Chapter 194: Duan Lei and Ji Fuhui
Chapter 194: Chapter 194: Duan Lei and Ji Fuhui
"Six Paths Palace?"
Yu the Scholar’s hand paused as he held his teacup. He looked up at Zhu Ge, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"That’s... a pretty impressive name, isn’t it?"
"Mhm, it is." Zhu Ge nodded. "It’s in a valley southeast of Jianshan Village. The place was originally the territory of a Second Realm Long Fern Pig. I took it down and converted the area."
"Second Realm..." Yu the Scholar put down his teacup and looked Zhu Ge up and down, as if seeing him for the first time. "What have you been doing since you killed the Raincoat Fisherman?"
Zhu Ge lifted his cup, took a sip of the now-cold tea, and began to speak slowly.
"After killing the Raincoat Fisherman, I settled down in that valley. It’s surrounded by mountains on all four sides, easy to defend and hard to attack..."
Zhu Ge recounted the events one by one.
Of course, he left out certain details.
’Besides, it’ll all be clear once I take Yu the Scholar there to see for himself.’
As Zhu Ge’s story unfolded, Yu the Scholar grew increasingly shocked.
’After all, Zhu Ge was only in the First Realm when he left!’
’In terms of strength, he only knew the Vajra Palm technique and could barely hold his own against some First Realm Demon Beasts.’
’And now?’
’From what Zhu Ge was saying, no Second Realm opponent could even last a single exchange with him.’
’Even a Third Realm master could be instantly killed if they made one careless move.’
’He’s too strong!’
Yu the Scholar’s mouth moved, but he was suddenly at a loss for words.
Finally, he managed to squeeze out, "If I were willing to burn away my lifespan... you might not be able to beat me..."
"...right?"
’Can’t win?’
Seeing Yu the Scholar’s stubborn pride, Zhu Ge just smiled. "It’s hard to say."
At this, Yu the Scholar’s face flushed red.
Zhu Ge burst out laughing upon seeing this.
’So satisfying!’
’When he’d struggled so hard to reach the Second Realm before, there was no one to share the achievement with.’
’After all, only Hua Liusha knew how hard it had been for him back then.’
’Liu Jianjian and the others had no idea how weak he’d been before all this.’
’But now was different. He’d met Yu the Scholar again.’
’This was the perfect chance to show off a little.’
"Right, where are Little Black Egg and Big Belly Dog?" Zhu Ge’s eyes lit up.
Yu the Scholar shot him a look. "Weren’t you being all profound and mysterious a moment ago? What’s with the sudden change in attitude?"
"Haha!" Zhu Ge’s composure broke instantly. He stood up, bent over, and slung an arm around Yu the Scholar’s neck, pulling him up.
"Let’s go, let’s go! What’s so fun about drinking tea? Let’s find those two and drink ourselves into a stupor!"
Zhu Ge pushed open the door of the stone room and nearly collided head-on with someone walking toward him.
The man had broad shoulders and a thick back, his bulging muscles looking as if they were cast from iron and bronze. He wore a tight, coarse tunic, his chest muscles straining the fabric.
He was holding a bowl of wine. When he saw Zhu Ge, he froze on the spot, and half the wine in his bowl spilled out.
"Zhu... Zhu Ge?!"
Duan Lei’s voice trembled slightly, his eyes wide as bronze bells. "The City Lord just told me someone was looking for me. It was you?!"
He looked Zhu Ge up and down several times, and after confirming he wasn’t hallucinating, he set the wine bowl aside and threw his arms around him.
"You’re not dead! You’re not dead! I knew you wouldn’t fucking die!"
Duan Lei’s voice boomed and echoed in the stone room, making one’s eardrums ache.
Zhu Ge, caught in his embrace, felt like his ribs were about to break. He chuckled helplessly, "Let go, let go... I need to stay in one piece for the wars to come."
In reality, with his current physique, he could stand there and let Duan Lei punch him all day without so much as breaking the skin.
"Ah, I’m a late-Anger Realm Martial Artist now. I didn’t hold back my strength." Duan Lei finally let go and took two steps back.
He looked him up and down again, his eyes turning red, but he was grinning like an idiot.
"You... how did you get so buff?" Zhu Ge sized up Duan Lei as well.
