"We’re not refusing to contribute to humanity or the Star Alliance, we’re just banding together to keep warm..."
"I’m old, I’ve seen a lot, and some things just chill my heart."
Xue Daoren’s voice was low, but contained a certain infectious quality. He glanced at the expressionless Zhong Shenxiu and spoke, "Take Niu Dingtian, for instance... Sigh... Xiao Niu died so unjustly!"
"You’re investigating me?!" Zhong Shenxiu’s brow furrowed.
In just an instant, Xue Daoren felt his heart almost stop, and cold sweat involuntarily beaded on his forehead. He knew that for a Martial Artist , anger could truly lead to indiscriminate killing!
He hurriedly said, "A young, rising Martial Artist will certainly attract various investigations, not just from us but also from the Martial Artist Association and many wealthy consortiums. Documents about you are definitely on their desks; it’s not any secret, easy to find... That’s also why I’m speaking openly with you. Because of Niu Dingtian, Tang Long’s faction will definitely not sincerely accept you... You dare to join, but they might not dare to accept you!"
"This is also one of the reasons I came looking for you. Since you mentioned how powerful your friend circle is, tell me... how did Niu Dingtian die?"
Zhong Shenxiu asked. Although he was not particularly close with Uncle Niu, he wanted to help on behalf of Hua Wu if possible.
Xue Daoren pulled up a purple sandalwood chair to sit down and took a sip of tea, "Niu Dingtian was also a first-class Martial Arts star back in the day, upright and passionate... Seeing him was like seeing myself back then. He was extraordinarily talented and had a good father who taught him from a young age. At twenty, he won a national Martial Arts competition and registered with the Martial Artist Association. That same year, he passed the assessment and became an official Martial Artist, repeatedly combating the Heavenly Demon. His martial skills improved dramatically, to an unbelievable extent, outshining all other talents of his time, including Tang Long!"
"Are you suggesting that Tang Long was responsible for Niu Dingtian’s death?" Zhong Shenxiu asked with a meaningful smile.
"To say he killed him might be too much, but there was certainly responsibility... You should know, the Martial Artist Association has existed for so long and naturally has some... corruption within. Tang Long himself is a scion of a powerful inner-association figure, and the Tang Family has significant influence there. It was rumored that someone wanted to learn the secret as to how Niu Dingtian continued making rapid advances in Martial Arts after breaking through as a Martial Artist, so they conducted numerous physical examinations and mental inspections on him..."
"Is that... allowed?" Zhong Shenxiu’s heart chilled, knowing the horrors of such persecution.
Not to mention physical hardships, even immense mental stress alone could drive someone insane.
"Because there was a greater good, among the Heavenly Demons, there are parasitic types, which you also encountered... Back then, there was speculation about whether deeper lurking Heavenly Demons could be hiding within human society, hence the strict inspections. Niu Dingtian initially got caught on a trivial error, became too emotional, did some things, and was placed under strict scrutiny... Heh, rules are rules, those people were quite righteous back then, even if they were wrong, everything was done strictly by the book in the end, a few drinks as a penalty and it was over. As for the people who died or went mad from this, indeed, their deaths were in vain..." Xue Daoren sighed. "Xiao Niu was also a real man, didn’t yield, only volunteered to go to the battlefield to prove his innocence... Perhaps considering the implications, the association allowed him to go, and when the wormhole opened afterwards, the demons that poured out were particularly vicious, and Niu Dingtian fought to his death without retreating..."
Zhong Shenxiu could understand this.
Even being extremely cautious, a Martial Artist might still die in battle, let alone one who was prepared to die.
Thus, Niu Dingtian had heroically sacrificed himself.
"Our friend circle back then, upon seeing this, was chilled to the core and felt compelled to form a group to resist those from Tang Long’s faction, or else anyone could be the next Niu Dingtian... It’s also because of our existence that they haven’t dared to go too far, along with encountering a good cycle, which makes the Martial Artist Association appear somewhat peaceful now."
