The Martial Lord of the Troubled World

Chapter 34 Afterwards
Fu family.

The training room was filled with the aroma of medicinal herbs.

Fu Juemin, shirtless, lay on the edge of the large bathtub, the rising steam making his skin slightly red.

Several servants stood quietly with their hands at their sides, holding towels and waiting by his side. Xiao Huaihua rolled up her sleeves and, with her cheeks flushed, vigorously rubbed his back.

Li Tong was sitting on a chair a dozen steps away, and Fu Juemin made no attempt to hide from him.

"After today's battle, I realized that hand-to-hand combat and life-or-death battles are two completely different things."

Fu Juemin summarized his experience: "Experience in fighting enemies, on-the-spot decision-making, and strategic thinking—there are simply too many factors that can determine the life or death of a battle. Pure strength and skill are not as crucial as I thought."

Fu Juemin picked up a damp towel and wiped the thin layer of sweat from his face caused by the medicinal bath. He sighed helplessly, "Also, the difference between having a weapon and not having one is just too great. A swordsman facing a boxer can almost erase the difference of a small realm."

What is martial arts?

Li Tong gently tapped the teacup and said calmly, "Methods for strengthening the body and techniques for fighting."

The original purpose of martial arts was to teach people how to quickly defeat and kill their enemies.

The so-called skin-sharpening, bone-forging, blood-refining, and profound understanding are merely boundaries forcibly drawn by later generations to measure strength.

In a true battle of life and death, methods are irrelevant; only the outcome matters—to live is to be strong, to die is to be weak.

"That's the truth."

Fu Juemin nodded.

Li Tongdao said: "This time, you just encountered a large number of people on the other side, and they were armed."

In the future, there may be instances of drugging, poisoning, or lurking in the shadows to launch sneak attacks.
"The eighteen martial arts, the thousands of tricks—in the martial world, there are always more despicable methods, never the most despicable."

Fu Juemin seemed to be deep in thought, then suddenly told Huaihua to stop.

He sat up, faced Li Tong, and said seriously, "Uncle Tong, please teach me how to handle this situation again?"

"The more you see, the more you practice, and the more you fight, the more naturally you'll know how to deal with things."

Li Tong calmly replied, "No one can teach you this; it all depends on improvisation. However..."

He paused slightly, then said, "The more skills you learn in your daily life, the better your chances of winning when the time comes."

Fu Juemin's eyes lit up: "Is Uncle Tong going to teach me a new skill?"

A servant handed over a fruit platter, and Fu Juemin casually picked up some oranges, gesturing with his eyes to pass the platter to Li Tong.

Li Tong smiled and asked in return, "What does young master want to learn? Weapons?"

While peeling an orange, Fu Juemin pondered, "No weapon is as convenient to carry as firearms. I carry a gun with me, so I don't necessarily have to learn how to use weapons."

What I'm thinking is, it would be great if I had the skill to not be afraid of opponents using weapons.

"Kung Fu that is not afraid of weapons"

Li Tong shook his head, but then continued, "I do know a skill that, once mastered, makes one immune to ordinary weapons."

However, the cultivation process is extremely arduous, and I'm afraid the young master won't be able to endure that hardship.

"Uncle Tong said this again."

Upon hearing this, Fu Juemin's eyes lit up immediately. "You've seen me practice martial arts for so long, when have you ever complained?"

I'm determined to see what kind of suffering I simply can't bear.

"Uncle, will you teach me now?"

As Fu Juemin spoke, he made a move to stand up from the bathtub, and Huaihua, who was standing next to him, was so frightened that she quickly covered her face and turned her head away.

Li Tong raised his hand to suppress Fu Juemin's urgency, then stood up and said calmly, "Young Master, there's no rush. We can talk about martial arts training tomorrow."

"Go wash up and change your clothes first, then go to the study; the master is waiting for you."

"Thank you, Uncle Tong! Take care, Uncle Tong."

Fu Juemin smiled and responded, then flicked his wrist, tossing the peeled orange in his hand like a shooting star toward Li Tong.

Li Tong caught it casually, shook his head as if helpless, and turned to leave.

After Li Tong left, Fu Juemin soaked in the bath for a while longer, then got out of the tub with the help of a servant, dressed himself, and hurried to his study.

When he arrived at the study door, he knocked gently.

Fu Guosheng's calm voice came from inside the room, "Come in."

Fu Juemin pushed open the door and entered, seeing Fu Guosheng hunched over his desk, seemingly dealing with business matters.

He didn't say anything, just stood quietly to the side.

