"Rewards? Why would there be rewards?"
"Are they money, beauties, or some peerless martial arts manual?"
"On what grounds? Why does Qiao Feng get all this, it's not fair, unfair!!"
"That wicked scoundrel Qiao Feng doesn't deserve such a heavenly bestowed treasure!"
"Brothers, follow me to go seize the heavenly treasure."
"Since ancient times, precious treasures belong to the capable."
Countless jianghu warriors were marveling, consumed by jealousy and green-eyed with envy,
each wishing Qiao Feng would appear right before them at that very moment
so they could snatch away the treasure rewarded by the Celestial Screen—
even though they had no idea whatsoever
what this treasure looked like, what its exact function was, or whether it would bring them benefit or harm.
Greed blinds the mind in the end.
Others turned their attention to the fact that the Celestial Screen could distribute rewards in the first place.
If even Qiao Feng, a Khitan brute, could make it onto the Celestial Screen,
then many figures with prominent jianghu status and peerless martial arts
were confident that their own personal charm would secure them a place on the Celestial Screen to obtain precious treasures.
....
Murong Fu stared suspiciously at the Celestial Screen.
"A treasure bestowed by the Celestial Screen—unheard of."
"Four appearances of the Celestial Screen, why is it that only Qiao Feng has obtained it this time?"
"That last sentence that appeared is the key: 'Host'? Probably the master behind the Celestial Screen."
At that moment, Murong Fu felt as though he had been possessed by the incarnation of truth itself.
If he could forge a connection with it
and use lavish favors to form an alliance,
wouldn't the entire realm
be within his grasp?
Murong Fu calculated in his heart,
"The Celestial Screen Host possesses heaven-defying capabilities.
I must figure out his disposition before plotting my next move.
Very well, let us first calmly observe the Celestial Screen."
....
The thoughts of the common folk at the bottom rungs of society were much simpler.
"How did he get rewarded? Didn't you say Qiao Feng was a heinous villain who murdered his own father and mother?"
"I—how would I know? I—I just heard it from others."
"So after all that, you were just repeating gossip?"
"It seems the rumors were wrong. I believe the heavens would never do anything to aid the wicked."
"Maybe the heavens just made a mistake."
"Hmph, as the old saying goes: three feet above your head sits a divinity. Better watch what you say lest your words bring disaster."
Naturally, with the filter of the Khitan identity,
most ordinary people still held a trace of prejudice against Qiao Feng,
feeling that even if he hadn't killed his parents and mentor,
it must have been old enemies coming for revenge who got him implicated.
All in all, it was still the fault of Qiao Feng, the Khitan.
....
After finishing his changfen
and gathering his change of clothes,
Gu Xiaobai strode toward his exclusive karaoke room.
"Madly roaring 'Hong Kong Doll', 'Hong Kong Doll' raging and scolding Xitaba Team."
"Mad silver tears, from now on I am round, round and living hard in pain."
Gu Xiaobai, lost in the self-absorbed roar of "Hong Kong Doll",
did not notice that on the favorite list of the app on his phone,
a very conspicuous red heart had appeared,
indicating that an uploader he had previously subscribed to
had updated their work.
[System detects a new video, beginning connection to the corresponding plane.]
[System connecting to the Ip Man 1 plane, connection successful.]
[System detects energy scarcity, Tianlong Ba Bu plane temporarily disconnected, Ip Man 1 plane screen-casting restricted to Foshan only.]
....
Ip Man plane,
1937, Foshan.
Inside the ancestral teahouse of Master Lin the martial arts enthusiast,
the farce of "Master Liao getting beaten into a pig's head by Ip Man"
concluded predictably and hastily with Brave Lee wrapped in a mix of grievance, shame, and anger.
"Whoever dares to cause trouble on my, Li Zhao's, turf and doesn't play by the rules, I'll arrest them!"
"You bunch of roughnecks, always throwing your hands around."
"What era is this now, huh? Still fighting with martial arts?"
Li Zhao's attitude was atrocious,
and he even aimed his gun directly at Ip Man,
bellowing incessantly, "Fight with weapons! Guns! Do you know what a gun is?"
