What a lucky world!

Chapter 61 Zhang Mu Becomes a Disciple
It's noon and the sun is shining brightly.

The old man with white beard was sitting uncomfortably in his own courtyard.

"This little bastard, why hasn't he come to me yet?" The old man picked up the wine jug and took two big gulps, feeling a little regretful.

What I said yesterday was too much.

What do you mean if you don’t come to see him today, he will leave tomorrow?

I was used to saying this kind of thing, but I blurted it out yesterday.

I'm still too impatient.

To be honest, if he was just an ordinary young talent, then I would have missed him.

Three-legged frogs are hard to find, but there are not many people with two legs, right?

In terms of talent, although Zhang Mu is outstanding, if you really want to find one, you can find someone at the same level as him within the territory of Yongning Prefecture.

In terms of character, Zhang Mu is naturally excellent, but there are also many children in the village whose character is comparable to his.

But when the two are combined, it is extremely rare.

In addition, he is calm and composed, without the arrogance of youth, which is very rare.

Even if such a person could be found, he would basically be a child carefully cultivated by a wealthy and prestigious family. It would not be his turn to go to Qianyuan Wuzhai to take advantage of the opportunity.

A small Yuanwei Escort Agency cannot accommodate him.

Although he was just interested in the talent at the beginning, the caution and retreat shown by the boy when facing him yesterday completely moved him.

That gentleman is not wrong, troubled times are bound to come.

In troubled times, all living beings are like grass, and his broken house cannot protect many people.

However, in Zhang Mu, he saw the foundation of a magnificent building.

Although the foundation is still buried deep underground, he believes that it must exist.

Although only one tenth of his cultivation remains today, his vision as a master is still there!
"If he really doesn't come today...what should I do to salvage the situation?" The old man stroked his beard. "Or break my own leg and say I'm recovering and can't leave for the time being?"

"That's not right. This will damage my image as a brave man."

"I'd better find a widow to sleep with and say I'm attracted to women. After all, even heroes are afraid of gentle women..."

"No, no, this will damage my glorious reputation."

"Either we kill the county magistrate, then the county will be sealed off, and I'll have a reason not to leave..."

"It still doesn't work. In that case... huh?"

When the old man was deep in thought, he suddenly sensed someone coming. He immediately put on a lazy look, holding a wine jug and humming a little tune.

"Knock knock knock..." There was a knock on the door.

"The door is not closed, come in yourself..." the old man said lightly, but there was still a slight tremor in his voice.

With a creak, the wooden door was pushed open and Zhang Mu walked in with a smile, holding a pot of wine and a food box in his hands.

The old man looked at Zhang Mu for a moment without saying anything. Zhang Mu stepped forward, placed the wine and food box on the table, then knelt down in front of the old man and said, "I am Zhang Mu, your disciple, and I am honored to meet you, Teacher."

Seeing Zhang Mu kneeling down, the old man's heart was in his throat. He was about to reach out to support him, but when he heard Zhang Mu's address, he frowned slightly and stopped what he was doing: "Teacher?"

"I am just a nominal disciple and dare not call you master," said Zhang Mu.

The old man flicked his fingers on his thigh and said, "You really don't want to go up the mountain with me?"

Without waiting for Zhang Mu to reply, the old man continued, "Three years after Dayun's establishment, Taizu ordered all sects in the world to break up into smaller groups and establish martial arts strongholds in mountains, rivers, and lakes to suppress the demon race."

"In this way, we can not only resolve the threats posed by the world's sects to the imperial court, but also ensure safe and close travel between cities across the world."

Zhang Mu was stunned. He never expected that Wuzhai was actually arrived in this way.

But then, Zhang Mu thought of something.

"Crush the Jianghu?"

The old man nodded gently: "How could the sect be willing to be dismembered by the imperial court? Half of the sect united to resist."

“Thus began a ten-year-long battle to the death between the imperial court and the martial arts world.”

"But the great fortune of that time emerged from a sea of blood and corpses, and was the army destined to destroy Nanyu and Dongqi."

"It ended with the imperial court winning a great victory and the complete annihilation of the allied sect forces."

"Since then, Wuzhai has spread all over the world, known in history as 'Spreading Military Power Throughout the World'!" "So strictly speaking, Wuzhai was originally an institution of the imperial court."