Despite being a cheap father, Fu Guosheng still commanded considerable respect in Fu Juemin's eyes.

Half of it was due to the prestige his father had built up over nearly twenty years and Fu Guosheng's own powerful aura; the other half was that Fu Juemin now had to ask Fu Guosheng for money for both martial arts training and daily expenses.

Only after Fu Guosheng finished reading the document in his hand did he slowly raise his head. Fu Juemin called out, "Father."

Fu Guosheng nodded slightly, looked at him, and said in a calm tone: "You did a good job this time."

But remember, next time you must not act so rashly.

No matter how precious other people's lives may be, they are not as important as your own safety. Go.

After saying that, without waiting for Fu Juemin's response, he waved his hand and lowered his head again, as if he had summoned him to come just to say this one sentence.

Fu Juemin felt a sense of relief.

According to the original owner's memories, as long as Fu Guosheng didn't scold him, it was considered a compliment.

It's quite rare that they actually gave a positive assessment this time.

Judging from his accidental act of saving lives, Fu Guosheng was quite satisfied.

As night fell, Fu Juemin, as usual, stood in his bedroom practicing the Hunyuan stance.

This has now become almost a must-do task for him before going to bed.

After finishing a set of standing meditation exercises, Fu Juemin slowly walked to the window and looked at the night view outside. It wasn't too late yet, and there were still a few streetlights lit up outside the Fu family mansion.

Looking back on what happened today, although it was only half a day, it feels like a lifetime ago.

In the past, practicing martial arts was just practicing martial arts, but after killing those bandits today, the power that martial arts brought to him made Fu Juemin feel that he was gradually becoming superior to ordinary people.

This is a wonderful transformation in mindset.

It can't be said to be entirely good, nor entirely bad.

"The bandits aren't the problem; the important thing is..."

Fu Juemin then recalled the tall, thin man he had seen on Xinjie Street during the day; that man was his real target.

Having tasted the benefits of hunting demons and monsters, he naturally didn't want to miss the opportunity when a potentially existing demon or monster was right in front of him. After all, killing a demon or monster would represent a leap in his strength.

Of course, the risks involved should not be ignored.

Hopefully, the police force can find someone.

Once the existence and location of the evil spirits are confirmed, the rest can be planned slowly.

If all else fails, he can ask his second uncle, Fu Guoping, to suppress it with manpower and firepower, as long as this evil spirit isn't as troublesome as the water monster at the dock.
A night breeze blew in from outside the window. Fu Juemin had just finished practicing his stance and was still covered in sweat. He even felt a bit chilly.

Overnight, the Luan River seemed to have entered autumn.

The next day, Fu Juemin got up very early.

Yesterday, Li Tong promised to teach him new martial arts, and he couldn't help but look forward to it.

So he went to the backyard and had the servants set out breakfast under the pavilion where they practiced martial arts, and ate while waiting for Li Tong to come over.

The Fu family's guards had also gotten up early, but they had to practice their morning exercises first.

The news of Fu Juemin's brave raid on the bandit's den had already spread throughout the Fu family yesterday. The Fu family's guards knew of Fu Juemin's strength, and after hearing about this, they were even more in awe of him.

Upon seeing Fu Juemin sitting in the pavilion, everyone immediately came up to greet him.

As Fu Juemin ate his breakfast, he watched Wang Shuisheng and others practice their boxing on the grass, finding it quite pleasant.

After waiting for a long time, Li Tong finally appeared slowly under the porch.

Fu Juemin's eyes lit up. He was about to invite Li Tong to sit down and have a bite to eat when a servant suddenly ran up to report.

"Young Master, Miss Leyi has come to visit, saying she came specifically to see you."

Xu Leyi?
Fu Juemin frowned and immediately said, "I won't see you."

What's so great about Xu Leyi? He never liked this woman anyway. When they met on the street, she didn't even greet him.

He even felt unlucky when he tore open the second sack yesterday.

"Master Xu has also arrived."

The maid added.

Hui Sai-wing. Hui Sai-wing brought Hui Lok-yee to the door, presumably to express his gratitude and explain the situation regarding yesterday's events.

Fu Juemin thought of the box of twenty-year-old Xuan Ye Stone Tiger that Xu Shirong had given him, and slowly stood up.

But then, as if remembering something, he asked, "Did they see my father? What did my father say?"

The maid replied honestly, "Master said he didn't know if the young master had gotten up yet, so he asked me to come and check."

Upon hearing this, Fu Juemin immediately sat down again and said with a smile, "Then go back and tell my father that I haven't gotten up yet."

And perhaps he won't get up at all today.

(End of this chapter)