Duanmu Die

Ximen Chou casually brushed off the shoe prints on his trousers. He had already straightened his clothes, which had been disheveled from being pressed to the ground, and cleaned them from head to toe until they were spotless. Even the torn sleeves had been sewn back together. He Hand Seals at his Dantian and the other hand in a sword mudra behind his back. The night breeze blew gently, causing his black robe to flutter and rustle, giving him the air of a peerless master.

With such an appearance, even if he wasn't exactly handsome, he was at least dignified and respectable, enough to make people admire him—provided they hadn't seen his unexpected tiger-landing move earlier.

Upon seeing this, Ke Chajing murmured, "He just did something so shameful, yet he can completely forget about it in the blink of an eye. This kind of flawless State of Mind transformation is truly admirable. Now I believe he really did advance to the Nascent Spirit Transformation through his own strength."

Ximen Chou completely ignored Ke Chajing's sarcastic remarks and said in a deep, weathered voice, "A thousand kinds of Law Technique, an endless path of cultivation, I only ask one question: can one attain immortality?"

"..."

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances, and even Si Ming had to admit with admiration, "It's essentially the same as 'I want to live a few more years,' but by changing the way it's phrased, it immediately becomes much more sophisticated."

"If that's the kind of belief they hold, it's not surprising that they could advance to the Spirit Transformation." Ke Chajing felt relieved.

If anyone else dared to act arrogantly in front of Si Ming, he would definitely teach them a lesson and make them understand why flowers are so red. However, Ximen Chou had obviously mastered the art of shamelessness and the art of being shameless, so humiliating him was pointless. Si Ming would not do something that would lower his own standards, so he handed the person over to Wan Ziling to keep in mind.

"It seems your trip to the Barbarian Continent wasn't very easy."

Si Ming stared openly at the scars on Ke Chajing's face, without deliberately avoiding them, because such scars were indeed difficult to cure in the Barbarian Continent, unless one found those "miracle doctors," but as long as one returned to Su State, any decent hospital could cure them, and there was no need to worry about permanent disfigurement.

The only incurable disfiguring conditions in the Sea Continent are those with lingering traces of a master's Sword Intent; purely physical injuries can be treated with a minor surgery.

Ke Chajing was aware of this as well, so she didn't care much. She sighed, "Indeed, I suffered quite a few losses when I first arrived. Living in a peaceful era, it's hard for us to adapt to an environment where the law is practically non-existent, especially in terms of fighting style. This scar is the tuition I paid for it. Don't laugh at me, but the person who injured me was a notch below me in strength, but he always used moves that were designed to exchange injury for injury, even to the point of mutual destruction, forcing me to be flustered and eventually giving him an opening... If Hu Jixian n't intervened in time, I might have failed before I even got started."

Upon hearing this, Si Ming thought to himself, "No wonder. I always saw Ke Chajing act with a ruthless, reckless spirit. She must have learned her lesson and is determined to fight evil with evil to intimidate her opponents."

This is actually a wrong approach. The correct way to deal with it is to seize the initiative, attack its vitals, and break its posture.

All moves that involve exchanging injury for injury or mutual destruction have one flaw: they have a huge opening. If one can remain calm, unaffected by the opponent's momentum, spot the opening, and deliver a fatal blow, one can easily counter the opponent.

Therefore, in martial arts duels, such moves are only used when absolutely necessary, such as when trapped in a desperate situation and having no other options. They might resort to a suicidal move to scare away their opponent, because these moves have too obvious weaknesses. If they fail to achieve their goal, their opponent might take advantage of the opening. Only by combining them with a surprise attack can they be effective.

The martial artist had clearly seen that Ke Chajing was a newcomer to the martial arts world, which was why he used such a reckless fighting style to frighten her. If he had dared to do the same against a more experienced opponent, he would have been killed in no time.

You want to trade blows, but your opponent chops off your hand first. How can you then trade blows?

If you can gain the upper hand without risking your life, what's the point of talking about guarding the open, avoiding the strong and attacking the weak, or even martial arts techniques? A suicide squad is the number one master in the world.

However, Si Ming didn't reveal this to her; it would be more effective for Ke Chajing to figure it out herself.

Recalling his early days in the Barbarian Continent, Hao Shuai said with lingering fear, "We're used to stopping short of causing serious injury; it's almost an instinct. But the people here are completely unscrupulous. Once they see you as an enemy, they show no mercy, every move aimed at vital points. If you don't share that awareness and lose in terms of momentum, even if you're stronger, you'll be put on the defensive. Luckily, I have the Spirit Rhino Iron Skin Art; otherwise, I'd probably have died in the very first battle."

Hu Jixian said, "In the past, when I read those historical novels, I always thought that the difference between the righteous path and the Evil Dao was just a matter of stance. Now, after experiencing it firsthand, I understand that there is a fundamental difference between the two. People of the righteous path will hold back when they make a move, unless they are certain that you are an evil person. On the other hand, people of the Evil Dao will not care who their opponent is. Every move they make is deadly, and they have no scruples. They will use any despicable means."

