Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 51: Chapter 49: Stealing the Celestial Secret is Complete, The Army of Tigers and Wolves

As he touched the two Tiger Talismans, a stream of icy energy suddenly flowed into his body through his skin.

The Thunderbolt Breathing Technique began to operate on its own.

Wan Ze was startled.

’What is this?’

He hurriedly looked at his data frame, trying to spot any subtle changes.

But before he could figure out what was happening...

Suddenly, the world before him seemed to distort for an instant. Then, as if pulled into a strange nexus, his vision changed completely!

...

A military encampment stretched for dozens of miles, its brocade banners fluttering in the wind, each emblazoned with the large character for ”Ying.”

Tens of thousands of soldiers stood in formation, their armor gleaming. Their momentum was like a rainbow, exuding the harsh aura of war.

The two halves of the Tiger Talisman fit together perfectly, as if they were one from the start.

The general raised the Tiger Talisman, turned to face the army, and lifted his arms high, his voice booming, ”By order of His Majesty, we are to reinforce Upper Commandery and expel the Great Rong! Let us display the might of our great Ying Kingdom!”

”Expel the Great Rong! Display our might!”

Thirty thousand divine soldiers roared in unison!

A vast and powerful momentum shot toward the heavens!

...

Wan Ze was lost in a daze for a long time.

Until the sound of a distant siren reached him.

He snapped back to his senses.

Gazing at the Tiger Talisman in his hand, his eyes were filled with shock and uncertainty.

He couldn’t be sure if what he had just seen was a hallucination or something that had actually happened.

But...

”The Ying Kingdom...”

”The Tiger Talisman...”

”Thirty thousand Profound Armor Divine Soldiers!”

Wan Ze let out a long breath.

As he frowned in thought, his gaze suddenly froze.

...

[Illustrated Guide: Thunderbolt Breathing Technique] (Ultimate - Mastered)

[Effect 1: Sharp Perception]

[Effect 2: When used with Iron Mountain Fist, enhances Power and ferocity]

[Effect 3: Concentrating Breath and Spirit]

[Effect 4: Stealing Celestial Secret (Seizing the fortune of heaven and earth)]

[Celestial Secret stolen this time: Tiger and Wolf Momentum]

...

Wan Ze was slightly stunned.

”Tiger and Wolf Momentum?”

He suddenly recalled the thirty thousand Profound Armor Divine Soldiers he had seen in that instant. Their momentum was indeed as vast as a mountain, thousands, even tens of thousands of times more powerful than the fierce tiger from his visualizations.

’If I could unleash this in a fight, I’m sure it would be enough to intimidate any petty villain!’

The sound of the siren was soon right beside him.

But before they could get close, a military vehicle from the Police Headquarters sped in first, blocking the intersection.

WHAM!

The door of the military vehicle was thrown open, and a figure leaped out, striding over quickly.

”Junior Brother?”

”Senior Brother, I’m over here.”

Wan Ze walked out from the woods and, seeing Zhai Jia, gave him a subtle wave.

Seeing this, Zhai Jia turned and shouted, ”Secure the area! No one is to approach!”

SHUFFLE SHUFFLE SHUFFLE!

A company of soldiers raised their guns and surrounded the area. The faces of the people in the police department’s car immediately turned green.

”Junior Brother, what’s the situation?” Zhai Jia asked as he strode over.

Wan Ze led him to the body, speaking quickly in a low voice, ”This is Lie Hu from the Secret Palace.”

”Lie Hu? The same guy Ah Ming ran into before?” Zhai Jia said, stunned. ”He was waiting to ambush you? And you killed him?”

”Yes.” Wan Ze nodded and handed over the Tiger Talisman. ”I also found this.”

The moment he saw the Tiger Talisman, Zhai Jia was dumbfounded. ”So you’re telling me this dumbass brought the goods to kill you, but you turned the tables and killed him instead...”

”Yes.”

”Fucking hilarious, serves him right. He tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice to lure it. But that’s normal, the people from the Secret Palace are all dumbasses like that...”

Zhai Jia handed the Tiger Talisman back. ”You keep this thing. Do whatever you want with it.”

After Stealing the Celestial Secret, Wan Ze knew the item was indeed from the Ying Kingdom, but... he also felt it was too much trouble.

