Chapter 21: The Wudang Challenge and the Bone Shattering Palm

After the night of their training excursion, Ji Wushuang sought to alter his approach to raising the Wolf Girl. Gradually, his unrestrained indulgence began to give way to a more hands-off method.

Having lived among wolves until the age of four, the Wolf Girl was subsequently raised by Ji Wushuang with utmost care, cradled in his palm.

Her days were solely dedicated to martial arts practice, while a multitude of servants attended to all other mundane affairs.

Consequently, she understood nothing of social etiquette and had no idea how to interact with her fellow disciples.

Ji Wushuang instructed her to move out and live, eat, and train alongside the inner sect disciples. For several days, she struggled to adapt.

Moreover, her performance in recent years had been mediocre, utterly incomparable to the brilliant Shui Jingxuan, and she had long since fallen from grace in the eyes of her martial siblings.

Given the past grievances between her and Shui Jingxuan two years prior, these children offered her no consideration, instead treating her with strong aversion.

Fortunately, the Wolf Girl had a primal nature deeply ingrained within her, making solitude no issue.

Aside from the initial difficulty in adjusting to the nuances of food and clothing, she slowly came to accept her new circumstances over time.

Among all her martial siblings, she paid little heed to anyone, save for Shui Jingxuan, whom she regarded differently.

Each mealtime, she would invariably carry her rice bowl and sit opposite Shui Jingxuan, occasionally even initiating questions about his martial arts training.

Shui Jingxuan’s perception of the Wolf Girl was neither good nor bad; he remained lukewarm to her advances but did not reject her.

The incident two years ago, when she had ‘crippled’ his right hand, had long since faded from his memory. After all, he was an adult and would not quibble with a young girl.

In his eyes, the Wolf Girl was merely an NPC, albeit an extremely important one. For his own benefit, he would not distance himself from her; instead, he resolved to ensure she successfully completed her destined storyline.

Shui Jingxuan’s attitude towards the Wolf Girl dictated how the other disciples treated her. Seeing their senior brother treat her with courtesy, the children no longer ostracized her.

Though the Wolf Girl preferred solitude, living among others meant she could not be entirely isolated; some interactions were inevitable.

Thus, she distinctly felt her days had become much easier recently, with far fewer ‘minor troubles’.

Ji Wushuang observed her in secret for several days. Seeing that the Wolf Girl had adapted well and maintained a good relationship with the boy, he felt satisfied.

He then instructed the Ten Great Elders to further temper the Wolf Girl. Separately, he sought out Elder Mu, repeatedly urging him to look after the boy and ensure his cultivation was not neglected.

After these arrangements, he began a six-month seclusion, preparing to break through to the eighth stage of the Demonic Venom Art.

The Sect Master had often entered seclusion before. Although this particular retreat was the longest, it did not cause much disturbance within the sect. The disciples continued their daily routines, their lives remarkably orderly.

However, four months later, the peace of the Demonic Sect was shattered. Disciples from the Wudang Sect arrived one after another, clamoring for the ‘demonic evils’ of the Demonic Sect to pay with their lives.

It turned out that several clansmen, disguised and on an errand, encountered Wudang disciples descending the mountain for training on their way back to the sect.

Provoked by the Wudang disciples’ arrogance, the clansmen’s latent hatred flared, and they devised a plan to poison them.

Due to the sudden nature of the incident and lack of meticulous planning, they left behind some clues in their hasty retreat, allowing the Wudang Sect to trace the deaths back to the Demonic Sect.

Under normal circumstances, with Ji Wushuang overseeing the Demonic Sect, how would Wudang dare to march so aggressively and openly to their very gates?

But having received intelligence that Ji Wushuang was still in seclusion and would not emerge for another two or three months, they gathered their disciples to provoke a confrontation.

“Old Thief Mu, if you know what’s good for you, hand over the murderers at once! Otherwise, our Eight Great Sects will surely raze your Demonic Sect to the ground!” The one leading the disturbance was Immortal Yuqing, the junior martial brother of Wudang’s Sect Master, Immortal Ziyang.

“What a joke! What ‘murderers’? Your Eight Great Sects slaughtered our women and children; which one of you doesn’t have blood on your hands? When it comes to murderers, you are the ones! If you wish to raze our Demonic Sect, you must first prove you have the capability!”

Elder Mu stood on the tightly shut fortress gate, his hands behind his back, his voice sharp with rebuke.

“Hmph! Old thief, your words have grown bold after a few years. But it’s only because you rely on the protection of that heretic Ji Wushuang. What is there to be proud of? What is Ji Wushuang?

Merely a defeated foe of my senior brother! Call him out! I wish to ask him if he remembers the past, when my senior brother stripped him naked and hung him from the city gates for public display?

