Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

Secondly, Yu Xietian made a wasted trip.

Furthermore, Shenzhou-9 needs to observe whether the sacrifice was man-made, and how those two men came to be—did they just happen to be passing by, or did they perform the sacrifice themselves? If it's the latter, that would be terrible, meaning it might be the last sacrifice, and the other party could complete it at any time.

If it's the latter, then the situation is terrible.

Himura Tan's breath hitched as she began searching for Ying Qin Guan and his group. If she were strong enough, her best option would be to hunt down and capture the two. But that was a task more suited to Ying Qin Guan; she could win, but only win, not even kill them. Capturing them alive was out of the question. Therefore, she had no choice but to seek out Ying Qin Guan.

He couldn't wait until dinner time; he had to confirm everything before then. Fortunately, Xinyang City wasn't a megacity like Qiyao, so finding someone here wasn't difficult.

-

Meanwhile, Black Fist and Liu He quickly fled to a secluded spot. Black Fist circulated his cultivation technique, his inner energy surging, and tiny buds of flesh sprouted continuously. But he still wasn't fast enough, so he pulled out a small bottle containing white powder from his pocket and, to Liu He's astonishment, poured it into his wound. The powder sizzled as it came into contact with the flesh, like chunks of meat being pressed onto an oven. Veins bulged on Black Fist's forehead, showing the inhuman pain he was enduring, yet he still didn't utter a sound.

After a short while, the flesh and blood barely closed up. It would still take some time before it was fully recovered, but its combat power had been mostly restored.

"Your stuff is pretty good." Black Fist's voice was hoarse. This was one of the things the other side had given him when they formed an alliance. Although he had seen the specific process of its effect on others, he had to admit that its effectiveness exceeded his expectations when he used it on himself.

"...It's best to use it sparingly." Liu He suppressed his shock and said in a low voice, "It will shorten your lifespan."

This is a secret medicine researched by the Black Dragon, originally intended as a special supply for the Jue Tian Army, capable of quickly repairing injuries. However, it has two side effects. First, as Liu He said, it shortens lifespan, and it doesn't hesitate to shorten it by several years; if used too many times, the person will die.

Second... pain.

It's hard to imagine that pain could be considered a side effect for a martial artist. If required in battle, most top martial artists can let steel needles pierce their eyeballs without batting an eye. Their will is as hard as steel. Is pain a disadvantage?

Yes, because it really hurts. Liu He had a subordinate who used this medicine once, and later got injured. He would rather die than use the medicine again. Liu He saw that he was in a fatal injury and tried to force him to use the medicine, but he directly severed his meridians and chose to commit suicide.

It is this terrifying pain that makes people wonder, "Is it more worthwhile to die or to endure this pain?"

Black Fist used this drug, but only had such a slight effect... Liu He couldn't help but feel terrified; it was truly too terrifying.

Black Fist's voice was hoarse as he asked, "Who is that guy? Have you met him before? Why did you run away as soon as you saw him?"

After a moment's consideration, Liu He selectively stated:

"He was once a disciple of the Sword Saint and the champion of the Ouma Junior Sword Do Tournament. After winning the championship, he left the Sword Saint's school and called himself the 'Nine Martial Arts of Heaven and Earth' school. After that, he disappeared from the public eye. In reality, he was traveling the world with a little girl."

"We tried to recruit this powerful, unorganized individual. But after a brief encounter, we realized it was impossible. So we switched to a pincer attack... Three top-tier experts, plus two super-top-tier experts, including myself, surrounded him while he was protecting a defenseless little girl. In that situation, he actually killed three of them. Only the other super-top-tier expert and I escaped, and it was only because we split up and ran that he dared not pursue us too closely while protecting the little girl..."

Liu He has concealed a lot. For example, regarding Shenzhou-9, they actually discovered some things, and it wasn't just about "a little girl." Also, the last time their team was wiped out because his sword was taken from him...

There's no need to say these things.

In ancient times, there was Luo Shui, who was incredibly stubborn and scored a disastrous twelve points. Now, there is him who had his sword taken away twice and led his team to total annihilation. They should both have a place on the list of Class A war criminals.

"A peerless master," Black Fist said in a low voice, "I am no match for him."

Despite the loss of his sword leading to a reversal of fortune, war criminal Liu He remained unfazed and said, "It's normal that we can't beat him. Among human martial artists today, this guy should be the number one expert. On the bright side, at least we won't encounter any stronger martial artists."

