Proactive Strike

After pondering for a long time, Lu Wu-bing finally made up his mind.

He silently memorized the swordplay manual, committing it to memory. He then left the cellar and made a copy. He placed the genuine "Yuanling Swordplay Manual" into a black wooden box and held it close.

Afterward, he gave his mother a few more instructions.

Seeing that the sky was about to darken, he didn't linger. He changed into servant's attire, donned a bamboo hat, and climbed over the wall…

He blended into the crowd of people returning home late, turning left and right until he reached a dilapidated alley. He knocked on the door of a residence.

"Young Master."

Upon seeing Lu Wu-bing lift his bamboo hat, an old man with white hair rushed forward, exclaiming in surprise.

"Uncle Fu, please keep this for me. Once you hear of my Lu family's annihilation, or any news of my demise, open the package. Inside is a letter. Follow its instructions. I implore you."

"Rest assured, as long as this old servant is alive, I will not fail this important task."

A sharp glint flashed in the old man's eyes. He took a deep breath and agreed. From Lu Wu-bing's tone, he understood a great deal.

"Actually, it's just a contingency plan. Perhaps this step won't be necessary."

Lu Wu-bing smiled, pulled out a handful of silver fragments, and stuffed them into the old man's hand. He put on his bamboo hat again and quietly departed.

He followed Mao Mao, who was leading the way.

They arrived at the Yuelai Inn at the street corner.

Lu Wu-bing tossed a piece of silver to the waiter and said, "Looking for someone." He then went upstairs to a guest room and gently knocked on the door.

The door opened, but the room was empty.

Lu Wu-bing glanced at Mao Mao by his feet in surprise. He noticed the little creature's eyes also held confusion. It nuzzled his snow-white nose, sniffing around, and couldn't help but sneeze.

He doesn't want to see me. He's avoiding me.

Lu Wu-bing's gaze darkened. He lowered his head slightly, took out the black wooden box from his embrace, and held it in his hands. He said softly, "This humble disciple, Lu Wu-bing, requests an audience with Senior Ouyang. I have nothing else of value, so I specially present this divine swordplay manual…"

A gentle breeze blew into the room.

Lu Wu-bing heard a soft "Hmm?" by his ear. At some unknown time, another person had appeared in the room.

This person wore a feathered crown, a blue Taoist robe, and had five strands of long beard under his chin. His gaze was gentle, making it impossible to discern his emotions.

His movement technique was incredibly skillful, and his bearing was extraordinary. He was clearly a master. This must be Ouyang Zheng, the sect leader of the Celestial Star Sect, as Head Constable Li had mentioned.

"Master."

Lu Wu-bing bowed without hesitation.

Just as he was about to lower himself, he felt a soft yet incredibly firm and immense force preventing his bow. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move.

From a short distance away, he seemed to hear a faint, almost inaudible chuckle.

"Slow down. My Celestial Star Sect doesn't accept just any disciple. Little fellow, do you really think this old man would covet your family's swordplay manual?"

Ouyang Zheng looked at Lu Wu-bing with a half-smile, clearly having guessed his thoughts.

"Senior Ouyang possesses peerless divine skills and would naturally not care for my Lu family's mere swordplay manual. It's simply that I've heard of your great righteousness and widespread heroic reputation. You surely wouldn't bear to see this evil art poison the world. Hence, I present this manual for your safekeeping. Only then can it be absolutely secure."

Lu Wu-bing smiled, opened the box, took out the swordplay manual, placed it on the lid, and held it out with both hands. "Senior can tell with a glance."

Ouyang Zheng's gaze fell upon the blood-red characters "Yuanling Swordplay Manual," and his expression shifted slightly.

These four characters were like iron hooks and silver lines. Just seeing them conjured images of mountains of corpses and seas of blood in his mind. The calligraphy contained the spirit and will of the person who wrote it.

Amazing.

Even the cover alone possessed such presence.

What martial artist could resist the temptation of a divine martial arts manual placed before them without flipping through it?

Impossible.

Ouyang Zheng clearly couldn't ignore it either. He silently accepted the manual, opened the first page, and his expression immediately changed as he scanned it.

First, it turned ashen, then blood-red.

