Invincible Treasure Codex and Disappointment

Early the next morning, Duàn Yì had barely finished washing up when Bái Xī Wén summoned him to the main hall where he had received him yesterday.

"I've thought it over. Taking you as my disciple—or even letting you enter the Golden Cauldron Sect as a disciple—is impossible."

Duàn Yì had been in high spirits, thinking success was firmly in his grasp, when Bái Xī Wén's words struck him out of nowhere and left him utterly dazed. Only one thought remained in his heart: It's over. After all that effort, it's all over now.

Seeing Duàn Yì's lost and desolate expression, Bái Xī Wén's lips curved into a smile, and he added,

"However, I can acknowledge you as my younger brother, let you live within the Golden Cauldron Sect, and even teach you martial arts."

"Whew, you scared me to death. Can't you stop speaking in such dramatic pauses?"

Hearing that there was still room for a turnabout, Duàn Yì regained a little of his calm and began pondering Bái Xī Wén's intentions.

What was the difference between taking him as a disciple and allowing him to join the Golden Cauldron Sect, versus accepting him as a younger brother and teaching him martial arts?

Of course there was a difference, and a tremendous one.

From this alone, Duàn Yì could tell that Bái Xī Wén had not completely trusted him, which was why he had chosen this roundabout method.

Even if Duàn Yì harmed the Golden Cauldron Sect in the future, it would not create a scandal that damaged the sect's reputation. A traitor emerging from one's own sect and an unrelated enemy seeking revenge were matters with utterly incomparable consequences.

Bái Xī Wén could not determine Duàn Yì's true identity, so he could only make preparations before the rain came.

"Before that, though, you must agree to two things. If you cannot, leave the mountain immediately."

The smile vanished from Bái Xī Wén's face once more, as though he had changed masks.

"First, help me find Jiaonu. This is extremely important. The only reason I am teaching you martial arts and allowing you to remain on the mountain is for Jiaonu's sake. So you must let me see her. Can you do that?"

"I agree to that, but it is absolutely impossible right now. I already told you, Brother Bái, that Sister Yue and I agreed on a time and place to meet again. When the time comes, I will naturally take you with me. It will be no later than three years from now."

"I remember Sister Yue telling me that you first met her about three years ago. You do not mind waiting another three years, do you?"

Duàn Yì's expression was calm. Faced with Bái Xī Wén's solemn manner, he did not joke around and merely replied coolly.

Still, he had no idea where Yuè Jiāo Nú was at present. He could only hope that nothing went wrong with their meeting in three years.

"Fine. Three years is nothing; I can wait."

"The second matter is this: once you find her, you must help bring the two of us together. Put in a few good words for me. That is not difficult, is it?"

Bái Xī Wén cast sidelong glances at Duàn Yì, unable to hide his thoughts in the slightest.

Clearly, he had already realized that Duàn Yì's relationship with Yuè Jiāo Nú was far from ordinary. It was not simply the tale of a village boy saving a distressed female wanderer, only for her to repay his kindness. He simply could not yet guess what their relationship truly was.

So long as it was not a relationship between a man and a woman, Bái Xī Wén did not care. On the contrary, if Duàn Yì could speak well of him and earn him a few extra points in Yuè Jiāo Nú's heart, would that not be even better?

In his heart, his fate with Yuè Jiāo Nú had already grown thin because of the Moon Worship Palace affair. Now that another opportunity had appeared, if he did not seize it, would he not regret it for the rest of his life?

That was also one of the reasons he had ultimately decided to take Duàn Yì in.

"That is even less of a problem. Rest assured, I treat Sister Yue as though she were my own elder sister. If Brother Bái is sincere and truly reliable, I will naturally consider Sister Yue's happiness."

That had been Duàn Yì's original thought, and it happened to align perfectly with what Bái Xī Wén wanted.

At the same time, Duàn Yì secretly let out a sigh of relief. He had worried that Bái Xī Wén would use this chance to forbid him from ever acting against members of the Golden Cauldron Sect, which would have tied him down completely. Though he could always break his word, he would still feel guilty about it.

