Chapter 943: Is the Party Over? (2)

“Also... if there’s a way to un-fold that face, would you be willing to try? It might not work, though. In the Central Plains there’s something called Fairy Arts.”

Qing explained the Lunar Jade Maiden Divine Art.

If it worked, you could be reborn as a beauty like a flower. (She didn’t say literally a flower.)

But she couldn’t guarantee the result.

Depending on how it went, he could end up as something that paired that face with a eunuch. Qing could help if he wanted to attempt it, but the decision had to be Kim’s—

“I’ll do it.”

He answered instantly—without even a sliver of hesitation—before Qing finished her explanation.

“Even if it twists further, what changes? A debt of a hundred nyang and a debt of a thousand nyang are different. But whether you owe a million or ten million, it’s money you can’t repay even if your descendants pay it off for generations.”

“...Mm. That’s... mm.”

“Why’d you stop mid-sentence? You could at least say it’s not that bad.”

Qing lowered her head slightly.

Yeah. She couldn’t lie. Honestly, if he got uglier from here, what would be different from now?

“You have to think carefully. The internal power of Black Warrior Dance is pure water energy, so it won’t match the Lunar Jade Maiden Divine Art, which is an orthodox cultivation. That means you’d have to scatter everything you’ve built up so fa—”

“Ah. Then it’s impossible.”

Another razor-clean answer.

Also—why does he keep cutting me off?

“What? Why? You said you were sick of Black Warrior Dance.”

“It’s not that I dislike it. It’s that breaking that accumulated power is impossible. If I could, I would’ve scattered this damned cultivation long ago, descended the mountain, taken a normal wife who’s beautiful and has a big chest, had nine pretty daughters, and lived a noisy, cozy life like that.”

“Mm. You really are consistent. And?”

“Do you see the turtle shell stuck to my back?”

Some martial arts imitate an object—or an animal—trying to resemble its mind-image.

Qing’s own arts were proof enough.

Tathagata Divine Palm tried to resemble the vast omnipotence of the Tathagata. Emperor Sword Form tried to resemble a sovereign on a throne, moving the world. Even aside from that, there were countless animal-imitating arts: Tiger Fist, Leopard Fist, Snake Fist, and so on.

Four-Direction Dances imitated the Four Guardian Beasts, and Black Warrior Dance tried to resemble the northern guardian beast—Black Warrior.

And when you keep using arts like that, the thing you’re trying to resemble takes root as a mind-image, and the martial artist begins to resemble it externally and internally.

Someone who uses Tiger Fist becomes violent like a tiger. Someone who uses Leopard Fist becomes swift like a leopard. Someone who uses Monkey Fist grows long limbs like a monkey.

So what about Black Warrior Dance?

Do you transform into a Black Warrior-like face—an actual human turtle?

Of course not.

Not if you learned it properly.

The problem was the way Kim Heojung learned it. He’d tried to hammer it in through brute, accelerated shortcuts—mixing training methods, shoving in new ones he designed, turning everything into a total mess.

In the end, instead of trying to resemble the northern incarnation that ruled water energy, his training became an attempt to resemble the imagined animal itself—Black Warrior.

And the result was the mystic ice that grew on his back: water crystal, natural water energy condensed and crystallized.

“When I try to scatter my internal power, the water energy flowing from this turtle shell interferes and clumps. Instead, the water energy accumulates, and my internal power increases. That’s why I’ve been living like this, unable to abolish this dogshit martial art...”

Which meant—

Qing failed to hold back her exclamation.

“Whoa. Infinite internal power! Unlimited fun!”

Kim Heojung’s expression crumpled.

“What use is my own internal power when I control nature’s water energy?”

It didn’t match up.

Infinite internal power sounded great, except Black Warrior Dance barely consumed the internal power in the lower abdomen anyway—it operated by gathering natural energy and making it resonate.

“...Mm. Is there no way to smash it? I mean, it was fine even when a Transcendent Realm master pounded it—no, wait, the Heart-Eating Demon King’s qi shots were drilling into it like crazy. Then... couldn’t we ask an even stronger master?”

“I could die. They say even rolling in a field of dogshit, life is still better than death. I don’t want to bet my life on it...”

