Lanke Chess Edge-Chapter 349: Lu Chengfeng Conceals His Strength

Ji Yuan was, after all, Lu Shan Jun’s master, so he could guess what his disciple was thinking to some extent. In addition, he also had a certain intuition, so there was no need to follow from a distance. Instead, he simply go on ahead and wait at a suitable location.
At Ji Yuan’s current level, he could sometimes foresee things that were of considerable importance to him with just a thought, as if by divine inspiration, and the name of a place would appear, indicating what might happen there.
Yuchang County was the home of the Lu Family of Cloud Pavilion.
Cloud Pavilion suffered a major upheaval in recent years, and its status in the martial arts world plummeted. However, the Lu brothers’ reputation in Yuchang County had grown even more prominent than before. Everyone in Yuchang County knew Lu Chengfeng and Lu Chengyun.
The two of them stabilized the foundation of the Cloud Pavilion lineage through their own efforts. In recent years, the people of Cloud Pavilion had also settled down and were now working diligently in both their martial arts and various other businesses.
However, compared to Lu Chengyun, Lu Chengfeng’s reputation had not spread much since. People in the martial arts world generally believed that Lu Chengfeng had long since fallen into depravity, neglecting his martial arts skills, and losing all his former vigor.
Today, two carriages were parked outside a warehouse in Cloud Pavilion. Four or five people were constantly going in and out of the warehouse, carrying silk fabrics, fine wines, and other items onto the carriages. A large, fine piece of jade was also being loaded onto one of the carriages.
“Alright, that’s enough!”
After Lu Chengfeng personally checked the inventory, the others stopped what they were doing and locked the warehouse door again.
Once everything was ready, Lu Chengfeng waved his hand, and he and his fellow disciples boarded the carriage and slowly drove it out.
Upon arriving at the outer residence, Lu Chengyun, who was already waiting there, saw the carriage emerge and quickly stepped forward to hand Lu Chengfeng a bundle.
“Have someone alter your clothes. Make sure you change into them when you arrive. Don’t wear your tattered clothes anymore. Remember what you’re going there for.”
Seeing his older brother’s earnest expression, Lu Chengfeng grinned.
“Clothes are just external things. We are all people of the martial arts world. What matters is martial arts skills, not clothes. If we only recognize clothes and not people, then we don’t need to practice martial arts. We might as well open a tailor shop.”
“You scoundrel! You sound like you’re going to seek revenge. The former young master of Cloud Pavilion used to pay the most attention to his appearance. What happened to you? Have some care! These clothes are what you wore when you visited the Zhou family. As for the competition, for the sake of Cloud Pavilion, you must make a name for yourself!”
Lu Chengyun feigned anger to get Lu Chengfeng to nod reluctantly and finally take the bundle from his hand.
“Brother, just wait at home. I will take care of these small matters.”
Lu Chengyun sneered upon hearing this.
“Heh, if you’re so capable, why don’t you give birth to a baby yourself? Get lost!”
Lu Chengfeng’s face darkened. He didn’t argue with his brother, but instead cracked his whip and drove away slowly.
Yuchang County itself wasn’t very lively, and since it was only a little before dawn, there were very few people wandering around the town. The carriage traveled directly to the outskirts of the city without any hindrance.
Sitting in the bumpy carriage, Lu Chengfeng drove while keeping his eyes half-open, regulating his internal energy and circulating True Qi throughout his body, his martial arts practice never stopping.
The bright red fruit that Mr. Ji gave him back then was indeed no ordinary item. Over the years, his elder brother Lu Chengyun had been busy with various trivial matters of Cloud Pavilion and hardly had the time to practice martial arts; however, not only did his martial arts skills not decline, but they had even improved from time to time. Even Lu Chengyun himself was quite surprised, but he vaguely understood that it was related to the miraculous fruit that his younger brother had given him back then.
Lu Chengfeng’s martial arts skills had also been continuously improving, but this was due to his own efforts and his determination to make progress. The calluses on his hands were the best proof of this, and his martial arts skills were actually more solid than Lu Chengyun’s.
Behind Cloud Pavilion was a forest, where dozens of large trees had been smashed to pieces, and many tree stumps had been uprooted and lifted from the ground. These were all traces of Lu Chengfeng’s arduous martial arts training.
Everyone in the martial arts world said that Cloud Pavilion had long since declined, but they didn’t know that over the years, the Lu brothers had endured hardship and bided their time, managing Cloud Pavilion quite well while staying out of the spotlight, all while continuously improving their martial arts skills. Cloud Pavilion had eliminated many unstable factors, leaving behind only loyal people who had progressed together alongside the organization.
At this moment, the carriage was slowly moving forward. Lu Chengfeng was practicing his martial arts while driving, appearing somewhat drowsy, but the Cloud Pavilion disciples beside him showed no intention of helping, knowing that Lu Chengfeng would not steer the carriage astray.
“Do you think the Zhou family will be willing to marry that young lady to our Second Master this time?”
“Hey, that’s a blessing for the Zhou family, why wouldn’t they be happy about it!”
“It’s hard to say. When the Pavilion Master went there in person last time, the Zhou family treated him with courtesy, but they didn’t make a decision immediately.”
“You can’t say that. When was the last time she saw Second Master? Besides, Second Master is at least forty years old, while Miss Zhou is only in her twenties…”
“Well, anyway, it’s just a secondary matter. When Second Master makes a name for himself at that conference, people will surely understand how good he is.”
In the next carriage, three Cloud Pavilion disciples were chatting, not worried about Lu Chengfeng overhearing. After all, everyone knew their Second Master’s temper, so it wouldn’t matter if he heard them.
