CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42: DIVINE CULTISTS, INNATE MARTIAL SEED!

"Steal?"

Fang Qingyu was a bit startled as he listened.

"Steal from people from other martial arts halls?"

"No, no."

Old Qiao shook his head like a bell.

"I shouldn’t be telling you this so early, but since you’ve chosen to continue on the martial arts path, you’ll have to understand them sooner or later."

With that, Lv Chen handed him a tablet from the side.

Fang Qingyu took the tablet, and a suspicion suddenly formed in his mind.

He clicked play.

The beginning of the video was a bit shaky, like it was shot with a handheld device.

The background was an alley in an old part of town at night, with the streetlights flickering due to poor connection, and a thin layer of mist hung over the wet ground.

A man in a hoodie stood with his back to the camera, his right hand hanging by his side.

Dark liquid was dripping from his fingertips, creating tiny blood flowers on the cement ground.

Suddenly, the camera shook violently.

The person filming let out a short scream as a distorted black shadow suddenly appeared on the edge of the frame.

The thing barely resembled a human, but its limbs and joints were twisted in unnatural directions, and worm-like purple-red veins bulged from under its rotting skin.

It pounced toward the man in the hoodie with incredible speed.

"It’s coming!" the cameraman suddenly warned.

However, the man vanished the moment the Life Ghost’s claws were about to touch the back of his neck.

It wasn’t teleportation, but more like some sort of refraction.

The reflection of the streetlight in a puddle suddenly twisted, and the man leaped out from another puddle three meters away, flicking water droplets from the hem of his soaked hoodie.

These droplets solidified into ice needles mid-air, which shot toward the Life Ghost’s forehead as he waved his hand.

The Life Ghost let out a metallic scrape-like hiss.

The ice needles were swallowed two inches from its forehead by a black mist.

But the man in the hoodie had already vaulted over the alley wall to land behind it, somehow cradling a ball of blue ice in his left hand.

This attack had an extremely sharp angle.

The ice cone burrowed into the groove along the Life Ghost’s spine.

The monster instantly went limp like a snake with its bones removed.

At that point.

The camera was suddenly flooded with bright light.

The video ended.

"That’s not a movie special effect."

Seeing Fang Qingyu had finished watching, Old Qiao kindly explained.

"I know."

Fang Qingyu nodded calmly.

It matched his suspicions.

In this world, besides martial artists, there were humans with superpowers.

Like... people like Zhao Feng.

"So, we’re competing with these people for the Life Ghost?"

After collecting his thoughts, Fang Qingyu looked at Old Qiao.

"Yes."

"You should know by now that we martial artists have to come into contact with the Observation Method to truly step into the extraordinary, but these people..."

"Were born extraordinary!!"

Fang Qingyu listened, suddenly raising his head.

"Born!?"

"Yes, born that way!"

Old Qiao nodded emphatically, affirming Fang Qingyu’s words.

"These people are called Divine Cultists."

"Like us martial artists, they are regulated by the Bureau of Regulation, but they were born awesome, so most of the time, the Bureau of Regulation sides with them."

Fang Qingyu looked thoughtful.

So, what Qin Jiao said about Song Ming being one of the few who stands on the side of martial artists makes sense.

"Will we fight them for the Life Ghost?"

"Yes, so all martial arts halls are united, they don’t fight among themselves, and when we encounter a situation where we have to compete with the cultists for a Life Ghost, we can call for backup."

Old Qiao was unfazed, as if it was just the way things were.

Fang Qingyu couldn’t help but twitch his mouth.

This is starting to feel...

A bit gang-like, what’s with that?

But from his words, it seemed like martial artists didn’t have a good relationship with these cultists.

So, was Zhao Feng an outlier?

"But we can’t let it escalate, at most we just test each other’s strength, whoever is weaker gives way."

Old Qiao quickly added.

"Understood."

No need for further explanation, Fang Qingyu understood.

If things did get too intense,

The Bureau of Regulation would step in.

So, it’s usually... martial artists who are weaker, so they have no choice but to concede.

"Don’t worry too much, it’s not like we don’t have anyone on our side."

"What do you mean?"

Fang Qingyu showed a listening posture.

Everything Old Qiao was saying today was new to him.

"Do you know why the Federation hasn’t made martial arts a national policy?"

Old Qiao suddenly teased with a question.

"No idea."

Fang Qingyu frowned slightly.

"It’s because those naturally suited for martial arts training, like the cultists, were selected from the moment they were born."

"It’s just that the entry level for martial arts is low, the Federation hasn’t cut off the martial arts path, even providing funds to cultivate those who voluntarily choose to practice martial arts."

"Like you and us."

Old Qiao said, his eyes filled with bitterness.

It was the first time Fang Qingyu had heard such a notion.

Understanding that these cultists were born extraordinary made sense, perhaps there were some supernatural phenomena involved.

"How can one tell if someone is naturally suited for martial arts training?"

"A Martial Seed! Those born with a Martial Seed, from the very start of training, encounter no barriers and advance rapidly, making the path to becoming a Martial Artist smooth!"

Old Qiao’s initially regretful eyes turned into ones filled with longing.

Who wouldn’t want to reach the extraordinary directly?

Such power is the dream of everyone who practices martial arts.

"Uh..."

Fang Qingyu was momentarily speechless.

So, my talent is something martial artists dream of?

No wonder it’s so effective.

Old Qiao thought Fang Qingyu was hit hard, so he turned to comfort him.

"Even though your talent doesn’t compare to a Martial Seed, among regular people, it’s still top-notch, there’s a chance to break through to become a martial artist, don’t be disheartened."

"Understood."

Fang Qingyu took a deep breath and nodded.

Seeing Fang Qingyu wasn’t too affected, Old Qiao was relieved and continued.

"After stealing, comes killing and running. Killing is straightforward, it’s a test of combat skills, mainly it’s the running."

"Running what?"

Fang Qingyu was curious about this point.

Logically, after killing the Life Ghost, wouldn’t it be safe?

"There are two reasons for running: first, killing a Life Ghost could attract others due to the Life Pearl and the corpse’s scent, so we need to relocate swiftly."

"Second, if we run into cultists just after finishing the fight, they might try to steal."

"They can steal stuff?"

Fang Qingyu found it a bit outrageous.

Before the fight, it was understandable to define the prey based on strength.

But stealing after the fight, where’s the order in that!?

Upon hearing this, Lv Chen, who was beside him, stepped forward and lifted his T-shirt.

His abdomen was wrapped with layers of bandages.

"They can steal."

"If it’s in a remote area, the Bureau of Regulation might not arrive quickly, they can rob and then destroy the action recorder, turning black into white."

"This is the current ecosystem we live in."

"Survival of the fittest!"

Old Qiao stared closely at Fang Qingyu, trying to read his expression.

Fang Qingyu didn’t meet his gaze.

Just thought for a while, then suddenly looked up and asked him a question.

"So..."

"Can we steal from them too?"