Chapter 43: The Forty-Third Day of Becoming Cult Leader (Part 1)

Over the past few days, the Demonic Cult disciples discovered two earthshaking events within the cult.

It began when one Demonic Cult disciple woke at dawn and went to the small grove for morning practice. Suddenly, he heard the sharp sound of something slicing through the air, as if someone had started practicing martial arts in the clearing early in the morning.

When he walked over curiously and looked to the left, he saw Shen Fubai holding a sword in his right hand, his figure elegant and unrestrained as he used the Yaoguang Sword Art. He was graceful as a soaring dragon, startling as a swan in a sword dance. Every move was both fierce and beautiful.

When he looked to the right, he saw Zhang Daniu holding a wooden stick and thwacking it wildly against the thick trunk of an ancient tree. His strength was enormous, like a roaring tiger, wind rising beneath his feet as his moves came with ferocious power.

“…” The Demonic Cult disciple rubbed his eyes in shock.

He must have gotten up too fast. He was actually seeing Shen Fubai practicing swordsmanship with his right hand, and Zhang Daniu knew martial arts now!

No matter how he slapped his own cheeks to make himself a little more awake, the scene before his eyes remained unchanged.

And so, by noon that day, almost every Demonic Cult disciple had heard the news, and all of them nearly dropped their jaws.

“Didn’t Shen Fubai only know left-handed swordsmanship? How is his right hand even better than his left!”

“Stop talking. Didn’t Zhang Daniu not know any martial arts at all? How did he suddenly improve by leaps and bounds and become this strong?”

Everyone was baffled and looked at one another. Even the other spies were greatly shocked by this news, especially Yang Xu, who knew the whole story. When he heard it, his jaw nearly dropped. “You two—this—what is going on?!”

He first looked at Shen Fubai. “Weren’t the tendons in your right hand severed?”

Then he looked at Zhang Daniu. “Wasn’t your dantian blocked so you couldn’t practice martial arts? How did both of you suddenly recover?”

To this, Shen Fubai and Zhang Daniu gave almost the same answer.

Shen Fubai said, “Naturally, it is because of the Cult Leader. Thanks to the Cult Leader’s grace, he bestowed Muscle-Regrowing Pills upon me and allowed my meridians to be reborn, so I can continue practicing the sword with my right hand!”

Zhang Daniu said, “The Cult Leader personally designed a set of staff techniques for me. I just learned according to it, and I didn’t expect I’d actually be able to learn it. Hehehe, now I’m someone with martial arts too.”

“…It was the Cult Leader?” Yang Xu was even more shocked. How had these familiar undercover companions of his undergone such earthshaking changes without him realizing it? And they had changed because of the Cult Leader, no less.

This was not a good thing!

He had originally wanted to be anxious, but when he looked around, Chen Lue seemed as if he had expected this long ago and remained calm and unruffled. Qian Xiaodou, having gained his own vast restaurant and Intelligence Pavilion, did not feel jealous either. Somehow, Yang Xu, who had the biggest reaction, seemed to be the strange one instead.

And so Yang Xu could only swallow down the inexplicable worry and melancholy in his heart and echo, “…This is also a happy and worthy thing to celebrate. I’m happy for you.”

“Since you’ve improved your own strength, I imagine you’ll be able to better shoulder your duties as spies too… right?”

Seeing Shen Fubai and Zhang Daniu silently inspect their weapons at the same time, with neither of them answering him no matter what, Yang Xu’s expression stiffened. His heart was filled with worry. These two had better not fail to fulfill their duties as spies and instead be the first to defect to the Demonic Cult. He was worried. Truly worried!

“No matter what, I know martial arts now!” Zhang Daniu put his hands on his hips and laughed toward the sky. Then he suddenly took his stick and walked toward the Demonic Cult disciples who had once mocked him for his poor martial arts. The arrogance and conceit that had been suppressed in the past poured out to his heart’s content at this moment.

“Didn’t you say my martial arts were no good? Do you dare compete with me now and see whose martial arts are no good!”

Faced with Zhang Daniu’s provocation, the Demonic Cult disciple flew into a rage. “You’ve only studied martial arts for a few months, while we’ve studied for years. How could you possibly compare to us? You overestimate yourself.”

But when the Demonic Cult disciple raised his sword and swiftly attacked, Zhang Daniu merely shook his long staff lightly. Each strike of the staff landed on the other man’s legs, every move carrying tremendous strength. Before long, he had beaten the Demonic Cult disciple until he cried out again and again, lying on the ground clutching his legs and wailing.

This staff technique came on fiercely, its moves marvelous. At one glance, it made people feel dazzled and unable to resist. Everyone watching was deeply shocked. “Such a profound staff technique! What is this technique called? Why has the jianghu never heard of it before?”

“This is the Dog Beating Staff Technique!” Zhang Daniu introduced proudly. “Whoever gets beaten by it is a dog. That’s what the martial art named by the Cult Leader means! So everyone I beat is a dog!”

