Chapter 137 – Huajin

Lumine’s boat docked on the shore of Guyun Stone Forest.

Qiu Bai stepped onto land and stretched lazily.

“Ah, so this is Guyun Stone Forest?”

“How beautiful it is, Guyun Stone Forest. Ah, isn’t this the competition venue?”

Qiu Bai placed his hands on his hips, shielding his eyes from the sun with one hand as he surveyed the surroundings.

Guyun Stone Forest was, in fact, merely the exposed hilts of the Stone Spears.

What Osial had broken free from back then were only the tips of the deepest Stone Spears.

Thus, while the entire Guyun Stone Forest had sunk by over ten meters, for an island as massive as a mountain, that drop was negligible.

At most, it had just reduced the area of the beach.

“Creating mountains?”

“If I wanted to, could I also create a mountain?”

Qiu Bai stroked his chin, murmuring to himself with a strange expression.

“We’re here, Traveler!”

“Look at those people ahead—are they the ones participating in the martial arts competition?”

Lumine walked over to where Qiu Bai was, while Paimon hovered in the air, brimming with curiosity about the event.

“Let’s go gather information about the competitors first.”

“Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in battle.”

Paimon placed her hands on her hips, smiling at Qiu Bai and Lumine.

“Hehe, you two go ahead.”

“I won’t join you. I’ll just wander around here for a bit.”

Qiu Bai smiled at Lumine and Paimon, then turned his gaze to the scenery of Guyun Stone Forest.

“Alright then, the Traveler and I will go check it out first.”

“After all, someone like you doesn’t need to ‘know yourself and know your enemy.'”

Paimon grinned at Qiu Bai.

Then, Paimon and Lumine headed toward the competitors.

Watching Lumine and Paimon walk away, Qiu Bai smiled faintly at the corners of his mouth and made his way toward the beach.

He walked into the sea and crouched down.

His palm touched the water.

“Osial’s wife?”

“Beisht.”

Qiu Bai’s lips curved into a smile.

“But this crisis, let Liyue handle it.”

“It seems she’s quite angry.”

Qiu Bai’s eyes glowed faintly as he gazed into the depths of the sea.

Beisht, the lingering might of the vortex, was the wife of Osial, the Overlord of the Vortex, and also Osial’s last follower.

Ever since Osial was annihilated by Qiu Bai’s sword strike,

she had been lurking in the deep sea, waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on Liyue.

Thinking about it carefully, it was quite pitiful.

She had always known her husband was sealed beneath the sea by the Stone Spears, yet she couldn’t pull out Morax’s Stone Spears.

She had been wandering these waters all this time. Not long ago, when Osial was finally freed, he was annihilated by my sword strike.

At this thought, Qiu Bai’s mouth twitched.

Why does it sound like I’m the villain here?

Shaking his head, he stood up and walked toward Lumine and Paimon.

Seeing Lumine and Paimon talking to two young people, Qiu Bai immediately grew interested.

“Lumine, Paimon, what are you doing?”

Qiu Bai walked up to Lumine and Paimon and asked curiously.

“We’re observing the other competitors.”

“We were just chatting with them.”

Paimon clasped her hands behind her back, smiling as she explained to Qiu Bai.

“Yes, to refine our martial arts, we must accumulate more experience through actual combat.”

“That’s what our master taught us.”

Chai Yi looked at the three and explained.

“However, for us,”

“aside from treating the competition as training, we also really want to obtain that ownerless Vision.”

Chai Yi looked at Qiu Bai and the others and slowly explained.

“Yes, if we can obtain the Vision…”

“We are sure to become Master’s most accomplished disciples!”

The young man beside Chai Yi nodded with a smile.

“This master sounds quite impressive.”

“Is he a famous person?”

Paimon looked at the two young men in martial arts attire and asked curiously.

“Yes, he is the founding patriarch of the Lingshan Sect, a truly remarkable individual.”

“My junior brother and I are both inheritors of this sect.”

Chai Yi looked at Paimon, nodded, and said proudly.

“Lingshan Sect?”

“I don’t think I’ve heard of it.”

Lumine looked at Chai Yi and murmured with a hint of skepticism.

Upon hearing this, Qiu Bai twitched the corner of his mouth.

He now remembered—weren’t these two the direct disciples of Ma Baoguo?

“That’s normal, as it was only recently established.”

“It’s far less well-known than our master, who is a martial arts grandmaster.”

“He has created many techniques, and I’ve heard that the martial arts of over a dozen sects have been influenced by him.”

Chai Yi looked at Lumine and spoke mysteriously.

“And what he teaches in the Lingshan Sect…”

“…is a technique called Huajin.”

Chai Yi crossed his arms, his face full of pride.

“Huajin?”

Paimon spread her hands, looking puzzled.

“It’s a form of qigong that circulates the vital energy throughout the body.”

“Without moving an inch, it can neutralize external attacks.”

Chai Yi looked at Paimon and explained with a smile.

“For example, our master can easily redirect an opponent’s punches.”

“Or make stones thrown at him veer off course!”

Chai Yi looked at the three and explained earnestly.

“He once even sent a challenger flying with a single shock!”

Chai Yi’s junior brother exclaimed excitedly, his voice filled with admiration for their master.

“These two kids…”

“…have been thoroughly deceived.”

Looking at Chai Yi’s junior brother, Qiu Bai couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth again.

“Is something like that really possible?”

Lumine looked at Chai Yi and asked doubtfully.

“It is indeed possible, though extremely difficult.”

“We’ve practiced for a long time and have only grasped the basics.”

Chai Yi looked at Lumine, spread his hands, and explained helplessly.

“Ah… It’s just that we lack natural talent and can’t master the essentials quickly.”

“But if things continue like this, we won’t be able to afford the tuition fees much longer.”

Upon hearing this, Chai Yi’s junior brother lowered his head dejectedly.

“There are tuition fees?!”

Paimon looked at Chai Yi and his junior brother in surprise.

“Of course! Master is a martial arts grandmaster.”

“He’s very busy every day. If you want his personal guidance, you have to show some sincerity, right?”

Chai Yi looked at Paimon and Lumine strangely—wasn’t paying tuition fees just common sense?

“If you can’t learn it…”

“…it might not be your fault.”

The clever Lumine immediately saw the problem—that so-called martial arts grandmaster was probably just a fraud.

“The qigong Huajin you mentioned…”

“…is it like this?”

Qiu Bai looked at the two gullible souls before him and spoke with a smile.

Then, he pointed a finger at a massive boulder.

Instantly, the boulder exploded from the force of Qiu Bai’s finger!

“Wow!!”

“H-how did you do that?!”

Chai Yi stared at Qiu Bai in shock.

Judging by the power, a single finger could make a boulder explode.

Even their master needed both hands to send a Vision holder flying.

The disparity in power is simply too vast!

“And there’s this.”

Qiu Bai moved his finger once more, releasing an invisible force that neither Chai Yi nor his junior brother could perceive.

It shot across the sea surface, this unseen power, like a sphere, leaving enormous waves in its wake.