Supreme Being: The Sword of True Martial Arts

Cheng Yong's smile froze on his face.

It was a very subtle change—the corners of his mouth still maintained an upward curve, but the warmth in his eyes vanished in an instant, as if a lamp had been blown out from the inside. A faint bluish tinge appeared in the whites of his eyes, so faint that Lin Yan wouldn't have even noticed it if Jiang Zhiwei hadn't pointed it out.

But at this moment, the layer of azure mist is thickening at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Master Cheng," Jiang Zhiwei said, her longsword already drawn, the tip pointed at Cheng Yong's throat, her tone still calm, "there's a hint of malice in your eyes."

Cheng Yong did not answer. His pupils began to dilate, and the bluish aura spread from the whites of his eyes to the irises, dyeing his entire eye a strange emerald green. At the same time, the corners of his mouth turned up again, but the smile had completely changed—it was no longer a gentle, hospitable smile, but a stiff smile, as if it were being pulled by a string.

"My young friends," his voice also took on an odd tone, hoarse with a metallic resonance, "you've come from afar, why the rush to leave?"

He moved as soon as he finished speaking.

Cheng Yong's right hand emerged from his sleeve, fingers forming a claw, aimed straight for Jiang Zhiwei's face. This claw strike was devoid of any fancy moves, but its speed was astonishing—not the speed expected of someone in the Qi Accumulation stage, nor even the speed expected of someone in the Orifice Opening stage. Lin Yan's Myriad Manifestations Sword Heart clearly captured the moment Cheng Yong made his move; the true qi within his body erupted in an extremely bizarre way. It didn't follow the normal path of originating from the dantian and progressing layer by layer along the meridians, but rather, as if ignited by something, the true qi in all his meridians exploded simultaneously, pushing his speed and power to a level far exceeding normal.

This is not a normal way of exerting force. It is the result of some kind of drug stimulation.

Heart-stealing pills.

Jiang Zhiwei did not retreat. Her sword was faster than Cheng Yong's claws. The longsword was drawn from its sheath like a dragon's roar, its tip piercing straight into Cheng Yong's palm. This sword strike was extremely concise, without any superfluous movements, just a straight thrust. But the sound of the sword cutting through the air was sharp and piercing—it was the sound of true energy being compressed to its limit, forming a sharp sword aura at the tip of the sword.

Cheng Yong's claws clashed with Jiang Zhiwei's sword.

"clang!"

Despite it being flesh and blood clashing with a longsword, the sound of metal striking metal rang out. A faint blue aura rose from Cheng Yong's five fingers, and he actually managed to grip Jiang Zhiwei's sword. The blue aura spread along the sword, crawling towards Jiang Zhiwei's wrist like a living thing.

"It's poisonous!" Qi Xia exclaimed in surprise.

Jiang Zhiwei remained unfazed. With a flick of her wrist, her longsword emitted a clear, resonant sword cry. The aura of green energy was dissipated by the cry, and Cheng Yong's tiger's mouth was also cracked, blood seeping out. But Cheng Yong seemed completely oblivious to the pain. At the same time, his left hand shot out, his five fingers like hooks, grabbing towards Jiang Zhiwei's lower abdomen.

The angle of that claw strike was extremely tricky. Cheng Yong's body was forced to lean back slightly by Jiang Zhiwei's sword, a position in which a normal person would be unable to exert any force. But his body twisted in a way that defied common sense—his waist bent backward as if it had no bones, and his left arm stretched out from below at an impossible angle.

Jiang Zhiwei's sword had already been thrust out, leaving no time to defend.

She had two choices. One was to retreat and avoid the claw, but that would mean losing control of Cheng Yong and giving him a chance to catch his breath. The other was not to retreat and take the claw head-on, but at the same time, her sword could pierce Cheng Yong's right shoulder.

Jiang Zhiwei chose the third option.

She sidestepped, her left shoulder meeting Cheng Yong's claws, while her right hand swung her longsword horizontally, aiming straight for Cheng Yong's throat. She would trade injury for life.

Cheng Yong's claws pressed down on Jiang Zhiwei's left shoulder. A chilling aura seeped into her body, and Jiang Zhiwei's brows furrowed slightly. But her sword did not stop—the blade flashed an arc, precisely slicing towards Cheng Yong's throat.

Cheng Yong had no choice but to retract his claws and retreat. He was incredibly fast, but Jiang Zhiwei's sword was even faster. The blade grazed his neck, leaving a shallow bloodstain. Had Cheng Yong been even a fraction of a second slower, this strike would have severed his throat.

"He is not Cheng Yong," Lin Yan suddenly said.

