Uniting Pingyuan Commandery

If someone had martial arts experience, they would have chosen to close in and deliver a powerful strike like Iron Mountain Lean or Wild Boar Charging a Tree. But Zhao Jiaren didn't understand these techniques. Instead, he used Cloud and Mist Palm to strike Zhao Yili's chest, unleashing a burst of soft energy that sent him staggering back three steps.

Zhao Yili finally recovered from the paralysis. He looked at the faint palm print on his chest. If this were a life-or-death duel, he could have launched a counterattack. This injury would not have affected his movements. However, this was a friendly spar. One palm strike was enough to mean defeat.

"Young Master is indeed skilled. May I ask what this finger technique is called?"

Zhao Jiaren didn't hide anything. "Startling Thunder Finger."

"A mid-grade martial art worth 2,500 points!"

"It's great to be the leader's disciple. I've been working myself to the bone for a month and only managed to accumulate a little over a hundred contribution points. It seems like I'll never be able to exchange them for a mid-grade martial arts technique."

"Tch, the most important thing is access, okay? Without access, even if you've saved up 2,500 points, you're not qualified to exchange for mid-grade martial arts techniques."

"I didn't expect it to be a mid-grade martial art. Senior Brother's loss is not unjust."

Because the martial arts manual has a clearly marked price, the disciples now have a standard for judging the strength of martial arts. The more contribution points a martial art has, the more powerful it is, although in reality it is not that simple.

For example, the "Feng and Shan Sacrifice Sword Technique" is actually unremarkable in terms of its sword moves alone. It has neither any outstanding advantages nor any obvious weaknesses. If placed in Jin Yong's novels, it would be at most on par with the Miao Family Sword Technique in "The Snowy Mountain Fox". However, its ultimate move is a common move of Yan Jinghong, a Spirit Transformation expert, and it is said that once it is used, the opponent has no other way but to compete in terms of Foundation.

The strength of martial arts skills always varies from person to person. A complete system of martial arts skills often covers all levels from weak to strong. In this regard, Si Ming can only break down martial arts skills. For example, he can separate the sword moves of the "Feng and Shan Sacrifice Sword Technique" and list them as a separate Swordsmanship chapter, priced at 1,800 contribution points, which belongs to the middle-grade martial arts. Then he can separate its ultimate moves and list them as the Sword Might chapter, which belongs to the high-grade martial arts. As for the ultimate moves, considering that he did not obtain Yan Jinghong's consent, Si Ming did not list them in the martial arts manual catalog.

With an unusually steady gait, Zhao Xiaohui walked to Zhao Jiaren's side, stood on tiptoe, patted him on the shoulder, and said in an old-fashioned tone, "Junior brother did a good job, you didn't disgrace your master."

Zhao Jiaren was both amused and exasperated, because his younger sister claimed that she had received the martial arts instruction from their master earlier, so she was the one who entered the sect first, and insisted that Zhao Jiaren call her senior sister.

Having survived life-or-death ordeals, Zhao Jiaren no longer took such trivial matters to heart, letting his sister tease him. He simply turned to look in the direction of the VIP pavilion, a hint of worry in his eyes, and said, "Today, the leader of the Three Rivers Gang, along with the heads of the eight major sects in the city, came to visit. I'm afraid their intentions are not good... The existence of the Heavenly Martial Alliance has ultimately threatened the interests of certain people."

Zhao Xiaohui, on the other hand, seemed very confident. "Don't worry, junior brother, Master's skills are unparalleled; he will definitely persuade them with reason."

Zhao Jiaren shook his head. "Divine skills have nothing to do with eloquence, and maybe... they have something to do with reason."

Chapter 341 Unifying Pingyuan Commandery

"Young Master Sima, your Heavenly Martial Alliance is acting rather unethically, recruiting people onto our territory. Master Zeng of the Dragon and Tiger Martial Arts School said that several of his students left the school to join the Origin Return Sect in Dragon and Tiger Martial Arts School Heavenly Martial Alliance. Isn't that a bit against the code of the martial world?"

