Chapter 114:

The idea of using martial arts to cultivate oneself originated from a legend in the Zhong Province. But it’s just a legend. The foundation of Martial Saint’s martial arts lies in the "Martial Saint Spiritual Technique." With the help of this secret technique, he reached an unparalleled level in the Spiritual Refining Method that no one had achieved before. However, even so, Martial Saint still felt that he wasn’t strong enough to confront the Immortal Gate. This is the fundamental reason why he gave up on assassinating Emperor Yonghe because if he went to Qingyun Temple, there was a possibility of facing losses there as well. "Now that I, Martial Saint, am deceased, it means that the Spiritual Refining Method alone is not enough to rival the Immortal Gate. Other martial artists in this world who wish to surpass me should explore new paths instead of following my old one." The essence of the Martial Saint Spiritual Technique lies in absorbing the "essence" of martial artists, which means only one can become the strongest along this path, while the rest become nourishment. And in the world of martial artists, besides the most popular Spiritual Refining Method, there are also power, strength, and skill. These three martial arts combined cannot defeat the top-level Spirit Refining martial artist, so the practitioners of power skills can only reach the 4th rank. "It’s time to go back to Zhong Province." With one step, the Martial Saint’s face quickly transformed into the face of a stranger, disappearing from Wu Qiankun’s sight. Wu Qiankun sighed softly, his gaze resting on Wu Qizheng’s tombstone. "How many sacrifices is this now?" he whispered to himself. ………. Several days later. It started to rain lightly in the mountains, wetting the grass and shrouding the forest in a misty atmosphere. A lonely tomb stands quietly in the rain, the rainwater slides down the tombstone and wets the words "Wu Qizheng’s grave". At this moment, a long umbrella stretches out from the side, providing shelter from the wind and rain for this tombstone. Sёarch* The NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. At some point on this lonely tomb, stood a pale-faced man with black hair. He leaned over and quietly examined the engraved words on the tombstone. "Using strange arts and tricks, walking the righteous path? An epitaph?" A self-deprecating smile flashed across the man’s face. "Martial Saint, is it considered walking the righteous path as long as my death can ultimately benefit you?" "But I’ve said it before, even if I die, I will never die for you." His name is Wu Qizheng. Among his name, the extraordinary character comes before the ordinary character. Wu Qizheng leans against the tombstone, taking slight breaths in the mountain rain. At this moment, he looked very pale and obviously weak, even if he just walked along the mountain road, he felt extremely tired. Wu Qizheng was not an ordinary person, even among three thousand disciples and seventy two wise men, he was considered unique. Some of the three thousand disciples of that year were adopted and raised by Martial Saint as his sons and daughters. Some learned martial arts under the guidance of Martial Saint as their master. There were also a few who were more special. For example, Wu Qizheng… In fact, he was considered the biological son of Martial Saint. Besides inheriting a part of Martial Saint’s physique, he was also born with a unique constitution. Even without martial arts training, his physical body was stronger than an ordinary Spirit Refining martial artist. And this was the cause of his death. If other three thousand disciples are not martial art seeds, they become Martial Saint’s nourishment. Then Wu Qizheng… if not a seed, he becomes a scapegoat. "Perhaps I, as his son, was destined to die for him from the moment I was born…" Wu Qizheng gently touched his own tombstone, a complex expression on his face. Being born as the biological child of a Martial Saint and excelling in the Flesh Changing Skill, he is undoubtedly the best candidate to cosplay Martial Saint, without a doubt. Also, it was indeed his own voluntary decision to go to Qingyun Temple to assassinate the emperor, it is not false. He did indeed have a determination to die. But being willing to sacrifice oneself and attempting to save oneself, seeking life within death, are not contradictory. If given a choice, who would want to die? And the secret of Wu Qizheng’s miraculous escape from death is actually relying on his best skill, "Flesh Changing Skill". Before setting off, he divided his body into three parts. Most of his flesh and blood belonged to Wu Qizheng’s original body, but it died under the heavenly thunder. A small part of it attached to Qiao Mu’s body. The last part is his current body, housing a bit of the mind and spirit of the Spirit Refining martial artist. The surviving Wu Qizheng is like a person who has cut himself with a knife, his strength is greatly reduced, and he is not much stronger than an ordinary person. Compared to the weakness of his physical body, the greater injury is to his mind and spirit. But now, he, like the previous Wu Qingxin, has escaped from the chessboard of the Martial Saint. He is temporarily free now. This is something that only the incredibly skilled Wu Qizheng, who has mastered the "Flesh Changing Skill", can do. When it comes to the proficiency in the "Flesh Changing Skill", Wu Qizheng is the best, followed by the Martial Saint. According to Wu Qizheng’s speculation, even the Martial Saint would not be able to achieve the level of "blood and flesh substitution." Otherwise, if the Martial Saint knew that he could still survive, he would surely be waiting here for him. It’s impossible for him, as one of the seventy-two wise men, to escape the clutches of the Martial