He obtained the God of All Laws from human skin.

Chapter 127 Taking on Apprentices

Qingyang Temple?

Qin Chuan thought for a moment, but he had never heard of this Taoist temple.

The two chatted for a few more minutes, then turned the corner and returned to the council hall.

At first glance, the original council hall has become a ruin. The roof, which was originally made of blue bricks and black tiles, has collapsed on one side, leaving only a few beams sticking crookedly into the air.

Not far away, a number of figures were engaged in a chaotic battle.

The most eye-catching scene, of course, was the battle between Ma Yanwang and his two companions on the open space in the very center.

Battles between experts at the Bone Forging Realm are so fierce that they can shatter stone tablets with every move. They cause houses to collapse and dust to rise everywhere, and ordinary gang members dare not even approach the vicinity.

At this moment, facing Ma Yanwang and Qian Laifu, the Winged Tiger looked frustrated and depressed. He dodged left and right under their attack, and although his footwork was fast, he was still somewhat outmatched.

If he hadn't been skilled in movement techniques and known for his speed, he probably would have been killed by Ma Yanwang and Qian Laifu long ago.

He narrowly dodged Ma Yanwang's palm strike, the force of which grazed his ear and slammed into the stone wall behind him, shattering it to pieces and scattering debris all over him.

Upon seeing this, the winged tiger had already cursed Song Hai's ancestors for eighteen generations in his heart.

He really believed Song Hai's sweet talk and got involved in this mess.

That scoundrel Song Hai talked a good game, claiming everything was foolproof, that Ma Yanwang was deeply poisoned and beyond help, and that as long as they followed the plan, the Iron Hand Gang would be theirs. But what happened?

King Ma is standing here perfectly fine, capable of breaking rocks and pillars with one hand. How could he be poisoned?

Now Song Hai has vanished without a trace, his fate unknown. He himself is trapped here, caught between two opponents at the Bone Forging Realm, blocking him in the middle of this ruin, unable to find a way to escape.

The winged tiger gritted its teeth, knowing that things could not continue like this.

If he doesn't extricate himself in time, he'll be stuck here if he's even slightly careless later.

As the winged tiger dodged, it quickly scanned the surrounding terrain with its peripheral vision, and suddenly its gaze locked onto a side house that had not yet completely collapsed not far away.

The beams and pillars of the house were still intact, but half of the roof had collapsed, making it an excellent location that could be utilized.

He took a deep breath, suddenly mustered his strength, and his figure swept towards the side room like a gust of wind, so fast that he was almost just a blur.

Qian Laifu reacted extremely quickly, shifting his feet to block the way. He gathered the power of the Bone Forging Realm in his palm and struck the Winged Tiger directly in the back.

With no way to avoid it, the winged tiger gritted his teeth and took the blow with his back. The palm force of the Bone Forging Realm penetrated his back, and he felt a sweet taste in his throat. He spat out a mouthful of blood, but he used the force of the palm to accelerate forward and crash into the side room like a cannonball.

Before he could wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, he struck the main beam supporting the roof with both palms.

The beam, already teetering on the brink of collapse, snapped instantly under such immense force. The entire roof collapsed with a deafening roar, and rubble and beams rained down like a torrential downpour, sending dust billowing into the sky. This commotion temporarily concealed Qian Laifu and Ma Yanwang behind the ruins.

Taking advantage of this moment, the winged tiger dared not linger for even a moment, and with a turn of its body, it darted towards a narrow alley on the outskirts of the ruins.

That alley leads straight outside. Once inside, relying on his proud agility, even two Bone Forging Realm cultivators might not be able to catch up with him.

But after taking only a few dozen steps, they bumped into two figures: a Taoist priest in an old robe holding a whisk, and a young man with a long sword standing beside him.

The winged tiger didn't want to take a detour, because taking a detour at this moment would only waste time, and wasting time meant death.

His face darkened, and he shouted sharply, "Get out of the way!" Without slowing down, he charged straight at the two like a mad bull, intending to crush a bloody path between them.

Seeing this, Qin Chuan did not hesitate at all, and immediately stepped aside, shielding the disheveled Taoist priest in front of him.

Hu Daoren was originally preparing to step aside, but he suddenly thought of something. He flipped his right hand and pulled out three yellowed talismans. At the same time, he made a hand seal with his left hand and chanted incantations.

The three talismans moved without wind, suddenly exploded, and transformed into three head-sized, blazing fireballs that hurtled towards the winged tiger in a triangular formation. The timing was perfect; the winged tiger, charging at full speed, had no way to change direction and crashed directly into the three fireballs.

