Two Different Things

"They're not getting away, are they?"

Gu Xingzhou sighed. His Secret Realm Teleportation Device had been lost during the earlier twisting of the Earth Vein.

Even if he still had the teleportation device, the demons had somehow taken control of the space around the mountaintop. Gu Xingzhou still wouldn't be able to leave.

Blood Qi Stars were an ability of the third realm of the Martial Dao, the Star Vortex Realm.

They allowed a martial artist to develop the body's acupoints and further uncover the treasures within.

If, in the martial arts novels Ji Ruo had read in his previous life, a martial artist's true qi was stored in the dantian, then the Blood Qi Stars of the Star Vortex Realm were each like a dantian.

After all, in a sense, the dantian was just another acupoint.

These acupoint Star Vortices could store vast amounts of Blood Qi Power. Each one that was opened, nurtured, and filled gave a martial artist a tremendous leap in strength.

When necessary, they could also be used as a desperate last resort.

A martial artist's Blood Qi Power could effectively counter the power of Demon Monsters. In a sense, the damage to Demon Monsters caused by detonating a Blood Qi Star Vortex could even surpass that of a nuclear weapon!

That was the power of elemental advantage.

"Damn you, human! You actually dared to blow me up!"

The Moon-Swallowing Toad's face twisted in pain. "Kill him!"

"What a pity."

Gu Xingzhou sighed. "Children, I'm sorry. I can't save you."

Facing the Great Demons as they bared their claws and fangs, Gu Xingzhou suddenly laughed.

"Eat me? You think you're worthy?"

He threw his head back and laughed. Then he suddenly slapped down. The remaining sixty-nine Blood Qi Star Vortices linked together, and the five Qi Vessels in his body began to circulate. His entire body turned a brilliant red-gold, blazing with dazzling light.

The Star Vortices joined with his Qi Vessels, and his powerful Martial Dao will condensed behind him into a colossal Martial Golden Body, glaring like an enraged Vajra.

"Get down on your knees!"

Gu Xingzhou roared.

The Martial Golden Body mirrored his movements, slamming a palm down onto the Moon-Swallowing Toad's head with overwhelming force.

The Demon Monsters were furious and alarmed.

But Gu Xingzhou's Martial Golden Body rapidly solidified, becoming a gigantic red-gold statue that radiated its final light.

Gu Xingzhou's body remained red-gold, his expression frozen in the instant his fury blazed.

The Moon-Swallowing Toad was pinned in place. It struggled and roared again and again, but couldn't break free.

"Damn it! Damn it!" it bellowed. "His power is fading! He won't be able to hold on for long! We have to eat him!"

Gu Xingzhou's mind remained clear. He knew exactly what he was doing.

If nothing unexpected happened, he would keep the Moon-Swallowing Toad pinned like this until the end of his life. He would exhaust everything he had, and his body would eventually become fixed in place, turning into a genuine Martial Dao statue.

If he was lucky, future generations of humanity might find the statue he became and, by studying it, gain some insight into the Martial Techniques he had mastered.

But that was only if nothing unexpected happened.

He had now detonated three Blood Qi Star Vortices. His Golden Body was damaged, and as time passed, his strength would only grow weaker.

His Golden Body, too, would collapse before long.

He would leave nothing behind.

"In the end, I still didn't accomplish anything."

Gu Xingzhou sighed.

Still, there was one small comfort: the Martial Exam was almost over. For the time he had left, the Great Demons probably wouldn't have the time to trouble their other countrymen before breaking through his Martial Golden Body.

"Caw~ (That's how things stand.)"

Aunt Wind God Falcon briefly explained the situation, then lowered her head to play with her babies.

"Caw~ (The Moon-Swallowing Toad and that Cyclops used the treasures your humans gave them to refine the moon and sun of Ten Thousand Beast Mountain. Because of that, the Secret Realm's rules bound them here, and they can't leave Ten Thousand Beast Mountain. But their strength has surged as a result. I only just found out that those treasures would empower them so much.

"That human is badly injured. He won't be able to keep them pinned for much longer.

"The Moon-Swallowing Toad has been pinned down for almost two days and is nearly mad. It wanted me to join in eating that martial artist, then devour all the humans in Ten Thousand Beast Mountain, so I'd be dragged into their ranks. If I refused, they would kill me first and divide up my power, to prepare for possible retaliation from the humans.)"

As Aunt Wind God Falcon examined her babies' bloodlines, she was astonished to find that the bloodlines of the two newborns were evolving at a visible rate!

As their mother, she knew that this couldn't happen under normal circumstances.

The Wind God Falcon bloodline was extremely powerful, and in a sense, that power also meant stability.

Normally, the Wind God Falcon bloodline wouldn't undergo such an obvious evolution.

There was only one possibility: human martial arts!

Though she had never learned from Ji Ruo, Aunt Wind God Falcon was well-traveled and knowledgeable. At a glance, she saw that the difference between her two babies and herself lay in their breathing.

That special way of breathing seemed to draw out even more of the power hidden in their bloodlines.

Aunt Wind God Falcon tried to learn it, but no matter what she did, she couldn't master it. It wasn't that she couldn't learn the motions; she just couldn't grasp the essence, so it had no effect.

