"Ah Qi, don’t worry, the Master is here in town, no one can plot against you."

With a wave of his large sleeve, Chen Xing instantly pacified the riotous energy, and the turbulent waves vanished into invisibility.

"Master, how did you come up with this technique?"

Bai Qi couldn’t help but be curious. If Master Ninghai Zen was a naturally gifted genius, who learned skills from countless schools and mastered them, relying solely on profound aptitude and understanding.

Then Master, who practiced the most unremarkable martial arts yet perfected the most unfathomable killing moves, was simply beyond comprehension, as if overturning common knowledge.

Facing his descendant disciple, Chen Xing did not hide anything and candidly said:

"An act of desperation."

He casually broke off a twig, and under Bai Qi’s puzzled gaze, sighed deeply:

"Ten years ago, I encountered a great calamity, losing my fundamental true skills and nearly falling to my death at the Fourth Qi Cultivation Barrier.

Though I barely stabilized, my skill regressed severely, and that wasn’t the worst of it.

Ah Qi, you know, the so-called Four Great Cultivations—tendon refines flesh, bone refines blood, skin refines internal organs, qi refines acupoints.

Entering the Fourth Cultivation, the body’s great apertures I had opened were all shattered utterly, and the heaven-earth bridge erected by the divine intent of the True Skill Root Diagram was broken.

This means most of my martial arts were wasted, even if diligently retraining, I couldn’t return to my peak.

Like a shattered porcelain piece, even if glued back together, the cracks remain."

Hiss!

What foe was so fierce?

Bai Qi listened, his heart leaping. Tonight hasn’t even passed, yet Master has already slain two Fourth-Practice Experts.

It shows that in the same realm, unless facing a Grandmaster with robust foundation, it’s hard to gain favor with Chen Xing.

Yet to end up gravely injured, nearly disabled in skills, is truly unbelievable!

"Later, I started pondering blindly, since my own power couldn’t sustain the operation of true skills, I might as well use a simple method, like farming tricks.

Just like swordsmanship, no matter how exquisite the moves, it never strays from thrust, point, colliding, chopping, intercepting.

Martial arts are the same. Comparing the Ten Dragons and Ten Elephants Prison-Suppression Skill to the Black Tiger Taking Heart, what makes it stronger?

It captures the massive spirit of form and body, outlining the supreme mystical spirit and intent."

Chen Xing spoke plainly, straightforwardly:

"But I am already a Grandmaster. These paths, these roads, I have seen them, walked them. I don’t need the union of form and spirit.

Hence, I idly refined the flawed Black Tiger Taking Heart, perfecting it continuously, pushing it upwards. After about 172 levels, it became the Thousand-Mile Soul Lock, a force-emitting method across space."

levels of Black Tiger Taking Heart...

Bai Qi’s eye twitched as he listened, feeling as if he’d heard of a blade technique being practiced alive into a Heaven-Chopping Blade Technique!

"Of course, this crude martial art I learned from the Black Tiger Sect, after 1,649 iterations of refinement, I renamed it ’Black Heart Evil Palm’.

Besides ’Black Tiger Taking Heart’, I’ve summarized moves like ’Black and White Impermanence’, ’Black Shadows’, ’Black Heart Evil Spirit’, and several others.

Ah Qi, if you’re interested, I’ll demonstrate someday."

Chen Xing was full of enthusiasm. Usually, when he mentioned such things to Ninghai Zen, his unruly disciple always looked wooden, claiming it’s an alternative path, a deviation, a trick that cannot reach the skies, leaving him disgraced as a master.

Master, these moves of yours don’t seem like they belong to righteous people?

Our Tongwen Hall is bright and upright, how can we keep adopting names of the evil demon style.

Bai Qi criticized in his heart, then sincerely praised:

"If the Master is willing to broaden the eyes of your disciple, that is a fortune beyond measure, a great blessing!"

Chen Xing felt quite gratified, wondering why he never experienced such feelings when he was a master back then?

In the end, he still gave his unruly disciple a hard beating, kicking him out.

"What a sin!"

He secretly sighed, leading Bai Qi around in a big circle, finally returning to the main hall.

Xu Zirong, worthy of being an elderly member of the Inheritance Hall, had already washed the floor as bright as new, with not a trace of blood left.

Once they were seated, a steaming pot of Ganlu Spirit Tea was also brewed.

"Instructor, what was the commotion in the backyard just now?"

Xu Zirong awaited outside the hall and asked softly.

"Chased away some sneak thieves lurking in the shadows."

Chen Xing sipped the fine tea, tasting like ganlu, with a rich and long-lasting flavor, containing the fuller fragrance of orchids.

