Chapter 19: with translation of chapter title

"Dad, Wang Wu brother left so early today?"

In Ma Wang Village, a few hours earlier, around eight in the morning, Ma Ling brought breakfast to her father, who was patrolling the village, and also chatted with him about Wang Wu, whom she had never spoken of before.

"Yes," Ma Chuo nodded, "He left early this morning toward He Dong Xian."

"Father, you think... when Wang Wu brother returns, will he still come to our Ma Wang Village?" After hearing her father's words, Ma Ling asked awkwardly.

"He probably won't come back," Ma Chuo glanced at his daughter, naturally knowing her current state, but he didn't mind. After all, it's a common human feeling.

"Why?" Ma Ling was puzzled, but then thought of an answer herself: "Well, Wang big brother is so good-looking, I guess once he goes there he'll be noticed by the beautiful rich girls of He Dong Xian, and they'll want to marry him..."

"Hehe." Ma Chuo looked at his daughter's disappointed expression, smiled kindly, patted her head, and said nothing.

Then he took a bite of the biscuit his daughter brought, turned his head, and looked toward He Dong Xian.

Sometimes, Ma Chuo also wonders: in this world, could there exist monsters that never eat humans and can get along well with humans?

He personally thinks such monsters should exist.

Unfortunately...

"Alas."

Ma Chuo withdrew his gaze, let out a light sigh, and shook his head.

He Dong Xian.

Hearing the young cultivator's words, Wang Wu did not hesitate at all; he walked straight forward and stood before the mirror. His decisive, swift action made the cultivator pause briefly, but only for a moment.

Wang Wu was unsure whether this 'Demon-Reflecting Mirror' could truly reveal his true form, but to be honest, frankly speaking, this already is his true form.

If the mirror truly reflects the true form, then his original self and his current self wouldn't be much different, right?

Moreover, even if it did show him a different appearance, he could still run away. That is the main reason he had no hesitation and walked straight to the mirror.

That cultivator couldn't defeat him.

Although he hasn't cultivated for long—just a few months—frankly speaking, that otherworldly technique is indeed quite powerful.

Even if he's only a beginner, among the few arts he's learning now, perhaps his internal skill progress is a bit longer, estimated at about thirty percent.

As for the others, at most they're just at the entry level.

But even so, that's already enough.

In the place where he lives, among the four monsters, the strongest is Zhu San Niang, who is a notch stronger than the current Wang Wu.

However, the current Wang Wu is a bit faster than her; if he can't beat her, he can still run.

After all, he used to be a minor leader under another monster king, so Zhu San Niang's strength is real. Wang Wu is still weaker than Zhu San Niang now, but stronger than Wu Er Niang and Shu Niang.

Shu Niang is the weakest, Wu Er Niang is second to last, third from the front. The cultivator before him has a strength roughly equal to Wu Er Niang's.

Anyway, the intensity of the energy fluctuation on him looks about the same as Wu Er Niang's. This is also a function of Wang Wu's technique, allowing him to gauge an opponent's approximate strength.

Relying on his stronger power, Wang Wu naturally feels fearless. Moreover, he's fast and his body is sturdy. As for that flying sword earlier, he guessed it couldn't hurt him.

The Wují Jīngāng Sect's technique is like this: essentially a close-combat polygonal warrior, with no real weakness and very pronounced strengths.

However, this advantage comes from abandoning almost all ranged attacks. In other words, fast, hard-bodied, high attack power, but virtually zero ranged capability.

It also suits beginners; the entry is quick. Yet the Wují Jīngāng Sect's technique is easy to learn but hard to perfect; the later stages become increasingly difficult. The time required for cultivation grows almost exponentially.

When Wang Wu stood before the mirror, the young cultivator also immediately looked into the mirror. But after looking back and forth...

Wang Wu looked at his reflection, first smoothing his half-sleeve shirt, then touching his hair knot, and then turning around to look at his back.

He was indeed quite handsome and still very young. Well, he was already young; when he transmigrated he was only twenty-six, and hadn't been in society long.

If he kept pursuing graduate studies, at twenty-six many people would still be staying in school.

"Alright, you may go now."

The person in the mirror is Wang Wu, human-form Wang Wu, slightly different from his selfie, a bit more handsome.

Seeing that Wang Wu indeed had no problem, the young cultivator's attitude toward him improved considerably. He then waved his hand, indicating he could leave.

"Oh." Wang Wu nodded, then walked toward the city gate passage. But after only a few steps, the cultivator called out to him again:

"What are the things in your backpack on your back and the pouch at your waist?"

Wang Wu stopped, turned back toward the other, removed the backpack and the demon‑destroying stone at his waist, and said, "The backpack contains silver, and the one hanging at my waist is a demon‑destroying stone."

"Demon‑destroying stone?" the cultivator raised an eyebrow, "That probably isn't a demon‑destroying stone, is it? Could you take it out for me to see? No need for the backpack."

"Sure." Wang Wu nodded, then slung the backpack back onto his shoulders, untied the cloth sack in his hand, revealed the stone inside, and handed it to the other: "This is the demon‑destroying stone, right?"

"That's not it," the young cultivator said after just glancing at the stone. "You've been tricked."

"Huh?" Wang Wu was stunned.

Seeing Wang Wu's reaction, the cultivator shook his head, sighed, and said, "Many swindlers sell these especially powerful demon‑repelling stones as demon‑destroying stones; after all, they work well enough on monsters."

"But even if a demon‑repelling stone's effect is great, it's still just a demon‑repelling stone. It can't truly harm a monster's essence," he said, turning his head toward the monster corpse lying on the distant Guan Dao, and said:

"If it truly were a demon‑destroying stone, that wolf monster wouldn't have been able to stay in front of you for so long. It should have died long ago."

"I see..." Wang Wu also looked at the corpse of his fellow monster in the distance, nodded. Then he lowered his gaze, bowed his hand toward the cultivator, "Thank you, Daoist elder, thank you."

"Heh..." Hearing Wang Wu address him that way, the young cultivator sneered, shook his head, "Alright, hurry into the city."

After speaking, he waved at Wang Wu and then flew back above the city wall.

(End of chapter)