24: The Martial Arts Alliance is enforcing the law? Elder, please be laid to rest first!

Tianqiong City, Lin Family Mansion.

The atmosphere was gloomy.

Lin Mengyao, who just yesterday was the favored daughter of heaven wearing a Chanel haute couture gown to break off an engagement, was currently wrapped in a thick quilt, revealing only a pair of eyes as red and swollen as peaches.

On her forehead, that five-million-dollar check was still stubbornly stuck there, looking like a Talismanic Incantation filled with irony.

"Dad... I don't want to live anymore..."

Lin Mengyao's voice was hoarse and tearful. "Now the whole internet is sharing that 'Red Bellyband Heroine' video... How can I ever show my face again! My special admission spot for the War God Academy... it's going to be canceled!"

Sitting opposite her was the head of the Lin Family, Lin Overlord.

This tycoon who commanded the wind and clouds in the business world had a livid expression. Looking at his daughter's miserable state and then at that check that couldn't be torn off no matter what, he was fuming with rage.

"Too much! This is simply going too far!"

Lin Overlord slammed his palm onto the sandalwood table, making the teacups jump. "That Gu Family outcast actually knows how to use such low-life Demonic Techniques! This isn't just slapping your face; this is peeling off our Lin Family's skin and throwing it on the ground to stomp on!"

"Dad, you have to avenge me!" Lin Mengyao wailed. "I want him dead! I want him to kneel on the ground and lick this check clean!"

"Don't worry."

Lin Overlord took a deep breath, a ruthless glint in his eyes. "I have already contacted Elder Li of the Martial Arts Alliance. Elder Li is a powerhouse who has been in the Grandmaster realm for many years, and he is also the Enforcement Elder responsible for 'Heresy Adjudication' in Tianqiong City."

"Gu Fan's bizarre methods are clearly not orthodox martial arts; they might even be Demonic Techniques from colluding with Forbidden Zone demons! As long as we pin that label on him, the Martial Arts Alliance has the right to execute him on the spot!"

As they were speaking, a series of steady and powerful footsteps came from outside the door.

A white-haired old man wearing a navy blue robe with his hands behind his back strode in. His complexion was ruddy, and his eyes were bright and piercing. With every step he took, the floor tiles beneath him let out a soft, muffled thud, showing that his Internal Energy was extremely profound.

Martial Arts Alliance Enforcement Elder, Li Canghai.

"Elder Li!"

Lin Overlord hurriedly rose to greet him with a respectful attitude. "You must seek justice for my daughter! That Gu Fan of the Gu Family Cultivates evil arts; he not only humiliated my daughter but also injured many innocent citizens (referring to Senior Simp and his lackeys). He is simply a cancer in Tianqiong City!"

Li Canghai glanced at Lin Mengyao, who was wrapped in a quilt with a check stuck to her forehead. His mouth twitched, but he quickly regained his air of an expert.

"Hmph! In broad daylight, such a Prodigy dares to cause trouble?"

Li Canghai snorted coldly, his voice booming. "In my life, I hate demonic and crooked paths the most. Rest assured, the Martial Arts Alliance maintains the peace of the region and will never tolerate such scum acting wildly. I shall head to the Gu Family right now and let him know the meaning of 'the law allows no mercy'!"

"Thank you, Elder Li!" Lin Overlord was overjoyed... Half an hour later.

Gu Family Manor.

The Gu Family was unusually quiet today because that group of "disabled persons" who loved causing trouble—Gu Zhan, Madam Li, and Gu Yu—had all been sent to the hospital for closed-door treatment.

The entire manor had now become Gu Fan's personal playground.

At this moment, he was squatting in the garden by the large pit blasted out by lightning the other day, holding a small trowel and seemingly studying something.

"This Lightning-Struck Soil is good stuff; it's rich in minerals and even carries a bit of spirituality."

Gu Fan muttered to himself, burying a mutant tomato seed he had bought online. "I hope it grows into a tomato that can discharge electricity; that way, I can even save on a juicer."

Just then.

Boom!

The Gu Family's weathered iron gate suffered another injustice.

