"It's strange how little information there is about Ding Shian," Daniel Davis mused. Among the "One Absolute and Two Heroes," the Old Heavenly Master and Na Ruhuo were fairly well-known, including their preferred techniques. However, Ding Shian was an enigma, particularly the reason he joined the Full Faction. Most puzzling of all, he became one of the Two Heroes before joining the faction, leaving his motives a mystery.
"Wang Ye was indeed expelled from the Wudang Sect, and Zhuge Qing has also arrived in the capital. Is he struggling internally?" Daniel reflected. The Wind Queen's Qimen was an extraordinary technique, coveted by many, even the head of the Shuzi Sect. After witnessing its power, it was impossible for Zhuge Qing not to have some thoughts about it. However, thanks to his upbringing in the Zhuge family, he managed to keep his ambitions in check.
The Zhuge family was far superior to families like the Wang and Lü families, who were always coveting the Eight Miraculous Techniques. The Zhuge family had their own unique technique, Samadhi True Fire, which was just as powerful as the Eight Miraculous Techniques.
This was similar to the Heavenly Master Sect, which never coveted Zhang Chulan's Qi Source Stream technique.
"Let's finish this mission quickly and head back." After briefly surveying the five-star hotel where Zhuge Qing was staying, Daniel decided to act swiftly and then return to Biyou Village. As for Wang Ye and the Wind Queen's Qimen, he could deal with that once Wang Ye arrived at the village.
Zhuge Qing had been having a rough time lately. In terms of magic, he had encountered the Wind Queen's Qimen, and in terms of mechanical skills, he had faced Divine Machine's Hundred Refinements. Both of his family's most treasured legacies had been surpassed.
"The Sichuan Tang Clan is not to be underestimated," Daniel thought as he passed the time, waiting until nightfall to take action. He began reviewing the intelligence on the Tang Clan.
Daniel's curiosity about the Tang Clan stemmed from their representative, Tang Wenlong, who had participated in the Luo Tian Dajiao tournament. Daniel had a deep understanding of poison and was highly skilled in both medicine and toxins, thanks to the powers of the Ope Ope no Mi fruit. However, the Tang Clan's poison was different from traditional poisons.
Traditional poisons were created using various materials, any element from the periodic table could be used as a poison. But the Tang Clan's poison was unique in that it was created by transforming qi into poison.
This method required no materials and was similar to the Heavenly Master Sect's thunder techniques, or the many martial arts like Ten Thousand Leaf Flying Flowers and White Dew Deceives Frost, which transformed qi into elemental forces.
This made the Tang Clan's poison far superior to traditional methods. They didn't need to carry around poison clouds or use special gloves.
In addition to poison, the Tang Clan also excelled in mechanisms and artifact crafting, and they were one of the few sects with a significant number of skilled craftsmen.
"So why don't they seem to use hidden weapons?" Daniel found the lack of hidden weapons in the Tang Clan puzzling. In his memory, hidden weapons were as synonymous with the Tang Clan as their poisons, but here, they were absent. This could be due to the Tang Clan's ability to turn their qi into poison, eliminating the need for hidden weapons coated with toxins.
"Should I introduce them to weapons like the Heaven Net Spikes, Rain of Pear Blossom Needles, or the Buddha's Wrath Tang Lotus? A Tang Clan without hidden weapons doesn't feel like the complete Tang Clan," Daniel mused. In fact, with his technological knowledge and the Ope Ope no Mi powers, he could easily recreate some of these weapons.
The simplest among them was the Rain of Pear Blossom Needles, a terrifying hidden weapon feared by many. Whether through Red Queen's advanced technology or Daniel's own abilities, he could easily manufacture it.
Modern firearms were certainly powerful, but in terms of stealth, they were inferior to hidden weapons. Even something as basic as a wrist-mounted arrow was more discreet than a gun.
"Should I offer some special services?" As midnight approached, Daniel decided to have a little fun. He pulled out a phone and made a prank call to Zhuge Qing's hotel room, using a voice synthesized by the Red Queen AI.
"No, thank you." Inside the hotel room, Zhuge Qing immediately hung up after receiving the call.
"Isn't this supposed to be a five-star hotel? Why am I getting prank calls? I'm filing a complaint tomorrow," Zhuge Qing muttered, irritated. After all, as the eldest son of the Zhuge family, he wasn't exactly in need of "services." Even if he were interested, his family would break his legs.
