Chapter 507

Qing is quite bold.

A witch who has gathered four supreme martial arts?

No, I’ve mastered five and have one in preparation.

If we’re counting, that means I’ve gathered six, so Qing can’t be the world’s witch who has gathered four supreme martial arts.

If anything, maybe she’s the world’s great witch?

“I will clarify everything one by one! First off, there are doubts about my mastery of supreme hand-to-hand combat, but that’s not true. What I’ve mastered is the Divine Maiden’s Hand Technique, which might look similar at first glance.”

The warriors looked at Qing, wondering what kind of bizarre nonsense this was.

“This is a stunning technique invented by my teacher, Seomun Sulin, and everyone knows the Divine Maiden Sect is famous for its heavenly techniques, right? It’s a beauty technique that enhances such beautiful hands while also serving as a defense technique!”

Qing dramatically spread her hands.

A gasp of awe erupted from the young warriors, but quickly turned into glances that said, “Get a grip,” as they promptly closed their mouths.

The love for hands among folks in the Central Plains is quite peculiar.

But indeed, her hands were truly lovely.

Her skin was fair, her fingers slim and elongated, and the subtle wrinkles at the joints were so faint they seemed sculpted from white jade (marble).

Anyway, everyone looked somewhat suspicious, yet no one dared to raise their voice against her.

Regardless of the camaraderie between teacher and disciple, selling out your teacher in front of others could potentially summon the bloody revenge of a life-and-death match.

As a side note, according to the traditions of the Central Plains, a teacher and disciple are one body, and attacking the teacher is akin to attacking the disciple.

(But the opposite doesn’t hold true.)

Most importantly, there was a bigger reason.

Seomun Sulin, the absolute best among the recognized martial artists in the martial world, is terrifying, isn’t she?

So, whether it’s the truth about the Divine Maiden’s Hand Technique or not, it ought to be treated as the truth.

That said, while the warriors didn’t dispute her, their gazes toward Qing were exceptionally judgmental.

With three more martial arts left to cover, they seemed ready to see what else she would say.

“Next up, was it the Master of Dark Demon Arts? That time, the black hand wasn’t the black blood of the Master of Dark Demon Arts; it was merely a gloved hand!”

“Huh?” “What the!?” “What?!”

The warriors expressed their surprise.

Incredible! To think the black hand was just a glove—that was truly unexpected!

“Does that even make sense?”

The warrior, who had just bellowed about the martial arts and witches, raised another objection.

But Qing remained composed.

“Does that even make sense to you? The black blood of the Master of Dark Demon Arts is an unavoidable side effect of the dark arts, right? How could a hand be black one moment and then white the next? Besides, one hand holds supreme hand-to-hand combat while the other holds the power of dark arts? How could mixing them result in that?”

“Ahem.” “Uh-huh.” “That’s true.”

People nodded in agreement.

Thinking back, supreme hand-to-hand combat showcases a beautiful white hand, while dark arts represents an ugly black hand.

So, if they were mixed, they should either turn gray or tip towards the higher mastery’s color—what’s with the half-half deal?

Could you achieve that by only partially mastering the secret technique?

“Honestly, if your hand is black, you’d normally think it’s a dark hand technique, right? But shouting that it’s mastered dark arts should raise some serious suspicions about intent!”

At that moment, Van Zur asked,

“What do you mean by ‘intention’?”

“That girl has mastered dark arts, hence she’s an evil girl. The more she’s mastered, the worse she is. So, it’s a crime-free justification to capture her and take her martial arts by any means necessary. What do you think?”

Van Zur nodded.

Initially, he didn’t come here looking for the Heart Consumption Technique.

He was just trying to discern the true nature of the beautiful witch known as the Divine Dragon, who aimed to flood the world with blood, unlike the common witch.

If it’s true?

He would eradicate that vile hypocrite.

“I saw it clearly with my own eyes! That girl wielded that black hand, smashing my opponent’s head—the head of my little brother!”

