Martial Arts Longevity Begins with the Equipment Slot

Chapter 16 Martial Arts Systems: Diverse and Varied

The next morning.

Hongyun Restaurant, second floor private room.

At a round table by the window, Song Xiangxiang sat with four or five other people, while Chen Yu stood guard beside them.

Among them, an eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy in white was talking animatedly.

Chen Yu recognized him at a glance as Ma Chengfeng, the young master of the Iron Bull Fist Gym, whom he had met before at the underground martial arts arena.

Through their conversation, Chen Yu learned the identities of the others.

They were mostly from wealthy families in the county, either young ladies from martial arts schools or young masters from county officials' families.

"Have you heard? Last month, a foreign master came to challenge the heroes of the Great Liang martial arts world."

Ma Chengfeng looked around and said slowly.

"He set up a life-or-death arena in Jiangzhou City, winning twenty-eight matches in a single month, even killing the 'Meteor Swordsman' Shen Qingya!"

"Shen Qingya?" He Taifeng, the young master of the Eagle Claw Sect, looked incredulous. "Is it Shen Qingya, ranked eighteenth on the Hidden Dragon List?"

"It is him." Ma Chengfeng nodded.

"How is that possible! Shen Qingya is the number one genius in Jiangzhou. He became an Inner Qi Realm expert before he was even twenty years old. You're saying he was beaten to death? Who was it?" Song Xiangxiang asked excitedly.

"I don't know either, I just heard about it," Ma Chengfeng said, waving his hand.

Before the words had even finished, someone else chimed in.

"It comes from the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple in the Western Continent, and its name is 'Kalapo'."

A young man in blue, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, said calmly.

The young man's name was Yuan Xingyun, and he was the nephew of the county magistrate of Changhe County.

The Yuan family has been in charge of the county's defense for three generations. His eldest uncle, Yuan Hengshan, commands three hundred militia soldiers, and he himself employs more than twenty retired border troops as instructors, all of whom are experts in the Skin Refining Realm.

Those who run martial arts schools, escorts, and even the guards at the city gates in the county town all have to act according to the Yuan family's wishes.

Because of his family's influence and extensive intelligence sources, his words carried considerable weight among this group of second-generation elites.

"The Western Continent? No wonder."

The crowd was buzzing with discussion.

"I've heard that the martial arts popular in the Western Continent are completely different from ours. Our Great Liang and the neighboring Great Wei, Great Qian and Wu Kingdoms all mainly use Qi and Blood Martial Arts."

"And the Western Continent is said to have divinely bestowed martial arts that involve worshipping gods and Buddhas, mechanical martial arts that use weapons to achieve enlightenment and communicate with the divine, and beast-taming martial arts that connects with the minds of spirit beasts..."

"What kind of martial arts are these? Which is stronger, the Qi and Blood Martial Arts of our Great Liang?" Luo Yiyi asked.

"At higher levels, it's all the same; what's strong is the person, not the martial arts system."

Ma Chengfeng didn't know either; he was just repeating what others said.

"No, no," He Taifeng denied. "Foreign martial arts are much stronger than those of our Great Liang. Our Great Liang's second-ranked grandmaster, Su Tianya, was defeated in less than three moves when he fought against Master Moduoluo of the Wanfo Temple in the Western Continent."

"Bullshit!" Ma Chengfeng cursed angrily. "I heard that Modoro was defeated in less than three moves. What are you up to by speaking up for foreigners?"

"It is true that Su Tianya lost, but not within three moves; he only lost in three moves."

"Moreover, our number one master in Liang has not yet made a move, so we cannot say that the martial arts world of Liang is inferior to that of foreigners."

As soon as Yuan Xingyun spoke, the argument immediately ceased.

Chen Yu listened with curiosity from the side.

He only knew that he was in the Great Liang Dynasty and that there were several countries of similar strength around him.

I didn't expect this world to be so vast, with various countries in the Western Continent and all sorts of diverse martial arts systems.

As they talked, the conversation turned to Changhe County.

"There's been news about 'Blood Blade Yama' Wei Rongfang again recently."

After Yuan Xingyun finished speaking, Ma Chengfeng immediately chimed in.

"Is that Wei Rongfang, ranked ninety-seventh on the wanted list?"

The wanted list is issued monthly by the Liang government and is specifically used to apprehend major criminals.

Those who made the list were all vicious and ruthless criminals with blood on their hands.

Although Wei Rongfang was only ranked ninety-seventh, his name was enough to make everyone present tremble with fear.

"The night before last, the entire family of Constable Yan, all thirty-three people, were killed."

"The murderer was a skilled knife user; the bodies were all cut in half at the waist."

"Even a martial artist at the Muscle Refining Realm like Constable Yan was killed silently. Apart from 'Blood Blade Yama,' there shouldn't be anyone else in Changhe County who could do that."

"This 'Blood Blade Yama' is so lawless, what should we do?" Luo Yiyi asked worriedly.

"There's no need to worry too much." Yuan Xingyun paused and continued, "It's said that Wei Rongfang was besieged by experts from the prefectural city yesterday and is now seriously injured and struggling to escape."

"That's good. I was just worried that he would cause chaos in Changhe County and affect my shop's business." Ma Chengfeng breathed a sigh of relief.

"I have an idea, but I don't know if I should say it," Yuan Xingyun said in a low voice.

"Wei Rongfang is now at his wit's end. Why don't we join forces to take him down? It would be a chance for us to make a name for ourselves."

What do you all think?

"Great! That's exactly what I was thinking too!" Song Xiangxiang was the first to agree.

"Great! Brother Yuan is truly insightful and ambitious; I never even thought of that," Ma Chengfeng echoed.

"But we don't know Wei Rongfang's whereabouts, so how can we capture him?"

He Taifeng hesitated before asking the question.

"Brother He, you don't need to worry about that. My uncle is on duty at the county government office every day. I can know about any disturbances in Changhe County immediately."

"Once I receive accurate information from Wei Rongfang, I will immediately notify you to assemble, how about that?"

"Alright, I trust Brother Yuan's words. It's settled then."

He Taifeng felt relieved and no longer hesitated.

Only Luo Yiyi remained silent.

"Yiyi, what about you? What did you say?" Yuan Xingyun asked.

"Me? I think I'll pass. I'm too timid, and I'm not as skilled as you guys, so I won't get involved."

Luo Yiyi shook her head again.

Seeing that she was unwilling, Yuan Xingyun was quite displeased, but he still had to maintain his composure on the surface.

"Fine, if you don't want to, that's fine. But don't regret it when we reward you for your contributions!"

Chen Yu listened intently from the side.

He understood the mentality of these second-generation rich kids.

Spoiled brats all think they are very capable.

They all want to prove that they are not just spoiled brats through a momentous event.

But will things be that easy?

After observing these people, Chen Yu concluded that Yuan Xingyun, the strongest among them, was probably only at the entry level of the Flesh Refining Realm.

If it really comes down to a fight, he might not be stronger than me, who is at the peak of the Skin Refinement stage.

After all, he has a special physique and the added effect of weapons, so his actual combat strength is far greater than his theoretical combat strength.

They dared to chase after Wei Rongfang, who was low on health, even though they were at a low level.

But can a spoiled brat who lacks real combat experience really handle the villains who make it onto the wanted list?

After the conversation ended, everyone left one after another, and Chen Yu also left.

In the blink of an eye, another three days have passed.

News of "Blood Blade Yama" finally reached the Song family again.