After all, the grass on the graves of those who pulled rank based on age was already yards high. They had all been beaten to death, of course.
In this chaotic era, how could anyone dare to pull rank without the strength to back it up? Wasn’t that just courting death?
Lu Yun, naturally, wasn’t one to strike a smiling face. He looked at Bai Longfei and said gently, "Sect Master Bai, you’re too kind. I’ve invited you all here today to discuss the future of Yun Port City."
"Now that Zhang Cheng’an is dead, Yun Port City’s one hundred thirty thousand troops are leaderless. As the saying goes, an army cannot be without a leader for a single day. As such, starting today, I will be assuming the position of Military Governor."
After a pause, Lu Yun’s gaze swept over the five of them. Then, he asked coolly, "I wonder, do any of you have any objections?"
This time, it was surprisingly Zhou Yi who spoke first. The Commander-in-Chief representing the City Affairs Bureau didn’t hesitate for a second, stating decisively, "None!"
Zheng Zhishan followed close behind. "I have no objections either."
He paused, then added, "Of course, I’m sure the entire army of Yun Port City has no objections either."
Next, Bai Longfei also chimed in hurriedly, "Neither I, nor the White Cloud Sect, nor any member of the Martial Arts Demonstration have any objections!"
Finally, all eyes fell on Gong Yuanshan and Gong Ning.
Ever since entering, Gong Yuanshan had been looking at Lu Yun with an expression of awe.
’This ordinary-looking, middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and few wrinkles... to think he’s a legendary Grandmaster of Divine Intent.’
Their Gong Family hailed from the Eastern Province and was the largest reclusive Ancient Martial Family in the region.
The family had produced many Grandmasters of Huajin through the generations, but a Grandmaster of Divine Intent? ’Never a single one, of course.’
’Today, he was finally meeting a legendary existence, sitting right in front of him.’
Gong Yuanshan took a deep breath, stood up, and clasped his fists solemnly. "Lord Lu, our Gong Family will fully cooperate with your arrangements."
Gong Ning, standing behind him, also rose to her feet, her head bowed, saying nothing.
Seeing that all five were in agreement, the corners of Lu Yun’s mouth lifted into a slight smile.
The Martial Arts Demonstration represented the power of all the martial arts schools in Yun Port City, along with the city’s one hundred thirty thousand troops and the security forces from the City Affairs Bureau.
With the support of these forces, Lu Yun was now the most powerful Military Governor in the history of Yun Port City, bar none.
’At this thought,’ he slowly stood up, and the others hurriedly followed suit.
Lu Yun looked at them and smiled. "HAHAHA, then I thank you all."
The five quickly returned the courtesy. Just then, Zhou Yi suddenly spoke up, "By the way, Lord Lu, there is a matter I must report to you."
Lu Yun looked at him. "Speak."
Zhou Yi said, "Yesterday, the Wa Country consul, Yamamoto Ichirō, sent someone to the Martial Arts Demonstration. He said he wants to host an arena challenge for all Martial Artists in Yun Port City."
"And the fights are to the death."
Upon hearing this, the others all showed looks of surprise. Bai Longfei’s brow furrowed, and he mused, "Those Wa Country people... They’re inherently malicious. They probably want to use this competition to humiliate us Daxia People."
Zheng Zhishan agreed. "Advisor Zhou, what kind of person did the Wa Country send to fight? What is his Realm?"
Zhou Yi shook his head. "It’s unclear. According to our intelligence, this person only recently arrived in Yun Port City from the Wa Country mainland."
"However, for him to be confident enough to challenge all the Martial Artists of Yun Port City, he’s most likely a Grandmaster of Huajin."
Hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Zheng Zhishan’s eyes. "I killed quite a few of those Wa Country people back in the day."
"They know many unorthodox assassination techniques. They certainly can’t be underestimated."
Gong Yuanshan and Gong Ning remained silent, simply standing there quietly, their gazes stealing glances at Lu Yun from time to time.
’They were both wondering, just how strong is a Grandmaster of Divine Intent?’
’They really wanted to witness it for themselves!’
After a short while, Bai Longfei finally concluded, "A troublesome matter... In this old man’s opinion, we should just refuse those damn Wa Country people."
"If we ignore them, those bastards won’t be able to stir up any trouble."
To everyone’s surprise, Zhou Yi shook his head. "Sect Master Bai, I’m afraid that’s no longer possible. Those Wa Country people are publicizing it heavily within the foreign concessions."
