Chapter 66

After kowtowing three times, Jiang Sishui made to rise.

Sure enough, Wu Ya Zi laughed and said: "Kowtow six more — this is our sect's rule."

"Yes." Jiang Sishui replied, and kowtowed six more for him.

Wu Ya Zi's face was full of gratification. He said: "From today onward, you are my disciple. Good child, come here!"

Jiang Sishui stood up and walked over to him as instructed.

Wu Ya Zi seized his wrist and examined him carefully from head to toe.

Jiang Sishui suddenly felt a warmth at his pulse gate; a stream of internal energy rose up his arm and rushed toward his heart with startling speed, yet it withdrew at the slightest touch.

Wu Ya Zi nodded slightly: "Indeed, you truly have No martial arts at all on you."

Jiang Sishui feigned embarrassment: "I've made a fool of myself before Master."

Wu Ya Zi smiled and shook his head: "No matter — this is even better. It saves me a good deal of trouble."

As he spoke, Wu Ya Zi burst out laughing, then suddenly his body shot upward, somersaulted in midair, and came down head-first, the crown of his head meeting the crown of Jiang Sishui's.

The two crowns of their heads touched, and Jiang Sishui immediately felt a thin wisp of warm Qi pierce into his brain through the "Baihui acupoint" on the crown of his head, and he knew Wu Ya Zi was about to Transmit skills.

But as more and more warm Qi poured in, Jiang Sishui suddenly felt dizzy and dazed, as if his skull were about to explode.

Then this warm Qi flowed all the way downward, and before half a moment had passed, he could endure no longer and fainted outright.

The instant before he lost consciousness, a single thought flashed through his mind—

"That's it?"

"All those speeches I'd prepared in advance to fool and persuade Wu Ya Zi — in the end, not a single one of them was needed."

"What a waste of my silver-tongued eloquence — no chance to show it off at all."

He did not know how long had passed when Jiang Sishui felt his whole body grow light and airy, as if riding the clouds and mist, soaring through the heavens.

Suddenly his body grew cold, as if he had plunged into the depths of an azure sea, frolicking with schools of fish.

One moment he was in the carriage exchanging sword strokes with Zhao Qiying, the next he was on the couch spending the entire night in intimacy with Bai Feifei…

Just as he was drunk with rapture, he suddenly felt a great downpour of rain, drops falling on him one by one — yet the raindrops were hot.

Jiang Sishui's mind gradually cleared, and he opened his eyes.

He saw Wu Ya Zi drenched in sweat from head to toe, the sweat dripping unceasingly; from his cheeks, neck, and the roots of his hair, sweat still oozed forth in an endless stream.

As for himself, he was lying on the ground, with Wu Ya Zi seated beside him; the two heads that had been joined had long since parted.

In the moonlight, Wu Ya Zi's once fair and handsome face was now covered all over with deep wrinkles running every which way, his thick head of hair had all fallen out, and the once glossy jet-black long beard had turned into a white one.

In the space of a mere moment, the man had aged by several dozen years, become utterly decrepit.

Although Jiang Sishui had long foreseen this, truly witnessing that the other had become like this because of him, he could not help a pang of heartache: "Master, you… you've transferred all your skill to your disciple…"

Having received such a great kindness, that one cry of "Master" truly came from the bottom of his heart, sincere and genuine.

Wu Ya Zi squinted his eyes and smiled weakly, saying: "Good disciple, although you don't practice martial arts, you still have some insight."

"With your master's Lifetime of skill, if you then diligently train a few of our sect's Wu Gong and master them well, you will surpass the outstanding young talents of your generation, and may even directly glimpse the Realm of the Heavenly Man!"

Jiang Sishui felt the mighty power within his body and knew for certain that he had entered the Grand Master realm!

And not the early stage — the middle stage, or even the late stage!

As for exactly which sub-layer, he was not yet sure; he would have to wait until he returned and feel it out slowly......

But without a doubt, he had truly ascended to the heavens in a single step!

Jiang Sishui said nothing, knelt before Wu Ya Zi, and kowtowed nine more times for him.

Wu Ya Zi smiled and watched him, saying: "Good child, rise."

Then, just as in the original, he told the story of how years ago he had been crippled by the villainous Ding Chunqiu's Successful sneak attack, and asked Jiang Sishui to cleanse the sect for him.

The difference was that in reality, Wu Ya Zi had been in closed-door cultivation making an all-out push for the Heavenly Man Realm when Ding Chunqiu seized the opportunity to strike — that was how the Successful sneak attack came about.

Moreover, Wu Ya Zi's injuries were also far more severe than in the original — nearly every bone in his body was shattered.

So although his skill surpassed Ding Chunqiu's, if they truly fought, he would absolutely not be his match.

Otherwise Suxinghe and the others would not have been pushed to such a desperate state.

To Wu Ya Zi's entrustment, Jiang Sishui naturally agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Afterward, Wu Ya Zi told Jiang Sishui to go dig out a small iron box from beneath a few giant bamboos.

