Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"Lord Sun, I have found out that the source of this information is the Linqing Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Office."

In the eastern part of Linqing, inside an unremarkable merchant's residence, a secret agent from the Eastern Depot was reporting to Sun Dexiu.

"Our people have discovered that in the past few days, more than one group of unfamiliar martial arts practitioners have been in Linqing inquiring about this news."

"What is Gao Mingqian trying to do?"

Sun Dexiu frowned slightly.

"By releasing this kind of news, is he trying to lure all the martial arts masters to Linqing?"

"I also think it's very likely."

The spy thought for a moment,

"This story is so exaggerated and detailed that if I hadn't discovered it was a rumor deliberately spread by Gao Mingqian, I might have actually believed that such miraculous martial arts existed."

"The rumors circulating so far only focus on the martial arts skills displayed by the two masters who fought, but do not mention the specific location where the injured person was hiding."

Sun Dexiu pondered for a moment, then gave the order.

"Gao Mingqian must have a real target he wants to attract by doing this."

Targets attracted by this kind of bait will not be easy to deal with; if an attack is launched in the marketplace, the target will easily escape.

He has not revealed the exact location of the injured expert, which is probably where he is preparing to set a trap.

Continue to send more people to inquire at various brothels, taverns, inns, and docks in Linqing.

If you hear any new rumors, including those about a specific location, report them immediately!

After his spies took their leave, Sun Dexiu picked up the intelligence he had gathered and began to ponder Gao Mingqian's true intentions.

Recently, Lu Chen has shown considerable interest in martial arts, spending a lot of time every day at the martial arts training ground of the Customs Household Office.

Moreover, he has a great talent for martial arts. It is said that his archery skills were already comparable to those of the sons of Jinyiwei military officers under his command who had been practicing martial arts since childhood in less than a month.

He's also practiced darts quite well, and his accuracy is pretty good.

It refers to close-quarters combat skills such as fists, feet, and swordsmanship, where progress is relatively slow.

This is only natural.

When practicing archery and throwing weapons, accuracy is the most important thing; physical fitness is not that important, and talent plays a significant role.

A little less arm strength simply means you can't draw a strong bow, or you can only draw it a few times in a row, or your throwing weapons are less powerful.

But close-quarters combat is about real skills; even with talent, you can only learn some fancy moves in a short time.

Strength, physical fitness, reaction speed, and dexterity cannot be achieved overnight; they must be developed through gradual training.

Lu Chen practiced martial arts in front of his subordinates on the training ground, without any intention of keeping it a secret.

In order to select the best martial arts expert from among his subordinates to instruct him, he even held an internal martial arts competition.

These intelligence reports were easily obtained by the spies of the Eastern Depot.

The martial arts that Lu Chen is currently practicing are skills that many people in the Embroidered Uniform Guard know. Although they can be quite effective in actual combat if mastered, that is only in comparison to ordinary martial arts masters.

Sun Dexiu knew very well that there were great masters in this world whose strength far surpassed that of ordinary martial artists.

Moreover, I have personally witnessed these people in action and even asked them for kung fu lessons.

The Eastern Depot in the capital was far more powerful than any other local agency, having recruited numerous martial arts masters through various channels.

Among them are several highly skilled individuals with exceptional internal energy!

Not only the Eastern Depot, but Sun Dexiu believed that the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the capital should also have hidden masters.

Although these top experts held high positions in the Eastern Depot, they dared not easily offend him, who was a trusted confidant of the Commander of the Executions.

If you ask them to teach you martial arts, they'll at least give you a perfunctory response.

Of course, they were only willing to teach some basic martial arts. When I asked them to teach me how to cultivate internal energy, they always made excuses to avoid it.

Someone took my pulse and told me that my meridians were closed and I couldn't develop a sense of Qi.

Another master bluntly stated that his internal energy cultivation required a complete retention of vital essence, which eunuchs and women could not practice.

That's utter nonsense! That guy clearly had seven concubines in his household and frequented brothels!

However, these masters made excuses to avoid it, and there was nothing they could do.

After all, ordinary people have no idea how internal energy is cultivated, so whatever they say goes.

Lu Chen is so interested in martial arts, he would be very happy if he had the opportunity to learn more advanced martial arts.

Now that Gao Mingqian considers himself a key minister in Lu Chen's former residence, how could he possibly let go of such an opportunity to curry favor with Lu Chen?

The rumor spread by Gao Mingqian claimed that someone had witnessed a duel between masters somewhere on the outskirts of Linqing.

The two sides fought fiercely, using the legendary "palm strike from a distance" technique, which is said to be only available to masters of internal energy. They even claimed that a single palm strike could shatter a stone tablet, and a single kick could snap a tree as thick as a bowl. The story was told in great detail.

More importantly, witnesses overheard the conversation between the two parties, who were vying for a martial arts manual left behind by a renowned master from decades ago.

After three hundred rounds of fierce fighting, one of them was defeated and died, while the victor was also seriously injured. He sought help from the witnesses and is now recuperating somewhere. He also carries the martial arts manual with him.

The witness even saw the first page of the manual and memorized a few sentences from it.

That great master from decades ago did exist; he was very famous in the martial arts world back then, and he has truly disappeared for a long time.

The rumors were spread not only in the chaotic areas of Linqing City, but also at the major wharves along the canal.

It has already spread rapidly along the canal.

Who would be interested in this rumor, and even make a special trip to Linqing to find that seriously injured master, in order to obtain that so-called martial arts manual?

Without a doubt, they are other masters in the martial arts world, or even true masters with internal energy!

There are legends about internal strength in the martial arts world. Although Gao Mingqian is only a local commander of the Imperial Guard and cannot access the secrets of the higher-ups, he certainly knows more than the average person.

He could fabricate this rumor.

As for the purpose, it was probably to lure and capture a true master of internal energy, extract the method of cultivating internal energy from him, and present it to Lu Chen to curry favor!

Hmph, Gao Mingqian has never truly encountered a master with internal energy, and he's oversimplifying things!

Perhaps in his mind, as long as he sets a trap and sends a team to surround and trap such a master, he can capture him.

Sun Dexiu had personally witnessed how powerful a master with internal strength could be. Unless they were forced into a desperate situation with no way out, even dozens of soldiers could not stop them.

Could the trap that Gao Mingqian set really hold such a master?

Linqing is located on a plain with a population of over one million. The urban area is vast, and there are many places to hide. Once a target escapes, they are extremely difficult to find.

This time, Gao Mingqian will probably lose both his wife and his army!