Water elemental became a god, ultimately becoming the master of heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers

Chapter 126 The Chaos Ends, a Great Achievement

Caishikou.

The smoke and dust had not yet dissipated, and the air was filled with a chilling atmosphere of rust and blood.

Lu Jing was plunged into complete darkness, as if he had been thrown into a bottomless abyss.

Even with his immense mental power after slaying the thief of intent, it was as if he were looking through a thick layer of frosted glass, only able to barely catch a few blurry swaying lights and shadows.

An overwhelming killing intent surged from behind like a tidal wave.

Then Hong Wuye suddenly appeared from the side, his cheeks tightly pursed, his chest and abdomen almost pressed together in an unbelievable way.

Even the outlines of the spine and ribs on his back were clearly visible, and they were still trembling slightly, as if an invisible and strange force was being frantically gestating and compressing within them!
This caused him to shrink strangely, becoming the size of a young child, yet exuding an extremely dangerous aura.

"kill!"

Hong Wuye's voice was like thunder. He strode forward, seemingly unsteady like a toddler learning to walk, but his speed was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Lu Jing.

With both palms flying, their trajectories unpredictable, they carried a mysterious meaning, like silkworms spinning silk, endless and lingering, yet their final destination unpredictable, silently striking towards Lu Jingtian's crown!
Seeing this, even in the midst of a life-or-death struggle, a hint of amazement flashed across Lu Jing's eyes.

Close the door!
Like a silkworm soaring high!
It is a superior martial art from Sichuan, and even covers four major fields: martial arts, I Ching, martial medicine, and alchemy.

The essence of boxing is to move like a silkworm spinning silk, to avoid the strong and attack the weak, to bend the waist without bones, and to make the whole body a hand when you throw it.

It's hard to learn, and even harder to master.

Lu Jing did not move, seemingly unable to react yet.

Seeing this, Master Hong was not pleased but worried, and his eyes narrowed.

Suddenly, Lu Jing appeared a few inches away, seemingly in an instant, just an arm's length away, narrowly avoiding the deadly double palm strikes.

"Silently altering my perception, is this the work of the Soul-Slaying Thief?"

A fierce and malevolent glint flashed in Fifth Master Hong's eyes.

His left palm suddenly changed, his five fingers clenched together like an eagle's beak, his tendons and bones cracked and popped, and terrifying blood energy instantly gathered at his fingertips. With a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air, he once again attacked Lu Jing with a fierce horizontal claw!
"Humph!"

Lu Jing sneered, stomped one foot down, and struck out with his palm.

"Um?!"

However, just as the two forces were about to collide, Lu Jing's expression suddenly changed drastically!

He suddenly mustered his strength and unleashed a burst of palm power, sending Fifth Master Hong flying. However, he himself was also struck hard and staggered backward.

With each step Lu Jing took back, a footprint almost reaching his ankle appeared on the ground. His usually composed face turned crimson, his throat churning, his blood and qi in disarray, and even blood gushing from his throat!

The technique to conceal the sky was broken, and Master Hong Wu fell to the ground.

Their vision suddenly returned, and the martial artists and constables present stared at the scene in astonishment.

Lu, the liaison officer, was actually injured?
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The sound of bowstrings being pulled rang out suddenly, the arrowheads flashed coldly, and the archers who were waiting in the wings all around drew their bows to their full extent.

The soldiers, clad in armor and armed with weapons, acted as if facing a formidable enemy, quickly encircling and completely sealing off the entire Caishikou area.

Several top-notch experts have joined forces to come.

The locals in the surrounding shops and teahouses also secretly watched the play by hiding in door cracks, windows, or even on rooftops.

In the center of the vegetable market.

Lu Jing's face was extremely pale. He suppressed his churning blood and qi, his voice hoarse and filled with resentment.

"What a wonderful gathering! I underestimated the two of you working together. You were in the open, and he was in the shadows. With two masters who have slain four thieves, I have no reason to lose."

what?
Two men slaying four thieves?
The top-tier experts who had joined forces to attack all stopped in their tracks, their faces filled with shock.

Upon hearing this, Chen Shunan, who had just arrived at the vegetable market with Zhou Qing, Bali Ma, and others, looked bewildered.

what?
Did I make a move?
Didn't I just arrive?
and many more!

Chen Shunan's expression darkened slightly, his gaze sharp as he glanced at Lu Jing, who was wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Although Lu Jing's blood and qi are boiling at this moment, his internal energy foundation is not damaged. This injury..."

Lu Jing, why does it feel like you're...acting?
Chen Shunan muttered to himself.

Lu Jing seemed to sense that a subtle gaze had touched him and then vanished.

A deep, piercing light flashed in his eyes.

On the other side, upon hearing Lu Jing's words, Master Hong Wu subconsciously looked down at his own palms, his eyes flashing with a strange light.

Is my Red Fifth Brother really this powerful?
Or……

Then Hong Wuye seemed to understand something and gave Lu Jing a deep look.

call out!
Hong Wuye suddenly slapped his waist, and a hemp rope flew out like a nimble snake, accurately wrapping around the corpses on the wooden frame, along with the heads in the bamboo basket, binding them together securely.

"Shoot the arrow, shoot the arrow!"

"Quickly, someone stop them!"

"Don't let him escape!"

A government official shouted loudly.

Arrows rained down, and soldiers swarmed in like clouds.

But Hong Wuye swayed and dodged, even though he had never specialized in lightness skills, he relied solely on the instinct of a first-class master to control his muscles.

Without moving his feet, Master Hong Wu's back dragon burst forth section by section, and he appeared dozens of feet away in an instant, like a shooting star falling straight into the sky!

No one dared to stop them, and apart from Lu Jing, no one could stop them. "Damn it, damn it!!"

