Nine Yang Divine Skill

The mountain wind howled past, and the withered branches trembled in the gale, creaking and groaning as though in pain. A ruined temple stood halfway up the mountain, its walls mottled and peeling, several patches of clay fallen away to expose the incomplete stones beneath.

Inside the ruined temple, a bonfire burned.

A corpse lay on the ground. Beside it stood a young man holding a blade. His face was stern, and a black strip of cloth was tied over his eyes, making him look like a blind man.

Beside the young man stood a girl, panting heavily.

The girl turned the corpse over and exclaimed in delight, "Brother, we might be getting rich! This man... seems to be the Flower-Picking Thief Zhou Tong, the one the authorities put out a bounty of three hundred taels for!"

"It's him."

"You can't even see. How can you be so sure?"

"I just know."

The young man offered no explanation. He merely tossed his blade to the ground and said, "Cut off his head. We'll return to Linjiang City and collect the reward."

The young man was Gu Mo, a blind man. The reason he could be certain that the man he had killed was the lecherous thief wanted by the authorities was because a system panel was appearing in his mind at that very moment:

Bounty for Killing Wanted Criminals

Kill Three-star Wanted Criminal

Receive Three-star Reward—Max-Level Nine Yang Divine Skill

Claim reward?

At this moment,

Gu Mo was nowhere near as calm as he appeared. On the contrary, he was incomparably excited.

His golden finger had finally arrived.

It had been three days since he awakened his past life memories. During those three days, he had been filled with fear and unease, each day an ordeal.

This was an exceptionally dangerous martial world, filled everywhere with slaughter and conflict. Though he was a martial artist, he was also a blind man who could only live in darkness. His martial arts had all but been ruined.

In truth, Gu Mo had not been blind at first. He had been the youngest escort of the Long Wind Escort Agency in Linjiang City. His blade technique was exceptionally refined, and he was a renowned young talent among the martial world around Linjiang City. At one point, he had even been likely to become the youngest chief escort in the Long Wind Escort Agency's hundred years of history.

However, one month ago, while making his final delivery as an escort before being promoted to chief escort, he encountered a band of bandits blocking the road. During the fight, he was struck by a poison expert's attack. Although he had narrowly escaped with his life, his eyes had come into contact with the poison, and treatment had come too late. He was left completely blind.

In an instant, his path to Making a Name in the Martial World came to an abrupt halt.

A rising star of the martial world had fallen just like that, unable even to care for himself.

Gu Mo's heart was full of pent-up bitterness. He had spent all his savings trying to treat his injuries, yet at that very time, the Long Wind Escort Agency cast him out without regard for martial-world honor.

When he went to reason with them, he was instead subjected to a round of humiliation. In a fit of rage, he vomited blood and fainted. Then, in a muddled daze, he awakened his past life memories, saw through the Mystery of the Womb, and remembered both his former and current lives.

Fortunately, though he had become a cripple, his younger sister, who had depended on him since childhood, never abandoned him. After he woke up, she discussed taking him back to their hometown, to leave the martial world behind forever.

Given his current circumstances, Gu Mo naturally did not object. He gladly left Linjiang City with his sister, Gu Chundong.

After traveling for a day, they arrived at this ruined temple, intending to rest for the night. Unexpectedly, someone had arrived before them.

Gu Mo had spent years escorting shipments and possessed deep experience in the martial world. Even though he was blind, the moment he entered, he smelled a bloody smell. He guessed that the people in the temple were also from the martial world. Out of caution, he signaled for his sister to leave, lest they bring disaster upon themselves.

However, the people inside were like startled birds, extremely sensitive. Seeing Gu Mo and his sister preparing to leave, they suddenly launched a killing attack.

Fortunately, Gu Chundong had practiced martial arts from childhood just like Gu Mo. Though her skills were inferior to his, they were still decent, and she reacted swiftly. She immediately became entangled in combat with the man, but could only barely hold him off, with danger lurking at every turn.

When that man saw that Gu Mo was blind, he relaxed his guard against him. It was precisely this that gave Gu Mo an opening.

Although Gu Mo was blind, he and his sister had depended on each other since childhood and coordinated with perfect tacit understanding. Under Gu Chundong's guidance, he suddenly struck, catching his enemy off guard and killing him with a single slash.

The moment that man fell,

A system notification sounded in Gu Mo's mind, informing him that the other party was Zhou Tong, the lecherous thief who had stirred Linjiang City into an uproar recently.

And his system was the Blade Catcher System.

Its function was very simple: capture and kill Wanted Criminals, and rewards would be issued. The rewards could be martial arts, divine weapons, Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, etc..

The system would rate missions and grant rewards of the corresponding level.

This Zhou Tong had been rated three stars by the system.

And the reward was astonishingly the max-level Nine Yang Divine Skill.

Within the ruined temple, the bonfire burned.

