Testing His Hand (Two-in-One)

The burly man clearly knew quite a bit. At a glance, he recognized Zhu Wu's identity. "Red hair, black mask, dressed all in black—you're the Undying Vermilion Emperor!"

Once he learned who stood before him, the burly man immediately changed his tune. "So it's the famed 'Vermilion Emperor.' Brothers, we've only just arrived in your territory and don't understand the rules. We failed to welcome you properly; I hope the Vermilion Emperor won't take offense."

In a low, hoarse voice, Zhu Wu said coldly, "I'm in a hurry. Come at me together."

Before the burly man could speak, one of his underlings said, "Boss, since he refuses a toast only to drink a forfeit, why be polite with him? No matter how strong he is, he's only one man. Let's all attack together and take his head for Jincheng's undergroun—"

Before he could finish, the underling's vision blurred, and his entire body flew violently away.

"Lightning Leg Technique: Lightning Flash Emerges."

Zhu Wu's Lightning Divine Leg made its first showing, swift beyond compare. One kick smashed into his opponent's face, caving in the Ninth-Rank martial artist's features and flattening his nose. He flew backward and crashed heavily into the courtyard wall, cleanly passing out.

"Damn it, everyone attack together!"

In an instant, they had lost one man. The burly leader did not dare let down his guard and immediately called for his remaining three underlings to attack together.

Though Zhu Wu had established his might with a single move, he had also allowed himself to be surrounded.

The three underlings moved at once upon hearing their boss's command.

Two unranked underlings wielding a blade and a staff attacked from the left and right, while the Ninth-Rank martial artist unleashed a skyful of fist shadows from behind.

The three sealed Zhu Wu in from three directions.

Clearly, this gang committed crimes as a group. No wonder even an Eighth-Rank martial artist had suffered badly at their hands.

Zhu Wu remained calm and composed. Spinning on the spot, he unleashed layers upon layers of looping leg shadows, generating a fierce whirlwind that broke through the attacks of all three in one stroke. "Dragon-Subduing Divine Leg: Tornado."

The three were kicked into complete disarray by Zhu Wu. Then the burly leader came charging in after gathering his strength, intending to seize the gap while Zhu Wu recovered his qi and severely injure him in one blow.

However, Zhu Wu circulated the True-Absorbing Divine Formula of Dual Qi Flow. His true qi flowed without end, allowing him to ignore the interval needed to recover qi. He moved like racing thunder.

"Lightning Divine Leg: Thunder Shakes the Nine Heavens."

He instantly caught up to the two weapon-wielding underlings who had been kicked back. Nine kicks shot out in succession, severely injuring them and making them vomit blood wildly.

With one move, he had crippled two men. The enemy's fighting strength dwindled once more.

Zhu Wu seemed to have developed a teasing mood. He began calling out names of the dead, toying with his opponents. "You're next."

The one he pointed to was the Ninth-Rank martial artist who used his fists, standing beside the burly man.

"Fuck!"

Having lost three underlings in a row without even harming a single hair on his opponent, the burly man flew into a rage. His peak Ninth-Rank cultivation fully erupted as his heavy fist blasted straight toward Zhu Wu.

Facing the mountain-toppling, sea-overturning force of that punch, Zhu Wu moved as swiftly as lightning, splitting into two and causing the attack to miss.

"Lightning Divine Leg: Twin Lightning Flight."

One move, two forms—as though he had become two people, attacking the marked man from both sides at once.

The man only had time to block one kick, fierce and mighty as thunder, before the other, swift as lightning, struck the vital point at the side of his head.

Even with true qi protecting his body, his vision went dark. His body went limp, and he passed out.

"Second Brother! Damn it!"

Seeing all his underlings defeated, the burly man risked everything. He stirred the true qi throughout his body, his muscles swelling—clear signs that he had activated a secret technique.

His speed suddenly surged, and his killing punch arrived in the blink of an eye.

"Dragon-Subduing Divine Leg: Divine Dragon Sweeps Its Tail."

Zhu Wu turned, his divine leg sweeping out with the force of his waist behind it, meeting the opponent's heavy fist head-on.

Seeing that Zhu Wu was no longer dodging, delight surfaced on the burly man's face. His trump card was these fists he took such pride in.

Yet how could everything in this world possibly go as one wished?

Empowered by the immense strength of Golden Bell Five Gates, Zhu Wu's kick directly shattered the burly man's hand bones. The remaining force sent his body flying backward.

"Lightning Divine Leg: Lightning Sweeps the Sky."

The Vermilion Emperor pressed his advantage without mercy, pursuing his victory.

The burly man only felt a blinding light flash before his face. His head instantly felt as though it would split apart, and he fell unconscious from his severe injuries.

