Chapter 111: Door-to-Door Delivery

Night fell, bringing the midnight hour.

Under the cover of darkness, Wang Ping slipped out of the county town and vanished into the mountains, rushing straight toward Weiyang City, the prefectural capital of Changle Commandery.

He avoided the official roads entirely, deliberately picking his way through desolate, uninhabited terrain.

Anyone else seeing this would immediately suspect a trap and raise their guard, but Wang Ping wasn't worried. He had the perfect cover.

'I am Ye Chao right now.'

'In the eyes of that Brahma Cultivator, I'm just someone who sneaked into Longxing County under a false identity. Now that I'm leaving, it's only natural that I'd take off into the wilderness at night to avoid being tracked.'

It made perfect sense.

Of course, there were always those paranoid types who shot first and drew the target later, choosing to play it safe and assume an ambush anyway. At the very least, if Wang Ping were in their shoes, that was exactly what he would think.

'But with the Fate-Peering Bone-Slicing Mirror in play, it's just like when the Soul-Falling Studio Master set his trap. He nearly managed to punch above his weight and kill that outer sect disciple, Guo Huan. Destiny will actively steer everyone's actions into the situation I want. The only price is that Ye Chao foots the entire bill for me...'

Slowing his pace, Wang Ping scanned his surroundings.

Yes, pitch-black skies, howling winds, and deep, ancient woods. It really was the perfect time and place to kill a man and bury the corpse. The only thing missing was a downpour to wash away the evidence.

Next, Wang Ping mentally calculated the time.

'Chenlong is hiding somewhere in the distance.'

To be exact, Chenlong was roughly three kilometers away from his current position. It was unbelievable—he couldn't sense the man's presence at all.

His Divine Intent couldn't pick him up, his spiritual sense found nothing, and he was completely invisible to the naked eye. This seemed to be one of the profound mysteries of that heavy armor, capable of thoroughly concealing one's aura and figure. Just based on this trick alone, Wang Ping concluded that Chenlong was definitely a master of sneak attacks.

Thinking of this, Wang Ping recalled Chenlong's parting advice before he set out.

"There isn't much I can teach you in terms of martial arts, but I can still offer a few words of caution regarding my insights into the martial path... What do you think martial arts truly are?"

"To become stronger? No, no, no."

"If you just want to get stronger, cultivating immortality is a much faster and more convenient method."

'The so-called martial path, to put it bluntly, is simply the method of winning. Therefore, the most important thing for a martial artist is not to make themselves stronger, but to ensure they can secure victory.'

"Simply because strength and victory are not entirely correlated. As long as you find the right method, even the weak have a chance to strike upward and defeat the strong. That is the essence of the martial path. Only someone who truly understands this principle can be considered a martial prodigy capable of standing the test of time."

At the time, Wang Ping had been completely bewildered, even wondering if Chenlong had lost his mind.

"Does Milord mean that I must firmly uphold the martial spirit, and even when facing an enemy stronger than myself, I must never give up the will to win?"

"Of course not."

Chenlong had flatly denied it. "I mean that the prerequisite for winning is staying alive. So when it's time to run, run. Don't be so stubborn that you clash head-on with an opponent."

"Dead men can't win."

"Furthermore, there are many ways to win. Don't always fixate on matching raw strength. If you can't beat them head-on, ambush them. If a sneak attack doesn't work, poison them."

"The essence of the martial path is winning by any means necessary!"

—Right, right. That sounded more like it.

Wang Ping reached out with his senses again, yet still couldn't find the slightest trace of Chenlong. His heart chilled slightly. 'He's hiding too well. It's completely flawless.'

'And... I can't shake the feeling that he's incredibly practiced at this.'

To be a martial artist and still perfectly evade the spiritual sense of cultivators—this was absolutely not something learned on paper. It could only come from practical combat experience.

Taking into account the Tribute Hall's distinctly hostile attitude toward extraordinary persons...

Could it be this wasn't his first time doing this?

...

"Clang—!"

Right at that moment, Wang Ping suddenly heard an extremely faint ring of clashing metal carried on the wind. His brow twitched as his Divine Intent automatically flared in warning.

