Chapter 258.2: Third Growth! Stepping into Transcendence! (II)

In the Jade Capital, Senior Sister Xiang was exhausted both physically and mentally, yet she forced a smile for the noble seated before her. "If the Si Clan wishes to practice the Extreme Martial Dao, I can propose to the Master that he come to the Jade Capital in person and instruct the Si Clan himself. I'm confident the Si Clan would not be disappointed. Given time, the Si Clan would come to appreciate the benefits of the Extreme Martial Dao, especially the extension of lifespan..."

She was still working to win over the Si Clan. They were a noble house of considerable importance, carrying enormous weight throughout the Jade Capital. If the Jade Dragon Kingdom's decision was to be stopped or even delayed, the Si Clan was of utmost importance, and she had lately poured most of her energy into appeasing them.

Just then, a phone rang. One of the Si Clan answered it, and his expression grew grave.

When he hung up, he looked at her and let out a long sigh. "Miss Xiang, word has just come. The Long Clan has intervened, and they've settled the matter plainly. The Extreme Martial Dao Centers will be outlawed. There is no more room to negotiate."

The head of the Si Clan shook his head, genuinely regretful. He had not wanted it to shut down. In fact, he even hoped to try the Extreme Martial Dao himself, to see whether it truly extended one's life. He had not expected the martial arts community to be able to influence the Long Clan.

The Long Clan, like the Si, were great nobles. Once they entered the field, the matter was as good as done. Nothing would change it anymore.

Senior Sister Xiang's face crumbled. "What? The Long Clan has entered the field?"

She had visited them only days ago, and they had said they would stay out of it. Yet today they chose to side with the martial arts community?

"Miss Xiang, I'm sorry," the Si Clan head said. "The Extreme Martial Dao Centers will certainly be outlawed, and the Si Clan can do nothing about it. However, for you personally, and Master Lu Yuan, the Si Clan can still offer protection. If Master Lu is willing to come to the capital of the Jade Dragon Kingdom, we would welcome him teaching the Extreme Martial Dao to the Si Clan. It's just that... he would no longer be able to take disciples publicly."

That assurance carried real weight. So far, the Jade Dragon Kingdom had only spoken of outlawing the centers. What was to be done about Lu Yuan himself remained undecided.

The Si Clan had actually extended an olive branch. It meant they would do everything in their power to shield Lu Yuan and the key figures of the Extreme Martial Dao Centers.

Senior Sister Xiang hesitated. Her thoughts were tangled, and she no longer knew what to do. Up till now, she had thought she could still buy a little more time, whether it was ten days or a fortnight. Now, it just seemed useless.

Bzz.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed. She glanced at it and answered at once. A familiar voice came through.

"Senior Sister Xiang, where are you?"

"At the Si Clan's estate."

"The Si Clan? No need to lobby them any further. Come to the airport and fetch me. I'm in the Jade Dragon Kingdom's capital."

Delight rose in Senior Sister Xiang's chest. "What? Master, you're in the capital?"

He had come himself! And so soon!

All at once, she felt she had something solid to lean on again. Regardless of what happened, Lu Yuan was the Master of the Extreme Martial Dao. He was the one who truly mattered to her.

"Mr. Si, my apologies. Something has come up, and I must leave."

"Not at all, Miss Xiang. Please, go ahead."

The Si Clan head watched her go with slightly narrowed eyes. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, a confident smile spreading across his face.

"So Lu Yuan has arrived? So what? The matter has already been settled. The Extreme Martial Dao Centers will be outlawed, and if he doesn't want to be dragged down with them, he has no choice but to align himself with the Si Clan. In the whole capital, we alone can protect him now..."

Senior Sister Xiang soon reached the airport and met Lu Changsheng. He glanced at her as they walked to the car. Exhaustion showed plainly on her face. Her months in the Jade Dragon Kingdom's capital had clearly been a series of closed doors, and her position was not a comfortable one.

"Master, I've just received word that the Long Clan has entered the field and sided entirely with the martial arts community. The Jade Dragon Kingdom has decided to outlaw the Extreme Martial Dao Centers..." she reported.

"The Si Clan is willing to protect the important figures of the Extreme Martial Dao, including yourself, but they want you to instruct only the Si Clan..." Her voice trailed off as she spoke.

The Si Clan clearly thought they had the Extreme Martial Dao in their hand, that no one but they could shield Lu Yuan and his people.

However, Lu Changsheng showed not a trace of panic or fear. He was entirely composed. "Senior Sister Xiang, take me to the Long Clan," he said suddenly.

"What? Master, the Long Clan are great nobles. Their security is formidable! They keep armed guards stationed there at all times..."

As she spoke, her expression changed. She knew him well. If he had decided to go there, he had surely prepared to persuade them by force. Could the Long Clan be persuaded by force? Once fists were thrown, the consequences were impossible to predict. It might finish the Extreme Martial Dao entirely, without a shred of room left to negotiate.

"Go to the Long Clan. Don't worry, I'm going to reason with them. I'm confident they'll make the correct choice." Lu Changsheng smiled, his tone perfectly level.

Reason with them? She smiled bitterly to herself. As if she didn't know exactly what he meant by "reasoning." Lu Yuan had always reasoned with his fists.