"A good cycle?" Zhong Shenxiu had uncovered another secret.
"The periodic occurrence of wormholes, over the years, some have summarized it’s roughly a twenty to thirty-year cycle, transitioning from high frequency to low frequency... The last twenty-year period was a low frequency phase for the wormholes, the Star Alliance only encountered them occasionally within a year, and the number of Heavenly Demons was not large, careful attention made it manageable."
Xue Daoren’s expression was worried: "This time, the appearance of the wormhole is a dangerous signal, I suspect that in the next cycle, with high frequency wormholes, the next few decades will see Martial Artists suffering heavy casualties, the Martial Artist Association will surely promote a large number of registered Martial Artists directly, and Tang Long’s faction, in order to survive, will definitely desperately suppress us, sending Martial Artists not belonging to their faction to the battlefield in their place to die!"
"This struggle, it’s truly bloody..."
Zhong Shenxiu shook his head and sighed.
Of course, he wasn’t biased and believed only partial information. He believed only half of what Xue Daoren said, and the other half he would investigate himself.
However, the death of Niu Dingtian probably couldn’t be dissociated from the Tang Long faction, otherwise Xue Daoren wouldn’t be so confident.
"Ha ha, Old Xue, I heard you want to introduce a newcomer?"
Just then, the doors of the reception hall burst open, and a towering Great Han walked in, "Is he trained in cross-training Qigong? Martial Artists capable of enduring such hardships have become rare these days."
Xue Daoren immediately stood up, his smile tinged with respect, "Mr. Tie, this is Hua Wu!"
He then turned to introduce Zhong Shenxiu, "This is Tie Zhongtian Mr. Tie, one of the three leaders in our circle of friends, a Cross-Training Great Grandmaster. He has mastered various hard Qigong skills such as Iron Cloth Shirt, Iron Head Skill, Iron Crotch Skill, Iron Shoulder Skill, Iron Finger Zen, and Iron Leg Skill to the Great Achievement Realm and integrated them into his own creation, the ’Vajra Unbreakable Hard Qigong.’ Known as the number one in cross-training among Martial Artists, he once took thirteen punches from Tang Long. Unfortunately, he was slightly slower in speed..."
Zhong Shenxiu gave a slight bow.
"Hmm... Young man, you have good taste. Entering our circle, you won’t be treated unfairly."
Tie Zhongtian, idly playing with two iron balls, said casually, "Xue Daoren is your senior. Listen to him more, and you won’t go wrong."
This statement carried a hint of condescension, but in any circle, it was common to rank by seniority.
Xue Daoren also noticed that Tie Zhongtian had no real malice, merely intending to intimidate the newcomer a bit. He maintained a jovial facade to smooth things over, "Our circle of friends is all about equal exchange, just exchange."
’This Xue Daoren, how did he become so meek?’ Tie Zhongtian glanced at Xue Daoren, somewhat dissatisfied.
"Exactly, the path of Martial Arts is about horizontal and vertical, the horizontal lie down, the vertical win. How many more years will it take for your friend circle to truly stand out with such lukewarm development?"
Zhong Shenxiu would endure none of this, "Practicing martial arts demands a spirit of valor. Without this spirit, one is not a Martial Artist. I would like to ask Mr. Tie for some guidance."
Tie Zhongtian, hearing this, couldn’t stay seated anymore. His hand flashed, and the two iron balls flew out, breaking through the air. Confident in their power at close range, he believed his hidden weapons could rival firearms, enough to teach the newcomer a lesson.
The iron balls struck Zhong Shenxiu, producing a deep, gong-like sound.
Zhong Shenxiu didn’t dodge or even step back; instead, he stepped forward and slapped Tie Zhongtian across the face.
With the crisp sound, Tie Zhongtian was sent flying through the air, crashing through a wall, his whereabouts unknown.
"Sorry... for breaking your wall."
Amidst the swirling dust, Zhong Shenxiu retracted his hand, speaking calmly.
Xue Daoren stared at the huge hole in the wall, rendered completely speechless.