Apocalypse: I Have One More Keyword Than Others-Chapter 51 - 0 Stirring up Ripples in a Pond of Spring Water_1
Chapter 51: 051 Stirring up Ripples in a Pond of Spring Water_1
Chapter 51: 051 Stirring up Ripples in a Pond of Spring Water_1
Insiders know their own affairs best, and Duge did far more than Gao Yong and the others could imagine.
Throughout history, there has never been an existing power that was willing to witness the rise of a new power.
The cake is only so big, the rise of a new power would inevitably shake their interests.
Besides, Duge was stepping on their faces and digging at their corners to rise, which is something no one would tolerate.
Justice and morality?
They are but whims of those with the biggest fists.
If it were just Duge alone, the problems that Gao Yong and the others were concerned about would indeed be issues. No matter how strong one’s personal martial power is, it cannot contend against the whole world.
Duge could kill one expert, two experts, but that would be about it, once the three sects and five factions react, he alone will not be able to protect the Peacekeeping Gang.
Once the Peacekeeping Gang disbands, Luyang City will also fall into chaos. By then, his support base will crumble, his personal attributes will drop, and he will inevitably lack the power to recover, unable to rise again, leading to his elimination.
But with Feng Zhong, things are different. The Tongue of Right and Wrong can perfectly muddle the waters of the martial world, preventing the three sects and five factions from taking action against him.
Duge firmly believes that given enough time, he will have the opportunity to defeat each of the three sects and five factions on their own.
As long as the Peacekeeping Gang absorbs the assets of one or two large sects, no one on this world will ever be able to shake his position again.
Therefore, as soon as Luyang City had just stabilized, Duge had already instructed Feng Zhong to write many rumor-mongering letters and sent them to various sects.
…
“Snow Mountain Sect is conspiring with Blood Sabre Sect to attack the Central Plains, with the aim of seizing the Martial Saint’s legacy; Emei Sect may be the traitor within.”
“A Nameless Ancestor of Mount Tai Sect fell on Hua Mountain, suspected of leaving behind the ‘Return Bird Swordsmanship,’ which the prime disciple of Hua Mountain Sect accidentally discovered.”
“The second disciple of the Kunlun Sect discovered mysterious carvings in the scripture cave; the content is said to be left by Kun Yunsou of Kunlun, claimed to break through all martial arts in the world.”
“The eldest son of the Qingjiao Gang Leader bears a striking resemblance to the Beggar’s Gang Leader, suspected to be the illegitimate son of the Beggar’s Gang Leader Xie Lin.”
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“A thousand-year-old blood ginseng was found on the golden peak of the Emei Sect; consuming it can increase one’s power by a hundred years.”
“Divine Fist Gate’s Tong Shihong, while visiting the Qiao Family, carried away the ‘Thirty-six Styles in Flowers’ which, between the lines, contains the ultimate knowledge of ‘Yin Yang True Scripture’ realized by Martial Saint Qiao He in his later years…”
…
Starting a rumor is as easy as opening one’s mouth; dispelling a rumor is like running on broken legs.
If this were the past, these baseless rumors would at most provoke laughter and not even stir a ripple.
But with the boost of Feng Zhong’s Tongue of Right and Wrong, the information he spread, as long as it reached the person concerned, would surely be verified.
Feng Zhong was very pleased with his rumor-mongering, sending out letters and happily waiting for the profits every day.
Like Wang San, he also felt that meeting Feng Qi was his greatest fortune. Managing this keyword was indeed very secretive, but not easy to succeed.
After all, once the various powers in the martial world succeeded in debunking the rumors, they would inevitably investigate the rumor-monger himself.
Just as he stirred up trouble between the Feng family and the Iron Palm Gang and fled at the first opportunity.
The parties involved in the discord he sowed, regardless of who benefited or suffered, would remember him as the instigator.
