Mu Ye glanced over, and a message appeared.
[Flowing Flame Gauntlets (Purple): Special gauntlets forged from Flame Steel and Black Iron, then fitted with fine cowhide. When paired with the corresponding secret martial art, they can deal a devastating blow to a small number of enemies.]
Was this equipment?
From the description, they turned Crimson Flame Fist from a single-target attack into a semi-group attack. That was powerful.
[1, Thank you, Master. I won't let you down.]
[2, No, Master. I've only been learning for a month. How could I accept something this valuable?]
Mu Ye pondered, then chose 2.
His master was an honest man, but simply accepting the gift didn't feel like something Little Hero Mu would do.
"Hahaha..." Yan Zhennan laughed heartily. "You brat, actually, your master has a selfish motive too. Your talent is so high that the Divine Fist Martial Hall might not be able to keep you. I'm giving you these in the hope that, once you grow stronger, you'll remember the bond we share and look after the Divine Fist Martial Hall."
Hearing this, Mu Ye was stunned.
Damn, I never expected Master Yan to have such far-sighted vision.
Mu Ye was just about to respond when a commotion suddenly rose outside.
Senior Brother Qin entered and quietly said,
"Master, those people from the Iron Leg Sect are here again..."
"And Tie Longgang is with them."
Yan Zhennan seemed to have expected this. His expression darkened as he led the two of them outside.
Mu Ye knew of Tie Longgang. He was the head of the Iron Leg Sect, and from what he'd gathered from the disciples, he had once been Master Yan's senior brother.
It was said that the Divine Fist and Iron Leg styles had once belonged to the same sect before splitting apart.
The man wore plain clothes and had a somewhat aged face. He looked a full generation older than Yan Zhennan, sported a pair of curled mustaches, and stood with his hands behind his back, smiling amiably. He seemed rather affable.
"Junior Brother Yan, long time no see!" Tie Longgang said with a smile. "I won't waste words today."
"Out of respect for the fact that we came from the same school, I'll give you a chance. You're badly injured, so I won't make you fight your senior brother to decide the outcome. Just have your disciples step up."
"Wuhua, go."
The Tie Wuhua beside him leaped onto the Martial Arts Arena.
"If you win, I'll give your Divine Fist Martial Hall a few days to catch its breath. If you lose, I won't demand that your hall merge with my Iron Leg Sect. All you have to do is hand over the recipe for that Secret Ointment."
"How about it? Your senior brother is being quite sincere, isn't he?"
He really did sound quite sincere: first cripple all the best disciples, then talk about a martial contest.
Mu Ye thought to himself that the Iron Leg Sect really did have a black-hearted way of doing things.
At his words, the disciples from the hall immediately looked furious, but none dared speak up. Tie Longgang was a cut above Yan Zhennan in strength and had already reached the Third Grade.
Just then, a prompt appeared.
[1, Why should so many highly skilled senior brothers have to deal with a little girl? Let me do it. (Side Quest)]
[2, Watch.]
[3, ...]
Mu Ye's heart stirred. This should be a key martial hall storyline, right?
When he'd been grinding Martial Arts later on, Mu Ye had always used Normal Mode.
True Mode had a stronger sense of immersion and made training feel more realistic. He'd only tried it once for exploring the World Map. Normally, he used Normal Mode, where he could reload saves to explore.
So, for a choice that might lead to different outcomes, Mu Ye decided to try option 2 first.
And the result was... Senior Brother Qin stepped up, only to be crippled by Tie Wuhua. Yan Zhennan had no choice but to hand over the recipe. Not long afterward, a group of Men in Black ransacked the Divine Fist Martial Hall, and Yan Zhennan died. If Mu Ye hadn't run, he probably would've been done for too.
"They're playing dirty! They got the recipe, then wiped out the whole hall?"
Those Men in Black were obviously the Iron Leg Sect in disguise. Mu Ye hurriedly reloaded and chose 1.
"You?" Yan Zhennan was taken aback. "But Tie Wuhua is already close to the Second Grade, and..."
"No problem." Mu Ye walked straight onto the Martial Arts Arena.
"You're a new face. Did you just join the sect?" Tie Wuhua's eyes were cold. "I heard the Divine Fist Martial Hall recently took in a highly talented disciple. Could it be you? I'd like to see just how talented you are."
With that, Tie Wuhua sprang lightly into the air and, like a dragonfly skimming the water, kicked toward Mu Ye.
Her legs looked straight as bamboo, but her energy had already filled out her clothes until they were as rigid as steel, gleaming with a faint golden sheen.
Seeing this, Mu Ye neither dodged nor backed away. He threw a simple, direct punch with Crimson Flame Fist.