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

"He is a puppet controlled by the Heart-Stealing Pill." Lin Yan's Myriad Manifestations Sword Heart was operating at full power, locking onto Cheng Yong. "The way his internal energy is circulating is completely abnormal—all his meridians are operating at overload, and the internal energy in his dantian has been completely drained. What is driving his body now is not his own internal energy, but the power of the Heart-Stealing Pill. He no longer has his own consciousness; he is just an empty shell driven by the drug's power."

Cheng Yong turned his head, his emerald green eyes fixed on Lin Yan.

Those eyes held no emotion—no anger, no murderous intent, not even hostility. Only a hollow, emerald green, like two stagnant pools.

"You..." Cheng Yong's voice was hoarse, "...can you see?"

Lin Yan did not answer. His right hand was already gripping the hilt of his sword.

Cheng Yong suddenly abandoned Jiang Zhiwei and pounced on Lin Yan like a giant bat. He was even faster than before—because his body was beginning to succumb to the effects of the medicine; muscle fibers were tearing and meridians were breaking, but before he completely collapsed, his speed and strength reached their peak.

Lin Yan did not retreat.

He shifted to the side, drew his iron sword, and precisely struck the second joint of Cheng Yong's right middle finger. This was the weakest point when the five fingers formed a claw, and also a crucial node for the flow of true energy. The Intercepting River Stance.

Cheng Yong felt the true energy in his right arm suddenly freeze. The violent power ignited by the Heart-Stealing Pill was severed by an invisible dam the moment Lin Yan's sword tip touched him. His right claw lost its strength and hung limply at his sides.

But he still has his left hand.

Cheng Yong's left claw reached out from the side to grab Lin Yan's temple. This claw strike carried a sharp whistling sound, and green energy condensed at his fingertips into five thin blades of energy, sharper than real swords.

Lin Yan didn't have time to return his sword.

But a sword light shot out from behind him, piercing Cheng Yong's left palm with pinpoint accuracy.

It's Jiang Zhiwei.

The longsword pierced through his palm, its green aura dissipating. Cheng Yong's face remained expressionless, showing no sign of pain. He gripped Jiang Zhiwei's sword tightly with his pierced left hand, while his right claw rose again, aiming for Lin Yan's face.

This time, the azure energy condensing on his right claw was several times denser than before. Tiny azure arcs of electricity could even be seen jumping between his five fingers—a sign that the medicinal power had been pushed to its limit and his true energy was beginning to spiral out of control.

Lin Yan took a deep breath, and the Myriad Manifestations Sword Heart caught a fleeting opening. As Cheng Yong raised his right claw, a flaw appeared under his right ribs—not a flaw in technique, but a flaw in his physical structure. The medicinal effects had been too strong; several ribs on his right side had cracked, and the flow of true energy there was a very subtle interruption.

"Right rib, third intercostal space," Lin Yan whispered.

Jiang Zhiwei didn't ask why. She pulled out the sword that Cheng Yong was holding, spraying a cloud of blood, then turned the tip of the sword and accurately stabbed at the spot Lin Yan had mentioned.

The sword tip pierced the third rib space, penetrating the skin, the muscle, and the gap between the bones. Blue energy gushed from the wound like a punctured balloon. Cheng Yong's body convulsed violently, the power in his right claw vanished abruptly, and he fell backward like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Dead?" Meng Qi asked cautiously, gripping the ring knife.

Lin Yan stepped forward to check. Cheng Yong lay on the ground, his eyes still open, but the emerald green in them was rapidly fading, revealing the normal whites of his eyes and pupils. His pupils had begun to dilate, and his breathing had become a faint, almost imperceptible gasp.

"Not dead yet. But soon." Lin Yan stood up and looked at Jiang Zhiwei. "The poison in your shoulder—"

"It's nothing." Jiang Zhiwei glanced down at her left shoulder. There were five finger holes on her pale yellow dress, and the fabric around the holes had turned bluish-green, spreading outwards. She raised her hand and pressed three times on her shoulder, sealing the nearby acupoints, and the spread of the bluish-green energy immediately slowed down. "It's not a potent poison, just a drug that makes you feel weak and sore. The effect isn't strong; it's manageable."

Qi Xia stepped forward and tore open Jiang Zhiwei's clothes at the shoulder, revealing five bluish-black finger marks. She took out a small porcelain bottle from her bosom, poured out a pale yellow pill, crushed it, and applied it to the wound. The bluish aura met the powder, emitting a faint hissing sound, and the color began to fade.

"Thank you." Jiang Zhiwei moved her left shoulder, her brows furrowing slightly. "My left arm will be affected for a short time, but it's nothing serious."

She looked at Lin Yan, her eyes now filled with seriousness: "You just pointed out his weakness—not a weakness in his swordplay, but a weakness in his body. How did you figure it out?"

