Start from Wusheng

Chapter 153: Business trip to assist the copycat
"Are you Lu Jianqing?"

In the outer courtyard square, Zhou You looked at the young man in front of him and sized him up for a few seconds.

It's not uncommon for new people to join a martial arts school, but no newcomer has had the honor of having Grandpa Wang give him some advice and care.

Zhou You had heard a little about this Lu Jianqing who was introduced by Zhong Shaoying and had very good qualifications.

"Lu Jianqing, meet Senior Brother Zhou."

Lu Jianqing, an inconspicuous boy from a farming family, set records as soon as he started.

He skipped the basics and learned the 108 Subduing Tiger Fists. He was able to exert great power and was converted to a formal apprentice on the same day.

The entire martial arts hall was in an uproar when they learned that a genius had emerged in the outer courtyard.

That’s not all. Ten days later, he became familiar with the routine of the Subduing Tiger Fist and made another breakthrough, advancing to the medium level of strength.

At this time, Lu Jianqing's fame had spread to other martial arts schools.

Especially Mao Laoliu's Ji Ba Martial Arts School, everyone knows that Jianxiong Martial Arts School has recruited a new apprentice whose qualifications are comparable to Mao Lang.

In just ten days, he advanced from entry-level to intermediate level of strength, completing a journey that would take others ten years.

There are undercurrents inside and outside the martial arts hall.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Lu Jianqing's appearance was orchestrated by Zhong Shaoying.

Ever since Zhou You was promoted to a Qi and Blood Warrior, the power balance between the city faction and the rural faction has become unbalanced.

Although Zhong Shaoying had many people, he only had one Qi and blood, and it was difficult for him to fight against Shen Sijing and Zhou You.

So he discovered Lu Jianqing, a good seedling, and brought him into the martial arts school with the aim of strengthening the power of the local faction.

Lu Jianqing is of good family background, the son of a tenant farmer of Mr. Wang, and has a rare talent in martial arts that is rarely seen in a century.

As everyone knows, Mao Laoliu and Wang Jianxiong always compete with each other in everything.

The only thing is that in the matter of Mao Lang, Mr. Wang is slightly inferior to Mr. Mao.

The appearance of Lu Jianqing made up for this regret.

Zhou You ignored the rumors from the outside world, concentrated on practicing boxing and martial arts, and regularly went to other colleges to teach boxing.

He knew very well that Lu Jianqing's rapid progress must have been due to Zhong Shaoying's guidance and advice.

At best, he is just the second Mao Lang.

One month later…

"Lu Jianqing is very skilled in martial arts. Go and report to the museum owner."

After Lu Jianqing entered the academy for more than a month, he had already reached the peak of his strength level and became one of the few top apprentices in the outer courtyard.

At this point, he had become the number one disciple under the inner court disciples.

With the same level of strength, it took others more than ten years or even twenty years to master it, but he only took one month.

The huge gap brought by genius makes every apprentice fall into despair.

At this point, Lu Jianqing was only one step away from breaking through his qi and blood.

To others, it seemed only a matter of time before he caught up with Zhou You.

At this point, there is no need to stay in the outer courtyard and learn boxing from Zhou You.

After the news spread, the martial arts circles in Gongliang City no longer had any doubts and regarded Lu Jianqing and Mao Lang as the two best.

Master Wang Jianxiong was in a good mood and one could often hear him laughing even when standing in the outer courtyard.

One morning, Lu Jianqing did not report to the outer courtyard.

"From today on, Lu Jianqing will not be in the outer courtyard, but will move into the inner courtyard to learn from the master."

I heard that last night, Mr. Wang Jianxiong took Lu Jianqing out to a banquet, and met Mao Laoliu with Mao Lang at the banquet. He was very proud and avenged his previous humiliation.

At this point, everyone knew that Lu Jianqing's rise to fame was inevitable.

It took him more than a month to reach mature strength. Now he is favored by the gym owner, who is taking him by his side for training. He will be able to break through his qi and blood by the end of the year at the latest.

The addition of one more inner court disciple was a foregone conclusion. The pressure was directly placed on Zhou You.

