Film and Television World Life Record

Li Mu carefully cleaned up the traces on the ground, climbed back up to the roof beam, and cleaned and covered the roof again, so that Lin Zhennan wouldn't find anything unusual when he came here later.

After leaving the old house, Li Mu did not linger outside and went directly back to the inner courtyard of the Fuwei Escort Agency.

Upon arriving at the side room, he instructed others not to disturb him, picked up his cassock, and began studying the legendary Evil-Repelling Sword Manual.

Upon reading it, I found it to be indeed exquisite and profound, with every word a gem. Some of its martial arts concepts were even more insightful and groundbreaking, revealing insights that no one had ever expressed before. It truly deserves to be called the legendary Evil-Repelling Sword Manual.

Afterwards, Li Mu spent more than half a day using the learning card to silently recite and memorize the entire Evil-Repelling Sword Manual.

Although he doesn't know how to cultivate, the martial arts principles described here will greatly benefit his future martial arts training, and will also enhance his martial arts literacy and increase his martial arts foundation.

After finishing all this, Li Mu sighed softly, lit the cassock on the candle, threw it into the charcoal brazier, and watched as the cassock turned into ashes. From then on, his fame spread throughout the martial arts world, and the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual, which had attracted the covetous eyes of countless people, was destroyed.

The following morning, Li Mu practiced the Evil-Repelling Sword Technique again. This time, the sword technique he displayed was slightly different from the previous few days, a bit faster, and also a bit more ethereal and cold.

Although the techniques in the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual cannot be practiced, one can still absorb some of the martial arts principles and techniques for using the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual in conjunction with the techniques.

Although it cannot compare to the original Evil-Repelling Sword Manual, its power is three times greater than before.

More than twenty days passed. During this time, Li Mu practiced the Zhengyang Gong diligently while consuming large amounts of medicinal food and tonics to replenish the essence and vital energy consumed by his body.

Under the combined effect of the two factors, his internal strength increased rapidly, rising steadily.

The first level of Zhengyang Gong, as an introductory internal skill, is inherently simple and easy to practice. Lin Pingzhi has been at this level for two years, with a solid foundation. In addition, with the rapid progress he has made in the past month or so, the first level is becoming more and more perfect.

That day, after Li Mu finished practicing the Heaven-Turning Palm in the backyard training ground, he suddenly felt a jolt in his dantian. Based on the experience Lin Zhennan shared, as well as his own understanding and intuition, he realized that the Zheng Yang Gong had reached the right level and the opportunity for a breakthrough had arrived.

Li Mu dared not delay. He immediately went to a nearby pavilion, found a futon, sat down cross-legged, facing the sky, cleared his mind of all distracting thoughts, took a few deep breaths, regulated his internal energy, and the mantra for the second level of the Zheng Yang Gong appeared in his mind. He guided his true energy and circulated it according to the second level of the Zheng Yang Gong practice.

As a traditional internal energy cultivation method, Zheng Yang Gong is balanced and stable. Once the time is right, breakthroughs will come naturally.

As a stream of true energy rose from his dantian and merged into the true energy of the first level of Zheng Yang Gong, under Li Mu's guidance, the internal force circulated along the circulation route of the second level, and the blocked meridians and acupoints were opened one by one, circulating endlessly along the meridians.

In an instant, as his true energy circulated faster and faster, Li Mu felt a breath stuck in his chest, and he couldn't help but let out a long roar that carried far away.

As soon as the words were spoken, a commotion came from the front yard, followed by footsteps. Lin Zhennan ran over with a look of surprise on his face.

"Pingzhi, your internal strength has broken through."

When one breaks through internal energy, if the breath accumulated in the chest is not released, one will often unconsciously let out a long howl. Lin Zhennan once told Lin Pingzhi about this experience, and he himself had also experienced it.

Hearing the whistling sound, even though he had just traveled a thousand miles from Guangxi to get home, he couldn't help but come over to check. When he saw Li Mu sitting cross-legged under the pavilion practicing his internal energy, although he was shocked, he knew all too well that Li Mu had broken through his internal energy barrier.

