Chapter Ninety-Nine: Male or Female, Evil-Averting

The Evil-Repelling Sword Manual and the Sunflower Manual only made a person’s temperament more feminine, while the body itself remained that of a eunuch, incomplete and maimed. But if that incompleteness were somehow restored to wholeness, would that then become a state in which all things could grow and heaven and man could give birth to one another? No matter. Better to try first and think later...

The more Yang Xin thought about it, the brighter his eyes became. He stared at Mi Weiyi and Xiang Danian with the gleam of a man looking at two ready-made lab mice.

If the experiment failed, there was no great loss. At worst, he could use shadow clones and the Transformation Technique to become Mi Weiyi and Xiang Danian himself, and help Liu Zhengfeng through this crisis.

Having made up his mind, Yang Xin suddenly called out, “Mi Weiyi, Xiang Danian!”

“Yes, Master!” The two men, still immersed in the exhilaration of their rapidly improving martial skill, hurriedly bowed when they heard him.

“Drink this.” Yang Xin waved a hand, and two bottles of water appeared on the table.

It was the spring water of the Female Drowned Spring from Ranma. In the original story, Ranma accidentally fell into that spring and was cursed: cold water turned him into a girl, while hot water restored him to a boy.

The spring water in Yang Xin’s hands had been altered by the Treasure-Dispensing System. There was no need to soak in a spring; drinking it was enough to trigger the effect. Likewise, to become a girl, one had to drink cold water; to regain a male body, one had to drink hot water.

Without another word, Mi Weiyi and Xiang Danian drained the bottles in one gulp.

“How does it feel?” Yang Xin asked at once, true to the spirit of a scientist.

“It’s a little sweet,” Mi Weiyi said, smacking his lips.

“I asked about the changes in your body.” Yang Xin blinked. At the same instant, his eyes turned into pale, pupil-less eyes. Through that sight, he could clearly sense a mysterious force coiling within the bodies of the two men.

“No change at all. Our inner power hasn’t increased either.” Mi Weiyi and Xiang Danian exchanged a glance and spoke together.

“No change? Then perhaps this mysterious force needs to be activated.” Yang Xin poured each of them a cup of tea and cooled it with Ice Release. “Drink.”

Once Mi Weiyi and Xiang Danian had drunk the cold water, the mysterious force that had lain motionless within them instantly surged along some hidden route. Their bodies began to change before everyone’s eyes.

What should have grown larger grew larger. What should have become fuller became fuller. What should have been slimmer became slimmer. The two rough, thick-skinned grown men... no, strictly speaking, the two eunuchs, were transformed alive and in full view of everyone into two breathtakingly lovely young women.

“This is impossible!” everyone cried, eyes wide with disbelief.

“What is this?” Mi Weiyi and Xiang Danian were both astonished. At the same time, they groped eagerly over their own bodies, even reaching between their legs.

“How disgraceful! Utterly disgraceful!” Liu Zhengfeng’s beard bristled with anger.

“We’ve turned into women, hahahaha...” Their voices, once neutral, had become soft and delicate. Even their laughter had changed from the boisterous bellow of men to the light, silver chime of young girls.

“Has your martial power been affected?” Yang Xin asked quickly.

“It’s improved a little compared to before,” Mi Weiyi said excitedly.

Yang Xin nodded. He understood at once: this was the result of forced growth, of coaxing a sapling to shoot upward before its time. That was why the improvement was only slight, not the true realm of all things flourishing and heaven and man giving birth to one another. The real thing should be the innate level, he thought.

“Master Liu, Elder Qu, I know the two of you have doubts about Mi Weiyi and Xiang Danian’s skill. Why not let them spar with you freely and see for yourselves?” Yang Xin said.

“I beg Master to instruct me,” Mi Weiyi said. He also wanted to know just how strong he had become, so he immediately sought out his own master, Liu Zhengfeng.

“I beg Senior Qu to instruct me,” Xiang Danian said with the same thought in mind, and went to Qu Yang.

“Good, good. Then I should like to see just how capable Brother Liu’s beloved disciple really is!” Qu Yang said. He drew the long sword at his waist, flicked out a blossom of sword light, and leaped into the arena.

Liu Zhengfeng also wanted to test his own strength, as well as that of Mi Weiyi, the Mount Heng Sect’s chief disciple. Without further ado, he drew his sword, flourished it into a spray of sword flowers, and jumped into the field as well.

“Forgive me, Master!”

“Forgive me, Senior!”

Mi Weiyi and Xiang Danian drew their swords and attacked at astonishing speed.

“Who does Martial Uncle think will win?” Yue Buqun asked, looking at the four men fighting below.

“Thirty moves. If Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang can endure the first thirty moves from Mi Weiyi and Xiang Danian, then with their deep inner power and rich experience, they should be able to wear them down and win,” Yang Xin said.

“Why do you say that, Martial Uncle? You should know that the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual has seventy-two forms,” Yue Buqun asked.

“Though there are seventy-two forms, those seventy-two sword moves are themselves evolved from the simplest foundations—thrusts, stabs, slashes, and the like. The essence of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual is not the number seventy-two, but its wickedness, its guile, and its speed. Every method of attack comes down to strength, speed, and skill. Thirty moves is the limit of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual. If one can hold out through the first thirty, one will adapt to its rhythm. And Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang are old hands who have spent decades immersed in swordsmanship. Once they adapt, they can counterattack...” Yang Xin explained.

“But clearly, Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang cannot withstand those first thirty moves...” Yue Buqun interjected.

At this point, Yue Buqun was no longer the man of the original tale. He already carried himself with the bearing of a master. In particular, after cultivating the Threefold Return-to-Origin Energy, a supreme art from a higher level of martial world, his vision had broadened immensely. He was no longer someone who could be confined by sword forms and techniques alone.

Swish.

Swish.

Mi Weiyi and Xiang Danian struck Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang’s wrists at the same time, changing a thrust into a slap, and then the two stood there with swords in hand.

After all, this was only a spar, not a battle to the death. Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang had both eaten Blood Bodhi and seen their power greatly increase. They had thought they could easily take the two younger men down, but to their surprise they were defeated in fewer than ten moves. And both Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang could clearly feel that Mi Weiyi and Xiang Danian had held back. In a real life-and-death fight, the issue would be decided in two or three moves.

“Tomorrow, the survival of my Mount Heng Sect will depend on Weiyi and Danian. Pity... if only Weiyi were still a man, he could inherit my Mount Heng legacy.” Liu Zhengfeng let out a long sigh; his words already carried the sense of entrusting his final affairs to others.

“The waves of the Yangtze push the old forward and the new back. We are old now, old indeed. Brother, after we survive tomorrow’s calamity, we should leave these troubles behind and devote ourselves to mountains and rivers...” Qu Yang said with a sigh.

“That is easily done. Mi Weiyi and Xiang Danian can become men again.” Yang Xin suddenly said, and poured two cups of hot tea for them.

Mi Weiyi and Xiang Danian exchanged a glance, then drank the hot tea.

“Damn it!”

“Damn it!”

“We’re men again!”

Everyone was stunned once more. What manner of art was this, that could turn a man into a woman and then back into a man?

“Has your power changed?” Yang Xin asked.