The Resolve to Die in Battle

At this critical moment, Hua Su arrived.

One of the men in black had already lunged at Jiang Feng. Hua Su reached out with one hand to grab Jiang Feng’s collar, and with the other, he gently tapped the forehead of the assailant.

With a muffled bang, the man’s head burst like an overripe watermelon, strewing red and white matter across the ground.

Carrying Jiang Feng, Hua Su strolled forward, each step bringing him unerringly before another man in black. Each time, he extended a finger and tapped lightly.

He tapped six times in succession. With each tap, a resounding bang echoed, and the air blossomed with six explosions. In an instant, six men in black collapsed together, all dead beyond doubt.

Hua Su withdrew his hand, plucked the cigarette from his lips, inhaled deeply, then stooped to check Jiang Feng’s breath.

He then said with his usual calm to Hong Cheng and the others, “He’s fine, just fainted from exhaustion.”

Teng Zhi was dumbfounded, while Hong Cheng and Wang Erhu wondered if they were dreaming.

They had known Hua Su for over two years, yet never had they realized how terrifyingly strong and ruthless he was.

Hua Su gently set Jiang Feng down, walked over to Wang Erhu, and brushed his fingertips over the worst of Wang Erhu’s wounds. Instantly, the largest injuries contracted and the bleeding stopped. As long as he received timely treatment, his life would not be in danger.

Wang Erhu said gratefully, “Thank you, Master. But, alas, Ah Sheng…”

Hua Su’s expression grew grave. He walked to Xiang Sheng’s side and knelt on one knee.

Xiang Sheng had died suddenly, his eyes wide open as he stared at the sky, fear and anger still lingering in their depths.

Hua Su gazed at him for a long while, then gently closed his eyes.

He took a deep drag of his cigarette, stubbed the remaining half before Xiang Sheng, and stood up. “You must be prepared.”

His voice held an unfamiliar hardness as he said, “The path of the martial cultivator is one of life and death. The exam provides treasures to protect your life, but a real battle does not. In the future, you’ll encounter all sorts of vile foes and formidable adversaries—those who come into this world only to be your mortal enemies. The moment you step onto this path, you could end up just like him.”

He turned, his gaze like lightning as he looked at Hong Cheng and the others. “To become a martial cultivator, you must be prepared to die in battle, just like this.”

Hong Cheng, Wang Erhu, and even Teng Zhi unconsciously straightened their backs and answered in steady voices, “Yes!”

Hua Su waved his hand. “Go say your farewells to Xiang Sheng. Hong Cheng, come with me in a moment to return his body to his family.”

Xiang Sheng’s family had five sons in all, yet only he had awakened the Heartseed. Even with just one ring, all his family’s hopes had been pinned on him.

Even if he failed the county exam, an initiated martial cultivator was still different from the rest. But now, all his family would receive was his corpse…

Sorrow washed over Hong Cheng as he walked to Xiang Sheng, gently wiping the blood from his face.

Hua Su squatted and turned over the martial instructor’s corpse, his fingers brushing over the wound in the man’s chest, sending a subtle current of luminous power into the wound to probe its remnants. After a moment, Hua Su murmured, “What a strange technique… To kill across realms like this…”

At that moment, Ping Luan Shan returned and, seeing Jiang Feng lying on the ground, cried out in alarm, “Old Jiang!”

He was accompanied by another man—it was Fang Liuxian. Fang Liuxian was anxious for a moment, but quickly relaxed. “He’s fine, just unconscious.”

Hua Su searched the martial instructor’s body and found a token, passing it to Fang Liuxian with a cold laugh.

Fang Liuxian glanced down and frowned. “Lord Fuliu? Them again?”

Hua Su sneered. “Wu Cang is a disciple of the Flowing Current Sect. That’s no secret. I just didn’t expect he was actually a ‘Flowing Current Guest Elder.’”

Fang Liuxian frowned at him. “What are you planning to do?”

Hua Su cast a cold glance at Xiang Sheng, his expression icy. “It’s not what I plan to do—but what they have already done.”

He turned and lifted Jiang Feng in his arms. “Let’s go.”

Hong Cheng followed, picking up Xiang Sheng. Together, they walked toward Yuanshan Martial Hall.

Teng Zhi lingered, staring long at the martial instructor’s face before silently moving to the side to dig a grave on the hillside.

Hua Su looked back at him. “In the end, he raised many disciples… Ping Luan Shan, give him a hand.”

Ping Luan Shan, who had always found Teng Zhi disagreeable, said nothing for once, and joined him in digging the grave for the martial instructor.

…

Midnight. The moon hung high overhead.

Jiang Feng lay unconscious in bed.

His astonishing punch had drained all his luminous power—not only was his blood empty, but his original vessels contained not a trace of energy, and even the vortex within his Heartseed spun sluggishly.

