Chapter Thirty: The Unique Secret Technique

By now, night had fallen, yet the Crimson Elder moved through the mountains and forests unaffected, carrying Chen Qi in one hand.

Chen Qi’s head spun, his weakened body barely managing to foam at the mouth as he vomited up the dry rations he’d eaten at noon.

Keeping his wits about him, Chen Qi slyly aimed his vomit at the Crimson Elder’s body. But as if the old man had eyes on his waist, a visible white radiance flashed across his body, repelling the vomit straight back onto Chen Qi, splattering him from head to toe.

The Crimson Elder slowed his pace slightly and sneered, “Boy, looks like I’m still not fast enough. You’ve got energy to spare for mischief.”

Chen Qi felt the world spinning again, as if forces from all sides were pulling at him. Completely disoriented, his vision finally went black...

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the Crimson Elder’s courtyard. The old man was lounging on a chair, paying no attention to Chen Qi, who lay on the ground, his clothes tattered and filthy.

The bright moon bathed the courtyard in silver light, making Chen Qi all the more aware of his sorry state and the unbearable stench that clung to him.

Fortunately, he had grown used to his own smell. He cast a glance at the Crimson Elder, who was reclining with a wry smile, and edged his body closer.

Perhaps it was the remarkable recovery ability of his semi-digitalized body, or the potent effects of the pill the Crimson Elder had given him, but Chen Qi could now barely stand and walk.

The Crimson Elder wrinkled his nose in distaste at Chen Qi’s approach and, unable to endure any longer, sent him tumbling back with a gentle palm strike. “You brat—don’t you know you reek of something foul?”

Chen Qi didn’t care and sidled up again; after all, the old man’s strikes were laced with soft energy and didn’t hurt.

After several rounds of this, the Crimson Elder grew too lazy to bother and let Chen Qi stick close, grumbling, “Well, out with it. What do you want?”

Summoning all his remaining strength, Chen Qi widened his eyes and gazed up at the Crimson Elder. After a few seconds, he said weakly, “The unique secret technique you promised?”

As if his voice was too faint, he added loudly, “The best one!”

The Crimson Elder drew a long breath, suppressing the irritation rising within him. He couldn’t understand how, after all his years of cultivating his temper, it could regress so in one night.

After a pause, the old man scrutinized Chen Qi, then tossed a manual at him, striking him directly.

Then Chen Qi heard the old man’s voice: “Brat, get lost! I’m tired.”

Ignoring the pain where the manual had hit, Chen Qi hurriedly grabbed it. But the faint blue glow emanating from the manual in his sight made his heart sink.

Stifling his disappointment, Chen Qi examined the manual’s attributes.

Blood Arrow Technique

Origin: Azure Star Continent

Quality: Blue

Type: Active Skill Scroll

Requirement: Constitution 15

Effect: Consumes 5 MP and 5% current HP to spit a highly corrosive blood arrow at the enemy, dealing Constitution × 1.2 damage. On hit, inflicts an additional 15–30 corrosion damage (cooldown: 10 minutes).

Rating: 138

Description: Crimson Fiery Sky’s unique secret technique from the Cloudsea Sect. Used at the right moment, it can turn the tide of battle—such as hitting an opponent’s eyes? (“A single mouthful of venomous blood to end you!”)

Price: 1,660 universal points

...

“That’s it?”

Chen Qi was stunned into silence. He lifted his head to stare at the Crimson Elder, those two words echoing endlessly in his mind.

The Crimson Elder seemed to have anticipated this, replying, “Don’t underestimate this move. At the brink of life and death, it can reverse your fate.”

He coughed awkwardly to cover his embarrassment.

Chen Qi was dissatisfied and protested, “Elder, I wish to devote my efforts to powerful martial techniques, but this one would only waste my time.”

“In fact, skill points,” Chen Qi thought to himself, and fixed the old man with a stare that clearly said, “If you don’t give me a satisfactory answer, I’m not leaving.”

The Crimson Elder sighed long and heavily, then spoke, “Don’t look down on a mere blood arrow. In my youth, this technique helped me survive many deadly crises. You and I have similar temperaments, so I’m passing it to you specially. Don’t be ungrateful!”

Chen Qi said nothing, eyes still shining as he stared at the old man.

Finally, unable to endure the scrutiny, the Crimson Elder said, “Watch closely!”

With that, he spat a golden beam from his mouth. It flashed before Chen Qi’s eyes and, moments later, a loud explosion sounded in the distance—clearly the wall had been breached.

“So fast!”

The dissatisfaction on Chen Qi’s face hadn’t faded, and his head barely turned, but cold sweat trickled down his neck. He couldn’t imagine what would happen if such a move were aimed at him.

Staring at the gaping hole in the courtyard wall, pierced clean through by golden light, Chen Qi fell silent, still caught up in the technique’s power.

After a long moment, Chen Qi bowed respectfully to the Crimson Elder, then left, satisfied.

The old man lay back in his chair, not even glancing aside, but when he saw Chen Qi’s departure out of the corner of his eye, he couldn’t suppress a fit of coughing.

“Damn it, every time I use that move it feels like my lungs are bursting,” he muttered between coughs, trying to stifle the noise, looking quite pitiful.

Unfortunately, Chen Qi missed this scene, or he would have exclaimed in shock to see the master he so admired in such a state.

When the coughing finally subsided, the old man, like all elders his age, drifted into reminiscence.

Long ago, in this very courtyard, with this very manual, he too had departed with a satisfied smile—only to hear his master’s coughing from within after stepping out the door.

And so, the Crimson Elder secretly congratulated himself for learning from his master’s mistake, not letting that brat see through him.

Eventually, his secret joy faded, replaced by deep nostalgia.

“Master, are you well in that other world? I’ve already sent your enemy to you; you won’t be lonely, right?”

...

Meanwhile, Chen Qi returned to his quarters with a look of delight. The moment he stepped through the door, he eagerly tried to learn the skill—only to discover to his dismay that he lacked the required points.

He checked his universal points: not too few, not too many, exactly one hundred.

With a deep sigh, Chen Qi fell into the woes of poverty, his internal injuries seeming to grow worse.

“Forget it! I’ll go drink with Sun Ruohai and drown my sorrows.”

Luckily, Chen Qi quickly cheered himself up, deciding to mooch a meal off his sworn brother under the pretext of celebrating his promotion to outer disciple.

“Hmm, and I can use Elder Sun’s medicinal wine to recover, and there’s still wild boar left to eat.”

As he pondered, Chen Qi changed clothes and made his way to Sun Ruohai’s courtyard, only to find him still practicing swordplay under the moonlight—except this time, the blood-qi lingered long upon his blade.

Seeing Chen Qi approach, Sun Ruohai arched his elegant brow, then paused his practice.

With a hearty voice, Chen Qi called out, “Come, brother! I’m now an outer disciple too—let’s open a bottle and celebrate!”

Sun Ruohai said nothing, simply set down his sword and headed toward his room.

Chen Qi grinned shamelessly and added, “Let’s find some medicinal wine to help me recover—I’ve taken quite a beating inside.”