Li Mu laughed and said, "You've broken through!"

Lin Zhennan clapped his hands happily and laughed, "Good! Good! You truly are my son's genius."

He then waved his hand and instructed Zheng, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), standing beside him: "Old Zheng, give the order that we hold a grand banquet today to celebrate Pingzhi's success."

Chief镖头 Zheng beamed with joy: "Yes, Chief镖头, I'll take care of it right away!"

……

The next morning, Li Mu got up to practice martial arts as usual. As soon as he arrived at the inner courtyard martial arts training ground, Lin Zhennan was already waiting there.

Li Mu said, "Father, why did you come here?"

Lin Zhennan laughed loudly: "I heard that you have been practicing your skills very diligently these days, getting up early every day and practicing from dawn to dusk. My son, you have worked hard."

Li Mu said, "Father! I'm not tired at all; on the contrary, I'm enjoying it."

Lin Zhennan said, "Oh! So ambitious, no wonder your kung fu has improved so quickly. Let me test if you've neglected any of your other skills. Take this."

As he spoke, he picked up a dry branch and, with a move called "Flying Meteor," suddenly struck Li Mu's shoulder. Lin Zhennan often tested Lin Pingzhi's skills unexpectedly, so he was used to it.

Li Mu countered Lin Zhennan's move by lowering his left shoulder and spun around behind him. He then picked up a dry branch and thrust it towards Lin Zhennan's back, executing the move "Flower Blooms to Reveal the Buddha".

Lin Zhennan said happily, "Great!"

He then parried the attack with a backhand and countered with a move called "Playing the Flute on the River".

Li Mu countered with a move called "Purple Qi Comes from the East".

……

After the two finished demonstrating the Seventy-Two Forms of the Evil-Repelling Sword Technique, Lin Zhennan was greatly pleased. He stroked his beard and said happily, "Good, good! Not only has your internal strength improved to a higher level, but your swordsmanship has also made great progress. You truly deserve to be my prodigy."

Li Mu could only say, "My father and mother work so hard every day. I'm just suffering a little while practicing martial arts. What's that?"

Lin Zhennan was even happier. After a while, he spoke again: "I usually don't talk to you much about the affairs of the escort agency, afraid that you wouldn't understand. Now it seems that I was worrying too much. The burden that I've been carrying will eventually be passed to you. From now on, I will have to talk to you about the affairs of the escort agency, so that you won't be completely clueless in the future."

He said solemnly, "Child, you must remember, our family has been in the escort business for three generations. We have achieved our current status because of two things: the reputation your great-grandfather established and the fact that our family's martial arts skills are not to be underestimated. Nowadays, in the martial arts world, when people mention the name 'Fuwei Escort Agency,' everyone will give us a thumbs up and say, 'What good fortune! What prestige!'"

"But you must remember, in the world of martial arts, reputation accounts for 20%, skill accounts for 20%, and the remaining 60% depends on the favor of friends in both the legitimate and illegitimate worlds. Think about it, the Fuwei Escort Agency's caravans travel through nine provinces. If they had to fight and battle with others on every trip, where would they find so many lives to risk?"

"Even if we win every battle, as the saying goes, killing a thousand enemies will result in eight hundred casualties on our own. If any of our镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) are injured or killed, the money we've collected won't be enough just to pay the families' compensation. What will we have left? So, for us镖师, the first thing we need is to know a lot of people and have a wide network of connections. Sometimes, these two words, 'friendship,' are even more important than real fighting skills."

Li Mu nodded silently. Lin Zhennan's words made some sense. The martial world wasn't just about fighting and killing; it also involved human relationships and social niceties. The only pity was that his own skills weren't strong enough. When he encountered someone who didn't care about social niceties, he was helpless. After all, it was the martial world, and ultimately, skill mattered.

