Essence Devouring Art

The saying goes: poverty for scholars, wealth for warriors.

How much money can you make teaching martial arts? How many lessons would it take to afford the resources for a single Cultivation session?

Even if you taught a thousand people, it wouldn’t compare to the spare change from a single month’s income in any industry after establishing a monopoly.

Under these circumstances,

anyone with a shred of ambition wouldn’t just follow the rules, let alone a Martial Artist who wields Extraordinary power.

When they want to do something,

they naturally possess an advantage in Martial Power that ordinary people could never hope to match.

A fortune of ten million is no match for a single punch from a Breaking the Cocoon expert.

This saying circulating in the Jianghu isn’t just empty talk.

"By the way."

After Zhao Jianji chugged a pot of tea, Wu Dao remembered he had asked him to inquire about Tan City. "Regarding Tan City," he asked, "is there really not a single shred of inside information?"

The way everyone in the White Whale Martial Arts Hall avoided the topic like the plague made him uncertain about the anomaly in Tan City.

If it was a particularly vicious one,

that would be very troublesome. In the short term, it would be a prize he could only look at, but not touch.

"Well..."

Zhao Jianji shook his head helplessly, apparently having found nothing. His expression was also a bit grim.

To be honest,

although he had full confidence in Wu Dao, whom he now served—after all, a Second Rebirth meant he was no longer a minor figure—

he still felt a sense of unease regarding the disaster that had occurred in Tan City.

From the tight-lipped attitude of the White Whale Martial Arts Hall’s upper echelons, it was clear that not even they wanted to provoke the source of that disaster.

’If Wu Dao overestimates his own strength and gets any ideas...’

’I’ll probably have to find a new master soon.’

"Oh, right! Look at my memory. I got so busy, I almost forgot."

Seeing Wu Dao’s expression turn grim,

Zhao Jianji shuddered involuntarily. He suddenly remembered something important and hurriedly took a letter from his robes, handing it to Wu Dao.

"The Grandmaster gave this to me. He said that you, Hall Master, are to follow his orders and must commit the contents to memory."

’Qi Canghai?’

Wu Dao took the letter and opened it. He shot a cold glance at the nosy Zhao Jianji, who was craning his neck to see. After Zhao Jianji gave an awkward smile and stepped aside, Wu Dao finally examined the contents.

On the white paper,

the content was sparse.

Just a single line, written in a forceful, elegant script—

"Do not go to Lin Village. There is a big hedgehog. Remember this!"

’Lin Village?’

’A big hedgehog?’

Wu Dao’s eyes flickered. He crushed the letter in his hand to dust, a sense of understanding about the disaster in Tan City dawning on him.

’No wonder everyone in the White Whale Martial Arts Hall avoided it like the plague!’

"Hedgehog."

This was a piece of Jianghu slang referring to the Deceitful Species found among anomalies.

Because the Martial Dao and Military Dao, unlike the Immortal Dao, had a hard time dealing with these abnormal existences—and there was little benefit in doing so—

they were like a stinking pile of spiky dog shit. That’s why Jianghu People called them hedgehogs.

’A big hedgehog!’

’And those words came from Qi Canghai, an Innate expert.’

’Its strength must be...’

Hooo...

Wu Dao let out a slow breath, his mind in turmoil.

The strength of a Deceitful Species couldn’t be measured purely by the realms of the Martial Dao.

Even a Fierce Gui at the first-layer bloom of a Black Lotus was something a Harmonizing Force expert couldn’t handle. Only someone with Inner Strength and a Spirit Armor would stand a chance.

And for various reasons,

Martial Artists generally gave the Deceitful Species a wide berth, avoiding contact whenever possible.

So, although Qi Canghai’s words implied the matter was tricky, and he even delivered the message in a commanding tone,

it was hard to tell if he was simply too lazy to deal with it because the reward wasn’t worth the risk, or if he was genuinely afraid of it.

However, regardless of the reason, it was not something the current Wu Dao could afford to provoke.

’Strength!’

’My current strength isn’t enough to take a bite out of this prize.’

’It’s impossible to gather that many points for the attribute panel in the short term, so I’ll have to find another way.’

At this thought, Wu Dao suddenly recalled the Cultivation Techniques of this World and an idea formed in his mind. His gaze sharpened as he said to Zhao Jianji, "You’ve worked hard tonight. Get some rest. We’ll set off for Tan City first thing in the morning."

"Heh, no can do. It’s not every day I get to come to the County City. I have to indulge myself a little. If you’re tired, Hall Master, you go ahead and rest. This subordinate will take his leave."

Who would have thought, Zhao Jianji just gave a cheeky, roguish grin, cupped his fists, and eagerly excused himself.

He was probably off to find some pleasure.

It had to be said, the man had a truly optimistic nature, embodying the carefree spirit of "drink and be merry today, for who knows what tomorrow brings."

