Sean directed his attention back toward the glass icosahedron wrapped in a silk cloth. A swirling mass of shimmering lights decorated the object’s pitch black interior, giving off the impression of a spiraling galaxy.

The glass shell felt cold to touch, as if it had been left in a refrigerator for quite some time. The faces along the rigid exterior were isometric all-around; these panes refracted light in an incomprehensible obliquity.

“Quite the amazing sight, is it not?” Kǒudài Fāng Jīn walked up beside Sean Wu. “Fourteen generations of blood and toil have culminated into a map that can finally bypass the progenitor’s invincible illusory arrays. The hundred-epoch wooden block you hold in your very hand is the key to our Devil Blood Devil sect’s return to power.”

“Is it really something great like that? I mean, I am only an outer sect disciple trainee. The specifics of the Saint Devil Walks a Thousand Paths sect-“ Sean stopped mid-sentence.

[…Did this guy just say he was from the devil blood devil sect?]

A brief silence came over the two young men. Sean turned to look at Kǒudài Fāng Jīn. The latter opened his mouth and closed it. As if a spark had ignited, an inkling of bloodlust had somehow surged into a great ocean tide, and swept over the surrounding area.

“Hey, let’s talk about this-“

“…Die!” Kǒudài Fāng Jīn immediately threw out an attack. The devil sect cultivator’s fist narrowly missed its mark as Sean hurriedly leapt out of the way.

Kǒudài Fāng Jīn got into a stance and condensed a fistful of qi into his right arm.

[Is this guy going into Gear Second*?]

Sean clenched his teeth. He knew the next attack would be lethal regardless of whether or not he attempted to dodge it. There was only one thing he could do…

“Bone-Melting Palm Grasps the Elephant’s Trunk!” Kǒudài Fāng Jīn shouted.

“Divine Serpent’s Flickering Tongue!!” Sean replied in kind.

A great tremor resonated throughout the surrounding area.

…

Kǒudài Fāng Jīn could not believe his eyes.

“That’s…. impossible!!”

Bone-Melting Palm Grasps the Elephant’s Trunk was vicious technique that excelled at piercing through an opponent’s defensive barriers to attack their vitals. A single strike could impart two-hundred gigatons of force on an opposing cultivator’s little john, effectively rendering them a eunuch for the rest of their life!

For twelve long years, Kǒudài Fāng Jīn had trained this one move to peak mastery. It was his strongest skill; a single devastating blow to crush any foe into oblivion, and yet, standing in front of Kǒudài Fāng Jīn, only two meters away, was an outer sect disciple trainee, a mortal that had yet to even jumpstart his own cultivation path. This fellow had somehow managed to withstand an attack that could cripple even third stage primeval-ascendant martial lords.

…

Sean looked down at his little john. It stood tall and proud like a jade buddha statue. Seeing this made him furrow his brow. What kind of useless move was this? All it did was make his d*ck hard!

Sean brought up the system menu and read over the skill in detail.

Divine Serpent’s Flickering Tongue

[Martial Skill] Mortal Grade (Common)

[Level 0] [112/500 EXP]

Cooldown: 240 minutes (239 min 52s remaining)

Active: “Induces a passive buff that preemptively

defends against physical attacks by strengthening

the associated vital (5m duration).”

[…I guess it’s not terrible.]

Sean was slightly disappointed, with a name like Divine Serpent’s Flickering Tongue, the skill should have at least been an all-powerful attack.

…

Meanwhile, Kǒudài Fāng Jīn had since recovered from his stupor. He refused to believe that his attack had inflicted no damage to the other cultivator.

“Bone-Melting Palm Grasps the Elephant’s Trunk!” Kǒudài Fāng Jīn threw out another attack. This move hit Sean dead-on in the center of his trunk, sending him sprawling across the room and crashing into the ground. The force of impact had been negated by the passive buff from Sean’s skill, however the glass treasure was not as fortunate. It immediately shattered upon coming into contact with the ground’s hard surface.

Sean held up a piece of the splintered treasure and frowned.

[Ah.. it broke.]

“You dare to destroy our devil sect’s primeval heritage?! I will have your head!” Kǒudài Fāng Jīn shouted with indignation.

