Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Gu Shenwei’s Qi deviation always broke out without any outward symptoms, so no observer could tell, including strangers and enemies, which made him feel very ashamed. But his fainting had resolved a possible dispute. Although Fachong had vomited blood and Lianqing’s face was ablaze with anger, neither of them took the chance to make a move.
Shangguan Ru immediately grabbed the Dragon King out of instinct and didn’t relax her grip until he regained consciousness. Feeling bashful, she smiled to hide her embarrassment.
Wild Horse and the disciple of the Essence Pavilion at the door simultaneously leaned slightly to the left. The two female soldiers barely noticed the slight movement. Even if they saw it, they wouldn’t understand what threat their movement insinuated.
Both the Dragon King and the monk had been injured. Such a Heaven-sent chance couldn’t be planned in advance. But it had come so unexpectedly that even the ‘combined Immortal Peng,’ who had a tacit understanding with each other couldn’t help but hesitate for a while.
“Do not rush to get up.”
Fachong opened his mouth, his voice loud and full of momentum as if he weren’t badly injured at all. Wild Horse had a momentary disagreement with the disciple of the Essence Pavilion. He was leaning towards making a move, but he still followed the skinny old man’s direction and gave up on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Upon hearing this, Gu Shenwei, however, became even more determined to stand up. He took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the restless frosty Qi, saying, “I didn’t expect that you would have such a strong internal energy.”
Gu Shenwei had felt the might of the eminent monk of the Four Noble Truths Temple through the last blow. Fachong’s internal Qi was like a mighty ocean. Although he had injured the other side, he wasn’t able to reach the core of the deep internal Qi. It was like a turbulent river rushing into the sea; no matter how much momentum it had, it would appear small and weak in front of the boundless ocean.
“What a powerful Daoless Divine Power. The Dragon King has forged a new path. That’s really impressive.”
Lianqing was quite unconvinced about his Uncle Master’s praise for the Dragon King. Although he had given up his hatred, he still couldn’t help but dislike the Dragon King in his heart. He angrily said, “It’s nothing but an unorthodox way. Uncle Master didn’t even move his hand but still defeated you. If I were you …”
Lianqing hurriedly shut up. He had unwittingly thought like a bandit. If it were the former him, he would have killed the Dragon King when he had passed out. Spitting blood was just a small injury, but Qi deviation was a deadly flaw.
Fachong shook his head, neither refuting nor criticizing his Martial Nephew’s loss of composure. He looked at the Dragon King and said, “I think that I can stand it. Please strike again, Dragon King.”
“No!”
Shangguan Ru and Lianqing cried out in unison, but what they thought was completely different.
“Uncle Master, the Dragon King is … wicked and merciless. He won’t show mercy again. Uncle Master… Uncle Master doesn’t owe him anything. Why take three palm strikes for no reason?”
“You two hold no grudges against each other and this is the first time you have met. Why get into a fight? Right now, the master is not acting like a master and the Dragon King is not acting like the Dragon King. Can’t you just talk it out? This is the Kun Society, and you all have to listen to me.”
Shangguan Ru spoke aggressively and behaved quite like a leader of a society. She had invited the monk to cure the Dragon King. She didn’t want to see him undergo Qi deviation again.
A strange smile appeared on Fachong’s serious face. He looked a bit awkward and also a little conniving as if he were a strict teacher who had made an obvious mistake that had been pointed out by his students. “Benefactress is right. You are in charge here.”
Gu Shenwei took one look at Shangguan Ru but immediately looked away when meeting her eyes. “The monk’s internal energy is unfathomable. He can easily take my palm strike.”
“What about you?” Shangguan Ru asked in a low voice, appearing a bit angry because the Dragon King had forced her to show her stance.
“I just want to solve a difficult problem …”
“My Uncle Master has unhindered eloquence and is number one in debating Buddhist doctrines in the Western Regions. The Dragon King can just open his mouth if he’s puzzled. There’s no need to fight.” Lianqing didn’t believe in the Dragon King at all. His Master Fayan had passed away right before him. He didn’t want to see the temple lose another eminent monk.
