Meanwhile, inside the Elegant Garden Private Room, Second Master Sun, the three tomb robbers, and the White-Haired Bespectacled Elder had no idea that a hidden high-definition pinhole camera was recording their every move and word.
"Well, Second Master Sun? We came here in good faith..."
"That place was a little strange. We risked our lives to get this thing. Tell us what it's worth!"
The three tomb robbers began haggling with Second Master Sun. He narrowed his eyes slightly and held up one finger.
"One million! It's only a worn, incomplete scroll, after all. That greatly reduces its value..."
The three tomb robbers exchanged glances, stepped aside to confer in low voices, then accepted the price. Both sides were pleased with the deal.
With business settled, Second Master Sun placed the old scroll in a box prepared beside him. He pressed the electronic remote nearby, summoning the staff with the food and wine he had ordered, then sat down to eat and drink with the three tomb robbers.
Back in their Elegant Garden Private Room, Li Xingming, Wang Xiaoai, Ye Zhen, Liu Qing'er, Fang Xiu, and the others stared at the box containing the Fragmented Ancient Scroll on the screen.
The Wu Ming Ruins Clue, which likely held secrets of the Human Immortal Martial Dao, was now within reach. All of them were tempted.
After a brief silence, Fang Xiu spoke first.
"What do you all think? Do we let someone else take away and study a Wu Ming Ruins Clue tied to the Human Immortal Martial Dao, or do we join forces and seize it...?"
The question made everyone's eyes flicker.
The muscular Wang Xiaoai slapped his thigh and was the first to decide. "We seize this opportunity, of course! My master told me that martial artists must be bold, always striving forward and willing to fight for what they want. The Great Dao has fifty parts, of which forty-nine are revealed. The last is opportunity. Grasp it, and you can advance by leaps and bounds..."
Liu Qing'er smiled, then spoke with conviction.
"Exactly. This involves a mysterious ancient cultivation method. Judging by the description on that Fragmented Ancient Scroll, it seems even stronger than the National Martial Arts we practice today. The Human Immortal Martial Dao seems to touch on the supernatural. At its peak, one's blood and vitality surge like a dragon, and one punch can shatter a mountain. I wonder if it's the path beyond the end of National Martial Arts..."
Ye Zhen raised a brow and declared with swagger, "I, Ye Liangchen, have my eye on this opportunity!!"
Li Xingming, seated beside him, raised his hand in agreement.
Having reached the Manifesting Strength level and been influenced by their respective masters, the young boxers soon decided to seize it. Perhaps because the Fragmented Ancient Scroll had been stolen from a tomb by the three robbers, none of them felt the slightest guilt about taking it.
Once they had a plan, the six split into two groups. One would seize the Fragmented Ancient Scroll from Second Master Sun; the other would question the three tomb robbers for clues. They drew lots to decide who went where.
The draw put Gu Chen with Fang Xiu and Liu Qing'er. They would take the Fragmented Ancient Scroll from Second Master Sun, while Ye Zhen, Li Xingming, and Wang Xiaoai would question the tomb robbers for clues.
With that settled, they waited. And waited. The entire afternoon passed. After lunch, Second Master Sun and the three tomb robbers enjoyed a sauna, massages, and more. Only after dinner did they finally get ready to leave, much to the frustration of both groups, who had been poised to act the whole time.
As their host, Liu Qing'er was on her own turf. With her family's connections and influence, tracking Second Master Sun, his bodyguards, and the three tomb robbers was no great challenge. She had also thoughtfully prepared Nightwear that would conceal their faces, along with two black sedans to follow the targets from a distance.
Gu Chen drove, with Fang Xiu in the front passenger seat and Liu Qing'er in the back. It was the two women's first time taking part in a robbery, and both looked a little excited. They tailed Second Master Sun to Sun's Auction House, then got out and slipped inside.
As the saying went, the richer a man was, the more he feared death. Second Master Sun was no exception: four alert bodyguards stayed close to him.
Gu Chen picked up two small stones and knocked the cameras by the entrance and in the corridor out of alignment. Fang Xiu and Liu Qing'er could wait no longer and slipped in ahead of him.
Though both were women, Fang Xiu had personally received instruction and strength training from a Transforming Strength Great Boxer of the Wing Chun White Crane Fist, making her quick and agile. Liu Qing'er had studied the Snake Form of Xingyi Fist under Tang Ye, the only female Transforming Strength Great Boxer. She moved with remarkable speed and flexibility.
The security guards around Sun's Auction House had no time to react to an ambush by two Manifesting Strength boxers. The women soon knocked them unconscious.
Gu Chen followed, shrugging as though out for a leisurely stroll. He casually dug his fingers into the wall and, with a pulse of Internal Force, pulled off a piece of tile. A light shake broke it into more than a dozen fragments. He walked unhurriedly behind the women, occasionally flicking a shard to disable a camera or light.
It was not time for Sun's Auction House's monthly auction, so there were few guards inside. They slipped through without any trouble.
Second Master Sun and a senior appraiser at the auction house eagerly began studying the old scroll. His bodyguards stood nearby, relaxed and smoking. When a sound-activated light suddenly came on in the corridor, one of them turned to look. Frowning, he headed that way.
"A-Wen, where are you going?!"
The bodyguard named A-Wen answered his companion. "The sound-activated light in the corridor just came on. I'm going to check..."
"Probably one of the security guards, right?!"
As A-Wen rounded the corner, he froze. A masked figure in black stood before him, seemingly out of nowhere. Alarm flared in him, and he was about to shout when another figure sprang out beside him. A close-range White Crane Bright Palm struck his neck, its sudden burst of Whole-Body Force knocking him unconscious.
Liu Qing'er quickly caught the falling bodyguard and stuck her tongue out at Fang Xiu.
The two women soon repeated the trick. The sound-activated light overhead came on, drawing over another bodyguard who wanted to use the bathroom. They knocked him unconscious just as easily and began to relax.
But with two bodyguards gone and neither returning, the remaining pair sensed something was wrong. They exchanged a glance, drew their electric batons, and approached together.
This time, things did not go quite as smoothly. Knocking out two fully alert bodyguards at once was no easy task. Fang Xiu found an opening, knocked one baton away, and rendered its owner unconscious. Liu Qing'er, a little nervous, managed only to knock the other baton away. Before she could strike again, the furious bodyguard drew a gun and aimed it at her forehead. She stiffened at the sight of its dark muzzle.
Fang Xiu's pupils contracted. In the hands of a trained bodyguard, a gun was fast and accurate at such close range. She could not reach Liu Qing'er in time.
Just as the bodyguard's face twisted and he pulled the trigger, Gu Chen arrived and saw what was happening. He frowned, then, without hesitation, sent Internal Force surging through his fingertips and flicked a sharp, thumb-sized tile fragment at the man.
Whoosh!!
With a faint whistle through the air, blood burst from the bodyguard's wrist. The sharp ceramic fragment sliced it open, and the Internal Force within it fractured the bone. Agonizing pain knocked his gun off target, and the trigger went off.
Bang!!
The sharp gunshot rang through the corridor.
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