Chapter 239 - 22: Martial Arts Master, Cloud Soaring Divine Power_2

Chapter 239: Chapter 22: Martial Arts Master, Cloud Soaring Divine Power_2

The second difficulty lay in the Implant. The most crucial aspect of a Flying Sword was its ability to be controlled remotely through empty space, which required an implant with a spatial attribute. Implants with spatial attributes demanded a high degree of compatibility. Not just anyone could match and control such implants. Among a hundred Possession Stage Great Mages, perhaps only one person possessed such a talent.

Li Fei nodded after listening and bowed again to Jiang Jin,

“Thank you, Chancellor Jiang, for enlightening your junior.”

“You don’t need to be so formal, my boy.”

Jiang Jin smiled and waved his hand.

Li Fei looked pensively out of the car window.

It seemed that, aside from the Taoist and Buddhist Magic Practitioners, only those affiliated with the court could possibly use Flying Swords.

The Myriad Blood Pearl could only solve the issue of endurance but wouldn’t enhance compatibility; thus, Li Fei did not know whether he had the qualifications to use a Flying Sword.

He could only wait and see in the future.

Twenty minutes later, as the “Qilin” arrived at the entrance of Wuda, Li Fei thanked Jiang Jin politely and said his goodbyes before he returned to the university.

But, as soon as he left, a storm began to brew in Datong Prefecture City!

The Inspection General Bureau, Zhi Ge General Hospital, and the Inspection General Office acted together, starting to arrest people everywhere.

In Wuyi District, armored vehicles sped down the streets, eventually stopping outside the doors of a martial arts school.

This martial arts school, known as the Xuanhong Martial Arts Hall, was quite famous in Wuyi District. In last year’s Martial Arts Association ranking tournament, Xuanhong had secured sixth place.

Teams of fully armed Inspectors emerged from the vehicles, storming into the Xuanhong Martial Arts Hall with formidable momentum, followed by several officially ranked martial masters from Zhi Ge General Hospital.

Moments later, they arrested seven or eight people from the school, including both students and teachers.

Similar scenes played out in several other martial arts schools.

In the following days, people were arrested daily, and all the arrested were from various prestigious martial arts schools.

For a time, over a hundred martial arts schools in Datong Prefecture City were in a state of panic, and all these schools were considered to be under the influence of the Iron Blade Sect.

Some believed this was a conspiracy against the Iron Blade Sect; others thought that the Iron Blade Sect was colluding with spies from Western Countries.

Rumors ran rampant.

On February 26th, a total of fifteen martial arts schools publicly announced their withdrawal from the Martial Arts Association.

This caused an uproar!

For a long time, the Martial Arts Association had governed all the martial arts schools in Datong Prefecture City, and the lucrative Martial Arts sector was firmly controlled by the Iron Blade Sect.

Martial Arts was closely related to boxing competitions. A Qingyuan boxing match in Xing City could net more than a hundred thousand in pure profits every month. How much more for the larger market of Datong Prefecture City?

Therefore, the highly profitable piece of the pie held by the Iron Blade Sect was very tempting!

Now, suddenly, more than a dozen martial arts schools announced their withdrawal from the Martial Arts Association, and these schools were all involved in the boxing competition business. This led people to suspect one thing:

Someone was after the piece of pie that belonged to the “Sword King”!

…

Outside Datong Prefecture City, about forty-some miles to the northwest, was Iron Blade Mountain, where the Martial Arts faction of the Iron Blade Sect was located.

At the mountain’s peak spread a large complex of buildings: a Great Hall, Martial Arts Training Ground, dormitories…

Over two hundred disciples were practicing their Saber Technique on the training ground, and each one was at least at the Body Breaking Stage, with robust Qi-Blood, filling the site with an atmosphere of spirited martial essence.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

Around the training ground, each disciple of the Iron Blade Sect bellowed the word “kill” with every stroke of their saber.

For a time, the killing shouts were thunderous, shaking the very clouds in the sky.

“Cease—”

Moments later, a man leading the group of disciples on the practice platform at the front slowly sheathed his saber and shouted loudly.

This man was a Deacon of the Iron Blade Sect and a Refining Strength Martial Master.

“May we invite the Sect Leader!”

The Deacon suddenly called out with a loud voice.

As his words fell, excitement surged among the disciples on the training ground who all looked forward with anticipation at the platform.

The Iron Blade Sect had a tradition: at the end of each month, the disciple who performed the best in that month’s assessment would receive personal praise from the Sect Leader in front of everyone.

This tradition had been maintained for decades and had never changed.

The disciples of the Iron Blade Sect held this honor in high regard, each vying valiantly during the monthly assessments.

Today was once again the time for the Sect Leader to reward the disciples.

A middle-aged man dressed in a black robe stepped onto the platform.

He sported a crew cut, his gaze sharp as a knife, his aura was majestic, and his strong essence flowed tangibly from him, his presence alone overpowering the more than two hundred disciples present!