Some time ago, the person who went out with Wang Jianxiong for social events was originally Zhou You, but now it has become Lu Jianqing.

This is not simply a matter of getting bored with the old and loving the new. In the eyes of others, it is undoubtedly a sign that Zhou You has fallen out of favor.

Zhong Shaoying won this round and the local faction was far ahead.

At the height of the crisis, an order was given to Zhou You.

"Jiang Hua and Zhou You, transport the artillery out of the city overnight and rush to Chen Qian's headquarters three hundred miles away."

After the cannon bombed Tiefeng Martial Arts School, it has been kept in the school's warehouse. Now it is time to return it to its original owner.

The person who brought the owner's order was Jiang Hua, with a cold aura.

"Brother Jiang, are you leaving tonight?"

Jiang Hua nodded, "General Chen Qian is going to suppress Moyun Village and is in urgent need of equipment. He ordered us to deliver it day and night."

Moyun Village is home to the most vicious group of bandits within a radius of hundreds of miles.

When Zhou You was hunting down hunters, he had heard that there were thousands of warriors in the mountain stronghold, with countless strength and blood, and even more than one martial artist. Gangs were nothing but small fights in front of them, and any martial arts school in the city could not compare to them.

When businesses in the city pass by the foot of Moyun Village, they must take a commission as tribute, otherwise they will lose both their money and their lives.

This time, General Chen Qian led his men to wipe out Moyun Village. All 1,500 elite soldiers under his command were mobilized, and they didn't even have enough equipment.

No wonder the artillery had to be transported there overnight.

Zhou You had actually operated this cannon and was fully aware of its power. It could easily destroy mountains and strongholds.

"Who will take over the outer courtyard when I leave?"

"Shi Gaofei.

"In that case, I'm relieved."

Shi Gaofei's nickname is Lazy Tiger. He has no motivation to do anything, but he has no problem teaching apprentices.

Zhou You and Jiang Hua selected a few strong apprentices, took out the huge cannon from the warehouse, and shipped it out of the city overnight by horse-drawn carriage.

Along the way, the wind carried dust, wolves howled in the distance, and a large amount of fog drifted over the wilderness.

Outside the city, the Buddhist bonfires burned day and night, burning the bodies that had been brought in, and black ashes fell like snow.

Several apprentices felt their scalps tingle. They thought life in the martial arts school was going well, but how could they have known that there were so many dead people outside?

"Some time ago, a dozen villages in the southeast were hit by a plague. It was said to be brought here by refugees from Sucheng. Thousands of people died of the disease. The infected people suffered from limb atrophy and spinal deformities. Even if they survived, their lives would be worse than death."

"In many nearby villages, wells ran dry and rivers dried up. People fought over water sources. The dead piled up in the threshing grounds, leaving no place to dry the grain."

"The young men who farmed had no food to eat, so they turned to the bandits. The blacksmith shop was doing a booming business, melting farm tools to make swords."

As we leave the area covered by Gongliang City, the road becomes more bumpy and the appearance of starving people and corpses on the roadside becomes more frequent.

Wild dogs and wolves can be seen everywhere, tearing and fighting over corpses to fill their stomachs.

The ground seemed to be covered with a pitch-black carpet, but with a slight disturbance, it turned into a black cloud of large green-headed flies.

The journey was horrifying. I saw dead people all the time, some dying of starvation, some from disease, and some from fighting.

Human life was worthless, like grass. Emaciated skeletons could be seen everywhere on the road. Some of them were walking and suddenly fell to the ground and died.

What's wrong with this world?
The people in the martial arts school are all young and strong people who practice martial arts, but even so, they have been robbed more than once.

Tattered straw sandals, rusty iron sheets, and eyes that have turned green from hunger!

These guest-starring robbers can be knocked to the ground with just one breath without even throwing a punch.

Amid the devastation all over the ground, the group hurried on and arrived at the foot of the mountain of Moyun Village after a few days.

On the horizon, a cluster of flags fluttered in the wind, in stark contrast to the huge military camp lying on the ground.

Fifteen hundred elite soldiers led by General Chen Qian are stationed here!
(End of this chapter)