If the Imperial Mausoleum really did contain the legacy techniques of Qi Refiners, his Cultivation at the mere Blood Tempering Second Transformation was nowhere near enough to even be a contender.

’In the end, I’m still too weak.’

Still, the fact that an old artifact from the Ying Kingdom could be used for Stealing a Celestial Secret truly tempted him.

”I’ll take care of things here...”

”Senior Brother, thanks for the trouble.”

The people from the Police Headquarters escorted Wan Ze away. The procedures with the police department went quickly; they had no intention of giving Wan Ze any trouble.

When Wan Ze got home, his parents were in the living room, looking nervously at the crowd gathered downstairs.

”Xiaozhe, what happened downstairs? Why are there so many people?”

His parents didn’t yet know that Wan Ze was the one at the center of the incident.

He replied casually, ”I was too far away to see clearly...”

Father Wan said worriedly, ”I wonder if it’s about the layoffs. There was an armed brawl over at the east end of the bridge this morning... These times are just terrible.”

Wan Ze: ”...”

He coughed lightly. ”It’s getting late. I’m going to my room to sleep.”

The crowd gathered downstairs soon dispersed.

Zhai Jia sent Wan Ze a message: [All taken care of. Pretty lucky, no one noticed you.]

[Senior Brother, thanks.]

[No problem.]

Wan Ze put down his communicator, took out the Tiger Talisman again, and fell into thought.

’Stealing Celestial Secret... Can it be done with any old artifact... or only specific ones?’

He decided to check out an antique shop first thing in the morning.

To confirm his theory.

A cold night wind blew through the half-open window, making the curtains sway slightly.

The room quickly fell silent.

Wan Ze sat cross-legged on his bed, calming his mind to begin his Cultivation.

...

A dreary rain fell all night. Early in the morning, with puddles still on the ground, a car sped past, splashing water and drawing a volley of curses from pedestrians waiting at the bus stop.

The chilly autumn wind kept blowing Wan Ze’s hair back. In previous years, he would have caught a cold and run a fever from the sudden drop in temperature. But now, after starting his martial arts training, he didn’t feel the slightest chill in his thin clothes. He only put on a decent jacket so as not to attract attention.

He walked along the sidewalk for about ten minutes until he stood before a round archway with a brass plaque.

The shop door was open.

A pale yellow light shone from within. Basically no one visited the antique shop at this hour, so when Wan Ze appeared, the old man behind the counter, who was wearing glasses and dusting the countertop with a feather duster, was taken aback for a moment.

”Can I help you with something?”

”Just looking around. Don’t mind me.”

Hearing this, the old man nodded and smiled. ”Then look around as you please. Most of the items in my shop are treasures I’ve collected from the countryside, along with some fine pieces sold to me by fallen aristocrats...”

Wan Ze browsed casually, reaching out to touch a wooden carving.

No reaction.

He proceeded to touch several old artifacts, but without exception, there was no reaction.

He fell into thought.

’If these are all genuine items but I can’t Steal a Celestial Secret from them, it means there’s a certain threshold to trigger the reaction...’

’And if these are all fakes...’

He looked at the old man.

The old man was also looking at him.

Their eyes met, each harboring a sliver of suspicion toward the other.

”Genuine?”

”Treasures!”

”Guaranteed authentic?”

”Looking for trouble?”

The old man grew wary and glanced behind Wan Ze, as if worried that a few burly men were about to rush in.

Wan Ze was speechless. ’What a hassle,’ he thought. But since they all just looked like artificially aged artifacts, he simply turned and left.

On his way, he made a call to Lei Ming, wanting to go visit Professor Song.

’Professor Song definitely has some genuine items.’

He also mentioned the matter of the Tiger Talisman, which nearly made Lei Ming explode with excitement.

”For real? Ah Ze, you better not be messing with me!”

”It’s real,” Wan Ze said with a smile.

”Holy shit!” Lei Ming immediately jumped up in excitement. ”That son of a bitch Lie Hu! My only regret is that I couldn’t kill that bastard myself... But that asshole never saw it coming, did he? He probably thought bringing a few more guys would be enough to handle you... HAHAHAHA, awesome! Where are you? I’m coming to find you!”

Not long after Wan Ze gave him the address, Lei Ming drove over to find him. His previous gloom was completely gone as he grabbed Wan Ze and said eagerly, ”Ah Ze, hurry up and tell me all the details... This is so damn satisfying!”