Chương 20: The New Army Enters the City, Giving the Cang Family a Warning

Cang Lian was no longer as calm as before. Hong Jiuru's violent and overwhelming aura haunted his mind like a nightmare, making him no longer dare to easily extend his mental thoughts.

He took a few deep breaths of the cold air, forcibly calming his turbulent thoughts, and then quickly left the walls of the martial arts hall.

It wasn't until he walked back to the outer courtyard that his heart, which had been in his throat, finally calmed down completely.

He stood under an osmanthus tree, pondered for a moment, then turned around and walked towards Gu Guolong, who was not far away, with a perfectly measured expression of thirst for knowledge and sincerity on his face.

"Guardian Gu!" he said.

"As you know, I'm a beginner in martial arts, and I don't understand much about the systematic knowledge. Could you help me find some books... about martial arts training and sorcery? In addition, I'd like to learn more about things like those so-called 'holy warriors' and 'wizards' from abroad, and even some records about 'demons and evil gods.' I want to broaden my horizons."

He looked at Gu Guolong, "These aren't some secret medicines or martial arts techniques, just some anecdotes and stories. You should be able to take a look, right?"

Gu Guolong hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Alright, I'll fetch it for you later, young master. Our Cang family has quite a few books like this in our library."

"Thank you very much, Protector Gu!" Cang Lian's face showed sincere gratitude.

After that terrifying glance from Hong Jiuru, even if he had a hundred lives, he wouldn't dare to casually extend his mental thoughts to spy again.

He must first understand the full picture of the power system in this world, as well as the weaknesses of his own ability!

That evening, Gu Guolong had the books he had retrieved delivered. Ten thick books, wrapped in kraft paper, were piled on the table, emitting the aroma of old paper and ink.

Cang Lian was overjoyed to have found a treasure. She immediately closed the door and eagerly began to read it.

As expected of the Cang family collection, which has been passed down for hundreds of years, these books contain an extremely rich and extensive amount of knowledge.

From the detailed classification and characteristics of Ming Jin, An Jin, Hua Jin, Dan Jin, and Gang Jin in Chinese martial arts, to the introduction of sorcerers' spiritual power and some spells, to how Western holy warriors strengthen themselves by injecting potions, how wizards use evil spells to summon evil spirits, and even some taboo records about evil god sacrifices and demonic monsters... it is simply an all-encompassing supernatural encyclopedia.

Cang Lian was so engrossed in watching that she forgot to eat and sleep.

He watched it all night long.

The next day, as the sun rose, golden rays streamed through the window into the room.

He slowly put down the book in his hand.

At this moment, his eyes were bright and clear with realization, but also filled with deep fear. His back was already soaked with cold sweat.

After reading the contents of the book, he realized just how dangerous his previous actions had been!

It turns out that mental power is not invisible and traceless, but a kind of "information disturbance"!

In the perception world of martial arts masters, mental power can cause at least two kinds of "disturbances".

Firstly, there is "aura disturbance".

When powerful mental energy is condensed and released, it can disrupt the stable energy field around the body, much like a stone thrown into water.

Secondly, there is the "disturbing intent to kill".

Once telekinesis is used for attack or spying, it is inevitably accompanied by a strong "intention," which is as clear as a lighthouse in the dark to a master!

According to the book, martial artists at the Dark Force stage can only initially perceive this disturbance.

Only when others use their psychic powers on a large scale and with high intensity can they vaguely detect that killing intent. It is a physiological warning that makes the skin tingle and the hair stand on end, a martial artist's intuitive reaction to danger.

When one reaches the Transformation Stage, it is already like "the cicadas sensing the autumn wind before it even stirs."

Their perception of the "emotions" released by mental thoughts, such as anger, murderous intent, and greed, is much more acute than that of martial artists with internal strength, but they can only perceive them vaguely and cannot pinpoint them precisely.

However, once you reach the Dan Jin stage, you can "see through the aura"!

Mental thoughts, in the final analysis, are still a kind of energy, a bio-electromagnetic field!

Once a mental thought gets within a certain distance of them, they will be keenly aware of it, which is quite remarkable!