The speaker was Tian Baoqi, the leader of the Three Rivers Gang. The Three Rivers Gang controlled the canal transport in Pingyuan Commandery, so it had a large number of members, numbering in the tens of thousands, making it the largest gang in Pingyuan Commandery. Although in terms of martial arts, the gang leader Tian Baoqi was only slightly better than Zhao Donglai, his gang was still one of the most powerful and influential second-rate sects.

As for the eight major sects following the Three Rivers Gang, they were basically similar to the Origin Return Sect, only having a small reputation in Pingyuan Commandery. Outside of Pingyuan Commandery, no one knew them. However, since they were chosen by Tian Baoqi to bolster his power, they must have some extraordinary abilities.

Si Ming sat in a grand chair, looking exhausted, and said weakly, "Chief Tian is right. Do you have any other insightful opinions to share with me?"

Tian Baoqi had expected the other party to refute him, and had even prepared arguments for various situations, but to his surprise, they were all useless, leaving him somewhat hesitant.

Before coming here to "force the emperor to abdicate," Tian Baoqi naturally sent people to investigate Si Ming's background. The maid with extraordinary skills, the ability to easily deal with Anomalies, the mysterious Ming Cult, and countless martial arts skills... Even if we disregard the exaggerated claims, it is enough to prove that this leader of the Heavenly Martial Alliance is no ordinary person.

That's precisely why they couldn't let such a golden opportunity slip by. The Three Rivers Gang clearly had a number of disciples that were no less than those of the top-tier sects in the martial arts world, but they suffered from a lack of Higher Vehicle martial arts skills, resulting in the gang not even having a single first-rate master. When others mentioned the Three Rivers Gang, they would only say that they had a large number of members and were as rich as a country, and would never say that they had "many masters." The people respected Tian Baoqi because they respected the Three Rivers Gang behind him, not because of him personally.

Now there is a good opportunity to change this awkward situation. As long as the Heavenly Martial Alliance can be incorporated into the Three Rivers Gang, the lack of Higher Vehicle martial arts will be changed immediately.

Ultimately, Tian Baoqi did not oppose the Heavenly Martial Alliance's exchange system, but the leader could not be an outsider who didn't even know where the sect's foundation was; it should be their Three Rivers Gang.

"I am not an unreasonable person. I know that Young Master Sima established the Heavenly Martial Alliance out of good intentions. However, good intentions do not always lead to good results. The matter of exchanging martial arts techniques has actually infringed on the interests of many Aristocratic Clan families. They are used to using their own unique skills as bait to recruit some martial arts masters as retainers. There are also some young people who want to make a name for themselves and often risk their Aristocratic Clan Internal Cultivation. But now that there is the Heavenly Martial Alliance, they have better options. Why would they still be willing to sell themselves to the Aristocratic Clan?"

Si Ming nodded and said, "That makes sense. So what?"

Seeing this, Tian Baoqi assumed the other party understood his predicament, and thus gained confidence, laughing, "Right now, the Heavenly Martial Alliance's reputation is not yet widespread, and it hasn't spread beyond Pingyuan City. Therefore, the Aristocratic Clan families haven't taken any action. But once they hear about the martial arts exchange, the Heavenly Martial Alliance will face annihilation. The only one who can help the Heavenly Martial Alliance is my Three Rivers Gang."

He paused for a moment, then added, "And these fellow martial artists behind me, as long as we work together, share the same boat, and unite our strength, we have nothing to fear from the coercion of the Aristocratic Clan."

He wanted to join the Heavenly Martial Alliance, but not as a subordinate like the Origin Return Sect; rather, he wanted to join as a collaborator, or at least as an equal.