"I’ve practiced a few Martial Arts, tempered my body every day, and ate a lot, so I grew like this." Duan Lei scratched his head, smiling sheepishly. "I can kill an Ox Demon with a single punch now!"
"Not bad." Zhu Ge clapped him on the shoulder. "Much faster than I was back in the day."
"You bet." Duan Lei puffed out his chest proudly, then suddenly remembered something. "Right, what realm are you at now?"
Zhu Ge smiled slightly. Instead of answering directly, he pulled the Purgatory Star Rod from his waist and casually struck it on the ground.
BOOM—
With a muffled bang, the entire stone room trembled.
The bluestone slabs on the floor spiderwebbed with fine cracks, spreading out a full three feet from the point where the rod had struck.
Duan Lei’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"This... This is..."
"Mid-Mountain Shattering Realm." Zhu Ge put his rod away. "Eh, it’s alright. Just had a little breakthrough not too long ago by accident."
Duan Lei’s mouth hung open, speechless for a long moment.
He turned to look at Yu the Scholar, who just shrugged, wearing an expression that said, ’I’m just as shocked, but I’m not saying anything.’
"You... You can fight Third Realm experts now?" Duan Lei finally managed to squeeze out.
"Fought a few, haven’t lost." Zhu Ge said nonchalantly. "I have a subordinate who I almost killed by accident during a spar. Man, that was so careless of me. Oh, wait, I mean, I was being too careful."
"You really were being careful, then." Duan Lei was speechless.
He looked down at his own fists, then back at Zhu Ge, and suddenly plopped down on the floor, sighing toward the heavens.
"I thought I was training fast enough, but compared to you, I’m just a fucking piece of trash!"
Zhu Ge roared with laughter, crouching down to pat his face. "Don’t be discouraged. How long have you even been training? I had benefactors, fortunate encounters, and Cultivation Techniques. You had none of that. To reach the First Realm is already incredible."
"Really?" Duan Lei’s eyes lit up.
"Really." Zhu Ge said. "Once you come back with me to the Six Paths Palace, I’ll find you some good Cultivation Techniques, get you some Spirit Pills and precious medicines, and I guarantee you’ll reach the Second Realm within two years."
Duan Lei shot to his feet and grabbed Zhu Ge’s hand. "You promise?"
"I promise." Zhu Ge smiled.
Just as they were talking, another person walked in through the door.
This person was half a head shorter than Duan Lei, but had a well-proportioned figure with long limbs. He wore a coarse green tunic, and a small tool pouch hung from his waist.
His fingers were long and slender, his nails neatly trimmed—the hands of someone who did delicate work.
Ji Fuhui.
The change in him was even greater than in Duan Lei. The scrawny, perpetually grinning Little Black Egg was gone, replaced by a calm and reserved young man.
But his eyes were still just as lively. With a flick of his gaze, a spark of cleverness would emerge.
"Zhu Ge." Ji Fuhui wasn’t as emotional as Duan Lei. He simply stood at the doorway, watching him quietly, the corners of his mouth lifting into a slight smile. "You’re here."
"I’m here." Zhu Ge walked over and bumped fists with him. "I heard you’re learning the Mo Family Mechanism Art?"
"Mhm." Ji Fuhui nodded. "City Lord Ding took me in as a Registered Disciple. I’ve been studying for over a year and can now build First Realm Reconnoitre Puppets."
"I feel like neither the Confucian Dao nor the Martial Dao are right for me. For now, the path of the Mo Family suits me best. I feel the most enlightenment when studying the Mo Family’s ways."
"That’s amazing," Zhu Ge praised sincerely.
The Mo Family Mechanism Art is no easier than the Martial Dao; it requires both talent and patience.
For Ji Fuhui to start from scratch and be able to independently build a First Realm puppet in just over a year proved he truly had a talent for it.
"Your Six Paths Palace—are you short on Mechanism Masters?" Ji Fuhui asked.
"We are." Zhu Ge nodded and smiled. "Very short."
"Then I’ll go," Ji Fuhui said. "Just pay me a salary. One copper coin a year will do."
Zhu Ge laughed. "You’ll get your fair share of pay. Not only a salary, but also merit points. You can exchange those points for Cultivation Techniques, pills, and Spiritual Artifacts."