This Earth Is A Bit Fearsome

“Thank you for your trust, Mr. Lu, but aren’t you afraid of us running away with your money?” Monk Buyi asked.

 “You can try, but I can tell you, owing me money won’t be fun,” Lu Xuan answered nonchalantly.

 Nobody in the world could owe him money and just get away with it. If the Southern Shaolin Temple actually dared to take his wooden fish and not pay him, he alone would be more than strong enough to raze the entire temple.

 He could demand ten to a hundred times what he asked for initially.

 “We wouldn’t dare!” Monk Buyi clarified right away. That was not a joking matter. He saw just how terrifying that behemoth of a young man was capable of, after all.

 Lu Xuan could have done away with Martial Arts Legends like him as easily as he could squish ants. Martial Arts Legends were hardly any stronger than mere children when dealing with National Guardians.

 His brother-in-training was not yet a National Guardian, and even if Master Bushuo had indeed become a National Guardian, he probably would not have been able to take on that young man just yet.

 He felt exasperated deep down, rather puzzled as to how one could have trained to become a monster that rivaled natural disasters.

 “That settles it then. I have faith in the good reputation of the masters of the Southern Shaolin Temple, and I’m sure the temple that has been around for hundreds of years is worth more than 100 million.” Lu Xuan chuckled as he spoke.

 The crowd’s eyes were wide open in disbelief, seeing how Lu Xuan sold the wooden fish to Master Buyi, feeling very eager to do something. However, seeing that even the weaker of the two was still nonetheless a Martial Arts Legend, it became obvious that such ideas could have led to their demise.

 “Well then, since the matter is settled, I’ll just head home now,” Lu Xuan said to Yun Sheng.

 Yun Sheng thought about it for a bit. With Aida Ryosuke killed by Lu Xuan, the matter was indeed settled and done with. Furthermore, he knew that reinforcements were not far away, so he replied, “Thank you for what you have done for us, Mr. Lu. I shall pay you a visit someday.”

 “It’s fine.”

 Lu Xuan disappeared in a flash into the woods as soon as he said that. He was nowhere to be found soon afterward.

 The crowd felt as if they had just witnessed a bolt of lightning zip past, which felt as eerie as the presence of ghosts.

 “There are no footprints where he was just standing!” someone exclaimed in shock.

 All of them only noticed that where Lu Xuan had been standing showed no footprints at all. They would have believed that they had seen a ghost if it was not for what they saw with their own eyes moments ago.

 However, given how terrifying Lu Xuan was, it seemed to be totally within reason that he sported such advanced mastery of Qinggong—a form of Chinese parkour.

 From the perspective of the crowd, anything that felt unbelievable seemed now totally within reason if it was Lu Xuan who had done it.

 The next morning, in a secret meeting room of the Fu City Special Task Force’s bureau, a group of people looked at a pile of information as they argued away.

 “James and Sakata Juuzaburo were both killed in a single attack. Martial Arts Legends are little more than ants to him!”

 “Martial Arts Legends are nothing. He even killed that Aida Ryosuke with just a few moves, after all.”

 “It’s said that he immediately killed Aida Ryosuke with Tsubame Gaeshi after only seeing him use the skill once!”

 Some within the group wore military uniforms while others wore plain clothes. The group seemed to consist of people from different forces.

 “His physicality is in uncharted territory. He can cover 100 meters in a second, and he can punch through a steel plate over a meter thick with just a single hit. That’s way above the human physical limit.”

 An expert dressed in white analyzed the freshly acquired surveillance footage.

 A group of people was analyzing Lu Xuan’s records from last night.

 The more they went on with the analysis, the more chilled they felt.

 It was true that cultivators, warriors, Awakened ones, and spellcasters had appeared out of nowhere and in great numbers lately.

 Yet, none of them could compare to Lu Xuan at all, as proven by the information in their hands.

 Martial Arts Legends were tough enough to deal with from their perspective, and it went without saying that it was especially true in the case of National Guardians.

 What shocked them even more was that all of that had been but the tip of the iceberg of his true powers, as nobody had really been able to make him fight to the best of his abilities yet.

 That was the most terrifying thing about him.

 Everyone compiled their opinions in the end and took a look at a woman in the corner who was dressed for combat, then said, “Chief Ming, what we have gathered so far suggests that he is not one we can take on by force. However, we can, no doubt, get him to our side. The man seems to be on his own, unlike some hidden clans.”

 “I understand.”

 The woman simply nodded and continued, “You can now all head outside. Yun Sheng, you stay behind.”

 The crowd left the room. Yun Sheng, the Chief of the Fu City Special Task Force stayed behind.

 “Chief,” Yun Sheng said.

 The woman looked to be in her thirties; she was very good-looking. However, she oozed formidability and looked extremely capable.

 She was the provincial boss of the entire Special Task Force of Southern Min, Ming Yueyao.

 Ming Yueyao clasped his shoulder with her hand and said, “Good work this time. I had a good time, all thanks to you.”

 “Just doing my job,” Yun Sheng said right away.

 Ming Yueyao then continued, “I’ve miscalculated things this time. I didn’t expect they would have sent a National Guardian to rescue their own, and I almost put all of you in a ditch.”

 Ming Yueyao thought about just how lucky she had been as she said that. If it had not been for Lu Xuan being present, all who had been there would have probably ended up dead.

 Ming Yueyao continued speaking, seeing as how Yun Sheng chose to stay silent. “You don’t have to say much. I’m the one to be blamed for this. I’ve heard of that Aida Ryosuke as well; one of the three top masters of Japanese swordsmanship, and a monster of immeasurable might.

 “If it hadn’t been for Lu Xuan, you all would’ve probably died then and there.”

 Yun Sheng opened his mouth, but no words came out. It was just as she put it—they had all indeed been lucky the night before.

 “Now that Lu Xuan is a special consultant of the Fu City branch, what do you think of him?” Ming Yueyao asked.

 Yun Sheng paused for a long time before commenting, “A young man of immeasurable prowess.”

 He had been thinking for quite a long time, and no other response seemed apt.

 “I’ve looked into his background, and everything looks normal. From what I was able to see from his records, he was a common guy all the way from elementary school through college. Yet, from the looks of things, he probably inherited some kind of lineage that we didn’t know of, and he has been hiding his training all along.” Yun Sheng continued, “Judging from the prowess and talent he’s showcased so far, he didn’t look like someone who has been training since young. It’s extremely possible that he acquired his lineage after the first Spiritual Tide came.”

 Ming Yueyao frowned hard when she heard that. The first Spiritual Tide.

 The changes in the world and the restoration of Spiritual Qi had happened since that first Spiritual Tide hit, and it was also since then that formidable people began to appear all over the place.

 Martial Arts Legends were beings who were hardly seen once every century, yet there were already several such figures in Southern Min alone.

 There were also other cultivators who trained in secret. There were also a great many clans and sects hidden from the world, producing a number of similarly formidable people.

 Several years had passed since the first Spiritual Tide hit the world.