Chapter 46

(This chapter was a bit challenging to write, I hope to explain it clearly. I seek recommendation votes for comfort and new readers to add to their collections.)

A scream arose, and hooves were startled!

The nearly fifty-year-old coachman was somewhat panicked. He pulled the reins tightly, but the horses were frightened. Even if they were old horses, once they exerted their strength, they were not something an ordinary person like him, who only had the first or second level of *Bengma Jing* (Rushing Horse Vigor), could control.

At this moment, Su Qinnian opened his eyes. As soon as he opened them, the cart that had been swaying immediately stopped, and the two old horses calmed down.

This…

The coachman was somewhat stunned, but he did not suspect Su Qinnian. He only thought that his intentions had been conveyed to the two old horses, and it seemed that his carriage-driving skills had improved to a new level.

"Monster! Monster!"

There were terrified howls coming from the front of the Yuan family's convoy. Su Qinnian got off the cart and saw about twenty zhang ahead, a giant wolf, nearly half a zhang tall, covered in grayish-white fur and with bloodshot eyes, biting into the body of a coachman. With a few inches of sharp teeth, it swallowed the coachman's half-body in one bite.

It ate a person!

This was a monster wolf, not an ordinary old wolf from the mountains. Not only was its body larger, but it also emitted a monster's aura, causing the servants and guards of the Yuan family within a dozen zhang to collapse on the ground.

Facing ordinary wild beasts, even wolf packs or tigers, these guards would dare to fight. However, when facing a monster, the aura of the monster would seize their minds, paralyzing their spirits and making them unable to control their bodies, leaving them powerless and collapsed on the ground.

The monster race!

Su Qinnian's eyes turned cold. What kind of race was this? In fact, many years ago, this monster wolf's ancestors were just ordinary wolves in the mountains. Due to a stroke of luck, or even the deliberate actions of the monster race, they absorbed a certain amount of monster qi, underwent a mutation, and transformed into monsters.

These monsters were not part of the monster race. The monster race could naturally transform between their monster and human forms, with extraordinary intelligence far surpassing these mountain beasts after their transformation. They maintained their primitive forms, although their intelligence had greatly increased, they became even more brutal, bloodthirsty, venomous, and cunning, hence they were called monster beasts.

Humans and monsters cannot coexist. Since 5,400 years ago, when the ancestors of the human race united to banish the nine great monster sages into the void, the human race finally welcomed a long-awaited peace, but it was also fraught with danger. It was precisely because of this that over the past 5,400 years, in the Great Han Empire and the surrounding countries, as well as in the martial arts world, extraordinary techniques and methods emerged one after another. Many outstanding figures surpassed their ancestors, becoming famous throughout the world, and they managed to suppress and isolate more than 90% of the monster race in the deep seas of the four directions.

"You dare, you beast!"

Before Su Qinnian could act, a sword light flashed from the side, splitting into two in an instant. The two sword shadows were as substantial as reality, accompanied by a fierce horse leaping through the air, its hooves as large as bowls, slightly larger than ordinary horses.

Wearing a gray Taoist robe, the basic sword technique of *Yiqi Huasansing* (Three Purities in One Qi), this was a Wudang Outer Sect disciple!

The timing of this sword strike was perfect, precisely when the monster wolf had completely swallowed the person. The sword produced a fierce whistling sound, the air splitting like silk, forming two long white ribbons.

Puff!

The two sword shadows almost simultaneously pierced through the monster wolf's eyes, blood splattering three feet high.

Thud!

The monster wolf fell to the ground, its head turned into a mush, but it still twitched, showing its strong vitality.

However, Su Qinnian frowned slightly. He judged that this Outer Sect disciple had clearly been hiding in the shadows, and might have even been tracking this monster wolf to this place. Otherwise, with the *Guishexi Gong* (Turtle and Snake Technique) at the sixth level of perfection, he would not have been able to execute such a precise and deadly strike in an instant. The monster wolf's blood qi was very robust, even surpassing that of the Outer Sect disciple.

From this, it seemed that the coachman could have been spared, but now he would have to be cremated along with the monster wolf.

This Outer Sect disciple was a young man in his late teens, with a high nose, red lips, and white teeth, very handsome, but his eyes were filled with arrogance. He directly drew his sword to dissect the monster wolf, wrapped the monster wolf's heart in a cloth, and carried it on his back.

The heart of a monster beast was proof of slaying a monster, gathering the essence of the monster's blood and qi. Compared to the vast amount of blood qi stored in the entire body of the monster beast, it was almost equivalent.

After putting away the monster wolf's heart, this Outer Sect disciple finally smiled. He had carefully tracked this monster wolf for nearly a month, and finally, today, he had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to strike without a scratch, killing it in one blow. This way, the eighth to tenth levels of the *Guishexi Gong* would be within his grasp.