Fachong motioned for his Martial Nephew not to speak. Then he looked at Shangguan Ru, waiting for this Kun Society Leader to open her mouth.
Shangguan Ru found herself in an awkward situation now. She vaguely felt that the Dragon King and the monk held no grudges against each other but she wasn’t sure. “I don’t want to see anyone vomit blood or… fall to the ground. Anyway, I don’t want to see anyone get hurt. Can you promise that?”
“This old monk’s body is still strong. I’m not afraid of minor injuries.”
“No, I don’t want to see anyone get hurt, not even a minor injury.” Shangguan Ru immediately shook her head.
“No one will get hurt,” said Gu Shenwei. He was anxious to try again, even though he had an idea of the outcome.
“Then no one will get hurt.” Fachong lowered his arms, ready to take another blow.
Shangguan Ru silently took two steps back, seemingly acquiescing towards the two’s thoughtless move. Seeing that she had retreated, Lianqing appeared quite disappointed. The ‘Immortal Peng’ at the door was still expressionless. The two had just wasted a good chance and this time, they decided to firmly seize it.
Gu Shenwei casually struck out with another palm blow.
Both Wild Horse and the disciple of the Essence Pavilion were disappointed because this blow wasn’t swift and fierce at all and caused no puff of wind. It turned out that the Dragon King had launched a perfunctory blow after spending so much time striving for it.
Even Shangguan Ru and Lianqing were a bit surprised and speechless for the time being.
“Does the Dragon King understand?” asked Fachong.
Gu Shenwei nodded and then shook his head again. “No, this won’t work.”
None of the people nearby understood the meaning behind his words. Impatient and disregarding his Uncle Master’s prohibition, Lianqing indignantly asked, “Understand what? What won’t work?”
Fachong sat back on the futon with his hands closed and his eyes drooped. He didn’t say anything else, obviously thinking that that was the end of it and that there was no need to fight anymore.
Shangguan Ru looked into the eyes of the Dragon King, her dark eyes full of stubbornness. Gu Shenwei knew that he had to give her an explanation. “My Qi deviation came from my inverse practice of the Daoless Divine Power. The devil Qi will exist forever if I don’t remove the divine power. The only solution is to use the Sumeru Mustard Divine Power to disperse the Daoless Divine Power, but I don’t want to do that.”
In fact, Gu Shenwei had speculated about this long ago, but it had been just a guess and the previous tests had provided some factual basis.
During his third blow, he had used pure Sumeru Mustard Divine Power. Like a pebble being dropped into the sea, his internal Qi had hit the internal Qi of Fachong’s which was of the same type and more powerful, but it had caused no harm at all. But the moment the two internal Qi met each other, Fachong’s internal Qi had also entered the Dragon King’s body. It had quickly circulated through his meridian once, actually removing the remaining frosty Qi caused by the Qi deviation completely.
The source of the frosty Qi, however, was still entangled with the internal Qi of the Daoless Divine Power. To exorcise it, Gu Shenwei still had to use the method he had just said: abolish the Daoless Divine Power that he had built up with hard practice.
Gu Shenwei would take this route.
Lianqing didn’t care about the Dragon King’s life or death, but he knew that ‘defeating’ the Daoless Divine Power through the Dragon King was the long-cherished wish of several eminent monks, including his Master Fayan. So he said, “Is the Dragon King afraid of losing his internal strength? I can’t guarantee that the Sumeru Mustard is the best internal energy manual in the world and that it’s not inferior to the Daoless Divine Power. Why not forsake heresy and return to the right way? Besides, you are already a king of the Western Regions. With a powerful army under your command, what does it matter even if you are a bit weaker in martial arts? After all, you don’t rely on that to fight for hegemony.”