However, the crowd’s expression was icy cold.

An opponent was murdered, thus igniting a grudge.

The motivation to slander was more than sufficient.

“Now, moving on to the Master of Thunder Arts? Um, honestly, I don’t get it. Everyone knows the characteristics of the Master of Thunder Arts, right?”

An emotional response flashed in the room.

The reason why the Master of Thunder Arts is a cruel technique is that just the essence of killing can cause a violent reaction from True Energy, allowing thunder to strike first.

In Qing’s hometown, we’d call that a potentially lethal attack stemming from a severe rage disorder.

“I’ve made my name known widely with the Cheonhwa-geom, and my appearance is so clear that it’s practically transparent; where’s the rumor that I shot out thunder?”

The warriors began buzzing among themselves.

Now that she mentioned it, that was indeed correct.

If Qing was the real Master of Thunder Arts, each time she got even slightly mad, thunder would have surely been striking down all around.

But? There were no such rumors, right?

Qing cleared three out of four claims.

The warriors looked at Qing with uncertainty.

Still, one remained.

“And finally, the Wheel of Law? Why would that be? Hmm.”

Qing pretended to think for a moment.

Pausing for effect, the moment she snapped her fingers.

“Oh, could it be because my eyes shine too brightly? It feels a bit embarrassing to say it myself, but honestly, my eyes are large and beautiful, aren’t they?”

She suggested perhaps her bright eyes looked like the Wheel of Law’s.

Between their brows, all the warriors raised three furrows, spelling out her river (川) character.

Sure, they were distinct in black and white, glossy, large, and moist—truly beautiful.

Still, is that something one just says out loud?

Just as Qing brought up the contextual term of the Supreme Brain-slaying Young Lady casually, the others also took it to mean a half-joking remark.

But saying she was just outright beautiful?

Even more ridiculous because, yes, she really was beautiful!

“Who do you think you’re calling a fool! There are many who’ve seen it besides me! Isn’t that right!?”

“Right! I too saw those three forbidden flickering lights and that damned demonic eye clearly!”

“I saw it too!” “So did I!”

Clearly, the idea that her eyes were just shining too brightly was too far-fetched.

The warriors present vehemently stated they weren’t misreading her.

However?

Qing’s tongue was in a realm of intangible skill, recognized by the Sect Leader of the Tang Family.

With no words left to say, that was their only weak argument.

“Um, everyone? This year, I’m twenty-one years old. I’ve won the Dragon Challenge Martial Meet with the Moon Lady Blade inherited from my family, and I’ve connected with the timeless divine skill, Buddha’s Physical Body. I’ve learned the Zhu Yang’s Mindfulness Sutra, Divine Maiden’s Hand Technique, Divine Maiden Sword Technique, and Divine Maiden’s Defence from my teacher. And I’m currently training in the path of True Energy with the Heavenly Traveling Technique and Nengpa Mibo.”

The mood shifted as she started bragging.

With expressions of disdain on the warriors’ faces, Qing smashed the preparations she had set up.

“Without having mastered martial arts from the womb, how could I possibly learn more martial arts here?”

The expressions of the warriors at that moment could be described as animated exclamation marks.

Thinking back, the Cheonhwa-geom was merely twenty-one now; a fresh fighter of the later age in the orthodox sect.

“Seriously, does it even make sense that the Divine Dragon of the orthodox sect would learn dark arts?”

“She already has a plethora of divine skills, so why on earth would she stoop to learning the dark arts for fame?”

“Hmph, fools. I didn’t believe any such nonsense to begin with. It’s merely a pretext to steal martial arts.”

Van Zur now had an almost apologetic expression on his face.

He claimed to have only slain the Japanese invaders, yet had a wealth of corpses on his conscience.

“As I grow older, I’ve become increasingly suspicious. I’ve truly made a grave mistake. I apologize to the Cheonhwa-geom.”

