CHAPTER 88: CHAPTER 87: YESTERDAY

A young man in his twenties, mastering two basic Combat Techniques—what exactly did that mean?

Qian Yuliu, who had managed to bring the Biting Battle Technique to perfection at such a young age, was already universally recognized as a prodigy at the Star Engraving Military Academy.

Yin Yinyin, struggling for survival on the edge of a blade since the age of ten, facing relentless pressure just to stay alive, had also trained in the Hidden Sword Technique—a method that drastically shortened lifespan and turned hair prematurely gray—thus finally mastering two basic Combat Techniques at this age.

But what about Zhengwei Jing?

He grew up pampered, surrounded by guards when he was out, and food was ready upon his return—he was the very model of a second-generation wastrel. In terms of discipline, survival stress, or even talent for Combat Technique, Zhengwei Jing couldn’t possibly compare to either Qian Yuliu or Yin Yinyin!

Yet, unbelievably, this was the man who had mastered two Combat Techniques—and what’s more, he didn’t even appear to have any side effects. At least, he wouldn’t go gray-headed or die young!

"When something’s this out of the ordinary, something must be wrong." For Zhengwei Jing to wield such power, he had to be paying a heavy price beneath the surface.

And the source of it all was the ’Fusion Qi Qinri Battle Technique’ which Zhengwei Jing had trained in.

’Fusion Qi Technique,’ mentioned before, was a type of Lion Roar Battle Technique that utilized sound to both strengthen oneself and weaken the enemy. The ’Fusion Qi Qinri Battle Technique’ was essentially a highly-modified fusion of the Fusion Qi Technique and the Qinri Secret Technique.

The ’Fusion Qi Qinri Battle Technique’ was not actually the Jing Family’s inherited Combat Technique, but rather a secret passed down from Zhengwei Jing’s mother’s side. Simply put, the technique’s effect was this, "It drastically enhanced one’s perception, talent, and spiritual power potential, and even made one nearly invulnerable to blades, disconnecting pain."

Just hearing it sounded almost magical—increasing perception, talent, and spiritual power potential? That was like upgrading from an N Card to an SR Card: the former were as common as weeds, the latter were one-in-a-hundred geniuses. It truly had the power to, "change your entire life."

By all rights, such a useful Combat Technique should be spread nationwide, practiced by everyone—after some time it might even lift the quality of all citizens, and entering the information age would be just the start—surely the true goal was the stars and seas beyond.

And yet this technique had two major difficulties: the bar to entry was high, and practicing it was sheer torment.

Because, in Le Yuxin’s words, the Fusion Qi Qinri Battle Technique was... a sort of virgin cultivation technique.

Qin, the chaotic sound of silk and bamboo, suggested temptation; Ri, the glaring sun, symbolized the self and also the urge to create life.

The Fusion Qi Technique, at its core, relied on visualizing an imagined entity, then using sound to activate it and thus affect reality. For instance, the Fusion Qi skill ’Armored Flow’ involved picturing oneself donned in armor, then shouting to create a Light Armor that genuinely increased defense.

’Fusion Qi Qinri’ in synthesis meant this: Visualize a genius ascetic, untroubled by external temptation, and keep the Primordial Yang unspent—that was the key to the genius’s strength. The closer the cultivator came to this form, the closer their perception, talent, and spiritual potential came to that of the genius.

Without a doubt, retaining the Primordial Yang wasn’t truly the reason for improved talent; this wasn’t some wuxia world—it was time to give science its due—"at least, in this regard they pretended to be scientific."

The true power of the Fusion Qi Qinri Battle Technique still resided in the cultivator’s own spiritual power. As mentioned earlier, the cultivator and their spiritual power supported one another; if the cultivator rose in status, spiritual power grew stronger. Strong spiritual power, in return, naturally refined the body and mind.

’Fusion Qi Qinri’ had actually set up a kind of ongoing ’Tribulation’ for the practitioner, "It made the cultivator believe that as long as they never lost their Primordial Yang, all aspects of themselves would grow stronger—and, in practice, the results did match this."

