I can't be a demon.

Chapter 4: The Collapse of Journey to the West

After Shen Lian saw the tip of the iceberg of this world, he couldn't help but feel excited.

"Since there is hope of lying flat for five hundred years, it is still necessary to work hard."

It is said that life is not only about the present, but also about the future. Suddenly, there is one more reason to practice martial arts.

He put away the arrest warrant and went to the side room to check on Mr. Wang, who was found to be fine.

The next few days were relatively calm.

Shen Lian noticed that the experience gained from appraisals had indeed shrunk tenfold, and the profit from occasional treasure appraisals had only increased by one thousandth.

Seeing this, he decided to put martial arts training on the agenda.

It just so happens that Jiu'er Chaofeng's efficiency in tanking has been reduced. Well, I might as well take up a warrior profession. Double tanking is the best way.

Of course, one should not be too blind in practicing martial arts in Yanliang Town where there are all kinds of people.

Shen Lian asked Old Wang to help select martial arts schools. Several assistants also inquired about the news intentionally or unintentionally while purchasing daily supplies.

After half a month of investigation, the scope was finally narrowed down to five martial arts schools.

After he declined Dang Ding's offer to follow him, he chose a sunny morning to walk out of the shop, intending to go and see the latest developments of the various martial arts schools on his own.

A cold wind blew in my face.

"hiss……"

Shen Lian shuddered, and the starling screamed and crawled into his clothes. It seemed that the man and the bird had not left the house since late autumn.

"Ah~ Master Ba is going to hibernate!"

"If you shit on me, I'll kill you."

Birds are all straightforward, but after being assigned the profession of court servant, the starling has indeed changed its habit of solving problems anywhere.

"anyway."

Shen Lian weighed up the starling and couldn't help but complain: "Why is it that I didn't get any benefit from the career advancement, but you, starling, have become much stronger and have caught up with the crow."

"Eighth Master, call me Eighth Master."

"Hey, you're my dad, okay?"

Shen Lian rubbed his hands in coldness and walked towards the reserved martial arts gym.

There are New Year decorations along the streets, with upside-down blessing calligraphy often seen, and bright red lanterns emitting a faint light.

A poor scholar set up a stall to sell calligraphy, with reluctance written all over his face.

When the weather gets warmer, the business of pitching pots and catching rings will also appear. The Spring Festival market in the Tang Dynasty is still very interesting.

"However, whether it is the Tang Dynasty in the previous life remains to be discussed."

In Shen Lian's impression, the Tang Dynasty was completely destroyed in just two or three hundred years.

But in today's world, the Tang Dynasty actually lasted for a thousand years, and the geographical location in private school textbooks was even marked as [Nanshanbuzhou].

Only in Journey to the West did the world be divided into four continents. In addition to Jambudvīpa, there are also Dongshengshenzhou, Xiniuhezhou and Beijuluzhou.

"Southern Continent? Eastern Tang? If I hadn't seen any monsters or demons, and there was no Golden Cicada, I would have thought I had arrived at the Journey to the West."

The world of Journey to the West is full of fights between gods and immortals, with Taoism and Buddhism arguing constantly.

In the Eastern Tang Dynasty where Shen Lian was located, Taoism and Buddhism were not very prosperous, but the imperial court had a strong presence, and the Jinwu Guards were spread throughout the towns.

"It's the morning market."

When Shen Lian passed by the morning market at the border of the northwest urban area, what caught his eye was the surging crowds of people.

There was an endless stream of vendors hawking their wares, the aroma of all kinds of pastries wafted in the air, and the voice of the storyteller chatting away could be heard from the teahouse.

Shen Lian glanced at the morning market entrance and saw a starling's head poking out of his coat.

"Ah~"

"Big butt, good for childbearing, worthless thing!"

Shen Lian attracted strange looks from the others. He grabbed the mynah bird by the neck and lowered his head to dive into the crowd. "You are here to appraise treasures?!"

The crowd paid no attention to the man or the bird.

Shen Lian didn't want to show off on this trip, so he took a detour to the nearest alley.

"Next time you dare to talk nonsense, I will put you in a birdcage as soon as you leave the house."

"Call me Master Ba~"

The mynah bird shook its head slyly.

Shen Lian sighed, not in the mood to continue fooling around with the starling.

He pointed to the martial arts hall a hundred meters away. It was heavily guarded. There were four guards at the door alone. A plaque read [Heisong Martial Arts Hall].

"As usual, if you want to get information, you get two ounces of peanuts."

"Eighth Master wants three taels."

"Go quickly, go quickly."

Shen Lian waved his hands weakly, and the starling flew into the Black Pine Martial Arts Hall. He found a stall nearby and observed the warriors coming in and out with his peripheral vision. Usually, he could tell whether they had a gang background by their attire.

The Heisong Martial Arts School has been established for twenty years and has a very comprehensive martial arts heritage.

