Chapter 51: "Eternal Night Three Slashes

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: "Eternal Night Three Slashes

As soon as Zeng Anmin said this, the entire chat interface fell silent.

The ultimate skill of the Jiang Country’s royal family, the "Phoenix Nine Cries," was hailed as the number one Martial Skill in the world. It was a fiercely guarded secret, world-renowned because the Grand Ancestor of Jiang Country had once used this skill to severely wound the contemporary head of the Daoist Sect with a single slash.

After a long time, South’s words appeared on the phantom projection of the Dragon Inspection Map.

[South: Sorry, the "Phoenix Nine Cries" is indeed out of the question.]

She even forgot to prefix her message with her alias. It was obvious that South had been somewhat dazed by Zeng Anmin’s sheer appetite.

Zeng Anmin stroked his chin. It wasn’t that he genuinely wanted the "Phoenix Nine Cries"—he was merely joking just now. However, a Martial Skill that was too low in grade wouldn’t offer him much improvement. He thought, "Why don’t I... play a little hard to get?"

Smiling, Zeng Anmin reached out and wrote on the Dragon Inspection Map:

[North: I was the one who advocated for unity in our Celestial Dao Alliance, so naturally, I won’t ruin our original intentions. Just treat that poem as a favor from me. It doesn’t matter.]

As soon as this message went out, everyone could sense the utter lack of interest in his tone. Of course, this was also a very crude reverse-psychology tactic employed by Zeng Anmin. As for whether she would take the bait, that depended on the princess’s character.

[Barbaric: How magnanimous!! Are all the people of the Northern Holy Dynasty of such a temperament?!]

[Dao: The Daoist Sect has very few Martial Skills. I am sorry.]

Obviously, the two brothers, Barbaric and Dao, didn’t want the newly established Celestial Dao Alliance to fall into an awkward state of mutual suspicion over such a small issue. Thus, their words leaned somewhat in Zeng Anmin’s favor.

[North: Haha, regardless of the reason, I still hope that the four of us in the Celestial Dao Alliance can be of one heart.]

[Barbaric: With those words, if I ever get the chance to visit the Northern Holy Dynasty, I will definitely buy you a drink!!]

[Dao: Excellent.]

South didn’t say a single word, remaining silent for a long time. Finally, when the other three were just about done chatting, South’s handwriting surfaced.

[South: Although I cannot give you the "Phoenix Nine Cries," I have another Martial Skill called the "Eternal Night Three Slashes," and its power is no less than the "Phoenix Nine Cries."]

With these words, the chat interface experienced a brief standstill. As a princess of a nation, South naturally wouldn’t brag over something like this. Zeng Anmin’s eyes lit up. He thought, "Great!! Princess Wencheng, you’re someone who cares about your face too! You didn’t disappoint me after all!"

However, Zeng Anmin knew that he couldn’t appear too eager. Chuckling, he wrote down a feigned display of magnanimity:

[North: Princess, there is no need for this. Such an important Martial Skill must be a closely guarded secret, and I do not wish to put you in a difficult position.]

[South: This skill only has three stances, but each stance contains immense power. It does have some flaws... Once mastered, it might cause some impact on one’s Divine Soul. If the practitioner’s will is not firm, they are highly likely to undergo a drastic change in temperament.]

[South: As for other Martial Skills, their power is inferior to the "Phoenix Nine Cries." If you wish, I can give you something else.]

It was evident that she lacked confidence when sending this message. But upon seeing it, Zeng Anmin’s eyes brightened instead. He thought, "In other words, this skill possesses tremendous might, not even losing to the world’s current number one Martial Skill, the ’Phoenix Nine Cries’?! And it won’t have any negative effects on me!"

He wasn’t in a hurry to reply. Instead, he first glanced at his Golden Finger.

[Unyielding Martial God: Immune to all Divine Soul and Spiritual Attacks.]

The side effects of this Sword Skill could be completely ignored by him. However, someone else spoke up at this moment:

[Barbaric: South, you’re being far too stingy. The Martial Skill you’re offering even comes with flaws. If you don’t want to give it, then just don’t.]

Dao remained silent. South’s reply, on the other hand, was humble to the point of groveling.

[South: I’m sorry, I truly have my difficulties.]

Seeing that the timing was just about right, Zeng Anmin coughed lightly and wrote with a face full of smiles:

[North: It is no matter. Flaws are just flaws. In truth, what I want isn’t a Martial Skill, but simply an expression of South’s attitude. For the Celestial Dao Alliance to have all of you is a great fortune for the world!!]

Could anyone resist a masterclass in emotional manipulation like that?! As soon as this sentence was sent, everyone in the group fell silent. After a long while:

[Dao: For North to be of such noble and upright character—being able to befriend you is my great fortune.]

