Caught between the choice of either killing or crippling Qian Wuji or being killed or crippled by Black Widow Hua Miao, Zhong Shenxiu naturally chose the former.
At the same time, returning to his own room, he still felt very odd.
Why was Black Widow Hua Miao being so agreeable today? It was almost as if she had intentionally come to give away secret manuals?
’It seems that this Yin Yang Conquest Sky Demon Great Transformation Hand, like the Divine Capture Sect’s Jialan Fan Hand, has some special defects; it’s not simply a secret martial art of the Five Poison Sect...’
’But... if I were really Xun Liuyi, an ordinary martial artist without any background, and a grandmaster martial art was laid before me, and all I had to do was to overthrow a Human List Martial Artist to get my hands on it, would I be tempted?’
Zhong Shenxiu asked himself and immediately knew the answer.
In fact, he didn’t have much of a choice.
When you’re in Jianghu, you can’t control your own fate!
What really piqued his curiosity was the behavior of Black Widow Hua Miao; this voluptuous Miao girl seemed to have another plan.
That’s normal, the world doesn’t revolve around any one person.
He had his own calculations, the Divine Capture Sect had its schemes, and Black Widow was contemplating another plan; it all made sense.
The only thing to consider was how to grab the maximum benefit from the situation!
He went straight to Duan Mingyu to inquire about Qian Wuji.
"Qian Wuji? He is the eldest martial brother among the current disciples of the Six Void Sect, ranked eighth on the Human List, not a small figure..." Duan Mingyu looked shocked: "Brother Xun, are you planning to challenge this person? Isn’t that too risky?"
"There’s no need to choose, it will be him."
Zhong Shenxiu answered expressionlessly.
He couldn’t do otherwise; he didn’t have Heavenly List Martial Artists backing him, and the Divine Capture Sect couldn’t protect him round-the-clock.
As such, he couldn’t afford to offend an Earth List Master.
No matter whether Hua Miao truly found Qian Wuji disagreeable or had just casually named someone, all he could do was to go and kill him.
Of course, he still had to do some investigation before killing, such as whether the opponent was the biological son of an Earth List or even a Heavenly List Grandmaster.
"The Six Void Sect is one of the eight great powers. Although their martial arts are not the best in the world, they are the wealthiest... Various famous escort agencies, banks, and money exchanges across the world, at least sixty percent are managed by them in the shadows... Known as ’Wealth that can communicate with the gods, linking the entire world’!"
Duan Mingyu continued: "And the cultivation technique Qian Wuji practices is the ’Six Void Limitless Skill,’ which claims to harness the six qi of heaven and earth with remarkable power, dubbed ’seeing the Heavenly Dao through the Human Dao,’ taking from the excess without touching the insufficient, and emphasizing balance... Such a cultivation technique that cherishes the natural heavenly way, yet is perfected by a bunch of merchants reeking of money, is indeed a curious affair... And Qian Wuji, the man has mastered three of the Six Void Qi, his martial prowess is naturally extraordinary, and... I’ve heard that this man is lascivious to the extreme, apparently practicing some sort of harvesting and supplementing method, he not only keeps a large number of wives and concubines in secret but has also laid his hands on famous female warriors..."
"Oh?" Zhong Shenxiu’s eyes flickered: "If in a fair duel, I happen to kill or cripple him, would there be trouble? After all, it’s hard to hold back in a life-and-death fight."
"Qian Wuji is just an ordinary disciple with no special background, but the Six Void Sect itself is the biggest background!"
Duan Mingyu said worriedly: "Of course, if it’s an accident during a fair competition, no one can say anything, and the most likely scenario is using you as a whetstone, continuously sending disciples to challenge you, and even if you manage to survive, as soon as you ascend to the Earth List, the current sect master of the Six Void Sect, ranked sixth on the Earth List, will probably come to have a talk with you... Even if you become renowned on the Heavenly List, the Six Void Sect has its experts on that list too, but by then, it will probably all end in both parties smiling and burying past grudges... They are not stupid enough to trouble a Heavenly List expert over a mere Human List disciple..."
"I’m relieved to hear that."
Learning that the most likely outcome was to become a whetstone, Zhong Shenxiu instantly relaxed a great deal.
Others may be overwhelmed by the relentless challenges, but him... it was the Six Void Sect who should fear that the whetstone might be too sharp, and grind away all their precious swords!
However, if the worst case scenario occurred, which was the immediate pursuit by an Earth List Grandmaster from the Six Void Sect, that would indeed be a bit troublesome.
Who made him lacking in background and power?
Therefore, after completing the trade with the Black Widow, joining a power and wearing a new skin seemed quite necessary.
Time flew by quickly.
On the fifteenth of July, by the shore of Luoyue Lake.
A large gathering of Martial Artists converged, seizing the best vantage point, even setting up simple shelters.
From there, one could easily see that ranked sixty-fifth on the Earth List, ’Golden Zombie’ Ximen Cuo, was positioned on an islet at the center of the lake, quietly waiting for his opponent’s arrival.
The man was eight feet tall with huge muscles and his skin carried a sickly golden hue.
Studying him for a prolonged period induced dizziness and vertigo.
Although his features were quite proper, no one dared to look too long for fear he might be mistaken for the legendary Zombie Asura.
Zhong Shenxiu and Duan Mingyu arrived at the shore of Luoyue Lake together, looked around, and couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret, "I haven’t seen Qian Wuji..."
According to Duan Mingyu, quite a few of the top ten experts from the Human List, including Fei Feng the Hot-Handed, had arrived, but Qian Wuji had not.
Besides that, he hadn’t seen Yan Wushuang either.
The cluster of Martial Artists was incredibly patient, some meditated in seated positions, while others chatted with friends, waiting until nighttime arrived.
Even more Martial Artists gathered.
Suddenly, Duan Mingyu pointed at someone, "Brother Xun, that’s Qian Wuji right there."
Zhong Shenxiu looked over and saw a young warrior clad in golden silk embroidered with a pattern of copper coins, slowly approaching surrounded by a group of people.
Just then, in the moonlight, from the vast depths of the great lake, a graceful figure emerged like a fairy dancing on the waves.
—Black Widow Hua Miao!
With a light laugh, she said, "Ximen Cuo, do you dare to battle on the lake?"
Her laughter was light and licentious, seemingly laced with the dark allure of temptation, causing many a Jianghu Young Hero to blush, as if lost in some bewildering fantasy, only to suddenly awaken in shock, drenched in cold sweat as if they had just snapped out of a nightmare, daring not to look at that figure again.
Ximen Cuo’s voice was very distinctive, the tone of it clashing like metal, hoarse and deep, carrying a unique impact.
He walked step by step from the islet into the waters of the lake, which seemed to freeze over, forming a solid surface that supported every move of this Grandmaster.
Onlookers around the shore all had expressions filled with anticipation.
However, just as the two Earth List Grandmasters were about to clash, Zhong Shenxiu suddenly stepped forward, shouting at Qian Wuji, "Xun Liuyi of the Five Elements Palm challenges Qian Wuji! All unrelated parties, clear out!"
No sooner had he spoken than an overwhelming power of Kidney Water Palm surged towards Qian Wuji.