Chinese Superman

Chapter 201 Do good deeds and don't worry about the future.

"It is indeed sword energy manifested in form," Xia Xinghan affirmed.

If he weren't the Martial Ancestor, he really would have lost confidence because of Tian Shu's expression.

He certainly didn't use any overly "outrageous" artistic techniques.

Tian Shu murmured in a daze, "Brother, this—this isn't sword energy taking shape, it's clearly sword energy turning into a river!"

Xia Xinghan said matter-of-factly, "The great river is a form, the great mountain is a form, the great sea is a form, and the great sun is also a form. As long as I want, my sword intent moves at will. I can easily unleash sword energy that transforms into the sea or the sun. Hmm—very reasonable."

Tian Shu looked up, speechless, at the heavens: "It's beyond the limit— way beyond the limit—"

Hong Xueyi and Zhao Yunsu looked at each other in bewilderment.

We're both Grand Martial Masters at the Innate Realm, but you seem quite different!

Xiong Ba stared wide-eyed at the mess on the ground, then at Xia Xinghan, then back at the mess. He opened his mouth for a long time, but couldn't utter a single word.

Wei Gang's lips twitched, and after a long pause, he managed to squeeze out, "This—this is something a cultivator at the Innate Realm can produce?"

He thought of his Nine Dragons Vajra Shield, his proud martial arts of external cultivation, but could he withstand that long river of sword energy from just now?

We can stop them!

But he's only at the Pseudo-Core Formation stage; if they were at the same level, he would be absolutely unable to withstand it.

The river of sword energy is not one or two streams, but hundreds and thousands!

Dense and overwhelming, like a real river, surging forth, devastating everything in its path.

No matter how strong his Nine Dragons Vajra Shield was, it couldn't withstand such an attack from someone at the same Innate Realm.

Wu Dandan stared intently at Xia Xinghan with a complex expression in her eyes.

She prided herself on her talent, having reached the threshold of legendary martial arts in her early thirties, and was praised throughout her childhood.

But today, a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy casually swung his hand and unleashed an attack she could never have made in her entire life.

"Xinghan—" she began, her voice hoarse, "Tell me honestly, which old monster are you reincarnated from?"

Xia Xinghan: "...

Is it really that exaggerated?

Wu Dandan, the fake academic genius, asked the real academic genius, "Captain Cao, were you this fierce when you were in the Innate Realm?"

""ah?"

Cao Linghui was taken aback, then laughed dryly, "Of course! Are you underestimating the top scorer in the national martial arts college entrance examination? Hahaha—"

Seeing this, Xia Xinghan had no choice but to explain his excessive abilities: "Actually, I am a personal disciple of the one from the Shu Mountain Sword Palace. Today, I am on my master's orders to go down the mountain for training. I hope you all will keep this a secret."

He finished speaking.

He clasped his hands in a fist salute, thinking to himself, "My clumsy apprentice still managed to get the better deal."

"Achoo!"

High atop the Great Wall, Bai Xianshuang sneezed and muttered to herself in confusion, "Who's talking behind my back?!"

"Unfortunately, unlike Senior Sister Qingluan, I am not only skilled in alchemy but also in divination. Hmm—the Nascent Soul realm has such wonders, allowing one to sense the cause and effect of the world in the dark. However, I am too far removed from the Heavenly Dao to sense it clearly."

Little did Bai Xianshuang know that it wasn't that her cultivation level was too low or that she was standing too short in the [Ascending Tower], but rather that the person behind this causal connection was far too powerful.

The World Outside the Great Firewall

With this explanation, the teammates all wore expressions of taking it for granted.

A direct disciple of the Sword Palace —

That's all!

If there are any outstanding talents in the world who can rival the provincial or even national champions selected through the martial arts college entrance examination, then they are the seeded talents cultivated by major families and super powers.

With the support of substantial resources, these outstanding talents from prestigious families and sects are even more formidable than martial arts champions from humble backgrounds.

Some grassroots champions like Cao Linghui have to ruin their futures to find a way out, while the truly outstanding talents are probably incredibly solid and perfectly polished in every aspect.