“...Mm.”

Qing rubbed her smooth chin.

It was a shame to get blocked before even trying.

Was there another way?

Water energy should be suppressed by wood energy, so maybe someplace rich in wood energy... but water generates wood, so if wood energy was abundant, the place would probably be rich in water energy too.

Or suppress it with stronger fire energy... mm, roast him a bit—

No. Not that.

How to remove water energy...

...There is a way.

“Mm. I think there is a method. If it feels wrong, we stop. How about it? We can tr—”

“Let’s do it right now!”

He cut her off again. Looks like he’d wanted to quit martial arts entirely for a long time.

Qing held out her hand.

“Hand. Now.”

“My hand?”

“Give me your hand. I’m going to absorb your internal power. If you don’t want your primal essence drained too, the instant your internal power drops, you tell me.”

Northern Abyss Divine Art halted the target’s operation and absorbed the internal power—so if she kept sucking, crystal or not, wouldn’t it melt and disappear?

Qing grabbed Kim Heojung’s wrist.

Then she opened the blood-and-qi path leading to her palm center.

The moment another person’s energy flow linked to the lowest sea in the world.

A strange energy poured into Qing.

The Heart-Eating Demon King’s internal power had been familiar—she already carried Heart-Eating Demonic Aura. But this Black Warrior True Aura, condensed from pure water energy, was something new to her.

A cool, clean seep—like getting an IV on a day your fever was blazing.

And at last it flowed into her lower abdomen, settled somewhere inside, and began to swell in size.

SPLASH. SPLASH. WHOOSH...

Inside Qing’s lower abdomen was a peaceful beach.

Under the bright, blazing light cast by her innate vital energy, a wide white sandbar was packed with little tiny beings—each dressed differently, each enjoying the beach in their own way.

A towering iceberg rose from the near sea—look closely and it was the ice crystal of the Ice-White Divine Art.

At the peak sat the Ice-White True Aura, looking down at other ice-line true auras bobbing below, floating with round air bladders.

In another spot, a crowd batted a ball around, shrieking with laughter—an absurd sight.

Orthodox true auras that used to be desperate to devour demonic auras, and demonic auras from wicked paths, were mingling together—bright-eyed, innocent.

What the hell was this scene?

But the sea was a place that accepted all waters. Even the most solemn person would end up smiling warmly if they lay on a peaceful beach.

Even the exhibitionist-addicted, demonic-aura-hunting Jubilant True Aura had relaxed its usual hatchet-eyes and was happily paddling around—SWIM SWIM—having fun.

Of course, even now, in a corner all alone, crouched and lonely, scratching letters into the sand with a finger, was the Heaven-Sundering Demonic Aura.

The sea accepted water, but it didn’t accept just any liquid. Like water and oil, some things simply couldn’t mix.

What Heaven-Sundering Demonic Aura kept writing in the sand was a string of laughter.

Anyway—Heaven-Sundering Demonic Aura was laughing.

A peaceful world inside the lower abdomen.

Today was a truly peaceful world inside the lower abdomen.

If you looked closely, it was like a painted backdrop—and then, with a CLACK, a door suddenly opened and someone appeared.

Blue cloth covered in wave patterns—except it was soaking wet. Hair wet, skin wet, clothes wet—an indecent, embarrassing state.

Black Warrior True Aura.

At the appearance of the new true aura—SPLASH!—Jubilant True Aura cut through the water like a knife and reached shore, then ran forward, kicking up sand.

Then it stopped dead, standing rigid.

And Jubilant True Aura backed away.

Because Black Warrior True Aura—

Its eyes had no pupils. Only whites showed, blank and rolling.

With a mindless groan that carried no intelligence, it stretched both arms forward and shuffled in—DRAG. DRAG.

Then, suddenly, it snapped its head sideways—

And sprinted.

In that spot was Nurture-Yang Heart-Wash True Aura, wearing a baffled expression.

Black Warrior True Aura threw itself forward, tackled it, pinned it, ground it down.

Nurture-Yang Heart-Wash True Aura thrashed in shock. Black Warrior True Aura pressed it down hard—then suddenly slammed its head down.

