Chapter 137: Young Patriarch and Dao Child
Qin Mu’s current state truly seemed like sleepwalking—running wildly in his sleep, yet somehow still able to see the scenery around him and avoid obstacles. What puzzled Shen Wanyun was that as Qin Mu ran, he kept throwing punches and kicks with fierce, vigorous energy!
He would even occasionally pull out a butcher knife, slashing and hacking.
“Junior Brother Qin is already this strong, yet he works even harder than others, practicing even in his dreams. Although his comprehension is a bit lacking, this diligence is worth learning from!”
Greatly inspired, Shen Wanyun returned to his quarters and trained hard.
However, Qin Mu wasn’t completely asleep. His state differed from sleepwalking—this was his unique cultivation method. The Overlord Body Three Dan Art had an unusual approach to training; moving swiftly while practicing accelerated his cultivation speed. Meanwhile, his brain rested, and his fists and kicks relied on muscle memory.
In the Great Ruins, Qin Mu had relied on this method to make rapid progress. It was only after arriving in Yankang and learning local customs that he stopped cultivating this way.
Qin Mu ran for two hours, then woke up, full of energy.
Just then, a familiar voice chuckled, “Had enough rest?”
Qin Mu quickly turned and bowed. “Patriarch.”
At this moment, no one else was on the mountain. Even the libationers, the Imperial Academy, and the Imperial Library had gone to rest. After listening to the National Teacher’s lectures for two days without sleep, they needed to recuperate.
The young patriarch smiled. “What do you think of the National Teacher’s lectures?”
Qin Mu praised, “The National Teacher is like a celestial being—thinking what others dare not think, doing what others dare not do. Truly unparalleled.”
The young patriarch walked down the mountain. “How well have you learned the sword technique he taught?”
“I wouldn’t dare say I’ve mastered it, but I’ve gained some insights.”
Qin Mu said, “I studied swordsmanship with the village chief and thought I had grasped all its mysteries, but there are still things I haven’t learned.”
The young patriarch replied, “The saying ‘learning has no end’ is wrong. It should be ‘creation has no end.’ If you only learn, you’ll spend your whole life learning without making anything your own. Creation has no boundaries. You’re still young and need to absorb what others have created, but once you’ve accumulated enough, you must try to create. If you keep learning, you’ll always be a student. But create just one technique, and you become a master.”
They reached the Jade Cliff, where an old and a young Daoist still sat before the main gate of the Imperial Academy.
The young patriarch smiled faintly. “I invited the National Teacher here to pass on teachings to you. He’s lectured for two days, and you’ve gained so much. Why haven’t you gone down yet?”
Qin Mu declared boldly, “If the Patriarch commands, how could I dare disobey?”
The young patriarch snorted coldly, then kicked him off the cliff. “You talk a good game, brat! They’ve been blocking the gate for so long, and you didn’t budge. If I hadn’t given you benefits, would you be so eager? Now go!”
Qin Mu landed, rubbed his rear, and walked toward the gate.
At this moment, no Imperial Academy students were around—they were all resting. Only the two Daoists remained outside the gate. Nearby, a strange beast with a dragon’s head and a qilin’s body, chained up, was dozing.
Lin Xuan Dao Child’s heart stirred as he saw Qin Mu approach. He turned to Danyangzi. “Uncle Master…”
Danyangzi lifted his eyelids, glanced at Qin Mu, and said, “Go. The National Teacher taught the students to groom this person. Don’t worry about winning or losing.”
Lin Xuan Dao Child acknowledged, stood up, and walked toward Qin Mu. Their auras resonated, and they both stopped to bow.
Qin Mu said, “Imperial Academy student Qin Mu greets Lin Xuan Dao Child. I am at the Five Luminaries realm.”
Lin Xuan Dao Child replied solemnly, “Dao Gate’s Lin Xuan greets Qin Mu. I am at the Six Harmonies realm, with my Six Harmonies Divine Treasury sealed.”
He had sealed his Six Harmonies Divine Treasury. Qin Mu asked, “Dao Child, do you use weapons?”
He took a bamboo staff from his back, then a butcher knife, an iron hammer, and finally the Shaobao Sword. Lin Xuan Dao Child was about to speak when Danyangzi suddenly said, “No weapons. Only Dao techniques, divine abilities, and close combat.”
Though puzzled, Lin Xuan Dao Child put down his whisk. “Since Brother Qin says so, I’ll forgo weapons.”
Danyangzi breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze shifting from the Shaobao Sword. Using weapons would be too disadvantageous. The sword’s shape made him uneasy—its scabbard, with a fish-dragon mouth, resembled a first-rank official’s sword.
If it were real, Lin Xuan Dao Child’s whisk would snap on contact, making the match pointless.
Qin Mu smiled. His eyes suddenly gained double pupils—the Divine Firmament Eye and the Azure Firmament Eye both activated. The ground beneath him sank, cracking blue stone slabs. The shattered stones trembled and floated.
