Invincibility Begins with Mastery of Fist Techniques-Chapter 40: Blade Shadow

The next morning. Ever since having a free breakfast at Zhou Yuanjue’s place, Li Qingxuan had started showing up on time every morning to freeload.

Zhou Yuanjue didn’t really mind. After all, making breakfast for two didn’t take much more time than making it for one. However, since she had been freeloading for a while, he was starting to consider charging her for breakfast.

After all, the medicinal herbs used in the medicinal breakfasts weren’t cheap.

GULP GULP GULP!

After downing the medicinal soup in her bowl, Li Qingxuan leaned back comfortably in her chair and let out a soft sigh.

Ever since she started eating Zhou Yuanjue’s medicinal meals, she had been feeling much better lately, both physically and mentally. Her mind was clear, she was full of energy all day, the fatigue of waking up early was completely gone, and the quality of her sleep had also improved significantly.

She knew this was because the meals contained precious herbs with the effects of calming the spirit, nourishing qi and blood, and strengthening the body. It might only be a small bowl, but the herbs it contained were worth at least ten thousand yuan.

She had carefully observed Zhou Yuanjue’s lifestyle. His standards for daily life weren’t high. He wore ordinary clothes that cost around a thousand yuan a set, with no designer watch or famous-brand shoes. He drove an ordinary sedan worth about two hundred thousand yuan. Even this villa was just a standard, well-decorated home. If he didn’t need a spacious and quiet place for his martial arts training, he probably wouldn’t have even bought it.

On the other hand, his requirements for food were incredibly strict. He spent an estimated tens of thousands, or even over a hundred thousand, yuan on just his three meals a day. That didn’t even include the medicinal baths, strengthening medicinal wines, balms, and other items he used after training. It was no exaggeration to say that Zhou Yuanjue’s body was more expensive than anything else.

As the saying goes, pursuing scholarship can be done in poverty, but pursuing the martial way requires wealth. This was why Zhou Yuanjue had never left the arena before truly achieving Mastery of Fist Techniques.

It was a true "body worth a thousand pieces of gold," cultivated over ten years of unwavering effort with immense perseverance, an unyielding will, and a vast amount of money. How could expensive clothes, cars, or watches ever compare?

Hearing the familiar rumbling in his stomach subside and seeing Zhou Yuanjue open his eyes, Li Qingxuan finally spoke. "Right when you defeated Qin Baisheng, Huang Shuwen of the Tianji Sword Sect scored a complete victory over Xu Yunhe of the White Snake Fist. Xu Yunhe’s abdomen was pierced by a single finger, and he’s still in the hospital undergoing emergency treatment. With that, the situation in the Tianlu Prefecture Martial Arts Realm is crystal clear. The only one left who’s qualified to fight you is Huang Shuwen. When are you planning to go after him?"

"That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about," Zhou Yuanjue said slowly. "Help me issue a letter of challenge. In seven days, I will go to the Tianji Group and pay them a visit."

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「Midday. The scorching sun hung high in the sky.」

"So, it’s here after all."

In the top-floor office of the Tianji Group, Zhao Zhengxuan held the letter of challenge delivered by Li Qingxuan’s people, his expression perfectly calm.

"I’ve mostly finished investigating his identity and background," Luo Yongli said.

"And?" Zhao Zhengxuan asked, his brow furrowed.

"I focused my investigation on the Lanhai Society and made some progress," Luo Yongli said in a low voice. "This man defeated Yan Hao during his succession ceremony. The Lanhai Society tried to use their connections and power to suppress him, but they ended up dropping it. Apparently, someone warned the Lanhai Society through the channels of the Shangjing Prefecture’s Li Family. Then, I had someone look into his social circle. A young woman has been seen with him frequently. Her name is Li Qingxuan."

"Li Qingxuan? A direct descendant of the Li Family? Why would someone from the Li Family be here?" Zhao Zhengxuan’s voice grew grave.

"No, she isn’t among the publicly known direct descendants of the Li Family," Luo Yongli said. "Perhaps she’s from a branch family, or there’s some other connection. Based on the signs, my judgment is that this Zhou Yuanjue is likely the ’seed’ chosen by Li Qingxuan."

"Impossible!" Zhao Zhengxuan said, puzzled. "Even a direct descendant of the Li Family doesn’t necessarily have the right to choose a ’seed.’ How could some unknown little girl have that authority? Think about that person’s status—they only have the authority to choose one. If not for that person’s past ties with our Tianji Sword Sect, this opportunity would have never fallen to us."

"That, I don’t know. This Li Qingxuan’s situation is likely special. With her in the way, we probably can’t get around the Li Family’s influence if we try to act through official channels. However, besides official channels, we have many other methods. She isn’t a direct descendant, so as long as we don’t harm her, we don’t need to worry too much about anything else. Moreover, I’ve discreetly consulted with that person. They said the higher-ups’ intention for this matter is that as long as no firearms are used and things don’t get blown out of proportion to affect ordinary people, matters of the Martial Arts Realm should be settled within the Martial Arts Realm," Luo Yongli said slowly.

"Matters of the Martial Arts Realm should be settled within the Martial Arts Realm?"

Hearing this phrase, Zhao Zhengxuan’s eyes narrowed, as if he had understood some deeper meaning.

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「That night.」

Zhou Yuanjue finished his day’s training and stepped into the bathroom.

Cool water from the showerhead sprinkled over his body, bringing a refreshing coolness that washed away his fatigue.

After quickly rinsing off the sweat, he put on a pair of shorts, grabbed a towel to rub his damp hair, and walked out of the bathroom into the living room.

However, the moment he stepped into the living room, he froze. A strange feeling washed over him—a faint sense of unfamiliarity.

And in the very instant he paused.

SHIIING! SHIIING! SHIIING! SHIIING! SHIIING!!

The crisp ringing of swords suddenly sounded as five longswords, glinting with silver light, appeared from all corners of the room.

From behind the sofa, under the coffee table, in the corner...

While he had been showering, five assassins armed with sharp blades had infiltrated the living room, hiding in various blind spots. They were waiting for the moment he appeared to deliver a fatal blow!

Their killing intent had been completely concealed, erupting only in the instant they struck. The shadows of their blades flickered, simultaneously targeting all his vital points. There were no wasted movements—only ultimate speed, ruthless and decisive.

These were, without a doubt, accomplished masters of the Martial Dao!!

Light and shadow danced, the killing edge of the blades exposed.

One moment, Zhou Yuanjue was still reveling in the instinctive comfort of his body after a shower; the next, he was facing a life-and-death crisis!

Five swords struck simultaneously, sealing off nearly all his room to dodge!

No matter how strong one’s Martial Dao was, the body was not invulnerable to blades. Moreover, the five attackers were all Martial Dao masters. Their formidable power and skill, combined with their weapons, instantly maximized their killing potential.

CRACK!!

In that instant of life and death, when it seemed there was no escape, a series of scalp-numbing cracks suddenly echoed from all over Zhou Yuanjue’s body.

At the critical moment, the Bone Shrinking Secret Technique of the Red Falcon Fist took effect once again.

In an instant, his body shrank almost to its limit. He twisted his torso and limbs into an extremely bizarre posture, doing everything possible to protect his vital points.

SLICE!!

The sound of blades tearing through flesh filled the air.

His cheek, arm, back, outer thigh, and chest. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The sharp blades tore through the surface of his skin and muscle, and bright red blood instantly sprayed out.