Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Old Man Mu was dumbfounded after listening to Shangguan Fei recite the first chapter of the Daoless Scroll.
âDisperse the internal energy? I have to disperse my internal energy before practicing such a piece of crap? What does it think it is? So domineering.â
âIt has been this way⦠the whole time.â Shangguan Fei didnât understand why Old Man Mu was surprised. âGolden Roc killers are forbidden from practicing the internal energy of other sects from the very beginning.â
âI know that,â Old Man Mu said rather impatiently. He paced back and forth while scratching his head, thinking about the new problem ahead of him. âI thought it was a trick you Golden Roc Castle used to scare killers. I didnât expect it to actually be true.â
âUh, thatâs why the Dragon King has to combine the three powers into one.â
Old Man Mu raised his head and stared at Shangguan Fei with ferocious eyes. âDo you think that Iâm as stupid as you?â
âNo, no.â Shangguan Fei shook his head in a hurry, thinking that it really was rare that Wild Horse could endure this for several years. He didnât know how long he could bear this for.
âThe Daoless Divine Power and the Sumeru Mustard Divine Power, one yin and the other yang, one Taoist and the other Buddhist, have completely opposite properties, so itâs normal that they are incompatible. Usually, one doesnât have to disperse their internal energy before practicing a different one because the stronger internal energy can always suppress the weaker one and convert it into itself.â
âThereâs no other way,â muttered Shangguan Fei, worried that Old Man Mu would lose interest and âdrive him out of the sectâ again.
âMotherfucker, Iâm such an idiot. I donât have much internal energy left anyways, so itâs better to disperse it. What am I waiting for? Haha, the Daoless Divine Power is tailor-made for my current situation.â
âYeah.â Shangguan Fei clapped his hands and echoed.
Old Man Mu frowned again. âAm I becoming stupid by being next to you for too long?â
âNo no, youâre just stupid for the moment ⦠Uh, youâre not stupid at all. Itâs just that you didnât think of it at the moment. And Iâm also not stupid. I fooled the Dragon King and my sister once.â
âSeriously?â
Shangguan Fei proudly told how he had killed his cousin Shangguan Yushi. âNo one thought that it was me who did it. You canât even imagine how surprised they were.â
It was the pinnacle of Shangguan Feiâs life, and even the reminiscent memories still tasted good.
Old Man Mu nodded approvingly, and said, âI said you were talented but you were always dumbfounded when people took you seriously.â
Downhearted, Shangguan Fei sighed.
âItâs getting late. Come on, letâs go kill somebody.â
âAhh.â Shangguan Feiâs voice trembled. He still needed to kill more than five people to meet the quota of killing ten people a day.
Fighting at will was not allowed in the noble district and most of the people in the craftsman area were also under protection. So Old Man Mu chose the slums like when the Dragon King was training Chu Nanping.
âItâll really be a good time. Itâs packed with fools from the Central Plains and idiots of the Western Regions here. Even if we kill them at will, nobody will care.â Looking at the mass of tents in the night, Old Man Mu suddenly sighed with emotion. âBack then, this was my city. I could go wherever I wanted, beat or kill whoever I wanted. Do you know that feeling?â
Shangguan Fei shook his head in a daze. Even during his most comfortable days at the castle, he was constrained by his father and mother, and even by his little sister and cousin.
âThat was like ⦠that was like ⦠being a god. All the obstacles in the world are nothing to you; you can wander around and destroy at will. You were even more free than the Khan. He has to figure out how to increase the number of his soldiers but I only cared about âreducingâ it. You know, when I was young, I even slept with his women. Itâs just that he didnât know, haha.â After the laughter came a long sigh. âAlas, things flow away day and night, and now itâs gone forever.â
Shangguan Fei felt that Old Man Mu was bragging. As far as he knew, this devil dared not enter the territory of Golden Roc Castle, and also dared not speak out of the Khanâs women he had supposedly slept with. Obviously, he was still far away from doing whatever he wanted.
But he knew what the right reaction would be. Surprise, delight, envy, and sympathy. And as long as he showed these expressions, he could please Old Man Mu without saying anything.
Old Man Mu was indeed very satisfied. He patted Shangguan Feiâs waist and said, âYouâre my future hope, so do it now.â
âNow? Here?â Shangguan Fei was taken aback.
They were standing at a crossroad, surrounded by simple taverns that were still open at the moment. Customers went in and out, most of whom were sabermen speaking the languages of the Central Plains and the Western Regions.
âShouldnât we look for a place with fewer people?â Killing blatantly like this was still a bit beyond Shangguan Feiâs reach.
âI said you were stupid and youâre really stupid. With more people here, fighting and killing will cause less attention. See, there are people quarreling over there. Theyâre even drawing their saber and no one gives a sh*t about it.â
In the distance, there were indeed two big men standing in the lights who had drawn their sabers at each other, but all they did was shout and beside them stood a few relatives or friends who were cheering loudly. It seemed that none of them would make a move past arguing even by tomorrow morning. The crowd of passers-by all turned a blind eye to it as if it were a botched puppet show not worth watching.
âWho should I kill?â Shangguan Fei nervously asked.
âKill whoever you want. Give them a punch if you donât like them. If you really canât do it, just go forward with your eyes closed and punch whoever you bump into.â
Shangguan Fei didnât have the audacity to kill as he pleased. He looked around to search for the right prey. The first thing he did was to rule out those tall and strong men who had a fierce look. After taking a glance at Old Man Mu, he then ignored all the men who were little but appeared confident. Even so, there were still a lot of choices left.
âThis one will do.â Shangguan Fei said in a low voice.
It was a teenage boy who was dirty, thin, and tired like a beggar. Only the saber hanging by his waist indicated that he was also a saberman.
