Chapter 252: The Carpenter's Hall

Chapter 252: JuziTang

No gunfire, no cannon roar, no blade's cry or sword's song.

To be precise, this skirmish had barely begun when it was already over.

The fifteen-man MoGu assault squad under Li Jun was as flimsy as paper, utterly powerless to resist.

Even the seventh-ranked "MoGu Security" deputy chief was seized by Li Jun, his throat pinched, a gentle shake sending his entire body into a useless sprawl, his eyes wide with terror, staring blankly at the ground.

Even after the dust settled, Zhao Qingxia stood frozen, mouth agape, still lost in shock.

"How about that, Uncle Li? Pretty fierce, wasn't he? Trained by me!"

Ma Wangye wrapped an arm around Zhao Qingxia's shoulders, his tone brimming with pride. The red eyes in his helmet flickered toward Li Jun, as if signaling him not to expose his true nature.

Li Jun couldn't be bothered with this swaggering opportunist, his thumb pressing against the hilt of the embroidered spring blade. He gestured toward the fallen MoGu soldiers and asked calmly, "What's going on here?"

"Great Perfection Seven-Rank Tendon-Disrupting Bone-Misalignment Hand, and Great Perfection Seven-Rank Body Technique ChuWu Phantom Shadow..."

Zhao Qingxia seemed not to hear Li Jun's words; his eyes blazed with intensity, his body trembling with excitement.

He wrenched away Ma Wangye's hand from his shoulder and circled Li Jun repeatedly, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

As a research-obsessed martial artist, Zhao Qingxia had once risked expulsion to infiltrate the TianZhi Society's Huangliang dream archives, copying every martial arts manual.

Having witnessed the entire battle, he combined the corpses' gruesome state to deduce the martial art Li Jun employed.

"Is this ability derived from the genes carried by the martial arts injector, or does it exist inherently in human genetics, with the injector merely serving as a simplified form of awakening?"

"If it's the latter, then the so-called martial arts sequence—are those who can withstand this awakening, or those whose genes are more easily roused, the ones selected?"

"Could my mimic martial arts also take this route?"

Zhao Qingxia muttered to himself, his eyes growing increasingly bright and piercing. The brain-machine interface behind his skull buzzed with overload, his hands rising and falling, clenching and unclenching.

This obsessed expression filled Li Jun with revulsion; his thumb unconsciously pushed upward against the embroidered spring blade.

Clang!

The blade slid halfway from its sheath. Zhao Qingxia felt a bone-deep chill envelop him, as if plunged into an ice cavern. The wildfire in his eyes finally dimmed slightly.

"Jun Ge, long time no see."

Zhao Qingxia scratched his head, grinning sheepishly. "You and Ma Ye came here—has the matter in Chongqing Prefecture been resolved?"

After waking, Ma Wangye had immediately contacted Zhao Qingxia, detailing Li Jun's predicament in Chongqing Prefecture.

He had urged him repeatedly to bide his time, avoid haste, and wait until the crisis in Chongqing was resolved before rushing to help.

Yet now, Zhao Qingxia had clearly ignored Ma Wangye's advice. His investigation had already been detected, hence the ambush by a full MoGu squad.

Ma Wangye grumbled, "You dare ask me? Why did you go offline from the Huangliang dreamscape half a month ago? If not for the spirit's ability to reverse-locate your position, I wouldn't have found your corpse today!"

"Nothing major, just poked around someone else's old secrets and pissed them off."

Zhao Qingxia spoke casually, but Ma Wangye, a seasoned schemer, wasn't so easily dismissed.

"Hmph, playing games with me? You think I don't know? Have you forgotten my standing in the Mo Family Divine Artifacts Forum? I've already pieced together what you've done."

Zhao Qingxia winced, sighing helplessly, "Which of your lovers told you?"

"What lover?! Mind your language!"

Ma Wangye grumbled, "Why stir up trouble with that bastard Mo Ke? He's a high-ranking officer in the TianZhi Society's MoGu forces—how hard could it be to deal with you?"

Zhao Qingxia said gravely, "Mo Ke violated the Society's rules, secretly manufacturing arms in the Four Seas Guard and selling them to the Wa people's districts!"

"Mind your own business. You're not the Society's leader—what's it to you?"

Zhao Qingxia fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly, "The one who sold out our safehouse in Chongqing was Mo Jin."

"Mo Ke's son?" Ma Wangye's tone grew heavier. "No grudge, no recent enmity—why target us?"

Zhao Qingxia sighed, "I only learned this after returning. The Mo Family's JuziTang somehow got wind of my research and wants to recruit me into their ranks."

"Ah, JuziTang—that explains it. Cutting off someone's future is like killing their parents. No wonder Mo Jin wants you dead."

Ma Wangye's voice carried mixed emotions, complex and conflicted.

Having fully grasped the situation, he turned to Li Jun and explained, "In certain ancient, education-focused sequences, there's usually a special institution dedicated to nurturing those with potential to ascend to higher ranks."

"The Daoist sequence's Baiyu Jingxian class, the Buddhist sequence's Lingshan Monastic Order, the Confucian sequence's Donglin Academy..."

"Donglin Academy was established by the New Donglin Party, with its member clans jointly funding it. They call it 'the cradle of the empire's pillars.' Those admitted are all genetically gifted, from prestigious backgrounds, with bright futures ahead. Old Li, haven't you wondered why you've never seen the Prefect of Chengdu? He's been studying there in seclusion."

Ma Wangye spoke solemnly, "The Mo Family's JuziTang is similar. The threshold is extremely high—only a handful are selected each year, usually by the major Mo forces. Once admitted, even half a foot in the door means nearing the threshold of a high sequence."

Upon hearing this, Li Jun understood all the causes and consequences.

Li Jun raised an eyebrow, his thumb rubbing the blade's hilt. "So the TianZhi Society's slot was originally reserved for that Mo Jin fellow?"

Ma Wangye nodded, "Though Mo forces love to wield hammers and forge iron, they're ultimately descendants of sword-wielding knights. Mo Jin's father commands the TianZhi Society's armed forces, wielding great power, so naturally he could secure a promising future for his son."

Li Jun asked calmly, "What rank is his father?"

"Mo Sixth Rank." Ma Wangye's tone carried an inexplicable hint of amusement. "But only in the early stages."

Zhao Qingxia, still oblivious to Ma Wangye's oddity, continued, "That's why I investigated Mo Ke's background. If I could get evidence of his illegal arms sales to the Wa people, I could take down both father and son!"

Li Jun shook his head. "No need for such trouble."

"What do you mean, we're not investigating?"

Zhao Qingxia was puzzled, probing cautiously, "Are we just leaving?"