Next, he taught the other person the breathing method from the "Metal and Stone Method".
The main purpose of breathing exercises is to mobilize qi and blood. To get started, the key is to develop a sense of qi.
This is also a hurdle that prevents many people from cultivating their Internal Skill.
Whether a person has the aptitude for martial arts can be roughly determined from this test.
Wu Shuangren passed this test without any difficulty because he had already sensed the Internal Skill through the Traits before Internal Skill it and gained 'qi sensation'.
Xu Yu, Wu Shuangren wasn't sure whether Xu Yu had the aptitude for martial arts.
For the next hour or so, Wu Shuangren taught Xu Yu breathing techniques.
After Xu Yu stumbled through a complete 'breathing cycle' following the instructions in the * Metal and Stone Method *, he looked at Wu Shuangren:
"Big brother, I think I'm starting to feel something!"
"What did you sense?"
"It's just like you said, it feels like a warm current is flowing through my body."
Wu Shuangren was overjoyed. "That's wonderful!"
That 'warm current' wasn't internal energy or True Qi, but rather qi and blood.
The fact that Xu Yu could have such a feeling means that he has passed the first hurdle and has developed a sense of 'qi'.
To be able to generate a 'qi sensation' on the first try of practicing breathing techniques is undoubtedly an extremely high level of talent!
"Let's continue."
Wu Shuangren said excitedly to Xu Yu.
The sixteenth day after the Xie family was destroyed.
At dawn, the sound of horns from a fleet of ships drifted from the direction of the dock, deep and resonant.
The convoy of ships arrived at the West River Wharf!
Mo Zhengxing set off early, accompanied by two attendants, carrying a small wooden box containing thirty taels of official silver and several antiques confiscated from the Xie residence.
The West River Wharf was already bustling with activity.
A dozen or so cargo ships were moored on the shore, their hulls drafted very deep into the water, their masts towering like a forest. Laborers carried sacks and moved back and forth on the gangplank, the shouts of the overseers, their work chants, and the sound of the flowing water all blending together.
Officials dressed in black robes walked around the boat and its hulls, with knives at their waists.
There were two main officials accompanying the ship: one was the escort officer, a civil official, and the other was the leader, a military officer.
Mo Zhengxing had already found out about these two people.
He straightened his robes, smiled, and approached a disembarking official, bowing respectfully, "Sir, I am Mo Zhengxing from the West River Market Boxing Hall. I have come to pay my respects to Lord Zhou and Commandant Liu to discuss important matters."
The official glanced at him sideways and said in a cold tone, "Both of you are busy with official duties and do not receive guests."
Mo Zhengxing's smile remained unchanged. He took out a piece of silver from his sleeve and quietly slipped it into the other man's hand. "Officer, please do me a favor."
The official weighed the silver in his hand, his expression softening slightly, but he still shook his head. "It's not that I didn't want to inform you, it's just that the two officials said this is only for official canal transport business, and they won't see anyone else."
Mo Zhengxing's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained calm. "Officer, I am also here on official business. I hope you can inform them for me."
"Okay, I'll go ask."
The officer turned and walked towards a ship.
A moment later, the man disembarked and walked up to Mo Zhengxing, his face already quite unpleasant. He said curtly, "Neither of you gentlemen will see you. Let's go back!"
Mo Zhengxing was puzzled, but he didn't dare to force the issue and could only lead his men back.
That afternoon, he found out that the two adults had disembarked and gone to a restaurant in West River Market.
So he visited again, bringing gifts and behaving sincerely.
But this time, I was turned away again!
"Neither of them will even see you?"
Inside the council chamber, Wu Shuangren frowned after listening to Mo Zhengxing's report.
Mo Zhengxing's expression was also unpleasant. "I don't understand either. I'm sure I haven't violated any of my manners. I was clearly there to deliver money, but these two refuse to see me."
Wu Shuangren was silent for a moment, then tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "Do these two have deep connections with the West River Gang and the Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce?"
