his body, following the others in cultivating the Innate Battle Path.

These past few days, everyone has been in contact with nature, their souls have been cleansed, and each has gained something from it.

Zhou Leng glanced at the demonized wristwatch, which displayed various information. He decided not to rush and would look at it slowly when he got back.

I will reply to Xu Qingjin first.

"I'm back in Rucheng. How are you spending the Dragon Boat Festival?"

"My mom has prepared a lot of food, come and stay at my house."

"it is good."

"By the way, has Hu Yi contacted you?"

"They should have contacted me by now. I haven't checked the messages yet; there are too many."

"Look, his mother and his sister have been missing for many days."

"what?"

Zhou Leng was taken aback. The image of Hu Yi's mother appeared before his eyes: an ordinary middle-aged woman, slightly thin, with short hair.

Every time I visited her home, she would warmly welcome me and busy herself with all sorts of things.

She brought food to Hu Yi at school several times, and each time she brought an extra portion of Zhou Leng's food.

As a result, Feng Wenhao complained to Hu Yi that his aunt was biased and never brought him an extra portion.

Zhou Leng looked at Hu Yi's unread messages and felt a tightness in his chest.

He sighed softly as he read through the information Hu Yi had accumulated over the past few days.

"Zhou Leng, let me know when you're back."

"Contact me when you get back."

"When will you come back..."

Zhou Leng felt a heavy weight in his heart when he saw those words.

He could almost see Hu Yi typing those words with trembling hands.

The last message was posted by Hu Yi this morning.

"Contact me when you get back; I need your help with something."

Zhou Leng glanced at Feng Wenhao's information again. As expected, it detailed the disappearance of Hu Yi's mother and sister, and said that it was very likely the work of the Demonic Cult.

Zhou Leng made a voice call to Hu Yi.

"You're back?" Hu Yi asked.

"You're back? What happened?"

Hu Yi slowly recounted the events, his tone low and calm.

After finishing his speech, Hu Yi was unusually calm. He had thought he would cry as he finished speaking, but it didn't seem that difficult.

Zhou Leng pondered for a moment and said, "Send me photos of your mother and sister, send me several, and I'll try to find them."

"No need. The Armed Police Bureau has already contacted them, and the person has most likely been arrested and taken to the Demon Prison."

"I'll try to look for it," Zhou Leng insisted.

"Okay, I'll send it to you in a bit."

After receiving the photos, Zhou Leng contacted Coach Deng Zhijue, explained the situation, and asked him for help in finding them.

After hesitating for a long time, I found Snow Mountain Wolf of the Ice and Snow Cult in Wuxin and sent him the photos, asking him to search for these two people in the Demon Worship Cult in the name of the Ice and Snow Cult.

With a heavy heart, Zhou Leng followed the others onto the Guhe Research Bureau's bus, which headed towards Rucheng.

Everyone knew about the murder and disappearance of Rao Mingxian's family, and they also knew that Zhou Leng and Rao Mingxian had a good relationship. They were used to Zhou Leng's recent behavior, so no one bothered them and they just talked about their own things.

As they chatted, they started talking about the day Tong Tianxia killed Zhao Tong.
"This matter caused a huge uproar, shaking the high-ranking officials and multiple military factions. Zhao He, the second young master of the Zhao family, brought a grandmaster to Rucheng to retrieve his brother's body..."

"The Zhao family raised a blood-red flag, vowing to kill Tong Tianxia and avenge Zhao Tong."

“Back when Tong Tianxia was only at the Innate level, they couldn’t do anything to him. Now that Tong Tianxia has become a Grandmaster, they are even less of a threat.”

“Zhao He is already a Great Innate Realm cultivator, so he can’t do anything to Tong Tianxia. But Young Master Zhao Cong has been a Grandmaster for a long time, and Tong Tianxia is no match for him.”

"Zhao He has a violent temper and enjoys killing, which makes him unpopular with many in the army. However, Zhao Cong is very shrewd and never shows his emotions. He is kind and generous to others and has a good reputation. He is the best choice to be the next head of the Zhao family."

"Kindness to others? Forget it. If he's so capable, let him go to the Huang Meng School and see if they don't kill him. Only then can we prove he's truly kind."

"I bet Xiongjing is having a headache too, right?"

"Of course, Zhao Sheng's grandson was killed in public, the murderer swaggered away, and several others... were all taken down... Everyone in Rucheng was held accountable. All the top officials were replaced, many deputy officials were stripped of their positions, and some were even taken away by the Inspectorate General. It was an utterly undeserved disaster."

"There should be a few places that are fine."

"Of course it's fine, because..."

"It's said that the Hell Knights from the Eagle Alliance have also made their move. The Flames of Evil and the Shadows of Shadows killed the third in line to the Fink family fortune and released evidence of the Fink family's collusion with the Demon Cult..."

"...So many rumors..."

"...The scene at the hospital gate was horrific...You all saw the video in the group chat, right?"

"I saw it..."

As Zhou Leng listened to them talk about that video, he couldn't help but recall what happened after the headless god's arena match that day.

After Tong Tianxia left, the Huang Meng faction launched a large-scale attack, the largest in Rucheng, and one of the Huang Meng faction's biggest operations.

The videos and photos from that day circulated widely.

Zhou Leng still remembers that in the video, the solemn and imposing gate was covered with headless corpses.

The blood flowed down the high steps and onto the sidewalk, where it was blocked by the dense stone blocks and bollards.

Not a single drop spilled onto the road.

(End of this chapter)