Meridian Swallowing

Jiang Shuo's goal was to find clues about his father, Jiang Shangwu. Since leaving Chiyun Village, aside from the Hundred Life Bone reacting when a great figure appeared outside Yulin City, the entire investigation had come to a complete standstill.

Now, Jiang Shuo had broken into the Mad Saber Sect's Forbidden Ground and, by a stroke of blind luck, encountered an old acquaintance of his father. The unexpected joy left him so excited he could barely contain himself, wishing he could pry every last piece of information about Jiang Shangwu from Mo Xuanwu. But hearing the man ask this, he could only suppress the questions in his heart for the moment and ask, "An opportunity? What opportunity?"

"The most formidable scripture in the world—the Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill!" A sharp gleam flashed through Mo Xuanwu's eyes as he spoke with pride.

"Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill." Jiang Shuo repeated the name under his breath. It felt both tyrannical and wicked. Yet he remained skeptical of Mo Xuanwu's claim that it was the most formidable. "The same martial art yields different levels of strength in different hands. Though martial arts under heaven may be profound or shallow, that does not necessarily mean they can be ranked as stronger or weaker. How can there be such a thing as the most formidable?"

"I never expected someone so young to have such insights into martial arts." Mo Xuanwu did not grow angry at Jiang Shuo's doubts. Instead, he said, "Do you know the Bone Sealing Technique? Can you show it to me?"

"The Bone Sealing Technique?" Jiang Shuo thought for a moment, then immediately formed a golden wheel with his fingers and struck into the empty air. Pa! Golden light shattered, and the air seemed to stir with the sound of wind. "Senior Mo, is this what you mean?"

Jiang Shuo had just undergone severe depletion, leaving his body terribly drained. It took immense effort just to mobilize his breath and deliver that palm strike.

Yet at the sight, Mo Xuanwu frowned slightly and said softly, "It seems Jiang Shangwu truly was not by your side. Otherwise, how could your Bone Sealing Technique be this weak?"

"This..." Even in Chiyun Village, Jiang Shuo had rarely seen his clansmen use the Bone Sealing Technique, so he had no idea what level he had reached. Hearing Mo Xuanwu say this, he could only rub his nose awkwardly, unable to offer any reply.

"You haven't used this Bone Sealing Technique outside, have you?" Mo Xuanwu asked casually.

"I used it a few times when I ran into danger and had no other choice," Jiang Shuo answered truthfully.

"What?" Mo Xuanwu was startled. "Didn't that old fellow Jiang Huaiyi tell you that you were forbidden from using the Bone Sealing Technique? Just how did you get out?"

Jiang Shuo had not expected Mo Xuanwu to know even Jiang Huaiyi. He trusted him even more now and briefly told him about Jiang Huaiyi's attempt on his life.

"Strange. Why would he try to harm you?" Mo Xuanwu only knew that Jiang Huaiyi existed and had no knowledge of his character. "Forget it. This has nothing to do with me, and I can't be bothered to think about it. Remember this: you must never use the Bone Sealing Technique in the outside world. Otherwise, it will bring a fatal calamity upon you. You were merely lucky those last few times."

Mo Xuanwu's warning happened to confirm Jiang Shuo's earlier suspicions, and he immediately nodded in agreement.

"As long as you understand. Of course, if you're about to lose your life, then use it when you must. You Jiang family people are all born troublemakers—situations like that are unavoidable." Mo Xuanwu added another sentence, then suddenly raised his voice. "Look."

Jiang Shuo focused his gaze and saw Mo Xuanwu press together the thumb and middle finger of his right hand. Around his palm, a ring of golden light gradually emerged.

"This..." Jiang Shuo looked at Mo Xuanwu in disbelief. "Senior Mo, how do you know the Bone Sealing Technique too?"

Mo Xuanwu waved his hand, dispersing the golden wheel around his palm, then shook his head. "I do not."

Jiang Shuo was thoroughly surprised. He stood dazed for a moment before asking blankly, "Then just now, you..."

At Jiang Shuo's question, Mo Xuanwu smugly pursed his lips and said, "I learned it just now."

"You learned it just now?" Jiang Shuo grew even more curious. "Senior Mo, you only saw me use the Bone Sealing Technique once, and you already know it? This... this..."

He stammered twice, but what had happened before his eyes was simply too bizarre. Jiang Shuo was so shocked that he could not speak. Legends spoke of martial arts prodigies with extraordinary talent, who learned martial arts with astonishing speed, but Jiang Shuo had never heard of a monster like this.

"Heh heh..." Mo Xuanwu chuckled twice without answering. Instead, he slowly extended one hand. His four fingers came together, his upright palm becoming a blade. Hampered by the iron chains shackling his wrists, the palm blade moved before Jiang Shuo. It was not fast, yet it faintly whipped up a howling wind, as though it contained immensely profound power, making the chains hum and tremble.

As the palm blade turned and swept back and forth, Jiang Shuo felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Then the palm blade drew back. Just as Jiang Shuo thought he was about to withdraw the move, the palm blade suddenly spun around and hacked down like a sharp blade.

"This is... the Dragging Saber Technique!" Jiang Shuo was startled. No wonder it had looked so familiar. What Mo Xuanwu was demonstrating was unmistakably Chen Xian's Slaying Saber Technique.

Before sneaking into the Forbidden Ground, Jiang Shuo had exchanged blows with Chen Xian. But the Slaying Saber Technique had far too many variations, and with his life hanging by a thread, how could Jiang Shuo have had the mind to memorize them? Only when the distinctive Dragging Saber Technique was displayed did Jiang Shuo recognize at a glance that Mo Xuanwu was using the Mad Saber Sect's Mad Saber Four Techniques.

From Liu Ruyan, Jiang Shuo had learned that the Mad Saber Four Techniques were the Mad Saber Sect's exclusive saber arts, never passed on or leaked to outsiders. This made him even more astonished. "S-Senior Mo, could it be that you once studied under the Mad Saber Sect?"