Chapter 93: Stealing the Sky and Replacing the Sun
“I lost.”
Old Master Ma let out a turbid breath, revealing a gratified smile, and said, “One force overcomes ten techniques. Mu’er, your strength is already strong enough to make up for your shortcomings in technique. You’ve passed. By the way, how did your cultivation suddenly improve so much? Even I couldn’t deflect your strength in time.”
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled, “When the Village Chief and I went out, when I came back, my spiritual embryo…”
The Village Chief coughed repeatedly. Qin Mu asked, puzzled, “Village Chief, what’s wrong with you?”
“I was just startled by that move of yours.”
The Village Chief coughed twice more and said, “You’ve already passed the first trial. So, what about the second trial?”
The Cripple pulled the pig trotter out of his mouth, limped over, and snickered, “Mu’er, we won’t compare fist techniques this time, but leg techniques. Look up. Do you see that cloud?”
Qin Mu looked up and saw a white cloud drifting leisurely by. The Cripple chuckled, “You and I will have a footrace. Let’s see who can reach that cloud first.”
Qin Mu hesitated for a moment, then nodded. The Cripple grinned innocently, “You’re young, and I respect the young. I’ll let you take the first step.”
Qin Mu wore an innocent smile and said, “I respect the old. The elder goes first.”
“You’re young, so you go first.”
“Your old bones aren’t in good shape. You should go first.”
…
The two of them exchanged fake, innocent smiles, deferring to each other for a long time. The Butcher grabbed two large knives and roared, “Enough nonsense! That cloud has drifted far away! If you don’t run now, I’ll chop you both to pieces!”
Qin Mu and the Cripple shot off almost simultaneously. Qin Mu’s feet stomped rapidly, wind rising beneath them, and he suddenly leaped into the air on the gale. Just then, the Cripple had already dashed into the sky ahead of him. Qin Mu pressed his palm downward, and the wind beneath the Cripple’s feet blew toward the ground, causing the crippled man to tumble down from the air, flailing his arms and legs.
Qin Mu immediately surged forward, overtaking the Cripple. As he was walking on the wind, his legs suddenly tightened, bound together firmly, and he plunged headfirst, upside down.
The Cripple laughed heartily. A whip of Yuan Qi appeared in his hand, locking Qin Mu’s legs.
Qin Mu fell, and the one-legged old man stepped on him, preparing to leap into the air.
But at that moment, Qin Mu’s Yuan Qi erupted, snapping the Yuan Qi whip. He grabbed the Cripple’s leg and kicked toward the Cripple’s face. The two crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom, dust billowing everywhere.
The Cripple tapped his crutch on the ground and unleashed the Sky-Stealing Leg Technique, dazzling and profound, attacking Qin Mu. Qin Mu lay on the ground, focusing only on the crutch, kicking out countless times. He took over a dozen kicks from the Cripple before finally shattering the crutch to pieces.
The Cripple stood on one foot, furious, “You little brat! Who taught you to be so sneaky?”
Qin Mu slammed both hands heavily on the ground, spinning upside down as he shot into the air. The Cripple sneered, crouched on one leg, then leaped into the sky.
Just as he jumped, Qin Mu, now above him, struck down with both hands. His Yuan Qi transformed directly into Black Tortoise Yuan Qi, ripples of water appearing in the air, then coalescing into a water dragon charging straight at the Cripple.
“Child’s play!”
The Cripple chuckled, his hands generating wind that struck the water dragon, deflecting it. His Yuan Qi actually formed a somewhat transparent leg, and he sprinted with both legs, threatening to overtake Qin Mu.
Qin Mu split his legs into a full split in the air, pressed his palm against the air, and flipped from head-down to head-up. Then he brought his legs together and sprinted wildly, delivering a vicious strike at the Cripple’s back.
The two ran through the air, unleashing their leg techniques, both filled with underhanded moves. Their figures twisted and shifted unpredictably, dazzling the onlookers below.
Suddenly, the Cripple’s arm moved like a shadow, ghostly and unfathomable, executing the Sky-Stealing Hand Technique. Before Qin Mu could even sense how he did it, he felt his belt loosen, and the Cripple pulled his pants down to his ankles.
He immediately tripped over himself, then felt a chill as his shirt was also stripped off by the Cripple, binding his hands. Qin Mu fell from the air, hurriedly broke free of his shirt, pulled up his pants, and fastened his belt while running, furious, “Grandpa Cripple, you never taught me that move!”
The Cripple laughed heartily, “If you catch me first, I’ll teach it to you!”
Qin Mu snickered and threw a punch. The dragon-shaped fist force surged forward. The Cripple yelped, hastily stumbling and dodging repeatedly.
Qin Mu refined his Qi into threads, and arm-thick Yuan Qi threads coiled toward the Cripple like giant snakes. If entangled, it would be hard to escape. The Cripple dodged again but was already caught up. Helplessly, he said, “Fine, I’ll teach you.”
The two grinned broadly as they approached in the air. Just as the Cripple was about to strike, Qin Mu suddenly sealed his Three Souls and Seven Spirits with lightning speed, then kicked the old man out of the air.
