Chapter 5: The Innate Realm

Li Musheng tucked the silver banknotes into his robe and scanned his surroundings.

The situation in the arena had changed drastically. The Seven Scoundrels of Zhahe had been subdued by acupoint strikes, and the lives of the disciples and apprentices were no longer in danger.

However, everyone’s gaze was now fixed on Li Musheng, their eyes filled with astonishment, unfamiliarity, disbelief, and other strange emotions.

Li Musheng ignored them. Over the fifteen years he had spent at the martial arts hall, he had displayed such poor aptitude and bone structure that he was never favored by the others, and thus, he was not close to any of them.

"Old Man Yu, since you were so generous, I’ll help you out once more."

Li Musheng raised an eyebrow and suddenly extended his palm toward a man standing nearby.

Yu Zhentian did not understand what he meant, but the next moment, he was struck with horror and hurriedly shouted

"Stop!"

However, Li Musheng did not stop his hand, continuing to strike directly toward Yu Xian’s head.

Clearly, given the strength Li Musheng had just displayed, if this palm strike landed, Yu Xian would undoubtedly die.

It was at this very moment that Yu Xian, who had been lying there with broken limbs and shallow breath, suddenly opened his eyes wide.

His feet erupted with powerful internal energy, stomping so hard that the floor tiles cracked and flew into the air. His entire body slid backward rapidly, pressed flat against the ground, in a desperate attempt to dodge Li Musheng’s palm.

However, he had clearly overestimated himself. No matter how fast his reaction was, how could he escape Li Musheng’s palm?

Before he had even slid halfway, he felt his Dantian’s internal energy stagnate. His body went numb instantly, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to move.

For a moment, terror filled the eyes of the Yu Xian on the ground, for from start to finish, he had not even seen how his acupoints had been struck.

"What is going on?"

Yu Zhentian arrived at Yu Xian’s side in an instant.

Seeing the man move with such agility just moments ago, even if he didn't understand the reason, he knew there was something wrong with his eldest son.

Li Musheng didn't even glance at the person on the ground, instead rubbing his chin as he said

"Logically, there should be seven of the Seven Scoundrels of Zhahe. I suspect this is the last one among them."

Hearing this, Yu Zhentian reached out and grabbed at the skin on the face of the Yu Xian on the ground.

Sure enough, as he tore off a human-skin mask, the face of a strange middle-aged man, likely over fifty, was revealed.

Seeing this, the others, including Zha Laosan, felt their hearts sink.

"Are you the leader of the Seven Scoundrels of Zhahe?"

A chill rose up Yu Zhentian’s back. This man was not only highly skilled in martial arts but also truly insidious.

He had actually impersonated Yu Xian to deceive him. If Li Musheng hadn't exposed him, he would surely have been ambushed, and at that point, he would have been lucky to survive, let alone avoid serious injury.

At this thought, Yu Zhentian’s hair and beard bristled with rage. He hauled the leader up from the ground and demanded

"Where is my son now?"

But the leader only stared back at him, unable to speak a word.

Yu Zhentian was inwardly astonished. Li Musheng’s acupoint-striking technique was truly unheard of; in the blink of an eye, he had even sealed the mute acupoint!

He immediately channeled his internal energy into his fingers, wanting to unseal the leader's mute acupoint.

But to his shock, the leader’s mute acupoint was as solid as a rock; his internal energy could not shake the energy sealing the acupoint in the slightest.

"Let me do it."

Li Musheng flicked his finger lightly. The leader felt his throat loosen and was finally able to make a sound. He stared at Li Musheng and exclaimed

"Martial Dao True Qi? An Innate expert? Who exactly are you?"

The path of martial arts is divided into three great realms: the Postnatal Realm, the Innate Realm, and the Heaven-Man Realm!

The Postnatal Realm focuses on tempering the muscles, bones, and skin, generating internal energy to circulate through the body's meridians.

Only by connecting the twelve regular meridians and opening the Ren and Du vessels can one draw Martial Dao True Qi into the body and step into the Innate Realm.

In a remote city like Shun'an, Postnatal experts were rare, and martial artists who could step into the Innate Realm were even rarer.

As a half-step Innate expert, the leader had never expected to encounter a true Innate expert here.

Li Musheng glanced at the leader in Yu Zhentian’s grip, showing no interest in the man at all, and said

"None of these guys are good people. Do as you see fit with them."

Yu Zhentian looked at Li Musheng cautiously, his expression shifting rapidly before he nodded.

Li Musheng said nothing more and turned to walk toward the back courtyard of the martial arts hall.

Halfway there, he looked back at Zhang Dazhuang, who was still standing there in a daze

"Brother Zhang, there’s nothing left for you here. Are you not coming?"

Hearing this, Zhang Dazhuang rubbed his cheeks vigorously. His gaze lingered on Yu Zhentian and the leader for a moment before he quickly hurried to catch up with Li Musheng.

By now, he realized that when Li Musheng had deliberately asked him to carry Yu’s second daughter earlier, he had actually been saving his life.

Otherwise, if he had fallen into the hands of the leader impersonating Yu Xian, how could he have survived?

However, this was actually Zhang Dazhuang overthinking things; even if he had fallen into the leader's hands, as long as Li Musheng didn't want him to die, he wouldn't have been able to die even if he wanted to.

As for why he had done that earlier, it was purely because Li Musheng had never intended to run away in the first place.

...

Not long after, Li Musheng arrived at a dilapidated, cramped little room in the furthest corner of the back courtyard and began to pack his belongings.

Zhang Dazhuang stood outside the door, peering in for a while. Not knowing what to say, he cautiously and curiously asked

"Ah Sheng, how did you suddenly become so powerful? Even the notorious Seven Scoundrels of Zhahe were no match for you."

"Guess?"

"Could it be that you secretly took a peerless master as your teacher? Or found a manual of divine martial arts? Or perhaps..."

Li Musheng picked up his packed bundle and slung it over his shoulder, laughing

"None of the above. It’s all thanks to my innate talent and self-taught genius!"

Hearing this, Zhang Dazhuang subconsciously rolled his eyes.

As everyone knew, he and Li Musheng had the worst aptitude in the entire Yu Family Martial Arts Hall. After practicing for so many years, they hadn't made the slightest progress, and their status in the hall was even lower than that of the servants.

However, thinking of Li Musheng’s current strength, he quickly managed his expression, fearing that if he annoyed this guy, he might get slapped into the sky!

"I knew you wouldn't believe me, but that’s just how it is!"

Li Musheng spread his hands, looked down for a moment, and finally pulled a stack of creased scrap paper from under a bed leg that had lost half its length.

He shoved the scrap paper into Zhang Dazhuang’s hands and said nonchalantly

"Before we part, I have nothing else to give you. This is a divine art called 'Indestructible Vajra.' It’s perfect for you to practice, so I’m giving it to you!"

Zhang Dazhuang took the scrap paper, feeling both pleasantly surprised and hesitant. He wasn't quite sure if this "divine art" written on low-quality paper was real or fake.

But soon, he sighed and shook his head

"Ah Sheng, I appreciate your kindness, but I know my own situation. My aptitude and bone structure are too poor; I probably won't be able to master this divine art."

Li Musheng patted his shoulder and smiled

"Don't worry, this martial art doesn't require any talent or bone structure. It only depends on the practitioner's perseverance and character. As long as you persist in practicing, you’ll have no problem protecting yourself in the martial arts world in the future."