Having effortlessly taken down five men without suffering a scratch, Zhu Wu did not lower his guard. He first bound the five unconscious men with hemp rope.

Then he searched one of them for a phone and sent the five men's information and location to Xin'an District Police Station.

After finishing everything, Zhu Wu pulled his hood back on. His steps were swift as racing thunder as he quickly left the courtyard.

Less than five minutes later, police sirens were blaring around the courtyard.

When the police broke through the courtyard gate, all they found were the five heavily injured, unconscious criminals bound together.

The leg technique Zhu Wu had used in battle was called the Lightning Divine Leg.

Chen Wu had created it after sensing that the Dragon-Subduing Divine Leg possessed more than enough power but lacked agility.

This leg technique excelled in close- and mid-range combat. It could pursue enemies, fight groups, and escape, among other uses. Once unleashed, it moved faster than thunder, leaving opponents unable to cope.

It had nine forms, namely:

"Lightning Flash Emerges," "Spring Thunder Booms," "Serpentine Lightning Steps," "Lightning Decapitates," "Like Thunder in the Ears," "Divided Lightning Flight," "Thunder Shakes the Nine Heavens," "Lightning Venomous Dragon Drill," and "Thunderous Might."

Among them, "Lightning Venomous Dragon Drill" had evolved from the killing move "Venomous Dragon Drill" within the Dragon-Subduing Divine Leg. It combined both power and speed in a single move.

"Don't come any closer!"

On the third day of the National Day holiday, inside a dilapidated residence, a terrified middle-aged man ran out screaming strangely. He desperately fled toward a crowded area, as though some horrifying monster were chasing him from behind.

Before the middle-aged man could take more than a few steps, a streak of light struck with fierce momentum, swift as a flash. A leg attack slammed heavily into the back of his head.

"Lightning Divine Leg: Lightning Sweeps the Sky."

The middle-aged man's face then had an intimate encounter with the concrete road, producing a loud crash. He cleanly passed out.

Still dressed in black shirt and black pants, wearing a black mask and sporting a head of wild red hair, Zhu Wu looked helplessly at the unconscious middle-aged man by his feet. "Sigh... when trouble comes, all you think about is running for yourself and sending your underlings to die. How are you fit to be their boss?"

As he spoke, he expertly searched the middle-aged man for a phone, then sent the information and location to the local police station.

With his task complete, Zhu Wu transformed into a streak of lightning and swiftly left the area.

When the police arrived, they once again found only a group of heavily injured, unconscious criminals.

At Xin'an District Police Station, Gu Yuyue, the station chief, stood onstage analyzing the case. Below sat not only a host of officers, but also leaders from the district and city who had come to inspect their work.

"Recently, a martial artist using the alias 'Vermilion Emperor' has been operating frequently within our station's jurisdiction. He favors black clothes and a black mask during his operations. His targets are all criminal groups on the wanted list. Since October 1st, he has wiped out twelve criminal hideouts. Yet strangely, after defeating them, the Vermilion Emperor merely sends their information to the police station and has never claimed the rewards."

At this point, Gu Yuyue paused before sharing the information collected over the past few days. "Regarding the Vermilion Emperor's identity, our station's profiler estimates that he is a male around twenty years old with no stable job. His red hair seems to be the result of his cultivation technique or physique. 'Vermilion Emperor' should also be an alias. He likely has a relative or accomplice in this city."

City Police Commissioner Wang Yichu asked sternly, "Chief Gu, is there anything else we don't know?"

Gu Yuyue continued, "His first appearance was at a public restroom beside the municipal government building. Combined with footage left by his bus ride, our station deduced that he went to an underground boxing arena in the suburbs."

"Officers later investigated and confirmed that deduction. We learned from the arena that the Vermilion Emperor fought continuously there for more than twenty days. The mask on his face was also obtained from that arena."

Wang Yichu summarized, "In other words, before taking action, he spent some time fighting in the underground arena."

"Correct. During those twenty-plus days at the arena, he defeated all the masters of Jincheng's underground fighting world. The title 'Undying Vermilion Emperor' was also earned during that period."

"Based on the intelligence we currently have, this person's strength has grown at an extremely rapid rate. He went from Ninth Rank when he first appeared to easily defeating opponents of the same rank in only seven days. He should be a martial artist with a special physique or one cultivating a special technique. His current strength is at least Eighth Rank."

"What is the assessment of his danger level? Has he committed any crimes before? Could he endanger the public?"

Those were the matters Commissioner Wang cared about most, and one of the purposes behind his inspection.

After all, in only three days, he had destroyed twelve criminal hideouts, defeated thirty-six Ninth-Rank martial artists, and taken down nearly a hundred wanted criminals.

Allowing a murder suspect like that to wander free outside was simply far too dangerous.

