Martial Sovereign of the Turbulent World

Chapter 120: Chapter 119: Empress, Light-up Sign, the Cicada Senses the Wind Before It Stirs

The snow-covered road, run over by passing trams and cars, had turned into filthy black slush.

Despite the weather, plenty of people still lingered in the Ten-Mile Foreign Field. Gentlemen in overcoats and suits were a common sight, accompanied by fashionable, modern women who picked their way carefully over the slippery pavement in high heels.

The faint aroma of melted butter and freshly baked bread drifted from a nearby Western restaurant bearing a "Commander Kang’s" sign. Fu Juemin was waiting for someone, and nearly every person who walked past couldn’t help but shoot him a look mingling curiosity with awe.

A man of his stature was a rare sight, even in the Ten-Mile Foreign Field, a place teeming with the rich and powerful.

Before long, people started trickling out of the Wenhe Theater. A show must have just ended.

Fu Juemin casually pinched out his cigarette and strode slowly toward the theater entrance.

A figure suddenly broke from the sparse crowd trickling out of the theater and dashed toward him.

A smile played on Fu Juemin’s lips as he opened his arms, catching the person in an embrace.

Wrapped in a fluffy fox-fur coat over a qipao, Xu Xinyi looked up from Fu Juemin’s embrace. A puff of white vapor escaped her lips as she called out in a bright, clear voice, "Brother Lingjun!" Her delicate face was a picture of joy and surprise.

Fu Juemin brushed the snowflakes from her shoulders and asked casually, "What movie did you see today?"

"A Fateful Romance of Laughter and Tears, starring Hu Yu."

Xu Xinyi replied, "She was amazing! This year’s Movie Empress will definitely be her again."

As she spoke, Xu Xinyi suddenly remembered something and turned to look behind her.

"Oh, right, let me introduce someone to you, Brother Lingjun. Manqing, come here!"

Xu Xinyi waved to someone, and Fu Juemin followed her gaze. A pretty girl in a white woolen trench coat, carrying a small purse, was being politely held back a short distance away by several men from the Qinglian Gang.

He had noticed the girl the moment Xu Xinyi left the theater. With a slight lift of his hand, he had the men let her through.

"This is my friend, Zheng Manqing. I have her to thank for showing me around Shenghai and teaching me so much these past few days."

Xu Xinyi naturally took Fu Juemin’s arm and nestled against him before introducing him to the girl. "Manqing, this is my... Brother Lingjun."

The girl clearly hadn’t recovered from the spectacle of a motorcade of luxury cars and an entourage of dozens of Qinglian Gang bodyguards. She stared, dazed, sizing up Fu Juemin and trying to guess his identity.

"H-Hello, my name is..."

Before she could finish her stuttering self-introduction, a well-dressed middle-aged man was already striding over with a few people in tow.

"Young Master Fu, what an honor! I’ve failed to greet you properly, a terrible oversight on my part!"

The rest of the girl’s words caught in her throat. She recognized with a start that the man was none other than the owner of the Wenhe Theater.

"My subordinates are so unobservant! To see Young Master Fu and not even invite you inside for a seat... just letting you stand out here in the snow..."

"Fu... Fu... You’re Young Master Ling, Fu Lingjun!"

The woman blurted it out, then covered her mouth the next second, her face filled with nothing but shock and disbelief.

She had only met Xu Xinyi at a dress shop. Seeing how lavishly she spent and how she seemed to know nothing—naive and easy to fool—she had taken the initiative to befriend her.

She had assumed Xu Xinyi was just some missy from a nouveau-riche country family, new to the city. She never imagined she was the woman of the famous Young Master Ling, one of the Four Young Masters of Shenghai!

The woman let out a small gasp, but hardly anyone paid her any mind. Fu Juemin continued exchanging pleasantries with the owner of the Wenhe Theater.

"Young Master Fu, please, come inside. The next show is about to start. I just received a shipment of some excellent coffee a few days ago, and I was hoping you’d do me the honor of tasting it..."

The middle-aged man was incredibly solicitous. "The film industry is currently holding its ’Movie Empress’ vote... Oh, right, Miss Xu just donated for a sign."

