The Qi Arts Master Chapter 14
Tian Ailang, who had been hiding behind a tree, recoiled in shock at the overwhelming energy and quickly distanced himself from it as far as possible.
Kwajik! The energy punched a massive hole through the thick trunk of an ancient tree, yet it still surged forward undiminished.
Tian Ailang urgently sought the grain of the earth and stomped down hard with his inner force. Kudududuk! The thick crust of the ground flipped up dramatically, rising before him like a wall.
Puk! His intention to block with the earthen barrier was sound, but Draku's attack proved far more ferocious than anticipated. The energy pierced straight through the dirt wall, grazing Tian Ailang's side as it passed.
“Kuk!” Enduring the pain, Tian Ailang seized the moment his vision was obscured by the flying earth and slipped back between the trees.
“Hoo~ To think you'd block my Crimson Blood Finger like that! That mere dirt wall must've neutralized quite a bit of the energy.”
Draku unleashed another Crimson Blood Finger, but Tian Ailang, now getting the hang of it, dodged by weaving through several trees and more upheaved earth.
By this point, Tian Ailang figured the beggars and animals had ample time to flee. ‘Time to get out of here.’
As he contemplated escaping the battlefield, he sensed an immense, undeniable surge of energy.
“Tch. What an annoyance. If it's annoying, just eliminate it.”
Tian Ailang peeked through the gaps in the trees to pinpoint the source. Draku had extended both palms instead of his fingers, red inner energy steadily accumulating there.
Drdrdrdrdr! The ground trembled. No, space itself was quaking. The sheer mass of inner force was warping the very air.
Even Draku seemed strained by gathering such power; his face grew even paler, sweat beading coldly on his brow.
“Hiiiyaap—!” With Draku's shrill shout, a colossal wave of energy erupted outward.
Ujik!Kwajijik!Kwadududuk! It pulverized everything in front of Draku across a vast expanse.
‘Can't dodge this.’
He tried to evade with the Shrinking Earth Step, but the brute force, terrifying speed, and absurd range left no path of retreat.
Grinding his teeth, Tian Ailang forcibly drew up every ounce of his inner energy.
“Kuwk!” Pain lanced through him, but there was no choice. To survive, he had to go all in.
A massive protective aura enveloped Tian Ailang's body.
“Kueup!” Desperately compressing more energy, the aura expanded into a gigantic orb around him, like a wish-granting pearl.
Tian Ailang then condensed the enormous protective aura into a single point ahead. Blood surged in reverse, his mind clouding.
‘Kuuuk!’
Barely clinging to consciousness, he stared at Draku's energy bearing down on him. It was so vast it blotted out his entire forward view, even the sky.
Tian Ailang thrust the pinpointed aura forward with every shred of his strength.
Pi— Ing— The clash of energies beyond human limits induced a momentary ringing silence, as if the world had gone still.
The shockwave hurled Tian Ailang, bloodied and battered, crashing through trees. After tumbling far while slamming into trunks, a sudden sensation of weightlessness overtook him, and he blacked out.
* * *
At the site of Tian Ailang and Draku's battle, dozens of warriors in white uniforms overlaid with wind-resistant cloaks bustled about.
Every scabbard bore the engraved character for Murong.
“Search!”
Murong Dan, patriarch of the Murong family, mounted on horseback, urged his clansmen onward relentlessly.
One warrior approached. “Patriarch, we've found traces of an enormous battle over there.”
Murong Dan nodded eagerly and wheeled his horse around. “Let's go!” He followed the warrior's lead.
Upon arrival, Murong Dan gaped at the scene before him. “Th-this... what...?!”
He took in the deeply gouged earth and upheaved soil. Then his eyes widened at the devastation: what must have once been part of the forest had been razed into a clearing wide enough for a hundred riders abreast.
“What in the world happened here...?”
Murong Dan stared blankly at the earth-shattering spectacle, mouth agape without realizing it.
Murong Dan had succeeded his father Murong Min as the family's second Transcendent Realm master five years prior.
Rumors had mocked the Murong family for lacking any standout experts beyond Murong Min, but those died out once Murong Dan reached the Transcendent Realm.
The martial world showered the fifty-year-old, who had achieved it through tireless effort, with congratulations and praise. To bolster him further, Murong Min passed the patriarch position to his son.
Thereafter, Murong Dan strove unceasingly to meet his father and clan's expectations—not just in family duties, but in martial arts as well. His passion was such that he amassed martial manuals into a dedicated hall, yielding substantial gains.
Even so, the scene before him was utterly unprecedented. He couldn't fathom how a battle could mimic the aftermath of hundreds of soldiers clashing.
“Fetch Father! Now!” Convinced his own insight fell short, Murong Dan summoned the former patriarch, Murong Min.
A short distance away, three people and a dog surveyed the site similarly.
“Where could he have gone...? Is he alright?”
“Who knows. Haah... To think things would turn out like this.”
Dam Soyeon and Ni Daeyeok exchanged worried glances amid the battlefield remnants.