"Please rest assured, Commissioner Wang. The moment we received the report, I reviewed criminal cases and suspect records from every province nationwide. At least so far, there is not a single suspect in any province of the Republic whose characteristics match this person's."

"Though his identity is a mystery and he seems to have appeared out of thin air, his conduct suggests that he has received or encountered systematic education. Therefore, we infer that he is likely a disciple sent out for training by some reclusive martial arts family."

"The leg technique he uses in combat should also be a family martial art. That is why the government has no record of it."

"This can also be seen from the fact that, since he began taking action, he has never taken a life."

"Our preliminary assessment is that the Vermilion Emperor has no connection to unrelated criminals or the Myriad Evils Cult."

Gu Yuyue summarized the materials gathered during this period of investigation.

"In that case, there's no need to worry about him harming the public."

At this, Wang Yichu said regretfully, "If he truly is from some reclusive martial arts family, then he won't pose a threat to the public. The rest is no longer our concern. Before long, the Dragon Guard should make contact with him. Those people won't let such a promising seedling wander outside. They will certainly conduct a second investigation."

The "Dragon Guard" Wang mentioned was a force directly under the state. Their status was exceptional, and they maintained garrisons in every province and city. A regiment generally had around a thousand personnel, and even the lowest required cultivation level was Eighth Rank.

Usually deployed across different regions in squads, they were specifically responsible for guarding against secret realms that could appear at any time, as well as the beast tides that followed.

Gu Yuyue brought up another matter. "Also, there's one more matter. Regarding these criminal hideouts, several universities in the city have been complaining to the city bureau. They say that because of the Vermilion Emperor, the number of missions available to their students has plummeted. If this continues, the students may have no missions left to do."

There were three types of missions undertaken by martial arts universities. The first was issued specifically by the state. Such missions were few in number and highly difficult, requiring multiple teams to complete them under teachers' supervision.

The second was issued by local governments, offering public rewards for those Ninth-Rank martial artists who committed crimes.

The third consisted of missions issued by the martial arts universities themselves. There were many kinds: alchemy, artifact forging, finding people, finding objects, and more. Most were determined by each university's own needs and paid through the school's public accounts.

Apart from the first and third types, which were exclusive missions not shared with outsiders,

the second type, which was the most numerous, could be accepted by anyone in society.

Martial arts university students merely received somewhat more contribution points.

In truth, the police had more than enough strength to arrest these criminals.

The reason they had been left alone was to deliberately provide students from the city's universities with opportunities for training.

These people's strength was all under control, and they lived in places isolated from others, ensuring they could not harm ordinary citizens.

If they had been Eighth-Rank martial artists, they would have long since been captured by the Dragon Guard and experts from the city bureau.

Wang Yichu did not take this matter seriously at all. "With intelligence assistance from the city bureau and support from their schools, if they still can't compete with others, that's their own problem. There's no need to concern ourselves with it."

As long as the Vermilion Emperor did not endanger ordinary citizens, the more criminal groups he wiped out, the happier the police would be.

As for the universities' complaints?

They were already adults. They could figure something out themselves; there was no reason for anyone to babysit them.

Afterward, Commissioner Wang went onstage to speak about the government's latest policy guidance, notices issued by the provincial department, and praise for the police station's work over the three-day National Day holiday.

The meeting lasted about an hour. Finally, Chief Gu Yuyue announced to the station officers the specific process for taking compensatory time off after the National Day holiday.

After the meeting ended, the leaders from the city and district bureaus had a meal at the station.

As a holiday contract worker, Chen Wu naturally did not need to attend the meeting. After completing today's tasks, he had been sitting in the break room playing on his phone, using his three souls to deduce martial arts, condense visualization diagrams, and strengthen the path of spirit refinement.

Today should have passed as the previous days had, but an unexpected visitor came to the break room.

Wang Yichu, who should have been in the dining hall, appeared in the break room.

Though Chen Wu did not recognize Wang Yichu, one glance at the police insignia on his shoulder immediately told him that this man was his sister's superior. He promptly said, "Commissioner Wang, why have you come here?"

Wang Yichu looked at the youth before him with considerable nostalgia. "I came to see an old friend's child."

"Your mother and I graduated from the same school back then. After our positions were transferred here, we worked on the same police team as well. Her martial arts talent was better than mine. If not for... sigh... she should have reached the provincial department by now."

Chen Wu looked at the melancholy Commissioner Wang, unsure what to say for a moment.

"I heard about you from Xiao Li, and then I heard that you were working here as a holiday employee, so I came to have a look."

Chen Wu naturally knew what Commissioner Wang was referring to.

There was no way the bureau chief could have been unaware of that operation to capture the fiends of the Myriad Evils Cult.

Thanks to reader Poor Cook for the 100 Qidian Coins reward.