An Old Acquaintance Arrived Instead
The bandit Li Hansan was filled with rage. He was originally the eldest disciple of the South Heaven Sect, named Hu Hansan. However, out of Envy that his junior sister and second junior brother were together, he killed his second junior brother and forcibly murdered his junior sister.
Without hesitation, Hu Hansan stole the secret martial arts of the South Heaven Sect, fled overnight, changed his name to Li Hansan, and became a bandit in the mountains, all for the sake of one day mastering the sect's secret martial arts and then returning to the South Heaven Sect openly and proudly, saying, "I, Hu Hansan, have returned."
Suddenly, someone showed up at my door—five top-tier martial arts masters, each capable of projecting their inner energy! Five of them! These five could probably wipe out the South Heaven Sect, right? What grudge did I have against them?
What Hu Hansan didn't know was that this was precisely when the protagonist's halo of the five main characters began to take effect. Their individual halos were useless to each other, but when combined, they became the true protagonist's halo.
That's how Lu Li and his group were able to encounter government soldiers as soon as they stepped out, and easily obtain the location of this fairly hidden mountain stronghold from an old soldier.
"Tell me, who will you hand this person over to?" Chi Baishu said with an unfriendly expression. What kind of lousy mountain stronghold is this? Of all the bandits in the entire stronghold, only this one has cultivated internal energy. According to the soldiers, this Clear Wind Stronghold is still the largest force within a hundred miles.
Based on this, we can roughly estimate the level of this martial arts world. It seems that Mission One is indeed quite difficult—developing such a world into a high-level martial arts world.
The reason for keeping this bandit leader is to understand the current state of the martial arts world and, incidentally, to study the internal martial arts of this world. After all, the first mission clearly states the goal of developing into a high-martial-arts world, and the second mission also clearly states that five "people" will use martial arts to determine who is superior.
Therefore, Lu Li cannot directly inject Shadow Magic to transform Zhao Yifan into a shadow creature, nor can he teach Zhao Yifan dream magic to turn him into a wizard. Of course, perhaps some of the combat system of spirit weapons could be incorporated.
The limitations of the mission were clearly stated: the group must start from the martial arts of this world, transform and elevate them, and create true "high-level martial arts." The bandit leader who understood internal energy was a good starting point. They could share the incantations, but they weren't interested in a living person.
"How about we draw lots?" Lu Li said nonchalantly, taking out five pieces of paper from his umbrella. He marked four of them with an "X" and circled only one. Then he crumpled the five pieces of paper into balls and casually threw them on the ground in front of him.
The group saw this and had no objections. They then simultaneously reached for the crumpled paper. The others deliberately slowed down, waiting to see which one Lu Li aimed at. Then they used all sorts of unexpected tricks, such as ghostly hands emerging from the ground, animals flying out, or throwing knives that seemed to be under Lu Li's control.
Finally, Ding Yuan snatched the crumpled paper that Lu Li was aiming at with the fastest speed, only to find an "X" on it. Then, Lu Li and said, "Everyone thinks I would cheat, but am I that kind of person? I never lie, and I never cheat."
Then Hu Wenxu unfolded the circled paper ball and had Hu Hansan silently recite the incantation of the internal energy cultivation method. After questioning him several times to make sure he hadn't missed anything, everyone snorted and left with their respective disciples.
Lu Li led Zhao Yifan to the top of a green mountain. He flattened a piece of bluestone, sat on it, and seemed to be waiting for someone. Zhao Yifan stood aside, not daring to speak, but inwardly he was ranting and raving.
According to later recollections, the Black Heaven Hall was extremely capricious. When he found something amusing, everything was negotiable; when he found something uninteresting, anything you did was a death sentence. He was notorious for lying and misinterpreting promises.
"I have a feeling you're thinking something unpleasant." Lu Li glanced at his little apprentice and said coldly, which made Zhao Yifan's hands and feet turn cold. He was already regretting choosing this old monster.
Lu Li chuckled twice, then fell silent, continuing to wait quietly for someone. Finally, Zhao Yifan spotted three figures and couldn't help but think to himself, "You say you didn't cheat? You're all in cahoots to cheat!"
Hu Hansan's eyes were closed, as if he had fainted. Hu Wenxu casually tossed him in front of Lu Li, and his cold face finally showed some expression. "I didn't expect to run into you here. You're pretty fast."
"So-so, so-so." Lu Li knew Hu Wenxu was referring to the speed of advancement, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Then... cooperation?"
"No problem, how do we cooperate?" Since Hu Wenxu was willing to come, he was naturally willing to cooperate.
"Information sharing, let's secure the top one or two first, and see who has the best skills." Lu Li sized up Hu Wenxu. In the Merfolk instance, the other party must have consumed countless strange substances to transform himself into a human-like ghost. Now that he has returned to human form, Ziyin have been eliminated.
"That's settled then. Please keep this safe." Hu Wenxu produced a precious pearl in his hand, which was none other than Hu Wenxu's Mutation organ. Lu Li naturally accepted the pearl and put it away.
While the two monsters were talking, Zhao Yifan glanced at Wu Siqi opposite him and his heart stirred. This future hero had the nickname "Dragon Soaring Through Nine Heavens," which Zhao Yifan had envied immensely back then.
With a broad back and a handsome face, he could not only compose poems, but also play the flute, zither, and erhu. He was born into a prestigious family and was the future young master of the Ancient Moon Hall. What Zhao Yifan Envy most was that he had romantic encounters wherever he went. He was said to have unclear and complicated relationships with various women, such as young ladies from wealthy families, spoiled little cousins, the most beautiful courtesan in the world, and senior sisters from various sects.
Unlike himself, who followed Ding Yuan back then, he was not suited for the path of Assassin and was not mature enough. Ding Yuan disliked him and almost gave up on him in the end. Otherwise, he would not have died in an "accident".
"No matter what, I can have another life. In this life, I will definitely reach the peak. Whether it's Dragon Soaring Through Nine Heavens or the others, I will surpass them all and let the world know my name, Zhao Yifan." Lu Li's little disciple clenched his fists and secretly vowed. His protagonist aura shone slightly, and he felt a slight jolt in his spirit. His mind became clear, and he stepped out of the shadow of his previous failure.
Wu Siqi, on the other side, only felt Zhao Yifan staring at him. The next moment, the other party's aura completely changed. Wu Siqi was slightly taken aback. Did the other party consider him an opponent? Well then, let's bring it on.
Wu Siqi's protagonist aura began to glow slightly, and he seemed to possess the imposing presence of a dragon coiled around his body, already showing a hint of the future Dragon Soaring Through Nine Heavens of a dragon soaring to the heavens.
"Then it's settled. I'll take the whole thing with me." Lu Li smiled slightly. After finishing his discussion with Hu Wenxu, he picked up the unconscious Hu Hansan with one hand, then grabbed his little apprentice, randomly chose a direction, and slowly walked away. This dungeon was quite interesting.
"Let's go, I'll take you home first, and then I'll teach you the supreme martial arts." Hu Wenxu watched Lu Li walk away, something seemed to be wriggling in his right arm, as if he had thought of something, and turned to Wu Siqi to say this.
And so, the five players, along with their apprentices, began their respective journeys.