Chapter 99: The Strong Man in Gray, the Secret Method of Concealing His Breath
The man in gray ignored Qian Shouyang, directly pulled the paper from the other's hand and started reading it.

This is a map of the approximate area distribution inside the martial arts hall that Qian Shouyang drew based on his memory, but he is unable to do anything with the finer details.

The man in gray looked at it for a long time and put it away.

Qian Shouyang's expression became more worried.

"Senior, if you must take action, could you please let me know so I can dodge in advance? Also, the antidote..."

Qian Shouyang didn't finish his words because the man in gray glared at him and glared at him.

The reason why he was controlled by him was that he was poisoned by him, and he didn't dare to make it public.

Because Qian Shouyang was originally arranged by a medium-sized sect, who concealed part of his experience and successfully infiltrated the martial arts hall as an insider.

Moreover, he was one of the first two batches to join the martial arts school. At that time, the school's review was not strict, so he managed to become a core disciple.

His original mission was to find out Li Ming's strength and the secrets of Qianming Martial Arts School to see if he could gain benefits for his sect.

At that time, he probably didn't expect that Li Ming could be so powerful!
The initial idea was that after completing the task, one could return to the sect to receive generous rewards, and at the same time would be accepted as an inner disciple.

Unexpectedly, Li Ming's strength was far beyond imagination, and the future of Qianming Martial Arts School was also bright.

As a core disciple, Qian Shouyang even enjoyed many benefits such as small Peiyuan Dan, body-tempering materials, and regular supply of Yiqi Powder, and the martial arts he learned in the martial arts hall were also top-notch.

Since Qian Shouyang joined the martial arts school, his strength has improved by leaps and bounds, and he has already reached the edge of the acquired realm.

Such generous and favorable conditions completely captured Qian Shouyang's heart.

With such treatment, why would I still be a traitor?
Even if he made a contribution and returned to his own small sect, could he have one tenth of the benefits and prospects?

If I practice for another ten years, can I achieve as much improvement as I would in one year at Qianming Martial Arts School?

The core disciple of Qianming Martial Arts School, this is an identity that many people in the martial arts world dream of!

Look at the disciples in other courtyards. They study hard every day, but they may not be able to get promoted.

Not to mention, Qian Shouyang now feels that Master Li is so powerful that he can kill masters as easily as cutting vegetables, and it is impossible for Qianming Martial Arts School to be brought down.

The best option would be for me to just make it real and stay in the martial arts school and continue to play the role of an excellent core disciple.

Therefore, Qian Shouyang had begun to consciously or unconsciously want to sever ties with his master.

However, when he avoided meeting his master, the contact person on his master's side immediately became angry and secretly sent a message saying that if he did not reply, he would simply reveal his identity to Li Ming and then see if he could continue to hide it.

As a result, Qian Shouyang fell into deep panic.

He knew that although Li Ming seemed gentle at ordinary times, he was actually very ruthless when he started fighting. Anyone who came to provoke the martial arts school would basically have a bad ending. It was not the first time that their disciples had to deal with corpses.

If my identity is really exposed, not only will I lose my current generous treatment, but I will also die a miserable death!

Qian Shouyang was unwilling to give up his position in the martial arts school, but he also did not dare to offend his master to death.

After thinking it over, he felt more and more stressed, and finally a horrifying idea suddenly popped up in his mind - as long as all the people in the sect who knew his identity were dead, then everything would be fine.

After this idea came to his mind, Qian Shouyang could no longer hold back and just did it.

A few days ago, he tricked his contact in the sect and the elder who sent him here into a secret meeting on the pretext of providing them with important information, and then secretly put the knockout drug he bought into the food and wine, preparing to get rid of them.

Unexpectedly, the contact person was fooled, while the elder in the post-natal realm was experienced and did not fall into the trap, so he fought with him.

As a result, Qian Shouyang, relying on the strength he had acquired in the martial arts gym, was able to fight on equal terms with his opponent.

But Qian Shouyang was more anxious because he did not dare to leave the martial arts gym too far. The meeting place was just outside Qixia Town. If he alarmed others and attracted other disciples of the martial arts gym, his identity would be exposed.

Just when he didn't know what to do, the man in gray suddenly fell from the sky and helped him deal with the other party.

But before Qian Shouyang could say thank you, he was controlled by the man in gray, who fed him poison and forced him to obey his orders.

This is really like escaping from the wolf's den and falling into the tiger's mouth.

Qian Shouyang felt extremely bitter, but he had no choice but to do as he was told and dared not say anything.

