Great Li Martial God

”Are you certain?”

Li Musheng glanced at the small beggar, and the small beggar gave a fierce, decisive nod.

Once she learned this powerful acupoint-sealing technique, she would use it on Li Musheng in return and make him experience the same helpless immobility she had felt. Then she could do whatever she liked to him, and wash away today’s humiliation.

”Not surprising, given your connection to the Theft Saint. You remind me of someone I once knew.”

Li Musheng narrowed his eyes slightly, then gave a nod, ”This acupoint-sealing technique of mine is something I created myself, called the Sunflower Acupoint Sealing Hand. If you want to learn it, there is no problem with that.”

As he said this, Li Musheng looked the small beggar over and rubbed his chin, ”You are the second person I have passed a martial art to. What is your name?”

At those words, the small beggar pursed her lips somewhat reluctantly and answered, ”Bai Xiaotang.”

She then muttered under her breath, ”A self-created technique. It is probably some half-baked, flashy-looking nonsense.”

But almost immediately she shook her own head.

She had personally experienced Li Musheng’s acupoint-sealing technique. It was impossible to guard against, left no trace to follow, and showed none of the telltale signs of the technique being applied. This was absolutely no ordinary thing.”No, you know my name, so I need to know yours. If you try to cheat me, even if you run to the ends of the earth, I will never let it go.”

At that, the small beggar suddenly put both hands on her hips and glared at Li Musheng.

”My name is Li Musheng.”

Li Musheng said this flatly.

At those words, the small beggar slowly furrowed her brow and reached up to scratch her head, ”Why does that name sound familiar somehow? I just cannot quite remember where I heard it...”

Li Musheng glanced at her but made no effort to explain his identity.

Whoever needed to know would find out sooner or later. Sometimes the most devastating display of power was the kind no one could see coming. This oblivious little girl could quietly feel lucky about it later.

Then Li Musheng shifted his gaze toward the tavern.

At the same time, a blazing flash of blade light shone out from inside the tavern, accompanied by a violent surge of true qi from heaven and earth that made the entire surrounding stretch of street tremble.

Seeing this, Li Musheng waved a hand casually, and the barrier of heaven and earth true qi wrapped around the tavern dissolved quietly.

In the next instant, a sharp and overbearing blade intent surged suddenly into the sky, and every martial world figure gathered around could feel it with unmistakable clarity.

”He actually broke through this quickly?”

The gray-robed elder standing before the tavern’s entrance looked up. He could sense the powerful aura contained within that blade intent, and there was no question that it had reached the Heaven-Human level.

Then, from within the tavern, the three bodies of the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult members came flying and crashed onto the street below.

A figure in a coachman’s garb flashed out and landed at the top of the tavern, standing on the roof. His eyes carried a blade-like edge and his aura was vast and far-reaching. He swept his gaze over the assembled martial world onlookers around the tavern, then spoke, ”Is there anyone here who dares take one strike from my blade?”

At those words, many of the gathered martial world figures exchanged glances, each looking at the other.

At that, Cao Gaoshan shook his head quietly and said, ”If not, then everyone may disperse.”

At those words, the onlookers immediately understood his meaning, and not daring to linger, they began to drift away in twos and threes.

There were indeed a few Heaven-Human level experts among the spectators, but after a glance at the gray-robed elder, not one of them showed any intention of stepping forward. They simply clasped their hands in a salute toward Cao Gaoshan from a distance before withdrawing and disappearing.

After all, they had seen what happened when the gray-robed elder attempted to break the barrier around the tavern, and naturally surmised that there was likely another powerful expert behind Cao Gaoshan.

At that moment, the young man and the gray-robed elder before the tavern exchanged a glance. The elder gave a slight nod, and the young man stepped forward into the tavern.

Now that the barrier of true qi that had enveloped the building had lifted, he could go inside to collect the remains of the two young people in the main hall.

The gray-robed elder raised his eyes and looked at Cao Gaoshan on the tavern roof. For a man to successfully break through to the Heaven-Human Realm this quickly, he evidently had extraordinarily deep foundations and was far from an ordinary martial world expert.

It was simply that the man’s coachman’s attire made him seem almost excessively modest about it all.

Cao Gaoshan naturally noticed the gray-robed elder’s gaze, but paid it no mind. Seeing the crowd of martial world onlookers dispersing one by one, he simply returned to the tavern below.

According to his original estimate, this breakthrough to the Heaven-Human Realm would have taken at least half a day.

But he had evidently underestimated himself, or perhaps underestimated the effect of Li Musheng’s guidance. The entire breakthrough process had unfolded as naturally as water finding its course, smooth and completely without obstruction.

