Chapter 16: Meng Qi’s ‘Ideal’
Translator: Christina Editor: Rundi
Ge Chongshan, who had witnessed the move right beside them, had the same face as that of the owner’s. His expression froze, and his pupils contracted to the size of a needle’s point, but in contrast to the owner, he could still mumble in great disbelief, “What did I just see? What did I just see…?”
“Even a god wouldn’t be more amazing than that!” he yelled out in his head.
This was also what all the other masters were thinking. The sword move that they had just witnessed was comparable to a ferocious eagle diving from the sky, or a mystic dragon reaching out with its claws. Nobody could capture its trace, yet everyone could feel its power!
All of them kept thinking back to the details of the sword move, yet all they remembered was the bright and attention-grabbing shine of the sword, which was as memorable as if it had directly stabbed into their hearts. Also, it felt like the move had gained the entire universe’s respect.
For some reason, a thought flashed through Ge Chongshan’s head.
“‘Outer-Sky God Sword’, ‘Outer-Sky God Sword’, now I understand! With such amazing sword arts, it’s no wonder he is given the name ‘Outer-Sky God Sword'”!
At the same time, because the owner of the Yin Huang Castle had died, the men in black, who had turned into “poisonous beasts”, became even crazier. Their bodies also festered at a much faster speed. Nobody could control the situation, and everything was in a chaos.
As a master who had entered Jianghu many years ago, Ge Chongshan immediately reacted. He shouted out, “The devil has been defeated! The poison mist will only take away our strength. If we kill these ‘poisonous beasts’ quickly enough, we will all be completely fine!
“My brothers, let me help you!”
After calming his friends, he rapidly ran forward and attacked a man in black from behind with his iron fan, aiming to end the battle before he lost more of his strength.
On the other hand, Meng Qi heard a magnificent yet icy voice.
“The owner of Yin Huang Castle has been killed. Main quest completed. Everyone will be awarded 50 Karma points. Now you shall return.”
All of a sudden, all Meng Qi could see was complete darkness. The silence that surrounded him gave him a weird feeling.
Then a white light took over his sight, and the white jade square which looked like a pavilion of a goddess reappeared before him.
“Wow, we immediately returned just as I expected…”
Meng Qi felt somewhat happy. Being familiar with a “samsara universe” like this was one of his few advantages. As a person who knew little Kungfu, this prevented him from feeling inferior when facing his companions.
“Mission completed. You can have a free healing.”
A milky white ray of shine sprinkled on Meng Qi, making him feel very warm and comfortable. It was like bathing in a hot spring, and all the tiredness and soreness that he had disappeared. He was refilled with vigor and became very energetic.
“Wow, how can my wound be healed so quickly?”
Qi Xia was amazed. She was also bathing in the milky white light, and her left shoulder, which had been badly mutilated, recovered at a speed that could be clearly observed by the human eye. In a few seconds, she became fully healed.
Jiang Zhiwei stood up in another ray of light, shaking her legs. With astonishment and delight, she said, “I’m fully healed too. I don’t think anything else, even the Recover Pill from Shaolin Temple can be as effective as this.”
“Perhaps only a god or goddess at the Dharmakaya level can heal such an injury so quickly.” Zhang Yuanshan checked his Qi and realized that the poisonous mist that he had breathed in was gone. “Unfortunately I’ve never seen such a godlike being in a fight before, so I can’t make a comparison.”
Meng Qi had heard from Xuan Xin that the largest sects currently in Jianghu had all had disciples that eventually attained “Dharmakaya”. However, there was little reliable evidence, and the sects didn’t own godlike people at all times. In fact, most of the time, most of the sects didn’t have such disciples, and these sects included Zhen Wu Sect, Xuan Tian Sect, Xi Jian Pavilion, Dajiang Gang, and so on.
For this reason, Zhang Yuanshan and the other talented disciples had never seen a Dharmakaya master in a battle before. And also why, Shaolin, which had a “Dragon-Yielding Luohan”, became the implied leader of Jianghu in Great Jin Dynasty.
Of course, even though the other great sects did not have Dharmakaya level masters, they still had long histories and could not be underestimated. More or less, these sects owned impressive godly weapons, which were handed down by the previous Dharamakaya masters of these sects, or were discovered by pure luck.
If a master at the peak of the Exterior Realm tried his very best, the power of these godly weapons could be comparable to the Dharmakaya. For example, “Blade of Timeshadow” owned by Xuan Tian Sect, which was suspected to be cast by the Heaven Sovereign, was considered even by the mysterious “Owner of Samsara” to be one of the ten greatest godly weapons.
Thanks to the godly weapons, the greatest sects could protect themselves from enemies and maintain prosperity even without Dharmakaya masters. However, if the sects became corrupted from the inside and didn’t even have masters at the peak of the Exterior Realm, then the godly weapons might fall into the hands of outsiders. In the past two to three thousand years, many great sects had perished or retrogressed because of this reason.