Jiang Sishui had originally assumed it contained a portrait of Li Canghai, and that Wu Ya Zi would next send him to Mount Wuliang to request Li Qiushui to teach him Xiaoyao Sect Wu Gong.

But when he opened it, inside were two secret manuals wrapped tightly in oiled paper.

They were precisely the "Northern Nether Divine Art" and "Lingbo Weixu"!

Jiang Sishui was startled.

In the original, Xu Zhu only inherited Wu Ya Zi's "Northern Nether True Qi" and did not learn any Wu Gong from him; he had not expected that when it came to him, the old master would directly arrange secret manuals for him.

On second thought, it made sense — Wu Ya Zi had been holed up here for decades; since he had resolved to choose a successor, writing two secret manuals during that time wouldn't be hard, would it?

After all, his arms could still move.

As for the "Minor Formless Art" and the like, perhaps because those were Li Qiushui's Wu Gong, although Wu Ya Zi knew them, he did not write them down.

But Jiang Sishui was already more than satisfied.

Because right now he had offense and defense; what he lacked was an Internal Energy Cultivation Method and Lightness Skill and Body Movement.

The appearance of the "Northern Nether Divine Art" and "Lingbo Weixu" could be considered as making up for his shortcomings, allowing him to become an all-round martial artist.

Just as Jiang Sishui felt he had already reaped a full harvest, Wu Ya Zi gave him yet another surprise he could never have imagined!.

072 System Upgrade, Hegemon's Grand Design

Wu Wu Ya Zi squinted his eyes and said, "Good child, my 'Zhenlong Chess Formation' has been set up here for twenty years; the outside world has all guessed that Mount Leigu holds a fortuitous opportunity, haven't they?"

Jiang Sishui nodded: "Just as Master says, indeed it is so."

"Then do you know why, after all these years, your master has remained safe and sound?" Wu Ya Zi asked again.

Jiang Sishui answered without hesitation: "It is the illusion formation outside."

"Yes, it is because of that illusion formation. Otherwise, if two Grand Masters came to investigate thoroughly, Leigu Mountain would have no secrets left." Wu Wu Ya Zi sighed with emotion.

A thought stirred in Jiang Sishui's heart, and he immediately recounted the matter of meeting Zhu Zhu Wushi.

Wu Wu Ya Zi chuckled, showing no concern, and said: "I knew long ago that those two entered the formation. I know even more that one is a Grand Master, and the other is a Heavenly Man."

A Heavenly Man?

Is Zhu Zhu Wushi a Heavenly Man? Stronger than Wu Wu Ya Zi before he was crippled?

Jiang Sishui was somewhat surprised.

Looking over Wu Wu Ya Zi's life before his crippling, besides Wu Gong, he also learned many miscellaneous things: music, chess, calligraphy, painting, medicine, divination, flowers, and opera; he knew them all and mastered them all. 27

At the same time, in his early years he engaged in a love triangle with Wu Ya Zi and Li Qiushui, in his middle years he indulged in the boudoir with Li Qiushui, and in his later years he fell into a one-sided love web from which he could not escape.

It can be said that as a martial artist, Wu Wu Ya Zi was very "unfocused on his profession."

But he was extremely intelligent, and he possessed the "Northern Nether Divine Art," a cultivation method that was like a cheat, enough to make up for his usual laziness.

Yet even so, he did not begin to assault the Heavenly Man realm until he was in his sixties, and how old is Zhu Zhu Wushi now?

Probably just in his forties?

Zhu Zhu Wushi's martial arts talent is far inferior to Wu Wu Ya Zi's, yet he managed to overtake on a curve?

No!

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Jiang Sishui's mind.

Both are cultivation methods that plunder true qi, yet the "Art of Absorbing Power" has one thing the "Northern Nether Divine Art" cannot do—

Absorb a person's Wu Gong and even their experience!

"The world has changed; did he absorb something extraordinary?"

Jiang Sishui suspected in his heart.

At this moment, he heard Wu Wu Ya Zi speak again: "But what does it matter if he is a Heavenly Man? Once he enters this formation, he cannot borrow the power of heaven and earth, and he is no different from a Grand Master."

"In these twenty years, seven Heavenly Men have entered this formation; two stumbled their way out by accident, and five died. Heh, if time permits, I do not mind two more skeletons."

Jiang Sishui's spirit trembled violently.

An illusion formation actually trapped and killed five Heavenly Men?!

And the Heavenly Man's strongest technique—Heavenly Man Unity, borrowing the power of heaven and earth for oneself—was directly nullified?!

This is too terrifying!

What concept is a Heavenly Man? Basically, an existence that walks sideways through the Jianghu.

In the Central Region, the Four Seas, and the Twenty-Eight Provinces, if a Men Sect has a Heavenly Man as its pillar, then it is a top-tier power.

If it has a Grand Master, then it is a first-tier power.