Chapter 47 Mastery of the Dragon Form Fist

The scene littered with corpses left Li Long, who had just rushed over upon receiving the news, somewhat dazed.

"Did you kill them?" Li Long asked Zhang Ji with a look of astonishment.

"There were reasons for it." Zhang Ji looked at Li Long without the slightest evasion and said, "I can leave the Five Forms Sect; you can just treat me as a traitor to the sect."

Li Long fell silent for a long time before asking Zhang Ji, "Can you tell me the exact details?"

"I can," Zhang Ji nodded.

Without further ado, Zhang Ji recounted the events truthfully.

Li Long also checked the nearby surveillance cameras, but the location was relatively remote—an area of the Five Forms Sect not open to the public—and only a single camera had vaguely captured a glimpse of the incident.

After zooming in, it was possible to deduce that Zhang Ji had been attacked first.

"It was an oversight on our part," Li Long said. "She was the eldest daughter of the Xiao family, the granddaughter of Legislator Xiao Ning, and the Xiao family is closely tied to our newly launched business ventures in Chuanxi Province. If we could gain the Xiao family's help, our entry would go very smoothly, so we didn't want to offend her too much... I never expected her to be that kind of person. You've been wronged!"

At the end, Li Long gently patted Zhang Ji's shoulder.

In his view, Zhang Ji was not even twenty years old and had come from a place like Shanhui Island. It was hardly his fault if he could not handle such a situation properly.

He could only blame their own lack of foresight.

"I can leave," Zhang Ji said.

"No, this is not your fault. You don't need to leave; we will handle it as best as we can," Li Long replied.

Back then, he had been exiled to Shanhui Island precisely because of a similar incident, suffering numerous grievances along the way.

Now that it was his own disciple, he was determined to protect him!

He firmly believed he had enough capability to shelter Zhang Ji from the wind and rain.

For this, even paying a heavy price did not matter.

Zhang Ji looked at Li Long, a trace of complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

When he made his move, he had already considered the consequences.

At worst, he would defect from the Five Forms Sect; at worst, he would be hunted as a fugitive by the Eastern Polar State. He had already prepared plans to flee abroad.

Yet who could have expected that, even under such circumstances, Li Long still intended to protect him?

"Go back and practice your martial arts diligently. Don't come out for a while; we will take care of everything," Li Long said, patting Zhang Ji's shoulder.

Zhang Ji paused in silence for a moment, then cupped his fists in a martial salute to Li Long and turned to leave.

Watching Zhang Ji's receding figure, a look of firm resolve flashed in Li Long's eyes.

Immediately afterward, he notified Yan Ruifeng.

Upon learning of the sequence of events, Yan Ruifeng asked, "What do you plan to do?"

"The fault does not lie with him. Besides, he is a true genius! The one who was beaten to death was Yuan Zhi of the Mountain-Pushing Sect. Although that sect has already surrendered to the Xiao family and exists in name only, he was still a solid, veteran grandmaster. Even I might not be able to defeat him effortlessly," Li Long said.

"So we must find a way to keep him?" Yan Ruifeng asked with a hint of hesitation.

"He is worth it!" Li Long declared. "He will undoubtedly be the next Terrestrial Immortal, able to reach that realm before I do."

Yan Ruifeng was momentarily stunned by the four words "Terrestrial Immortal."

Li Long had never conceded defeat to anyone before. Even if someone's strength was temporarily superior to his, he believed he would easily surpass his opponent in the near future.

Yet this time, for the very first time, he saw Li Long admit that his talent was inferior to someone else's.

"Since matters have come to this, erase the traces, wipe the surveillance records, and furthermore, make sure everyone keeps their mouths shut and denies that they ever came..." Yan Ruifeng instructed.

---

Practice!
Practice!
Practice!

Zhang Ji currently wished he could devote every waking second to martial arts training.

In the past, at least when he ate his roast duck rice, he would slowly enjoy the meal and watch television or something.