'He's here!'

Almost simultaneously, fierce winds erupted around Wang Ping. The faint metallic ring in his ears swelled into a deafening roar, like the morning bell of an ancient temple being struck. The concussive sound pierced straight through his body, numbing his muscles and bones. An ordinary martial artist would have collapsed weakly to the ground just from hearing it.

But that wasn't the most terrifying part.

The truly terrifying part was that this concussive roar came late... Before the sound even arrived, the tip of a spear was already pressed dead-center against Wang Ping's forehead!

The spear moved faster than sound!

Because of this, it was only when the spear tip was a hair's breadth from Wang Ping's forehead that the bone-numbing concussive roar came crashing in on rolling waves of air.

The two arrived one after the other in a brilliant combination. If Wang Ping were disrupted by the concussive roar for even a fraction of a second, the supersonic spear tip would puncture his skull. Under the impact of such terrifying speed and power, no physical enhancement technique could possibly block it!

The only way to counter it was to dodge.

However, the sonic wave was actively shaking his muscles and bones. It was fine if he stayed still; by sinking his qi to his dantian, he might be able to withstand it. But the moment he moved, his qi would leak. His front foot would shift, and his back foot would immediately turn to jelly!

In this instant, time practically stood still.

Wang Ping pushed his Divine Intent to the absolute limit. Yet he was in no rush to deal with this sudden spear thrust. Instead, he even had the leisure to chuckle softly at his ambusher.

"Brother Ji, you're playing for real?"

Before his words could fade.

An explosive shockwave that likewise shattered the sound barrier blasted outward from Wang Ping's body. Grip locked tight on the Dragon Head Guillotine, he didn't dodge or evade. With a backhand swing, he slashed his blade directly into the shaft of the spear.

The entire motion was incredibly simple and completely unadorned, yet remarkably effective. The heavy sideways impact forced the spear that was aimed squarely at his forehead to merely graze past Wang Ping's ear. Although it still drew blood and left a gash, the injury meant absolutely nothing to Wang Ping, who could heal himself using Qi Restriction.

Of course, he couldn't heal it right now.

In a flash of lightning, Wang Ping's face contorted with rage.

"Who goes there! How dare you attempt to assassinate me?"

His voice echoed through the night sky, carrying the relief of someone who had just barely survived a disaster, mixed with the shock and fury of escaping the jaws of death. Wang Ping clutched his ear tightly, his body stumbling backward.

From the shadows, Ji Wuhen watched, clicking his tongue in marvel.

'Why does it feel like he's so practiced at this? That facial expression, that shout, that rich emotion... He seems more experienced than a professional assassin like me.'

'Is he in the same line of work?'

Naturally, thoughts were just thoughts. Ji Wuhen's movements weren't slow in the slightest. He immediately thrust his spear several more times, looking every bit like he was pressing his advantage to finish the job in one fell swoop.

Seeing this, Wang Ping's expression changed again. He hurriedly wiped his hand across his face.

"Wait, wait... You've got the wrong person! I'm not Yin Hu of the Tribute Hall! I am Ye Chao of the Ye Family of Changle Commandery! I was just using this face temporarily!"

As he spoke, Wang Ping shifted his bones and altered his disguise, transforming into the youthful appearance of Ye Chao in the blink of an eye. At first glance, it looked completely natural, without the slightest hint of a disguise. This gave Ji Wuhen a genuine start; he hadn't expected Wang Ping to pull a trick like this. His originally fierce spear momentum slowed down slightly.

"Don't stop! Keep moving!"

"If you stop moving, that Brahma Cultivator won't come down!"

Wang Ping hurriedly sent a voice transmission using his Divine Intent, urging Ji Wuhen to keep attacking. At the same time, he maintained an expression of complete innocence, looking as though he were begging the man to stop and spare his life.

"Ah! I'm bleeding all over the ground!"

"Who hired you? Whatever they paid, I'll double it!"

"To die here... I can't accept this!"

Watching Wang Ping bellow at the top of his lungs, each shout louder than the last as if he truly were backed into a desperate corner, Ji Wuhen found himself entirely bewildered.

