"Professor Zhuo."
Ma Xianhong watched Qingshui descend from the sky and calmly said, "If you're visiting as a friend, you're more than welcome. But if it's like them..."
"I'm not like them."
Qingshui waved his hand.
"To be precise, whatever I tell them to do, they have to do. If you don't believe me, you few should take out your phones and check your messages."
Feng Baobao blinked her eyes, Black Tube and Xiao Zizai frowned slightly, while Old Meng and Wang Zhenqiu had already pulled out their phones.
Faster than them was Zhang Chulan.
He didn't even look at his phone; he shot towards Qingshui in a single stride, looking like a devoted minion.
"Oh, Professor Zhuo, what brings you here?"
"Nothing much, just here to catch up and resolve a few things. How about it, Old Ma, shall we talk?"
Ma Xianhong glanced at the Temporary Workers, then at Zhang Chulan, and finally turned his gaze back.
"Alright."
He still considered Qingshui a friend and had a certain level of trust.
Ten minutes later.
They were in the same small courtyard where Qingshui had stayed last time.
A plate of fried peanuts was placed on the stone table.
Ma Xianhong picked up a bottle of Maotai and poured a full glass for Qingshui.
"Here in Biyou Village, I've heard a lot about the things you've been doing recently. You said before that you were as amazing as Einstein, and I thought you were just bragging. But now..."
"Now what? Do you think I'm even more amazing than Einstein?"
"Yes, the practical contributions you've made are already greater than Einstein's. He pointed everyone in a direction for physics, but you've directly paved the way, giving all disabled people in the world a chance to become normal.
So I think you should be the one who understands me best."
Ma Xianhong raised his glass and clinked it with Qingshui's, taking a small sip.
"I know. You want to give ordinary people a chance to gain power and become Anomalous Humans. Brother, I understand you. Come on, I'll finish this!"
After clinking glasses, Qingshui downed his drink in one go.
At the same time, with one hand on his hip, he subtly used the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to draw out the alcohol from his body.
He could accept drinking, but he absolutely could not accept his brain being affected by alcohol.
This was something ingrained in him since he began his training as an elite ninja, having undergone formal ninja instruction.
Old Ma was also an honest person.
Not only did he serve Maotai, but seeing Qingshui's actions, he immediately downed his own glass as well.
With one glass of white liquor down, a blush immediately spread across Ma Xianhong's face, but his eyes remained clear.
"Old Ma, let me tell you, we're all ambitious young people with ideals. What's that called? That's called comrades! Come on, Comrade Ma, let's have another drink."
"Old Ma, to be honest, I'm about to do something even more incredible! So incredible that I can establish a super award with my name that's ten times more amazing than the Nobel Prize... Come on! Another drink!
"I'll finish this glass!"
"Fill it up, fill it up, Old Ma, are you raising fish?!"
Glass after glass of liquor went down, and even though Ma Xianhong's own cultivation was among the best of the younger generation in the Anomalous Human World, he was starting to struggle.
"No, I mean, say, say, Brother Zhuo, you... you wouldn't be trying to, to get me drunk, and then, then secretly, do, do something, that goes against me, would you?"
Ma Xianhong slurred his words, his speech indistinct.
"Old Ma, Old Ma, that's unfair of you. What kind of relationship do we have? Would I do something against you?"
"You, you're right."
"I've been completely open with you, Old Ma. Do you remember what I told you before we parted ways last time?"
"So, your purpose is the same as theirs? You're here to persuade me?"
Ma Xianhong's slurred speech suddenly vanished, and his voice became steady again, though his face was still flushed, and he looked at Qingshui with complicated eyes.
He wasn't drunk; he was just pretending.
Tsk.
Why were all the young people in this world so cunning?
He had been planning to get Old Ma drunk, then secretly tie him up.
How long had it been since they last met? How did this kid get so smart this time?
It was all his fault for giving Ma Xianhong that random warning last time.
"Old Ma, I'm here to persuade you, but those few brought by Zhang Chulan who aren't quite right in the head, they're not here to persuade you."
"What, are you planning to use force?"
"Oh, come on. I know exactly how much you and the people in this village weigh, and how much those people weigh. You're no match for them at all."
"Not necessarily."
