Republic of China Era: Entering the Dao through Divine Strike.

"The foreigners' guns and cannons were firing like a torrential downpour, completely blocking the firepower of the entire street. They couldn't even touch a single piece of Lord Li's clothing!"

"I used to hear foreigners boast that their guns and cannons were invincible, but now I truly understand."

It's not that firearms are invincible; it's that no one had ever trained to that level before. True martial arts skill, when mastered to a certain level, can defy fate and achieve a counterattack.

So what is there to fear about foreigners?

People's hearts are subtly changing.

It happened silently and without anyone noticing.

Even Li Xin himself couldn't have imagined the profound impact of this counterattack in front of everyone.

……

As dusk slowly descended, the last rays of sunset faded completely, and the deep night enveloped the entire capital city.

The once bustling streets and alleys in the west of the city were completely ruined and desolate after being repeatedly ravaged by artillery fire. Wisps of smoke lingered on the dark, broken walls and ruins, refusing to dissipate for a long time.

The grim and oppressive atmosphere of the post-war era hung heavily over the entire neighborhood, making it hard to breathe.

In stark contrast to the devastated and corpse-scarred ruins of the western part of the city, lies the foreign legation quarter on the outskirts of the capital.

The Western-style buildings stand tall and heavily fortified, with guard posts at every street intersection, and the lights are neat, bright, and never go out.

On one side are scorched earth and ruins where slaughter has not yet ended, and on the other side is a refined, safe, and heavily guarded foreign embassy district.

The contrast between light and shadow, and the opposition between warm and cold, create a cold and extremely ironic image.

The continuous artillery fire and gunfire from the west of the city just now penetrated through the streets and alleys, echoing throughout half of the capital and alarming all the embassy guards.

Foreigners from various countries climbed to high places to look out and investigate the source of the sound, and the news spread throughout the entire embassy district in an instant.

Only then did everyone learn in horror that the Japanese elite squad had set up an ambush in the streets and alleys without authorization, intending to assassinate the current martial arts champion. In the end, the entire squad was killed in battle, with no one surviving.

The news spread, and the entire embassy district was instantly thrown into turmoil.

The previously relaxed atmosphere suddenly became tense, and an invisible fear quietly spread in the hearts of all the foreigners.

The smoke of battle had not yet dissipated when night fell completely.

Security was at its highest level in the embassy district, with guard posts deployed at every intersection, armed soldiers standing at attention, their eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

There was no public diplomatic agenda tonight, but the Anssa Embassy in China took the initiative to convene an emergency closed-door meeting with all the powerful officials of various countries in Beijing. The meeting was unrecorded, unattended, and completely confidential.

The meeting was held in a top-secret room on the third basement floor of the embassy, ​​the entire room of which was constructed of thick granite.

Steel plates are embedded in the wall cavity to completely isolate all sound, detection, and listening methods.

There is not a single piece of paper or pen in the room, and no trace of any documents is left; only the dim light from the wall lamps casts a faint, cold glow.

The entire process was conducted verbally, leaving no traceable clues, making it the highest level of secrecy meeting place for various countries in Beijing.

Outside the secret chamber, the royal guards of Anssa took turns on duty, sealing off the entire underground area layer by layer.

No servants or laborers are allowed to approach, completely eliminating any possibility of leaks.

Those present were all key figures of real power from various countries who were based in the capital.

It controls all of its military, political, intelligence, and trade lifelines in China.

Consul General Anssa, Military Attaché for the Far East, Chief Intelligence Officer in China...

Envoy carrying a bear, military attaché of the expeditionary force, and commander of the Far East secret service.

Major General of the Japanese Army, Chief of the Kyoto Intelligence Division, and Major who led this assassination operation.

The New Zealand military attaché and trade counselor merely attended the meeting and observed without participating in any decision-making or discussion, remaining detached and indifferent throughout.

Everyone removed their military rank insignia, changed out of their official uniforms, and put on plain, understated everyday clothes before quietly taking their seats.

The atmosphere in the sealed room was icy and stagnant, so heavy it was suffocating. No one spoke casually, and even breathing was deliberately kept extremely soft, for fear of breaking the oppressive silence.

