Li Musheng tucked the banknote into his embrace and scanned the surroundings.
The situation in the courtyard had changed drastically. The Zhahe Seven Thieves had been incapacitated by his acupoint sealing, and the various disciples and apprentices were no longer in mortal danger. However, everyone's gaze was now fixed on Li Musheng, their eyes filled with strange emotions: surprise, unfamiliarity, disbelief, and more.
Li Musheng didn't pay them any mind. In his fifteen years at the martial arts school, he had displayed terrible aptitude and roots, making him unpopular among the martial artists there, so he wasn't familiar with them.
"Old Man Yu, since you're so straightforward, I'll help you out again." Li Musheng raised an eyebrow, then suddenly extended his palm towards a person nearby.
Yu Zhentian didn't understand what he meant, but the next moment, he was greatly alarmed and hurriedly shouted, "Stop!"
However, Li Musheng's hand didn't stop and continued to descend towards Yu Xian's head. Clearly, with the strength Li Musheng had just displayed, if this palm strike connected, Yu Xian would undoubtedly die.
It was at this moment that Yu Xian, who was originally lying with broken limbs and barely breathing, suddenly opened his eyes wide. His feet exploded with powerful force, stomping heavily and cracking the floor tiles. His entire body slid backward rapidly, flat against the ground, attempting to evade Li Musheng's palm.
However, he had clearly overestimated himself. No matter how fast his reaction, how could he escape Li Musheng's grasp? His body had only slid halfway when he felt the internal energy in his dantian seize up, and his body instantly went numb, causing him to fall to the ground, unable to move.
At once, a look of terror appeared in Yu Xian's eyes, because from beginning to end, he hadn't seen how he had been struck on his acupuncture points.
"What's going on?" Yu Zhentian immediately went to Yu Xian's side. After seeing the other person flawlessly make a move just now, even if he didn't understand the reason, he knew there was something wrong with his eldest son.
Li Musheng didn't even glance at the person on the ground. He rubbed his chin and said, "The Zhahe Seven Thieves should, in theory, have seven members. I'm guessing this is the last one of them."
Hearing this, Yu Zhentian reached out and grabbed at Yu Xian's face on the ground. As expected, he peeled off a human skin mask, revealing the face of an unfamiliar middle-aged man, roughly fifty years old.
Seeing this, the other Zhahe Seven Thieves, including Scum Three, felt their hearts sink.
"You're Scum One, the leader of the Zhahe Seven Thieves?" A chill instantly ran down Yu Zhentian's spine. This man was not only skilled in martial arts but also incredibly treacherous. He had actually impersonated Yu Xian and deceived him. If Li Musheng hadn't exposed him, he would surely have been ambushed, and likely suffered severe injuries or even death.
Recalling this, Yu Zhentian's hair bristled with rage. He angrily dragged Scum One off the ground and demanded, "Where is my son now?"
But Scum One merely met his gaze, unable to speak at all.
Yu Zhentian was secretly amazed. Li Musheng's acupoint-sealing technique was truly unheard of; in an instant, he had even sealed the mute acupoint! He immediately circulated internal energy to his fingers, wanting to unseal Scum One's mute acupoint. But to his shock, Scum One's mute acupoint was as solid as rock; his internal energy couldn't budge the sealed qi within it by even a single iota.
"Let me do it." Li Musheng flicked his finger lightly. Scum One felt his throat loosen, and he could finally utter sounds. He stared at Li Musheng and exclaimed, "Martial arts true qi, an Innate Realm master? Who exactly are you?"
The path of martial arts is generally divided into three major realms: the Houtian Realm, the Innate Realm, and the Celestial Realm! The Houtian Realm focuses on refining muscles, bones, and skin, and cultivating internal energy to flow through the body's meridians. Only by fully opening the twelve primary meridians and clearing the Ren and Du meridians can one draw martial arts true qi into their body and step into the Innate Realm.
In a remote small city like Shun'an, Houtian masters were rare, and martial artists who could reach the Innate Realm were as rare as phoenix feathers. Scum One, a half-step Innate Realm expert himself, never imagined he would encounter a true Innate master here.
Li Musheng glanced at Scum One, whom Yu Zhentian was holding, completely ignoring him. He said, "These fellows are not good people. Whether you kill them or torture them, you decide."
Yu Zhentian cautiously watched Li Musheng. After his expression rapidly shifted for a moment, he nodded.
Li Musheng said nothing more and turned to walk towards the back courtyard of the martial arts school. Halfway there, he looked back at Zhang Dazhuang, who was still standing dumbfounded. "Zhang Ge, there's nothing for you here anymore. Aren't you leaving?"
Hearing this, Zhang Dazhuang vigorously rubbed his cheeks. His gaze lingered on Yu Zhentian and Scum One for a moment, then he quickly caught up to Li Musheng. By now, he clearly understood that Li Musheng had deliberately asked him to carry Yu Second Sister earlier to save his life. Otherwise, if he had fallen into the hands of the impostor Scum One, how could he have had a chance to survive?
However, Zhang Dazhuang was overthinking this. Even if he had fallen into Scum One's hands, if Li Musheng didn't want him to die, he wouldn't be able to, even if he wished to. As for why he had acted that way before, it was purely because Li Musheng had never intended to flee in the first place.
A short while later, Li Musheng arrived at a dilapidated, cramped small room in the furthest corner of the backyard and began packing his belongings.
Zhang Dazhuang stood outside the door, looking around for a while, unsure what to say. He only dared to ask cautiously, "Ah Sheng, how did you suddenly become so powerful? Even the notorious Zhahe Seven Thieves are no match for you."
"Guess?"
"Did you secretly acknowledge an unparalleled master as your teacher? Or did you pick up a divine martial arts manual? Or perhaps..."
Li Musheng picked up his packed bag and slung it over his shoulder, chuckling, "None of the above. It's all thanks to my extraordinary talent and self-taught skills!"
Hearing this, Zhang Dazhuang instinctively rolled his eyes. It was well-known that he and Li Musheng had the worst aptitudes in the entire Yu family martial arts school, having made no progress in martial arts for so many years, their status even lower than that of servants. However, remembering Li Musheng's current strength, he quickly managed his expression, afraid of displeasing the guy and getting slapped flying!
"I knew you wouldn't believe it, but it's the truth!" Li Musheng spread his hands, then looked down for a bit, finally pulling out a stack of crumpled rough paper from under the broken leg of his bed. He put the rough paper into Zhang Dazhuang's hand and said casually, "Nothing much to give you before I leave. This has a divine art called 'Indestructible Vajra Divine Art' written on it, which is just right for you to practice. Consider it a gift!"
Zhang Dazhuang took the rough paper, feeling both surprised and hesitant. He wasn't quite sure if this divine art written on cheap paper was real or fake. But soon, he sighed and shook his head, saying, "Ah Sheng, I appreciate your good intentions, but I know my own situation. My aptitude and roots are too poor; I probably can't cultivate this divine art."
Li Musheng patted his shoulder and chuckled, "Don't worry, this martial art doesn't require any martial arts aptitude or roots. It only depends on the practitioner's perseverance and mental fortitude. As long as you keep practicing, you'll have no problem protecting yourself in the martial arts world in the future."