Now, however, he would merely remain on the mountain as Bái Xī Wén's sworn younger brother to study martial arts. He would have no direct connection to the Golden Cauldron Sect, which was immensely beneficial to him in every way.

"Haha, that is good. Since you call me Brother Bái, I naturally will not treat you poorly. Stand up."

Bái Xī Wén was overjoyed to receive his promise. His doubts vanished, and he told Duàn Yì to rise.

Duàn Yì was somewhat baffled, but he could only follow Bái Xī Wén's instructions. He first stretched out his arms, then allowed the other man to feel around various parts of his body. A chill ran through him; if he had not known that Bái Xī Wén was hopelessly enamored with Yuè Jiāo Nú, he might have thought he had run into a pervert.

"This is called bone-feeling. It lets one roughly assess your aptitude for martial arts. Hmm, not bad. Your bones are thick and sturdy, your flesh is full, and your vitality abundant. You are fine material for martial arts training. That saves me a headache."

Seeing Duàn Yì's uncomfortable expression, Bái Xī Wén knew what he was likely imagining and explained.

After Duàn Yì sat down again, Bái Xī Wén took hold of both his hands and examined them carefully, continuing his assessment.

"Your skin is smooth, your finger bones well-shaped, and your hands long and strong. If you train in the sword, saber, or other weapons in the future, at the very least you will not be dragged down by your hands."

After this round of appraisal, Duàn Yì was completely confused, but Bái Xī Wén seemed extremely satisfied with his body and said,

"Overall, your Innate Talent is strong. You show no signs of weak qi or feeble blood. If you study martial arts in the future, so long as you are not especially stupid and are willing to endure hardship, you will certainly achieve something."

Duàn Yì was secretly delighted. He was not worried about comprehension; with the Tower of Hidden Martial Arts, even if his comprehension was not the best in the world, it had to be among the very finest. Now it seemed his body was also quite exceptional, giving him an even stronger foundation.

Put plainly, it was a matter of efficiency. Good aptitude and high comprehension meant learning anything quickly and producing results more easily. Otherwise, if he only became an expert decades later, the day lilies would have gone cold.

"Then when will we begin learning martial arts? And what martial arts of the Golden Cauldron Sect can I study?"

Duàn Yì asked impatiently. He had yearned to learn martial arts for far too long. There had even been an embarrassing incident where he drooled while staring at martial arts manuals in the Tower of Hidden Martial Arts marked with the word "missing."

"Since you are not a member of the Golden Cauldron Sect, I naturally cannot teach you the Golden Cauldron Sect's martial arts."

"But you need not worry. When I traveled the martial world, I obtained several formidable martial arts myself. They each have their own mysteries, and there is no problem in letting you cultivate them. As for what you can achieve in the future, that will depend on you."

Seeing Duàn Yì's disappointment, Bái Xī Wén gave a faint smile.

"What, do you look down on martial arts from outside sects? I am known as the Golden Cauldron Sect's strongest expert. Everyone in the sect accepts it, and outsiders acknowledge it as well. What I rely on is precisely martial arts from outside the sect."

At those words, Duàn Yì's eyes lit up. This truly was an unexpected discovery. Bái Xī Wén's true specialty was not actually Golden Cauldron Sect martial arts.

"Then may I ask, Brother Bái, what martial arts do you practice?"

"There is no harm in telling you. The martial art I cultivate is called the Invincible Treasure Codex. It was engraved within an unnamed mountain cave. It is vast and profound, its power boundless, and it surpasses even the Pure Yang Divine Skill personally transmitted from generation to generation by the sect's past masters."

Bái Xī Wén seemed to be deliberately showing off, wearing a smug expression utterly lacking in the bearing of an expert.

Yet Duàn Yì was entirely captivated by the four words "Invincible Treasure Codex." They felt familiar, as though he had seen them somewhere before, but he could not recall where. He racked his brains, almost wishing he could split his head in two to use both halves.

Where had he heard of this martial art?

It had to be a powerful martial art, but it was too obscure, which was why it had never become as renowned as other supreme arts.

