Chapter 1186: Cash-Strapped Support Martial Artist

If Ma Xiaoyu had known, she would never have been able to keep it a secret with her big mouth.

“I don’t know the specifics, but I overheard the elders chatting once. It seems to be some kind of application submitted by Mr. Lu Jianghao ten years ago.

“And the reason he fell ill must be because of this application,” Ma Xiaoyu added. As for anything else, she truly had no idea.

“Got it. I’ll ask my mentor about it later,” Su Yue nodded.

“Su Yue, remember to tell me once you ask. I’m dying of curiosity too,” Ma Xiaoyu hastily added.

“Okay!” Su Yue nodded.

Ma Xiaoyu was quite the little imp. Her attitude toward cultivating Qi Blood was just like the function of toothpaste. Except for whitening teeth, toothpaste could be used for just about anything. Rumor had it that toothpaste could even have a delaying effect—what a load of nonsense. Just like toothpaste, Ma Xiaoyu never focused on proper matters. Aside from her distaste for cultivation, she was extremely interested in all sorts of gossip and rumors.

Su Yue witnessed the demolition process of a skyscraper.

It was actually quite simple. On the ground floor, they punched through the load-bearing walls and used several sturdy wooden logs to bear the weight instead. The logs were incredibly thick and highly dense. The entire building had countless load-bearing walls. An engineer directed several Qi and Blood Martial Artists to smash through half of them. In the intended direction of the collapse, the load-bearing walls had already been replaced with the wooden logs.

Afterward, they cleared out all the personnel. Finally, a dozen incendiary devices were tossed beneath the timber.

The wood had likely been soaked in oil, as it quickly burst into roaring flames. As the logs burned, the once sturdy wood turned into pitch-black, fragile charcoal. Obviously, this charcoal could not support the building’s massive weight.

Finally, the pitch-black charcoal crumbled away. Losing its base support, You’an Mansion collapsed like a towering giant straight toward the empty lot the engineer had designated.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

A deafening roar erupted as the earth trembled and hummed. Dust shot into the sky before billowing out across the ground. The crowd was engulfed by the overwhelming cloud of dust. Although many people coughed, no one left the street.

Su Yue noticed that many Auxiliary Martial Artists were already in tears. Perhaps You’an Mansion truly carried a great deal of meaning. To many Auxiliary Martial Artists, this was likely the place where they had spent their youth and burned with passion. Of course, with Su Yue and Ma Xiaoyu’s current cultivation levels, ordinary dust like this could no longer affect them.

The crowd stood for a long time. It wasn’t until the construction team prepared to clean the street that the Auxiliary Martial Artists finally got ready to leave.

Sima Lingling saw Su Yue and merely nodded at him from afar. She and Lu Xiliang had more important things to do. Lu Jianghao had experienced too drastic an emotional fluctuation and had fainted on the spot. The two of them hurriedly rushed him to the hospital.

As for the other Auxiliary Martial Artists, they also left one by one. They wanted to visit Lu Jianghao at the hospital too, but Lu Xiliang asked everyone to leave first to avoid disturbing the peace of the hospital. He promised to notify them by phone if there was any news.

Ma Xiaoyu also returned to West Martial. She didn’t dare disobey Lu Xiliang, even though she desperately wanted to follow Su Yue to ask what exactly was going on with Lu Jianghao.

Su Yue didn’t leave; he went to the hospital as well.

“Mentor, Mr. Lu, what exactly happened to Mr. Lu Jianghao?” Su Yue asked with a frown in the hospital waiting room.

Lu Jianghao was undergoing emergency resuscitation in the intensive care unit. Sima Lingling and Lu Xiliang both looked grim.

“He is of advanced age and cannot withstand extreme joy or extreme sorrow, much less crushing disappointment. Yet, as fate would have it, a project application he submitted to the government ten years ago has unexpectedly been approved.

“The government’s approval process is like a joke. You have to understand, this application was rejected over forty times. Just as our mentor was about to peacefully enjoy his twilight years, it was suddenly approved. It does more harm than good.” Sima Lingling clenched her fists, full of resentment.

“Lingling, this is fate. Although the approval came late, it’s a good thing that another of our mentor’s wishes has been fulfilled.

“I just hope our mentor’s mood can improve and he lives for a few more years,” Lu Xiliang said with a bitter smile.

“You’an Mansion was demolished, so his heart was already heavy. Now, even though the application was approved, it’s completely impossible to implement. Given his personality, do you really think he can just let it go?” Sima Lingling sneered.

“Mentor, what exactly is this application?” Su Yue asked.

Through Sima Lingling and Lu Xiliang’s conversation, he had managed to deduce a few things. The reason Lu Jianghao fell ill was because an application he submitted ten years ago had been approved. Given his current age, Lu Jianghao was completely powerless to carry out whatever was detailed in this application. Thus, under the intense shock of immense joy followed by deep sorrow, he fell gravely ill.

This application had been rejected many times over the past decade. Speaking of which, despite Lu Jianghao’s advanced age, his obsession was truly quite deep. This also indirectly proved that this application must be extremely important.

“Ten years ago marked a turning point when the Auxiliary Department began to decline.

“At that time, Yuan Longhan broke through to the absolute peak. The Daoist sects established the Absolute Defenses for the four major capital cities, and the Divine Land no longer faced the risk of national subjugation.

“Meanwhile, through the Wet Ghost Tower, the Divine Land finished constructing strongholds in the Wet Realm. Divine Land Martial Artists began operating in the Wet Realm, even plundering alien resources on a small scale.

“When operating in the Wet Realm, mobility is paramount, so the role of Auxiliary Martial Artists was gradually marginalized. Back then, more and more martial artists switched to cultivating other martial paths.

“Our mentor foresaw the day when Auxiliary Martial Artists would decline. The stronger the Divine Land becomes, the more obsolete the Auxiliary Martial Artists—who specialize in stationary defense—will be.”