The moment fist met foot, the crisp crack of breaking bone rang out.
The next instant, Tie Wuhua flew backward and crashed to the ground in the distance.
Everyone present stared in stunned silence. The one who had been sent flying was Tie Wuhua.
"Fifty acupoints, Second Grade..." Tie Longgang's eyes narrowed.
"Fifth Layer Crimson Flame Fist... Crimson Flame True Energy..." Yan Zhennan looked utterly astonished. "Wasn't he only at the fourth layer?"
"Maybe... maybe Junior Brother Mu broke through today..." Senior Brother Qin looked as if he'd been injected with a shot of adrenaline.
On the arena.
"Sorry, you lost." Mu Ye smiled faintly.
After a month of grinding, the sheer satisfaction of crushing them with his level welled up inside him.
Give it another month or two, and they'd see the power of a maxed-out, tenth-layer Crimson Flame Fist.
The crowd fell silent for a long while.
"Hahahaha, Junior Brother, I never expected you to take in a disciple like this..." Tie Longgang suddenly burst into laughter. He stared fixedly at Mu Ye and said, "Boy, you haven't been with the Divine Fist Martial Hall long, have you? Come with me to the Iron Leg Sect. I'll personally train you. You'll achieve far more there than you ever could at the Divine Fist Martial Hall."
[1, Master, please accept this disciple's bow.]
[2, Why not join the Divine Fist Martial Hall instead? Become my disciple, and I'll personally teach you.]
Mu Ye didn't believe for a second that this man could train him. Someone ruthless enough to break his word at the drop of a hat would probably have ulterior motives even if he did train Mu Ye. He couldn't even be bothered to reload and test it.
Mu Ye chose 2.
"If that's how it is, then don't blame me."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Tie Longgang burst forward like a gust of wind, kicking toward Mu Ye on the arena.
At the critical moment, a figure blocked Mu Ye. It was Yan Zhennan.
A shock wave surged toward them, forcing Mu Ye to stumble backward.
When the shock wave dissipated, Yan Zhennan's mouth was bleeding, and his clenched fist trembled uncontrollably.
Tie Longgang, by contrast, merely gave his legs a casual shake, completely unconcerned.
"Junior Brother, you're no match for me."
"To be honest, this disciple of yours managed to cultivate Crimson Flame Fist to this level in such a short time. His talent is extraordinary..." Tie Longgang grinned. His eyes brimmed with malice as he glanced at Tie Wuhua, who was limping back. "But now that I've discovered him today, I'm not stupid enough to just leave."
"Otherwise, he'll become a threat down the road."
A chill ran through the hearts of the Divine Fist Martial Hall's disciples.
Mu Ye's heart skipped a beat too. Why did this game feel so realistic? As the villain, shouldn't he let me, the protagonist, grow for a while before I beat him?
He already wanted to kill me?
Damn.
"Unless you hand over the recipe, I can spare his life today." Tie Longgang gave his foot a light stomp, shattering half the Martial Arts Arena. "Otherwise, he's as good as dead."
Mu Ye had already reloaded once, so he didn't believe a single word Tie Longgang said.
He was just trying to trick them into revealing the recipe. The moment they did, he'd surely attack.
But Yan Zhennan hesitated.
Seeing this, Mu Ye realized that his upright, honest master might actually hand over the recipe.
For the Divine Fist Martial Hall, the ointment recipe was essential to properly cultivating Crimson Flame Fist. Without it, even with the secret diagram for Crimson Flame Fist, they'd eventually hit a bottleneck and struggle to break through even the first layer.
Mu Ye thought for a moment. Since no prompt had appeared yet, inspiration struck, and he spoke up:
"Tie Longgang, you're so eager to kill me. Did you even ask whether my big brother would allow it?"
At these words, Tie Longgang paused in surprise.
The other disciples were stunned too.
Who was his big brother?
"Just you wait! I'll go get my big brother!"
Hearing this, Tie Longgang smiled, unimpressed.
Mu Ye headed to the rear courtyard, logged out, and immediately switched to his Demon Sealer character to enter the game.
Time to bring in the main account!
After entering the game, he headed straight for the Divine Fist Martial Hall, leaping in over the wall. There weren't any disciples guarding the entrance anyway.
Then he drew his blade, activated Demon Subduing Body, and coated the great blade with Golden Blade Art before hurling it. It plunged diagonally into the ground. He descended slowly from the sky and stood atop the hilt, his voice raspy as he surveyed the area:
"Who wants to kill my brother?"
The newcomer left the whole crowd stunned. Tie Longgang's face turned deathly pale...
Before you continue