Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The frosty Qi remained deeply entrenched in Gu Shenwei’s body like an overbearing bully, who came and messed around as it wished, and hid in the depths of his Dantian at its whims, never listening to its master’s orders.
Until it was crushed by a foreign internal Qi of greater dominance.
It wasn’t groundless for the five elders of the Jade Pure Sect to claim that their internal energy was the most authentic. Their combination of the five’s internal Qi could definitely reach the highest level in the world. Under such a powerful force, Gu Shenwei’s meridians were smashed into pieces and most of his yin and yang Qi together with the frosty Qi were destroyed.
Anyone caught in such a blow would likely be killed on the spot under normal circumstances. The reason Gu Shenwei could keep his life was exactly due to his Qi deviation. As a side effect of frequently resisting the chill, he not only developed super endurance but also became adept at guarding his heart meridian. Even if he had only a little bit of internal Qi left, he was still able to ensure the relative integrity of his heart meridian.
Wholeheartedly guarding his heart meridian was exactly Gu Shenwei’s method for fighting the frosty Qi.
In the past series of competitions, Gu Shenwei had followed the method of the Essence of Perceiving Passion and repaired his meridians as his internal Qi jumped through his acupoints, a violent yet very effective method. Old Man Mu had bought him a lot of buffer time, and after he passed through the most difficult stage, the yin and yang energy started to recover. The frosty Qi in his Dantian, however, also grew stronger.
Gu Shenwei soon discovered the anomaly. The frosty Qi used to be very arrogant and couldn’t take any stimulation. Once disturbed, it would immediately pour out of the Dantian and rushed through his meridians, tormenting its owner half to death. This time, however, it was more obedient and moved slowly through the half-repaired meridians. It still caused stinging pain but was actually helpful for the first time.
Once the meridians were clear again, the piercing pain gradually disappeared, and the chill again occupied its master’s body.
As usual, Gu Shenwei protected his heart meridian while letting the chill wreak havoc in his body. But he was in the middle of a kung fu competition and he had to mobilize part of his internal Qi to wield his saber. During which, he had suddenly had a flash of inspiration that he could view the frosty Qi as an external force and try to use his yin and yang energy to guide and control it.
He had succeeded. Although his pain wasn’t alleviated, the frosty Qi no longer aimlessly rushed forward. Instead, it followed Gu Shenwei’s directions, and the only thing it needed now was to find an outlet.
Old Man Mu’s Seven Circles Seven Apertures Heart Stopping Finger helped complete this final step.
Strictly speaking, the frosty Qi was also a kind of internal Qi, but it was a rebellious Qi produced by Gu Shenwei when he practiced the Daoless Divine Power in reverse unknowingly. It tortured its master but refused to be used by its master, and was incompatible with all types of internal Qi in the world. Its most notable characteristic was stubbornness. Gu Shenwei’s internal energy was improving almost every day and was already far more powerful than it but he still could not completely purge it from his body.
The five elders of the Jade Pure Sect had led a wolf into their own house, but doing so had indirectly paved a brand-new path for the Dragon King. Gu Shenwei had turned his hidden danger into a weapon and could use it to defeat more powerful enemies.
This was a lose-lose tactic, though. Gu Shenwei’s only advantage was that he had endured the chill for many years and could feel a bit more comfortable after ‘sharing’ it.
Although Gu Shenwei was unable to fully transfer the chill to others’ body, he felt a lot better now compared to the painful torture of the past.
Lu Tianfeng of the Kunlun Sect and the wing guard Iron Harrier, who had been invaded by such a peculiar frosty Qi for the first time, took for granted that they should exert full strength to resist it and therefore, made the same mistake as the five elders of the Jade Pure Sect. What’s worse was that their internal energy was inferior to the combination of those five elders.
So, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the experts of the Central Plains and the Norland who both held a high prestige, were now shivering as if they were afraid of the Dragon King after their defeat.
“King Shengri, there are two hours left. Send more people to fight so that you can enjoy Immortal Peng’s means to the full.”
The disciples of the Essence Pavilion knew nothing about what Servant Huan had taken from Immortal Peng so naturally, they didn’t know that the Dragon King was lying.
