'Martial Arts Master'

In an old-fashioned teahouse, there was a group of people.

Men and women of varying ages sat on cushions, watching an elderly man seated cross-legged in front of them with devout expressions as they listened to every word from his mouth.

"My spirit was in anguish, and I had to speak. My heart was troubled, and I had to voice my sorrow."

"Wrath killed the foolish, and jealousy slew the obsessed."

"Do not follow the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers."

"Whoever loved life and desired long days to enjoy good fortune must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit."

The old man spoke endlessly, uttering words that seemed capable of admonishing the world. The crowd listened with rapt attention, and some even copied his words down with pen and paper.

What the old man was saying was nothing more than doctrine stolen from the religion of that man nailed to a cross, copied directly without the slightest alteration. Yet these people seriously treated it as the oracle of the Spirit God.

A bunch of idiots.

Ren Ziling could not help thinking to herself.

She was among the group as well, only seated at the very back. She quietly reached up and adjusted the miniature camera hidden in her collar, hoping to capture as much footage as possible of the old man at the front, whom they called the Spirit Master.

This was a rare opportunity she had painstakingly earned after spending so much effort infiltrating the organization. She needed to seize this chance and properly expose this group called Spirit God Truth.

"I came from nothingness, and I shall return to nothingness. The appearance of life is but delusion."

The old man known as the Spirit Master suddenly opened his eyes and lightly waved his hand. "All living beings suffer. Why not remove your clothes?"

Why not remove their clothes?

From the Spirit Master down, everyone wore solemn expressions. They stood up and began removing their clothes piece by piece, leaving nothing on.

"Why not cleanse one another of our sins?"

The people began embracing one another...

Ren Ziling had initially felt that something was wrong, but now she was genuinely terrified. She figured she could not stay any longer and planned to slip away while everyone was focused ahead and had not noticed her.

The footage she had already captured was explosive enough, and sufficient to establish that this organization was illegal and needed to be shut down.

But just as she quietly opened the door and slipped into the corridor, two burly men approached from the front. One sneered, "Leaving already? The Spirit Master's sermon isn't over yet."

Ren Ziling took a slight step back and forced a smile. "I'm just an ordinary person. I don't understand these lofty principles. I'm not planning to become my true self, so if you two Big Brothers like it, please carry on... You should enjoy the program inside more."

"Then join us." The other burly man gave a sinister laugh. "We knew you had snuck in!"

Ren Ziling froze, then immediately ran toward the other end of the corridor. To her surprise, two more burly men rushed out from that direction as well.

The four burly men closed in from both sides. Ren Ziling took a deep breath and shouted, "You'd better not try anything! Do you think I'd dare come here without making any preparations? Let me tell you, I already contacted the poli—damn it!!"

But the four burly men did not stop. They all pounced on Ren Ziling at once.

Ren Ziling nimbly dodged left and right, even kicking one of the men twice. "Tsk, this old lady isn't someone you can mess with!"

As she spoke, Ren Ziling had no intention of tangling with the four men. Bracing one hand against the railing, she flipped herself over and jumped from the teahouse's second floor into the main hall.

This teahouse was the organization's base and was not open for business, so no one witnessed her actions.

Ren Ziling landed lightly and immediately made for the exit.

But after only a few steps, Ren Ziling suddenly felt her legs go weak and collapsed to the floor. Looking up, she saw the Spirit Master emerge from the room, wearing only a pair of pants and exposing a muscular body that did not look like it belonged to an old man at all.

A terrifying aura filled the Spirit Master's face. His hands formed a strange seal before his chest as he angrily snapped, "Useless trash! You can't even catch a woman and have to make me do it myself! Why aren't you bringing her back already?"

What was going on? Ren Ziling froze. Her legs had become completely numb, and she watched in terror as the four burly men charged down from upstairs.

She pressed both hands against the floor, trying to crawl away, but her arms went numb as well. Her entire body felt as if it had been filled with lead, utterly unable to move.

"Hahaha! Master, this woman is much prettier than those idiot believers!"

One of the burly men rubbed his hands together as he walked to Ren Ziling's side. A lecherous expression appeared on his face as he reached toward her chest.

Damn it... I should have actually called the police before coming...

Ren Ziling looked at the man helplessly, but her stubborn nature would not yield. Though she knew she might suffer something terrible, she was still thinking of how she could escape.

The more it was like this, the more she needed to remain calm.

"Take your filthy hand away!" Ren Ziling suddenly glared at the burly man.

The man was so startled that his hand paused, but realizing that he had been frightened by a woman incapable of resisting, he flew into a rage from humiliation and snarled, "I'll make you cry later!"

His hand was not about to stop.

Those full Saintess peaks were about to be freely toyed with, and excitement even appeared in the burly man's eyes.

But just then, a sharp pain shot through the man's arm... as if something had struck it viciously!

The burly man even felt as though the bones in his hand had been shattered!

It was a black long staff... No, it should have been a black cane.

The burly man cried out in pain and hurriedly retreated two steps, only to see that someone had appeared beside Ren Ziling at some unknown time, seemingly out of thin air.

It was a strange fellow dressed entirely in black, wearing a Clown Mask and a top hat.

"You... Who are you?"

Different voices spoke at almost the same time. Ren Ziling asked in astonishment, while the Spirit Master nearby furrowed his brows.

"Call me... cough, ahem, call me Clown."

A Clown Mask meant he called himself Clown? Wasn't that far too casual?

Of course, that was what Ren Ziling thought to herself... But before she could dwell on it, the Spirit Master snorted coldly. "Hmph, I don't care whether you're Clown or something else... Catch this idiot trying to play the hero for me!"

The remaining three burly men pounced on Clown at once.

But Clown merely casually swung the black cane in his hand, every strike landing true. Its force was terrifyingly powerful; the cane only needed to brush against a burly man's body to send him flying.

And not just flying a little—flying several meters away!

In barely ten seconds, the burly men were all sprawled on the ground, howling in pain.

At that moment, Clown looked at the Spirit Master in the second-floor corridor.

The Spirit Master's expression changed slightly. Cold sweat trickled down his face as his hands swiftly began forming seals before his chest again.

But Clown's black cane suddenly swept across a tea table nearby, striking a white teacup. Like a horse breaking free of its reins, the teacup shot out and accurately smashed into the Spirit Master's wrist bone.

The small teacup shattered completely, while the Spirit Master screamed miserably as his wrist bone was directly crushed.

Beneath the Clown Mask, Luo Qiu smiled in satisfaction.

It was only an application of an ability like telekinesis, moving objects through the air.

But it really did make him seem like a martial arts master. This style was pretty good...

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