Chapter 36: Jade Liquid Golden Sun Eight Treasures Mysterious Body

"I see your fist arts are crude and shallow, your footwork ordinary, yet every kind of martial art you use is performed with divine skill."

"A martial prodigy like you — how did you end up in the imperial court? What a waste!"

Zhang the Butcher walked into the cell, grabbed the water jar, and gulped down cold water with loud gurgling sounds, shaking his head and smacking his lips.

"Zhen Mo Si is inferior to the jianghu sects?"

Shen Yi was very interested in this "common knowledge."

"That's not it. Zhen Mo Si has gathered all the martial arts under the heavens of the Great Qian Dynasty — in terms of heritage, in terms of backing, it's all top-tier."

Zhang the Butcher set down the water jar and continued: "It's just that the rules are many. You have to climb up layer by layer from the bottom. A genius like you, if you joined the Jin Gang Gate, would at the very least be given the treatment of an elder's personal disciple — you'd have priority in choosing all sorts of precious medicines and divine weapons."

He sighed: "But now that's no longer possible."

Shen Yi looked up in confusion: "Why?"

"Think about it — if your aptitude were average, I wouldn't mind paving the way for you, covering up your identity. But with aptitude like yours, saying Zhen Mo Si doesn't want you... no one would believe it. Not a single sect in all of Outside Qingzhou would accept your visiting card."

Zhang the Butcher took out a few pages of yellow paper he had long prepared from his bosom.

Clearly, his mind was not as careless as it appeared on the surface — from the Spirit Snake Eight Steps Shen Yi had used yesterday alone, he had deduced the other's situation.

"I entered the Jin Gang Gate at six, and my master called me a heaven-sent prodigy. But now at forty-eight, having slain countless demons and eaten who knows how many beast-essence precious medicines, I've only opened seven orifices."

"There are two reasons. One is that the Jin Gang Gate differs from other sects — it emphasizes tempering oneself with the breath of heaven and earth. Most of the absorbed breath is consumed on the physical body, so progress is several times slower than others."

Zhang the Butcher bared his teeth and stretched out his arm: "You've seen the effect too. If I hadn't wanted to show you just now, and had instead summoned the breath within my orifices — though I couldn't do much to you, defending myself would have been more than enough."

"But the Jin Gang Treasure Body can't be given to you. Look here."

He stuffed the yellow paper into Shen Yi's hand: "A little thing I figured out on my own — it's also why I'm only barely at the late initial realm."

Shen Yi spread open the paper pages.

Not understanding it was one thing, but flipping through it was still necessary.

"Jianghu sects have their disadvantages too. Once your temper is bad and you offend someone, basically there's no chance for you to rise."

Zhang the Butcher spoke of the past, his expression calm: "They wouldn't give me Jade Liquid Realm martial arts, so I figured it out on my own. Unfortunately, after spending over a dozen years, I only just barely crossed that threshold... It's just a guess — don't take it seriously. In any case, once practiced to mastery, it's at least no weaker than the Jin Gang Treasure Body."

"The second half is about Jade Liquid Realm matters. Wait until I figure it out, then I'll explain it to you in detail."

Shen Yi slowly flipped through, and a panel appeared before his eyes.

【Jade Liquid · Golden Sun Eight Treasures Mysterious Body, Upper Scroll: (Uninitiated)】

"……"

Seeing the specific words clearly, Shen Yi forcibly steadied his emotions. Even so, his breathing still faltered for an instant.

According to Zhang the Butcher's account, this martial art was only in the initial realm's scope; beyond that was merely guesswork.

But now, verified by the panel, it proved the other's thinking was correct — what was lacking was only time. Once the lower scroll was completed, this would be a proper Jade Liquid Realm martial art.

By comparison, although the Blood Sha Blade Art was viciously ruthless, its growth potential was clearly insufficient, and it had specific conditional restrictions. The value of the two could hardly be mentioned in the same breath.

