Chapter 15: Cannot See Clearly

Yet in the next instant, the shadow before his eyes suddenly split in two.

Blinding blade light erupted from that shadow, moving with extreme speed, striking straight for his arms with the force of thunder.

Yu Changlu’s heart lurched in alarm; his internal Qi exploded outward as he tried to dodge.

But at that moment, another blade of light shot in diagonally with a shrill whistle, locking onto his throat.

An intense deathly danger screamed at him: if he dared to dodge, this blade would sever his head from his body!

Yu Changlu froze in terror, and in that moment of hesitation, two streaks of blood sprayed from his arms.

A sudden loss of strength caused his arms to plummet downward; the massive hammer in his hands fell like a tree without roots.

Yu Changlu looked down—a cold, slender blade rested beside his neck, and he felt not a single sensation from his hanging arms.

“Qi externalization? Are you a Martial Dao Grandmaster?”

Yu Changlu snapped his head up in terror, staring at the still-standing Cang Yinyue before him.

At that moment, a mountain breeze swept past Cang Yinyue’s slender figure, and beneath the gently fluttering veil came a cold voice:

“Still a bit short—only half-step.”

In Martial Dao cultivation, the Postnatal Realm is divided into three minor stages based on the number of meridians the cultivator breaks through.

The Primordial Realm is similarly divided into three stages.

Breaking through the Ren and Du meridians and absorbing heavenly and earthly true Qi into the body qualifies one as a Primordial expert—this is Primordial First Stage.

When one uses Martial Dao true Qi to spin internally, and externalizes it into a solid, tangible form, one reaches Primordial Second Stage, known in the Jianghu as the Martial Dao Grandmaster Realm.

Any Martial Dao Grandmaster holds considerable status in the Jianghu and is equivalent to an Elder within the Blood Alliance.

The two shadows Cang Yinyue had just split were a fusion of her “Spiritual Cang Shadow Art” puppet shadows and condensed Martial Dao true Qi.

Yet she had not yet fully achieved true Qi externalization—this move was merely a clever trick, not sustainable.

Still, with this technique, even against a true Martial Dao Grandmaster, she would not be significantly inferior.

“What does Miss Cang plan to do with them?”

At that moment, Li Muxian’s voice sounded from behind Cang Yinyue.

He sat atop a mule, studying Yu Changlu with a thoughtful expression—his hand tendons already severed.

Hearing this, Yu Changlu glanced up instinctively at him, then turned his gaze toward his subordinates.

But all he saw were his men standing motionless on the mountain path, like statues.

A strange feeling stirred in Yu Changlu’s heart.

When he had fought Cang Yinyue, he had briefly glanced at his men.

Yet he had never seen this young man move.

The man had merely ridden over on a mediocre mule, and his men had suddenly become like this—with no warning.

Cang Yinyue felt the same way.

She had never taken Yu Changlu seriously, so while attacking, she had ample capacity to observe Li Muxian.

She wanted to watch from the sidelines, to see firsthand how that fingertip-locking technique worked—the one she herself could not resist.

She even wondered if she could find a way to break it.

Yet to her great surprise, this time she saw no sign of Li Muxian moving at all.

But the Blood Alliance men were still locked in place.

“How did you do it?”

Cang Yinyue did not answer, but shot a sharp gaze at his clean, slightly carefree face.

“How did I do what?”

Li Muxian blinked, then realized—he turned to look behind him:

“You mean them?”

Then he turned back, lazily saying:

“Of course it’s the Sunflower Fingertip Lock. Didn’t I tell you before? It’s my own invented Wu Gong.”

Cang Yinyue frowned, shaking her head:

“But I didn’t see you move.”

Li Muxian smiled lightly:

“That only proves your martial skill is still lacking—you must train harder. Honestly, I was even slow just now.”

Hearing this, Cang Yinyue sneered, speaking bluntly:

“You’re faking it!”

The word “faking” came from Li Muxian himself—now applied to him, it fit perfectly.

Li Muxian spread his hands helplessly:

“Then I’ll show you again—hope you watch carefully this time.”

At these words, Yu Changlu, now powerless, stirred his gaze, fixing his eyes tightly on Li Muxian.

He too had not seen Li Muxian move—he was deeply curious how this young man had immobilized his men.

But then he saw something utterly strange: after speaking, Li Muxian sat on his mule without moving a muscle, then suddenly asked:

“Miss Cang, did you see it clearly this time?”

Before Yu Changlu could grasp what was happening, the woman before him gasped aloud.

“How did you do it?”

Cang Yinyue’s eyes were filled with shock.

For she realized—right after Li Muxian finished speaking—her body had suddenly locked up, her acupoints sealed, her internal Qi in the dantian unable to move.

All this happened in an instant; she saw no movement from Li Muxian—he had sat there on his mule, as if he had never stirred.

“Just practice makes perfect.”

At that moment, Li Muxian waved his hand humbly, smiling:

“Don’t be discouraged, Miss Cang. If you train hard, one day you’ll surely see it clearly.”

With that, he flicked his finger—and Cang Yinyue found her body free to move again.

Her expression shifted, she gave Li Muxian a long look, then retracted the slender blade resting at Yu Changlu’s neck into her sleeve.

“I underestimated you.”

Cang Yinyue exhaled slowly, saying:

“In the Jianghu, martial arts that lock acupoints from afar are exceedingly rare—and you’ve clearly perfected this technique to its peak. I couldn’t see your method, and that’s understandable.”

As she spoke, her gaze turned to Yu Changlu, sharpening:

“With such a protective skill, even a Jianghu Grandmaster would struggle to harm you. Our chances of breaking through this road ahead are now very high.”

Yu Changlu had not yet recovered—he did not know whether the exchange between the two young people had been real or staged.

To him, Li Muxian hadn’t moved a single limb.

Whether he had truly locked Cang Yinyue’s acupoints from afar and subdued a half-step Grandmaster in an instant—he had no way of knowing, and dared not ask.

But he could guess why Cang Yinyue had spared him.

(End of Chapter)