Blind Spot
Chapter 711: Layout 653 One

Chapter 711: Layout 653 One

A moment later, just after Li Chengyi had walked down the alley.

A masked figure suddenly appeared in front of the mutated weeds, stretched out his gloved hand, dug them up, and put them away.

With another flash, he appeared at another spot and collected the mutated stones as well.

Before long, these two items were presented before the Family Head of the Gong Shan Family, Gong Shanrong.

He pinched the stone, feeling the extreme cold temperature constantly emitting from it, his expression subtly changing.

"Second brother, what do you think?"

He looked towards the middle-aged man standing by his side, who was also closely observing. The man had flaming long hair just like Gong Shanrong’s, except Gong Shanrong’s was pure gold, while his was vibrant red.

This was Gong Shan Jun, the second most powerful fighter in the Gong Shan Family, second only to the family head and Gong Shanrong’s younger brother.

"There’s no demonic energy, no evil aura, instead, there’s pure cold energy with no trace of yin."

"Pure cold energy....like something natural from the heavens, unbounded and originless....truly amazing...." Gong Shanrong exclaimed with a tsk-tsk.

"How long can its coldness last?" Gong Shan Jun asked.

"Not sure, but we could try," Gong Shanrong said, standing in his study and pointing with his finger.

Instantly, a mass of golden flames enveloped the mutated weeds without igniting them, something not difficult to achieve with his refined control.

The entire weed looked as if it were encased in a golden hollow bubble. The sustained high temperature continuously absorbed the surrounding heat.

One second.

Two seconds.

Five seconds.

Fifteen seconds...

The weed showed no trace of drying up, and under the watchful eyes of the two masters, its rate of emitting coldness remained consistent.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, the weed was still the same.

Gong Shanrong’s expression changed, and he decisively enveloped the weed with his hot palm energy, igniting it directly.

Whoosh!

With a flash of golden flame, the weed turned to black ash.

Gong Shanrong exhaled and withdrew his innate gold yuan.

But as soon as he withdrew it, he saw the weeds that had turned to black ash reshaping themselves, reverting to their original form.

Countless black ashes floated and coalesced, much like active black insects, and in a few seconds, they were restored to their previous appearance.

They were still grayish-black weeds.

Instantly, something seemed to occur to Gong Shanrong.

"Unaffected, which means, if this cold energy keeps releasing like this...."

Gong Shan Jun also thought of this.

They had once consulted a Diviner who revealed that the brothers were destined to encounter a catastrophe leading to the extermination of their family. Only after spending a great fortune did they find the land of the living, where they established the new Gong Shan Family.

This abode had been their home for over eighty years.

"This is a naturally occurring strange phenomenon. Let’s look around and see if there are other similar occurrences," Gong Shanrong said in a grave voice.

"Okay!"

*

*

*

Time flies, the years pass swiftly.

Three years went by in a blink of an eye.

On Emerald Beach.

A series of dense white lines continuously overlaid one another, raising clear, shrill whistles.

Now ten years old, Li Chengyi, along with Gong Shanheng and Gong Shanlejiu, were practicing martial arts on the beach.

Li Chengyi was still the same as before, collecting the white lines and guiding the Sea Essence into his body.

Gong Shanlejiu sat crossed-legged on the beach, with blue-purple arcs of electricity spreading from him, the True Yuan of the Wild Winds Fury Technique that he had cultivated.

He and Gong Shanheng both practiced the famed Golden Jade Martial Arts of their family, which was only second to the powerful Raging Sun Merging Stars Art.

However, because it was Golden Jade Martial Arts, their progress was extremely slow. Even after three years, although they had both produced their True Yuan, they had only barely reached proficiency in the first of nine levels of the Martial Arts.

The implication of Golden Jade Martial Arts was clear—if one reached the pinnacle, they could become a Golden Jade level master.

That was a level above a first-rate master.

But theoretically, ninety-nine percent of martial artists would only ever manage to reach close to the peak of their Martial Arts.

This was due to compatibility issues.

Therefore, the limit of Golden Jade Martial Arts would just allow the two to step into the first-rate standard, which was already the utmost they could achieve.

Before long, Li Chengyi finished his training and sword practice, turned around to return to the beach, and let out a long sigh.

Before he could speak, he saw the chubby Gong Shanheng Approaching with a chicken leg in his hand, munching as he came closer.

"I’m telling you, Zhu Er, you might as well ask your dad for different Golden Jade Martial Arts. The Emerald Sea Sword Technique is just for laying a foundation. Even if you master it, you’ll only be first-rate, and you’re definitely not reaching the top, so in the end, you’d still be second-rate, what’s the point?"

"Safety," Li Chengyi said with a smile.

"... Uh," the chubby one was momentarily speechless.

Indeed, the Emerald Sea Sword Technique was regarded as one of the safer and more peaceful forms of first-rate martial arts, whereas the family’s other Martial Arts, like the Heavenly King Fire Punishment Palm he was training, required practitioners to seek high-temperature environments in the outside world to temper their palm technique. Any carelessness could lead to burning to death, turning to ash.

Lei Jiu’s practice of the Wild Winds Fury Technique followed the same principle; each breakthrough required constant expenditure of a significant amount of mental effort to control the agitation of his True Yuan. Although the technique was powerful, it also affected his temperament and caused his body to become extremely dry and unbalanced, risking the chaos of heart demons.

"Well, that can be discussed later. After all, I won’t be on the front lines of battle much in the future," said Li Chengyi indifferently.

"That’s true, you’re likely to take over your dad’s position, managing the chamber of commerce." The fatty nodded helplessly. "It’s no wonder you’re the eldest young master. Unlike us, you don’t have to fight for your life in the future..."

