Chapter 51: Heavenly Human Secret Art
In a certain sense.
They weren’t wrong in their guess.
Ning Qi was the True Martial Sect’s Protector of the Way, indeed the True Martial Sect’s foundation, but they were wrong about one thing—Ning Qi wasn’t some “old senior,” but a child not yet seven years old.
Ning Qi chuckled speechlessly.
He had no idea of explaining.
One reason was the prior incident with Qin Yun, and the second was that the True Martial Sect’s Protector of the Way naturally had to be hidden as deeply as possible. Unless absolutely necessary, Ning Qi wouldn’t expose his strength. Before becoming strong enough, Ning Qi would stay as low-key as possible.
Staying in the shadows would be better for him.
“Fortunately, our True Martial Sect still has an expert secretly guarding us, or today would have been disastrous.”
The congregation then felt some lingering fear.
If they had allowed Flying Eagle to ransack the Scripture Depository, it would absolutely have been a heavy blow to the True Martial Sect.
“I wonder what level of strength this senior truly possesses?”
“Jade Liquid Realm, or Core Elixir Realm like Master?”
Everyone was somewhat curious in their hearts, but they all wisely refrained from inquiring about his identity. Since Dragon Mountain Daoist hadn’t told them about this hidden foundation, there was obviously no need to inquire. They just speculated in their hearts.
But without a doubt, such speculation invigorated everyone’s hearts quite a bit.
After all, today’s events had dealt a certain blow to the True Martial Sect’s morale.
Ning Qi watched Xiong Shi cut down the Fierce Tiger True Intent Diagram from Flying Eagle’s back. This was imprinted on the back through a special method and could only be cut off.
He felt somewhat tempted.
Simply observing it before had already allowed him to comprehend several martial arts.
If he could immerse himself carefully, he would absolutely gain even more.
But he wasn’t in a hurry.
This Fierce Tiger True Intent Diagram would most likely be placed in the Scripture Depository.
Ye Qinghe was dazed in a trance. She was thinking about Jiang Baishan’s and Xiong Shi’s words, feeling something strange in her heart.
“Our True Martial Sect’s hidden foundation?… It just feels like Flying Eagle died somewhat strangely, killed on the way to the Scripture Depository…”
Her brows furrowed tightly.
Suddenly.
A figure entered her sight, carrying a large sword, carefully watching Xiong Shi skinning.
Ye Qinghe’s pupils shook.
“Little Junior Brother?!”
A thought suddenly rose in her heart that she herself found unbelievable, stirring gigantic waves in her mind. But immediately after, she shook her head with a wry smile, feeling she was being foolish.
“Little Nine is a prodigy, sure, but he hasn’t practiced martial arts for four years yet. I estimate he’s only just broken through to Inner Yuan Realm recently. How could he possibly have the strength to instantly kill a Gang Yuan Realm expert.”
Ye Qinghe inexplicably took a step forward and saw that the Dragon Owl Sword was spotless, without a trace of blood.
Ning Qi sensed something and turned his head with a smile:
“Third Senior Sister?”
Ye Qinghe let out a breath, inwardly scolding herself for being too foolish to have such an unrealistic idea.
She smiled and said:
“You’re still young. Don’t look at these things. Later, when Second Senior Brother finishes processing this True Intent Diagram, he’ll send it over for you to see. Don’t worry.”
With that, she pulled Ning Qi away.
Skinning wasn’t a pretty sight, after all. In their hearts, their own little junior brother was still a pure little white sheep, staying in the courtyard all day reading books and cultivating.
…
After the Iron Ridge Three Fiends’ night assault.
The entire True Martial Sect entered a state of alert. The number of patrolling and guarding disciples multiplied several times, ensuring no blind spots. In the past many years, they had grown somewhat lax, but last night’s incident was enough to wake everyone up. Even though there might be a great expert in the sect, they couldn’t gamble on it.
Now that Flying Eagle had died in the True Martial Sect, Xiong Shi and the others worried that River Dragon and Ground Tiger might not let it rest and could seek revenge at an opportunity.
