An Annoying View of Reality and Illusion

"Huh?"

Chu Tianshu condensed his energy in his palm, but after staring at the bubbles for a while, he did not make a move.

The three bubbles landed in the courtyard, only a meter or two from the ground, when Chu Tianshu blew a gentle breeze that caught them.

After observing for a moment, he heard that Chen Ying and Yungu had returned one after another.

Chen Ying went alone and returned alone, but Yungu was carrying a person in his hand.

"I'll cut that Takagi down."

Yungu placed the middle-aged man, whose pressure points had been sealed, on the ground and said, "But I kept one of his trusted men around, to facilitate gathering evidence against them."

Seeing the middle-aged man lying in a pool of blood, Chen Ying couldn't help but glance at the scene in the courtyard again.

After Chu Tianshu's sword energy struck someone, not much blood flowed out; it seemed that the blood vessels in the limbs had shrunk due to the sword energy.

But with hundreds of corpses scattered throughout the courtyard, it was still quite gruesome.

Yungu was used to fighting on the battlefield, so this small scene was nothing to him.

In this other world, Chu Tianshu had witnessed countless battles involving large numbers of people, clashes with guns flying, and fights against Japanese pirates on the coast...

Chen Ying, however, did not want to stay there any longer and said, "Can't we chat somewhere else?"

Chu Tianshu nodded, held up his left hand with three bubbles in his hand, and walked into the living room.

Chen Ying meant that now that the important business was finished, she could leave.

Although she had some common sense, she still didn't have much of a concept of government officials.

In the Southern Song, it was common for martial arts masters of her generation to kill corrupt officials, assassinate Jin generals, and even plot to assassinate prime ministers.

Of course, if the deal falls through, you have to run; if it succeeds, you have to run immediately. There's no way you'd wait for negotiations or anything like that.

Since Chu Tianshu had already entered the living room, she had no choice but to follow.

The living room was indeed quite clean, with only a few pieces of glass and flower petals.

Where did these bubbles come from?

Yungu noticed the image of a monk on the surface of the bubble and vaguely discerned that the aura did not originate from Chu Tianshu.

Chu Tianshu chuckled softly and said, "It seems someone noticed the big battle we're having here and wanted to join in the fun, so they gave us a challenge."

Chen Ying stared at the bubbles for a few seconds.

The ink-painted monk seemed to sense the aura in Chen Ying's gaze, and actually raised his left hand as if to shield himself.

Chen Ying was slightly surprised and said, "Untraceable."

The spell within the bubble was incredibly complex and ingenious, yet the bubble itself was too weak.

Even if it's a tracking spell that doesn't involve attack, as long as someone's aura lands on it, Bubble will sense the threat and resist.

In this way, either the tracking spell will be broken, or the bubble will burst.

"That's why I said, this is just a test for us."

Chu Tianshu said with great interest, "We can't act recklessly; we can only try to break through it. However, the cultivation level we display when we try to break through it will definitely be sensed by the person behind the scenes."

Yungu smiled upon hearing this.

"It seems to be a friendly sparring match before the real fight, a 'willing to take the bait' kind of exchange."

Yungu raised his spear. "I really want to see what he's got going on, so I'll be the one to volunteer first!"

The Formation-Breaking Spear forward in mid-air.

The large, heavy spearhead suddenly became light and agile as it approached the bubble.

Ten times lighter than a dragonfly skimming the water, it subtly pricks the surface of the bubble thirteen times, seemingly there yet nowhere, almost touching it.

The Mandarin Duck Formation-Breaking Spear contains thirteen basic spear techniques.

It was created by Qi Jiguang combining the eight powerful techniques of Lü Red Fist and the five short-range fighting techniques of Cotton Palm, breaking them down and recombining them.

After Qi Jiguang's death, the original, profound, and internal training techniques of this spear technique, as well as the corresponding medicinal formulas, were all taken away by the imperial court and circulated within the Divine Machine Battalion.

Yungu admired Qi Family Army since childhood. After joining the Divine Machine Battalion, he learned that there was such a spear technique. He was overjoyed and practiced it diligently until he had mastered it.

These thirteen thrusts may seem similar in movement, but in reality, the force exerted in each thrust is quite different.

The surface of the bubble trembled repeatedly.

The monk who was sitting cross-legged suddenly rose and fell, stretched out his arms and reached out, and in an instant, he blocked all thirteen spear thrusts.

Its movements were so swift, it was like watching a fast-paced ink-wash animation on the size of a palm.

In the blink of an eye, the monk sat back down in his original spot.

Yungu stood with his spear sheathed, his thick brows furrowed, and did not unleash any more profound techniques.

"It seems I can't break this monk's techniques."

He turned his gaze to Chen Ying, "Then the Daoist priest should give it a try."

I won't try!

Chen Ying said bluntly, "I cultivate the art of alchemy, where qi is more important than techniques. If you can't break it, I certainly can't either, and I might even pop the bubble."

"It would be better to give Mr. Chu another chance, allowing him to glimpse more of the other side's tactics."