His twisted, hideous body, so repulsive even to demons, still makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it!”

Immortal Yuqing’s language was crude, utterly unfitting for his elegant Daoist title. Yet, he seemed to believe he had uttered something extraordinary, throwing his head back in laughter.

With his lead, the Wudang disciples joined in the uproar, their clamor growing even fiercer.

Elder Mu’s face flushed crimson with rage, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Back then, when the Sect Master was captured, Ziyang had both humiliated him and sanctimoniously declared he would spare his life, only demanding he lead his clansmen away from the Central Plains.

With his martial arts crippled, the Sect Master endured immense humiliation for his people, only to return to the village and find their corpses strewn across the land, already silenced by the Eight Great Sects.

Had the Sect Master not stubbornly wandered and searched the mountains, eventually reuniting with the few clansmen who had miraculously escaped, he surely would have ended his own life.

He would not now be cultivating such an exceedingly sinister Demonic Venom Art for revenge, transforming himself into something neither human nor ghost.

At this thought, Elder Mu could no longer suppress the anger boiling within him. He drew his sword, leaped down from the gate, and engaged the Wudang disciples in battle.

Seeing their master charge into the enemy ranks, Shui Jingxuan instinctively drew his own sword and joined the fray.

The Nine Great Elders nodded in approval, seizing their weapons and rushing out to fight.

Wudang swordplay was renowned for its exquisite subtlety, unparalleled under heaven. Facing a single practitioner was already difficult, but encountering a well-coordinated sword formation made it even more formidable.

Immortal Yuqing dared to bring his disciples to challenge the Demonic Sect, naturally having made thorough preparations.

Firstly, he was certain Ji Wushuang was still in seclusion and could not assist.

Secondly, his disciples had already perfected the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword Formation, the most powerful of their techniques, giving him confidence to defeat the Ten Great Elders.

Since he had come today, he would not return empty-handed. His objective was the heads of the Demonic Sect’s Ten Great Elders. Therefore, he used every insult imaginable, finally provoking the Ten Great Elders into a reckless assault.

As expected, Elder Mu and the others were trapped by the sword formation the moment they entered the battle. They charged left and right but found no way to break through, quickly accumulating wounds.

Shui Jingxuan, being still young, was not taken seriously by the Wudang disciples; only two were dispatched to intercept him.

Though anxious, he was unable to get close enough to rescue his master. Moreover, after observing for a while, he could not discern any method to breach the sword formation either.

The heterodox faction were inherently fierce and courageous; even when ensnared in danger, they never easily conceded defeat.

Although the Ten Great Elders were surrounded by the sword formation and could not find a breakthrough for a time, they did not lose their composure.

Instead, they grew more resilient with each setback, inflicting considerable injuries upon the Wudang disciples wielding the formation.

Shui Jingxuan, possessing a robust physique, paid no mind to minor injuries. His engagement with the two Wudang disciples was a desperate, no-holds-barred fight.

The two had initially believed killing this boy would be a matter of minutes, but now it seemed their own demise at his hands was merely a question of time.

Immortal Yuqing, who had been leisurely observing from the sidelines, finally lost his composure. His expression tightened, and he leapt into the air, intending to join the sword formation.

However, the moment his toes left the ground, an incredibly fierce internal energy slammed him back down.

Immortal Yuqing coughed up blood, clutching his throbbing chest as he stared in the direction from which the internal energy had struck. His cloudy eyes were not only filled with terror but also a hint of despair.

To his surprise, Ji Wushuang had appeared at this very moment. Judging by his relaxed stance and timely intervention, he must have arrived some time ago.

No wonder none of the Demonic Sect disciples had come to their aid; it was because the Sect Master was present, ensuring their confidence.

Seizing the moment when the Wudang disciples were distracted by Ji Wushuang’s arrival, Shui Jingxuan swiftly changed his technique.

The gleaming tip of his sword, with lightning speed, slashed towards the necks of the two men blocking him. Their carotid arteries severed, blood instantly spurted three feet high.

A gust of wind blew, and the rain-like, mist-like blood flowers drifted down, releasing a potent, metallic stench. As the stench dissipated, two heads rolled to Shui Jingxuan’s feet.

Ji Wushuang gazed deeply at the boy standing amidst the blood mist, his thin lips curving slightly. He raised a hand and, from a distance, struck at the Wudang disciples besieging the Ten Great Elders.

The seventeen individuals wielding the sword formation were flung away without even a chance to resist. When they hit the ground several yards away, their eyes had already rolled back, dead beyond any doubt.

Witnessing Ji Wushuang instantly kill seventeen, and not weak, martial artists with a single strike, Immortal Yuqing’s face turned ashen, and he trembled uncontrollably.

The Ten Great Elders relaxed their taut nerves, instinctively returning to stand behind Ji Wushuang.