Thud!
The Cripple hit the ground, creating a human-shaped crater, then slowly crawled out, weeping with joy, “Truly taught by me—never trusting others easily.”
Qin Mu sprinted through the air, caught up with the cloud, then ran diagonally back down, taking a few quick steps on the ground before stopping.
The Cripple chuckled, “I won’t go back on my promise. Once you pass all nine trials, I’ll teach you the Sky-Stealing Sun-Replacing Hand.”
Qin Mu was overjoyed.
The Butcher brandished his knife and laughed, “Mu’er, need a rest?”
Qin Mu immediately nodded, sat down to rest, drank tea to rehydrate, rested for a while, then went to put on another shirt. The Butcher’s face darkened, and he muttered, “You little brat, with such abundant Yuan Qi cultivation, you still need to rest? Why not just fight directly? If you did, I might still have a chance…”
After another moment, Qin Mu picked up another butcher knife from the collapsed blacksmith shop, crossed the two knives, and said, “Grandpa Butcher, I’m rested!”
The Butcher sneered, “You originally used one knife. Why two now?”
Qin Mu held one knife in a forward grip and the other in a reverse grip. The Butcher’s expression turned serious, and he also reversed his knife grip, sneering, “You little brat, want to fight me in close combat? You’re still too green…”
The Pharmacist coughed and reminded, “Butcher, you don’t have a lower body. If he gets close, you’ll be at a disadvantage. You don’t have as much muscle as he does.”
The Butcher’s face darkened again, and he said resentfully, “He won’t get close to me. My knife technique will keep him out…”
Old Master Ma reminded, “His Yuan Qi is exceptionally strong, two or three times yours. If your knives clash, his will knock yours away, and you’ll be sent flying too. You can only beat him with technique.”
“Then what’s the point of fighting?”
The Butcher was furious, thrusting both knives into the ground. His eyes darted around, and he chuckled, “Mu’er, sit down. We won’t use knives. Just use listening force and spar with our hands.”
Qin Mu thrust his butcher knife into the ground and sat facing him. The two used their hands as knives, touching palms. They closed their eyes, sensing the changes in each other’s palm strength to deduce muscle movements, Yuan Qi circulation, and force distribution, then aimed for weaknesses for a one-strike kill.
This was the secret to “Drawing the Blade and Leaving the Forbidden City.”
Drawing the blade and leaving the forbidden city, chariots and horses thunder like drums. Going alone to the imperial palace, holding the king’s head in hand.
This verse meant: I walk out of the emperor’s forbidden palace with my blade drawn, the sounds of chariots and horses outside like thunderous drums, countless troops blocking my path, because I alone stormed the imperial palace, holding the king’s head in my hand.
The momentum and spirit of this move were unmatched by any other technique—wild, disdainful of all, ignoring everything.
Yet it was also the most technique-focused move in the Butcher’s knife art, requiring absolute control over one’s own strength and perfect mastery of the enemy’s strength. It was the pinnacle of combat skill and divine abilities!
As their palms touched, Qin Mu instantly perceived the muscle movements, Yuan Qi flow, and force distribution of both himself and the Butcher. Just as he was about to strike with his hand-knife, the Butcher sensed the change in his force and blocked in advance, while his other hand slashed at Qin Mu’s weakness!
The Butcher was still more skilled, with superior reaction and experience. But when he blocked Qin Mu’s strike, he realized something was wrong. He was sent flying backward, knocked out of the village by the force of Qin Mu’s hand-knife, crashing into the forest outside.
Qin Mu looked down and saw that his newly changed shirt had been cut open by the Butcher’s strike. He silently thought, “That was close.”
His cultivation was too strong. Though his knife technique was still inferior to the Butcher’s, he could overwhelm him with sheer power.
“I lost!”
The Butcher leaped up from outside the village, landing inside, supporting himself on his hands, and said cheerfully, “I lost. Pharmacist, Deaf Man, there’s no need for you to compete either. Your cultivation isn’t as strong as his!”
The Deaf Man sneered, “Who said I’m competing with him in magical power or fighting skills? Mu’er, I’ve painted two dragons.”
Swish—
He unfurled two scrolls and hung them on poles. Two ink dragons were vividly lifelike, leaping off the paper, as if ready to soar into the sky at any moment. Strangely, both dragons had no eyes.
“Over the years, I’ve taught you the way of calligraphy and painting. This path isn’t about crude fighting and killing. It’s a game for the clever, requiring insight.”
The Deaf Man set out the brush and said solemnly, “I painted these two dragons with divine abilities. Once I dot their eyes, they can transform into dragons and fly away. However, at the Spiritual Embryo realm, it’s impossible to dot the eyes and bring them to life. But if cultivation is insufficient, one must rely on painting skill. I taught you the ‘Spiritual Spark to Bestow a Soul.’ Today, I’ll compete with you in the Spiritual Spark. Let’s see who, at the Spiritual Embryo realm, can bring these two dragons to life and make them soar into the sky!”