The Martial Lord of the Troubled World

Chapter 56 [15]

"Second Uncle, you've gone to a lot of trouble."

Fu Juemin responded verbally, but his mind was already completely drawn to the gloves. He carefully put them on.

The snakeskin gloves are highly elastic, soft yet durable, and fit the shape of the hand perfectly. They feel like a second skin, without any discomfort.

There is a tiny, rice-grain-sized snap at the tip of each little finger; gently flick it, and you'll hear a soft "clink."

Fu Juemin instantly flicked out a fine, sharp blade from the edge of his palms. As he moved his hands, the blade, composed of countless snake scales, undulated like waves, reminding him of the appearance of the Black Scale Snake Demon with its cheek scales open when he saw it in Peach Blossom Village.

He held his palm up like a knife and slashed forward with the momentum.

"Shh-"

A sliver of blue light swept through the air in front of me.

"Are you satisfied?"

Fu Guoping asked with a smile.

"So satisfied."

Fu Juemin nodded slowly.

The "Pharmacist's Pure Light Blade" requires the use of short blades or hand chop techniques, and these snake-scale gloves with their own sharpness seem tailor-made for him.

Fu Juemin put on the gloves and tried out several different moves before reluctantly taking them off and putting them back in the box.

"Thank you, Second Uncle."

Fu Juemin thanked Fu Guoping again.

Fu Guoping waved his hand, "Let's get down to business."

"The one you asked me to keep an eye on, that Zhao Xinhua..."

Fu Guoping paused for a moment, "It can't be because of that girl from the Xu family, can it?"

"Of course not."

Fu Juemin shook his head and immediately told Fu Guoping the content of the conversation he had overheard using [Youling].

He only said that his subordinates overheard it by accident and assured them that the source was reliable.

"Fire Marshal... Bright Marshal"

After listening, Fu Guoping frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said in a low voice, "It sounds like a title commonly used within the Fire Cloud Army in the Southwest."

"The Southwest Fire Cloud Army?"

"Ah."

Fu Guoping explained: "After the great disaster in the southwest, many rebel armies emerged, among which the Fire Cloud Army was the most powerful."

They marched south, capturing cities and counties, and several times the higher authorities sent troops to quell the rebellion, but they were all repelled.

It's said that the Fire Cloud Army has more than a dozen banners; you might just happen to have found out about one of them.

Upon hearing Fu Guoping's description, Fu Juemin's expression also turned serious. "Second Uncle, if it really is the Fire Cloud Army..."

They planted spies and colluded with cults; their ambitions likely extend beyond the entire Luanhe County, perhaps even more.

"Hard to say."

Fu Guoping frowned more and more deeply. "This matter is of great importance and must be handled with utmost care."

I'll have Wu Bozhou personally send people to keep an eye on Zhao Xinhua, to see if we can follow the clues and find out more."

"The Xu family should also be closely monitored."

Fu Juemin abruptly interjected, "Zhao Xinhua came back from Shenghai with Xu Leyi. Who knows if the Xu family is secretly colluding with the Huoyun Army?"
If the Xu family has become an inside agent for the Fire Cloud Army in Luanhe, then our Fu family should be the first to suffer the consequences.

Fu Guoping gave Fu Juemin a strange look, then nodded with a hint of satisfaction, "You're right."

I will also arrange for people to work for the Xu family.

However, this matter...

Fu Guoping pondered for a moment, "Don't let your father know yet, after all, these are just guesses so far."

"I see."

The two then discussed the reason for Fu Guoping's visit that day.

Fu Guoping told Fu Juemin that it was Hu Fulai, the county magistrate of Luanhe County, who was planning to host a banquet at his residence in a few days. Invitations had been sent to all the well-known wealthy families in Luanhe County, and he probably wanted to talk to everyone about the so-called "fundraising for disaster relief".

After listening to Fu Guoping curse Hu Fulai several times, Fu Juemin suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Second Uncle, how much do you know about Uncle Tong?"

"Why are you asking this?" Fu Guoping, who was inquiring about Hu Fulai's seventh and eighth generations of ancestors, was taken aback by the question.

"Just curious."

Fu Juemin replied casually, his expression unchanged, "As you know, I've been practicing martial arts with him all along."

"As for Li Tong, I don't really know much about him."