"Not necessarily, my foot! Don't be so quick to dismiss this. I'm not here to negate you, just to show you a clear path."
"Brother Zhuo, there's no need for more words. You already said everything you needed to say last time."
Ma Xianhong shook his head.
"How can the me from back then be the same as the me now? My status alone is vastly different, and my influence is incomparable."
Qingshui shook his head.
"Old Ma, let me show you some information first. I think you'll be interested."
Qingshui took out his phone, pulled up information about the Behemoth SP drug, and showed it to Ma Xianhong.
Ma Xianhong scanned it quickly, reading ten lines at a glance.
"What you're doing, other countries are actually doing as well."
"We're different. They're exchanging human lives for power, to satisfy certain people's desires. But my Body Cultivation Furnace ensures absolute safety; it's giving everyone a fair chance!"
"I know, but you've given this opportunity to the wrong person."
Qingshui opened another document.
It was an arrest warrant for Zhao Guizhen from the public security department, along with a more detailed file.
"A year ago, the public security department discovered a series of serial murders committed by a transient criminal. After investigation by frontline police officers, the local police determined it was an anomalous event. Nadou Tong intervened and found that it was a case of evil sorcery. The seven deceased boys all had special birth charts, born in yin years and yin months. This was for cultivating a wicked Maoshan evil technique called Seven Fiends Accumulation. After cooperation between Nadou Tong in the East China region and the police, the target was identified as Zhao Guizhen, a successor of the Maoshan Shangqing sect. Just as the arrest was about to be made, Zhao Guizhen discovered his secret was out, fled, and managed to evade the pursuit of Nadou Tong elites and Maoshan sect experts, eventually hiding here with you. Old Ma, your philosophy of teaching without discrimination shouldn't extend to such a beast. Do you know what cruel methods are required to cultivate Seven Fiends Accumulation? First, these young children, under the age of seven, are given a malevolent pill. Then they are tortured to stimulate malevolent Qi. After that, the seven children are dressed in blood-stained red clothes, and iron weights are hung from their feet, dragging down their souls to turn them into vengeful spirits. Then these vengeful spirits are refined into the body to enhance cultivation and released during combat. What, Ma Xianhong, are you going to harbor such scum?"
Ma Xianhong opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
What was there to say?
Give such a person a chance to reform?
Such a person didn't deserve a chance.
"Just tell me what you want to do. No matter what, I won't abandon the path I've chosen."
Ma Xianhong annoyedly grabbed a handful of peanuts and stuffed them into his mouth.
"Tsk, don't be so hasty. Zhao Guizhen is a heinous villain, but not everyone in your village is necessarily good either. Of course, most are normal; after all, in a peaceful society, anomalies like Zhao Guizhen are rare. The real trouble is you. Do you know how arms trafficking is sentenced here?"
"So, in the eyes of the officials, my situation is the same as arms trafficking?"
"An Anomalous Human with a Magic Tool can inflict far greater damage than an ordinary person with a handgun."
"So, you want to arrest me?"
"The company wants to arrest you. I don't want to arrest you, and I don't want the company to arrest you. If I just let you continue like this, do you think you can fight against the company? If the company can't take you down, then what about the military?"
"This alone isn't enough to make me give up, Brother Zhuo."
"I'm not telling you to give up. I'm telling you to use other methods to achieve your goal, because the resistance you'll face doing it this way is too great, almost impossible to succeed. However, if you change the method, change the person, change the name under which it's done, the chances of success are high, and you might even gain the support of the entire country."
"You want me to work with you?"
"Yes, you help me, I help you. With my current status, pushing certain things forward is still difficult, but it's definitely simpler and has more opportunities than what you're doing. You're starting on hell mode; I'm, at most, on hard mode."
"That's easy for you to say. How can you guarantee that our achievements won't become a tool for some people to profit, gain power, and satisfy their desires, like that SP drug you just showed me?"
"But isn't what you're doing now also satisfying the ambitions of people like Zhao Guizhen? Old Ma, have you ever considered that you're actually becoming a tool for certain people behind you to achieve their own goals?"
"What do you mean?"
Ma Xianhong narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Qingshui.