The Zhou family lived far away in Duming Prefecture, which was quite a ways away, a distance of several hundred li. They often helped look after Cloud Pavilion’s jade business in Duming Prefecture, and were considered old friends of the Lu family.
Lu Chengfeng was obsessed with martial arts and had to assist his elder brother in protecting Cloud Pavilion, never considering romance. However, as the eldest brother, Lu Chengyun grew increasingly anxious as he watched Lu Chengfeng age and his son grow old. He wanted Lu Chengfeng to settle down.
While the martial arts gathering hosted by Duming Prefecture was the main event, the matchmaking meeting at the Zhou family was also important.
The two carriages traveled one behind the other for several days, passing through counties and villages, drawing ever closer to Duming Prefecture.
On this particular day, the sky was overcast and the sun was hidden behind the clouds. As the carriage drove down the country road, Lu Chengfeng suddenly opened his eyes and saw a man in a blue robe sitting on a stone by the roadside.
Although Lu Chengfeng appeared to be dozing off, he was actually very sensitive to his surroundings. He had glanced at that spot a few breaths earlier and had clearly seen no one there, yet suddenly there was a person that had appeared, sitting there and resting. It was all too strange.
The two carriages moved slowly. Lu Chengfeng appeared to be the same as before, but in reality, he was highly focused, keeping his eyes on the man by the roadside.
As they drew closer, he could even see the black cloud patterns on the sleeves of the man’s blue robes and the slightly curved white hairpin on his head.
Finally, the carriage passed by the man on the side of the road. Lu Chengfeng seemed not to move, but his eyes were fixed on the man, who still sat brazenly on the rock, staring back at Lu Chengfeng in the carriage.
Just that one glance was enough to give Lu Chengfeng a faint sense of crisis. This feeling of unease came so inexplicably, as if he were walking on the edge of a cliff, but upon closer inspection the feeling vanished, as if everything just now had just been an illusion.
Lu Chengfeng opened his eyes, frowning. Was it truly just an illusion?
As he was pondering this, he suddenly heard a whooshing sound.
Whoosh
…
Lu Chengfeng reached out and caught a dart flying towards him, simultaneously knocking aside the person next to him and using the momentum of the fall to dodge to the other side.
“Thud thud…”
On top of the dart that Lu Chengfeng was holding, two other darts struck the benches of the carriage he and the other man had just been occupying.
He called them darts, but they were just three ordinary iron spikes.
“Who is it?”
With a loud shout, Lu Chengfeng narrowed his eyes, stomped his foot, and rushed towards the nearby woods, slamming his palm into a tree.
“Haah!”
“Bang…”
A burst of wood chips flew out from behind the tree trunk, and another person was sent flying backward by the blow. The entire tree shook violently, leaves falling one after another.
Lu Chengfeng, having landed a successful blow, continued his pursuit without pause, chasing after the person who had just been blown back. He entered the woods but did not see the person who had just been sent backwards; it was as if the person had vanished into thin air.
“Lu Chengfeng, prepare to die!”
A sinister sound rang out overhead. Someone wielding a knife slashed down from mid-air. By the time Lu Chengfeng reacted, the blade was already in front of him, without even a sound.
“Clang…”
“Bang…”
The first palm struck the side of the knife, the immediate sensation feeling extremely cold. Almost simultaneously, the second palm struck the attacker’s chest clashing with the opponent’s other hand.
The attacker was as light as a swallow. After exchanging a few palm strikes, he actually floated more than ten feet into the air, swung far away, and landed with a light touch. His figure blurred for a moment and then flashed back in front of Lu Chengfeng, launching a series of deadly attacks with his sword and fists.
“Bang bang bang…”
“Tak tak bang, tak clang… clang clang clang…”
The two exchanged blows repeatedly, exchanging more than twenty moves in a short period of time, their speed appearing almost blurred to outsiders.
After more than twenty moves, their palm strikes clashed once again. The newcomer swayed back more than ten paces and stood there watching Lu Chengfeng, who was finally able to properly observe his opponent.
This man had an ordinary appearance and build, but his eyes held a sinister glint.
Lu Chengfeng looked down at his palms, which were covered with a layer of frost. It took several cycles of internal energy to dispel it.
“What kind of evil martial arts do you use, and what grudge do you have against me?”
The man looked up at the sky and grinned at Lu Chengfeng.
“Kid, your martial arts skills are pretty good.”
“Same to you!”
Lu Chengfeng narrowed his eyes and retorted in a low voice. He glanced at the carriage out of the corner of his eye. There didn’t seem to be anything unusual going on there, so it seemed that the attacker was indeed only one person.
But with just a glance in that direction, and the man in front of him blurred, then disappeared behind a tree. Chengfeng chased after him but found nothing. He searched the forest for a long time but found no traces.
Unfortunately, they had no choice but to give up and get back on the carriage to continue their journey. However, he importance he ascribed to this martial arts gathering rose once again.
At the other end of the road, where Lu Shan Jun was sitting, a faint mist appeared. The man from before appeared there, bowing respectfully to Lu Shan Jun.
“Lord Shan, Lu Chengfeng’s martial arts are quite good; he is definitely not the useless person of the rumors.”
“Hmm, excellent.”
Lu Shan Jun responded, and looked at the man.
“Do you know why I released all the other ghosts, but not you?”
“Lord Shan must have his reasons.”
The man dared not provoke the individual in front of him.
“Haha, you don’t need to hold a grudge. If you had died anywhere else, you would have been condemned to the underworld. Just now, you tried to kill Lu Chengfeng several times. If it weren’t for his superior martial arts and strong Yang energy, you would have succeeded.”
Lu Shan Jun narrowed his eyes.
“I was testing him, but I was also testing you. He is good, and you are not. Just stay put.”
With that, Lu Shan Jun opened his mouth and sucked the ghost into it.