King Shengri looked like his treasured wine had been poured onto the ground or if his precious birds had all been boiled. With tens of thousands of cavalry backing him, he should have been the one in the dominant position but it had all been ruined by the Dragon King.
He needed someone to vent his anger on.
“You dog Taoist! How dare you fool me!”
Dao Nian also began to tremble. He had tried to gamble big but lost everything in the end. “Well… there must be a catch to his power.”
“Yes, there’s a catch; none of the things you say are accurate. I have to remind the Khan that he’d better not practice the crap you told him.”
Deeply troubled, Dao Nian was at a loss for what to say. Fortunately, another junior brother saved him. Amongst the five of them, Dao Sheng was the most quick-witted, and was the person who often handled foreign affairs on behalf of the Jade Pure Sect. He had been quietly thinking about the countermeasures and didn’t say anything before. But now he stood out and said, “Your Highness, please forgive me. It’s really beyond senior brother’s expectations, but I’ve already thought of a way to deal with it. Please give us another chance to fight for Your Highness. Together, the five of us will surely defeat the Dragon King and have him bow to Your Highness.”
The Taoist priests, who had been reluctant to join the fight, were now surprisingly asking for it. King Shengri naturally did not have much faith in them. “What? Do you think that the Dragon King hasn’t released enough people? Five people a time. That’s very generous of you.”
King Shengri knew nothing about internal energy, and it was useless to argue with him. Dao Sheng understood the urgency of the situation, so he made a bolder move and loudly spoke to Lu Tianfeng and Iron Harrier on the field. “Hey, do not resist the frosty Qi injected by the Dragon King. Guard your heart meridian, let it be, and it will soon disappear.”
Dao Sheng had finally found the right way to cope with it.
The frosty Qi that originated from Gu Shenwei’s Dantian was somehow not acclimatized to people’s meridians. If the other party tried to expel it with force, it would take the chance to take root and germinate. Dao Sheng instead chose to let nature take its course and it had happened to die on its own.
As a man of the Norland, Iron Harrier didn’t believe the advice of the Taoist priest of the Central Plains. Lu Tianfeng, who was familiar with the five elders of the Jade Pure Sect, knew that they would not plot against him in public, so he followed the advice. And not long after, the shiver of his body really alleviated. A moment later, he jumped up and said angrily, “Come on, let’s play again.”
Gu Shenwei gently shook his head and said, “You are no match for me. Call more people.”
Though hard-mouthed, Lu Tianfeng was actually timid at heart. He stared at the Dragon King and hesitated to move forward.
Old Man Mu felt it was time for him to show up again, especially since this Lu Tianfeng had struck him. If it were in the past, he would have killed his entire family from the men, women, and children to the chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs. But now he could only retaliate through his words.
“Don’t be bashful. Use the many to defeat the few if you are no match for your opponent. This is supposed to be the unique skill of your Kunlun Sect. There are tons of kung fu experts behind you, so go kowtow to them. They will be too embarrassed to refuse you and may agree to help you fight.”
Agitated, Lu Tianfeng snorted and rushed to the Dragon King, wanting to fight with him alone.
Old Man Mu hurriedly said, “King Shengri, this is a new game. If you lose, you’ll have to let another one of us go.”
It was no longer a pure internal energy competition. Lu Tianfeng’s palm moves were swift and full of changes. Gu Shenwei had only learned some basic fist and foot techniques and immediately fell onto the losing side, and could only rely on his agility to deal with the opponent.
Fan Yongda of the Kongdong Sect who had freed himself but dared not leave was standing with the guards of the Dragon King. Old Man Mu knew little of the martial arts of the Central Plains, so he turned to Fan Yongda and asked in a low voice, “What kind of kung fu is the kid of the Kongdong Sect using?”
“Ahh?” Fan Yongda didn’t expect that Old Man Mu would ask him. In his mind, this old man was an enemy of his sect, but he couldn’t feel any enmity towards him in such a dangerous situation. So he also whispered back, “It looks like the Yang Scattering Palm of the Kunlun Sect. It is said that this set of palm technique is so fierce that nothing can compare with it…”
“Stop, stop, does it have any flaws?”
