After searching for a while, Lu Sheng's gaze finally fell on one of the boxes.
'Nine Lakes Steel Chains Skill'.
The hard body skill he had his eye on was obviously created by an expert from the rivers and seas.
Memorizing the name, Lu Sheng went straight to the management counter on the second floor.
"I'm External Affairs Emissary Lu Sheng. I'd like to retrieve the Nine Lakes Steel Chains Skill for perusal," he handed the token to the white-haired elder behind the counter.
The elder squinted at him. A faint inner force aura flashed across his body. He was actually an expert as well.
He took the token and examined it.
"Nine Lakes Steel Chains Skill is a Strength Proficiency manual. External Affairs Emissaries are entitled to peruse a manual below Spirit Focus for free every year. Are you sure this is it?"
"I'm sure."
Lu Sheng replied without batting an eyelid.
"Alright." The elder turned and searched through a row of locked cabinets. Very quickly, he pulled out a light blue thread-like booklet from a mahogany drawer.
"Take it well. Remember not to spread it, or Sect rules will come first."
"Of course I understand," Lu Sheng nodded. He took the booklet and flipped through it. Indeed, it was covered in dense handwriting, but it was obviously a copied version. Some Strength Proficiency manuals did not have concept diagrams. And these kinds of manuals without concept diagrams were the easiest to spread. After all, a simple copy could be passed around.
With the manual in hand, Lu Sheng walked out of the Martial Proclamation Library. He had used up his free privileges for this year. If he wanted to peruse martial arts in the future, he would have to pay Sect contribution points. Moreover, he had not resolved the Song Manor incident. So far, his contribution points were still zero. Being able to sit in this position was all thanks to the old Sect Master's favoritism.
'Time to go back and adjust my body and mind. Blood Fury Skill to Ultimate Crimson Mantra. Hopefully, I can finish the conversion before I act, 'Lu Sheng left the Crimson Whale with the manual and quickly returned to his home in Mountain-Edge City to rest quietly.
…
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Long Rift Gorge, deep within Eastern Mountain.
A meandering green ribbon ran through a section of the Eastern Mountain. In the Long Rift Gorge, deep in the middle of the forest, the water flowed down and formed a snow-white waterfall.
The waterfall crashed into the curved river below, splashing up a large amount of water mist.
On the semi-circular beach facing the waterfall, Gongsun Zhanglan, dressed in a green robe, stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His feet stepped on the shallow water as he quietly watched the steam rising from the waterfall.
He brought two people with him. One was his sworn friend, Mountain-Edge Hero Fang Zhidong, and the other was his sister-in-law, Zhang Huishu, Gongsun Jing's mother.
The three of them stood quietly on the beach, waiting for Lu Sheng to come and fight.
At the corner of the river to their side, the old gang leader Hong Mingzi and Old Wang were standing on a bamboo raft, quietly looking in their direction.
They had secretly learned that Lu Sheng and Gongsun Zhanglan were going to fight to the death, so they had secretly come to watch the battle.
"Junior Brother's strength is unfathomable. Although this old man had a few moves with him, I could clearly feel that he was holding back a lot. As for Zhang Lan's Xuanyuan Palm, its power is astonishing. Anyone who gets hit by it will have their meridians broken and die. The power of the palm can travel along the meridians and destroy the internal organs. He has cultivated for more than fifty years, so he won't be easy to deal with, "Old Sect Master Hong Mingzi said in a low voice.
"Old Sect Master, what's there to be afraid of with you around? At the most crucial moment, you can also save Junior Brother Lu's life, "Old Wang said nonchalantly.
"It's not that simple. Chen Ying has gone out to deal with some affairs. Coincidentally, Zhang Lan challenged Junior Brother to a battle and invited Fang Zhidong over. His goal is to restrain me. As long as he can hold me back for a while, he can do whatever he wants, "Old Sect Master's eyes were filled with worry. "What a pity … if there was more time and Chen Ying was here, this situation would definitely be foolproof …"
"Why? Sect Master doesn't think highly of Junior Brother Lu? "Old Wang asked doubtfully.
"I'm just a little worried," Hong Mingzi shook his head. "In my opinion, Junior Brother's strength isn't bad. However, he is still too young. If he makes any mistakes or hesitates during the battle, he could be defeated."
Seeing this, Old Wang began to worry.
"It's a pity that Big Brother is still on his way. Old Sect Master, you're too fast. Junior Brother Lu practices the Heart-Shattering Palm that's been passed down in our family. If he could become Big Brother's disciple, erm …" At this point, Old Wang also felt a little unreliable. If Lu Sheng was truly an expert on par with Gongsun Zhanglan, then even Big Brother might not be able to take him in as a disciple.
…
It was noon, and the sun was blazing.
Lu Sheng sat at the bow of the cruise ship, gazing silently at the clear, pale green surface of the river that was constantly moving.
He was dressed in the white robes of a Confucian scholar. His shiny bald head even reflected some light under the sun, making him exceptionally eye-catching.
Ning San's body wasn't too well-built. His black robes covered most of his figure. Standing beside Lu Sheng, he looked no different from a page boy.
Other than the two of them, there was another group of people on the cruise ship. They were the young masters and ladies who were on their way to Long Rift Gorge to enjoy the scenery.
Behind them, this group of people chattered and laughed incessantly like sparrows.
This ship was privately owned. Lu Sheng and Ning San had hitched a ride on the ship because it was convenient, saving them the trouble of hurrying on their own. Therefore, no matter how noisy the other people on the ship were, it was the private affairs of the host.
