Fuhu Fist Reached a Dead End, Ah Huang Read at Night and Showed a Strange Sign

As Ji Canghai explained, with Qi Baorui occasionally filling in details, Chen Duan quickly grasped the general situation.

"While investigating the lead from Shuilian Village, I found traces of the authorities.

"Combined with the intelligence Senior Brother Ji provided, we can basically confirm that Elder Zhou Shang of the Water Court has secretly defected to the authorities and betrayed the sect."

Qi Baorui's expression was grave as he spoke.

Even the person in charge of an entire court, a highly placed and powerful five-refinement elder, had become a traitor.

One could well imagine just how rotten the Yuanxiang Sect had become.

Had he not chosen to cooperate with Mo Zhen, he would likely still have been kept in the dark, naively believing that a portion of loyal disciples could stabilize the sect's foundations.

But reality coldly told him that the roots of this great tree had long since rotted away.

Chen Duan listened to this information, but his heart showed little disturbance.

Traitors colluding with external enemies and factions within sects tearing at one another were nothing unusual in these times. How much more so for the Yuanxiang Sect, now battered by wind and rain?

Elder Zhou Shang of the Water Court's betrayal was merely one piece of flesh on the Yuanxiang Sect's rotten corpse.

Based on the intelligence currently available, the root of the Yuanxiang Sect's turmoil seemed to lie in one outing by the Sect Master.

From that day onward, the Sect Master had begun a long period of secluded cultivation and had never shown himself again.

No one could even say whether he was alive or dead.

It was precisely from then on that, having lost the protection of its supreme martial force, the Yuanxiang Sect began to decay at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The threats from the two outside sects were merely surface-level. The greatest problem lay within.

Its previous stability had rested entirely on tying the sect's rise and fall to the Sect Master alone.

This fragile system meant that once something went wrong with the Sect Master, the roots below began to rot.

The elders becoming steeped in Evil Cultivation was only a fuse. The disciples they had killed had not truly affected the sect's real strength.

Under their influence, those beneath them began to seek profit for themselves.

Ambitious men stirred restlessly, while the loyal were powerless to turn the tide.

Corruption thus took root and spread.

What Mo Zhen wanted to do now was use the opportunity of this Martial Alliance Meeting, with all sides closing in, to smash the Yuanxiang Sect into "wasteland," then uproot its rotten roots and rebuild a new "Yuanxiang."

"Junior Brother Chen, do you have any other questions?"

Ji Canghai spoke. That smile still hung on his face like a mask, making it difficult for anyone to see what lay beneath.

Chen Duan raised his eyes, his gaze stabbing straight at Ji Canghai. His voice remained calm.

"To be frank, Chen does indeed have a question for Senior Brother Ji."

"Junior Brother Chen, speak freely."

"Senior Brother Ji, how did you obtain this five-refinement cultivation of yours?"

The moment those words fell, the air in the entire room seemed to freeze.

Chen Duan's voice had clearly been as calm as ever, yet at this moment, it was like a blade slicing open the tranquil surface.

Qi Baorui's lips moved. He wanted to say something, but Mo Zhen gave him a look and shook his head.

Everyone present knew about Shuilian Village.

Chen Duan's purpose in asking this question was self-evident.

At their first meeting, Chen Duan had sensed that Ji Canghai's five-refinement aura was very "new." He had not broken through long ago.

Mo Zhen had also only recently broken through, but that was different. Chen Duan understood him.

But he knew nothing of Ji Canghai from the Water Court.

Breaking through to five refinements at such a time made it difficult not to let one's imagination run wild.

The smile on Ji Canghai's face stiffened for a moment, but quickly returned.

"How I obtained my five refinements is exactly as Junior Brother Chen guessed... So for this operation, I will have to ask Junior Brother Chen to support me and let me take the spotlight."

There was a trace of frankness in Ji Canghai's tone.

His meaning could not have been clearer.

For a newly advanced five-refinement cultivator to act as the vanguard and face Zhou Shang head-on—a man with half a foot in Apex—the outcome needed no explanation.

Chen Duan's eyes blazed like torches as he stared at Ji Canghai. Beneath his smile hid a trace of struggle.

"I have no further questions. When it is time to act, simply send word to Chen Duan."

Chen Duan rose to his feet, turned, and left.

The door closed behind him, leaving the three inside with silence.

A long while passed.

Qi Baorui opened his mouth, trying to say something to ease the atmosphere.

But Ji Canghai beat him to it and laughed.

"This Junior Brother Chen is someone we can trust."