This man was the Sect Leader of the Iron Blade Sect, one of the “Seven Kings”—the “Sword King” Gu Xianfeng.

Whether it was personal strength or power, “Sword King” Gu Xianfeng was the strongest among the “Seven Kings”!

The nickname of “Seven Kings” actually represented the premier figure in a certain industry, for instance, the “Gambling King” was the top in the gambling industry, the “Queen” was the top in the brothel industry, the “Beast King” managed the top exotic beasts breeding…

Being called the “Sword King” meant that at least within the territory of Datong Prefecture, his saber technique was unrivaled as number one!

That would be one thing if it were in another prefecture, but one must know that Datong Prefecture houses Wu’an University, where the professors were at least at the Tao Foundation Stage, and there are not a few strong individuals who wield sabers.

Under such circumstances, Gu Xianfeng’s title of “Sword King” clearly demonstrated his prowess!

When they saw Gu Xianfeng ascend the platform, the disciples of the Iron Blade Sect below all showed a fervent glint in their eyes.

For many present, the “position” that Gu Xianfeng occupied was the ultimate peak they aspired to reach in their lifetimes.

Gu Xianfeng was not at the Tao Foundation Stage but was a Martial Arts Master!

Tao Foundation Stage is where one cultivates the Martial Arts Foundation, and only after integrating all five Implants into one’s body, nurturing them to maturity, and seamlessly merging them together to fully refine the corresponding Martial Arts Foundation could one be called a Martial Arts Master.

Once the Tao Foundation is forged, one could be considered a grand master in the realm of Martial Arts.

“Please, the top three disciples from this month’s assessment, come up on stage!”

The deacon standing behind Gu Xianfeng shouted loudly.

Then, three disciples stepped onto the platform, Gu Xianfeng praised them a few words, and personally handed them several bottles of elixir.

The three disciples excitedly received the elixirs from Gu Xianfeng’s hands.

After the ceremony was completed, Gu Xianfeng looked down at the crowd of disciples, hands clasped behind him, and proclaimed in a clear voice,

“The joy of climbing the summit of Martial Arts is boundless; I am waiting for you all at the top!”

As his voice fell, a large amount of green mist suddenly appeared around him, and then this green mist quickly gathered into a cloud of fog under his feet.

The sight sent the disciples of the Iron Blade Sect at the Martial Arts Training Ground into an uproar!

“The Sect Leader is going to demonstrate his Divine Power!”

“It’s the Cloud Soaring Divine Power!”

“The Sect Leader is about to ascend to the heavens again!”

“…”

Amidst the worshipful gazes of the crowd, Gu Xianfeng stepped on the Cloud Ascension and rose from the platform, flying into the air!

After the Martial Arts Foundation is cultivated, different Tao Foundations yield different Divine Skills, which are powers that transcend any Martial Art and are the very reason why the word “Tao” is embedded in Martial Arts.

Gu Xianfeng’s Tao Foundation was [Qingyun Travel], and after its cultivation, the Martial Arts Divine Power he obtained was the Cloud Soaring Divine Power, capable of soaring through clouds and roaming the heavens and the earth!

It was not the case that Gu Xianfeng would display his Divine Skills at every month’s end ceremony; over the decades, he had only shown his Divine Skills publicly less than a handful of times, which is why the disciples of the Iron Blade Sect were so excited at this moment.

Under the watch of hundreds, Gu Xianfeng flew higher and higher, straight up into the azure sky, eventually disappearing completely from the sight of the people below.

Riding the clouds and navigating azure sky, in the hearts of many Iron Blade Sect disciples, their Sect Leader was no longer just a man but a deity, their faith!

Recently, incidents within Datong Prefecture City had left some within the Iron Blade Sect feeling uneasy, but today, with Gu Xianfeng’s public display of the Cloud Soaring Divine Power, the morale of the entire Iron Blade Sect was immediately boosted, and the hearts of its members unified.

Moments later, Gu Xianfeng, standing on the clouds, flew back and landed on a cliff ledge behind Iron Blade Mountain.

“Master.”

A young man bowed respectfully to Gu Xianfeng.

“Did you find out?”

Gu Xianfeng asked.

“It’s been found out. The withdrawal of those fifteen martial arts halls from the Association was orchestrated by the Poison King and the Gun King from behind the scenes, and the recent messages scattered throughout the city were also spread by these two.”

The young man lowered his head as he reported.

The “Poison King” controlled the opium business, with almost the entire supply within Datong Prefecture coming from him.

The “Gun King” controlled the business of smuggling arms, and because he even had ways to procure cannons, he was known as the “Gun King” among the Jianghu people.

These two were in trades that were illegal and shied from the light, hence in the “Seven Kings,” they were always the most low-key figures. No one expected that they would be the ones to take the initiative to make a move against the “Sword King,” the strongest among them.

“Now that we’ve found out, let’s make our move.”

Gu Xianfeng turned to look towards the distant mountains and said coldly.

…