Chapter 2

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Facing the unfriendly gazes of Chen Li and the others, as well as the surprised gazes of his fellow disciples, Jiang Changsheng did not panic.

Instead, he asked, “That’s right, I trained in footwork. However, how did Benefactor Chen know that there are hundreds of disciples in my temple? How are you so sure that I’m the one who did it? Could it be that you’ve checked all the disciples?”

In less than an hour, he had checked the martial arts of hundreds of disciples. This was too unbelieveable, unless the other party had made up their mind that the murderer came from Longqi Temple.

Chen Li shook his head and said, “Of course not. It rained last night and it only stopped two hours ago. Even though it was not heavy, it was muddy all the way up the mountain. If the disciples did not go out last night, the soil on their boots should not have dried up when they came here today. Everyone is the same. Only you have dried soil on your pants, which means that your legs did a lot of exercise last night.”

Jiang Changsheng looked down. Indeed, there were many mud stains of different sizes on his pants.

The disciples outside the hall were in an uproar as they whispered.

He still did not panic. He looked at Chen Li and asked, “Your guess is reasonable, but what about my motive for killing him? I have lived in Longqi Temple since I was young and have never gone out. I have not interacted with you all for the past few days. Why should I kill him?”

Daoist Master Qing Xu was expressionless, but the three eldest disciples were deep in thought.

Even the five guests behind Chen Li discussed in low voices.

That’s right.

Why did he want to kill him?

A wealthy young lady said, “That’s right. He died in his room. If this little Daoist killed him, he would have to enter his room late at night to kill. To go this far, how much hatred would there be?”

The atmosphere in the Jing dynasty was open-minded, so women could also go out. This young lady from a wealthy family did not travel with Chen Li. It was just that during this period of time, she came to Longqi Temple to cultivate and calm her mind. Her servants were all waiting outside the hall.

Jiang Changsheng began to size up Chen Li and the others. He felt that there was a high chance that the murderer was among them.

Eh?

This guy had true qi in his body!

Jiang Changsheng keenly captured a skinny man with an extremely low sense of presence. Daoism and natural techniques were cultivation techniques. Even though he had yet to cultivate any spiritual energy, his senses were exceptionally sensitive, far exceeding ordinary people.

The skinny man was dressed like a merchant, and his physique was thin and weak. It was hard to imagine that he was a martial artist. Moreover, his true energy was very weak and hard to detect, but it could not escape Jiang Changsheng’s senses.

These fine traces of true energy were released from some acupuncture points. In other words, this fellow had sealed his true energy in his acupuncture points to create the illusion that he did not know martial arts.

Chen Li frowned and said, “There’s indeed no motive, but we don’t know the motive. We can’t just rely on rhetoric to come to a conclusion. We need the yamen to investigate. I wonder if Little Daoist is willing…”

Jiang Changsheng suddenly interrupted and asked, “Benefactor Chen said that the people behind you don’t know martial arts, right?”

Chen Li nodded and said, “That’s right. Your three senior brothers and sisters have all checked.”

That meant that their martial arts were not good enough!

Why wasn’t it his teacher?

He did not dare to ask further as he was afraid that he would tarnish Daoist Master Qing Xu’s reputation.

Jiang Changsheng asked, “Can I examine it?”

Chen Li became vigilant and said, “It’s not appropriate. After all, we are currently suspicious…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Changsheng’s figure suddenly swayed and turned into afterimages. He flew past Chen Li and arrived in front of the skinny man. He raised his hand to grab him, but the skinny man reacted extremely quickly and quickly jumped away, dodging his hand.

Chen Li turned around and could not help but widen his eyes when he saw this scene. The other four guests were the same.

One of them knew martial arts!

The servants outside the hall rushed in and surrounded him.

The skinny man was no longer as nervous as before. Instead, he revealed a fierce smile. He stared at Jiang Changsheng and said with a smile, “Little Daoist, I didn’t expect your cultivation to be so high that you could even see through my cultivation technique. It seems like you’re a genius.”

Jiang Changsheng calmly said, “Your movement technique is not simple either.”

The wealthy young lady retreated and asked in horror, “Xue Hai, how do you know martial arts?”

Xue Hai smiled sinisterly. “You know me well?”

The young lady from a wealthy family was silent.

Xue Hai looked at Chen Li and said, “Scholar, isn’t it ironic? If it weren’t for the other party’s powerful martial arts, would you have forcefully arrested him and convict him at the administrative office? The Chen family has always been like this. You were all like this when the Chu Dynasty was still around.”

The Chu Dynasty was a dynasty before the Jing Dynasty. At the end of the Chu Dynasty, eunuchs were in chaos and the people were struggling. Some righteous people rebelled, causing the collapse of the Chu Dynasty and the world to usher in an era of vassals seizing territory. Jiang Yuan was not from a landowning family and was only a martial arts practitioner, but he successfully founded the Jing Dynasty.

With a martial artist as the emperor, the Jing Dynasty ushered in the culture of martial arts, which far exceeded the previous dynasties.

Chen Li frowned and asked, “Xue Hai, why did you kill him?”

Xue Hai did not answer. He suddenly dashed toward Chen Li at an extremely fast speed.

Jiang Changsheng did not move because he was also unhappy with Chen Li. After all, this fellow wanted to bring him to the government office.

“Hmph!”

Daoist Master Qing Xu snorted and stepped in front of Chen Li. He raised his palm and struck Xue Hai’s right palm. Xue Hai’s hand was broken and he vomited blood as he flew backward. He broke through the door and windows, startling the disciples outside.

This fellow actually knew palm techniques. Then why did he use leg techniques to attack?

Jiang Changsheng suddenly felt that Xue Hai was deliberately setting him up.

