The Proxy

Strictly speaking, the martial arts manuals of the Great Cai Dynasty were not hard to decipher.

Although their writing conventions differed from those of today, and many words meant different things, the language and culture had been passed down through the ages. On top of that, the Great Cai Dynasty had gathered martial arts manuals from across the land and studied them.

As a result, the manuals compiled by the Great Cai Dynasty had all been written according to its standards.

In other words, they were standardized martial arts manuals!

As long as you understood the tricks of the trade, they weren't hard to decipher.

The difficult ones fell into two categories. The first were manuals that were too advanced. Even if you deciphered them, you still might not understand them. That wasn't unusual. Many martial arts involved strange knowledge and rather subjective descriptions, so it was perfectly normal not to understand them.

In Shi Feizhe's previous life, hadn't some countries also been unable to understand things they uncovered through "technological archaeology"?

The other kind was more baffling: manuals that even the Great Cai Dynasty hadn't been able to decipher. These usually involved the Spirit Barrier or martial arts related to the human mind.

Deciphering such manuals required a great deal of conjecture and experimentation, and consumed immense amounts of time and resources. But these manuals were relatively rare, so the Great Cai Dynasty had included them in its libraries for future generations to study.

The No Thought Divine Separation Art was one such manual!

After obtaining it, and with Leng Qingqiu's approval, Hua Wushuang had begun secretly building a manor and recruiting people to test the art. They had started making guesses and conducting experiments, little by little.

He didn't know how many people had gone mad or died along the way.

With the current version, it was difficult for cultivators to even get started. That was why they were openly recruiting disciples in Qiu Yang City without worrying about attracting attention.

Afterward, five taels of silver and a month's worth of meals would be all they had to pay. For the Sun Moon Radiance Sect, that was a mere drop in the bucket.

As for people who learned the formula and went around spreading it, they were more than welcome to do so. It would help them gather data!

"Hey! Keep a close eye on the people in that courtyard. No one's mastered this version yet, have they?" Leng Qingqiu asked.

With the previous versions, some people had practiced until something went wrong. No one had managed to master this one after several months. He wondered if there was another problem with it.

"Liu Cheng came by just now and told me about the newly built manor in the city," he continued. "I know about it. City Lord Lan intends to give it to either the Golden Buddha Sect or Heaven's Mandate Academy once they've settled their feud, so the winner can use it as their sect's base in Qiu Yang City. But Liu Cheng suggested building it in the Buddhist style."

Hua Wushuang listened and said, "They haven't even decided the winner yet, and he wants to build it in the Buddhist style. Has he lost his mind?"

"I don't think he's lost his mind. He knows how this battle will end, and he's come to show me where things stand," Leng Qingqiu said with a cold laugh. He knew Liu Cheng had joined forces with his younger brother, Leng Qianye, and was constantly undermining his authority as sect master.

And now he was even conspiring with outsiders!

"Would you like me to—"

"No need. I'll handle this myself," Leng Qingqiu said. "He's oversimplifying things."

"Yes!" Hua Wushuang replied.

"Keep a closer eye on the manual and the progress in that courtyard," Leng Qingqiu reiterated, then escorted Hua Wushuang to the door.

"Yes! I won't let you down, Sect Master!" Hua Wushuang said respectfully with a bow.

Back in the little house where Shi Feizhe lived, Fan Jianqiang watched him practice the Sun Moon United Heart Art with an amused look.

He'd seen people looking for death before, but never anyone this eager.

Someone gave him a martial arts manual, and he started practicing without even thinking it over!

The whole place was a big courtyard where they ate, drank, slept, and took care of their business. How could he not tell it was basically a prison under surveillance? Was he blind?

What a blockhead!

Were there really people like this in the martial world nowadays?

Well... he didn't look very old, so he was probably a newcomer. Who knew whether he'd make it out of that courtyard with his sanity intact?

Martial arts that targeted the mind could go wrong in all sorts of ways!

He'd seen plenty of people go mad from practicing martial arts! Soon this fool would lose his mind, drool running down his chin as he babbled. Tsk, tsk, tsk...

As he imagined this, he saw a hazy, dreamlike radiance emerge from Shi Feizhe. It was the "light" of his state of mind! Only someone with Fan Jianqiang's level of cultivation could perceive it.

"Hm?" Fan Jianqiang was puzzled.

Then the hazy radiance became a god with a lavishly adorned figure and an indistinct face, along with a long sword. They transformed into each other, attracted one another, and finally merged before splitting in two and entering Shi Feizhe's body.

Shi Feizhe opened his eyes, a foot of divine light shining from them. "What a marvelous Sun Moon United Heart Art! It's truly profound!"

"Huh?" Fan Jianqiang was still utterly bewildered.

Wait, what was going on?

"Just getting started has already given my spirit a huge boost. What a wonderful art!" Shi Feizhe exclaimed.

The Sun Moon United Heart Art used visualization to conjure a sun-and-moon mirror in one's Sea of Consciousness. The person inside the mirror was him—the moon—while the person outside it was also him—the sun. In the end, the mirror disappeared, and his spirit somehow split in two!

I look at myself in the mirror, and the me in the mirror looks at me!

With a higher level of cultivation, he could even use visualization to create double-sided and many-sided mirrors, making his mind divide into multiple parts. What a marvel!

Now he could visualize both Great Sage Equal to Heaven and the Heart Sword in his mind at the same time!

This was truly incredible martial arts!

???

Fan Jianqiang wore a look of complete confusion.

Wait, were you a plant?

He'd never practiced that damned Sun Moon United Heart Art, but he'd heard of it! With his knowledge of martial arts, he could naturally see that it was full of contradictions and vague descriptions.

If anyone could master it, he'd eat the table!

Could the useless members of the Sun Moon Radiance Sect have figured out who he was and sent a plant to test him?

Impossible! With Leng Qingqiu being as useless as he was, there was no way he'd discovered Fan Jianqiang's identity.

"Did you really master it?" Fan Jianqiang asked Shi Feizhe. "You only received the instruction half a day ago!"

You mastered it in half a day? Who were you trying to fool?

"This humble one isn't much, but I do practice martial arts rather quickly!" Shi Feizhe said proudly.

You think I'm an idiot?

He'd seen martial arts prodigies before! It was true that they practiced quickly, but how could anyone master a fake manual?

"You feel all right?" Fan Jianqiang asked Shi Feizhe, afraid he might suddenly lose his mind the next second and go streaking around the courtyard.

"Pretty good! I'm full of energy and feel refreshed. My thoughts are much sharper, too!" Shi Feizhe answered honestly. "Brother Fan, you should give it a try! This really is an incredibly profound art!"

Fan Jianqiang didn't believe a word from this plant. "The Sun Moon Radiance Sect said anyone who masters the Sun Moon United Heart Art will get ten taels of gold. Hurry up and go find Yin Tieyan to claim your reward!"

"They really said that!"

Shi Feizhe hadn't expected a reward for practicing martial arts. The Sun Moon Radiance Sect really was a great sect!

Looking at them, the words "money is no object" practically leaped to mind!

"Once I've collected the gold, I'll treat you to a drink at the tavern, Brother Fan!" Shi Feizhe said, then happily rushed out into the courtyard to find Yin Tieyan.

Fan Jianqiang watched Shi Feizhe, who seemed genuinely delighted. He couldn't help sneering to himself. So you're a master of disguise in the martial world, too!

Don't think you can fool me!

The show was about to begin!