Usually, if he felt the slightest bodily discomfort, he would pause to recover.

But now, his mind was entirely consumed by training.

He would train until he could no longer move, and wolf down his food as fast as possible.

The medicinal pills he had previously acquired from the martial arts tournament were consumed in handfuls, without any regard for absorption efficiency; he needed to convert them all into immediate combat power.

He craved even greater strength.

He was still too weak—weak enough to compromise with worldly powers, weak enough that all sorts of trash could come and disgust him!

Damn it!
All these filthy scum deserved to die, every single one of them!

"Boom~! Thud~!"

With a crane-peck strike delivered at the peak of his rage, Zhang Ji punched a massive hole straight through the head of the iron dummy used for combat practice.

......

That very day, the enforcement team arrived.

Faced with the Five Forms Sect's excuse that Xiao Ningning had never been there, the enforcement bureau refused to believe it and provided various pieces of evidence.

Yet the Five Forms Sect maintained its stance that anyone was welcome to investigate, but no such person had ever visited.

The result, naturally, was that they found nothing, leading only to a round of verbal sparring between the two sides.

Ultimately, the enforcement team was even steered in a completely different direction by the Five Forms Sect.

.....

Kyoto.

Kang Youhui and Xiao Ning sat at a table. Xiao Ning appeared somewhat younger than Kang Youhui, though at ninety-seven years old, she was barely able to move around with the aid of various pharmaceuticals.

At this moment, the gaze she directed at Kang Youhui carried not a shred of goodwill, even though they were old friends of many years.

"My condolences," Kang Youhui said.

Although his tone remained unchanged, to Xiao Ning's ears, it sounded more like gloating.

"Old ghost, using such methods, aren't you afraid I'll eventually turn them back on you?" Xiao Ning said.

"Two of my great-grandsons have already died. If you're unsatisfied, I can let you kill two more for fun," Kang Youhui replied. "Besides, she was incompetent anyway; why keep her around to cause yourself trouble? Don't be too sentimental."

"You should know she was special to me," Xiao Ning said.

"You're already a pile of old bones, yet you're still plotting to live a few more decades. Why bother?" Kang Youhui smiled.

How could he not know? It was precisely because he knew all too well that he could not let her live.

If he could acquire that heart of his own, he wouldn't mind letting Xiao Ning keep this granddaughter as a spare organ donor.

But since his heart was lost, Xiao Ning could not be allowed to live much longer either.

Otherwise, she would simply become a burden to the younger generation.

"Speak, what do you want me to do?" Xiao Ning asked.

"Eradicate the martial sects!" Kang Youhui smiled. "We old bones are just suited to emit our final residual heat."

Only those who no longer feared death and cared nothing for mortality could ever consider such a matter.

The things lurking behind those major sects were simply too terrifying.

Before them, the fall of entire dynasties was something they had witnessed more than once.

Even the might of a sovereign state appeared fragile in their presence.

From ancient times to the present, this had never changed.

Now was the best time.

It was the sole moment when those forces beyond control could be swept away, returning the authority of the realm to a single centralized power.

"Hmph!"

Xiao Ning emitted a cold snort, giving no direct answer as to whether she agreed or not.

Yet Kang Youhui knew the matter was already settled.

.......
.......

The backlash from Zhang Ji killing Xiao Ningning arrived swiftly.

The Five Forms Sect's related business ventures in Chuanxi Province ran into obstacles, with one official procedure after another thoroughly blocked.

Even permits that had already been approved had to be resubmitted.

Li Long and the others had anticipated all of this and were fully prepared to bear the consequences.

Enduring temporary pain and contracting their operations for the time being meant they would eventually collect the debt back with interest.

.....

December 1st.

Within Zhang Ji's boundary space, ten "Dragon-Style Boxing" essences fused into one, transforming into a (Rare) combat crystal radiating brilliant green light. His "Dragon-Style Boxing" had officially reached the Great Completion stage!!

