Starting With The Martial Arts Holy Fire Order

Chapter 27: Preparing for the Martial Arts Assembly

At the gate of the academy. Three people were already waiting there.

Among them was Cheng Qingman.

“Cheng Qingman, this person you found isn’t reliable. We’re all here, but he still hasn’t arrived.”

“A disciple from the outer palace, slower than us,” one of them said.

He was wearing a grey robe, carrying a long sword on his back, with a clear expression of displeasure on his face.

“It’s not even fully light yet, why are you in such a hurry? He’s not late.” Cheng Qingman glanced at him.

“You seem to value this outer palace disciple quite a bit,” the man carrying the sword remarked, surprised at Cheng Qingman’s retort.

“Of course I do. He’s Senior Sister Cheng’s lifesaver, a genius who, despite only being at the ninth stage of the Body Tempering realm, could kill someone at the first stage of the True Aperture realm. He’s mastered the Absolute Death Blade Technique to perfection. Such a person is rare, even in our inner palace.”

The speaker was quite young, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, holding a silver spear in his arms. He was Cheng Qingman’s junior brother, Lin Rufeng.

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“Is Senior Sister Cheng planning to invest early and recruit him under your father’s command in the future?” Lin Rufeng joked.

In the inner palace, Cheng Qingman’s reputation wasn’t primarily due to her strength but because of her father—the famous Marquis of Blood and Courage!

Thirty years ago, the Di tribe of the Southern Borders rebelled, planning to massacre half a county of the Great Zhou as an offering to the Witchcraft Lands. But the Marquis of Blood and Courage led an army of ten thousand to quell the rebellion, beheading a hundred thousand Di tribe members. Their heads were piled into a mound, standing as tall as a mountain. It still stands today as a landmark.

“Why not?” Cheng Qingman asked.

“Of course, you can,” Lin Rufeng spread his hands. “The Absolute Death Blade Technique is difficult, but if we really wanted to practise it, we could succeed. It’s just unnecessary. Once you reach the True Aperture realm, you can practise Profound-grade techniques. Why waste time on Human-grade ones?”

The man with the sword was named Jiang Hai. Hearing Cheng Qingman’s words, he felt somewhat unconvinced. Inner palace disciples had always been superior to outer palace disciples, never surpassed by them. But the olive branch Cheng Qingman extended wasn’t towards them, but to an unknown outer palace disciple.

Cheng Qingman glanced at him. She didn’t argue.

Indeed, many in the inner palace could achieve this. But after investigating, she found out that Luo Mu had only received this martial skill for half a month. Half a month to reach perfection. Who could do that? Such comprehension was rare, even in the inner palace.

Of course, she wouldn’t announce it. To prevent others from trying to poach him.

Suddenly, Cheng Qingman’s expression shifted slightly. Not far away, a figure was quickly approaching.

“Junior Brother Luo, over here!” Cheng Qingman waved.

“Is that the outer palace disciple Senior Sister Cheng mentioned?” The two looked over immediately, raising their eyebrows slightly.

His appearance was decent. Handsome and resolute. He had a tall and straight figure, walking with the grace of a dragon and the strength of a tiger.

But his cultivation was a bit low. Only at the second stage of the True Aperture realm. Even with the perfected Absolute Death Blade Technique, it would be difficult to surpass too many realms in combat. It’s impossible for him to be our opponent.

“Senior Sister Cheng,” Luo Mu approached, nodded slightly, and glanced at the others.

Since there was no concealment of cultivation, their cultivation realms were also fully visible. One was at the seventh stage of the True Aperture realm, and the other at the sixth stage.

In terms of realms alone, he was indeed somewhat lower.

But a realm was a realm, and strength was strength. Even though he was only at the second stage. If it came to a fight, I wouldn’t be weaker than these inner palace disciples at the sixth and seventh stages. Perhaps even stronger. Just as the elder in the Martial Arts Pavilion had said, most inner palace disciples practised lower-grade Profound techniques, not mid-grade ones. But he practised mid-grade techniques. And had already reached small success. It was enough to make up for the gap in cultivation realms.

“Let me introduce you. This is Jiang Hai and Lin Rufeng, both of whom can be considered your senior brothers. For the upcoming task, the four of us will be working together,” Cheng Qingman smiled as she spoke.

“Senior Brother Jiang, Senior Brother Lin,” Luo Mu nodded slightly.

“Junior Brother Luo.” The two also nodded lightly, acknowledging him. But after all, they were inner palace disciples. When facing an outer palace disciple, there was a natural air of superiority.

“This time, with Senior Sister Cheng leading the way, I have nothing more to say. But once we reach the Demon Dao stronghold, don’t act on your own. Just focus on self-preservation. We won’t have the time to protect you,” Jiang Hai said.

“Understood.” Luo Mu’s expression remained calm. He didn’t say much more. Nor did he feel any anger from Jiang Hai’s obvious disdain. This was normal.

In Jiang Hai and Lin Rufeng’s eyes, I’m just a ‘connection,’ brought along by Cheng Qingman to earn some easy contribution points.

“Let’s go!” Lin Rufeng broke the tension, mounting a spirit horse nearby and riding ahead. Jiang Hai quickly followed.

“That’s just his personality, but he’s not a bad person,” Cheng Qingman, worried that Luo Mu might be upset, added.

“Senior Sister Cheng, you’re overthinking.” Luo Mu smiled faintly.

“Alright, let’s get moving. It’ll take about a day to reach the destination.” Cheng Qingman lightly tapped her toes, her long legs cutting through the air, landing steadily on the horse’s back. “If things go smoothly, we can even visit my hometown, Xunyang City, on the way.”

“Xunyang City?” Luo Mu raised an eyebrow. That was one of the top cities in Fengdu County. It was said to be incredibly prosperous. He hadn’t expected Cheng Qingman to be from Xunyang City. It seemed her background was indeed extraordinary.