Gu Chundong swiftly cut off Zhou Tong's head, then tore off his long robe and wrapped the head in it. She asked, "Brother, should we stay here until dawn, or leave now?"

"Can you see the road clearly?"

"The moon is very bright."

"Then let's go," Gu Mo said. "Zhou Tong is the wanted criminal who has drawn the most attention in Linjiang City lately. Many Blade Catchers have their eyes on him. We've picked up a bargain too. This fellow was injured by someone before, and his wound is still bleeding, which means it's fresh. There may very well be Blade Catchers nearby—perhaps even a whole group of them. We should go farther away to avoid a conflict."

"Alright."

Gu Chundong was no novice to the martial world either. She knew full well that Zhou Tong's head was valuable. If they encountered other Blade Catchers, someone might well be tempted by wealth. Three hundred taels was enough to make many people risk their lives.

At once,

Gu Chundong took Gu Mo's hand and left.

Because Gu Mo was unsure whether claiming the reward would cause any unusual phenomenon, he did not dare claim it rashly.

After following Gu Chundong for a long distance, they came across a cave.

Only after entering the cave did Gu Mo communicate with the system again.

He claimed the reward.

At that very instant,

Gu Mo's entire body suddenly grew hot. An incomparably vast, scorching, life-filled inner force surged into his body like a surging tide. It roared and raced through his meridians without restraint.

Most importantly, profound principles and cultivation methods for the Nine Yang Divine Skill continuously emerged in his mind. This knowledge was branded deep into his soul like an imprint.

In only an instant,

He mastered the Nine Yang Divine Skill at great completion. There were no strange phenomena, nor any discomfort. It was as though he had cultivated it himself for many years, entirely natural, naturally achieved.

Gu Mo was greatly delighted.

Naturally, he knew of the Nine Yang Divine Skill.

Once cultivated to great completion, inner force would generate itself endlessly, automatically producing Protective True Qi. One's body would become Vajra Indestructible, and the Nine Yang Inner Force was of extremely high quality, capable of Muscle and Marrow Cleansing. Not only did it possess powerful healing effects, but it also rendered its wielder nearly immune to all poisons, while granting comprehension almost like cheating.

At the same time,

He felt that the environment around him had changed.

More precisely, his senses had become terrifyingly sharp.

Before this, his eyes were blind and his mind dark. He could only hear people speaking, while his consciousness remained a field of darkness. But at this moment, things were different.

He could clearly sense his sister's presence beside him. Even her figure appeared as an outline within his consciousness. He could sense the cave entrance behind him faintly swaying, and his hearing had improved severalfold. He could accurately tell that a bird had landed on a branch more than ten feet away.

This was an ability that only came when Internal Energy reached its pinnacle.

Martial arts in this world were highly flourishing, but there were no clear-cut realms like those in novels. After all, everyone excelled at different things. Some followed the path of external training, some focused on internal energy, some cultivated the sword, some the blade, and there were countless other methods—poisons, hidden weapons, and all manner of strange arts. Even those who followed the same path practiced different martial arts and thus reached different levels. Naturally, there could be no fixed classification of realms.

Take Gu Mo before them, for example.

Because of his youth, his internal energy cultivation had not been particularly high. In the martial world, he was roughly at the third-rate level. However, his inner force was violent in nature, and combined with his refined blade technique, he could exchange blows with some First-rate Masters who had long been famous. For a short time, he could even gain the upper hand.

Therefore, the level of martial arts in this world depended solely on a martial artist's own martial arts cultivation.

And at this moment,

Gu Mo's Nine Yang Divine Skill had reached great completion. Relying on its characteristics—such as naturally forming Protective True Qi and endlessly generating inner force—he could absolutely rival, or even surpass, most Inner Strength Masters in the world in terms of Internal Energy.

Furthermore, the cheat-like comprehension granted by the Nine Yang Divine Skill

Allowed him, in an instant, to push his blade technique to a higher realm, likewise reaching great completion.

At this moment,

Gu Mo's heart settled.

Before this, he had been extremely fearful and uneasy. He was blind, and this was a dangerous martial world, leaving him sorely lacking in any sense of security. But now, confidence filled his heart.

With the Nine Yang Divine Skill at great completion protecting him, even as a blind man, so long as he remained cautious and guarded against treacherous tricks, he no longer needed to worry too much. He would not have to constantly feel as though his life were in danger.

Most importantly, with his internal energy now at its pinnacle, his perception and hearing had become extraordinarily powerful. Though he still could not see, he possessed a peculiar line of sight, and no longer needed to hesitate over every step he took.

The night passed.

At dawn, after Gu Mo and Gu Chundong ate some dried provisions, they set off once more toward Linjiang City.

PS: A small clarification: in this book, martial arts reaching great completion means reaching max level; it can also be understood as perfection. This wording is used in reference to the way it is used in Jin Yong's martial arts novels—great completion means max level!