Chapter 92: Chapter 92: The Cao Clan Can’t Handle the Evil Ancient Martial Technique, but I Can
Qi Suian didn’t immediately chase after the fleeing opportunity. Instead, he first secured the ones around him.
An Ancient Martial Technique, Soul-Devouring Fist, fell into his hands.
’It’s not Yanyi Fist, surprisingly.’
After Qi Suian entered it into the database, the Zhinǎo began to eliminate all the Cao Clan survivors.
He, in turn, began to read.
As for Yanyi Fist, Qi Suian couldn’t find it. He had no intention of torturing the Cao Clan survivors for it, either, as there was no guarantee they would talk.
The Soul-Devouring Fist manual he held, on the other hand, seemed to be complete.
’It’s divided into three main parts: nurturing methods, training methods, and combat techniques.’
’Although "Fist" is in the name, it’s not limited to fist techniques. It also includes complementary leg techniques, body arts, footwork, and even knowledge of pharmacology and conditioning.’
’It seems to be a complete legacy.’
Whether it was complete was just a guess on Qi Suian’s part. Soul-Devouring Fist was the first Ancient Martial Technique he had ever encountered.
’It just doesn’t look like anything wholesome.’ Qi Suian found this Ancient Martial Technique to be sinister and vicious, and its cultivation was extremely harsh.
’All told, it has three realms: Yin Serpent, Evil Flood Dragon, and Evil Dragon.’
’The three stages of Jin—Ming, An, and Hua—make up the Yin Snake Realm.’
’Danjin and Gangjin, in turn, make up the Evil Flood Dragon Realm.’
’And the final stage, Jie Jin, is the Evil Dragon Realm.’
’Each of the three tiers contains an Ancient Martial Secret Technique that allows one’s Jin to undergo a qualitative transformation.’
The foundation of any Ancient Martial Technique is Jin.
’In other words, it’s basically initial mastery, major mastery, and full mastery.’
’But the problem is, it seems this Ancient Martial Technique can only be cultivated up to the First Realm of Yin Snake?’
Qi Suian had read Cao Li’s annotations on Soul-Devouring Fist. Starting from the Danjin section, the notes became scarce, making it obvious that even Cao Li had not reached that level.
[Ancient Martial Technique Recorded: Yanyi Fist]
The Zhinǎo suddenly alerted Qi Suian.
It turned out that while slaughtering the survivors, the Tai Sui God had looted the Yanyi Fist manual from a direct descendant of the Cao Clan.
Qi Suian opened it and saw that compared to Soul-Devouring Fist, the difference was huge.
The legacy within only went up to the Gangjin stage, lacked detailed breakdowns, and the Gangjin section itself was incomplete.
It also contained numerous annotations which, based on a handwriting comparison, were also likely written by the Cao Clan patriarch, Cao Li.
This Yanyi Fist manual was likely the original version.
Qi Suian checked the video playback. It was a young man who, based on his appearance and age, was quite possibly Cao Li’s grandson.
Beyond that, it didn’t matter.
"Zhinǎo, run a comparison. When the Cao Clan patriarch fought you, was he using Yanyi Fist or Soul-Devouring Fist?" Qi Suian asked.
Qi Suian suspected that Cao Li had been trying to switch his foundational technique.
During the recent battle, the man had most likely broken through to the Danjin stage. However, if Cao Li wanted to advance further in the Ancient Martial Technique, his only options were likely to either adopt Soul-Devouring Fist or continue trying to perfect Yanyi Fist.
Any sane person would have chosen the former. After all, if Cao Li truly possessed such remarkable talent, he wouldn’t have been stuck at the Huajin stage at his age.
In the end, it was only under the pressure from the Power of the Limit and the Violator that he managed a breakthrough in the heat of battle.
It wasn’t that he had no talent, but it was nowhere near enough to perfect Yanyi Fist.
[Comparing data...]
