Republic of China era: A hundred-year-old still practicing martial arts? Is that right?

The chains were pulled so hard they shook violently, and the entire dungeon seemed to tremble.

Chiyoko took two steps back in fright, her face turning pale, and screamed shrilly:

"Hold him down! Drug him!"

Two Japanese men immediately rushed out of the darkness on both sides, holding syringes filled with dark green liquid.

The two men circled behind Li Shuwen and plunged the needle deep into the back of his neck.

As the medicine was slowly injected, Li Shuwen's body tensed up abruptly, veins bulged on his forehead, and his teeth clenched so tightly that they clicked, but he didn't utter a sound.

However, his aura visibly weakened.

This is a medicine specially developed for martial artists. It can disperse internal energy and seal meridians. Even the strongest master will be unable to muster any strength after being injected with it.

Chiyoko saw him dejected and then stepped forward again, her smug expression returning.

"Don't rush, this is just the beginning." She chuckled. "I have good news for you. They've researched something even more interesting in the West. They've combined Chinese martial arts with modern technology to create a special race called Contra. They can have a similar power to Qi without practicing martial arts."

She leaned down, staring at Li Shuwen through the iron bars, her eyes burning with fervor.

"Once we've thoroughly studied you, we in Japan will be able to create warriors even more powerful than those in the West. At that time, your Chinese martial arts will be utterly ineffective."

Li Shuwen's eyes were downcast, and his breathing was weak, as if he had already fainted.

But Chiyoko knew he could hear her.

Her goal was to break down this grandmaster of Chinese martial arts and make him watch as Chinese martial arts were trampled under his feet.

"Enjoy it." Chiyoko straightened up and waved her hand. "Draw blood once a day, dissect a muscle every three days. I want to see how long this Grandmaster's body can last."

After saying that, she turned and walked towards the dungeon exit. When she reached the door, she couldn't help but look back one last time.

Li Shuwen remained motionless, his head bowed, his long hair obscuring his face, like a corpse.

Chiyoko scoffed and walked out.

The dungeon door slowly closed, plunging the entire dungeon back into darkness.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Shuwen slowly raised his head.

His eyes were still incredibly bright, without the slightest sign of weakness.

The dark green liquid flowed through his veins, burning his meridians and causing excruciating pain, but he didn't even flinch.

Contra?

Human experimentation in Japan?

A chilling smile curled at the corner of his lips.

They want to use Li Shuwen as a guinea pig?

dream.

Lin Ji stayed at the Gu family's house for three days.

Over the past three days, the atmosphere in the city has become increasingly tense.

Police officers searched house to house, and the number of soldiers patrolling the streets tripled. Every now and then, squads of heavily armed police could be seen rushing by, causing widespread panic.

The Gu family's courtyard was peaceful; once the doors were closed, it became their own private world.

Besides practicing boxing and regulating his breathing every day, Lin Ji would take the opportunity of strolling around to get a pretty good understanding of the Gu family's background.

He discovered that the Gu family had divided its members into four groups for training.

The first type follows the assassination intelligence route, like the "Mist" squad that made their move that night. They are small in number, but each member is unpredictable and skilled in using silenced firearms and poisoned short swords.

Specializing in reconnaissance, assassination, and surveillance, they operate silently, serving as the eyes and ears and sharpest weapon of the Gu family.

The second type is the battle formation group, which operates in small squads, with swords and shields, spears, and crossbows working together.

They practice military formation tactics, and three to five people in formation can fight against enemies dozens of times their size. They are the main force for protecting caravans and guarding homes.

The third category follows the orthodox martial arts path. They are all talented members of the clan who study under famous masters to learn hard skills. Each of them is a master who can stand alone and is responsible for close protection and frontal assault.

The fourth category is the most unique. They follow the melee route, have a foundation in martial arts, and rely entirely on their equipment advantages.

Wearing improved lightweight armor, wielding specially made weapons with mechanisms, and equipped with the latest repeating firearms, they rely on their equipment to build up their combat power.

Most of the exquisite weapons in the Gu family workshop were prepared for them.

However, these people all have one thing in common: they all use a gun in their left hand and a sword in their right, combining firearms and cold weapons, and the power they wield is several times greater than that of ordinary martial artists.

All of this was pieced together by Lin Ji little by little at night by using the perception of the Heavenly Evolution Note to listen to the training sounds of various academies and watch the drills in the academy grounds.

Although the Gu family was heavily guarded, they couldn't prevent him from having the Heaven-defying cheat code that was the Book of Reversal of Fate.

He also realized that the Gu family keeping Su Mingyuan around wasn't that simple.

These past few days, Su Mingyuan has been invited to the workshop in the front yard every day, where he writes and draws on a pile of blueprints and weapons, and occasionally argues with the Gu family's craftsmen.

Lin Ji subtly inquired with Su Mingyuan and learned that the Gu family wanted Su Mingyuan to help improve their weapons, combining the principles of Western firearms with mechanical weapons to create new, more powerful weapons.

"Su Mingyuan understands machinery and is knowledgeable about foreign affairs. The Gu family has come to the right person if they want to build better weapons," Lin Ji thought to himself.

In chaotic times, having weapons and equipment is the foundation for survival. The Gu family has vision and ambition.

That evening, Lin Ji was practicing shooting in the backyard when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from the front yard, along with the butler's hushed report.

"Young Master, the search in the city is even more stringent! The police are checking household registrations from house to house, saying they're looking to arrest Lin Ji, a bandit from Jiangcheng, as well as other rebels. If this continues, they might even search our area."

Lin Ji paused in his movements.

It seems that the trouble in Qingyuan County has finally spread to the provincial capital.

Meanwhile, at the provincial capital's military governor's office.

He Ze stood in front of the map in the study, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

The telephone receiver on the table hadn't been put down yet, and the lingering sound from it seemed to still echo in my ears.

Just now, I received another call from Beijing, immediately putting pressure on me.

"He Ze, Lin Ji has escaped from Jiangcheng, and the entire Da Ying special task force was wiped out in Qingyuan County. He's most likely already in your provincial capital. Listen to me carefully."

"From this moment forward, fully cooperate with the British Consulate in the search. We must find him alive or dead! If he escapes, you can forget about being the warlord!"

"And that 'miracle doctor,' we must find him. The higher-ups said that if we can't catch him within half a month, we should deliberately provoke a conflict on the Guanghua border to lure the organization there out. If war breaks out, it's hard to say whether you can keep your position as the Guanghua Military Governor."

He Ze pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on.

He already felt guilty about what happened to Lin Ji.

They saved the people of Jiangcheng, but the authorities turned around and used them as bargaining chips, and now they want to exterminate them all.

But with orders coming from above, he had no choice but to obey.

What's even more troublesome is the "miracle doctor".

He vaguely knew that this person was a key figure on that side.

The authorities, unable to find the person, are actually trying to force the other side to show up by provoking a war; they're simply insane.

If a fight really breaks out, wouldn't it be the ordinary people of Guanghua who suffer?

"These people will stop at nothing to eliminate dissidents." He Ze gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the table.