"I'll give you some special services right now—meet my beautiful friends," Daniel chuckled. He activated his Devour Bag, and four hulking figures emerged. Each one had a grotesque, clown-like face that Daniel had modified, painting their faces in bright, garish colors.
Two of the figures approached Zhuge Qing's door, while the other two climbed up to the window. These monstrous figures, known as Rufa, were under Daniel's control. He decided to play a little prank on Zhuge Qing, who had never been one for gossip.
"Who's there?" Daniel's plan worked perfectly. When Zhuge Qing saw the terrifying figures through the window, he instinctively recoiled in shock. Anyone would be startled if they saw two grotesque faces pressed against their window in the dead of night.
After collecting himself, Zhuge Qing grew furious. He opened the window and, using a wind-based spell, leaped to the rooftop.
"Let's see who's behind this." Despite being attacked, Zhuge Qing didn't immediately strike back with lethal force. He used wind-based binding spells to fight, reflecting how, even in the Exorcist Community, modern exorcists rarely aimed to kill.
Meanwhile, the four Rufa wielded snake-headed clubs known as Double-Headed Snakes and attacked Zhuge Qing without mercy. However, their limited power wasn't enough to harm Zhuge Qing.
"The proper way to use these Rufa is to arm them with something like a Gatling Bodhisattva," Daniel mused. The so-called Namo Gatling Bodhisattva was a modern take on the Rufa, arming them with heavy weaponry to rain down bullets in a storm of destruction.
If Jin Yong had used such methods in his fight against Wang Ye, even the power of the Wind Queen's Qimen wouldn't have been enough to save him.
"Wind Rope, Wind Condense, Wind Mirror." After a brief scuffle, Zhuge Qing realized that the Rufa were mere puppets. With a burst of determination, he quickly destroyed all four.
"This technique is very similar to Haki," Daniel observed as he noticed Zhuge Qing's blackened hands. Zhuge Qing had used a technique called Black Glazed Hands, reminiscent of the Haki ability from the One Piece world.
"Come out," Zhuge Qing called out coldly after destroying the puppets. He knew that if these were puppets, there had to be someone controlling them.
"Isn't this the famous 'Gossip-Refusing Zhuge Qing'? What a coincidence!" Daniel stepped out from the shadows, smiling and waving at Zhuge Qing as if they were old friends.
"So, it's you." With a burst of movement, Zhuge Qing closed the distance between them, his blackened fist whistling through the air as it struck at Daniel.
Zhuge Qing was feeling particularly frustrated that night after being frightened by the puppets. Daniel's sudden appearance gave him the perfect outlet for his anger. Under normal circumstances, Zhuge Qing wouldn't have acted so rashly, but his recent experiences had left him rattled.
Bang.
As Zhuge Qing's heavy punch landed, Daniel calmly met it with his left palm. The impact caused a dull thud to resonate through the rooftop as the force of the punch shook the surrounding air.
"So, it's Black Glazed Hands combined with Baji Fist," Daniel remarked, sensing the powerful energy behind Zhuge Qing's punch. It was a good thing Daniel had come himself, as other exorcists of lower caliber wouldn't have been able to handle it. While Zhuge Qing wasn't aiming to kill, he certainly had no qualms about giving his mysterious assailant a serious beating.
"Who are you?" Seeing Daniel block his punch so effortlessly, Zhuge Qing narrowed his eyes, his wariness growing.
"Don't worry about who I am. What do you think of this?" Daniel replied, his right hand flicking to the side. The decapitated head of one of the Rufa puppets flew into his hand, and he passed it to Zhuge Qing.
"What? How is this possible?" Initially, Zhuge Qing didn't pay much attention to the puppet head, but after a closer inspection, his expression changed. He crouched down, picking up more of the broken pieces from the ground to examine them carefully.
Although the Zhuge family had strict rules about the Qimen and Shenji disciplines being passed down separately, this didn't mean practitioners of one couldn't recognize the other. Zhuge Qing didn't practice Shenji, but he had the knowledge to appreciate its intricacies. Had it not been for the treachery of the Thirty-Six Thieves within the Zhuge family, Zhuge
Qing himself might have been trained in Shenji.
Although the Rufa were commonplace in Biyou Village, with even basic-level exorcists owning them, these puppets were extraordinary pieces of craftsmanship, powered by the Body Refining Furnace. Outside the village, even the Zhuge family's most skilled craftsmen would have difficulty producing something of this caliber.
The Rufa's design and function were marvels of engineering.
