Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

"I never expected to run into an old friend like this again..."

Fu Hanwen sighed softly. She was actually quite curious about how Ying Qin Guan had survived. He didn't seem like the type of person who had the money to leave his hometown. Many people died there because of this. Even the rich weren't guaranteed to survive; it all depended on luck. How did Ying Qin Guan survive? This might touch on his painful past, so she ultimately didn't ask.

We can't ask about things from that period, but we can ask about things now. When old friends meet, isn't it just about reminiscing?

"Where do you live now? Are you doing well? Judging from your clothes, you don't seem to live on this plain."

Fu Hanwen asked softly, "Ying Qin Guan's clothes aren't as distinctive as Shen Xin Yu Xie Tian's. He's wearing a simple white long-sleeved shirt and black trousers. Judging from the material, he doesn't live on the Huanxing Plain."

"I live in Qiyao." Ying Qin Guan did not hide anything. He said softly, "After the Black Dragon arrived, I hid and barely survived. Later, an agent from Qiyao was ordered to enter the heart of Southern Qin to investigate the situation. He encountered me and took me back. I have been living in Qiyao ever since."

Barely survived

Shenxin: "→_→"

Yu Xietian: "←_←"

The two men, one on the left and one on the right, sandwiched Ying Qinguan in the middle.

Black Dragon: You're talking bullshit!

Fu Hanwen didn't notice Shen Xin and Yu Xietian's gazes. But even if he had, it would have been virtually impossible for him to guess the truth.

"Is that so..." She hadn't asked Ying Qin Guan how he survived, but he told her on his own initiative. She didn't doubt him much, but was instead somewhat relieved. "It seems that heaven is looking out for you. It's a good thing that you survived."

As she spoke, she noticed the sword box on Ying Qin Guan's back, which contained Tian Fang and Sha Jue. These were the last works of Po Xie Zi, the master swordsmith of Southern Qin. Even the sword box used to store them was quite remarkable, with an ancient design and intricate patterns embroidered on it. It was made of century-old pear-scented jade wood, and even those who did not know its value could see its extraordinary nature at a glance.

"It seems you've continued practicing martial arts afterward." Although he didn't carry swords and knives on his waist, the sword case on his back was enough to prove Ying Qin Guan's identity as a martial artist. Fu Hanwen was filled with emotion as she spoke of this. Her meeting with Ying Qin Guan... was about two years ago. Ying Qin Guan wanted to buy that Qi Cultivation Manual, and he survived and has now cultivated it to where he is today. That's truly remarkable.

"Could it be that you were inspired by the nameless swordsman of Southern Qin?" Fu Hanwen chuckled. "I also asked someone to buy a few copies of Miss Yunxian's book. But I've never been able to collect them all. She seems to be from the Seven Luminaries. Have you read her book? In the book, Ji Li becomes invincible after only one month of cultivation... Speaking of which, the distance from where the nameless swordsman of Southern Qin intercepted and killed the Jue Tian Army seems to be around our Yizhou area. Could it be that the Seven Luminaries' agents came here to find the nameless swordsman of Southern Qin?"

She wasn't usually a talkative person, but this reunion was truly quite moving.

“It was a coincidence.” Ying Qin Guan shook his head and said, “That agent wasn’t looking for the nameless swordsman from Southern Qin… He was there to scout out the general situation of the Jue Tian Army, and just happened to run into him.”

"We just happened to run into each other."

It doesn't say who Ying Qin encountered at the pass. Was it him, or the nameless swordsman from Southern Qin?

He didn't need to explain, because it was all the same: he was the nameless swordsman from Southern Qin. But to others, it sounded a bit confusing. Who exactly had this agent encountered? The first part of the sentence said he had encountered the nameless swordsman from Southern Qin, but from the overall context, it seemed he had encountered Ying Qin Pass.

Encountering Ying Qin Pass is to be expected, but judging from this, could it be that this agent also encountered the nameless swordsman of Southern Qin?

The Qin people had complex feelings towards the nameless swordsman of Southern Qin. Some resented him for not appearing sooner given his strength. But many others believed that the nameless swordsman of Southern Qin had some unspeakable secret. Regarding this, Zhao Yunxian indeed deserves great credit; her explanation was widely circulated and accepted.

Fu Hanwen was the type to believe that the nameless swordsman of Southern Qin had some unspeakable secret, and as a native of Southern Qin, it was hard not to admire him. Her heart raced slightly, and her voice became a little hoarse. Thinking of a possible possibility, she tentatively asked:

"That agent just happened to run into...who?"

Ying Qin Guan said, "Me?"

His answer was so matter-of-fact that it immediately put Fu Hanwen's mind at ease. She realized she had indeed been overthinking things, and smiled, "I thought so too..."