All at once, Duàn Yì's eyes brightened. He had finally remembered the origin of this martial art.

One account came from the legendary martial arts of the Gu lineage. It had never truly appeared, merely receiving a passing mention. The other was a divine art from the Hong Kong comic The Legendary Heroes of Gu Long, where it possessed limitless power and played a major role.

Duàn Yì knew little about the Hong Kong comic version, so he would not pass judgment on it.

He was more inclined toward the legendary martial art from the Gu lineage.

In Wulin Waishi, Happy King Chai Yuguan had built his fortune through a heaven-shaking scam, and the bait for that scam had been the Invincible Treasure Codex.

The story went that the Invincible Treasure Codex, which Monk Wudi had relied upon to run rampant through the martial world more than a hundred years ago, had appeared atop Huiyan Peak on Hengshan. This drew the greatest experts of the martial world to fight over it. The battle was brutal, with countless dead and wounded.

In the end, after fierce slaughter, six supreme experts—including Shen Lang's father, Shen Tianjun—finally reached the summit of Huiyan Peak and opened the hidden cave. Only then did they discover that it contained nothing at all, save for five words written in vermilion paint: "You have all been fooled."

There was no need to mention what came afterward. Judging only from this, an ethereal Invincible Treasure Codex had been enough to set the entire martial world ablaze, driving countless experts mad with desire. Its greatness needed no further explanation.

It was much like the status of the Nine Yin Manual in the Jin lineage.

The difference was that the Nine Yin Manual was ultimately obtained by Wang Chongyang, whose skills eclipsed all heroes, while the Invincible Treasure Codex had never appeared from beginning to end. It had merely been one of Chai Yuguan's schemes.

Of course, there was another theory: the martial arts of Shen Lang, the foremost famous hero under heaven, were the long-lost Invincible Treasure Codex. That was why, no matter what enemy he faced—even Happy King—he always remained at ease and never fell into disadvantage.

Such speculation was not trustworthy, yet neither was it impossible. In any case, Duàn Yì would rather believe it existed.

Though the Invincible Treasure Codex had no famous battle records, its reputation alone showed that it had to be a supreme art of the Gu lineage.

Duàn Yì was wildly excited. Though he did not dance with joy, his breathing quickened, his fair skin flushed, and when he looked at Bái Xī Wén, the man seemed incomparably pleasing to the eye. This brother had been worth acknowledging.

"Is the Invincible Treasure Codex what Brother Bái intends to teach me? What mysteries does this art possess?"

"No."

"This martial art is my secret, never to be passed on. Back then, even when my senior brother, the sect master, used overwhelming pressure to demand it, I refused to teach it to him. Much less would I teach it to you. I am saving it for my future son."

Bái Xī Wén's words nearly made Duàn Yì fail to catch his breath. You were not even married—where would you get a son?

Still, those words restored some of Duàn Yì's reason. After thinking it over, he understood that this was only natural.

If you possessed a fortune worth billions and were still young and vigorous, would you pass it to a sworn younger brother you had only acknowledged for a day, or wait until you had a son and leave it to him?

The Invincible Treasure Codex was not a consumable, but it was incomparably precious. So long as one's mind had not gone haywire, one would not let such a martial art spread beyond oneself. Bái Xī Wén's thinking was understandable.

But understanding was one thing. At this moment, Duàn Yì had completely lost his anticipation and felt utterly listless.

The Invincible Treasure Codex was not cabbage that could be found anywhere. Whatever Bái Xī Wén intended to teach him would certainly be a second-rate substitute.

It was like having eaten a feast at a three-star Michelin restaurant, then going to eat at an ordinary eatery.

"Seven years ago, I pursued Xu Bin, a notorious bandit wanted by the Six Gates. In the end, I killed him within his lair and obtained several martial arts inheritances. They each possess their own mysteries and seem to come from the same lineage. I will let you have them."

Hearing this, Duàn Yì finally felt a little better. Several martial arts, all from the same lineage—this was still quite good.

"What exactly are they?"