“Uhh…”
“There are no perfect martial arts skills, so don’t hide it. If the Dragon King is defeated, you will be worse off than anyone. Both sides will kill you on the charge of treason.”
Fan Yongda gritted his teeth and bent to whisper a few words to Old Man Mu, ignoring the friendship of the nine major sects of the Central Plains.
The scenes King Shengri was looking forward to finally appeared. The competition turned into a lively show full of blows and kicks. From the experts’ point of view, however, the Dragon King and Lu Tianfeng’s moves were too flashy and of no practical use. No one had exerted their full strength.
Gu Shenwei’s disadvantage was his average fist techniques while Lu Tianfeng’s was his timid heart. The two were testing each other to find the biggest flaw of the other side.
Old Man Mu found it first.
Fan Yongda actually didn’t say anything too useful, but the few words he had said together with the moves Lu Tianfeng had shown were enough for Old Man Mu to quickly grasp the flaw of the Yang Scattering Palm. “The palm techniques of the Kunlun Sect is as hypocritical as its disciples. Although his right palm sways back and forth, all of them are feints, while his left palm sneakily tries to hit you below the belt. How dare you call it Yang Scattering Palm, it’s obviously the Left Underhanded Palm. ”
All martial arts skills had their own changes, and Old Man Mu’s Five Hole Punch actually had more changes. Based on what he had just said, they were all dirty moves. But his judgment about the left and right hand was very accurate.
Lu Tianfeng was taken aback and thought that it was a waste of time to fight on. He had to outwit the Dragon King in terms of internal energy, as only then could he avenge the humiliation he had suffered. Anyway, the evil frosty Qi was not deadly and he could still bear it. So he changed his palm techniques and wanted to compete with the Dragon King again in internal energy.
The Frostpalm Technique Gu Shenwei had just created was not something he was skilled in using, so he also wanted to test it again.
The palms of both sides met, not once but more than a dozen times and all as fast as they wielded the saber. And each collision produced a thud-like sound as if a giant underground beast were murmuring.
“Bravo!” King Shengri loved to watch such scenes, but he deliberately kept his voice down to avoid the awkwardness of the last time when his men were utterly defeated as soon as he made a sound.
Lu Tianfeng earned some honor for the lord and lasted a bit longer.
“It’s over.” Even King Shengri could see it now.
Lu Tianfeng had overestimated his endurance. It was true that he could bear the frosty Qi once, but after more than a dozen exchanges, he felt his mind was nearly frozen.
For the last several palm strokes, Lu Tianfeng did not resist at all. He let the Dragon King hit him and then stiffly collapsed. The last question he could think of was why couldn’t he stop the evil frosty Qi when his internal Qi was clearly stronger than the Dragon King’s?
“Dead?” King Shengri asked unsurely.
“Dead.” The officer near him nodded.
Iron Harrier stood up. He was actually more powerful than Lu Tianfeng but he had waited a little longer before following the Taoist priest’s suggestion so he recovered a little later.
The wing guard of the old Khan bowed respectfully to the Dragon King, “Your Excellency has opened a new path in martial arts and has really amazed me. I’m not your match, so please allow me to ask for pointers.”
“Go ahead, that’s just what I want.”
Gu Shenwei turned to Red Bat and said, “Take this disciple of the Kongdong Sect with you and leave.”
“I’ll stay…” Red Bat wanted to give this chance to others but the Dragon King’s eyes told her that she had no choice.
Iron Harrier said to King Shengri, “My lord, I would like to choose a few men to challenge the Dragon King with me.”
King Shengri found it really hard to believe that an Eagle Claw of the Royal Court was no match for the Dragon King. He shook his head in disbelief while saying, “Take your pick.”
“Taoists of Jade Pure Sect, please join me in this contest.”
Only Dao Sheng and his fellow Taoists could answer the question of Lu Tianfeng. The Dragon King not only had the evil frosty Qi but also the yin and yang energy.
With great confidence, Dao Sheng thought that he had found a solution.
