Chapter 177: Affair Concluded
Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Affair Concluded
"Then who are you? And what is your lineage?" Yan Liyuan pressed.
Zhu Ge was silent for a moment, then said lightly, "Just a Loose Cultivator. No sect, no school."
’It would be unwise to reveal the Six Paths Palace right now.’
’Besides, I’ve hidden my aura. They won’t be able to guess.’
"A Loose Cultivator?" Su Feibai scoffed. "A Loose Cultivator with your kind of combat strength? Do you take us for three-year-olds?"
"Believe it or not." Zhu Ge couldn’t be bothered to explain further.
Yan Liyuan contemplated for a moment, then suddenly spoke. "You said earlier that if you were from an Assassin Organization, you would have used a Concealing Technique to kill us three long ago, so why would you have retreated?"
"Yes," Zhu Ge nodded.
"Then why didn’t you retreat?" Yan Liyuan asked. "You clearly know you’re no match for us, so why not flee? With your Stealth Technique, if you were truly set on escaping, we might not have been able to find you."
Zhu Ge froze for a second, then gave a bitter smile inwardly.
’That’s right, why didn’t I flee?’
’Was it because of my pride? Because I didn’t want to?’
’Bullshit!’
’It was entirely because I couldn’t get away!’
’If I had Divine Sense, or if my Cultivation was at the Third Realm, I would’ve been long gone.’
’No, wait.’
’If my Cultivation was at the Third Realm, how could I possibly lose to these three?’
’Of course, I can’t say that out loud.’
"I wanted to test myself." Zhu Ge raised his head, his gaze fixed on Yan Liyuan. "I wanted to see just how wide the gap is between me and the prodigies on the Sheji Chart."
At these words, all three of them were stunned.
Guan Julan blinked, and anger flared in her eyes again. "Are you saying... you used us as a stepping stone?"
’Is this woman on her period or something? Why does she get angry so easily...’ Zhu Ge complained internally, but his expression remained calm as he said:
"Something like that."
Su Feibai let out a cold snort and said nothing.
Yan Liyuan, however, fell silent, lost in thought.
"The path of cultivation is, by its very nature, a defiance of heaven," Zhu Ge said faintly. "If one lacks even the courage to try, what’s the point of cultivating at all?"
Yan Liyuan gave Zhu Ge a deep look, then suddenly smiled.
"A fine sentiment. ’If one lacks even the courage to try, what’s the point of cultivating at all?’" He put away his ruler and cupped his hands toward Zhu Ge. "My friend, we were rude just now."
"Brother Yan?" Su Feibai raised an eyebrow.
Yan Liyuan waved his hand, signaling for him to be patient, then said to Zhu Ge, "My friend, since you dared to face the three of us alone, you possess a courage and spirit that those skulking cowards from the Assassin Organization could never have."
"Members of the Assassin Organization are furtive and never dare to show their faces openly."
"Yet you, my friend, could have clearly escaped, but instead chose to expose your position in a clumsy manner, all to draw the three of us out."
"Otherwise, with your means of concealing your aura, if you had flown up to assassinate us, I expect we all would have been injured."
"Based on this point alone, I believe you are not a member of the Assassin Organization."
Zhu Ge was a little surprised.
’He hadn’t expected that Yan Liyuan, who seemed the most rigid and serious of the three, would turn out to be the most reasonable one.’
’Still, Yan Liyuan’s words really stung!’
’If I actually had Divine Sense and could fly up there, I wouldn’t have needed to go through all this nonsense.’
However, Yan Liyuan’s words did give Zhu Ge an idea.
’An assassin?’
’That actually sounds pretty good.’
’If I paired my "Secret" with the exclusive techniques of an assassin, I really could become a top-tier assassin.’
’If I come across any assassin Cultivation Techniques or secret manuals in the future, I should definitely consider them.’
"However—"
At that moment, Yan Liyuan’s tone shifted. "My friend, your Stealth Technique is truly exquisite, so much so that it’s bound to cause misunderstandings. Might I ask where you learned this technique?"
"Was it from Zang Zhongsheng? Or Yixue? Or perhaps Cunmang?"