There were definitely some exchanges of benefits, but I wouldn't say there was any real friendship between them.
Mo Zhengxing his head, "If the West River Gang and the Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce can help them make money, why can't we? They've passed through more than a dozen docks along the way. With powerful figures from all over vying for power, changing partners is quite common."
Wu Shuangren said with a stern face, "Are you trying to manipulate us so you can demand a higher price later?"
While he was pondering, a militiaman came to the outside of the hall and announced:
"Commander-in-Chief! Luo Heng, the leader of the Flying Feather Gang, requests an audience, saying he has important matters to discuss."
Wu Shuangren and Mo Zhengxing exchanged a glance.
"Please let him in."
Before long, Luo Heng entered the council hall alone.
He was in his early forties, with a lean build, dressed in a light blue short-sleeved shirt, and had a scar on his face, giving him a cold and aloof air.
Upon entering the lobby, Luo Heng clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Greetings, Militia Commander Wu; greetings, Boss Mo."
"Chief Luo, please don't stand on ceremony, please have a seat."
Wu Shuangren gestured for him to sit down and then had tea served.
After Luo Heng sat down, he got straight to the point. "Militia Commander Wu, I've come today to tell you something important."
"Oh?"
"The Mist Hidden Temple sent people to me, trying to win over my Flying Feather Gang and the Zhang Clan, so that the three of us could join forces to wipe out Militia Commander Wu and your gang!"
The air in the hall was frozen.
Mo Zhengxing's teacup wobbled, spilling a few drops of tea.
Wu Shuangren remained expressionless, staring at Luo Heng: "Why is Chief Luo telling me this? Since Mist Hidden Temple has invited you to join forces, Flying Feather Gang can choose to fight me together. If you win, West River Market will be yours."
Luo Heng chuckled, tugging at the scars on his face, making him look somewhat ferocious. "Winning is certainly good, but what if we lose?"
"The people of Mist Hidden Temple can return to their temple, and the Zhang Clan can retreat to West River County. What about my Flying Feather Gang?"
Luo Heng raised his hand and pointed out the window. "My whole family, and the families of hundreds of brothers in the gang, are mostly in West River Market. If we lose, do you think Militia Commander Wu let us off the hook?"
Wu Shuangren smiled upon hearing this.
In retrospect, it was indeed absolutely necessary for me to ruthlessly exterminate all the Xie Family!
It was only through such ruthless methods that the Flying Feather Gang was deterred, leading to Luo Heng's arrival today.
Luo Heng paused, then continued, "Although I, Luo Heng, haven't read many books, I believe I have some foresight in getting to this point. Militia Commander Wu, at such a young age, possesses First Rate skills; he must be extraordinary! Back then, he led fifty men to defeat the Xie Clan and three hundred elite West River Gang —something even the Mist Hidden Temple might not have been able to do. More importantly—"
Luo Heng stared directly at Wu Shuangren: "The other day I had five boxes of valuables delivered, but Militia Commander Wu refused them. Instead, he asked for thirty Internal Skill. This shows that Militia Commander Wu isn't concerned with the immediate gold and silver, but with the much longer-term future!"
As he spoke, he suddenly stood up, walked to the center of the hall, and bowed deeply to Wu Shuangren, who was seated at the head of the table.
"So this time, Luo Heng is willing to bet the Flying Feather Gang on Militia Commander Wu's side! He only hopes that he, Luo Heng, will have a place in Militia Commander Wu!"
Silence fell over the hall.
Mo Zhengxing looked at Luo Heng in surprise, completely unprepared for this turn of events.
No one knows what kind of mental journey this Flying Feather Gang leader went through from the day he was driven out of the stronghold, to the day he proactively sent people to deliver money, then exchanged the money for thirty Internal Skill, and finally was won over by the Mist Hidden Temple...
Wu Shuangren looked at Luo Heng, who was bowing and unable to get up. He got up, walked around the table, went down to the hall, and personally helped the other man up.
"Chief Luo."