Moreover, this gray-clothed man had extremely high martial arts skills. Thanks to Li Ming, Qian Shouyang had also seen several masters and broadened his horizons.

The oppressive feeling from this gray-clothed man was even stronger than that from some masters, and it frightened Qian Shouyang even more.

Over the past few days, Qian Shouyang has been forced to provide the man in gray with a lot of information about the martial arts school.

At the same time, Qian Shouyang became even more afraid when he thought of those people who sneaked into the martial arts gym yesterday.

Because that group of warriors was gathered by the gray-clothed man in front of him, who ordered them to sneak into the martial arts hall and investigate the situation...

Just as Qian Shouyang was thinking this, the man in gray spoke up: "Don't think about it. I can't give you the antidote now. When I succeed, I will naturally give you freedom. You don't have to worry."

"But Senior, the situation yesterday was already very dangerous. I was almost discovered by our owner..."

Qian Shouyang's tone was pleading.

The poison that infected those warriors last night was secretly activated by Qian Shouyang who was among the disciples.

Before the action began, the man in gray gave him a porcelain bottle, which was the initiator of the poison in the bodies of several people, and taught Qian Shouyang how to activate it.

The man in gray told him that if he saw a few people fail, he should immediately activate the poison and ensure that they couldn't say anything.

At that time, Qian Shouyang mixed in the crowd and secretly opened the porcelain bottle in his secret pocket, which led to the death of several people from poisoning. No valuable information was obtained from him.

No wonder Li Ming found nothing after patrolling around the martial arts gym.

However, Qian Shouyang was scared to death at that time. He knew that the owner of the museum had a keen sense of perception and would be discovered immediately if he made any big movements.

Qian Shouyang's vest was soaked with cold sweat from nervousness afterwards.

He was lucky this time, but if the man in gray continued to cause trouble, Qian Shouyang felt that sooner or later he would be in trouble and be implicated.

Qian Shouyang also saw that the man in gray was cold-blooded and ruthless.

As for those warriors who sneaked into the martial arts gym before, the men in gray never expected them to succeed, let alone come out alive.

It was obvious that he wanted them to die in order to test the defense strength of Qianming Martial Arts School, and at the same time told Qian Shouyang to observe secretly.

Not to mention, some results were actually achieved at the cost of human lives. At least Qian Shouyang discovered that besides the disciples who patrolled regularly near the library at night, there were actually secret sentries!
This was something he didn't even know before.

Qian Shouyang also shared the newly discovered information with the man in gray.

But no matter how he begged, the man in gray remained indifferent and was unwilling to give up his plan.

The man in gray, on the other hand, is very confident in his own strength and is determined to obtain the secrets in the martial arts gym.

Finally, the man in gray got impatient and gave Qian Shouyang a cold look. Qian Shouyang immediately shut up and dared not speak.

"Let me ask you again, is it true that only Li Ming's disciples can enter the library?"

Qian Shouyang nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, and our second senior brother Lin Pingzhi is the one who goes there most frequently during his breaks. He should be much more familiar with it than us."

The man in gray nodded, with a hint of thought in his eyes.

"Okay, I get it. Go back now. I won't treat you unfairly after this is done."

Qian Shouyang wanted to say something else, but in a flash, the man in gray disappeared. He moved so fast that he couldn't even see his afterimage.

Qian Shouyang was stunned for a moment, then left with a helpless look and a sigh.

He was now afraid that the man in gray would mess around. If he was caught by the owner of the museum and implicated himself, then everything would be over!

After Qian Shouyang left, silence returned to this remote alley.

After a long time, there was a sudden movement in the darkness at the deepest part of the alley, and then a figure walked out.

It’s Li Ming!

He calmly looked at the direction the two people had just left. He was not angry because of the appearance of a traitor in the martial arts hall. Instead, he felt the practice route of the Free and Easy Heart Sutra and nodded with satisfaction.

After Xiaoyao Sutra broke through to the sixth level, the changes it brought about were indeed extraordinary.

He had been able to hide his cultivation level before, and no one at the same level could tell. And now, Li Ming could rely on the unique practice method of the sixth level of the Xiaoyao Heart Sutra to completely conceal his aura.

Not only was his internal energy undetectable, even his entire aura was hidden!
As long as he stayed still, he would be like a piece of dead wood or a stone, and other warriors would not be able to notice him at all.

The gray-clothed man just now was extremely powerful, and Li Ming even sensed a rare sense of danger from him.

Li Ming judged that the opponent's strength was definitely stronger than Zuo Lengchan and Jing Wuming, and even stronger than the Blood Blade Ancestor. He was no longer comparable to an ordinary Grandmaster. "Could it be a Grandmaster..."

