Chu Wen's Secret

In the Chaos Martial Arts Hall's virtual conference room, around a round table.

Rox sat in the third-to-last seat, reporting on what had happened at Netherworld Lake.

"Rox, according to your account, Eagle-Eye Beast King showed no unusual behavior beforehand?"

"Yes. As agreed, the details of my transaction with him were recorded by the optical brain. The chain of evidence is clear."

"The martial artist base in Kunlun has confirmed Eagle-Eye Beast King's death. Bell-Deer Beast King, who had already escaped, died alongside him." Zhuge Lin said blandly as he read the case file.

"What? Who killed them? How did they find them?"

"The risks of venturing deep into Kunlun... even high-level War Gods would not dare enter lightly, even in teams."

The War Gods present were shocked.

They had gone straight to the Kunlun Mountains over a single transaction?

"The Chairman personally took action. The consequences of a Beast King breaking an agreement are worse than you imagine."

"The Chairman?!"

At that title, the group of War Gods nearly stopped breathing!

Chaos Martial Arts Hall had only one Chairman—Chaos!

No one knew his real name. Ever since he founded Chaos Martial Arts Hall, he had operated under that codename.

"The Demon Emperor of Kunlun discussed this matter with the Chairman once more. Naturally, the details are beyond our right to know."

"At the very least, Rox, if you had not gone this time, the high-level War King assigned to the task would certainly have run into trouble. You could count that as earning merit by a roundabout route."

All the War Gods had long received messages from their families, requiring them to reassess the Beast Kings' trustworthiness. Over the past few days, every War God family had been driven nearly mad with work.

"Now let's discuss your problem this time, Rox. According to the report, you charged into the Blood Bodhi Tree's range. Your courage was commendable, but if the Beast King had committed another offense and buried you beneath an ambush of beast tides, what then?"

"Would our human race lose a genius War God over such a trivial matter?" Zhuge Lin stared coldly at Rox, seated near the end. "You are still too ruled by emotion. You clearly pride yourself on being detached, yet once you reach the battlefield, you are still too young to command the situation perfectly."

"Enough, Deputy Hall Master. Rox's issues are not what this meeting is meant to discuss."

"That's right. The ownership of the Blood Bodhi fruit is why we are all here."

Zhuge Lin shook his head. "The trading method for the Blood Bodhi fruit is different this time. The Blood Bodhi Tree at Netherworld Lake has begun to wither, and there likely will not be any more such fruit in the future. Therefore... the Chairman will decide who receives them. The Yatu Family, to which Rox belongs, will certainly receive one. Chaos Martial Arts Hall will arrange the ownership of the other..."

"Ah?"

"How can that be? That is not right, is it? The Blood Bodhi fruit will no longer be produced?"

"Deputy Hall Master Zhuge, are you certain this information is true...?"

Some of the War Gods around the round table were already growing anxious. If this was true, the premium on this Blood Bodhi fruit would be terrifying!

"You can go outside and inquire about this matter yourselves. The meeting is over."

The conference room constructed by the optical brain gradually dissolved, revealing a spacious office. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows, Xinhang Base City was slowly awakening beneath the morning sun.

Rox sat on a sofa to one side. Across from him sat Zhuge Lin and Yang Tianlong.

The three of them were currently the three great War Gods of Chaos Martial Arts Hall in Xinhang Base City. The other War Gods were out in the wilderness and could not remain in the base city often.

Zhuge Lin dropped his previous solemn tone and let out a breath. "All right, the meeting is over. Now let's talk about personal matters."

Yang Tianlong said helplessly, "How exactly is Lin Wei? Her brother sent me more than a dozen private messages."

"She will be fine. She probably just cannot participate in an upcoming combat examination." Rox leaned back against the sofa and began swiping through the light screen before him.

"That is good. If something serious happened to the Lin Family's precious daughter, that would be troublesome." As the principal, Yang Tianlong naturally could not visit her directly and could only ask for information here.

The information on the light screen had now scrolled to Chu Wen's profile.

"Let's talk about Chu Wen instead. This is the first time Brother Yatu has taken the initiative to bring someone up." Zhuge Lin was extremely curious about Rox's unusual behavior.

This proud genius War God actually had a day when he paid attention to someone his own age?

Yang Tianlong joked, "Weren't you the one who put Chu Wen down before? What is it? You only went out on one mission together, and he already conquered you?"

