Chapter Twelve: Training in Martial Arts Since the Womb

Gu Junwu activated his psychic secret art and searched for quite a while, convinced that this high schooler across from him shouldn’t be able to withstand his spiritual assault.

However, much to his surprise, he found nothing useful at all.

“Could it be that my older brother’s intuition was off, and I’ve come here in vain? Still, being able to confirm that he didn’t obtain the divinity means this trip wasn’t wasted.”

“In that case, it must be with Zhang Yi… If it’s him, I can’t act alone. I’m not strong enough—it has to be handed over to the City Lord’s Office.”

…

As Gu Junwu pondered this carefully, a furious shout rang in his ears, and then he saw a wash of moonlight.

“He’s using the Starry Moon Visualization Technique, and has reached the stage where the bright moon hangs high. Is this the Forgetting-the-Self Realm or the Embryonic Breath Realm?”

He didn’t have time to withdraw his spiritual power before he was struck by a bone-chilling cold. His blood surged as if he’d fallen into a sea of fire.

This unnatural sensation told him he was already being suppressed mentally by the opponent, and his thoughts became muddled.

A wave of searing pain swept over him. Gu Junwu convulsed in agony, blood spewing from his mouth.

His vision flickered, and suddenly a young girl in a purple dress stood before him. Her phoenix eyes were frosted with cold, her brows sharp with a hint of menace, and her delicate skin gleamed as pale as snow.

As overwhelming spiritual power crashed over him, a violent wind arose…

Amid flying splinters, a slender, graceful hand reached forward like the hand of death. Before it even landed, a piercing whistle sounded in the air, and a fierce wind howled.

Startled to his core, Gu Junwu ignored his dazed, deathly state and instinctively rolled backward, trying to avoid the incoming strike.

Perhaps jumping out the window was a good idea.

He was midair when he heard the sound of his own bones snapping. His body went numb, blood spurting wildly.

His chest blazed with pain, as if struck by thunder—a clear sign he’d taken a palm strike.

“Why did no one tell me that brat Xiao is connected to the Qin family?” In this moment, Gu Junwu was filled with regret.

He’d truly come to the wrong place today.

As Deputy Chief of the Yuanjiang Special Affairs Division, he held considerable authority and was used to having things go his way in Yuanjiang.

Normally, no one would dare cross the law enforcement and intelligence agency he represented.

But that didn’t include the local tyrant of Yuanjiang—the Qin family, rumored to have masters who’d refined their bones twice and reached the marrow-cleansing stage.

A fifth-rank martial artist, possibly even close to the sixth rank…

Even Ouyang Ming, the City Lord, had to swallow his pride before them.

In Yuanjiang, aside from the Yuanjiang branch of the Li family from the capital, no one dared challenge them.

This time, he’d crossed paths with the Qin family’s eldest miss in a fit of rage, and at such a critical moment, been caught red-handed by her.

“What’s the connection between them? Their families are worlds apart.”

He’d considered Zhang Yi interfering, or not being able to extract answers through soul manipulation, or failing to find traces of the divine bloodline.

But he’d never expected the Qin family’s eldest miss to meddle for no reason.

…

Xiao Nan snapped his eyes open to see shadows flickering.

At some point, the man in the black suit and glasses had gone tumbling aside, panic written across his face.

Beside him appeared a tall, purple-clad woman, her long hair cascading like a waterfall, obscuring her eyes and brow.

Each of her moves caused the air to roar, relentlessly pursuing the man in glasses.

Her cold shout echoed with the force of ocean waves and the chill of ice and snow. It sent a shiver through one’s heart, and her strikes were swift as the wind.

The slicing gales, however, avoided Xiao Nan’s hospital bed with precision.

The ward had been transformed; the wooden door was destroyed, powdered splinters scattered like rays, and much of the tiled floor was shattered, as if smashed by a heavy hammer.

Xiao Nan noticed his hospital bed had been pushed into the corner—whether kicked there or carried by the force of the wind, he couldn’t tell.

The refined man, Gu Junwu, was now babbling frantic explanations, but after a heavy blow to his shoulder, he crashed through the windowpane, spreading his arms like a great bird and leaping out.

The purple-clad woman’s figure flashed as she caught up with terrifying speed. Her jade-white hand shot out like a serpent’s tongue, palm slightly cupped, and in a blink, struck the man in glasses on the chest.

A dull, thunderous thud.

Two layers of black-and-white fabric fluttered like ribbons sliced by a blade.

In that brief instant, Xiao Nan heard the muffled sound and saw the man’s chest cave in by three inches. His eyes glazed over, blood gushed from his mouth, and his body, like a kite with a broken string, crashed through the glass wall and plummeted down.