"Sword sense," Lin Yan replied briefly. "My sword sense can detect the state of my opponent's internal energy circulation. The medicinal power in his body was too strong, and his ribs couldn't withstand it, resulting in cracks. The cracks in his ribs affected the flow of internal energy, so there was an interruption in the flow of internal energy in that area."

Jiang Zhiwei paused for a moment, then nodded: "Very perceptive."

She didn't press further. Everyone has their secrets, especially innate things like sword sense; asking too many questions would be impolite. But the way she looked at Lin Yan was different now—not scrutinizing, but with the serious respect one would show towards an ally.

Just then, Cheng Yong, who was on the ground, suddenly convulsed. He made a "hehe" sound in his throat, his eyes rolled back, and his body convulsed violently like a fish out of water. Greenish energy overflowed from his seven orifices, turning into wisps of green smoke in the air.

Then he stopped moving.

The pool of blood flowing from Cheng Yong's wound on the ground suddenly began to writhe. It wasn't normal blood congealing or flowing, but a conscious writhing, as if guided by an invisible hand. The dark red blood meandered across the ground, converging into lines of text—

"Jiang Zhiwei, Qi Xia, Meng Qi, Yan Wujiang, and Lin Yan rescued Cheng Yong from the torment of being controlled by the Heart-Stealing Pill, completing one of the side quests, and each of them is rewarded with ten merit points."

The words lingered on the ground for a few moments, then slowly disappeared as if evaporated.

"This counts as salvation?" Meng Qi scratched his bald head. "Killing him is salvation?"

"Being controlled by the Heart-Stealing Pill was worse than death," Jiang Zhiwei said calmly. "Releasing him from this state is indeed a form of salvation."

Qi Xia walked to Cheng Yong's body, knelt down, and closed his eyes. "At least when he died, there wasn't any blue light in his eyes." She stood up and looked at the stone door at the end of the passageway. "That's the secret chamber where Cheng Yong was trapped. Shall we go in and take a look?"

"No need." Lin Yan shook his head. "The mission notification has arrived, which means there's nothing we need left in the secret chamber. And—" He paused, "we need to speed things up. Cheng Yong being controlled by the Heart-Stealing Pill means the Hidden Emperor Fortress Master already knew someone would come to rescue the four masters. This isn't a trap, but it's more troublesome than one—he deliberately imprisoned the four masters in different places to disperse the intruders' forces."

"So, the next expert to be trapped will most likely also be controlled by the Heart-Stealing Pill," Jiang Zhiwei continued. "Moreover, Cheng Yong just said, 'Young friends, you've come from afar, why are you in such a hurry to leave?' This doesn't sound like something a controlled person would say. It sounds more like... the person controlling him is speaking through his mouth."

The passageway fell silent for a moment.

The torchlight flickered, casting their shadows long and short. Cheng Yong's hoarse, metallic voice seemed to still echo between the stone walls—"Having come from afar, why the rush to leave?"

"Let's go." Jiang Zhiwei took the lead, bypassed the stone gate, and continued westward.

Lin Yan followed. As he passed Qi Xia, he noticed that her face was a little pale. Not because she was afraid—her eyes were very calm. It was because when she was searching Cheng Yong's body, she had found a jade pendant. Engraved on the pendant was a name and a date. It was the name of Cheng Yong's son and the date of his birth.

Qi Xia put the jade pendant back into Cheng Yong's arms.

"Miss Qi?" Lin Yan asked in a low voice.

"It's nothing." Qi Xia forced a smile. "It's just that... this person, before becoming a puppet, was someone with a family."

Lin Yan remained silent. He recalled Cheng Yong's fate in the original story—controlled by the Heart-Stealing Pill, he killed his wife and children with his own hands, then became a puppet of the Hidden Emperor's Fortress Master under the influence of the drug, and finally died by the sword of the Reincarnator. This was already the best ending for him. At least when he died, there was no blue light in his eyes.

The passageway continued forward. Lin Yan walked at the front, his Myriad Manifestations Sword Heart operating at a minimum. After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he suddenly stopped.

"etc."

Everyone froze in their tracks.

Lin Yan's Myriad Manifestations Sword Heart detected an extremely faint aura—behind the stone wall on the right. It wasn't coming from the front of the passageway, but from behind the stone wall. There should be a fork in the path there, but the entrance was disguised as part of the stone wall.

"There's a fork in the road on the right side of the stone wall, in the middle section," he said without turning his head. "There's someone in the fork. A person, whose cultivation is above the Opening Aperture stage, slightly lower than Cheng Yong, probably around the fifth aperture."

Qi Xia walked to the stone wall, examined it carefully, and then gently pressed on a certain stone brick. The stone wall silently slid open inward, revealing a narrower fork in the path. The fork was pitch black, with no torches, only a damp and decaying smell emanating from its depths.