Yungu nodded. "That makes sense."

Chu Tianshu didn't hesitate. He raised his right hand, flicked his wrist, and unleashed three afterimages.

The index finger protruded, pierced the air bubble, and left a dark red dot.

As the fist punches out, the knuckles of the fist touch the bubble, forming a small yellow diamond-shaped spot of light.

With a slash of his palms, the nail of his ring finger touched the surface of the bubble, leaving a black mark that moved freely.

Three afterimages struck three bubbles respectively.

Chu Tianshu brought his right hand to his waist, while his left hand lifted upwards, his palm continuously radiating Mind Power.

Supporting the three moves he had just made, he continued to evolve them on the bubble.

The red light flashed and darted, striking and striking with the lightness and swiftness of a sword, specifically targeting the monk's weaknesses and vulnerabilities other than his limbs.

The yellow light, heavy as diamond, gradually split into two, then into four, then into eight, constantly clashing with the second monk's fists and feet. Each time it bounced back and forth, its trajectory was always straight.

The third monk was the most subtle.

He maintained his cross-legged posture throughout, but his hands, placed between his chest and abdomen, constantly changed mudras, sometimes moving upwards to his throat, and sometimes downwards to his dantian.

The thin black mark swam around him, but never launched a formal attack.

Yungu and Chen Ying were both focused on watching the moves and hand seals being dissected and broken down on the bubbles.

Each of them had their own strengths, and they quickly found a bubble that they were better at analyzing, staring at it intently.

Chu Tianshu had initially taken in all three bubbles, but as he looked at them, he started focusing on the second one.

The first monk in the bubble is demonstrating his movements; although there are many variations, they all evoke ancient Buddhist imagery.

The monk in the third bubble sat motionless, changing his hand seals. It seemed mysterious, but in essence, it was just using ancient hand seals to strengthen his mind and resist the Sorrowful Demon Slash.

Only the second bubble, because it involved facing a fist technique, seemed to be increasingly drawing out the monk's true skills.

Eight diamond-shaped light spots bounced and collided around him.

The ink-wash monk was originally dancing and jumping around within the bubble area, fighting against each other.

After five or six breaths, the monk had his feet firmly planted in the center, and with each punch, he could simultaneously create several diamond-shaped spots of light.

Initially, the monk was depicted only in ink wash, with a round head, stubble, gray robes, and a monotonous expression, no different from the monks depicted in many boxing manuals.

At this moment, he displayed a calm and composed demeanor befitting a master.

A few seconds later, he suddenly lowered his waist and hips, and threw a punch forward.

This punch, seemingly aimed at the outside of the bubble, simultaneously forced the eight rhomboid light spots away.

The monk clearly only exists on the surface of the bubble.

The bubble was larger than him, and its surface reflected many other objects in the room.

But when the monk threw that punch, the entire bubble, along with all the surrounding scenery, seemed to converge onto his fist.

Once the bubbles returned to their original state, the eight yellow spots of light had faded considerably, and the objects they reflected were also much blurry.

Only the ink-wash monk remains perfectly clear, with distinct lines.

Even the other two bubbles were subtly disturbed.

The red light and black marks subsided slightly, and both bubbles moved a little further away from the first bubble.

In an instant, Chu Tianshu sensed the fundamental essence of the opponent's fist technique.

Only oneself is "real"; everything else—people, things, and events—is merely a dream, merely one's own resources, one's own tools.

It's only right to accept help from others and to continue to seek it back.

The myriad sufferings of others are always illusory; there is no need for sympathy or hesitation.

"What the hell? Who practices Buddhism like this?!"

This is the fundamental meaning of extreme selfishness.

This aroused a strong sense of disgust in Chu Tianshu.

If everything I encounter is a dream, then why should I cling to any single so-called reality, given that I was born into this world, roam freely within it, and move about as I please?

If I could be real, then how could everything in this world remain forever a dream?

As someone who has suffered endless torment in dreams, never giving up on escaping, and never resigning myself to death just because it's a dream.

Later, I finally had the strength to resist and change my current situation and my dreams.

Chu Tianshu has always had his own attitude towards reality and fantasy.

He utterly loathed the implications conveyed by the bubble.

"You think I'm food, huh?"

Chu Tianshu's eyes flickered, but he didn't pour any more magical intent into the second bubble. He simply stretched out his hand...

He grabbed it and popped the bubble!

With such force, the five fingers tore through the air, creating a loud, explosive sound like a tire exploding.

The fleeting, menacing pressure emanating from him covered the entire villa area, with room to spare.

Outside the villa, a group of men in black uniforms walked up nervously. As soon as they saw the wreckage of the cars on the ground, they suddenly felt dizzy.

The man leading the group, a man in his forties, clutched his chest, his face contorted in pain.

"Mr. Takagi!"

He already sensed something was wrong, so he simply shouted loudly so that all the communication devices accompanying him could hear him.

"We've received reports of explosions occurring at your location, and we've been dispatched to investigate. The higher-ups are monitoring the situation closely. Please cooperate."

(End of this chapter)