What was he doing?

'This isn't right... This is different from the plan. According to the plan, he was supposed to counterattack and beat me! But looking at him now, I'm about to actually kill him!'

Even so, Ji Wuhen reacted quickly. He didn't question it, nor did he hold back. Instead, he made a prompt decision to cooperate with Wang Ping's act. Every strike was aimed to take a life, gradually leaving gash after gash across Wang Ping's body. It looked as though he was on the verge of thoroughly converting his momentum into a lethal victory.

"...Die!"

Ji Wuhen ruthlessly thrust his spear for the final strike. Facing this unavoidable blow, a look of bitter resentment and despair finally surfaced on Wang Ping's face.

But right at that moment.

"Amitabha!"

...

High in the sky above, Kongzhi sat cross-legged on a lotus platform. He had been using the Round Light Mirror to reflect Ji Wuhen and Wang Ping's battle from afar, and he even offered an amused evaluation.

"Truly vulgar."

"Mortals with impure bodies cannot fly, which is one thing. But to have to resort to physical brawling when fighting others, ending up covered in filth and foul air—it truly damages one's dignity."

Even in the Brahma Nation, body cultivators sat at the very bottom of the chain of contempt. They were the sort of people you had to smack your lips over a few times before taking a bite. Let alone these martial artists of the Great Shun. In Kongzhi's eyes, they were all pitiful, lost souls who had reincarnated poorly and walked the wrong path. They desperately needed him to consume them as soon as possible.

"Mercy, mercy."

Seeing that Wang Ping finally seemed unable to hold on, Kongzhi waited no longer. With a flick of his hand, a pillar of Buddhist light descended from the heavens, shielding Wang Ping squarely in its center.

"Clang!"

In an instant, the Buddhist light shuddered. Dense, overlapping cracks surfaced across the barrier, yet it held firm and did not shatter. Instead, it was the spear-wielding Ji Wuhen who staggered a step back.

"Who goes there!?"

Ji Wuhen revealed an expression of shock right on cue... In truth, he actually was shocked, because Kongzhi had genuinely appeared and saved Wang Ping.

Why?

The very next second, before Ji Wuhen could even open his mouth, another beam of Buddhist light fell upon him. It transformed into a talisman, freezing him rigidly in place.

With almost no ability to resist, Ji Wuhen was locked in place by Kongzhi's spell. Unable to move or utter a single word, he could only stare helplessly at Wang Ping... Wang Ping was all too familiar with this feeling. Daoist Nun You had used a similar method to freeze him back then.

Wang Ping drew a sharp breath.

His eyes twitched slightly. Staring at the bizarre monk who had suddenly descended before him, he suppressed the urge to immediately circulate his spiritual sense and crush the armor fragment hidden in his robes.

Stay calm. He couldn't afford to rush this.

Having Chenlong strike now would offer too low a chance of success. He first needed to confirm that his previous deductions were correct. Only after tangibly weakening the enemy could they make their move.

As for right now... he had to act with the demeanor of a destined protagonist!

With that in mind, Wang Ping hurriedly steadied his footing. He then offered Kongzhi a respectful but unyielding bow and said calmly, "Thank you for saving my life, Great Master."

"Excellent, excellent."

Kongzhi smiled faintly at the sight. "Monks hold mercy in their hearts. This poor monk was merely riding the wind past this place. Since I saw a benefactor in danger, how could I simply stand by and watch you die?"

After speaking, he deliberately pinched his fingers together, pretending to calculate the heavens.

"Oh? To think such a thing exists?"

A second later, Kongzhi let out a surprised gasp before smiling. "I never imagined that you and I would share an affinity as master and disciple. That must be why we were meant to meet here."

"Well then, since fate has brought us together, would you be willing to take me as your master?"

"Take you as my master... Great Master, are you serious?"

Disbelief and pleasant surprise were written all over Wang Ping's face. In his heart, however, he let out a massive sigh of relief. Kongzhi's words and actions perfectly aligned with all of his prior deductions.

In other words—

'He can be killed!'

Destiny's door-to-door delivery had finally arrived!