Chapter 84

“A-Qing has learned a new skill.”

The True Energies of A-Qing sat in silence, waiting for the mysterious new addition, still lingering in the Blood Path.

Recently, only evil beings seemed to be rolling in.

Even the joyfully energetic Hwanhee Jin-gi was gasping every day, struggling to keep up with survival under the weight of it all.

Zhu Yang’s Mindfulness Sutra couldn’t even manage to clear the Heaven’s Kill that was seeping into the upper Dantian.

Moon Lady Jin-gi sighed but really, what can you do? Demonic Energy has a life of its own, right? Just let it be.

In stark contrast, the Demonic Arts side has been thriving lately.

Originally, the Demonic Arts gained power when the heart was wicked and hands were brutal.

It was right at the brink of the upper Dantian becoming tainted with murderous intent, almost giving birth to a Flesh Demon.

Just one more big Demonic Energy to join the party, and we’d be all set. That was the expectation.

And then the first breath intertwined with True Energy, circulating through the body, unlocking the Dantian.

A new family member revealed themselves with a “Ta-da!” moment.

With a compassionate smile and behind them, a subtle glow they called the Sacred Flame, burning away the darkness of the world and illuminating the truth.

Buddha has risen! I knew it!

The Daoist family cheered in unison.

The arrival of the Great Mindfulness Skill, one of the two greatest teachings in Buddhism.

When it comes to using “calm,” it’s not just about sound.

Being in a state without a single distraction in the mind, as serene as a calm, windless surface, that is what we call ‘calm.’

And in Buddhism, the practice of unifying one’s spirit to pursue enlightenment through that tranquil mind is called ‘Dao.’

The Great Mindfulness Skill was exactly such a cultivation method born from Buddhist enlightenment.

Indeed, it was the skill of inner strength, accumulating knowledge within the body to master the mind itself.

And it was also famous for its vision of the Amipa.

By the time one reaches the level of Nine-Palm Chamber, they’ll typically have at least one signature skill representative of their sect.

When one thinks of Amipa, they think of the Shaolin’s Reverse Divine Decoding, Hwasan’s Zahajin Skill, Wudang’s Supreme Tai Chi Sword, and all that leads back to the Great Mindfulness Skill.

And here, in the land of the infamous villains at the edge of the world, one of the greatest teachings of Buddhism has arrived.

Through a rather mysterious and underhanded method.

Meanwhile, the leader of Amipa is referred to as the Great Commander around these parts.

If the Great Commander Jeongcheol Yeonni found out, it would’ve been enough for him to weep tears of blood, from wasting sixty years of mental cultivation.

After all, what good is inner peace if your teachings are stolen away?

Amipa is like a sect among the martial world.

The female monks of Amipa are martial artists just like Buddha.

Shaolin, Amipa, and Wuseng are actually just shady impersonators of monks!

Of course, it’s also true that generally, among martial world individuals, these wannabe monks have some of the most respectable character.

Regardless, A-Qing gulped down Amipa’s skill in one go.

Climbing up to a manageable sixth level of ability, the point of cultivation became efficient.

There were even parts left in reserve, just in case more wild stuff happens in the future.

With that achievement, all the accumulated inner pressures dissipated at once, and A-Qing’s eyes sparkled with renewed vitality.

It was like a miracle; the eyes of a dull dog suddenly became bright!

Sure, returning to sanity, but this time it was as if they had fallen off the cliff and soared back up on the wind!

Of course, they were holding up pretty well as the master of Heaven’s Kill.

Somewhere in the sky, a most ominous star emitted an uncomfortable light.

But that was about it.

A lonely evil star that existed for an eternity felt like a fleeting moment to the human spirit.

How could a mere human dare defy the will of a star?

It was just a brief tantrum.

Ultimately, blood and tears would flow from every corner of the world.

The famous Daoists of the Central Plain saw this starlight.

It was a realization that the slain Heaven’s Kill had grown up somewhere in the world.

Like how in the past, during the Chu-Han uprising, Guo Zheng and Han Bai looked up at the sky and divined the fate of Xiang Yu.

And just like them, with an even brighter successor, the genius successor Zhuge Liang read the heavens.

Thus, reading Heaven’s secrets had become a symbol of wisdom.

Now that Muhak had advanced considerably, there were many interpretations for catching things.

If anyone had a decent grasp on the world, they’d probably be able to read the snippets of Heaven’s secrets.

But what could the Daoists do right now?

The actual master of Heaven’s Kill was passed out, knocked out cold at the edge of the world.

They’d just exchange letters amongst themselves like, ‘Oh no, it seems bad, what do you think?’ and ‘When did you see it? I saw it around the time of the first hour’ and ‘Oh no, not enough, I was talking about the second hour’ as they boasted about their own ego.

Of course, it wasn’t just because they had nothing better to do.

They had established a network to be prepared for when the master of Heaven’s Kill shows up so they could all take him down together.

Soomun Sulin also saw this starlight.

Knowing that her cherished disciple had just barely escaped great peril, she let out a sigh of relief.

One night, she lit a candle and stepped out of her place, climbing up to the peak to thank the Daoist Temple for their help.

Even in the land of the Demonic Arts, there were potentials.

Ji Seung-ju stood out among them.

Seeing the ominous star in the sky, he smiled.

Heaven’s Kill has arrived in the Central Plain.

It seemed the lost wishes of the Divine Sect were about to return.