The Three Rivers Gang used its power to support the Heavenly Martial Alliance, and in return, the Heavenly Martial Alliance naturally had to give him a large number of contribution points for free, and also grant him the right to practice martial arts. It couldn't be that the dignified leader of the Three Rivers Gang was less powerful than the son of the Origin Return Sect leader.

Although Tian Baoqi desperately wanted to take over the Heavenly Martial Alliance, he wasn't stupid. All the martial arts manuals were on this mysterious leader. If he were to propose taking over the leadership, the leader could simply take the manuals and leave, leaving the Heavenly Martial Alliance as nothing more than an empty shell. Moreover, he was somewhat wary of the "Ming Cult" behind the leader. A sect capable of producing so many martial arts manuals was certainly no ordinary sect.

However, it doesn't matter. It's not only by becoming the leader of the alliance that you can control the entire alliance. As long as the Three Rivers Gang becomes the main body of the alliance, and enough people are placed in the upper echelons of the Heavenly Martial Alliance, they can gradually infiltrate and take control of the management. Sooner or later, they can sideline the leader.

Just as Tian Baoqi was making his plans, he heard Si Ming yawn and say, "Although I didn't hear clearly what Chief Huang said, it all seems very reasonable."

The owner of the Dragon and Tiger School said with an Anomalies expression, "Young Master Sima, it's Chief Tian, not Chief Huang."

Tian Baoqi's face was constricted, as if he were constipated. It turned out that after saying so much, the other party hadn't even remembered his name.

"That's about right. Look, there's a 'field' character inside the character 'Huang'," Si Ming continued, ignoring the other's expression. "In short, matters between people in the martial arts world should be resolved in the way people in the martial arts world do. Since Chief Huang wants to persuade me, then try taking a punch from me. If you can take it, I'll do as you say. How about it?"

Tian Baoqi felt a surge of anger. This was the first time he had been looked down upon like this. Even if the other party was highly skilled in martial arts, he was still one of the top experts in Pingyuan Commandery. His forty years of internal energy were not for nothing, and he couldn't possibly be unable to withstand even a single punch.

Just as he was about to agree, he suddenly felt a sense of crisis, as if something terrible would happen if he agreed.

Driven by instinct, Tian Baoqi shook off the influence of the mocking Fist Intent, his intelligence returned, and he immediately realized that since the other party had made this request, they must have a considerable degree of confidence. In the current situation, bluffing was meaningless; it was impossible to issue a challenge that was bound to fail.

Although it's hard to believe, the opponent's strength might actually exceed expectations.

Tian Baoqi recalled the chivalrous tales told by storytellers, where when the protagonist pretended to be weak to outwit the enemy, there were always some foolish characters who jumped out to become sacrifices, thus highlighting the protagonist's strength. Could it be that he had become such a character now?

Quickly changing his mind, Tian Baoqi immediately changed his tune, saying, "Hey, the most important thing in the martial world isn't martial arts, but righteousness. Everyone in the martial world should prioritize loyalty. Fighting and killing won't solve anything; that's what low-class gangsters and thugs do. Everyone here is in a high position; how can we lower ourselves and act like wild beasts? If there's anything you didn't understand earlier, Alliance Leader, I can patiently explain it to you."

The leaders of the eight major sects all cast Anomalies glances at him, never expecting that the dignified leader of the Three Rivers Gang would show weakness at this moment.

Just as Tian Baoqi thought the situation had changed, Si Ming straightened up and said, "Chief Lei, are you ready? I'm about to throw a punch, so don't accuse me of sneak attacking!"

"Wait, wait a minute! We can talk this out. Let's sit down and take our time..."

"Take this punch!"

This kid has no intention of listening to me at all!

Tian Baoqi roared and unleashed his full power, using the Three Rivers Gang's ultimate technique, the Angry Furious Flood Dragon Churning Clouds Palm, to defend himself. The vast palm force stirred up the air currents, as if condensing into a ferocious dragon. As it thrashed about, it forced all eight sect leaders beside him back.