Chapter 194
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 194
Chapter Title: Chapter 39: Infernal Ghost (4)
'That bastard!'
Mian Xiaoshao's face twisted viciously.
He had witnessed Master Jigong's martial arts. And in doing so, he realized just how pathetic he truly was.
Watching Master Jigong's techniques ignited a spark of fighting spirit within him. Yet at the same time, fear gripped his heart. One part of him thought that dying in a clash against such skill would leave no regrets, while another insisted he must never engage.
Master Jigong's movements were impossibly light. Incredibly fluid. And yet, blindingly swift and ferociously powerful.
The master was intimately attuned to every motion of the human body.
Even a knuckle flick delivered at the same speed and force could yield vastly different results. To a child, it might bring only mild pain, but to a villain, it became a lethal strike.
It wasn't about adding power at the moment of impact.
With killing intent, it turned deadly. With warm benevolence, it remained a mere flick.
Master Jigong drew no distinction between everyday actions and martial prowess. Every instant was both martial art and not.
Mian Xiaoshao was stunned by this novel form of martial arts.
What the master displayed was Shaolin technique, yet it belonged to an entirely new realm.
And Four Thousand Four had dismantled it.
Yes. He had clearly broken it down.
To counter Master Jigong's martial arts meant Four Thousand Four had matched him evenly.
Four Thousand Four... A man he could have killed on a whim just half a shichen ago, now standing toe-to-toe with Master Jigong? Trading blows as an equal?
He didn't want to admit it, but he had to.
Four Thousand Four had clashed hands with the master twice. Especially the second assault—the master had unleashed his full power. Even Mian Xiaoshao had cried out inwardly, 'No, that's impossible!'
Even more astonishing, he hadn't seen Four Thousand Four's Shadowless Secret.
The master had retreated because Four Thousand Four shook it off... and he had missed that moment.
Four Thousand Four hadn't even moved.
From a motionless stance, the Shadowless Secret had been dispelled unseen.
If he had faced such an attack amid his own offensive against Four Thousand Four, he never could have dodged it.
"Ugh!"
Mian Xiaoshao let out a groan.
Good thing he'd stayed hidden and watched.
From the master's words, it seemed he had no intention of letting Four Thousand Four live.
Fine by him. He didn't know when it started, but he'd grown to despise Four Thousand Four. Not for any particular misdeed—the man hadn't done anything wrong. It was just the way Zhuge Xiaoxiao and Crimson Moon looked at him. That irked him.
He felt an inexplicable jealousy toward the man.
He had to die.
The deal with Heavenly Commander was to attack Master Jigong... and that was done. Crimson Moon's failure to appear wasn't his fault.
If the master killed him, it'd be like pulling a nagging tooth—pure relief.
Mian Xiaoshao kept his eyes glued to the fight.
'Shadowless... Secret...'
Crimson Moon stared at the pair in shock.
Until this moment, no one had been watching Four Thousand Four. No one knew why Heavenly Commander had pitted this man against Master Jigong. Nor why a disciple of the Buddha, who abhorred killing, had rushed so far to slay him.
Four Thousand Four looked as precarious as a candle in the wind.
But when the lid was lifted, what was this? He was holding his own.
Truth be told, "holding his own" was inaccurate.
Four Thousand Four was far from equal. Every moment, every second, he barely clung to life.
Master Jigong remained a peak he couldn't yet scale.
Still, the Shadowless Secret astonished her. For Four Thousand Four to master such a technique in an instant was incredible.
But that changed nothing.
Four Thousand Four was still in peril. Even if she and Mian Xiaoshao joined to surround him, victory was impossible.
Heavenly Commander had gravely underestimated the master.
Had he known the extent of Jigong's prowess, he'd never have placed Four Thousand Four before him. Or... was that exactly why?
'What do I do...?'
Deep wrinkles creased Crimson Moon's brow.
Four Thousand Four wouldn't shy from death. His final strike wouldn't target the master—it would rend the very ground he stood upon, unleashing a trap even Jigong couldn't counter.
Both would perish.
For men of their caliber to die not in combat, but to some trap... it was tragic.
'But...'
Crimson Moon shook her head.
Though she disliked Heavenly Commander's scheme, she didn't want Heavenly Annihilation Division to crumble. If the master's death served the division, this was one way.
'No choice.'
Crimson Moon turned away.
Part of her yearned to witness the fight's end; another urged retreat. A duel between Master Jigong and Four Thousand Four was one no martial artist could miss. But lingering meant getting caught in the trap.
Crimson Moon moved to vanish. At that instant,
"Ugh...!"
A faint groan—so subtle only strained ears could catch it.
She whipped around.
The groan came from Four Thousand Four. He grimaced, staggering back unsteadily.
