All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 287 - 148 Return of Iron Hand (1/3)

Chapter 287: Chapter 148 Return of Iron Hand (1/3)

It was when An Jing bid farewell to Mingguang Dust and the others.

Tianyuan Realm.

Iron Hand returned with a heart ablaze with passion.

Even someone as optimistic as he could never have imagined that his eldest sister, who had been out of touch for a decade, was still alive.

In those days, when he and his siblings snuck into Xuanye City, they aimed to infiltrate the depths of the city from various angles to obtain secret Luofu intelligence beyond conventional means.

And as everyone gradually got onto the right track, the youngest brother, along with his family—who were supposed to infiltrate a company under the Luofu Group—suddenly died in an attack by spies from another company.

Everybody first thought it was the work of spies from within the Guiyi Army, but after much investigation, they found out that the city of Xuanye was simply chaotic.

The youngest brother was unlucky. The company he targeted to join indeed had valuable intelligence; it was a core company pioneering the ruins of the old Dao Courtyards in the Wilderness, but that also meant joining was extremely dangerous, with rivals specifically looking to extinguish its new recruits.

Eldest sister, who acted as an intermediary in Xuanye City, also lost contact due to a mercenary vendetta.

This, too, was a competition between big corporations.

Iron Hand had thought she was dead, but to his surprise, she had changed her name and identity and had been hiding in the shadows all these years. Recently, she took the opportunity of the Luofu Group’s crackdown on the Black Market and their circulation through the slums to eliminate the mercenaries who bore a grudge against her.

The mercenaries were backed by a large collective. They also held numerous fragments of intelligence regarding Luofu’s recent actions. Finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, the eldest sister originally wanted to contact the youngest brother, only to discover he had died. After much searching, she finally managed to find Iron Hand’s contact information.

In fact, Iron Hand was not so easily convinced.

Even if he had been secretly, almost overtly, in love with his eldest sister in the past, so many years had passed that those feelings, even if they remained, were just that—unobtrusive to Iron Hand’s rational thinking.

So, during the past month, Iron Hand didn’t rush to meet up with his sister right away. Instead, he observed from various angles to verify her true identity, to make sure she hadn’t been captured by a large company and turned into a puppet stripped of her soul, seeking to pry open a lead through him.

As it turned out, the results were quite good—at least within the scope of Iron Hand’s abilities, he could confirm she was indeed alright.

Most importantly, the eldest sister was also suspicious of him.

She, too, doubted whether Iron Hand had been assimilated by the city over the years, abandoning the faith of the Guiyi Army.

Both parties tested each other for a long time, like two scar-covered hedgehogs wanting to embrace each other, yet they maintained their vigilance, bristling their spines, ready to hurt the other before being hurt themselves.

The result was fairly good. Everyone’s faith was no longer as strong, but they weren’t yet traitors.

The two sides reconnected, once again finding their brotherhood.

With their cooperation, Iron Hand now had a stable inside channel in the city. Life would be much better than in the past.

"Alas... it ultimately can’t return to the way it used to be."

The third and the youngest brother were dead, and the eldest brother was still out in the Wilderness... The group of people who once had bright eyes were now desolate middle-aged individuals.

With such mixed feelings, Iron Hand returned to the familiar recycling cabin once more.

Then, he saw from afar, his beloved great-nephew practicing martial skills in the courtyard.

"Not bad, it seems he is really putting effort into cultivation."

Witnessing this scene, Iron Hand was also very gratified. His youngest brother had been the smartest and most promising of them all, which is why he could take the corporate route in Xuanye City.

His child, despite a slightly flawed character due to the lack of parental care, seemed to have inherited that smart mind and a spirit capable of profound focus.

Iron Hand didn’t rush to disturb him. He lit a cigarette, his cybernetic eye rotating slightly, and observed Huo Qing practice from a distance: "Looks pretty proficient, where did he download the free martial skills from..."

"..."

"Not right."

Having looked for a while, Iron Hand’s red jade prosthetic eye narrowed its focus, and the ’Qi Observation Skills’ activated.

He slightly furrowed his brows, "This isn’t some free martial skills... it’s even quite formidable."

If it were an ordinary cultivator, or even a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he could guarantee that no one would recognize the specialty of Huo Qing’s set of martial skills.

But the Guiyi Army primarily consisted of Body Cultivation martial cultivators and martial cultivators who were more adapted to the wilderness environment. Although Iron Hand couldn’t discern the roots of these martial skills, he could tell they were extremely methodical, whether it was the stance-holding, bursting, or exerting force, all were quite regimented; it was at least a ’legitimate’ level of martial skills.

This was not something one could download freely.

In the Spiritual Network, many basic and simple ’Skills’ could be downloaded for free.

But these Skills were also taught in schools, with more delicate intricacies.

Although there might be some unique and wonderful ideas from folk wisdom, or special high-level Arts of Magic that seemed to have been accidentally uploaded to it—parts of a higher Dharma Gate... they were ultimately incomplete, unsystematic fragments.

"Stance-holding, step-holding, exerting force, unleashing force, and even the footwork..."

After watching for half an hour, the cigarette in Iron Hand’s hand had burnt out to the prosthetic fingers, but he was completely oblivious to it, having watched Huo Qing complete the entire Imperial Heaven method: "Although it doesn’t seem to be that strong a martial skill... for people like us, this is a set that could be passed down through generations..."

"Where did this kid learn this from? Could it be that he bought it online with money?"

"Or say..."

He didn’t suggest that Huo Qing was being wasteful because if one could purchase hereditary Arts of Magic and martial legacy using money, then it couldn’t be considered wasteful. At most, it could be that he had spent a bit too much, but it was never a loss.

After shaking off the cigarette butt from his hand, Iron Hand already had an answer, but he needed confirmation.

"Uncle!"

Before Iron Hand had completely entered the Spirit Awakening cultivator’s alert circle, Huo Qing sharply sensed Iron Hand’s movement. He turned his head and greeted him quite happily, "You’re finally back!"

Iron Hand narrowed his eyes; if it were the usual him, he definitely wouldn’t notice anything.

But he had just met with his elder sister today, raising his alertness to the highest. Plus, the martial skills he had just noticed... He discovered that Huo Qing’s sensitivity and Divine Sense had improved, and not by a small margin. Surprisingly, he was able to detect his uncle outside of the alert circle.

"You’ve improved so fast; you’re almost at the Qi Refinement stage now..."

Muttering softly, Iron Hand’s mouth curved upwards, barely able to hide his smile, "It seems I should have taken this kid in sooner. Dammit, why did I think it was good to let him be fostered by Big Spear, that damned woman?"

"Kid, haven’t been wasting money lately, have you? Where did you learn that set of martial skills?"

Back within the Formation range, Iron Hand took over control, and the Great Formation once again came under his command.

He asked casually, ready to analyze the origin from Huo Qing’s response.

But unexpectedly, Huo Qing simply burst out with the answer, "That mystical friend from the wilderness taught me, you know, he taught me before we even bought the house together. I felt that this Dharma Gate suited me. I practice it every day, and I feel more spirited when learning about Formations!"

"Ah? Oh... that little wilderness guy..."

Just as Iron Hand was about to check the bill, his hand paused, suddenly feeling a headache coming on, "What’s wrong with me? Why would I think Huo Qing would lie to me? He doesn’t have the mind for it; I really need to change this overly suspicious habit of mine..."

"And this kid, he really does say everything!"