Wu Shuangren looked directly into the other person's eyes, "Since you've been so honest, I can give you a guarantee—"
"From now on, you will definitely have a place in West River Market!"
A hint of joy flashed in Luo Heng's eyes, and he clasped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you, Militia Commander Wu!"
Wu Shuangren then asked the other person to sit down, and he sat back down himself.
How many people does Mist Hidden Temple plan to send this time?
Wu Shuangren asked.
Luo Heng: "The people from Mist Hidden Temple didn't specify how many people they would send, but they did say they would send First Rate- tier experts specifically to deal with Militia Commander Wu!"
Upon hearing this, Mo Zhengxing's expression changed immediately, and he looked at Wu Shuangren with concern.
Wu Shuangren remained calm and continued to ask, "Anything else?"
Luo Heng: "The people from Mist Hidden Temple also said that they will send their true elite troops, including even cavalry! They believe that with the participation of the Flying Feather Gang and the Zhang Clan, victory will be easy."
Wu Shuangren: "When do we make our move?"
Luo Heng shook his head. "They didn't say the exact time, but it will definitely be within ten days."
Wu Shuangren fell into deep thought.
Mo Zhengxing couldn't help but say, "Since Chief Luo has abandoned the darkness and embraced the Mist Hidden Temple, pretend to agree to join forces with them, and then turn against them at the crucial moment!"
Luo Heng nodded; he thought the plan was feasible.
But Wu Shuangren didn't think so.
Why must we wait for the enemy to attack before we respond to their moves?
"Ah?"
"A plan cannot succeed without secrecy. If Chief Luo intends to feign cooperation with Mist Hidden Temple, he can only inform a few trusted confidants. If a real fight breaks out, will the gang members below be able to react in time?"
"This..."
Luo Heng hesitated as well.
The Flying Feather Gang was not a well-trained army after all; they were constantly switching between fighting this and that, and Luo Heng wasn't sure if his men could handle it well.
Most likely, things will fall apart as soon as a fight breaks out...
"What are Militia Commander Wu's plans? The entire Flying Feather Gang is ready to obey your orders!"
Luo Heng bowed to Wu Shuangren, clasping his hands in a respectful gesture.
Mo Zhengxing realized he was being too conservative and couldn't keep up with his leader, so he stopped talking and looked intently at Wu Shuangren.
A cold, murderous intent, along with a hint of excitement, flashed in Wu Shuangren's eyes.
"Since the people of Mist Hidden Temple say that war will definitely break out within ten days, it means their people are already on their way. Let's take the initiative and ambush them along the way!"
PS: This chapter is a combined two-part chapter and will be available for purchase tomorrow.
Author's Note on Launch
Available at midnight on August 1st.
I wonder how many of you readers have read my previous book. In that book, I created a fantasy world where the protagonist starts as the emperor of a small country. I wanted to combine personal "leveling up" with the struggle for world domination.
However, as it turns out, in the world of high-level martial arts, these two aspects are difficult to combine, and in many ways they even contradict each other.
So this book came about—since a high-martial-arts world didn't work, let's switch to a low-martial-arts world.
Individual strength is certainly important; a capable general can change the course of small battles or local battlefields through his personal military prowess.
But the power of the group is equally important, or even more important!
I set the combat power levels in this book to be higher than in real-world history, with the strongest characters even approaching the level of intermediate martial arts. In this way, the role of individual combat power is further amplified, but not to an absurd degree.
To conquer the world, one still needs a large army. Even Grandmaster can die if surrounded and attacked by a large army. No one can be a match for ten thousand men.
Finally, I gave the protagonist the cheat ability of being able to Match for One Person, giving him the possibility of becoming a 'warrior of ten thousand'.
And so the story unfolds—
If you enjoy reading stories of individuals overwhelming enemies with their combat prowess and being invincible in one-on-one combat, this book is definitely for you. It's just different from the usual 'leveling up and changing dungeons' stories, but it will surely bring you a completely new experience.