Did Xue Hai bump into him when he was training?

After Xue Hai landed on the ground, he quickly jumped up and leaped dozens of feet high before disappearing from the courtyard.

“Chase for me!”

Second Senior Brother Meng Qiuhe rushed out and shouted. Immediately, dozens of disciples followed him out of the courtyard.

Chen Li was still in shock and nearly collapsed to the ground.

Priest Qingxu retracted his hand and held his shoulder. “Benefactor Chen, even though the world has been calm, there are still undercurrents. As the first scholar of the Jing Dynasty, you shouldn’t walk around casually. Otherwise, the calamity today will repeat again in the future.”

Chen Li hastily thanked him and then apologized to Jiang Changsheng. Seeing his sincere attitude, Jiang Changsheng did not make things difficult for him.

That was the end of the matter. Jiang Changsheng then became the focus of attention. Those disciples who did not chase after the culprit surrounded him and asked him what martial art he had used just now. It was so fast.

Even Eldest Senior Brother Li Changqing and Second Senior Brother Meng Qiuhe were interested.

Priest Qingxu said, “Changsheng, you don’t have to listen to Daoism often in the future. You can practice martial arts on your own. Other than striking the bell in the morning, you can decide your daily routine.”

As soon as he said that, the disciples looked at him enviously, including Li Changqing and Meng Qiuhe. The two eldest disciples still had to teach their junior brothers and sisters.

Jiang Changsheng was stunned for a moment before he thanked Daoist Qingxu.

Priest Qing Xu turned around and left. The disciples outside the hall immediately surrounded him.

After dealing with his fellow disciples for a while, Jiang Changsheng found an opportunity to leave. Even that rich young lady was interested in him. He could not stand it.

The murder case was temporarily closed. As for whether the murderer had been caught or not, it was none of Jiang Changsheng’s business. The other disciples continued their training as usual. He returned to his home alone.

In Longqi Temple, there were four rooms in one courtyard, and two disciples lived in one room.

Sitting on the bed, Jiang Changsheng began to organize his thoughts.

He was not sure if Daoist Priest Qing Xu knew his real identity. After he brought him into Longqi Temple, Daoist Priest Qing Xu did not take special care of him, so he could not ask him directly.

Today’s incident involved the previous dynasty. After revealing his martial arts, Daoist Priest Qing Xu actually gave him the greatest freedom, which made his imagination run wild.

“In the 12th year of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, you encountered the remnants of the previous dynasty who committed a crime and were pulled into a calamity. You relied on your abilities to escape danger and obtained a survival reward—Martial Arts, ‘Diamond Howl’.”

A text that only he could see appeared in front of him, making him smile.

Another calamity!

If it were not for the fact that he had trained in martial arts for six years, he would not have been able to force Xue Hai to show his skills today. He would probably have been arrested and killed by those nobles.

“In the future, I still have to work hard and not slack off. What happened today proves that as long as there is a legitimate reason, the court can still find a way to bring me out.”

Jiang Changsheng thought silently.

He also thought of something else. Could Priest Qing Xu really not see through Xue Hai’s martial arts?

In any case, he could not choose to trust others. He could only trust himself.

After Jiang Changsheng thought it through, he began to learn the additional martial arts in his mind.

Diamond Howl was a martial art that stimulated the meridians in one’s throat with true energy. It could make one’s voice exceptionally loud to injure enemies. When mastered, it could also expel evil spirits.

The words ‘evil spirit’ made his heart tighten. Could there really be ghosts and monsters in this world?

But after thinking about it, he had already reincarnated, so it was not strange for there to be ghosts.

If this life was really like the game he designed in his previous life, then his lifespan would be unlimited. He only needed to avoid calamity and continuously cultivate. And sooner or later, he would become an immortal!

After becoming an immortal, what was there to be afraid of?

…

For the next few days, Jiang Changsheng was thoroughly annoyed. The disciples were extremely curious about him. During the day, he practically spent all his time dealing with his fellow disciples. At night, he would encounter peeping eyes from his fellow disciples. His junior brother, who was a year younger than Jiang Changsheng, even pestered him. Helpless, he imparted the basic footwork of the Nine-seeking Heavenly Dragon Steps to him, and he did not pester him anymore.

The days finally quieted down. Jiang Changsheng was cultivating his Dao Technique and Natural Technique in his room.

Bang!

Junior Brother Qing Ku ran in and excitedly said, “Senior Brother, that scholar is here again. He specifically mentioned that he wanted to thank you. Teacher has already agreed. He has already come to the courtyard. Do you want to see him?”

Jiang Changsheng frowned and said, “No, just say that he doesn’t have to thank me.”

Qing Ku was stunned. He had grown up with Jiang Changsheng and was very obedient to him when it came to important matters. Therefore, he nodded and turned to walk out of the house.

“Hahaha, Little Daoist, it seems like you hold a grudge. I was indeed rude at that time. I am here to apologize and also to give you martial arts from the Chen family. I hope you will accept it.”

Immediately after saying that, they saw Chen Li walking in with a warm smile on his face. The eleven-year-old Qing Ku could not stop him.

Jiang Changsheng said helplessly, “You’re being abrupt.”

Chen Li sat down and took out a secret book with golden thread and blue skin before placing it on the table.

“This martial art is called the Qi Finger. You can only cultivate it by cultivating your true energy. Unfortunately, my Chen family changed its focus from martial arts to literature a hundred years ago. After that, there were no more martial arts prodigies, so I will give it to you today.”

Chen Li introduced them with a smile. At the mention of his family’s history, his tone was somewhat soft.

In the Jing Dynasty where martial arts were advocated, the Chen family’s life was very difficult.