Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: A Mismatch of Divinations

While Ji Xiongying was having his ’fortuitous encounter’, Lü Yang arrived in the most prosperous district of Celestial Capital City, a place teeming with the highest number of Martial Artists.

Righteous Academy.

The academy, which held a volume of the Celestial Book and had pioneered the Fourth Step of Martial Arts, had now faintly become a sacred land for Martial Arts.

Strangely enough, however, after creating the Fourth Step of Martial Arts and spreading the method throughout the world, the dean of Righteous Academy, the ’Saint Heart Scholar’ Wang Boyuan, had gradually vanished from public view. He became increasingly reclusive, to the point that now, even the academy’s upper echelons rarely saw him.

’What an auspicious place.’

To avoid attracting attention, Lü Yang had already dissolved his physical form, transforming into a formless wisp of qi as he surveyed Righteous Academy with great interest.

In his opinion, the academy was a perfect example of a spiritual land nurturing brilliant minds.

Throughout all of Celestial Capital City, only this place overflowed with Spiritual Qi. Even an ordinary person, if they studied here for a few years, would develop a measure of spiritual wisdom and ingenuity.

What was even more marvelous, however, was that this was not a work of natural creation, but an artificial one... The overall layout of the academy, the position of every classroom, the placement of flowers, birds, fish, and insects, and the arrangement of various landscapes—it all elevated the mundane art of ”feng shui” to a point where it could almost be considered a rudimentary Spirit-Gathering Array!

Based on this point alone, Lü Yang knew that the ’Saint Heart Scholar’ was the real deal.

Thinking of this, Lü Yang took a single step and instantly appeared in a study deep within the academy, preparing to meet this famous native.

He was then surprised by the scene inside the study.

The person in the study was not the handsome, refined scholar he had imagined, but a slovenly man with disheveled hair and a grimy face, constantly drinking wine.

’This is the ’Saint Heart Scholar’?’

Just then, the slovenly man suddenly raised his head, his drunken eyes hazy as he looked toward Lü Yang’s position. ”To think I’d have an honored guest.”

...

With a single thought, Lü Yang re-formed his body, shifting from formless Qi into a tangible form. He cupped his fists in a salute to the slovenly man. ”Lü Yang greets Fellow Daoist Wang.”

”Boyuan greets our honored guest.”

The slovenly man returned the salute, then brushed off his sleeves and stood up. He exclaimed in admiration, ”Your skills are extraordinary. Your previous battle with Martial King up in the sky, in particular, astounded me. I almost thought an Immortal God had descended to the mortal world... I just wonder, for what purpose have you come looking for me?”

”I wish to discuss the Path of Celestial Martial Arts with you, Fellow Daoist.”

Lü Yang got straight to the point, stating bluntly, ”Although I have some understanding of the Fourth Step of Martial Arts, I have yet to grasp the key principles. I ask that you teach me, Fellow Daoist.”

Hearing this, Wang Boyuan blinked. ”With your abilities, you’re also interested in Martial Arts?”

”We can learn from others’ strengths to make up for our own weaknesses.”

Lü Yang said coolly, ”Are you willing to teach me, Fellow Daoist?”

At these words, Wang Boyuan burst out laughing. ”A visitor is a guest, and an honored one at that! Since you wish to learn, I will naturally tell you everything I know and hold nothing back!”

”However, the Path of Celestial Human is created by each Martial Artist based on their own understanding of Heaven and Earth and of themselves. Therefore, I cannot describe it to you in exhaustive detail. I can only briefly explain my personal method. If you still have doubts, honored guest, you can ask the other Celestial Martial Masters.”

At this, the two immediately sat down facing each other.

”The Fourth Step of Martial Arts... I call it ’Comprehending the Fate of Heaven and Humans.’ As the name implies, it is about using one’s own power to glimpse the fate of the world!”

”My ’Fate-Seeing Technique’ is just like that.”

”First, observe Man to know their physiognomy. Then, observe Earth to know its geomancy. Finally, observe Heaven to know Fate! These three are all interlinked!”

”From Man, observe Earth; from Earth, observe Heaven; from Heaven, observe fate... At my level, I can know the changes of the world without leaving my home. I can see shifts in the nation’s fortune, where disasters will strike, where rebellions will arise, which officials are neglecting their duties, and which salaried nobles are exploiting the common people. I can see most of it.”

”Although there are still errors and omissions, I can be right seven or eight times out of ten...”

To Lü Yang’s surprise, Wang Boyuan really didn’t hold anything back, explaining the ”Fate-Seeing Technique” in its entirety. Its transformations even touched upon karmic links!

Of course, this wasn’t true divination of karmic links.

Strictly speaking, what Wang Boyuan did was merely ”guessing.” Therefore, he couldn’t calculate specifics, only grasp the general picture and learn of certain events.

But even so, it was stunning enough!

’How did he do it?’

