Chapter 318: Mister Nine

Chapter 318: Mister Nine

Ye Qing didn’t hurry back to the Inspection Department after leaving the building. Instead, he went to the Artificing Department.

“Joyless! You usually don’t visit me at this time. Are you on official business?”

The Artificing Department was the place where the Pacification Bureau forged, refined, and repaired their Strange Artifacts. As soon as Ye Qing had entered the department, he immediately went up to a steaming workshop where the blazing flames were so bright that they overpowered the natural light outside the building.

A white-haired, spirited-looking old man sitting on a rocking chair inside the building couldn’t seem to feel the heat, however. He was sipping his wine when he saw Ye Qing and called out to him.

“What, I can’t visit you when I’m free?” Ye Qing smiled while handing over a pair of wine jars.

The old man was none other than the one who had refined the Fog Demon into the Boundless Mara Buddha’s artifact spirit before, Old Zhang. He might look and feel like a normal person, but in reality he was powerful beyond measure. The workshop was so hot that even he, the guy who was reforged by a fucking flaming tornado, was feeling a little uncomfortable, but Old Zhang couldn’t even seem to feel it.

Since he cultivated the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”, his spiritual power was far greater than before. That was why he could clearly sense the terrifying power hidden within the old man’s seemingly frail body.

“A thirty-years-old Pear Blossom wine? Wonderful!” Old Zhang took a sniff and poured the sweet liquid down his throat twice.

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense. What do you need me for?” Old Zhang asked after he had had his fill.

“Hahaha...” Ye Qing took off the Blue Demon Hand and asked, “Can you check if it’s possible to refine this pair of gloves? Upgrade its level so to speak?”

Although the Blue Demon Hand was just a Red-class Strange Artifact, it had saved Ye Qing’s behind time and again. This was especially true for Hundred Poison, a stealthy and deadly poisonous gas that was useful even to this day. That was why Ye Qing was hoping that Old Zhang, the first or second greatest artificer of Strange Artifacts in Luo Shui, could improve its quality and extend its longevity.

“Oh? Let me see.”

Old Zhang accepted the Blue Demon Hand and gave it a casual glance. He then said, “It’s made from the scalp of the Hatred-class Stranger, the Blue Demon, tempered with the Hundred Poison, and forged using the Netherflame. Judging from the materials used, whoever made this was very ambitious. Unfortunately, their skill is so shoddy that the end product couldn’t even survive the tribulation, which damaged its roots and made it far weaker than it should have been. Shame, shame.”

“Impressive, Old Zhang! I can’t believe how much you figured just by looking at it!” Ye Qing praised. It wasn’t an empty compliment. He found out the Blue Demon Hand’s origin only because he had the Annon Sutra. Old Zhang found out through countless years of experience.

“Keep the bootlicking to yourself. Anyway, you’re lucky that the glove is made using very fine materials, but I’m still going to need a ton of materials to remake it better than what it was. In short, you best prepare your wallet for the worst.” Old Zhang set down the Blue Demon Hand and took another gulp of wine.

Ye Qing smiled and dropped a whole pile of Strange Artifacts and materials on the floor. “Will these work, Old Zhang?”

The pile consisted of countless Malice-class Strange Artifacts and materials and even four or five Hatred-class Strange Artifacts. He had gotten it from the jianghu warriors he killed, of course. He had kept a select few that he deemed were useful, but the rest were useless to him.

He was going to sell them or exchange them for contribution points down the line, but he absolutely didn’t mind spending them on the Blue Demon Hand if that was possible.

“Oh ho? It looks like you’ve collected quite the pile of useful garbage!” Old Zhang chuckled.

Ye Qing grinned. “Do you think they’re usable, Old Zhang?”

“More or less. I can see a handful of items that will be beneficial to the Blue Demon Hand’s upgrade.” Old Zhang dug through the pile a bit before asking lazily, “Oh right, didn’t Li’l Xuan give you a scale?”

“Li’l who?” Ye Qing was confused.

“I’m talking about Xuanhuang. Just gimme that scale already!” Old Zhang said impatiently.

“Oh, you mean Brother Xuanhuang?” Ye Qing exclaimed in realization before producing the scale the Xuanhuang Bow had gifted him. “Is this the one?”

“It is,” Old Zhang replied and made a grabbing motion. His hand was nowhere near Ye Qing, but the scale automatically slipped out of Ye Qing’s hand and into his own. “Li’l Xuan is a Phenomenon-class Strange Artifact made from the muscles, bones and scales of the Disaster-class Stranger, the Xuanhuang Drake, and this is a scale from the Xuanhuang Drake itself. It’s naturally an extraordinary artificing material.”

“I asked Li’l Xuan many times for a scale in the past, but that brat just wouldn’t agree no matter what. Hmph!”

Xuanhuang is a Phenomenon-class Strange Artifact? No wonder it’s so powerful, Ye Qing thought. “Do you need it to upgrade the Blue Demon Hand?”

The scale contained one full-powered attack of Xuanhuang, so it could save his life at a critical time. That was why he was reluctant to part with it.

