Chapter 81

Hehe, so-called experts in internal martial arts also know how to adjust their approach based on the person they're dealing with...

Linsa chuckled, thanked the young and plump Hu Dashao for his efforts, and invited him to enjoy a sumptuous meal at his home. Over dinner, they finalized the time for the exchange with the skilled practitioners of the Diancang Sect.

What they say is true, when you're sleepy, someone will bring you a pillow, and this is exactly it!

Just a moment ago, he was still considering the possibility of facing the supreme master of the Deer and the Cauldron world, the nun Jinnan, and how long his strength at the Dark Force level could hold up against her. He wouldn't be blindly arrogant, thinking that reaching the Dark Force level in internal martial arts was something extraordinary.

Although the internal martial arts in the Deer and the Cauldron world had completely declined and the internal martial arts had not yet risen, it was a period of stagnation in traditional martial arts. Whether it was the world of the Blood Sword before or the world of internal martial arts after, the Deer and the Cauldron world seemed to be inferior.

But it was still a historical era, and there were always some exceptional individuals who transcended the constraints of their time, becoming special existences at the pinnacle of their fields. Jinnan was one of them, the leader of the Divine Dragon Sect, Hong Antong, was another, and the invincible martial artist Guixintree was definitely included. It was unknown whether the leader of the Heaven and Earth Sect, Chen Jinan, and the skilled practitioner of the Kunlun Sect, Feng Xifan, who was known as 'Throat Sealer,' were among these exceptional individuals.

It's not hard to see that among the three undisputed top masters, two were related to the protagonist of the Blood Sword world, the Snake King Yuan Chengzhi. According to the concept of cultivation, both Jinnan and Guixintree were beings with great fortune and great opportunities, and their becoming top masters in the Deer and the Cauldron world was not by chance!

This was the information Linsa obtained through some connections during his free time, and he had pondered it on his own. Even if internal martial arts had declined, as long as they could be practiced, the outstanding practitioners among them were certainly not ordinary. Linsa was only at the initial stage of Dark Force, what qualifications did he have to consider himself a top master?

To be honest, he had been in this world for more than two years, and he hadn't encountered any true experts in internal martial arts yet.

The first enforcer of the Mu王府, 'Iron-Backed Azure Dragon' Liu Dahong, might barely count as one, but unfortunately, he was old and his internal martial arts might not be top-notch. When they fought, he relied purely on his rich combat experience and a fierce and ruthless knife technique that combined broad and open movements with treacherous and vicious ones, so he couldn't be considered a pure expert in internal martial arts.

There might have been some in the city's martial arts schools and gang halls that he had challenged before, but he never encountered them, or perhaps they were unwilling to reveal their true abilities.

Linsa was just there to exchange and challenge, not to kick down the door, and with his identity as a military commander, the martial arts schools and gang halls were quite cautious. Even if they lost, it didn't matter since Linsa wasn't a martial artist!

During the final battle in the anti-bandit campaign in western Yunnan, he might have encountered a poison expert with some foundation in internal martial arts.

Actually, it's easy to tell if someone has internal martial arts by their lightness skills. With Linsa's current strength, he would find it difficult to jump two to three meters without any preparation, but someone with a foundation in internal martial arts could easily do it!

The poison expert he encountered that day clearly had excellent lightness skills, but his combat stance was quite ordinary. Even if he had internal martial arts, it was only at a basic level and couldn't be considered a master!

After returning, he didn't just think about it; he also learned through some acquaintances in the underworld about the general situation of the martial arts world in Yunnan Province. He basically guessed that the person was from the Five Poisons Sect.

Although he was seething with anger, he couldn't do anything about the Five Poisons Sect for the time being, and he couldn't even speak out about it, lest it cause the Five Poisons Sect to become wary and harm him.

He wasn't afraid of direct confrontation, but the Five Poisons Sect had formidable poison skills, and he didn't want to easily test how harmful their strange poisons were to him.

From his personal experience, it was clear to what extent the internal martial arts in the Deer and the Cauldron world had declined!

Now, before meeting the top master Jinnan, he was more than happy to have a skilled practitioner of the Diancang Sect willing to exchange with him!

...

Linsa's life was very peaceful and regular, basically a straight line between the military camp outside the city, the headquarters of the general, and his home, living a life that was both boring and fulfilling.

He had no annoying military affairs to deal with, no headaches from social interactions, and no experiences of sleeping with beauties. His previous crazy challenges to the city's martial arts schools and gang halls, which earned him the title of 'Martial Obsessive,' didn't achieve his original goal but did save him a lot of trouble. The world was indeed quite strange.

Old Wu had been in Yunnan Province for about ten years, and under his and his loyal subordinates' careful governance, the province was generally stable. Apart from some unruly local chieftains causing headaches for the government, there were no major events. As the elite troops of the Yunnan Army guarding Kunming, Linsa's unit had never received any important tasks and was quite idle.

With plenty of free time and a very good environment for martial arts practice, Linsa wouldn't have achieved his current level if he didn't know how to work hard.

Thus, the promising new star of the Yunnan Army seemed to have disappeared from everyone's sight. Every day, except for necessary social engagements and military duties, he spent the rest of his time at home, training hard.

Spear drills, boxing, punching the sandbag, familiarizing himself with the techniques of Dark Force...

In short, he had a lot of training to do every day, filling his free time to the brim, leaving almost no time to catch his breath. The young and plump Hu Dashao visited several times, and seeing him train so hard, he couldn't help but shout in surprise, saying that he wouldn't even consider such intense training, let alone just watching it made him dizzy.

Time flew by, and Linsa was fully focused on his training at home. Unconsciously, the leaves outside turned golden, and the weather became damp and cold, signaling the end of autumn and the arrival of winter.

This day, it was the agreed-upon day for the exchange with the Diancang Sect's guards.

The young and plump Hu Dashao arrived early at Linsa's residence, waiting for him to finish his morning exercises. Then, he eagerly approached and anxiously asked, "Linsa, are you ready?"

"Don't worry, I'm in great shape right now!" Linsa smiled, his face exuding confidence and ease.

"That's good!"

The young and plump Hu Dashao's expression relaxed, and he said with ease, "Just don't mess up in a small ditch, or those rough guys will laugh at you!"

"What, did the news of the exchange get out?"

Linsa's eyebrows twitched, and a hint of displeasure appeared on his face.

"Hehe, don't be upset, okay?"

The young and plump Hu Dashao rubbed his hands, looking quite awkward, and scratched his head, saying embarrassedly, "I've been a bit tight on money lately, so I opened a betting pool with a bunch of rich young masters..."

"What are the odds on my side?"

Linsa didn't bother with small talk and went straight to the point.

"Five to one!" The young and plump Hu Dashao's expression became even more awkward.

"What about the guards around your uncle?"

Linsa showed no reaction and continued to ask casually.

"One and a half to one!" The young and plump Hu Dashao finally couldn't hold it in, his face full of awkwardness and indignation, "Those guys really don't have much faith in you..."