The Martial Saint rose to power starting as a substitute bridegroom.

Chapter 75 Direction

On the other side.

In the main hall of the Cheng family, a plaque hangs on the vermilion pillars, bearing four large gilded characters that read "Refined Demeanor and Lofty Ideals," written in bold, powerful strokes, exuding an extraordinary air.

The hall is paved with blue bricks, and on each side of the corner of the wall is a potted ancient pine tree with gnarled branches, verdant and upright.

Cheng Shimo held a Jianzhou rabbit-hair teacup, gently skimming off the foam with the lid, and slowly began to speak: "Qin Lang, if you were to face that kid surnamed Li, what are your chances of winning?"

He was asking the burly man with the bulbous nose next to him.

Li Yuan's rejection of his offer, though delivered politely, felt like an invisible slap across his face.

Cheng Shimo has never failed to get what he wants.

If I can't have it, then I'll destroy it.

The man with the bulbous nose pondered for a moment, then clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This junior is absolutely certain."

"Oh?" Cheng Shimo raised an eyebrow, a smile gradually appearing on his face. He set down his teacup, leaning forward slightly, as if eager to hear more.

"There is an insurmountable chasm between Dark Force and Transformation Force. Even top experts who have been immersed in Dark Force for many years are no match for Transformation Force martial artists, and have no chance of winning." Qin Lang's voice was as loud as a bell, and his words were full of certainty.

"good!"

Cheng Shimo lightly tapped the table. This patriarch of a noble family, who usually never showed his emotions, now had a look of satisfaction on his face.

"I knew I hadn't misjudged you."

Qin Lang quickly stood up and clasped his hands in a deeper fist salute: "It is all thanks to your years of cultivation, Uncle, who secretly used rare and precious materials to transform my tendons and marrow, that I was able to enter the Transformation Realm at the age of twenty. After three years of training in the outer sect of the White Cloud Sect, I am now at the peak of the early Transformation Realm. Not to mention one peak Dark Force Realm expert, even three of them together would be no problem for me."

Qin Lang was the son of a distant cousin of Cheng Shimo. He had exceptional talent from a young age and was quite gifted in martial arts. Cheng Shimo recognized his talent and secretly nurtured him for over ten years without spending a penny. Now, he was a highly regarded outer disciple of the Xuanyue Sect on Xuanyue Mountain, a hundred miles outside Linjiang City.

Cheng Shimo summoned him back this time in order to deal with the impending upheaval in Linjiang City.

Unexpectedly, this proved to be of great use ahead of schedule.

"I have a task for you to handle," Cheng Shimo said, stroking his beard.

"Uncle's kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain, I can never repay it even if I die! Whatever your orders, please give them, and I, Qin Lang, will gladly give my life!" Qin Lang declared magnanimously, a cold glint gradually appearing in his eyes. He lowered his voice and said, "Should we take advantage of the night to capture that brat surnamed Li—"

As he spoke, he pointed his fingers like a knife and made a faint slash across his throat.

"No."

Cheng Shimo waved his hand, slowly stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the deep twilight in the courtyard, saying, "Even if the assassination succeeds, it won't..."

The death of one arrogant young man is far from enough to deter others. This time, I will not only cripple that brat Li, but I will also ruin the reputation of the Green Ox Martial Arts School to intimidate all those hesitant and unconvinced martial arts schools and escort agencies in Linjiang City!

"Therefore, although Xiao Yichen has fallen, the challenge to all the martial arts schools in the city cannot be stopped!" Cheng Shimo said.

Qin Lang was taken aback at first, then a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

"This junior understands. Uncle means—that I should challenge the Qingniu Martial Arts Society and have a face-to-face fight with Li Yuan?"

"Exactly! Let's start this first battle with the Green Ox Martial Arts Society!" Cheng Shimo turned around, the candlelight casting flickering shadows on his face. "In this battle, I will invite all the prominent figures in Linjiang City, announcing it to the entire city. Fight well; in destroying them, you will also make a name for yourself, letting the whole of Linjiang City know your name, Qin Lang!"