[Barbaric: Damn it! Brother North, if you had been born in the Barbaric Holy Land, you could definitely become the most trusted Commander of us people of the Barbaric Wilderness!]

[North: You all flatter me too much. I am ashamed.]

A long time later, South sent a message:

[South: North, if you ever have any doubts regarding Martial Arts in the future, just speak up. I will definitely do my utmost to assist you.]

This statement clearly demonstrated her stance. Seeing this, Zeng Anmin grinned. He thought, "I’ve got her in the palm of my hand. When it comes to understanding human nature, I’m second to none!"

Naturally, he wouldn’t let such an excellent opportunity slip by. His expression turned serious as he reached out and wrote:

[North: Then I shall respectfully obey rather than decline. That friend of mine has indeed encountered numerous problems in his Martial Arts training. Shall I explain them one by one?]

[South: Alright!]

Since that was the case, Zeng Anmin didn’t stand on ceremony. He wrote:

[North: From the Eighth Grade of Martial Arts, which is the Martial Pill Realm, how does one advance to the Seventh Grade, the Visualization Realm?]

Zeng Anmin had been pondering this question ever since his breakthrough underwater. However, his identity in the Great Saint Dynasty was somewhat special, preventing him from asking about it too blatantly. Meanwhile, Dachun had only just entered the Ninth Grade Realm, so asking him would yield no results. Right now was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. South’s reply did not disappoint him:

[South: The biggest difference between the Eighth Grade Martial Pill and the Seventh Grade Visualization is that the two main meridians within the body have not been opened.]

[These two main meridians are the primary bridges that connect the Martial Arts Aura to open up the Sea of Consciousness. They are what ordinary people call the Heaven and Earth Two Bridges. The process of opening the Heaven and Earth Two Bridges is also known as the Heaven-opening Gate.]

[The most difficult method for the Heaven-opening Gate is to continuously compress and condense the energy of the Martial Pill within one’s body. Once it is compressed to the absolute limit, one attempts to use their Martial Arts Aura to break through the Heaven and Earth Two Bridges.]

[However, this method is extremely perilous. The slightest carelessness will result in losing control of the Martial Arts Aura, causing one’s head to explode and leading to death.]

This...

An image of his own head exploding like a watermelon flashed through Zeng Anmin’s mind. He suppressed his impatience and continued reading.

[South: The second method is to swallow fresh essence blood of the Demon Race. Because of the inherent talents of the Demon Race, their essence blood is of great help to Martial Arts practitioners. However, the essence blood must be fresh.]

[Due to the Yin Wu Demon Annihilation Battle seven years ago, the Demon Race in Jiang Country and the Northern Holy Country has practically gone extinct. Jiang Country still has a few remnants, but because the Confucian Dao flourishes in the Northern Holy Dynasty, let alone the Demon Race, even ordinary ghosts would be eagerly wiped out by Confucian Cultivators using their Vast Righteous Qi.]

[Furthermore, if one achieves the Heaven-opening Gate using this method, they will also acquire the Talent Power of the essence blood’s original owner. Therefore, since ancient times, those who use this method often boast much more formidable combat strength. However, there is a flaw: in the future, if one wishes to break through to higher Realms, they can only rely on Demon Race essence blood.]

[Nowadays, the Demon Race can only cower in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain, and the essence blood of ordinary demons is ineffective. Since you are located in the Northern Holy Dynasty, this option will be very difficult for you.]

Uh.

Zeng Anmin recalled his first day at the academy, when the teacher carefully released a streak of black qi from a vessel during class. He thought, "That streak of black qi must have been something he searched for a long time to find, right?"

[South: As for the third method, it involves finding and consuming Heaven and Earth Strange Herbs, utilizing the Plant Essence to aid the Heaven-opening Gate. This method is also the mainstream approach today. If your friend needs it, I just so happen to be able to provide some information on these strange herbs.]

South actually harbored some suspicions about North’s identity as a "Confucian Cultivator." However, she was very tactful, continuing to frame her answers around "that friend of yours" without exposing him. Zeng Anmin’s eyes, meanwhile, lit up. He reached out and wrote:

[North: What kind of strange herbs?]

[South: The royal families of both the Northern Holy Dynasty and Jiang Country possess a copy of the "Record of Strange Herbs." This record can only be perused by the direct descendants of the two royal families, and it documents the locations of all strange herbs across the entire Central State.]

[Since I am located in Jiang Country, the strange herbs and Spirit Roots of the Northern Holy Dynasty are naturally useless to me. I can tell you their specific locations so that you can pluck them and have your friend consume them for the Heaven-opening Gate.]

[North: In that case, you have my many thanks. Oh, right, after stepping into the Visualization Realm, how does it differ from the Martial Pill Realm?]

This was what Zeng Anmin truly wanted to ask!!