"Haha, what incredible power, sir! I am Zhao Wei of the White Whale Martial Arts Hall. I've learned my lesson!"
'If you're outmatched, you retreat immediately!'
Zhao Wei suppressed the tightness in his chest and let out a hearty laugh. Tapping his feet in quick succession to dispel the force, he leaped into the air. His burly frame soared over the crowd like a great whale breaching the waves, and in an instant, he was out of the battle.
'Overlord Whale Fist… White Whale Martial Arts Hall.'
A glint in his eye, Wu Dao expressionlessly retracted his fist, not giving chase.
The Overlord Whale Fist manual mentioned the origins of this lineage.
The Giant Whale Sect of fifty years ago.
It once reigned supreme in Guangqing Prefecture, with martial arts halls spread far and wide and disciples across the land. Its scale had far surpassed that of the current Fangcun Sword Hall, home to the Cloud Heaven Flow.
This wasn't to say the Fist Technique itself was overwhelmingly strong.
Rather, it was because its creator taught all comers without discrimination, accepting a vast number of disciples. Of course, this also sowed the seeds of its eventual downfall.
Prioritizing quantity over quality meant the disciples were a motley crew of varying character.
And without strict sect rules to restrain them, many who learned the fist technique used their newfound Martial Power to wreak havoc, bullying the good and preying on the weak, causing the public's resentment in Guangqing Prefecture to boil over.
Not only did the Giant Whale Sect's reputation in the Jianghu gradually morph into that of an evil faction, but internal conflicts over ideals also caused it to split into two camps.
Eventually, under the pressure of escalating internal conflicts and external campaigns from both the Jianghu and the imperial court, the Giant Whale Sect collapsed. One of its core legacies, the Overlord Whale Fist, was scattered far and wide, much like a whale fall gives life to the myriad creatures of the deep.
The White Whale Martial Arts Hall that the burly man mentioned was one of these splinter groups.
「Back at the Red Fire Ore mine.」
Wu Dao had learned about the power structure of Guangqing Prefecture from that "Wu Dalang" fellow, and he knew the scale of the White Whale Martial Arts Hall.
It was currently the largest power in Guangqing aside from the Four Seas Gang, which dominated the southern region.
It had risen from the ashes of the Giant Whale Sect, boasting over ten thousand disciples and martial arts halls everywhere.
Furthermore, a group of surviving elders from the original Giant Whale Sect held down the fort. Openly and secretly, with one power in the north and the other in the south, they postured as if to rival the Four Seas Gang.
Of course, the most important thing was that the White Whale Martial Arts Hall and the Four Seas Gang didn't get along. One righteous, one evil, they walked different paths and mutually detested each other.
'If I use this as a stepping stone…'
In a flash, Wu Dao's thoughts churned, and a plan had already formed in his mind.
He was like rootless duckweed in this world, without even a place to stand. His understanding of the world was superficial at best, which severely restricted his actions and was extremely inconvenient.
If he could find a stepping stone to help him integrate quickly, understand this world, and use its momentum to search for anomalies, nothing could be better.
And his status as a fellow practitioner of the Overlord Whale Fist was an excellent foot in the door.
'To be honest, if he weren't wary that the Four Seas Gang possessed more profound methods of tracking down their enemies, he would have considered surrendering to them.'
To him, good and evil were irrelevant, as were the methods used. Tangible, practical benefits were the only things that were real.
'As for fighting alone, in his current weakened state, he had never even considered it.'
'To make it out here, you need a background, you need a faction. If you cause trouble, you need someone to clean up your mess and take the fall. You have to know how to ride the coattails of power.'
'A one-track-minded, reckless brute who can't read the situation is doomed to go nowhere by charging ahead blindly.'
'As a lone wolf, others can manipulate you however they please. After causing trouble, you can only hide, living day-to-day, never sure of the next. Ending up full of bitterness and deep-seated hatred is truly the worst possible path.'
However, although Wu Dao had already decided to approach the White Whale Martial Arts Hall, he didn't show it. He just gave Zhao Wei a disinterested glance and paid him no further mind.
Guangqing Prefecture wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either.
In the Realm of Divine Power, a Fist Dao Grandmaster was already a significant figure. He had to maintain the requisite arrogance. There was no need to lower himself or seem desperate to curry favor, which would only cause others to look down on him.
'Otherwise, people would just see you as a simple-minded, easily manipulated upstart, putting you at a disadvantage from the very beginning.'
...
'What a temper!'
Outside the battle, Zhao Wei felt waves of throbbing pain from the flesh and bone of his thick right arm, and he couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
Just now, he had only been testing the waters, not using his full strength. He never imagined that Wu Dao, without a second thought, would strike with a killing blow.
'If his foundation hadn't been so solid, that last punch would have crippled his entire right arm!'
'But, at least this more or less confirms he's not one of the Four Seas Gang.'
Zhao Wei circulated his vitality and blood to heal his right arm, the suspicion in his eyes lessening slightly.
'When the Giant Whale Sect collapsed all those years ago, its greatest assets were divided between a righteous faction and an evil one.'
'The White Whale Martial Arts Hall took the righteous path and has a decent reputation. The Four Seas Gang, on the other hand, never changed its ways, engaging in all sorts of vile and dirty deeds that others find despicable.'
