Not One to Be Praised

To challenge the traditions of the martial arts world and establish a new order, one must possess unparalleled power. This "unparalleled" power does not refer to one-on-one invincibility, but rather to the ability to defeat the other nine of the top ten masters in the world by oneself.

Si Ming asked, "Which type of martial art in the Heavenly Martial Alliance has the fewest exchange opportunities right now?"

Without hesitation, Si Jingyu replied, "The least popular skill is external martial arts, which only three people can exchange for. The next most popular skill is lightness skill, which has twenty-nine people in total."

It's understandable that the fewest people exchanged for external martial arts skills, since external martial arts skills are slow to take effect and not everyone is suitable for practicing them. However, the few people exchanging for lightness skills surprised Si Ming. He should know that reality is not a game. In a game, speed is just a number, which in a turn-based game is just the difference between going first and going second. But in reality, lightness skills are much more important.

There is a saying that "speed is the only way to win in martial arts". This does not mean that the faster you are, the more powerful you are. Rather, it means that if you are fast, you can simply run away if you can't beat your opponent. Since your opponent can't catch you, you are in an invincible position.

"Lightness skill is the foundation of survival; it can't be neglected. So I'll simply hold a Lightness Skill Discount Day, where all lightness skill manuals will be available at half price, and all members will have access to mid-grade martial arts." Si Ming pondered, stroking his chin. "However, the discount needs to be given with a celebratory reason, without letting them realize my true purpose. Otherwise, they might just be saving their contribution points and waiting for the discount day."

"Let me help you find a reason," Si Jingyu stretched, lifted her skirt to reveal her thighs, and said in a seductive tone, "How about we have a wedding?"

"Well, they already know you're my legal wife, so it wouldn't be right to hold a wedding ceremony now," Si Ming said, sounding slightly nervous.

"That's not a problem. Just say that when we got married, everything was simple, but now we want to have a more grand one. As long as the reason is reasonable, that's fine. As long as you keep the wedding simple every time you have a wedding, they'll be so happy you'll be in the bridal chamber every day that they won't care who you marry."

"Well, this seems a bit too frivolous. Let me think it over..."

Si Ming was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. He desperately tried to come up with a reason that wouldn't hurt the other party. After all, the other party had followed him out of his hometown, shared joys and sorrows, and had always offered advice and made great contributions. It would be unreasonable not to give him some explanation.

But after thinking it over and over, he couldn't come up with a suitable one. He figured he might as well just tell the truth. After all, he hadn't made any shameful mistakes, and being Si Jingyu's younger brother wasn't anything to be ashamed of.

Just as Si Ming was about to speak, Si Shuiyun walked in from outside and Si Ming, "Someone outside wants to see you. They say they have news about the Monster Race."

Si Ming breathed a sigh of relief and immediately stood up, saying, "Alright, I'll go see him right now." Then he left as if fleeing.

Watching the hastily departing figure, Si Jingyu pondered, "Not even taking it when it's offered to them, it doesn't seem like they're uninterested. Could it be that I misjudged something...? Could that really be the reason? If so, then the only option is to find a way to make it a fait accompli..."

Chapter 343 Not Boastable

The news about the Monster Race was very important to Si Ming. His Cultivation Body had recovered to 40%. If he had another 10% of Blazing Sun True Qi, exceeding half, he could suppress the Power of Anomalies within his body and restore his body to its original state through its own restraining effect—he didn't need to recover to 100% step by step.

Qiu Dahu origin of the Monster Race far exceeds the Anomalies Si Ming. As long as one is not particularly weak, it is not difficult to convert one-tenth True Qi Longxiang Commandery...

He didn't bring his Shanghai companions on this mission. Si Jingyu only wanted to be a quiet wife and wasted her days. She hadn't even left her courtyard for more than two months. As her personal maid, Si Shuiyun naturally wouldn't abandon Si Jingyu. Moreover, as the Heavenly Martial Alliance's reputation grew, many people actually regarded Flame Transmission Tower as a "Shaolin Library" that was frequently robbed, attempting to steal martial arts manuals from it. Thus, Si Shuiyun, this "great master," took on the responsibility of security.

As for Hongdou, she had to create her own Soul Intent Diagram, integrate the Power of Anomalies that had appeared in her body, and practice the moves in the "Scroll of Space," so she really had no time to spare.