"Brother, you have an extraordinary bearing. Why are you always sitting at the bow of the ship alone? Why don't you come and enjoy the scenery with us?" On the deck, a slightly tipsy and handsome young master staggered over and asked in a clear voice.
He was the host who had taken the initiative to invite Lu Sheng and Ning San onto the ship when they had asked about Long Rift Gorge, Bian Su.
"There's no need. Brother Bian is meeting with a good friend, and I won't disturb you. It's enough that I can hitch a ride." Lu Sheng smiled. Originally, he should have arranged a ship from the sect. Unfortunately, to keep it a secret, and he had forgotten about it before. He only remembered that they could travel by water when the time came, but it was too late to find one now, so he had no choice but to find Bian Su's ship.
Bian Su had a generous personality, but her figure was slender and her skin was delicate. Lu Sheng took a glance and recognized that she was a woman dressed as a man.
Her ship seemed to be specially for leisure and sightseeing. As for the people on the ship, when Lu Sheng boarded the ship, he felt a malicious and repulsive gaze fall on him. It seemed that they didn't want him to board the ship.
Because of his keen five senses, he heard the conversation between Bian Su and these people on the way and roughly understood the situation of Young Master Bian.
This guy was basically a young lady who ran away from home. These people on the ship, nominally accompanying her to sightsee, were actually scheming. Bian Su wanted to send a message home several times, but these people used both soft and hard tactics to persuade her to go back. It seemed that they all wanted to get some benefits from her.
In short, it was the story of the young lady who ran away from home encountering people with bad intentions. And according to these people's conversation, Bian Su's family didn't know where she was.
After politely rejecting Bian Su, Lu Sheng watched her stagger back to the cabin of the ship, and his gaze fell back to the river.
"Young Master, those people around Young Master Bian don't seem to want us to hitch a ride," Ning San said softly.
"I know," Lu Sheng said lightly.
"Then Young Master, you still …?" Ning San was speechless.
"Isn't it because we can't find a ship at the last minute?" Lu Sheng said, a little distracted.
"But they don't welcome us …" Ning San was helpless.
"It's fine as long as there's a ship. Whether they welcome us or not is their business, but whether we sit or not is our business," Lu Sheng said flatly.
"But what if they don't let us board?" Ning San couldn't help but ask. Although he knew he shouldn't be so inquisitive, he was still curious.
"Then let them disembark," Lu Sheng said concisely.
"…" Ning San almost choked on his saliva, confused by his boss's logic. He had been in Crimson Whale Sect for so long, but even the rumored old Sect Master had not been so domineering in his youth.
"A real man lives in troubled times. Don't mind these details. We're people who do great things," Lu Sheng patted Ning San's shoulder. Ning San didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Naturally, Lu Sheng was joking. He wasn't such a domineering person to begin with. But he could tell that the ship's owner, Bian Su, sincerely wanted to give them a ride. As for the others, they weren't the ship's owner, so he naturally didn't care.
The ship sped up towards Long Rift Gorge.
From time to time, the cries of birds and apes could be heard from the dense forest on both sides of the river. A meter-long black bird flapped its wings and flew above the ship, causing everyone on board to gasp in shock.
Surrounded by a few men and women, Bian Su's drunkenness was obvious, but she was still toasting with the people around her.
"Crash."
Suddenly, the ship shook slightly, as if it had hit a reef.
"What's going on?"
"What's going on??"
The ship was suddenly filled with cursing and scolding.
The boatman and helmsman hurriedly explained. But they didn't know what was going on today. Usually, there weren't any submerged reefs in this part of the river. Why was there a reef today?
Bian Su rubbed her aching temples and stood up. She felt that she couldn't drink anymore, so she pushed several cups of wine and walked to the side of the ship to get some fresh air to clear her head.
"Tai-shu, which family do you think I should give this thing to?"
She seemed to be talking to herself. There was no one else around her.
"It's up to you, Miss. Now that there's no master in the family, this thing is a scourge. No matter who you give it to, it'll always be a source of trouble if it stays in your own hands." A hoarse, weathered voice sounded beside her.
Bian Su fell silent. No matter who she gave this thing to, she would be reluctant to part with it. After all, it was a family heirloom that had been passed down for so many years. But she knew that she couldn't keep it.
"I've already hidden from the Central Plains to the Northern Lands, but I've still been targeted by them." She let out a long sigh, and her drunkenness seemed to disappear without a trace.
"Huh? What's that hitchhiker doing?" Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bald man at the bow of the ship stand up and walk straight to the bow. She didn't know what he was doing.
"He …" Tai-shu also appeared beside Bian Su in puzzlement and looked at the bow of the ship.
"BOOM!!"
In that instant, the entire ship rumbled. A violent tremor traveled from the bow to the stern. The entire ship tilted forward violently, as if something heavy had smashed onto the deck.
Lu Sheng stomped his right foot on the deck. With him as the epicenter, a huge force spread out towards the hull of the ship behind him. The sturdy deck seemed to ripple in an instant.
His entire body shot out like a cannonball. His eyes flashed with excitement as he shot towards the beach in front of him.
There, Gongsun Zhanglan retreated and bowed. His palms were clasped together, and his beard and hair floated about. His muscles and tendons let out muffled sounds like bowstrings as he gathered a large amount of inner strength on his palms.
He looked at the rapidly approaching Lu Sheng, his eyes filled with cold killing intent.
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