"Rob?"
Fang Qingyu was stunned when he heard that.
"Rob from the people at the other martial arts schools?"
"No, no."
Old Qiao's head shook like a bell.
"I shouldn't have told you this so soon, but since you've chosen to continue down the martial path, you'll learn about them sooner or later."
With that, Lu Chen handed over a tablet from the side.
Fang Qingyu took the tablet, suddenly forming a guess in his mind.
He tapped the play button.
The footage was somewhat shaky at the beginning, as if it had been recorded with a handheld device.
The background was an old-district alley late at night. The streetlamp flickered from a faulty connection, and a thin mist floated over the damp ground.
A man in a hoodie stood with his back to the camera, his right hand hanging at his side.
Dark liquid dripped from his fingertips, blooming into tiny blood flowers on the concrete.
Suddenly, the camera shook violently.
The person filming let out a short scream, and a twisted shadow suddenly lunged into the edge of the frame.
The thing was barely humanoid, but all its joints were bent backward, while purplish-red veins bulged like earthworms beneath its rotten skin.
It pounced at the hooded man with incredible speed.
"It's here!" the person filming suddenly warned.
Yet the man vanished the instant the demon's sharp claws touched the back of his neck.
It wasn't Teleportation. It was more like some kind of refraction.
The streetlamp's reflection in a puddle suddenly twisted. The man leaped out of another patch of water three meters away, droplets flying from the hem of his soaked hoodie.
The droplets condensed into ice needles in midair and shot toward the demon's brow with a wave of his hand.
The demon let out a shriek like metal scraping against metal.
The ice needles were swallowed by black mist two inches from its forehead.
But the hooded man had already stepped onto the alley wall and flipped behind it. At some point, his left hand had begun cradling a ball of dancing blue ice.
The angle of this attack was extremely cunning.
The ice spike bored into the depression along the demon's spine.
The monster immediately went limp halfway down, like a snake whose bones had been pulled out.
That was where it ended.
The footage was suddenly drowned in intense light.
The video ended.
"This isn't a movie effect."
Seeing that Fang Qingyu had finished watching, Old Qiao thoughtfully offered an explanation.
"I know."
Fang Qingyu nodded calmly.
It matched his guess.
In this world, there were humans with superpowers besides martial artists.
People like Zhao Feng, for example.
"So we're supposed to compete with these people for demons?"
After gathering his thoughts, Fang Qingyu looked at Old Qiao.
"Yes."
"You should know by now that us martial artists need to come into contact with the Contemplation Method before we can be considered to have crossed the threshold of the transcendent realm. But these people..."
"They're born transcendent!!"
Fang Qingyu abruptly raised his head.
"Born that way!?"
"Yes, born that way!"
Old Qiao nodded forcefully, confirming Fang Qingyu's words.
"These people are called cultists."
"Like us martial artists, they're also supervised by the Regulatory Bureau. But they're naturally awesome, so most of the time, the people from the Regulatory Bureau stand on their side."
Fang Qingyu's expression turned thoughtful.
So that was what Instructor Qin had meant when he said Song Ming was one of the few people who stood on the martial artists' side.
"If we compete with them for demons, will we end up fighting?"
"Of course. That's why all the martial arts schools are united. We don't compete with our own people. When we encounter a situation where we have to compete with cultists for a demon, we can call in reinforcements directly."
Old Qiao had long since grown accustomed to it, speaking as though it were only natural.
The corner of Fang Qingyu's mouth twitched.
What was this supposed to be?
Why did it sound a little like a gang?
But judging from his words, martial artists and these cultists should have a terrible relationship, right?
Was Zhao Feng an exception?
"But we can't cause any serious trouble. At most, we compare our strength. Whoever's weaker gives way."
Old Qiao quickly added that clarification.
"Understood."
He didn't need Old Qiao to explain that. Fang Qingyu could understand it himself.
If they really made a commotion,
the people from the Regulatory Bureau would come.
So normally, the martial artists were probably the weaker side, which was why they had no choice but to yield.
"You don't need to worry too much. We aren't without our own advantages, either."
"What do you mean?"
Fang Qingyu adopted an attentive expression.
Everything Old Qiao had said today was something he had never heard before.
"Do you know why the Federation hasn't promoted martial arts to the entire population?"
Old Qiao suddenly became mysterious.
"I'm not sure."
Fang Qingyu furrowed his brow slightly.
"Because those naturally suited to martial arts, just like the cultists, were already selected the moment they were born."
"It's just that the threshold for entering martial arts is low. The Federation hasn't cut off the path of martial arts. It's even invested money into nurturing those who volunteer to learn."
"People like you and us, for example."
As Old Qiao spoke, his eyes were filled with unwillingness.
This was the first time Fang Qingyu had heard such an explanation.
He could understand the cultists being born transcendent. Perhaps it had something to do with certain supernatural phenomena.
"How can you tell whether they're naturally suited to martial arts?"
"The Innate Martial Seed! Those born with an Innate Martial Seed have no threshold from the moment they begin practicing martial arts, and their progress is incredibly fast. The road to becoming a martial artist is smooth all the way!"
The unwillingness in Old Qiao's eyes had turned into longing as he spoke.
Who wouldn't want to reach the transcendent realm in one smooth journey?
That kind of power was what everyone who practiced martial arts pursued.
"Uh..."
Fang Qingyu was momentarily speechless.
So my talent is something every martial artist dreams of?
No wonder it's so useful.
Old Qiao thought Fang Qingyu had been discouraged. He turned around and consoled him.
"Although your talent can't compare with an Innate Martial Seed, among ordinary people, it's already top-tier. You have a chance of breaking through to become a martial artist, so don't lose heart."
"Understood."
Fang Qingyu took a deep breath and nodded.
Seeing that Fang Qingyu hadn't been affected too badly, Old Qiao nodded in relief and continued.
"After competing, there's killing and running. There isn't much to say about killing—it tests your combat ability. Running is the main issue."
"Running from what?"
Fang Qingyu was curious about that as well.
By rights, shouldn't they be safe after killing the demon?
"There are two reasons we have to run. First, after a demon is killed, the aura from its life pearl and corpse is very likely to attract other demons. We have to relocate quickly."
"Second, if we encounter cultists right after a fight, they might try to rob us."
"They can even rob us?"
Fang Qingyu found that hard to tolerate.
Before the fight, if they encountered the same demon and determined ownership of the prey based on strength, that could still be understood.
But they could rob them after the fight was over? Was there any order left at all!?
Hearing this, Lu Chen suddenly walked over and lifted his T-shirt.
His abdomen was wrapped in layer after layer of bandages.
"They can."
"If the demon is in a remote area, the people from the Regulatory Bureau won't arrive so quickly. They can attack and rob us, then destroy the action recorder. They can turn black into white."
"This is our current ecosystem."
"Survival of the fittest!"
Old Qiao stared intently at Fang Qingyu, trying to see something in his eyes.
Fang Qingyu didn't meet his gaze.
He only thought for a moment before suddenly looking up and asking him a question.
"So."
"We can rob them too, right?"
Before you continue