Moreover, the Tongue of Right and Wrong required his personal dissemination, and writing letters and posting announcements were already the safest methods.
If he were to really provoke them face to face, he would likely be detained on the spot, and writing letters could not withstand investigation either, but with Feng Qi’s protection, it was different. Even if he turned the martial world upside down, he would face no danger.
If the sky should fall, Feng Qi would be there in front to bear the brunt; as long as Feng Qi lives, he has nothing to worry about.
…
After sending away Gao Yong and the others, Duge and his two companions, the source of the sin, entered a period of leisurely enjoyment: sipping tea, practicing their skills, and checking on the Heavenly Demon around them, quietly waiting for the martial world to descend into chaos.
In ancient times, travel by carriage and horse was slow, and journeys were long. The fermentation and spreading of information required a significant amount of time.
…
Two days later.
Luyang City.
Qiu Muqian wore ordinary coarse clothes, sitting with a nondescript elderly man at a roadside stall, eating noodles. She clearly had little appetite, lifting a few strands of noodles, not yet bringing them to her mouth before putting them back down again, looking around anxiously, her eyebrows tightly furrowed.
She had successfully brought Tong Shihong here, but the situation in Luyang City after her return wasn’t quite what she had expected. She couldn’t understand how, in just a short three days, Feng Qi had caused so much trouble. Her own brother had been kidnapped, and even Gluttony had appeared.
“Muqian, calm yourself. Once the heart is in disarray, nothing can be accomplished,” The old man opposite her meticulously savored the bowl of plain noodles, speaking slowly and deliberately, “Eat your noodles. A martial artist must always ensure their strength is maintained.”
“Mm,” Qiu Muqian acknowledged, taking a few bites of her noodles, but again she couldn’t help but look up, “Uncle Tong, aren’t you angry at all? Feng Qi has killed Master He!”
“He killed my man and threw a bucket of filth in my face; of course, I’m angry,” Tong Shihong said, resembling a simple old farmer, mixing the noodles and sauce with his chopsticks, “But the angrier we get, the more we must not lose our composure. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be in peril. Whether it’s through threats or enticements, the fact that Feng Qi has gained such notoriety in just a few days proves that he’s even more formidable than you described. Facing such a person, once we become anxious, we are not far from failure.”
Watching Qiu Muqian gaze into space, he laughed and decided to put down his chopsticks, “Muqian, think about it carefully. When Feng Qi had his sword pointed at your father, did you all truly have no way to rescue him? Given the circumstances at that time, Feng Qi probably had no intention of killing; otherwise, your father wouldn’t be alive now.”
“…” Qiu Muqian was stunned.
“Back then, seeing Yuan Lang threatened with a sword, all of you lost your composure, which led you to fall into Feng Qi’s pace step by step,” Tong Shihong continued, “and that has led us to this point where things are now out of control. A successful martial artist relies not only on their fists but also on wisdom.”
Qiu Muqian’s expression went through several changes, and she sighed, “Uncle Tong, your lesson is well taken.”
“Before this, there had never been such a thing as Heaven Demon in this world; their actions don’t follow normal reasoning. It’s understandable that you were led by them,” Tong Shihong said, “Even I never thought that he would dare to use my Divine Fist Gate as a sacrifice. It’s truly audacious…”
So, you’re still angry, right?
He simply didn’t show it.
Qiu Muqian looked at Tong Shihong and inwardly snorted, then respectfully asked, “Uncle Tong, what should we do next? Muqian will follow your arrangements.”
“First, we need to figure out exactly what the Heavenly Demon is. Feng Qi’s strength seems to have increased a bit too quickly…” Tong Shihong shook his head, gestured to an elderly man eating noodles beside him, and smiled, “Old brother, my grandchild and I are from out of town. Hearing you talk about Feng Tianmo slaying Gluttony is really interesting. Why don’t you come and join our table so you can tell us the story of Feng Tianmo in detail?”
