Edict of Peace 133
Chapter 133: Grand Sacrifice Martial Competition, Another Acquisition of Divine Skill
Li Guanyi ignored the incessant knocking.
But this time, the knocker seemed impatient.
A grating, ear-piercing squeak. Li Guanyi turned his head. A figure, as thick as a man’s wrist, made of fine steel, was being bent and shaped like dough on the window. Then, a figure, like a wisp of grey shadow, slipped through the now-widened gap and landed on the floor.
Of medium height, with raised eyebrows, though aged, one could still see hints of his youthful handsomeness. He winked at Li Guanyi. It was Chen Chengbi, the Chen Kingdom royal family’s martial arts expert, a man devoted to his craft.
Li Guanyi exclaimed in surprise, “Elder Chen?”
“Shhh! Shhh!”
“Boy, don’t speak.”
Chen Chengbi gestured for Li Guanyi to be quiet, casually reshaping the steel bar.
He did so with the ease of a child playing with clay.
Li Guanyi twitched. This was the palace, the record keeping area of the Imperial Guard, a place with high security. The steel on the window was known as Jade Universe Divine Steel.
It had undergone over 3,300 refinements, incorporating materials like金刚之材 (a unique material in this world). It was a special composite steel with hardness and toughness exceeding ordinary armor.
Ordinary armor would need ten layers to achieve this thickness. Such thick metal, regardless of it being a special steel or a chunk of raw iron, would be impenetrable to swords and axes; only a tiny white mark would appear upon striking. Yet, this old man was effortlessly bending and shaping it.
In other words, this smiling old man could break through ten layers of armor with a single squeeze.
If it were the previous Li Guanyi, he would have been astonished.
But now, knowing that the old man’s childhood friend could move mountains, this seemed insignificant.
He had become numbed by knowing too much.
He set down the scroll and looked at the old man, asking, “Elder, what brings you here?” Chen Chengbi motioned for him to keep his voice down, grabbed Li Guanyi’s wrist, his eyes shining brightly. “I heard you fought in the Ghost Market?”
Li Guanyi grinned and nodded.
Chen Chengbi clapped his hands, excited. “Well done, you little rascal! Every time I go, those things hide better than rats! And I can’t possibly tear down my own capital! It infuriated me! Years ago, I went to the Ghost Gate of the Nether Ghost Market to confront them.”
“The old geezer wouldn’t see me.”
“We used to be brothers in arms, and he wouldn’t see me!”
Chen Chengbi loudly cursed, his voice even louder than Li Guanyi’s.
Li Guanyi learned some information about the Ghost Market from the old man’s outburst. The old man sighed, “Back then, I crossed the Yellow Springs, kicked over the Hall of Merit, but still didn’t see the Night Emperor.”
Li Guanyi asked, “Yellow Springs?”
Chen Chengbi explained, “The Yellow Springs River is where assassins do business. All assassins in the world respect it. Didn’t you know that?”
“The Assassin Ranking is also compiled by the Nether Ghost Market.”
“The Hall of Merit and Demerit is a strange place. It holds secrets about various experts, many hope to spend countless silver taels to erase their past. Besides that, there are several places surrounding the Nether Ghost Market—it’s unlike your Xue family.”
Chen Chengbi smacked his lips, “While it’s a huge wealth source, it’s also a major force in the dark side of the Jianghu (martial arts world).”
“The Hall of Rebirth within, allows you to hire the most renowned doctors in the world, to save lives.”
“If we consider the Western Regions Demon Sect, the Blood Buddha Sect, and the White Bone Chan as evil; the academies and major sects as righteous, then the Nether Ghost Market is neutral. Entry requires credentials. Righteous disciples might hire assassins there, while evildoers might hire renowned doctors.”
“The actions of those who enter are recorded in the Hall of Merit and Demerit.”
“Once you enter a place like the Ghost Market, you might not be able to leave. Boy, unless absolutely necessary, don’t go to the Ghost Market.”
Li Guanyi silently made a note, curiously asking, “They record all this, aren’t they afraid of others using force?”
