Martial Arts Secret Realm: Only I Can Know the Plot?

The things he practiced, his master Qi Changfa's "superior martial arts," were all just for show.

What Tang poetry swordplay, what lying-corpse swordplay, are all just tricks to fool people.

What he didn't know was that during the few days that Ding Dian taught him the Divine Illumination Scripture, although the time was short, the characteristic of the Divine Illumination Scripture was that once you entered the door, it would operate on its own within your body.

Even if he didn't feel it himself, that internal energy was slowly flowing through his body.

Shengdi sensed it.

When he grabbed Di Yun's neck, his fingers touched the meridians on the side of Di Yun's neck and felt the faint but pure internal force.

That's not an internal skill that ordinary people can master.

That's a superior internal skill.

Shengdi's eyes lit up.

"Who is your master?" he asked in a low voice.

Di Yun hesitated for a moment: "Qi...Qi Changfa."

Shengdi's pupils suddenly contracted.

Qi Changfa.

Iron chains hang across the river, Qi Changfa stands tall.

Mei Niansheng's third disciple.

One of the insiders of Liancheng Jue.

He had heard of this name before. Back in the Blood Blade Sect, the patriarch had mentioned this person—saying that he appeared honest and simple, but was actually ruthless and not someone to be trifled with.

"Are you Qi Changfa's disciple?" Sheng Di stared into Di Yun's eyes.

Di Yun nodded.

Shengdi remained silent for a long time.

He was thinking about something.

Should I kill Qi Changfa's apprentice to silence him?

Looking at the sky, I realized it might be too late to find someone else now.

Shengdi suddenly smiled.

He originally just wanted to capture someone so that they could get him some food, and preferably some medicine for his injuries.

Whose apprentice is he, and what does it matter?

Sheng Di stood up, looked at Di Yun tied to the tree, and a smile appeared on his lips.

"Kid, you're in luck."

Di Yun looked at him, not understanding what he was saying.

"I won't kill you," Shengdi said, "but you have to help me."

"Help what?"

"Get me some food, and also look around for a brown herb with serrated leaves."

"Don't wander off, you might get yourself killed!"

As evening fell, Sun Fan and Dong Dahai stood in the room.

Dong Dahai stood behind him, his face grim: "Someone saw at the alley entrance that a man in gray clothes dragged Di Yun south. The soldiers guarding the city said that this afternoon a short man in gray clothes did indeed leave through the south gate, and he was walking with a limp."

"Lame?" Sun Fan stood up.

"Left leg," Dong Dahai said. "The guard said that he couldn't exert much strength on one side of his body when he walked."

Sun Fan narrowed his eyes.

Left leg injured.

Blood Blade Sect.

When Ding Dian made his move, he noticed that Sheng Di was the fastest runner, but he also took a palm strike from Ding Dian—the strike didn't land properly, but the wind from the palm grazed his left shoulder.

An injury to the left shoulder affects the left side of the body.

"The ultimate truth," Sun Fan said softly.

Dong Dahai was taken aback: "What?"

"The one who captured Di Yun was Sheng Di." Sun Fan stood up, wiped the blood from his hands on his clothes, and said, "Of the five second-generation disciples of the Blood Blade Sect, Bao Xiang, Shan Yong, Shan Kang, and Shanxiong were crippled by Ding Dian, only Sheng Di escaped. He was injured and had nowhere to go, so he sneaked into the city to find food and happened to meet Di Yun."

"A coincidence?" Dong Dahai frowned.

"It was a coincidence," Sun Fan said, "but what happens after that coincidence is hard to say."

"Then why did he capture Di Yun?" Dong Dahai asked.

Sun Fan did not answer immediately.

Sun Fan could vaguely sense that the plot had been significantly altered due to his intervention.

Perhaps this is the binding power of the secret realm?

But he never imagined that Shengdi kidnapped Di Yun just for a bite to eat.

He walked back to the villa, sat down at the stone table, poured himself a cup of tea that had gone cold, and drank it down sip by sip.

Du Ming, Red Wolf, and Mu Xue'er have all returned and are standing in the courtyard, waiting for him to speak.

"There are two possibilities for Shengdi capturing Di Yun," Sun Fan finally spoke. "First, he needs a hostage to exchange for medicine, food, and a chance to leave safely. Second—he knows Di Yun's identity."

"What is Di Yun's identity?" Red Wolf didn't understand.

"Qi Changfa's apprentice," Sun Fan said. "Qi Changfa, the Iron Chain Across the River, was Mei Niansheng's third disciple. After Mei Niansheng died, the secret of the Liancheng Jue fell into the hands of his three apprentices. Wan Zhenshan, Yan Daping, and Qi Changfa, each of them had some clues."

"If Shengdi knew that Di Yun was Qi Changfa's disciple, what would he do?"

Du Ming frowned: "He'll use Di Yun to lure Qi Changfa?"

Sun Fan shook his head: "No, Ling Tuisi wouldn't dare to do that. He doesn't have the guts or the ability."

"He can only offer him to the Blood Saber Ancestor."

"Therefore, as long as we find the Blood Sabre Ancestor, or the location where the Blood Sabre Sect is active, we can find Di Yun."

Sun Fan looked up at the sky.

The sun is shining brightly.

He had a vague premonition.

Di Yun, it seems, will ultimately be unable to escape the extraordinary encounter that belongs to him.

After all, Ding Dian was only a supporting character in Liancheng Jue.

Di Yun is the true protagonist.

To use a more fashionable phrase

In this secret realm, he should be the chosen one!

However, this chosen one is extremely unlucky and suffers a lot.

Di Yun was taken hostage by Sheng Di and headed south.

Shengdi's left shoulder was badly injured, and he could barely walk without using his strength on one side, but he dared not stop. He knew that if someone of Ding Dian's level really wanted to chase him, no matter how fast he ran, it would be useless.

Fortunately, Ding Dian didn't seem to care about him at all—or rather, Ding Dian had no idea that such a person had run away.

Ironically, he was terrified by Ding Dian and became increasingly cautious and timid along the way. Ding Dian, on the other hand, probably didn't even know his name and didn't take him seriously at all.

Shengdi dragged Diyun along the narrow paths outside the city, their steps uneven. He didn't take the main road, but instead deliberately chose those secluded trails that even the locals rarely used. Dense bamboo groves lined both sides of the path, and the wind rustled the bamboo leaves, making it sound as if someone was following behind.

Di Yun, with his hands tied behind his back and a rag stuffed in his mouth, staggered along behind. The cut on his arm from the knife was still bleeding, the blood dripping down his arm and onto the roadside weeds.

He kept looking back.

It wasn't about whether anyone was chasing after him—he knew Sun Fan would come looking for him, but he wasn't sure if Sun Fan could find him.

He was looking in the direction of Jingzhou City.

There was the villa where he stayed for a few days, Mu Xue'er who brought him clean clothes, the scarred man who spoke slowly but always served him extra food, the Red Wolf with a frighteningly loud voice but never really being mean to him, and Brother Ding who taught him the Divine Illumination Scripture.

Brother Ding is gone.

Sun Fan is still here.

But Sun Fan had too many things to deal with—Ling Tuisi's case, favors from the Shen family, the movements of the four major families—every single one of them required his attention.

Di Yun didn't want to cause him any trouble.

But he added it anyway.

Shengdi stopped by a stream, squatted down, and scooped up some water to drink.

Then he took out a dark pill from his pocket, broke it in half, put one half in his mouth, and chewed the other half and applied it to the wound on his left shoulder.

The pill tasted bitter, and his face scrunched up.

Di Yun stood beside him, watching him.