Chapter 121: Struggling to the Limit, Still Unable to Prevail

There were forty-five people on the boat; Gu Qing counted them all during the fight, and they were all finished off.

"You bastard!"

Beef Soup clamped a hand over his nose, feeling his face burn and sting, blood trickling from it; he looked up and glared at Gu Qing.

This was a test of intelligence, and Gu Qing brute-forced his way through it.

Right now, Beef Soup felt like the one who designed this test was an idiot.

"Just tell me—am I clever or not?"

Gu Qing spread his hands.

Beef Soup pressed several acupoints on his cheeks to stop the bleeding, then picked up a bronze mirror from the room and examined his face—his nose red, cheeks swollen; clearly, Gu Qing's punches were devastating.

Heavy blows, no mercy.

"Here."

Gu Qing clenched his fist and held it out before Beef Soup.

Beef Soup's gaze sharpened. "What?" Yet he extended his hand.

"Your medicine fee."

Gu Qing placed a silver ingot into Beef Soup's palm.

In that moment, blood surged upward—Beef Soup felt his nose bleeding again.

As the daughter of the old man Wu Ming and the secret organization's little princess, Beef Soup had never endured such humiliation.

But Gu Qing's dual-fist combat was monstrous; despite Beef Soup's utmost effort, he could not defeat him, so he grabbed the silver, crushed it into a flat disc, and flung it into the sea.

"Heh."

Gu Qing smiled, turned, and walked to the bow, surveying the wounded crew; he handed out his entire money pouch as their medicine fees, leaving himself utterly destitute.

After settling the compensation, Gu Qing returned to the cabin and saw Beef Soup tending to the calligraphy master; as a member of the Invisible Ones, this man was surprisingly skilled at survival—despite being kicked repeatedly and struck with a direct elbow, leaving him with a crooked mouth, broken teeth, and swollen cheeks, his internal energy had revived him. Seeing Gu Qing enter, he shrank back.

"Can we go to the island now?"

Gu Qing asked.

Beef Soup glared at Gu Qing. "No!"

Gu Qing frowned, studying the girl.

This girl was called Beef Soup because, upon her first appearance, a boy overturned her bowl and splashed beef broth all over her face; thereafter, she was referred to as Beef Soup in the narrative.

Her real name should be Princess, surname Gong, given name Zhu.

Terrible names in novels really ruin a character's aura; no matter how beautifully the author writes, the name "Beef Soup" drains all vitality.

Too ridiculous.

"Because I beat you?"

Gu Qing studied the girl.

"Of course… not!"

Princess hissed: "This ship can't sail anymore."

The ship carried valuable cargo; the Invisible Ones boarded it to orchestrate chaos—normally, once at sea, the vessel would sink and scatter, its contents drifting with the warm current to the Nameless Island.

Everyone aboard would die in the shipwreck.

But Gu Qing, without discrimination, beat them all senseless; the ship is now useless, and this operation is ruined.

"What a pity."

Gu Qing said.

The guards and sailors aboard would hate Gu Qing, unaware he had saved their lives… this good karma, Gu Qing would never claim.

Princess didn't know Gu Qing was lamenting the lost good karma; she thought he was disappointed he couldn't reach the Nameless Island, so she glared at him. "Your martial arts are high, but you're brainless—you'll never join our organization. Get out."

The Invisible Ones are an extremely meticulous organization; letting someone like Gu Qing in would expose them.

Gu Qing chuckled. "I'm going to give you two more punches, to test your brains."

Princess: "..."

Gu Qing looked at Princess and asked: "Have you heard the phrase 'Small Talent Invites Disaster'?" Princess's face flushed redder. "Where's your logic?"

The phrase "Small Talent Invites Disaster" comes from Mencius: those with petty talent are dangerous in governance, for they fail to grasp the great principles of the gentleman, leading to death.

Gu Qing mocked Princess as petty talent; she wanted to hear the gentleman's great principles.

