The Agreement

The old man opposite moved!

As if shrinking the earth into an inch, he threw a punch straight at Chen Wu!

Under Chen Wu's Concentrated Spirit, it seemed as if a lotus flower rose from within that ball of flame, with a deity resembling a Wisdom King sitting upon the lotus throne, striking out simultaneously. It shook Chen Wu's Concentrated Spirit, causing his focus to waver.

What kind of evil martial art is this?

Seeing that the momentum was unstoppable, Chen Wu stepped back lightly, choosing to avoid the brunt of the attack.

The moment Chen Wu retreated, the old man pressed forward even more aggressively, his fist techniques relentless, delivering another strike.

Clang—

Chen Wu drew his sword. Only then did he see clearly that the old man was wearing a pair of gloves made of an unknown material, which produced the sound of clashing metal against the edge of Chen Wu's blade.

Not good—

As fist and sword collided, Chen Wu felt a massive force surge from the blade!

Mystic Realm!

This was a collision of true power from the Mystic Realm!

Although Chen Wu possessed the Concentrated Spirit and had reached the extreme of the physical body, his true strength was merely at the Pulse-Opening Realm. Without the reinforcement of the power of heaven and earth, he could not withstand this immense force at all!

Chen Wu leaped up, retreating rapidly to dissipate the overwhelming force, and flew backward to the edge of the Yan River.

"Why are you so weak?"

The old man seemed not to have expected his own move to be this ferocious, forgetting to pursue for a moment.

Chen Wu seized the opportunity to regulate his breathing, then turned and ran!

This guy is too strong! I'd be a fool not to run!

"Where are you fleeing—" the old man roared, chasing after Chen Wu!

The old man was a Mystic Realm expert after all; his movement technique was far faster than Chen Wu's, and in the blink of an eye, he closed the distance.

Seeing that Chen Wu was about to be caught and killed by the old man with a single blow, at this critical moment, Chen Wu shouted: "Tower Master, save me—"

Suddenly, a torrent surged from the Yan River nearby, rushing straight toward the old man! This torrent moved with incredible speed, yet it was completely silent.

It was none other than the "Dragon-Expelling Divine Sword," Wang Jiuyuan!

The old man had never expected an ambush in the river water. He barely managed to tilt his body to dodge the fatal blow, but he was still grazed by Wang Jiuyuan's blade, the spiraling energy piercing his shoulder. He had no choice but to leap away, putting distance between himself and Chen Wu.

Seeing the Tower Master appear, Chen Wu felt greatly relieved and hurriedly flew to the Tower Master's side, shielding him.

"Old Wang, what kind of path does this person follow?"

Chen Wu was still somewhat shaken; a Mystic Realm expert had actually come specifically to kill him.

"Maitreya Descended, Qi Lin!" Wang Jiuyuan said, "I haven't seen you out in three years. I never expected your Maitreya to have regressed into a Wisdom King!"

Qi Lin?

The name sounded somewhat familiar...

Before Chen Wu could think further, the old man opposite spoke: "You Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower people are still as shameless as ever, knowing only how to launch sneak attacks!"

"Hahaha—" Wang Jiuyuan laughed, "Thank you for the compliment! As assassins, if we don't launch sneak attacks, are we supposed to beat drums and gongs and set up a formation to fight?"

"On the other hand, you White Lotus Sect, what is the reason for coming to cause trouble for my Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower today?"

"What is the logic behind what you say?" asked the man addressed as Lord Dang.

Duke Chen wore a profound expression: "The Grand Patriarch and the Emperor merely want to save a few silver dollars, so they intend to cut the benefits of the Old Five Battalions. But they don't stop to think: if the Old Five Battalions are truly disbanded, in this vast world, who will still sincerely protect the Li Family's empire?"

"Is it the School of Heavenly Principle? Those people are born from reading the sages' books; they want to protect an emperor. But this emperor doesn't necessarily have to be from the Li Family! When the Eastern Barbarians invaded back then, even though they forced people to shave their heads and change their clothes, they truly respected Confucius and Confucianism and suppressed slave revolts. Many of the great clans in Jiangnan went to serve as officials for the Eastern Barbarians."

