Chapter 79 – Liu Daoyuan, Muscle Training, Old City

The plastic electronic clock with a plum blossom design on the yellowed wall flicked to 01:47.

Whatever methods these people had used, the rancid smell of bird droppings mixed with decaying corpses in the living room had almost entirely dissipated, leaving a surprisingly fresh scent in the air.

Lu Yuan watched as a man in tight-fitting clothes with a crew cut bent down to pick up two items that had fallen at his feet.

These were the tools that had just locked him up.

When activated, they had deeply cut into Lu Yuan’s flesh. Only now did he see that they were several silver-gray, iron ring-like devices.

He reached out to touch the part of his arm where the iron rings had been, and to his surprise, he found no marks at all.

“Yellow Bear.”

After examining himself thoroughly, Lu Yuan looked up at the man who had introduced himself as Zhou Ling.

“I think I’ve heard that term before.”

“You should have.”

Zhou Ling smiled and said, “You’re the top of your grade, nearly perfect in history. It’s impossible that you don’t know the totem of the Ancient Xia State is a winged Yellow Bear. Your history teacher should have told you the story of ‘Heavenly Bear Descends, Xia Established.'”

“I’ve heard it.”

Lu Yuan nodded, but his eyes were fixed on the left chest of Zhou Ling’s tight-fitting clothes under his jacket.

“But the bear on your chest is white, and it has no wings.”

This was something Lu Yuan had noticed earlier.

The clothes Zhou Ling wore underneath had an emblem-like design.

And only his clothes had it; the others didn’t.

“Hah—”

Zhou Ling chuckled but didn’t explain. Instead, he pulled over a chair and sat down in front of Lu Yuan again.

In a conversational tone, he asked, “Let’s talk about you first. Why are you here so late?”

“Aren’t you supposed to know everything?”

Lu Yuan calmly retorted.

By now, he had completely relaxed.

The people in front of him clearly weren’t affiliated with the Man in a Vest and his group.

Their purpose for being here was likely the same as his: they were after the so-called “Crow Deity Sect.”

Lu Yuan naturally connected these people with the “higher-ups” Lin Zhiqin had mentioned and the maglev shuttles that had flown over his head a few times.

So far, Zhou Ling and his group had demonstrated high-tech and futuristic methods in front of Lu Yuan, including electronic shackles, metal skeletal modifications, brain swaps, and eyes that glowed with blue light (possibly containing the ability to retrieve information anytime, anywhere).

He was genuinely curious.

What level of technology had these people, who called themselves the “Xia State xx Bureau,” “higher-ups,” or “Yellow Bears,” actually achieved?

Facing Lu Yuan’s retort, Zhou Ling’s eyes flashed briefly.

“You seem a bit dissatisfied?”

Zhou Ling spoke.

“Not at all.”

Lu Yuan shook his head. “It was just a misunderstanding. Now that it’s cleared up, we should sit down and talk calmly. After all, I did hurt your people.”

“I’m glad you understand.”

Zhou Ling nodded, looking at Lu Yuan with some admiration. “No wonder Liu Daoyuan took you as his last disciple despite his age. Talent is one thing, but your composure is indeed beyond ordinary. Oh, by the way, you haven’t started Muscle Training, have you?”

Zhou Ling suddenly asked.

Lu Yuan shook his head as if it were nothing.

But inside, it was like a series of thunderclaps exploding.

Liu Daoyuan?!

Muscle Training?!

Who is Liu Daoyuan?

The master of Yuan Martial Arts Gym? Lin Zhiqin’s teacher? The sect leader of the Crane Style who lost in the Snake-Crane Conflict?

Is Muscle Training a cultivation stage after reaching a professional level in martial arts?

Countless thoughts and guesses flashed through Lu Yuan’s mind, but he showed no sign of it on his face.

“It’s normal that you haven’t.”

Zhou Ling seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Otherwise, as a newcomer just starting in martial arts, even with the core teachings of the Crane Style, reaching the Muscle Training stage in less than two months would be quite exaggerated. After all, the Sky Water Stream Crane Style isn’t exactly a top-tier lineage.”

Zhou Ling spoke easily and confidently, as if he were extremely familiar with the Sky Water Stream Crane Stylea nearly obscure sect that Lu Yuan could hardly find any information about online.

“If only he could hide the blue light in his eyes, it would be perfect,” Lu Yuan thought to himself.

As Zhou Ling talked about the Sky Water Stream Crane Style, the blue light in his right eye kept flickering, making Lu Yuan deeply suspect that this guy was likely looking up information in real-time while pretending to be an expert in front of him.

It seemed Zhou Ling himself gradually realized this.

He quickly changed the subject, saying, “All the information about you was temporarily retrieved from our internal database. In Old City areas like Jiaoyan, the information network structure is not well-developed, and this data is updated at most three days ago.”

Old City.

Lu Yuan caught another keyword from Zhou Ling’s words.

Silently noting it in his mind, Lu Yuan’s gaze shifted to the corner of the living room.

Pointing to the pitiful figure of Wang Zhichao, who was pressed at the bottom of a pile of people, he explained, “That person owes my dad money. My dad chased him all the way here. I was worried, so I followed. You can probably deduce what happened next.”

There was nothing to hide about this; it wasn’t a secret.

Zhou Ling had no objections to Lu Yuan’s answer, which should be in line with his own assumptions.

He pointed upstairs and said, “You just came down from upstairs. You must have learned something?”

“You mean, the Crow Deity Sect?”

Images of those bloody and cruel scenes flashed through Lu Yuan’s mind, and his face darkened.

“A bunch of Brute.”

“Sects that worship the Ancient Evil Deity are always like this. You’ll get used to it.”

Zhou Ling smiled, then added, “Didn’t you encounter a Mutated Follower of the Cavern Sect not long ago? They’re all the same kind of scum.”

“Ratman?!”

Lu Yuan perked up immediately when Zhou Ling mentioned it.

He couldn’t help but ask, “I didn’t kill it. Can you help me find its current location? It shouldn’t be difficult for you, right?”

As he spoke, Lu Yuan instinctively glanced at Zhou Ling’s right eye, which was glowing with blue light.

The Ratman was like a ticking time bomb lurking around Lu Yuan, making him restless and paralyzed by fear.

If he could leverage Zhou Ling and his group’s power to locate the Ratman, it would be a tremendous help.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Ling said, “Actually, you already killed it.”

“Uh…”

Lu Yuan was taken aback.

“But the trouble isn’t over.”

“Another Cavern Monster took that follower’s corpse. It might indeed come back to cause you problems.”

Zhou Ling thought for a moment and then said, “How about this, once we’re done with things here, I’ll help you take care of it.”