In an instant, the stench of death approached!
Zhen Jin’s face darkened.
He instantly recalled the day Zi Di encountered the fire-poison bees!
The evil wolf
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which Zhen Jin had indirectly killed had once thrown a bee’s nest into the camp, triggering a swarm of fire bees to attack the search and rescue team. Although the swarm was repelled, there were four members of the team that fell unconscious after being stung. Even though Zi Di used all her strength, she was unable to save them and by nightfall, they all died.
Although most of the fire bees were ordinary with only a few being at the bronze level, they all had fire-poison and there were too many.
Fire-poison was extremely deadly!
“Lord, you must run. I have a potion that can detoxify me!” Zi Di urged again.
Zhen Jin looked at the girl in front of him, and his heart was moved.
Zi Di faced the pursuit of the wolf, never giving up on Zhen Jin who was in a coma. Now she was willing to stay and give Zhen Jin the chance to escape.
No matter whether Zi di was telling a lie, or there was such a potion, it had to be rare and could not be wasted on the search and rescue team members.
Zhen Jin could not convince himself to leave behind a weak girl to save himself.
“You should escape! I can deal with the fire-poison bees.”
Zhen Jin took a big step forward ahead of Zi Di and quickly leaned over to draw a flaming log from the campfire.
The top of the wood was burning and was a natural torch.
Zhen Jin wanted to use the wood to defend against the swarm.
But when Zi Di saw Zhen Jin move she quickly screamed: “Don’t use fire!”
“Lord Zhen Jin, these bees aren’t afraid of fire, in fact, it was our campfire that attracted them!”
Zi Di’s words stunned Zhen Jin.
Zhen Jin trusted Zi Di and quickly threw the torch away.
The torch flew in a south-east direction fifty to sixty steps away and continued to burn.
The swarm reacted instantly and a small part of the swarm pounced on the torch.
There were about a dozen of the fire-poison bees that threw themselves into the flames.
This sight amazed Zhen Jin as the fire went out after a few breaths.
The fire bees fluttered in the flames and flew out again seeming to sway and hold their bellies after a good meal.
“What kind of bee is this? It can actually eat fire?”
Zhen Jin had no time to think because only a small part of the swarm attacked the torch.
The rest of the large swarm of fire-poison bees had already reached the couple.
Zhen Jin gritted his teeth and dragged the girl behind him.
“We can’t escape! Lord Zhen Jin, someone has to lead them away,” Zi Di despaired.
She frantically spoke: “These fire-poison bees hunt everything hotter than them. The higher the body temperature, the more attracted they are.”
“Previously we had encountered a group of fire-poison bees when the wolf threw a hive into our camp and attracted the bees to come and hunt us.”
“Although we fought off the fire-poison bees, four people died and ten were injured because of them.”
“I did not think that there would be fire-poison bees here as well!”
“Lord, you quickly run. Now, as long as I stall these fire-poison bees you will have the time to escape!”
As she spoke Zi Di tried to break free from Zhen Jin’s grasp.
But Zhen Jin firmly held her, making it difficult for her to succeed.
The two people fled the campfire with the fire-poison bees in hot pursuit.
Buzz!
The fire-poison bee swarm suddenly separated and a large part and rushed towards the blazing campfire.
But there was still a small portion that approached the couple with killing intent.
Zhen Jin and Zi Di had to flee to the edge of the campfire’s light.
In front of them was the dark jungle of the night.
Zhen Jin stopped suddenly.
They couldn’t keep running!
The jungle was far more deadlier at night, with many ferocious predators prowling about. The environment also greatly reduced human sight.
At this moment, if Zhen Jin and Zi Di ran into the jungle they would only doom themselves.
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In comparison, there was a silver lining to fighting against the fire-poison bees.
Because Zhen Jin cultivated battle qi and was a knight, he likely had silver level life essence. To average guards, fire-poison bees were extremely dangerous but to a silver level being, it was a different story.
Although the situation was very critical, Zhen Jin did not panic and stayed calm and collected.
“Don’t panic, we still have a chance!” He suddenly stopped and turned around sharply to face the swarm.
Simultaneously, he used his arm to pull Zi Di behind him.
Ding!
With a whine, Zhen Jin pulled out his sword.
While most of the fire-poison bees were now enamored by the campfire, only a dozen faced Zhen Jin.
Although the fire was smoldering there was enough light to see.
The fire-poison bees closed in!
Zhen Jin took a deep breath, stepped forward, and swung his sword, cutting the cold air.
Many of the fire-poison bees were struck by the sword. Some were cleaved into two, others fell to the ground, and some were swept up into the air.
Having an actual weapon greatly improved Zhen Jin’s attacks!
Every time Zhen Jin swung, he felt as if he was chopping a fist-sized chunk of metal.
The surface of a fire-poison bee was so tough that it was rare to cut through it.
Zhen Jin’s heart sank. The fire-poison bees were more difficult to deal with than expected.
The small wave of fire-poison bees was alarmed by Zhen Jin and scattered around him approaching from all sides.
