Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 339: Chapter 190: Stunning the Fierce Beast, Lofty Ambitions

[Spiritual Form +88%]

The data panel in his vision flickered.

An 88% boost to his Spiritual Form. It wasn’t a huge amount, but it wasn’t insignificant either.

Wan Ze breathed a sigh of relief.

”This Token looks like it has some age on it.” Wan Ze gestured with the Token in his hand, turning it over to change the subject.

Under the Red Moon, the lines of the flame pattern on the back of the Token were clearly worn and blurry.

Feng Jiuchen glanced at it and explained, ”It’s an Official Disciple’s Token from the Li Huo Sect. There’s also the character for ’inner’ on it. Look... right here.”

He tapped a small character on the edge of the Token with his finger.

The character was so small you wouldn’t even notice it if you weren’t looking closely.

Feng Jiuchen said thoughtfully, ”Having this Token means that fat bastard was taken in as a disciple by one of the Li Huo Sect’s Elders. People like him have status within the Li Huo Sect.”

”So his death will trigger an investigation?” Wan Ze asked.

Feng Jiuchen nodded, not seeming particularly worried. ”If we run into the Li Huo Sect in the future, we’ll just keep a low profile... It shouldn’t be a big problem. As for this incident, we’ll keep it under wraps for as long as we can. Of course, if they find out right now, with our current strength, confronting them head-on would be suicide.”

’A shame there wasn’t much meat...’ Wan Ze understood the reasoning and casually tossed the Token back into the Storage Ring to return it.

Seeing that he didn’t want anything, Feng Jiuchen actually felt a bit embarrassed.

He was the type of person who’d get annoyed if you were polite with him, but if you really didn’t take anything, he’d feel like he owed you.

”...Then aren’t I just taking advantage of you?”

Feng Jiuchen scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then his eyes lit up. ”How about this? Are there any Magic Techniques you’re interested in? I can find one for you.”

At his words, Wan Ze’s eyes also lit up, and he didn’t beat around the bush. ”A Magic Technique for Sword Control... can Brother Feng find something like that?”

Feng Jiuchen came back to his senses, understood what he meant, and smiled. ”You mean the Sword Control Technique that guy just used?”

Wan Ze nodded.

He was a swordsman himself.

The two types of Swordsmanship he’d obtained from the Female Sword Immortal... Heaven and Earth Sword Pulling Slash and the Void Spirit-Slaying Sword.

One was an explosive killing move, while the other was something of a much higher level, one whose threshold he hadn’t even touched yet.

Besides these two types of Swordsmanship, he had no other offensive techniques.

He had now acquired the Double Python Seal, which was a defensive type, capable of saving his life at a critical moment.

If he could get a Sword Control Technique, then at least during the Qi Refining First Realm, he would be equipped for both ranged and close-quarters combat, unlike his current situation.

”Alright! Leave it to me.” Feng Jiuchen patted his chest, his tone confident. ”There are quite a few Sword Control Techniques out there. But as you know, once you reach the Second Realm, you can perform Artifact Manipulation on your own, so First Realm Sword Control Techniques aren’t considered very High Level. The truly powerful stuff requires Soul Condensation to use. The ones available in the First Realm are just transitional Techniques. To put it bluntly, they’re just to let you get a feel for it before you switch to a better one in the Second Realm.”

He paused, looked at Wan Ze, and his tone became more serious. ”You need to be mentally prepared for this, brother. I’m not saying I’m going to find you a bad one... but no matter how exquisite a First Realm Sword Control Technique is, it can’t break free from the ’Hand Seal and Qi’ framework. That’s because your Divine Soul isn’t strong enough yet to form a true connection with the sword.”

Wan Ze understood what he meant and of course didn’t mind.

A transitional Technique was still a Technique, and it was better than nothing.

He was like a man holding a knife without knowing how to use it. Anything that could teach him ”how to use it” was valuable.

The two of them then discussed their plans further.

The matter of the Tomb couldn’t be delayed, but it couldn’t be rushed either.

If they delayed, they risked being discovered. If they rushed, they risked being unprepared.

Feng Jiuchen’s idea was to divert the disaster, to draw the Li Huo Sect’s attention elsewhere so they wouldn’t be able to focus on this area for the time being.

The key was to get the balance right.

If the diversion was too minor, it would be useless; the Li Huo Sect wouldn’t give up on their chosen site over a small nuisance.

But making it too severe wouldn’t work either. If they angered the other party, it would only invite even more ferocious retaliation.

They had to find a balance between ”making them feel it’s not worth it” and ”making them feel it’s dangerous.”

”When a Tomb appears, there are always strange phenomena, and it’s impossible to hide it from those who are looking,” Feng Jiuchen said, his voice very low. ”Those old, established Sects have much stronger Perception Power of Qi than we do. A Tomb this large will be discovered sooner or later, no matter how well we hide it. So, all we can do is be the first ones to rush in and then escape during the chaos.”

He reached out and drew a circle on the ground, then an arrow, sketching out their escape route.

The plan wasn’t complex, but every step was considered: how to get in, what to take, how to run, and how to clean up afterward.

There were many details, but the Core was just one thing... Speed!

Get in fast, grab fast, run fast!

Don’t be greedy, don’t get tied up in fights, and don’t even think about emptying the Tomb. Getting one or two good items would be a win.

He knew full well how brutal the slaughter inside a Tomb could be.

Among the Qi Refiners drawn to a Tomb, there were no rules to their struggles. The one with the most strength called the shots, and the one with the fastest blade got to walk out alive.

For just the two of them, Wan Ze and himself, trying to snatch food from the tiger’s mouth in that kind of Xiuluo Scene would be incredibly difficult.

Feng Jiuchen looked toward the distant mountain range.

Just a moment ago, he had personally witnessed a terrifying Fierce Bird fall from the sky there.

That Fierce Bird was as large as a mountain, its wings blotting out the sky when spread. A single swipe of its claws could cause mountains to crumble and the earth to crack. Yet such a powerful being had fallen just like that, without even a chance to struggle... Huangliang was fraught with danger, but also with opportunity.