Chen Chengbi said, “Use force? Among the Ten Great Grandmasters of the world, the Night Emperor of the Ghost Market firmly holds a spot. The Lord of Yellow Springs, the Nether Ferryman, is the number one assassin in the world, killing the Wei Emperor a hundred years ago, which led to Ying Country’s rise. The Hall of Rebirth houses the world’s third-best physician.”
“The Hall of Merit and Demerit records all good and evil, and can erase all good and evil. It has the world’s best disguise artist, whose gender and age are unknown. Such a force, if you pay, will give you anything you want.”
“Divine weapons, magical artifacts, divine skills, even the heads of princes and dukes.”
“Or even a new identity, removed from the Jianghu.”
“Because of that last point, no one dares to provoke them.”
“They are even more troublesome than your Xue family. The reason they haven’t been targeted by the academies is because, although the Nether Ghost Market operates on money, it also has a rule: the Hall of Merit and Demerit.”
Chen Chengbi said, “Those who do good, Yama (the King of Hell) will respect them; those who do evil, the underworld will relentlessly pursue them.”
“The Nether Ghost Market will protect the truly good. Once, a Confucian scholar who died advocating for the people was about to be executed, the Nether Ghost Market exhausted its elite forces to save him; they also once fought against the Demon Sect’s Grandmaster from fifty years ago, with seventy-three ghost messengers.”
“The last ghost messenger brought back the Demon Sect Grandmaster’s head, hanging it at the Ghost Gate. He suffered thirty-four wounds, loudly read out the Grandmaster’s evil deeds, and then died standing.”
“Thus, the Nether Ghost Market’s reputation shook the world.”
Li Guanyi was impressed. Chen Chengbi continued, “As for the rule that allows the Nether Ghost Market to stand…”
“It’s said that around two hundred years ago, when the Nether Ghost Market first opened…”
“A peerless grandmaster of the Yin-Yang School was friendly with the first Night Emperor. The first Night Emperor, with a pot of wine, asked the grandmaster for a life talisman. The grandmaster said that if the Ghost Market only traded, it couldn’t last a century. But with trade, martial arts, and this rule…”
“It could last five hundred years.”
“A pot of wine, two sentences, five hundred years of achievement.”
“The Night Emperor of the Ghost Market gave the grandmaster a top-level jade talisman.”
“After receiving it, the grandmaster calmly left.”
“It’s an unparalleled story in the Jianghu.”
A Yin-Yang School grandmaster, friendly with the Night Emperor, a top-level jade talisman.
Li Guanyi was silent, suddenly thinking of the unkempt old man. He raised his hand to his forehead. The legendary, carefree grandmaster who exchanged a pot of wine for five hundred years of achievement…and the unrestrained old man he knew.
The contrast was too great.
It was as if a legend had descended into the mundane world,
Becoming more fleshed out and real.
Chen Chengbi sighed, patting Li Guanyi’s shoulder. “Anyway, boy, you did well! And I heard that during the fight, you used your halberd to draw a red dragon and intercepted over a hundred arrows.”
The old man’s eyes lit up, revealing his true purpose for coming here.
“Red Dragon Force, have you cultivated it?!”
Li Guanyi nodded.
The old man laughed, “Good! Good! Good! Wonderful! Wonderful!”
Chen Chengbi was overjoyed, doing several backflips, clapping his hands and laughing, “When I saw that little fellow Yu Qianfeng’s Red Dragon Force, I wanted to spar with him. But that boy, though big, was surprisingly nimble; stronger than me, incredibly fast.”
“I hadn’t had my fill, and he ran away.”
“Now you’ve cultivated it! Come, come, let’s spar!”
“It’s the divine skill of the Red Emperor, the founding emperor! To encounter it and not spar—my hands and heart itch! I can’t sleep!”
Li Guanyi realized his previous assumption—that the old man hoped he would help Xue Shuangtao’s son and therefore passed on his martial arts—was completely wrong.
This old man just wanted to fight!
