Chapter 13: The Violent Wu Nine

Chapter 13: Wu Jiu Rioters

Roars surged like waves, sweeping across the entire arena.

Kneeling on both knees, Lang Ren stood at the very eye of the storm, yet the expression on his face remained composed, his gaze calm as still water.

One saw his wrist flip, the rolling saber forcing Li Jun back; a "Black Dragon Coiling the Pillar" hauled him upright. The instant he steadied himself, he did not pause for a breath; a ruthless saber momentum poured forward like a violent downpour.

Cold light pierced the bones before him, yet Li Jun felt the blood within his body surging like boiling water. The clangor of a lock trembling deep within his flesh grew ever clearer!

"Eighth-rank power, the Blood Battle Realm. The moment the enemy dies, the lock breaks."

Li Jun murmured to himself. The content of this phrase was the lock-breaking ritual for the Ninth Sequence of the Martial Dao, known to almost everyone in the Great Ming populace!

Compared to the lock-breaking rituals of other sequences, this one could only be described as simple and brutal.

Either advance amidst a blood battle, or die beneath the enemy's blade.

High risk, low return. Thus, few in the Great Ming Empire chose the Martial Dao sequence, and even fewer succeeded in advancing.

Because among the Three Teachings and Nine Streams, the advancement paths of many sequences did not require the 'Follower' to risk their life at all.

The Daoists who could artificially build foundations, the Buddhists who remodeled brain-domain consciousness, and the Confucians who implanted Six Arts chips—as long as your genetic talent wasn't rotten beyond salvation, you could unlock and advance steadily and safely.

Even if you were a waste, it didn't matter. Li Jun had once heard that among the Nine Streams, there was a top-tier school named the 'School of Agriculture'.

This sequence could achieve 'flexible unlocking', turning a waste into a genius by adjusting the human gene sequence.

The vast majority of R&D personnel in the Empire's biotech companies were 'Followers' of this sequence.

However, the aforementioned sequences didn't cost lives; they cost something more precious than life—money.

The rich relied on burning money; the poor relied on gambling their lives.

Li Jun had a strong premonition at this moment: the instant Lang Ren died by his hand, he would shackle the first genetic lock, successfully advancing to Martial Dao Sequence Nine—Rioter!

The Qi Family Saber initiated its stance. Li Jun was like a pawn crossing the river with his back to the abyss, crashing into Lang Ren's frigid saber momentum with an unstoppable, fierce courage.

Two sabers collided, emitting a dense clamor. The saber lights shattered and instantly surged anew.

The speed was so great that many of the Muddy Water Pao Ge below the stage, lacking implanted artificial cybernetic eyes, simply couldn't react.

Compared to Lang Ren, Li Jun, infused with movement martial arts, held the initiative in mobility.

Yet, to everyone's astonishment, Li Jun resolutely chose to abandon this advantage in movement, opting to clash head-on with the opponent using a Ninth-rank saber technique that was slightly inferior.

"Rise up!"

The furious roars of the Muddy Water Pao Ge rose and fell in succession. Lang Ren's state of mind could no longer remain as immovable as before, for he knew exactly why Li Jun was doing this.

A head-on clash—this was the Blood Battle!

"The Blood Battle Realm. This Ming man wants to use himself as the sacrificial offering for his own advancement and lock-breaking!"

No one wished to be another's sacrificial offering, least of all Lang Ren, who was likewise only a step away from advancing and breaking his lock.

One saw him grit his teeth; the samurai sword in his hand swung with even greater ferocity.

Another brutish collision. Lang Ren's feet plowed the ground, sliding back several steps.

The meticulously groomed *sakayaki* atop his head was already soaked through with sweat. His eyes drooped slightly, looking with lingering fear at his sword-holding hands; the web between thumb and index finger was a mangled mess of flesh and blood.

The clothes at Li Jun's chest were torn to shreds, revealing dense saber wounds like the lips of infants.

*Click...!*

The clamorous fight arena fell utterly silent at this moment; the sound of the samurai sword returning to its scabbard was distinctly audible.

Lang Ren lowered his body to the extreme. The trailing black windbreaker dragged on the ground, like a blooming black lotus.

His left hand clasped the scabbard, his right hand loosely gripped the hilt. A dense killing intent climbed ceaselessly.

"You cannot beat me."

Lang Ren's voice was certain, as if stating a fact that had already occurred. "After I advance, I will tattoo your name on my body, for your soul will make me stronger."

"Your capital was destroyed by us, and you still haven't learned your lesson?"

Li Jun's descending step was heavy as a war drum. The Qi Family Saber, exceeding two meters in length, dragged on the ground; the friction of the tip scraping the floor made one's hair stand on end.

"Then let me help you recall how we Ming people slaughtered your ancestors a thousand years ago!"

"Rise up!"