In the end, Cao Linghui was the first to come to his senses.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his shock and envy, and walked towards the splintered pitcher plant.

The sac was broken, and the mucus inside had spilled all over the ground.

The corpse lay rolled to the side, long since decomposed beyond recognition. Its skin had melted, its features blurred, leaving only a clump of indistinct flesh and blood, barely recognizable as a human.

Cao Linghui squatted down and examined it carefully.

A moment later, he stood up and shook his head.

"It's completely unrecognizable."

"Judging from the remaining fragments of the combat suit, they should be from Genglian. Probably from one of the earlier teams."

The crowd gathered around, their expressions grim as they looked at the corpse.

How far have we gone?

People are already dying before we've even gone deep into Laos?!

Xiong Ba scratched his bald head and muttered, "Wasn't it said that Geng Lian's ten teams were each advancing along different routes? How come they've gotten ahead of us?"

"They might be trying to take a shortcut," Wei Gang analyzed. "Or they might have encountered something and been forced to change course."

Wu Dandan frowned: "What did they encounter? Spores? Or this thing?"

She pointed to the broken pitcher plant.

No one can answer that.

After a moment of silence, Hong Xueyi suddenly spoke up: "Why—didn't they send us a message notification?"

Everyone was taken aback.

Hong Xueyi looked at Cao Linghui: "Captain, has your communicator received any messages? Any warnings about this area?"

Cao Linghui looked down at the special communicator on his wrist.

The indicator light is off.

There are no message records.

He shook his head: "No."

The atmosphere in the group suddenly became subtle.

Xiong Ba spoke in a gruff voice: "It's better to sacrifice your fellow Daoists than yourself. They're not on our side, so why would they care if we live or die?"

Wei Gang frowned: "You can't say that. It might be too late—"

"Too late?" Xiong Ba scoffed. "Even if they didn't have time to send it, with so many people in their team, didn't anyone take the time to press the communicator? Are they all dead?"

Wei Gang fell silent.

Hong Xueyi sneered: "Maybe they'd love for us to go and risk our lives. We'd be the ones who die, and they'd have one less competitor. Once they find the spirit stone mine and discover the relics, the one less person to share means they'll get a bigger share."

"That's a bit much," Wu Dandan said.

"You passed?" Hong Xueyi looked at her. "Sister Wu, tell me yourself, if you had discovered this area first today, would you have proactively alerted the others on the channel?"

Wu Dandan opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything.

Zhao Yunsu said softly, "I—I might."

"That's you," Hong Xueyi shrugged. "Not everyone thinks like you."

Cao Linghui, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "In some ways, they are indeed our competitors."

"If I were in their shoes, I wouldn't necessarily remind the people behind me either."

Hung Hsueh-yi added, "Why should we provide information obtained at the risk of our lives to others for free?"

After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

Yes, that's human nature.

Who wouldn't want to reap more benefits?

Who would willingly give away intelligence obtained at the risk of their life to complete strangers?

Just then, a voice rang out.

"That's not right."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

Xia Xinghan stood at the back of the line, his expression calm.

That "that's not right" was said by him.

Xiong Ba scratched his head: "What's wrong?"

Xia Xinghan looked at him, then at the others, and slowly said, "We are all explorers of the [world outside the wall]. Returning alive is the most important thing. Conflicts of interest are secondary."

He paused.

"The world outside the wall is unknown to everyone. Therefore, intelligence is extremely important. With relevant intelligence, we can reduce casualties, preserve our strength, and increase our chances of returning alive."

He scanned the crowd, his gaze calm yet possessing an indescribable power.

"We are both martial artists, and I don't recall the Martial Ancestor teaching us to be narrow-minded."

"The Martial Ancestor could set aside sectarianism and spread all the martial arts he created to the world. Why should we cling to some insignificant information and protect our own?"

Everyone fell silent.

These words, spoken by a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, should have sounded naive, innocent, and ignorant of the ways of the world.

But no one thought he was naive.

Because he is right.

Tian Shu was the first to react.

He slapped his thigh and shouted, "You're right! I support my brother!"

