Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"How...how is this possible?"

Wu Nian clutched her left shoulder with her right hand, staring intently at Zhao Xixian with an expression of disbelief.

"When exactly did you develop such profound internal strength?!"

At this moment, the two were in a ravine deep in the Daqing Mountains.

Within a radius of 20 to 30 meters, there were five more corpses lying around.

Three of them were guards brought by Zhao Xixian, and one was a small leader who fabricated the lie that a gold mine had been discovered here to lure them to this ravine.

The last corpse was Li Dali, the only surviving son of the cult leader Zhang Yin and the next successor to the cult leader.

The plan was originally going very smoothly.

Hearing that a gold mine had been discovered in the Daqingshan Mountains not far north of Fengzhou Beach, Zhao Xixian was very happy. He took three guards and had the small leader lead the way to this mountain valley to check it out.

Of course, what awaited Zhao Xixian here was not a gold mine, but himself and the Left Protector.

Upon seeing the two of them, Zhao Xixian appeared surprised but remained calm, as he naturally understood what was going on.

The three guards Zhao Xixian brought were all unfamiliar faces, none of whom he and the Left Protector had ever seen before.

Seeing that they and the Left Protector seemed to be about to harm Zhao Xixian, the three of them immediately drew their swords and stepped forward.

As expected, he killed the three men with a few casual moves, and the Left Protector didn't even have to lift a finger.

Both the Left Protector and himself felt they had the situation under control, so they stepped forward, ready to interrogate Zhao Xixian about what had happened after he left Blackwood Cliff.

Back at Blackwood Cliff, I didn't think much of this Right Protector, even though he was indeed quite capable, had extraordinary insight, and knew many things that others didn't, which earned him the sect leader's appreciation.

Not only was he given the position of Right Protector, which was nominally second only to the leader and the Left Protector and could be on par with several elders, but he was also given a set of internal martial arts techniques.

This person wasn't entirely without talent for cultivating internal martial arts; in just one month, he developed a sense of qi.

At that time, the elders on Blackwood Cliff, including myself, all felt that this person had extraordinary talent and that given time, he would definitely become a master of internal martial arts.

However, in the following two or three years, this person's internal strength did not improve at all, remaining at the stage of just finding the feeling of qi.

This level of internal strength is useless in actual combat, and is no different from that of an ordinary person who has not practiced internal martial arts.

In the martial arts world, strength ultimately reigns supreme.

The difference in combat strength between a master who has cultivated internal energy and an ordinary martial artist without internal energy is like heaven and earth.

As a master of internal martial arts, how could I possibly respect an ordinary person without internal strength?

Even though the cult leader gave Zhao Xixian the position of Right Protector, he only maintained a superficial respect for him.

This person disregarded the perilous situation in Taiyuan, abandoned his mission, and even went north on his own, attempting to seize our sect's territory beyond the Great Wall. This is undoubtedly treason.

In that case, neither I nor the Left Protector need to be polite to him anymore.

To everyone's surprise, Zhao Xixian, whose martial arts skills were considered weak by himself and the Left Protector, dared to launch a sudden sneak attack.

The first to be attacked is oneself.

Upon seeing the other party's palm strike, his first reaction was not to dodge, but to be astonished.

On Blackwood Cliff, Zhao Xixian had witnessed himself and several other elders take action, and thus had a thorough understanding of the combat strength of top-level internal martial arts masters.

He actually dared to attack me, and not with a sharp sword or dagger, but with a palm strike... What was he thinking?

Even if he doesn't consciously use his internal energy to defend himself, relying solely on passive defense with his internal energy, this palm strike, which has no internal energy, cannot harm him in the slightest.

However, that moment of shock cost him dearly.

This palm strike landed squarely on his left shoulder, and a surge of powerful internal force shattered his left shoulder joint.

His entire left arm drooped down instantly, completely out of his control.

He could clearly feel that the internal force contained in the opponent's palm strike was actually stronger than his own!

Within the sect, only the sect leader possesses the inner strength to consistently surpass this person.

Even Elder Bai, whose skill level is second only to the sect leader, is only on par with him. Only by comparing them can we know who is better.

However, the sect leader is already over sixty years old, and Elder Bai is over fifty. They have spent decades cultivating their current level of cultivation.

How old is Zhao Xixian?

According to the age he stated when he joined the church, he is not even thirty years old now. Even if he concealed his age, he is at most in his thirties and cannot be older.

After Zhao Xixian crippled his left arm with a single palm strike, the Left Protector immediately took action.

Unfortunately, in his haste, the Left Protector didn't consider why Zhao Xixian, an ordinary person without internal energy, could injure him with his bare hands.

As expected, Zhao Xixian struck back with his palm, clashing with the Left Protector's palms.

A sound of bones cracking rang out, and the Left Protector was sent flying backward, his head hitting a sharp boulder before he collapsed forward to the ground.

A shockingly large wound was visible on the back of his head, with white brain matter mixed with blood spilled all over the ground.

They are dead beyond dead.

At this moment, the gang leader who had tricked Zhao Xixian into coming here finally realized what was happening and turned to run away.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Zhao Xixian unleashed a palm strike from a distance towards the man's back.

The minor leader, who had only run a few steps, coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground. His body twitched a few times and then fell still.

Only a few breaths had passed since his left shoulder was shattered by his palm strike.

In the valley, only he and Zhao Xixian remained alive.

Moreover, the situation on both sides has completely reversed.

If he hadn't been injured, even if Zhao Xixian's internal strength was several times higher than his own, he might not have been completely without a chance of winning.

As masters of internal martial arts, this difference in skill level is not enough to create an overwhelming advantage. In a real fight, the skills in using internal energy and practical experience are also very important.

But now, his left arm is completely useless, greatly reducing his combat power.

Even performing at half of his peak strength was a struggle, and the excruciating pain in his shoulder made it impossible for him to fight for long.

If I continue, I will have no chance of winning, and I probably won't even be able to escape.

"We are all brothers in the church. If there are any differences, we can sit down and talk it out openly."

Zhao Xixian glanced at Li Dali's body, then turned to look at Wu Nian.

"Why bother fighting and killing as soon as you meet?"

Zhao hadn't originally intended to take the Left Protector's life; it was just bad luck that he ran into a sharp rock. What a pity.

Elder Wu is one of the seven elders of our sect, a master of internal martial arts.

"My martial arts skills are weak, and I know that I have little chance of winning if I were to fight Elder Wu head-on."

Strike first to gain the upper hand, but it was a last resort. Please forgive me, Elder Wu.

Now that the Left Protector is dead, and only the two of us remain here, I, Zhao, will not beat around the bush.

If you are willing to work with Zhao on important matters in this remote border region, Zhao will hold a banquet to apologize to Elder Wu.

From this day forward, Zhao will regard Elder Wu as his right-hand man and share all good fortune with him.

"If Elder Wu is determined to avenge the Left Protector, then I have nothing to say. Let's settle this with our skills."