Once the Central Plain is drenched in the blood of Heaven’s Kill, the Divine Sect will soar up!

This was indeed a revelation from the celestial deities and the demons, united in purpose!

If the celestial and demonic beings saw this, it would have been a sight to behold, something that would have shattered ribs!

A-Qing opened her eyes.

“Wow, something, something is happening.”

Her eyes naturally opened, and her body felt so refreshed that there was no leftover sleepiness, bursting with energy all over.

After mastering the Great Mindfulness Skill, she was utterly floored.

She felt like someone was massaging her brain and just as she shook from the sensation, she passed out and woke up.

Truth be told, it was the Buddhist skill dispersing the Heaven’s Kill that caused her exhaustion to explode, but A-Qing was unaware; they were practically the same situation.

Moreover, as the room was spotless, all traces of the grand volcanic eruption had vanished, meaning the villain, the cleanup crew, didn’t even recognize the most basic of commands.

Yeah, things were super close earlier.

It was right before loading the half of Half of the Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat.

It was just a measly Gyeon Pohee’s half of half.

It’d be quite amusing to see someone thrash about, spewing blood while dying just from a half of half hit.

In the end, the disgrace of an exhibitionist becomes an act of performance in itself, that would be quite an achievement.

A-Qing shuddered at the thoughts she had yesterday.

“Wow, this is what they mean by becoming wicked. This is what it means to turn evil.”

Seeing her guide as a benefactor to her life, A-Qing didn’t even realize how dominant she became in Heaven’s Kill, only blaming the poor, helpless Demonic Arts.

Yeah, from now on, I should treat our useless, no-skill budging partner a little better.

Let’s teach the Young Girl’s Joyous Skill, it would make sense to return the item that’s originally from Hwanhui Palace to that disciple.

They had also agreed to train together.

Training, but isn’t that the kind of training…..

My mouth is my enemy…

A-Qing’s expression contorted.

Hmm. I wonder if a promise made verbally while in a state of mental incapacity would even hold any legal standing?

Unfortunately, the modern legal framework for such cases that A-Qing heard in her legal studies had long been abolished.

And there wasn’t even such a law in the Central Plain to begin with.

Neglecting management could result in the entire family being wiped out, so that’s just a day-to-day occurrence that doesn’t even make headlines anymore.

Both the principles of domicile and territoriality guaranteed A-Qing’s promises.

A-Qing looked outside.

The world was still dark.

Having spent ten nights on end walking around, her body had memorized how to adjust its sight.

A-Qing got up and approached the window.

—-

After ten days of heinous serial murders, even the Divine Sect had begun to patrol at night.

The villains didn’t discriminate between masters and amateurs.

Neither did it matter if one came from wealth or poverty.

So it was that the sect’s patrollers had to guard the nights of Cheonsan Sing City.

Of course, it was merely a coincidence that their patrol routes were concentrated around the noble households.

In Cheonsan Sing City, officially, everyone was equal except for the two heavenly representatives of the Heavenly Demon.

Yet for A-Qing, none of this posed a challenge.

Since the firewood street was where the heretics hung out, nighttime patrols were few and far between, and the patrol’s attitude towards extra shifts was pretty lackluster.

Most importantly, quite crucially, A-Qing’s Black Shadow’s Stealth had already reached the fourth level!

After diligently training every night for the last ten days, it was only natural that her achievements would rise quickly.

Black Shadow’s Stealth meant diving into shadows; its effects loosely matched that.

Of course, it wasn’t like she could phase through shadows like true ninjas in novels—it was merely a stealth technique to hide oneself within darkness.

That name really isn’t an exaggeration.

A martial art’s name is usually grandiose so that learners can feel good about themselves later.

Who would want to learn a name like “Similar to Buddha’s Physical Body Replication Technique”?

Thanks to this, A-Qing successfully arrived at her friend’s house on Firewood Street.

A-Qing expertly pushed the thin cord beneath her feet a couple of times.

And as she flopped down on the small room (the living room), the unique hobbyist Seolga-guy appeared from the smaller room (the bedroom) to wash his hair in the dead of night.

Seolga-guy pushed the door open and immediately shot out a question.

“What? Got nothing to do in the middle of the night?”

“Oh! Good to see you! Has it been just a week?”

“I’m not that particularly excited, you know.”

Seolga-guy shook his head in a dismissive manner.

A-Qing narrowed her eyes.

What the heck? I generously shared the precious, very hard-earned skill, and now you’re saying you’re over it?

People these days…

“To be honest, I can get up even without pouring water on me now. But why do you still leave the water bottle untouched?”

“Didn’t realize it was so refreshing?”

“You’re just scared of me. Next time we meet, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Flesh Demon tries to strangle me. That’s why I asked you to pause your murder spree, but you just had to keep going.”

Seolga-guy was about to continue when suddenly he stopped.

“Hmm? Something’s different?”

“What? But you’ve changed a lot too! What is it, are you putting on makeup lately? Why do you look prettier?”

Seolga-guy cut A-Qing off and continued,

“Your eyes. Yes, your eyes have changed. Those rotten fish eyes have turned human all of a sudden? Did you have an awakening? Oh, finally some good news.”

And just like that, he turned his back.

“What? Where are you going?”

“Going to clear the water bottle. From now on, you can just shake me awake. If you want, just come during the day. Why do you always creep in at night, seriously?”

---