The Situation Wasn't Settled? A Sudden Twist

The Situation Wasn't Settled? A Sudden Twist

The Situation Wasn't Settled? A Sudden Twist

Movement technique cultivation was far more difficult than Lin Mo had imagined. What was more, he had never encountered a proper, orthodox movement technique before, so naturally, getting started was no easy task.

After practicing again and again for several days, he gradually began to get the hang of it.

Lin Mo weaved between the wooden stakes. Though the sandbags on his feet seemed to grow heavier by the day, he slowly found a way to borrow momentum.

Just as the Cloud Ascending Ladder stated, the wonder of the Cloud Ascending Ladder lay not in "ascending," but in "clouds." If one's body became like drifting clouds, one could even borrow the clouds to travel.

Though that description was somewhat exaggerated, as Lin Mo maintained a low level of qi and blood infusion and followed the Cloud Ascending Ladder's method, his body seemed to become much lighter in motion. It truly felt a little as though he were borrowing the air's strength.

"If I can get started with it, my endurance in a long-distance dash probably won't lose to an ordinary martial artist who has just entered the Second Level..."

Lin Mo secretly compared them in his mind. He had that confidence.

Just as he was practicing to his heart's content, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the entrance, carrying a hint of anxiety and panic.

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother Lin, something terrible has happened... Most of the martial artists Changhe Martial Arts School led out to surround and suppress this time were injured. Even quite a few villagers from the small village were hurt..."

An apprentice rushed over with his report. Lin Mo frowned, somewhat puzzled, but still followed him to Changhe Martial Arts School's main compound to see what was happening.

Although Lin Mo was the Commander-in-Chief of this cleanup operation, that was ultimately just a title. What he was actually responsible for was thoroughly ransacking their old nests and scraping up whatever profit he could.

As for clearing out the fleeing martial artists from the Zhao Family Grain Store and Qianjin Escort Agency, most of the powerful ones—the somewhat renowned Second Level, Third Level, and even Fourth Level martial artists—had already been assigned to specialists from the prefectural city.

The people from Changhe Martial Arts School were mostly responsible for the nearby villages, preventing martial artists from jumping over the wall in desperation and showing no mercy even to the villagers.

From what this apprentice said, they must have encountered exactly that kind of situation. He simply did not know what skills those martial artists had possessed in their deathbed counterattack to injure an entire team.

"Who led the team this time? What was their strength?" Lin Mo asked on the road.

"It seemed to be several of Martial Master Li's lower-ranked Personal Disciples. They should have been around Second Level Entry or Second Level Minor Accomplishment..."

When they arrived at Changhe Martial Arts School, more than a dozen injured martial artists were sprawled across the training ground. Fortunately, they had only suffered wounds and none were in mortal danger.

"Commander-in-Chief Lin..."

A Personal Disciple under Martial Master Li cupped his fists in greeting. Though they were all Personal Disciples, the attitude of Martial Master Li's disciples was entirely different from that of Martial Master Wang's disciples.

Perhaps because Lin Mo had refused Chen Qing's invitation, he had inadvertently drawn closer to the other faction. They also respected his status as Commander-in-Chief.

As the saying went, the enemy of one's enemy was one's friend.

Lin Mo had not yet openly fallen out with Martial Master Wang's disciples, but judging from what Xu Changfeng had said that day, his faction and Martial Master Wang's faction truly did not get along. At the very least, their disciples often clashed.

"What happened? Tell me in detail..." Lin Mo asked one of Martial Master Li's Personal Disciples.

The man cupped his fists and replied, "We were originally patrolling toward Zhujiawan, intending to see whether there were any fish that had slipped through the net from the grain store or escort agency. But before we had gone far beyond the city gates, several Second Level martial artists attacked us. They may have been lying in ambush near the gates the whole time. Fortunately, the brothers reacted quickly. We lost several Registered Disciples, but managed to retreat in time. They did not dare pursue us into the city."

"How are your injuries? I have some excellent Trauma Medicine here..." Lin Mo showed concern. The few Personal Disciples of the Li Faction felt warmth rise in their hearts and waved with smiles, indicating that it was nothing serious.

Out of a sense of responsibility, he still examined the injuries of those remaining. Fortunately, they were only superficial wounds. As martial artists, they would recover after resting for a few days.

"Why are Martial Master Li's men such trash? A few fish that slipped through the net managed to beat you into this state?"

Several people from the Wang Faction walked past with mocking laughter. Upon seeing Lin Mo, they greeted him in a strange, affected tone and offered flattering words to the Commander-in-Chief.

As they passed, they did not forget to fan the flames. "Commander-in-Chief Lin, how can this go on? What if the inspector gets angry because you cannot even handle such a trivial matter?"

"Exactly, exactly. Junior Brother Lin, just say the word. Wouldn't we brothers have to lend a hand?"

After several rounds of cold mockery and ridicule, someone stepped forward and said quietly, "Junior Brother Lin, Junior Brother Chen has Senior Brother Wang's guidance on our side. Even Martial Master Wang occasionally takes charge in person. Yesterday, he even fought a fleeing Second Level martial artist one-on-one. You'd better put in more effort..."

"There is no need to trouble this Senior Brother with such concern." Lin Mo was not angered. He merely smiled faintly and brushed it off. Trying to command these Wang Faction Personal Disciples would likely only result in them obeying in public while defying him in private.

Just when it seemed the overall situation had been decided, who would have thought that some remnants of the grain store and escort agency would prove so tenacious?

Lin Mo specifically gathered a group of Registered Disciples, as well as several Personal Disciples from the Li Faction. A Personal Disciple generally possessed First Stage Perfected cultivation or had reached the Second Level.

He divided them into several teams. He led one himself, while the other Personal Disciples each led another, searching outward from the county city gate where the attack had occurred.

The Li Faction Personal Disciples had been attacked less than one or two li outside the southern gate. According to them, those people did not look as though they had spent the past few days sleeping rough in the streets or wandering through the wilderness.

"Several days have passed, yet they were able to find an opportunity to assassinate and strike back. They even figured out the direction people would take out of the city and pursued them..."

Lin Mo led several Registered Disciples southward while quietly pondering to himself.

After thinking for a while, he arrived at a simple guess.

The south was largely divided into two areas. One was the Li family's dockside commercial district, where the crowds were dense and it was difficult to hide. The other was the Slums, separated from it by only one street.

As the name implied, the Slums were filled with old, dilapidated houses. Sewage flowed through several streets, and both the public security and general environment were poor.

But as a place to hide and recuperate, it was actually rather suitable.

"The Third Level martial artists mostly fled into the mountains in groups. There should be no omissions over there. As for this side, perhaps it is only some branch descendants of large Lineages, a few who have just entered the Second Level..."

Lin Mo briefly sorted through the sequence of events in his mind, made his decision, and instructed the several Registered Disciples traveling with him, "We will go to the Slums together shortly. Do not stray too far from me, and report immediately if anything unusual happens."

Even after giving those instructions, he was still worried that he might not be able to handle matters alone. He pulled over a Registered Disciple. "Go find the Li Faction's Personal Disciples. Tell them we found the people who have been knocking others unconscious and launching sneak attacks. Have them lead a group over here to support us."

After arranging everything, he watched the Registered Disciple run toward Changhe Martial Arts School's main compound on Changxing Street. Only then did he lead the remaining Registered Disciples and begin carefully searching this area.