White-Robed Chief

When Chu Li returned to Tianshu Courtyard, Xiao Shi was admiring the moon in the courtyard.

Xiao Shi turned and glanced at him as he was entering the courtyard. Her eyes were glinting. “You’re always in a hurry from day to night. What were you doing?”

“Resolving some matters in the Secret Guardians Hall,” answered Chu Li.

Xiao Shi pointed to the opposite side of the stone table.

Chu Li sat down and placed the invitation card on the stone table. Xiao Shi picked it up for a look, curling her alluring red lips as she inspected its contents.

Yang Xu brought over a teapot and a few cups made of jade and poured him a cup full of tea.

Chu Li smiled and thanked her. He heaved a sigh. “Finally, it’s done and dusted.”

“Why are you getting so involved with the matters of the Secret Guardians Hall?” Xiao Shi said in bewilderment. “They’re not your priorities.”

Chu Li shook his head and smiled. “They’ll be useful in the future.”

Xiao Shi frowned. “The Imperial Residence of King An had no relations with the Secret Guardians Hall, right?”

“He who gives no thought to far-flung problems soon finds suffering nearby.” Chu Li sighed. “Have you thought about what would become of you if King An was no longer around?”

“I would be happier, that’s for sure,” scoffed Xiao Shi.

Chu Li shook his head. “I’m afraid that things would be hard for us then.”

Xiao Shi’s elegant brows furrowed. She was deep in her own thoughts.

She understood where Chu Li was coming from. King An was detestable, but if he was not around, then the Imperial Residence of King An would fall into ruins. There was a huge difference between an imperial residence with King An and one without him.

Chu Li added, “We have to keep people intimidated, or they’ll come barging in soon enough.”

“Why would a post at the Secret Guardians Hall be of any use to us!” exclaimed Xiao Shi.

Chu Li smiled. “I’m now the centurion. I would’ve had authority over a few things. Even if this can’t protect the imperial residence, at least I’ll be able to receive some intel beforehand.”

He could not go into detail because he had to take precaution. In this case, the threat was so far off that it was not worth others knowing.

There were two pathways he could take to become an Enlightened Master. He was not sure which path would work out. That was why he needed to prepare for both pathways. He had to construct, prepare and move towards them as soundlessly as he could manage to

Xiao Shi snickered, “Aren’t you tired thinking that far ahead?”

Chu Li burst into laughter and shot her a look.

“Alright then, I know you’re doing this for my own sake.” Xiao Shi waved her jade-white hand. “But there really isn’t a need to rush. Even if King An isn’t around, there’s still Leng Qing, Leng Qiu, and the others. They’re still King An’s flesh and blood. The imperial residence will still remain the Imperial Residence of King An.”

Chu Li smiled and did not say anything else.

Xiao Shi tossed the invitation card back onto the table. “Heading to Verdant Cloud Brothel again?”

“Not this time.” Chu Li said with a smile. “It’s to Brother Han’s home.”

Xiao Shi scoffed and shook her head.

——

When Chu Li arrived at the Secret Guardians Hall at noon the next day, he saw that the martial arts field in Mei Er Courtyard were very lively.

A total of fourteen men were cultivating with great enthusiasm. Qin Jin and the others looked twenty years younger. Their gazes were sharper and their spirits were high.

The old men were talking about the wild ambitions they had when they were young. They could not believe that the energy they had pined for over a decade had just been returned back to them. It was clearly difficult for them to repress themselves. The bursting energy inside them was itching to be released.

“Bang, bang, bang, bang…” Qin Jin was fighting Feng Jing. The immense strength of their punches was palpable. The crashing noise rang out ceaselessly throughout the courtyard. Both of their faces were flushed with excitement.

The remaining members had found partners to fight with and divided into seven pairs.

They had not fought anyone in decades and needed some time to familiarize themselves with what it was like to be in a battle again. This was so that when the time came for them to fight, their performance would not be unbearable and died because of their unfamiliarity with their own Martial Art.

Ma Kun and Zhu Wenxin were paired up to fight each other. Zhu Wenxin was an elegant and heroic middle-aged man. He was a man of little words.

Nevertheless, his Martial Art was vigorous and domineering. He was locked in an intense battle with Ma Kun.

Ma Kun suddenly called out, “Wait.”

Zhu Wenxin took a step back. His face was written all over with excitement.

The sensation of regaining his Martial Art was so magical that it had his blood boiling. He could not hold himself back and wished he could continue fighting forever.

