Narration System for the Journey of Martial Arts

"However, we still need to be careful."

At this point, Su Yuchen opened his eyes, looked into the distance, and muttered to himself:

"There really are some crazy people who aren't afraid of death. Mentally ill people are indeed incomprehensible."

"Zhang Yi, go to Guotou Street to support Liu Ye. Just make sure he doesn't die."

"Yes." Zhang Yi replied at the entrance of the courtyard and then disappeared without a trace.

Su Yuchen's thoughts shifted, and he lay back in the chair, muttering to himself, "Since he doesn't care, why should I interfere? But he was a loyal servant after all, it would be a pity if he died."

“Mother, let Xia Zhu stay with you these days; it will be safer for her,” Su Yuchen said.

………………

"What happened? Liu Ye was assassinated again? Someone in the capital dares to kill Liu Ye in public? They dare to trample on His Majesty's reputation?" Aunt Liu asked belatedly.

Su Yuchen waved his hand dismissively and said:

"It's still unclear whose idea it was, but it's probably just a few people."

"Besides, even without Zhang Yi, Liu Ye won't die, so there's no need to worry."

Aunt Liu's gaze shifted, and then she gritted her teeth and said, "Is it Zhu Yunrui? He's a madman, and he's gotten madder over the years."

Aunt Liu harbors a deep secret: in her youth, she discovered that Princess Zhu Yunrui was obsessively infatuated with her emperor brother.

Aunt Liu kept this matter to herself, fearing it might come to light someday.

"Before the results are in, no one can be sure who the murderer is. We cannot rule out the possibility that someone is taking advantage of the situation or that someone is watching from the sidelines."

"And...it seems you know a lot of secrets, Mother?" Su Yuchen said with a smile.

Aunt Liu snorted but didn't say anything.

"Is Liu Ye really alright?"

“It’s not so easy for him to get into trouble, but he’ll probably have to cough up some blood,” Su Yuchen replied.

Aunt Liu sat for a while, then stood up and said, "I'll have someone prepare it first."

Su Yuchen flipped his hand, revealing a brightly colored pill the size of a broad bean between his fingers. The pill landed in Xia Zhu's hand: "Give it to Liu Ye."

As the courtyard returned to tranquility, an inaudible dragon's roar and phoenix's cry rang out in the void beside Su Yuchen, followed by the illusory figures of a dragon and a phoenix swirling around him.

With each rotation, a vast amount of primordial energy of heaven and earth is ground up; with each breath, a massive amount of primordial energy of heaven and earth transforms into drops of liquid true essence, circulating endlessly within the body; with each rise and fall, the immortal and indestructible purple-gold aura beneath the fair skin thickens slightly.

………………

Guotou Street.

When Zhang Yi arrived, he saw that his carriage had been smashed into pieces by a large stone roller, with countless pieces of wood scattered in all directions.

A quick glance revealed that several guards from the manor were attacking the crossbowmen behind the wall, while Liu Ye was being attacked from both sides by two assassins in black.

Remembering Su Yuchen's instructions, Zhang Yi did not go up to support Liu Ye. He disappeared around the street corner in a flash and reappeared behind the wall.

At this moment, three guards from the Liu family were attacking with their swords drawn. Several black-clad archers were all wounded, but they still stubbornly refused to fall. Zhang Yi glanced at them and knew that the three guards had been poisoned. Otherwise, a fifth-rank officer would not have been so easily defeated by a third-rank officer.

The next second, Zhang Yi moved his feet and appeared behind the three guards as if he were a phantom. With a wave of his hand, he created three afterimages and slashed at the back of the necks of the three men.

Without pausing, he went straight to the middle of the black-clad archers and, before they could react, unleashed a flurry of palm strikes, each one as fast as lightning.

With a swift movement, Zhang Yi had already left the battle circle. He unleashed a golden palm strike from mid-air, aiming at a figure emerging from the alleyway on the left.

The figure that had just emerged was as tall as an iron tower and as strong as a black bear. He grinned maliciously at Zhang Yi, who was leaping towards him, and stretched out a palm the size of a prayer mat.

With a loud bang, a shockwave erupted, and Zhang Yi stumbled back two steps in astonishment; the towering giant, his face filled with terror, twisted his right hand into a strange shape and slammed it hard against the wall behind him.

With a loud crash, the wall collapsed, and the burly man tumbled into Guotou Street.

Just then, the black-clad archers who had formed a circle behind Zhang Yi fell to the ground with thuds, facing inwards, forming an eerie circle.

Chapter 501 After the Assassination

"Eighth-rank cultivation level, what a powerful physique."

Zhang Yi shook his hand; his slightly numb palm remained unchanged, showing no signs of injury. He then glanced one last time at the unconscious guard from the Fan family mansion.

