Martial Arts Crossover: Infiltrating a Girls' Chat Group at the Start

"Brother Tang, please don't talk like that, I'm scared." Zhu Zhishan's body trembled.

Chapter 11 Deception

Trembling was useless; Tang Bohu's punches were incredibly fast, his hands becoming afterimages.

A weak, miserable scream rang out, and soon Zhu Zhishan's face had returned to normal, even becoming a little thinner and paler.

Tang Bohu stood up, put his hands on his hips, and slowly exhaled. "It's been a long time since I've done this punch. It's really tiring." Then he kicked Zhu Zhishan. "Hey, Brother Zhu, you're all better now. I also gave you a face-slimming and whitening treatment, so I won't charge you extra."

"All better? I'm all better?" Zhu Zhishan reached up and touched his face. "It really doesn't hurt anymore! Brother Tang, what kind of boxing technique is this? How can it be so amazing? Look, shouldn't we open a shop together? Wouldn't we make a lot of money that way? Hehehehe!"

He was just talking, but he also made a sleazy laugh.

"I'll hit you!" Tang Bohu didn't even turn his head, clenched his fist, and punched Zhu Zhishan in the stomach. "You still want to open a shop together? What are you going to use to open it!"

"Brother Tang, you've gone too far again." Zhu Zhishan was so badly beaten that he spat out saliva and collapsed, likely to take a while to recover.

Lin Zhu looked closely at Zhu Zhishan's face and saw that he had indeed recovered completely.

"Your 'Return My Beauty' Fist is truly impressive." He gave Tang Bohu a thumbs up.

Tang Bohu smiled and said modestly, "You flatter me, I don't even know your esteemed name."

His surname was Lin, his given name was Zhu, and his courtesy name was Renqian.

"But is it the tenacity of resilience, and the humility of modesty?"

Lin Zhu was the name given to him by his parents in his previous life; as for the other character, he had just come up with it.

"A fine name, a fine style of calligraphy," Tang Bohu praised, then asked, "May I ask, Brother Lin, what is the purpose of your visit to Suzhou...?"

"My body was swept here by a great flood, my soul was swept here by the power of time and space; I don't know why I came to Suzhou."

Despite having many thoughts in mind, Lin Zhu replied, "Going out to gain experience and also to see the scenery of Jiangnan."

"I see," Tang Bohu said. "Brother Zhu and I are preparing to go to Wuxi. Brother Lin, would you like to come along?"

"No need," Lin Zhu waved her hand. "I still need to continue south..."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a Tibetan monk leading a young man in blue robes to the front of the restaurant.

Is it Duan Yu?

"Brother Lin, Brother Lin, what else do we need to do?" Tang Bohu asked.

"Nothing? I was planning to continue south, but it seems that's no longer necessary." Lin Zhu said, looking towards the stairwell.

He originally intended to go to Dali to retrieve the manuals for the Northern Darkness Divine Art and the Lingbo Steps, but unexpectedly he saw Duan Yu here. It seems the manuals are gone or even destroyed.

Tang Bohu followed Lin Zhu's gaze towards the stairwell, wondering, 'Who is he looking at?'

A short while later, the Tibetan monk and the young man in blue robes came up.

Seeing two pairs of eyes fixed on him, the Tibetan monk bowed with one hand and asked, "Two benefactors, why are you looking at this humble monk like that?"

"Is it the Great Wheel King of Tibet?" Lin Zhu asked the Tibetan monk without any attempt to hide his question.

“You have a good eye, benefactor. It is indeed this humble monk,” Kumārajīva admitted without any attempt to hide his identity.

"Then this must be Duan Yu, the heir of the Prince of Zhennan of Dali." Lin Zhu turned his gaze to Duan Yu.

"It is indeed me. This young master, do you recognize me?" Duan Yu was stunned when he saw Lin Zhu.

However, thinking of his fairy-like sister, he eventually regained his composure.

Upon hearing this, Kumārajīva became secretly wary, pulled Duan Yu behind him, and asked, "Who are you, benefactor? What is your relationship with this Young Master Duan?"

