Mad Old Man and the Sword Manual

Having grasped the rudiments of the Qi Gazing Technique, Xu Qian felt as though he had put on a pair of special AR glasses. He now saw the Heavenly Prison from an entirely different angle.

Zone D was no longer simply dangerous or safe in his eyes. Instead, streams of different colors marked out different "functional areas." He went around the Blood-colored Areas (violent prisoners), stayed away from the Gray Areas (those near death), and gave the Earth-yellow Areas (those with special constitutions) an extra look... His routes became far more efficient—and "safe."

He could even observe the shifts in the currents around certain prisoners to roughly judge their emotional fluctuations, allowing him to avoid potential conflicts in advance. Among the old and new jailers who were still muddleheaded and relied solely on experience, he seemed especially "clever" and "lucky." Even Zhou Kang occasionally cast him a faintly surprised glance, thinking that the kid had adapted rather quickly.

Naturally, Xu Qian pretended not to notice. He continued maintaining the image of an honest man who was trying hard to adapt, if somewhat clumsily.

That afternoon, after delivering another round of meals, Old Wang was called away by Zhou Kang to help out. Xu Qian was told to go alone and deliver more water to several cells at the very back of Zone D, near the corner by the wall.

These cells were in a remote location, where the light was dimmest and the Sha Qi seemed even denser. Usually, even the jailers were reluctant to come here. Carrying a small water bucket, Xu Qian poured a little water into each cell through the specially designed water slots beneath the doors.

When he reached the cell in the farthest corner—Cell 17D—he subconsciously circulated the Qi Gazing Technique and took a glance inside.

That single glance made his heart jolt!

Inside the cell was an old man with graying hair and ragged clothes. With his back to the door, he was curled up in a corner, his shoulders trembling slightly. He seemed to be muttering to himself, or perhaps crying. Every so often, he let out a few senseless, foolish laughs. He looked like a typical old prisoner who had gone mad after being locked up for too long.

Yet in Xu Qian's Qi Gazing Technique vision, the old man was surrounded by the Heavenly Prison's inherent black Sha Qi and a dim gray aura that represented decay. But deep within that interwoven gray and black, there was unexpectedly an exceedingly faint yet exceptionally sharp Azure Qi, like the edge of a sword sealed within a stubborn rock, occasionally revealing a trace of peerlessly keen intent!

That Azure Qi was incredibly faint. If Xu Qian had not possessed the Qi Gazing Technique and observed closely, he would never have noticed it. Yet the way it existed was completely different from the restless blood-red aura or the heavy earth-yellow aura. It was more restrained, purer, and carried an edge capable of severing everything!

A master! This was definitely a master! Xu Qian reached his conclusion in an instant. Even if he was not a master, he surely possessed some extraordinarily formidable cultivation method or skill related to "swords" or "sharpness"!

His heart thumped faster a few times despite himself. Treasure! This was absolutely the first true "treasure prisoner" he had discovered in Zone D!

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He could not reveal any abnormality. Just as he did with the other prisoners, he expressionlessly picked up the water ladle, scooped up a little water from the bucket, and prepared to pour it through the water slot.

Just then, the Mad Old Man, who had originally had his back to him, suddenly turned around!

A face covered in grime and crisscrossed with wrinkles entered his view. Yet unlike the cloudy eyes of other madmen, this old man's eyes were frighteningly bright as they stared straight at... the water ladle in Xu Qian's hand.

"Water! Give me water!" The old man's voice was hoarse and shrill, filled with a neurotic urgency.

Xu Qian was startled by him. His hand shook, spilling some of the water from the ladle.

Seeing this, the old man's face showed extreme heartache and fury. He lunged at the bars, thrust both hands through the gaps, and snatched the ladle from Xu Qian's hand. Ignoring the spilled water, he directly poured the remaining water into his mouth, his throat making loud gulping sounds.

Xu Qian instinctively took half a step back and watched him warily. At the same time, his Qi Gazing Technique remained firmly fixed on that sharp, intermittently visible Azure Qi within the old man.

After drinking the water, the old man seemed to have completed some grand ritual. He let out a long breath, casually tossed the ladle onto the ground, and, without even looking at Xu Qian, curled back into the corner and resumed muttering to himself, crying one moment and laughing the next.

Everything seemed to have returned to normal.

Xu Qian frowned and bent down, preparing to pick up the ladle and leave.

However, the instant he lowered his head to retrieve it, his gaze was drawn to something that had fallen from the old man's sleeve when he snatched the ladle. It was now wedged beneath a broken bowl in the corner.

It was a piece of oilcloth, so filthy that its original color could no longer be seen. Its edges were torn, as if it had been ripped from some garment.

What caught Xu Qian's attention were the crooked, chaotic lines and patterns drawn on the oilcloth in some dark brown substance that appeared to be dried blood!

To an ordinary person, it might have seemed like nothing more than the madman's casual scribbling.

But in Xu Qian's eyes, those seemingly chaotic lines vaguely outlined a unique rhythm! Some strokes were straight and sharp, like swords drawn from their sheaths; some twisted and looped, like the flow of sword momentum; and several crude human figures had poses that carried the force of a drawn bow, ready to strike!