Up to this point, the Fusion Qi Qinri was still quite normal—and in fact, there were lots of loopholes one could exploit,

"So just keep your Primordial Yang, big deal. I just won’t get a girlfriend. I live in the wild, I’m broke and ugly, nobody likes me anyway. Or maybe I’ve got physiological problems, or hell, I lop it off and kill the problem at the source—sounds great, right?"

No way.

Because the essence of the technique was to keep the cultivator in a state of constant Tribulation; as soon as they left the environment of Tribulation, the effects would be lost.

"People simply can’t lie to themselves."

The difference between "circumstances forcing you to practice as a virgin" and "being hounded by temptations yet sticking to your heart and cultivating as a virgin" was worlds apart.

The fat shut-in who never leaves home and avoids temptation couldn’t be compared to the handsome guy who, despite daily opportunities, abstains—"The difficulty between the two is obvious at a glance."

’Qinri’ without the chaotic sound of the strings couldn’t display the burning brightness of the sun.

Martial artists, too, had discovered that without the environment’s ’assistance,’ the Fusion Qi Qinri was lame at best. For the average person, there was simply no effect—thus the secret art had effectively been discarded and had never spread.

Because the correct way to use this Secret Technique was for rich people—those who could party every night—to practice it.

People like Zhengwei Jing.

And Zhengwei Jing’s approach was the most extreme of all. To keep a clear mind was hard enough—but to reach the state of ’untouched amidst temptation’ only strengthened the technique’s effects further.

That’s why Zhengwei Jing always had beauties around him each day, every night was a ’Qinri.’

He had to keep his body fit, full of Primordial Yang,

He had to genuinely like them—desires burning hot,

He had to actively approach them, never flee,

Then, keep the Primordial Yang unspent, and hold to the ascetic persona of a genius cultivator.

This was the life Zhengwei Jing had lived for five whole years.

"Just imagining it, Le Yuxin already thought it was twisted." When he read Zhengwei Jing’s memories, those moments of ’I’m about to burst’ made him freeze, but Zhengwei Jing had kept a death grip on his self-restraint. Even with aids from the technique, Le Yuxin still found him utterly sick.

And sure enough, Zhengwei Jing had become a total pervert because of this.

Tormented by wanting and never getting, craving gnawed at Zhengwei Jing day and night until his desire fermented into bloodlust. His crossdressing fetish arose as he imagined being a woman himself, to numb the torture of his urges.

Even the women who dutifully assisted Zhengwei Jing with his cultivation night after night became, in his eyes, the source of all his suffering. When he couldn’t bear it any longer, he would destroy the source of pain to gain fleeting comfort and release.

"What a terrifying animal..." Le Yuxin stared at his own hands, even feeling the urge to strangle himself—the impact of Zhengwei Jing’s memories was that strong.

At last, Le Yuxin understood what that vague, nagging feeling of dissonance really was.

He had been too deeply influenced by Zhengwei Jing.

Unlike Qian Yuliu—who was a cold-blooded animal without feelings—Qian Yuliu’s obsession with Qian Yuya wasn’t really about emotion, it was just the only meaning he could grasp in his brief life,

And unlike Yin Yinyin—Yin Yinyin had grown used to swapping masks, verging on split personalities. When Le Yuxin seized control, it was like opening a third user account; the other two hardly affected him.

Besides, he’d activated the Ice Blood Physique in both Qian Yuliu and Yin Yinyin—"and that passive power ought to block some of the emotional corruption."

But with Zhengwei Jing, every memory was awash in heat—strong desire, despair, hate, murderous intent, self-pity, narcissism, inferiority... Every emotion soaked this body to its core, and Le Yuxin felt their impact at every moment.

And now, after switching bodies, he no longer had the Ice Blood Physique, so he just had to take it all raw.

While mimicking Zhengwei Jing earlier, Le Yuxin had nearly been fused by Zhengwei Jing. The allure, arrogance, mood swings—Le Yuxin had, unwittingly, taken them all on.

Why had he told Yin Minghong to go fetch the package? If Yin Minghong couldn’t, Le Yuxin would lose face and at the very least have to throw Yin Minghong into prison, destroying all of Yin Minghong’s years of work.

