Chapter 135: Master
"Who is your master?" Wu Liangxu asked as he watched Chu Qiguang intently. "Is it Wu Siqi?"
"No, Grand Secretary Wu isn't my master," Chu Qiguang replied, looking rather surprised. "As for who my master is, I'm afraid I cannot reveal his identity without his permission."
You think Wu Siqi is worthy of being Chu Qiguang's master? What a joke! Qiao Zhi scoffed inwardly as he licked his paw while reclining on the roof. When the time comes, all of you will learn that I am his master!
Wu Liangxu wasn't convinced at all. In his mind, no one else in Azure Sun County aside from Wu Siqi could have possibly raised an exceptional talent like Chu Qiguang. Furthermore, Chu Qiguang had been helping the Wu Clan deal with the Ding Clan as soon as he appeared before the public eye, so he firmly believed that Chu Qiguang was a secret weapon raised by Wu Siqi. However, he didn't dwell on this subject.
Instead, he kept his gaze fixed on Chu Qiguang and said, "Fine, we won't speak about your master, then. I've come here to ask you one thing. Are you planning to follow Wu Siqi to the bitter end?"
Of course, Chu Qiguang wasn't going to reveal his true intentions.
Instead, he merely replied ambiguously, "I think Grand Secretary Wu is doing a fine job."
"No, he most certainly is not!" Wu Liangxu snapped. "I'm telling you this now, young man. Following Wu Siqi will not end well for you. You don't believe me? Do you really think everyone else in the imperial court, aside from him, is oblivious to the current state of the nine border military bases? What you have to understand is that nine border military bases are a necessary evil to oppose the much greater enemy that is the northern fiends!
"By intentionally weakening the border military bases, negotiating a truce with the northern fiends, and establishing trade relations, we are giving them a chance to grow stronger! Who's going to be able to stop them once they decide it's time to invade? Wu Siqi is dooming the entire empire!"
Chu Qiguang took a moment to choose his words, then shook his head and argued, "Rather than allow the nine border military bases to continue rotting from within, it would be much better to cut off the rotten parts, then put the military bases through drastic reform. I'm confident that Grand Secretary Wu will completely transform the border military bases in just a few years."
"Then what about the northern demons?" Wu Liangxu argued. "They've always suffered a severe shortage of resources like salt, cotton, and tea. The former emperor put border restrictions in place with the purpose of weakening them, yet now, Wu Siqi plans to undo all of that with his proposal of trade relations!"
Chu Qiguang began, "Establishing trade relations with the northern demons will bring more benefits than harm to our Great Han Empire—"
However, Wu Liangxu had already lost his patience, and he cut him off mid-sentence. "You and Wu Siqi are both far too radical for your own good! I came here to offer you some heartfelt advice, but it seems my words have fallen on deaf ears!"
Chu Qiguang remained silent as Wu Liangxu departed with a disappointed shake of his head. He knew it was very difficult to persuade someone who held opposing political beliefs. Perhaps Wu Liangxu would only change his mind once the fruits of reform began to reveal themselves in a few years' time.
Hao Xiangtong approached Chu Qiguang and said, "Senior Wu's Wu Clan in Shade Mountain County actually used to be a single unified clan with the Wu Clan of Azure Sun County four or five generations ago. However, the two branches had a falling out, and they haven't interacted with each other at all since."
"I see," Chu Qiguang said, taken aback by this revelation.
Looking at Chu Qiguang, Hao Xiangtong couldn't help but feel like he had become much more pleasant to look at than before. Some more time passed, yet Hao Yongtai still hadn't returned.
"Let's go," Hao Xiangtong urged.
"Let's wait for Brother Yongtai," Chu Qiguang said.
"Just leave Chen Gang behind to wait for him," Hao Xiangtong grumbled with an impatient roll of her eyes. "He can't blame us for leaving him behind if he's taking this long."
Hold on a second, wouldn't that mean that Chu Qiguang and I would be traveling together on our own?
Hao Xiangtong immediately blushed at the thought.
Why is this woman's face always so red when she's around Chu Qiguang? Does she have a fever or something? Qiao Zhi wondered to himself from the rooftop.
With that in mind, he immediately cautioned telepathically, Make sure to keep your distance from this woman, Chu Qiguang. She could be sick. Right now, we're right between autumn and winter, and this is the easiest time to fall ill. If you catch whatever she has, it's going to delay your cultivation. Even martial artists have to be careful not to get sick. As a matter of fact, it's even more important for martial artists to protect themselves than ordinary people.
Before long, Hao Yongtai finally returned. Hao Xiangtong was clearly less than pleased, and she immediately asked him what had taken him so long. The siblings continued bickering with each other even as they finally set off.
On the third floor of a nearby restaurant, Chen Yuebai was watching Chu Qiguang's trio depart and thought to himself, I may be no match for you as a martial artist, but if you're going to work with the Wu Clan in the textile trade, then I'll make sure you lose every last copper coin to your name!
On the way back, Chu Qiguang hired two horse-drawn carriages. He traveled in one of the carriages with Hao Yongtai and Hao Xiangtong, while Qiao Zhi secretly tagged along on top of the carriage. Chu Qiguang began asking Qiao Zhi telepathically about martial arts techniques.
The martial examination had exposed his weakness as a martial artist with very limited technique, and that was something he had to address.
The martial arts technique I used against Jiang Longyu is called the Undying Seal, Qiao Zhi revealed. It was invented by an incredibly formidable martial artist, and it's unmatched when it comes to force nullification and redirection. It's very effective in one-on-one battles, but it's even more useful in battles against multiple opponents.
Undying Seal? Isn't that a reference to the Twin Dragons of Great Tang?[1]
A thought occurred to Chu Qiguang after hearing this familiar name. Sure enough, the more he learned about the Undying Seal from Qiao Zhi, the more he felt that the technique was perfectly tailored for him. It was exactly the sort of name he would have chosen.
No wonder it's called that.
In order to use the Undying Seal, technical mastery and physical constitution are both vital, Qiao Zhi continued. From a technical standpoint, you need to be able to absorb and redirect all types of force. From a physical standpoint, your body needs to be strong and resilient enough. That way, you won't be injured while absorbing and redirecting those forces. You can only absorb a certain amount of force if your body is strong enough to serve as a vessel for it.
In summary, your physical constitution decides how much force you're able to redirect, while your technique decides how well you can redirect force. The Undying Seal is split into three levels. At the first level, you'll be able to deflect the force of your opponent's attacks. At the second level, you'll be able to redirect the power of their attacks back at them. At the third level, you'll be able redirect their power while adding some of your own.
Right now, I'm at the third level, but apparently there's a fourth level that allows one to redirect the force of an opponents' attacks from a distance. That's not something I'm currently capable of.
Chu Qiguang listened to Qiao Zhi's introduction of the Undying Seal with keen interest. Whenever they took a break on their journey back to Azure Sun County, he would practice the Undying Seal on Chen Gang.
Once again, his superb aptitude for martial arts rose to the fore, and by the time they returned to Azure Sun County three days later, he had already reached the first level of the Undying Seal.
1. Twin Dragons of Great Tang is a renowned wuxia novel written by Hong Kong author Wong Yee, and the Undying Seal is one of the techniques in the story. ☜
