The hoodlum ran out of the martial arts school and dashed away, soon vanishing from sight.
A mont of silence.
Wu Xiaode sneaked a glance at Qian Mingkui, who seed to have frozen in shock.
"It’s okay, Elder Qian, we’ll join forces later and take care of these ruffians," Wu Xiaode said with ease.
"Why must we, who practice martial arts, always fight?" Qian Mingkui sighed.
"He who possesses a sharp blade will harbor thoughts of killing," Wu Xiaode replied.
"What about those who don’t practice martial arts? What should they do?" Qian Mingkui asked, confused.
Wu Xiaode smiled and said, "Even without martial arts, there are other sharp tools, such as power, money, connections, rumors—anything can be a weapon if one wishes to kill."
"I’m at a loss for words— we who practice martial arts do so only to strengthen our bodies; why must there be love and hate, conflict and strife, and why must we rest only after our enemies are all cut down?" Qian Mingkui said wearily.
Seeing his reluctance, Wu Xiaode raised his voice slightly and scolded:
"Strengthening your body doesn’t an allowing others to bully you. In the world of martial arts, guys like you always end up with a tragic fate!"
"The martial world... That’s an outdated notion. There are no such things these days," Qian Mingkui shook his head.
"Foolish! The martial world is the evil in people’s hearts," Wu Xiaode stepped forward and stared into his eyes: "As long as human hearts do not rest, evil will not cease. The world is changing, and if you hold a weapon, you must be ready to fight. Only then can you protect your family!"
Qian Mingkui was stunned.
Wu Xiaode looked at him, a glimr of hope igniting in his heart.
Surely this guy isn’t completely wooden-headed.
If you were just running a restaurant, I wouldn’t insist.
But damn it, you’re running a martial arts school!
What kind of martial arts are you practicing?
Your old man is watching from heaven!
Suddenly, Qian Mingkui leapt up and shouted sternly, "Little Shi, pack your books; we’re leaving!"
The little girl had been anxiously watching the commotion and frantically asked, "Dad, what about the martial arts school?"
"Forget it! We need to lay low for a while," Qian Mingkui said with reddened eyes.
Having said that, he charged into the martial arts school to gather his things.
Wu Xiaode stood still for a long ti, taking a while to co to terms with what just happened.
When Qian Mingkui was ready to leave with Little Shi, he finally spoke up.
"Elder Qian."
Wu Xiaode stepped forward and gave a respectful bow, "To tell you the truth, my real purpose for coming here was to—"
"Kill your daughter."
A fierce killing intent suddenly enveloped him as he lightly leaped forward and swung his hand towards Little Shi’s head.
This punch was aid at the temple, and if it connected, Little Shi would surely die.
Taken completely by surprise, Qian Mingkui roared:
"You dare!"
As he charged forward, he was knocked back by a punch from Wu Xiaode.
The punch, as heavy as iron and relentless, did not leave any room for negotiation and sent Qian Mingkui crashing down, rolling into a vegetable patch nearby.
"Elder Qian, you’ll be fine. I’m only killing her, and then I’ll leave," Wu Xiaode said coldly, turning back to swing his fist again.
Qian Mingkui, with eyes wide and filled with rage, cried out, "You’re dead!"
He rushed forward recklessly, only to be sent flying again by Wu Xiaode’s palm, tumbling onto the practice field.
"She’s dead."
Wu Xiaode declared as he forcefully slapped the top of Little Shi’s head.
"No!!"
Qian Mingkui let out a desperate scream.
In an instant, an extraordinary change occurred—
An invisible light radiated from Qian Mingkui, stirring up a whirlwind around him.
He grabbed a long staff from the weapons rack and hurled it mightily at Wu Xiaode.
Wu Xiaode’s pupils contracted.
As the staff was thrown, a layer of gray dust shook off the weapon.
If one could slow down ti and look carefully, they would realize it wasn’t just dust, but all the accumulated dirt on the staff being forcefully shaken off.
"Good!"
Wu Xiaode exclaid in praise, as a stream of Golden Light appeared on his wrist, parrying with a swing.
Clang—
The wooden staff struck his wrist, emitting a sound like tal clashing with stone.
The force had reached the level of Soul Power!
At the sa mont, a loud "clang" burst from above Wu Xiaode’s head, and three starlights erged.
The Book of the Dead opened, and lines of ice-crystal small characters silently erged:
"Congratulations, you have completed the commission!"
"Qian Mingkui has awakened his Soul Power, and will once again raise high the banner of the Snow Stepping and Seeking Plum school, becoming a distinguished figure."
"You have gained the Ancestor Spirit’s approval."
"Approval Level: Three stars (highest rating for the current commission)."
"The Ancestor Spirit grants you one point to your soul power limit."
"Current soul power value: 7/8."
"Because you completed this commission, you’ve earned the right to post a task on the ’Wish Wall’ once."
"Moreover, as your appreciation level has reached three stars, you’ve received an extra thank you gift from the other party’s Ancestor Spirit."
"Please wait a mont."
"The other party’s Ancestor Spirit is about to descend and bestow upon you the extra thank you gift."