The tiny ones’ mouths met.

Nurture-Yang Heart-Wash True Aura’s eyes blew wide open.

SMACK SMACK—wet sounds...

The other true auras covered their faces, peeking through their fingers, whispering oh my, oh my, oh my.

*****

Qing lay tilted to one side, checking her [Martial Arts Window].

She normally preferred lying flat on her back like a frog, limbs spread wide—but the crack in the left underside of her pelvis made that impossible.

Still, with her eyebrows faintly knit from the soft °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° pain blooming with every breath, Qing stared at the [Martial Arts Window].

This... the state of her internal-power methods?

Every internal-power method listed in her [Martial Arts Window] had reached complete mastery at Twelve Stars.

Even Maiden Jubilant Art and Ice-Heaven Asura Demon Art—methods she hadn’t invested training points into for various reasons—had now become fully mastered.

It was Northern Abyss Divine Art’s effect.

Mm. At least I didn’t become insanely sensitive... or the opposite. Did I luck into a perfect balance?

In truth, Qing couldn’t know yet. With a cracked bone that hurt just to breathe, how would she notice subtle shifts in other senses?

Anyway.

The Heart-Eating Demon King’s internal power had been monstrous—so much it filled Qing’s lower abdomen and overflowed.

And the overflow had all leaked out, wasted.

She couldn’t tell whether that was Northern Abyss Divine Art’s nature, or whether it was because her [Martial Arts Window]-style internal-power system meant that once a method hit Twelve Stars, her lower abdomen could no longer accumulate additional internal power through that method.

But after absorbing Kim Heojung’s internal power, Qing understood Northern Abyss Divine Art a little more.

In the Heart-Eating Demon King’s case, it was a true aura she already possessed—so it filled Heart-Eating Demonic Aura first, and then the remaining energy filled the others.

But in Ugly-hunchback guy’s case—

After she absorbed Black Warrior True Aura, an unfamiliar energy pooled in her lower abdomen, leaving her with a bizarre sensation of something “unknown” sitting full inside her.

But this Black Warrior True Aura wouldn’t operate.

No matter what she tried, it wouldn’t budge inside her lower abdomen. It was unusable.

What the hell?

If you absorb it but can’t use it, what’s the point? Is this “ultimate martial arts”? What kind of “ultimate” is named after the neighbor’s dog?

But only for a moment.

Just in case the other true auras had stopped listening too, Qing summoned a few sunset-colored rings of Nurture-Yang Heart-Wash True Aura—

And that instant, Black Warrior True Aura moved.

Its nature slid and changed, and it flowed to fill Nurture-Yang Heart-Wash True Aura instead.

Qing understood immediately.

If you absorb a true aura from a method you never learned, you can still hold it in your lower abdomen—up to the Twelve Stars level.

And once you’ve absorbed it once, that true aura can be refilled again through Northern Abyss Divine Art’s absorption.

So this... is a backup battery.

If she kept absorbing different types of true aura and increasing the variety, she could stockpile Twelve Stars’ worth of internal power per type.

And how many internal-power methods existed in the world?

On top of that, she still wasn’t in a state where she could use everything Northern Abyss Divine Art contained.

Qing recalled the oral formula that had entered her through brain-engraving.

It was less “words” and more a chain of incomprehensible scenes—symbols she couldn’t understand flashing past—

And then, suddenly, a pain like something stabbing into her head.

Maybe Northern Abyss Divine Art wasn’t a martial art meant to be transmitted by speech or writing in the first place.

That demonic-cult mental parasite too—hadn’t it used something... ritualistic?

Brain-engraving.

If brain-engraving was something possible through sorcery, then maybe the claim that this [Martial Arts Window] was Small Formless Art... actually had some logic to it.

Either way, inside that “true body” of Northern Abyss Divine Art—inside that head-piercing core—letters still surfaced: functions that corresponded to techniques, true formulas.

Among them, there were only two formulas Qing could read.

Absorption Formula and Transfer Formula.

Absorption Formula was the technique for sucking internal power. Transfer Formula was the technique for delivering internal power.

Mm. The rest...

She’d have to keep trying.

Being impatient wouldn’t magically solve it.