"It doesn't really matter." Lin Zhu shook his head, then asked Duan Yu, "Has Young Master Duan ever been to a place called Langhuan Paradise, where there is a jade statue?"

Kumārajīva turned to look at Duan Yu.

Tang Bohu watched the show silently from the sidelines.

Zhu Zhishan, who was lying on the ground, suddenly turned his eyes and continued to play dead.

Duan Yu's heart skipped a beat, but he did not lie. Instead, he said, "There is indeed such a place. I have been there before." As he spoke, his eyes were somewhat unfocused, and he dared not meet Lin Zhu's gaze.

Lin Zhu continued, "Did you acquire two martial arts skills?"

Duan Yu lowered his head even further. "I have learned two martial arts techniques."

Lin Zhu, clinging to a sliver of hope, asked, "Where is the manual now?"

"It's ruined, ruined." Duan Yu felt ashamed and restless.

Tang Bohu, Kumārajīva, and Zhu Zhishan were completely bewildered.

However, Kumārajīva did not interrupt their conversation; he was very interested in the manual.

Undeterred, Lin Zhu asked, "How was it destroyed?"

He had originally planned to study the Northern Darkness Divine Art to prepare for his future breakthrough.

To reach the pinnacle of mastery, one needs to create their own technique in order to break through the bottleneck.

Just like how the Heavenly Mountain Child Granny used the Everlasting Youth and Longevity Technique as a foundation to create the Supreme Technique of the Eight Desolations and Six Directions, thus achieving the pinnacle.

Xiong Ba combined the Wind God Leg, Heavenly Frost Fist, and Cloud Dispelling Palm to create his own Three-Part Returning Origin Qi.

Needless to say, Zhang Sanfeng created the Taiji Nine Heavens True Scripture, one of the most top-tier martial arts techniques in China, and used it to break through to become a terrestrial immortal.

The pinnacle refers to the pinnacle of one's innate talent, comprehension, martial arts foundation, and martial arts knowledge.

Lin Zhu's breakthrough to the Grandmaster level was entirely due to a cheat code; he would remain at that level for a long time afterward, requiring continuous accumulation of experience.

Accumulate skill, broaden your knowledge of martial arts, and appreciate the wonders of the world.

Only in this way can one see the path to the summit.

Throughout the entire land of China, there is not a single expert at the pinnacle level or above who is under sixty years old.

Many of the Grandmasters are young people.

Lin Zhu had no family background or extensive martial arts lineage, so the Beiming Divine Skill was very important to him.

Duan Yu recalled the scenes that had happened with Mu Wanqing in the cave, and said with some difficulty, "It was destroyed, but as for how it was destroyed, I absolutely cannot say."

When Kumārajīva heard that two more martial arts techniques had been destroyed, a look of heartache appeared in his eyes, and he couldn't help but interject, "Which two martial arts techniques are they?"

Duan Yu also looked at Lin Zhu.

Lin Zhu said, enunciating each word clearly, "The Northern Darkness Divine Art and the Lingbo Steps have been ruined by you. Did you even master them?"

Duan Yu stammered, "To save my life, I've mastered the Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique). But I've only mastered one version of the Beiming Divine Skill."

"Thirty-six pictures, and you only practiced one? I really want to beat you to death! What a waste!" Lin Zhu was furious. "At least practiced them all and copied them down!"

When Kumārajīva heard that the Northern Darkness Divine Skill had thirty-six diagrams, and that Duan Yu had only practiced one of them yet still possessed such formidable internal strength, his heart ached even more.

He couldn't help but chime in, "Yeah, at least you've mastered the whole thing!"

"No, no, no." Duan Yu hurriedly waved his hand. "The Northern Darkness Divine Art is too evil. It is not the way of the righteous path. I only practiced it to save my life."

"You're talking nonsense!" Lin Zhu shouted, "That's the most authentic Taoist technique. Who told you to use it to absorb other people's power? Looking at your Northern Darkness True Qi, it's not very pure. It must be because you absorbed other people's power but didn't fully convert it into your own. Let's see how you die in the future. Now that I've written down the Lingbo Steps, it's like returning it to its rightful owner."