"Master Ding Changsheng," Qi Xia said in a low voice, "Judging from the map, this fork in the road should lead to the secret room where Master Ding is trapped."

Jiang Zhiwei glanced at the depth of the fork in the road, then at the main passage. There were two directions, one west and one southwest. If they took the detour to rescue Ding Changsheng, they would need to turn back and then circle back, which would waste at least half an hour.

"Let's split up," she said. "Sister Qi, you take the side road to rescue Master Ding. I'll take the little monk and Master Yan and continue west to rescue the last master."

She looked at Lin Yan: "And you?"

Lin Yan thought for a moment. The aura he sensed in the fork in the road with his Myriad Manifestations Sword Heart was very similar to Cheng Yong's state—the way his true energy flowed was strange, as if it had been forcibly stimulated by drugs. Ding Changsheng was most likely also controlled by the Heart-Stealing Pill.

"I'll go with Miss Qi," he said. "The side paths are too dark; my perception will be of help. Besides, Ding Changsheng's cultivation is inferior to Cheng Yong's; the two of us should be enough to handle him."

Jiang Zhiwei nodded without saying anything more. She turned to Meng Qi: "Little monk, let's go."

Meng Qi gripped the ring knife, his face pale, but he gritted his teeth and followed. Yan Wujiang followed cautiously at the back, constantly muttering, "Third Miss, please bless me, Third Miss, please bless me."

The two groups parted ways at the fork in the road. Lin Yan and Qi Xia stepped into the fork, and the stone wall behind them silently closed, blocking the light of the torches in the main passage. A thick darkness enveloped them, with only a faint glow emanating from a luminous pearl in Qi Xia's hand, illuminating a distance of no more than three feet in front and behind.

"Your sword sense is truly exceptional." Qi Xia, walking behind Lin Yan, suddenly spoke up. "Zhiwei's swordsmanship is already quite good, but she still couldn't see the flaw in Cheng Yong's body. You saw it with just one glance."

"I was lucky," Lin Yan said casually.

"It's not luck." Qi Xia's voice was very soft. "My father once said that there are some people in the martial arts world who are born with an exceptional sensitivity to the flow of true energy, and can perceive things that others cannot. Such people are rare, but as long as they don't die young, they will at least become top-ranked masters on the Earth Ranking in the future."

Lin Yan didn't reply. His Myriad Manifestations Sword Heart was operating at full power, sensing the changes in the aura deep within the fork in the road ahead. The distance was getting closer and closer—fifty zhang, forty zhang, thirty zhang.

"stop."

Qi Xia immediately stopped in her tracks.

"He's waiting for us," Lin Yan said in a low voice. "Right at the entrance to the secret room. Like Cheng Yong, he's not on patrol, he's waiting."

Qi Xia's hand was already on the water-splitting dagger. In the dim light of the luminous pearl, her profile was taut, but her eyes were steady.

"How do we fight?"

Lin Yan thought for a moment. Ding Changsheng's cultivation level was lower than Cheng Yong's, but after being controlled by the Heart-Stealing Pill, the drug's effects still allowed him to reach a combat strength of over five apertures. In a direct confrontation, Qi Xia could win, but she might get injured.

"I'll lure him in," he said. "You attack from the side. My swordsmanship excels at defense and counter-attack, which will keep him occupied. Your 'Water-Splitting Thrust' is designed to finish him off in one strike."

Qi Xia glanced at him: "Are you sure?"

"Sure."

The two continued forward. Ten zhang, five zhang, three zhang. At the end of the fork in the road appeared a stone gate, and a person stood before it. A tall, thin middle-aged man, wearing a blue long robe, with a gaunt face and deep-set eyes. His eyes, like Cheng Yong's, had a faint bluish tint.

"My two young friends," Ding Changsheng grinned, his smile stiff as a mask, "you've come from afar, you must be tired. I am Ding Changsheng, and I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Lin Yan didn't waste any words. He drew his iron sword, the tip pointing at Ding Changsheng's throat.

Ding Changsheng's smile became even more sinister. Unlike Cheng Yong, he didn't attack directly, but instead stepped aside from the stone door and made a "please" gesture.

"Young friends, please come in."

Lin Yan's Myriad Manifestations Sword Heart suddenly sensed an extremely faint fluctuation of true energy—not emanating from Ding Changsheng, but from the secret chamber behind the stone door. It wasn't human aura, but rather the fluctuation of some kind of mechanism being activated.

"There's a mechanism in the secret room," he whispered.

Qi Xia narrowed her eyes slightly.

Ding Changsheng maintained the "please" gesture, his smile stiff and eerie. His emerald eyes glowed eerily in the darkness.

"My two young friends," his voice was hoarse and hollow, "the Lord of the Fortress has been waiting for you for a long time."