Chapter 19: Fearing Your Brother’s Hardship, Yet Fearing His Success

After successfully persuading Ken Hung to abandon his thoughts of self-destruction, Lin Bei returned to his room and lay down. Barely had he drifted off to sleep when his consciousness once again arrived in that mysterious space.

He immediately saw his counterparts from the *Demon Slayer* and *Wuxia* worlds. However, besides the two of them, there was a newcomer dressed in a sharp suit. Judging by how they were all stacking their hands together, it was clear they were exchanging memories.

The Hong Kong-crossover Lin Bei stepped forward and placed his own hand on the stack, and a surge of foreign memories flooded his mind. Once he had thoroughly processed the information, the way he looked at the newcomer changed instantly. The same was true for the *Wuxia* and *Demon Slayer* versions of Lin Bei.

The suited Lin Bei, seeing the other three staring at him with gnashing teeth, retreated a few steps in guilt, eyeing them warily. "Hey, everyone, don't be rash! We're all on the same side! Besides, if I eat meat, you lot get to drink the soup, don't you? Our memories are shared; effectively, this is just a collective experience for all of us."

While his logic held some weight, the Lin Beis from the other three worlds were still seething. Why was it that while everyone else’s lives were constantly under threat, he was living it up so recklessly?

This new Lin Bei had transmigrated to 21st-century Japan and achieved financial freedom by plagiarizing literature. Rebirth-based success through copying books and films was standard procedure—the Hong Kong-crossover Lin Bei had done similar things. But what infuriated the others was that his world was far from normal. Every few days, he would encounter scantily clad housewives taking out the trash, a childhood friend who kept trying to "experiment" with him, and a teacher with ulterior motives. Even just visiting a classmate’s house would lead to scenes that were enough to make one’s eyes bleed.

The Lin Beis from the Hong Kong, *Wuxia*, and *Demon Slayer* worlds grew angrier the more they thought about it. Consequently, the three of them cornered the newcomer and beat him up. However, the newcomer wasn't a pushover; he seized the opportunity to share the memory of the beating back to them. Now all four of them were miserable—it was truly a case of "beating myself up."

Seeing that the Lin Bei from the "educational film" world was still acting smug, the other three chose to leave without hesitation. The necessary memories had already been exchanged, and staying any longer would just be idle chatter.

***

When he opened his eyes again, Lin Bei was back in the Hong Kong-crossover world. This time, beyond receiving a bundle of "colorful" memories, his greatest gain was the intelligence shared by the others.

The flow of time clearly differed between the three worlds. The *Demon Slayer* Lin Bei had successfully mastered the seventh form of the Sun Breathing, while the *Wuxia* Lin Bei had used his political status to summon Yu Lianzhou, the second of the Seven Heroes of Wudang, to learn the foundations of Wudang internal arts and the "Cloud-Ladder" maneuver.

It wasn't that the *Wuxia* Lin Bei didn't want to jump straight to ultimate techniques; the imperial court was entirely controlled by bureaucrats, and there were two princes outside waiting to revolt at any moment. Even within the palace, there were ruthless monsters like Jiang Yuyan and eunuchs like Cao Zhengchun lurking in the shadows. These people didn't want him to have any chance of turning the tables; they only wanted him to remain a puppet, so they would never allow him access to supreme martial arts manuals. Even Yu Lianzhou had been extremely cautious, afraid to teach him anything too advanced. After all, although Wudang had the world’s number one expert, Zhang Sanfeng, if the sect were dragged into the court's power struggles, he wouldn't be able to protect his many disciples.

Fortunately, by layering the aptitude of three versions of himself, Lin Bei’s talent was now quite exceptional. In a short time, he hadn't just mastered the basics of Wudang internal energy—he had reached the stage of minor success. Although he still lagged behind those "cheat-code" characters who received power from masters or gained a hundred years of cultivation from a single magical fruit, he had at least established a foundation.

After integrating the gifts from the other two worlds, Lin Bei felt he could now easily defeat his pre-fusion self.

After organizing his thoughts, Lin Bei headed downstairs. He didn't reach the dining table until Feng Shu, Zhang Shisan, and Zhong Fabai noticed him. With the foundation of the Cloud-Ladder maneuver, his footsteps were much lighter, making him difficult to detect unless someone was paying close attention.

Given the keenness of the three men, they naturally noticed that Lin Bei seemed reborn compared to the day before. However, they didn't pry; everyone had their own secrets.

After breakfast, Lin Bei looked at Zhang Shisan. "I've arranged for people to look into the Ancient Kiln matter. There are no results yet, so how about we go and wipe out the Nine Chrysanthemum Sect today?"

Zhang Shisan was the first to speak. "I have no objections!" As for Zhong Fabai, he was even more agreeable. Before leaving yesterday, he had reached an agreement with Lin Bei to join the soon-to-be-established Lingling Hall. Not only could he continue to slay demons, but he would also have significant earnings—much better than running his convenience store in the suburbs.

Feng Shu looked at the two with gratitude. While he wasn't worried about the Nine Chrysanthemum Sect turning the tables, having more helpers would certainly increase their odds.

Seeing no opposition, Lin Bei arranged for Wang Jianjun to depart first, driving to pick up Ma Xiaoling and Uncle Qiu. He and the three experts took another car. Before leaving, he also brought along Xiahou Wu and Feng Yu-xiu. Lin Bei wanted to see how the bodyguards surrounding Michiko stacked up against these two.

After driving for over half an hour, they reached the villa Michiko had purchased in Hong Kong. As soon as Lin Bei stepped out, he saw Inspector Lin and Inspector Miao. Beyond them stood a full squad of heavily armed police officers, along with a special unit from the Flying Tigers. It seemed the police were fully prepared, swearing to take down Michiko and her crew.

Seeing Lin Bei appear, the two inspectors immediately approached. "Mr. Lin, we are ready to take action. You and your people just need to follow behind. If we encounter those things you mentioned earlier, we will ask you to step in."

Although Inspector Lin’s tone was respectful, his words showed he still didn't believe a word Lin Bei had said. Lin Bei didn't mind. He reached out, grabbed the inspector by the collar, and—to the man's utter shock—used the Cloud-Ladder maneuver to leap into a nearby tree in a few swift motions.

Seeing legendary light-body techniques performed right in front of them for the first time, not only were Inspector Miao and his men stunned, but even Feng Shu and the others were dumbfounded. While they all practiced martial arts and knew some basic agility skills, those were limited to things like vaulting over walls; none of them could do what Lin Bei had just done—leaping into a tree while carrying a grown man.

After hanging the inspector from a branch, Lin Bei jumped down and looked at Inspector Miao. "Let us go in first. You and your men guard the outside. Any problems with that?"

Inspector Miao shook his head frantically. He didn't have many virtues, but he knew when to listen to reason. Having seen Lin Bei’s display of martial arts with his own eyes, he wouldn't dare contradict him now.