The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS

"I need a bit of help."

Even though Mr. Mo spoke through the veil hanging from his hat, Qing Yu could feel his piercing gaze. It was clear where the help he mentioned would come from.

Qing Yu was no longer surprised enough to jump to his feet, feeling even the slightest movement might send him flying into the air.

"Mr. Mo," Qing Yu couldn't see his own face, but he could feel its extreme bitterness, "Can't you see that I'm merely at the Postnatal Fourth Realm?"

"I can see not only that you're at the Postnatal Fourth Realm, but also that you haven't opened any of the Twelve Meridians," Mr. Mo slowly stated.

The Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Meridians are two systems of energy pathways within the human body. The Extraordinary Meridians govern the flow of Inner Strength, and Internal Cultivation Methods are mostly circulated within these eight pathways. Even some unique and rare techniques require the use of other meridians, though the main circulation stays within the Extraordinary Meridians.

Some complex Absolute Skills or unique martial techniques relate to the Twelve Meridians. However, the Twelve Meridians primarily handle the transmission and operational route of Inner Strength during the execution of martial moves.

Simply put, the Extraordinary Meridians generate Inner Strength, while the Twelve Meridians serve as conduits for deploying the moves. Only by opening the relevant meridians can one unleash the true power of their techniques. For instance, the well-known "Six Meridian Divine Sword" emits invisible Sword Qi through the six meridians on the hand: the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin, the Large Intestine Meridian of Hand-Yangming, the Pericardium Meridian of Hand-Jueyin, the Triple Burner Meridian of Hand-Shaoyang, the Heart Meridian of Hand-Shaoyin, and the Small Intestine Meridian of Hand-Taiyang.

Qing Yu, being new to martial arts, had yet to open the meridians needed for Quanzhen Swordsmanship, Golden Wild Goose Skill, and Divine Transformation, which are all on the arms and legs, limiting his ability to utilize his Inner Strength to less than eighty percent.

"Master's discerning eyes see all. With my humble power, I likely couldn't even compete with the Four Great Families of Yang City, let alone confront the abundance of experts in the Zhen Shan Army," Qing Yu stated.

"Rest assured, being a disciple of Xuanfa, I won't mislead you."

That's hardly comforting, Qing Yu thought to himself, with nothing to say but to shake his head and wryly smile.

"The Four Great Families of Yang City, having grown accustomed to wielding power for years, have likely forgotten they are merely watchdogs guarding treasuries, yet they dare to dip their paws into the treasury. The greatest virtue of a dog is loyalty. What use is a disloyal dog? The Zhen Shan Army has long been dissatisfied with these overly ambitious dogs.

Moreover, those brigands know nothing of commerce. The same goods, when handled by us, could fetch two to three times the price.

I've already made arrangements with the commanding officer of the Zhen Shan Army, 'Lord Zhen Shan' Zhang Huchen, to reopen the Shadow Market and split the profits, sixty-forty. Whether that split is sixty for me and forty for him or the other way around will depend on whether my people can eliminate those four disloyal dogs."

"You could just send someone to directly storm their houses and wipe them out. I imagine you have no shortage of Innate Experts, such as this silent and motionless Black-faced Brother standing beside you," Qing Yu's eyes shifted toward the man in the black mask, who stood as still as a corpse.

Black-faced Brother glanced at Qing Yu, his look chilling. It seemed his naming as 'Black-faced Brother' had struck a nerve, and he was not quite dead after all.

"To win with experts, do I, a castaway to this desolate Shadow Market, have as many as the Zhen Shan Army? These brutes, who only understand force, value cunning over mere martial power. A more cunning approach will make them believe that the benefits I bring far outweigh their clumsy efforts. Thus, I can only resort to using force below the Postnatal Sixth Realm. Only by using a force far inferior to the Four Great Families and defeating them can I prove the superiority of my strategies."

Qing Yu felt a twinge in his teeth. The future profits from the Shadow Market—20%, in and out made a 40% discrepancy—entrusted to him, if he bungled this up, he feared he would have to go down and meet his deceased master and, along the way, get acquainted with his previously unmet deceased senior brothers and sisters.

Mr. Mo ignored the agonized expression on Qing Yu's face and continued, "With such a significant interest, I obviously wouldn't just pick anyone to mess it around. If you do mess it up, I still have a bit of time to find a new candidate, but your outcome probably won't be good either. Of course, if you succeed, your gains will exceed your imagination.

I won't force you, the choice to take on this matter is yours."

'Do I even have a choice? If I refuse and word gets out, letting the Four Great Families catch wind, Postnatal Sixth Realm and still dreaming of overturning heaven? It seems to be a single-choice question. If I decline, I'll really have to go and reunite with my master and the others.' Qing Yu was full of sarcastic thoughts internally, such scenarios he had seen plenty in TV dramas and novels from his previous life—accept and maybe die, refuse and die immediately, truly a dead-end question.

"Mr. Mo is a good friend of my late master, how could the junior refuse to help? This favor, I, Qing Yu, will definitely take on," Qing Yu declared unequivocally, as if the person hesitating and struggling earlier was someone else.

Mr. Mo, too, was stunned by Qing Yu's righteous acting, sizing him up from head to toe, feeling that his three years of attention had been in vain, even emotionless Black-faced Brother couldn't help but give him a sidelong glance.

"By the way, there's some bad news I forgot to tell you."

"Uh," Qing Yu had a bad premonition.

"Your previous guess about Beicang Mountain was correct," Mr. Mo said in a low chuckle, "indeed, someone has been monitoring you, two people, one Postnatal Sixth Realm, and the other Postnatal Seventh Realm. Since you've been quiet these past three years, they've lowered their guard, occasionally going to the Southern Border Secret Forest to gather resources for cultivation. However, in three days, it's their routine check, and they'll definitely return to check your current status.

You're at an age of growing, and your appearance has changed greatly from three years ago. Those two people, it can be said, are the only two Zhenwu Sect disciples who know your current appearance."

"So..." Qing Yu unconsciously narrowed his eyes, hiding the thick killing intent in his sockets.

"So, to live peacefully, those two people must die," Mr. Mo finished Qing Yu's thought.

"This is also a test for you. Prove it to me—prove that you are still that young beggar who caught Xuanfa and my attention back then, prove that these years of laying low haven't truly turned you into a coward."

Qing Yu remained silent, the killing intent in his heart soaring continually. Mr. Mo's shocking bad news ignited the resentment and hostility Qing Yu had accumulated over the years along with deep panic, that kind of life without seeing tomorrow, he never wanted to return to. 'They must die.' His resolve to kill had never been firmer.

Mr. Mo tossed two items towards him, Qing Yu caught them; they were two gourd-shaped small medicinal vials, one purple and one blue.

"The purple vial contains the Meridian Opening Pill, used to clear the Twelve Meridians. The blue vial contains Meridian Opening Pill as well, also used to clear meridians but tailored for the Extraordinary Meridians. These two vials can be considered an advance investment from me; don't let me down," Mr. Mo exclaimed, rising and brushing off the dust, placing his left hand behind his back, striding away, with Black-faced Brother following closely.

Qing Yu stayed in place, his right thumb caressing the pattern on the vials, contemplating as he watched Mr. Mo's retreating figure: "He's had me pegged from the start. Meridian Opening Pill, just for clearing meridians in the Postnatal Realm. His entourage is surely not below Innate, and he himself obviously doesn't need to carry such low-level elixirs. Therefore, these two vials of elixir can only be intended for me.

A disciple of an acquaintance, huh, how ridiculous..."