Ji Canghai shook his head helplessly. "What he said has instead dispelled my doubts."

A person's bottom line revealed many things.

He slapped his thigh and abruptly rose to his feet.

"Then I shall return first and make the final preparations.

"I must trouble you two to make the necessary arrangements afterward. Only then can Ji go forth with peace of mind."

With that, he let out a loud laugh and strode out the door.

Qi Baorui watched Ji Canghai's departing back, then turned a complicated gaze toward Mo Zhen.

Mo Zhen remained as calm as ever. "Senior Brother Qi, how can the world grant both sides of the coin?

"When Senior Brother Ji chose this path to deal with Elder Zhou, he had already made his decision. Whether Junior Brother Chen was here or not, it would have been the same.

"Senior Brother Ji cannot cross that hurdle in his heart, and the new Yuanxiang cannot tolerate a Ji Canghai tainted by Evil Cultivation. What you and I can do is handle the aftermath for him.

"Next, let us first sort out the promising seeds in the Water Court. According to Senior Brother Ji, the Water Court's disciples will ultimately all become Elder Zhou's nourishment. We must make preparations on several fronts."

Qi Baorui sighed upon hearing this.

"Alas, things have come to this. We can only proceed as such."

Fierce Tiger Emerging from Gate!

Black Tiger Heart Extraction!

Tiger Subduing Claw!

Fist Wind howled, and true qi shook.

He withdrew his fist and stood still, drawing his true qi back into his body.

Chen Duan looked at the panel.

[Fuhu Fist (35%, five refinements)]

The Fuhu Fist Secret Manual was no longer of any use for reference. It contained no record of the path beyond five refinements.

Now, he only needed to continuously temper and familiarize himself with his true qi for the Fuhu Fist's progress to increase. This was clearly the end of the road; the next realm was "Perfection."

However, according to the Wood Grafting Divine Art's description of Apex, every five-refinement true art possessed the potential to Break Apex.

Yet the method of Breaking Apex was mysterious beyond mystery, without trace or fixed form.

A Martial Artist had to rely on himself and grope bitterly onward.

"Apex..." Chen Duan rolled the word around in his mind, recalling the information Ji Canghai had revealed at the Wood Courtyard.

Zhou Shang, the Water Court Elder, was an expert with "half a foot" in Apex.

But if one was Breaking Apex, why was there such a thing as having "half a foot" in it?

According to Ji Canghai, this seemed related to the unique nature of the Water Element Art.

Unlike the instantaneous breakthrough of other true arts, the Water Element Art's breakthrough into Apex was a process.

For Breaking Apex, other true arts crossed a threshold, while the Water Element Art traversed a stretch of road.

Put simply, the Water Element Art's Breaking Apex could be "divided."

One could first complete one portion, preserve the remainder, and slowly continue the breakthrough later. That was why there was such a saying as "half a foot into Apex."

Of course, these were only Ji Canghai's speculations. As for the truth, he would have to experience it himself to know.

"A Break Apex expert? Chen will certainly have to see one for himself!"

Chen Duan's current understanding of Breaking Apex consisted only of the records in the Wood Grafting Divine Art, and there had not even been a successful example before him. Xia Jingtian had tried many times without success.

So if he wanted to peer more deeply into this realm, he would have to directly come into contact with someone who had Broken Apex.

Zhou Shang could only be considered half an Apex, but for the current Chen Duan, that was just right.

Chen Duan stopped practicing and finished the meat Ah Huang had prepared long ago, replenishing his qi and blood energy.

Tomorrow was the day he had agreed with Ji Canghai to act.

They would be facing an expert like Zhou Shang, who was Half Apex. He had to conserve his energy if he wanted to perform at his best.

With his condition at its peak, he could also gain more insight and harvest more from actual combat.

After tomorrow would come the Martial Alliance Meeting.

Time truly was pressing.

Just as Chen Duan was about to return to his room to rest, he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye of lamplight spilling from the Guest Room.

That was the room Ah Huang usually stayed in.

Chen Duan's thoughts shifted slightly. He concealed his aura and silently approached the window.

He peered inside through a crack in the window paper.

Ah Huang sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, holding The Sage Says beneath the light of the Oil Lamp on the table, his expression intent.

Since Chen Duan had not been able to see what was remarkable about the book at the time, he had returned it to Ah Huang.

This scene of Ah Huang reading by lamplight at night was not the first time Chen Duan had seen it.

He saw it nearly every night.

But tonight—

Something seemed different.

There was something off about Ah Huang's condition.