A tyrannical palm wind blasted the iron gate flying, crashing heavily onto the lawn and splashing up a cloud of dirt.

Li Canghai, with his hands behind his back, came gliding through the air (actually just jumping quite high), followed by Lin Overlord and a group of Martial Arts Alliance Disciples, looking aggressive.

"Bold Prodigy Gu Fan!"

Li Canghai landed, standing ten meters away from Gu Fan, striking a pose full of Grandmaster flair with his eyes wide in anger.

"You collude with demons, Cultivate Demonic Techniques, harm your fellow countrymen, and disrupt the order of my Tianqiong City! Today, I shall represent the Martial Arts Alliance and take you into custody! If you dare to resist, you will be killed without mercy!"

This speech was delivered with such righteous indignation that spit was flying everywhere.

Gu Fan slowly stood up, patted the dirt off his hands, and looked at this uninvited guest as if he were an idiot.

"I say, old man."

Gu Fan sighed. "Do you people from the Martial Arts Alliance not look at road signs when you go out? This is a private residence. It's one thing to trespass, but you even tore down my gate. What, are you all retired from a demolition crew?"

"And Prodigy? And demon?"

Gu Fan pointed at his own sunny and handsome face. "Being handsome makes one a Prodigy? Then I am guilty, unpardonably guilty."

"Still glib-tongued even when death is at your doorstep!"

Lin Overlord roared from behind, borrowing the Elder's authority. "Gu Fan, Elder Li is a Grandmaster-level powerhouse! His 'Mountain-Shaking Strength' has long since reached the Transcendent stage! Your side-door tricks are a joke in the face of absolute power!"

Li Canghai smiled contemptuously and took a step forward.

"Boy, surrender without a fight. I don't want to bully a junior. As long as you cripple your own hands and kneel to kowtow and apologize to the Young Miss of the Lin Family, I might leave you with a whole corpse."

He thought to himself: [This kind of brat who doesn't know the height of the heavens, I can crush him with one finger! Once he's crippled, the fifty million in sponsorship promised by the Lin Family will be mine. Hmph, a piece of trash isn't even worthy of me making a move.]

Malice.

It was that kind of condescending official malice that viewed human life as grass and was mixed with greed and hypocrisy.

[Ding!]

The System notification in Gu Fan's mind sounded like heavenly music.

[Judgmental malice from Martial Arts Alliance Enforcement Elder 'Li Canghai' detected.]

[Nature of Malice: Pulling Rank, corruption and lawbreaking, using power to oppress, robbery and murder.]

[Malice Rank: S-Rank (He is a Grandmaster, after all; his intent to kill you is very firm).]

[Backlash triggered! Multiplier: Eightyfold!]

[Random effect generating... Detected that the target is extremely particular about being 'down-to-earth' and having a 'solid Foundation,' and the current environment is soft garden soil.]

[Congratulations on selecting: Gift of Nature (Forced Burial for Peace · Radish Squat Version).]

[Effect Description: Since you like standing straight and upright so much, let's have a deep union with Mother Earth. A Grandmaster is like a radish; the deeper the pit, the deeper the love.]

Just as Li Canghai was about to raise his hand and perform his famous technique, the "Cloud-Dispersing Palm," to show Gu Fan some color.

A bizarre change occurred.

The piece of originally solid lawn beneath his feet suddenly, without any warning, became softer than quicksand.

No, it wasn't just soft.

It was as if the earth had opened a giant mouth.

"What—?"

Li Canghai only felt his feet hit empty air as a massive suction force came from underground.

His Grandmaster-level Protective Aura actually failed completely at this moment, or rather, this force wasn't targeting his body at all, but the "spatial coordinates" where he was located.

Whoosh—!

There was no explosion, no dust.

Only an extremely smooth sound of entering the soil.

Li Canghai's entire person, straight and stiff, maintaining that expert pose with hands behind his back, instantly fell in.

This pit was dug with extreme precision.

Not an inch more or less, the depth was exactly 1.7 meters.

And Li Canghai's height was 1.75 meters.