The more Duke Chen spoke, the more treasonous and satirical his words became, and Lord Dang listened with increasing solemnity.

"The Investigation of Things School is even less reliable!" Duke Chen continued, "These people don't even talk about 'the ruler is the ruler, the subject is the subject' anymore; they only talk about 'investigating principles and determining right from wrong.' Now that the Emperor can provide these people with trade profits, the Emperor still has a place within these principles. If one day he wants to restrict their annexation and expansion, I fear the Emperor will be kicked out of their principles on the spot."

"The Yongjiu School and the Equal Poverty School go without saying; they all view the Emperor as an enemy and wish they could immediately shatter the heaviest dragon throne in this world!"

"Lord Dang, tell me, if the Old Five Battalions are truly disbanded, who among these people will still be willing to protect the Li Family's empire?"

As he spoke, Duke Chen was filled with grief: "Once the Li Family's empire is gone, even if we nobles want to find a leisurely job guarding the Merit Temple, others will find us an eyesore!"

Lord Dang's expression was grave: "What you say is not without reason."

"I have served as an envoy to Europa many times over these years, and I see it clearly," Duke Chen said. "People in this world, with their accumulation of wealth and sound knowledge, no longer believe in the 'ruler is the ruler, subject is the subject' or the 'divine right of kings' nonsense."

"In Europa, everyone advocates for limiting royal power and expelling the church," Duke Chen shook his head. "In our Great Shun, I wonder if you have heard..."

"The greatest harm in the world is none other than the ruler," Lord Dang suddenly recited this sentence.

Duke Chen nodded, then shook his head, and began to sigh.

"That Chen Wu killed our people!" Qi Lin stared at Wang Jiuyuan, slowly shaking his head.

"Your people impersonated his identity; if you ask me, killing them was the right thing to do." Wang Jiuyuan said with disdain, "Furthermore, if you were to investigate even slightly, you would know that the impostor was killed by the constables of Yan'an Prefecture. My disciple merely happened to be there at the time."

"You dare not trouble the Constabulary Office, yet you come to trouble my Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower. Being such a bully to the weak and fearing the strong—did Guo Xuchu not only shatter your Maitreya Dharma Image but also shatter your courage along with it?"

Qi Lin remained indifferent, though a flicker of displeasure crossed his eyes: "There is no use in more talk. Your disciple killed a man, after all; we must settle this with a fight."

"Very well!" Wang Jiuyuan said, "I heard you previously had a ten-move agreement with Guo Xuchu. Let us imitate that ten-move agreement today."

"Chen Wu, come here—" Wang Jiuyuan called Chen Wu out, "I shall make the decision for you and set a ten-move agreement with Maitreya Descended. In a few days, find a time to face Maitreya Descended one-on-one. Exchange ten moves, and this matter shall be considered settled."

"I agree—" Qi Lin answered impatiently.

Having just exchanged blows with Chen Wu, Qi Lin had already probed the depths of his martial arts. Although he did not know how he had reached the Concentrated Spirit Realm, his true qi was only at the Meridian Opening stage. Within ten moves, killing him would be more than enough.

Chen Wu felt a toothache, but the Tower Master would likely not set him up, so he agreed.

Duke's Mansion.

Chen Wu shook off that Qi Lin and hurried back to the Duke's Mansion under the cover of night.

"What did they say?" Duke Chen asked in a calm tone, standing beside a middle-aged man carrying a thick-backed saber.

"This..." Chen Wu looked toward the middle-aged man.

"Lord Dang was invited by me; speak freely."

"They said that as long as the Duke agrees to one thing, they will release the person."

"What is it?"

"They want you to fulfill the previous agreement and release 'Primordial Heavenly King' Liu Zhixie."

"Is that the only condition?"

"That is the only one." Chen Wu answered honestly.

To avoid being seen through, it is best not to lie. Nine truths and one falsehood is the way to conceal the truth.