Cao Gaoshan had never imagined that breaking into the Heaven-Human Realm could be this simple. It had been as easy as breathing.

At the same time, Li Musheng turned to look at the small beggar on the shop roof beside him and said, ”All right. Come back with me and write out the technique from memory.”

Without waiting for the small beggar to agree, Li Musheng reached through the air, took hold of her, and brought her down to the tavern’s main hall.

By that point, the tavern’s staff and servers had all long since vanished.

Li Musheng went behind the counter, found paper and ink, and had the small beggar write out the martial art on the spot.

At that, the young man who had been in the main hall collecting the bodies raised his head, startled to see Li Musheng and the small beggar arrive seemingly out of nowhere.

But when his eyes landed on the small beggar, it became clear he recognized her.

He looked at Li Musheng, then looked at the small beggar, and finally furrowed his brow and spoke, ”What are you doing here? Did I not tell you that you are only a third-rank bounty hunter, and that this matter was extremely dangerous? You were not supposed to follow.”

With that, the young man walked over to the small beggar, saying angrily, ”Come with me. Disobeying orders means discipline when we get back.”

Seeing this, the small beggar felt a quiet surge of relief. She had been exchanging subtle glances with the young man earlier, and he had clearly understood what she was trying to signal.

But even as the young man was about to take her away, Li Musheng’s voice reached her ear, ”That sure is generous of you, wanting to drag someone else into this.”

At those words, the small beggar immediately felt a chill run through her, and her expression began shifting rapidly.

She had nearly forgotten that Li Musheng had been able to keep these two outside the tavern. That meant that even the old Elder Sun was probably no match for this person.

Realizing this, the fight went out of Bai Xiaotang entirely. She looked at the young man who had been about to take her away and let out a sigh, ”Leave it. You two go ahead.”

At those words, the young man’s expression changed, and he studied Bai Xiaotang carefully for a moment, then seemed to realize something.

He turned and looked at Li Musheng, starting to speak, but was immediately stopped by the gray-robed elder, who arrived just at that moment, ”Collect the bodies first. This matter can be discussed later.”

With that, the gray-robed elder gave the young man no chance to say anything further, and had him take the two bodies in the main hall and leave.

Bai Xiaotang, still grimy from head to toe, watched the two of them go, pursed her lips, shifted her gaze, and looked at the paper and pen Li Musheng was holding out toward her.

She had no choice but to take them, then sat down in the main hall and began writing out the technique stroke by careful stroke.

Before long, Cao Gaoshan along with Shen Anran and the others came down from upstairs.

Shen Anran and Cang Yinyue had of course been aware of the commotion during Cao Gaoshan’s breakthrough, but they had been confident that with Li Musheng present, nothing could go wrong, and had stayed calmly inside the tavern throughout.

Now that Cao Gaoshan had completed his breakthrough to the Heaven-Human Realm, the group naturally needed to get back on the road.

But when Cang Yinyue and Shen Anran came down and saw a small beggar sitting next to Li Musheng, busily writing away while Li Musheng watched her, both of them grew curious and asked, ”What is all this about?”

Li Musheng did not hide anything, and explained the situation involving Bai Xiaotang.

”She is actually connected to the Theft Saint?”

Shen Anran looked at the small beggar before her with considerable surprise.

The name of the Theft Saint Bai Wuying was known to virtually everyone in the martial world, and the legends surrounding him were countless.

In his youth he had been a celebrated figure throughout the martial world, one who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, living by a thief’s own code of honor, wandering the world on the strength of an extraordinary art of empty-handed theft.

Whatever he set his eyes on, he had never once failed to obtain, and had driven more than a few top martial sects to fury without anyone managing to do anything about it, until his name had grown into the title of Theft Saint.

In recent years, while the Theft Saint’s movements had gone almost entirely quiet and he had disappeared from the martial world, his reputation had not diminished in the slightest. If anything, as some of the once-prominent thieves of the martial world had one by one met their ends, the status of that Theft Saint title continued to rise.

No one had yet appeared in the martial world who could be mentioned in the same breath as the Theft Saint.

Perhaps because the Theft Saint’s reputation leaned toward the good, Cang Yinyue and Shen Anran, upon hearing that Bai Xiaotang was connected to him, both said a few kind words on her behalf.

”She looks like she should still be quite young.”

”She is probably too young to know how treacherous the martial world is, which is likely how she ended up as a beggar.”

Cang Yinyue and Shen Anran offered their thoughts one after the other, then suggested getting Bai Xiaotang a change of clothes and a bath, and giving her some silver when she finished writing out the technique.