Xiong Ba also gave a thumbs up: "That's insightful! I love hearing that!"

Wei Gang smiled and shook his head, his eyes showing more appreciation as he looked at Xia Xinghan: "It's a pity my son is a boy. If it were a daughter, I would introduce her to you."

Wu Dandan's eyes sparkled as she smiled and said, "It's like finding a golden brick when a woman is three years older. If you're willing, you can date me."

Tian Shu immediately shielded Xia Xinghan, saying, "What are you doing? My brother is still young!"

Zhao Yunsu spat lightly, "Sister Dan, you're thirty, and she's only sixteen or seventeen. This isn't a woman being three years older than her, it's an old cow eating young grass!"

Wu Dandan:

Cao Linghui coughed, interrupting the farce.

"Alright, let's get down to business." He looked at Xia Xinghan and nodded. "I agree with Xinghan's suggestion. Share the intelligence with the other teams!"

He paused.

"If we can just let go of these prejudices, we might be able to get information from other people as well."

Hong Xueyi shook his head, his tone laced with harshness and prejudice: "I think human nature is inherently evil, and no one is willing to share their experiences and information."

Xia Xinghan glanced at him and smiled, "There's no harm in trying, there's nothing to lose anyway."

"Human nature is complex. I don't think everyone is a good person, but I believe there are always good people. I won't let the evil of one or two people bury any potential good intentions."

Hong Xueyi was stunned.

He looked at Xia Xinghan, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't say anything.

Cao Linghui no longer hesitated.

He raised his wrist and turned on the communicator.

Originally, it was tuned to Geng Lian's internal channel.

He thought for a moment, then moved his finger and switched to the public channel of the ten exploration companies.

Then press the call button.

"Hello, hello, can you hear me?"

He cleared his throat.

"I am Cao Linghui, the captain of Genglian. We just encountered a strange type of spore, characterized as follows—they are iridescent light spots that instantly take root and sprout upon contact with the human body, sucking blood and flesh. They must not be touched; they can only be burned."

"In addition, we also encountered giant man-eating ferns and terrible acid rain. The coping methods are as follows ————"

He recounted all the intelligence in detail.

Without holding anything back.

After he finished speaking, he released the button.

There was complete silence on the communicator.

one second.

three seconds.

Five seconds.

ten seconds.

The communicator remained silent; no one answered.

Cao Linghui repeated the intelligence report somewhat reluctantly, and then said, "Please respond if you hear me, please respond if you hear me."

Hong Xueyi's lips curled up slightly, his expression quite smug, as if he thought he had seen through human nature. He shrugged and said, "What did I say? Human nature is inherently evil."

No one responded.

Wei Gang frowned, about to say something but then swallowed it back.

Xiong Ba scratched his bald head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Wu Dandan and Zhao Yunsu exchanged a glance but remained silent.

The excitement on Tian Shu's face faded considerably. She blinked her small eyes and glanced furtively at Xia Xinghan.

Xia Xinghan stood at the back of the line, his expression remaining calm.

-

He glanced at Hong Xueyi, but neither refuted nor explained.

He simply smiled faintly.

The smile was light and faint, like a ripple on a lake caused by the wind, fleeting and gone in an instant.

"Do good deeds and don't worry about the future," Xia Xinghan suddenly said.

Eight characters.

The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

Hong Xueyi was taken aback.

Cao Linghui looked at Xia Xinghan, a strange glint in his eyes.

This boy—

He recalled the time when he first became the top martial arts scholar, full of vigor and ambition, thinking that nothing in the world was so simple.

After experiencing more, I gradually came to understand that some things are not simply black and white, and some people are not simply good or evil. My heart gradually grew cold, numb, and selfish.

But not long ago, he was also full of passion!

"Xinghan is right," Cao Linghui said, breaking the brief silence. "Even if no one responds, we won't suffer any losses. Besides, every bit of information we provide can save a life. As the Buddha said, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda."

"Alright, let's go, don't delay our trip."

Just as everyone was preparing to continue—

The communicator rang.

"Sizzle—"

After the static faded, a hoarse voice came through.

"Hey, I heard you."

""