Chapter 6: Lu Yuan’s Martial Arts Manual

"That's right, I am jealous."
"What right does Lu Yuan have?"
"He's just a rustic village man; how could he become a Heaven-level detective?"
"Isn't he the one who destroyed Qingcheng Mountain?"
"So what’s so impressive about that?"
"Qingchengzi, just a name—I could do it too."

Luo Zhou did not hide his envy at all.

Lu Yuan’s achievements amounted only to wiping out Qingcheng Mountain.

To him, destroying Qingcheng Mountain was no great feat.

These martial arts sects seemed strong, but compared to the imperial court, they were as fragile as paper—easily torn apart with a single poke.

Especially the Six Doors Bureau, which hung like a Damocles sword over all the martial arts sects.

Even great sects like Wudang and Shaolin were quite vulnerable in the face of the imperial court.

"You think you can? What nonsense!"
"Do you even know your own weight?"
"Both you and Qingchengzi are third-rank warriors; the fight would be evenly matched."
"Besides, can the elders of Qingcheng Mountain just stand by and watch?"
"Not to mention the three thousand disciples of Qingcheng Mountain."
"They could overwhelm you by sheer numbers."
"Lu Yuan could do it."
"At the age of fifteen, he accomplished it."
"He was granted the rare exception of becoming a Heaven-level detective of the Six Doors Bureau—something I, Baize, fully respect."

Baize, also a Ground-level detective, showed no mercy to Luo Zhou.

"Baize, you..."

Luo Zhou stood up angrily.

"What’s the matter?"

"I just spoke some hard truths, and you’re upset?"

"Enough."

Li Changge stopped their confrontation.

"If anyone does not wish to continue the mission, just say so. I will approve your leave; you may return to the capital to report."

Li Changge looked at Luo Zhou with a hint of displeasure.

"I dare not."

Luo Zhou immediately lowered his head, unwilling to meet Li Changge’s gaze.

"Hmph."

"It’s getting late; everyone should go back and rest."

"We depart at the dawn hour."

"Yes."

"As you command."

...

Wangyou County.

"Help wanted! Help wanted! Master Li urgently needs a thousand carpenters to expand the tavern. Salary negotiable."
"Also urgently buying measured earth, stone, and timber. Good prices guaranteed."
"Help wanted! Help wanted! The blacksmith shop south of the city is recruiting apprentices with high pay."

Early in the morning, numerous help-wanted notices were posted on bulletin boards throughout Wangyou County.

Several wealthy merchants in Wangyou County suddenly began recruiting workers simultaneously, causing confusion among passersby who did not understand the reason.

Not only passersby, but even the merchants’ shop managers were puzzled.

Their masters had only gone to a banquet at the Chen residence and suddenly returned with a plan to nearly double the workforce. Could the shops even accommodate that many employees?

This sudden move was utterly baffling.

It wasn’t just Wangyou County; almost every region in the Great Yong Empire had launched large-scale construction projects around the same time.

For Lu Yuan, life remained unchanged.

His daily routine was still patrolling and maintaining public order.

Catching petty thieves.

At dusk, Lu Yuan just finished work.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, he found a visitor at home.

A little kid sat on a stone bench, gnawing on a pork knuckle bigger than her face.

Chen Yiyi, the youngest daughter of the Chen family, had just turned six and was at the curious age of exploring the world.

Unlike her brother, who loved reading, Chen Yiyi preferred wielding swords and spears and was fascinated by the martial arts world.

Whenever she had free time, she pestered her grandfather to tell her stories—stories from the martial world.

The White-Clad Sword Saint, who could pierce a thousand armors with a single strike, claiming the top of the swordsmanship realm.

The great hero of Xiangyang, who fought fiercely against a demonic grandmaster and perished together with him.

The young hero who fell down a cliff, was saved by a reclusive master, learned peerless martial arts, and became a great martial artist.

After hearing numerous stories, Chen Yiyi dreamed of wandering the martial world herself.

Especially upon learning that her uncle was a legendary martial arts expert, she became eager to become his disciple and learn martial arts.

She came to Lu Yuan every few days, begging him to teach her.

Martial arts were something Lu Yuan did not know.

But he found it hard to refuse her.

So he could only teach her the basics, like standing horse stance.

...

"Uncle Yuan, Uncle Yuan."

Chen Yiyi, seeing Lu Yuan return home, reluctantly put down the pork knuckle and excitedly ran to him.

Her small, greasy hands wrapped around Lu Yuan’s leg.

"Uncle Yuan, Yiyi succeeded."

"I held the horse stance for an hour."

"You promised to teach me peerless martial arts."

"I’m ready now."

Chen Yiyi looked up at Lu Yuan with sparkling eyes, full of anticipation for the legendary skills.

"Oh, really?"

"Yiyi really did it?"

"Not lying to Uncle Yuan? Lying is for puppies."

Lu Yuan laughed, lifting Chen Yiyi onto his shoulder.

"Yiyi isn’t lying."

"Yiyi isn’t a puppy."

"If you don’t believe me, ask great-grandpa—Yiyi really did it."

Chen Yiyi pointed to the old Lu sitting on the stone bench with eyes narrowed in a smile.

Old Lu nodded, confirming that Chen Yiyi was telling the truth.

"Impressive, Yiyi."

"You truly are the Chen family’s most talented in martial arts."

"Good, since you did it, Uncle Yuan will not break his promise."

Lu Yuan smiled, pulling out a book he had been preparing for a long time.

The pages were brand new with a strong ink scent.

The cover bore four characters: “Earth-Shattering Divine Palm.”

"Wow, so cool!"

Chen Yiyi’s eyes gleamed as she excitedly flipped to the first page.

The first technique of the Earth-Shattering Divine Palm: Overturning Mountains and Seas.

Such a powerful move.

Her excited heart trembled with her shaking hands.

Chen Yiyi continued flipping through the pages, but her expression suddenly fell.

She looked utterly disbelieving.

Because the content was too sparse.

There were no annotations, only extremely crude stick figures posing.

Was this really peerless martial arts?

"What’s with that look, Yiyi?"

"Don’t you trust Uncle Yuan’s peerless martial arts?"

Lu Yuan noticed Chen Yiyi’s expression and felt a bit guilty.

Could it be that she had discovered the truth?

"No, Uncle Yuan, why does your martial arts manual only have stick figures and no annotations?"

"I heard from grandpa that martial arts manuals always have annotations; otherwise, one might go astray."

Chen Yiyi flipped the pages while nodding seriously.

"Ahem."

"Peerless martial arts can only be understood intuitively, not explained in words, so there are no annotations."

"Of course, Yiyi, you must not practice blindly; without a teacher, you might go astray."

"Hmm."

"Uncle Yuan, does your peerless martial arts only have one move?"

Chen Yiyi flipped further and found the rest of the pages blank. The Earth-Shattering Divine Palm that Lu Yuan gave her had only one technique.

"Of course not."

"When you master the first move, Uncle Yuan will teach you the second."

Lu Yuan said seriously.

He couldn’t very well admit he hadn’t yet thought of a second move— that would tarnish his image as an elder.

That was out of the question.

"Uncle Yuan, can you demonstrate it for me?"

"I want to learn the first move of the Earth-Shattering Divine Palm."

"Alright, alright, alright."

"Such ambition, Yiyi."

"Let me show you."

Lu Yuan put Chen Yiyi down and moved to an open space.

He assumed a horse stance and struck a palm pose.

"The first move of the Earth-Shattering Divine Palm: Overturning Mountains and Seas."

"Ha!"

...

...