Chapter 252.3: Lu Changsheng Creates the Extreme Martial Dao and Shocks His Master by Unleashing Two Bursts of Hidden Force! (III)

As Lu Changsheng examined his Status Panel, he soon identified another problem.

Meat, coarse grains, and vegetables alone won't provide enough energy. I'll need medicinal supplies, supplements, and perhaps even rare natural treasures. But things like that require money, and more importantly, access...

Thinking of this, Lu Changsheng decided he had stayed home long enough. He was already eating enormous quantities of meat every day, and if his appetite continued to grow, his family would inevitably notice something strange. Furthermore, he needed something more nourishing than what the kitchen could offer.

Fortunately, Lu Yuan already had a way to obtain what he needed. He was not merely a university junior; he was also one of the more promising students at the Crane Martial Arts Center and had been personally accepted as a disciple by its master.

A large martial arts center like that is bound to have access to the resources I need.

With that thought, he told his parents he was heading out and left for the Crane Martial Arts Center.

***

The Crane Martial Arts Center stood on Xuanwu Street in Pan City, the busiest street in the city. Property there was extraordinarily expensive, yet the Crane Martial Arts Center occupied an enormous storefront. Its sheer size alone was a testament to how successful the business had become.

Following Lu Yuan's memories, Lu Changsheng soon arrived at the center. And when he stepped in, he was taken aback. The main hall was broad and brightly lit, filled with all kinds of high-tech training equipment. A row of attractive receptionists stood near the entrance, both men and women among them.

Is this really a martial arts center? Lu Changsheng wondered, scanning around.

Many of the machines had little to do with actual combat. Some were designed for fitness, others for weight loss or body shaping. And it was then that he understood why the Crane Martial Arts Center had managed to thrive despite the decline of traditional martial arts: it adapted to the needs of this modern world.

Martial arts remained at the heart of the business, but the center had expanded far beyond traditional training. Ordinary members could come to exercise, lose weight, improve their physiques, or simply stay healthy. In practice, it had become a comprehensive fitness center rather than a place devoted solely to martial arts.

Several people soon noticed him.

"Is that... Senior Brother Lu?"

"It's Lu Yuan, the one from the Martial Dao tournament."

"Wasn't he severely injured and hospitalized?"

"He must have recovered by now. It's already been quite a while since the tournament."

"I heard he's one of the Crane Martial Arts Center's core students and Master's registered disciple.[1] Who would've thought he'd get knocked out in the first round and nearly beaten to death? The whole thing caused a huge scandal."

"Keep your voice down. When the whole thing went down, reporters swarmed the place and interviewed everyone they could find. It was annoying enough the first time."

Whispers followed Lu Changsheng as he crossed the hall. Some came from martial arts students, others from ordinary fitness members.

Lu Yuan had become something of a celebrity in Pan City, though not for any reason worth celebrating. He had nearly died in the opening round of a Martial Dao tournament, and the incident had exploded into a major news story. With a scandal like this, one could not avoid being the center of attention.

Regardless, Lu Changsheng ignored the whispers of the onlookers and headed straight upstairs.

The second floor was reserved for serious martial arts training, and that was where he would find his master, Fei Qianliu, the owner and head instructor of the Crane Martial Arts Center.

Arriving on the second floor, Lu Changsheng found trainees hard at work, along with several martial artists, men and women both, teaching the Crane Style martial art. He recognized three of them immediately.

"Senior Sister Xiang, Senior Brother Zhao, and Senior Brother Li." Lu Changsheng greeted them one by one.

All three were disciples of Fei Qianliu, the master of the Crane Martial Arts Center. They had been formally accepted as disciples, while Lu Yuan was only a registered disciple.

"Junior Brother Lu, are you here to see Master?" Senior Sister Xiang asked as she walked over. There was a complicated look in her eyes as she studied him.

"Yes. Where is he?" asked Lu Changsheng.

"Master is resting in the room," said Senior Sister Xiang, patting him on the back. "He's been exhausted lately, running all over the place because of what happened to you..."

Her tone carried a deeper meaning, and Lu Changsheng understood enough not to press her for details. He nodded and headed into the room.

Inside sat a middle-aged man in a loose martial arts uniform. Fei Qianliu was only in his forties, but the weariness on his face made him look considerably older.

"Master," said Lu Changsheng respectfully.

Fei Qianliu opened his eyes. "Ah, Lu Yuan. Come and sit down."

Once Lu Changsheng had taken a seat, Fei Qianliu drew a long breath before speaking in a serious tone. "You've been recovering from your injuries all this time, but I never visited you in the hospital. Do you know why?"

