Fuyou was at a loss for words because Li Qiye described the battle vividly as if he was there in person. However, he knew that the guy wasnât and didnât see the fight.
It wouldnât be an exaggeration to say that Li Qiye seemed to be the combatant given how well he knew the moves, not Fuyou.
It took a while for Fuyou to calm down and started stuttering: âHow, how do you know this?â
âItâs obvious given your condition. Just a quick deduction.â Li Qiye said.
âDeduction?â Fuyou thought that this level of deduction was above his station.
Li Qiye smiled and leisurely walked forward as if this was springtime.
âYoung Master, is this curable?â Fuyou gave chase and hesitated for a moment before asking respectfully with hope in his eyes.
The problem had plagued him for so long now so Li Qiyeâs words gave him hope.
âItâs not a big issue. The bull mantra is a fiery merit law, the same with Celestial Seal and Eight-armed Devil Ape. You ran out of vitality with nothing left yet you still used these direct merit lawsâ¦â Li Qiye talked while walking slowly.
âAnd, and whatâs the result?â Fuyou asked.
âJust like a bow pulled back to the limit. What do you think will happen if you keep on pulling?â Li Qiye looked at him.
âThe string will be torn.â Fuyou blurted out.
âYes. But youâre lucky because you werenât strong enough to break the bow or that would be the end of your dao foundation.â Li Qiye revealed.
Fuyou shuddered despite Li Qiyeâs casual tone. He actually won that fight after struggling hard. His wounds also healed quickly.
Thus, the seniors never connected his problem with this fight, unable to give the right diagnosis.
Now, if Li Qiye was right, then he was actually very lucky. Just a bit more force and he would have become a cripple instead of this gradual weakening process.
He was as impressed as can be because Li Qiye didnât actually check on his conditions. The guy only glanced at him and asked a few questions before figuring out the cause. This required frightening power and abilities.
âYoung Master, are you really a mortal?â Fuyou asked. The strongest senior in his sect couldnât pinpoint the problem yet Li Qiye could do so in a few minutes.
Li Qiye definitely looked like a mortal but Fuyou no longer thought so.
âOf course I am, right now.â Li Qiye said.
âBut⦠how did youâ¦â Fuyou didnât know what to say.
âIâve just read enough books. Remember, reading is good so that youâll know more things.â Li Qiye said.
Fuyou smiled wryly. Was this really true? Did he know this from just reading books?
âYoung Master, is this curable?â Fuyou stopped thinking and asked again.
âEasy as pie.â Li Qiye chuckled.
âReally?!â Fuyou became excited; his eyes flashed brightly. This was the best possible news.
âYoun-Young Master, so, so what should I do?â He rubbed his palms and didnât know how to ask politely.
He was ready to beg or do anything for Li Qiye to help him cure this problem.
âNo rush. Youâve been impatient in recent years and that still didnât amount to anything. Relax and youâll accomplish more.â Li Qiye said.
âMy mistake.â Fuyou understood the logic behind this and took a deep breath to mellow down.
Nonetheless, his anxiousness was understandable. The problem plaguing him for several years could finally be solved.
Li Qiye didnât say anything else and moved on with Fuyou right behind him, looking like a servant.
They have left the village so Li Qiye began looking at the forest with great focus without missing a single blade of grass.
Fuyou didnât understand. What was so special about the leaves and grass?
âThe world has changed. Itâs not a case of oneâs home being there but their loved ones are no longer around. Now, even the home is gone.â Li Qiye sighed, becoming slightly emotional.
Fuyou didnât get it but remained silent along the way.
The two of them walked for some time before stopping in front of a large stone statue on the road - a Black Tortoise.
It looked divine and lofty on top of being very arrogant, clearly a divine beast. Its shell looked strong enough to shoulder the sky.
Strangely enough, the beast also looked kind and friendly. Li Qiye found it to be very familiar as if he had seen it before.
Fuyou explained right away: âMy sectâs name is Divine Black and this is our symbol. As long as it is still our territory, youâll find one very often.â
âOh? I see. What is it depicting?â Li Qiye asked.
âOur patriarch and progenitor, the divine beast Black Tortoise.â Fuyou said with respect.
âBlack Tortoise?â Li Qiye found this surprising. [1]
âIndeed. During the ancient era, our patriarch was the mount of a great immortal. He traveled across the nine heavens and absorbed the stars, even entering immortal paradises and treacherous grounds. Later on, the great immortal left this world but he chose to stay and created our sect.â
âTell me more about this immortal.â Li Qiye couldnât help but smile.
âHmm, I donât know much.â Fuyou smiled wryly. He only knew about his patriarch from the stories told by the seniors.
Li Qiye shook his head in response.
âWell, my master said that the great immortal was completely unbeatable with a penchant for massacres. He was worshipped by all despite being a destroyer of sects.â Fuyou scratched his head and added.
âSounds like a murderer more than an immortal.â Li Qiye chuckled. [2]
âI heard that the great immortal only killed those who deserve death, they were all evil.â Fuyou smiled awkwardly after saying this.
âThat does sound more pleasant. A great immortal, I havenât heard this in a long time.â Li Qiye smiled at the statue and decided to gently pat the tortoiseâs head.
Once again, Fuyou still found Li Qiye as mysterious as can be. There was something more to this smile that he didnât get.
1. So I originally translated the title of this sect as Arcane. It was the word âdivineâ + âblack/mysterious/profound/inscrutable/unbelievableâ. The latter is always hard to translate. This is the exact example of why I was wrong. I chose Arcane because it sounded good and true to the mysterious meaning. Now, it turns out that âblackâ is referring to Black Tortoise. This makes the title of the sect hard to translate. âBlackâ has to be a part of it because the reference has been made. But a school named âBlackâ or âDivine Blackâ sounds bad in English. This isnât the case in Chinese because the character for âBlackâ has other meanings that can stand alone. âDivine Tortoiseâ is okay but we canât use it here because thatâs adding information thatâs not supposed to be there. When a Chinese reader saw this title the first time, they would never connect it to a Black Tortoise. Another option in a different scenario is to use a cooler word for âblackâ, such as obsidian or onyx. Unfortunately, itâs a Black Tortoise, not Obsidian or Onyx Tortoise. It has to be Divine Black to match the meaning of this conversation and the context.
2. The word for murder here is actually the word I translate as Fierce.