Li Yanqing squeezed in to look, suddenly fixating on a word. Teasingly, Mi Ai asked, "What's the matter? You think it's a secret technique or something?"

Li Yanqing retrieved a framed photo from his room, a shot he had taken the previous year in front of the entrance to the Heavy Sword Sect. His dream had always been to join the sect and learn martial arts. However, despite several recruitment rounds, he was always rejected.

At the entrance of the Heavy Sword Sect was a three-story-high bas-relief of a giant sword embedded in a tiger's back. Beneath the tiger was a stone pedestal bearing an inscription and signature by Hu Shi'en.

Extracting the photo, he closely compared it with the screen, "Mi, look, don't these characters look exactly the same?" pointing to a few.

"It does look very similar... Are you suggesting that the content posted is written by Sect Leader Hu?"

"Didn't we hear at the plaza earlier? Hu Shi'en is dead, and he had detained disciples from other sects to extract their martial secrets. What if..." The two exchanged a meaningful glance, hastily saving the images for later research.

After ensuring the successful backup on both their computers, they sighed in relief, whispering, "Who would dare do this? Won't the Martial Arts Association expel them for it?"

"Who cares? As long as it's useful to us." Li Yanqing commented on the post and found a slew of negative comments, most deeming it a scam. The content was scattered, making it nearly incomprehensible without dedicated study.

Those who can afford to browse forums at times like this are ordinary folks with no foundation. Even if there were secret manuals in front of them, they might not comprehend them.

At precisely 10:10, the post indeed vanished. Li Yan and Qing felt even more relieved and began organizing their notes.

The deputy chairman of the Jiangnan Base Martial Arts Association was infuriated, "Find out! We need to know who did this! They aim to strip every clan of their core secrets. That Hu Shi'en deserves to die for getting his hands on so many clan manuals. Even a thousand cuts wouldn't be punishment enough!"

While others might not recognize the content of the notes, all present are representatives of the various sects from Jiangnan Base. How could they not recognize their own treasures? Thus, they contacted the admin to delete the post immediately.

The leader of the Iron Fist Gang was the calmest. Their sect's secret manuals are not in writing but in illustrations. Still, not many people covet their martial arts secrets, given that many schools are known for their fist techniques, and theirs is not particularly prominent.

"We might have to report this to the main association. We don't know to whom Hu Shi'en taught the stolen manuals. Every disciple of the Heavy Sword Sect needs to be monitored closely. We can't let those rascals get any advantage!"

"His most trusted disciple is Ye Lipai, isn't it? Just ask him."

"I heard Hu Shi'en was killed by a young man. Do you know who?"

The deputy chairman activated the projector, showing two video clips—one taken yesterday morning at Qiu Shui Square and the other early this morning at the city gate.

"That young man in the black tracksuit is the one. He only arrived at Jiangnan Base the day before yesterday. The incidents at Qiu Shui Square these past two days all involved him. He appears weak but possesses formidable strength. One should not underestimate him."

"Him? Looks can be deceiving. Could he be the direct disciple of some major sect? Didn't he rescue Cheng Yuran?"

In both videos, Zhou You didn't engage in major combat. The only two instances were when he faced the city defense team, dodging them and rescuing his companion, even slapping every member on his way out. The other was when he confronted Ye Lipai, delivering a ruthless palm strike to Ye's crown, incapacitating him entirely.

"Did you all see his rescuing speed? That's at least a 500-level speed, right?"

"Nonsense, he's practically a blur. Who among us can match that speed? And that palm strike on Ye Lipai? He definitely used internal energy, and it wasn't weak either."

The group fell silent. A master of such caliber was beyond their reach. Although the association has two factions—one emphasizing physical conditioning and the other internal cultivation—very few truly master the latter.

"It's plausible he could have killed Hu Shi'en."

The deputy chairman shook his head, "Hu Shi'en had already reached the level of an intermediate martial general. None of the renowned young talents in the country matches this description. He might have been assassinated."

"I heard that Hu Shi'en had been with a woman before his death. He might have been assassinated while he was distracted, which would make it much easier."

"Old Hu was in his prime for several years. I never thought he'd meet such a tragic end. Heavy Sword Sect... haha."

Zhou You sat on the bed, scrolling through the notes on his tablet. As soon as the post was published, Shao Qi somehow got wind of it and silently downloaded and saved it.

Despite staying up all night, Zhou You showed no signs of fatigue. Seeing other sects' secret manuals made him even more excited, "The person who posted this is truly generous, benefiting many."

Shao Qi skimmed through earlier. He could instantly decipher what others couldn't, even taking the time to properly organize the images for Zhou You.

"Not necessarily a good person, but definitely a good deed. I just hope he's hidden well enough to avoid being caught by these sects."

"These so-called secret manuals aren't particularly profound. The internal cultivation methods are disjointed, and some are clearly flawed. Practicing them might lead to losing control. Could these have been intentional mistakes by those who were captured?"

"Not sure, but nationally, very few martial artists have truly mastered internal energy. It's so challenging that many have given up. There's also a lineage known as 'Mind Controllers,' even rarer in number. But each one of them is a master, capable of not just controlling minds but even using their mental power to control weapons in battle. They're perfect for assassinations," Shao Qi muttered, wondering why he had the misfortune of running into someone as extraordinary as Zhou You.