Martial Arts Across the Heavens: Becoming a Martial God Starting from the Big Boss in Tangshan

Chen Wen also stood up, offered a slight gesture of support, and smiled:

"No need for formalities. And please don't call me 'boss' anymore, it sounds awkward. Just call me 'the boss'."

"Boss?" Yan Zhendong was taken aback. This was a new way of addressing him, but it was just a title. He immediately corrected himself, "Yes, boss."

"That's right." Chen Wen sat down again, pointed to the table full of dishes, and said, "Alright, now that we've finished talking business, let's eat! The food's getting cold!"

Only then did the two of them actually start eating.

Chen Wen tasted it and said the taste was just okay. Seasonings were scarce in this era, and the ingredients were far less abundant than in later generations. The advantage was that the raw materials were relatively fresh.

Yan Zhendong couldn't tell whether it was good or bad.

He went hungry for three days straight, eating nine meals a day, and had no appetite for anything.

Since she had already accepted the employment and was now Chen Wen's subordinate, she didn't feel any psychological burden.

He immediately started eating with gusto.

He was a martial artist with a huge appetite, and he had been starving for a long time. He ate three pieces of char siu in one bite, and finished a plate of vegetables in just a couple of bites.

Chen Wen found it amusing but didn't care. He waved and called over the waiter.

I added a few main dishes and a bowl of rice.

As I was eating, a rhythmic "tap, tap" of a wooden fish drum drifted from the street outside the window, mixed with the deep chanting of Buddhist scriptures.

"Amitabha Buddha... Amitabha Buddha..."

Chen Wen turned his head and saw several monks walking down the street, striking wooden fish.

A strange-sounding shout came from the other side.

"Hallelujah... Hallelujah..."

On the other side of the street, four foreign missionaries dressed in black robes and wearing crosses around their necks were surrounded by several local believers.

Holding a cross, he walked along, loudly proclaiming his message.

Behind them, someone was holding up a black sail with a line of large characters written on it.

"The Lord so loved the world."

Yan Zhendong was also attracted by the shouts outside. He looked downstairs and saw this scene, and his brows immediately furrowed.

His face revealed undisguised disgust and hatred; he let out a heavy snort and muttered under his breath:

"Hmph! Those foreign devils who spread heresy and mislead the public!"

After he finished cursing, he suddenly seemed to remember something and quickly turned to look at Chen Wen, somewhat embarrassed:

"Boss, are you a follower of a foreign religion?"

Chen Wen understood seven or eight parts of the situation just by looking at his expression and the tone of his question.

It seems that Yan Zhendong harbors a deep-seated animosity towards foreigners, which may even have some historical basis.

He put down his chopsticks, looked at Yan Zhendong, and shook his head decisively:

"Master Yan, you've misunderstood. I wear this outfit simply for convenience; it has nothing to do with my beliefs."

"To tell you the truth, I don't believe in any religion."

"In my opinion, whether it's chanting Amitabha Buddha, shouting 'Infinite Heavenly Venerable,' 'Hallelujah,' or anything else, none of it is a good thing."

Yan Zhendong was clearly taken aback by Chen Wen's words and was momentarily stunned.

His original intention was that since he had taken Chen Wen's money, even if he hated foreign religions, he should consider the boss's attitude.

I never expected to get this answer.

Chen Wen not only denied foreign religions, but it seems he also denied all religious sects, including monks and Taoists.

He hesitated for a moment, then spoke:

"The boss has a point."

"However, there are some good sects in this world."

Chen Wen narrowed his eyes, vaguely sensing something.

Yan Zhendong's attitude towards the sect seems a bit ambiguous? Just who is this guy?

Shandong has several special products: corrupt scholars, bandits, cultists, and rebels.

There were White Lotus, Blue Lantern, and, to put it more positively, the Boxers.

Considering the timeline, could Yan Zhendong be connected to these things?

Chen Wen didn't press further, but simply took a small sip of his tea and continued responding to the other person's words:

"I don't believe in any gods, Buddhas, Gods, or Allahs. I have my own beliefs."