The old man perked up at this, carrying his bowl over, took a sip of the noodle soup to moisten his throat, and then said, “This foreign old brother, this is not just a story, it’s a true event. You’ve asked the right person.
At the time Feng Tianmo slew Gluttony, I was standing no more than three paces from him. That Gluttony was over five meters tall, with a sheep’s body and a human face, its eyes located under its arms, and a gaping maw that, when it called out, sounded just like a few months old baby. But it was truly fast, whooshing past me in an instant, the gust of wind it created was so sharp against my old face it felt as though I’d been scraped by a knife…”
As the old man spoke, he sprayed spittle animatedly, and at a pivotal moment, he paused and teased, “Old brother, why do you think it ran so fast?”
“Why?” Tong Shihong swallowed a mouthful of noodles, playing along as a straight man.
“To explain why it ran so fast, we have to talk about our Feng Tianmo. Gluttony was a transformation of the Heavenly Demon, its stomach an insatiable abyss, consuming people one bite at a time, growing larger with each person it devoured. On top of that, it had tough skin and scales that no blade or spear could penetrate. Imagine if this monster ran amok in Luyang City, it could have eaten up the several hundreds of thousands of people here,” the old man said, “But as they say, for every force there is a counterforce. Feng Tianmo was Gluttony’s nemesis, descending upon Luyang City precisely to subdue Gluttony.
To talk about Feng Tianmo, we must start with his two protectors. One of his protectors is named Wang San, naturally swift, with a peculiar interest in collecting the corpses of villains, known for the phrase, ‘stop the infant’s cries’, and despite such a demonic nature, he was born with a fair and delicate appearance…”
Listening to him go off on a tangent, Tong Shihong couldn’t help but cough, “Old brother, I have other things to do later. Can we stick to the story of slaying Gluttony and not find ourselves unsatisfied with the tale half-told over an empty bowl of noodles?”
“I told you, it’s not a story, it’s a true event,” the old man corrected with a frown, waving his hand, “Alright, let’s keep it short and get straight to how Feng Tianmo slew Gluttony. Didn’t I say before that Gluttony’s scales were impervious to sword and spear? Feng Tianmo had entered this world for barely two or three days, where would he find a divine weapon? The sword in his hand was but a common blade, and even with his inherent divine power, he couldn’t penetrate Gluttony’s scales. His sword upon Gluttony’s body produced sparks, and it got notched, but didn’t leave a scratch on the beast. But Gluttony had to be killed, can you guess what method Feng Tianmo used?”
“What method?” Tong Shihong asked.
“It’s our Feng Tianmo, circling Gluttony a few times, his eyes quickly darting as he thought of a plan. No matter how tough Gluttony’s skin was, it still had to eat and excrete, and its rear would be softer!” the old man slurped up noodles, his eyes gleaming even brighter, “Feng Tianmo made a decisive move, sneaked behind it while it was distracted, grabbed the sword with both hands, and thrust forward fiercely, as swift as lightning. Puff! The three-foot longsword stabbed right in.
You don’t know how piteously Gluttony cried out. I was watching from the side. When Feng Tianmo withdrew his sword, it was covered in yellow and red… Tsk tsk, no wonder Gluttony ran so fast then. If your rear was stabbed, you’d run that fast too…”
Tong Shihong’s expression suddenly changed, and he choked on his noodles, unable to swallow or spit them out. He had heard a lot about the slaying of Gluttony on his journey, but he’d never imagined this was how Gluttony was killed.
“Didn’t expect that, did you!” Seeing he had achieved the desired effect, the old man laughed triumphantly, “No one would have thought of that. But you should have seen it, Gluttony being so tough, it didn’t die from that one stab. Feng Tianmo followed behind it, stabbing it dozens of times. Tsk tsk, in the end, the sword was smeared yellow. It was with that sword that Feng Tianmo declared the establishment of the Peacekeeping Gang…”