A shaft of moonlight shone through the roof, falling upon him.

In the deepest part of the Heartseed’s vortex, a point of silver light appeared—no larger than a needle tip, and very dim.

The moonbeam landed directly upon this silver point, connecting with it. Immediately, a vast current of luminous energy poured in, and the silver light grew brighter, larger, setting the vortex spinning ever faster.

At the same time, the Heartseed began to expand and contract, as if breathing. With each “breath,” more luminous power surged in, flowing through the vortex into the original vessels, gradually filling them.

Jiang Feng’s consciousness slowly floated upward from the depths, his chest rising and falling more obviously, his breathing now intentional.

His luminous power grew even faster, and before long, the Celestial Mechanism Cube stirred awake, transforming ceaselessly.

Each facet of the cube bore shifting numbers, which flowed and changed without pause.

Around the cube, countless translucent images appeared, flashing by in sequence—scenes Jiang Feng had witnessed or experienced throughout the exam.

The trials of heaven, earth, and man; the martial instructor’s scolding and his punishing palm; Qu Chun’s activation of the Heaven-reaching Seal and the dispersal of the laxative residue in every candidate; the ambush and battles with the instructor and his men; the execution of the punch taught by Ye Xiao and the enemy’s response; even Hua Su’s six deadly finger strikes after Jiang Feng fell unconscious…

Every detail of battle and power, every response and feedback, now played out around the Celestial Mechanism Cube.

Numbers poured from the images into the cube, to be stored within.

Jiang Feng’s mind unconsciously absorbed the cube’s actions, the numbers flowing through his thoughts, forming vague impressions.

The moon drifted westward, then sank from the sky.

Usually, only during that brief window when the moon was at its zenith would the luminous energy pour down in a column into a martial cultivator’s body. But tonight, the flow continued until the moon had completely vanished.

In the darkest hour before dawn, Jiang Feng opened his eyes and sat up.

His luminous power had entirely recovered. In fact, before he fainted, he had just broken through to one link and one aperture. Now, the energy in his second original vessel had advanced further still.

He blinked and glanced at the side of the bed.

The pale silhouette of Ye Xiao kept steady vigil—her features indistinct, but her focus palpable.

Jiang Feng suddenly asked, “During the Heaven Trial, when I accidentally reached seven breaths and tried to go further, was it you who spoke and stopped me?”

The white shadow was silent.

Jiang Feng was long used to her silence. “Did your memory return? Or did you sense something was wrong by instinct?”

Ye Xiao paused. “I still can’t recall much, but some things are coming back.”

Her voice, once so lost, now sounded nearly normal.

Jiang Feng asked with curiosity, “Do you remember who you are?”

Ye Xiao didn’t answer directly. “Ye Xiao is a good name. Keep calling me that.”

Jiang Feng pressed, “So you do remember, you just don’t want to tell me?”

Ye Xiao said nothing, then changed the subject. “If you have questions, you can ask me now.”

Jiang Feng gazed at her for a while, then shook his head with a faint smile. “I really suspect you’ve remembered everything, but just don’t want to say.”

Ye Xiao replied coolly, “I have never told a lie.”

Jiang Feng suddenly laughed. “Fine, I believe you. What I want to know most now is: how much can I show without arousing suspicion?”

He threw back the covers and stood, speaking calmly, “An innocent man gets into trouble for holding a treasure. I now feel the power of the Heartseed acutely—faster luminous absorption, one branch with nine apertures, and the Celestial Mechanism Cube…”

As he spoke, he watched Ye Xiao. No matter what he said, she was never surprised. Whether it was her nature to be so unflappable, or because she already knew everything, he could not tell.

He smiled softly. “Everyone thinks I’ve only just entered the realm, a world apart from those at Grape Vine Martial Hall. But actually, with a Heartseed fully opened—one branch and nine apertures—the natural circulation means my stored luminous power is far stronger than they imagine.”

Ye Xiao replied, “That’s right. If not for your mixed bloodline limiting your strength, today’s battle would have been much easier.”

Each cycle of luminous power refined and purified Jiang Feng’s golden bloodline a little more, but even now, the energy stored in his original vessels was not proportionate to the energy he could actually use.

In other words, in real combat, no one below a Bright Martial Warrior could overpower Jiang Feng by sheer force. But to defeat a martial cultivator with one link and three apertures or more, he would still have to fight with all his might.

But he would only grow stronger, widening the gap between himself and other Heartseed martial cultivators. Once he was strong enough, none of this would matter. Until then, he had to hide his secret carefully.

Suddenly, Ye Xiao reached out and tapped him lightly on the forehead.

A stream of information flowed into Jiang Feng’s mind, imprinting itself there.

Ye Xiao said, “Before the provincial exam, find this item. Once you have it, none of this will be a problem.”