Flames exploded, engulfing him in a blazing fireball, and a piercing scream rang out instantly.

The next moment, a figure engulfed in flames burst out of the explosion.

It can only be said that the martial artist in the Bone Forging Realm is indeed powerful. If it were an ordinary person, they would have been reduced to ashes long ago after being burned by such flames. However, the Winged Tiger managed to protect his internal organs with his powerful strength. Although his clothes were burned black and tattered and wisps of smoke rose from his skin, he still had vitality.

Having suffered such a great loss, the winged tiger's eyes gleamed with an almost insane ferocity.

He had no way out. Song Hai was probably dead, and the people he brought with him had either scattered or died.

If we can't kill this Taoist priest tonight and fight our way out, he won't even have a chance to escape.

He gritted his teeth, his whole being like a wild beast driven to the brink of despair, wreathed in flames, as he charged straight at Hu Daoren.

Seeing this, Hu Daoren showed no sign of panic.

He flicked the whisk in his hand, and the whisk's tail suddenly grew longer, as if it had come to life, and wrapped around the winged tiger as if it had a life of its own.

The winged tiger instinctively tried to break free, but the dust tail wrapped around his wrist faster than he could react. In the blink of an eye, it had already wrapped around his wrist three times, tightening more and more, like an iron hoop embedded in his flesh.

At the same time, Hu Daoren subtly changed his left-hand hand gesture, curling three fingers inward and pressing his thumb into his palm, as if he were holding an invisible seal.

"town."

He uttered a single word softly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the winged tiger felt as if the arm wrapped in the whisk had instantly turned into a stone. He couldn't feel it at all. Whether he clenched his fist or exerted his strength, the arm was like a dead object hanging on his shoulder, without any response.

Immediately afterwards, the stiffness spread rapidly along his arm to his whole body, the flow of qi and blood became extremely sluggish, his meridians seemed to be frozen, and his strength was stuck halfway through, unable to advance or retreat.

The winged tiger's pupils suddenly contracted. He still wanted to resist, so he gritted his teeth and used his last bit of strength to smash his other, still-movable hand towards Hu Daoren's face.

But the next moment, a long nail suddenly shot out from Hu Daoren's sleeve.

The nail was about three inches long, jet black, with a dull luster. It shot out silently, so fast that it didn't even leave a afterimage.

The long spike pierced the winged tiger's chest, precisely at its heart.

It pierced through, leaving behind a thin line of blood as fine as a hair.

The winged tiger froze abruptly, its fist halting in mid-air before its entire body collapsed straight forward to the ground, lifeless.

Hu Daoren didn't even glance at the corpse lying on the ground. With a flick of his wrist, the whisk tail wrapped around the winged tiger's arm loosened on its own and returned to the whisk handle like a snake, returning to its original loose and disheveled state, showing no trace of the fierce, iron-like force it had just displayed.

He tossed the whisk into his hand, turned his head to look at Qin Chuan, a faint smile playing on his lips: "Young brother, how was my performance just now?"

Qin Chuan was genuinely surprised to see this. He shifted his gaze from the winged tiger's corpse to the whisk in Hu Daoren's hand, which had been restored to its original state.

To be honest, although he already knew that this world was full of strange and supernatural things, and had experienced ghosts entering his dreams and seen alluring monsters, those things, how should I put it, still had a slightly illusory feel to them, lacking a real sense of excitement.

But the scene of Hu Daoren's attack just now really happened before his eyes. With a flick of his hand, three balls of crimson flames exploded, and his whisk grew as if it were alive. All of this looked just like the immortal cultivators described in those fantasy stories.

Moreover, that winged tiger was a powerful expert at the Bone Forging Realm, a figure who could be considered a notable figure in Qinghe County. Yet, he couldn't even last two rounds against this slovenly Taoist. Such skill was beyond the reach of ordinary martial artists.

Qin Chuan spoke, his tone carrying a hint of surprise that he hadn't completely suppressed, along with an undisguised longing. "Daoist's methods are extraordinary. That fireball appeared out of thin air, and you can still control the whisk like that. The Winged Tiger, with its Bone Forging Realm cultivation, couldn't even last two rounds in your hands. I've only ever heard of such methods in the stories told by storytellers before. I never imagined that such magic actually existed in the world. I've truly broadened my horizons today."