As for the legendary Gang Jin, these masters who have condensed their own martial arts will can clearly "perceive" it!

Their powerful "martial will" and refined "martial intent" are themselves a solid spiritual barrier.

Once an external mental thought approaches, they can quickly detect its strength and discern its intentions through the information it emits!

They can even shatter the opponent's concentrated mental power with their own powerful fist intent or a shout containing divine meaning!

Upon seeing this, Cang Lian was covered in cold sweat, and her hands and feet were ice-cold.

It turns out that mental thoughts are not invincible at all; they can be detected at any time!

He had thought he was invisible, but it turns out that in the eyes of a master, he was like someone walking in the dark with a torch!

The perception skills of a master of internal energy transformation are already very strong. If he had gotten any closer to Cang Yao and the others today, they would probably have detected him immediately!

Fortunately, he stayed far away from them!

Cang Lian finally understood.

When emotions fluctuate violently, mental energy will overflow and spread uncontrollably, just like a martial artist in the prime of life who cannot control his strength, making him easily detectable.

When one is in a peaceful state of mind and deliberately conceals it, the fluctuation of mental energy is extremely small, which greatly increases the difficulty of perception.

Fortunately, most of the mental thoughts he had been probing these past few days were just curious probing, without any strong emotions such as murderous intent or anger.

Otherwise, I'm afraid that a seasoned veteran like Gu Guolong would have already noticed!

"It seems I must be extremely cautious from now on!" Cang Lian silently warned himself.

I gained a great deal from this book!

He glanced at the seven or eight books remaining on the table, and a renewed desire ignited in his eyes.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a window that allows him to quickly understand the world!

He planned, no, he had to read them all!

He stayed there for three whole days.

In three days, he stayed at home, neglecting sleep and meals, and devoured all ten thick books on the table.

When he put down the last book, the sky outside the window had turned from night to dawn, and then from dawn to dusk.

At that moment, he slowly stood up, stretched, and felt an unprecedented sense of ease and clarity throughout his body.

He walked downstairs in high spirits, his eyes gleaming.

Old Huang was wiping down his rickshaw in the yard when he saw him approaching. He immediately stepped forward and said, "Young Master, the new army has won! Yesterday, their troops officially entered Shenghai!"

"Oh? The new army won?" Cang Lian murmured.

……

Meanwhile, in the heart of Sheng Hai, at the heavily guarded Jingxin Mansion.

At the entrance of the mansion, sentries of the New Army stood guard every three steps and every five steps, their cold bayonets gleaming with a chilling light in the setting sun.

The army has officially moved in, and the entire city is shrouded in a grim and ruthless atmosphere.

There were twelve people sitting in a conference room on the second floor of the mansion.

All twelve men were dressed in crisp military uniforms, their general's stars shining brightly on their shoulders.

They all exuded a killing intent honed through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, along with the unique iron will and majesty of soldiers.

The air in the room seemed to become heavy as a result.

The leader, with a refined appearance but unfathomable eyes like a deep pool, was none other than Chu Mingzhang, the commander of the Eighth Army of the New Army.

He slowly put down the telegram in his hand, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. His voice was calm, yet carried a heavy weight: "This attack on the Lan faction took more than ten days, but it has finally come to an end. According to the secret camp's recent investigation, in addition to those opportunistic families that support both sides, the Cang family also supports our new army, but their support for the Lan faction's army is the strongest in secret."

He paused, picked up his teacup, gently blew on the steam, and continued, "Besides, when we subdued the Iron Army, the Jing Army, the Rui Army, and the Lu Army, the Cang family was behind them all."

"Most importantly!" Chu Mingzhang's eyes suddenly turned cold, "The secret police also discovered that the Cang family has a huge connection with the Japanese!"

"It's time to teach the Cang family a lesson!"

His last words, though spoken softly, instantly sharpened the eyes of the eleven generals present, filling the room with a palpable aura of killing intent.

"Father! Let me go!"

Just then, a clear and firm female voice rang out.

A young woman dressed in a crisp military uniform, carrying a two-stripe, one-star rank on her shoulder, slowly stood up.