"Don't joke around, Liu," Lu Yuan said seriously. "Last time, you were humiliated and tortured by that pigtailed Penglai Apostle. You were beaten so badly... Don't you want to take revenge?"

"You were the one who was beaten..."

Master Liudao Yuan was leisurely sipping his tea. Upon hearing Lu Yuan's words, he spat out all his soda, his calm demeanor instantly shattering, and he cursed in embarrassment and anger.

Lu Yuan wiped the spit from his face and continued, unconcerned, "Also, from what I heard, the Snake Sect has already completely removed the lineage of Master Liudao Yuan from their records..."

Master Liudao Yuan's expression changed dramatically, but he eventually forced himself to calm down.

He resettled himself, reclining slightly, and replied coolly, "What I advocate now... is peace."

Lu Yuan frowned, feeling something was distinctly off about Liu.

But he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

In short, he really couldn't understand how Liu had undergone such a drastic change in temperament after that incident.

I should have someone investigate this thoroughly later....

As Lu Yuan was pondering, he heard Master Liudao Yuan ask him, "Young man, how do you suddenly have time to come back and see me? Tell me, what's on your mind? I don't have any martial arts techniques left to teach you..."

"I didn't come to ask you for techniques," Lu Yuan shook his head and replied. "I mainly just wanted to come back and see how your recovery is progressing..."

"Now you've seen?" Master Liudao Yuan said casually. "What do you think of my recovery?"

"I suggest you continue your hospitalization. And don't stop taking the medicine," Lu Yuan stated with a grave expression.

Hearing this, Master Liudao Yuan bristled, his beard quivering, looking ready to strike him.

Lu Yuan quickly refilled his cup with soda, then said seriously, "Also, I wanted to ask you, Teacher, about the process of your advancement to Grandmaster."

"The process of advancing to Grandmaster?..." Master Liudao Yuan frowned. Then, a blue light flashed in his eyes, and he shot up from his chair. "You're about to become a Grandmaster?"

Lu Yuan softly murmured an affirmative. Seeing him nod in confirmation, Master Liudao Yuan burst out laughing, "Good, good, good! If you cross this threshold before the end of the year, you'll be a seventeen-year-old Grandmaster! Throughout the history of the Ancient Martial Arts World, no one can compare to you! If it weren't for... our Crane Sect would have two Grandmasters! How dare those good-for-nothings in the Snake Sect remove us from their records? What an absolute joke!"

Seeing his joyous expression, Lu Yuan couldn't help but say, "If you go back for surgery now, you still have a chance to make the tale of one sect, two Grandmasters a reality."

Master Liudao Yuan was clearly tempted for a moment. But, to Lu Yuan's surprise, this man, who cared so much for his reputation, decisively renounced this opportunity that would have greatly enhanced his prestige.

"Forget it. I'm genuinely no longer interested in being a Grandmaster," Master Liudao Yuan shook his head, changing the subject. "Let's talk about your situation first."

Old Liu was still Old Liu. Even if his "temperament had greatly changed," his kindness towards Lu Yuan was undeniable.

He meticulously recounted to Lu Yuan the entire process of how he had taken that step, including all the preceding causes and subsequent effects, not even shying away from "reopening old wounds."

To summarize, it was the betrayal of his "beloved disciple" Pei Ye, the expulsion from the Heaven Water Sect, his physical disabilities... A series of events had left a maelstrom of negative emotions in Liu's heart: pain, humiliation, resentment, unwillingness, frustration, and more.

These emotions had accumulated in his heart for fifteen long years, becoming akin to a mental demon.

During the Southern Hundred Cities Martial Arts League, when the Crane Sect was repeatedly targeted and bullied, this demon in Liu's heart resurfaced, and he even began to doubt himself.

But unexpectedly, Lu Yuan, his "true disciple," gave him an immense surprise, leading him on a single night's campaign against thirteen sects.

That night, an untold number of people heard Liu's laughter, as unrestrained and joyous as a night owl's call.

