Iron Palm Mountain, Middle Finger Peak.
After the battle, the dust and smoke were everywhere, the wide and flat training ground lay in ruins, with crevices like wounds rolling over, a large amount of crimson flesh and pale white bones scattered around.
Of the more than ten Gang Qi Grandmasters and dozens of True Qi Masters, most have no remains. Only those who retreated to the edge survived by chance, but they were also impacted by the aftermath, each injured and on the ground, unable and unwilling to get up.
"Hoo!"
A gust of wind blew by, dispersing the dust and smoke. In the massive training ground, only one person stood alone, contrasting with the corpses everywhere, appearing more like a Demon God descending to the world.
"Cough cough cough!"
At the edge of the training ground, an old man supported himself, his straw rain cape and bamboo hat shattered, with four people behind him in shock and uncertainty, looking rather bedraggled but not much harmed.
It was indeed...
"Six-Fifth Divine Marquis—Zhuge Zhengwo!"
A soft whisper came along, the four constables raised their heads in horror, finding the person already in front of them, facing their mentor.
"Cough cough!"
Zhuge Zhengwo coughed lightly, his face slightly pale, but no blood at his mouth, indicating his injuries weren't severe.
Indeed not severe, for after Fang Zheng died, he had retreated to the edge of the training ground, not participating in the battle at all. If not for the limited space of the training ground and Shen Hex's terrifying Dragon Subduing Skill forcing him to protect his disciples, he wouldn't have been injured at all.
But injured or not, severity or not, at this moment, it seemed to make no difference.
After all...
Zhuge Zhengwo's expression was calm, not a sign of panic, instead a bit relieved, even laughed lightly, "To hear the Dao in the morning, to die in the evening without regret in this life!"
"Is that so?"
Shen Hex smiled, also calm, "Anything else you want to say?"
"This..."
With these words, before Zhuge Zhengwo spoke, the four constables were already tense, even holding their waist knives.
Zhuge Zhengwo shook his head, signaling them not to move recklessly, and spoke alone to Shen Hex, "A thousand words and numerous doubts, can you clarify them for me?"
"Why not?"
Shen Hex smiled, agreeing freely, yet said nothing more.
Zhuge Zhengwo bowed his head, looked at the scarred, frightening training ground and the corpses scattered all over, sighed and said, "Your martial arts have reached such heights, none of them are your match, you could've defeated them individually, yet you still orchestrated this Iron Palm Mountain incident, wanting to seize the opportunity to catch them all at once, and also as a rightful reason?"
"Exactly!"
Shen Hex nodded.
Twenty years is both a brief yet lengthy time.
During these twenty years, he developed both openly and secretly, relying on cultivation, investment, and eliminating evil to enhance his Martial Arts Cultivation and Mad Hero Professional Level, finally mastering unmatched martial arts.
But force alone cannot solve all problems, and he lacks foresight or the skills of Celestial Vision and Earthly Hearing. If he went ahead to kill Gang Qi Grandmasters from various sects, it might alert others, making it hard to root them out.
Therefore, he allowed Lei Sanjue and others to facilitate the Iron Palm Mountain incident, seizing the chance to wipe out the Gang Qi Grandmasters from all major forces, clearing obstacles and hidden dangers for future development.
Besides, he needed a legitimate reason, since the way to gain experience in the Mad Hero profession is by helping the weak and slaying karma. Thus, he needed these forces to deepen their Karmic Force, to nurture experience for himself.
This method of deepening Karmic Force is simple, not even needing to sacrifice anyone, just...
"You are not practicing mundane martial arts; it shouldn't even be called martial arts!"
Zhuge Zhengwo looked at him, eyes showing rare suspicion, "Including this Iron Palm Mountain, everything you've done is all for nurturing that Vast Righteous Qi?"
Shen Hex nodded, "You could say that."
"..."
Such a response left Zhuge Zhengwo silent for a long while, until he stooped to pick up a piece of cloth, staring at the bright red blood stain on it, murmuring, "Many among them were good friends to me, seniors in Jianghu, respected figures in the martial world, and revered pillars of the Orthodox Dao..."
His words carried implications.
Shen Hex's expression did not change, "Being my enemy makes them Evil Demons!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Hearing this, the four constables behind remained silent, unable to rebut despite wanting to.
Zhuge Zhengwo sighed softly, then surprisingly agreed calmly, "Indeed, that's why Fang Zheng died so tragically; he lost to you and even more to himself."
In his words, boundless sentiments.
Shen Hex remained silent.
Just as Zhuge Zhengwo said, being the strongest Gang Qi Grandmaster among all, Fang Zheng's tragic death had two reasons, one was encountering an unbeatable opponent, and the other was himself, he killed himself.
The Shaolin Sect's martial arts have a characteristic: one must have high-level Buddhist Technique to train to a profound level, otherwise Heart Demons will arise, and Karmic Force will consume.
In fact, not just Shaolin, all who can cultivate Gang Qi martial arts have such a trait to some extent, since Gang Qi cultivation involves the mind, one must have strong mental power to control the Gang Qi within and avoid losing control.
There are many ways to strengthen the mind, Shaolin as a Buddhist Sect naturally uses Buddhist Technique, needing advanced Buddhist Technique to guide and safeguard, to achieve profound Buddhist Divine Skill, Shaolin Ultimate Skill.
Therefore, Shaolin's Gang Qi Grandmasters are often deeply adept in Buddhist Technique, Fang Zheng was no exception.
The problem lies here!
He was indeed a Great Monk, even through the innate ability of Killing Life and Cutting Karma, before the war, Shen Hex detected no Karmic Force on him. By conventional standards of judgment, he was absolutely a good and virtuous person.