Everyone knew perfectly well that the disastrous assassination attempt by the Japanese and the Crimson Lotus Cult was no simple mission failure.

This was the first time in the Qing Dynasty's capital that the West's century-long arrogance in firearms had been utterly defeated and crushed by a single person's martial arts prowess.

If this outlier that disrupts the balance of power between East and West is not nipped in the bud, all the arrangements that the nations have painstakingly built up in China over the past century, the land they have encroached upon and the trading privileges they have acquired, will sooner or later collapse and vanish into nothingness.

The New Zealand trade attaché broke the silence first, speaking cautiously and conservatively, revealing a self-protective and evasive attitude.

"Everyone must recognize the enormous risks involved. This elite Japanese force, fully equipped with firearms, including heavy machine guns and field artillery, is powerful enough to rout a thousand-man infantry formation in a direct confrontation."

Now all of them have been wiped out, while their opponents are unscathed.

This has completely exceeded the limits of conventional martial arts...

All firearms coverage tactics are completely ineffective against this person.

Taking action again rashly will only thoroughly enrage Li Xin.

If he retaliates, our overseas Chinese, treaty ports, and embassy guards will face annihilation.

Our position remains unchanged: we suspend all assassination plans, will observe the situation from the sidelines, and will absolutely not participate in any actions targeting him.

North Korean military attaché to China, Solov, suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up, slamming his palm heavily on the solid wood table. The dull sound broke the deathly silence, and his tone was firm and sharp, directly refuting this cowardly and yielding attitude.

"To simply stand by and watch is to sit and wait for death, to wait for annihilation!"

This young man is hot-blooded and extremely hostile towards us. He will immediately resort to ruthless tactics if there is any conflict.

Raymond died at his hands, smashed to pieces, his flesh and bones turned to dust.

Such a ruthless person, if not nipped in the bud soon, will become too powerful to control if he makes further progress.

"Now he focuses on martial arts training and doesn't concern himself much with Qing Dynasty affairs."

Once he has freed up his hands, he will unite the pro-war faction in the court and launch a joint attack.

The land, trade privileges, and military stationing rights that we have seized over the years will eventually be completely reclaimed.

The envoy from Anssa followed closely behind, his eyes filled with a dark and sinister light, revealing the deep-seated calculations hidden in the shadows:

"Therefore, we need to take the initiative and use this assassination attempt to disrupt the Qing court, incite public sentiment, and put pressure on the Qing government to demand the stationing of troops at ports, trade exemptions, and inland waterway navigation privileges."

"This matter is manageable in terms of risk and extremely profitable, so it is feasible."

Ur, the head of the intelligence section of the Gyeonggi region of Japan, had a livid face and bloodshot eyes, hiding resentment and unwillingness. He muttered as he reviewed the core reasons for this defeat:

"The assassination attempt failed because of a fatal flaw in our understanding of tactics."

We have always believed in overwhelming firepower and that there is always a limit to how a martial artist can dodge, and that human strength is ultimately no match for weaponry.

Little did they know that this person could perfectly evade all artillery fire and bullets simply by relying on prediction and agility.

A direct frontal assault would prevent our large army from entering the city, and would alert the Qing court.

Sending a small force to ambush them would only result in pointless deaths and further enrage the enemy.

Therefore, we must shift our strategy entirely to covert operations and indirect attacks, and absolutely avoid direct confrontation.

He then leaned down and began to give a precise report of the latest core intelligence gathered by his undercover agents.

"According to the information relayed by our informants, Li Xin also has a weakness."

He values ​​family ties and cherishes the hearts of the people, and does not indiscriminately kill innocent people. However, when he does things, he is influenced by worldly customs and popular reputation.

This is his only weakness, and also our breakthrough point.

Japan excels at infiltration and psychological warfare, and was given full responsibility for all aspects of the operation, including reconnaissance, sniping, and containment of the enemy's rear.

Major Tanaka Hiroshi, the Japanese intelligence officer standing nearby, leaned slightly forward, lowered his voice, and responded:

"Hay, Li Xin is too burdened by many things and has too many concerns, which is his weakness. We can try to see if there's an opportunity to exploit this?"

