In Da She Village, nearly everyone present immediately recognized the imposing man who had burst onto the scene a month and a half ago, clashed with hidden Transforming Strength Grand Mystic Masters in the cities, and sparked a craze for National Martial Arts.
He was a martial artist of pure conviction and formidable strength. Though he had appeared in only a few videos, he was wildly popular online, with countless young National Martial Arts practitioners looking up to him as an idol.
Amid the startled cries, Li Hansha moved like an agile bird, pushing off one rooftop after another. Each leap carried him twenty or thirty meters with ease. He was so fast that the onlookers barely managed to film his graceful passage across the rooftops before watching him disappear with regret.
"Holy shit, today's my lucky day! I actually saw Grandmaster Li Hansha in person!!"
"Good thing I reacted fast and kept my phone recording. I got the whole thing on video! Master Li Hansha was so damn cool!!"
"Guys, this settles it! The ruins really do hold the Human Immortal Martial Dao, a path to Supernatural Power! Why else would they draw a Pillaring Grandmaster here?!"
As the videos filmed at the scene spread online, they sparked even fiercer discussion. Many people regretted not hearing the news sooner.
The commander of the official forces maintaining order watched Li Hansha's fleeting figure vanish into the mountains. His expression turned grave, and he promptly reported the matter to his superiors.
The fact that the Wu Ming Ruins near Da She Village had drawn even a Pillaring Grandmaster as powerful as Li Hansha suggested that they concealed an earth-shaking secret. Perhaps the online rumors about the Human Immortal Martial Dao were true after all. What else could have brought someone like him here?
What worried the authorities most, though, was what would happen during the exploration. If they found a method for cultivating the Human Immortal Martial Dao and came into conflict with a Pillaring Grandmaster whose personal combat power was terrifying, would they hand it over or not? What could they do then?
The authorities had seen how fearsome Pillaring Grandmasters were. Their mobility was extraordinary, their destructive power terrifying, and ordinary guns and bullets could do little to them. Research simulations showed that, in complex terrain, even a hundred fully armed elite Special Operations Forces soldiers would struggle against a single Pillaring Grandmaster.
Roughly four hundred meters from the Blood-colored Wolf Smoke Pillar stood more than two hundred Manifesting Strength Boxers. Nearly every boxer at that level within a three-hundred-kilometer radius who could come had arrived, making the area remarkably lively.
They fell into two broad camps: civilian practitioners of National Martial Arts and official Special Operations Forces equipped with elite gear. The civilians outnumbered the soldiers by roughly three to one, but the latter carried guns, daggers, grenades, and the like. If fighting broke out, the civilians would be no match for them.
The civilian Manifesting Strength Boxers were considering a different problem. If they found the Human Immortal Martial Dao cultivation method hidden in the ruins, what would they do if they came into conflict with the official Special Operations Forces?
Because of that concern, the gathering soon split into two distinct camps. The civilian and official Manifesting Strength Boxers regarded each other warily.
Li Hansha pushed off the branches of the trees and glided in like a bird. His commanding entrance drew cries of surprise. The pupils of the Manifesting Strength Boxers in both camps contracted, and their faces grew solemn.
Even a Pillaring Grandmaster with Li Hansha's terrifying combat power had been drawn here. Exploring the Wu Ming Ruins would be difficult now. Even if the Human Immortal Martial Dao was real, it would probably end up in his hands.
While everyone's thoughts raced, Gu Chen's eyes flashed and the corners of his mouth lifted. He had no intention of letting only his avatar Li Hansha, Wang Tianba, and the four Transforming Strength Great Boxers explore the ruins. If that happened, what would be the point? How was he supposed to gain Origin Points?
Once Gu Chen had made his decision, he connected his mind to the system and indirectly influenced the power within the Wu Ming Ruins, causing the roiling pillar of Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke, hundreds of meters tall, to stop.
The ground trembled for a moment. Four hundred meters away, the roiling Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke paused, then slowly drew back into the Wu Ming Ruins. Its invisible pressure diminished at a perceptible rate.
The sudden change stunned the more than two hundred Manifesting Strength Boxers present. They stared at the slowly shrinking Blood-colored Wolf Smoke Pillar, their breathing growing heavy.
"I... I think the pressure's weakening. Does that mean we can enter the Wu Ming Ruins and explore them too...?" a civilian Manifesting Strength Boxer asked quietly.
His words jolted everyone into action. Without hesitation, they rushed almost as one toward the Wu Ming Ruins, where the Blood-colored Wolf Smoke Pillar was shrinking.
Outside in Da She Village, the ordinary people who had been turned back saw what had happened and caught on too. Cries of surprise immediately rose from the crowd.
"Look! The Blood-colored Wolf Smoke Pillar is disappearing!!"
The commander of the Official Elite Special Operations Forces responsible for keeping order and turning people back looked surprised. Then his heart sank: the ordinary people who had been about to leave were all growing excited.
"Does this mean ordinary people like us can go explore the ruins too?!"
"By rights, it should..."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go take a look! We might get lucky and find an opportunity!"
Instead of retreating, the dense crowd surged forward, rushing toward the shrinking Blood-colored Wolf Smoke.
There were only fifty or sixty Official Elite Special Operations Forces soldiers on the scene, while the civilians outnumbered them more than ten to one. They could not have stopped the crowd even if they had tried. Once the people scattered onto the mountain paths, not even Lightness Skill would have let the soldiers catch them all.
Seeing the situation, the commander of the Official Elite Special Operations Forces gave up trying to stop them and immediately ordered his unit to advance toward the ruins at full speed.
Meanwhile, the more than two hundred Manifesting Strength Boxers sprinted toward the receding Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke. At their speed, it took them less than two minutes to cover the four hundred meters of mountain trail and reach their destination.
The sunken ground ahead had risen, revealing a massive Stone Gate that stood over the underground Wu Ming Ruins. Faint traces of Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke could still be seen drawing back across it.
Before the massive Stone Gate, which still shimmered with Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke, stood Li Hansha, Wang Tianba, and four Transforming Strength Great Boxers. They waited quietly for the gate to the ruins to open.
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