"Oh."

Fu Juemin turned to Xu Xinyi. "You donated for a sign? Who was it for?"

Xu Xinyi looked a little sheepish and explained in a small voice, "I just finished watching Hu Yu’s movie. I loved it so much, I couldn’t help it... I donated for one sign for her.

Brother Lingjun, I’m sorry."

Xu Xinyi tugged lightly on Fu Juemin’s sleeve, afraid he would be upset with her for spending money carelessly.

Fu Juemin stroked her hair, shaking his head with a smile. He then turned to the middle-aged man. "I have other business today, so I’ll have to pass on the coffee, Boss Chen."

"How about this: I’ll donate for one thousand signs for Miss Hu Yu in Xinyi’s name. Here’s to her winning the ’Movie Empress’ crown again this year."

"How magnanimous, Young Master Fu!"

The middle-aged man chuckled, cupping his hands in praise.

The woman at his side was left reeling. One "Empress Sign" cost ten silver coins. When Xu Xinyi had donated for one just moments ago, she had inwardly scoffed at her foolishness, thinking she had more money than sense to just give it away.

But she never imagined that upon hearing this, the man before her would casually pledge a thousand of them! And in Xu Xinyi’s name, no less. ’Is this the legendary magnanimity of the Four Young Masters of Shenghai?’

It wasn’t just her; even Xu Xinyi was stunned. Only when the pleasantries concluded and Fu Juemin helped Xu Xinyi into the car did the woman snap back to her senses—she hadn’t even managed to say a single complete sentence to him.

"Young Master Fu, Young Master Fu..."

She hurriedly ran after the car for a short distance, but the slippery, snow-covered ground and her high heels forced her to give up in disappointment.

Watching the motorcade disappear down Jing’an Road, the woman bit her lip, a thought solidifying in her mind. ’My looks and figure are just as good as Xu Xinyi’s, if not better. I’ll wait for the next time! I absolutely cannot miss my chance again...’

........

Inside the car, Xu Xinyi leaned against Fu Juemin the moment she sat down. She held his arm tightly, her eyes closed, her face a picture of sweet, blissful contentment.

Fu Juemin gazed at the streetscape through the car window. As they passed the dazzling neon sign of the Xianlido, he spotted a conspicuous, sapphire-blue J-model sedan parked at the entrance.

’Luo Chengying.’

A glint flashed in Fu Juemin’s eyes.

Everyone in Shenghai knew it was the personal car of Young Master Quan, Luo Chengying, son of the general commander of the Jianghai Defense Command.

Come to think of it, ever since he’d been named one of the Four New Young Masters of Shenghai, he still hadn’t crossed paths with any of the other three.

Of course, Fu Juemin’s mind wasn’t on such things.

Once the car left the Public Concession, they would occasionally see patrol police and gang members on the streets, making their rounds through the wind and snow.

The storm stirred up by the White Dragon’s shipload of gold was still raging, but for now, it seemed to have little to do with Fu Juemin.

The tempest had erupted, but he remained outside the vortex.

Soon they were back at Ink Garden. After coaxing Xu Xinyi to go rest, Fu Juemin changed his clothes and headed to the Martial Arts Training Ground.

The training ground’s skylight had been sealed with glass against the snow, and with braziers lit around the perimeter, it was actually warmer inside than out.

"Kitty."

Fu Juemin stood in the center of the Martial Arts Training Ground and beckoned to Kitty, who was at the edge of the room. "Come, spar a round with your Young Master."

Kitty walked silently to the center of the training ground. Fu Juemin took a light breath and slowly assumed the opening stance of one of the three great killing moves of the Eight Extremes Bone Forging.

Within him, his vigorous Qi Blood roiled like a boiling cauldron as strands of formless Vitality emanated from every inch of his body.

Fu Juemin’s muscles tensed. His training clothes, which had been loose-fitting, seemed to inflate under the surge of formless Vitality, as if currents of air were racing beneath the fabric.

In an instant, a sharp CRACK exploded from beneath Fu Juemin’s feet.

He vanished without a trace, becoming a blur as he shot toward Kitty.

[Han Yue]!

THUD!