Zhang Yi disappeared behind the wall, while the towering man was frantically running towards Guotou Street, shouting, "Run..."

The next second, a pebble made a hissing sound, flying towards the back of his head like a sharp arrow. With a hiss, it disappeared into the back of his head as if hitting tofu.

At this point, Zhang Yi didn't linger any longer and disappeared into the street corner in a flash. Behind him, Liu Ye's hands shot out like snakes, striking the throats of the two black-clad assassins. With a crisp sound, their throat bones shattered, and they immediately collapsed to the ground.

Liu Ye glanced at the departing figure, then immediately ran to Teng Zijing, who had a broken leg, on the street. After stopping the bleeding, he quickly ran behind the collapsed wall.

Only after confirming that everyone was still alive did Liu Ye give each person a pill before letting out a sigh of relief. He then put the group together and went over to examine the giant man's corpse.

A moment later, the constables and yamen runners from the Jingzhao Prefecture arrived in a hurry, causing a commotion...

"Cheng Dashu, Martial Arts Rank 8!"

………………

"Master, I'm back."

In the courtyard, Zhang Yi ignored the strange phenomena surrounding Su Yuchen and muttered something in a low voice.

How is Liu Ye?

"Young Master Liu Ye is alright. That assassin was at most an eighth-rank, but he had excellent external martial arts skills and was born with superhuman strength and a robust physique. I almost suffered a minor loss myself."

"but……"

"But what?" Su Yuchen asked.

Zhang Yi said, "I sensed another aura nearby, but it was elusive. Based on my judgment, it should be... a Grandmaster."

Su Yuchen nodded and said, "Don't tell anyone about this."

Zhang Yi responded, and seeing that he had no further instructions, he went back to wait at the entrance of the courtyard.

Standing at the entrance of the courtyard, Zhang Yi thought to himself: Could that person be the 'uncle' that Young Master Liu Ye mentioned before? He actually has a Grandmaster as his bodyguard!

………………

A few days later, news of Liu Ye's assassination attempt spread like wildfire in Kyoto.

Ordinary people just watched the spectacle; the affairs of noble families were the hottest topics. So, after meals, whether at home, in teahouses, restaurants, or even if they bumped into each other on the street, they would always ask, "Did you know about this?"

Those who truly understand the gravity of the situation are either furious, like that Chief Prosecutor Jia, or that crazy woman who refuses to hand over Mingqi; or they're overjoyed, like those aristocratic scions who are sour grapes.

Whether happy or angry, everyone knew that Liu Ye would take over Mingqi in the future, and that such a big piece of meat was being swallowed up by the Liu family father and son. Apart from the emperor, whose ideas were unclear, no one else was happy about it.

So when the incident occurred, the Procuratorate, which was the sharpest sword in Emperor Ming's hand and a 'mad dog' that everyone feared like a tiger, quickly bared its fangs.

In less than a day, the eight departments of the Procuratorate had determined the nature of the matter: the shameless northern barbarians were responsible. As for their reason for doing so? Sorry, the Procuratorate is only accountable to His Majesty. Go ask His Majesty!

Meanwhile, some officials in the procuratorate who sensed something amiss remained silent about the final truth, waiting for their boss, the cripple Jia Zhen who instilled fear in everyone in the Ming Dynasty, to return before revealing anything.

………………

While the outside world was in turmoil and everyone was waiting for news from the palace, Liu Ye was frowning in the courtyard; Liu Ruolan beside him also frowned.

"It seems this assassination attempt has helped you grow considerably?"

"Yes. It was the first time I realized how fragile human life is, and I also realized that I am responsible for so many lives. I didn't realize that I was no longer alone."

"Very good, this is a truth you should have understood long ago. You should have understood it the moment you decided to go through with this marriage. But it's not too late now."

Liu Ye picked up the teacup and took a sip, remembering the prophet's words: "I can only guarantee your safety; as for your people, that's your problem. Besides, I can't appear in front of others in Kyoto."

Liu Ye lowered his head to hide his inner turmoil. He couldn't understand why his uncle, who was already a grandmaster, couldn't appear in public and could only hide behind the scenes.

Liu Ye wanted to ask Su Yuchen, but with so many people around, he had to suppress his thoughts.

……

Aunt Liu sat calmly to the side, sipping her tea. She loved this feeling more and more; it seemed that every time she came to Su Yuchen's courtyard, she gained something different.

"None of your men died, and you even killed Cheng Dashu, an eighth-rank martial artist, and two seventh-rank assassins. What more could you want?"

Faced with Su Yuchen's question, Liu Ye couldn't help but smile wryly and said, "You know, I didn't kill him."

Su Yuchen waved his hand, saying meaningfully:

"Whether I know or not is not important. The key is that everyone outside believes you killed him."

