Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 149: Chapter 121: Two in One

Wan Ze was silent for a long time.

He leaned back in his chair.

He recalled his three experiences: twice on the ship, once in an unfamiliar room.

No one was there.

Never.

’Why?’

He lowered his gaze, then raised it to look at Miss Ling.

’Why wasn’t it ”her”?’

’She was once just one step away from becoming a Qi Refiner. Why didn’t she enter this world?’

”Something must have gone wrong somewhere,” Wan Ze mused.

Miss Ling watched him, waiting for him to continue.

”She should have been the one to cultivate. She’s been there before; she’s at least more experienced than you are. But I never expected...” Wan Ze said slowly.

He paused. ”When she wakes up, I’ll get to the bottom of it. I’ll tell you then.”

Miss Ling nodded.

She lowered her head, clutching the cup dazedly as if she had suddenly remembered something.

”Does that mean... my Cultivation was successful?” Her eyes held a trace of uncertainty, along with a small flicker of hope.

Wan Ze raised an eyebrow. ”Try circulating it.”

Miss Ling closed her eyes, looking thoughtful.

A moment later, she opened them, a light flashing in their depths.

She said in pleasant surprise, ”I can... I think I really can. Wan Ze, does this mean I can become as powerful as you?”

Wan Ze looked at her.

He remembered the girl he’d met that day, trembling from her nightmares. He remembered how she’d silently held the gun... and he remembered the matter-of-fact tone she’d used just now when she said, ”I remember you like reading these kinds of books.”

Suddenly, he smiled. ”I think you will. That day isn’t far off.”

Miss Ling’s eyes curved into crescents.

But soon, her smile turned into a look of frustration. ”I should have stayed there longer. Maybe... I shouldn’t have touched that book so quickly.”

She hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Wan Ze. ”How about... I try one more time?”

Wan Ze was silent for two seconds. ”You can try.”

...

The incense was lit again.

Pale cyan smoke drifted up, once again gathering between Miss Ling’s brows.

Wan Ze sat to the side, watching quietly.

Three seconds.

Five seconds.

He didn’t enter that state.

But Miss Ling’s expression changed.

Pain.

The exact same pain as before.

Wan Ze reached out and pinched out the incense once more.

Miss Ling’s eyes flew open. She gasped for air, her face still showing traces of terror, and a fine sheen of cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

”The moment I went in, the thing from the book came for me again. It tried to take over my body. I was no match for it at all.”

Miss Ling lowered her gaze, frustrated with her own uselessness.

”Let’s not try again for now. We’ll wait until she returns... and see if there’s a way.”

Wan Ze nodded.

He didn’t say much else, just pushed the cup of warm water closer to her. ”Get some rest.”

He stood up.

Just as he reached the door, her hesitant voice came from behind him. ”She... she must know something, right?”

Wan Ze stopped and turned back. ”Don’t worry. It’s getting late, so rest well... And remember to put these things away.”

He opened the door and walked out.

The cabin fell silent.

Miss Ling held the cup of warm water, lost in a daze.

...

Wan Ze returned to his room and sat down on the plastic chair.

He leaned back and closed his eyes.

’There’s too much information. I need to sort through it.’

’First, the rules of descending... lighting the incense and circulating the Breathing Technique.’

’Neither can be missing.’

’The state after descending... it’s like my soul is leaving my body.’

’I can still feel my body, but at the same time, I’m clearly not in it. The sensations in that world—the touch, the gravity, the temperature—are all too real, yet separated from reality by some indescribable film.’

’Neither I nor Miss Ling can see the details of that world clearly.’

’I remember her saying... she first thought it was a hallucination, that her practice had gone awry. But now, it seems it might not have been a hallucination, but a matter of being too weak.’

’It’s like looking through a sheet of frosted glass. You can sense something is there, but you can’t see it clearly no matter how hard you try.’

’So, that brings up a question...’

Wan Ze tilted his head, looking at the moonlight on the floor.

’Why did the location of my descent change this time?’

’It wasn’t the ship anymore, but an unfamiliar, old-fashioned Chinese house?’

Wan Ze was lost in thought.

He remembered Miss Ling saying that the Three Gods Incense could connect one to the divine and act as a protector.

He hadn’t taken it seriously before, thinking it was just a supplementary tool for Cultivation.

’Thinking about it now, there’s probably more to it... This incense can influence the location of the descent.’

Having settled on this idea, Wan Ze took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and calmed his mind.

He focused his will.

He activated his Spiritual Form.

The world before his eyes suddenly blurred.

It was as if someone had wiped something across his eyelids. When he opened them again, the moonlight around him had completely changed.

He was in the ship’s cabin!

The space was cramped, the cabin walls were ice-cold, and a blood-red light shone through the window.

Wan Ze’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly scanned his surroundings. ’That’s right, this is the place. Even the position of the coiled rope in the corner hasn’t changed.’

He closed his eyes and deactivated his Spiritual Form.

The world blurred again.

He opened his eyes and was back in reality.

He activated it once more.

Still the ship’s cabin.

’It seems the key to changing my descent location... is the Three Gods Incense!’

’But why is it that both Miss Ling and I use the Three Gods Incense as a medium for our descent, yet we end up in different worlds?’

Wan Ze withdrew his consciousness, sitting motionless in the grandmaster chair for a long time.

’The Three Gods Incense... holds a great secret!’

He silently made a mental note.

’There are still too many unknowns.’

But now wasn’t the time to delve deeper.

Wan Ze stood up, his gaze falling on the world outside his window.

The moonlight was like flowing silk.

He immediately activated his Spiritual Form.

He descended into that world once more.

Without hesitation, he activated his Magic Sense.

In that instant, the entire world changed.

The auras that had been faint and indistinct before suddenly became clear.

Wisps of silvery-gray light were slowly drifting about.

They floated slowly, like gossamer threads or a thin mist, carrying a crisp chill as they began to surge wildly.

Wan Ze took a deep breath.

The Taiyin Breathing Technique, which had been lying in wait, began to circulate frantically!