Republic of China: From Street Performer to War God in a Chaotic Era

For the next few days, the backyard of Fujuban was filled with the aroma of medicine and meat.

With the help of the inexpensive yet effective medicinal supplements sent by Manager Zhao, Lu Guan's cultivation progressed rapidly, like oil being poured over a raging fire.

Besides his daily unwavering consumption of large amounts of meat and tiger bone wine, he devoted the rest of his time to comprehending the essence of boxing on the stage of creation.

To cover these exorbitant expenses, Lu Guan would occasionally help the old blind man set up a stall under the overpass on sunny days.

His name has become quite well-known among the lower classes in Nanshi.

As soon as the white curtain is pulled up and the old blind man starts playing his broken erhu, the laborers, idlers, and thugs under the overpass swarm around him like cats drawn by the smell of fish.

During this time, the tiger-skin shadow puppet in Lu Guan's hands was no longer usable, so he found a piece of fine tanned cowhide and, following the same pattern, carved a new one, "The Warrior of Cangzhou".

However, the stage of fate in my mind remained silent.

Lu Guan then realized that the system was not a charity; each play script could only be promoted and bestowed with good fortune on its first "selection of the prime minister".

If you try to make it again later, it will just be an ordinary object, and you won't be able to unlock any new legacy.

However, this play, "The Warrior of Cangzhou," was a complete success in Nanshi. Riding on this fame, Lu Guan even accepted gigs from two wealthy merchants in Nanshi.

Go to someone's grand courtyard, set up a colorful stage, and perform this hardcore shadow puppet show.

The wealthy merchants, drawn by the novelty, were generous with their tips, and after a few rounds, they had pocketed over ten silver dollars.

In 1925, this was a windfall that would make anyone envious. It not only covered the cost of meat and medicine for the next few days, but also left a slight surplus.

……

That night, a fierce wind blew, swirling rubble across the rooftops.

Backstage at the Fuju Class, the medicine pot on the mud stove was bubbling and steaming.

Lu Guan, shirtless, picked up the black-glazed wine jar and drank the last mouthful of three-year-aged tiger bone wine in one gulp.

Immediately afterwards, he grabbed a few pieces of ginseng rootlets, mixed them with a large chunk of well-cooked pork, chewed and swallowed them whole.

"boom!"

After taking the last dose of tonic, Lu Guan's skin instantly turned blood red, and white steam even spewed from his pores.

Deep within his mind, the [Stage of Creation] suddenly erupted with several feet of golden light.

[True Transmission: Bajiquan Mingjin (100%)!]

[With perfect concentration and complete understanding, congratulations, host, you have officially entered the realm of Ming Jin!]

[Because the host has cultivated the true teachings to perfection for the first time, the following effect is bestowed: Dragon Tendons and Tiger Bones!]

"Ugh..."

Lu Guan clenched his teeth tightly.

He felt as if every bone in his body was being shattered inch by inch, and then forcibly reassembled by a surge of heat, his tendons like rubber bands stretched to their limit.

"Crackling and popping..."

The old blind man, who was squatting in the corner, trembled with fright, dropping his pipe to the ground. He looked in the direction of the sound with a face full of horror.

It took a full incense stick's time for the inhuman commotion to gradually subside.

"call……"

Lu Guan slowly exhaled a long, stale breath, the airflow of which caused the flame of the kerosene lamp to dim suddenly and shoot out three feet away.

He opened his eyes, looked down, and even Lu Guan himself was stunned.

The frame, which had been thin and frail due to long-term hunger, was now stretched out completely.

His shoulders were as broad as city walls, and his spine was bulging with large muscles, like a lurking dragon. Yet his waist was lean and taut, without an ounce of excess fat, and his legs were full of explosive power.

The ultimate physical constitution that martial arts practitioners dream of.

A broad back, a wasp waist, and mantis legs!

This is what is meant by "Dragon Tendons and Tiger Bones"!

At this moment, Lu Guan felt his blood and qi surging like the Yangtze River, endlessly flowing. Every move he made possessed terrifying brute strength capable of uprooting willows and splitting rocks.

He turned around, his gaze falling on the inner lining of the old camphor wood opera box.

There, lies the black-covered opera script, "The Record of a Hundred Forms: The Chapter on Borrowing a Body," which was sealed with evil-repelling copper nails by the patriarch and was said to be able to "kill its master."

A few days ago, he was so overwhelmed by the sinister aura that he felt dizzy just by turning the page.

Lu Guan strode over and lifted the tanned black animal hide cover with one hand.

"Buzz..."

The densely packed, dark characters on the pages began to writhe again, and a sinister aura suddenly rushed toward Lu Guan's face.

"Playing tricks."

Lu Guan snorted coldly, and the powerful blood and qi in his body, which had reached the initial stage of "Ming Jin", instantly reacted and erupted.