As he finished flipping through the six pages of the manual, suddenly, his Taoist robe billowed as if caught by a strong wind.

"Weng..."

A muffled thunderous roar echoed in Lu Wu-bing's ears.

Lu Wu-bing's eyelids twitched violently as he saw Ouyang Zheng's right middle finger slightly bend and extend. A semi-transparent ripple spread out to the side in the air…

Silently, the rosewood stool three feet away had already shattered into a pile of dust.

Is this sword qi, or finger force?

If it landed on me, I'd be pulverized.

"As expected, it's sinister..."

The color drained from Ouyang Zheng's face, and his voice became even gentler. "You are very good! However, with such a powerful and demonic sword manual, how could your Lu family resist practicing it? Even if you didn't practice it, why didn't you destroy it directly?"

Lu Wu-bing's heart stirred, knowing that this was the true moment of life and death.

Despite Ouyang Zheng's good reputation and his kind smile…

But the more it was like this, the more dangerous it became.

As the sect leader, it was impossible to say he was a soft-hearted person.

What if...

"Senior, you may not know this, but my ancestor knew the Yuanling Swordplay Manual was extremely evil. Once a descendant practiced it, it would harm both themselves and others. Therefore, he sealed the manual many years ago, leaving behind a dying wish, strictly ordering the descendants of the Lu family not to open the box to take anything...

If it weren't for the Eastern Sea Sword Sect's extreme wickedness and their desire to seize the manual, I wouldn't have known that the Lu family still harbored such a harmful item."

At this point, Lu Wu-bing's tone shifted.

"At this critical juncture, I originally intended to print many copies of the manual and have my trusted confidants rush to all the northern and southern provinces to spread it.

If anything were to happen to the Lu family, hundreds or even thousands of people would emerge in the world practicing the Yuanling Evil Sword. I wouldn't ask for anything else, only that once these practitioners master the swordplay, they would raze the Eastern Sea Sword Sect to the ground and annihilate them completely..."

"Absolutely not..."

Ouyang Zheng's face twitched, almost unable to maintain his dignified demeanor.

A faint thought that flickered in his heart vanished in an instant.

He could completely understand the shrewdness and ruthlessness of this refined and elegant young man before him.

With Ouyang Zheng's discerning eye, after just a glance at the sword manual and activating his first divine pulse, he immediately discovered the terrifying nature of the Yuanling Sword.

Not only was its power astonishing and could be mastered quickly, but it also affected one's temperament, making people become like demons or fiends, killing without restraint and committing all sorts of evil deeds.

As long as someone dared to practice it, within three to five years, a formidable demon that would be extremely difficult to deal with would soon appear in the martial arts world.

If hundreds or thousands of such demons appeared, he couldn't even imagine what the world would become.

Even if the Eastern Sea Sword Sect were ten or a hundred times stronger, they might be wiped out.

Even the Celestial Star Sect might not be able to remain unscathed.

This was a desperate plan.

"What sin have the common people committed... Those who practice this sword will surely fill the fields with corpses, devour spirits and souls, and commit rape and plunder. How can you be so heartless at such a young age?"

Lu Wu-bing chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "It's not that I'm heartless. If we can't get past the Eastern Sea Sword Sect, the Lu family will surely be annihilated.

If we're all dead, what does it matter if there's a flood afterward? Senior, don't you think that's the logic?"

That's right.

They were about to be wiped out.

And you were still asking them to be kind.

This was asking the impossible.

Even with Ouyang Zheng's vast knowledge and myriad of reasoning, he couldn't persuade him even a single word.

Fortunately, Lu Wu-bing's tone shifted again. "After much thought, I realized things aren't at a dead end. I recently learned that Senior Ouyang of the Celestial Star Sect was passing through Jiang Prefecture and temporarily staying here, so I rushed to seek apprenticeship.

I believe that with your reputation for chivalry, you must be unable to stand the Eastern Sea Sword Sect's unscrupulous plundering and wanton slaughter.

Once I successfully become your disciple, and the Lu family has the backing of the Celestial Star Sect, I doubt the Eastern Sea Sword Sect would dare to make a move. All those desperate plans before were just a last resort that would never be used, and should not be taken seriously."