Rox did not reply. Instead, he went straight to the point. "Chu Wen's situation is strange. Did you know he can unleash the speed of a high-level War King? He even escaped while being hunted by a Beast King."

"But he is only a mid-level Warrior."

"His information has been updated. He is now a high-level Warrior," Zhuge Lin reminded him.

"Whether he is a mid-level Warrior or a high-level Warrior, he is still at the Warrior rank. Why is his strength ordinarily only at the Warrior rank, yet when paired with his martial skills, he can unleash that kind of power? Is that reasonable?"

Rox voiced his doubts. "And after he unleashes it, he falls into a state of exhaustion for nearly half an hour. Lin Wei told me all this. I did not witness it myself, but according to her description, Chu Wen did not even have the breath to speak at the time."

"But once that half hour passes, he can suddenly spring up and recover all his strength."

"That is clearly abnormal. It does not accord with the actual recovery process of the human body. Everything should undergo quantitative change, not suddenly transform through qualitative change."

Yang Tianlong shook his head. "It is all hearsay. Lin Wei's state at the time was probably muddled as well. She might not have had a clear grasp of Chu Wen's specific circumstances herself. Wasn't Chen Dai already fighting until he lost consciousness?"

"We actually knew about Chu Wen's speed long ago. According to the optical brain's analysis, Shadow Follows Form is itself a ranked martial skill. It was just that person from Jiangnan Martial University cherished his own worn broom and only taught it to his confidants. Now that he is dead, the skill has become incomplete. At present, Chu Wen has the highest proficiency in it."

"Shadow Follows Form... what a pity. Such a fine martial skill... I wonder how much of its true essence Chu Wen inherited."

"It is said that Chu Wen only learned it from a martial artist called Lu Yun. Before Lu Yun died, he was merely a prospective mid-level War General. He likely received only part of the true teachings, not the full content."

"Even a partial true inheritance can produce a martial skill that unleashes nearly twenty times one's normal speed. Even if it cannot be improved further, as his physical fitness soars, it will still be terrifying. It is nearly on par with the Galloping Martial Hall's secret Galloping Breathing Method."

"At mastery, the Galloping Breathing Method only increases normal speed thirtyfold."

Zhuge Lin sighed repeatedly, his words full of regret.

Such an excellent martial skill had actually lost its true inheritance just like that.

Rox added, "Chu Wen's blade technique is also exceptionally sharp. This time, he did not use the Burning Blade Technique, but a new blade technique."

"Look."

Images were brought up and scrolled across the screen again. Although the beast corpses in the images were covered in visual static, their clean, decisive cuts could still be vaguely seen.

"These are the beast corpses Chu Wen killed. There are even War General-level beasts here, including mid-level Beast Generals. Take a look."

"These cuts... how are they as beautiful as scalpel work?" Yang Tianlong shot to his feet, staring at the images in astonishment. "This is a high-level Warrior? I would believe it even if you said high-level War General."

"You are not joking?" Yang Tianlong looked at Rox.

Rox spread his hands. "I said before that I dislike people like Chu Wen, so there is no need for me to build momentum for someone I do not like. These cuts on the beasts were all photographed on the spot."

Zhuge Lin also frowned slightly as he looked at the images. If this was true, the sharpness of that blade technique bore a trace of a ranked martial skill. But could a ranked martial skill be mastered so easily?

A foundational martial skill like the Burning Blade Technique was one thing. Shadow Follows Form could be attributed to talent and good fortune.

But how was this newly emerged blade technique to be explained...

One had to know that two months ago, Chu Wen had only been a high-level Martial Disciple!

His improvement was like riding a rocket into the sky?!

Yet after a moment's thought, Zhuge Lin's eyes lit up and he laughed. "Why worry about so much? In any case, he is definitely one of ours at Chaos Martial Arts Hall!"

"Other organizations may not yet know exactly how much potential Chu Wen has. This time, I will apply to the Chairman. Rox, when the time comes, I will have to trouble you to personally deliver the contract!"

Rox smiled knowingly. The purpose of his visit this time had been achieved.

Yang Tianlong saw it and cast his vote in favor.

Chu Wen was indeed part of Chaos Martial Arts Hall, but he was also a student of Xinhang Martial University. Supporting Chu Wen would not leave him at a loss no matter how he looked at it.