"Sizzle..."

The overwhelming aura of malevolence vanished without a trace the moment it touched the blood and qi surrounding Lu Guan's body.

Evil spirits cannot invade, and all demons will be warded off!

"Indeed, one must be strong to forge iron. With my vital energy flowing like a dragon, these rotten dregs in the gutter are not even worthy to approach me."

Lu Guan closed the black leather play script with satisfaction.

With such vital energy protecting the body, the risk of backlash from the so-called "borrowing a form to possess the body" method has been minimized.

Everything is ready now, except for a "skin of spiritual communication".

……

The next morning.

In the backyard of Fuju Class, under a withered tree.

Lu Guan only had one plan in mind right now.

The ultimate move from Bajiquan, "Tiger Climbs the Mountain"!

After several days of relentless practice, his mastery of this single killing move has reached the pinnacle. But that's not enough; the path of martial arts is endless, and there is another level above it: the realm of perfection.

"Tiger Climbs the Mountain" is the most unreasonable and dangerous close-quarters fighting move in Bajiquan.

The key is to "fight head-on and advance without any obstruction".

Leading with his head and striking with his shoulders and hips, he doesn't need any fancy moves. Like a hungry tiger in the deep mountains, he climbs up his opponent's body from bottom to top.

A shoulder strike, an elbow strike, and a punch—a three-hit combo.

When flesh and blood fight, the outcome is either death or maiming!

Lu Guan took a deep breath and stomped his feet down hard.

"Bang."

The frozen ground beneath their feet instantly exploded, creating a crater.

Using the rebound force from the ground, Lu Guan's spinal tendons surged like a dragon emerging from the sea, and he slammed into the solid wooden training post in front of him.

"roar!"

The moment he threw his punch, the shadow puppet in his arms, carved from the skin of a tiger with piercing eyes and a white forehead, seemed to resonate with his fist's intent. A terrifyingly fierce tiger's aura, mixed within his fist, burst forth from his body.

"puff!"

A rattling sound came from inside the wooden stake.

That century-old hardwood, as thick as a water bucket, actually turned into wood chips flying everywhere from the inside.

"Greyhound..."

Lu Guan withdrew his fist, looked at the wood chips flying everywhere, and muttered to himself.

……

Lu Guan was never a reckless man who only knew how to wield swords and spears.

In the chaotic world of Tianjin, it would be foolish to rush to one's death in the hall with only hot blood.

If you want to kill that "Grey Dog" from the Canal Gang who drove your master to his death, you absolutely cannot do it in a big way.

He's been busy these past few days, performing at his stall and eating at restaurants.

Although the old blind man was blind, his ears were as sharp as the most sensitive radio in Nanshi.

The old blind man could hear everything clearly: which alley was the territory where the canal gang collected protection money, which teahouse was their trading post, and which shady shop Greyhound frequented, all from the corner of the teahouse.

Under the overpass, the laborers and thugs whom Lu Guan had deliberately befriended, after receiving a few meat buns and copper coins from him, revealed everything they knew about him.

With the help of Manager Zhao of Juyinglou's occasional subtle probing, an intelligence network about the Caobang's Nanshi branch had already been laid out in Lu Guan's mind.

The situation was more complicated than he had imagined.

The influence of the canal gangs in Nanshi was deeply entrenched.

The gray dog ​​that worshipped the "Grey Immortal" was fierce and menacing, but he was just a "red stick" (a low-ranking official in the sect), second in command of the gang, and had twenty or thirty thugs under his command who dared to draw their knives and stab people.

What's truly terrifying is the head of the Cao Gang's Nanshi branch... "Master Pan the Ninth".

This Master Pan is not one of those charlatans who pretend to be a shaman, but a genuine master of the Ming Jin (a type of martial arts) level.

Although his "Five Tigers Severing the Gate Saber" might not rank among the top-tier martial arts in Tianjin, he is definitely a tough nut to crack.

Lu Guan leaned back on the stage prop box, toying with the poisoned iron dagger in his hand, analyzing the situation.

"Now that I have just achieved the initial stage of Ming Jin, coupled with my physique of dragon tendons and tiger bones and the ferocity of a tiger climbing a mountain at the Transcendent Realm, I can take down Greyhound in ten moves if I fight him one-on-one."

"but……"

Lu Guan frowned slightly.

"If I were to charge into the Cao Gang's headquarters alone, and were surrounded by those twenty or thirty guns and knives, and if that Master Pan Jiu, who had reached the peak of Ming Jin, were to be alerted, even if I were in great physical condition, I would be worn down to death there."

This battle cannot be fought as a siege; it must be a decapitation strike!

Fast, accurate, and ruthless.

They must strike and leave immediately, giving the main force of the Canal Gang no time to react.

The best way is to "fish" that bastard Greyhound out of the gang alone.