Translator: AnubisTL
Zhuqing Street, Inner City, Shengtian.
This street was home to the Golden Armor School, one of the three great martial arts schools in the Imperial Capital.
Not long ago, a Demon Lord wreaked havoc on the Jianghu martial world of Shengtian. Initially, only the Flying Cloud School suffered losses, but soon, disciples of the Golden Armor School began turning up dead in their homes as well.
Eventually, none of the three great schools could escape this fate, all becoming entangled in the chaos.
At this point, the three schools, which had previously grown distant, were forced to reunite, forming a united front.
The headmaster of the Golden Armor School was Zeng Jinbao. His signature martial art was the Golden Armor Art, an exceptional external martial art.
With this superior external martial art and his own formidable strength, Zeng Jinbao had carved out a place for himself in Shengtian City.
Across the entire Jianghu, he was a highly renowned figure.
After all, he was a martial arts master who had made his mark in the Imperial Capital—a reputation earned through genuine skill.
And it was this veteran Inner Strength expert whom Li Qing had chosen as his first opponent after emerging from seclusion!
Li Qing, brimming with confidence and standing tall, strode into the renowned martial arts school.
The disciples practicing inside were immediately drawn to the figure entering the doorway, carrying a massive hammer on his back.
"Who's this kid? Doesn't he know the rules? If you want to sign up, go to the left. This is the training area."
One disciple spoke rudely, barely glancing at Li Qing.
Li Qing remained unruffled. He smiled and clasped his hands in a respectful bow to all the disciples present.
"I've come to seek guidance from Headmaster Zeng. I wish to spar with him and explore the true essence of the Martial Path."
His words were polite, but no one present was a fool. While they sounded pleasant, this was clearly a challenge to the school's headmaster—a blatant attempt to kick down the door!
Whoosh!
In an instant, every disciple in the training hall turned their gaze toward the tall, young man at the entrance.
Upon seeing Li Qing's youthful face, someone immediately burst into laughter, a mocking tone laced within.
At this age, he dared to challenge the headmaster? What was this but a death wish?
The Jianghu had never lacked fools eager to make a name for themselves, believing that challenging an established master would truly bring them fame.
Little did they know they would encounter such a person today.
"Our headmaster isn't here today, young man. You should just go home and stop being foolish," someone kindly advised.
At Zeng Jinbao's level, he rarely taught classes at the martial school. Instead, he selected promising disciples to become his Personal Disciples.
Ordinary disciples were typically taught by the Personal Disciples, while the headmaster himself only instructed his Personal Disciples.
This method not only cultivated loyal followers but also made teaching Martial Arts more efficient. As the Personal Disciples grew stronger, their reputation would naturally spread, benefiting the school in every way.
This teaching model was standard practice among the three major martial schools in the city.
Li Qing shook his head. "Then go inform him to come here. He can't possibly be absent from Shengtian City."
His tone remained calm and indifferent, but to the young disciples, his words ignited their anger.
"Damn it, you're just begging to die, huh? I'll give you a taste of what I've got today!"
Finally, a burly disciple stepped forward, his face contorted with rage. He rolled up his sleeves as he walked, clearly intending to show no mercy.
Li Qing glanced at him and, based on his gait and other subtle clues, roughly estimated that this disciple's Martial Dao Realm hadn't even reached the Outer Strength stage.
This caused Li Qing's brow to furrow slightly, but he ultimately let out a long sigh.
There was no help for it. After all, he was still relatively unknown. To challenge the headmaster of the school, he naturally had to first get past these young disciples.
"Ah, well," Li Qing sighed, "I suppose I'll reluctantly offer you some guidance."
At these words, every disciple present couldn't help but twitch their lips. They had never seen anyone so arrogant and overbearing.
Hearing this, the burly disciple charged forward without even bothering to assume a formal stance. He intended to use basic punches and kicks to teach Li Qing a harsh lesson.
He clenched his fist and threw a punch at Li Qing's face.
Despite the intimidating appearance of the blow, Li Qing didn't even flinch. He simply extended a single finger and blocked the disciple's massive fist.
Bang!
The disciple's face froze instantly, and his clenched fist trembled uncontrollably.
It felt as if his punch had struck a bull's horn—solid, unyielding, and utterly immovable.
The excruciating pain radiating from his fist turned his face pale. He recoiled his hand as if electrocuted, grimacing and shaking it violently.
"Hiss!"
"You..."
He wanted to say something, but the humiliation was too great. He couldn't utter a word.
Li Qing, however, spoke calmly, like an elder offering advice: "You have raw strength, but if you learned to combine your physical power with your Vital Energy, reaching the Outer Strength realm wouldn't be difficult."
