Chapter 260.1: Release the Footage, Shock the World! (I)

Hong Chuan was dead, and this time, there would be no miracle or unexpected comeback.

Even after using Three Forms of the Thunder Fist to push himself beyond his limits, the so-called "King of the Century" had still failed to reach transcendence. At his strongest, he had only barely reached the level of Second Growth, and even then, he was still weaker than Lu Changsheng had been when he underwent his own Second Growth.

Lu Changsheng, meanwhile, had already completed his Third Growth and reached transcendence. To Lu Changsheng, anyone who had yet to transcend was far too weak to pose a genuine threat, and Hong Chuan was no exception. Crushing him with a single palm strike had taken almost no effort at all.

The members of the three great clans could only stare at what remained of Hong Chuan. They had known from the beginning that he could lose, but none of them had expected the fight to end so overwhelmingly. Anyone who had witnessed it could see that Hong Chuan and Lu Yuan were on entirely different levels from each other.

Lu Changsheng turned his attention to the three clans. "What, aren't your snipers going to fire? You prepared large-caliber sniper rifles, heavy weapons, and enough high explosives beneath this estate to reduce the entire place to ruins. If you don't use them now, you may not get another chance."

He remained where he was, calmly sweeping his gaze across the gathered members of the three clans. There was neither any threat in his voice, nor did he seem particularly concerned by what he had just revealed. He spoke as though he were merely pointing out something obvious.

The members of the three clans did not share his calm. Fury surged through them, but beneath it was a growing sense of unease. Cold sweat ran down their backs as the same question surfaced in every mind.

Who had leaked their plans?

Everything Lu Yuan had mentioned was true. The snipers, the heavy weapons, and the explosives buried beneath the estate were all part of the three clans' contingency plan.

They had prepared them as a final guarantee that once Lu Yuan stepped into the estate, he would never leave alive.

However, Lu Yuan had known about all of it before coming here. And if he had still chosen to walk into the estate despite knowing exactly what awaited him, could they really believe he had come without a way to deal with it?

Worse still, after witnessing his battle with Hong Chuan, they had already realized that Lu Yuan's strength and ways far exceeded their expectations. The confidence they had possessed before his arrival was rapidly crumbling, replaced by an even more frightening possibility.

What if they used everything they had prepared and still failed to kill him?

If Lu Yuan survived, the three clans would suffer unimaginable consequences.

For a while, no one moved. The members of the three clans exchanged uneasy glances as they silently weighed the risk before them.

They did have ties to the martial arts community, but those ties were nowhere near deep enough for them to gamble the survival of their clans. And now that Hong Chuan was dead, it was clear that the martial arts community had lost to the Extreme Martial Dao.

Firearms had already driven traditional martial arts into decline once before. Now, with the rise of the Extreme Martial Dao, it seemed destined to be pushed even further into obscurity. If things continued this way, traditional martial arts might one day disappear altogether.

At last, the three clans made their decision, and one of their representatives spoke.

"Mr. Lu, you must be joking. Hong Chuan only invited our three clans here to serve as witnesses today. Since he has died before our eyes, the outcome of the contest between the martial arts community and the Extreme Martial Dao Stream is clear. From this day forward, the Jade Dragon Kingdom will place no further restrictions on the Extreme Martial Dao."

"Yes! Finally! We did it!" Senior Sister Xiang and the other members of the Extreme Martial Dao Center could barely contain their excitement.

After today, no one in the Jade Dragon Kingdom would be able to suppress the Extreme Martial Dao Stream as they had before. It could spread openly and develop without obstruction, and with their popularity now, the traditional martial arts community would only find it harder and harder to compete.

For everyone at the Extreme Martial Dao Center, this was the moment they had been waiting for. Their excitement was hardly surprising.

Lu Changsheng, on the other hand, was still staring intently at the members of the three clans.

The three clans had made the right choice. If they had ordered an attack, he would not have hesitated to wipe them out. That outcome, however, would have created considerable unrest throughout the Jade Dragon Kingdom. The Long Clan alone would not have been able to restore order quickly, and widespread turmoil would only interfere with his real objective.

What Lu Changsheng wanted was to spread the Extreme Martial Dao as widely as possible, and a stable Jade Dragon Kingdom suited that purpose far better than a kingdom thrown into chaos.

There was also no longer any need to destroy the three clans. They had personally witnessed his strength, and now, they understood what would happen if they stood against him. From this point onward, they would have little reason to obstruct the Extreme Martial Dao. If anything, they were more likely to help promote it rather than risk offending him.

"You guys made the right decision," Lu Changsheng said to the members of the three clans. "I'll take my leave now, but Senior Sister Xiang will stay to work out the details of promoting the Extreme Martial Dao with you."

With that, he turned and walked out of the estate.

None of the three clans took offense at his apparent arrogance. If anything, they were relieved to see him go. The danger had passed, and their clans had escaped what could easily have become a disaster.

As for helping the Extreme Martial Dao Stream expand, none of them intended to refuse. After witnessing its power firsthand, some were even beginning to wonder whether they ought to practice it themselves. In fact, if the Extreme Martial Dao could truly extend a person's lifespan, then in its own way, this was a good outcome for them, too.

Over the next few days, promotions for the Extreme Martial Dao seemed to appear everywhere in the Jade Dragon Kingdom. Advertisements filled the internet, television broadcasts, newspapers, and magazines, while prime-time programs repeatedly featured the Extreme Martial Dao. Before long, it had become one of the most widely discussed topics in the country.

"Why is the Extreme Martial Dao suddenly being advertised so aggressively?"

"It's more than advertising. Look at how much prime-time exposure they're getting. You can't buy that kind of support with money alone. The Extreme Martial Dao must have some powerful people supporting it."

"Exactly. You see it everywhere now. But is the Extreme Martial Dao really as incredible as they claim?"

Curiosity drove countless ordinary people to search online for more information about the Extreme Martial Dao. As attention on it continued to grow, news of it soon spread beyond the Jade Dragon Kingdom, and before long, people in other countries were asking about it as well.

To ordinary people, the Extreme Martial Dao was a fascinating new phenomenon, and the response was largely positive. To the traditional martial arts community, however, it was nothing short of devastating.

Lu Yuan had just defeated Hong Chuan, the most celebrated martial artist in the Jade Dragon Kingdom. And to those within the martial arts world, that defeat carried enormous significance.

Anyone who had been involved in martial arts for more than a few years knew what the name Hong Chuan represented. Known as the King of the Century, he had stood at the very pinnacle of traditional martial arts. If even someone like him had been defeated by a practitioner of the Extreme Martial Dao, what did that say about traditional martial arts as a whole?

Worse still, it had not even been a close fight. Reliable reports confirmed that Lu Yuan had killed Hong Chuan with overwhelming force, striking him so hard that he was reduced to a bloody pulp.

To the martial arts community, Hong Chuan's death was more than the loss of a legendary fighter. It was also proof that the Extreme Martial Dao had surpassed the very best traditional martial arts could offer.

From that moment onward, hardly any martial fighter dared to oppose its expansion openly, much less attempt to stop it. Since the resistance that once held it back was rapidly disappearing, the Extreme Martial Dao spread throughout the Jade Dragon Kingdom at an astonishing pace.