Amidst the desperate screams of hundreds of burly Pao Ge, Li Jun took his final step. His figure shot forward.

The Qi Family Saber's momentum was like cleaving a mountain, pressing down upon the crown of Lang Ren's head!

In that very same instant, the black lotus blooming on the fighting stage shattered violently.

Lang Ren sprang upward. A bolt of startling lightning flashed from the scabbard, slicing toward Li Jun's throat!

"Here it comes!"

Luo Zhen's hands, clasped behind his back, suddenly clenched tight.

Hu Zhong likewise stared dead at the stage, murmuring, "Lang Ren, the Sword Offering Assembly cannot be lost!"

"Rise up!"

Kuang Qingyun raised both arms high, his handsome features twisted in excitement.

At this moment, even the ordinary Muddy Water Pao Ge without martial arts implants knew: this strike would decide victory and defeat, life and death!

*Crash... Crash...*

The sound of the lock shaking almost occupied Lang Ren's mind. In this instant, time seemed to freeze, playing back frame by frame in slow motion like a film.

This was the state of lock-breaking and advancement!

He could even see clearly the cold light reflected off the edge of the Qi Family Saber and Li Jun's sharp brows, as well as the faint cold smile at the corner of the other's mouth.

And in those eyes: a resolute determination to never turn back, and a reckless, all-or-nothing madness!

The profound, mysterious state filled Lang Ren with wild joy; he felt victory was within reach.

"Huh?!"

Right then, Lang Ren's heartbeat skipped a beat. Only now did he realize with shock that Li Jun was actually wielding the saber with a single arm. The other arm was raised like a shield, blocking the path of his *iai* strike.

"How dare he?!"

The samurai sword sliced through flesh and blood, severed meridians, and finally embedded itself deep into the hard bone of the forearm.

But what horrified Lang Ren was that this strike had actually failed to sever Li Jun's arm directly!

He suddenly understood why Li Jun's body was so hard. This Ming man had actually infused a body-protection technique as well!

"Why are his genes this strong?"

This question, Lang Ren was destined to never receive an answer to.

*Pu-chi!*

Trading a severely wounded arm for the chance to strike, the Qi Family Saber's edge now faced no obstruction. It directly bisected half of Lang Ren's body, finally exhausting its force and stopping in the middle of his chest cavity.

[Gained 40 Proficiency Points]

Spurting hot blood stained half of Li Jun's body red, and successfully blasted open the first lock within his body.

An inexplicable palpitation surged from the deepest recesses of his being, followed by a faint, ethereal clank of a lock falling—as if an illusory seal, dust-laden for years, had finally been thrown open.

In that instant, countless surges of intense fury flooded Li Jun’s heart.

Resentment at corrupt scholars holding power; resentment at superstition deluding the masses; resentment at machines running rampant; resentment at the desecration of flesh and blood.

He who harbors rage in his heart and draws his blade against the world—that is a Ruffian!

The Qi Family Saber trembled ceaselessly in his grip; veins bulged blue at Li Jun’s temples. He felt the corpses before him were glaringly, offensively vivid.

He gritted his teeth, straining with every fiber to suppress the urge to hack the bodies to pieces, and swiftly produced the injector filled with white liquid, driving it into his thigh.

A massive dose of sedative could alleviate the fury born of ascending the Ruffian sequence.

Moments later, Li Jun’s heavy breathing gradually steadied. Gazing at the panel information floating into his vision, a look of unbridled joy finally bloomed on his face.

【Grade】: Martial Dao Sequence Nine—Ruffian

【Technique】: Single Saber Method (Selected) (Mid-stage Grade Nine 33/100)

【Movement】: Bagua Wandering Body Step (Early-stage Grade Nine 12/100)

【Body Tempering】: Iron Cloth Shirt (Mid-stage Grade Nine 5/100)

【Internal Art】: Azure Emperor Canon (Mid-stage Grade Eight 4/100)

【Mastery Points】: 140 (100 points required for promotion)

................

"Zhao Ding, congratulations. The Robe-Brotherhood gains another Follower."

Luo Zhen appeared calm, save for the incessant twitching at the corner of his eye, which betrayed the fury seething in his heart.

Zhao Ding replied with a smile: "This is also thanks to Inspector Luo. Otherwise, Li Jun would never have found such a fine stepping stone."

Luo Zhen let out a cold snort, shooting a glance at Hu Zhong. The latter immediately reached out, seizing the collar of Zhao Dou—who lay slumped like mud—and turned to drag him out of the boxing ring.

But dense throngs of figures converged before them, forming a human wall blocking the arena’s exit.

Luo Zhen scanned the hostile faces before him, then turned back to Zhao Ding, his voice cold: "Helmsman, what is the meaning of this?"

"I’d like to ask Inspector Luo the very same question."