"Remember the truth about when I was attacked by Chai Yan last time? Forget it, I won't tell you now, you wouldn't believe it anyway. You'll find out eventually this time. In short, Old Ma, the main reason I've been trying to convince you for so long this time is because I owe you a favor, and I truly consider you a friend. I don't want to see you stumble and be played like a puppet, that's why I came to persuade you."
"You can't convince me, Brother Zhuo."
Ma Xianhong sighed and continued, "I know you respect my ideas and are willing to help me. So how about this? I'll continue my work here, and I'll give you all the technical data for the Body Cultivation Furnace. Since you've also learned Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements, I'll even help you get… acquire a core. You can then try to use your own methods."
"Tsk, you still don't understand what I mean, Old Ma. I'm not here to help you; I'm here to save you."
"What, are you going to use force, then?"
Qingshui nodded at Ma Xianhong.
"No, are you serious?"
"Old Ma, if you can't even get past us, don't even talk about anything else."
"I don't want to lay a hand on you."
Ma Xianhong's expression was calm, but as he spoke, a layer of red and black Black Battle Armor silently climbed onto the surface of his body.
"I don't want to either, but unfortunately, the person behind you forces my hand. Old Ma, you should just come back to BJ with me."
Qingshui shook his head and closed the visor of his Platinum Armor.
"The person behind me…"
Ma Xianhong's expression hardened, a suspicion forming in his mind, but it was accompanied by even more confusion.
However, it was probably not the time for talking anymore.
A white metallic hand, glowing with blue high heat, slammed down towards Ma Xianhong.
*"Boom!"*
Smoke and dust diffused, the courtyard wall shattered, and Ma Xianhong's body was sent flying an unknown distance, his feet plowing two deep tracks in the ground.
*"Pfft!"*
A mouthful of fresh blood spurted from Ma Xianhong's mouth. The Black Battle Armor on him shattered and fell, and one of the golden glowing Three Treasure Beads around his neck also dimmed.
Ma Xianhong's eyes widened.
This guy got stronger again?
This is ridiculously strong, isn't it?
By the pigsty in the distance, Zhang Chulan, who was watching Feng Baobao castrate a pig, was startled, and the hard-boiled egg in his hand accidentally dropped to the ground.
"Why's it thundering when I'm halfway through castrating the pig?"
Feng Baobao, holding the "Okamoto 0.01" in her hand, wiped the pig's blood from her hands and asked blankly.
"What's going on? Are they fighting? Sister Bao'er, let's go too!"
Elsewhere.
"Let's do this, everyone. It's time for me to enjoy my feast."
A twisted smile appeared on Xiao Zizai's face as he slowly put on white gloves and walked towards Zhao Guizhen's pre-scouted location.
"Old Xiao's gone hunting. Everyone, let's go to Professor Zhuo's side. Ma Xianhong is the key point of this mission, and we also need to ensure that Professor Zhuo, this national treasure, doesn't get into trouble."
Old Meng put away his phone, looking at the message Qingshui sent via Bai Ze, and pushed up his glasses.
"Before that, it seems we need to deal with the others first. Be careful, these people are different from Zhao Guizhen; they haven't committed any major crimes, so try to hold back and don't cause any fatalities."
Black Tube took off the Magic Tool that restricted his strength from his hands, flexed his wrists, and looked at the surrounding Biyou Village Anomalous Humans.
Qingshui didn't really need protection.
The one who needed protection should be Ma Xianhong.
After breaking through to the Will of Heaven realm and largely compensating for his Qi quantity issues, Qingshui could exert top-tier strength when equipped with the Platinum Armor.
Compared to the Old Heavenly Master, whose upper limit was unknown and who was purely a numerical monster (and whom he might not necessarily defeat), he felt that he was definitely not weaker than Zhang Huaiyi or Zhou Sheng.
At least definitely stronger than Lu Jin, Lu Ci, and their ilk.
That was already enough to be rated as top-tier combat power.
So, his biggest concern right now was accidentally killing Ma Xianhong.
Fortunately, Student Ma's strength was still sufficient. As long as he held back his strength before all his Magic Tools broke, that kind of thing shouldn't happen.
The battle continued.
In just a few moves, two of the Three Treasure Beads around Old Ma's neck had already dimmed, with only the last one remaining.
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