So, when everything came to a standstill, only Li Canghai's head, with its neatly combed hair bun, remained above ground, standing lonely on the lawn.

Even his neck was buried tightly; the surrounding soil automatically backfilled and compacted, its hardness comparable to concrete.

The scene instantly became silent.

Lin Overlord's mouth hung wide open in shock.

The group of Martial Arts Alliance Disciples even rubbed their eyes, unable to believe the scene before them.

The Grandmaster Elder who was just so imposing—how did he get planted in the ground in the blink of an eye?

This burial speed was too fast, wasn't it? They weren't even given time for a moment of silence!

"Elder... Elder Li?"

Lin Overlord called out with a trembling voice.

The head on the ground slowly opened its eyes, which were filled with terror and confusion.

Li Canghai tried to struggle.

But he discovered to his horror that the surrounding soil seemed to possess the weight of ten thousand tons, locking his body so tightly that he couldn't even move a pinky finger.

The Internal Energy in his body felt as if it had been Sealed by some kind of rule, completely impossible to summon.

"This... what kind of demonic art is this?!"

Li Canghai let out a roar, but with only his head exposed, the roar sounded shrill and ridiculous.

Gu Fan, carrying his small trowel, walked over leisurely.

He circled Li Canghai's head twice, clicking his tongue in wonder.

"Marvelous."

"Elder Li is indeed an expert; even your way of practicing is so unique."

"Could this be the legendary 'Earth Qi Channeling Method'? Or are you imitating plant photosynthesis?"

Gu Fan squatted down, his gaze level with Li Canghai's, smiling with an innocent face.

"How is it? Are you used to life in the soil? Is it cool down there? Are there any earthworms scratching your itch?"

"Bastard! Let me out this instant!"

Li Canghai's face turned beet red, no longer possessing even a shred of Grandmaster grace. "I am a Martial Arts Alliance Elder! You dare humiliate me! You will pay the price!"

"Oh my, still so much temper."

Gu Fan shook his head. "It seems you're lacking water and have a bit of internal heat."

As he spoke, he picked up the spray bottle originally used for watering flowers.

Inside was not ordinary water, but a special yellowish fertilizer water mixed with plant nutrients.

"Come, open wide."

"I won't—"

Sizzle sizzle—

Gu Fan pressed the nozzle.

A fine mist of water, carrying a unique chemical fertilizer smell, was evenly sprayed onto Li Canghai's old face, also moisturizing his exquisite hair bun in the process.

"See, I told you you were a plant; you look much more energetic after being watered."

While watering, Gu Fan said to the dumbfounded Lin Overlord, "President Lin, does your family also lack a potted plant? I think Elder Li's look is quite unique; putting him at the door to ward off evil would definitely work well."

Lin Overlord's legs were trembling now.

He looked at the Grandmaster being watered like a radish, then at the smiling Gu Fan.

He finally realized what kind of monster he was facing.

This wasn't a person!

This was a walking set of rules!

"Run... run quickly!"

Lin Overlord didn't even bother with the Elder who was still receiving "irrigation"; he turned and ran toward the car.

The Martial Arts Alliance Disciples looked at each other and also made the wisest decision of their lives—abandon the Elder and retreat collectively.

"Hey! Don't leave!"

Gu Fan shouted at their retreating backs. "There's still a radish here that hasn't been pulled out! Who's going to collect it? It's about to ripen!"

No one responded.

Only the sound of hovercar engines starting up, even more hurried than when they arrived.

Gu Fan shrugged and looked at Li Canghai on the ground.

At this moment, Elder Li had water droplets (or perhaps tears) hanging from his face, his eyes hollow, seemingly having given up on thinking.

"Forget it, looks like they've abandoned you."

Gu Fan stood up and placed the spray bottle next to Li Canghai's head. "Elder, just stay here and comprehend the Dao. I'll go get a parasol for you; after all, newly planted seedlings are afraid of the sun."

Under the sunlight.

The Gu Family garden had gained a peculiar new feature.

A white-haired head stood lonely on the lawn, shedding tears in the wind.