Gu Qing raised his fist.

The fist is the principle.

Princess gritted her teeth.

"When water is not deep enough, it cannot bear a large boat. Pour a cup of water onto a hollow in the floor, and a mustard seed becomes a boat; place a cup there and it sticks—water is shallow, the boat too large. When wind is not strong enough, it cannot carry great wings."

Outside the cabin, the old man Wu Ming's voice suddenly echoed, calm and resonant: "Thus, when one flies ninety thousand li, the wind is beneath him; only then does he ride the wind. With his back to the blue sky, unimpeded, only then does he plan to fly south."

As the old man spoke, he stepped forward; he was reciting Zhuangzi's "Free and Easy Wandering"—its message simple: to soar freely on the wind, one must first possess sufficient strength; only with enough power can one, like the Kun Peng, reach the Heavenly Pool.

Strength is the foundation of all.

!

The old man was affirming Gu Qing.

"Gu Qing."

The old man said: "Your internal and external martial arts both have solid foundations. When I was your age, I may not have matched your attainments. But in my view, your internal energy still lacks something."

"Lacks something?"

"Lacks transformation!"

The old man said: "All things in the world are best when gathered inward; dispersion is a last resort. Thus, those who reach the highest levels never disperse their true qi—they learn to gather it."

Gu Qing nodded.

The highest realm of ancient internal arts should be the ability to both release and retain.

Gu Qing's cultivation of Nine Yin, Nine Yang, Primordial Qi, and Muscle/Marrow Changing—all top-tier golden-system internal arts—when deeply cultivated, link true qi to one's life force; normally, they remain inwardly contained, yet in battle, they must be released.

Those who, like Yao Yue, fight without releasing qi but instead gather it inward, are exceedingly rare.

"I have here a set of Hunyuan Qi Gong. If you can comprehend its essence, you may reach the state of perfect harmony in your internal energy..."

As he spoke, the old man, who had been holding his hands behind his back, suddenly extended one—holding a thick scripture, which he placed in Gu Qing's hands.

Gu Qing reached out and took it; the book was heavy.

Hunyuan Qi Gong.

The name seems to match Huashan's Hunyuan Gong from "Bi Xue Jian," but their effects are entirely different: Huashan's Hunyuan Gong is an external-to-internal martial art that naturally infuses internal energy into fists and kicks; the ancient Hunyuan Qi Gong, however, is a method to unify spirit and qi into one, breaking through the Twelve Palaces to achieve a terrifying state of perfect release and retention, effortless control.

Gu Qing flipped through the Hunyuan Qi Gong, reading its contents, feeling he had finally touched the martial secrets of a power like Water Mother Yin Ji.

The thick book was swiftly read through; Gu Qing's internal energy was already profound, and he knew the scripture held no further secrets—he returned it to the old man and bowed.

"You have a photographic memory?"

The old man was rarely surprised.

"What I wish to remember, I never forget."

Gu Qing said calmly—that was the confidence the system gave him.

"Good."

The old man nodded, flicked his hand—the Hunyuan Qi Gong scripture scattered into the air, turning to dust. "My daughter eats three meals and returns home, her belly still full. Take her with you, seize two sects in the Jianghu, let her experience the world."

What did "eats three meals and returns home, her belly still full" mean?

Princess found the phrase unbearable, frowned, and reached for the old man—but he spun away, vanishing from the cabin.

"Where are you going?"

Princess cried.

"Under the pine, the wooden gate closes with green moss; only butterflies fly in pairs. Bees' hind legs swell like cocoons—surely, the flowers have bloomed on the mountain ahead."

The old man's voice faded into the distance.

In these verses, there seemed to be lingering affection for mountain beauty, yet also a complete understanding of all things, perceiving the subtle to know the whole.

Gu Qing looked outside—the old man was gone. He was annoyed: He'd been shown up by the old man!

(End of Chapter)