Li Ming was guessing in his heart, but he felt that the other party was not qualified.

But even with the powerful strength of the gray-clothed man, he was unable to discover Li Ming's hiding. This shows that this method of concealing his aura is very useful, and it is also the superiority of the Free and Easy Heart Sutra.

However, it is a bit unfortunate that Li Ming did not catch up with the man in gray. According to the other party's strength, if he had any unusual movements, the other party would definitely be able to discover it at the first time.

If he runs away, it will be difficult to find him again...

After thinking about it, Li Ming left here calmly.

After returning to the martial arts hall, Li Ming looked normal, as if nothing had happened, and he still urged his disciples to practice as usual.

But at night, Li Ming became more cautious.

Under normal circumstances, if the other party wants to steal something from the martial arts gym, the best option is to do it under the cover of night, which is also in line with the thinking habits of most people.

But unexpectedly, the man in gray did not take any action for several days, and the martial arts hall was very quiet.

Qian Shouyang has been very well behaved recently. He has not gone out again, but has been practicing martial arts in the martial arts hall. He looks no different from other disciples.

This surprised Li Ming, and he was impressed by the gray-clothed man's great patience.

In just a few days, a number of high-ranking officials or leaders from famous sects have arrived in Qixia Town.

They all came to congratulate Mo Xiaobei on becoming the leader of the Five Mountains Alliance, and they all presented gifts.

Mr. Mo Da and Lu Yiming discussed for a long time, and finally decided to hold a ceremony in Qixia Town to entertain everyone.

On the one hand, Mo Xiaobei was still young and it was inconvenient for him to travel to Hengshan; on the other hand, he also wanted to take advantage of the reputation of Mo Xiaobei's cheap master, Li Ming, to increase his influence.

Tongfu Inn became lively again.

Because they are all high-ranking members of famous sects and well-known figures in the martial arts world, they naturally cannot be neglected.

Tong Xiangyu and Mr. Mo Da were busy receiving various people and arranging accommodation for them.

Accommodation can be arranged at Tongfu Inn. After all, it is one of the most famous inns within dozens of miles. Just free up enough guest rooms in advance.

But when it comes to formal occasions, the conditions in the inn seem a little inadequate.

Mr. Mo Da and Tong Xiangyu gritted their teeth and spent a lot of money to rent a manor outside the town under the name of Manager Qian to hold the ceremony.

Although there were many things to do and they were busy, Tong Xiangyu and Mr. Mo Da still handled them in an orderly manner.

Tong Xiangyu, in particular, was not at all stage-frightened even when greeting high-level figures from various factions who came over. She handled her interactions very well and won the favor of many people.

Most people from various factions knew that although Tong Xiangyu ran an inn here, she was actually the daughter of the Longmen Escort Agency, so they naturally did not dare to neglect her.

At least the atmosphere every time we meet is quite harmonious.

After learning that Hengshan Sect's Liu Zhengfeng had indeed been in contact with the Demon Sect elders, and had been ordered by the new Five Mountains Alliance Leader Mo Xiaobei to ban his martial arts and detained, many people praised Hengshan Sect for being fair and believed that they would be able to lead the Five Mountains Sword Sect well in the future.

There was a burst of praise again.

Being in the underworld is not simply about bravery and aggressiveness. When your strength is not enough to crush others, you have to learn to be carried by everyone and give face to each other.

Those who can come are all veterans who have been in the underworld for many years, and they can naturally come up with these polite and courteous words.

Those who have arrived so far are from nearby sects, and many large sects are far away, so we need to wait for a while.

Tongfu Inn was bustling with activity, and even Qianming Martial Arts School was busy as well.

After these high-level leaders from various sects said hello to the Hengshan Sect, the first thing they did was to rush to the Qianming Martial Arts School to pay a visit and presented generous gifts.

The reason is simple. Li Ming is so famous now that it is not an exaggeration to describe him as a household name. The record he has achieved in a short period of time is ridiculous!

In the world of martial arts, strength is everything. Li Ming's strength is undoubtedly worthy of any sect's attention or even intention to make friends with him.

Shangguan Yundun, Hua Tiegan, Blood Knife Patriarch, Jing Wuming, Li Zhenzhen, Zuo Lengchan...

In the recent period alone, the number of Grandmaster-level experts who died at his hands is almost too numerous to count.

These do not include those that Li Ming solved secretly and did not make public.

In previous years, the death of a Grandmaster would be big news. It is no exaggeration to say that it would affect the rise and fall of an entire sect or force.

Often, you won’t hear similar news once throughout the year.

