Chapter 227: No Talk of Money

Chapter 227: Not Talking Money

"It is precisely because this humble monk does not understand that I wish to seek your guidance, Benefactor."

Li Jun's five fingers, gripping the saber, twitched in succession. He wore a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Why should I teach you?"

"Because right now, there are only the two of us here. Trading one secret for one life, Benefactor, you do not lose out."

The wisdom root at the center of Ji Wu's brow was a translucent, pale yellow, like jade. Paired with that face of peerless beauty, his entire being exuded an aura of sanctity.

Li Jun tapped the mechanical body on the ground with his toe. "You're that confident you can take me in a duel?"

"A Sequence Seven at its peak, currently in the midst of a Sequence Transition with unstable gene sequences—he merely happened to be countered by your combat technique that had just suddenly advanced. That is why he was killed in a single slash. Otherwise, the outcome would still be unknown."

Ji Wu held one palm upright before him. "Even at his peak, encountering this humble monk would only result in transcendence."

Praising one while trampling the other—damn it, this monk really knows how to draw a comparison!

Li Jun's eyelid twitched. He spoke with a savage grin. "Then come down here and let's try?"

"As you wish."

The monk's cloth shoe lifted and stepped forward. The martial artist's long saber gathered power, ready to strike.

But just as the bloody battle was about to erupt, that descending cloth shoe suddenly froze the instant it was about to touch the ground, hovering a mere hair's breadth from the mud.

Wind snapped the monk's robes, a crackling sound.

Rain struck the long saber, silent upon the blade.

The two figures fell into a standoff, yet the clash in their eyes never ceased.

Suddenly, Ji Wu's extended right foot retracted to its original position.

The savagery on Li Jun's face vanished at that moment. He spoke blandly. "How did you notice?"

"At the very instant I was about to set my foot down, his muzzle locked onto me. That killing intent... it cannot be hidden."

"Old Ma, did you hear that? You boast about being a master who can shoot a halberd at the gate, yet you were discovered before you even fired!"

Li Jun didn't turn his head, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Damn it, even a woman can sense my killing intent now? That makes no sense. Which barrel gave me away?"

A cursing, grumbling voice drifted over from the distance.

"Just now, when you were at a disadvantage, you actually managed to hold back and not let this Mo Jia act. I underestimated you."

Ji Wu's eyes held suspicion. "Aren't you worried that this trump card was hidden too deep? That you wouldn't get the chance to use it before Zhao Tong killed you?"

"Zhao Tong sent assassins to die first, nothing more than wanting to probe the depths of my martial arts, afraid he wasn't a match. A man who is timid before battle... he can't kill me."

Li Jun spouted nonsense casually. Since he couldn't explain it clearly, he might as well blame it on that temperament of his that was inherently inexplicable.

Otherwise, how could he tell Ji Wu that it was precisely because Zhao Tong sent a wave of "warmth" that he gained another trump card for a mid-battle breakthrough?

"On a narrow path, the brave win. Zhao Tong lost his martial heart; his defeat is only natural."

Ji Wu nodded, but the corner of his mouth suddenly curled into a faint, cold smile. "Even adding that Mo Jia, do you think you can fight me?"

The words had barely fallen when a *bang* erupted before the monk, blasting a fist-sized pit in the mud.

Mud splattered in all directions, yet it seemed to hit an invisible barrier, blocked before his robes.

Only then did a gunshot, like rolling thunder, reach the ears.

"Bald donkey, this grandpa is Lord Ma, not 'that Mo Jia'!"

In the distance, Lord Ma caught the casing ejected from the barrel. Amidst the swirling gunpowder smoke, he raised a thumb and sliced it sharply across the lower rim of his helmet.

"With just this much power, you can't pierce my Buddha Body."

Ji Wu's expression was indifferent. His words were spoken in a tone that remained perfectly calm.

"But the saber in my hand can pierce through." Li Jun sneered.

The wisdom root on Ji Wu's brow abruptly shifted from tender yellow to a bloody crimson. "To win against me, you all have to die."

"Cut the crap. If you've got the guts, come try."

Though he said this, the Xiu Chun Saber now rested lazily on Li Jun's shoulder.

In a true life-or-death situation, there is absolutely no time for such long-winded drivel.

This kind of standoff where both sides trade threats—nine times out of ten—doesn't come to blows.

If this bald donkey were the type unafraid of death, he would have settled the score with Li Jun back in that casino the first time they met.

How can porcelain clash with earthenware?

Besides, in the eyes of a Walker from a major power like Ji Wu, Li Jun didn't even count as earthenware. At best, he was just a stray dog living day to day.

Sure enough, the young monk's next words took a sharp turn.

"This humble monk came today not to settle life and death with you, Benefactor."

Li Jun looked at Ji Wu's stern expression and couldn't help but let out a mocking laugh. "Then did the Master brave this miserable cold rain and run to this wilderness just to admire me killing people?"

"This humble monk has come to persuade Benefactor not to wallow in the mire with Chen Qisheng any longer."

"Ah, so the Master is playing the 'sowing discord' card."

Li Jun feigned sudden realization, then asked with a puzzled look. "But I want to ask... who exactly is the 'mire'?"

Ji Wu ignored the ridicule at his ear, continuing on his own. "If Benefactor agrees, Shaolin will bestow upon you a Grade Six Internal Energy Infuser."

"Not bad this time. You didn't trot out that 'pardon' rhetoric again. You know to offer something tangible."

Li Jun smiled. "But is my, Li Jun's, reputation worth only a Grade Six Internal Energy Infuser?"

"This humble monk can privately bestow a matching Grade Six Body Forging method as well."

Li Jun's brows jumped. The wrinkles from his smile layered into deep ravines of desire. "Generous. I'm actually a bit tempted. Go on."

But after a moment, no further offer came.

Ji Wu pressed his lips tight, silent. A pair of phoenix eyes flashed with a cold light concealing killing intent.

Without a doubt, he had realized—Li Jun was taking the piss.

"Insatiable desire... sooner or later, karma fire will entangle you!"

"I have no karma fire, but I've got plenty of lust right now!"

Li Jun raised a hand to dig his ear, a mocking look on his face. "Things have come to this, and you're still playing the 'separatist' routine with me. Do you think that's interesting?"

Suddenly, Ji Wu felt he could somewhat understand why, after Long Tu failed to convert that youth back then, he developed such a deep obsession.

"Both opposing Sequences involved in that incident years ago... why are you willing to trust Chen Qisheng, but not me?"

Li Jun threw out a sentence. "Because that old cow-nose didn't talk money with me."

Ji Wu frowned, the confusion in his eyes deepening. "Then what did you talk about?"

"Killing."

Li Jun's wrist shook. The Xiu Chun Saber once more became an umbrella, shielding his head.

"Kill you lot first. Then I'll kill him."

Asthe words fell, Li Jun turned and walked away.

Ji Wu stood rooted, dazed, his gaze fixed long on that retreating back—now finally sharing the frame with the black-robed figure standing far off, rifle raised and trained on him.

Beneath his sleeve, his right thumb stroked a strip of desiccated human skin, and a seeping, savage malice slowly bloomed across his exquisitely carved, saintly features.

"These martial men... utterly beyond reason!"