Seeing Li Mu listening attentively, Lin Zhennan was very pleased and continued with a touch of pride, "Your father's martial arts skills are certainly not as good as your great-grandfather's, and may not even be as good as your grandfather's. However, his ability to run a security escort agency can be said to be superior to his grandfather's. The foundation of these four provinces, from Fujian south to Guangdong, and north to Zhejiang and Southern Zhili, was built by your great-grandfather."

"The five provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi, and the newly established Henan—all of these were created by your father. If there's any secret, it's simply the eight words: 'Make more friends, make fewer enemies.' 'Fuwei,' Fuwei, 'Fu' is on top and 'Wei' is below, meaning that good fortune is more important than power. Good fortune comes from these eight words: 'Make more friends, make fewer enemies.' If it were changed to 'Weifu,' it would become tyranny and abuse of power. Haha, haha!"

Li Mu didn't find it particularly funny; he just listened silently.

Lin Zhennan, engrossed in his story, paid no attention to Li Mu's reaction and continued, "As the old saying goes, 'Having gained Long, one desires Shu.' Your father, however, has gained Yu, and now desires Lu. We'll be escorting goods from Fujian northwards, through Zhejiang, to Southern Zhili, where we'll stop!"

"Now that things are going well in Henan, your father's next step is to open up trade routes to Shandong. Have you heard of the Taishan Sect? It's one of the most famous sword sects in the martial arts world. In the past two years, I've sent escorts to deliver gifts to them during festivals, and they've accepted them. As long as we can get through the Taishan Sect, the trade routes to Shandong will be secure."

Just as Li Mu was thinking about how to bring up the topic of going out to learn martial arts, the topic came to him. He quickly said, "Father, I heard that the Five Mountains Sword Sect is a powerful force comparable to Shaolin and Wudang, especially the Huashan Sect, which is very powerful. They say that the fist comes from Shaolin and the sword comes from Huashan. The Huashan sword technique is the best in the martial arts world."

"How does our family's Evil-Repelling Sword Technique compare to the Huashan Sword Technique?"

Lin Zhennan was a little confused; how did his own martial arts get involved?

He quickly replied, "Where did you hear these rumors about the martial arts world? The Huashan Sect used to be very powerful, but it's not as powerful as it used to be. I heard that a great upheaval occurred, and they even gave up the position of leader of the Five Mountains Alliance to the Songshan Sect."

Li Mu said, "So you're saying the Huashan Sect is just not good now, but it used to be really powerful."

Lin Zhennan said, "Of course. The Huashan Sect was once renowned in the martial arts world, rivaling Shaolin and Wudang. The Huashan sword technique is indeed very powerful."

"However, our family's Evil-Repelling Sword Technique is not bad either. Your great-grandfather, Yuantu, once challenged the martial arts world with his Seventy-Two Styles of Evil-Repelling Sword Technique, and his reputation was illustrious."

Li Mu said, "Father, I've heard that those famous sects are very good at training disciples. They have good teachers and helpful friends to guide them, and fellow disciples to practice with. Their disciples all have a solid foundation and make rapid progress. I want to go out and learn some skills."

Lin Zhennan wanted to say, "Your father can also train you in martial arts, no less than those from the major sects," but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Although he usually dealt with ordinary people in the martial arts world, he knew the disciples of those powerful sects who moved with incredible skill; they were indeed very powerful. The methods used by those sects, which had been passed down for hundreds of years, to train their disciples were far beyond what he could match.

After a moment of silence, he said, "You're still young. Wait until you grow up."

Li Mu said, "It's too late once they grow up. Those famous sects carefully cultivate their disciples from a young age. Who will accept them when they grow up?"

Lin Zhennan was silent for a moment, then hesitated and said, "We can't rush this. I need to discuss it with your mother."

Li Mu took Lin Zhennan's agreement as a sign of happiness and said, "Thank you, Father. May I go to Mount Hua to learn swordsmanship?"

Lin Zhennan was taken aback: "Mount Hua? No, Mount Hua has declined now, with only Mr. Yue and his wife, the Gentleman Swordsman, holding up the facade."

