Chapter 55 Lü Ci Comes to Seek Guidance

"Jin'er, why are you still not getting up? Why are you sprawled on the ground for so long? What happened?"

Grandpa Lu asked once more, seeing Lu Jin lingering on the ground and refusing to get up.

Hearing this, Lu Jin quickly straightened his posture. With a swallow-like agile flip, he jumped in front of Grandpa Lu and Zhang Jingqing. Forcibly suppressing his surging emotions, he said,

"Celestial Master, please do not blame Senior Brother Zhang anymore. Grandpa, Master, Father, you all don't need to worry about Jin'er. Jin'er is fine..."

Having tasted his first major defeat—and a horrifyingly miserable one at that—Lu Jin completely broke down in tears. Even though he had composed himself and stopped crying, the moment he saw his family, his beloved grandpa, father, and master, before he could even finish his sentence, the overwhelming wave of tears could no longer be contained, streaming down his cheeks in a flood.

Yet, as a dignified person who prided himself on a flawless life, even when breaking down in tears with a sobbing voice, he still had to deliver the customary polite remarks:

"Wuu... Jin... Jin'er knows there are people beyond people and heavens beyond the sky. Wuu... Senior Brother Zhang's methods are far superior to mine. Wuu... I am inferior in skill. Wuu... I gracefully concede defeat. Wuu... I have nothing to say. I~ wuu... do not take it to heart at all!"

Zhang Zhiwei: "............"

For some inexplicable reason, a heavy sense of guilt welled up inside him!

It's all that big-eared thief's fault. Once back on the mountain, he must dig out the private savings that fellow had hoarded over the years to treat everyone, consider it emotional damage compensation for old Lu!

Lu Jin's stiff expression, tears streaming down his face, and his earnest delivery of polite phrases instantly pulled the crowd—still lingering in shock from the instant defeat—back to reality. They couldn't help themselves and burst into laughter.

Among those laughing, the happiest and loudest one by far was none other than his great-grandfather.

"Oh my, my precious grandson got beaten to tears, and the damn boy is still putting up a front, hahahaha..."

Lu Xuan laughed as he offered comfort, "It's alright, Jin'er. Let's harden our hearts, practice hard for a few more years, and then turn around and beat Senior Brother Zhang to tears!"

Not just the elders, but the group of peers around them were also laughing. Little chubby Wang Ai covered his mouth, making a "kukuku" sound like a set of rattling barbells.

His crush, the chubby little girl Guan Shihua, was also laughing so hard her tears were almost coming out.

Feng Ping was also laughing, and while laughing, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Brother Lu, losing to Senior Predecessor Zhang is no disgrace! Besides, we beat two and lost to one, we didn't lose out!"

"Shut up, you little wretch, what kind of reckless shouting are you doing?"

Master Chu landed a punch on Feng Ping's head, rebuking him, "What Senior Predecessor Zhang? He is of the same generation as you! You should call him Senior Brother Zhang. If you shout blindly like this, won't your master lose his seniority?!"

"It's fine, Master, I've already figured it out. Let's each stick to our own forms of address: I'll call Senior Brother Zhang 'Predecessor,' and you can call Senior Brother Zhang 'Junior'..."

Before Feng Ping could finish his sentence, he was hit by Master Chu's iron fist once again.

"Feng Ping, looking at you right now makes my blood boil. If you make a fool of yourself here again, I'll use an Earth Escape Art to roll you right back to Sichuan to face the wall in repentance!" Master Chu barked in fury.

Feng Ping shrank his neck, not daring to be cheeky anymore.

On the other side, having finished his polite remarks and hearing the wave of laughter all around him, Lu Jin realized how unseemly he looked and completely broke down again, his voice choked with sobs:

"Grandpa, Father, I... my clothes are dirty, I'm going to go change!"

With that, he wiped away his tears, lowered his head, and bolted back into the house as if fleeing for his life.

"Little Lu, don't run away!"

"Young Master Lu, stay a little longer! Who knows, maybe someone will go up there and avenge you?"

