Within the Demon Suppression Bureau's empty offices.
Lu Guan stood alone in silence.
Beneath the deep night, he felt a chill creep up his spine.
This was no illusion.
An utterly terrifying being had locked onto him from afar.
"The old ape of Fruitless Cave..."
Lu Guan's expression was cold, his brow twitching faintly. His pupils slowly dilated in the darkness, as though he meant to pierce straight through the dense night.
The next second, he vanished from the spot. A light breeze swept past, smoothing away the traces of his presence within the offices.
Creak-
Almost at the same moment he disappeared, someone pushed the door open.
Wang Muzhi strode at the front, his face unreadable. Meng Shuo followed close behind, his armor clattering.
Li Fugui brought up the rear, one hand pressed to his chest, as though checking that something was still tucked inside his robes.
The three had come to the Demon Suppression Bureau's offices to keep watch over Lu Guan, yet now they made no attempt to stop him.
Clearly, all three had realized that the old ape from Fruitless Cave had entered the city.
Wang Muzhi gazed expressionlessly at the empty courtyard, a flicker of shame passing through his eyes.
The peril facing an entire city was being shifted onto one man's shoulders.
He stood in the hall with his hands behind his back, the goatee on his chin trembling slightly.
"Alas... what a pity for Commandant Lu, such a young hero..."
Beside him, Li Fugui curled his lip almost imperceptibly at the sight, looking disdainful.
Crocodile tears, nothing more.
Go face it yourself if you're so capable!
At least he, Li Fugui, made no secret of clinging to life and fearing death. There was nothing hypocritical about him.
Still, thinking of the young man who had just exchanged martial arts with him, the head of the Li Household did let out a genuine sigh.
A good man. A pity he's about to die just like that.
It really did prove the saying: good men don't live long.
But young Master Lu, with my Li Household carrying on your martial arts, you could be said to live on in another way.
At this thought, Li Fugui felt considerably better.
He touched his chest, planning to have all the clan's disciples set aside their current arts and switch to this body-refining martial art once he returned.
[Consumed one hundred years of cultivation to synthesize one Dao Seed] [With the Dao Seed harbored in your chest, Heaven aids your progress]
Well practiced in the process, Lu Guan invested this Dao Seed in the newly acquired Mountain-Moving Heart Method.
[Through a hundred years of contemplation, with the Dao Seed's help, you successfully brought forth the new from the old in the Mountain-Moving Heart Method, raising it to another level] [You named it the "Mystic Origin Mountain-Moving Heart Method"] Gang Condensation · Mystic Origin Mountain-Moving Heart Method (not initiated)
As that terrifying presence drew ever closer, Lu Guan instead grew calm and touched the saber hilt at his waist.
He had obtained this saber from the slant-eyed, white-browed tiger called Yin Shisan. He did not know what material it was forged from; it was pitch-black throughout and heavy in the hand.
Dark patterns flowed along its blade, resembling tiger stripes.
He drew the blade an inch from its sheath. Beneath the moonlight, it gave off a cold, dark gleam. Its edge was as thin as a cicada's wing, yet reflected no light, as deep as the night itself.
"A beast, playing with a saber?"
At the thought, Lu Guan shook his head with a chuckle.
Then he turned his gaze to the panel that only he could see.
"Then... sorry for the trouble, but add some points."
After exchanging for a Dao Seed, Lu Guan had five hundred and ninety years of cultivation left.
Now, he poured all of it into the Mystic Origin Mountain-Moving Heart Method.
[In the first year, you began practicing this Gang Condensation heart method, working through its obscure and difficult passages one by one.] [This heart method expounded the concept of "making mountains of Gang, making peaks of Qi." You spent an entire year just sorting out the tongue-twisting meridian names and Qi circulation routes] [In the third year, you finally understood this heart method in full. Drawing on the foundation laid by your prior practice of the Four Symbols Heaven's Will Saber, you successfully compressed your True Qi to its utmost limit, condensing your first wisp of Gang Qi] [You successfully attained initiation in the Mystic Origin Mountain-Moving Heart Method and broke through to the early stage of the Gang Condensation Realm] [You began refining Gang Qi without cease. A second wisp, a third... your Gang Qi steadily increased until it filled your entire body, sharp and resilient, capable of being projected outward to coat your fists, feet, and weapons] [In the thirty-third year, you completed your initial accumulation of Gang Qi and successfully glimpsed more advanced techniques for circulating it. Your Mystic Origin Mountain-Moving Heart Method reached minor accomplishment] [You successfully broke through to the middle stage of the Gang Condensation Realm] [In the thirty-fourth year, your progress was slow, chiefly because the Gang Qi in your body was insufficient to support your use of the "Gang Qi body protection" technique. Every attempt consumed a great deal of Gang Qi, requiring considerable time to recover]
"..."
[In the eighty-fifth year, dripping water wore through stone. Though your talent was lacking, your perseverance was more than sufficient. Like an untiring beast of burden, you kept trying] [After each failure, you reviewed what you had learned. Finally, on an ordinary night, Gang Qi surged from every pore of your body at once, condensing into an invisible barrier within three feet around you] [You finally mastered "Gang Qi body protection" in full] [Yet your aptitude was insufficient to swiftly comprehend what lay beyond] [In the endless darkness, you sank into contemplation] [In the one hundred and eighth year, you looked at the saber in your hand and tried condensing Gang Qi into a line, sharp as a blade] [You finally glimpsed a trace of the essence of "Gang Qi manifestation." Your Mystic Origin Mountain-Moving Heart Method reached major accomplishment, and you successfully broke through to the late stage of the Gang Condensation Realm] [In the one hundred and ninth year, you sank into contemplation once again] [Sometimes, you truly hated how mediocre your talent was] [Fortunately, you were an untiring beast of burden] [In the one hundred and seventy-ninth year, your thoughts had long since grown numb. Time seemed to have lost all meaning to you, until one day, light finally shone in your eyes again] [You successfully mastered the technique of "Gang Qi manifestation" in full] [You could condense sabers, swords, fist imprints, and Gang barriers, combining long-range offense and close-range defense in one] [In the two hundredth year, you returned once more to dull, monotonous repetition, hoping to glimpse a trace of the true essence of "uniting Gang and Baleful Intent" through repeated attempts] [In the two hundred and fiftieth year, you succeeded, yet your face showed neither joy nor sorrow, as though this was how it should have been] [Two hundred and fifty years. Do you know how I spent these two hundred and fifty years?] [Mystic Origin Mountain-Moving Heart Method, perfected] [You successfully attained the perfected Gang Condensation Realm. Gang and Baleful Intent united, Gang Qi formed a domain. Within ten feet of your body, you alone ruled supreme] Gang Condensation · Mystic Origin Mountain-Moving Heart Method (perfected) [Remaining cultivation: two hundred and forty years]
Lu Guan's eyes suddenly lost focus, bewilderment lingering for a moment.
The loneliness of the years and a vast sea of knowledge filled his entire mind in an instant.
That sense of emptiness seeped from deep within his marrow, engulfing him completely.
Lu Guan wished he could bare his neck and kill himself on the spot. One stroke, and he would never have to think about anything again...
Fortunately, he returned to normal after only an instant.
"Fuck!"
Lu Guan drew a deep breath, the fright in his eyes yet to settle.
His fingers gripped the saber hilt tightly, his palm slick with sweat.
He discovered that as the time on the panel increased, the amount of information he had to endure grew ever greater.
If there were any more...
Perhaps the impact of that single instant alone would be enough to turn him into a witless fool.