Bai Xiaotang continued writing while she listened, her eyes rolling, just about to play up her pitiable situation for all it was worth.

But a single glance from Li Musheng made her tuck her chin and push the thought down, continuing to write without a word.

At that, Li Musheng looked at Shen Anran and Cang Yinyue and their sudden outpouring of goodwill, waved a hand, and said, ”Once she finishes writing out the technique, do whatever you like with her.”

Before long, Bai Xiaotang had filled more than ten sheets of paper, and then she stopped.

”This movement technique is divided into an upper and lower part. I have now written out the upper part. After you teach me the Sunflower Acupoint Sealing Hand, I will write out the lower part.”

Bai Xiaotang had clearly kept a card up her sleeve. Even so, Li Musheng simply took the sheets she had written, swept his gaze over them, and gave a nod.

”Though the upper part is honestly enough on its own, I am a person who keeps my word. I will teach you the Sunflower Acupoint Sealing Hand over the next few days. How much of it you can learn is a matter of your own natural aptitude.”

With that, Li Musheng looked at Cang Yinyue and Shen Anran, ”Take her with you. This one has probably not bathed for a month.”

At those words, Cang Yinyue and Shen Anran gave a nod and took Bai Xiaotang to the rear courtyard of the tavern.

Bai Xiaotang shot Li Musheng a glare, but did not refuse, nor did she have any thought of using the opportunity to make a run for it.

After all, she still had not gotten the acupoint-sealing technique into her hands. Walking away now would be a terrible loss.

Before long, Li Musheng’s group departed from the tavern and continued on toward the Great Xuan capital.

Inside the now somewhat more crowded carriage sat four people and one cat.

After her bath and a change into clean clothing, Bai Xiaotang had shed every trace of her previous grimy and bedraggled beggar’s appearance, and instead looked very much like a lively and charming young girl.

Though she looked sweet enough, her behavior was still entirely in the manner of a beggar, bold and restless, and she sat right next to the big black cat.

She kept trying to reach over and run her hands through the big black cat’s glossy fur, only to receive scratch after scratch for her trouble.

”I have run into countless stray cats in my time, but I have never seen one as big as you. Just let me pet you for a second.”

Bai Xiaotang pestered the big black cat while she talked, and the cat’s green eyes expressed nothing but contempt.

It was an existence that had been pursued and revered by countless nobles and officials in the Great Li capital. Not one of them had dared show it any disrespect.

Who did this little beggar think she was, wanting to pet it? Not a chance.

But the big black cat was deeply interested in the Theft Saint’s martial technique, and picked up the sheets Li Musheng had already looked at to study quietly on its own.

Bai Xiaotang had made it clear from the start that Li Musheng was not to share the movement technique with any second person, but since the big black cat was a cat, she did not particularly care about it.

And so in the days that followed on the road, Li Musheng taught Bai Xiaotang the martial art while the group continued pressing on toward the Great Xuan capital.

About seven days later, Li Musheng had taught Bai Xiaotang the complete Sunflower Acupoint Sealing Hand.

And Li Musheng had also received the complete movement technique from the Theft Saint in return.

”Swift as a gale, striking like lightning, the Sunflower Acupoint Sealing Hand!”

Bai Xiaotang muttered under her breath, her two fingers flickering like afterimages as she rapidly tapped a large tree in front of her several times in quick succession, leaving a series of white indentations.

At the sight, Bai Xiaotang nodded to herself with delighted satisfaction.

Since learning Li Musheng’s acupoint-sealing technique, she had come to truly understand just how formidably powerful it was.

It could genuinely be called the supreme finger-strike acupoint-sealing art under heaven, even more valuable than the Theft Saint’s movement technique she had learned.

She also found that Li Musheng had taught it to her without the slightest reservation, holding absolutely nothing back.

”How am I doing? Have I made a solid start?”

Bai Xiaotang called out proudly toward Li Musheng a short distance away.

Since learning the Sunflower Acupoint Sealing Hand, Bai Xiaotang had spent nearly every waking moment on the road practicing it, not slacking off for even an instant, and had not even bothered the big black cat.

After all, having the chance to learn such a supremely powerful martial art was sheer extraordinary fortune, and she had no intention of being lazy about it.

”Not even close. Another ten-odd years of practice and you might be able to say you have made a small beginning.”

Li Musheng shook his head, while quietly continuing to study and analyze the Theft Saint’s movement technique.

When Bai Xiaotang had been writing the technique out, she had made some secret alterations, but there was no hiding that from his eyes.

Though later on, the girl seemed to have had a change of heart and gone back and corrected what she had changed, so there was no need for him to spend extra time working out the proper version himself.