Seeing Lu Jin's awkward plight, many people from both the older and younger generations teased him.

However, a few people were not laughing; instead, their expressions turned grave.

Take Lü Ci, for example!

Under normal circumstances, seeing Lu Jin make a fool of himself, he would definitely have mocked him mercilessly. But at this moment, he didn't even spare Lu Jin a single glance. His eyes were fixed entirely on Zhang Zhiwei.

Even though Zhang Zhiwei was merely standing there plainly, and even though Zhang Zhiwei didn't cast a single glance in his direction.

Lü Ci still felt an overwhelming sense of oppression.

"He's truly formidable, like a monster!"

With a wild look on his face, Lü Ci clenched his fists and strode toward the martial arts arena.

Lü Ren was startled by Lü Ci's action, quickly reaching out to grab him and whispering,

"Little brother, have you lost your mind? What are you going up onto the stage for?"

"Brother, don't stop me. We agreed on this beforehand, you can't go back on your word!"

A trace of madness lingered on Lü Ci's face. "Besides, I have a premonition. Right now, I still have the chance to step onto the stage and face him directly, still have the courage to face him head-on. If I shrink back now, I'll be retreating for the rest of my life. I will never have this kind of courage again, nor will I ever have the chance to challenge him!"

Before the great upheaval struck his family, Lü Ci was a very pure person, somewhat similar to Ding Ji'an of the later Two Heroes—the only difference being that Ding Ji'an grew stronger due to a lack of a sense of security, while Lü Ci purely worshipped strength.

Yet this purity could not last forever. Ding Ji'an was a lone wolf, but Lü Ci was not; behind him stood the entire Lü clan.

In his youth, he had his father and elder brother bearing the heavy burdens for him, allowing him to be an unbridled, strength-worshipping second young master of the Lü family.

But accidents always arrived unannounced. The Japanese invaders crossed the sea, and the nation was in imminent danger. As an ancient millennium-old clan deeply rooted in this land, the Lü family naturally possessed backbone, vowing to live and die with the country.

Lü Ci's older brother—the designated future head of the Lü clan, the one who bore the heavy burdens for Lü Ci—shed his blood on the battlefield and was beheaded by the invaders.

Upon learning this news, the elderly head of the Lü clan vomited blood and grew deathly ill. Overnight, both father and brother were gone. Lü Ci changed. From then on, personal pursuits no longer mattered; the family came first.

Yet right now, Lü Ci was still that unbridled young master in pursuit of power. Seeing the embodiment of strength in the younger generation—Zhang Zhiwei—how could he not harbor thoughts of testing himself against him?

If he hadn't boasted earlier about smashing Zhang Zhiwei to pieces, Lü Ci might have hesitated for a while, convincing himself to give up, and then used the mockery of Lu Jin to cover up the surging turmoil in his heart.

Since he had already made the boast, however, there was no turning back. The bluff he started, he had to finish even with tears in his eyes.

With a shrug of his shoulders, Lü Ci shook off Lü Ren's grip and strode toward the martial arts arena.

Watching his younger brother's resolute steps, Lü Ren stood stunned for a long while.

"Knowing it cannot be done yet doing it anyway, is there really any meaning in this?" He clenched his fists and asked himself inwardly.

"Lü Ci, you little rascal, what are you doing?" The head of the Lü family noticed Lü Ci's movement and shouted.

Lü Ci had eyes only for Zhang Zhiwei; he paid no heed to his father's words, merely waving a hand dismissively without even turning his head.

Watching Lü Ci walk toward him, Zhang Zhiwei was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected that after witnessing the spar between him and Lu Jin, Lü Ci would still dare to step onto the stage.

"Really coming to smash me to pieces?"

Lü Ci entered the arena, locked his gaze onto Zhang Zhiwei, cupped his fists, and said, "A true man's word is worth nine tripods. Lü family, Lü Ci, come to receive Senior Brother Zhang's brilliant pointers!"