While the two chatted leisurely, Gong Shanlejiu also finished his practice and stood up, walking over.

"Have you guys heard? Gong Shanpingqiu still hasn’t recovered to this day."

"What? What does that mean?" Gong Shanheng blinked.

"It means exactly what it sounds like. Gong Shanpingqiu has long been deader than dead. That’s exclusive news I got. But it’s said that his corpse has been restless to this very moment, liable to lash out and attack those around it at any time. So, the Family Head sealed it deep within the family grounds, forbidding visitors," Lei Jiu whispered.

"That’s pretty dreadful," murmured the fatty, clicking his tongue.

"Han Zongdi said they still haven’t found out what’s happening over there," added Li Chengyi. "And it’s the same for those two fish."

"Could it be that the Emerald Sea really harbors some strange bacteria?" The fatty shrank back.

In this place, it was possible to observe bacteria and viruses, as powerful martial artists’ exploration of the microscopic world was not inferior to the scientific world. However, such knowledge was always restricted to limited circulation.

"Who knows. But these are minor issues, as they can’t stir up much trouble. The real problem is the Fu Family’s visit in two days. I hear that some Fu Family experts will bring young geniuses of their generation to have a friendly exchange with us. The clan is already discussing the order of those going up," said Lei Jiu.

His information was always very well informed.

"What’s there to be afraid of, it won’t be our turn anyway," the fatty said nonchalantly.

Li Chengyi quietly listened to their conversation, silent.

The two were used to his demeanor; though Li Chengyi did not like to talk much, sometimes he would suddenly utter a phrase that went straight to the heart of the matter.

This was also why they were willing to approach Li Chengyi proactively.

Before long, the two, with their guards, took their leave one after another.

Li Chengyi remained alone on the beach with Uncle Ning, gazing at the gradually setting twin suns.

It had been three years.

The Heavy Sea Essence within him had transformed into the Jiuchong Haiyuan, and he couldn’t continue to refine it any further.

The Emerald Sea Sword Technique had successfully reached the eighth layer; he was just missing the integration of Divine Intention to achieve the innate Gold Jade and reach the peak of the ninth layer to become a first-class expert.

It should be noted that within the Gong Shan Family, there was only one peerless expert, Gong Shanrong, and the rest were a handful of first-class experts.

Should anyone come to know that Li Chengyi was only ten years old and about to step into the first-class level, the entire noble clans and families would be shaken to their core, suspecting him to be some great reincarnated expert.

There were precedents for this kind of situation here.

Standing on the beach, admiring the twilight for a moment, Li Chengyi gradually made his leisurely way back home with Uncle Ning.

The peaceful life here made Li Chengyi increasingly integrated into this world.

During these three years, he had also gained a detailed understanding of the prowess of the martial artists here.

Soon after returning home, his parents, Gong Shanqinyang and Gong Shanlin—who had not been together at home for a long time—happened to be there.

And with them was another person.

It was a hunchbacked, white-haired old man with a huge black lump on his forehead.

"Zhu Er, come and meet Lord Lushan," Gong Shanqinyang said with a smile, waving to Li Chengyi.

On hearing this, Li Chengyi stepped forward and gave a bow to the old man.

"Gong Shanzhu greets Lord Lushan."

He had heard of this old man’s reputation before; he was one of the few non-family Golden Jade experts in the clan, with a status just under the Family Head Gong Shanrong, usually serving as an honored guest.

Those who qualified as honored guests in the Gong Shan Family were typically only Golden Jade experts.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Lord Lushan said as he stroked his beard, looking Li Chengyi up and down.

He had received quite a bit of benefit from Gong Shanqinyang to make this trip, thinking it was just a gesture to appease by taking in a nominal disciple and using his reputation to protect him.

But upon closer inspection.

He saw a few signs in Li Chengyi that intrigued him.

"Which level have you reached in the Emerald Sea Sword Technique?" he asked as he approached, stopping about three meters away from Li Chengyi.

"Replying to Lord Lushan, I have reached the second layer," Li Chengyi casually made up a normal pace.

"Hmm... not bad, not bad." He had thought he would be saddled with a burden, but this talent was acceptable.

No sooner had he thought this than Lord Lushan felt less resistance in his heart and nodded to Gong Shanqinyang and his wife.

"Then, it’s settled. Plus, I’ve looked at your two other children; entering the Four Seas Cave and the Emerald Wave Palace shouldn’t be a problem."

The Four Seas Cave and the Emerald Wave Palace were the power bases of two other honored guests of the Gong Shan Family, both also experts at Golden Jade level. These powerful individuals were also capable of establishing sects in the martial world, though not major sects or families.

"We thank Lord Lushan, this modest gift is not much of a token of appreciation," said Gong Shanqinyang, clapping his hands to signal Aunt Yuan to bring forward the prepared gift.

A gold platter covered with red cloth.

Without a glance, Lord Lushan waved and the whole thing, platter and all, vanished in the blink of an eye.

"That’s settled, you can come to report tomorrow. Here’s the road pass," he gestured with a wave of his hand.

Instantly, a black mark appeared on Li Chengyi’s hand - a simple character for ’mountain’.

The script used in this place was a special form of writing known as Stream Script, which in some areas even had special effects, capable of triggering the energies of heaven and earth.

But from Li Chengyi’s perspective, Stream Script bore some resemblance to Black Sea Script.

"Aren’t you going to thank Lord Lushan?" Gong Shanqinyang and his wife quickly gestured to Li Chengyi.

Li Chengyi immediately understood and stepped forward to bow in thanks.

"Well then, see you at the cave tomorrow," Lord Lushan laughed heartily, turned around, and in the blink of an eye, vanished from the spot.