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

"Clang, clang, clang."

This time, not only copper coins, but also a few gleaming silver coins were rained down on the stage.

Lu Guan turned around and gave the old blind man a low shout.

"Blind man, start the tune, let's continue singing."

Just when the people's hearts were at stake, Lu Guan once again hid behind the curtain, gripping the bamboo skewer with both hands.

This time, without any deliberate imitation, the fierce and murderous aura emanating from him, having just experienced real combat, was perfectly integrated into the shadow puppetry.

Every move and stance of "Cangzhou Warrior" thrilled and captivated the audience.

Current progress: 7/10

Current progress: 8/10

Current progress: 9/10

……

When the tenth performance of "The Warrior of Cangzhou" came to a close, it was already dark.

The spectators under the overpass changed batch after batch, but the tips from the stage were enough for them to enjoy themselves again.

"Whoa..."

Behind the curtain, Lu Guan's hands hung limply at his sides, and the tiger-skin shadow puppet lay quietly in the opera box.

He was soaked in sweat, and his mind was buzzing from mental exhaustion.

In my mind, the ancient and weathered "Stage of Creation" now shines brightly.

The audience was thrilled, and the hall erupted in cheers!

[Progress achieved: 10/10!]

[The gathering of thoughts is complete, the rewards have been distributed, the shadow puppets have been painted with eyes, tonight you will enter my dreams and receive the true teachings of the Eight Extremes Master!]

"It's done..."

Lu Guan bit his tongue to keep himself from collapsing.

"Grandpa, let's pack up and go home."

……

Meanwhile, in Nanshi, outside a hidden doorway at the very edge of the Eight Great Hutongs, there was a place called "Spring Breeze Pavilion".

Amidst the wind and snow, the man in the blue robe and short jacket who had appeared in the private room on the second floor of Juyinglou came out from behind the half-open, dilapidated wooden door with a look of disgust.

A middle-aged brothel madam, her face beaming with smiles, followed them out, clutching two silver coins that the man in blue had just given her.

"Sir, please take care. I'd stake my life on the matter you inquired about."

The madam smiled obsequiously.

"That little actor Lu Guan from the Fuju Troupe is dirt poor. He can't even afford a white flour bun normally. Where would he get the spare money to come here and have fun?"

"He hasn't stepped into a single brothel, big or small, in this entire southern city. He's definitely a virgin, his virginity undiminished, and he's perfectly clean!"

"Hmph, you're smart enough to know better. If even a whisper of this gets out, I'll skin you alive."

The man in blue snorted coldly, turned around, and disappeared into the darkness.

……

Half an hour later, in a secluded courtyard of the Cao Gang.

The young man, dressed in a moon-white silk robe, nodded slightly after listening to his subordinate's report.

"The vital energy has not been depleted, and the blood and qi are like a furnace. Excellent, wonderful."

"The fairy maiden shed her skin a few days ago, which was when she was at her weakest and most thirsty."

"Senior brother, that kid took down several bastards from the Yinmen Hall on the overpass today. Although his blood and energy are vigorous, he doesn't seem to have mastered true strength yet. When should we make our move?" the man in blue asked hesitantly.

"Fool, what's the rush? Picking the fruit now is a terrible waste!"

The young man in the silk shirt sneered, took out a delicate rosewood medicine bottle from his pocket, and casually tossed it onto the table.

"Even if an ordinary person has abundant energy and blood, it will still dissipate."

"Once he uses this powerful force to enter the 'Ming Jin' stage, his Qi and blood will nourish his body and his muscles and bones will resonate. That will be the perfect nourishment for the fairy maiden."

The young man tapped his fingers on the table, his eyes filled with malice.

"Find a pretext and deliver this bottle of 'Hundred Herbs Blood-Coagulating Powder' to him without anyone noticing."

"On the surface, this medicine can greatly replenish qi and blood and stimulate potential, but in reality, it contains a trace of the sorceress's aphrodisiac. If this medicine can help him break through the barrier as soon as possible, consider it as us adding some fodder to this 'two-legged sheep'."

