Cinan Dao Premieres

A month and a half after Liu Tian had laid everything out, Liu Zhengde had officially taken up his post as City Lord.

Liu Yun—no, he should now officially be called Liu Zhengyun—had also formally joined the Navy, though none of this had much to do with Liu Tian.

As long as Bai Cinan was alive, as long as he remained alive, nothing would happen so long as Liu Zhengde and the others didn't go too far and incur the wrath of the people.

Especially after Blue Dream Company's new movie premiered, Bai Cinan's reputation had steadily risen across the world.

Perhaps to build up publicity, the movie was not only named after Bai Cinan himself, earning the title Cinan Dao, but was also distributed worldwide for free at great expense.

The film, called Cinan Dao, covered Bai Cinan's entire life, from his birth and childhood all the way to his battle against the Crimson Cloud Empire. Liu Tian even saw Tian Dao make a guest appearance in the movie.

Although Tian Dao had a different appearance in the film, and his apparent age kept changing, his tiny mannerisms made it clear that the person on screen wasn't an actor, but Tian Dao himself.

Liu Tian had no idea how Bai Cinan had persuaded his master.

But while it sounded difficult, perhaps it had been easy enough in practice. After all, Tian Dao was actually a master who doted on his disciple.

This trait had become especially obvious now that he had turned completely into a goldfish. If Bai Cinan was willing to act even a little spoiled, Tian Dao would probably agree to anything.

There was just one problem. With Bai Cinan and Tian Dao's physiques, Bai Cinan acting spoiled in front of Tian Dao...

The scene must have been a rare sight!

So rare that whenever Liu Tian imagined it, a shiver ran down his spine, filling him with a spontaneous sense of dread.

The new movie had brought Blue Dream Company unprecedented success. After all, not every movie could cast the emperor of the Crimson Cloud Empire and all his officials, nor could just any film invite two successive holders of the title of the world's strongest, along with a whole host of Martial Artists who had surpassed the level of a fighter, to make guest appearances.

Thanks to this, the names Tian Dao and Bai Cinan had become famous around the world, and people had once again grown enthusiastic about cultivating Secret Martial Arts.

After all, people practiced martial arts to become stronger. Protecting their country and staying fit were secondary concerns.

Most people trained in martial arts simply because they wanted to do whatever they pleased one day. They didn't have lofty ideals.

That was precisely why, when the First World War broke out and people realized that Secret Martial Arts couldn't keep up with guns and cannons, and that years of training were no match for a single gunshot, Secret Martial Arts gradually fell out of favor around the world.

And for that very reason, when Bai Cinan demonstrated that he truly had the strength to take on an entire army by himself, a craze for cultivating Secret Martial Arts naturally swept across the world once more.

This time, though, people saw it as merely a stage before cultivating Demonic Martial Arts. The consensus among most people was to cultivate Secret Martial Arts first, then undergo Gene Modification tailored to their needs.

Over the course of that month, a title had gradually become attached to Bai Cinan: Strongest Creature on Earth!

Bai Cinan, who could take on an army alone and suppress an entire country, naturally deserved all the honor that came with it.

After all, that was a privilege reserved for the strong!

Bai Cinan had become an unprecedented superstar worldwide. If he hadn't vanished without a trace after the movie's premiere, and if nobody had been able to find his home, his crazed fans might have started tailing him.

As time passed, Liu Tian's training of his cousin and his cousin's friends had moved beyond laying a foundation and drawing blood. They had reached the final stage.

"Don't be afraid! Charge at me! Charge at this specially made bicycle!" Liu Tian roared as he rode the bike. "Remember all the training you've been through! Don't be afraid! Let go of your fear and charge!"

"Master Tian, don't!"

On the expansive lawn, Liu Wenqian and the other three ran around, calling for help. None of them had any intention of charging toward danger.

After more than a month of hellish training, the four had made a complete transformation from how they'd been a month and a half earlier. They had good foundations and abundant resources, and they were at the perfect age to train and grow quickly.

Li Hua had changed the most. He had originally been a hefty boy, 160 centimeters tall and weighing 160 jin, but now he was nearly ten centimeters taller and had lost weight. Clear muscle definition showed across his body.

The others were also full of energy and quick to react. No matter how much Liu Tian increased his speed, they responded swiftly and narrowly dodged out of the way.

Of course, that was because Liu Tian wasn't using his full strength and kept going easy on them. Still, it showed how solid their fundamentals had become.

By now, they had mastered the Flowing Dragon Steps. If they stopped practicing, they might gradually lose their progress and eventually become ordinary people again.

But at least for now, their well-practiced footwork made dodging fairly easy.

"I'm going home this afternoon!" Liu Tian called over the wind as he picked up the pace. His voice wasn't loud, but it reached the four of them clearly. "So don't think you can get out of this by running away!"

"Either destroy this bicycle, or spend the rest of your summer vacation in a hospital bed... I'm not the one who'll have to look after you anyway!" Liu Tian said with a mischievous grin. "Warm-up's over. I'm speeding up."

Before they could prepare, Liu Tian accelerated for real. With his current level of strength, he could ride the bicycle as fast as a jeep, and it was even more nimble.

Once he got serious, it took him only half a minute to corner the isolated Liu Wenqian.

"Bro Tian, don't be so ruthless! It's our last day! Can't you let us take a break?" Liu Wenqian refused to give up hope. He knew that even if he lay flat on the ground, Liu Tian would ride right over him without hesitation.

After spending so many days together, he knew his cousin and master was just that kind of awful person. When Liu Tian got carried away, he hardly cared what anyone else thought.

They were lucky Liu Tian had considered their age and decided against installing steel spikes on the bicycle.

Liu Tian was confident he could control it perfectly even with the spikes, and the obvious threat to their lives would probably make them improve even faster.

But it was their last day already. There was no need to push them so hard.

So Liu Tian abandoned the idea. He simply made the entire bicycle out of alloy, and even made sure to avoid hitting them head-on, scraping them only with its side.

But it seemed that even this level of difficulty was beyond them.

Before long, the boys were covered in scrapes from the alloy. Their custom-made white martial arts uniforms were stained with dirt and weeds, with flecks of red blood visible all over.

"This won't work!" Liu Wenqian loudly schemed with the others right in front of Liu Tian. "Bro Tian's tires were modified and reinforced, but they can only take two shots. If we shoot them out, the trial's over!"

"You can attack me too, if you want. I don't mind," Liu Tian said with a laugh, unfazed by their open plotting. With a light nudge, he scraped Bai He onto the ground. Then, with a dragon's tail sweep, he used the steel bicycle to unleash a soft-force technique, slamming Liu Wenqian—who had been reaching for the pistol at his waist—hard onto the ground. A slight turn of the tire sent the gun skidding aside.

But Liu Wenqian had some grit. The moment he saw the gun was gone, he seized the instant Liu Tian slowed down and clung to the bicycle tire with both hands.

Why hadn't Liu Wenqian chosen the more obvious target and grabbed Liu Tian?

Because he knew that if he grabbed Liu Tian, he might get flung away the instant he touched him. He could only choose the part farthest from Liu Tian: the wheel. It was the worst possible option.

Even if he was willing to risk both hands to hold on to the tire, he wouldn't last a second. That was how huge the gap between Liu Tian and them was.

But one second was enough!

The instant Liu Tian's speed dropped, three gunshots rang out. Then the shots came in a continuous barrage. In less than two seconds, the others had emptied their magazines.