White-Robed Chief
chapter-17

The group of bandits surrounded them. All of them were wielding long knives that eerily reflected the sunlight with their bald heads.

Zhao Ying had gained some confidence beforehand, but she was still wary of being outnumbered. She quietly muttered to Chu Li, "Let's get out of here!"

Chu Li shook his head. "We'll cut them down first!"

There was no telling how many others would suffer if these bastards were left alone!

"Alright," Zhao Ying nodded.

She also believed that these bandits deserved to die. She knew that if she was taken by them, then she would have to kill herself. The thought of it gave her goosebumps and sent a chill up her mind. However, she quickly dismissed the thought and steeled her nerves.

Very quickly, the blades of the knives flashed, and four sets of steel descended upon them.

Chu Li lightly parried their blade away blade and slashed upward. It glinted under the sunlight as it slit the wrist of two of the bandits. He immediately redirected the swing and struck down yet another bandit, allowing Zhao Ying to focus on a lone bandit.

"Argh!" Three bandits screamed as their wrists spouted blood, causing them to also drop their knives.

Meanwhile, Zhao Ying and the final bandit were in a heated duel; the sound of clashing steel rang out through the air.

This man was very skilled with the knife. He had absolute control, allowing him to compete with Zhao Ying's Swallow Reversal. Chu Li watched on and did not rush to assist her. He planned on using this fight to help Zhao Ying gain experience.

He pulled out his sword and struck at the three bandits once more. They clawed at their necks as blood poured from their throats. They managed to catch sight of Chu Li while their convulsing and saw that he did not reveal even a hint of mercy in his gaze.

Chu Li shook the blood off his blade to boost his partner's morale. "Zhao Ying, it's going to get more and more dangerous the longer you take to kill him! Hurry up!"

"Very well," Zhao Ying replied softly. Her swordplay became lighter and faster. The speed and intensity increased to a point where it became almost impossible to defend against.

"I'm going to turn you into my armchair!" The large man screamed as he slowly lost his poise and his face became flushed. He ignored Zhao Ying' strike and went for a reckless attack, attempting to create a lose-lose situation.

However, Zhao Ying sidestepped and dodged it.

Chu Li realized what the man was trying to do. He quickly struck the guy right in the middle of his chest.

The large man widened his eyes as he stared at the gaping wound in his chest. He turned up to look at Chu Li briefly before losing his balance and falling over.

Chu Li took a deep breath when he saw this.

Zhao Ying turned her head and looked at him, puzzled.

Chu Li investigated the body of the large man. He found a signal arrow on the man. If he had struck any later, then the arrow would have been shot into the sky. "Zhao Ying, don't back off the next time this happens." Zhao Ying nodded, feeling embarrassed.

She had almost made a fatal mistake. If the man had managed to shoot the arrow, then both she and Chu Li would most probably be doomed.

The Innate Master would make their way to them, and they would be killed on the spot.

"Your movements during the fight were instinctive. It should be clear now that experience is very important," Chu Li nodded.

"Hmm," Zhao Ying agreed but realized that something was off.

"But isn't this your first time outside the Public House too?"

"I learned it all from the books," Chu Li pointed at his head and smiled. "That is why we should read a lot more, it can make the difference between life and death!"

"Mmm!" Zhao Ying nodded.

She held the belief that martial arts could solve everything. That she could overcome any situation with strong martial arts. She believed that studying was pointless and was a waste of time that could otherwise be spent on martial arts. If one's martial arts were not adequate, then there was no point in studying.

However, she now realized that her way of thinking was shallow. She should both read and cultivate.

Chu Li bent down and grabbed a knife. He beheaded all the corpses as if he was slicing pork meat.

Zhao Ying became pale. She could kill, but she felt like Chu Li was being too cruel as she watched him behead the corpses of their fallen enemies. They were already dead, so there was no need for this excess hatred.

After he was done, he tossed the knife away, clapping his clean hands. He realized that Zhao Ying was watching him and smiled at her,"Do you think I'm cruel?"

"They are already dead, what was that for?"

"Some of them might have trained some unusual gateway techniques relating to the heart. If they did, then they could easily be able to fake their death."

"Is that so?"

"Zhao Ying, you've followed Zhuo Feiyang for far too long; you've become dumb. You only know how to train and believe that martial arts are all you need to become the most powerful person in the world, that it will even solve all your problems."

"Is it not true?"

"This man right here has his heart on the right!" Chu Li pointed at one of the corpses. He quickly sliced off the man's skin and revealed his heart.

Zhao Ying turned her head away in an attempt to avoid looking at it. However, she accidentally caught sight of it and saw that it was truly on the right side.

