Observing Wanfa from the martial arts school servants

Chapter 61 Demon Bloodline

His body jolted violently, as if something inside him had been forcibly torn apart.

Dark gold patterns spread from the collarbone to the sides of the neck and arms.

The air visibly distorted, the aura surged, and the bluestone slabs underfoot were shaken open by the force of the impact, with fragments of stone bouncing up and being blown away by the shockwave.

He suddenly lunged forward, his right palm striking Lin Mu at more than twice the speed.

The hidden force at the edge of his palm condensed into a pale golden blade of energy, leaving a sharp hissing sound in the air.

Lin Mu parried with a flick of his spear.

With a palm strike to the center of the spear shaft, the fine iron spear bent in a breathtaking arc before straightening, the recoil making Lin Mu's hand go numb.

Then came the second, third, and fourth palm strikes, following closely like a shadow, each one heavier and faster than the last.

Lin Mu braced himself against the ground with the spear shaft, using the momentum to flip sideways in mid-air, tumbling and dodging amidst a flurry of golden patterns and palm shadows.

The elasticity of the spear shaft bending and straightening, combined with the waist strength, twisted into a penetrating force, and the spear tip pierced through the dark gold palm shadow at a tricky angle.

Yan Hua clasped his hands together, forcefully clamping the tip of the spear with his bare hands. The hidden force collided with the spear, creating a ring of dark blue and dark gold light arcs.

Both of them were knocked back by the force of the impact.

The blue bricks on the alley wall were blown off by the blast wave and smashed into several pieces on the bluestone slab between the two people.

Lin Mu stood still, the tip of his spear touching the ground, his expression unreadable beneath the eagle-head mask.

Yan Hua stood a few steps away, his chest heaving violently, the dark gold pattern on the side of his neck slowly fading, and a thin line of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto his white robe.

The two stared at each other across the rubble-strewn ground—the previous exchange of blows had only lasted a few breaths, but both of them had already exhausted nearly half of their internal energy.

"Who's there?"

Just as Lin Mu stepped forward again with his gun, footsteps suddenly came from afar.

The Palace Guard's night patrol team is on patrol.

Lin Mu had no choice but to put away his gun, and his figure disappeared into the darkness at the alley entrance after a few leaps.

When the lantern beams of the Palace Guard swept into the narrow alley, they only illuminated Yan Hua standing among the rubble, clutching his chest, his white robe stained with blood.

And there was the resentment on his face.

The footsteps in the alley came from afar, quick and light, barely touching the ground.

When Yu Mubai rushed over, he was still wearing that moon-white nightgown, with an outer robe casually draped over his shoulders, clearly having been woken up from his bed.

He glanced at the wound on Yan Hua's ribs, torn open by the force of the spear, and then at the bruise on his chest, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

"Who is the other party?"

"Wearing an eagle-eye mask, so you can't see his face, and the long spear he's holding seems familiar."

"Transformation of internal energy?"

Yu Mubai's tone carried a subtle tension.

In Heyuan County, the number of people who could harm Yan Hua can be counted on one hand.

"Hidden strength".

Yu Mubai remained silent for a moment.

"Can hidden force hurt you?" he asked.

"I used my demon bloodline and barely managed to fight him to a draw."

"It seems the plan has changed."

"You need to neutralize the force as soon as possible."

......

The following morning, Lin Mu turned into the Palace Guard as he passed by.

In the side room of the west courtyard, Zhao Rong had been copying files at his desk for half an hour.

He heard footsteps, looked up, put down his pen, and a smile appeared on his face: "What brings you here today?"

"I'm planning to take a few days off. I'll come back after I finish the martial arts examination."

"no problem."

"But I received some news last night," his voice was a few decibels lower than usual, "Ling Feng has escaped."

"It is said that he was seriously injured when he left and will not recover in a short time."

"But you still need to be careful, after all, he is a master of the Transformation Realm."

Lin Mu nodded: "Okay."

......

Just after dawn, Lin Mu went to the entrance of the Zhenhe Gang and hung the wooden waist tag on his waist.

