Chapter 51: Heaven-Man Secret Art |
To a certain extent.
They weren't entirely wrong.
Ning Qi was indeed the Guardian of the Dao for the Zhenwu Sect, and truly part of the Zhenwu Sect's foundation. However, they got one thing wrong—Ning Qi wasn’t some “old man,” but rather a child not even seven years old.
Ning Qi let out a helpless chuckle.
He had no intention of explaining.
One reason was because of the Qin Yun incident. Another was that, as the Guardian of the Dao for the Zhenwu Sect, the more hidden he remained, the better. Unless absolutely necessary, Ning Qi wouldn’t expose his strength. Until he became truly powerful, he would keep a low profile.
He’d be more effective in the shadows.
“Good thing we still have strong warriors protecting the Zhenwu Sect from the shadows, or today would’ve been a disaster.”
Everyone felt a lingering sense of dread.
“I wonder what level of cultivation that senior has?”
“Jade Liquid Realm? Or Core Formation Realm like Master?”
Everyone was curious but tactfully refrained from asking further. Since Daoist Longshan hadn’t revealed this hidden force, clearly there was no need to probe. They were left only to speculate in their hearts.
But there was no doubt that such speculation lifted everyone’s spirits.
After all, what had happened today had been quite a blow to morale within the Zhenwu Sect.
Ning Qi watched as Xiong Shi cut off the Dominant Tiger True Intent Diagram from Iron Eagle’s back. It had been imprinted using a special method and could only be removed by slicing it off.
He was a bit tempted.
Just from a simple glance earlier, he had already gained insights into several martial arts techniques.
If he could fully immerse himself in it, the harvest would be even greater.
But he wasn’t in a rush.
The Dominant Tiger True Intent Diagram would almost certainly be placed in the Scripture Pavilion.
Ye Qinghe stood in a daze, still thinking about what Jiang Baishan and Xiong Shi had said. Something felt off to her.
“Our Zhenwu Sect’s hidden foundation? ...It just feels strange. Iron Eagle was killed on the way to the Scripture Pavilion...”
She frowned deeply.
Suddenly.
A figure entered her field of vision, carrying a large sword, carefully watching Xiong Shi skinning the body.
Ye Qinghe’s pupils contracted.
“Little Junior Brother?!”
A wild thought suddenly sprang into her mind, one even she found hard to believe, and her heart surged with waves of shock. But soon, she shook her head and laughed at herself for being silly.
“Little Nine is a monster, true, but he hasn’t been training in martial arts for even four years. I think he just recently broke through to the Inner Origin Realm, right? How could he possibly have the strength to instantly kill a Qi Origin Realm expert?”
Ye Qinghe, almost subconsciously, took a step forward and saw the Longxiao Sword on his back completely spotless, without even a hint of blood.
Sensing something, Ning Qi turned around and smiled:
“Third Senior Sister?”
Ye Qinghe let out a breath, cursing herself for being dumb. How could she entertain such an unrealistic thought?
She smiled and said:
“You’re still young. Don’t watch this kind of stuff. Second Senior Brother will bring the True Intent Diagram to you once it’s sorted out, don’t worry.”
Saying that, she pulled Ning Qi away.
Skinning wasn’t exactly a pleasant sight. In their eyes, their Little Junior Brother was still a pure little white lamb, always staying in the courtyard reading and cultivating.
...
Ever since the Three Fiends of Iron Ridge launched a night raid,
The entire Zhenwu Sect had gone on high alert. Patrols and guard posts had increased several times over to eliminate any blind spots. They had grown a bit lax over the years, but just one incident last night was enough to snap them awake. Even though there might be a great expert within the sect, they couldn’t rely on that.
Now that Iron Eagle had died within the Zhenwu Sect, Xiong Shi and the others worried that River Dragon and Walker Tiger might not let it go easily and could seek revenge at any time.
Not to mention the possibility that other forces might be eyeing the Zhenwu Sect as well.
But Ning Qi was more relaxed, because he knew he was the one who had killed Iron Eagle. He had no fear of the other two coming for revenge. If they did, they’d just be delivering themselves to his doorstep. In fact, he was hoping they would come.
That way.
He might have a chance to collect all three True Intent Diagrams.
Ning Qi stared at the Dominant Tiger True Intent Diagram in his hand, feeling a bit of regret.
“This True Intent Diagram really isn’t that simple.”
“Dominant Tiger Stance, Dominant Tiger Force, Dominant Tiger True Qi Force—from the Body Tempering Realm to the Qi Origin Realm, these techniques form a continuous lineage. They’re all top-tier. Even more, it contains part of a Heaven-Man Secret Art!”
A few days earlier.
After processing the True Intent Diagram, Xiong Shi had brought it to Ning Qi. Everyone knew Ning Qi had a deep interest in various martial arts manuals.
With Ning Qi’s level of comprehension, the True Intent Diagram held no secrets before him.
Walker Tiger had spent decades of hard work only to comprehend a portion of the Dominant Tiger True Qi Force, yet it didn’t match what Ning Qi gleaned in a single night.
“This part of the Heaven-Man Secret Art is the most powerful—it's truly the essence of the diagram!”
“Unfortunately, this is only one-third. The other two parts are probably within the Sky Eagle True Intent Diagram and the Crazy Dragon True Intent Diagram.”
Ning Qi slowly put away the human-hide scroll, feeling somewhat regretful.
If he had chosen to give chase that night, he might have been able to kill both River Dragon and Walker Tiger. That way, all three True Intent Diagrams would be in hand, and their value would be so much greater.
Even so.
He didn’t regret it.
Compared to the two diagrams, he cared more about the safety of his Senior Brothers and Sisters. If anything had happened to them, he would’ve been filled with remorse.
“No big deal. Once my cultivation gets higher, I can try to complete them later—maybe even go a step further.”
After all, Ning Qi was only at the Inner Origin Realm.
For him to create a Heaven-Man Secret Art now would be biting off more than he could chew. He still didn’t understand what “Heaven-Man resonance, drawing on the power of heaven and earth” really meant.
Even so, the Dominant Tiger True Intent Diagram had benefited him greatly.
The Origin of All Phenomena chapter he created had made another leap forward.
He had even begun working on creating the True Qi of All Phenomena, which he would need to cultivate in the Qi Origin Realm.
...
Several days later.
The Zhenwu Sect remained peaceful, with no sign of River Dragon or Walker Tiger. Jiang Baishan and the others finally breathed a little easier, though they remained vigilant.
This continued until ten days later.
Luo Wentian and a group of disciples appeared outside the mountain gate, their expressions anxious. As soon as they saw Jiang Baishan and the others, they immediately asked:
“Little Five, what the heck happened?”
Luo Wentian looked grim. On their way back from attending the Purple River Sword Master’s birthday celebration, they had received word and rushed back at top speed.
Jiang Baishan quickly said:
“Senior Brother, everything’s fine within the sect.”
He immediately explained the night raid in detail. Seeing Luo Wentian return, everyone felt much more at ease. Although Luo Wentian wasn’t the strongest in terms of cultivation, he had always been the one taking care of the sect’s affairs. The growth of the Zhenwu Sect owed much to him.
Luo Wentian’s grim expression finally eased a bit, though he still looked very serious.
He let out a long breath and said:
“We had just gone down the mountain, and then the sect gets attacked? There’s no way that’s a coincidence!”
Everyone had already suspected as much, and their eyes burned with fury:
“Senior Brother, are you saying... the Purple River Sword Sect?”
Ning Qi’s eyes narrowed slightly. The Purple River Sword Master was a Core Formation Realm expert.