Chapter 51: Celestial Secret Arts

To some extent.

They were not wrong.

Ning Qi was indeed the protector of the Zhenwu Sect and its foundational strength, but they had guessed one thing incorrectly: Ning Qi was no "elder," but rather a child not yet seven years old.

Ning Qi chuckled to himself.

He had no intention of explaining.

Firstly, because of the previous incident with Qin Yun, and secondly, because as the protector of the Zhenwu Sect, it was naturally better to remain deeply hidden. Unless absolutely necessary, Ning Qi would not expose his strength; until he was sufficiently powerful, he would remain as low-profile as possible.

He was better off in the shadows.

"Fortunately, our Zhenwu Sect still has experts guarding us in the dark, otherwise today would have been disastrous."

The crowd felt a lingering sense of fear.

If the Flying Eagle had succeeded in looting the Sutra Pavilion, it would have been a devastating blow to the Zhenwu Sect.

"I wonder just how powerful this senior is?"

"Is it the Jade Liquid Realm, or the Yuan Dan Realm like our Master?"

Everyone was curious, but they were tactful enough not to pry into his identity. Since Daoist Longshan had not disclosed this hidden strength, there was clearly no need to investigate; they merely speculated in their hearts.

But without a doubt, such speculation greatly uplifted everyone's spirits.

After all, today's events had dealt a certain blow to the morale of the Zhenwu Sect.

Ning Qi watched as Xiong Shi prepared to cut off the Fierce Tiger Intent Map from the back of the Flying Eagle. This was a method of branding the Intent Map onto the skin through special means, so it could only be removed by cutting it off.

He felt a sense of temptation.

With just a brief observation earlier, he had already comprehended several martial arts techniques.

If he could immerse himself deeply, he would surely reap even greater rewards.

However, he was in no rush.

This Fierce Tiger Intent Map would most likely be placed in the Sutra Pavilion.

Ye Qinghe was staring blankly, thinking about the words of Jiang Baishan and Xiong Shi, feeling a sense of strangeness in her heart.

"Our Zhenwu Sect's hidden strength?... I always feel that the death of this Flying Eagle was a bit strange. He was killed on the way to the Sutra Pavilion..."

Her brow furrowed.

Suddenly.

A figure entered her field of vision, carrying a large sword on his back, carefully watching Xiong Shi skin the corpse.

Ye Qinghe's pupils shrank.

"Junior Brother?!"

An idea that she herself found inconceivable suddenly surged in her mind, causing waves of shock in her heart. But immediately, she shook her head and laughed at herself, feeling somewhat foolish.

"Xiao Jiu is a monster, yes, but he hasn't been practicing martial arts for even four years. I estimate he has only recently broken through to the Inner Yuan Realm. How could he possibly have the strength to insta-kill a Gang Yuan Realm expert?"

As if possessed, Ye Qinghe took a step forward, only to see that the Long Xiao Sword was spotless, without a trace of blood.

Sensing something, Ning Qi turned around and smiled.

"Third Senior Sister?"

Ye Qinghe let out a breath, cursing herself for being so stupid to have such unrealistic thoughts.

She smiled and said, "You're still young, don't look at this. Once Second Senior Brother has finished processing this Intent Map, he will bring it to you to look at. Don't worry."

As she spoke, she led Ning Qi away.

Skinning was not a beautiful sight after all, and in their hearts, their little Junior Brother was still a pure little lamb who spent his days reading and cultivating in the courtyard.

...

Since the night raid by the Three Fiends of Tieling.

The entire Zhenwu Sect had entered a state of high alert. The number of patrolling disciples had increased several times over to ensure there were no blind spots. They had been somewhat lax over the years, but last night's incident was enough to wake everyone up. Although there might be a great master within the sect, they could not afford to gamble on it.

Now that the Flying Eagle had died within the Zhenwu Sect, Xiong Shi and the others worried that the River-Mixing Dragon and the Ground-Walking Tiger might not let the matter rest and might seek revenge.