“Are you Immortal Yuqing? Immortal Ziyang’s junior martial brother?” Ji Wushuang stood sideways, his narrowed pupils cold as he questioned.

Immortal Yuqing dared not meet Ji Wushuang’s sinister gaze, yet he replied with stubborn defiance, “Ziyang is indeed my senior martial brother!”

He had expected that invoking his senior brother’s name might deter Ji Wushuang, but to his surprise, Ji Wushuang suddenly threw his head back and laughed. The laughter was chilling and eerie, making Immortal Yuqing’s scalp crawl.

“Excellent! Had you not been Ziyang’s junior martial brother, this Venerable One might have spared your life and sent you back to Wudang to deliver a message.

Alas, you share a deep connection with Ziyang. Therefore, your life, you shall leave it with this Venerable One! Did you not wish to ask this Venerable One if I remembered the past with Ziyang?

This Venerable One will tell you now: I have never forgotten it for a single day!”

His tone grew increasingly sinister. Before he even made a move, he forced Yuqing to retreat repeatedly. Seeing Yuqing gather his internal energy and turn to flee, Ji Wushuang sneered, muttering,

“Overestimating yourself!” Then, he soared forward to intercept him.

Their figures intertwined. Yuqing only managed to block Ji Wushuang’s first palm strike before losing all ability to retaliate. He was then suppressed by Ji Wushuang, enduring dozens of consecutive palm strikes.

As the two landed, before Yuqing could even steady himself, a series of ‘cracking’ sounds, like breaking bones, erupted from within his body.

Then, his upright form collapsed like a skin sack filled with minced meat, slumping into a soft, unidentifiable heap that rolled twice on the ground.

Indeed, those dozens of palm strikes had shattered every bone in his body, including his skull, inch by inch. Without skeletal support, Yuqing’s body truly became a mere ‘skin sack’, his death grotesquely horrific.

The Ten Great Elders collectively averted their gazes. Even after witnessing the Sect Master’s venomous techniques more than a hundred times, they still could not adapt to them.

Shui Jingxuan, however, was filled with curiosity. He walked over to Yuqing’s collapsed form, and with a flick of his sword, poked a hole in the skin.

The muscles and organs, liquefied into a blood-red fluid by Ji Wushuang’s profound internal energy, gushed out, spilling onto the grass and staining a wide area crimson.

“Sect Master, what kind of palm technique is this? The skin remains completely intact, yet the person inside is turned into minced meat! Truly formidable!” He widened his eyes, his face showing no fear or aversion, only intense eagerness and adoration.

‘If this were the apocalypse, possessing such a palm technique, capable of shattering all bones from a distance, wouldn’t I be invincible against zombies?’

Shui Jingxuan instantly felt a pang of regret that Ji Wushuang had been born in the wrong era.

“Hahahaha!” Displaying the utterly ruthless Demonic Venom Art, for the first time, evoked worship instead of fear. Ji Wushuang and his twin sister once again threw their heads back in laughter.

This time, however, their laughter was filled with pride and delight. The foul mood of being stuck in a bottleneck and nearly suffering a cultivation deviation, due to his inability to break through, vanished the moment he saw the boy.

“This is the Bone Shattering Palm from the Demonic Venom Art,” Ji Wushuang said softly, leaning down and gently pinching the boy’s fair, smooth cheek. Seeing the boy’s ink-black eyes suddenly sparkle like stars, his heart clenched with a pang of regret, and he added with difficulty, “Only with intact hands can one cultivate this martial art.”

Shui Jingxuan’s shining eyes immediately dimmed. Reborn from an unparalleled expert into an ant-like existence, no one yearned for power more than he.

However, learning this power might expose his unique physique. After a brief contemplation, he ultimately suppressed the thought in his heart.

Seeing his crestfallen expression, Ji Wushuang’s regret deepened. His initial slight dissatisfaction with the Wolf Girl, intensified by years of frequent provocations, had long since accumulated into profound displeasure.

He forced down the surging negative emotions within him, managing a warm smile. Gently patting the boy’s head, he softly consoled him,

“The process of cultivating this palm technique is extremely painful; it’s better not to learn it. Your talent is extraordinary, your aptitude exceptional. You will surely have your day in the spotlight through swordsmanship. Don’t feel it’s a pity.”

Seeing the boy regain his spirits and nod with a smile, indicating his agreement, Ji Wushuang secretly gritted his teeth, feeling deeply guilty.

‘What do I mean by ‘it’s better not to learn it’? What do I mean by ‘don’t feel it’s a pity’? It’s all utter bullshit! He wished time could rewind to two years ago.

He would have snatched the boy to his side before the duel even began, not letting the Wolf Girl touch a single hair on his head!

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