The demon in Liu's heart was dispelled overnight. His True Intention tripled in strength in a single night. If not for his physical disabilities, he would have directly advanced to Grandmaster...

"Breaking the heart's impediment."

After hearing Liu's account, Lu Yuan summarized it in three words.

Liu's breakthrough experience was quite similar to that of Xu Weiguo's friend who couldn't have children. Both had lingering obsessions in their hearts, causing them deep unhappiness. Once these obsessions were eliminated, their advancement to Grandmaster was a natural consequence.

Do I have any obsessions? Lu Yuan asked himself.

He currently knew of two methods to advance to Grandmaster: one was to comprehend the true essence of Pure Martial in the crucible of life and death; the other was to break through mental impediments and eliminate obsessions. These were two shortcuts.

Lu Yuan thought for a moment, then said to Master Liudao Yuan, "Teacher, arrange a quiet room for me. I'll stay here for a few days."

He planned to properly reflect and see if he could achieve a "Dragon Field" epiphany and become a Grandmaster overnight.

"Alright." Master Liudao Yuan called Liu Si to make the arrangements.

Before leaving, Lu Yuan suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but ask Master Liudao Yuan, "The upcoming Martial Arts Conference on Martial Saint Island, are you still planning to go, Teacher?"

This Martial Arts Conference was also something Liu had eagerly anticipated before.

Who would have thought that now, upon hearing about it, Master Liudao Yuan wouldn't even bat an eyelid, replying nonchalantly, "We'll see when the time comes. If I'm in the mood, I'll go."

"Right." Lu Yuan shook his head, no longer bothering with him, and turned to leave with Liu Si.

After Lu Yuan departed, Master Liudao Yuan remained reclined on his rocking chair, looking as unperturbed as ever. He sipped his soda and basked in the sun, as lazy as an old cat dozing at the foot of a wall.

An unknown amount of time passed before Liu Si's figure silently appeared beside him.

Master Liudao Yuan, with his eyes still closed, spoke faintly, "Has Yuan gone into seclusion?"

"Yes," Liu Si replied respectfully. "We've specially arranged the innermost room for the Young Hall Master."

SWISH!

Upon hearing this, Master Liudao Yuan's eyes snapped open, and he swiftly rose from the rocking chair.

"Let's go!"

"Yes, sir."

Master Liudao Yuan led the way, moving like the wind, completely devoid of his previous detached and lazy demeanor. Liu Si followed closely behind.

Soon, after navigating several twists and turns, they arrived at a basement located in the deepest part beneath Linghe Pavilion.

The space here was quite large. One side was constructed with smooth, even walls, while the other appeared rather rough, but all four walls were lined with thick soundproofing material. It looked like a martial arts field, and also somewhat like an underground shooting range.

Master Liudao Yuan walked to the center of the area, an indescribable look of anticipation, even excitement, faintly visible on his aged face.

He said quickly, "Let's begin."

Liu Si understood, quietly retreated to a corner, and pressed a button on the wall.

BOOM! BOOM!

Hidden doors on all four walls slid open, and humanoid steel targets shot out.

In an instant, a brilliant blue light erupted from Master Liudao Yuan's eyes, and his entire being became intensely animated.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Master Liudao Yuan's limbs and chest rapidly swelled, his clothes straining and tearing open.

KACHA KACHA KACHA—

Accompanied by a series of crisp and dense mechanical sounds, dozens of gun muzzles and cannon barrels emerged from his limbs, chest, back, and other positions.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—

Dazzling energy beams and torrents of fire erupted from these dozens of barrels, blasting apart one humanoid alloy steel target after another.

Master Liudao Yuan's emotions found complete release in this process. He roared with laughter, utterly exultant. His snow-white hair and beard were whipped about by the shockwaves generated by the gunfire.

"Hahaha!

"What's a Grandmaster worth? Can a Grandmaster withstand a few shots from my laser guns?

"Yuan is too young. Talented, yes, but his understanding of power is still far inferior to this old man's.

"Pure Martial is just a minor path; laser cannons and artillery are the true Great Dao!

