Volume 1, Chapter 288 – The End of Martial Dao

For the next several days, Ning An stayed at home and did not go to school. She no longer had any heart for studying. The power hidden inside her body was like a demon. She simply could not control it, and with the slightest carelessness she could hurt someone else.

Moreover, she still had no idea what had happened to her body. Every day she felt drowsy and muddled, yet the power inside her only grew stronger by the day.

Qin Yinhua was also full of worry, because Ning An was eating more and more. She had originally been able to eat over ten jin of beef in one meal and still be only half full. Now even after putting away several dozen jin, it was still nowhere near enough, as if she had become a bottomless pit.

Shi Lan could only feel helpless about that. The fleshly essence contained in ordinary meat was far too sparse, so quantity was the only way to make up for quality.

Ning Kangping, meanwhile, kept running around outside, trying to learn more about the progress of that case. His position was not low.

Aside from that, because of the importance of that treasure, Great Xia and Shuiyun had also started making some small moves.

All sides were harboring their own schemes, and quite a few people were being sent toward a small county in western Nanhao. For a time, undercurrents surged.

…

As the Secret Canon of Spirit Refinement advanced, Shi Lan’s soul power had already grown considerably, and the length of time she could control Ning An’s body increased along with it.

The situation was still unclear, and Shi Lan needed more time to raise her strength, so she could only keep Ning An asleep most of the time.

Over the past few days, Shi Lan had tried cultivating several of her other techniques as well. As expected, she discovered that they had undergone the same change as the Vajra Divine Fist.

Rеαⅾ оո KаtRеαdіոɡCαfе

After leaving the Lingyang Realm, their power had increased by more than tenfold, as though they had broken free from some kind of shackle—or suppression.

With a steady supply of pills and fleshly essence, Shi Lan soon stepped into the second stage of the Body Tempering Realm. Her strength rose again, nearly doubling, until a casual lift of her hand now carried several thousand jin of force.

If that level of strength had existed in the Lingyang Realm, it would have been enough to fight an early Innate Realm martial artist. The sheer disparity in power left Shi Lan baffled.

Even stranger to her was the fact that the Wuji Sect, which she had expected to come seeking revenge soon, remained completely silent.

Cultivation was progressing smoothly, and the news from Liang Yunnan’s side indicated that their contact with Lin Mo was also proceeding without issue. It seemed likely that all the current troubles would soon be resolved.

Shi Lan had been wholly focused on improving her strength and had not disguised her behavior at all. As a result, she failed to notice some of the changes in Qin Yinhua. As mother and daughter who spent every day together, Qin Yinhua had already begun to sense that something was wrong with Ning An.

…

With the bodies stolen and the thing they were searching for nowhere to be found, the many forces operating openly and in secret soon began turning the earth upside down, searching for every person connected to that night.

Before long, all the information on Lin Mo and Ning An had been placed on the desks of the various factions.

Of those factions, the Wuji Sect reacted the most strongly.

Reаⅾ οո KαtRеаⅾіnɡСаfe

The Wuji Sect had been passed down for nearly a thousand years. Not only was it a true giant in Nanhao, it was also one of the unquestioned behemoths of the entire martial world. It even had several peak Blood Transformation experts.

But recently, the Wuji Sect had not been having an easy time, because two of the stolen corpses belonged to Wuji Sect disciples.

All the various factions suspected that the Wuji Sect had already obtained the legendary secret treasure. Pressure was mounting, both openly and in secret. Even the Wuji Sect was beginning to feel short of breath.

Inside an unnamed mountain manor on the outskirts of the capital, Zhao Ye stood pale-faced in the center of a hall. More than ten people sat scattered around him, each with vigorous blood and qi and considerable attainments in martial arts.

Seated in the place of honor was a white-haired old man. Though his hair was entirely white, his face did not have a single wrinkle. It was smooth as jade, and his eyes were as deep as the sea.

This was Luo Jin, the current leader of the Wuji Sect, a martial grandmaster at the peak of the Blood Transformation Realm who had made his name in the martial world nearly forty years ago.

“This information is absolutely fake!”

Zhao Ye stared at the materials scattered across the floor, the cold light in his eyes nearly enough to pierce through Ning An’s photo.

“That Ning An is at least at the Bone Tempering Realm. I couldn’t even last two moves against her. The item has to be in her hands!”

Zhao Ye had fought Ning An himself, so he naturally knew full well what her strength was.

“That little girl isn’t even eighteen yet and she’s already entered Bone Tempering? Zhao Ye, have you gone insane?”

Rеaԁ oո КαtRеαdіngСαfе

“You couldn’t last two moves? That would put Ning An at least in the middle stage of Bone Tempering. She would have had to refine at least two-thirds of her bones. Do you think that’s even possible?”

“Zhao Ye, speak honestly! Did you find the item or not?!”

The instant Zhao Ye finished speaking, the hall turned noisy.

Less than eighteen and already mid-Bone Tempering—she would have to be a heaven-defying prodigy, practicing martial arts from the womb.

Everyone stared at Zhao Ye, suspicion faintly evident in their eyes. Even though Zhao Ye had already undergone a full-body CT scan proving he was not hiding anything on himself, they still did not believe him.

Compared with a girl who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, they would much rather believe that Zhao Ye had acted on impulse, murdered his fellow disciples, and tried to monopolize that legendary treasure for himself.

“That’s enough. Zhao Ye is not lying.”

Luo Jin, seated at the head, rose to his feet and settled the matter with a single sentence, suppressing the uproar in the hall.

“This time I will go personally. Zhao Ye will serve as guide. I will take away two-thirds of the sect’s experts. We leave at once. No matter what, that item must fall into the hands of my Wuji Sect!”

Everyone in the hall stood at the same time. After exchanging glances, they answered in unison:

Reaⅾ οn КαtRеαⅾinɡСаfe

“We obey the Sect Master’s command!”

Luo Jin’s deep eyes were filled with resolve. By mobilizing so many people, he had already prepared himself to go to war with all the other factions.

Even if it meant making an enemy of the whole world, Luo Jin would still seize the key to that treasure. His martial path had already reached its end, and his blood and qi had begun to decline, yet he had always felt that there was still a road ahead.

He wanted to see what the true end of martial dao looked like.

…

The treasure itself was of no consequence. By using this chance to strike with everything they had at hostile forces outside the law, that would be enough.

What those so-called unlawful forces referred to hardly needed to be said.

To the state, a vague and uncertain treasure was not important. The greater threat was these so-called martial artists.

…

“This era no longer has any need for martial artists.”