Zhen Jin was just one person with a sword. He didn’t even have a shield and had a hard time defending against the attacks of multiple fire-poison bees.
In fact, even with a shield, it would be difficult to block such an assault. That was the function of full body armor.
Zhen Jin struggled to swing his sword as he was in danger from all sides. The only fortunate thing was that almost all the fire-poison bees were focused on him and not the girl behind him.
Suddenly, Zhen Jin felt numbness and then pain.
“Lord!”
Zi Di exclaimed as Zhen Jin used his left hand to pull out a twitching fire-poison bee from his waist.
The fire-poison bee was the size of a fist, weighed as much as a chicken egg, and was extremely hard. Zhen Jin wanted to crush it but couldn’t.
But the moment when he pulled out the fire-poison bee, Zhen Jin saw the fire-poison bee’s stinger still in his waist. With the stinger severed, the bee in Zhen Jin’s hand died soon after.
Despite the pain, Zhen Jin threw away the corpse and continued fighting.
His chainmail was just a wire mesh of rings and was strong against axes or blades. But in the face of this stinger assault, it was not as effective.
Zhen Jin attempted to use his arm guards as a shield to protect his face against the fire-poison bees’ attacks.
As time passed Zhen Jin kept fighting as many fire-poison bees stung him.
“Am I going to die here?” The situation was dire as Zhen Jin’s heart sank.
“Battle qi, I need battle qi!” The teenager screamed in his heart.
If he could release his battle qi then he would be able to protect himself. Using silver level battle qi would allow him to create a protective barrier around his body to block the fire-poison bee stings.
It would be far more reliable as well as more effective at blocking the stingers than the chainmail.
But Zhen Jin unfortunately forgot how to activate his silver battle qi.
He could no longer trigger his battle qi automatically because of his amnesia!
“Silver battle qi! Come to me dammit!!” The teenager almost screamed because of the dangerous situation.
With the campfire mostly out, it was difficult to make out his face.
In this moment of life and death, a new memory appeared in Zhen Jin’s mind!
It was an evening in the fall.
Zhen Jin was in a study.
It was dim inside with the only light coming from a narrow window in the stone wall.
The marron desk was made of the finest wood and laying on it was a pen holder, three snow-white feather pens, there was an ink bottle next to the pen holder.
On the study’s wall-hung three oil paintings. One was of golden farmland, another a blue castle in the forest, and the last a noblewoman by a lake.
Another wall was barren with only a hook and no painting
“Zhen Jin, my son, do not bow your head,” he said a slightly hoarse voice.
Zhen Jin slowly raised his head.
He saw a middle-aged man sitting at the desk. He was thin, pale and had two thin and straight beards. His brows were slightly frowning and gave off a stern temperament.
Zhen Jin soon found “himself” not daring to look at the man, only gazing out the window.
The sky outside was covered in the gorgeous light of the setting sun.
“Why? Half a month has passed my son and you still have made no progress on the qi restraining skill?”
Zhen Jin couldn’t help but shift his gaze towards the bottom half of the desk, seemingly afraid to look at the man.
The man clearly spoke: “I understand your feelings. You have never been interested in the qi restraining technique. You feel that our clan's battle techniques are weak, don’t you?"
“You feel that our Bai Zhen clan's bloodline does not give you a strong body of either strength or speed, that it is inferior to even the low-class nobles to the empire, right?”
Zhen Jin was silent.
The nobleman sighed deeply, stood up, and walked around the desk next to Zhen Jin: “Come with me.”
The two left the study through a dark corridor with motley stone walls and came to the castle garden.
The light of the sunset scattered throughout the garden.
The garden was in a state of disrepair and gave off a withered color of ruin.
The only thing worth looking at was the big tree in the middle.
Its branches were leafless, its roots exposed in the dry ground, and its trunk covered in parasol
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“leaves”.
As the breeze blew, the “leaves” seemed to move and rustle as if they were alive.
Zhen Jin’s father came to the tree with Zhen Jin.
“Watch carefully!”
The middle-aged man took a breath and a gold battle qi suddenly came from his body.
Gold battle qi was far more powerful than silver and it completely dwarfed iron level. A gust of wind formed as the golden battle qi spilled out.
The child Zhen Jin was forced back, and his eyes narrowed.
As the wind howled as the parasol leaves on the trunk were startled and began to fly revealing them to be a large group of tree winged butterflies.
“Battle technique——Hundred Needle Wind!”
The man drew his sword.
This was not an edged sword, but a slender rapier.
The rapier in the man’s hands seemed to never stop attacking and creating afterimages. In particular, the top of the rapier was covered in battle qi, it seemed like golden stars shining, brilliant and dazzling!
The tree winged butterflies were swept away by the wind and golden energy and began to fall to the ground.
After a few breaths, the ground was covered by the parasol “leaves.” Hundreds or even thousands of tree winged butterflies failed to escape!
“Good, amazing!”
Zhen Jin was dumbfounded as he made a sound. Upon closer inspection, he was shocked to find every butterfly’s head was pierced.