Lu Changsheng shook his head.

"I was busy negotiating compensation for you," explained Fei Qianliu. "And after you were injured, the incident caused such a public uproar that I couldn't simply show up at the hospital. If I had, the reporters would've swarmed me at once. That would've caused trouble for the Crane Martial Arts Center, and even more trouble for the organizers of the Martial Dao tournament.

"The organizers approached me and made certain promises, but only if we helped contain the situation. So, the Crane Martial Arts Center couldn't step into the public controversy or add fuel to it."

Lu Changsheng nodded. The Crane Martial Arts Center already had considerable influence in Pan City. If Fei Qianliu had publicly taken Lu Yuan's side while the controversy was at its height, the pressure on the tournament organizers would only have grown.

"Fortunately, they agreed to compensate you," Fei Qianliu went on. "They won't deal with you directly, though. Everything has to go through the Crane Martial Arts Center. They don't want to leave behind anything that could be used against them later.

"The compensation is one million yuan. I've kept every yuan of it for you. Since you're here today, I'll transfer it to your account now."

Fei Qianliu picked up his phone and made a call.

A moment later, Lu Changsheng's own phone chimed. He checked the message and saw that one million yuan had indeed been deposited into his bank account.

"Thank you, Master!" Lu Changsheng exclaimed.

He was genuinely grateful. He knew perfectly well that forcing compensation out of the organizers of the Martial Dao tournament could not have been easy. Fei Qianliu must have spent a great deal of time and effort negotiating on his behalf.

It seems Lu Yuan's master truly does value him.

Fei Qianliu let out a long sigh. "Lu Yuan, sending you to the Martial Dao tournament was partly my fault. You nearly lost your life because of it too. Honestly, I think you are very talented, but the injury to your heart meridian was too severe, and I'm afraid it will be very difficult for you to ever achieve Hidden Force in the future."

He knew all too well how vicious the Meridian-Severing Force behind the Meridian-Severing Fist could be. Even someone fortunate enough to survive would usually suffer lasting damage to the heart meridian. And with that kind of injury, cultivating Hidden Force would be almost impossible.

In other words, Lu Yuan's future in martial arts was essentially over. That was also why Fei Qianliu regretted sending him to the tournament so deeply. No one could have expected Lu Yuan to encounter a Hidden Force expert from the Meridian-Severing Sect in the very first round, much less one who would use Meridian-Severing Force without any restraint.

If they were not living in peaceful times, Fei Qianliu might already have gone straight to the Meridian-Severing Sect to demand an explanation.

"Hidden Force?" Lu Changsheng blinked, caught briefly off guard.

Looking at the exhaustion on Fei Qianliu's face, he could tell that his master had genuinely gone to great lengths for him. Since Fei Qianliu had treated Lu Yuan so well, Lu Changsheng did not mind giving him some good news in return.

There was another practical reason as well. The more talent he displayed, the more likely Fei Qianliu was to support his cultivation, which would make it much easier for him to obtain the large quantities of supplements he needed through the Crane Martial Arts Center.

"Master, by Hidden Force, do you mean something like this?" Lu Changsheng raised a hand and pressed his palm lightly against the floor.

Crack!

A crisp sound rang out as the floor beneath his palm split instantly, sinking just slightly.

"This... This is Spiral Force!" Fei Qianliu shot to his feet. He could hardly believe his eyes. This was indeed a type of Hidden Force, and a rather powerful one at that.

"Lu Yuan, wasn't your heart meridian damaged by the Meridian-Severing Force?" asked Fei Qianliu. "How can you possibly release Spiral Force?"

Lu Changsheng shook his head. "Master, actually, Spiral Force wasn't the first kind of Hidden Force I learned."

With that, he extended his hand once more, then pressed it on the floor again.

Crrk...

A faint sound came from beneath his hand. The surface of the floor remained completely intact, but when Fei Qianliu lifted the floorboard, the layer beneath had shattered into pieces.

"Meridian-Severing Force... This really is Meridian-Severing Force!" He looked back at Lu Changsheng, unable to conceal his disbelief. "Lu Yuan, you've actually mastered two different kinds of Hidden Force?"

By now, surprise was no longer enough to describe what Fei Qianliu was feeling. His mind was in turmoil. The disciple whose martial arts future he had believed completely ruined had not only learned Hidden Force, but had somehow mastered two different kinds of it.

1. A registered disciple is a student who is officially recorded/registered on an organization's roster but has not been accepted into the inner circle or granted a deep master-disciple bond. ☜