According to Wudang's rules, anyone who wanted to learn the eighth to tenth levels of the *Guishexi Gong* had to receive a monster slaying order and go down the mountain alone to slay a monster beast before they could be taught the technique.

At this moment, the old steward stepped forward, bowed deeply, and said with a smile, "Are you a distinguished disciple of the Wudang Outer Sect? The *Yiqi Huasansing* sword technique is exquisite, I am truly impressed!"

The young man nodded, somewhat surprised, "You have some discernment to recognize our Wudang sword technique. This encounter can be considered a karmic connection."

"I was rash in my youth and was once saved by a Wudang disciple in the mountains, so I have some superficial knowledge. I apologize for my rudeness," the old man flattered carefully, "We are the Yuan family from Yuanling Mountain in Qingshan Town. This trip is for the women of our family to visit their hometown, so it is inconvenient to receive guests. If the young master does not mind, it is only about twenty li to Yuanling Mountain. The head of our family is acquainted with the Wudang Outer Sect's Chief Jingwu since childhood. If the young master comes, he will surely be warmly welcomed and rewarded for your help."

Chief Jingwu!

The young man's eyes lit up. This was a medical expert in the Wudang Outer Sect, skilled in alchemy, and even the few *Jichidan* (Foundation Establishment Pills) allocated to the Outer Sect each month were made by him.

Originally, he did not plan to stay, but now the young man changed his mind. He feigned hesitation and only reluctantly agreed after several invitations from the old man. He was invited to sit in a purple sandalwood carriage at the front of the convoy, where the scent of sandalwood helped martial artists calm their minds and stabilize their qi. The horses pulling the carriage were also two very strong and agile steeds.

Shaking his head, Su Qinnian sat back on the cart.

"What's wrong, little brother? Don't be discouraged," the coachman comforted Su Qinnian, "Wudang is the only national sect in our Shiyan Prefecture. Every year, countless people want to join but can't. Don't look at this young man now; he's just an Outer Sect disciple, but if he can go down the mountain alone to slay a monster beast, he might one day succeed in Foundation Establishment and become an Inner Sect disciple, a disciple of one of the peaks. By the way, many poor students have joined Wudang. Little brother, if you go back and practice *Bengma Jing* diligently, you might achieve your wish next year."

The coachman rambled on, starting to complain. He had a late son who was at the age to practice martial arts, always shouting and fighting, and didn't like reading books.

However, Su Qinnian could see that the coachman also very much wanted his son to join Wudang. Whether he read books or not, the Han emperors throughout history had always valued martial arts over literature, with only martial examinations and no literary examinations. No matter how well one read books, could they pass the imperial exams in the coachman's eyes? Could they protect their family from being captured by the monster race?

"Pity, these commoners have misunderstood the imperial will," Su Qinnian thought. Growing up in Chang'an, he had been influenced by the royal academy students, who were well-mannered and skilled in poetry, calligraphy, and music, and even incorporated some martial arts into their arts, which were marvelously profound and left him in awe.

"Throughout history, the Han emperors valued martial arts to stabilize the country. The monster race is a great threat, and only by valuing martial arts can we resist them. However, they did not abolish the examinations for classics and history to prevent people from going astray. The principles are in the books. The primitive ancestors of the human race once lived in a primitive state, and life was difficult. It was impossible to create a powerful technique, let alone summarize basic moves, because they did not understand the principles, the changes in nature, human nature, or the ways of the world."

"Martial arts can stabilize the country and resist the monster race, while literature can govern the country, address the people's hardships, and stabilize the hearts of the people. When the principles are correct, martial power is not a rootless floating weed; it can grow, bloom, and bear fruit. This is a cycle. However, in the current world, with the monster race surrounding us and monster beasts rampant in the wilderness, if the officials and scholars lack martial power and are weak, the country will be difficult to govern. Think about it, if a literary prime minister inspects the provinces, not only will a large amount of martial power be consumed to protect him, but if he is captured by the monster race, many secrets will fall into enemy hands. Now, the higher one's position, the stronger their martial power, and they may even achieve the pinnacle of enlightenment, becoming a *Yuan Shen* (Primordial Spirit) figure, comparable to the monster kings of the four seas..."

Su Qinnian thought about these insights, which he had only recently gained. The deeper he delved into the *Guishexi Gong*, the more he felt his own inadequacies. The accumulation of his early years of reading was almost exhausted, and even the seventh level of perfection of the *Guishexi Gong* was becoming challenging. Blood qi can be accumulated, but the realm cannot be achieved overnight. (This chapter was a bit challenging to write, I hope to explain it clearly. I seek recommendation votes for comfort and new readers to add to their collections.)