Within Qing’s heart, her conscience, having nearly decayed into an oval shape and reeking, finally sprang to life, poking at her insides.

Hmm, I feel a bit sorry for this guy…

Even those in the stone chamber were thinking, had I misread something?

Could it be that the Master of Thunder Arts had not just aimed for the Cheonhwa-geom all this time?

The black hand might have been just a hand used in techniques.

Her eyes are so big and clear that they might really look like the Wheel of Law?

Ugh, it’s a blow to the ego, but they are genuinely large and clear, so it could possibly be considered?

“No! I swear I saw it!”

Of course, not everyone was convinced or doubting themselves, as some cried out, insisting she was a witch who still practiced dark arts.

Then—

“Right! The corpses in that stone chamber! You! Ha, why didn’t I think of that sooner? In that stone chamber, there was only you left, and how do you explain the corpses with holes in their hearts! When we entered the core of the temple, we were surrounded by bodies that had undergone Heart Consumption! That means you mastered Heart Consumption Techniques!”

The crowd turned their gaze toward Qing.

She looked at them, seemingly pitying their foolishness.

“Which idiot would practice the Dao’s divine arts, only to resort to something like Heart Consumption Techniques?”

In response, the warriors shared the same look.

Indeed. Who would have mastered the ancient divine arts only to disrupt their inner channel through Heart Consumption Techniques?

The Heart Consumption Technique’s training method and the path that follows are so vicious to begin with; it’s a mere diversion lacking any harmonious connection to the righteous inner strength.

Now that the man who had lost to his opponent was just left with pure malice—yelling as if he were tormented.

“Then what about the Heart Consumption Technique? There were other victims!”

“I told you, it was a trap from the Blood Sect.”

“That’s just your claim! There’s no evidence!”

“So, you’ve mastered the Heart Consumption Technique so thoroughly in only a few breaths that you turned many into victims?”

The Heart Consumption Technique is a brutal martial art that can potentially nullify realm differences in individual battles.

But what if it’s many against one?

The essence absorption only works one at a time.

And while the absorber is busy draining energy, they are vulnerable; hence claiming multiple victims is a fallacy right from the start.

“Anyway, it’s all your fault! You…”

Finally, the man who lost his head began throwing a fit senselessly.

This type of verbal spat was never meant to convince one another.

When emotions escalate, what words can truly matter?

Arguments are merely to win over bystanders, so it’s clear who’s grasping at straws here.

“That girl is indeed the witch! She’s the—”

BONG!

At that moment, Qing banged a bell.

For those who had heard it before, back for another round, it was always mesmerizing. For first-timers, they were spellbound by the legendary divine skill they had only heard about.

“As much as everything may be the plot of the Blood Sect, it’s a reality that those who live by the sword remain bound by suffering from their deeds. According to the laws of the martial world, for those seeking revenge, request a life-and-death match. Stop flapping your gums like a child.”

“Stop flapping your gums like a child.”

Coming from the girl who had been the one incessantly talking, this was perfectly fitting.

But Qing was indeed truly a girl; it felt fine.

“And for those who still think I’ve taken dark arts, and those who wish to gain from whatever I might have gained, it’s the same.”

With a cold smile, Qing continued.

“Oh, yes. My martial arts are so refined that, for supreme martial artists, I will take on three at a time, and for martial artists at the peak of their realms, I accept one-on-one challenges.”

That was Qing’s second ploy.

Qing recalled that endless icy landscape, that grand ice wall she barely reached.

It was time for a proper fight.

No more clever tricks, endless schemes, insults, taunts, or mind-boggling nonsense—all of it was too scattered. Such filthy tactics serve merely to exploit weaknesses, right?

Oh, yes!

Instead of relying on cleverness.

Anyone who’s heard her heart churn would argue that such cleverness isn’t smart but just ignoble, dirty, and low.

But anyway.

It was time to step away from the realms and reach for the next level instead.

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