Fu Guoping recalled: "All I know is that he was rescued by your father on the roadside more than ten years ago."

He was badly injured at the time; I thought your dad had picked up a dead person.

Later, your father spent a lot of money to hire a doctor to heal his injuries, and he stayed with the Fu family, remaining loyal to them ever since.”

"Was his original name Li Tong, or did he change it later?"

"What do you mean?"

Fu Guoping squinted at Fu Juemin.

“A few days ago, a friend told me that he had seen someone who looked a lot like Uncle Tong somewhere, but they didn’t have the same name.”

Fu Juemin made up a reason on the spot
Fu Guoping didn't press further, but just chuckled and shook his head, saying, "I don't know about that."

You'd better go ask him directly, or ask your dad..."

"Ok."

Fu Juemin's eyes flickered, and he made a regretful expression on his face, shaking his head and sighing softly to end the conversation.

The night is as cold as water.

Fu Juemin stood barefoot on the floor of the room, carrying a short knife.

As the night breeze gently ruffled his hair, Fu Juemin's body suddenly moved.

He brandished his short sword, performing move after move in the room. The short sword drew sharp trajectories in the air, each strike accompanied by a whooshing sound.

He practiced for a full incense stick's time, until a light sweat appeared on his body, before Fu Juemin put away his sword and stood still.

Fu Juemin turned on the light, walked to a square, standing black box, and peered inside through the glass lens on the box.

The peep show box that Su Hui gave him was simply modified by him and turned into a box for his martial arts practice.

The book now contains the secret manual of the Medicine Buddha Sutra. After practicing the sword technique, Fu Juemin would return and compare it with the illustrations in the manual to see if he had made any mistakes in practicing his "Medicine Buddha Pure Light Sword".

"After practicing blood training, my coordination in all aspects of my body, as well as my control over my body, have greatly improved."

He's learning the new martial arts much faster than before.

In the past few days, Fu Juemin has been learning the Bagua Saber from Huang Fang and Cao Tian during the day and practicing on his own at night. He has already mastered dozens of saber techniques from the "Pharmacist's Pure Light Saber" quite well.

However, these techniques involve various methods of exerting force and cultivating energy, as well as containing Buddhist principles, so they have not truly entered the realm of mastery.

Fu Juemin was not in a hurry. After all, the Medicine Master's Pure Light Blade came from the top-level external martial art "Medicine Master's Glazed Body," which was of a very high grade and was mysterious and complex. He had been exploring it on his own and had long been prepared with enough composure and patience.

After reviewing the contents of the manual, Fu Juemin reenacted it once more, then walked to the bedside and pulled a rope.

A clear tinkling sound was heard, and a short while later, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Fu Juemin put on his training clothes, and a group of servants filed in, each carrying a variety of steaming hot food.

A table full of delicious food was quickly laid out in front of Fu Juemin, who did not stand on ceremony and immediately sat down to enjoy the meal.

He now eats seven meals a day, supplemented with various medicinal soups and tonics, all in order to quickly achieve the Blood Nourishing Realm.

After practicing blood cultivation, the surge of qi and blood within Fu Juemin's body never ceased to transform his physique.

In just a few days, Fu Juemin's [Attack] attribute increased by 1 point, reaching 15.
Almost every day when I wake up, I can feel that my strength and speed have improved.

This wonderful experience is expected to last from one week to two weeks, and will gradually stop once the body has been initially transformed by the Qi and blood.

Of course, given Fu Juemin's current "eating and drinking to excess and taking tonics like crazy" approach, even if this phase ends, his subsequent growth rate of qi and blood will far exceed that of ordinary martial artists, and the slow increase in his [attack] attribute will continue indefinitely.

The only thing that Fu Juemin was worried about was probably his weight.

After a few days, he felt that he had gotten a little "stronger". If this continued, he was afraid that one day he would grow into a bear-like physique like his second uncle, Fu Guoping.

"I hope you won't even be able to wear a suit by then..."

After devouring a sumptuous and nourishing medicinal meal in a whirlwind, Fu Juemin left the servants to clean up and strolled out of the room alone to digest his food.

He moved to the west-facing terrace on the second floor, seemingly casually admiring the night view, but in reality, he had secretly activated his [Listening] talent, focusing all his thoughts on Li Tong's room below, where he shared a room with a group of guards.

(End of this chapter)