Universe Infinite Canteen

"The Lotus Bowl has not been found yet, and the conflict between the Beggars' Sect and the Heavenly Dragon Sect came about quite suspiciously; I fear someone is fanning the flames from behind the scenes. Warmth Divine Catcher will take you, Third Miss, to Heyin County next door and then come back to join me as we continue the investigation."

The man in gray said, "As for you, Third Miss, once you arrive in Heyin County, there will be someone to escort you home."

"I'm not going home. Why can't I investigate this case while you can?" Gu Qingyi was indignant.

The man in gray spoke somewhat helplessly, "Old Wen and I have been partners for many years. Although Yuchang County is dangerous, we can look out for each other. You, Third Miss, are new to Jianghu and probably unaware of the perils. Moreover, you are alone. Should anything happen..."

"Who said I'm alone," Gu Qingyi interrupted, "I know investigating a case is very dangerous, so I've also found a partner."

"Is this young man you're talking about as your partner?" The man in gray pointed at Ma Lu, who was furtively touching around the edges of the coffin.

"Exactly."

"May I ask which Sect he comes from, or is he a Young Master from some family?"

"This..."

Having spent so much time together, Gu Qingyi realized that she still did not know which Sect Ma Lu belonged to. His martial arts seemed mixed, as if he knew a little of everything, yet none were systematic.

As for his identity, Ma Lu has introduced himself, claiming to be a foreigner from a faraway place. However, he did not specify how far.

"It seems that your partner, Third Miss, is somewhat unreliable," said the man in gray, fanning himself.

"How about this, if he can last three rounds against me, I will acknowledge his strength and let you continue to stay in Yuchang County. If he cannot, then you, Third Miss, must accompany Old Wen to Heyin County. How does that sound?"

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"That's not right, you're bullying us with your power," Gu Qingyi stamped her foot in anger, "Uncle Yuan, you have been a renowned expert for thirty years. How can you bring yourself to fight with the younger generation?"

"Those villains will not care about seniority when they strike at you," the man in gray shook his head.

Gu Qingyi wanted to say more, but Ma Lu patted her shoulder.

"No worries, leave it to me."

While the two were talking, he had surreptitiously checked the seven bodies and obtained seven wallet packs.

Knowing that these seven had been killed by poison, rather than a lack of strength, he was especially looking forward to today's card draw.

And indeed, the quality of this batch of packs was solid. Even if the deceased did not reach the level of Deng Youtai, they were at least on par with the Beggars' Sect Elder he had encountered when he last departed.

What's more, the martial arts moves Ma Lu found on these seven people diversified his combat strategy significantly. He no longer had to rely solely on the miracles of Innate Pure Yang Palm.@@novelbin@@

In addition to this, the internal strength which he had long coveted, stronger than the Minor Eternal Spring Technique, had also been drawn - and he had drawn not just one, but two.

It was an epic boost in strength, and Ma Lu was very confident in himself now.

The man in gray was somewhat surprised to hear Ma Lu's response, and then delighted, not giving Gu Qingyi a chance to regret, he promptly said, "Then it's settled."

"Finished speaking, he then turned to Ma Lu and said, "I am the Drunken Judge, Yuan Mei, and my most commonly used weapon is this folding fan in my hand. My proudest Martial Arts technique is the 'Eight Immortals Fan of the Drinking.' This Fan Technique of mine emphasizes that the stronger the Drunk, the stronger its power, and each Move can accumulate Drunk."

"Every round, once the Drunk stacks up to three layers or more, it will trigger an extra attack in the next round. If it stacks up to nine layers or more, then in the next round, a powerful extra attack that ignores parry will be triggered."

"Of course, although good wine is appreciated, indulging can lead to mistakes. If my Drunk stacks are between six and eight layers, I will enter a greedy drinking state myself. If you damage me in this state, the damage will be increased by an additional twenty percent. But rest assured, such an event is absolutely impossible."

Perhaps it was because of pride, or perhaps because he did not want to take advantage of his seniority to bully a junior, to avoid giving people a pretext.

Before the fight began, Yuan Mei actually told Ma Lu his Martial Arts characteristics in advance.

He was so forthright that it made Ma Lu feel a little embarrassed.

Ma Lu originally planned to introduce himself too, but Yuan Mei waved his hand dismissively and proudly said, "My mind is too preoccupied with important matters to care about the background of an unknown little fry. If you're ready, then hurry up and make your move."

"Alright then, senior, give me a moment to adjust my deck."

There was no help for it; since the opponent had revealed his hand, if Ma Lu didn't tailor his response, even he would feel ashamed.

He swapped out a few cards specifically to counter the 'Eight Immortals Fan of the Drinking,' but to guard against any other tricks Yuan Mei might have up his sleeve, he cleverly kept a few cards to deal with other situations.

Additionally, and most importantly, he had changed the names of all his cards to Withered Zen Skill to prevent others from figuring out the origin of his Martial Studies; otherwise, he would not be able to pay his respects to his master.

After making all these preparations, Ma Lu gestured for Yuan Mei to proceed. Without waiting for him to speak, Yuan Mei already pointed his fan towards Ma Lu's chest.

The two touched and immediately separated. Yuan Mei paced with his fan in hand, then struck a Dapeng bird stance, lifted his left leg in feint, flashed his folding fan, and took the wine gourd from his waist, gulping down three large mouthfuls before his body started to sway.

On his end, Ma Lu customized a 'Everlasting Spring Listening Bridge' technique similar to what Master Ye would use, intending to adopt it as his opening stance for future battles.

After getting into position, even Yuan Mei couldn't help but take a few more glances. He considered himself well-traveled within the martial arts circles, but this was the first time he had seen such a starting stance.

However, the surprise was fleeting; soon after, he was convinced that Ma Lu belonged to a minor sect, not worthy of concern.

Yuan Mei couldn't be bothered to ponder what Martial Arts Ma Lu practiced since he had the initiative. He drew three cards first, then drew two more.

Yuan Mei glanced at his hand and then at the opponent's health. Seeing that Ma Lu's health was 85 points, he slightly furrowed his brows.

Ma Lu's health was more robust than he had anticipated. The young man's Internal Strength Cultivation was not weak.

But actually, Ma Lu was just being cautious not to shock him. After modifying with his Withered Zen Skill and equipping Top-Level Internal Strength, his health bar realistically had already comfortably broken a hundred. And now, as he was using two different types of Inner Strength simultaneously, his health bar was even thicker than if he had been using just one type of Inner Strength.

Ma Lu wondered if this was a new discovery of his.

He had previously asked Gu Qingyi, and almost no one in the martial arts circles could cultivate two types of Inner Strength simultaneously. To practice a new Inner Strength, one would have to disperse or convert the old Inner Strength; otherwise, the conflicting True Qi streams would fight each other within the meridians while cultivating, running a high risk of cultivational deviation.

However, since Ma Lu did not need to cultivate, as all the skills were gained through touch, he naturally did not face this limitation. He could mix two sets of Internal Strength Cards together.