From what Xuan Xin, Zhang Yuanshan, Jiang Zhiwei, and the others had said, Meng Qi had a general understanding of the cultivation levels in this universe: “Hundred-day Foundation” came first, before “Qi Cultivation in Ding”.
After one hundred Qi Vessels were fully opened and Qi cultivation reached a certain level, the person would start to exercise his internal organs and Aperture points. This was called the “Enlightenment” phase, in which the person needed to open his Nine Innate Apertures.
After this came the “Exterior Realm”, which Meng Qi didn’t know much about yet. If a person successfully passed the “Exterior Realm”, then he would enter the “Dharmakaya Realm” and be considered to be similar to an Earth God.
There were also different types of Dharmakaya, Tao, and Golden Bodies, such as the Golden Body of Luo Han, the Golden Body of Buddha, and the Golden body of Bodhi, the Tao of Tai Shang, the Dharmakaya of Tai Ji, and etcetera.
It is said that the difference in power between different levels of Dharmakayas is unimaginably huge, but for people that have not reached the “Dharmakaya Realm”, all Dharmakayas are similarly omnipotent and undefeatable.
Meng Qi didn’t know if there were higher levels beyond the “Dharmakaya Realm”.
The white shine gradually vanished as the “Owner of Samsara” spoke again in his cold and magnificent voice, “From now on, every time you accomplish a “samsara quest”, if the main quest is completed, then you will be given a free treatment regardless of the seriousness of your wounds. No Karma point will be needed. However, if you fail to complete the main quest, then other than the corresponding punishment, you will also need to pay a certain amount of Karma points in order to obtain the treatment. The more serious wounds you have, the more Karma points it will cost. You can look up the Item List for the specific prices.”
“Well, this is fair…” Qi Zheng Yan mumbled. Even though he was a taciturn person, he felt somewhat excited.
Meng Qi nodded. If they got injured during a quest, it should be considered as a “job injury”. Therefore, if they completed the quest, the injury should be “reimbursed”.
Thinking it through, Meng Qi suddenly felt frightened.
“The ‘Owner of Samsara’ seems to be so omnipotent. If I continue to think about strange things that do not belong to this universe, will he know? What if my identity as a ‘time-traveler’ becomes exposed…?”
He sighed. There was nothing impossible for the “Owner of Samsara”. Since he was already brought to such a weird place without notice, maybe his memory had already been examined a long time ago.
“Sigh, maybe he already knows everything…”
Since he couldn’t change the past, Meng Qi began to seek joy amidst sorrow.
“For people like Ge Chongshan, we are all ‘time-travelers’. There is nothing weird about being a ‘time-traveller’!”
“Only Jiang Zhiwei obtained an ‘above average’ as the evaluation of the ‘Yin Huang Castle’ mission; all others are ‘average’ and will not receive any extra rewards. Jiang Zhiwei does not meet the requirements for a draw either, and will only be rewarded 10 extra Karma points.”
What the “Owner of Samsara” said surprised everyone. They didn’t know that beyond the ordinary Karma point rewards; there were also extra rewards and draws!
Suddenly, a jade book appeared in front of each of them respectively.
“This is a copy of the exchange lists, which will also record the number of Karma points you have. After making your decisions, go to the light beam at the center for exchange. The jade book must be left here, but for everything else, you can decide whether to keep it here or to bring it back to your own world.”
Right after the “Owner of Samsara” finished these words, five white jade doors immediately appeared beyond the sculptures of mythical creatures that surrounded Meng Qi and the others. Each of their names was written on one of the doors.
“Is there any, eh, magical instruments that can store items and be carried around?” Meng Qi asked according to his “experiences”.
“You will need to exchange for that yourself. It is on the Item List.”
While the “Owner of Samsara” was talking, the jade book in front of Meng Qi flipped automatically, and stopped when it showed:
“Space Ring, wondrous item, the simplest space item, exchange price: 3000 Karma points.”
Meng Qi looked at the upper left corner of the jade book, which showed his Karma points- “80”. He decided to forget about what he had just said.
“Now, you can start the exchange.”
After finishing this sentence, the “Owner of Samsara” did not speak again, and the entire white jade square was filled with silence.
Meng Qi was very excited.
“Finally, now I can exchange for some advanced Kungfu!”
The life he had in the Chores Yard gave him an urge to learn Kungfu. He would not resign to being an ordinary char monk for his entire life!
“What should I exchange for?”
Meng Qi had heard of too many godly Kungfu and arts, so his mind was a mess. He anxiously began to read through the Kungfu List.
“Six Meridians Supersword, full edition, exchange price, 1300 Karma points.”
“Minor Signless Force, full edition, exchange price, 1200 Karma points.”
“North Underworld Force, full edition, exchange price, 1500 Karma points.”
…
“Catalog of the God of War, full edition, exchange price: 2100 Karma points.”