This was the fourth floor.

A heavy crash followed.

Xiao Nan sucked in a cold breath, his flesh crawling.

That fall alone would peel a man’s skin, if not kill him outright.

Peering down, he saw Gu Junwu’s face twisted in agony as he struggled to his feet on the grass, staggering away.

This official from the Special Affairs Division had lost all his composure, his face ashen, not daring even to utter a single threat.

Gu Junwu was truly terrified.

He was afraid she’d kill him on the spot.

Bitter resentment choked his chest, and he almost wanted to cry.

“If I hadn’t trained so diligently over the years and reached the second-rank tendon-forging stage, with tendons and sinews tough as steel, that palm might have punched right through my chest.”

“That Qin girl isn’t even eighteen, yet she’s this formidable. No wonder she’s called Yuanjiang’s top prodigy and was recruited early by a prestigious academy.”

Comparisons are odious—he himself was over thirty and had achieved so little. The thought sapped his fighting spirit.

A first-rank martial artist forges skin and muscle, building upon the limits of an ordinary person, using spiritual power to absorb energy and strengthen their blood. The body becomes as resilient as rubber or wood.

Small arms fire, unless striking eyes or the head, would be stopped by the toughened skin and muscle…

Bullets would barely penetrate, causing only minor bleeding and pain, scarcely hindering movement.

Reaching this level was unimaginable thirty years ago, enabled by the omnipresent energies between heaven and earth.

Gu Junwu had reached second-rank, surpassing the skin-and-muscle stage, stretching and linking every tendon and sinew throughout his body.

With blood surging, every fiber could be drawn taut like a mighty bow—absorbing impact or unleashing force in a piercing assault, far surpassing first-rank fighters.

Within Yuanjiang City, he was considered something of an expert and usually quite proud.

This time, he’d volunteered for the hospital interrogation, bringing no backup, with a hint of selfish expectation.

He’d thought that if there were benefits, he could seize them himself, perhaps enjoy a windfall.

Even if he gained nothing, he could at least curry favor with Ouyang, the City Lord.

Never did he expect that this impulsive visit would end in such a disaster.

Truly, fate had turned against him… The Qin family’s girl was still a high school student, had never even set foot in a martial academy, and was already a second-rank martial artist. How was that even possible?

Did she start practicing martial arts in the womb?

…

The purple-clad girl paused before the shattered window, her dress whipping in the wind.

As the gales within the room subsided, she grew calm once more. Turning her head, the corner of her mouth lifted into a faint smile.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ve broken Gu Junwu’s spirit and struck his chest, fracturing three ribs. Even with the Special Affairs Division’s wealth and fine medicines, he won’t recover in less than a month.”

“I thought you were going to kill him,” Xiao Nan mused, gazing at the girl before him, her chin raised, aura as commanding as a queen’s. He marveled at her ferocity, but found her actions somewhat puzzling.

So all that earlier ferocity and murderous aura amounted to thunder but no rain.

She hadn’t actually intended to kill.

“I don’t know why the Special Affairs Division targeted you, even using forbidden psychic interrogation techniques. Today, you were clearly the victim,” Qin Shuang said, her eyes probing Xiao Nan, but she did not press further. “Gu Junwu is a petty man, just barely stepped into the second rank, not even reaching the bone-forging stage—no real threat.”

“But his elder brother, Gu Junshi, is a much more formidable figure. My Qin family may be powerful, but it’s unwise to provoke him too much.”

She was worried Xiao Nan would be upset, so she circled around to explain.

Xiao Nan understood instantly.

No matter how influential the Qin family was, the Special Affairs Division represented the government. Open confrontation was unwise, let alone outright killing.

A severe beating was the limit—any further, and the Qin family would be inviting trouble.

He nodded in understanding, but quickly realized he’d been mistaken.

Qin Shuang arched a beautiful brow and added, “Killing Gu Junwu isn’t impossible, but Gu Junshi is fiercely protective. He wouldn’t dare move against the Qin family, but he’d likely vent his anger on you in secret…”

In short, she feared Xiao Nan would suffer further retaliation.

Of course, she knew nothing of the divinity involved.

In the end, whether or not they offended the Special Affairs Division or the City Guard, Xiao Nan couldn’t escape implication. The danger would always be there, and one day, the truth would inevitably come out.

“I just hope Zhang Yi can hold out a bit longer. That guy’s built like an ox—he should be tough enough, right?”

Best case, the City Lord’s Office would fail to lay hands on him and give up the pursuit altogether.

By now, having awakened the birthmark space and enhanced his mind and senses, Xiao Nan understood he’d gained a tremendous advantage.

Having swallowed such a rare fortune, how could anyone expect him to spit it back out?