A muffled impact echoed through the spacious Martial Arts Training Ground. Kitty, who had already taken a defensive stance, was forced back half a step, his foot stomping down and leaving a clear indentation in the solid wood floor.

However, before Kitty could even stabilize himself, Fu Juemin used the rebound from his retreat—Borrowing Momentum—to launch himself forward again!

A rapid-fire succession of crisp cracks echoed from his bones as they locked together like a complex mechanism. An immense force surged up from his tailbone, climbing his spine vertebra by vertebra and causing the muscles all over his body to bulge and twist into exaggerated coils...

RRRIP—

The sudden swelling of his arm muscles ripped the sleeve of Fu Juemin’s uniform to shreds!

Fu Juemin struck without hesitation, thrusting out a palm.

[Wuling’s Stone-Smashing Technique]!

In that instant, it was as if a white python shimmering with black light had shot up and snapped viciously at the air!

Fu Juemin no longer cared about exposing his [Soft Bone] Talent. ’Any questions can be deflected onto the Iron Body Method I practice. It’s not like anyone else really understands it. If all else fails, I’ll just say I’m exceptionally gifted.’

Although it was only a palm strike, it was augmented by the terrifying arm strength of his 24 [Attack] points, his surging internal Vitality, and his [Soft Bone] Talent...

WHOOSH—

A low, sharp whistle tore through the air. A sudden gale whipped up out of nowhere in the once-calm Martial Arts Training Ground, as massive currents of air were violently compressed and sent surging forward...

Kitty, the "target," abruptly raised a hand to meet the blow, launching his own palm strike to intercept Fu Juemin’s.

The two palms, one large and one small, collided with no frills.

BOOM!

With a thunderous roar, an invisible shockwave seemed to explode outward from the point of impact!

As his palm struck, Fu Juemin felt like he had hit a solid iron plate. A massive recoil force surged back at him. He flipped backward, dissipating most of the force in midair before landing gracefully, his feet planted firmly on the ground.

Kitty was still on his feet, but he had been pushed back several more steps.

"Young Master, impressive,"

Kitty said in his deep, rumbling voice, lowering the hand that had met Fu Juemin’s and giving it a light shake.

Kitty wasn’t one for flattery. If he said it was impressive, he meant it.

Fu Juemin himself was quite satisfied. Looking at his own hands, he now had a much clearer gauge of his current level of strength.

Kitty was at the Middle Stage of Tongxuan. He was born with immense strength and had practiced the Child’s Skill since childhood. Both his constitution and his Vitality were a notch above other Martial Artists of the same rank, allowing him to hold his own even against those in the Late Stage of Tongxuan.

For him, having just achieved the Initial Blood Breaking Barrier, to be able to trade blows head-on with Kitty and not lose ground was astounding. If word got out, it would surely make jaws drop throughout the Martial Arts Realm.

’I haven’t even used my Poison Technique. If I were to use the Snake Venom Evil Force, I could probably break through Kitty’s Protective Qi from his Iron Body Child Skill even more easily...’

A glint appeared in Fu Juemin’s eyes. ’In other words, in terms of pure Attack, I’ve already reached a level where I can threaten those in the Late Stage of Tongxuan.’

To be able to threaten the Late Stage of Tongxuan just after breaking the Blood Barrier.

It was an absurd level of power.

But when one considered that Fu Juemin had the Small Success Pharmacist Skill, the small-success stage of the Five Aggregates Profound Slaughter Technique, and the Talent boost from a Snake Demon...

...it all suddenly seemed perfectly logical.

Once the Snake Venom Force injured someone, not even Fu Juemin had an antidote. He thus abandoned the idea of further testing, relaxed his stance, and let his body go slack.

"What realm comes after Tongxuan in the Martial Dao?"

Fu Juemin looked up at Big Cat, who was watching from the side.

"The Gratitude Sensing Realm."

Big Cat replied, "The Gratitude Sensing Realm. Your five senses achieve clarity. It is as the saying goes: the cicada senses the autumn wind before it stirs."

"Once a Martial Artist enters the Gratitude Sensing Realm, ordinary sneak attacks and assassination attempts are almost useless against them."