The man’s sword techniques were incredibly precise!
“Cough cough cough.” The man put away his sword, coughing as his face paled.
“Do you think our Bai Zhen clan is weak now?"
Zhen Jin shook his head.
“Every noble clan has its secrets. Not to mention, our Bai Zhen clan was once great nobles of the south! Hundred needle wind is our signature battle technique and our clan's heritage. Outsiders do not know of this secret.”
“Running a clan requires strategy. Sometimes we need to stand out like a beast with its teeth and claws bared. But sometimes we need to lay low. Just like right now, our Bai Zhen clan needs to show weakness and reduce our presence.”
After pausing, the man continued: “Do you know what the basis for learning the hundred needle wind is?”
Not waiting for Zhen Jin to reply, the man continued: “It is the qi restraining technique.”
“Huh?” Zhen Jin was surprised.
“Patience, accumulating power, and only erupting suddenly. This qi restraining technique can hide our qi, making it hard for outsiders to sense it or making them underestimate our battle techniques. Simultaneously this technique can also gather power. Only when you are proficient in the qi restraining technique can you use techniques like the hundred needle wind. It can be said that this qi restraining technique is the cornerstone of our clan's battle arts. Zhen Jin, you are the heir to the Bai Zhen clan. You must practice well.”
“I understand, I will work harder father!” Zhen Jin's eyes lit up in excitement.
The memory was fleeting, and Zhen Jin instantly returned back to reality.
Battle technique--hundred needle wind!
This time it was a completely different sword art.
The chopping and swinging from before vanished, only a stabbing motion remained.
The sword constantly stabbed!
Ratatata…
The tip of the sword pierced the air and was like flying arrows that precisely stabbed the flying fire-poison bees.
Zhen Jin was using many unique and difficult skills as his sword tip became a shadow in the air as if it was a faint curtain of light.
“This is?!” Zi Di looked up with a shock and surprise.
Zhen Jin’s counterattack gave her hope.
“This is indeed worthy of your Lordship!” Zi Di blurted, cheering for Zhen Jin.
One by one the fire-poison bees fell to the ground as the hundred needle wind battle technique eliminated them.
“Lord...” As Zi Di was protected, she looked at Zhen Jin’s back, her eyes reflecting the dying campfire, yet shined brightly.
Author’s Note
(The previous official Infinite Bloodcore group was blocked due to malicious reporting. After consulting with the admins, I borrowed the approach of other authors. Currently, we have a new official deacon group of Infinite Bloodcore using the fan value verification method. The condition to enter the group is that the individual fan value in the new book "Infinite Bloodcore" is at or above the rank of Deacon or Deacon. (The Q number of the deacon group is not public, in order to enter the group, you must first enter the official verification group of compulsive real fans: 316556526, through private chat screenshots to the administrators. After the fan value verification, the administrators will invite into the deacon group. The first thing you need to do is to get the most out of it. Yet malicious reporting is too serious. We can only raise the bar and identify the enemy first.)
(Previously QQ online bubbling activity, I have also done a reflection. In the six or seven years that Daoist Gu has been written, there are many Q-groups, in addition to the ones I've set up, that readers have set up and invited me in afterward. For the event a few days ago, I spent 2-3 hours and also only visited 4 groups and answered some questions. This is obviously not going to work, so I plan to streamline the group. Merge the groups that can be merged and withdraw from some readerships. In the future, the scope of activities will be mainly in the official group, but each time the activity is organized, it will be possible to link with the group established by the reader.
(Finally, congratulations to the four old friends, Shi Chen, and Shadow Green Lotus, for being the new allies of the new book! Thank you for your support!)
Notes
This chapter introduces a ton of new concepts into the story. Mostly the concepts of qi techniques and battle arts. I had an interesting debate about how to translate the phrase “battle art” as it is effectively the “killer move” of this story. Also, I unfortunately do not properly translate the author notes sorry about that. This is mostly due to me being exhausted at the end of every chapter that I can’t be bothered at that point.
Translation notes
1. 那头已经被针金间接解决掉的恶狼: that word padding by the author tho. It literally could be 那恶狼 and the context would still be the same, therefore I shortened it here.
2. 自寻死路: An idiom that means to follow the path to one's own doom
3. 梧桐: chinese parasol tree/Firmiana simplex. Leaving this untranslated
Editor Notes [Monk]
This is my first chapter edited out of any works that aren’t my own or those for school.
This was a surprising amount of work and it took me around two and a half hours to complete.
Obviously, this is my first time and if I kept doing this I would be much faster…
But this was only my first run-through. If I was serious I would re-edit it again. However, I’m just doing this for fun and I’ve already spent a lot of time on this.
I kept the editing light and tried not to interfere with the word choice and positioning of the translator.
Anyways, if you liked this then I may consider doing it again or going back and editing the old chapters.
I’m not trying to adhere to any sort of style of editing present in the s, though I may consider it if anybody requests and we get that far… but I’m probably just thinking too far ahead and this will be my last chapter.