It is unclear how they make their living behind the scenes, but at least on the surface they seem stable. Many children of wealthy businessmen have joined the Black Pine Martial Arts School.

Shen Lian waited until noon before the starling returned to his side.

This time, the mynah bird didn't shout loudly, but leaned close to Shen Lian's ear and whispered.

Shen Lian's expression changed after hearing this. He left the morning market without hesitation and headed for the next Bai Chao Martial Arts School.

"I've got a big melon."

"According to what the maids talked about, the women in the Black Pine Martial Arts School often suffer inexplicable miscarriages, and all the dead babies are buried under the rockery in the backyard."

"There are only about ten women in a large martial arts school. It's unrealistic for them to give birth every month. Ha, it can't be the ghost mother in Caotang Miscellaneous Notes, right?"

"In my opinion, the Black Pine Martial Arts School must be secretly involved in human smuggling. That is a capital crime. No, no."

Shen Lian came to Bai Chao Martial Arts School, which specializes in light Kung Fu and leg techniques.

Mynah Brother observed secretly again and found that there were not too many problems in Bai Chao's martial arts school. It was a pity that they had not recruited any disciples in the past six months.

As it was getting late, Shen Lian had to think about it tomorrow.

On his way back to the pawn shop, he stopped by the alternative Tide Martial Arts School.

The Tide Martial Arts School is of average size, having been established in Yanliang Town for only half a year. The owner is an outsider martial artist, which makes Shen Lian feel apprehensive.

The world of martial arts is full of dangers, and many foreign warriors have committed crimes in their original hometowns.

The upside is that it has little to do with gangs.

Shen Lian released the starling, which was responsible for keeping watch and attracting the police when encountering danger.

He pushed open the half-open door of the martial arts hall, and what came into view was a dozen children squatting in horse stance, some of them with trembling legs and crying.

A middle-aged man with a stern face poured freezing well water on the child's back.

The owner of Tide Pavilion is named Bai Haibo, who looks like a rough man in his early forties. His thick muscles show that he is an expert in external martial arts.

The situation of the martial arts school should be average, and the clothes Bai Haibo was wearing had turned white due to washing.

"Only by enduring the most difficult hardships can one achieve unparalleled success! San'er, let your qi sink into your dantian..."

"kindness?"

Shen Lian raised his eyebrows and noticed that there were some fish scales on Bai Haibo's half-exposed neck.

When Bai Haibo saw a guest coming, he signaled the child to rest for a while, then came to Shen Lian and bowed to him in a friendly gesture.

"Sir, are you here to learn martial arts?"

Shen Lian did not reply, so Bai Haibo quickly explained: "My name is Bai Haibo. I worked at the Longxing Escort Agency in Yanliang Town for thirteen years. I just founded a martial arts school recently. I am not a bad guy."

"If you want to join us, the money will definitely be cheaper than other families."

After saying this, Bai Haibo bent down and knelt, and the burning energy and blood rushed to his face.

"The Tide Martial Arts School focuses on hard Qigong and boxing, and its inheritance is placed at the [Foundation Building] stage, which can definitely be considered as mid-level."

"Then why are you so down and out?"

People in the public divide the quality of martial arts inheritance into three grades: upper, middle and lower. The middle grade can be ranked among the top even in Yanliang Town.

"This skill is suitable for aquatic life. There are no big rivers near Yanliang Town."

Bai Haibo asked and answered questions, occasionally testing Shen Lian's attitude.

It can be seen that he really doesn't want to miss Shen Lian.

The children of Chaoxi Martial Arts School were born in poverty and were sent here to learn martial arts in order to have multiple career options. In the future, they could become security guards, bodyguards, etc. However, their families would not have the extra money to support them to become martial artists.

Bai Haibo currently does not have any direct disciples, all of them are outer disciples, and the business of the martial arts school is probably not enough to make ends meet.

Poor in literature and rich in martial arts.

A rich young man like Shen Lian, even if he is older, can make up for the age gap by taking powerful medicines, so that he can hope to refine his body and build a foundation.

"Master Bai, your fish scales are..."

Bai Haibo replied with a silly smile: "When the body is polished with external skills, it is inevitable that [special] will be produced, but you can rest assured, young master, I am not a sea dweller, so fish scales are almost invisible."

"Special? I've heard a little bit about it."

Shen Lian heard Shen Hansheng say this and knew that people who practiced martial arts had a different appearance from ordinary people, but he didn't expect the fish scales to be so exaggerated.

He recalled the two Jinwu Guards, one with skin covered in scars, and the other with dry and pale hair.

"Sir, you should know the Hunshan Martial Arts School in the North City, which is also famous for its external skills."

"The special external skills of Hunshan Martial Arts School make the body hair abundant. After reaching perfection, the hair is difficult to be cut by swords, but it is impossible to get close to women..."

"Okay, I'll come to the museum during this period of time."

Bai Haibo opened his mouth slightly. The young man in front of him was indeed a bit strange.

(End of this chapter)