Faced with Lü Yang’s confusion, Wang Boyuan shook his head. ”To be honest, I simply had a moment of sudden inspiration one day... There was no special trick to it.”

”I see.”

Lü Yang could only nod at his words. The two then conversed for several more hours before he finally stood up to take his leave, planning to visit the other Celestial Martial Masters.

Meanwhile, within the Wei Family’s residence.

The Yun Family Ancestor opened his Dharma Eye, silently and without a trace witnessing the entire exchange between Lü Yang and Wang Boyuan. He then retracted his gaze, without the slightest ripple of emotion.

’That Demon is truly ignorant.’

He had no interest in Wang Boyuan’s enlightenment, because no one knew better than him that Wang Boyuan’s inspiration was something he had only attained because he himself had manipulated the karmic links!

In any case, it wasn’t a method that could truly comprehend karmic links, just a mortal’s ”method of guessing.” The Yun Family Ancestor couldn’t care less, and he sneered inwardly. ’Discussing the Dao with the Celestial Martial Masters? Is he trying to take a Fifth Step on the foundation I laid, to pull Martial Arts back onto the right track?’

’An absolute pipe dream!’

’After all, by manipulating karmic links, I enabled Wang Boyuan to pioneer the Fourth Step of Martial Arts, raising the limit of Martial Arts to the Final-phase of Qi Refining. That is already the absolute limit.’

’Because anything higher is Foundation Establishment!’

’And how could a method for Foundation Establishment possibly be created by Lü Yang?’ Thus, in the Ancestor’s eyes, everything Lü Yang was doing was pointless and futile.

According to his calculations, the path of the Celestial Beings had already disrupted Lü Yang’s cultivation of ”Theft to Sainthood.” To break the stalemate, Lü Yang’s only option was to first kill all the Celestial Martial Masters and then forbid their path. As for himself, what he needed to do was kill Lü Yang’s avatar, forcing him to act personally.

In that way, Lü Yang would be walking right into his trap.

From this perspective, Wang Boyuan was merely a pawn of the Ancestor.

And the Ancestor naturally had not the slightest interest in a pawn. As for what Lü Yang found so stunning, it wasn’t even worth mentioning in the Ancestor’s eyes.

This included Lü Yang himself. Although the Yun Ancestor treated him as a serious opponent, he still held a deep-seated disdain for him in his heart.

’Because in the end, they are all just a bunch of mortals.’

’With the artifact gifted by the Sect Leader, even a Foundation-Stage Cultivator couldn’t detect my presence. What kind of trouble could a mere mortal possibly cause?’

...

After leaving Righteous Academy, Lü Yang once again transformed into a formless wisp of qi and drifted through the streets and alleys of Celestial Capital City, carefully contemplating his recent conversation with Wang Boyuan.

’Fate-Seeing Technique...’

Thousands of miles away, Lü Yang’s true body opened its eyes. A halo of light blazed from behind his head as the Heaven Divination Talisman began to operate, silently divining the many changes in Celestial Capital City.

The feedback from the karmic links showed: everything was normal.

’Celestial Capital City will be stable for the next thirty years. The karmic links show no changes. That’s to be expected, since there are two Celestial Martial Artists stationed there...’

Immediately after, Lü Yang suddenly changed his approach. Instead of directly divining the karmic links of Celestial Capital City from a ”macro” perspective, he adopted the thinking behind Wang Boyuan’s ’Fate-Seeing Technique’. He started with the people of Celestial Capital City, divining their individual karmic links, and then reverse-calculated the karmic links of Heaven and Earth.

He was only doing this to verify the ’Fate-Seeing Technique’.

The next second, however, Lü Yang froze.

’The breakfast stall on East Street, Wang Erniu’s family of three... According to the divination from the Heaven Divination Talisman, supplemented by the Fate-Seeing Technique, they should be blessed with many descendants, yet they face a great calamity of violent death...’

’The patrolling constable from the Six Gates, Chen Qing... faces a great calamity of violent death.’

’Li Chengrong... a great calamity of violent death.’

’Liu Xinshang... a great calamity of violent death.’

’Calamity! Calamity! Calamity!’

Everyone—almost every single person Lü Yang had seen in Celestial Capital City—had a great calamity of violent death in their fate, yet when zoomed out to the entire city, there was no change at all!

’How is that possible?’

’If every citizen in the city truly faced a calamity of violent death, then the entire Celestial Capital City would have long been shrouded in dark clouds of misfortune. Given my personality, I would have never come near it...’

’...No, that’s not right!’

In an instant, Lü Yang’s pupils shrank!

’One can see the significant from the minuscule; from Man, one can calculate Heaven. The fate of one person might be miscalculated, but if it’s the same for ten people, a thousand, ten thousand... then it is Heaven that is wrong!’

’Destiny and the karmic links have been obscured... Fucking hell, there’s a Foundation-Stage Cultivator in this Secret Realm trying to set me up!?’