“Ha!”
Qin Mu exhaled sharply and threw a punch. The hundreds of floating stone fragments shattered further under the force, the largest pieces no bigger than beans, the smallest like sesame seeds!
Countless fragments followed his fist toward Lin Xuan Dao Child, forming a sand dragon that roared like a true divine dragon!
At the same time, Qin Mu moved like a ghost, closing in on Lin Xuan Dao Child right behind the punch.
Startled, Lin Xuan Dao Child’s pupils turned one white and one black. He raised his hand and pressed forward. His palm, like jade, formed a seal resembling a mountain, inscribed with strange bird-seal script, ancient and mysterious, meeting the dragon.
Heaven-Overturning Seal!
Their forces clashed with a dull, thunderous roar, as if muffled by thick clouds.
The dragon-headed, qilin-bodied beast at the gate lifted its head, looking around in confusion.
Qin Mu felt his Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder technique hit an invisible wall, unable to penetrate. Delighted, he thought, “This Dao Child is indeed extraordinary! Far stronger than the Imperial Academy students I’ve faced before!”
Though Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder appeared fierce, it was a delicate technique containing forty-five types of dragon force hidden in the palm. If someone caught the palm, those forces would pierce through, devastating their internal organs.
Lin Xuan Dao Child’s Heaven-Overturning Seal formed an impenetrable barrier, blocking all forty-five dragon forces between their palms—a testament to his skill!
Meanwhile, countless stone fragments flew past Lin Xuan Dao Child.
He shuddered. His Yin-Yang Dao Eyes revealed that between the fragments were incredibly fine threads of vital energy. Under his gaze, each thread was a spinning, tiny sword—Qin Mu’s vital energy transformed into sword qi, originally hidden in the stones, now emerging.
“Wheel-Carving Seal!”①
Lin Xuan Dao Child’s fingers flew, one hand up, one hand down. With a hum, two wheels appeared above and below him, formed from vital energy with a peculiar structure like a formation, but reversed.
As the reversed formation enveloped him, the surrounding stone fragments turned to dust. The sword qi hidden among them converged into a cyan dragon of vital energy, countless swords forming its body, churning violently!
Coiling Sword Technique!
Between the two counter-rotating wheels, countless fine swords emerged, forming a blade curtain that clashed with the churning dragon. Sword qi shattered and flew. The two youths collided not only in sword techniques but also in magical power.
If Imperial Academy students were present, they’d be astonished. Qin Mu was using the National Teacher’s Coiling Sword Technique, but instead of forming a sword pillar as taught, he shaped the coiling sword qi into a cyan dragon!
Lin Xuan Dao Child felt the pressure. Qin Mu’s vital energy suppressed his own. Though his cultivation was profound, Qin Mu’s was even greater—seemingly impossible.
The Dao Gate’s Primordial Grand Mystery Art was famed for its immense magical power. Among all sect’s core techniques at the same realm, none surpassed it—not even the equally famed Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra.
Yet now, Lin Xuan Dao Child felt Qin Mu’s power exceeded his own!
Sensing his Wheel-Carving Seal might break, Lin Xuan Dao Child changed tactics. Without his whisk, he spread his fingers, sending out countless threads of vital energy, each like a sword, cutting from within the wheels to sever the dragon.
As he moved, Qin Mu reached him, grabbed a handful of dust, and infused it with vital energy, forming a spear. With a hiss, it stabbed into the spinning wheels.
Lin Xuan Dao Child blocked with his Heaven-Overturning Seal, but then came a barrage of blows. Qin Mu’s hand became a blade, striking like a storm, hacking at the wheels.
The Wheel-Carving Seal collapsed. Lin Xuan Dao Child sensed danger, and in the next moment, several blade strikes hit his chest, drawing blood. He flew backward.
He used the momentum to retreat gracefully. Countless threads drilled into the cyan dragon, spreading out until the dragon dissipated.
The dragon collapsed into hundreds of tiny sword qi, which instantly regrouped and plunged into the ground with a roar.
“Damn!”
Lin Xuan Dao Child pressed his palm down. Countless threads shot into the earth, lifting him so he didn’t touch the ground.
He ran through the air on these threads, while below, a cyan dragon burst from the ground, dove back in, then emerged again. Each time it surfaced, Qin Mu’s foot landed on its head, chasing Lin Xuan Dao Child through the sky.
Qin Mu flicked his fingers, producing thunderous sounds that also carried a melody. Lin Xuan Dao Child’s face changed. “Damn, he’s taken the lead. I’ll have to use the Dao Gate’s ultimate sword technique!”
Note ①: The Wheel-Carving Seal is derived from a fable in Zhuangzi, Chapter 13, The Way of Heaven. It involves a dialogue between Duke Huan of Qi and Wheelwright Bian.