Shenxin: "→_→"

Yu Xietian: "←_←"

The two men seemed to understand something, and once again glared at Ying Qin Guan, leaving him completely bewildered.

Fu Hanwen finally noticed the strange look in the two men's eyes and said softly, "May I ask your names?"

"I am the heart of God."

“Yu Xie Tian, ​​Yu as in beautiful jade, Xie as in growing old together, Tian as in heaven and earth.”

The two gave brief self-introductions.

"You two, are you... sisters?"

These words were naturally directed at Shen Jiu and Shen Xin, as they looked so alike, appeared to be around the same age, and dressed almost identically.

【"yes."】

"No wonder they look so alike... Ah, have I disturbed you?"

"No, not really, but since you put it that way, we definitely need to get down to business first."

Shenxin picked up the small blackboard and then walked towards Shenzhou-9.

"Sister, what can you see?"

"I cannot see, God's heart. And you, can you see what?"

Shenxin glanced around and then held up the small blackboard.

"I can't see either."

The two women were naturally discussing the things their mother had left them. But the scene was rather abstract, and Fu Hanwen couldn't quite grasp it, so she whispered to Ying Qin Guan, "Um... what are they doing?"

Ying Qin Guan hesitated for a moment, unsure how to answer, but fortunately Yu Xie Tian came to his rescue.

"That's a trade secret."

As they were talking, Ying Qin Guan suddenly looked towards the door, and Hishimura Tan Ying quickly walked in.

"You've arrived too? Perfect timing. Come with me..." He paused slightly, feeling he should at least give a reason. Otherwise, Ying Qin Guan might not cooperate, so he added, "This matter might be related to what I told you that night."

What was discussed that night was naturally a "disaster." Perhaps because Fu Hanwen, an outsider, was present, Feicun Tanying didn't explain it too bluntly, but Ying Qin Guan and his group still understood.

"Sorry, let's talk again when we get back." Ying Qin Guan gave a brief farewell. Shen Jiu and Shen Xin hadn't found anything here, so there was no rush. The group then followed Fei Cun Tan Ying to the Hai Sha Gang's headquarters.

Shenxin and Shenzhou-9... can see things there that others cannot.

Chapter Thirty-Four

The group arrived at the Sea Sand Gang's base. As a peerless master, Hiyomura Tan's skills were incredibly diverse, and he had previously left a sword aura there. Although it couldn't be maintained for long and its defensive capabilities weren't outstanding, it was clearly not something a group of thugs could break through. However, in hindsight, this sword aura didn't serve its purpose of protecting the scene—because the thugs had absolutely no intention of collecting their boss's body.

—It belongs to a well-organized, disciplined, and righteous force with members whose friendship is as strong as iron.

Once this sword energy leaves the body, it becomes indiscriminate. Ying Qin Guan raised his hand and shattered the scattered sword energy.

Because Hiyomura Tanzaku had smashed the door earlier, the smell of blood in the room had dissipated considerably, and when everyone looked up, a horrific scene came into view.

The totem of the Earth Mother Goddess lay on the ground, blood filling many of its details, making it appear lifelike. However, such lifelikeness at this moment was indeed somewhat eerie.

Ying Qin Guan had recently read about the Earth Mother Goddess in the newspaper. However, the accompanying picture was clearly not firsthand; it was the kind of article that relied entirely on a single image. Naturally, he didn't recognize the Earth Mother Goddess's totem and didn't know what it was. But that didn't matter; in situations like this, silence was the best policy.

Shen Xin promptly raised the small blackboard and answered Ying Qin Guan's question.

"This is... a totem of the Earth Mother Goddess, it's for sacrificial purposes!"

Mother Earth?

Ying Qin Guan immediately recalled what he had seen not long ago. Without making the connection, he could never have imagined that these things were related. But once he did, they all came together. He couldn't help but ask, "Is this the disaster foretold in the prophecy?"

“I think it’s unlikely… My master told me that he experienced a similar cult ritual when he was a child. Back then, there were rumors that the Earth Mother Goddess was going to be resurrected, and people were terrified. But more than four thousand years have passed, and the Earth Mother Goddess has never been resurrected.” Yu Xietian expressed his opinion, but considering the existence of Shen Jiu, he added, “Of course, now that Shen Jiu has seen it, then perhaps it is true that she is going to live.”

Himura Tanzaku looked at Kamiya and asked, "What did you see?"

Shenzhou-9 stared at the corpse on the ground. After a moment, her body trembled slightly. She put her hand to her forehead and looked troubled, but she spoke not long after.

"More than half an hour ago, he was normal. When he came here, he fell into a trance, self-harmed, and had a fanatical expression. He caused himself many injuries. He should have been in so much pain that he fainted, but he did not."