The Demonic Cult disciple lying on the ground and wailing became even more furious. “You’re calling me a dog?!”

“I’m beating dogs!” Zhang Daniu gave a cold snort and once again lifted his staff to beat him, hitting the man until he fled with his head in his arms, his face covered in bumps.

Having won an absolute victory, Zhang Daniu was even happier. He could not help stroking the staff in his hand and saying proudly, “If there’s a chance, I must let my master see my martial arts. His old self will definitely be very happy!”

Also, after witnessing how powerful he was, those fellow disciples from his sect who had once mocked and ridiculed him would surely change their opinion of him somewhat. Hmph, no one dared look down on him now!

The moment he thought of that scene, Zhang Daniu could hardly wait to return to Little Hong Sect and show off.

Fortunately, Yang Xu, who saw that something was wrong, hurriedly stopped him. “What are you saying!! Shh, mind your words. What will you do if the Cult Leader’s eyes and ears hear you? Right now, the Cult Leader has just learned there are spies and is on guard. If you really expose yourself, with how terrifying the Cult Leader is, you’ll die without even a burial place!”

Zhang Daniu pressed his lips together and said nothing. Instead, Shen Fubai suddenly said angrily, “Old fool! What nonsense are you spouting? Do not slander the Cult Leader! The Cult Leader is not that kind of person!”

“?” Yang Xu looked at him in shock. “Where was I wrong?! Weren’t those your own lines before?!”

Seeing Shen Fubai suddenly come to his senses and suspiciously avert his gaze without a word, Yang Xu found him stranger the more he looked at him. “No, something is really wrong with you lately. Why are you suddenly always speaking up for the Cult Leader?”

Faced with his probing, Shen Fubai held his head high and puffed out his chest, though his eyes looked a little shifty. “Everything I do is for the grand plan!”

Are you sure?

Yang Xu looked him up and down from left to right and still felt he was not quite right, but he reluctantly could not find a reason to refute him.

Just then, a servant happened to come looking for Shen Fubai, saying the Cult Leader had summoned him. Yang Xu watched helplessly as Shen Fubai’s face suddenly revealed a smile that was not the slightest bit feigned, and he ran after the man as if wind had risen beneath his feet. “The Cult Leader has summoned me? I absolutely cannot keep the Cult Leader waiting. I will fly over with lightness skill right now. Cult Leader, wait for me!!”

Yang Xu: “…”

Watching this scene, Yang Xu truly felt a little panicked.

What was going on? Why did he feel as if he had a bad premonition in his heart?

…

When Shen Fubai arrived outside the Cult Leader’s study, he even deliberately tidied the hair and lapels that had become somewhat messy because he had moved too quickly. Only then did he push open the door and enter with his familiar smile.

“May the Cult Leader’s blessings be as vast as the heavens, last for a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations, and unify the jianghu!”

After saying this with practically complete sincerity, Shen Fubai then raised his head with a beaming smile and looked toward the blue-robed man seated before the desk, whose bearing was otherworldly.

The Cult Leader was still extraordinary in bearing and overwhelmingly handsome today!

“So fast?” Qin Ming felt as if he had only just issued the order. Before he had even had time to assume his cold and aloof bearing, Shen Fubai had suddenly appeared.

He was startled for a moment, then hurriedly adjusted his expression and first exchanged a few opening pleasantries. “I heard your right-handed sword practice has improved lately?”

When he had first heard that Shen Fubai could actually perform sword techniques with his right hand, he had been utterly shocked. He had no idea that Shen Fubai could practice the sword with both his left and right hands, and that his right-handed swordsmanship was even stronger! Why had he never seen Shen Fubai practice before?

And at this moment, the entirely oblivious Qin Ming received Shen Fubai’s grateful gaze, which had misunderstood long ago. “It is all thanks to the Cult Leader bestowing pills upon me that this subordinate’s swordsmanship could improve further. The Cult Leader’s great kindness and virtue will forever be remembered in this subordinate’s heart!”

Qin Ming: ?

What did Blood-Replenishing Pill have to do with improving swordsmanship?

No matter how good Blood-Replenishing Pill was, that could not be possible. Shen Fubai was definitely flattering him again and placing all the credit on his head.

Qin Ming shook his head helplessly and did not argue with him over this. Instead, he threw the clay character block on the table to Shen Fubai for him to examine. “Look at this. This is the result of the movable type printing researched by those Qingyue Sect disciples.”

Shen Fubai played with the clay block carefully for a while, and a flash of sudden understanding passed through his eyes. “So that is it. Clay is indeed somewhat better than wood. In this way, problems such as the grain of the wood and its inability to be used long-term can be solved.”

But seeing Qin Ming nod in approval as well, Shen Fubai could not help feeling another wave of jealousy in his heart. He gave another cold snort and said, “They merely took so long to come up with this method. Their talent is only so-so. If this had been handed to this subordinate, this subordinate would have been three times faster than them!”

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