Chapter 13: The Triple Reversal of Life and Death, The Mysterious Art of Qimen Dunjia
Seeing Li Muxuan like this, Li Ang immediately grew wary.
Just as the atmosphere began to turn awkward, Lu Jin suddenly spoke up, “Junior Brother Li, you’ve only been in the Trinity Sect for a few days, but why do you seem more familiar with Master than I am?”
His teasing words instantly dissolved the tension in the room. Li Ang, pretending not to notice anything amiss, smiled and replied, “Maybe it’s because Master and I are both prodigies.”
“?”
Lu Jin rolled his eyes and ignored Li Ang.
Wu Gensheng and Li Muxuan silently watched the scene unfold, their thoughts inscrutable.
Before long, their baskets were filled with herbs.
On the way back to the sect gate, Wu Gensheng purposely pulled Li Muxuan to fall behind the others.
He looked at Li Muxuan, unsettled, and whispered in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, “Brother, if you keep this up, we might as well leave today.”
Since joining the Trinity Sect, Li Muxuan’s behavior had convinced Wu Gensheng there was no need to hide anything any longer.
After all, with Zuo Ruotong’s keen eyes, any irregularities would be noticed.
Moreover...
Wu Gensheng glanced at Li Ang’s figure ahead, his gaze flickering briefly before a wry smile crossed his face.
He had a feeling that this kid knew the true identities of him and Li Muxuan. In his view, Li Ang’s acting skills were rather poor, lacking the subtle control he himself possessed.
“Interesting…”
Normally, Wu Gensheng would have tested Li Ang, but since their goal this time was to support Li Muxuan, he held back from unnecessary actions.
Hearing the sect leader’s words, Li Muxuan pressed his lips together, his heart heavy with complexity. “...Hmm.”
The group soon returned to the sect gates.
After handing over the collected herbs to the brother in charge of alchemy, Li Ang set off alone toward the back mountain.
Having just mastered the “Qi Men Dun Jia” technique, he had yet to try it out.
He refrained from practicing within the sect itself, wary of damaging the buildings.
Arriving at a clearing, Li Ang did not immediately test the Qi Men Dun Jia. Instead, he activated the third level of the “Reverse Birth” technique.
His entire body turned pale as he felt a surge of power coursing through his frame.
“So this is the power of the Dragon and Tiger…”
Clenching his fists, Li Ang muttered softly.
He now roughly understood that the initial and proficient stages likely corresponded to the first level of Reverse Birth, while mastery and expert levels belonged to the second.
As for the master level…
“Level three, huh.”
Exhaling a breath, the gust stirred dust around him.
[Activating Reverse Birth Level Three, skill experience +1]
[Activating Reverse Birth Level Three, skill experience +1]...
Li Ang quickly deactivated the Reverse Birth state, reserving energy for testing Qi Men Dun Jia.
Calming himself, he fixed his gaze on a nearby tree stump.
Unlike the Wind Empress Qi Men, which could target the user’s center, ordinary Qi Men Dun Jia required such clumsy methods to unleash spells.
He shifted slightly, stepping into the “Li” position.
Then, with a sharp motion of his hand, a stream of fire surged toward the stump.
“Li Character · Fire Rope!”
The name was improvised; as his first attempt with Qi Men Dun Jia, he was naturally nowhere near as skilled as Zhuge Qing or Wang Ye from the original tales—one had learned the Martial Marquis style, the other the Wind Empress style, quite different from his straightforward approach.
Sizzle—
After a few seconds, the scent of scorched wood drifted in the air.
Frowning, Li Ang approached the stump and touched the still warm, charred marks. “Tsk…”
“This kind of power isn’t even as strong as a punch from me.”
Recalling the fire’s moderate speed, he couldn’t help but feel a bit speechless.
It was enough to start a fire, but hardly effective as an offensive weapon.
Still, Li Ang wasn’t discouraged. After all, he could grind experience to improve his Qi Men Dun Jia skill.
“But my focus still has to be on Reverse Birth Level Three.”
Glancing at his pale palms, he struck the stump with a palm, which shattered under the immense force.
Over the next while, he experimented with spells from other positions.
Through trial, Li Ang realized that not all spells were as weak as the fire from the Li position.
Earth spells from the Kun and Gen positions, as well as wind spells from the Xun position, were barely usable.
“So the environment matters too…”
Standing amid the ruined clearing, a flicker of insight dawned on him.
What pleased him most, however, was the metal spell from the Dui position.
Though he couldn't imitate Magneto, he could enhance his body through it, somewhat akin to the Armament Haki in One Piece.
Combined with the strength boost from Reverse Birth, his close combat ability had improved drastically.
He also noticed that skill proficiency wasn’t fixed; even if the displayed level didn’t change, his control over Reverse Birth Level Three and Qi Men Dun Jia had significantly improved since the start.
“Though aren’t Alchemy Practitioners supposed to be somewhat ethereal and refined?”
Li Ang scratched his cheek, feeling his style was somewhat off.
But thinking of his so-called Great Master Immortal father and how Wu Gensheng engaged in hand-to-hand combat, he relaxed—perhaps the Trinity Sect just had a different flavor.
Looking over the experience gained from training Reverse Birth Level Three and Qi Men Dun Jia that afternoon, Li Ang exhaled softly. “Before heading back, I’d better train both skills to proficiency.”
That said, his leveling speed was currently limited by energy recovery rate.
Still, managing an entire afternoon was already due to the special energy recovery boost granted by “Alchemy Practitioner (Trinity).”
Brushing dust from his clothes, Li Ang turned and left the clearing.
Not long after he departed, two young men appeared at the edge of the clearing.
They were Wu Gensheng and Li Muxuan, playing the roles of Yun Ze and Yun Sheng.
Wu Gensheng looked at the ground, which seemed chewed up by a dog, and clicked his tongue in amazement. “Did this kid just start cultivating a few days ago?”
“Could it be some fool who disguised himself as Master Liu and came to steal our techniques?”
But his remark went unanswered.
Wu Gensheng glanced back to see Li Muxuan staring at the clearing, lost in thought.
This sect leader sighed and then leaned close, fixing Li Muxuan with a steady gaze.
He spoke deliberately, word by word: “You’re not really going to consider yourself a disciple of the Trinity Sect, are you?”
At those words, Li Muxuan snapped back to reality.
Wu Gensheng was right—he was not a disciple of the Trinity Sect. He never was, isn’t now, and never will be.
...Had Li Ang not appeared, Li Muxuan might have come to this realization sooner.
But the problem was...
There was Li Ang.
In Li Muxuan’s view, this new Trinity disciple’s talent was undoubtedly superior to his own.
More importantly, Li Ang had joined the sect without enduring a long trial.
This was something Li Muxuan could not accept.
Because if that were the case...
How could he then prove that the Great Master Immortal’s original choice was a mistake?!