Furthermore, they did not know if other forces were eyeing the Zhenwu Sect.

But Ning Qi was more relaxed, because he knew he was the one who killed the Flying Eagle. He had no worries about the other two coming for revenge; if they came, they would merely be delivering themselves as prey. In fact, he somewhat hoped they would show up.

If that happened.

Perhaps there would be a chance for him to collect all three Intent Maps.

Ning Qi stared at the Tyrant Tiger Intent Map in his hand, feeling a bit of regret.

"This Intent Map is indeed not that simple."

"The Tyrant Tiger Stance, Tyrant Tiger Strength, and Tyrant Tiger True Qi—the techniques from the Body Tempering Realm to the Gang Yuan Realm are all part of a single lineage and are all top-tier. Not only that, they even contain a portion of Celestial Secret Arts!"

A few days ago.

After Xiong Shi finished processing the Intent Map, he sent it to Ning Qi, knowing that Ning Qi was very interested in various martial arts classics.

With Ning Qi's comprehension, this Intent Map held no secrets from him.

The Ground-Walking Tiger had spent decades of hard work only to comprehend a portion of the Tyrant Tiger True Qi, which could not even match Ning Qi's single night of contemplation.

"This portion of the Celestial Secret Art is the most powerful; it could even be called the essence of the Intent Map!"

"A pity, this is only one-third. The other two parts are likely contained within the Sky Eagle Intent Map and the Mad Dragon Intent Map."

Ning Qi slowly rolled up the human skin scroll, feeling somewhat regretful.

If he had chosen to pursue them that night and had the chance to kill both the River-Mixing Dragon and the Ground-Walking Tiger, having all three Intent Maps in hand would have been far more valuable.

However.

He had no regrets.

Compared to two scrolls of Intent Maps, he cared more about the safety of his Senior Brothers and Sisters. If an accident had occurred, he would have been filled with remorse.

"It's not a big problem. Once my realm is higher in the future, I can attempt to complete it, or even take it to the next level."

Ning Qi was, after all, only in the Inner Yuan Realm.

Asking him to create Celestial Secret Arts now would be far beyond his current level; he did not yet know what the so-called "Celestial Resonance, invoking the power of Heaven and Earth" actually entailed.

Even so, this Fierce Tiger Intent Map had benefited Ning Qi immensely.

The *Manifestation Chapter* he had created had advanced further.

He had even begun to work on creating the *Manifestation True Qi* that would be cultivated in the Gang Yuan Realm.

...

A few days later.

The Zhenwu Sect remained peaceful, and there was no sign of the River-Mixing Dragon or the Ground-Walking Tiger. Jiang Baishan and the others breathed a slight sigh of relief, but they did not lower their guard.

This continued for ten days.

Luo Wentian and a group of disciples appeared outside the mountain gate. Their faces were anxious, and as soon as they saw Jiang Baishan and the others, they asked repeatedly

"Xiao Wu, what on earth happened?"

Luo Wentian's expression was grim. They had received the news on their return journey from the birthday banquet of the Purple River Sword Sovereign and had immediately rushed back at full speed.

Jiang Baishan hurriedly said, "Eldest Senior Brother, everything is fine within the sect."

He immediately explained the details of the night raid. Seeing Luo Wentian's return, everyone felt much more at ease. Although Luo Wentian's cultivation was not the highest, he had always been the one to worry about and manage the affairs of the Zhenwu Sect, keeping everything in perfect order. The growing strength of the Zhenwu Sect was inseparable from his contributions.

Luo Wentian's grim expression softened slightly, but he remained incredibly solemn.

He let out a long breath and said, "We had only just descended the mountain when the sect was raided. It is impossible for there to be no connection between the two!"

The others had also long suspected this, their eyes burning with anger.

"Do you mean, the Purple River Sword Sect, Eldest Senior Brother?"

Ning Qi's eyes narrowed slightly. The Purple River Sword Sovereign was a Yuan Dan Realm expert.

(End of Chapter)