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

"Clang—"

The rusty steel gate was laboriously opened by several prison guards.

Feng Changshan, wearing a yellow woolen military overcoat, stood outside the iron gate. His hands were behind his back, his brows furrowed, staring into the depths of the water prison.

"roar!"

The door had barely opened a crack when a roar, inhuman and deafening, exploded like a thunderclap.

A gust of cold wind rushed out of the water prison, making the faces of the prison guards outside turn pale and causing them to retreat.

It was a terrifying corpse demon, two meters tall, covered with black hair about an inch long, and was chained to a steel pillar in the center of the water prison by iron chains as thick as a child's arm.

This is the Black-haired Demon, a half-step Ironclad warrior, a powerful weapon that Lu Guan acquired at the cost of a full thousand merit points.

"Lu Guan, have you thought this through?"

Feng Changshan spoke in a deep voice.

"This kind of ferocious beast, which is half-armored, is completely devoid of consciousness and only recognizes the flesh and blood of the living."

"Ordinary Taoist masters, when nurturing such a corpse spirit, must fast and bathe for seven days, set up an altar and perform rituals, using Shangqing talismans to gradually wear away its malevolent nature before daring to issue a contract."

"You're going in empty-handed, kid? If you can't control its resentment, that beast will tear you apart!"

"I understand, but nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Lu Guan remained calm, took off his cotton-padded jacket and tossed it aside, revealing his strong upper body.

He strode into the water dungeon, and with a loud "bang," the steel gate slammed shut behind him.

Inside the water prison, the moment a living person's yang energy entered, the black-haired demon instantly went berserk.

"Splash—"

The steel chain was stretched taut, and its pale, pupil-less eyes stared at Lu Guan, its claws scratching at the air, as if it wanted to devour the lump of flesh and blood in front of it.

Lu Guan took out the scroll of "The Remnant Scroll of Zhu You Qi Shi" that had been soaked in black dog blood from his pocket and threw it at his feet.

He had already mentally rehearsed the "Dividing the Soul to Control the Corpse" method recorded in this document countless times in the past few days.

"Get down on your knees."

Lu Guan took a sudden step forward, his blood and qi erupting like a blazing sun rising from the darkness.

Immediately afterwards, a tiger's roar resounded inside the water prison.

The ultimate intent of Bajiquan... the intent of the Fierce Tiger Fist!

That domineering, relentless will to die, with no room for retreat, transformed into a mental pressure that slammed down on Black Hair Demon's head.

The Black-haired Fiend was originally an extremely Yin creature, but in the face of such extremely strong and Yang martial arts intent, which had even been refined to the extreme, its ferocity was actually suppressed for half a breath.

"Let's do it."

A cold glint flashed in Lu Guan's eyes as he lunged forward.

"puff!"

He bit his tongue, and the most yang and powerful blood in his heart gushed out.

His right hand was stained with blood, mixed with the finest cinnabar he had prepared beforehand. He pointed his fingers like a sword and directly touched the black-haired demon's brow.

"Xiangxi Zhuyou, borrowing a corpse to bring the soul back to life. One dot opens the heavenly gate, two dots close the earthly gate..."

Lu Guan rapidly recited the obscure incantations from the "Remnant Scroll of Zhu You Qi Shi".

His fingers moved like dragons and snakes, carrying scalding yang energy, forcefully cleaving through the corpse poison barrier surrounding the black-haired demon, drawing blood-red talismans on its nine orifices, including its brow, eyes, mouth, nose, and ears.

"Hiss hiss hiss—"

The blood of a living person collided with the corpse energy of the black-haired demon, producing wisps of white smoke.

Black Hairy Demon struggled frantically, its chains groaning incessantly, but Lu Guan's hand pressed on its crown, the fierce tiger fist suppressing its last shred of will to resist.

"Knot!"

As the last stroke of the blood talisman finished at the throat of the black-haired demon, Lu Guan abruptly stopped.

