Chapter 845: Dragons and Serpents Dance Chaotically in the Southern Wastes
"Ling'er!"
Qin Mu's heart filled with joy as he plucked the little fox from atop his head. Before he could get a good look at her, the white fox slipped out of his hands, climbed back onto his head, and covered his face with her tail.
"Ling'er, stop messing around. I already guessed it was you."
He took her down again, and only then did the little white fox settle down. She wrapped her tail around his arm, made a nest on his chest, and curled up comfortably, her body coiled together. From time to time, she blinked her jet-black eyes, gazing at Qin Mu's face.
The little fox's blink was quite alluring.
"Master," she said.
Qin Mu hummed in acknowledgment. Fox Ling'er called out "Master" again, and Qin Mu hummed once more. The little white fox relaxed, closed her eyes, and pretended to sleep, while a few of her fluffy tails quietly lifted to tickle Qin Mu's chin.
Yan'er, seeing her, was delighted and took Fox Ling'er from Qin Mu's arms. Fox Ling'er quickly escaped her embrace and burrowed back into Qin Mu's chest.
Yan'er picked her up again, and Fox Ling'er was about to run back when suddenly a spirit pill was stuffed into her mouth. She stopped immediately and lay obediently in Yan'er's arms.
Bashan Academy Head said, "Fox Ling'er is currently in charge of the demon academy at my Lijiang Academy. If you go out, the most chaotic and smoky place you'll see in Lijiang Academy is the demon academy. But Fox Ling'er has a wide network of connections. She invited Fox Immortal, Gray Immortal, Tiger Venerable, Great Venerable, Nether Capital Heavenly King, and others to teach. The demon academy is actually more prosperous than the other academies. However, Academy Head Fox has a bit of a gangster air about her; she always likes being called 'Big Sister.'"
"Ling'er has always been like that. Azure Ox and Fatty Long are her sworn younger brothers."
Qin Mu laughed and shook his head. He turned to look at the little fox in Yan'er's arms and began counting Fox Ling'er's tails one by one. Fox Ling'er's tails danced about, making his vision blur. After counting for a long time, he still couldn't figure out how many there were.
"To be honest, Nether Capital Heavenly King Tian Shu is her sworn elder brother. Fatty Long swore brotherhood with that Heavenly King and also loves drinking, so his relationship with Ling'er is actually better than with Fatty Long."
Qin Mu said in surprise, "Ling'er actually managed to invite Great Venerable to teach? That's beyond my expectations."
Bashan Academy Head suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "So that's why Nether Capital Heavenly King kept coming to my place—he had his eye on my wine. I thought he appreciated me. Academy Head Fox even invited Xing Han to teach at my Lijiang Academy, but he only taught a few classes before leaving. I figure these guys have notorious reputations, and probably no other academy or school would take them. Only my Lijiang Academy is open-minded enough to let these heretics teach."
Qin Mu said nothing, but thought to himself, "Senior Brother Bashan's Lijiang Academy is indeed the most chaotic and mixed of all the academies."
Even before arriving at Lijiang Academy, when he looked from afar, he had already seen all sorts of strange phenomena swirling above it. There was the sharp aura of martial artists—like a tiger descending a mountain, a white elephant treading the sea, or a hungry eagle hunting prey—along with the terrifying demonic phenomena formed by demonic cultivators, the demon clouds of demon clan experts, the sword qi of sword cultivators, and the auspicious clouds of spell masters.
Bashan had said the demon academy was chaotic, but in truth, the entire Lijiang Academy was a mess.
But precisely because of this, Lijiang Academy could foster collisions between various divine abilities and techniques, and clashes between different schools of thought.
After arriving at Lijiang Academy, Qin Mu found it to be the wildest of all the academies. Along the way, he had already witnessed dozens of fights, big and small!
The Imperial Academy supervisors and Academy Heads at Lijiang Academy didn't mind this at all; instead, they cheered and encouraged the fighters, taking pride in their disciples' victories.
Bashan Academy Head's eyes flickered as he said, "Junior Brother, if you've come to study, listening to lectures isn't the best way to learn."
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow and humbly asked, "Senior Brother, then what is the best way?"
Bashan Academy Head laughed heartily. "Naturally, it's fighting. Every academy in my Lijiang Academy has achieved something. The forefront of the Yan Kang Reformation isn't at the Imperial Academy—that place is too orthodox. They're timid about developing new techniques and divine abilities, afraid of being punished by the Emperor. But here, the Emperor is far away, and Emperor Yanfeng can't reach us. Here, any technique can be developed, and any martial art or divine ability exists."
