The Exchange

"Lord Dang, what do you think?"

After Chen Wu left, Duke Chen spoke.

"Under the circumstances, we have no choice but to release Liu Zhixie," Lord Dang said. "We'll get Zhenwu back first."

"Liu Zhixie and his disciples have long harbored rebellious intentions. They were already plotting an uprising. If they hadn't been so careless and given us the chance to seize them all at once, things might have turned disastrous by now."

"I only went back on my word and kept Liu Zhixie because I feared releasing a tiger back into the mountains," Duke Chen said. "I never imagined those wretches would use Zhenwu to threaten me!"

Lord Dang shook his head. "You tried to bargain with a tiger. What did you expect? If His Majesty holds you accountable later, you'll just have to bear the blame."

"I asked you to come because I need your help solving this problem." Duke Chen looked imploringly at him. "I had three sons, but the first two died young. Zhenwu is my only son left."

"I have no choice but to make the exchange. But once it's done, I want you to kill Liu Zhixie."

"'Maitreya Descended,' Qi Lin, won't be easy to deal with. His reputation as the foremost Mystic Realm expert in the world may have been shattered by Guo Xuchu's sword, but he's still far beyond an ordinary Mystic Realm expert."

"That's why I'm asking you to act," Duke Chen said. "Only your Returning Wind Blade can kill Liu Zhixie under Qi Lin's nose."

"What about Liu Zhixie? He's a master in his own right!"

"Don't worry about Liu Zhixie. Though he's highly skilled, he's been locked up for so long that he's already extremely weak. To be safe, I'll drug him as well, so he won't be able to resist at all."

"I'm no assassin from the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower. I can't guarantee success."

Duke Chen gritted his teeth. "Just do your best, Lord Dang. If it really does go wrong, I'll take full responsibility for whatever punishment follows. If you need anything, tell me now. I'll agree to it all."

"Duke, there's no need to say more. I'm a descendant of the Old Five Battalions, too."

"Old Wang, why did you make me agree to ten moves with Qi Lin?" Chen Wu asked, puzzled.

"This has to do with your Concentrated Spirit."

"Concentrated Spirit..." Chen Wu recalled the Wisdom King seated on Qi Lin's lotus dais. "What's so special about Qi Lin's Concentrated Spirit?"

"Do you know why Qi Lin dared to call himself the foremost Mystic Realm expert in the world?"

"It had something to do with his Concentrated Spirit?"

"Exactly!" Wang Jiuyuan shook his head and recited a line in a lofty, scholarly tone. "The White Lotus Sect has existed for over a thousand years. It's been suppressed time and again, yet it never dies out. The root of it lies in that Concentrated Spirit."

"The Maitreya within it has been worshipped and passed down through generations of White Lotus Sect followers. Whenever a new sect leader takes over, they use a secret method to invite Maitreya into their body from the previous sect leader. The followers regard it as a divine miracle."

"Could it really be Maitreya?"

Chen Wu was rather shocked. He'd never heard of incense worship or divine beings in this world before!

"How could it be? It's just a trick to play at being gods and ghosts." Wang Jiuyuan scoffed. "In truth, it's the White Lotus Sect's secret White Lotus Heart Method. Through a method similar to an empowerment ritual, the previous sect leader's accumulated Concentrated Spirit power is poured into the next one."

"Maitreya is also an apparition born from the White Lotus Heart Method's Concentrated Spirit. It shares many similarities with the School of Heavenly Principle."

"That... that's still impressive!" Chen Wu realized. "But Concentrated Spirit is the ascension of a person's soul. Pouring it into someone else must cause problems, right?"

"Exactly!" Wang Jiuyuan nodded, pleased with Chen Wu's insight. "The greatest harm of this empowerment is that the Concentrated Spirit becomes impure, cutting off that person's path to becoming a grandmaster."

"But there must be benefits, too, right?"

"Of course. Their Concentrated Spirit becomes far stronger than ordinary people's. They can even manifest Maitreya and use it to attack another person's Concentrated Spirit," Wang Jiuyuan said. "The School of Heavenly Principle's secret method for Concentrated Spirit can at most interfere with someone else's. But Qi Lin's Concentrated Spirit is like a living thing. It can attack on its own."

"That means when Qi Lin fights someone, he battles them with both his martial arts and his Concentrated Spirit in the void, giving him every advantage. An ordinary Mystic Realm expert would never be his match."

"Then why did you still make me fight him?" Chen Wu immediately protested.

Wang Jiuyuan only smiled and said nothing.

Chen Wu suddenly understood. "You want Qi Lin to help me shatter my Concentrated Spirit?"

"Right! I thought it over, and even though I can't shatter your Concentrated Spirit myself, I can have someone else do it!" Wang Jiuyuan said with a grin. "Qi Lin's Concentrated Spirit is the perfect whetstone. Let him smash yours to pieces, then gather it back together, and you'll be absolutely safe."

"Old Wang, you should've told me about your backup plan sooner!" Chen Wu understood that Wang Jiuyuan had planned this out long ago and wouldn't let him walk into certain death.

"Heh, heh, heh—" Old Wang chuckled softly and took out an object.

The next evening.

It was the same clearing.

Only now, there were many more people!

The two sides faced off, five men against five, with dozens of paces between them.

"Uncle Dang—"

As soon as the gag was pulled from his mouth, Duke Chen's heir let out a shrill cry. The past day had clearly filled him with endless dread.

Smack—

As if annoyed by the heir's noise, Qi Lin backhanded him, cutting off his wails.

"'Returning Wind Blade,' Dang Wanxing?" Qi Lin said. "I didn't expect you to come in person!"

"You, 'Maitreya Descended' Qi Lin, came yourself. Why shouldn't I?" Dang Wanxing replied without hesitation.

"Where's the man I asked for?"

Clap, clap—

Dang Wanxing clapped twice, and Chen Wu brought over a man in his fifties under guard. Deep furrows lined the man's face, speaking of all the hardship he'd endured in his life.

"Old Liu!" Qi Lin called. "How are you?"

"Hahaha, I'm not dead yet!" Liu Zhixie laughed. "It's just that these government lackeys are too chickenhearted. They drugged me with Power-Dissipating Powder before letting me out."

"You!"

Qi Lin glared at them, but Dang Wanxing remained calm.

"It was only a precaution," Dang Wanxing said. "With his skills, he'll recover after a few months of hard training."

"Hmph, the government..." Qi Lin sneered. "Can we make the exchange now?"

"Whatever you wish," Dang Wanxing replied.

Qi Lin waved his hand, and a young woman brought the heir forward under guard. At Dang Wanxing's signal, Chen Wu also led Liu Zhixie forward under guard.

One, two, three...

Chen Wu silently counted his steps.

At exactly twenty-five paces, Chen Wu met the woman!

Both sides gave a simultaneous shove, sending the heir and Liu Zhixie charging toward each other.

Whoosh—

Qi Lin and Dang Wanxing moved at the same time, leaping into the air!

Then, in midair, they each pulled out a revolver and aimed at the hostage on the other side!

"Shameless—"

"You scoundrel—"

Both men were shocked and furious. At the same time, they changed the direction of their guns and aimed at each other.

Bang—

Two gunshots rang out as one.

Clang—

Qi Lin raised a hand and blocked the shot. Across from him, Dang Wanxing was just as quick: his Thick-Backed Saber was already out of its sheath, knocking away the incoming bullet.

And so, a great battle began!