A Scholar with a Single Stroke

Entering Worry-Free Cave from the waterway beside Golden Water River in East Chicken Alley.

As the light vanished swiftly behind him, Huang Shang shook his fire stick.

In this era, fire sticks were made from sweet potato vines. Even after being lit and then blown out, embers continued to smolder inside.

When needed, all it took was a wave in the wind to make them flare up again.

This specially made kindling could preserve a spark for an entire day, which was quite convenient.

But even with the fire lit and the road ahead illuminated, Huang Shang still felt as if he had come to another world.

It wasn't just that the underground waterway stank and was filthy. The most terrifying thing was the sinister wind howling through, like vengeful spirits from a mass grave coming to claim his life.

Ordinary people couldn't sense this sort of presence.

At most, they would feel a chill and become oppressed in spirit.

But as his Literary Qi circulated, Huang Shang could clearly discern the flow of that presence.

Within the Dao Scripture were many visualization methods.

White Bone Contemplation, Asura Contemplation, Jade Maiden Contemplation, Ascension Contemplation.

These methods involved visualizing layer upon layer of hardship, overcoming fear and resisting temptation, and ultimately strengthening the spirit.

Huang Shang drew upon their essence and devised a Heart Refining Contemplation for himself.

In this world, he couldn't undergo a tribulation of thunder, or even send his spirit out of his body.

So there was no need to reach for the stars. He only needed to stay grounded and refine his heart and spirit.

His greatest fear was none other than having his identity exposed.

By visualizing this, Huang Shang's resolve gradually grew more and more unyielding, and his perception of the outside world became increasingly keen.

Even in a dense crowd, if someone secretly watched him from hundreds of meters away, he could immediately sense it.

Now, the deathly aura inside Worry-Free Cave was so thick that it pointed the way unmistakably. He simply followed it, striding forward.

It wasn't that he had gained a little strength and become so reckless that he no longer knew the height of the heavens.

Xu Feng was following in secret, so hesitating now was pointless.

The farther he went, the better Huang Shang understood why Kaifeng Prefecture was helpless against this lawless place.

Worry-Free Cave was simply a labyrinth of intersecting passages. Besides the original waterways, it had been modified several times until it rivaled the most complex maze.

Forget catching criminals inside—even finding their way back out would be difficult for constables who ventured deep within.

But Huang Shang followed the deathly aura, heading whichever way it grew denser.

With no chance of taking a wrong turn, a quarter of an hour later the passage opened up ahead, where lights glimmered faintly.

Huang Shang slowed his steps, about to investigate, when three black figures suddenly darted out from the side.

"Wait!"

Just as they were about to pounce on him, a shrill voice rang out. The three abruptly stopped and spread out to surround him.

In the firelight, Huang Shang saw that all three were Beggar Sect disciples with sacks on their backs.

One of them was the very man who had intercepted him earlier and even tried to attack as he retreated.

And it was this beggar who had stopped the other two.

What a small world!

"Well, if it isn't the little scholar? You actually found your way here?"

The beggar looked Huang Shang up and down, bared his teeth, and gave an utterly disgusting grin. "With skin as soft and tender as yours, did you come here to amuse us?"

Huang Shang recalled what the man had said earlier: a young woman had been dragged into Worry-Free Cave, where she'd suffered a fate worse than death.

Back then, he hadn't been sure if it was merely a threat. But now his Literary Qi sensed the foul deathly aura and evil thoughts clinging to this man, confirming it beyond doubt. A sharp glint entered his eyes. "Scoundrel, you deserve to die!"

"And you think you can kill me?"

The beggar was brazen and was about to say more, but Huang Shang no longer wanted to hear his disgusting voice. Zhuge Pen slid from his sleeve.

"A Judge's Brush?"

The beggar looked surprised.

In the martial world, the Judge's Brush was a formidable unorthodox weapon, said to be the Judge of Hell's tool for deciding who lived and who died.

But without years of painstaking practice, its wielder wouldn't even get the chance to use it in a real fight. This scholar clearly hadn't known martial arts before. How could he suddenly wield a Judge's Brush?

Still, he felt no fear. He raised both fists and charged straight at Huang Shang.

However, Zhuge Pen in Huang Shang's hand didn't use the Judge's Brush's usual strokes—point, jab, press, and lift. Instead, the brush swept like a flood dragon. In the blink of an eye, he wrote two large characters in the air before him.

The characters looked both like the Three Academies Regular Script and the symbols of the Eight Trigrams. They were—

Thunder!

Heaven!

That day, after comprehending the use of Literary Qi, Huang Shang had written the Eight Verses of I Ching on paper.

Among them...

Thunder was "Gradually, thunder shakes; the noble one cultivates himself in fear and reflection," corresponding to the Zhen Hexagram among the Eight Trigrams.

Heaven was "The movement of heaven is vigorous; the noble one strives without ceasing," corresponding to the Qian Hexagram among the Eight Trigrams.

If the Eight Verses of I Ching were the initial manifestation of Literary Qi, then now, with one stroke for Thunder and one stroke for Heaven, the Thirty-Four Hexagrams of I Ching took shape. The Great Power Hexagram was a technique of Literary Qi.

Thunder rumbled in the heavens, its power immense!

