361: Chapter 358 Misjudgment

"Master Lin, please return. I have some matters to attend to today. Please."

Boss Ma shook his head. He still left a shred of leeway for such people, but if they continued to be unappreciative, he wasn't someone to be bullied either.

In fact, Master Lin was usually quite good at reading the room. However, having been provoked repeatedly and suffering a massive loss of Face after being berated by Zhou Sheng, Zhang Zhao, and Chen Youcai, he felt truly bitter about not being able to reclaim his dignity.

In his line of work, one lived off their reputation. If the reputation and brand were gone, the industry word-of-mouth would vanish, and his market value would naturally plummet off a cliff.

"There's no need to fight, Master Lin. I suggest that in the future, when you scam people with Feng Shui and physiognomy, you stick strictly to that trade. Don't go dabbling in other industries for no reason; you might actually get beaten to death. As for your two masters, Master Guo and Master Ye, why don't you ask them if they are even willing to fight!" Chen Youcai sneered as he advised.

Master Lin was unwilling to give up, but when he looked at the two masters behind him, he saw that both were silent.

Immediately, both of them cupped their hands in salute. "Master Lin, blackmail us if you must, but we are done. At worst, the two of us will go to the mainland. Offending you, we might Face some underhanded tactics, and at worst, death. But if we make a move now, we two brothers won't survive the day."

The information contained in their words was immense. Hearing this, everyone wore looks of realization; they had felt earlier that these two seemed somewhat servile, and it turned out they were being coerced.

"Heh, Master Lin, please leave. I suddenly feel that I've taken a liking to these two masters. I'm quite satisfied with the people you recommended, but as for you, I don't really welcome you right now." Boss Ma was a shrewd man and quickly signaled his bodyguards.

"Boss Ma, you can't just cross the river and break the bridge like this!"

"Please, Master Lin!" The two bodyguards spoke politely, but they didn't care if he was a Great Master or not; they grabbed him and dragged him out.

Boss Ma's actions surprised those on the second floor, but businessmen all liked to put on a show, so they saw through it without pointing it out.

As for why, it was obvious—Boss Ma was already chatting enthusiastically with Old Chen. Everyone watching the show from upstairs realized that Old Chen had once been a boss of a certain stall.

It was unclear how Boss Ma had figured that out, but after a brief conversation, they were chatting even more warmly. Li Changsheng shook his head, no longer interested in this.

Just as they were preparing to lie back down and sunbathe, the sounds of footsteps—da, da, da—echoed up the stairs. To their surprise, Master Ye and Master Guo, whom they had seen earlier, had walked up.

"Many thanks, Masters!" The leading Master Ye was the first to cup his hands in a salute, holding a very humble posture.

"No need. We are all people in the martial arts world; the rules cannot be broken. Since we have no grievances with you, there is no need for a public duel." Zhang Zhao shook his head.

"No! You masters are experts; we realized that long ago. If you had agreed to the fight just now, we would have certainly died." Master Ye shook his head with a bitter smile. As they noticed the people upstairs, both of them could tell that these masters had seen blood before.

The killing intent of the Master Zhang before them seemed impossible to conceal—how many people must he have killed? As for the others beside Master Zhang, it was harder to tell, especially the Master Li named Li Changsheng, who looked like an ordinary person. But there was no way someone standing beside Master Zhang could be simple.

"You have a decent eye for things. Both of you are experts as well. But as I said before, you are not of our path, so we won't compare." Zhang Zhao nodded.

Master Ye smiled and cupped his hands, then turned his gaze toward the people on the beach chairs, asking curiously, "Master Zhang, judging by your hands, you must be from the North. And this master here, judging by your physique, you must be from the Northern combat lineage—though I'm not sure if it's wrestling or Grappling. I just don't know about this Master Li..."

Master Ye was evaluating Zhang Zhao, Azure Dragon, and Li Changsheng respectively, but he was particularly puzzled by Li Changsheng.

"Like Master Guo here, I practice Internal Martial Arts, and I know a bit of Tai Chi too." Li Changsheng spoke, slightly opening his eyes to scan the two men, and said calmly, "Master Ye, while your Inch Power is good, and your hand techniques are well-trained, you cannot neglect your leg work. As for Master Guo, your Silk Reeling Power has some proficiency. However, Chen-style Tai Chi uses the waist as the axis, rotating the wrists and shoulders, turning the waist and spine, rotating the ankles and knees, and folding the chest and waist. Your waist seems to have some hidden injuries; stop taking part-time jobs moving bricks. Construction work lacks proper nutrition, it strains the waist and body, and doing it for too long leads to a deficiency in Qi and blood. Once you get older, even the best tonics won't help."

At first, Li Changsheng's words made Master Ye and Master Guo look unpleasant, but as they listened, their expressions turned to shock, then to fear, and finally transformed into a posture of humble listening.

"I didn't expect to encounter a Martial Arts Grandmaster here. I, Ye, was very rude just now!"

"Yes! Grandmaster Li, I was very rude just now!" Both of them bowed solemnly toward Li Changsheng, their gestures extremely respectful this time.

"I wouldn't call myself a Grandmaster; I just have some personal insights." As he spoke, Li Changsheng also cupped his hands to return the salute.

"This monster!" Zhang Zhao muttered softly, surprised that Li Changsheng could see through their past conditions at a glance.

After saluting, the two masters dared not linger, leaving in a hurry with looks of fear and trepidation. As soon as they disappeared from the second floor, they both let out a long sigh of relief.

"Master Ye, I never would have thought, never would have thought that the two of us would walk through the gates of hell today. How is it that there are still Grandmaster-level figures in this day and age, and such young ones at that?" Master Guo's Face was filled with lingering fear, followed immediately by confusion.

Regarding this, Master Ye stroked his chin, unable to figure it out. "I don't know, but for this person to identify our problems at a glance, even if he isn't a Grandmaster, he's not far off. I misjudged him; I previously thought Master Zhang was the strongest among them. I never imagined that while Master Zhang is already powerful enough, there was a hidden Dragon like Master Li among them."

"My master once said that there was a predecessor, Grandmaster Sun, known as the Martial Saint. This modern Grandmaster Sun was that kind of figure—with exceptionally outstanding talent, he studied under several famous masters, all of whom were moved by his Comprehension Ability and took him as a disciple. My master always passed away with regrets for never having the chance to see the demeanor of the Martial Saint, yet I never imagined I would see such a figure." Master Guo sighed.

"Sigh, did you see that? These people seem to have seen blood. They are all from abroad; it seems they were no pushovers overseas either."

"It's fine if it's abroad, but if they were to cause trouble domestically, following the fighting style of the old generation of Martial Masters, this martial arts circle that has finally shown some signs of recovery would be decimated—the dead would be dead, and the crippled would be crippled. After one round of fighting, there wouldn't be anyone left in the circle who could stand firm, and the lineage would be broken." Both of them shook their heads, feeling somewhat fortunate. They knew well that for some people, once they get used to killing, the 'monkey of the heart'—the restless mind—is like a shackle that has been unlocked, completely impossible to restrain.