"Tonight, two Cultivation Grandmasters of the Fourth-Practice have perished, besides the one from the Qianshan Sect, Weng Xiusheng, the other one crushed by me should be from the Mao Family.

Zirong, at dawn, go report to the officials. Mao Family worshipped outsiders, colluded with the Four Reversals Demon Sect, it’s a notorious criminal remnant wanted by Dragon Court, bounty can be claimed."

Xu Zirong lowered his head in agreement, the Pharmacy Mao Family was wiped out the cleanest, didn’t expect there’d still be lingering ghosts.

Really hidden deep!

"My disciple fought at the Five Dragon Sect, there were a few big cats and smaller cats, considering Old Li was crippled by that unruly disciple of mine, let’s not beat them too hard while they’re down. Take over their Martial Arts Hall, and expel them from Hundred Rings Square. Iron Buddha Sect... Du Ping Sect’s leader is a good man, no need to seize the plaque, let them disperse the members and find another livelihood."

Chen Xing continued sipping Ganlu Spirit Tea as he instructed in a casual tone:

"Tonight, visit all Martial Arts Halls that stepped out. Those who can’t give a proper explanation, seize the plaque and strike the hall, completely cutting off their inheritance.

Since they like setting martial conduct rules, bullying the small when they’re beaten by the big.

Then we’ll do the same. Starting tomorrow, out of 263 martial halls at Hundred Rings Square, hit one after another, consider it my disciple’s release of frustration."

Xu Zirong licked his lips, rubbing his fists excitedly, seemingly eager:

"Alright!"

Bai Qi sat on the side without discouraging.

He wasn’t particularly concerned about the fate of Hundred Rings Square’s martial halls.

Previously crossing the long street, in his heart, only the Du Ping Sect was truly worthy of genuine action.

Others lacked ability, or rather, it’s precisely because they lacked ability, they hoped to use sheer numbers to push back Ninghai Zen’s direct disciple.

"Your nature is good, neat! My previous unruly disciple even accepted an entry disciple, but he’s too restrained.

Why do Jianghu people have such righteous air and easily seek to determine superiority, see life and death? Everyone has a knife in their heart, why should I yield unless your knife is sharper than mine.

After so many bloodied knives and still surviving, they become old Jianghu, insert the knife into their heart, learning to endure, learning to use rules to get things done."

Putting down the teacup, Chen Xing’s voice was loud, almost shaking dust from the beams.

"Most people in this world aren’t willing to accept a truth. Wrongdoing requires correction, doing wrong needs acknowledgment, if neither, then pay back.

As for who is right or wrong, Ah Qi, tell me, how do we judge?"

Bai Qi answered swiftly, seemingly without much thought:

"Naturally, whoever has reason is right."

Chen Xing made an acknowledgment sound, then asked again:

"And how should we perceive who has reason?"

Bai Qi thought for a while, then suddenly recalled a passage from a history book seen in the Guardian Vault’s Inner Scenic Land, quite fitting for this moment, so he said:

"The Great Dao is shapeless, giving birth to all things; the Great Dao is emotionless, operating all things; the Great Dao is nameless, nurturing all things. Therefore, the Great Dao carries the heavenly principles.

’Dao’ in my heart remains unmoved, ’reason’ in my hands doesn’t seek outward.

If one follows their own Dao and recognizes their own reason, then who can say they are wrong."

Chen Xing’s wrinkles stretched, seeming to want to laugh loudly, but he restrained his fervor:

"Did you hear that, Zirong? Any master or giant in the Martial Dao aims to implement their own Dao, attempting to use their heart in place of the heavenly heart, gripping the heavenly principles. You’ve cultivated your golden body for some time, but have yet to refine the internal organs, spirit and intent merging, it’s because you haven’t seen through.

Ponder the fist technique I passed down to you, from within, comprehend your own Dao, and you’ll achieve greatness."

Chen Xing liked the good disciple’s words very much. It’s not about a hidden, profound principle that makes people instantly enlightened, just closely agreeing with his own thoughts, feeling invigorated.

Suddenly, his brow seemed to burn, the hidden Chen Yin within the Spirit Platform was inexplicably disturbed, communicating with Chen Xing through thought:

"Chen Xing, your disciple has learned martial arts under Ninghai Zen, lacks a master in Dao arts. How about I, the Sect Leader, make a modest compromise and reluctantly accept him?"

Chen Xing seemed to have a headache, rubbed his swollen head, and looked at Bai Qi, satisfied in all aspects, using his spirit and intent to suppress Chen Yin back:

"Scram! The Chi Yang Taoist I’ve chosen, what’s it got to do with your Qingyang!"