He stood up, shook off his cloak, revealing his broad chest and muscular build, and said calmly, "And any divine ability or technique—whether it's good or not—depends on how it performs in actual combat. Since you've come to my Lijiang Academy to study, of course, you'll have to fight your way through every academy here. Go through them all."
Qin Mu put on a timid expression. "Fighting my way through? That doesn't sound very good, does it?"
Bashan Academy Head glanced at him sidelong. "Junior Brother isn't scared, is he?"
Qin Mu nodded repeatedly and sighed. "Yan'er likes to feed people, and she's already used up all my medicinal pills. I replenished my stock on the way, but it's almost gone too. If I end up injuring the Academy Heads and Imperial Academy supervisors of Lijiang Academy, what would I use to heal them?"
Bashan Academy Head clenched his fists, his bones cracking, and chuckled. "Junior Brother has made great progress over the years. Your words have much more swagger than before, and even your breathing is heavier."
Qin Mu's breath was weak, and he said feebly, "I'm certainly no match for Senior Brother. You've long since broken through the Divine Bridge and become a god. But I've only just barely opened the Heavenly River Divine Treasury, and I don't know how long it will take me to reach the Heavenly Palace. Grandpa Tu must have taught you some new saber techniques, right? And Martial Arts Heavenly Master probably taught you a lot of good things too. You've likely learned quite a bit from the remnants of the Chi Ming clan. I wouldn't dare say I'm even slightly stronger than you."
Bashan Academy Head waved his hands frantically and said, "I'm not as hardworking as you. You're the Overlord Body, and you're more diligent than I am. I definitely can't beat you—at best, I can only beat you half to death."
Qin Mu stretched his body, and the sound of a dragon's roar came from within. He laughed, "Grandpa Tu is right here. How could he bear to watch me beat his prized disciple until he's picking his teeth off the ground?"
"Indeed, Heavenly Saber Teacher can't stand to see me beat you black and blue. If this old man saw me knock you out of bed, wouldn't he draw his saber and kill me?"
The two of them walked out as they spoke. Qin Mu activated the Overlord Body Three-Dantian Technique to loosen his muscles and bones, while Bashan Academy Head drew his Overlord Saber, held it upright in front of him, and spat out wind, fire, clouds, and lightning to temper the divine blade.
Yan'er blinked as she watched them walk out the door.
Fox Ling'er quickly jumped down from her arms, transforming as she landed into an eight- or nine-year-old girl. She opened her mouth, and Yan'er precisely popped a spirit pill into it.
"Master is going to fight? Can he win?"
Yan'er continued feeding, saying, "That man just now was very strong. His primordial spirit is very well refined."
Fox Ling'er crunched the spirit pill noisily and said, "Master is also very strong. Academy Head Bashan wants to beat him—that's a bit of a stretch... Can these spirit pills be made hollow? If each pill had some fine wine inside, the taste would be even better."
Imperial Heaven came over to them and opened his mouth. Yan'er fed him a pill.
Imperial Heaven said in a deep voice, "Spirit pills with wine? Are they good?"
Fox Ling'er glanced at him and beamed. "You're Lan Yutian, Young Master Lan? I heard about you when I was in the capital last time. You're Master's younger brother. Why do you have the surname Lan? Spirit pills with wine taste great, but I've never eaten them that way. Usually, I eat spirit pills on a plate and drink wine with them. Senior Brother San Duo tried it and said it was good too. But I think adding wine inside the pill would taste even better."
Imperial Heaven looked eager to try.
The three of them walked out of the hall. Outside, Qin Mu had already started fighting with Bashan Academy Head. The two had gone from the ground straight into the sky. Bashan Academy Head was the founder of the Combat Arts Synthesis, and he had also contributed to the Yan Kang Reformation.
Over the years, as the Yan Kang divine abilities had exploded in development, Bashan Academy Head's combat skills had become even more astonishing.
Although the Southern Wastes were geographically remote, the convergence of techniques there made it the most lawless place. As a result, divine abilities and techniques had advanced rapidly. With Martial Arts Heavenly Master Zhuo Cha, Heavenly Saber Butcher, Chi Ming Divine Son, Xing Han, and others coming to teach, Bashan Academy Head's abilities had grown tremendously. Both his martial combat skills and his divine abilities had undergone earth-shattering improvements.
He had studied under Heavenly Saber Butcher and learned the Heavenly Saber Nine Techniques from him. However, at the time, Butcher had slashed at the heavens and had his physical body severed, faking his death and hiding in the Great Ruins.