Li Mu said, "Didn't you say that Mount Hua used to be very powerful?"

Lin Zhennan said, "That was before? It won't work now!"

Li Mu said, "Since they were so powerful before, even comparable to Shaolin and Wudang, it means their martial arts were formidable. Even though they have declined now, they still have a solid foundation."

"Besides, what's there to be afraid of when things fall apart? It's only when things fall apart that there are no people to use. Only when you encounter good disciples will you carefully train them, and you'll be willing to give them those unique skills and secret manuals to practice. There won't be so many disciples vying for them."

Lin Zhennan blinked, thinking that what he said made some sense. He had witnessed the power of the Huashan Sect's swordsmen when they came out of Huashan in one go. No one in the martial arts world dared to stand against them. Back then, they were on par with Shaolin and Wudang.

Although this sect has declined, its foundation remains, and it could be revived at any time if its disciples are properly trained.

The Huashan Sect is currently short of manpower, and it is generous in passing on its unique skills and secret manuals to its disciples. The Gentleman Sword Master Yue and his wife are quite famous for their chivalry and have an excellent reputation in the martial arts world. It is indeed a good place.

Li Mu then added fuel to the fire, saying, "Father, haven't you always wanted to expand the scale of Fuwei Escort Agency? If I join the Huashan Sect, wouldn't the trade routes in Shaanxi be opened up? As the gateway to the Northwest, if the trade routes in Shaanxi are opened up, the entire Northwest region will be opened up as well."

"Besides, Mount Hua is one of the Five Sacred Mountains Sword Sects. It is said that the Five Sacred Mountains Sword Sects are of the same blood and lineage. You want to open up trade routes in Shandong, right? Once I join the Mount Hua Sect and become a disciple of the Five Sacred Mountains Sword Sect, we will be on the same side as the Mount Tai Sect."

"In addition, the Hengshan Sect in Shanxi is one of the Five Sacred Mountains Sword Sects. With this connection, wouldn't it be easier to open up trade routes in Shanxi?"

"Besides, now that our family has this connection with the Five Mountains Sword Sect, won't those bandits have some reservations when we're escorting goods in the future..."

Li Mu's persuasive words, regardless of whether the Five Mountains Sword Sects were truly harmonious or whether the other sects would give face to the Huashan Sect, were things Lin Zhennan didn't know the inside story of. He simply felt that Li Mu's words resonated with him. If Pingzhi could join the Huashan Sect, then…

After much deliberation, Lin Zhennan patted Li Mu on the shoulder.

"Alright, I know about this. I'll discuss it with your mother."

Li Mu feigned happiness: "Thank you, Dad!"

Lin Zhennan nodded, stroked his long beard, and strode towards the inner courtyard. He couldn't just agree to this matter; he also needed to appease his wife!

Watching Lin Zhennan's departing figure, Li Mu knew that the matter was probably settled.

Chapter 523 Entering Mount Hua, the Name of a Genius

Two months later, at the Welcoming Pavilion on Mount Hua.

Watching Mr. and Mrs. Lin leave, turning back every few steps, especially Mrs. Lin, whose eyes were red and who was wiping away tears as she walked away.

Li Mu sighed. Two months ago, after Lin Zhennan repeatedly persuaded her, Madam Lin finally agreed to let her son become a disciple of Mount Hua.

Just then, the Fuwei Escort Agency opened a new business route in Henan, and they needed to make more trips there. So the couple decided to personally escort their son to Mount Hua and visit the port in Henan on the way.

Yesterday, the group arrived at the foot of Mount Hua. Lin Zhennan presented an invitation and a generous gift. Today, they will formally come to pay their respects.

Things went smoothly, and Li Mu successfully became Yue Buqun's disciple.

Currently, Yue Buqun has taken in six disciples: his eldest disciple Linghu Chong, his second disciple Lao Denuo, his third disciple Liang Fa, his fourth disciple Shi Daizi, his fifth disciple Gao Genming, and his sixth disciple Lu Dayou.