"Buzz—"

The blood-red talismans above the nine orifices simultaneously lit up with a red light, then disappeared into the flesh of the black-haired demon as if they were alive.

Inside the water dungeon, the malevolent aura quickly dissipated.

The black-haired demon, which had been struggling wildly, now obediently lowered its arms and stood quietly in place.

In those pale white eyes, Lu Guan's figure was now reflected.

Divide your mind and control the corpse; the contract is formed!

Lu Guan exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling a strange connection in his mind to this ferocious beast.

It was as if the monster would die without hesitation in his place if he so desired it.

"What a powerful incantation technique."

A hint of fanaticism flashed in Lu Guan's eyes.

He turned to look at Feng Changshan outside the iron gate and grinned.

"Supervisor Feng, open the door and please remove the chains."

Feng Changshan looked at the docile, dog-like black-haired demon in the water dungeon, swallowed hard, and felt a chill run down his spine.

Without the need for Taoist nurturing or rituals, he subdued a half-step iron-armored corpse demon with just a mouthful of his heart's blood and his domineering martial arts intent.

This kid's methods are frighteningly unconventional!

The iron gate opened, and the jailer cautiously unchained Black Hair's collarbone.

"Lu Guan, you better watch out, this beast..."

"Supervisor Feng, please calm down."

Lu Guan interrupted Feng Changshan.

He turned around, looked at the two-meter-tall behemoth in front of him, and a hint of eager fighting spirit flashed in his eyes.

"I have to test this powerful weapon that cost me a thousand merit points."

"Look at its bones, see just how hard they are."

Before he finished speaking, Lu Guan did not use any fist intent, and even withdrew most of his Da Cheng Ming Jin qi and blood.

Relying solely on the brute force of his "dragon tendons and tiger bones," he delivered a powerful punch that slammed into Black Hair Demon's chest!

"Bang!"

Lu Guan felt as if his fist had struck a solid iron ingot.

The powerful recoil made his finger bones feel slightly numb.

The black-haired demon only slid back half a step!

Not even a white mark was left on the dark bronze skin on his chest, which was covered with black hair.

"Such a tough skin."

Lu Guan's eyes lit up.

That night in the French Concession, he killed Tie Niu, a bodyguard who had reached the junior level of Ming Jin, with a single punch. Tie Niu's proud "skin as thick as leather" was as thin as paper in front of him.

But this black-haired demon's ability to withstand blows was several times stronger than that of the iron ox!

This kind of pure physical defense makes him a perfect "top-tier meat shield".

Half a month later at the Western Hills Imperial Mausoleum, with this monster in front of him, he could hide in the shadows and unleash his assassination techniques to his heart's content.

"Satisfied?"

Feng Changshan watched as the man and the corpse went mad in the water dungeon and gave a cold snort of annoyance.

"But don't get too excited, kid."

"Corpse Demons are extremely Yin entities and cannot withstand the scorching sun and yang fire."

"This thing is a living devil at night, but once it's taken out during the day and exposed to sunlight, it will turn into a pool of foul-smelling corpse water in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

"You can't keep it locked in the water dungeon every day, can you?"

Lu Guan raised an eyebrow. "How does the Department of Explanatory Notes usually handle such matters?"

"The government's approach was to have a specially made iron and zinc plate box made."

Feng Changshan pointed to a black iron box in the corner.

"It was covered with talismans for warding off light and suppressing evil spirits. During the day, it was kept in a box and pulled by a mule cart, and it was released at night to carry out tasks."

"It's too bulky."

Lu Guan shook his head without hesitation.

The Western Hills Imperial Mausoleum is a perilous place where things can change in an instant.

Carrying a heavy iron box weighing several hundred pounds around the city, what's the difference between him and a sitting duck?

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Lu Guan.

He's the young master of the shadow puppetry business!

The art of shadow puppetry emphasizes "scraping, grinding, washing, carving, and painting." Why not just paint this black-haired demon a "light-blocking leather" coat?