Shen Yi fell silent. Instead, Zhang the Butcher grew a bit uneasy, scratching the back of his head:

"Although it's something I blindly conceived, the foundational part borrows from the Jin Gang Treasure Body. Heh, most likely there won't be any mistakes... Anyway, I'm practicing it ahead of you. If any problem comes up, you can decide later — it's not too late."

"Senior has great talent."

Shen Yi carefully put away the yellow paper, his face showing emotion.

For himself, within the panel, just deducing a single initial realm blade art required a full fifty years.

The other, without external aid, could complete such an operation in just over ten years — this was the true genius.

"I told you not to call me senior — you think I'm joking? Exchanging martial arts was just incidental." Zhang the Butcher smacked his lips and walked toward the door, rolling his eyes: "I walked here from Outside Qingzhou, my travel money was spent long ago. From now on I'll have to call you boss to get a meal... Alright, you go ahead. Once you've copied the blade art, just give it to me."

Shen Yi watched the other walk away, shaking his head in puzzlement.

Although Bai Yun County wasn't large, plenty of people were willing to support an initial realm martial artist. Why had the other set his sights specifically on him?

Forget it.

He closed the newly installed room door and cast his gaze upon the panel.

【Remaining Demon-Slaying Longevity: 226 years】

Originally, this longevity was meant to be saved — to be used after Lin Baiwei finished copying.

But after yesterday's events, Shen Yi suddenly felt a pressing urgency to master a life-preserving method.

Thinking of this, he laughed at himself.

Back when he only had one year of longevity left, facing the black-skinned dog demon, he could charge in without hesitation.

How come now, with forty-six years of longevity, his mind was instead unsettled by two snake women?

Cherishing life really is human instinct — even when it's picked up, it's no exception.

Shen Yi gathered his focus and poured the demon-slaying longevity into this newly acquired martial art.

……

【Year one: You learned the skill of tempering the physical body with the breath of heaven and earth. Unlike the Wind Thunder Treasure Scroll of before, it no longer assimilates the body into a vessel, but uses breath to forge the body, casting flesh and blood into a divine weapon】

【Year two: Because your twelve orifices are complete and your breath is long and unending, this slow grinding work holds no difficulty for you. You need only undergo the tempering of years, and you will naturally be reborn】

【Year seven: Jade Liquid · Golden Sun Eight Treasures Mysterious Body, Upper Scroll — Initiated】

【Year fifteen: You broke through to Minor Mastery】

【Year twenty-nine: Jade Liquid · Golden Sun Eight Treasures Mysterious Body, Upper Scroll — Major Mastery】

【Year forty-two: You reached Perfection, and your physical body stepped into a new realm】

【Demon-Slaying Longevity Remaining: 184 years】

……

He didn't know if it was because too much was wasted while deducing the new martial art.

Shen Yi saw the scene of things coming to fruition naturally within the panel's information, and actually felt slightly unaccustomed to it.

That's it? It's over?

After deducing so many times, Shen Yi had also discovered a problem.

As long as it was a slow grind of work that didn't involve aptitude, the lifespan consumed was extremely little, but if it involved any kind of comprehension... the consumption was almost without an upper limit.

Butcher Zhang's conjecture had first been tested out by himself; he just didn't know whether it was as formidable as the other party had imagined.

He looked at the saber placed on the table, rolled up his sleeve, drew the blade, and lightly drew it across his arm.

No reaction at all.

Shen Yi increased his force in turn, watching the blade bounce off again and again.

Until the saber body once more gathered baleful Qi, and a strike of the Blood Baleful Saber Art channeling his whole body's aura slashed down.

On Bai Xi's sturdy little arm, a layer of mysterious light instantly rose, and the red mist scattered straight away.

A crisp crack rang out.

Shen Yi looked at the broken saber, his expression one of astonishment.

After cutting down so many demons and monsters without breaking, it finally snapped on himself.

Isn't that a bit too exaggerated?

Is this the foundation of a jianghu sect?

He bent down to pick up the half blade. The saber wasn't cheap, but he could pin the blame on yesterday's tiger demon and go to the workshop to exchange it for another.

(End of chapter)