"Does Zhuo Feiyang think of himself as a genius? That he will one day be the best in the world?" Chu Li asked.

"Brother Zhuo Feiyang truly is a genius," Zhao Ying nodded.

"Naive! How is it possible to be the best whilst training in the Public House?" Chu Li broke into laughter.

"Why not? Is it because of his heart technique?" Zhao Ying asked in surprise.

"Having a great heart technique won't be enough if you want to be the best!"

"Well, innate talent is important as well, and Zhuo Feiyang has tremendous talent."

"There's something else other than innate talent. If you truly want to be the strongest, if you really want to be considered the best of the best, then you'll need to join sects. This is top secret information, Zhao Ying. Don't tell anyone else!"

"Why is that?" Zhao Ying's interest piqued. Both of them hopped onto their horses and quickly left the bloodied scene to continue on their journey.

Chu Li explained in detail as they rode on, "It's about your state of consciousness. To improve your innate skills, you have to work on the consciousness of your heart and mind, not bury yourself in training. All the factions in the world that have been around for hundreds of years all have their own variations on how to approach their inner consciousness. There are secret guidebooks in the Public House about martial arts, but none about the consciousness. Because of this, it is impossible to train yourself to become the best of the best without venturing outside."

"State of consciousness..." Zhao Ying muttered to herself.

"These are secrets only those rank six and above would know. You'll find out for yourself one day, I'm just telling you in advance so that you wouldn't waste your time training with ineffective methods. Spend some time gaining some knowledge. If you only train your martial arts, then you will eventually reach a glass ceiling."

"So what you're saying, Brother Chu Li, is that we can only train up to an innate level in the Public House?"

"Indeed."

"That doesn't seem right. There are definitely masters greater than that in the Public House, aren't there?"

"Of course.

"Then, how did they get to that level?"

"That's another secret!"

"Brother Chu Li —!"

"Fine, it won't matter much even if I told you, but you'll have to promise me that you won't tell anyone else!"

"I promise! I won't tell anyone else!"

"Fine." Chu Li nodded. "There's actually a system in place where you'll be sent to a sect for training if you become an Innate Master."

"Which sects?"

"This is also another secret…" Chu Li's tone changed as he shook his head.

"Even though the Public House was built to regulate the sects, they aren't actually stronger than them. They've been working with some of the sects in a way that allows their innate masters to join these sects to train."

Zhao Ying' already bright eyes widened even more.

This was incredibly secret information. To her knowledge, the Public House helped the imperial court suppress the circles of martial arts and eliminated those who broke the rules of martial arts. Even the imperial court would face consequences if their Innate Masters went rogue. That was what the Public House was built to do.

In the public's eye, the Public House and the sects of martial arts were enemies that could never cooperate. Who would have thought that they would actually be secretly working together on certain things?

"You probably know what would happen if this kind of information was leaked, right?"

"I won't speak a word of it! I'll take this secret to my grave!"

If the other sects find out about this, then they would slaughter everyone. Everyone in the Public House would perish and its power would be severely diminished. If the martial arts circle was not put under proper check and balance, then it would eventually lead to chaos!

"This is why it's very important to pick the right path in martial arts. Moreover, this decision relates to which sect you'd be joining in the future. There is no future in the path of the Delusion Split, that sect has already vanished. But with your Swallow Reversal, you could probably join the Winged Graces. You're pretty lucky in my eyes."

"Delusion Split…" Zhao Ying sighed to herself.

"You're not planning to tell Zhuo Feiyang are you?" Chu Li replied.

"But…" Zhao Ying hesitated.

"What are you supposed to tell him?"

"Don't tell me that you are going to watch as Zhuo Feiyang goes down the wrong path?!"

"Ha, no need to worry. I've already taken him down with the Delusion Split, he'll probably stop training it altogether."

"But Zhuo Feiyang may get consumed by it and keep training it until the very end!"

"Hmm…" Chu Li shook his head and heaved a sigh.

"Chu Li, I'm not siding with Zhuo Feiyang, it's just.."

"Whatever!" Chu Li shook his head. "Since he's an idiot, there'll be a limit to his success anyway."

Zhao Ying rolled her eyes.

Chu Li smiled back at her. "Do you think I am mocking him on purpose?"

"Both of you are truly…"

"He has a strong body and plenty of talent. He cultivates fast, but that isn't the problem. The problem is that he refuses to learn anything else. Once he reaches the innate level, he'll be stuck."

Zhao Ying furrowed her brows. Forcing Zhuo Feiyang to read was just as difficult as trying to kill him.