"So be it. To the Long Clan!" she exclaimed at the driver, ordering them. Whatever came of it, they had to try. What if he really could persuade them? The Jade Dragon Kingdom had made up its mind anyway. There was no road back. All they could do was stake everything on this one move.

The car soon arrived at the Long estate. Their guards were armed with live rounds, and the perimeter was tightly held. They were great nobles of the Jade Dragon Kingdom, after all, and took security seriously.

The car was stopped, and a guard said, "Show me your identification."

Senior Sister Xiang presented hers and addressed the guard. "Lu Yuan, Master of the Extreme Martial Dao, has come in person to meet the head of the Long Clan. We ask that he grant us an audience."

The guard proceeded to make a phone call. After a moment, he said flatly, "I'm sorry. Mr. Long does not wish to see you. Please leave."

The Long Clan would not so much as grant them a meeting. Lu Changsheng laughed softly.

"Stay in the car. I'll pay my respects alone."

With that, he stepped out and walked straight toward the estate.

The guard leveled his weapon at him. "Halt! No unauthorized persons beyond this point!"

Lu Changsheng did not so much as glance at the man. He simply kept walking straight on.

"Final warning! Take another step, and we'll open fire!" the guard exclaimed, warning him again.

Lu Changsheng's form blurred. In the blink of an eye, he stood before the guard. He reached out, plucked the weapon from the man's hands, and squeezed.

Crack!

With a sharp crack, the gun crumpled, breaking apart into a scatter of components that clattered to the ground.

"You!" The guard flushed crimson, shaking from head to foot.

Lu Changsheng merely shook his head.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, and a bullet struck Lu Changsheng in the head. It was a sniper's round, which meant he had been shot by a marksman.

The bullet simply fell to the ground, leaving not a single mark on his head. The guard's eyes went wide with disbelief. That had been a sniper round! A sniper rifle could not penetrate this man's skin? Was he even human?

He had never encountered anyone like Lu Changsheng. It overturned everything he understood.

To the horror of the guard, Lu Changsheng actually smiled. "Oh? A sniper as well? So they mean to kill me..."

He stamped down and launched himself into the air, straight toward the concealed marksman. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Intruder! He's forcing his way in!" The guard reported it immediately with alarm.

This was no ordinary place. The Long Clan, great nobles of the Jade Dragon Kingdom, lived here. If any harm came to them, no one alive could shoulder the blame.

"Intruder! Kill on sight!" The order came down to the guard unit at once. Squad after squad moved into action.

Lu Changsheng paid it no mind. He had already landed in front of the sniper. He reached out and delivered a light slap. The sniper tried to fire, but Lu Changsheng drove him and his rifle together into the ground. The impact burst his skull, and what remained no longer resembled a man.

"Hm, I used too much strength."

He had not intended to be that violent. It was simply because his strength was that terrifying. Even a ten-thousandth of it would swat an ordinary man dead with ease. He shook his head and continued toward the estate where the guard squads were in position.

"Open fire!"

Dozens of them fired at once. The rounds came so thickly they formed a net of bullets, pouring toward him.

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he did not evade. He had come to reason with the Long Clan, and reasoning required that they see his sincerity. A modest demonstration of strength was quite necessary. The greater the strength, after all, the fuller the sincerity. The Long Clan were clever people, so they would definitely understand.

Bullets struck him in hundreds, each one ringing off him with a crisp sound. Not one could pierce his skin.

Every guard was well trained and mentally hardened, but what they were watching lay outside anything they knew. Since when was there a man whom bullets could not kill? Even a Fortification Force Grandmaster would die without question under fire like this.

"What... what is he?"

"The bullets... They really can't get through. Is he wearing some kind of high-tech body armor?"

"But he isn't masked! A round hit him in the head just now and didn't leave a mark."

"This man... we can't handle him!"

"Ask for instructions, quick—"

Cold sweat ran down every guard. It had never occurred to any of them that they might face something so utterly beyond belief.

Lu Changsheng walked on into the net of gunfire as though strolling through a garden, closing in on the guards and the Long estate. The guards had fallen back as far as the estate's hall.

Inside it, the assembled members of the Long Clan stared out with alarm written across their faces. They had seen him take the gunfire head-on. Rumors had already reached them that Lu Yuan did not fear bullets. However, hearing about it and witnessing it were two different things.

Furthermore, it was not one or two bullets. It was dozens of guns raking him at once, and still it did nothing to him.

The Long Clan's order came from behind the guards. "Use the rocket launchers!"

The clan head had guts. He rose to his feet and fixed his gaze on Lu Yuan, not far off now.

The guards parted to open a lane. Three more came forward from the rear, each with a launcher shouldered.

Bang, bang, bang!

Three flashes of terrible flame exploded. All three rockets struck Lu Yuan in an instant.

The explosion was tremendous, hurling out a fearsome bloom of fire in every direction, like an enormous fireball taking shape.

Against power like that, even if Lu Yuan had a fleshly body of steel, he would be blown into scrap. Cannons simply outclassed guns, and Lu Yuan had taken three rockets. There was no doubt it—he was a dead man!