He sat up straight and said in a deep voice:

"In fact, to deal with such powerful and skilled fighters who have virtually no weaknesses, simply targeting those around them is not very effective; a multi-pronged approach is necessary."

To eliminate future troubles, one must destroy their reputation, disrupt their moral compass, diminish their power, damage their relationships, and ultimately kill them.

"Please explain in more detail?"

Consul Adolf of Anssa glanced at Tanaka Hiroshi with a deep look in his eyes and adopted a listening posture.

"The first step is to frame him through public opinion, thus destroying the foundation of his reputation."

"Tonight, we will immediately launch a three-pronged campaign to spread rumors through overseas newspapers, schools in the capital, and secret agents within the imperial court."

They publicly declared that the riots and unrest in the western part of the city today were not an assassination attempt by foreign powers, but rather that Li Xin had colluded with Honglian to deliberately incite a popular uprising and create chaos.

In order to cover up their crimes, they deliberately provoked other countries, massacred foreign troops stationed there, and bombarded streets and alleys.

This confirms his crimes of using force to disrupt the government and oppress the people.

"At the same time, he bribed the imperial censors to submit a memorial overnight to impeach him, and determined his crimes of colluding with heretics and disturbing the capital region."

He is currently enjoying great prestige and strong public support, but the greater his fame, the more easily he will be dragged down by it.

Once the stigma was established and public opinion turned against him, he would no longer dare to kill indiscriminately, and his heart would be controlled by the people of the capital.

Even if one's martial arts skills are unparalleled, one will still be firmly bound by worldly rules and regulations. This makes it easier to act.

"The second tactic is to sow discord and use flattery to kill, thereby inciting Qing court experts to fight against them."

"What the Qing court feared most was not external enemies, but internal imbalances."

They value power highly and absolutely do not want to see anyone out of control.

We don't need to deliberately smear him; we should just befriend him normally.

They could even boast in public that he could single-handedly withstand an army of ten thousand and contend with the firearms of a nation, exaggerating his combat power and deterrent capabilities.

Actually, there's no need to exaggerate; it was already quite exaggerated to begin with...

At the same time, they secretly contacted the Qing Dynasty's Grand Council, the Imperial Household Department, and Manchu nobles to build momentum in secret.

This implies that Li Xin was young and invincible, and harbored ambitions to overthrow the dynasty…

"A brilliant plan."

"feasible!"

I second that.

The people around him all nodded slowly, and the way they looked at Tanaka Hiroshi was somewhat abnormal.

Those Japanese devils are really vicious.

We need to be more careful in the future and not let him trick us.

"The third strategy is to start from the mind, break their mental state, and destroy their martial arts foundation."

"His ability to evade a barrage of bullets and artillery fire is not due to speed, but to his keen perception. This shows that his level of mental cultivation is extremely high."

Everyone must urgently dispatch hypnotists and masters of secret arts to Beijing, and allocate neuropsychedelic drugs.

Don't engage in direct confrontation; patiently look for opportunities, and you'll eventually succeed.

Ordinary toxins can be neutralized by martial arts qi and blood, but neurotoxins and mental techniques specifically target the mind and spirit of a martial artist.

"Once we succeed, we'll confuse his senses and disrupt his predictions... then a single explosive will be enough to send him to his death."

The more Tanaka Hiroshi talked, the more feasible the plan seemed, and a cold smile appeared on his face.

In fact, many chronic medications are used in the air, drinking water, and food, and are not normally detectable.

Over time, this erodes the body, gradually dulling nerve responses, causing numbness, and even drastically reducing immunity.

This method is extremely secretive, killing without shedding blood.

If Tanaka Hiroshi hadn't been intimidated by Li Xin's martial arts and agility today, and hadn't felt a sense of shared hatred for the enemy, he certainly wouldn't have said so much.

They were actually planning to do it secretly.

However, if everyone works together, the chances of success are greater.

"The fourth type of scheme is the beauty trap. This scheme can be used to secretly kill someone without them even knowing it. There are different ways to use it."

Everyone can consider which outstanding beauties our country has..."

Tanaka Hiroshi stopped there and refused to continue.

The most important aspect of the "beauty trap" is not actually the beauty herself.

It's the pain of unrequited love, the sorrow of separation...

She is the white moonlight, the cinnabar mole.