Watching Zhuge Qing's shocked expression, Daniel shook his head with a hint of sympathy. Zhuge Qing was clearly shaken, having his worldview shattered yet again.
"I've found him and passed on the information," Daniel thought, pulling out his phone to call Ma Xianhong. His mission was simple: locate Zhuge Qing and show him the Rufa. It was now up to Ma Xianhong to persuade Zhuge Qing to visit Biyou Village.
Daniel was invested in this, as Ma Xianhong's next stage of modifications for the Body Refining Furnace required the help of a skilled sorcerer. Though Wang Ye would have been a better fit, there was no way Wang Ye would assist Ma Xianhong.
"Our leader would like to speak with you," Daniel said, handing the phone to the still-dazed Zhuge Qing.
"You're that so-called leader," Zhuge Qing muttered after a moment of silence. He took the phone and began his conversation with Ma Xianhong.
"Lead the way," Zhuge Qing said curtly after hanging up, tossing the phone back to Daniel.
"We'll leave tomorrow. Get some rest," Daniel replied with a sigh. No matter how urgent the situation, they couldn't set out for Biyou Village immediately. After packing away the pieces of the destroyed Rufa, Daniel left the rooftop.
"What a jerk," Zhuge Qing muttered under his breath as he watched Daniel leave, glancing around the now-empty rooftop.
"Looks like I don't need to handle Wang Ye after all." Ma Xianhong was always willing to lend a hand. Upon learning that another bearer of the Eight Miraculous Techniques, Wang Ye, was being watched, he had already devised a plan to help Wang Ye out of his predicament.
The transformed humans created for this purpose would be more than sufficient. Daniel wasn't too concerned, as these transformed humans were equipped with low-level magical artifacts. Even a Full Faction expert like Summer Liuqing could be overwhelmed by them, let alone the exorcists tailing Wang Ye's family.
"Biyou Village is certainly welcoming to all sorts, huh? Your leader is quite interesting," Zhuge Qing remarked on the plane, trying to glean more information from Daniel about Ma Xianhong.
"Our leader is a man of great loyalty," Daniel responded truthfully. Before Zhuge Qing could ask more, Daniel immediately changed the subject. "I hear the Zhuge family is renowned for its sorcery. I have a few questions on the subject—do you mind?"
Since he had the opportunity to talk to a master sorcerer like Zhuge Qing, Daniel wasn't going to waste it. He took this chance to gain a deeper understanding of sorcery, regardless of whether he planned to practice the Wind Queen's Qimen in the future.
"Not at all." The mention of sorcery made Zhuge Qing turn serious. He answered Daniel's questions diligently. Their discussion quickly became filled with technical jargon, leaving the passengers around them completely baffled. Fortunately, Daniel had recently brushed up on his knowledge, or he wouldn't have understood half of what was being discussed.
"I'll arrange for a place for you to stay." Once they arrived at Biyou Village, Daniel found an empty house for Zhuge Qing, conveniently located near Fu Rong's residence, allowing Zhuge Qing to get closer to her.
It had to be said, Ma Xianhong was incredibly generous to Zhuge Qing. Not only did he offer him the Divine Machine's Hundred Refinements, but he also seemed to be setting him up with a potential girlfriend. Even Wang Ye, another bearer of the Eight Miraculous Techniques, didn't receive such treatment.
"He's quite the charmer," Daniel chuckled as he watched Zhuge Qing approach Fu Rong. Shaking his head, he made a mental note to spread Zhuge Qing's nickname, "Gossip-Refusing Zhuge Qing," the next chance he got.
Zhuge Qing's online alias was "Biting You," which was a clear indicator of his inner thoughts.
Daniel knew this because, while using the identity of Gai Nie, he had added Zhuge Qing as a friend, along with Lu Linglong, whose alias was "Gentle Breeze Hermit."
During the Luo Tian Dajiao tournament at the Heavenly Master Sect, Daniel had added many people under his Gai Nie persona. For example, Jia Zhengliang's alias was "White Horse, Silver Spear," and Feng Shayan's was "Empress."
But the most striking alias belonged to Wang Ye: "Won't Live to See Tomorrow's Sun."
The chat group was created by Zang Long, who had added everyone from the tournament. Even Zhang Lingyu was part of it. In the group, Zang Long and the others were always curious about Zhang Lingyu's romantic interests.
However, since Daniel had abandoned the identity of Gai Nie, he no longer used that account. If he did, Er Zhuang would definitely monitor it.
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