Moreover, it was unknown if other forces were coveting the True Martial Sect.
But Ning Qi was more relaxed, because he knew he was the one who killed Flying Eagle. He wasn’t worried at all about the other two coming for revenge—they would just be delivering themselves. He even somewhat hoped those two would come.
That way.
Perhaps there would be hope for him to gather all three True Intent Diagrams.
Ning Qi stared at the Overlord Tiger True Intent Diagram in his hand, feeling some regret.
“This True Intent Diagram truly isn’t that simple.”
“Overlord Tiger Stance, Overlord Tiger Strength, Overlord Tiger True Gang—from Body Tempering Realm to Gang Yuan Realm, the cultivation methods are all interconnected, all top-tier. Not only that, it even contains a portion of Heavenly Human Secret Technique!”
In the previous few days.
After Xiong Shi processed the True Intent Diagram, he sent it over to Ning Qi. They all knew Ning Qi was very interested in different martial arts classics.
With Ning Qi’s comprehension, this True Intent Diagram held no secrets from him.
Even after Ground Tiger spent decades of hard work, he had only comprehended a portion of Overlord Tiger True Gang, which couldn’t compare to Ning Qi’s one night of study.
“This portion of Heavenly Human Secret Technique is the most powerful, even the essence of the True Intent Diagram!”
“Unfortunately, this is only one-third. The other two parts are probably contained in the Sky Eagle True Intent Diagram and Mad Dragon True Intent Diagram.”
Ning Qi slowly rolled up the human skin scroll in his hand, feeling some regret.
If that night he had chosen to pursue, there might have been a chance to kill River Dragon and Ground Tiger as well. Then all three True Intent Diagrams would be in his hands, worth much more.
However.
He didn’t regret it.
Compared to two True Intent Diagrams, he cared more about the safety of his senior brothers and sisters. If any accident happened, it would be too late for regrets.
“No big problem. Later, when my realm is higher, I can try to complete it, or even take it to the next level.”
Ning Qi was only Inner Yuan Realm, after all.
Having him create a Heavenly Human Secret Technique now would be too advanced. He still didn’t know what the so-called “resonance between heaven and man, drawing on heaven and earth power” truly entailed.
But even so, this Fierce Tiger True Intent Diagram benefited Ning Qi greatly.
The Myriad Manifestations Chapter he created advanced further.
He had even begun working on creating the Myriad Manifestations True Gang to be cultivated in Gang Yuan Realm later.
…
A few more days passed.
The True Martial Sect remained peaceful, with no sign of River Dragon or Ground Tiger appearing. Jiang Baishan and the others slightly relaxed, but didn’t lower their guard.
This continued until ten days later.
Luo Wentian and a group of disciples appeared outside the sect gate. Their faces were anxious, and upon seeing Jiang Baishan and the others, they immediately asked repeatedly:
“Little Five, what exactly happened?”
Luo Wentian’s expression was somewhat ugly. On their way back after attending Purple River Sword Venerable’s birthday banquet, they received the message and immediately rushed back at full speed.
Jiang Baishan hurriedly said:
“Senior Disciple Brother, the sect is fine.”
He immediately detailed the specifics of that night’s assault. Seeing Luo Wentian return, everyone felt much more at ease. Although Luo Wentian’s cultivation wasn’t the highest, he had always been the one handling True Martial Sect affairs, managing them orderly. The sect’s gradual growth couldn’t be separated from his merit.
Luo Wentian’s originally ugly expression eased slightly, but he remained extremely grave.
He let out a long breath and said:
“We had just gone down the mountain not long ago, and the sect suffered a night assault. It’s impossible to say there’s no connection between the two!”
The congregation had long guessed as much, their eyes condensing with anger:
“Senior Disciple Brother means the Purple River Sword Sect?”
Ning Qi’s eyes narrowed slightly. Purple River Sword Venerable was a Core Elixir Realm expert.