"Thank you so much, Uncle!" Qin Lang was overjoyed and bowed deeply.

"That brat surnamed Li, in my eyes, is nothing more than a cheapskate!"

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter, their laughter echoing in the empty hall.

The plaque hanging high in the hall, with its four large gilded characters "elegant demeanor and lofty aspirations," gleamed eerily in the flickering candlelight.

Green Ox Martial Arts Society.

A dirty-looking figure, leaning on a bamboo cane, approached everyone and asked, "Excuse me, do you know how to get to the Guicang Alliance?"

He spoke very quickly, as if afraid of being interrupted, completely ignoring the fact that someone was pinching their nose and taking two steps back.

"There's another, even more important question: do you know which direction the main gate of the Guicang Alliance faces? I've studied it for a long time and think it should face south, because the Taiqing Mountain Peace Avenue should be to the south..."

He frowned deeply, then said, "But some people say the main gate is located in the Taiqing Market area, which means it faces east... Hey, wait, don't go! This is very important, extremely important, it relates to......"

The disciple lowered his head and walked around it.

Lu Qing was not discouraged, or rather, he didn't even notice that the other party had left.

His gaze then shifted to another disciple.

He walked over with a grin and repeated what he had just said.

Not far away, Qi Xiuyuan leaned against an old tree with his arms crossed, watching Lu Qing's figure with a smirk on his lips. His expression was quite interesting.

Chen Ting merely glanced at Lu Qing, then curled her lip in disdain before returning to her own business, as if she were already used to this situation.

Li Yuan thought to himself, "It seems that Lu Qing has really gone mad."

It doesn't seem like acting.

Distracted for only a moment, Li Yuan once again assumed his stance and began cultivating the "Mysterious Warrior True Armor Technique".

In the training ground of Qingniu Martial Arts Club, the afternoon sun made the bluestone slabs scorching hot.

He was barefoot, standing with his feet apart, his knees neither bent nor straight, seemingly bent but not quite.

The spine, from the tailbone to the top of the head, is stacked one vertebra at a time, as if someone is hanging the whole person up with a string from above, yet the person is still heavily hanging down to the ground.

This is not a dead stake.

External stillness with internal movement; great movement is not as good as small movement, small movement is not as good as no movement, and true movement exists within stillness.

Li Yuan's breathing became heavy.

With each breath, his chest barely rose and fell, but his lower abdomen swelled slightly, like an undercurrent beneath the surface of water.

The breath enters through the nasal cavity, passes through the throat, sinks to the dantian, and does not travel through the meridians or internal organs, but rather goes under the skin.

The Xuanwu Armor is forged from the skin, but not the outer layer.

The epidermis is dead; the stage of transforming strength involves training the fascia beneath the skin, a thin, translucent connective tissue that adheres to the muscles, connects to the bones, and is filled with nerve endings.

He stood there for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, and subtle changes began to appear on the skin of his arms.

It's not a color change, it's a "movement".

Starting from the wrist, the skin ripples gently like water, moving inch by inch towards the shoulder, like a snake moving slowly, continuously, and silently across the sand.

The originally loose and scattered fibers were activated by the medicine and began to rearrange themselves horizontally, vertically, and diagonally according to the guidance of the mind, like weaving cloth, with each fiber passing through and twisting back and forth to form a fine net.

The Xuanwu True Armor Technique consists of eighty-one movements.

Every ten or so breaths, he would slightly adjust his posture. With each adjustment, he could feel his center of gravity shift and the tension of the fascial network redistributed.

The pores on the back of his hands were opening and closing, like countless tiny mouths breathing.

That's the fascia network under the skin contracting and relaxing.

【Xuanwu True Armor Technique (Beginner): 110/500】