Opening a martial arts hall in the Land of the Undead?
‘Chen Xu’ was momentarily stunned, wondering why Li Taiji would suddenly have such a thought.
The Land of the Undead was a desolate, godforsaken place. If he opened a martial arts hall there, who would he open it for? Skeletons or ghouls?
He had heard of Kung Fu Panda, but he had never heard of Kung Fu Skeletons.
Given the nature of the undead, they would never take the initiative to improve themselves unless Chen Xu forcibly ordered them to do so.
“Daoist friend, opening a martial arts hall is certainly possible. However, the Land of the Undead is mostly populated by necrotic creatures. I fear your hall would find it difficult to recruit apprentices.”
Li Taiji waved his hand and said, “It doesn’t matter. As long as it can be opened.”
Hearing this, ‘Chen Xu’ became even more confused.
If he didn't even need to recruit apprentices, what was the point of opening the hall? It couldn't be that he had too much money and too many people and just wanted to create some specialized positions to solve his disciples' employment issues, could it?
But this was a transcendent world. How could the disciples of a Dao Lord fail to find a path for themselves?
Seeing ‘Chen Xu’s’ confusion, Li Taiji laughed heartily and explained.
“There are things you do not know, Daoist friend. The myriad worlds are vast. Though Dao Lords are rare, there are no fewer than twenty of us. Among them, several have attained the Dao through martial arts.”
“When one lives for a long time, besides meditating and seeking the Dao, one must find some amusement.”
“Some time ago, on a whim, several of my fellow Daoists and I made a wager. Every hundred years, we hold a competition.”
“We compare the abilities of our disciples and our fame throughout the myriad worlds.”
“Among the criteria, the number of martial arts halls and the worlds they are located in are particularly crucial.”
“Hmph. That Extreme Martial Dao Lord, relying on the fact that he once helped the Lord of Heaven, opened a martial arts hall in the Saint City of Heaven. In every cycle of the competition, he has snatched the top spot for fame in the myriad worlds.”
“If I can open a martial arts hall in the Land of the Undead, I might have a chance to contend for the first place in the next cycle.”
“As for my disciples, I still have great confidence in them.”
After listening to Li Taiji’s explanation, ‘Chen Xu’ was somewhat speechless.
Was the interest of these high-and-mighty Dao Lords really so simple? Setting up wagers and competing with each other for status?
Was this the change brought about by time? ‘Chen Xu’ couldn't understand it; he was too young to grasp the mindset of these old masters.
Currently, Chen Xu was still immersed in the soul-stirring pleasure brought by the advancement of his cultivation realm, which was the most wonderful experience in the world.
Though he didn't understand, ‘Chen Xu’ did not refuse. After all, Li Taiji had gifted him techniques, provided personal guidance, and allowed him to use the academy’s resources for free from the moment they met.
The world of cultivators wasn't just about fighting and killing; even Dao Lords had to observe social courtesies.
He was merely the Lord of the Undead, not the slaughter-crazed Mother of Hell.
Fewer enemies and more friends—that was the true way to survive.
“I see. In that case, which disciple do you intend to send to establish it? I will arrange for a Black Knight to coordinate with them.”
Li Taiji pointed a finger toward Li Hu, who was currently playing with Zhenyuan.
“Him. It’s a good way to give him something to do so he doesn't spend all day idling around.”
“Once you have finished your training, Daoist friend, let him follow you back to the Land of the Undead to open the martial arts hall and spread the prestige of our Universe lineage.”
“Ah! No way, Master!”
Li Hu was shocked. He scrambled to Li Taiji’s feet, and a vine extended from the gourd’s stem like a human arm, clutching Li Taiji’s leg.
“Master, I’m not cut out to run a hall! Aren't the ninety-ninth junior brother and the hundred-and-fifty-fifth junior brother both free? Why not let them go?”
“Hmph. My mind is made up. It is settled.”
Li Taiji flicked his hand, his sleeve stirring a breeze that seemed gentle but was actually fierce, blowing Li Hu backward through the air.
Then, with a turn, he vanished without a trace.
‘Chen Xu’ watched the master and disciple with amusement, then walked over to Li Hu and pulled him up.
“Brother Li Hu, I’ll be in your care from now on.”
With Li Taiji gone, Li Hu actually put away his previous casualness and said repeatedly, “I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. Lord Chen Xu is of the same generation as my master; how could I dare call you brother? You can call me Little Hu or Little Jiu.”
...
Cosmic Sea, Starry Sky Star Corridor.
A Wanbao Pavilion merchant caravan was traveling through this area.
This team consisted of nearly a hundred people, far exceeding the usual specifications for such a group.
Generally speaking, with the existence of storage equipment, numbers were not an important metric. After all, one person could wear many storage rings and bracelets.
The more people there were, the larger the target, making it easier to attract the attention of space pirates.
Furthermore, with more people, escaping was more difficult.