In the end, Si Ming only brought his newly accepted disciples Zhao Jiaren and Zhao Xiaohui, intending to broaden their horizons, especially Zhao Jiaren, who cultivated a lightning-attribute Cultivation Body, which was effective against most Anomalies. In the future, he might even have to rely on him to take up the banner of fighting against the Monster Race.

Over the past two months, due to the mission, Si Ming has witnessed all sorts of strange Anomalies, and through experiments conducted on these Anomalies, he has realized that some of his previous knowledge was incorrect.

Monsters are not necessarily evil; ghosts are the ones that represent evil. Some monsters are gentle, and a very small number are masculine. Therefore, Thunder Method may not always be effective against them.

The essential attribute of monsters is chaos, a distortion of rules. Therefore, the attribute that truly restrains them is order, such as the True Qi that combines yin and yang, which can severely damage them. According to Si Ming, it means "harmonizing" their illegal existence.

Natural harmony is the true nemesis of the strange.

The reason why divine power can harm the essence of monsters is that divine power represents the rules of the gods, that is, the power of the divine office, which is essentially a kind of order.

Of course, the most important thing is to have deep enough Internal Cultivation. If your cultivation level is too low, there is no point in restraining it. If your cultivation level is strong enough, you can wear it down even without restraint.

The four traveled at a brisk pace. Along the way, Si Ming even shared his True Qi with the four horses to help them recover their strength. To be honest, if he hadn't been unfamiliar with the area, he might have been able to run there by himself even faster.

After a day's journey, the group finally arrived at Longxiang Commandery. Qiu Dahu took on the responsibility of being the tour guide and led Si Ming to the county magistrate's mansion, only to be stopped by the guards at the gate.

"We're here to help the governor get rid of the filth."

The guard said, "The Prefect has already invited two exorcists from the Six Paths Temple; this is none of your business."

Qiu Dahu cursed his best friend in his heart for being useless. He had clearly told him to stall for time, but only three days had passed and the prefect had already brought the exorcist. Now, all that trip was for nothing! His contribution points! His martial arts training privileges!

I had originally planned to vouch for him to join the Heavenly Martial Alliance in two months, but now it seems that it will be at least six months later.

Si Ming asked the crucial question, "Has the filth been removed?"

The guard replied, "No, but we'll make our move tonight."

"That's good, that's good," Qiu Dahu breathed a sigh of relief. "To deal with that kind of evil thing, the more people the better. If the two exorcists can't handle it, we can take their place. There's no need to turn people away. We've come all the way from Pingyuan Commandery. It would be too inhumane to let us go empty-handed."

The guard hesitated, "But this is the prefect's order; outsiders are not to approach..."

"Let them in; they are also helpers invited by the prefect."

A man emerged from the prefectural governor's residence; it was none other than Qiu Dahu's close ally, Tong Qingshan.

After the guards let them pass, Qiu Dahu stepped forward, grabbed Tong Qingshan's shoulder, and said, "What exactly did you do? Didn't we agree to hold off the prefect and prevent him from bringing the exorcist?"

Tong Qingshan smiled wryly, "The prefect wants to invite people, and I, a mere military man, have no right to dissuade him. I could only give you your names first, and now it seems it's just in time."

He turned to look at Si Ming and the other two, and asked softly, "These are the experts you invited to deal with the monster? They're too young. Even disciples from the Three Great Holy Lands wouldn't be able to handle the monster with their current cultivation level."

"Who said they were from the Three Great Holy Lands? Does that mean only the Three Great Holy Lands can deal with monsters?"

"Of course, you didn't just find out about this now, did you?" Tong Qingshan blinked, suspiciously asking, "These three aren't just ordinary martial artists, are they? Da Hu, do you have a grudge against them and deliberately tricked them into coming here to die?"

Qiu Dahu roared, "No disrespect to the Alliance Leader is allowed! Tong Qingshan, if you continue, don't blame me for turning ruthless!"

"Alliance Leader? Who is it?"

After looking at them over and over, Tong Qingshan felt that Zhao Jiaren was the most likely candidate, although he didn't quite fit the image and lacked the domineering presence of a leader. However, the other two were a young girl and a sick man, respectively, which were far removed from the image of the leader.

Realizing he had let something slip, Qiu Dahu quickly coughed twice to cover it up, saying, "It has nothing to do with you, don't ask around, just lead the way."

Tong Qingshan snorted twice, then stopped asking questions and led the four of them to the prefect.

"My lord, this is the chivalrous hero I spoke of, who volunteered to eliminate the monster."