Chapter 290
Chapter 290
Grandmaster Zhong Chuke asked, his eyes brimming with tears.
“Senior Sister, is… is there truly no way to live?”
The peerless beauty, Grandmaster Xue Yin, replied.
“It is a terminal illness and cannot be cured. It has already been over ten days.”
“I know an incredible young man. Perhaps he could save you, Senior Sister.”
Xue Yin shook her head.
“No, it’s alright. Everyone has a destiny. To depart like this… it is not such a bad fate for me.”
*‘Let’s just die like this. If I die and go to the underworld, perhaps I’ll learn the truth behind His Majesty’s sudden death.’*
***
At the old estate where Princess Ning Jue lived in seclusion.
Shen Lang truly did not want to step inside. Ning Jue was unlike any ordinary woman, and every time Shen Lang saw her, he felt a sense of unease, as if his own desires were something to be ashamed of. And look at this. The moment he set foot in the estate, Shen Lang felt his member would no longer stand at attention.
“Master, Master…”
Princess Ning Yan barged in like a whirlwind, shouting loudly.
“There’s this tall oaf called Big Dummy who’s only trained for half a year. He says he doesn’t know any sword techniques and has never learned internal energy, but he came here to challenge me to a duel. Isn’t that hilarious?”
Big Dummy entered, looked at Princess Ning Jue, and said.
“Are you Ning Jue?”
Princess Ning Jue, who was expressionless no matter whom she faced, actually smiled gently at the sight of Big Dummy.
“Yes, I am Ning Jue. And who are you?”
“I am Big Dummy.”
Elder Princess Ning Jue said with a smile.
“Ah, so you’re Big Dummy.”
After taking on such a talented disciple, Zhong Chuke had written letters to every top-tier master to boast. Elder Princess Ning Jue was no exception. Not only that, but Zhong Chuke, uneasy about leaving Big Dummy alone in the State of Yue, had asked Elder Princess Ning Jue to protect him. Princess Ning Yan was intensely jealous. Her aunt had never spoken to her in such a friendly tone in her entire life.
Elder Princess Ning Jue asked warmly.
“Big Dummy, did your master have any other message for me?”
“Master said that when I meet Ning Jue, I should fight her disciple.”
“Master, did you hear that? This oaf wants to fight me.”
Elder Princess Ning Jue’s voice returned to its usual indifference as she said.
“Did I not tell you not to call me Master?”
Ning Yan, disappointed, changed her form of address.
“Aunt.”
Ning Jue’s voice softened once more.
“Big Dummy, how long have you been learning martial arts from your master?”
“Half a year.”
Ning Jue asked again.
“Then what can you do?”
“Nothing.”
“You know neither sword techniques nor internal energy?”
Big Dummy shook his head.
“I can’t do either.”
“Very well, then you may duel with Ning Yan.”
Then, she turned her head to look at Ning Yan and spoke gently.
“You are not to harm him. Understood?”
“Understood.”
Princess Ning Yan was thrilled.
*‘Hahahaha! Not only am I, Ning Yan, a natural genius with profound internal energy, but I’ve also been training for eighteen years. You, Big Dummy, are dim-witted and have only trained for half a year, yet you dare fight me without knowing any martial arts? What a joke!’*
“Come! I’ll face you with one hand!”
Princess Ning Yan drew her sword and pointed it at Big Dummy from a distance. Big Dummy took the heavy, iron-rod-like sword from his back and looked at Shen Lang, asking anxiously.
“Little Dummy, how am I supposed to fight? Master didn’t teach me!”
Shen Lang said.
“Fight however you want. You’re going to be defeated in one blow anyway.”
“Enough nonsense! Take my sword!”
Princess Ning Yan roared furiously, then transformed into a crimson blur and charged at Big Dummy, like a fierce tigress leaping from its cage. The woman had claimed she would go easy on him, but it was all a lie. In order to boast after her victory, Princess Ning Yan unleashed her full power.
*Swoosh!*
She swung her sword at Big Dummy with all her might.
“Ah.”
Big Dummy, standing there dazedly, sluggishly raised his greatsword and blocked Ning Yan’s blade with all his strength.
*Clang!*
A loud noise rang out, sparks flew in all directions, and Princess Ning Yan’s beautiful body was sent flying.
Ning Yan flew a full ten meters. The tigress princess then crashed hard onto the ground, and even after that, she stumbled back several more steps in a daze. Her face was completely blank from the immense shock. Shen Lang and Elder Princess Ning Jue, who were watching the duel, were also stunned, and even Big Dummy himself was startled.
*‘What just happened?’*
Princess Ning Yan was not one to admit defeat. In a flash of fury, she raised her greatsword and charged at Big Dummy again.
“I’ll kill you!”
She swung her sword at Big Dummy once more.
*Clang!*
With a loud crash, she was sent flying backward again. This time, thankfully, she was prepared and landed without taking too much impact. She immediately followed up with another strike, but once again, she was effortlessly sent flying. As she landed this time, tears almost welled up in her eyes. Her hand throbbed with so much pain that she shook it desperately. A closer look revealed that the webbing of her hand had torn and was bleeding.
Princess Ning Yan said.
“What was the point of everything Master taught me? I’ve trained so hard for over ten years, yet I can’t even beat him after he’s trained for just half a year. Big Dummy, were you playing the pig to eat the tiger?”