“What the hell do you mean? You did that yourself!”

“Enough-! Your words cannot deceive me, fiend! I have no choice but to resort to my forbidden art… Three Trigrams-Fold Machinegun Palm Grasps the Elephant’s Trunk!” Kǒudài Fāng Jīn charged at Sean Wu while sending out a flurry of attacks.

Wave after wave of stone palms and Buddhist scriptures rained down upon Sean Wu’s crotch. Kǒudài Fāng Jīn’s fists assumed the likeness of an immortal sun. Each passing blow incinerated the very condensation in the air, creating a vacuum in the empty space and precipitating an artificial rain cycle.

But Sean would not have it! He willed the last of his remaining vigor into the lower half of his body, thrusting upwards with an intent to pierce through the very heavens above! Beads of sweat began to roll down Sean Wu’s forehead as his stone coil serpent was met with an nigh-insurmountable offensive.

When two full minutes had passed, Kǒudài Fāng Jīn finally fell down on both knees. He had depleted all of his qi reserves on a series of strenuous attacks, leaving him exhausted and unable to continue. Tears welled up in Kǒudài Fāng Jīn’s eyes as he faced the ground. For twelve long years, he had trained ‘Bone-Melting Palm Grasps the Elephant’s Trunk’ to its peak. In the end, he could not even defeat an outer sect disciple trainee. It was a huge blow to his pride as a devil sect cultivator.

“This lowly one accepts the battle as his loss.” Kǒudài Fāng Jīn kowtowed before Sean Wu. “If I may add a selfish request, please make my death a swift one.”

Sean rubbed his temple, he honestly didn’t want to have to deal with this right now. All he wanted to do was to get the hell out of this underground maze. In fact, the whole reason he ended up in this situation was because he couldn’t find a way out in the first place!

“How about you stop trying to kill me, and we call ourselves even.” Sean sighed.

“S-Sir…” Kǒudài Fāng Jīn was deeply moved. “You have forgiven me despite my past transgressions. I will not forget this kindness you have shown me. I realize now that this world is filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons. My ignorance has blinded me, thus I had eyes but could not see Mt. Tai. There are unfathomable powers which I cannot dare to cross in this world. As a result of our brief exchange, I feel that my horizons have broadened and I must thank you for having mercy on my dog self. Please allow me to present sir* with my most treasured belonging in exchange for your having spared my life!”

Kǒudài Fāng Jīn reached into his spatial ring and withdrew an old manuscript bound in leather. As soon as the crumbling manual came into contact with Sean Wu’s fingertips, a system message suddenly appeared.

Bone-Melting Palm Grasps the Elephant’s Trunk

[Martial Skill] (Rare)

“A vicious strike that ignores boundary intent and defensive

auras to attack a cultivator’s root chakra vital.”

Learn Skill

Yes / No

Sean was conflicted.

Even though he needed an offensive skill to help balance out his ‘Divine Serpent’s Flickering Tongue’, this ‘Bone Melting-Palm’ was simply too vicious of an attack! Using this skill would definitely destroy his credibility as a person. Would the benefits outweigh the cons?

Sean stared down at the leather-bound tome with a complicated expression.

“Well, is it to your liking?” Kǒudài Fāng Jīn grinned.

[Even if I wanted to use this skill sparingly, it would stay at a low level and hinder my development. In order to make use of its destructive power, I would have to use it every chance I can get. With the system, I might be able to raise this skill to an unprecedented level!]

In the end, Sean tapped the ‘yes’ icon under the ‘learn skill’ indicator. At the very least, he now had a way to strike back after defending himself. Sean pocketed the manual and turned to face Kǒudài Fāng Jīn. “Thank you for gifting this to me, I will use it well.”

“I am glad that you-“ Kǒudài Fāng Jīn’s eyes suddenly widened.

He moved both hands to clutch at little john. Turning to face Sean Wu, Kǒudài Fāng Jīn could barely utter a word before toppling over and hitting the ground. “You-!”

下一章

…

Defeated ‘Rank II Qi-Condensation’ Devil Sect Cultivator.

Gained 1800 EXP. Gained Title: “Not even devils are exempt from my wrath.”

…