Feng Qingyou continued, “Because Chu Wangsun is attending this meet, this year’s Hidden Dragon Meet is sure to be exceptionally grand. Anyone who catches his eyes would most likely be recommended into the Jixia Academy and rise to the top of the heavens.”

“Oh! Now I get it.” Ye Qing asked curiously, “But how did you know about this?”

Feng Qingyou smiled. “It’s not really a secret. A lot of people knew about it.”

Ye Qing squinted at her suspiciously. Are you trying to hoodwink me? If “a lot of people knew about it”, then why did Old Gu know nothing about it? Or maybe he knew, but didn’t tell me for some reason?

“If you are participating in the Hidden Dragon Meet, you may put on a good showing and try to join the Jixia Academy. It would not be a bad career path for you,” Feng Qingyou ended in an indifferent tone before producing a martial arts manual. “Anyway, here’s the translated version of the ‘Nine Impetus of Tai Chi’. It’s a Grandmaster-stage martial art.”

“Grandmaster stage?!” Ye Qing’s eyes lit up when he heard this.

Feng Qingyou took a sip of tea before continuing, “Technically, the ‘Nine Impetus of Tai Chi’ doesn’t count as an offensive-type martial art. It is a martial art about neutralizing and borrowing forces. Someone who grasps the nine impetus—activity or inactivity, rigidity or flexibility, fast or slow, light or heavy, leisure or urgent, real and unreal, strong and weak, yin or yang, life or death—shall grasp the timing of movement, the theory of weight, the concept of rigidity and flexibility, the idea of what is real and unreal, and finally achieve harmony in both yin and yang, and life and death. They would attain ‘Tai Chi’ and become impervious to anything and everything.”

“So, it’s a defensive-type martial art?” Ye Qing asked[1].

“Yes, and no. You’re half-right.” Feng Qingyou returned his earlier words to him.

“What do you mean?” Ye Qing couldn’t figure out her meaning since he didn’t possess her wealth of knowledge or experience. Luckily, he was never ashamed to ask a question.

Feng Qingyou answered dutifully, “The ‘Nine Impetus of Tai Chi’ is a defensive-type martial art, but it can be used offensively once you have mastered the nine impetus, familiarized yourselves with many martial arts and magic, obtained the keys to yin and yang, understood the power of life and death, and figured out the Way of Change. To put it in simpler terms, you would be able to borrow anyone’s strength as your own and reflect any attack that is thrown at you right back at them. This martial art has amazing potential.”

“What the heck? That’s Star Shift[2]!” Ye Qing blurted out without thinking.

“Star Shift? What’s a Star Shift?” Feng Qingyou tilted her head to one side in puzzlement.

“Ahem... it’s er, it’s also a godlike martial art that could borrow another’s strength and reflect any martial technique right back at the attacker,” Ye Qing explained.

“Hmm? That sounds very similar to the ‘Nine Impetus of Tai Chi’. But why haven’t I heard of it before?” It was Feng Qingyou’s turn to scrutinize him now.

Ye Qing tried to laugh it off, “There are countless martial arts in this world, haha. It’s perfectly natural that you wouldn’t know about it.”

“Those are reasonable words, but I’ll have you know that I know at least one to two thousand martial arts,” Feng Qingyou replied unhurriedly before enjoying a sip of tea.

Ye Qing: “...” I suspect you’re one-upping me, but I didn’t dare to question you because it might actually be the truth!

“Anyway, that’s not important.” Ye Qing forcefully changed the subject. “What is important, is that anyone who masters this martial art is no one to be scoffed at.”

“Correct. This is a martial art with amazing potential. Here, this is the translated version. I’ll be keeping the original for myself. You don’t mind, do you?” Feng Qingyou asked smilingly while handing over the translated version of the “Nine Impetus of Tai Chi”. She knew Ye Qing was changing the subject but didn’t press the matter.

“No problem. It’s not like I can read the original anyway,” Ye Qing answered happily while putting away the martial arts manual. Assuming that what Feng Qingyou said was accurate, to say that it had amazing potential would be an understatement. Sure, it was no match for the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”, but it was still leagues above your average martial arts.

The good news was that this martial art was incredible. The bad news was that the pile of martial arts he needed to study after entering the Martial Tower had increased by one. It’s back to school, dammit!

The duo conversed with each other for a while longer before Ye Qing finally took his leave. He still had to arrange Kung Fu Frog and Wawa accordingly and make his preparations.

“Would you be attending the Hidden Dragon Meet, Miss?” Uncle Feng appeared in the room and asked after Ye Qing was gone.

Feng Qingyou replied indifferently, “Who knows? I may get involved if it turns out to be interesting.”

Uncle Feng grinned. “Understood. I shall make the preparations then.”

After Uncle Feng was gone, Feng Qingyou caressed her cup and spoke to herself, “Wannabe dragons and tigers will be fighting in the Hidden Dragon Meet. Will they soar to the heavens, or be buried in mud?”

“This should be interesting.”

1. LOL I can literally imagine Feng Qingyou fuming on the inside. ?

2. A powerful martial art in Jin Yong’s books, able to reflect any attack back at one’s enemy. ?N♡vεlB¡n: Transforming Moments into Memories.