'As a result, even though the two powers originated from the same sect, their relationship is like fire and water.'
'They've been at each other's throats for over a decade without a clear winner, and the enmity between them has only deepened, to the point where they practically come to blows on sight.'
'That's why Zhao Wei and the others were so hostile toward the stranger, Wu Dao, who possessed Grandmaster-level mastery of the Overlord Whale Fist, upon their first meeting.'
'After all, a Divine Power Realm expert isn't some worthless rabble. Even one more could shatter the balance between the White Whale Martial Arts Hall and the Four Seas Gang.'
'Fortunately, during that brief test, after he announced the name of the White Whale Martial Arts Hall, Wu Dao didn't press the attack or pursue him relentlessly.'
'This suggests that Wu Dao isn't with the Four Seas Gang. He's most likely a wandering fist cultivator who chanced upon a legacy from the Giant Whale Sect's Creation. Now that he has achieved some success, he has come out of seclusion to roam the world.'
'If this is handled properly, there's a chance we could win him over to the White Whale Martial Arts Hall.'
'Unfortunately, judging by his wild and arrogant temperament, trying to recruit him with empty platitudes like shared lineage probably isn't possible.'
'But...'
'The world is in turmoil, and the times are chaotic.'
'If the White Whale Martial Arts Hall wants to protect its foundation in the coming age of chaos, it must have a steady stream of powerful new blood joining its ranks!'
In the space of a few breaths, Zhao Wei's thoughts raced. His opinion of Wu Dao had completely changed, and his desire to recruit him grew ever stronger.
"Stop!!"
A harsh shout echoed through the night sky!
It shattered Zhao Wei's train of thought and also brought the chaotic slaughter to a momentary halt.
HUM!
Everyone present, including the three Divine Power Realm experts—Wu Dao, Cloud Heaven Flow, and Zhao Wei—felt a humming in their minds. Their Spiritual Consciousness was thrown into a tempestuous storm, threatening to collapse at any moment!
'What's this?'
Wu Dao activated his Essence Devouring Art, and his mind cleared in an instant. His gaze focused, and he noticed that the disheveled, reckless young Daoist had just crushed a silver piece of talisman paper in his palm.
The mental assault from a moment ago must have come from that.
It seemed the honest fellow had been pushed too far.
Wu Dao let out a soft chuckle.
Wu Dao tossed aside the severed arm of some unlucky bastard, raising an eyebrow. He stopped his rampage and leaped away from the Daoist.
The methods of the Immortal Dao were mysterious and unpredictable.
They were not something that could be countered by sheer, tangible brute force.
'If he really pushed that Daoist to the edge, who knows what other "Killing Artifacts" he might have hidden away.'
An excellent Hunter knows how to weigh the pros and cons, to measure gains and losses.
He had no desire to come away with nothing and end up with a mouthful of thorns for his trouble, ruining his appetite.
WHOOSH~
The night wind swept past.
The chaotic din of battle cries vanished.
On the desolate ground before Chunxiang Garden, amid the scattered flesh and shattered bone, the air was thick with a cloying stench of blood. The young Daoist's heavy, wheezing breaths, like a bellows, were exceptionally clear.
In less than a few minutes, of the original fifty or sixty Jianghu Travelers, fewer than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators at the Peak of Internal Strength remained.
These men were all hardened veterans who had spent years walking on a knife's edge; their skills in fighting and self-preservation were maxed out.
If they were determined to avoid a fight, and with the chaos of the scene, even Wu Dao couldn't just kill them at will. Of course, if he was truly set on taking their lives, it would only be a matter of time.
'A pity the young Daoist's piece of talisman paper had interrupted the slaughter.'
Wu Dao licked his blood-stained lips, feeling a little unsatisfied.
"Sigh, what a sin..."
The young Daoist glanced at Wu Dao with some indignation, but ultimately just sighed and shook his head.
He seemed extremely wary of Wu Dao. Despite his dissatisfaction, he didn't act on it.
Wu Dao, however, was completely unconcerned. He grinned, revealing a mouth full of inhuman, shark-like teeth, and gave the young Daoist a chilling smile that made him shudder and look away.
"The Soul-Catching Gourd is an item of my Immortal Family. If you do not walk this path, what use is it to you? Such a simple principle..."
The young Daoist muttered to himself as he walked to the center of the bloody fragments. He picked up the Red Gourd, which no longer glowed, and swept his gaze over the corpses littering the ground, his face full of pity. "Why go through all this trouble? It's not worth it."
"Heh heh, that's not necessarily true."
Zhao Wei had, at some point, walked over to the blood-and-gore-splattered Wu Dao. He chuckled softly and said, "If one could really obtain that Gourd, even those of the Martial Dao have ways to wield it."
"The only fear is that you'd bite off more than you can chew and shatter your teeth instead."
Wu Dao gave Zhao Wei a cool glance. He knew there was a hidden meaning in the man's words; he clearly knew the young Daoist's background was extraordinary and that he shouldn't be trifled with.
"He's from Fuguang Mountain's Yellow Dragon Temple. If you really make a move on him, you'll be stirring up a hornet's nest."
Zhao Wei glanced at the inconspicuous yellow dragon embroidered on the Gua Bag at the young Daoist's waist. He stroked the steel-like stubble on his chin, his eyes filled with a mixture of greed and apprehension.