Hearing this, the Taoist priest's smile deepened. He stroked the tuft of beard on his chin and chuckled twice. "Young brother, this old Taoist sees that you have good potential; you're quite malleable. I wonder if you'd like to become my disciple and learn Taoist arts from me?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Chuan froze on the spot. The expression on his face changed from surprise to astonishment, and then from astonishment to an undisguised joy, as if he had not expected this slovenly Taoist priest to suddenly say such a thing.

He looked up at Master Hu, paused for a moment, then hurriedly stepped forward, his tone tinged with urgency: "Master Hu, after learning Taoist arts from you, will I be able to become like you in the future—controlling fire, manipulating objects, and transcending ordinary people?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Daoren was about to reply when his lips parted slightly, the words almost escaping his throat.

But in that instant, he felt a chill inexplicably, as if a thin needle had gently pricked him from somewhere on his back and neck. It didn't hurt, but it made the hairs on his body stand on end for a moment.

He instinctively stopped himself from saying the words that were about to come out, and warily turned his head to look around, his gaze sweeping over the courtyard wall, the eaves, and...

The open space was empty, except for the already cold corpse on the ground.

The feeling came quickly and went quickly, like a gust of wind blowing past you from behind.

Hu Daoren frowned, then focused his senses for a moment. After confirming that there was nothing unusual around him, he withdrew his gaze and shook his head inwardly. He assumed that he had just cast several talismans and activated the Soul-Slaying Nail, which had exhausted him and made him somewhat unstable. He attributed the fleeting chill to his own overthinking.

He looked again at Qin Chuan's expectant face and smiled, "Of course. If you are willing to work hard, let alone controlling fire and manipulating objects, even summoning wind and rain will not be difficult. Although my skills are not extraordinary, they are more than enough to teach a beginner like you."

Upon hearing this, Qin Chuan no longer hesitated and bowed deeply, saying, "Disciple greets Master!"

Seeing this, Master Hu chuckled and helped Qin Chuan up, saying, "Haha, no rush, no rush. The matter of becoming a disciple requires sincerity. Since you have this intention, then our time has come. But let's get this straight: I don't have many rules for accepting disciples, but there's one: once you enter my sect, you must obey my words and endure hardship. Have you thought it through?"

Qin Chuan straightened up and nodded emphatically.

Seeing this, the smile on Hu Daoren's face became even more pronounced.

His painstaking effort to take Qin Chuan as his disciple was certainly not for the sake of inheriting his mantle.

What he really wanted was to figure out the source of the murderous aura emanating from this kid, as well as the origin of the mountain lord's oppressive aura he had just witnessed.

That's why he deliberately created that grand scene earlier, just to attract Qin Chuan's attention, so that when he later proposed taking him as a disciple, the kid wouldn't refuse.

On the way the two of them had walked together, the talisman in his arms had gradually calmed down. The wronged spirits were no longer as agitated and chaotic as before, but seemed to sense some escaping threat and slowly curled up back into the depths of the locust tree.

Although there is still some restlessness, it is much better than before.

This precisely confirmed his suspicions: the imposing aura of a mountain lord wasn't something that resided permanently within this young man; it was more like a power that could only be unleashed under certain circumstances. Perhaps he had encountered a life-or-death threat, or perhaps his emotions had surged violently, or perhaps—

In short, there must be certain conditions.

Hu Daoren pondered to himself that if this oppressive aura were permanent and controllable, he would actually be more wary.

But since it's just a coincidence, it means it's not real skill, but some kind of power that hasn't been mastered yet, or even something that this kid himself can't explain the origin of.

Since that's the case, he doesn't plan to rush to capture and refine Qin Chuan. That approach is too crude and hasty. What if the source of that oppressive aura isn't Qin Chuan himself, but some artifact or mark on his body? If he captures him too early, he might lose the clues and disrupt his plan.

It would be better to first take them under your wing, keep them by your side legitimately, and observe and study them carefully every day. This is the more mature and prudent approach.

He has plenty of patience and plenty of methods.

Even the most clever teenager can't hide from him for long.

Moreover, even if we can't figure it out in the end, this kid is a martial artist in the Blood Condensation Realm with a solid foundation. With his fierce aura and my careful training, he could be excellent material to forge a Dao weapon.

Moreover, the grade of this soldier might not be worse than that of an ordinary Grade A soldier, and it might even nurture a rare item that he himself has never seen before.

Keeping them around as henchmen would be a sure-fire way to make money.

No matter how you look at it, you're not losing out.

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