…
Perhaps it was because he had spaced out; Meng Qi only saw Kungfu arts that he was familiar with.
Irritated by the numbers in front of him, he gradually recovered from his previous excitement. He smiled bitterly and said with self-mockery, “Why did I look at the Kungfu for ‘Exterior Realm’? It’s for sure that I won’t have enough Karma points!”
At the same time, he flipped through the pages and saw that Star Absorption Force was among the Enlightenment Phase Kungfu, and cost 500 Karma points. He saw many other Kungfu that he was familiar with as well.
He thought secretly, “Most of the Kungfu that appeared in the works of Jin Yong were included in the Enlightenment Phase. Only the Kungfu of Xiao Yao Sect, Six Meridians Supersword, and a few others are included in the Exterior Realm. Even so, they are the cheapest ones compared to other Exterior Realm Kungfus .”
“On the other hand, all of the strongest Kungfu that appeared in Huang Yi’s works are considered to be Exterior Realm Kungfu. It seems like the qualification for an Exterior Realm Kungfu is the ability to communicate with nature and utilize nature’s power…”
The Shaolin Kungfu that appeared in Jin Yong’s works was marked with the word “ordinary”. On the other hand, Kungfu unique to this universe were not. Yet it was said that they could be obtained by evolving and advancing “ordinary” Kungfu.
“What should I exchange for?” Meng Qi mumbled the same words again.
Because he was excited by the many great Kungfu he saw, he began to picture a future self in his imagination.
“Hmm, I must wear a shirt that is whiter than snow, and my sword will look like a beam of light. I will ride on a precious horse, and moonlight will scatter on me as if it is my cloak. When I move on water, it will seem like I’m walking on plain ground, and one move of my sword will defeat even the strongest enemies. I’ll be as cool as I want, and as handsome as I want!”
Meng Qi immersed in his imagination and nearly started to drool. He decided secretly that he would strive towards this image.
Suddenly, a beautiful voice arose beside his ear. “Little monk, have you decided what to exchange for?”
“Nope.” Meng Qi immediately sat up straight and looked at Jiang Zhiwei seriously. “How about you, Ms. Jiang?”
“Neither have I.” Jiang Zhiwei shook her head. “The things that I can exchange for now are kind of useless for me. But I need 20 more Karma points to exchange for the one that I want.”
“Ah, so she wants to borrow money, no, borrow Karma points from me?”
Meng Qi hesitated.
“Should I lend, or not lend? If I lend her my points, then I will have 60 left and what I can exchange for becomes very limited. But if I refuse to lend her my points, I’ll feel so bad thinking back to all the things we’ve experienced together and how she had looked after me. If I’m friendly to her, then during the next mission I’ll definitely be safer. However, if I irritate her, then during the next mission she could kill me very easily just by using a small trick.”
“Sigh; this is why borrowing money has been a great difficulty for all since the ancient times!”
Meng Qi sighed softly. At first, he wanted to “play dead” and see what would happen. But after he thought about the personality and ethics Jiang Zhiwei had displayed, and the Kungfu and background she had, he blurted out, “A dollar borrowed will be a hundred in the future!”
Jiang Zhi burst out laughing. “You’re so young. Where did you learn these nonsenses?” Then she beamed with a smile and wittily made a salute. “Thank you for your kindness. But how can I borrow from a poor monk like you? I only want to give you some suggestions so that you won’t pick the wrong Kungfu.”
“Please make your suggestions, Ms. Jiang.” Hearing that he didn’t need to lend “money”, Meng Qi relaxed and saluted by cupping one hand in the other before his chest.
“Little monk, you should do this instead, and be conscious that you are an ascetic.” Jiang Zhiwei put her palms together. “To be honest, you need to exchange for a lot of Kungfu before you can learn to somehow fight on your own. Even if we compile all the Karma points we have, they won’t be enough for you. So the only thing we can do is to do it step by step.
“You’ve never learned Qing Gong before. In the future, if we encounter enemies, you won’t even be able to dodge. Also, if we need to hurry, or if we need to climb mountains and cross forests, you definitely won’t be able to catch up with us. By then, if the situation is urgent, it’s for certain that we won’t be able to wait for you. Therefore, you must learn a type of Qing Gong.
“Secondly, you will need to exchange for a protective external Kungfu, for example Iron Cloth. This will massively improve your chances of survival.
“These are the two most important things. If you’ll be left with some Karma points, exchange for a basic blade art. Blade fundamentals are easier to learn than the sword. This will help you to enhance your ability to fight in a real battle in a short period. After all, none of us know when the next “samsara mission” will begin.”
“Iron Cloth, blade art…”
The image of a black-skinned, rough-looking man who had very thick shoulders and carried a long blade popped into Meng Qi’s mind.
“This couldn’t be my future self, could it? This is different from my ‘ideal’! This is not the style I want!”