Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"Everyone, go all out, full speed ahead!"

Lu Chen gave a loud command and simultaneously spurred his horse's flanks, causing the steed to accelerate and gallop wildly.

Great, looks like we made the right choice!

Even with twenty fully armed sons of Jinyiwei military officers who had practiced martial arts since childhood setting up an ambush, they could barely stop him. That "Ghost Fear" must be a master of internal energy!

The day he sent Qin Fang to lead men to investigate the notorious bandit "Over the Mountain Wind," the guy came to offer his advice just two days later.

Instead of passively gathering information, they suggested setting a trap to lure notorious bandits to Linqing.

Clearly, after returning, this guy realized his true intention: to lure and capture a master of internal energy!

Lu Chen also thought Qin Fang's idea was good. Actively seeking information was too inefficient, far less efficient than fishing!

If you're going to fish, you need to use the right bait!

Lu Chen called a meeting with his five junior officers, and they put forward various proposals.

In Lu Chen's view, these plans were not very targeted. They could indeed attract notorious bandits to Linqing, but there would inevitably be a large number of ordinary people in the martial arts world among them. Even if there were true masters of internal strength, it would be difficult to distinguish them.

However, this is understandable, as their knowledge of masters of internal energy is limited to rumors and hearsay; no one has ever seen one in person.

Having no other choice, Lu Chen had to design the bait himself.

Two masters of internal energy vie for a martial arts manual left behind by a great master decades ago. This would certainly be very attractive to someone who truly understands internal energy.

But that's not enough; we need to go all out and add some real substance!

Lu Chen incorporated all the moves he had witnessed the Xie man use in the dilapidated temple on Tongbai Mountain into the fight between the two fictional martial arts masters.

This includes the hand gestures used when delivering a palm strike from a distance, the actual power of the palm strike from a distance, and the real damage that punches and kicks infused with internal energy can cause.

Lu Chen believed that a true master with internal strength could tell the difference between the real and the fake at a glance.

Since the two combatants were indeed masters of internal energy, the so-called secret manual they were fighting over must also be genuine.

To make the secret manual more attractive, Lu Chen also designed a scene within the bait.

While rescuing the severely injured master, the witness inadvertently saw the contents of the first page of the manual.

Of course, it's impossible for an ordinary person to memorize a large amount of information in a short period of time; at most, they can only remember a few sentences.

These few sentences are actually the opening lines of two peerless martial arts techniques from a martial arts novel in the world Lu Chen transmigrated to, a novel that has been adapted into film and television dramas many times.

Although Lu Chen knew very well that this content actually came from Taoist classics and was just talking about general principles without any cultivation methods, it did sound very impressive.

The first page of the manual contains these seemingly mysterious principles; what follows is entirely up to your imagination.

A secret manual recording unparalleled martial arts techniques is currently on the person of a master who is seriously injured and is recuperating somewhere in Linqing. It will surely be a great temptation for a true master with internal strength.

Sure enough, less than half a month after the news spread, some unfamiliar faces from the martial arts world began to appear in Linqing.

But Lu Chen was not in a hurry. Instead, he sent his men out to secretly find out the identities of these people.

Indeed, some of them were well-known figures in the martial arts world.

Lu Chen ordered his men to investigate the past deeds of these people in the martial arts world as much as possible, and selected several candidates who were suspected of being masters of internal energy.

Among these people, there was a notorious bandit known as "Ghost's Bane," whom Lu Chen believed was most likely a master of internal martial arts.

Several years ago, this person committed crimes in the Xiangyang area and had a violent conflict with the local tyrant, Chang Lehui.

The third leader of the Chang Le Society once led a group to ambush him, but he was still able to break through the encirclement and escape alive by this "Ghostly Fear".

To be able to escape unscathed from an ambush by a master of internal energy, "Ghost's Sorrow" is most likely also a master of internal energy.

The ambush site for today is a warehouse on the canal about ten miles east of the city.

The section of the Grand Canal east of Linqing City is not a natural waterway; it was entirely excavated by man. It is only twenty or thirty meters wide and not very deep.

"Ghost's Sorrow" realized that the people surrounding the warehouse were fully armed government troops, and he certainly wouldn't dare to jump into the river to escape.

Because jumping into the river would make it impossible to swim away, and the slow movement would make one an easy target for the government troops' arrows.

To survive, the only option is to break through head-on.

Today I am not alone. I have more than fifty fully armed Imperial Guards under my command. Even if this "Ghost Fear" is more skilled than the man surnamed Xie, he will surely be captured!

. . .

Shen Zhui severed the arrow shaft embedded in his left arm with a single stroke, leaving only a short section.

This arrow, which I originally shot at that "Ghost's Bane," was caught by this person with his bare hands and used as a hidden weapon to shoot at himself.

Caught off guard, Shen Zhui only had time to dodge to avoid vital points, but the arrow still pierced through the armor plate on his left arm and sank deep into the muscle.

Before the operation, the commander-in-chief's order was to capture the enemy alive if possible. If that was not possible, they should be forced into the warehouse and wait for him to arrive with reinforcements.

Shen Zhui and Gao Ruopu had originally ordered that bows and arrows not be used.

However, the battle had only just begun when they had to change their minds.

Upon discovering that government troops were lying in ambush outside the warehouse, "Ghost Fear" immediately abandoned his search for the so-called secret manual and decisively broke through the encirclement.

They showed no mercy from the start, using only deadly moves.

After rushing out of the warehouse, the man threw several darts at the Imperial Guards on his left and right sides.

Taking advantage of the moment when the opponents on both sides dodged the darts and briefly broke through the encirclement from three sides, he drew a long-handled, thick-backed sword, gripped it with both hands, and charged outwards from the front.

The Imperial Guards at the forefront were the first to be hit. When their weapons clashed, their Embroidered Spring Blades were either knocked out of their hands or cleaved in two by the opponent's blade.

Although these military officers' sons had learned martial arts from a young age, the Imperial Guards of the interior were not border troops and had never had the experience of fighting against a powerful enemy head-on.

After suddenly losing their weapons, these people were momentarily at a loss for what to do.

On the battlefield, the enemy will not give you a chance; any mistake could cost you a bloody price!

"Ghost's Sorrow" never stopped wielding his thick-backed longsword. Within just a few seconds of the battle starting, six Imperial Guards fell to the ground, stabbed by his blade.

Two of them were decapitated, and another was cleaved in two by a long sword, from his left shoulder to his right waist.

His cloth armor looked like it was made of paper.

The other three narrowly escaped fatal blows, but were also severely injured, and it was uncertain whether they could survive.

We underestimated our opponent!

The battle had barely begun when our side had already lost 30% of its men!

Stopping them has become an impossible task!

If this notorious bandit goes berserk, we might all die here!