Ke Chajing added, "But it wasn't all for naught. At least I grasped the Paramārtha of 'aggression is like fire.' No wonder that for so many years, no one in my family has mastered the Crimson Refinement Divine Palm. This martial art was originally created by our ancestors during times of war. Living in a peaceful era, without firsthand experience, it's difficult for us to understand its mysteries."

If the three of them were to return to school and participate in martial arts competitions again, they would find it easy to overwhelm their opponents with their aura. Even against opponents of the same level, they would have the upper hand. This is the benefit of having personally killed someone and having walked on the edge of life and death. It doesn't refer to something as illusory as killing intent, but rather to a mental advantage.

Aside from those who kill impulsively and are filled with fear afterward, people who have actually killed usually possess a ruthless streak. When faced with such a person, a normal person wouldn't dare say, "Try touching me," because the other party would never reply with "Try it then," but would instead take direct action.

"Speaking of which, why are you acting as someone's bodyguards? Who are the people in that carriage?"

Ke Chajing said, "You could call them benefactors. When we first Barbarian Continent, we didn't have a single penny on us, and we didn't want to stoop to stealing. We thought we'd pawn our belongings for some silver, but the other party wanted to kill us and rob us. They secretly poisoned us, and we had to run away. Luckily, we were taken in by Miss, and we managed to escape."

Hao Shuai said excitedly, "Let me tell you, Miss is no ordinary person. She doesn't know martial arts herself, but she is well-versed in the principles of martial arts. Every time she gives guidance, it has a clear and effective effect. In just a few days, our martial arts have improved a lot."

Si Ming was taken aback. This setting sounded like Wang Yuyan, but Wang Yuyan was only familiar with all the martial arts in the world. Asking her to instruct others on how to practice martial arts was still beyond her capabilities. After all, such experience and insights cannot be gained by just talking about them on paper; one must have personal experience to understand them.

He then turned his questioning gaze to Hu Jixian, a man of great intellect who should have noticed many clues.

"I also suspected she knew martial arts, but I couldn't find any evidence. After all, she's my benefactor, so it's not appropriate to test her. I speculate that either she deliberately concealed it, or she was injured and unable to use it," Hu Jixian said, expressing his conjecture.

"After all that talk, you still haven't told her her name?"

"His surname Duanmu, and his given name is Die."

Chapter 582 Duanmu Die

"Thank you for saving me, young hero."

Duanmu Die stepped down from the carriage and bowed gracefully to Si Ming Mingying. Her movements were as gentle as a dandelion in the wind. Her pale face revealed a frail appearance, and she indeed looked like a delicate young lady from a prominent family.

Her face was unadorned, her beautiful features as clear as water, her eyebrows like distant mountains shrouded in mist, her cheeks a delicate pink, and her cherry-like lips forming a graceful curve with a slight purse. She was truly naturally beautiful, and her beauty was not the seductive kind, but rather as refreshing as a gentle breeze and a bright moon, possessing an air of elegance and grace. Clearly, she came from a wealthy family and had received a good upbringing.

His steps were unsteady, Qi and Blood were insufficient, showing no signs of martial arts training. As Si Ming made this judgment, he felt a sudden unease and subconsciously took a step back.

"Young hero?" Duanmu Die asked, her face showing confusion.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. I probably just suffered some minor injuries during the fight. I'll recover after a rest."

Si Ming laughed and changed the subject.

Turning around, he was secretly alarmed. His intuition had just reminded him that if he provoked this woman, he might be suppressed under the Five Fingers Mountain for five hundred years, just like Monkey Sun.

Although this intuition came out of nowhere, even nonsensically, for martial artists, intuition is sometimes more accurate than information heard or seen. Therefore, Si Ming decided to keep his distance from this mysterious Miss Duanmu.

Although the other person was very good-looking, he had seen beautiful women before, and Si Ming wasn't a lecherous man. There was no need for him to flirt with every woman he met; it was best to keep to propriety.

"May I ask, Miss Duanmu, why is Ghost Fort chasing you?"

"While I have some suspicions about this matter, I am not entirely certain. Why don't you ask Lord Ximen directly, young master?"

I'm not entirely sure, but it's about 80-90% certain. It's perfectly fine to say it out loud.

But since the other party wanted to keep it a secret, Si Ming couldn't force him. Just as Hu Jixian didn't probe further because he considered the other party to be his benefactor, Si Ming would also give way to Duanmu Die since she had been kind to his friend. This was his principle of conduct. Anyway, it was just a matter of asking someone else. So he immediately sought out Ximen Chou to ask for the reason.

Since this Ghost Fort lord could even use the Tiger Landing Stance, he naturally wouldn't uphold the virtue of keeping secrets. He immediately betrayed his employer, revealing everything without Si Ming even needing to ask for details.

"An organization calling itself the 'Deaf Ear Society' commissioned us to kill someone. We didn't ask for details about the specific reasons, since according to the rules of the underworld, assassins can't ask their employers for information. Moreover, the 'Deaf Ear Society' commissioned more than just us; many gangs accepted their commissions. It just so happens that this area is within the territory of our Ghost Fort."