Lin Zhu said somewhat shamelessly.

Upon hearing this, Kumārajīva looked at Lin Zhu, realizing that Lin Zhu was there to steal his business.

"Wait a minute! Benefactor, this humble monk arrived first. There's a saying in the Central Plains that everything is about first come, first served."

Chapter 12 Battle against Kumārajīva

"Did he also destroy your secret manual?" Lin Zhu asked knowingly.

"He is not!" Duan Yu quickly denied. "This Tibetan national teacher covets the Six Meridians Divine Sword of Dali and wants to take it for himself."

Kumārajīva reached out and grabbed Duan Yu's vital point. "This humble monk is only fulfilling a promise made to the late Benefactor Murong. I would never take it for myself. Young Master Duan is speaking nonsense."

"Heh, who doesn't know that the Great Wheel King Kumārajīva is obsessed with martial arts classics? Do you think I can believe that?" Lin Zhu's face revealed a mocking smile.

Kumārajīva was fond of martial arts, but also concerned with his reputation. Seeing Lin Zhu mocking him like this, he couldn't help but feel angry. "How arrogant you are, benefactor! Do you think this humble monk is easy to bully?"

Lin Zhu paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking. Master, you have such keen insight."

"You arrogant brat!"

With a roar, Kumārajīva unleashed a blade of fiery energy from his hand, aimed directly at Lin Zhu's face—his signature move, the Flaming Blade.

The blade's energy was swift and fast, reaching Lin Zhu's face in the blink of an eye.

Without hesitation, Lin Zhu raised his wrist and grabbed the fiery blade energy with his palm. Then, with a squeeze, the blade energy shattered and dispersed, creating surging waves of energy.

Kumārajīva's pupils contracted, and he couldn't help but ask, "What exquisite technique! What kind of skill is this? How could you break my Flaming Blade so easily!"

Lin Zhu said calmly, "The Free and Unfettered Sect, the Heavenly Mountain Plum Blossom Hand. Would the Master like to offer further instruction?"

Upon hearing about the Free and Unfettered Sect, Duan Yu thought to himself, 'Could it be that the Northern Darkness Divine Art and Lingbo Steps left behind by the Fairy Sister are the martial arts of the Free and Unfettered Sect? Then why did she order me to kill all the members of the Free and Unfettered Sect? This person, whether young master or young lady, is so skilled in martial arts, how could I possibly defeat him?'

Kumārajīva pondered for a moment, "What does the benefactor intend to do?"

Lin Zhu pointed at Duan Yu and said, "Hand him over to me, or we can have a showdown outside the city."

Kumārajīva gave a cold laugh, "What if even this humble monk disagrees?"

Lin Zhu said, "Then the master wouldn't want to be targeted by the Six Doors, would he? The Tibetan Kingdom has kidnapped the Dali prince and brought him to our Great Zhou. I wonder if they intend to provoke a conflict between Great Zhou and Dali, so that Tibet can reap the benefits?"

"You...despicable!" Kumārajīva was stunned.

"Thank you for the compliment, but I am still far inferior to the master," Lin Zhu said modestly.

Upon hearing this, Duan Yu couldn't help but chuckle to himself. 'I didn't expect this young master to be so witty; he probably isn't a woman disguised as a man.'

Kumārajīva laughed in exasperation, “Good! Good! Good! The Great Zhou is indeed full of talented people, and heroes everywhere.”

Lin Zhu cupped his hands in greeting and said, "You flatter me! May I ask whether you, Master, will hand over Young Master Duan, or take a trip outside the city?"

"Hahaha, do you think I'm afraid of you?" Kumārajīva made his choice. "However, after traveling north, I'm getting a bit hungry. How about we have a meal first, then we can have a proper match?"

"Of course, this meal is on my behalf to treat Master and Young Master Duan." Lin Zhu gestured for the two to sit down.

"Then this humble monk will be unworthy of such an honor." Kumārajīva performed a Buddhist bow and sat down.

Lin Zhu looked at Tang Bohu and said, "Brother Tang, you don't mind, do you?"