Wu Dao was suddenly reminded of the flower boats from the daytime, filled with song and dance. He shook his head, not bothering to give it much thought.

’Human happiness stems from the satisfaction of desires.’

’As one ascends through the levels,’

’the low-level satisfaction derived from biological mating exists only at the very bottom. It is too base, too easily fulfilled.’

’This level of pleasure...’

’...is utter bullshit compared to the supreme bliss of a Life Transition.’

’And the weaker a creature is,’

’to ensure the continuation of its genes,’

’the more it is dominated by the reproductive instinct, obsessed with the desire to mate and pass them on.’

’Truly powerful beings...’

’...find satisfaction from only one desire: becoming even stronger!’

’The stronger they become, the weaker the reproductive instinct in their genes grows.’

’In his previous life, Wu Dao could rack his brain and still not understand one thing—’

’what in the world was going through the minds of those Immortal Emperors and Demon Monarchs who had lived for tens of thousands of years, were revered throughout the Three Realms, yet spent all day thinking about romance, love affairs, and petty jealousies?’

...

「After Zhao Jianji left.」

Wu Dao left the main hall. His imposing frame stood straight as a spear in the courtyard, hands clasped behind his back. He listened to the cheerful chirping of the summer insects as he gazed up at the few scattered stars in the deep blue dome of the sky.

His heart was as still as a secluded pond, without a single ripple of emotion. He simply closed his eyes, letting his mind and body go empty, savoring a rare moment of tranquility in his more than sixty years of life across two lifetimes.

At the same time, he was also waiting in secret.

On the horizon, black clouds, like a curtain, slowly blotted out the starlight.

He estimated that in a little while, they would completely cover the sky, and darkness would utterly consume the world.

WHOOSH...

Another half hour passed.

The night wind suddenly grew colder. Above the Nine Heavens, the black clouds formed a lid, completely obscuring the last glimmer of starlight.

Deep within the Black Sea of clouds, muffled thunder rumbled, and purple dragons of lightning streaked across, exploding into branching patterns that spread across the heavens.

It was another night of torrential rain and thunder.

CRACK—

WHOOSH—

Before long, following a deafening thunderclap that seemed to split the Nine Heavens, raindrops the size of beans began to pour down. In an instant, the world became a dark, blurry mess.

Inside the courtyard, the croaking of frogs rose from all directions amidst the driving wind and rain.

Wu Dao’s tall figure was nowhere to be seen.

...

Lancang County City was massive.

It was protected by three layers of walls.

The outer city housed thousands of households, the Inner City was lined with the estates of great families, and at its core, the White Whale Martial Arts Hall headquarters was a city within a city.

Beyond the headquarters’ walls, one could see various private manors scattered like stars across the landscape, built against mountains and by water, all amidst the pouring rain.

Most of these private manors were the residences of the White Whale Martial Arts Hall’s elders and high-ranking members. The rest belonged to the top wealthy and noble families of Lancang County City, varying in size.

Security was tight.

Even in the pouring rain, teams of guards wearing straw raincoats and carrying oil lamps patrolled the manor grounds.

The people inside the manors were either rich or noble. If anything went wrong, the guards couldn’t bear the responsibility.

’The old bastard sure knows how to live.’

Outside a relatively large and secluded manor on the mountainside,

Wu Dao, now in a set of gray clothes, stood on the branch of a massive tree, his dark, imposing frame bathed in the downpour. He caught the rich aroma of wine in the air, a scent so strong that not even the earthy smell of the rain could mask it, and a cold smile touched his lips.

’Such a rich aroma of wine...’

’...could only mean that there was a dedicated winery within this manor for Elder Qin’s enjoyment.’

Adding to that were the exquisite and incredibly luxurious buildings filling the estate with no empty space, its scale far surpassing the other manors.

The interior had everything from ponds to private woods, and the servants’ quarters were a sprawling complex. It truly had the appearance of a great and powerful clan’s estate.

It wasn’t hard to imagine,

how many "no-cost" businesses this old codger, Elder Qin, had run over the years with the help of those bandits, and how much extra cash he had raked in.

After all,

a Giant Whale Order of the fourth rank only granted an annual stipend of twenty thousand taels, and that was a benefit that had only been increased after the White Whale Martial Arts Hall truly came to dominate half the Prefecture.

Furthermore, the White Whale Martial Arts Hall already controlled nearly all the profitable businesses in the southern territory of Guangqing Prefecture.

If Elder Qin only collected his share of the profits, he could work for a hundred years and still not afford such a luxurious manor that stood head and shoulders above the rest, let alone establish a great and powerful family.

Thus,

it was understandable why Elder Qin resented Wu Dao so much.

After all, Wu Dao had directly smashed his Treasure Basin. As the saying goes, cutting off someone’s source of wealth is like murdering their parents. No amount of hatred would be excessive.