Opened a martial arts school, and his eldest disciple Batman

Chapter 6 The Tinker and the Inquisitor

Bruce practiced from dusk until it was completely dark.

But the more he practiced, the stronger he became, and gradually he refined the true energy in his body into his own strength.

Although I can't control it well yet, if I just use the Four Phase Fist, I can easily mobilize this true energy to increase its power.

In turn, the true qi also has the effect of relieving pain and acting as energy, so Bruce not only did not feel tired, but instead felt full of energy and could practice for a few more hours.

However, Du Mu felt that the internal energy was no longer increasing, and realizing that it was already twelve o'clock in the evening, he stopped Bruce from continuing to practice boxing.

Seeing Bruce's high spirits, he recalled the losses he had suffered during his training and reminded Bruce, "I know you don't feel hungry now, but that's just an illusion when the Qi fills your body."

"You can think of Qi as a kind of energy fat. Although it can be burned as heat, it also requires your own energy to be extracted."

"So when you return, your main tasks are, first, to rest, and second, to eat more high-energy foods. Do you understand?"

Bruce nodded and accepted the order. At this moment, the side door of the martial arts hall was suddenly pushed open.

It was the man from the daytime, who rushed in again in a hurry.

But this time, the man saw that Bruce, the Western barbarian, had not left yet, and he looked confused and hesitant.

Du Mu said: "Brother Zhao, you can tell me anything. His name is Bruce. I have accepted him as my disciple. He is now my apprentice."

Then he looked at Bruce and said, "Bruce, this is Zhao Yuanhai, Senior Zhao. He is much older than you. You can call him Uncle Zhao."

Bruce immediately said politely, "Uncle Zhao."

Zhao Yuanhai showed a look of surprise. He didn't expect that the owner's first apprentice was actually a Westerner.

But this is a small matter. The organizational structure created by Du Mu in the past six years is not in the form of a sect, so who his eldest disciple is is neither important nor unimportant. It is not a systematic one.

Anyway, knowing that this was a trustworthy person, Zhao Yuanhai nodded to Bruce as a greeting.

Then he straightened his demeanor, clasped his fists towards Du Mu and said, "Master, someone from Lianyungang sent a message saying that the Luo Cult has been making some moves recently. It seems that they want to take advantage of the time when the Beggars' Sect was destroyed by us to come to Jiulong Bay to test it out."

After saying this, Zhao Yuanhai showed an indignant look: "Do you think the people of Luojiao are sick? They are a port city with many connections, the junction of the ocean and the inland river. They can eat their fill of tolls every year. Why would they come to Kowloon Bay? Apart from being close to the sea, this place is poor. What the sea can do, Lianyungang can also do."

Du Mu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Brother Zhao, have you forgotten who is to our north?"

"The north?" Zhao Yuanhai frowned, then became furious: "They want to go through Kowloon Bay to do business with the Luosha people in the north? Aren't they selling out their country?"

Du Mu comforted him, "It's not certain. Kowloon Bay and Luosha Country to the north are both desolate areas of the two countries. If we really want to do business, we have to take a long detour, and it's all by land, which doesn't conform to the style of Luojiao. It can only be said that it is possible."

Du Mu patted Zhao Yuanhai on the shoulder and smiled, "Of course, there is another possibility. They know how we defeated the Beggars' Sect and think we have no real ability and are just small players, so they are trying their best. What if it works? Wouldn't it be like taking over the business of an entire county?"

Zhao Yuanhai was somewhat discouraged by these words. Thinking back to the artillery volley that day, he sighed and said, "It's a pity that there is no real first-class master among us. We can't deter the villains..."

Du Mu smiled and said nothing more, just reminded: "Well, there is no need to be too nervous. If the enemy comes, we will stop him. If the water comes, we will block it. Can they still attack us with a large army? If that happens, the county magistrate will be the first to fight them to the death."

Thinking of the furious look of the old county magistrate, Zhao Yuanhai couldn't help but grit his teeth, then said goodbye and left.

Bruce stood quietly aside. After listening, he asked with some concern: "Master, are you in trouble?"

Du Mu shook his head and said, "You care about your city, and I care about my county. You have 30 million people to look after, and I only need to take care of less than 100,000 people, so don't worry about my affairs."

After saying that, he looked at Bruce and smiled, "I should devote some of my energy to giving advice to my apprentice."

Bruce was about to refuse when he heard Du Mu say, "Due to the difference in size, my way of solving problems and experience can only be used as a reference for you. I can finish explaining it in two incense sticks of time, and it won't take up too much of your energy." Hearing this, Bruce gave up, and then, following Du Mu's instructions, he briefly told Du Mu about the situation in Gotham.

After all, he had only watched movies and comics in his previous life, and there were countless versions of Gotham. Of course, Du Mu had to first figure out whether this was an ordinary Gotham or a magically modified Gotham.

After listening to it, I realized that it is indeed an ordinary Gotham, with a very high crime rate, judicial corruption, rampant gangs, and because of New Jersey's law, when there is no death penalty, criminals can come and go freely in prison like visiting their families.

Du Mu frowned, glanced at Bruce, and remembered the other party's famous principle of not killing.

It’s better to ask first. If it’s the Keaton version of Batman who will kill people, it will save you a lot of trouble.

"Bruce, you have never killed anyone, right?"

Bruce paused and looked at Du Mu with a complicated expression.

Is Master going to say that I am ignorant too?
He thought of his training in the League of Assassins. The last level was to judge a criminal who killed his neighbor and chop off his head.

But Bruce couldn't do it.

He didn't think that the criminal could reform, he just felt that he was not the one who should judge the criminal.

"Looking at your expression, I understand. You don't want to kill anyone, right?" Du Mu asked.

Bruce was silent for a moment, then nodded.

He bowed his head and said, "Master, are you trying to persuade me to give up this weakness?"

Bruce was struggling internally.

If the master really wants to kill people himself and kill all those criminals... then what should I do?
refuse?
The images of those children flashed through his mind, and the original determination in his heart seemed to turn into sharp teeth covered with thorns, constantly tearing his heart.

What if... What if... my insistence was wrong.

If, by killing people yourself, this city can really become a better place...

After seeing the children Du Mu saved, Bruce was indeed no longer as determined as before.

Because he put himself in their shoes, imagining that he was destroying a gang's lair and found those children who were tortured beyond recognition.

An unprecedented murderous intent surged in my chest.

Just when Bruce was struggling with his conscience, he heard Du Mu say, "After listening to your description, I find that you still have hope for the law, but you just think that the government is not doing a good enough job and not comprehensive enough."

"So you essentially want to be a volunteer constable outside the government's jurisdiction and forcibly help the government enforce the law? Am I right?"

"However, the corruption of the government makes you unable to trust it and you are afraid that your efforts are in vain, so you feel confused."

Bruce raised his head and looked at his master in surprise.

After all, this was an ancient feudal society with imperfect laws, and the master himself seemed to be an outlaw.

In this social context and atmosphere, Master had no historical limitations at all and could see through the contradictions in his own thoughts at a glance.

Du Mu looked at Bruce and said calmly: "I dare not say that I can solve your problem, but it seems that my experience may be of some help to you."

"What you need to do now is not to arrest those criminals immediately, but to find helpers... different helpers."

(End of this chapter)