But, suspecting Yin Minghong of betraying ’Assassin Le Yuxin,’ he did all that anyway, consequences be damned.

Why punish Yin Minghong, forcing him to make a declaration?

"Wasn’t it just because Yin Minghong said, ’I just wanted to make the assassin serve you better,’ and Le Yuxin found it irksome?" But under those conditions, what else could Yin Minghong have possibly said?

"Vindictive, moody, willful, reckless—this is Le Yuxin, and it is Zhengwei Jing too."

Zhengwei Jing had been warped into a pervert by that Fusion Qi Qinri Battle Technique.

Le Yuxin had nearly merged into the same sickness as Zhengwei Jing.

Drawing a long breath, Le Yuxin closed his eyes, sifting through his past memories—parents, little sister, Qian Yuya, Yin Yinyin, An Qian, Lan Yan...

He had no idea how much time had passed when suddenly, he heard Qing Lan ask, "Are you tired, sir? Then I’ll turn out the lights and go to sleep."

"Mm." Le Yuxin opened his eyes, his pupils pure and bright. "Let’s get some sleep."

Qing Lan obediently climbed into bed next to Le Yuxin. He blinked, a little stunned. "You..."

Qing Lan turned to look at him, her expression tense, eyes filled with a touch of pleading. Le Yuxin could almost feel her restless anxiety and fear, and his heart softened. He said, "Is your hair dry? Sleeping with damp hair will give you a headache."

"I used a hot iron. It’s dry," Qing Lan sighed in relief. "So... I’ll turn out the lights."

The room fell into darkness, the moonlight through the window a bright but gentle grid. The faint sound of wind from afar felt especially soothing.

"Le Yuxin thought about his plans for what came next."

First of all: Zhengwei Jing’s Fusion Qi Qinri Battle Technique—there was no way he’d ever practice it again.

However, he wouldn’t deliberately destroy his foundation either. After all, the increased Defense and pain-resistance it brought were things he desperately needed until he reactivated the Ice Blood Physique.

"And after that, he’d have to be vigilant about his own mindset, keeping a clear line between himself and Zhengwei Jing. Hmm, maybe look at some crossdressing every day; when he found himself not only unfazed, but even tempted to try it, that would be the sign to ditch this overcharged sports car called Zhengwei Jing."

And then...

Le Yuxin yawned, suddenly feeling a little sleepy. He glanced at the lovely girl beside him, then his body suddenly tensed, and he slowly slid an arm around her.

As Le Yuxin touched her, Qing Lan stiffened too. She froze, letting him hold her without the slightest movement.

Then—

That was all there was to it.

Le Yuxin hugged Qing Lan, thinking, "This is just so I can tell myself apart from Zhengwei Jing—Zhengwei Jing would never touch anyone in his sleep, but I always liked to hug a plushie at night; that’s perfectly reasonable, right? It’s the mark of my own free will!"

And besides, Qing Lan was so soft and warm to hold. Pretty comfortable, actually.

No matter how many reasons he thought up, none of them could conceal that tiny thrill of delight he felt inside.

But that was as far as it went; Le Yuxin had no further intentions. He not only wanted to keep the five years’ worth of progress won by Zhengwei Jing’s abnormality but, more importantly, he simply wasn’t that sort of person.

"A normal moral compass, and a basic, naive belief in free, romantic love meant he would never dare go beyond a hug. Anything deeper—well, that had to be with someone you genuinely loved."

As for whether he’d ever find someone to love...

"Time to sleep, anything could happen in dreams. Maybe he’d find the Divine Demon Well and finally make it home."

...

...

The next day, before getting into the carriage, Le Yuxin glanced up at Old Man Huo and his followers, hanging dead from the city tower.

"Honestly, seeing corpses like this doesn’t exactly make me happy," Le Yuxin shook his head, "Maybe it’s just that they died ugly. Next time, I’ll leave the bodies whole. Punishment ought to be a means, not an end."

Le Yuxin climbed into the carriage, lying back on the soft cushion. Qing Lan joined him and placed his head gently on her lap.

Le Yuxin said lazily, "Let’s get going."

"Back to Xuanzhu County,"