As soon as the hexagram formed, Literary Qi found an outlet. Huang Shang thrust Zhuge Pen straight forward, and Literary Qi roared ahead. The beggar felt tremendous force surge toward him. His arms were flung wide, and the brush struck him squarely in the chest, sending him flying backward.

While still in midair, he spewed a mouthful of blood. His chest caved in, and he crashed to the ground like a broken sack. He died on the spot.

The other two beggars were horrified.

The scholar had struck without any sign of true qi circulating, yet he'd killed their companion. What kind of technique was this?

Frightened and furious, they slowly backed away. But they didn't know that Huang Shang's fingers had turned faintly white around Zhuge Pen, and he was also vexed.

He'd used too much Literary Qi.

The dead beggar might have looked impressive, but his martial arts were feeble. He was just an ordinary Beggar Sect disciple, a nobody in the martial world who could only bully ordinary people with no martial arts.

Huang Shang hadn't been cultivating for long, but the Literary Qi in his body had accumulated through more than a decade of reading.

All scholars had Literary Qi; they simply possessed a mountain of treasure without ever entering it. Huang Shang had learned to tap into it. In the language of martial artists, that was like suddenly gaining more than a decade's worth of internal energy.

Of course, Literary Qi wasn't accumulated like internal energy, and couldn't simply be measured in years. But using it to deal with a beggar was still like using a bull cleaver to kill a chicken.

The problem was that Huang Shang had no experience the first time. That single strike had drained all his Literary Qi.

What now?

Do I really need Xu Feng to deal with a few grunts?

Huang Shang gave a wry smile. Looking at the beggar's corpse, he thought of how human depravity had been laid bare inside this cave, and how countless unspeakable horrors must have taken place here. He felt none of the discomfort of having killed someone. Instead, he felt his thoughts clear after punishing evil and eradicating injustice.

At that very moment, the Literary Qi he had spent suddenly rushed back into his body.

Huang Shang froze.

But soon his eyes lit up as a suspicion took shape.

He might have discovered the true advantage of Literary Qi.

True qi was consumable. Every move used it up, and once the old supply was gone, new energy had to be generated from the dantian.

But Literary Qi was different. After Huang Shang released it, it was like an invisible current of air lingering around him. He could draw it back into his body and use it again.

But this was just speculation. He still needed to test whether it was true.

"Scoundrel, die!"

In any case, Xu Feng was there to guard him. Huang Shang strode forward and made two more strokes.

Once again, thunder rumbled in the heavens, forming the Great Power Hexagram!

This technique of his was unlike ordinary martial arts moves. There was no such thing as countering a move with another move.

It was like a shockwave, sweeping straight ahead. If you could withstand it, you could withstand it. If you couldn't, unless you teleported away, you had to take the full force head-on.

The three beggars had sensed someone approaching and intercepted him halfway, blocking the narrow passage. They hadn't expected their own trap to backfire, forcing them to turn and fight.

In an instant, the second beggar was struck as if by lightning. He spewed blood and went flying.

This time, Huang Shang controlled his strength. He spent only around half of his Literary Qi, yet still defeated his enemy with one strike.

Then he caught up with the third and did the same.

After defeating them with a single stroke each, he drew on his Literary Qi again. Sure enough, the power that had dispersed returned to his body.

"Decisive and ruthless. No wonder you'll become a grandmaster in the future!"

As the two gravely wounded beggars fell miserably to the ground, Xu Feng praised him.

No one knew what Huang Shang had been like when he was young, but his current conduct suited Xu Feng's temperament.

Huang Shang, meanwhile, seized every second and began questioning them. "Have any other outsiders entered Worry-Free Cave today?"

The beggar was on the verge of death. Huang Shang's voice carried a force of its own, and the man answered unconsciously. "Yes... three people..."

"Which direction?"

"The western suburbs... the western suburbs..."

Huang Shang asked the other beggar as well. Once he had confirmed the answer, Xu Feng stepped out.

His expression was grave. "There are three enemies. It'll be a hard fight from here on. You should go back. If we—"

Before he could finish, Huang Shang cut him off. "Don't speak of that again!"

Those resolute words moved Xu Feng deeply, but he had to refuse.

Huang Shang was still too weak to take part in a clash between Reincarnators. If he followed along, he would only become a burden.

Xu Feng said nothing more. He took out a dagger and held it to his throat. "If you don't go back, I'll kill myself right here!"

This sounds like something a heroine would do...

Huang Shang thought to himself, eyes widening as the two stared at each other. After a moment, he let out a deep sigh and bowed. "Brother Xu, I will remember your great kindness. I won't fail you. I'll uncover Western Xia's conspiracy and protect the peace of Great Song!"

With that, he turned and left.

Listening to those words of farewell echo through the cave, Xu Feng rubbed his head. He really had been moved. But he didn't dare delay and headed for the western suburbs.

What he didn't know was that not long after he left, the ground suddenly swelled. A head poked out and looked in the direction Huang Shang had gone, its gaze burning with excitement.

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Thanks to book friends "Feng Yu Wu Fei," "Purple Nether Illusion Heart (Heart Lotus)," "Heavenly Crystal Huntian Mirror," "Brother Tutu←True," "天下钬斺�敺缭啤," "癫elgnze," and "Kuai Meitao" for their tips.