Li Guanyi thought for a moment, “I’d rather not.”
Chen Chengbi was stunned, “Why?!”
Li Guanyi explained, “Elder, I know your nature. Even if you try to restrain your skills, you wouldn’t be able to hold back, right?”
“During a clash, internal energy flows. I’m certainly no match for you.”
“If your internal energy enters my body, I’ve just solved the problem of foreign True Qi (vital energy), and now there’s another type entering my dantian (energy center). Not good, not good.”
Chen Chengbi scratched his head, “No, I’ll pass it on to you… pfft, pfft…”
“Not me passing it on. It’s the Six Void Four Harmonies Divine Skill you’re eyeing. The first level allows you to control three different types of True Qi!”
“Your family’s Jade Arm Divine Bow Technique, the Central Plains Red Dragon Force.”
“If I spar with you and accidentally inject my True Qi into you, you can refine and utilize it. It’s a good thing!”
The old man argued persuasively.
Li Guanyi was amused and exasperated. This old man had planned everything from the start.
He was unconcerned about worldly matters, but when it came to fighting, he was very shrewd. So the young man extended his hand for the old man to take his pulse. “Unfortunately, Elder, I already have three transformations of True Qi.”
Chen Chengbi’s eyes widened, he gritted his teeth, exasperated, stamping his foot in frustration.
The old man was like someone waiting for a flower to bear fruit, only to find that it had already been picked. He had hoped to experience the Red Emperor’s divine skill, to have a satisfying fight, but he was just one step short!
Stuck.
The more he had anticipated it, the more frustrated he was now.
He scratched his head and paced back and forth, finally looking at the young man. He knew that when he was excited, he couldn’t fully control the force of his strikes. His Pure Yang Limitless Internal Energy was vast and powerful, and his natural reflexes and defense would inevitably cause some internal energy to enter the young man’s body.
Chen Chengbi suddenly let out a long howl, turning to Li Guanyi, grabbing his hand and placing it on his own neck, his eyes wide. “Threaten me!”
Li Guanyi was startled, “What?”
Chen Chengbi said, “Threaten me, tell me to pass on my divine skill, or else you’ll make my Chen family extinct, its lineage destroyed, you’ll… you’ll… you’ll trample Jiangnan (Jiangnan region), destroy my family’s ancestral graves…”
Li Guanyi lowered his eyes, a sincere smile on his face.
His voice remained calm and natural, like a breath,
“I wouldn’t do such a thing.”
The old man glared at him, “Just threaten me, for show.”
“Threaten me, and I’ll pass on my martial arts.”
Li Guanyi did as Chen Chengbi suggested. The old man used exaggerated acting skills, “Father, look, I was threatened! You can’t blame me. If he threatened to kill me, I wouldn’t comply, but when it concerns my Chen family’s lineage, I have to yield.”
“I’ll pass on the second level of the Six Void Four Harmonies Divine Skill to you.”
“You can handle five types of True Qi.”
“You can also cultivate my Pure Yang Limitless Divine Skill and my grandniece’s Kunlun Heart Technique, hehe, interesting, interesting.”
“Father, he threatened me, he threatened me!”
The old man laughed, chanting the second level of the Six Void Four Harmonies Divine Skill. The sound only reached Li Guanyi’s ears; not a single word was transmitted outside. Without any visible movement, a burst of internal energy released, shaking Li Guanyi’s wrist free. Then he struck with a palm strike.
The old man’s internal energy was suppressed to the second level, but the imposing force was still terrifying.
Li Guanyi retreated, using military footwork—direct and straightforward—leaning against the wall, almost knocking over a bookshelf.
Li Guanyi quickly grasped the old man’s palm. “Elder, let’s go outside and fight.”
“If we knock down these scrolls, General Gong and I will both end up in the small dark room.”
Chen Chengbi laughed excitedly.
“Go outside? Isn’t it more interesting to fight here?!”
“Boy, let’s make a deal. We can’t knock down the wall or the books; whoever does loses!”