The man in blue's eyes lit up, and he quickly offered his compliments.

"Senior brother is brilliant."

"Let's raise him like a hawk, give him some treats, and once he's truly mastered the Ming Jin skill, we'll serve him whole, skin and bones, to the fairy maiden."

"Go ahead and do it. Just send someone to keep a close eye on things from a distance for the next couple of days, and don't alert them."

The young man in the silk shirt picked up his teacup and gently skimmed off the foam.

"Also, warn those useless bastards from the Cao Gang and Greyhounds to stay away from this kid lately."

"If they startle my 'blood food' beforehand, I'll take their life."

……

Late at night, backstage at the Fuju Class.

After settling the old blind man in, Lu Guan wiped the blood off his body with cold water and then lay down on the broken wooden bed, falling into a deep sleep.

The moment he closed his eyes, the "Eight Extremes Master" shadow puppet pressed against his chest trembled with a buzzing sound, and a scorching heat seeped into his bones and blood through his clothes, as if it had come to life.

"boom."

Deep within his consciousness, the [Stage of Creation] trembled violently, its white curtain stained crimson with blood.

Lu Guan suddenly opened his eyes, only to find that he was no longer in the dilapidated theater.

The wind howled and the air was thick with smoke.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder and blood.

This is... the battlefield of Cangzhou from decades ago?

"Bang, bang, bang."

Not far away, a row of Western soldiers dressed in Western military uniforms and holding muskets were firing wildly.

But what really sends chills down your spine is what's behind those foreigners.

A mountain of flesh, as tall as a two-story building, was covered in pustules that oozed pus. Rotten flesh writhed and sluggish, making it look exactly like a malevolent spirit crawling out of the underworld.

The monster extended more than a dozen barbed tentacles from its body, snatching up the corpses on the ground and chewing them.

"Watch closely, kid."

A loud shout rang in Lu Guan's ears.

Lu Guan turned his head in shock.

A burly old man, shirtless and covered in scars and bullet holes, strode toward the evil spirit.

The old man's face was exactly the same as the shadow puppet he had carved.

Bajiquan Master!

"Martial arts are not about cultivating brute force, but about cultivating a powerful inner energy that can swallow the heavens and the earth, and a resolute will to advance without retreating."

The old man took a deep breath amidst the hail of bullets.

"Sizzle..."

In that instant, Lu Guan clearly saw that the blood in the old blind man's body was surging like a river, the sound of its churning was deafening and piercing his eardrums.

Immediately afterwards, the old man stomped his foot on the ground.

"Crackling and popping."

His bones and tendons all popped and crackled at the same time.

"So this is... the Ming Jin martial artist?"

Lu Guan stared wide-eyed at every detail of the old man's exertion of force. The wondrous power of the stage of creation imprinted this moment's understanding deep into his soul without reservation.

"Eight Extremes, a fierce tiger climbs the mountain!"

The old man's eyes widened in fury, and his body shrank to an inch, instantly piercing through the hail of musket bullets and crashing into the embrace of the enormous, fleshy evil spirit.

There is nothing fancy about it.

Just one punch.

With a single punch, the powerful force of the old man's fist slammed into the monster's body.

"Boom!"

That arrogant, fleshly evil spirit was actually blasted into countless pieces of flesh by this one punch.

The image freezes, then shatters.

"call……"

On the wooden bed backstage of the Fuju Class, Lu Guan suddenly sat up, panting heavily.

It was still dark outside, but he felt no chill at all.

Lu Guan slowly lowered his head and looked at his hands.

He took a deep breath and followed the method taught by the old man in his dream.

Relax your shoulders and drop your elbows to mobilize the body's Qi and blood.

"Crackling sound."

His spine cracked.

Next came the arms, legs, ribs...

Lu Guan was shocked and suddenly punched into the air.

"Smack."

No object was hit, but a ringing sound was heard in the air, a sign that the speed of the punch had broken through some kind of limit and the force had penetrated through the air.