The skinny guy and the short, stocky man were squatting on the doorstep sharing a bag of fried beans. When he saw him coming, the skinny guy stuffed the beans into his pocket and pointed with his finger to a broken bamboo chair by the door with a missing leg and propped up with broken bricks.

"Sit here. Facing the drill ground, don't wander around, and don't let anyone into the courtyard."

He looked Lin Mu up and down, picked out a bean from the bag of fried beans and popped it into his mouth, chewing it with a crunching sound. "If anyone comes looking for trouble, don't call us. Try to handle it yourself."

The short, stocky man chuckled twice, stuffed his portion of fried beans into his pocket, and left.

The skinny guy gave a few more instructions: "Don't go into the main hall, don't touch the knives on the weapon rack, don't slack off or doze off, and if you lose anything, it will be deducted from your wages." Then he turned around and caught up with his companion.

The two walked arm in arm toward the training ground, and after only a few steps they began to plan their bets.

A few fragmented words drifted in on the wind.

What are the odds for the State of Zhao?

"Quanfeng is boring, the odds are too low. We'd bet on Li Hu, that dark horse."

"Buy some sesame cakes first; it's unlucky to place bets on an empty stomach."

Lin Mu sat down on the broken bamboo chair.

The broken bricks on the chair leg cushion wobbled, and he stretched out his foot to brace it, then leaned his back against the wall.

The main gate of the training ground, the alley entrance, and the entrance to the arena are all within view.

At this moment, the area outside the training ground was packed with people. Three hundred martial artists and even more townspeople who came to watch the spectacle crowded the base of the east city wall.

Old Wang, who sells sesame cakes, pushed his oven cart to the left side of the entrance to the drill ground and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Freshly baked sesame cakes!" The rising steam billowed like mist in the morning light.

Old Sun, who sells tea, set up his stall on the opposite earthen slope. Today, he changed his signboard, which used to sell coarse tea for a few copper coins a bowl. He wrote the four characters "武运长久" (meaning "May your martial fortune last forever") crookedly on a wooden board with a charcoal pencil, which attracted a few teenagers to squat under the sign and secretly learn to write.

The girls from Zuihonglou arrived at the outer perimeter in a carriage. Rouge lifted a corner of the carriage curtain to peek into the training ground, but Xing'er pulled her back. A burst of laughter came from inside the carriage.

The crowd was buzzing with discussion, and those sitting near the entrance of the Zhenhe Gang could hear most of it.

"This year, there's no distinction between overt and covert strength; I heard it's the idea of ​​a high-ranking official in the court."

"Three hundred people draw lots on the same stage, regardless of their skill level; whoever is drawn will be attacked."

"It's fair, but if someone uses obvious force and then clashes with hidden force, they're just unlucky."

"No one from Heyuan County participated, but there are two from Fenglin Town—Yang Lie and Han Tieshan, both at the early stage of the Transformation Realm."

"Is Quan Feng's chances stable this year? Last year, he yawned on stage and was finished off with a single strike. His opponent didn't even see how he made the move."

"Quanfeng is stable, but there are some tough opponents among the independent cultivators this year."

"It is said that Zhao's double swords have improved again. He lost to Cui Yong last year and has come for revenge this year."

"There's another one named Tang Yuan, who's quite skilled with chains."

"Oh right, Li Hu is here too. He has a twelve-foot-long axe. He can smash a half-foot-long bluestone slab with one swing. He is invulnerable to swords and spears because of his external martial arts skills, but he is a bit slow."

How's Changfeng Martial Arts School doing this year?

"Yan Hua has excellent physical constitution. I heard he was injured last night. I wonder if it will affect the competition."

"And what about Lin Mu? He defeated Zhao Lie and Xue Yuan in a row at the martial arts arena. Will he pull out some new trump card today?"

"His trump card? How many games have you seen him play? When has he ever revealed his trump card?"

Lin Mu leaned back in the broken bamboo chair, silently memorizing these names.

Zhao Guo's twin swords, honed over six years of hidden strength, one sword force being hard and the other soft.

Tang Yuan chain.

Li Hu's long-handled axe, the "Cracking" style, is a horizontal attack.

......

These are all his subjects of observation.

There's also Quan Feng, the boy with the ponytail.