[Comparison complete: Thirty percent of the techniques employed by the enemy were from the combat methods of Soul-Devouring Fist.]
The nurturing and training methods couldn’t be discerned, but the combat techniques, being practical skills, would manifest during a fight.
But that alone was telling enough. To use the combat techniques of Soul-Devouring Fist, one had to be proficient in its training methods.
As for the nurturing methods, that was the "pay-to-win" path, involving things like dietary supplements, medicinal meals, and various concoctions for both external and internal use. In short, it was all about the resources needed for cultivation.
’Looks like he really did start to switch techniques.’
’But this Soul-Devouring Fist... it’s really nasty stuff.’ Putting aside the sinister and vicious combat techniques, even the death-defying training methods and life-threatening nurturing regimens were alarming.
Cao Li had been able to switch because he was already an Ancient Martial Artist at the Peak of Huajin, just one step away from breaking through to the Danjin stage.
With the foundation he’d built with Yanyi Fist, switching to and cultivating an Ancient Martial Technique like Soul-Devouring Fist wouldn’t have been much of an issue for him.
But if some clueless newbie tried it, they’d be dead ten times over just trying to reach the Mingjin stage.
’More importantly, I don’t think I can cultivate this...’
He knew what Jin was; it was nothing more than a type of skill.
But in the hands of these survivors, Jin was no longer just a skill, but a kind of Extraordinary Source.
Unfortunately, Qi Suian didn’t have that stuff at all.
And that wasn’t even mentioning the Danjin stage, which involved some mystical concept of Martial Dao will.
He could more or less understand Mingjin, Anjin, and Huajin. But starting from Danjin, it all became very metaphysical, involving one’s Spirit... no, it was more about changes in thought and consciousness.
For this reason, Qi Suian could only shelve Soul-Devouring Fist for the time being.
He needed to study Cao Li’s corpse to figure out a way to adapt the Ancient Martial Technique for his own use.
He wasn’t particularly interested in the combat techniques, but the nurturing and training methods could provide a tangible and significant boost to his power.
As for the dangers involved, Qi Suian naturally didn’t care. After all, he could resurrect even if he died.
’But I still feel like something isn’t quite right.’ Qi Suian instinctively sensed that Soul-Devouring Fist didn’t seem complete.
’Damn it, don’t tell me this is only half of the technique.’
Qi Suian suddenly realized that the new opportunity had only appeared—had only spawned—because he had obtained Soul-Devouring Fist.
He might not have understood Ancient Martial Arts, but he understood how luck worked.
Having used his "protagonist halo" for this long, he knew that many things were subtly interconnected.
"How’s the cleanup going? I need to chase that opportunity as soon as possible. I suspect it’s related to Soul-Devouring Fist," Qi Suian asked the Zhinǎo.
The Zhinǎo was directing Tai Sui God Tu Tu to wipe out the entire Cao Family and plunder their resources.
"If all the survivors are dead, let’s go after the opportunity first. We can always come back to loot the place later, it’s not too late," Qi Suian asked urgently.
[All survivors within the Jade Dragon Association’s territory have been eliminated.]
[Currently acquiring resources for your research into Ancient Martial Technique.]
[The primary requirements for Ancient Martial Technique are talent and willpower, followed by resources. Without resources, advancement is impossible.]
[If we were to leave now, the people in the Jade Dragon Association would inevitably descend into a chaotic scramble for the spoils. By the time we returned, your losses would be substantial.]
[Estimated time to complete acquisition: three minutes.]
Qi Suian read the Zhinǎo’s feedback and had no objections.
So what if the person was already a hundred and sixty kilometers away? That didn’t matter. He had faith in his luck.
The Treasure Map of the Lost was merely a form of guidance from his protagonist halo; it didn’t represent the protagonist halo itself.
So, from the moment that person became an "opportunity," a subtle, fated connection had already formed with Qi Suian.
He could still lose it if he delayed for too long, but he could afford to wait three minutes.
