Clang!
Sheathing his long sword, Shen Xiuhan turned around and strode back.
Crack, crack...
He had only taken a few steps when the sound of shifting bones made him pause. He looked down, furrowing his brows in slight surprise.
“This is...”
On the ground, Tian Ping'an's ordinary face began to twist and warp.
His cheekbones rose, his jaw elongated, and the bridge of his nose grew higher. His body also stretched out with a series of popping sounds, making him half a head taller out of nowhere.
Within moments, his plain face transformed to closely resemble Tian Erhu, only younger, sharper, and with an added touch of hostility.
“Is this... a bone-shrinking disguise technique?”
Shen Xiuhan was taken aback before a sudden realization dawned on him.
No wonder Senior Brother Wang Lin and Senior Sister Ding Ning pursued him for so long but failed to capture him!
It turns out he was proficient in a secret technique that alters bones and shifts form...
On top of that, he had precious armor and weapons, and his cultivation had reached the Anjin Rank...
If I hadn't uncovered his background beforehand and if he hadn't delivered himself to my doorstep, I might have been helpless against him!
Once he understood, Shen Xiuhan's racing thoughts gradually settled.
This was his first battle since breaking through to the Anjin Rank.
Having easily killed an Anjin Rank expert using only fifty percent of his strength, he could not help but feel a touch of pride.
But on second thought, even someone like Tian Ping'an possessed so many tricks up his sleeve.
How much more formidable would the direct disciples of major sects and great clans be—those geniuses who had tempered their bodies with spiritual medicine and laid their foundations with high-grade techniques since childhood?
“The path of martial arts is as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea. One must never underestimate the people of this world.”
Shen Xiuhan murmured to himself, letting out a long breath.
Delaying no further, he bent down and quickly searched the three corpses.
Afterward, he unhesitatingly stripped the precious armor off Tian Ping'an.
He also gathered the short blade that had fallen nearby.
Once he finished tidying up, Shen Xiuhan tapped his toes against the top of the wall, using the momentum to leap. Within a few bounds, he vanished into the night.
The night wind wailed, kicking up dust and the scent of blood in the long alley.
Three corpses lay sprawled on the ground, their blood seeping into the dark brick floor.
However, right at that moment!
A figure descended silently from mid-air, looking like a withered leaf swept down by the autumn wind.
The newcomer had a pale face, long eyebrows, graying temples, and a clean-shaven chin. His overall aura seemed somewhat effeminate.
His toes hovered a mere inch above the ground. He had neither touched down nor used any leverage, as if his entire body possessed no weight at all.
Suddenly, a corner of a brick cracked during the fierce battle loosened and fell straight down from the wall above.
It tumbled down, whistling faintly as it plummeted toward the man's shoulder.
Pfft!
Before the brick could even touch his shoulder, it froze in mid-air.
An invisible surge of qi erupted from his body, instantly shattering the brick into a cloud of fine dust that scattered in the night wind.
The man did not even blink. Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, he squinted in the direction Shen Xiuhan had departed, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“Interesting...”
...
The first day without Tian Ping'an, the first day of peace.
A few rooster crows echoed as the horizon turned the color of a fish's belly.
Shen Xiuhan stood in the courtyard, slowly practicing his stance work.
His fists pushed like mountains, and his palms swept like clouds, his movements unhurried.
His shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fingers connected seamlessly. Anjin force flowed within him, making every move and posture as smooth as running water.
Once the warmth thoroughly permeated his limbs and bones, Shen Xiuhan brought his movements to a halt.
He washed away his sweat with cold well water, changed into a simple robe, and stepped into his wing room.
Inside the room.
On the wooden table.
The spoils of war gathered from Tian Ping'an and his two men were neatly arranged.
Three bulging coin pouches.
Two small porcelain bottles, their surfaces a smooth celadon green, faintly emitting the fragrance of medicine.
A short blade, pitch-black all over, exuding a chilly, sinister aura.
A set of precious armor, folded neatly into a square, cool and supple to the touch.
At the very center lay three books, their covers worn and corners slightly curled.