Shen Jiu's words were somewhat incoherent, but not difficult to understand. About half an hour ago, or a little over an hour, the leader of the Hai Sha Gang came to the study. Before that time, he was normal, or at least appeared to be normal. Then he began to act erratically and self-harm, his expression fanatical, inflicting many injuries on himself. Logically, after triggering the body's protective mechanisms, he should have fainted from the pain, but he did not.

"He should have fainted, but he didn't. Could that be interpreted as... his body being completely out of his control?"

There are explanations for the feeling of being unable to control one's body; to put it in a more fantastical way, it can be categorized into different levels.

The lowest level is like your legs going numb and you can't move. A slightly more advanced level is like having a cheat-like old man possess you, giving you a substitute to fight. But your combat power is directly affected by your body. If you lose, you can blame it on your body by saying, "This body is really weak." A higher level involves control with higher authority, breaking through the body's limitations and ignoring the body's self-protection mechanisms. You can hold your breath and suffocate yourself, or like now, stubbornly maintain consciousness and self-harm to death, rather than fainting halfway through self-harm and bleeding to death.

"It sounds like it could only have been done by the Primordial Alien Race or a special alien race," Ying Qin Guan said.

Shenzhou-9 looked at Shenxin and asked in a low voice, "Can you see anything?"

Shenxin's abilities go far beyond simply casting spells without chanting. Magic, in essence, is a communication with the universe. A magician casting a spell is like inputting a series of commands in a game. But Shenxin can do more than just make the game react without inputting commands; she can also directly access the game's command library. Like that exponentiation, thirty-nine digits—even Ye Qu and Mu Nandong didn't know it, but Shenxin could "see" it directly.

So when you're stuck on something, you might as well ask the all-powerful Divine Heart. Although it sounds a bit supernatural, she can indeed see many things that ordinary people can't.

Shen Xin frowned deeply. She stared at it for a long time before hesitantly writing a number on the blackboard.

【"34."】

There was only one number, just a number. Everyone was patiently waiting for God to add something to it, but there was only 34.

"I can only see this...34, I don't know what it specifically refers to, it's just this number. But I'm sure this number is related to this sacrificial ceremony."

"Thirty-four?" Yu Xietian repeated. "Speaking of thirty-four, disaster... well..."

Ying Qin Guan, Fei Cun Tan Ying, and Yu Xie Tian all raised their heads at the same time, their thoughts coinciding.

"Thirty-six primordial alien races, thirty-six!"

They thought of the ancestral alien race!

If there's anything special about the number 34, it's that it's very close to 36.

Thirty-six is ​​a special number due to the Primordial Race. A magical beast can only become a Primordial Race member after experiencing thirty-six tribulations. Thirty-four is very close to thirty-six, and this "closeness" is extremely important.

Because in the prophecy of Shenzhou-9, disaster will soon befall the Huanxing Plain. Could this be interpreted as... when this number becomes thirty-six, the Earth Mother Goddess will awaken?

"No... If the Earth Mother Goddess will awaken when this number becomes thirty-six, then why has this number only jumped to thirty-four in the past four thousand years? That's an average of once every hundred years or so. How could it be the disaster she predicted?"

Yu Xietian frowned and expressed his thoughts.

"That's not a problem. Perhaps they're accumulating power in the early stages and will only be able to exert it later. It's easy to explain... The current focus isn't on that. Even assuming that the Earth Mother Goddess will be resurrected when this number reaches thirty-six, there's nothing we can do. The current question is, what does this number thirty-four represent? In my opinion, it should be the number of sacrifices."

"This point, perhaps, can verify... at least, not much, that you are far more right than wrong."

Shenzhou-9 then spoke, but what he said was somewhat difficult to understand, so Hisumura Tan's translation was provided.

"What Xiao Shen Jiu means is that the number thirty-four can be verified. As the only ancestral alien race that was definitively killed, people have never stopped observing the Earth Mother Goddess, and there must be relevant statistics on such cult activities as sacrifices. However, some sacrifices may have occurred in rural corners, and if there are only a few, it is possible that they are real. But if the recorded number is far more than thirty-six, so much so that even after removing the few examples that may be imitations, it still exceeds thirty-six, then your guess is wrong."

Chapter Thirty-Five: Before the Disaster Strikes

The abilities of the Primordial Alien race are unpredictable, and they rarely overlap. Those currently confirmed include, but are not limited to, invisibility, mind reading, super-fast regeneration, creating clones, direct elemental manipulation, teleportation, slowing the flow of time, transferring damage, curses, possession, and hypnosis.

Of course, these are not the point.

The individual abilities of the progenitor races are not important at all; what matters is... their shared abilities.

It has been confirmed that the ability is controlled by the alien race within their own lineage. However, there is another ability that is also suspected to be a common skill of the progenitor alien race.

This ability is resurrection.