"Sword God... is dead!"
A Grandmaster from Fusang cried out in sorrow, tears streaming down his face.
In front of him, Ikenotani Seishun lay dead with his eyes wide open, a bloody Fist Seal vivid on his chest.
His body shriveled like straw, the once invincible Fusang Sword God, was deeply embedded in the earth.
All around, countless Fusang Martial Artists knelt and wept bitterly, as if mourning the death of their own parents.
What they were crying for wasn’t the death of the Sword God.
It was the death of Fusang Martial Arts!
A young Grandmaster from Xia Country, not yet twenty years old, had single-handedly cut a swath through Fusang Martial Arts.
Xia Country Martial Arts, from that moment on, thoroughly surpassed Fusang Martial Arts!
Countless people from smaller nations would learn Xia Country Martial Arts and take pride in entering Xia Country.
And this was only what could be seen now.
As long as Jiang Shu wasn’t dead, he would surely reach even higher Realms in the future.
Fusang Martial Arts would never have a day to rise again!
"Kill Jiang Shu, avenge the Sword God!"
"Kill Jiang Shu! Avenge the soldiers who died innocently!"
Some Martial Artists roared angrily as armored vehicles and tanks surrounded the Tokyo Tower.
Fighter jets circled at low altitude.
Sunlight illuminated the tense situation as the dust settled.
"Jiang Shu...where is he?"
Staring at the ground littered with steel ruins, all the Martial Artists’ eyes filled with shock.
Hundreds of well-armed soldiers formed a large circle, painstakingly using various instruments to scan the ground.
For a full half hour, there was no trace of Jiang Shu to be found.
It was as if he had never been there!
The details of the battle for the number one Grandmaster in East Asia were transmitted back to Xia Country through various channels.
「Martial Artist Alliance.」
The number of martial artists online broke the Peak record.
Countless Dark Force Martial Artists and Hua Jing Masters stopped what they were doing and waited anxiously for the outcome.
"Grandmaster Jiang won! The Tokyo Tower collapsed in that one battle!"
"Didn’t they say the Fusang Sword God had already taken that step? He died too?"
"Hahahaha, with just Grandmaster Jiang making a move, he cut down the number one person in Fusang Martial Arts. You have to know, in our Xia Country’s imperial court, there are still some old monsters with Energized Qi."
"Aren’t you curious how Grandmaster Jiang defeated the Fusang Sword God? I suspect that in that battle, he broke through to the Energized Qi state!"
"I’m very curious. We’ll see when the Grandmaster rankings are released. If he’s removed from it, then he definitely reached the Energized Qi state. Energized Qi! That’s Great Grandmaster level! How many years has Grandmaster Jiang even practiced Martial Arts? He’s truly a heaven-sent genius; his Realm seems divinely granted."
"I think what’s more impressive isn’t that Grandmaster Jiang killed the Fusang Sword God, but that he escaped unnoticed under the encirclement of the Fusang military! To this day, Fusang is still trying to capture Grandmaster Jiang!"
"They won’t find him. When Grandmaster Jiang was at the Hua Jing Realm, he could already change his appearance. After reaching the Energized Qi state, it must be even more miraculous. If the Fusang Sword God were still alive, they could slowly investigate and definitely find Grandmaster Jiang. But now, their number one in Martial Arts is dead, who can see through Grandmaster Jiang’s disguise? Maybe in a few days, we’ll even hear news of Grandmaster Jiang setting fire to their sacred shrines!"
"Delightful, delightful! I wish I could join Grandmaster Jiang in racing through Fusang!"
In a very ordinary courtyard, leaders normally only seen on television news sat calmly.
Countless guards were on high alert nearby.
In front of them, on a large screen, Jiang Shu’s figure vanished right along with the collapse of the Tokyo Tower.
"Great Grandmaster Cheng, do you think Jiang Shu has broken through to the Energized Qi state?" a leader in military uniform couldn’t help but speak first, his voice booming like gunfire, not at all betraying his advanced age of ninety years.
"He’s probably one step short," Great Grandmaster Cheng Zongshun replied solemnly, shifting his gaze from the screen. "The Energized Qi state is actually the biggest checkpoint in Martial Arts. At this point, the marrow is refined to be like frost, and the blood becomes like mercury paste. Life expectancy reaches one hundred and eighty years, and one truly escapes human limitations to directly envision the Peak of Martial Arts."
"However, leaders need not worry too much. Grandmaster Jiang’s spirit, vitality, and energy have all been honed to the utmost in this battle. Given sufficient resources and recovery from his injuries, breaking through to the Energized Qi state is just a matter of time."
"Not yet at the Energized Qi state, huh. Those Fusang devils will definitely seal the borders and conduct rigorous checks on all resources. Whether Jiang Shu buys or steals, when facing the state apparatus, he will directly expose his whereabouts," another leader said, shaking his head.
Holding high positions, they well understood that a country’s power lay not just in its weaponry but also in its control over information!
Though Jiang Shu had escaped the first round of capture, it was just the beginning.
Unless, in the future, Jiang Shu eats like a normal person and no longer plunders any Martial Arts resources, sooner or later, he would be discovered by the Fusang government.
"In my opinion, it’s good that he hasn’t been exposed yet. As long as Jiang Shu ensures his own safety, we can then think of a way to rescue him. For now, let’s just keep everything stable and observe. Regarding Jiang Shu’s parents, make arrangements to tell them he’s still on a secret mission for the country and has been awarded the highest Merit."
"The highest Merit? It hasn’t been issued for many years. Could it be..."
"Could it be what? What time is it now? The world is undergoing cataclysmic changes, and the secrets of the Secret Realms are becoming increasingly hard to conceal. In the future, Bright Force Martial Artists will know. After that, even ordinary people will know the truth. By then, when the news of this battle fought by Jiang Shu is fully disclosed, guess which place those frightened citizens of small countries will want to go to first?"