Ma Kun raised his voice and said, “Centurion, care to come down for a round?”

Chu Li spared him a glance and responded dully, “I won’t be joining in this fun.”

“Don’t you dare,” Ma Kun immediately replied. “Everyone is having fun. Come join us.”

Everyone knew that Ma Kun was provoking him again and shook their heads internally.

It seemed that the centurion and the second in command would continue their squabbling for a while. Ma Kun refused to concede, and the centurion did not seem eager to put him in his place. It looked as though he was tolerating him.

Dong Qifei and the rest were a bit of worried at his behavior. Was Chu Li waiting for an opportunity to kill Second In Command Ma?

Ma Kun, seeing that Chu Li was unmoved by his words, smiled and said, “Centurion, everyone is aware of your superb Martial Art and the fact that you’re a rare genius, but we’ve never witnessed it ourselves. Come and give us a peek! Let us behold your true power!”

Dong Qifei widened his eyes out of excitement, secretly hoping that Chu Li would agree to do it.

He was simply curious as to just how powerful the centurion was.

“Mm…” Chu Li hesitated for a moment before nodding.”Alright, I can’t refuse such an ardent invitation. Second In Command Ma, shall we go for a few rounds?”

“Yes!” Ma Kun accepted enthusiastically.

Chu Li smirked. “How about this: we’ll have ten moves as the limit. We stop after ten moves, or else we would be fighting until the end of time”

“Alright, ten moves it is!” Ma Kun grinned.

He was bursting with excitement. He finally had a chance to embarrass Chu Li. His Martial Art was no better than the second in command. How can he be so arrogant? This world ranked people by how powerful their Martial Art was at the end of the day.

Chu Li walked slowly to the middle of the field.

Everyone retreated a few steps to make way for him. They watched as the two of them stood facing each other.

“Centurion, sorry to offend you!” Ma Kun yelled as he launched a punch.

The Heavenly Demonic Orb landed in his precordium, and tumultuous energy surged instantly within his body. It was boundless and endless. He felt as though he could crack the sky open with one single punch.

Chu Li retailiated Ma Kun’s incoming punch.

“Bang!” Ma Kun’s fist landed on him, yet it did not stop him from punching Ma Kun back.

“Bang!” Ma Kun was flung more than ten meters away like a rock and collided with the entrance door. The impact resulted in a resounding noise. The doors to the courtyard looked about to be broken in half.

Chu Li patted his white robe. He looked as if nothing had happened. The Heavenly Demonic Orb returned back to the place above his precordium.

Meanwhile, Ma Kun was spitting out blood and struggling to stand on two feet. His face was darkened.

“Was I too hard on you?” Chu Li smiled as he shook his head. “Should we go for another round?”

“No need for that!” Ma Kun wiped the blood off his lips and scoffed,” Centurion Chu certainly does have superb Martial Art. How impressive!”

Chu Li smiled. “Second in command, let’s try again when we have the chance to. I haven’t yet enjoyed myself to the fullest.”

Ma Kun gnashed his teeth and cursed him internally. This guy with the surname Chu was hinting that he was useless for not being able to handle even one of his moves. That was why he had not enjoyed himself.

Qin Jin complimented, “Got to give it to the centurion. That was some great Martial Art!”

The rest of them began praising his performance as well.

Their loyalty was to the centurion, not to this second in command. There was no need to care for him.

Chu Li smiled and waved a hand. “It was a fight in my favor. The second in command wasn’t ready and was ambushed by me. This counts for nothing.”

“Hehe…” Ma Kun forced a smile.

He could say that he wanted to ambush him. A seemingly light strike from him had carried all his inner energy within it.

Judging by his expression, Chu Li was unharmed by his punch. There was barely a scratch on him. How horrifying.

He became wary and dared not provoke this man any further. If Chu Li were to continue with the battle by firing off two more blows, his Martial Art probably would be crippled. He had to be cautious.

Chu Li asked, “Second in command, are we not going to continue on?”

“No need.” Ma Kun smiled forcefully.

Chu Li nodded. “Alright then, let’s stop our training and investigate a new case. This one is about the annihilation of the Autumn Wind Camp.”

Yang Zongwen spoke up after hearing about it, “Centurion, wasn’t it the work of Zhou Lingfeng?”

Chu Li shook his head. “There’s something fishy about this case. Examine it carefully. I’ll take my leave first.”

“Yes,” they said as they fist saluted.