Ni Daeyeok glanced at the beggar beside him. Bang Deok, the Beggar Clan's sub-branch leader, stood bandaged from head to toe, expression dazed.
“You're Bang Deok, correct?”
Bang Deok nodded bitterly at Ni Daeyeok's question. “That's me.”
“Can you track Young Master Tian's whereabouts?”
Bang Deok felt a pang of difficulty. He recalled sending Dung Dog to Tian Ailang in his peril.
The problem came after. Regaining consciousness outside Shenyang's walls, slumped over Dung Dog's back, he startled awake and pieced together the situation.
Words failed him at Tian Ailang's heroism—facing alone a Demonic Cult elder presumed to be Hwagyeong realm to enable his escape.
A man who believed righteousness and chivalry had faded from the world, now indebted beyond measure. Rationally deeming he couldn't handle it solo, he sought aid from Shenyang's top faction, the Murong family.
In the process, he encountered the Dam siblings and belatedly learned Tian Ailang, his savior, was the very person they'd been seeking alongside Damga.
By the time they arrived with Damga and Murong forces, however, no one and nothing remained—save the obliterated forest.
Dung Dog tracked Tian Ailang to a cliff's edge, where the trail vanished. If he'd fallen into the waters below, even Dung Dog's nose couldn't follow.
For now, no way to know if Tian Ailang lived or died. The traces suggested only grim outcomes.
Bang Deok shook his head weakly at Ni Daeyeok. “It's impossible. Trail ends at the cliff—no further way. Sorry...”
“Aah...” Dam Soyeon collapsed to her knees. The thought that Tian Ailang might be dead hit her.
Ni Daeyeok closed his eyes, speechless. Guilt choked him—had he pushed Young Master Tian into the jaws of death?
Bang Deok shared that guilt, roughly wiping his dry face at the thought of Tian Ailang's sacrifice for his plea for help.
Then Murong Dan and Supreme Patriarch Murong Min approached side by side on horseback.
Bang Deok struggled to his feet and bowed to the Heavenly Benevolent Sword Murong Min. “Greetings, Heavenly Benevolent Sword.”
Murong Min and Murong Dan dismounted lightly.
“Indeed, long time no see. How's the Clan Leader?”
“That old codger? Always healthy as ever. Even if you told him not to be, he'd cling to your pant leg insisting on it.”
The habitual jest emerged, but Bang Deok's face remained somber. Reading the mood, Murong Min patted his shoulder lightly and eyed the Dam siblings.
“You're the heirs of Shandong's Damga, yes?”
Ni Daeyeok stepped forward at Murong Min's query, offering the fist-and-palm salute of the martial world. “I am Ni Daeyeok, eldest son of Shandong Damga. It's an honor to meet renowned great heroes like yourselves. And this is our Damga's youngest, Dam Soyeon.”
Dam Soyeon followed with a weary but polite bow.
“Hoho, such well-mannered heirs from a great house. A far cry from those petty fools who dismiss us as barbarians. Hohohoho.”
Bang Deok's brow furrowed at Murong Min's words, recognizing the jab at central continent martial artists who scorned the borderland Murong family as barbarians.
Despite ranking among the Five Great Families of the Orthodox Faction, the Murong had long chafed under the Middle Kingdom's subtle discrimination.
“I'd love to chat more leisurely, but as you see, urgent matters press. Excuse us for now.”
Murong Min turned from Ni Daeyeok to Bang Deok. “Lying Beggar, care to detail last night's events?”
Bang Deok recounted the incidents from mere hours ago, though termed “last night.”
“Heh... How tragic.” Murong Min shook his head sadly, while Murong Dan looked stunned.
The perpetrator of this devastation: a Hwagyeong Demonic Cult elder versus a youth barely past twenty.
Unconcerned with their thoughts, Bang Deok offered a courteous fist-and-palm salute—firmly signaling his departure.
“I've told you all I know. To ascertain why the Demonic Cult elder was here and where he vanished, I must hurry to the Beggar Clan headquarters in Hebei.”
Murong Min looked regretful but nodded readily. “Very well, we need your aid, but no helping it. When you reach Tianjin, give my regards to the Clan Leader. Recover well yourself.”
“Yes, understood.”
Bang Deok bowed politely to the Dam siblings too. “Truly sorry. Because of me, your precious companion met misfortune. Ten mouths couldn't excuse it. On my name as Beggar Clan sub-branch leader, I'll repay this debt to you both someday.”
Ni Daeyeok received the heavy-hearted farewell.
Bang Deok greeted the others around, then departed with Dung Dog.
Watching him go, Murong Min instructed his son Murong Dan. “Expand the children's search to the valley beyond the woods. No—mobilize the remaining Beggar Clan and Hao Clan in Shenyang, even minor sects, and scour all of Liaoning if needed. We'll examine the battlefield. Studying the traces might advance our martial arts.”
“Yes, Father.”
As the Murong father and son conversed, Ni Daeyeok approached them.