Zhu Ge remained silent.
’He’d never heard of any of them.’
’Yunjiang really was too remote. It couldn’t compare to these prodigies from the true central regions.’
This also made Zhu Ge realize that he would have to make a trip to the Central Territory in the future.
"Is it inconvenient to say?" Yan Liyuan asked, seeing Zhu Ge’s silence.
Zhu Ge shook his head. "It has nothing to do with those three. It’s a Martial Art I created myself."
"The people of Yunjiang lead hard lives. When I was a boy, I often hid among the grass and trees to hunt. After I came to know the Martial Dao, I created this Concealing Technique. It was intended for..."
"Nothing more than hunting."
’Martial Arts?’
’Self-created?’
’For hunting?’
Hearing this, the three of them thought it was absurd, yet their faces all showed signs of contemplation.
’Martial Arts, the Martial Dao.’
’It’s not the same as the way of the assassin.’
’Besides, the way Zhu Ge fought just now really had nothing to do with assassination. It was the open and honorable path of Martial Arts.’
’Could this technique for concealing one’s aura really be self-created?’
But as soon as they thought of this, their expressions turned strange again.
Su Feibai looked at Yan Liyuan.
Yan Liyuan sized Zhu Ge up and down.
Guan Julan, however, spoke directly, "A mere Martial Artist from little Yunjiang like you can actually create his own martial technique?!"
Guan Julan’s face was a mask of disbelief, yet also filled with great interest.
After watching for a moment, Yan Liyuan turned and bowed to Su Feibai and Guan Julan. "You two, how about we let this matter drop?"
Guan Julan didn’t speak, but a playful look entered her eyes as she looked at Zhu Ge. "Kid, what’s your name?"
"Zhu Ge." Zhu Ge didn’t hide his name.
’These three are clearly headed for Nanyue Mianhuang; they’re just passing through.’
’I can hide my connection to the Six Paths Palace, but there’s no need to hide my own name.’
"Zhu Ge..." Guan Julan repeated the name twice. "Alright, this big sister will remember you."
Zhu Ge cupped his hands in response.
Seeing that the other two had made their positions clear, Su Feibai couldn’t very well insist. He let out a cold snort, and his Jade Long Saber disintegrated into the Spiritual Power of the heavens and earth. "You’re lucky today."
With that, he turned and flew south.
Guan Julan winked at Zhu Ge and followed him.
Yan Liyuan was the last to leave. Before he left, he said one more thing to Zhu Ge:
"My friend, if you’re interested in the matter in Nanyue Mianhuang, you could go take a look."
"But with your current strength, it’s best to be careful. Many prodigies have gathered there recently, and our Human Race is not the only one present. One careless mistake could lead to your demise."
Zhu Ge nodded. "Thank you for the warning."
Watching the three of them disappear into the distance, Zhu Ge finally let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground.
"Damn it, I almost died here."
He looked down at the wound on his chest and sucked in a sharp breath.
The power of that Spring and Autumn Ruler from Yan Liyuan was far greater than he had imagined.
If his physical body hadn’t been strengthened multiple times, that single blow probably would have taken his life.
"If number forty-one on the Sheji Chart is this strong, what kind of monsters must the top ten be?"
Zhu Ge shook his head, then sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing.
Today’s battle had been a miserable one, but his gains were not small either.
He had witnessed firsthand the fighting style of a Sheji Chart prodigy, giving him a clearer understanding of his own shortcomings.
First, the gap in Cultivation was too great. There was a massive chasm between the Second Realm and the Third Realm that was not so easily crossed.
Second, in terms of martial techniques, while his Purgatory Star Staff Technique was decent, it was still more than a level below Yan Liyuan’s Spring and Autumn Ruler.
Finally, there was his combat experience. Although he had been through many life-or-death battles, compared to these prodigies, he still seemed somewhat green.
"First, I’ll head back. Over the next few days, I’ll go to the villages around Jianshui City and recruit enough Soldiers."
"I’ll conquer a few cities, establish a truly powerful force, and then..."
"I’ll set my sights on Nanyue Mianhuang!"