Those who worked as merchants were usually not particularly skilled in combat. In terms of fighting ability, they were far inferior to space pirates who lived by the blade.
This unusual behavior from Wanbao Pavilion was, of course, authorized by Chen Xu.
So many people, each one making no attempt to hide themselves, with all sorts of storage equipment—rings, bracelets, earrings, necklaces—exposed for all to see.
The caravan’s speed was also much slower than usual.
It was clearly a baited hook, waiting for some daring space pirate to bite.
“Boss, are we really going in? I recognize that caravan’s flag; it’s Wanbao Pavilion, an old merchant organization, not some green rookies.”
“This abnormal behavior clearly indicates a problem.”
Smack!
A loud slapping sound rang out as the subordinate who spoke was knocked to the ground.
“Nonsense! If you can see it, do you think I can't? But we were assigned to this impoverished sector where competition is high and pickings are slim.”
“Even if we know it’s bait, what else can we do?”
“This is the Cosmic Sea! There is no spirit qi for you to absorb here! If we don't rob them, are you going to provide the energy crystals for the brothers, or am I? Huh?!”
The ferocious pirate leader grew angrier as he spoke and delivered another fierce kick.
“Hmph. If I’d known, I would have sent more gifts to the elders before the assignments. Then I wouldn't have been sent to this wretched place where we can only scrape a bit of oil off rookies.”
The myriad worlds were vast, and the Cosmic Sea was an even more empty expanse, stretching beyond the horizon.
However, space pirates would not gather in completely empty places. After all, pirates needed people to plunder.
The wealthy regions were mostly occupied by the great pirate lords; small-time pirates like them could only be pushed out to these minor areas.
In such a vast territory, there were only a few dozen worlds, and only three or four had special local products.
They might feast for a day and then starve for ten years.
Now that they had seen a big fish like Wanbao Pavilion, even though they knew there was a trick, they had to grit their teeth and go for it.
As he had just said, there was no spirit qi in the Cosmic Sea like there was inside a world.
To maintain a transcendent realm and continue cultivating, one had to constantly spend money to buy various energy crystals, spirit stones, magic stones, and so on.
“Charge!”
With a command, a large group of space pirates rushed out, riding small-scale star beasts known as Rift-Toothed Black Sharks.
These star beasts didn't have high attack power, but they were extremely fast, serving as the standard mounts for space pirates.
In the Cosmic Sea, moving around required either large-scale flying equipment—like the floating cities of magic civilizations—or expending one's own internal energy to tear through the void.
Since energy could not be replenished in the Cosmic Sea, using star beasts for travel was naturally more advantageous.
In an instant, after the first group of space pirates initiated the charge, several more groups with different flags rushed out as well.
The pirates shared a tacit understanding; they knew this big fish was problematic and wouldn't be easy to swallow, so they moved together by unspoken agreement.
Better to die in battle than to starve to death. Even if they had to split the loot afterward, there would still be a profit.
The pirates charged at incredible speeds, the Rift-Toothed Black Sharks proving very agile. In the blink of an eye, they reached the vicinity of the merchant caravan.
Yet the Wanbao Pavilion team seemed not to notice, continuing along their predetermined route.
The Starry Sky Airships flew slowly, not even activating their high-energy modes.
Suddenly, spatial gates manifested around the merchant caravan.
“Wooooh—”
Undead Bone Dragons covered in frost flew out, unleashing blasts of Frost Breath toward the space pirates.
Atop the bone dragons, between the layers of their skeletal frames, were swarms of Skeleton Archers and Skeleton Mages.
A rain of arrows filled the sky, followed closely by various elemental spells, instantly stunning the space pirates.
Furthermore, shared through the Undead Network, the bone arrows were not merely fired in overwhelming numbers as before. Instead, they were coordinated perfectly, with dozens of arrows locking onto a single target.
Not one more, not one less—not a single arrow was wasted.
The Skeleton Mages' spells also featured coordination, with elemental magic creating effects where one plus one was greater than two.
Most exaggeratedly, the bone dragons sweeping through the battlefield were breathing life-freezing mist while simultaneously activating skills from the Undead Network.
Within the frost, corpses suddenly erupted. The violent power of the explosions blew apart the pirates who had luckily avoided being frozen.
The battlefield instantly became a one-sided slaughter, while the Wanbao Pavilion merchant caravan continued forward calmly.
Though the crew members inside the airships were all incredibly excited.
“Yes! Blow them all to hell! These damned space pirates! That’s it, Fireball! Blizzard! Blow these dogs to pieces!”
“Garr! Ogre thinks undead are good friends. Pirates... all should die!”
“Hey, hey, hey! Garr, watch if you want, but put that big club of yours away! This airship can't handle a hit from you!”
Before long, this sector of the Cosmic Sea returned to silence.
Spatial gates opened once more, and the undead, having finished their work, returned to the Land of the Undead, leaving behind a field of wreckage to drift silently in the void.
Rate on N.U.
