Chapter 396: Awesome and Righteous


    “Oh, I told the senior at Zhengqi Academy about what happened that night. He said that he would send people to the ruined temple to verify. I think they will give us a reward after they complete the verification.”


    ??Gu Qingyi said, "Don''t worry, Zhengqi Academy is a prestigious sect, and they will definitely not break their promises and get rich."


    ?Ma Lu was noncommittal and just asked, "Then did you show him the arrest warrant?"


    “Hmm… I originally wanted to take it out, but at that time the Beggar Clan lost the lotus bowl, and the other two arresters from the Tieyi Sect were already on their way to Yuchang County.”


    ??Gu Qingyi said, "I''m worried that they will meet with the prehistoric people, so they will lie and say that I have no sect and that all my martial arts skills are inherited from my family."


    After listening to what Gu Qingyi said, Ma Lu realized that he had mistakenly blamed Zhengqi Academy.


    After all, anyone who hears that a young man with no sect who came out of nowhere to kill Yan Wuji, the big devil who was born in Jingangyuan, will be suspicious at first reaction.


    Even though Yan Wuji’s widow and daughter testified, Yan Wuji was a cruel person. It is estimated that Zhengqi Academy was worried that he would abandon his wife and daughter and fake his death in this way, so they sent people to verify again.


    ?But now that the millipedes are here, this is no longer a problem.


    ?Ma Lu directly asked Gu Qingyi to take him to find people from Zhengqi Academy.


    ??The Beggar Gang is about to change its leader. Now Yuchang County is full of people from all walks of life who come to watch the ceremony. The inns in the city are already full, and those who come late can only rent huts outside the city.


    ??But famous sects like Zhengqi Academy definitely don''t have such troubles, and their residences have been arranged in advance.


    ??Shi Wenjiao, the prison guard, and a group of disciples lived in the mansion of a wealthy family in the city.


    ??Gu Qingyi explained their identity and purpose of visit to the concierge, and was quickly taken in.


    ??However, we only saw a few disciples from the Zhengqi Academy in the front yard. The leader told them that the Shijianyuan was meeting a distinguished guest in the backyard and asked them to wait here.


    ?So Ma Lu and Gu Qingyi sat on the stone bench in the front yard and watched the disciples from Zhengqi Academy practicing calligraphy.


    Zhengqi Academy is different from other Jianghu sects. In addition to practicing martial arts, its disciples also have to study knowledge and master the Six Arts of a Gentleman.


    ?In other words, it is a comprehensive development of moral, intellectual, physical, artistic and labor, and it instantly beats other sects in terms of overall quality.


    What''s even more terrifying is that even though they have so much to learn, the martial arts of the disciples of Zhengqi Academy have not fallen behind. There are an endless stream of masters under the sect. The dean, Song Qingzhou, is even known as one of the five best in the world.


    ??And the calligraphy of these disciples is obviously not bad. The characters they write are both square and round, tall and strong, and have the style of everyone.


    ?One of them wrote the fastest. After finishing writing, he threw the brush and said with a smile, "Senior brothers, I accepted."


    ??The other three people ignored him and continued to write their own words unhurriedly. Only the disciple who had received Ma Lu and Gu Qingyi before laughed and cursed.


    “The teacher asked us to practice calligraphy in order to hone our character. It’s better for you. The more you practice, the rougher your character will become.”


    ??The scolded young disciple scratched his head and said, "We have been practicing calligraphy for almost an hour. Don''t you think it''s boring for you? Why don''t we come and compete and stretch our muscles?"


    ?However, the three people did not move at all when they heard the words, "Go, go, go, we haven''t finished writing yet, you can play by yourself if you want."


    ??The young disciple was a little disappointed, but soon he took aim at Ma Lu and Gu Qingyi who were standing aside. He came forward and clasped his fists.


    "I''m Qin Ruhai from Zhengqi Academy. I heard that you two are the heroes who killed Yan Wuji. Their skills must be extraordinary. I wonder if you can give me some advice?"


    ??Tieyimen''s two magic arresters are now in the city. Gu Qingyi has made up his mind to keep his head down and act as if he can. Otherwise, he will not expose his identity, so he will not agree. Malu originally didn''t want to play a useless card, but he glanced at the other three disciples of Zhengqi Academy and saw that they were all calm, realizing that this competition might not be accidental.


    After thinking about it for a while, I guessed the purpose of Zhengqi Academy.


    They probably wanted to use this competition to find out their background and see if they were capable of killing Yan Wuji.


    ?Hence, even if this competition was rejected, there was a high probability that there would be other competitions later, and since Malu was in urgent need of the bounty, he decided to show his hand and nodded, "Okay, let''s do it."


    Qin Ruhai didn''t expect Ma Lu to be so cheerful. He was slightly startled, but then he smiled and said, "Brother Ma is a guest, so you can take the lead."


    Hearing this, Ma Lu didn''t waste any words. He raised his sword and stabbed Qin Ruhai. Then the card game started, and the two of them took a few steps back and stood facing each other.


    ?Ma Lu assumed the starting position of Songxi Kuai Sword, while opposite Qin Ruhai stood sideways, lifted his robe, and held a Zhuang Yuan pen across his chest.


    ?Ma Lu set the battle mode to discussion and made it public, and then he and Qin Ruhai each drew 3 cards from the card library.


    Following this, Malu, as the first attacker, drew 2 more cards.


    Looking down at the cards in his hand, Ma Lu still started with the Little Changchun Kung Fu, adding 6 points of infuriating energy to himself first.


    ??The moment he saw the Little Changchun Gong, Qin Ruhai''s eyes flashed with an imperceptible look of contempt, and even his posture was a bit slack. However, he cheered up a little after he saw the layers in the upper left corner clearly.


    “Hey, Brother Ma is so young, I didn’t expect that his internal strength is so advanced.”


    Ma Lu agreed casually, "Well, I started practicing earlier."


    After saying that, he played another card, but it was a protective card—Golden Zun and Jade Drink. This is the second form of Qian Jin San Zhi Gong.


    ?Ma Lu didn’t use the stronger Demon Subduing Vajra Kung Fu because the martial arts from the Vajra Academy was a little eye-catching.


    Since Zhengqi Academy is chasing Yan Wuji, it should also have some understanding of the latter''s martial arts. Therefore, Ma Lu temporarily adjusted the deck before the start of the battle, replacing the Demon-Conquering Diamond Kung Fu with the Thousand Gold Dispersion Kung Fu.


    ?The Thousand Gold Dispersion Skill is much inferior to the Demon Subduing Vajra Skill in terms of defensive capabilities, but it also has its own advantages.


    ?Ma Lu spent 2 points of Qi to activate the additional effect of Jin Zun Jade Drink, and obtained 6 points of parry, as well as an effect that restored 1 point of Qi after being injured.


    Since the first mover cannot attack, Malu chose to end his turn after playing these two cards.


    ?Then it was Qin Ruhai''s turn. Qin Ruhai yawned while touching the cards. He didn''t stop when he touched the cards in his hand and threw them away.


    —Song of righteousness.


    This is the philosophy of Zhengqi Academy.


    ? Qin Ruhai has only cultivated to the second level. Each song of righteousness can provide him with 5 points of true energy and a level of awe-inspiring state.


    Qin Ruhai explained to Ma Lu, "The awe-inspiring state can strengthen the effect of the cards in my hand. Each level of awe-inspiring state can add 1 point of power to my attack cards and 1 point of parry to the protective cards. The awe-inspiring state can be accumulated infinitely and continues Presence on the field.”


    (End of this chapter)