Martial research master

Li Meng managed to pass through the Taiwan Mountain range and proceed towards the academy. His journey with his senior brother was a fast one, but he managed to realize how far the location was. The journey was taking some time, and even with Li Meng's improved strength, he could reach his destination before a month.

Li Meng decided to find possible locations where resources could exist, but the whole path was covered with a commercial town. Li Meng encountered several trade hubs and even encountered some of the organizations to which he would be going in the future. One of the organizations was the Star-Luo association where the avatar Qin Weng was residing as of now. 

Initially, Long Tao thought that the Star Luo association would be a power just like Thunder Academy. It was only when he joined did he realize how powerful the association truly was. The hall he had joined was just one of the hundreds of thousands of halls that the association owned. The very owner of one such Hall was the Peak Qi Emperor, which showcased how powerful the association truly was.

Qin Weng was busy with producing weapons both for himself and the avatars. He also had to complete his task for the association and even improve his cultivation realm. Only four avatars were remaining who hadn't broken through to the QI King level yet. Li Meng knew that by the time they were done, he would already be at the boundary of the Qi King realm and would be promoted to Qi Emperor directly.

He continued his training in world energy and combining it with law energy and understood how the process happens. His understanding of law energy had improved drastically since he began his cultivation in world energy. He was constantly referring to the manual which the captain provided him.

"When will you begin your next breakthrough?" The Keeper asked.

"I am near the point where I can be confident I am breaking through the Chaos Law level. But before that, I want to step up my body cultivation realm to the next level. I want the avatars in the QI general realm to do the same, as I think it could affect the result of being able to form a Chaos law base."

"The herbal blend should be adequate for a Qi King to practice with. They can begin if they want to. The Qi Kings are the problems which we are facing."

"That is the exact reason why I am even more confident in taking the step. When the QI general breakthrough the Channel tempering ream, we would be able to get a rough idea of the whole process. We just need to improvise on it for the Qi King."

"I hope you are not hoping to attain the peak of Marrow Tempering realm before you reach Qi Emperor level. That is an impossible dream to achieve. I am not even sure if you could achieve it even in the Qi Emperor realm. You would need to step into the Qi Monarch realm by the time you complete the whole step."

"The earlier we begin, the faster we will reach the end. I need the Qi general to begin. After all the avatar's breakthroughs, I want to concentrate on soul cultivation and formations for some time. They are going to be a crucial point for Royal Road." 

"Be alert. A group of hostiles follows you in the shadows." Li Meng was alerted by the keeper about his condition.

........

Sometime ago-

Li Meng had already finished 3-4th of his journey and was near his destination. He stopped at a pub to refresh himself before resuming his journey. Unknown to him, a man was watching all his actions carefully from the floor above. He took out a picture, which was a clear depiction of Li meng's face.

The man immediately sent a voice recording with a slate-like artifact.

"The target has reached the city and is currently residing in the Lovelace pub in the city center. Awaiting instructions." The man said.

"Follow the target and report his position at all times. The groups will be joining you mid-way. Don't let him leave your range of sight. He is a top priority for the success of this mission."

Li Meng finished his meal and got up to leave and the man began to follow him from behind. Soon enough more people were joining the man. All of them had one similar feature. They were all dressed in Black-Hood and had covered their faces. They began to follow Li meng while hiding in the shadows to not alert him.

To their surprise though. Li Meng began to increase his pace and rushed out of the city. It didn't look like he was running away. He just seemed to have increased the speed of his travel.

"Target is rushing towards the academy."

"We will be intercepting him mid-way within the Tunisia forest. Keep some distance. Troops are slowly being placed around the location."

The group continued to follow Li Meng until he finally halted his steps in the middle of the forest region. He then turned around and faced the sky before taking out his swords and pointing them towards the group.

"You should come out. We will have a long chat about why you have been following me." Li Meng's words shocked the group, but they decided to hold their cover for some time. Maybe Li Meng was just being paranoid.

"I know you are following me and there are seven of you. More people are approaching this location on the front. Just come out and don't waste my time." The number surprised the group.

"Target has spotted us and is taunting us for coming out."

"Go there and greet him. If he is confident enough to face you in this forest, he must be planning something. We will reach your location any time now."

The group came out of hiding and confronted Li Meng.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Li Meng asked.

The men maintained their silence as if they were waiting for someone or something.

"I guess your boss is in the other group. Li Meng turned around to face the oncoming mob. Soon enough, another 15 practitioners came into sight. All of them had the same dress code and moved like a trained unit. 

"They have been trained professionally. They are better in coordination than the units I have trained until now." Li Meng commented.

Once the group arrived in front of him, Li Meng raised his sword and spoke.

"Would the leader be kind enough to come out and have a talk with me?"

A man stepped up and bowed in greeting. " We would like to invite Sir Li to come with us. Our owner is awaiting your arrival and would like to have a word with you."

"Since you know my name, and you are fairly powerful, I am assuming your master should be influential. Given the circumstances, I am also assuming that your master is not too old as they would never send such a weak force comprised of just advanced Qi King to confront me. So the indecisiveness confirms my suspicion that your master must be a young one."

He then looked at the leader's face. The leader's eyes twitched, which made Li meng smile. " So my guess was right. A young practitioner who could pull out such a large force of advanced Q king. You must be the subordinate of Thunder Child."

......…..

At a far off place-

"Should we help him?" Ren Dao asked.

"No. Wait. I want to see his reaction when confronting such a powerful group of enemies. All of them are advanced QI King and the leader is a peak, Qi King. What will our younger brother do in this situation?"

"You're testing him too much. This is not a favorable situation for him." Ren Dao warned.

"Since he sided with the master, I need to make sure of his character. My analysis until now is incredibly vague. He has managed to shock me with his performance, and his decisiveness and ruthlessness are commendable. Even I feel chills. If his intentions towards our side are not appropriate, he would be an even more dangerous enemy than Thunder child and his master."

"I thought you liked him." Ren Dao asked.

"I do a lot. But one can never be too sure. It would also allow us to be sure about his skills."

"You think he could escape this situation." Ren Dao asked.

" My guts give me a very different possibility."Ren Wang said.

.........….

"Since you know who our master is, would you please follow us? We are allowed to use brutal force if you resist."

"What does the Thunder Child want to talk me about?" Li Meng asked.

"He would like to discuss cooperation with you."

"I am on the opposite side as him. What cooperation could we possibly have."

"He is willing to offer you huge rewards in exchange for your cooperation. The benefits will continue to flow as time passes. He could assist you way better than your own master."

"I have to say I am intrigued." Li Meng placed his arms down.

.......

"What is he doing?" Ren Wang was skeptical. He will have to eliminate Li Meng if this continues.

"Wait." Ren Dao stopped him.

......

" I guess the outcome today will have to go differently." Li Meng's figure vanished from the spot. The next moment he was behind the group in his back.