But ever since the rise of Qianming Martial Arts School, the rate at which Grandmasters in this area have been falling has been as fast as dumplings being dropped. It's almost become a Grandmaster cemetery.

Although Li Ming had not left Qixia Town for long, his successive victories had obviously caused a stir in the martial arts world, resulting in a chain reaction.

All the evil monks of the Blood Knife Sect who had been causing trouble in the Ming Dynasty for a long time have disappeared. It is said that the Blood Knife Sect's base camp in the Great Snow Mountain was besieged by many masters and suffered heavy losses.

The Jinqian Gang has suffered a great loss of strength, and its leader Shangguan Jinhong has been in seclusion recently. Many underworld forces that were once suppressed by the Jinqian Gang have taken the opportunity to launch a counterattack, forcing the Jinqian Gang to shrink a large area of ​​its sphere of influence.

The Beggars' Sect was the most enthusiastic among them. Relying on a group of newly trained middle-level core disciples, they fought several consecutive battles with the Money Gang and won small victories, which greatly boosted their morale.

In fact, many people in the martial arts world were also puzzled. Even if Jing Wuming died, with the strength of the Money Gang, it wouldn't suddenly become so powerless, right?

What they didn't know was that two other Grandmasters in the Money Gang also died at the hands of Li Ming... The loss of three Grandmasters was enough to cause great damage to the Money Gang.

On their way here, they heard that the Songshan Sect was in chaos.

No one could have imagined that Zuo Lengchan, who had been in business for many years, would suddenly lose almost all his capital overnight, and all the capable senior leaders of the Songshan Sect died.

In order to strengthen the Songshan Sect, Zuo Lengchan has absorbed a large number of people from the martial arts world over the years. So even though the Songshan Sect is called a sword sect, Le Hou, Fei Bin and others are famous for their palm power. Even Zuo Lengchan himself is good at ice qi.

This group of people did strengthen the reputation of the Songshan Sect in a short period of time. They were able to share the benefits when the wind was favorable, but they lacked cohesion and immediately fell apart when the wind was unfavorable.

There were even many people who took away a lot of things from the Songshan Sect before fleeing, and internal fights due to uneven distribution of the spoils were common.

Finally, it was Songshan Sect's deputy leader Tang Ying'e who rushed back with injuries. After suffering a large number of losses, he managed to stabilize the situation and temporarily took over the power of Songshan Sect.

However, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the decline of the Songshan School is inevitable...

All these changes in the martial arts world were caused by Li Ming, and have even changed the situation in the martial arts world to a certain extent.

How can this not be amazing?
What's more, Li Ming's rise was so fast that it was far beyond normal cognition. Even the famous sword gods Xie Xiaofeng or Ximen Chuxue did not have such a perverted rise speed as him.

This adds to Li Ming's mystery in the world.

He is still so young, which gives people endless room for imagination... Who can guarantee that he will not continue this momentum? Maybe one day even the grandmaster will not be his opponent?

Although everyone thinks that this possibility is relatively small, it does not prevent Li Ming's Qianming Martial Arts School from becoming a new transcendent place in the world.

Not to mention, the martial arts school disciples are also emerging at an abnormal speed, and are already capable of killing several Xiantian realm masters. This speed of training masters has further subverted everyone's cognition...

Just in time for him to come, all the sects decided to take the opportunity to make friends with him, or at least become familiar with him.

Maybe I can get some opportunities?
As a result, the door of the martial arts hall could not be closed completely. Li Ming was almost busy every day, having to take turns entertaining the fellow martial artists from various factions who came.

Again, the gifts were overwhelming and more generous than ever before.

On this day, after a hard-earned lunch break and a little free time, Li Ming was still receiving several fellow martial artists who had come from afar.

As usual, Lin Pingzhi finished his morning training and hurried to eat.

As a result, just after walking out of the front yard, within a few breaths, Lin Pingzhi's figure flashed and walked in from outside again.

"Eh? Second Brother, didn't you go to eat? Why are you here so late..."

Several disciples who were guarding the gate asked curiously.

"Finished."

After Lin Pingzhi finished speaking, he walked inside. Both his words and his expression were very stiff.

Looking at his back, the disciples on duty discussed in a low voice.

"What happened to Second Brother? How come he seems like a different person when he comes in and out?"

"Isn't Second Brother always like this? He looks unhappy. I guess he is thinking about something that bothers him again."

A few disciples on duty talked about it for a while, but didn't take it to heart.

After Lin Pingzhi entered the martial arts hall, he looked around and immediately walked towards the library in the backyard.

(End of this chapter)