The old man raised his hand, motioning Zhang Mu to stand. He picked up his wine glass and took another sip before continuing, "In the second year of Tianxi, the incompetent Emperor Changtai stopped paying salaries to all the martial arts camps in the country, abolished the martial arts camp merit system, and required all martial arts camps to donate silver and pay taxes to the court."

"This betrays the promise made by Taizu and Wuzhai."

"The Wuzhai resisted the imperial order, and the imperial court sent troops again, intending to repeat the incident of crushing the martial arts world."

"But by then, the nation's fortunes had already declined, and the major martial arts camps had been battling the demon tribes for years. While their strength wasn't as great as the sects of the past, they were vastly more experienced and had a geographical advantage. The court was dragged into a difficult situation."

"At the time, Prime Minister Zhang Shijie submitted a petition, arguing that wiping out Wuzhai was a time-consuming and laborious undertaking, and that after its annihilation, demonic disasters would resurface throughout the land, leaving the imperial court powerless to suppress them. He therefore requested that Wuzhai be labeled a rebel, cutting off the nation's destiny and allowing the local authorities to handle the situation on their own. The incompetent emperor approved the petition."

"From this point on, Tianxia Wuzhai became a traitor to the Dayun Dynasty."

At this point, the old man paused and smiled at Zhang Mu, saying, "I say this to tell you that Wuzhai is not born to be a bandit."

"Indeed, some of the military strongholds, after being labeled as traitors and rebels, lost their imperial supplies and the support of the nation, and so they gave up and became dens of filth and corruption, even committing acts that would infuriate heaven and man. Even killing them a thousand times would not be excessive."

"But I am in Qianyuan Wuzhai. My actions cannot be said to be righteous, but they are definitely not evil either."

"I have killed some corrupt officials and robbed some people of their wealth. But I have never killed women and children or robbed people on the road."

"As for the tributes paid by your escort agency and passing merchants, that is fair and just. It is what we deserve for suppressing the monsters along the way."

"Brothers in the mountains value friendship and loyalty, and life in the mountains is prosperous, better than this damn Wan'an County."

"Follow me up the mountain, I won't humiliate you!"

Zhang Mu listened carefully to the old man's words, let out a sigh, and said as he had planned before coming here, "Thank you for your kindness, teacher, but I haven't thought about my future path yet."

"I said the same thing to the escort agency."

"When I want to leave, the escort agency can't stop me."

"I've never left Wan'an County since I was a child. After I realized I had a talent for martial arts, I wanted to become stronger and go out to see the world."

"Go and see how high the sky is and how thick the earth is."

"I don't want to be bound by power. I want to be free."

"So, yeah, I don't want to go up the mountain with you."

The old man listened to Zhang Mu's words, his eyes fixed on Zhang Mu's.

If Zhang Mu used clever words to deceive him, he could see through it.

If that were the case, he would probably be disappointed.

However, what he could see in Zhang Mu's eyes was sincerity, without a trace of falsehood.

This reminded him of himself decades ago.

Young people should be like the breeze that blows across thousands of mountains.

"I understand." The old man nodded gently, "Then let's not go up the mountain for now..."

The old man patted the wine Zhang Mu brought and said with a smile, "I accept the gift."

"Now I will teach you the first lesson."

As he spoke, the old man motioned Zhang Mu to stand up.

As a result, just as Zhang Mu stood up, the old man suddenly punched him.

The punch was so fast that not only Zhang Mu but even the amulet didn't have time to take effect.

A punch hit Zhang Mu's abdomen. Zhang Mu immediately felt his internal organs shaking, and a mouthful of blood spurted out. He covered his stomach and bent over like a shrimp.

At the same time, a tremendous force rushed into Zhang Mu's body like a hurricane with this punch, causing all the acupoints that Zhang Mu had opened to vibrate violently.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Mu felt unspeakable pain in all his limbs, as if he was thrown into a millstone and was being ground continuously.

He seemed to feel his meridians breaking one by one, as if something important was dissipating from his body.

But soon, he could no longer sense the changes in his body, as the excruciating pain intensified. Eventually, Zhang Mu felt as if a silver needle had pierced his brain. He tried to raise his head to look at the old man, but he couldn't see the expression on his face. Suddenly, his vision went black, and he fainted and fell to the ground.

The old man looked at Zhang Mu, who was lying on the ground with his body still twitching, and sighed.

"Boy, don't blame me for being too ruthless."

"There's something wrong with you..."

(End of this chapter)