Naturally, Ip Man refused to indulge him,
stepping forward directly to jam his thumb against the trigger of Li Zhao's pistol,
and right under the gaze of everyone present,
with a sudden burst of finger strength,
he popped the magazine right out of the handgun.
"Clack, clack..."
Bullets and the magazine scattered all over the ground.
Seeing this scene,
everyone present felt an involuntary chill crawl down their spines.
They didn't dare to imagine how much pain a poke from that finger would cause.
"Dongguan boy" completely lost his usual arrogance and conceit,
standing frozen on the spot in utter terror.
Just at that moment,
high above the skies of Foshan,
layers of light screens radiating dazzling brilliance appeared out of thin air,
drawing intense attention even in the glaring light of day.
"Look, look! There's something in the sky."
"Some foreigner's contraption?"
"Blind your dog eyes, this is our ancestors revealing their divine presence!"
"Immortals revealing their presence, immortals bless us, please bless our family to have enough to eat and wear, and may we have another baby next spring."
On the streets of Foshan,
every single person without exception
raised their heads in unison to look up at the sky.
The bright light on the Celestial Screen gradually softened,
and a title appeared on the display:
[I am merely a translator, not a running dog, I am a Chinese person — Li Zhao]
[Opening thunderbolt: Ip Man is shot in the back by a sneak attack, collapsing to the ground with life and death unknown; Li Zhao struggles with the Japanese high official Sato for the pistol, another gunshot rings out, Li Zhao seizes the gun, and what he faces next are his Foshan compatriots whose reason has been consumed by rage, beaten to death with flesh-and-blood blows.]
Inside the teahouse,
the silence of the crowd at that moment was deafening.
Li Zhao himself was so frightened
that even the gun in his hand was flung away.
Staring with terror at Ip Man opposite him,
his voice trembled as he spoke:
"I—I—I didn't shoot you!"
"It really wasn't me, I really didn't shoot, I, Li Zhao, didn't shoot, I didn't..."
Had those preceding events not taken place,
this explanation of his
would not have seemed so pale and feeble now.
Glancing around with lingering fear,
Li Zhao could practically read in everyone's expressions
what they were thinking inwardly:
"Do you take us for blind?"
"Then who was the one pointing the gun at Ip Man just now?"
"Isn't it you, this traitorous running dog?"
"You deserve to be beaten to death! You deserve to die!"
Li Zhao was filled with deep regret.
Had he known he would be so unlucky,
he wouldn't have come to this teahouse for morning tea today.
....
At the same time,
martial arts instructors teaching in several other schools across Foshan could no longer sit still.
They clearly saw in the Celestial Screen
that among those who rushed forward to beat Li Zhao to death was none of other than their own figures.
Who was Li Zhao?
He was the police captain in charge of this district,
and beating a police officer to death in public was a grave crime.
Not only would one be dragged away to prison,
but in severe cases, there was even execution by firing squad!
Even so, they were still driven to exasperation by their dense disciples.
"Hey Master, look, you're up in the sky, you're so awesome."
"If you don't know how to speak, then don't speak."
"Oh, then Senior Brother, you say it."
"Master, look, you beat someone to death, you're really awesome."
The masters: "...."
....
Ip Man's mansion,
where only Ip Man's wife and son remained.
Zhang Yongcheng tightly hugged her son Ah Zhun.
"Nothing will happen, Dad will be fine..."
"Ah Zhun, don't be afraid. Uncle Gen and the others have already gone out to find Dad and bring him back. Ah Zhun, don't be afraid..."
Seemingly comforting her son, but in truth also comforting herself,
tears welled up in Zhang Yongcheng's eyes as she thought: Ah Wen, you cannot meet with disaster, you cannot have anything happen to you, you cannot leave Ah Zhun and me behind...
....
Ip Man, the subject of all this discussion,
slowly recovered from his shock.
The look he cast at Li Zhao instantly turned icy cold,
his entire person radiating a murderous aura.
So what if I slightly put you in your place and bruised your ego?
Did you have to hold such a grudge?
What deep hatred or grievance was this?
When I disarmed you face-to-face,
you learned your lesson and switched to shooting people in the back, is that it?
Overwhelmed with guilt under that gaze,
Li Zhao lowered his head in shame, not daring to face Ip Man,
while inwardly cursing himself over and over for not being human.