After another one of his underlings was beaten into a state of full-body comminuted fractures, the leader completely lost his mind. He screamed wildly, panting and staggering around in circles, his fists randomly striking the air, leaving trails of white frost on the ground. By now, he had poured most of his mana into his Protective Gang Qi, the thick blue ice fog nearly obscuring his form.
Only then did he feel a semblance of security.
Wang Qi's presence was still everywhere. He spread out his mana carefully, even cautiously radiating a bit of Holy Light to maintain the orderliness of his mana. He circled around the leader carefully, continuing this unequal battle.
"You just said that Wanfa Sect disciples can't do anything without their weapons, right?"
Hearing Wang Qi's voice, the leader let out a rasp "heh heh" from his throat and lunged towards the source of the sound, claws and teeth bared. But Wang Qi had already moved aside before him. After several attempts, the leader realized he was helpless against Wang Qi. He painfully knelt on the ground, shaking all over, saliva dripping from his mouth. After a while, he chuckled eerily, "You're finished... you're dead... you're finished..."
"What Wanfa Sect cultivators can do, you've seen it—oh, sorry, you couldn't see it from the start." Wang Qi sneered twice, "But it seems you didn't understand either? Looks like those ears are just decorations, no need to keep them."
The leader's body shuddered, then burst out with an astonishing aura, yelling: "Come on! Come! You, a mere Qi Cultivation Stage, think you can break through my Protective Gang Qi? Come!"
"Tch." Wang Qi activated the Heavenly Entropy Technique, first burning off the filth on his hands, then pushing his technique to the limit, pressing towards the leader.
Then, the icy energy became chaotic and collapsed.
The leader felt the remaining mana within his body become erratic and chaotic, as if deviating. He coughed up a mouthful of black blood, shouting, "Who exactly are you! An outer disciple of Wanfa Sect can't possibly... ah!"
Wang Qi's palm heavily struck his ear, destroying his inner ear.
Then, the young man dusted off his hands, responding in a mundane tone, "Wanfa Sect, External Affairs Disciple—though you can't hear it anyway."
Then, he picked up the ice-sealed longsword and broke the seal using the Heavenly Entropy Technique. As the sword was unsheathed, Phase Waves were bolstered, stacking three swords in succession. A pulse of Phase Wave shot out, breaking the seal that blocked the aura.
Wang Qi quickly advanced forward. For some reason, he felt particularly irritable.
The foundation of Wanfa Sect is mathematics, with abilities in analysis and dissection. It doesn't entirely belong to the natural sciences, so it isn't like other sects that excel in leveraging the power of heaven and earth. Initially, the combat power of Wanfa Sect isn't high, and someone as magnificent as Su Junyu could only rely on assembling spells, having nothing notable to display himself.
This kind of strategy—weak early-stage but god-like later, like the "Modern" era where everyone could form their Golden Core—can come to fruition only then. Below the Golden Core, one isn't considered a combatant but a seed. In the Era of the Ancient Method, not every disciple could form a core; cultivating Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment disciples also required resources. To avoid waste, they had to include Qi Cultivating and Foundation Establishing in the sect's strength.
Before reaching Golden Core Stage, Wanfa Sect disciples could only fight enemies with swordsmanship and Boxing Techniques. This situation improved only at the Golden Core Stage. As computational power increased, mastery of mathematics deepened, then control over mana deepened... After all these elements were enhanced, they could begin to grasp the true essence of Mathematics Department spells. Calculating space, time, energy—capable of calculating everything, capable of doing anything as a law.
Of course, some disciples would choose to continue enhancing their ability to wield blades and magic artifacts. They could even use sheer swordsmanship to transcend space, turning the impossible into possible.
Most of those who chose this path possessed a heaven-defying magic artifact…
Wang Qi angrily punched the wall. The loud noise seemed to disturb the householders inside, with a muffled curse coming from inside. Wang Qi shook his head and continued on.
"What rubbish." Wang Qi angrily tapped his ring, "Old man, where did those scoundrels spring up from?"
"You kid, stop knocking and let this old man have some peace!"
"Unbelievable... I was actually attacked by a group of cultivators in Divine Capital, weaker than those from the Ancient Method Era! No, this enmity..."
"I doubt you can avenge yourself," said Zhen Chan. "Those people are probably house-born of the Chen Family, likely unregistered with the big registry in Da Lian, not to mention having no records in the Immortal Alliance."
"Why?" Wang Qi frowned.
"Because they are secretly cultivated as house slaves and death soldiers by the Chen Clan," Zhen Chan chuckled. "In my time, similar things existed. Sects' dark halls could only be composed of death soldiers born and raised within the sect."
The young man's face showed disgust. "Even in modern society, they still show such disdain for human rights... Have these descendants of the Ancient Method Era's brains rusted?"
"To Modern Cultivators, only those capable of walking the path of Seeking Dao are considered talents. The Seeking Dao Seekers need to be both lively-minded and resolute, qualities more likely to develop in a bright environment. However, Divine Capital's descendants are mostly unconcerned with the progress of Immortal Dao Civilization. They only want the power they can control, even if it's just a little, because that's better than none."
Wang Qi wondered, "But why choose the fast-track?"
"The master always needs to be able to subdue the slave. Nowadays, everyone can achieve Golden Core Formation. If their Cultivation does not stand out, they cannot create a substantive distance from other cultivators," Zhen Chan pointed out sharply. "That's the flaw with the Ancient Method; if you can't enhance yourself, then you have to weaken your slaves."
"What's the point of that?"
"It's about fighting other Divine Capital Families, internal conflicts within families. It seems like incredibly trivial matters to you," Zhen Chan said with a mocking tone. "After all, if you report this, at most the Immortal Alliance would arrest those who were beaten up. They might even treat them kindly, especially since you didn't kill or permanently disable them—there's still a chance for recovery for those who were blinded or deafened. The culprits behind the scenes won't confess to anything; it's pointless."
"That's true, let them howl a bit more then."
Piaoyun, Chen Clan... haha, jumping clowns, I'll remember this.
Wang Qi dispersed the Evil Qi around him. But just then, another hostile Spiritual Sense locked onto him. Annoyed, Wang Qi extended his own Spiritual Sense, only to discover his opponent was a Modern Cultivator.
An Immortal Alliance Law Enforcement Officer, dressed in a Bi'an black robe, approached. Without explanation, he grabbed Wang Qi and demanded, "There was a violent brawl in White Water Alley. Combining the residual Mana Power Intent at the scene with the Evil Qi around you, I suspect you are related to that case. Please come with me to the branch office for a cup of tea."
"So soon?" Wang Qi raised an eyebrow, realizing the trouble wasn't over yet.
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Finally, I'm starting to make up the updates I missed while I was sick.
After recovering, my condition has been remarkably poor, and then I had to prepare documents according to the editor's requests, only beginning to make updates today. I really apologize.
Also, managing the comment section is indeed a problem—once again sincerely recruiting moderators.
Lastly... considering this is a triple update... could you give a recommendation ticket?