Shen Xiuhan had already checked the coin pouches; they contained some loose silver mixed with a few copper coins, totaling about ten taels of silver—better than nothing.
Both porcelain bottles contained medicinal pills. Shen Xiuhan uncorked one and poured out a pill to inspect. It was glossy black, about the size of a lotus seed, and emitted a rich fragrance, but he could not identify its origin.
Not daring to consume it blindly, he planned to find an opportunity to show it to Jiang Qinghong and identify its origin before deciding what to do.
As for the short blade, three small characters were engraved on the hilt:
『Bone-Corroding Blade』!
It was a low-grade precious artifact, nothing extraordinary.
However, the precious armor was a pleasant surprise.
The armor was grayish-white, made of an unknown material that felt smooth to the touch. It was feather-light, and on the inside, the characters 『Lion Lock Armor』 were engraved.
Shen Xiuhan scrutinized it and rubbed it repeatedly, confirming it was a mid-grade precious armor. He could not help but smile.
“Not bad...”
A piece of high-quality armor often meant an extra life for a martial artist in a life-or-death situation. Thus, the price of precious armor was always significantly higher than that of precious weapons—a well-known truth in the martial world.
Given the quality of this 『Lion Lock Armor』, it could easily fetch a high price of over a hundred taels on the black market.
Shen Xiuhan flipped the 『Lion Lock Armor』 over. As his gaze swept across the edge of the armor plates, his brows rose slightly.
He picked up the 『Bone-Corroding Blade』 again and brought the hilt close to his eyes for a detailed look.
Sure enough.
On the hilt and the lower side of the armor, there were even smaller characters engraved:
“Tabai Camp Commander Zhang!”
These were the belongings of a Tabai Camp Commander of the Longxiang Army!
Presumably...
...they were stolen by Tian Ping'an from that Camp Commander right before his desertion.
He set the two treasures down.
Shen Xiuhan's gaze fell upon the three manual booklets.
He casually picked up one, its cover written in flamboyant calligraphy:
『Swimming Dragon Step』!
The inner pages were complete with essential theories and illustrations, written in neat handwriting. It was a transcribed copy.
Shen Xiuhan read it word by word. His brows rose slightly. After a moment, he closed the book, returned it to its place, shook his head, and murmured:
“As I thought...”
Last night, when he saw Tian Ping'an perform his movement technique to evade the stones he threw, a sense of familiarity had arisen in his heart.
The steps seemed ordinary, but certain subtle details of turning, exerting force, and shifting bore a striking resemblance to his own 『Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon』 technique.
As the battle progressed, that feeling had only grown stronger.
Seeing it now...
...the so-called 『Swimming Dragon Step』 was indeed a simplified version of his 『Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon』, wasn't it?
Their paths were similar and their concepts aligned, yet it lacked a certain ethereal agility.
『Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon』 was like an eagle striking from the sky, full of endless variations, while 『Swimming Dragon Step』 was like a snake slithering through the grass—though agile, it fell far short of the former's lofty heights.
Furthermore, 『Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon』 was something Shen Xiuhan had comprehended when he was deducing 『Iron Bone Technique』 and touched upon its source, 『Dragon-Elephant Luminous Prison-Suppressing True Body』.
Looking at it now...
...whether it was 『Iron Bone Technique』, 『Swimming Dragon Step』, or 『Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon』, they were all subordinate techniques derived from the 『Dragon-Elephant Luminous Prison-Suppressing True Body』.
“This so-called 『Dragon-Elephant Luminous Prison-Suppressing True Body』... is highly likely a Divine Ability!”
Shen Xiuhan tapped his fingers gently against his knee, his gaze solemn.
In his memory...
...only a Divine Ability could have so many subordinate techniques stripped from it, encompassing everything and forming a complete system of its own.
It was similar to the number of magatamas in the 『Muxu Eye』; they progressed layer by layer, with each additional one revealing an entirely different world.
Or like the three realms of 『Old Man of the Creek』—『Thousand Lakes Fishing』, 『Dragon Gate Attraction』, and 『Old Man of the Creek』—each possessing its own distinct marvels.
Rate on N.U.