Since he hadn't been able to learn the complete Heavenly Saber Nine Techniques, Bashan had created his own Overlord Saber Seven Forms, using Combat Arts Synthesis to compensate for his shortcomings in the saber path.
Later, when Butcher reappeared, he said Bashan was unworthy and that his saber techniques had degenerated into a lowly form.
Now, however, Bashan Academy Head had taken his own path even further, enough to make Heavenly Saber Butcher look at him with new respect.
His saber techniques concealed divine abilities, making them incredibly powerful. With his Overlord Saber, he was equally adept at close combat and long-range attacks. Moreover, his strength was immense. Every time Qin Mu blocked one of his strikes, he was sent flying a hundred or two hundred feet before he could stabilize himself.
Bashan Academy Head pressed forward relentlessly. His saber techniques changed in countless ways—sometimes mixed with divine fire, sometimes with heavenly thunder. One moment, he would slash down, and the saber light would stir up a vast ocean; the next, he would swing his blade, and magnetic forces would erupt.
Qin Mu retreated repeatedly, fighting with great difficulty.
In Lijiang Academy, Niu Sanduo and Azure Ox stopped beating up Dragon Qilin and Water Qilin and looked up, praising in unison, "Excellent saber technique! Excellent divine ability! Academy Head Bashan is remarkable. Combat Arts Synthesis is truly formidable. If applied to martial divine abilities, it could elevate martial power to another level!"
Azure Ox stood on two hooves, hands on his hips, and said smugly, "My master beats your master. My godfather makes you howl in pain. Fatty Long, see how you can compete with me now!"
The old farmer and the Butcher walked over and looked up. The old farmer said, "Your disciple's skills aren't bad, but he's about to lose."
Yu Zhaoqing, dressed in flowing, colorful robes, walked over and looked up at the sky. "Martial Arts Heavenly Master, why do you say that? Academy Head Bashan's Combat Arts Synthesis is a unique art of Yan Kang. In terms of pure power, few among the honored gods are his match. I've seen him fight Tiger Venerable, and even Tiger Venerable couldn't subdue him."
The Butcher explained, "His Combat Arts Synthesis has reached this point, which is no small feat. But to simultaneously achieve saber-embodied Dao, martial-embodied Dao, and divine ability-embodied Dao—all three paths into the Dao—is extremely difficult. Although he is the founder of Combat Arts Synthesis, his talent is not as good as the Sixth Princess of the Ling Clan. As soon as Mu'er unleashes a divine ability that embodies the Dao, he will lose."
The old farmer said, "He is too greedy. Achieving a single path into the Dao is already rare in the world. How difficult is it to achieve three paths into the Dao? Not to mention anything else, there are not many who can achieve martial-embodied Dao. The Qin kid is one of them."
Just as they were speaking, a clattering sound came from the path. Several more people were climbing the mountain. A handsome young man stood on a box, which had six legs and climbed the mountain as if on flat ground.
Behind this strange box was a boy with deer-like legs, following beside a young man in purple clothes.
"Xing Han." The Butcher snorted coldly, and the divine saber at his back let out a crisp sound as it was partially drawn.
The box ran over and stopped abruptly in front of the group.
The young man on the box had been looking up at the battle in the sky. Only when he heard the saber sound did he withdraw his gaze and say calmly, "Heavenly Saber, you are no match for me."
The Butcher laughed heartily. "Who was it back then that I chased all over the place? I heard you went to the Southern Sea to beg the Chi Ming Divine Son to use his Creation Divine Ability to rebuild your physical body. You're not still running around stealing other people's bodies, are you? Your new body has just grown back, hasn't it? I won't take advantage of you. If you want revenge, you can come find me anytime!"
Xing Han shook his head. "I have no interest in you. I'm here to see Academy Lord Qin... Such a fascinating body..."
His eyes burned with fervor as he looked up at Qin Mu, who was locked in fierce combat with Bashan Academy Head in the sky.
The Chi Ming Divine Son walked over and laughed, "Heavenly Saber, don't misunderstand. Xing Han heard that Academy Lord Qin had arrived and has a problem he wants to ask him to solve. His skill in the Creation Divine Art is not inferior to mine. He came to the Southern Sea to consult me, and although I helped him solve part of the problem, there are still some flaws left in his attempt to rebuild his physical body. I told him that Academy Lord Qin is the highest authority on the path of Creation, so he came upon hearing the news."
Xing Han said calmly, "On the path of Creation, Academy Lord Qin is number one in the world. Chi Ming Divine Son and I are tied for second."