At the same time, Ying Qin Guan sneezed for no apparent reason.

"...I have a feeling that someone is talking badly about me."

Chapter Forty: Search

Ying Qin Guan sneezed unexpectedly. His first thought was that Shen Xin, that despicable fellow, had cast a spell on him, perhaps a sneezing curse. He wanted to retaliate immediately. However, the presence of Shen Jiu made these two scoundrels somewhat hesitant.

By this time, they had finished their afternoon tea and were strolling around Xinyang City.

Back in the small town, the buildings were quite characteristic of the Southern Qin style. But as one of only three cities on the Huanxing Plain, Xinyang City absorbed many styles from other countries. However, due to a lack of government support and funding, infrastructure development was inadequate, resulting in a somewhat hybrid appearance. But even this hybrid has its own unique style; it's a matter of personal taste.

"Let's go that way."

As staunch supporters of the overall planning method, Shenxin and Shenjiu are also searching for the relics left to them by their mother while searching for the sacrificial rites.

The pawnshop is gone. Come to think of it, the house has been demolished. If it were buried underground, Shenxin and Shenjiu wouldn't be able to "see" it, and it wouldn't make any sense. It's impossible to turn the entire Xinyang City upside down. Shenxin and Shenjiu both believe that their mother must have put the item somewhere they know, somewhere they can "see" at a glance once they get there.

"Can it really be found? It's been almost ten years. When your mother told you about this, her abilities probably weren't fully awakened yet. Even if they were, would her ability to understand magical beasts help with hiding things?"

“Yes,” Shen Jiu said. “If they can understand magical beasts, they will have many more choices.”

"But Mom's state at the time probably had nothing to do with her abilities. She must have hidden that thing beforehand. It wasn't because she was too stressed after gaining the abilities and didn't have time to listen to the monster's instructions."

Shenxin raised the small blackboard, and Shenzhou-9 nodded slightly.

They arrived at a high-end teahouse. Their mother, Shen Yue, had worked there for a while and had a good relationship with the teahouse owner, practically like best friends. However, after glancing around from the outside, they didn't notice anything. They went in, greeted her, exchanged pleasantries, and caught up, then secretly peeked inside a few more times, but still found nothing.

The same thing happened at several locations in a row, and there weren't many clues left. Shen Xin couldn't help but feel discouraged.

"Where exactly will it be..."

"Sister, is there any other place we'll definitely visit when we come back here?"

Shenxin raised the small blackboard, his face deep in thought.

Shenzhou-9 pondered for a moment and said, "We've basically been to all of them. If there are any other places..."

"So, all that's left is Grandma's grave, right?"

They had been to all the places they were supposed to go, and if there was any place where the relics might still be hidden... it would only be Grandma's grave.

"The cemetery area is unlikely to be demolished; it's definitely the last place left. There's still time, let's go."

Shen Xin picked up the small blackboard and was about to take a step when Ying Qin Guan suddenly called her back.

"Wait... Himura is here to see us, it's urgent."

Shen Xin stopped in his tracks. A few seconds after Ying Qin Guan finished speaking, Fei Cun Tan Ying landed from the height and said briefly, "I have stumbled upon another ritual. Enough talk, let's go."

The group quickly headed to the location indicated by Himura Tan's directions. On the way, Himura Tan briefly described her experience and showed off her spoils of war—the sword she had stolen.

—In addition, he described in detail the general appearance and physical characteristics of the two men.

The four of them arrived at the location, and Shenxin took a look first, confirming it at a glance.

"Yu Xietian made a wasted trip."

She held up the small blackboard, and without a doubt, the number she saw was 35.

"35 definitely refers to the number of sacrifices performed; it should be correct."

It's hard to say whether this news is good or bad. Essentially, it's bad news, meaning that most of the speculation was correct—the Earth Mother might really be resurrected. But confirmed bad news is always better than unconfirmed good news...

Next, let's look at Shenzhou-9.

Her ability seemed to be much more complex to activate than the Divine Heart, but in the end, nothing went wrong.

After waiting patiently for a moment, Shenzhou-9 spoke.

"Wearing masks, two of them, dragging one unconscious, on the ground, drawing totems, and then performing a sacrifice... It was entirely man-made."

Shenzhou-9's way of speaking makes it much more difficult to understand, but fortunately there was a translator next to him.

"The two masked men dragged an unconscious person into this room, drew totems on the ground, and then performed a sacrifice. Unlike their previous self-harm, this sacrifice was done by the two of them."

