81 Cohesion: Part 3

Huaisha City, a deserted part of the beach.

Among the pebble-strewn sand, a number of fishing boats were docked by the beach.

The afternoon sun shone brightly, yet it was still cold.

"It's getting colder…" Lin Sheng stood on a rock and looked at the golden sea afar.

He was wearing a white tracksuit and carrying a short sword. The sword casing made him look like a young violinist.

Sarroux and another redhead youth stood on the empty ground at the side, their hair waving in the wind.

Both of them were wearing fitting singlets and camouflage pants. They looked strong and fit. At the back of their singlets was a very clear Chinese character, "Fist".

"Bro, I have an update on the professional you asked me to look for. But, do we really need to go pay him a visit?" Sarroux may have looked calm, but there was concern in his eyes.

He knew that the individual was not a nice person, and realizing how he had been acting, there was nothing but brutality. If anything went wrong…

"You just need to tell me the location. I'll head there myself. You guys stay here," Lin Sheng said.

"But, my words alone make a weak basis, no?" Sarroux was concerned.

"And Boss, even if that person's willing to join, we've yet to get our club up and running. Won't the cost be a little too high?"

Lin Sheng shook his head.

"I know, but you don't have to worry too much about it. You just need to focus on getting more members and stabilizing Ironfist Club."

Sarroux did not know what Lin Sheng was planning.

The person he had scouted was once called the Deathclaw. He was a famous martial artist when he was young. During his prime, he had opened a dojo and accepted disciples.

Sadly, he did not manage to find one who could help ward off trouble, and his old nemesis found him and destroyed one of his arms.

He went on a downward spiral after that, closing his dojo and dismissing all of his disciples. Without any children, he could only live on his savings.

"So, when are you going over?" Sarroux noticed that Lin Sheng had already made up his mind, and did not say anymore.

"Do you have his address with you? If it's nearby, we can head there straight away," Lin Sheng replied.

"It's close by, but I'm not very familiar with the place. We may need to spend some time looking…" Sarroux responded with a frown.

"You two lead the way, then." Lin Sheng said no more as he leaped off the rock and quickly made his way toward the road.

The two followed swiftly.

There was a white rental car by the roadside.

Sarroux's junior had a driver's license, and the three got on the vehicle before they sped away from Huaisha's city center, eastbound.

After an hour, the car slowly entered a place called Baisha Town. It was empty, and on the few streets there, only the elderly or children were seen with nary a youth or adult in sight.

As Sarroux's junior drove, he explained.

"I've been in Baisha Town before; most of the youngsters have already left the town to work, and only the elderly, as well as children, are left. There's barely a few hundred in the entire town."

"A town like this will probably disappear after a few years…" Sarroux sighed.

Lin Sheng did not say anything. He only looked at the low houses along the old road.

The car quickly made a turn and slowly stopped before the yard of a farmhouse.

The farmhouse was made out of lime soil while its roof was made out of mud and rice stalks with black tiles on it. However, the tiles were already in a state of disrepair.

The farmhouse's entrance was half-opened, and the sound of someone washing clothes could be heard in the yard.

Lin Sheng led the group forward and knocked on the door.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

The sound of scrubbing stopped.

"Who's there?" A thin middle-aged lady with a dirty apron walked to the door and looked at Lin Sheng as well as his friends.

"Does Mr. Dao Ning live here?" Lin Sheng asked courteously.

"Yes, and you are?" the lady asked.

"We are Mr. Dao Ning's former students, and we've decided to visit him since we were passing by." Lin Sheng smiled.

"I'm a housekeeper he hired. Hold on, I'll go and get him."

The lady then turned and ran into the house.

After a moment, she came out and waved at Lin Sheng and the rest.

"Come in, he's given his permission."

"Sorry for the trouble," Lin Sheng said loudly as he walked into the yard, then into the slightly dim house.

A strong medicinal smell permeated the room.

On a redwood chair sat a strong old man with white hair.

The man was clad in a gray cotton garb, and on his knee was a thin red shawl.

His eyes were bright and sharp. If Lin Sheng had not seen them for himself, he would not have believed that they belonged to an old man at all.

"Which batch were you from? Sorry, I'm old now, and my memory isn't what it was used to be," the old man said slowly.

His voice was deep, powerful, and clear without any signs of frailty.

"Mr. Dao Ning, I'm Lin Sheng, the leader of Huaisha City's Ironfist Club. This trip here was to invite you to be our club's combat advisor.

Lin Sheng smiled as he explained his motive.

"Hm?" Dao Ning's expression sank. "Ironfist Club?"

Only then did he measure Lin Sheng's figure.

"I've never heard of any Ironfist Club before, but looking at your body... You're a weapon user, right? And you are interested in a crippled man like me?"

Before he was crippled, he was a famous person, and many local factions wanted him to join them. However, after the incident, no one dared to approach him due to the influence of his nemesis.

Now, just a few small factions dared to look for him, hoping to learn something and give him some money as a fee.

That was the only way he earned a living.

"Mr. Dao Ning you're also a martial artist who's hit the limits of human strength, and I've heard that you tried to break that limit without success for ten odd years."

Lin Sheng paused for a moment as he lifted his hand, signaling for Sarroux and his junior to leave.

Both of them did not say anything, and they left the room before they closed the door behind them.

"What are you trying to say?" Dao Ning looked impassively at Lin Sheng.

He had lived long enough to see everything, so he was well composed and calm.

"I mean to say, I've found the way to break that limit!"

Lin Sheng's every word was resolute.

"And?" Dao Ning was still impassive, looking calmly at Lin Sheng. He had seen all too many half-baked fools who claimed to have broken the limit, and words alone would not convince him.

"I hope that you can join Ironfist Club," Lin Sheng said. "I want to create an association that comprises of and unites all martial artists: a pure martial arts association.

"Too many martial artists have fallen in their fearless pursuit, and that is not just a loss for Xilin, but also the entire martial arts world.

"Martial arts is currently weak, with guns running rampant. Pure martial artists are finding it harder and harder to survive. If we do not unite and find a way out, one day, martial arts might totally disappear under the tides of history."

"It sounds good and far-sighted, but this old man here is beyond being wowed by delusions of grandeur." Dao Ning sneered. "Besides, a mere boy like you saving the martial arts world? That's almost… hilarious…"

Before he could complete his sentence, the sneer on his face slowly disappeared.

Lin Sheng, who was standing before him, was rapidly bulking up at a rate that the human eye could see.

Line upon line of purple blood vessels appeared on his body as his muscles strengthened, and even Lin Sheng's height increased by a few centimeters.

"I... have long broken through that limit."

Lin Sheng extended his hand as he clenched his fist and smashed the wall in a flash.

*Boom!*

The wall was torn through. Then, it quickly exploded.

A ten-centimeter-thick mud wall had been blown apart like a piece of tofu.

Dao Ning swallowed hard and looked at Lin Sheng's extended palm as he walked toward him.

"Want to bet?"

The massive hand, which was filled with purple veins slowly stretched out before him.