Chapter 106

After searching a few cargo racks, Xing successfully obtained that letter, which contained the internal orders of the Medicine King's secret transmission; no wonder Green Lotus was so anxious.

After making a copy, Xing reported the results upward; Green Lotus heard it and was overjoyed, ordering Xing to return to the previous sutra-copying place and promising to take her to see the chief overseer.

Arriving at that secluded courtyard, from afar they saw a man and a woman standing beside Green Lotus.

"Lord Purple Moon, this is the Grey Peony I mentioned to you, a very reliable planter." Green Lotus recommended to the purple-clothed man beside her.

The purple-clothed man sized up Xing from head to toe, nodding with satisfaction: "I can tell you're indeed extraordinarily skilled."

"You look rather weak." Xing crossed her arms with one hand, a faint sneer curling her lips.

"How impudent!" Green Lotus flared up, quickly rebuking.

Purple Moon wore an expression of indifference, raising a hand to interrupt: "It's fine… I like your personality. But why would someone as strong as you want to become part of the Medicine King's secret transmission?"

"I want to become stronger!" Xing's eyes were resolute.

"Good, me too. I once thought that hard training alone would make one strong… but reality is not so."

"In my long career as a cloud rider, I realized one thing: human strength has limits. The more one pursues power, the more likely they are to fail due to unforeseen circumstances."

"So I abandoned my mortal flesh and became a kin of the Benevolent Medicine King."

JOJO parallel world, 1888.

……He's not even human anymore?!

Jonathan Joestar sucked in a breath of cold air, instantly feeling chills run up his spine.

——What the heck is this sense of déjà vu?!

If this Purple Moon suddenly pulled out a stone mask from his pocket and slapped it on his face, he wouldn't be surprised at all.

"JOJO, what's wrong?" William A. Zeppeli beside him suddenly asked, "What does this Purple Moon remind you of?"

Jonathan Joestar lowered his head with a solemn expression: "Well, he reminds me of Dio; he and Dio said the same thing… I'm afraid he'll do something to hurt Xing next second."

Recalling that rainy night, Dio had drawn a stone mask and then stabbed at him; if not for his father blocking that blow, he would have already…

Closing his eyes, he recalled his father's dying words, the gruesome deaths of everyone, the desperate wails, and… Dio's nightmare-like whisper, clinging to him like vines, echoing in his mind without end.

"JO~JO~ let me enjoy this great power a little longer?"

"JOJO, I told you before, the more one plays with schemes, the more one discovers that humans have limits."

"Boxers briefs—!!"

"WRYYY…"

"…"

"——JOJO!!"

Zeppeli's low shout rang like a thunderbolt, snapping Joestar out of his reverie. He jerked his head up, his chest heaving; after a moment, his tensed muscles gradually relaxed.

"JOJO, Ripple energy is highly sensitive to mental fluctuations; in those ten seconds you just spaced out, if Dio attacked you, you'd be helpless." Zeppeli looked at him sternly.

"Yes! I understand!" Jonathan wiped the sweat from his forehead and threw himself back into Ripple training.

"Having said that, Purple Moon pulled out… not a stone mask, but a slip of paper, handing it to Xing: 'If you take this medicine, you can, like me, sever the shackles placed on your soul by the Demon Bow Calamity Ancestor and gain ultimate power and freedom.'"

"These medicinal ingredients can be bought at the pharmacy; some you'll need to procure yourself… but given your ability, that should be trivial."

Xing took the prescription, curious: "You're a cloud rider—why join the Medicine King's secret transmission?"

"Speaking of the past, Purple Moon sighed deeply: 'To be frank, I was once one of those cloud rider hounds, practicing spear techniques for nearly a century. I almost became an instructor for the cloud riders. But limited by mortals' frail bodies, I could never break through the final barrier between myself and those 【martial arts geniuses】.'"

A flicker of unwillingness flashed in Purple Moon's eyes, quickly replaced by an air of smugness and madness.

"Fortunately, this medicine in your hand saved me; I have finally become a power beyond mortal reach. That pitiful 'Divine Gun Shixin' no longer exists—only remains a loyal planter of the Benevolent Medicine King."

"Lady Sairai, the martial arts genius he spoke of… could it be Yan Qing?"

Jianze's gaze toward Purple Moon suddenly held a hint of pity.

Yan Qing seems to be only in his early teens; even if he'd practiced sword since childhood, that's only about ten years, yet according to Purple Moon's implication, he could already utterly defeat Shixin, who has nearly a hundred years of spear experience.

Even the firmest conviction, when facing a monster-level genius, can't help but sometimes collapse.

"That's just how the chasm between mortals and geniuses is." Gazing at the smug Purple Moon, Sairai rolled her eyes boredly.

……She never pays attention to the petty thoughts of mediocrities, for that is utterly a waste of time.

Before a true genius like Yan Qing, mortals' brilliance is like fireflies, occasionally drawing notice—but when fireflies try to rival the bright moon, the collapse of conviction is inevitable.

The fault lies not with the genius, but with these fireflies. They failed to adjust their mindset, nor timely recognize their own abilities, and thus recklessly broke through their defenses.

All her disciples are one-in-a-million talents among humanity; over the thousand years humans have mastered magic, starting from Fulram, who knows how many convictions of people like 'Purple Moon' she has shattered.

"……Do you think a single prescription can break the barrier between mortals and geniuses? It seems he doesn't even grasp wherein lies the difference between himself and a genius."

"Easily doing what mortals cannot is merely the threshold of a genius."

"To accomplish what mortals dare not even imagine… that is true genius." Sairai lowered her eyes slightly, recalling the disciple named Filien beside Frieren, and smiled meaningfully.

"Shixin?" Xing first felt the name familiar, then suddenly realized—wasn't this the missing cloud rider that Qingzhu had urged her to pay special attention to?

"This isn't missing; it's clearly defection!"

"Wait… you know me?" Xing's attitude made Purple Moon's expression shift: "Why does hearing that name make your look seem off?"

At this moment, Green Lotus also caught on: "Lord Purple Moon, something's wrong… this fellow might be a spy sent to find you."

"Damn it! You've been testing for half a day—what exactly were you testing? Letting such an obvious spy slip in!" Purple Moon flew into a rage.