At this point, Wu Xiaode was actually in no hurry.
He threw the piece of dark iron engraved with cloud patterns onto the ground in front of Qian Mingkui and pulled Little Shi over, saying with a chuckle, "I was just joking with you earlier, Elder Qian. You really are a qualified daughter’s slave."
Qian Mingkui was stunned for a mont, first looking his daughter up and down to see that she was unhard, then turning his gaze to the piece of dark iron engraved with cloud patterns.
"When you first took it out, I thought it was fake... Now it seems that this is indeed the protection amulet of the ’Snow Stepping and Seeking Plum’ sect... You are here to help ."
Qian Mingkui said as he tried to stand up but unexpectedly staggered and fell back to the ground.
"What happened to just now? How could I perform that move?"
He asked, confused.
"Don’t worry, this is your Awakening of Power. From now on, those gangsters can’t bully you anymore," Wu Xiaode said.
Qian Mingkui carefully pondered the power of that throw, his complexion changing repeatedly, and suddenly he sighed, "I never thought I would have the opportunity to comprehend Innate Power—thank you, young brother. Help up, we need to flee together!"
"Flee what? A few gangsters have scared you to this state?" asked Wu Xiaode, dissatisfied.
Qian Mingkui earnestly said, "There’s an old saying, ’Fear not the thief who steals, but the one who is obsessed.’ Brother Little Wu, my ho is right here, and my daughter is still attending school nearby. I must think about my daughter’s future."
Wu Xiaode didn’t bother to continue the conversation.
Qian Mingkui was of a soft disposition; although he had put on an act at their first eting, he still insisted on treating him to a al before letting him go.
He didn’t have much money.
——And as a man, after his wife left, he’s been raising his daughter all alone, consud with concern for her.
Such a nature, to burst out once for his daughter, was rare. Whether or not he would take the right path in the future was uncertain, but he seed trustworthy enough to interact with.
With this thought in mind, Wu Xiaode surveyed the layout of the martial arts school.
The environnt here was really nice.
"This place of yours is actually quite nice, surrounded by mountains and water with fresh air. Would you mind if I moved in as well?" he asked.
Well, we’re all martial artists, after all. It would be good to make friends and look out for each other.
At the very least, he couldn’t let the rotund man, who had only just awakened a few days ago, be devoured by the midnight monster, leaving only his daughter alive in this world.
And he himself was in need of so help to confront that world together.
He couldn’t always stay in a hotel.
His residence in the staff housing had burned down, and both he and Sister Lan needed to find a place to live.
Having considered these thoughts, Wu Xiaode made his decision.
"You are an elder of the sect and you have helped awaken my Power. Even if I have to pawn my pot and sell iron, I must provide for you. How could I let you leave?" said Qian Mingkui.
"Then let’s live together. I’ve just made a bit of money, enough for you and your daughter’s living expenses. I can cover so of the daily costs," Wu Xiaode said.
Qian Mingkui and his daughter exchanged glances, both showing signs of happiness.
"That’s great! Uncle, I can clean up a room for you," Little Shi cheered.
"Letting you spend your money? That doesn’t seem right," remarked Qian Mingkui insincerely.
"I think it’s fine, so I won’t contribute money then," said Wu Xiaode straightforwardly.
Qian Mingkui imdiately lanted, "Ah, for lunch we only had rice mixed with salty vegetables, elder brother—no, elder, I wouldn’t dare serve you such als. Look at Little Shi growing but so skinny because of lack of nutrition—"
Wu Xiaode interrupted him, "Okay, enough, I was just kidding. I’ll order so takeaway at noon, get so pots together, and so drinks, so we can have a good al."
Little Shi cheered and ran inside to clean up a room for Wu Xiaode.
Thud—
The door was kicked open once again.
A group of young n flowed in.
"Damn, too late to run," said Qian Mingkui, his face turning pale.
He had just awakened his soul power with that move, and after releasing all of it at once, he was now completely drained and unable to fight again.
Wu Xiaode stepped forward, positioning himself in front to say, "It’s alright, I’ll handle this."
When the young man who had been beaten saw him, he imdiately showed a look of resentnt and said, "Little Yi bro, it’s him."
A lean young man with a small mustache spoke up:
"My na is Lu Yi, and thanks to the brothers on the Tao, everyone calls Little Yi bro. Little brother, I’ve heard you have a problem with ?"
As he spoke, his eyes never stopped examining Wu Xiaode, his expression gradually turning sinister and malicious.
So, it’s just a poor student.
Such a naïve fellow dares to ddle in Tao affairs—he won’t even be able to cry when the ti cos.
He waved his hand.
The group behind him drew their weapons one after another.
Wu Xiaode’s expression beca serious as he glanced at their hands.
Spring knives, machetes, triangular spikes, butterfly knives, horn knives.
All of them were prohibited blades.
Wu Xiaode knew the score and began to understand Qian Mingkui a bit better.
The other party wasn’t an ordinary thug and bully, no wonder Qian Mingkui was so scared.
This was a rare contingent of boys who were court-bound.
Indeed, the situation looked like it could get out of hand!
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