"Liu's illegitimate son single-handedly took down an eighth-rank and two seventh-rank individuals. He's definitely a martial arts powerhouse. If you don't keep your guard up from now on, I'm afraid you won't even dare to eat."

"However, I think some people are wary of you, while others admire you. I'm afraid the Second Prince and the Crown Prince are already getting restless."

"Admire? Your Majesty?" Liu Ye could only smile wryly and said, "My father said that we can only stand on His Majesty's side, and I also intend to stand on His Majesty's side."

"Taking sides requires capital. Do you have it?"

Su Yuchen said without any politeness...

"Don't underestimate your father. His guards are comparable to that cripple Jia Zhen. Just this one point should make you understand something."

Liu Ye frowned, his handsome brows furrowing, and asked uncertainly, "I know that my father and His Majesty the Emperor have an extraordinary relationship. Could it be that he did something inconvenient for that person in private?"

Liu Ruolan and Aunt Liu coughed softly. Neither of them could talk about the emperor with the same disregard for his dignity as these two.

Liu Ye smiled slightly, deliberately skipping the question, and said, "His Majesty does not want Mingqi to become the private property of certain people. I am keeping an eye on Mingqi for His Majesty, isn't that because I have the resources?"

Su Yuchen scoffed, his words full of disdain, and said, "Mingqi belongs to him, but it will never be yours until you have the strength. Strength is what truly belongs to you. If you become a Grandmaster, then all troubles will cease to be troubles."

Liu Ye's heart stirred, and many questions that had troubled him for a long time were now explained. Why was his uncle unwilling to tell him many things? Why was his father, Uncle Chengyi, also hiding many things from him?

Everything is due to strength!

"Only grandmasters are qualified to know everything?"

Su Yuchen said, "At the very least, once you become a Grandmaster, you can choose to flip the table at any time."

Chapter 502 How to Become a Grandmaster

"Grandmaster!"

Liu Ye lowered his head and couldn't help but shake his head: "If becoming a Grandmaster were that easy, there wouldn't only be four Grandmasters in the world, and we've never heard of them teaching any Grandmasters."

Su Yuchen shifted his body slightly to make himself more comfortable and said calmly:

"Are you stupid? You yourself said, 'Those who learn from me will live, those who break my rules will advance, and those who imitate me will die.'"

"The reason why great masters are extraordinary is that they have all experienced extraordinary insights. Later generations either lack courage, wisdom, or opportunity. No matter which one they lack, they will make a big mistake."

"Leaving aside the others, let's talk about the fourth customer. You've probably heard that he was an idiot when he was a child."

Liu Ye disagreed, saying, "I don't think a fool can become a grandmaster."

Su Yuchen nodded and said, "Whether he's an idiot or not is unimportant, but he became a Grandmaster after slaughtering the City Lord's Mansion. What did you see in that?"

Hearing the two talking about Grandmasters, Zhang Yi, Xia Zhu, Qiu Ju, Dong Mei, as well as Aunt Liu and Liu Ruolan, all focused their attention. A Grandmaster! This was an existence even more awe-inspiring than the Ming Emperor.

Faced with Su Yuchen's question, Liu Ye shook his head: "That's too broad a question."

"Hey!"

Su Yuchen sighed, his eyes filled with a sense of regret that he was beyond redemption. Everyone present lowered their heads, except for Aunt Liu, who snorted and said, "Ye'er is right, this question is too broad."

Su Yuchen smiled and said, "Then let's change the subject. Do you know anything about the four customers' past?"

Liu Ye shook his head, and Dongmei couldn't help but say, "Young Master, I know."

Noticing the gazes of others, Dongmei stared intently at Su Yuchen. Seeing that he didn't object, she then said:

"The Four Customers of the East Sea are the sons of the former city lord of East Sea Sword City. However, his mother was just a maid in the city lord's mansion. It is said that the city lord forcibly took her after she got drunk, and that's how she gave birth to the child."

"It is said that he was bullied and neglected by everyone in the city lord's mansion since he was a child. Even his brothers and sisters looked down on him. He could only live in the woodshed and was fed like a dog. He was even ridiculed as an idiot."

"Later, for some reason, his swordsmanship suddenly improved greatly, and he slaughtered the entire city lord's mansion overnight. From then on, he became a sword saint and one of the world's grandmasters."

Su Yuchen asked calmly, "So, do you understand?"

The group shook their heads.

Su Yuchen said helplessly:

"It is hatred, it is resentment, it is the murderous intent that comes after being utterly humiliated."

"The four customers' swordsmanship emphasizes 'looking ahead but not behind,' and looking back is always a blank. It is a pure and extreme sword intent of using killing to stop killing."