Although Lianqing was a reckless monk, what he had just said was quite reasonable. He had actually spoken what was on Shangguan Ru’s mind. Shangguan Ru threw a grateful glance at the monk before looking expectantly at the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei didn’t know how to explain it, but kung fu was a part of him, a very important part of him. Without the Death Sutra, he wouldn’t have become the current Dragon King. Revenge, fighting for hegemony, and everything else was affected by his kung fu. The Daoless Divine Power and the Death Sutra complemented each other. He and Lotus hadn’t realized it when they had first started practicing the swordsmanship. But ever since they obtained the seven chapters of the Daoless Scroll, he had become increasingly convinced that the power of the Death Sutra Swordsmanship would be greatly diminished without this internal energy manual as its foundation.
Gu Shenwei breathed out gently, which sounded like a restrained sigh. Then he looked at Wild Horse and the disciple of the Essence Pavilion at the door, but said to Shangguan Ru, “I wonder whether the assassin who killed the envoy of the Central Plains was from the Kun Society or not.”
Seeing that the Dragon King refused to answer his question, Monk Lianqing no longer said anything and instead retreated to the futon besides Fachong, silently chanting sutras with his eyes closed.
Full of disappointment, Shangguan Ru remained silent for a while without further trying to persuade him. When she opened her mouth again, she said, “I don’t know who the assassin was, but I can guarantee that none of the members of the Kun Society has left the compound these past days. They all live well.”
Thinking of the undisciplined disciples he had seen outside, Gu Shenwei couldn’t help but doubt her ‘guarantee.’ “The assassin seems to be a killer disciple of Golden Roc Castle.”
“Is there any mark on his body? Like …”
Like a brand on the arm, a half tongue, or scars all over the body. Gu Shenwei understood what she was saying, but he shook his head. “No. I just feel that feeling from him.”
Shangguan Ru didn’t ask what he could feel from a corpse. She didn’t know that Gu Shenwei had inspected countless corpses of killer disciples and had developed a unique sense for it.
Shangguan Ru smiled. “Right, I did take most of the killer disciples, but how could you suspect the Kun Society? I hold no grudges against the Central Plains envoy.”
“First, the people of the Kun Society may not follow your order. Second, hatred may not be the only reason to kill.”
“Oh? Then I’d like to ask the Dragon King why a mysterious person or myself would assassinate the envoy of the Central Plains? What benefits could I possibly gain from it?” Shangguan Ru’s tone also became tough.
Gu Shenwei usually would not voice his guesses in advance, but to Shangguan Ru, he decided to make an exception. “If it was really someone mysterious, his purpose would be to remove his suspicion. If it was you… assassinating the envoy of the Central Plains has benefited the Kun Society and the Four Noble Truths Temple.”
Shangguan Ru was too surprised to speak. Fachong remained unmoved, but Lianqing could no longer maintain his composure. He glared at the Dragon King and questioned, “Is the Dragon King saying that the Four Noble Truths Temple killed the envoy of the Central Plains?”
“I’m just saying that the Four Noble Truths Temple will gain some benefits from it.”
“Benefits? What benefits?” asked Lianqing aggressively.
“Create a disaster for Jade City and then save Jade City from it. That could be what the Four Noble Truths Temple is doing.”
It was because of all the lobbying of an eminent monk from the Four Noble Truths Temple that Wei Song had coordinated the various parties to announce a temporary truce. But the Dragon King had surprisingly called this act of kindness a conspiracy. Lianqing was also choking with anger at this point.
Gu Shenwei didn’t care whether it was an eminent monk or not. He only knew one thing. Every time Jade City was in crisis, people would turn to the Four Noble Truths Temple for help. Even the armistice between Golden Roc Castle and Waning Moon Hall had been made under the mediation of the monks. Therefore, he had the impression that the stronger the crisis, the higher the status of the monks.
Lianqing was just an ordinary monk and didn’t know much insider information. But Fachong was different. Gu Shenwei remembered that this monk was one of the seven eminent monks chanting nearby when he met the Unique King at the Four Noble Truths Temple.
When faced with such a serious accusation, this senior monk didn’t even open his eyes as if he had not heard any of it.