After just a few moves, Li Guanyi was already struggling. The old man said, “Not satisfying! Not satisfying! Why are you like those military men? Your footwork is just straight back and forth. You should know, this is battlefield footwork.”
“You are surrounded by comrades; you can only advance and retreat directly.”
“To leap and move about like in the Jianghu would disrupt the formation and get you beheaded by the military inspector. But one-on-one, military footwork is truly shameful. I know you studied mathematics with old man Zu Wenyuan. Watch carefully!”
The old man stopped attacking Li Guanyi, his steps becoming swift and nimble in the room.
He started pacing, then his speed increased.
His feet stepped on the Nine Palaces positions, containing the changes of the Eight Trigrams and the principles of the Five Elements. His speed eventually reached a point where Li Guanyi, who hadn’t cultivated his eye sight, could only see afterimages. Finally, the old man appeared in front of him, proudly saying:
“This Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Footwork requires understanding of formations and mathematics. In his youth, Zu Wenyuan had no martial arts skills, but many times, he escaped danger using this footwork.”
“He didn’t teach you because you have internal energy; you’re different from him.”
“The old man will pass it on for him. Come, come, step on the Nine Palaces, circle the Eight Trigrams, internal energy flows, advance and fight! Haha, I’ve been working on a few things, watch carefully.”
The old man was quite happy. He felt that this young man had accomplished what he hadn’t.
Seeing his outstanding martial arts talent, he immediately treasured him, without any other thoughts or calculations. He had only a lively, clear martial heart, and said,
“The Way of Heaven is nothing but Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang intertwine, born naturally. Thus, stillness gives rise to movement, Yang follows Yin; movement leads to stillness, Yin inherits Yang. Yin must turn into Yang, Yang must turn into Yin; this is the creation of transformation, thus it can endlessly generate, never stopping.”
“My footwork is unpredictable. The stronger your mathematics, the stronger your formations, the stronger your footwork!”
“It’s limitless!”
With a shift in his footwork, he attacked Li Guanyi. The young man had high aptitude. His mathematical foundation, honed for over a decade in his previous life, was already terrifying in this world. Add to that the formations he learned from Hou Zhongyu, who spared no expense in teaching him.
He quickly mastered it. In this record room, an old man and a young man fought rapidly.
Their fists and feet flew back and forth, faster and faster, but their clothes didn’t even brush against the tables.
The old man laughed happily, “Such martial arts! During the Grand Sacrifice Martial Competition, whether it’s the top swordsman from the Crown Prince’s East Palace, or Yu Wen Lie’s nephew, or the young master of the Turkic Tiefutuo (Iron Float), none of them would be your match.”
“Come, come, let’s spar more!”
“It’s exhilarating! Why aren’t you sixty or seventy years old now? A lifetime of internal energy would be so much more enjoyable to fight with!”
Li Guanyi said, “Top of the East Palace?”
Chen Chengbi said, “Yes, my grandnephew is spending big this time, not stingy at all. He’s offering the title of Opening Country County Lord. This title has two advantages: one, it can be passed on to future generations.”
“Countless noble families, whose non-eldest sons are red-eyed.”
“This represents the ability to branch off independently, with a separate entry in the family register.”
“The temptation is simply too great.”
“The other is an allowance of 300 households. It’s not just an empty title. Many people desire it. Yu Wen Lie’s nephew, an outstanding member of the Yu Wen family’s young generation, Yu Wen Hua; the son of the commander of the Tiefutuo, under the seven kings of the Turks, Ge Shu Yin.”
“And the Crown Prince’s top swordsman, the grandson of the world-famous Sword Sage.”
“They’ve all come.”
“After all, there’s actual allowance attached, so…”
The old man and Li Guanyi’s fists clashed. Feeling the young man’s strength, the old man was exhilarated, casually saying, “Even some royal family members are here; a distant royal relative.”
“His father died young, leaving him with only his mother.”
“He has neither title nor allowance, yet he’s participating.”
Li Guanyi’s pupils constricted.
“Who?!”
(End of Chapter)
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