"Liu Si, order me eighteen more nuclear fission guns! I've comprehended a new set of moves—Nuclear Is Noble! One nuke, and a Grandmaster kneels! Two nukes, and a Grandmaster ascends to the heavens! When the Martial Arts Conference begins, I'll blast the Snake Sect and Penglai to smithereens!

"From this day forward, I, Master Liudao Yuan, am the founder of the Heaven Water Sect's Crane Sect!"

「Later」

Is Linghe Pavilion still undergoing renovations this late at night?

In the quiet room, Lu Yuan heard a faint vibration seemingly coming from beneath him. He opened his eyes and muttered to himself in confusion. He considered extending his Spiritual Power to investigate but decided against it.

He stood up and walked to the wall of the quiet room in the darkness, pushing open the window.

Night had fallen. A round moon hung high in the sky, its clear, cold light cascading down.

Still not enough.... Lu Yuan gazed at the moon above him and murmured, releasing his Spiritual Power.

The mist-like Spiritual Power instantly filled the entire quiet room. Even the moon before Lu Yuan's eyes seemed to distort.

Compared to before, Lu Yuan had already made considerable progress. The mist-like Spiritual Power had become much denser, showing a tendency to transform into a liquid state. The True Intention he released had also been refined and compressed to a height of one hundred meters, half of its previous two hundred meters.

However, he was still a long way from advancing to Grandmaster, where his True Intention would fully merge with his physique.

Nevertheless, after a day of seated meditation, Lu Yuan had essentially clarified his path to advancement.

My accumulation in martial arts is still somewhat lacking....

I've had two persistent obsessions: one is to use Pure Martial to contend against the Extraordinary. The other is to pioneer Extraordinary Martial Arts....

And then there's the comprehension forged in the crucible of life and death, an extreme devotion to Pure Martial...

These three paths to advancement that Lu Yuan had summarized shared a common point—all of them required combat! Vast amounts of high-level, high-quality combat between Pure Martial practitioners were needed to achieve this.

Thus, Penglai suddenly became a place Lu Yuan absolutely had to go. Only Penglai could provide him with so many high-quality opponents in the domain of Pure Martial. Penglai also had the Heaven Climbing Ladder, which could temper one's will.

The Martial Arts Conference... this trip is definitely intended to crash their party. Yu Wentong mentioned before that if I want to make a move on Penglai, I can, but I cannot call upon the power of Yellow Bear....

The Penglai Wu Chao... Heaven Lord Wu Chao.... Lu Yuan mused.

Wanting to take down Penglai all by himself was obviously unrealistic. Even if he could defeat the Penglai Wu Chao and Heaven Lord Wu Chao, Penglai still had dozens of Grandmasters and a whole swarm of other Pure Martial Fighters. He would definitely need assistance from other forces.

If he couldn't use Yellow Bear's power, then...

The words naturally surfaced in Lu Yuan's mind—Evil Martial Association!

If I attack Penglai as the reigning Evil Emperor of the Evil Martial Association... wouldn't that be incredibly stimulating?

Penglai had taken many Evil Emperor Relics left by past Evil Emperors of the Evil Martial Association. As the current Evil Emperor of the Evil Martial Association, going to Penglai to reclaim them would not only be a justifiable cause but also perfectly reasonable.

Lu Yuan's eyes lit up. The more he thought about it, the more feasible this idea seemed.

However, to implement this plan, he first needed to unify the Evil Martial Association and formally ascend to the position of Evil Emperor.

I should contact those three.

Lu Yuan thought, then used his current authority as a Double Winged Flying Bear to query the whereabouts of the three Protectors of the Evil Martial Association who were previously under Pei Ye.

These three, with their S-rank Evil Energy Fluctuation, were running amok in the Old City Circle. Under the surveillance of the Heavenly Eye, they were as conspicuous as light bulbs in the dark, making them easy to locate.

In less than five minutes, Lu Yuan obtained their precise current location.

He took a look.

Well, what a coincidence.

The three of them were currently less than fifty kilometers away from Lu Yuan.

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