"If this ritual can be performed artificially, it would be terrible... There's only one last time left."

Although it is not yet certain that the "resurrection after 36 attempts" will occur, the probability is not small. We should consider the worst-case scenario in order to better cope with everything.

"The thirty-sixth time is unstoppable. Even if we stop those two, the thirty-fourth time will happen again. But we can find a way to obtain more information."

Himura Tansaku looked at Ying Qin Guan.

"Capture those two...they know a lot."

Ying Qin Guan calmly replied, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

“For greater efficiency, the two of us should split up.” Himura Tanzakura paused and said, “Once we find the person, I will notify you with a lion’s roar. By the way, do you know how to use a lion’s roar... never mind, it doesn’t matter whether you do or not.”

As a peerless master, Himura Tan's Lion's Roar has an incredibly wide coverage area, which Ying Qin Guan could naturally hear. This skill, which is short in duration, wide in coverage, and loud in noise, is not only used for control, but its greatest use is to call for reinforcements in this special battlefield.

As for Ying Qin Guan, as Hisumura Tan Ying said, it doesn't matter whether he comes or not, because he doesn't need to call for reinforcements.

"What should they do then?"

Ying Qin Guan said.

Neither he nor Himura Tan's group could possibly bring Shinshin and Shin-Kyu along. If Himura brought them, they probably wouldn't be able to win. If Ying Qin Guan brought them, it would greatly affect his mobility during the search, and besides, bringing them wouldn't be very useful.

"It's not far from here, let's go to that pawnshop."

Shenxin held up the small blackboard and proposed:

"I imagine you'll be searching for a long time, and you won't even have time for dinner. It wouldn't be good to break our promise, so the two of us will come over and wait for you there."

Ying Qin Guan was a little worried and said, "What if you two get cut up?"

"I will prepare the teleportation magic in advance."

Shenxin raised the small blackboard. As an observer of the laws of nature, she also knew a small part of spatial magic. Although she was far from using nature as much as Wang Qiushui, escaping the pursuit shouldn't be a big problem, especially with Shen Jiu, who had half a vision of the future, around. She figured there wouldn't be any major issues.

Hiramura Tanzaku nodded and said, "Alright..."

"Well then, Mr. Ying, if you have indeed memorized the physical characteristics of those two people, let's begin... Hopefully, we can get results tonight."

"Xinyang isn't big, we can find it. It's just one last sacrificial ceremony away, so the other side definitely won't give up. They might already be making their move. Let's hurry."

Chapter 41 Human Tribulation

Ying Qin Guan and his group launched their operation, but in reality, things were not quite as they had imagined.

They know the ritual has been performed thirty-five times, but they can't be sure that something will happen after the thirty-sixth ritual. Black Fist and Willow River, on the other hand, know that their goal will be achieved after the thirty-sixth ritual, but...

They didn't know how many more sacrifices were still owed.

The sacrifices must have been performed several times, but how many times exactly—five, four, three, two, or one?

do not know.

What if Hisumura Danzai comes out to cause trouble again?

As a fellow master, Black Fist was intimately familiar with the reconnaissance abilities of other masters, especially in a small, underdeveloped city like this one, which lacked cover.

If we get caught again, things won't be so great.

"Can't we go somewhere else?" Black Fist asked, trying to avoid Himura Tanzaku.

Liu He shook his head and said, "No, human sacrifices are not like the true 'call of the Earth Mother Goddess'. They can't be performed anytime and anywhere. The reason we can perform human sacrifices here is because an Earth Mother Goddess sacrifice happened here not long ago. That's why we can use the residual aura of the Earth Mother Goddess to perform the sacrifice. If we leave here, the human sacrifice will be ineffective."

Yes, human sacrifices aren't a panacea. The people of Liuhe had long wanted to establish contact with the Earth Mother Goddess. But every time they received intelligence and rushed to their destination, they encountered various awkward situations. In big cities, the intelligence arrived early, and by the time they arrived, the scent of the earth hadn't even dissipated. But committing a crime in a big city meant being discovered almost instantly. They tried several times, even disguising it as a copycat murder, and almost got caught before being stopped. As for smaller places, by the time the intelligence arrived, it was too late.

This time, however, I managed to arrive here ahead of time by relying on some prophetic methods. I thought there wouldn't be any obstacles in this place... but unexpectedly, another one, Himura Tanzakura, appeared.

"Then why can't we wait for her to perform the final sacrifice herself..." Black Fist said again.