âYou really know how to pick them. Hurry up, a bit longer and he will probably fall to the ground and die himself.â
âIâm not twenty years old either.â Shangguan Fei argued in a low voice while producing a black cloth to cover his face skillfully.
âWhat are you doing?â Old Man Mu looked up in amazement.
âI canât be recognized. Iâve attended the warrior contest and Iâm a little ⦠famous.â
Old Man Mu sniffed disdainfully before suddenly crying out loudly like a bully pressing someone to pay off a debt. âShangguan Fei! Shangguan Fei!â
Shangguan Fei was startled and quickly bent down to cover Old Man Muâs mouth before nervously looking around. Fortunately, his name didnât cause a stir. The customers who came out of the tavern directly went for their next destination â another tavern without caring about the cries at all.
Shangguan Fei heaved a sigh in relief and finally realized that Old Man Mu was struggling in his own hands. Seeing that his palm was not only covering Old Man Muâs mouth but also his nose, Shangguan Fei anxiously let go and apologized.
Red-faced, Old Man Mu panted. Almost half of his power had been burned off at the Land of Fragrance, and the other half was destroyed by the torture of the five elders of the Jade Pure Sect. He was so weak now that he couldnât even push Shangguan Feiâs hand away. âBurning the bridge before even crossing it. You little bastard really has balls.â
âSorry, I didnât mean to.â
âCut the crap and get on with it. At this rate speed, itâll take a night to kill seven people.â
âYes, yes. How come the people here donât know me? Didnât they watch the kung fu competition these two days?â
âThe warrior contest is a game of the lords. The audiences are all herdsmen of the Norland. These people are foreign saberman. They can only take part in the ordinary kung fu competition, so who cares about you?â
Shangguan Fei was both pleased and disappointed. He gritted his teeth and said, âGood, I wonât cover my face then. Iâll do it now.â
The beggar-like teenage saberman had long since disappeared. Shangguan Fei had to look for another target.
Old Man Mu was too impatient to wait any longer. He looked around and shoved Shangguan Feiâs butt.
Being touched at a sensitive part, Shangguan Fei seemed to have accidentally sat on a brazier. He leaped out before Old Man Mu could exert more strength.
Shangguan Fei bumped into three strong men walking side by side, who were the targets Old Man Mu had chosen for him.
The man with a full beard grabbed Shangguan Feiâs shoulder and asked, heavily stressing each syllable, âWhat do you want?â
âHe wants to fool around with you,â the red-faced man who wasnât hit bantered back.
âBe careful that he doesnât steal from you,â said the other black-faced man.
âSorry, I slipped.â Shangguan Fei hastened to apologize, his legs turning into jelly, not to mention punching him.
âDo you know who I am?â The full-bearded manâs anger didnât abate, as he grabbed Shangguan Fei with more strength and his voice growing fiercer.
Shangguan Fei shook his head, and the confidence he had built in the warrior contest over the past two days completely vanished.
âKowtow in apology!â The black-faced man cried out, his breath carrying with it a strong smell of alcohol.
âLet him crawl between your legs.â The red-faced man emanated the same smell of wine, saying, âThis pretty boy looks quite delicate. Big brother, you might as well take him as your concubine, haha.â
The man with a full beard loosened his hands, âYouâre lucky Iâm in a good mood today. Kowtow ten times and pay a hundred taels of silver, and Iâll let you off.â
Shangguan Fei struggled to swallow the bitter saliva in his mouth and turned to look at Old Man Mu.
Old Man Mu looked even fiercer than those three big men. He kept gesturing that he should strike at once.
âIâ¦â Shangguan Feiâs mind was completely blank. Without crowds of servants and killers following behind, he felt powerless and much less confident. So even he himself felt surprised when he blurted out the following words, âIâm also in a very good mood today. Kowtow a hundred times to me, slap yourself a hundred times, and pay a thousand taels of silver, and then Iâll let you off.â
Looking at the pretty boy who said the harsh words like a schoolboy reciting a passage, the three burly men were surprised at first, then laughed out loud, and finally reached to draw their sabers.
Shangguan Fei hit the bearded man with a punch. As the huge body flew out, part of the fear in his heart disappeared. It was too easy, surprisingly easy. The big man was not even as powerful as a second-rated fighter in the kung fu competition field.
The man with a full beard fell to the ground with a large bloody hole between his chest and abdomen. His body was almost torn into two sections.
âItâs not right. You used too much yang energy and the yin energy is not enough. Do it again.â Old Man Mu was not satisfied.
The red-faced and black-faced men, however, held a completely different view. The two stared with their mouth agape and the sabers in their hands fell to the ground.
âI donât know him very well. I just met him this morning.â The red-faced man retreated one step.
âYoung hero, I have three kidsâ¦â The black-faced man took two steps back.
Old Man Mu claimed that no one cared about fighting and killing here which was obviously not the case. Not long after, they were surrounded by a large group of people. Almost every tavern had a saberman running out, who stared at the corpse on the ground with unreadable expressions.
Shangguan Fei also retreated, thinking that this was bad. The few couldnât fight the many, not to mention that he was alone and there were over forty people surrounding them.
âPeople of the Western Regions?â Asked a voice in the crowd.
Shangguan Fei nodded, trying to say something but his throat seemed to be bunged up.
âYour kung fu is good, so letâs go kill together,â said another voice.
âAh?â Shangguan Fei was completely confused.
âThe Central Plains are allies with the Western Regions. The more people we kill, the more rewards weâll get.â
Hesitating, Shangguan Fei didnât say a word, but Old Man Mu suddenly jumped up and shouted, âLetâs do it!â