After all, the opportunity had just spawned and its color was still vibrant; there was no need to worry about someone else sniping it.
If he lost it by a margin of three minutes, well, Qi Suian would have nothing to complain about. He could only blame himself.
-----------------
Cao Rou looked at her friends list and saw a message from a survivor named Qin Sheng.
[Qin Sheng: Sister Rou, are you sure the Cao Family has Soul-Devouring Fist and Soul-Devouring Palm?]
Qin Sheng was her fiancé, to whom she had been betrothed before birth. At first, she had strongly resented this arranged marriage, but her aversion gradually lessened after she learned it was because Qin Sheng’s master had once saved her grandfather’s life.
Later, when Qin Sheng completed his training and left his master, he was preparing to find her and fulfill their engagement, but unexpectedly, the Doomsday Game descended.
And so, Qin Sheng and Cao Rou connected in this manner. Over the course of their online chats, Cao Rou naturally found herself won over by him.
As for the two Ancient Martial Techniques, Soul-Devouring Fist and Soul-Devouring Palm, Cao Rou had only told Qin Sheng about them after she noticed something abnormal about her grandfather.
[Cao Rou: They do. I even managed to steal the manual for Soul-Devouring Palm.]
[Qin Sheng: You did the right thing. I know of those two Ancient Martial Techniques. They’re incredibly dangerous to cultivate, and more importantly, they require practicing in tandem, which is even more terrifyingly risky.]
[Qin Sheng: Moreover, they’re both Evil Dao Ancient Martial Techniques. Once mastered, they not only have a powerful backlash but also require the user to kill indiscriminately.]
[Cao Rou: That’s horrible!!!]
Cao Rou was shocked. The Yanyi Cao Clan was supposed to be a premier Ancient Martial Family of the righteous path.
If word got out that Cao Li, the patriarch of the family, was secretly cultivating an Evil Dao Ancient Martial Technique, it would cause an absolute uproar.
As Cao Li’s favorite granddaughter, she was naturally doted on. Because of this, she hadn’t yet realized how different things were after entering the Doomsday Game. To her, the only change was that it felt a little hotter than before.
She hadn’t noticed any of the other changes at all.
Just as she was in the middle of a sweet exchange with Qin Sheng, she heard a warning from the Doomsday Game, stating that a Violator was one kilometer away from her.
She was just about to tell Qin Sheng about the situation when she suddenly felt a hand close around her neck. Before she could even turn to look, there was a sharp SNAP, and her neck was broken.
She died instantly. Fortunately, she felt no pain.
On the other end, Qin Sheng was in the middle of typing a reply to Cao Rou when her chat window suddenly went dark before he was forcibly kicked out of it.
"This... How is this possible!" Qin Sheng’s pupils contracted. He watched as the name of his fiancée, Cao Rou, faded from his friends list until it vanished completely.
This could only mean one thing: she was dead.
"Who! Who dared to kill Rou’er! I’ll make you pay with your life!" Qin Sheng roared in fury.
Spurred by this rage, he instantly broke through from the Peak of Anjin to the Huajin stage, accomplishing in a moment what should have taken several more days of painstaking effort.
His aura surged uncontrollably, like that of a god or a demon.
"Damn it!!!" A feeling of powerlessness washed over Qin Sheng. Cao Rou had died too quickly, without even a chance to say who had done it.
"Doomsday Game, I want to find Rou’er’s killer! I’ll pay any price!" Qin Sheng roared at the sky.
[Law Enforcer’s request regarding a Violator detected. Request is deemed reasonable. Providing Law Enforcer with relevant information.]
"Violator, you and I are now irreconcilable enemies!" Qin Sheng saw the warning Cao Rou had received just before her death, which meant the Violator had been closing in on her.
That meant the one who murdered Cao Rou was this Violator.
He then opened the permanent "Violator" event tab and saw the number there had increased by one. He knew exactly who that point had come from.