Big Dummy asked in surprise.
“What’s ‘playing the pig to eat the tiger’?”
Princess Limp… no, Elder Princess Ning Jue asked gently.
“Big Dummy, can you tell me what you’ve been doing for the past half-year?”
“I got beaten up by Master, and then I took a medicinal bath.”
Elder Princess Ning Jue asked.
“He really beat you every day?”
“He beat me from dawn till dusk, then I took a bath. And then he closed the door.”
“Who hit you?”
“Master.”
“Why did he hit you?”
“He said I was stupid.”
“And what did your master say you had to do for him to stop hitting you?”
“Master said he would stop hitting me if I could block his attacks.”
“Then how did it feel when you took your bath every day?”
“It hurt a lot. Master used a big cauldron to boil me. He kept boiling and boiling, and he even cried. He said he’d used up all the medicinal herbs he’d collected for over ten years.”
The whole truth was revealed. Shen Lang couldn’t help but be impressed.
*‘I take back what I just said. Zhong Chuke, you didn’t buy your Grandmaster title with money. You truly are amazing. Most people, when they learn martial arts, would they not desperately study manuals and sword forms? That’s the way of ordinary people; even nine out of ten geniuses train that way. But for a certain kind of supreme genius, such methods are unnecessary.’*
Did Qiu Yao’er use forms when she fought? No. She used only one move. She fought like a madwoman, swinging her Gland-Headed Blades, and when the two blades started spinning like a fan, no enemy could withstand the onslaught and would be cut down. Therefore, Big Dummy also had no need for special forms when learning martial arts. In fact, forms might even restrain geniuses like them.
Zhong Chuke beat Big Dummy every day to train his reactions and speed. Without such a method, how could Big Dummy, with his intellect, ever comprehend a martial arts manual? Could Big Dummy even learn from one? Qiu Yao’er was incredibly smart. It was just that she was a genius with a body that defied imagination, reaching a point where she had no need to use her head.
But unlike Qiu Yao’er, Big Dummy was genuinely stupid. That was why Grandmaster Zhong Chuke hit him every day, and hit him, and hit him, even ten thousand times a day. And with every strike, Grandmaster Zhong Chuke would change direction, attacking him from unpredictable places, ambushing him from a myriad of angles, a full 360 degrees. So what could Big Dummy do? He was born a person who didn’t know how to dodge an attack coming his way; he wouldn’t even dodge a pouncing tiger, so his only option was to block with his iron rod.
Half a year passed like that. Zhong Chuke had ambushed him over two million times, and Big Dummy had tried to block over two million times. Of course, he never once succeeded. Zhong Chuke was one of only six Grandmasters in the State of Yue; how could Big Dummy possibly block all his attacks? But the training was not in vain. Having grown accustomed to the Grandmaster’s movements, Big Dummy could easily block Princess Ning Yan’s ambushes and attacks. In other words, for half a year, Big Dummy had learned only one move.
*‘Block! Block!’*
Big Dummy was born with superhuman strength. What was even more incredible was that he possessed the golden bloodline. Those with the golden bloodline grew stronger naturally without needing to train, and minor cuts and injuries would heal on their own over time. That was why Big Dummy hadn't died after being severely injured and abandoned in the mountain valley for many days.
Not long after Shen Lang rescued him, most of his injuries had healed, leaving not even a small scar on his body. As such, Big Dummy’s strength and true energy were inherently powerful, and he grew stronger just by sleeping, without any need for training.
What did it mean to cultivate true energy and internal energy? Was it not the art of absorbing the profound and expelling the turbid? Without this breathing technique, how could one draw the energy of heaven and earth into one’s dantian and meridians? An ordinary person could absorb the world’s energy, but the amount was minuscule. To increase the efficiency of this absorption, martial artists used various internal energy manuals.
But someone with a golden bloodline like Big Dummy could absorb the primordial energy of heaven and earth simply by breathing through his pores, without needing to learn any internal energy manuals. However, while he could absorb this energy, he had no idea how to use or manifest it. The purpose of Zhong Chuke’s daily medicinal baths was to trigger the release of the power that had been stored in Big Dummy’s body for nearly twenty years. That was why he had lamented his loss. He had used up over a decade’s worth of collected medicinal herbs in less than half a year.
Let’s look at Qiu Yao’er’s case again. She didn’t need to learn martial arts, didn’t need to meditate, didn’t need to cultivate internal energy. Diligent training? There was none of that. She spent her days either killing people or listening to stories. So, it wasn't that Big Dummy became so formidable after just half a year of training; it was that Zhong Chuke had drawn out all the latent power that had been dormant within him for twenty years. How could his internal energy not be formidable?
However, for now, Big Dummy only knew how to block incoming attacks; he didn’t know how to attack others. In about a year or two, Zhong Chuke would probably teach him how to attack. But that would be extremely difficult. Big Dummy was a coward with immense strength who had never voluntarily hit anyone in his life. When others attacked him, he would cover his head, turn his back, and let them hit him as they pleased.
It was as if to say, *‘If you have a great weapon, I have a hard head.’*
Thinking about it now, Grandmaster Zhong Chuke’s task was not an easy one. Making someone like Big Dummy the strongest under heaven seemed simple, but it was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. At the very least, he had to teach Big Dummy how to hit others.