As this crystal integrated into his body, Zhang Ji's physique became even more proportional, and the bones and tendons within him grew increasingly resilient.

With a casual exertion of force and a single punch, a sonic boom rang out—he could now effortlessly achieve supersonic punch speeds.

Yet even more terrifying than that was the surging primordial qi within his body.

Zhang Ji could feel vast quantities of primordial qi stored across every part of his frame.

As his mastery of Dragon-Style Boxing deepened, his body had been continuously modified to store greater volumes of primordial qi, making its refinement all the easier.

These reserves would automatically mobilize whenever he executed dragon-style techniques, amplifying their might.

Aside from mastering Dragon-Style Boxing to perfection, Zhang Ji had made other gains during this period: Crane-Style Boxing essence x3, [Torrential Drop] essence x8, and True Qi Nurturing Spirit Scripture essence x7.

Three grandmaster-level martial arts techniques brought to complete mastery, coupled with these essences.

At this very moment, although he had not sparred with Li Long, Zhang Ji felt he had officially surpassed him.

Ordinary grandmasters were absolutely no match for him in a single encounter.

If he fought in a place rich in water vapor, where he could fully deploy [Flowing Water School] martial arts, he could easily defeat veteran grandmasters as well!

Furthermore, the benefits brought by the True Qi Nurturing Spirit Scripture had grown increasingly evident.

That overflowing spiritual clarity which allowed him to easily perceive microscopic changes, the ultra-strong reaction speed capable of catching sniper bullets, the minute control over his physical strength, and the ability to condense primordial qi into needle-thin threads for release—all of these were effects brought about by the enhancement of his spirit.

Though it was merely an auxiliary martial art, the augmentation it provided was beyond imagination.

It fully deserved its reputation as the core foundational martial art of the Daoist Sect.

....

As December arrived, the Five Forms Sect was thrown into turmoil.

All major industries encountered related problems; they were either shut down for thorough investigation or directly faced exorbitant fines.

At the same time, some of the unwritten, rule-bending practices of the Five Forms Sect were exposed, and one high-ranking member after another faced the threat of imprisonment.

Initially, Li Long and the others assumed this was simply the fallout from the Zhang Ji incident.

Later on, however, they discovered that it wasn't just the Five Forms Sect—many other martial sects were facing the exact same predicament.

Yan Ruifeng mused, "It must be just like previous years—a routine crackdown. Once the spotlight passes, everything will return to normal."

Every year-end, the authorities would go through the motions, doling out warnings to prevent independent civil factions from overstepping their bounds.

In Yan Ruifeng's view, this year was likely no different, save for a somewhat heavier hand.

If worse came to worst, they would simply pay a larger financial penalty.

Then, on December 5th, the enforcement team arrived at the Five Forms Sect.

"Please cooperate with our investigation!"

Armed with an arrest warrant, Li Long, Yan Ruifeng, several true-disciple seniors, and elders were all invited to be guests at the local enforcement bureau.

"Gentlemen, is there perhaps some misunderstanding here?" Yan Ruifeng asked, puzzled.

"Whether there is a misunderstanding will be clear after the investigation. Please accompany us," said a man from the enforcement team.

As he spoke, he stepped forward to snap handcuffs onto Yan Ruifeng.

Li Long took a step forward and effortlessly seized the handcuffs without a sound.

"Nothing has been proven yet. What right do you have to clap irons on us!" Li Long said coolly.

Under a gentle squeeze from Li Long, the handcuffs were already twisted and deformed.

The enforcement team members tensed, instantly drawing their firearms and aiming them at Yan Ruifeng and Li Long.

"Everyone, please don't be nervous. Allow me to make a quick phone call, shall we?" Yan Ruifeng patted Li Long's arm and said.

"Be my guest!" the enforcement officer replied.

Yan Ruifeng made a brief phone call, spoke in hushed tones for a moment, and quickly received a reply from the other end.

"Just go with them for now, offer no resistance, and I'll come personally bail you out later!"