The others exchanged uneasy glances. How could Li Qing treat the Outer Strength realm as casually as a roadside cabbage?
Could it be...
Li Qing had no interest in their stunned expressions. He spoke calmly, "Next."
"Xiao Si, you give it a try," said a disciple who looked slightly more mature and composed, addressing another disciple with a golden sash around his waist.
This golden sash was the symbol of a Personal Disciple of the Golden Armor School, signifying that he had been personally taught by Zeng Jinbao.
"Eldest Brother, I'm going," Xiao Si replied, his expression grave as he stepped forward.
Li Qing glanced at him and accurately assessed that he had reached the Outer Strength level, but he was still just another sacrificial lamb.
Xiao Si adopted the stance of the Golden Armor Art as he advanced, his footsteps steady as he closed in on Li Qing. When he was about two paces away, he unleashed a scattered move from the Golden Armor Art—the Crushing Gold Fist!
Boom!
This punch was clearly different from the previous one. It was brimming with internal strength, powerful and heavy!
Yet Li Qing still extended only a single finger.
Bang!
Xiao Si's long-prepared punch was once again blocked by Li Qing in the same manner.
The crowd stared at Li Qing in disbelief. A Gold Belt Disciple, so easily defeated?
Could it be that he cultivated a finger technique? Was the giant hammer on his back just for intimidation?
"Impossible!" Xiao Si retracted his fist, his face pale as he stared at Li Qing.
In his perception, Li Qing's finger felt as hard as gold and iron, utterly immovable. What a terrifying physical body!
Li Qing maintained his calm smile and said, "Next."
Next again. The words sounded like a curse in the ears of the onlookers.
The composed man who had urged Xiao Si to test Li Qing stepped forward. He clasped his hands in a formal bow and said solemnly, "I am the Eldest Brother of the Golden Armor School. If you can defeat me, you will be worthy of meeting our Master."
Li Qing simply replied, "Come."
His casual demeanor remained unchanged, but this time, all the disciples of the Golden Armor School regarded Li Qing with reverence.
The Eldest Brother stepped forward, stomping his feet hard against the ground and leaping high into the air. His skin instantly became noticeably denser.
His Golden Armor Art was clearly far superior to that of the previous disciples.
Li Qing watched with interest as Eldest Brother leaped into the air, thinking that this Martial Art shared some similarities with his Golden Body Technique.
However, the Golden Body Technique had no other moves, focusing solely on refining the body's physical form, and its progress was slow.
In mid-air, Eldest Brother spread his right hand, a palm strike capable of shattering gold and jade!
Yet Li Qing felt barely a ripple of emotion facing this descending palm.
Even before he had cultivated Inner Strength, he could shatter a stone millstone with a single palm strike. Now, with his strength constantly improving, how could such a strike pressure him?
He smiled faintly, slightly stirring his blood Qi. From below, he met the descending palm with his own.
This strike didn't rely on the subtle application of Inner Strength; it was pure, brute force from Li Qing's physical form.
Yet even this simple palm strike carried an overwhelming power that Eldest Brother couldn't withstand!
Boom!
The two palms collided, and a shockwave of force instantly erupted.
Eldest Brother of the Golden Armor School felt an utterly terrifying power surge from behind Li Qing's palm.
In an instant, he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, hurtling through the air.
Thud!
Li Qing retracted his palm, slowly placing it behind his back. In truth, this was still him holding back. If he had unleashed his full power, even without using Inner Strength, pure physical force alone could have shattered the opponent's entire arm.
After all, this was just a friendly sparring match, not a feud.
"Next."
His voice was clear and calm, yet to those present, it sounded as cold as a demon's whisper.
Where had this young man, who looked no older than his early twenties, come from? What kind of monster was he?
Moments later, a figure materialized at the entrance of the Golden Armor School, appearing as if from nowhere.
"Heh, when did Shengtian City gain another young Inner Strength Martial Artist? Truly unexpected."
As the voice echoed, the Golden Armor School disciples, who had been utterly terrified by Li Qing's display, seemed to find their backbone again, their confidence returning.
"Master! Master, you've finally arrived!"
"Great! With Master here, everything should be fine now."
Indeed, the newcomer was Zeng Jinbao, the headmaster of one of the Imperial Capital's three major martial schools!
He wore pale golden soft armor and was not as towering and imposing as rumors had made him out to be. He was simply an average-sized adult man.
He appeared to be in his forties or fifties, with a lean, wiry build and piercing eyes that shone with vitality.
(End of the Chapter)
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