Rumble!
Master Jigong roared like thunder, pressing the assault. Yet Four Thousand Four ignored the attacks, stumbling half-blind.
'Luksa!'
Crimson Moon recalled Luksa on the brink of madness.
Luksa hadn't truly gone mad. Absolute reason had anchored his crumbling mind.
His final days were a battle against collapse.
But Four Thousand Four had lost reason in a heartbeat. Anyone could see he was descending into insanity.
To the eye, it was mere staggering... but one who knew the Killing Resolve would recognize the dire state. Four Thousand Four was fading; a demon was taking hold.
'Ah! Mangsa...'
She should have stopped Mangsa back in that cave. Kept him from taking Four Thousand Four.
What now?
A new choice loomed.
She could kill Four Thousand Four, preventing him from becoming Heavenly Commander's puppet.
She didn't care about his fate. It was Heavenly Commander wielding him that threatened the division's autonomy. She couldn't stop that.
After slaying the master, Heavenly Commander would eliminate all obstacles—and she'd be first. She alone checked him now.
Or she could withdraw.
She trusted Old Ya. Though he'd led Four Thousand Four to madness, she believed it served Heavenly Annihilation Division. This path benefited them.
'Old Ya, we had a deal... Is this what you wanted?'
She thought of Mangsa.
Yes. Trust Mangsa.
Whoosh!
Thinking of Mangsa erased all doubt. She shot away like an arrow.
No need to stay longer.
Neither Heavenly Commander nor Bei Ming had foreseen Four Thousand Four completing his transformation here.
A mad Four Thousand Four was a fine tool for them.
No loss. If he and Jigong died together, it went as planned. If he survived by luck, they'd gain a monstrous killer.
No, perhaps Heavenly Commander was regretting it now, stamping the ground.
Had he known Four Thousand Four would snap like this, he'd never have sent him against the master. He'd have waited for full killer metamorphosis, then deployed him usefully.
Shiii!
Crimson Moon sped off, brow still furrowed.
Ding! Dong! Diiiing!
Bells tolled in his mind.
From the left, the right... front, back—bells rang chaotically.
'Why is this happening to me?'
The unification of breath and body halted.
The breathing from Little Fury Thunder Prison faded. The sensation of dispelling Shadowless Secret slipped away.
He reeled dizzily.
Ding!
A flaming spear stabbed through his crown, Baihui point.
The pain from Baihui burned fiercely. A true burning spear.
"Kuh!"
He clutched his head, collapsing to his knees.
Shiiiik!
Golden Sun Palm barely grazed past his head.
Four Thousand Four's head had been right there, in striking range... and vanished in a blink.
'The demon is awakening!'
Master Jigong instantly quelled his killing aura.
Don't kill Four Thousand Four. Can't kill him. Poor soul—coax him gently, guide him to goodness. His nature is kind; kind words will reach him.
He stirred benevolence in his heart.
Only then would Four Thousand Four lower his guard.
The man was hypersensitive to malice now. The tiniest speck triggered instant defense.
Not Four Thousand Four's mechanism. It was the Killing Resolve soul lodged in him reacting. Accumulated slaughter clashing with the shock of completion had birthed hyper-acute senses.
"Four Thousand Four, look at me. Amitabha!"
Master Jigong roared like a lion to stir him.
Four Thousand Four glanced his way.
"Let us sit and talk."
Swoosh!
The master extended a hand. No energy, no killing intent—just serene gentleness. Like a grandfather reaching for his grandchild.
A smile seemed to flicker on Four Thousand Four's lips.
"Come, quickly..."
Master Jigong smiled back, hand advancing.
Ding! Clang clang clang!
His head split in two, then three.
Pain so intense he wished to rip it off.
Master Jigong was saying something.
He couldn't hear. Ears caught words, but agony drowned them.
Sensing killing intent? No. Warmth? No time for that. His skull felt splitting... Any way to stop this pain?
Craaaack!
An axe smashed his temple.
Immense shock. As if truly axed—that much agony.
"Kuh!"
Four Thousand Four groaned, staggering.
Shii! Shik!
The malice-free hand swished empty air.
Golden Sun Palm released. A plain, energy-less caress toward Four Thousand Four. Yet he jerked away; the hand grasped only void.
"Ah!"
Master Jigong sighed.
Four Thousand Four's body was untouchable now, hypersensitive.
Sensitivity without qi support couldn't yield speed, but he'd overcome that too.
His whole-body qi was exploding.
All qi within him condensed and burst. That explosive force propelled his movements.
The pinnacle of human swiftness.
"As you said, now... even death holds no regrets."
Swoosh!
Master Jigong unbound the prayer beads from his neck with both hands.