A soldier dressed in the uniform of the elite cavalry, his face ashen, strode up to Lu Jing, his tone laced with hostility and accusation, and said coldly,
"Officer Lu, why didn't you stop them just now?!"

Lu Jing raised his eyes, glanced at him indifferently, and said,
"I couldn't stop them. What, you think you could stop them? Then why didn't you try?"

Na Shiyong was immediately speechless, the veins on his neck throbbing, his face turning red and white in turns.

He whirled around, his gaze sweeping menacingly over the group of martial artists from the Wuqing Sticky Pole Division. Finally, he could only vent his anger on his subordinates, shouting sternly, "What are you all standing there for! Chase after them!!"

The soldiers, with bows and swords at their sides, marched swiftly in the direction where Master Hong Wu had gone.

……

At one corner of Caishikou, the smoke and dust had not yet completely settled.

The soldiers exuded a chilling, murderous aura.

Chen Shunan, Sun Xiao, Cheng Bin, and the others quickly retreated to the side of the street and stood under the eaves of a water shop, afraid that their old and frail bodies might offend these soldiers.

"Is today over?"

Sun Xiao cautiously peeked out from under a half-collapsed shack, his eyes darting nervously around.

Cheng Bin leaned against the broken wall, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and let out a long breath.
"We've done everything we could, but we're simply outmatched. Even Senior Lu was defeated. What else can we do?"

Chen Shunan shook his head, a look of lingering fear and resentment appearing on his face, and said,
"That's right, the Guolu Society is rampant and lacks any martial ethics. They even tried to assassinate Senior Lu... By the way, do we still have any military merits today? After all, we've worked hard even if we haven't achieved any great deeds..."

Lin Shouzhou, who had been silent all along with a tense expression, glanced helplessly at Chen Shunan and said irritably.

"Don't worry, I will advise the inner court and recommend you for merit. Putting everything else aside, just for saving Hong Junxian, you deserve at least a third-class merit."

The Wuqing Sticky Rod Office also adopted the military merit system of the Holy Dynasty's military camp, with five grades of military merit, the first grade being the highest and the fifth grade being the lowest.

Including but not limited to cutting off ears, capturing, and recruiting...

For example, Chen Shunan used to patrol and escort supplies in other places, and he only received a fifth-class minor merit after working for a whole month.

Three lower-level minor merits are needed to constitute one higher-level major merit.

Therefore, a third-class merit is already very generous and can be exchanged for many good things.

"That's fine, that's fine."

Chen Shunan immediately felt relieved.

He looked at Lu Jing not far away and suddenly asked,
"Instructor Lin, what exactly caused Senior Lu's falling out with Master Zhao back then?"

Lin Shouzhou frowned, but did not answer. He looked at Zhou Qing instead.

Lin Shouzhou was also very curious.

While Sun Xiao, Cheng Bin, and the others seemed to be finishing up, moving the wounded and clearing away debris, they involuntarily slowed down and started listening intently.

Zhou Qing paused for a moment, then said,

"Senior Lu and Master Zhao actually knew each other in their early years. Especially when the Zhao family fell into ruin and Master Zhao started from scratch to establish himself in Wuqing County, the two of them slept side by side and were as close as brothers."

Later, Zhao Dongjia had just defeated several competitors and risen to become one of the nine major business owners in Shuiwozi, Wuqing County. Coincidentally, the four major academies in Tongzhou City were opening their doors wide for the Lunar New Year celebrations, and Zhao Dongjia secured a coveted admission spot.

At this point, Zhou Qing's voice suddenly lowered, and a strange look flashed across his eyes.

"Logically speaking, Senior Lu was stronger at the time, having already reached the level of slaying two thieves, while Master Zhao had only just slain one thief. Giving this spot to Senior Lu would have given him a greater chance of entering the Dao through martial arts."

Zhou Qing stopped talking abruptly.

What happened next was entirely predictable.

Peace was established by the general, but the general is not allowed to see peace.

In terms of martial arts aptitude and strength at the time, Lu Jingyuan far surpassed Zhao Guangxi.

Even Zhao Guangxi's rise to the position of boss was inseparable from Lu Jing's strong support.

However, faced with the overwhelming temptation of "entering the Dao through martial arts," Zhao Guangxi ultimately could not resist and claimed the spot for himself, resulting in his failure to pass the test.

Thus began a falling out between the brothers, who gradually drifted apart and eventually broke off completely.

Disheartened, Lu Jing left for Shuiwozi and joined the Liangjiang Military Academy.

Lin Shouzhou nodded silently, which relieved him of a long-standing question in his heart.

Sun Xiao, Cheng Bin, and the others had expressions of "I see" on their faces, and went back to work contentedly.

However, Chen Shunan astutely gleaned a key piece of information from Zhou Qing's words.

He already knew of the existence of the four major academies, and the "Year-End Grand Ceremony" seemed to be a rare opportunity in the Holy Dynasty for martial artists to access the path to immortality.

He had previously thought that he needed to cultivate to the perfection of the Six Thieves Slayer, or even break through to the Martial Saint realm, in order to prove himself as an immortal through martial arts, shed his mortal nature, and embark on the path of immortality.

How come it seems that a martial artist who kills a thief can ascend to immortality through martial arts?

The hope is slim.

Even Zhao Guangxi failed.

"The year-end is a time of great opportunity for martial artists, akin to a carp leaping over the dragon gate. But... who are the immortals? Where are they? What makes one an immortal?"

Chen Shunan's eyes showed a thoughtful expression.

　Chapter Two got censored, so it probably won't be released today. I'll check again tomorrow... Sigh, I get put in the "blacklist" every now and then. I haven't even written anything, what a shame...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)