Top-Class Insight: Start with Basic Fist Techniques - Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Li Hongzhuang’s Secret Identity!

Translator: Daoist6fubtiW

“This isn’t the place to talk,” Li Hongzhuang said.

“I have another secret place in Nan Yang City,” she continued, and then she turned and walked away, with Lu Changsheng following closely.

Soon, they arrived at a courtyard in the western part of the city.

Lu Changsheng glanced at the courtyard and calmly said, “They say the clever hare has three burrows. Miss Li probably has more than three, right?”

Li Hongzhuang sat down, holding her wound. She swallowed some elixirs and sighed, “The martial world is treacherous. If I, a woman, don’t prepare thoroughly, I might have been swallowed whole long ago.”

This was indeed a fact. The martial world was a perilous place, and it was even more challenging for women to navigate.

“By the way, does Miss Li possess martial arts at the Divine Power Realm?” Lu Changsheng directly asked.

This time, he found and even saved Li Hongzhuang with the goal of obtaining Divine Power Realm martial arts.

“Divine Power Realm martial arts?” Li Hongzhuang’s gaze met Lu Changsheng’s.

Their eyes locked.

After a long while, Li Hongzhuang clenched her teeth and said in a low voice, “1 have Divine Power Realm martial arts.”

A glint appeared in Lu Changsheng’s eyes, and he took a deep breath. “Tell me, how much silver?”

Lu Changsheng currently had over ten thousand taels of silver. Even if he had to pay ten thousand taels for a Divine Power Realm martial art, he considered it worthwhile.

However, Li Hongzhuang shook her head and said, “I don’t want silver. In fact, I can give you this Divine Power Realm martial art for free.”

Upon hearing Li Hongzhuang’s words, Lu Changsheng didn’t feel particularly elated. He knew very well that something offered for free often came at a high cost.

“Tell me, what do you want me to do?” Lu Changsheng straightforwardly inquired.

Li Hongzhuang smiled and removed her veil, revealing a beautiful face. Her smile was especially enchanting, and in the dim candlelight, the room seemed to brighten up.

“Considering we’ve had a number of dealings already, I don’t know how you’d like to address me,” she said. “You can call me Thirteen.”

Lu Changsheng used a code name. When navigating the martial world, it was necessary to have an alias.

“Thirteen” held special meaning for him. When he was still a beggar, he was the thirteenth apprentice taken in by the Mysterious Hands Garden.

“Thirteen Brother, in truth, I came back to Nan Yang Prefecture specifically to find you,” Li Hongzhuang said.

“To find me?”

“Yes, to seek your help. I’ve roamed the martial world for a decade and couldn’t even find a trustworthy friend.”

“I’ve run into trouble, and the first person who came to mind was Thirteen Brother.”

Evidently, Li Hongzhuang had quite a bit of trust in Lu Changsheng. Even in times of trouble, she thought of this “stranger.”

Lu Changsheng remained unfazed. Their relationship was purely transactional.

He bought some martial arts from Li Hongzhuang, and that was it.

“What is it that Miss Li wants from me?” Lu Changsheng asked.

Although he yearned for Divine Power Realm martial arts, he would refuse if the price to be paid was too high.

Li Hongzhuang took a deep breath, biting her lip as she said, “Thirteen Brother, I’m sure you’re curious about why 1 have so many martial arts, martial skills, and even Divine Power Realm martial arts.”

Lu Changsheng nodded; he was indeed curious.

“It’s because my Li family used to be a martial arts aristocracy, with a heritage spanning several centuries.”

“With centuries of accumulated martial knowledge, our martial heritage is extraordinary. Moreover, one of my Li family’s ancestors was a formidable Divine Power Realm martial artist.”

“My Li family’s Divine Power Realm ancestor not only left behind Divine Power Realm martial arts but also a secret marrow cultivation technique and the formula for Secret Marrow Elixir.”

“However, my Li family had a traitor who leaked the secrets of the Secret Marrow Elixir and its formula to the Cui family in Jubei City.”

“The Cui family had been plotting for years and, by a stroke of luck, came into contact with Elder Lu Tong from the Hanging Sword Villa.”

“Elder Lu Tong was a Divine Power Realm martial artist. Once he acted, my entire Li family was annihilated in an instant. More than two hundred members of the Li family were slaughtered.”

“I only managed to escape by a hair’s breadth and went into hiding, blending into the martial world.”

Lu Changsheng understood now. Li Hongzhuang was seeking revenge for her family’s bloodshed.

However, this wasn’t uncommon in the martial world.

“Do you want me to seek revenge for you?” Lu Changsheng asked.

“No, I want to take revenge personally.”

“I only wish for Thirteen Brother to lend a hand and accompany me to the Cui family to steal the Secret Marrow Elixir!”

“With my aptitude, it would be a mere dream under normal circumstances to achieve Divine Power Realm. But if 1 can successfully perform the marrow cultivation, there might still be a glimmer of hope for me to attain the Divine Power Realm.”

“That’s why I need the Secret Marrow Elixir!”

Lu Changsheng was intrigued.

He wanted the Secret Marrow Elixir as well!

“Are you certain the Cui family has the Secret Marrow Elixir?” he asked, gazing into Li Hongzhuang’s eyes.

“At that time, my father made me memorize the Divine Power Realm martial arts, the Secret Marrow cultivation technique, and the Secret Marrow Elixir formula. However, the various ingredients for the Secret Marrow Elixir are extremely difficult to find. As an ordinary wandering martial artist, 1 couldn’t possibly gather all the ingredients mentioned in the formula.”

“But Cui family managed to gather them all.”

“I have been keeping an eye on the Cui family, and 1 discovered a few months ago that they had acquired the most critical ingredient from the Secret Marrow Elixir formula. That’s when I knew the Cui family was highly likely to refine the Secret Marrow Elixir.”

“Coincidentally, I’ve also become a Martial Lord and wanted to steal the Secret Marrow Elixir from the Cui family. However, I failed.”

“But even though I failed in stealing the elixir, I discovered that the Cui family indeed succeeded in refining a batch of Secret Marrow Elixir, and they have ten pills!”

“If Thirteen Brother can help me seize the Secret Marrow Elixir, I will not only offer you Divine Power Realm martial arts but also the Secret Marrow cultivation technique.”

“With Thirteen Brother’s level of Martial Lord cultivation, if you use the Secret Marrow Elixir and the technique, successfully cultivating your marrow, you will significantly increase your chances of ascending to the Divine Power Realm!”

Li Hongzhuang finished speaking and then looked at Lu Changsheng, her eyes carrying a hint of expectation.

This was her extraordinary secret, and she had shared it with Lu Changsheng, a person with whom she had only a “transactional” relationship. It was perhaps a sign of her desperation, indicating that she had no other options.

“Thirteen Brother, the ingredients for the Secret Marrow Elixir are extremely difficult to obtain, and they are rarely found,” she continued.

“Even with the Cui family’s power, it took them a full decade to gather the ingredients and refine a batch of the Secret Marrow Elixir.”

“If we delay further, Cui family might use up or distribute the elixir.”

Lu Changsheng was also weighing his options.

The Secret Marrow cultivation technique and Divine Power Realm martial arts were currently at the top of his priority list. If he could obtain the Secret Marrow Elixir and successfully cultivate his marrow, it would be like performing an “exchange of life essence” before breaking through the Life and Death Profound Passageway.

This would greatly increase his chances of successfully advancing to the Divine Power Realm..