"Ji Ruo, what did Auntie say to you?"

After Ji Ruo finished talking with Aunt Wind God Falcon, his expression suddenly turned grave. Liang Shixian couldn't help asking.

Ji Ruo thought for a moment, then repeated what he had just discussed with Aunt Wind God Falcon.

Liang Shixian panicked as soon as he heard. "Then what do we do? Ji Ruo, we're still in the middle of the Martial Exam. That person must be a Patrol Examiner, right?

"Auntie said the Patrol Examiner suddenly appeared on the mountaintop. It must have been caused by that inexplicable displacement earlier, right?

"A martial artist who can pin down the Great Demons on the mountaintop must be incredibly powerful. Ji Ruo, we have to find a way to save him!"

Ji Ruo looked at Liang Shixian in surprise.

He wasn't sure if Liang Shixian had realized it, but as he said that, he was already unconsciously weighing the matter in terms of "value."

"How are we supposed to save him?" Ji Ruo spread his hands. "One of us has just entered the Qi Vessel Realm, and the other's a level-nine Martial Apprentice. Are we going to the mountaintop to get ourselves killed?"

"B-but..." Liang Shixian stammered. "We can't just leave him, can we? A martial artist that powerful is worth far more than the two of us combined... Now that we know, we can't just leave him, can we?"

Ji Ruo asked the same question again. "How are we supposed to save him?"

"I, I..."

Liang Shixian stammered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Ji Ruo, could you ask Aunt Wind God Falcon for help? Ask her to..."

Ji Ruo said, "Auntie said she can't beat them."

"Caw~ (There are just too many of them!)"

Liang Shixian sat there in a daze, then murmured, "Ji Ruo, I've watched documentaries about humanity's fight against Demon Monsters. You can't find those documentaries through regular channels. They're bloody, and they're real.

"Powerful martial artists are always fighting on the front lines. Even now, Great Xia's borders are constantly plagued by Demon Monsters.

"Our crops are destroyed, our land is seized, and our countrymen are slaughtered.

"The Demon Race is thick-skinned and tough. Conventional weapons can't do them any real harm. But in those documentaries, even ordinary people who can't practice martial arts take up weapons to protect their homes, crying as they shoot at the Demon Monsters.

"They can't open Qi Vessels, they can't use Blood Qi Power, and they can't do any real damage to Demon Monsters.

"They're afraid, they cry, but not one of them backs down.

"I've never seen a scene like that with my own eyes, but even the images on television fill me with awe and move me to the depths of my soul every time."

Liang Shixian looked at Ji Ruo and spoke earnestly. "Ji Ruo, we can't do much, but we have to do something. Being unable to do it and doing nothing at all are two different things."

Ji Ruo fell silent.

He didn't know what to say.

A moment later, Liang Shixian suddenly began to chirp at Aunt Wind God Falcon.

His stubborn expression made it seem as if he were desperately trying to speak to her in the Wind God Falcon's language.

Aunt Wind God Falcon gave Liang Shixian a surprised look, then turned to Ji Ruo and asked, puzzled, "Caw~ (What's he saying? Has something gone wrong with his head?)"

Ji Ruo couldn't help laughing ruefully.

Liang Shixian was always telling Ji Ruo not to be so childish, but was Liang Shixian any better now?

Wasn't Liang Shixian being childish?

But did being childish mean you shouldn't try?

At that moment, Liang Shixian stubbornly imitated the Wind God Falcon's cries. Aunt Wind God Falcon couldn't understand him, but Ji Ruo, who possessed the Common Tongue, could understand what Liang Shixian meant without any language barrier.

Again and again, he begged the Wind God Falcon, making feeble promises—promises that were all within his power to keep.

For example, he could cook for Aunt Wind God Falcon, look after her babies, or tidy up her Nest and do the cleaning. None of those things were necessities for Aunt Wind God Falcon, but they were the biggest promises Liang Shixian could make. He had no experience bargaining with demons.

Ji Ruo watched Liang Shixian, his expression complicated.

Maybe Liang Shixian was right. They couldn't do anything, but they still had to do something.

Aunt Wind God Falcon suddenly said, "Caw~ (Babies, can you teach Mommy your martial arts? Mommy wants to learn, too.)"

She had spent ages trying to teach herself, but hadn't learned a thing. The strange rhythm of the breathing had only made her feel a little unwell.

Dabao: "Caw~ (No, we can't. Master taught us, and we can't pass it on without Master's permission.)"

Erbao: "Caw~ (That's right, that's right!)"

Because they had signed a Master-Servant Contract, the two little ones felt exceptionally close to Ji Ruo.

If their affection were divided into simple tiers, Ji Ruo's place in their hearts was equal to Aunt Wind God Falcon's—or even higher.

Wind God Falcon froze for a moment.

She looked at Ji Ruo. "Caw~ (You took my babies as your disciples?)"

She had thought Ji Ruo had merely taught them a little. She hadn't expected him to take them as disciples.

Ji Ruo smiled awkwardly.

Wind God Falcon continued, "Caw~ (Oh, right. I've been meaning to ask: why are you holding the feather I shed earlier?)"

"This..."