Saint. This is something that only Wu Qizheng can do. "After my mind was heavily damaged, the current me is no longer the same Wu Qizheng as before. And because of that, I managed to avoid the Martial Saint’s intuitive detection…" Wu Qizheng thought about this and a smirk appeared on his face. Currently, the only method to evade the intuitive detection of the "Martial Saint Spiritual Technique" is the specialized technique created by the Martial Saint called the "Xuanming Contain Breath Technique". However, it is clear that the Martial Saint would never pass on this technique to him. And now Wu Qizheng has discovered a second one. First, he pretended to be dead as both "Martial Saint" and "Wu Qizheng" with the "Flesh Changing Skill". Then, he revived by attaching a strand of his consciousness to the pre-allocated flesh. After the revival, both his physical body and consciousness were incredibly weak, and he lost most of his strength. Even Wu Qizheng himself couldn’t be sure if the "Wu Qizheng" after the revival was the real Wu Qizheng. "Perhaps the real Wu Qizheng is already dead, and now I am just someone who mistakenly believes I am Wu Qizheng." "Maybe, this is the true reason why I can deceive the intuition of the ‘Martial Saint Spiritual Technique’." This thought crossed Wu Qizheng’s mind, leaving him with a sense of melancholy. He stopped pondering this question because it was already too late, and it was destined to remain unanswered. "Qiao Zhong, or should I say Qiao Sen, I heard that he seems to have survived, although only temporarily… but my efforts were not in vain," he murmured to himself. Wu Qizheng implanted a fist-sized piece of flesh in Qiao Mu’s body, partly to experiment with the "Flesh Changing Skill" and partly to give Qiao Mu some power, attempting to save his life during the assassination. The so-called plan to assassinate Emperor Yonghe was just a trick. The assassins who went to Qingyun Temple, including Wu Qizheng, were destined to be defeated. The fist-sized piece of flesh in Qiao Zhong’s chest was actually his small act of kindness towards Qiao’s family. "In this world, there are still people like Qiao Zhong who dare to challenge the Martial Saint, and the Qiao’s family who would rather die than submit… Whether it’s Qiao Zhong or any other member of Qiao’s family, I hope that someday someone will be able to defeat the Martial Saint." By this time, the rain had gradually stopped. Wu Qizheng no longer used an umbrella. He used the umbrella in his hand as a walking stick and struggled to take step by step along the mountain road, leaving behind a muddy footprint. "I have already given Qiao Zhong the perfected ‘Flesh Changing Skill’ in advance, hoping that he will realize the extraordinary nature of this secret technique." "The secret technique I possess, compared to the Martial Saint’s ‘Flesh Changing Skill’, is slightly different. Perhaps it would be better to call it the ‘Shape Changing Skill’." "No matter what, my secret technique finally found a successor… If in the future, they can become a help to Qiao Zhong or other members of the Qiao’s family in killing the Martial Saint, then that would be even better." Wu Qizheng walked away gradually, using an umbrella as a walking stick. He pretended to be the Martial Saint and forcefully entered Qingyun Temple, but in reality, he had no guarantee of survival. So, the book "Flesh Changing Skill" that he had given to Qiao Mu beforehand was actually a way of entrusting his legacy. Before his death, passing on his lifelong understanding of the techniques can be considered as his final wish. In the martial arts world of the old days, many martial artists had similar wishes before their death – to pass on their lifelong knowledge to their descendants, leaving behind a bit of a legacy. But life is unpredictable, Wu Qizheng didn’t die and actually managed to survive. Qiao Zhong is still alive for now, but he will probably die soon… This was not within Wu Qizheng’s expectations. ……………… Zhong Province，Imperial Capitalheavenly prison. "Have you heard? The new prisoner this time is really extraordinary," the prison guards whispered to each other. "It is said that he witnessed the Martial Saint’s tragic death with his own eyes!" "Not only did he witness the Martial Saint’s tragic death, but he also smashed the statue of a true immortal from the Xuantian Sect," a young gaoler named Fang Yuan interrupted. "He even openly declared that he wants to become the next leader of martial arts after the Martial Saint, and carry the banner of martial arts," he continued. "Hmm? Fang Yuan, how do you know all this so clearly? Were you also present at the scene?" the other prison guards asked. "It’s what the prisoner himself said. He loves to talk about his own deeds," said Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan was responsible for delivering meals, and he was in charge of the cell where Qiao Mu was held. Over the past few days, he had heard many shocking deeds from the other prisoner. "Stop talking, stop talking, Lord Wei will be here soon. This time, the Emperor seems to value this prisoner very much and specially sent for Lord Wei from Six Gates to interrogate him." "Lord Wei?" Gaoler Fang Yuan, a young man with black hair, became excited as soon as he heard it: "Is it the ‘Black Wing Bat King’ Wei En, the number one detective in the Imperial Capital?" "I heard that his interrogation skills and lightness techniques are the best in the world." "After the Martial Saint’s death, some even claim that his lightness technique is the best in the world, and he can go anywhere in the world." "Hey, no matter how good his lightness technique is, what can he do? Even the Martial Saint died. There is no hope left for martial arts practitioners…" The other jailers showed little interest.