Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 328: Chapter 186: The Vicious Beast Awakens

”Brother Feng, so it’s over?” Wan Ze asked, turning his head.

”It’s over.” Feng Jiuchen nodded, then suddenly chuckled and clapped Wan Ze on the shoulder. ”My friend, let me tell you something from the heart. You’ve got some serious luck with women.”

”...” Wan Ze turned to look at him, his expression unchanging.

Feng Jiuchen chuckled, retracting his hand and crossing his arms. He tilted his head, looking at Wan Ze. ”No need to explain. I get it. That girl is definitely into you. Otherwise, how could she subconsciously recognize you when you’re disguised like this? Think about it. From her perspective, you currently look like a hulking stranger—stubble-faced, broad-shouldered, and thick-waisted. A world of difference from how you look in reality. But she still said your name and asked about your exams. That’s no ordinary fixation.”

He paused, as if savoring Liu Yu’s final words, and said with a suppressed laugh, ”Looks to me like she was jealous you were with another girl.”

”...You’re overthinking it.” Wan Ze shut down the topic with that one sentence.

’Liu Yu belongs to the real world, and Huangliang is a world beyond reality. It’s best if the two never mix.’

Feng Jiuchen just smiled and didn’t press the matter.

’Who hasn’t been young?’

’Back in his day, he’d also been a player, passing through a field of flowers without a single petal clinging to him.’

’All those years doing business overseas... what kind of woman hadn’t he met? What kind of scene hadn’t he witnessed?’

’And now?’

’Hiding away in Huangliang Village all by himself, unable to even find a soul to confide in.’

’Best to let the young folks sort out their own messes. An old man like him should just enjoy the show.’

Seeing that Wan Ze didn’t want to talk, he decided to change the subject. He pointed toward the range of overlapping peaks ahead, his tone growing serious once more. ”We’re almost there. Be extremely careful once we enter those mountains. We might encounter Deceitful Beasts. The area around the Tomb is always crawling with them; some are drawn by the Qi from within the Tomb, while others are flushed out from the deep mountains after being disturbed. Either way, running into one is a huge pain.”

”Understood.” Wan Ze nodded, his gaze following Feng Jiuchen’s pointed finger.

That mountain range was unlike any he had ever seen. The mountains themselves were a color as if they’d been stained by something, a shade somewhere between ink-green and deep blue.

Vegetation was sparse, and the slopes were mostly bare rock.

Wan Ze scanned the mountains that had just appeared from Liu Yu’s dream. Under the Red Moon, the newly formed peaks stood tall and majestic, blending seamlessly with the surrounding ranges.

Without a close look, it was impossible to tell which had always been there and which had just been created.

He pointed to the nearest peak. ”Brother Feng, won’t they disappear?”

”Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.” Feng Jiuchen shook his head, speaking frankly. ”It’s hard to say what the specific criteria are. That’s just how the rules of Huangliang work. Some things you think are temporary end up lasting forever. Others you think will be around forever just vanish in a puff of smoke. Maybe this friend of yours has some real ability; the things she dreams up are more substantial than an ordinary person’s and have more staying power. Or maybe she has a powerful attachment to something here. The stronger the attachment, the longer the dream’s remnants will last.”

He paused, looking at the new peaks, lost in thought.

”Maybe she could even become a Qi Refiner one day.”

Wan Ze’s interest was suddenly piqued. He turned to Feng Jiuchen, his gaze serious. ”Brother Feng, how do you determine if someone can become a Qi Refiner?”

Feng Jiuchen seemed to guess what he was thinking. He mulled it over for a moment before choosing his words carefully. ”Usually, each sect has a beginner’s Breathing Technique for testing those with potential. If they can freely enter and exit Huangliang within half a year, it proves they have the aptitude. Entering and exiting Huangliang doesn’t require immense combat strength; you just need a Divine Soul stable enough to switch between the two worlds without collapsing. It’s like swimming: some people get tossed in the water and figure it out after flailing for a bit, while others practice their whole lives and are still afraid of the water.”

He paused, his tone growing more cautious.

”But as you know, the existence of Huangliang is not public knowledge. That’s the decree of the Five Elders Association, and no one dares to defy them. So, when the major sects recruit, they don’t hang up flashy posters or run ads in the real world. They select their targets from the unwitting mortals who stumble into Huangliang, observing their behavior and assessing their potential. Only when they find a suitable candidate will they send someone to make contact.”

Wan Ze nodded, processing this new information.

’Freely entering and exiting Huangliang within half a year... He certainly fit that description, but he relied on Feng Jiuchen’s communicator to get here. That didn’t count as ”freely entering and exiting.” ’

’His case was a special one, not a good standard for comparison.’

”So, do you think my classmate has a chance?” he asked.

”Hard to say.” Feng Jiuchen answered cautiously. ”For now, her Spiritual Power is at least passable. After all, creating a spectacle like an army of thousands and reshaping the landscape isn’t something an ordinary person can do. Her upper limit for Spiritual Power might be much higher than I predicted. However, her stay was very brief, which shows her adaptation to Huangliang isn’t strong enough yet. Her Divine Soul is still too unstable.”

He thought for a moment before adding, ”If we happen to run into her again, it might be worth a try. Don’t you worry. If she has the fateful opportunity, the Tongchen Pavilion will lend her a hand. Of course, if she finds a better path, the Tongchen Pavilion will respect her choice.”