"Lu Fang, what’s the matter?"
From the other end of the phone, a magnetic, aged voice came through.
"Teacher, I need to consult you on something."
Lu Fang got straight to the point.
His teacher was the famous Ji Xuantong, known as the number one grandmaster in Hang City, his strength nearing the Breakthrough Fifth Rank.
Ji Xuantong was straightforward and blunt, quick to speak and quicker to act. If you were polite and circuitous with him, he’d think you were wasting time and would hang up on the spot.
"Teacher, I’ve just dealt with the bodies of two cultists. During the autopsy, it seemed like their hearts had pathological changes, with vague human faces and hair formations. You’ve traveled widely and seen much, so please give me some advice."
There was silence on the other end for a moment.
Ji Xuantong’s tone was somewhat grave as he replied,
"It seems the evil calamity in Su City is more severe than I thought, probably because the emergence of the Taihu Virtual Realm intersection has deepened the connection between ghosts and reality.
The heart with a human face you mentioned, I’ve seen it once.
When I first entered the Grandmaster Realm and followed Heavenly Master Zhang from the Dragon and Tiger Academy to cure a Level Five Virtual Disaster in Sun and Moon Province, we stumbled upon a cult hideout in Ali Mountain. The people there were not normal, always wearing strange smiles, chanting ’Forget Sorrow Mother, Blissful Homeland’ — their thoughts thoroughly corroded by the cult.
From your description, the heart you found still has only a vague human face. This is good, meaning that the intersection point in Taihu was discovered timely. The grandmasters from Emei, such as Heavenly King Li, and those dispatched by the country have already contained the situation from worsening.
In Ali Mountain, it wasn’t a heart anymore...
The forensic doctors accompanying our cure team, upon dissecting the bodies, found that these people’s hearts had turned into life-like heads of long-haired women. The features seemed to be merged from countless female faces using AI technology, creating a surreal and unrealistic beauty, all different yet all the same.
It wasn’t until we found a golden statue in the shrine of the cult hideout that we realized these women’s heads matched the statue exactly... In other words, the organs of these cultists were likely mutated by the entity they worshipped."
Unable to help himself, Lu Fang asked,
"Teacher, my strength is weak, and I’ve never entered the Void Realm. You grandmasters have followed the national scientific expedition to explore it, are there really... gods in there?"
Ji Xuantong suddenly became stern,
"Gods? What nonsense about gods! Gods are just figments imagined by humans. There are indeed some entities in the Void Realm far beyond our understanding, but they are definitely not gods.
Lu Fang, remember this, gods exist if you believe, and don’t if you don’t.
The moment you acknowledge the existence of gods, you might be subtly influenced by them. That’s why Da Xia, after its establishment, promoted Martial Arts, aiming for everyone to be as powerful as dragons. Besides Buddha Dao and other legal religions, atheism is widely advocated.
The evil calamity in Da Xia is one of the least severe in the world.
Human spiritual power is also a special energy that we haven’t fully tapped into. Some evil entities in the Void Realm survive by feeding on this energy. Strong Martial Arts and atheism are the divine weapons against these entities. Updates are released by N0veI.Fiɾe.net
The reason cults have a breeding ground is that some people have not steadfastly embraced materialism and atheism, placing all their hopes for happiness and unease on external forces, thus giving opportunities to these Void Realm entities.
Cults are just tools spread by these entities to sow fear and harvest beliefs... Remember, a beautiful tomorrow must be created by our own hands."
Lu Fang spoke earnestly,
"Teacher, I understand now. I have some ideas on how to deal with the evil calamity in Su City, including ideological education and cracking down on cults."
To truly solve the problem, the Void Realm itself must be dealt with, something that can’t be done at this stage.
"The two cultists you caught are probably followers of the ’Heart Happiness Sect,’ worshipping that rubbish ’Forget Sorrow Mother.’ There might be other names, advocating for followers to become insensitive to all aspects of life, forever maintaining so-called inner joy and optimism. You can start looking for clues from this angle."
"Thank you, Teacher!"
Dragon City High School.
Lu Chenzhou had mastered the Heavenly Pile for opening the seventh Acupoint. After eating lunch, he practiced Pile Skill from one o’clock and didn’t stop until twenty past two.
[Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile: 7th Acupoint (1%) → 7th Acupoint (2%)]
"After unlocking the seventh acupoint, increasing my ability by even 1% has become increasingly difficult. Starting today, I must dedicate at least four hours to practicing Pile Skill. Master Ji was right: on the path of Martial Arts, Pile Skill is both the simplest and the most challenging technique.
Other martial arts at least occasionally have moments of inspiration, or one method that can lead to understanding all methods. Pile Skill practice has no shortcuts, only hard work."
Of course, talent also affects Pile Skill.
But not as much as it does in the practice of other martial arts.
As for Martial Arts Supplements, Lu Chenzhou had never heard of such products that could open acupoints; even if they existed, they were not something ordinary people could obtain.
A text message arrived.
"Thank you for the birthday wishes, junior brother."
"You’re welcome, it’s what fellow disciples do."
"Is your practice going smoothly lately?"
He chatted briefly with Shi Ruyu and then went back to his busy schedule.
Lu Chenzhou was truly grateful to this senior sister; like Ji Xuantong, she was a benefactor in his life and had helped him a lot.
Time passed day by day.
June 5th, training ground.
"Be careful, Liu Quanhai!"
Lu Chenzhou launched a "Flying Swallow Water Strike," his left palm striking out sharply downward like a beak. Liu Quanhai extended his hand to block but soon realized it was just a feint. Lu Chenzhou stepped forward on his right foot and silently thrust his right fist from beneath his left arm!
Swallow Penetrates the Heavens!
Bang! Liu Quanhai stumbled backward on the shaking wooden pile, struggling to maintain his balance. Lu Chenzhou, seizing the advantage, advanced three more steps with "Flying Swallow Trims Its Tail!"
Liu Quanhai was swept off his feet and thudded to the ground.
"Damn... I lost again."
Liu Quanhai looked confused.
He had mastered the Black Tiger Dark Strength yesterday and had broken through to the Fourth Rank, using his best technique, Black Tiger Fist, yet still could not defeat Lu Chenzhou, who was using a secondary fist technique?
"Sea Sweeping Body: Small Success (5%)→Small Success (6%)"
Lu Chenzhou, looking at the proficiency increase displayed by the Martial Arts Tree, said with a smile,
"My main advantage is still that I reached the Fourth Rank before you, and my Qi-Blood is significantly higher than yours."
"It’s my lack of skill, thank you. Let’s spar again next time."
Liu Quanhai left to reflect on the reasons for his defeat.
Liu Huan, the top fighter in class one, laughingly said,
"Haha, Lu Chenzhou wins again."
Wen Tiange commented,
"It’s not just about Qi-Blood. Lu Chenzhou clearly has more battle experience. Liu Quanhai’s techniques and strategies are good, but he easily gets flustered in combat."
Chen Yuan, practicing the Heavenly Pile in the distance, silently withdrew his gaze.
He was an expert in Crane Forms and had some understanding of Bird Form like Swallow Form.
"Chenzhou’s Swallow Form is starting to show some depth. It won’t be long before there’s hardly anyone in class one who can challenge him. Tiger Swallow Dual Forms, quite an interesting idea."
He favored Crane Forms, but due to his father being a Tiger Form Martial Artist, he had so far focused on Tiger and Crane Dual Forms, but he planned to specialize in Crane Forms in the future.
He was curious whether Lu Chenzhou could persist on the path of Tiger Swallow Dual Forms.