"They’re calling us the ’Sick Men of Daxia’ and saying Daxia Martial Arts is just for show, while Wa Country Martial Arts is the best in the world."
"Just this morning, I received a report from my subordinates. The Wa Country has sent out many people to post notices about the arena challenge everywhere—on every street corner, in every teahouse and tavern."
Bai Longfei fell silent. Zheng Zhishan fell silent. Gong Yuanshan’s expression grew grim.
Meanwhile, Gong Ning’s fists were clenched, her cold and beautiful face showing suppressed fury. "Those Wa Country people are damn animals!"
It was an open scheme, a blatant provocation. Either they meekly participated in the arena, or they would be admitting to the title of "Sick Men of Daxia."
In that instant, everyone’s gaze turned in unison to Lu Yun, who had been silent from the start.
Lu Yun met their gazes, silent for a moment before speaking slowly, "These are trivial matters. You can decide on them yourselves."
’He was actually thinking, ’Should I find a chance to just slaughter everyone in the Wa Country Consulate?’’
’After all, keeping these animals alive is just a waste of good food. And, uh, those foreigners from the Western Countries are no better.’
’Besides, having these invading animals on his own territory truly disgusted him.’
’But it was just a thought.’
If Lu Yun actually did that, it would be tantamount to declaring war on the nations behind them.
And then, would he see hundreds or thousands of warships descending upon Yun Port City?
He did not want to see that. At that point, the other warlords of the Daxia New Country would surely just watch from the sidelines, or even kick him while he was down.
Lu Yun was no invincible superman, capable of fighting off entire armies and their powerful modern firearms.
Seeing that Lu Yun had no objections, Zhou Yi nodded. "Alright, we understand, Lord Lu. We’ll take our leave now."
「In the side courtyard of the West Courtyard of the Lu Family’s Old Mansion lay a stretch of low, single-story houses.」
This was where the Lu Family’s lowest-ranking servants lived: the sweepers, the gardeners, the stablehands, and the odd-job men.
Small courtyards were scattered about, each containing four rooms. Each room housed four people, for a total of sixteen people to a small courtyard.
In this day and age, this was considered excellent treatment. In other wealthy households, servants had virtually no status.
A dozen or more people would be crammed into a single room, where they ate, drank, and relieved themselves. The overwhelming stench was just part of it.
Sometimes, a servant who fell ill and died would simply be dragged out and buried, no different from a pigsty.
For the Lu Family to provide their servants with separate courtyards and only four people to a room was already the height of benevolence.
At that moment, in the corner-most room of the side courtyard in the West Courtyard, the door was shut tight, bolted from the inside.
The window was mostly covered with a ragged cloth, allowing only a few slivers of sunlight to pierce the gloom, casting long, thin beams of light into the dim room.
Zhou Daniu was squatting on the floor. In front of him was something wrapped in an outer coat.
After a few minutes, Zhou Daniu took a deep breath, then carefully unwrapped the coat.
Soon, the black piece of flesh within was exposed to the air. It was about the size of a brick, pitch-black all over, with a moist sheen on its surface, as if it had just been cut from a living creature.
What was even stranger was that it was pulsing, rising and falling, rising and falling, like a perpetual motion machine with a heart inside.
Zhou Daniu stared at it intently, his gaze gradually becoming dazed.
’He didn’t know what was happening. Ever since he had seen this thing by the rockery, a voice had been echoing in his mind.’
’Eat it, eat it, eat it.’
The voice seemed to bubble up from the depths of his heart, yet it was also as if something was whispering in his ear. It was like a sticky plaster that he couldn’t get rid of no matter what.
Everyone else had gone to work now; he was the only one left in the entire courtyard.
Zhou Daniu squatted there, staring at the block of black flesh, his gaze growing increasingly vacant.
"This thing... is it edible?"
"Why would a pulsating piece of black flesh grow on a rock?"
In his thirty-plus years of life, he had never seen anything so bizarre.
’Could it be the legendary Tai Sui Flesh?’
Zhou Daniu had heard storytellers in teahouses mention it before. Tai Sui Flesh was a magical substance that could strengthen one’s body and prolong one’s life upon consumption.
It was said that if a Martial Artist managed to obtain a piece of Tai Sui, their Realm would advance by leaps and bounds.
’But he clearly remembered the storyteller saying that Tai Sui was white, not black!’
’Were the stories all lies?’
Zhou Daniu’s mind was in chaos. He, too, had once practiced Martial Arts.
That was more than twenty years ago. He had studied at a martial arts school for a few years but made no progress at all, unable to even touch the threshold of Ming Jin.

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