"However, these topics are too broad. We're just ordinary people, we don't have that kind of insight, we can't discuss them, and we can't interfere. Come on, eat your food, it won't taste good if it gets cold."

Yan Zhendong also had his own concerns and didn't want to say much about the matter.

He quickly buried his head and continued eating.

However, although they didn't want to talk about these things, they couldn't avoid them.

The two groups of people downstairs had already gathered at the foot of the teahouse, and their shouts were getting louder and louder, as if they were having a shouting contest.

The old men upstairs who were playing musical instruments and singing got anxious when they saw this.

The erhu and clappers raised their pitch, and the person striking the gong swung his arm around as if he had some irreconcilable hatred for the gong in his hand.

The noise from upstairs and downstairs grew louder and louder, with none of the three groups giving an inch.

The enormous noise clashed and collided inside and outside the teahouse, making people's heads ache.

Pedestrians on the street had already covered their ears and fled.

However, the people eating in the teahouse could not escape directly and were all tormented.

The people at the same table wanted to chat, so they had to shout at the top of their lungs.

The person on the other end could only hear intermittently, and was so angry that they slammed their fist on the table.

"Stop making noise! ​​Can't a person eat or talk in peace?!"

"Yeah! It's so annoying!"

Unfortunately, these complaints were quickly drowned out by the noise.

Foreigners, monks, and the old man in the teahouse were all shouting desperately.

Yan Zhendong had already covered his ears.

Even he couldn't eat in such a noisy environment.

Just then.

Ugh...!

A deep, muffled roar came from afar without warning, instantly drowning out all the noise!

The voice was deep, yet extremely penetrating.

It was brutal and direct, silencing all the artificially created noise.

The teahouse fell into a sudden silence.

Everyone instinctively stopped moving, turning their heads toward the direction from which the sound came, their eyes filled with confusion.

That's the direction of the port.

"It's a foreign ship!"

Yan Zhendong was also looking at the port, his expression extremely complicated.

There seemed to be some pain, as well as some resentment and anger.

"The steamships moored at the dock sounded their horns."

"During my time in Foshan, I kept hearing that there were foreigners everywhere in Foshan."

Chen Wen knew, of course, that it was the sound of a steam whistle.

But the expression on his face was somewhat meaningful as he gazed at the rising black smoke in the distance and murmured:

"This is the sound of 'progress'!"

"Whether it's the West or the East, everything backward will be crushed by it!"

Yan Zhendong seemed not to understand:

What is progress?

Chen Wen suddenly turned around, looked at him, and smiled slightly.

"If gods exist in this world, then gods represent progress!"

"If science exists, then science is progress!"

Yan Zhendong was taken aback and subconsciously looked down at the monks and foreigners downstairs, and the musicians on the second floor.

I vaguely grasped something, but I couldn't figure it out.

I feel somewhat uncomfortable and a little lost.

Chen Wen offered no further explanation, but simply looked away, his gaze somewhat unfocused, as if lost in thought.

It's just a pity.

The whistle stopped, and the three groups of people seemed to have forgotten the shock they had just experienced.

He started shouting again, this time in a higher and sharper tone, and the noise continued, plunging everyone inside and outside the teahouse into torment once more.

The thoughts that had just surfaced in Yan Zhendong's mind were all dispelled.

He quickly covered his ears with one hand and ate faster with the other, unable to help but complain:

"But look, these people only stopped for a little while, and then they started making noise again."

Chen Wen shook his head slightly, his expression becoming extremely serious.

"Many people in this world rely on luck."

"As long as the wheels don't run over their heads, they will continue to deceive themselves and eke out a living."

"But compromise will only embolden the other side, until one day, the wheels of war really come crashing down on you. You either die, or you fight back!"

Yan Zhendong suddenly shuddered, no longer caring about continuing to eat. He looked up at the young man in front of him, a terrifying thought rising in his mind.

I guessed right before, but I was also wrong.

This guy is indeed going to kill people, but he's not going to kill just one or two!