I Obtained Guan Yu's Martial Arts - Chapter 43

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Obtaining Guan Yu’s martial prowess 043
Heavenly Secret Disclosure (3)
“Just now…… What did you say?”
“Extraordinary. Truly extraordinary.”
Zhang Chushan’s pallid gaze fixed upon Guan Hui.
“One belongs to you, yet one does not.”
“……!”
Zhang Chushan stared intently at Guan Hui’s chest.
That gaze seemed to pierce through not the flesh, but the very soul.
“An ill-omened white star. Could it be that you harbor something profane?”
“You speak madness once more.”
“To dare speak of falsehoods before this Grand Sage? Let us see if you have the nerve.”
Zhang Chushan, who had been pouring forth his words alone, brought his Stone Staff crashing down upon the ground.
Boom!—
A surge of energy rippled outward in concentric circles, birthing a haze of pale gray mist.
And at the same moment, the surroundings began to transform.
The tranquil landscape near the Guan Estate vanished, replaced by a scarlet plain studded with hundreds of blade-edges.
The blue sky became a dull yellow, and the clouds dissipated entirely.
‘An Array Formation?’
Guan Hui felt with his very skin that this alien landscape was no reality.
It was thanks to his rising cultivation and deepened mastery of energy.
“An interesting sorcery.”
“……?!”
At the low, sonorous voice from beside him, Guan Hui started in alarm.
He turned instinctively and beheld a middle-aged man of considerable frame—a full head taller than himself.
A lustrous beard descended to his solar plexus, skin the color of dried dates, and a towering, robust build.
Guan Hui’s eyes widened as understanding struck him.
“General, you……?!”
It made no sense.
It was impossible from the start.
How could Guan Yu, who should have existed as a spirit within him, manifest before the world like this?
“He reveals himself only within the Array Formation.”
At Guan Yu’s reply, which seemed to see straight through his confusion, Guan Hui nodded.
“Ah. I understand now.”
When he thought about it, the surroundings themselves defied all reason.
“Hah!”
A sharp, piercing sound echoed from the distance.
He turned to see a thin, elderly man approaching through a forest of decrepit blades.
“Guan Yun-chang? Is it truly you?”
“……Zhang Jiao. I never expected to meet you here.”
The old man wore a yellow turban upon his head and a string of white beads about his neck.
He was the Patriarch of the Way of Great Peace and the Grand Sage.
And once he had been Zhang Jiao, the Celestial General of the Yellow Turban Rebellion that had overturned the world.
“Yun-chang. You should be in the Heaven Realm—how do you come to be in the Mortal Realm?”
“That is the question I would ask you. How did you escape the Heaven Realm?”
Zhang Jiao smiled faintly and pointed to the yellow turban with his finger.
“I remain in the Heaven Realm still. The Patriarchs of the Way of Great Peace inherit Daoist Magic across generations. This is one such inheritance—constructing within the Array Formation a realm where I may manifest.”
“……So even your vaunted sorcery cannot breach the bounds of the Heaven Realm.”
“Precisely. Even I cannot deceive the Eyes of Heaven.”
Despite Guan Yu’s mockery, Zhang Jiao nodded readily and posed his question.
“But what brings you here? It seems unlike your upright nature to violate the Heavenly Principles.”
Zhang Jiao studied Guan Hui from head to foot, then nodded as if understanding.
“A scion of the Guan clan. Ah, so that is it. I comprehend now. You seek to capture a star.”
Zhang Jiao, called both Patriarch of the Way of Great Peace and Grand Sage, perceived countless truths in a single moment.
“Be silent.”
“But why does the junior beside you wear such a bewildered expression?”
Zhang Jiao tilted his head in confusion, then clapped his hands together.
“Wait. Could it be you have not yet told him? Why have you embarked upon a journey to Zhongyuan that fate never intended?”
“…….”
Guan Yu did not answer.
Guan Hui found the silence rather unsettling.
It felt as if there were some murky scheme lurking beneath it.
“Ah, I see. So you cannot disclose Heavenly Secrets. Well then, that suits me just fine.”
Zhang Jiao tapped two knuckles together, producing a clear, ringing sound.
At once, mist descended across the yellowed sky, forming a barrier between heaven and earth.
“This should do nicely. Now that I’ve clouded Heaven’s eyes, let’s see if we can pry open that heavy mouth of yours.”
“Tell me what scheme you’re cooking up.”
“Scheme? Tch. I’ve no such thing, really.”
Zhang Jiao smiled wickedly and settled himself into empty air, whereupon a rock materialized beneath him, becoming his seat.
“This Array Formation was made long ago so that when a descendant of the Way of Great Peace needs my aid, they can use their body as a catalyst to summon a fragment of my soul. I cannot wield my Daoist Magic, nor can I affect the Mortal Realm.”
“So you can only offer counsel.”
“Roughly speaking. Though within this Array, I’m something of a force to be reckoned with. Tch.”
Zhang Jiao nodded toward Guan Hui, having said his piece.
“So. Do you truly mean to seize the stars?”
…….
Guan Yu answered with only a silent nod.
Under ordinary circumstances, he would not have bothered responding at all, but the situation left him with little choice.
Catching that creature would require even dirty hands if necessary.
“You’re as mad as he is. Quite possibly madder.”
“Don’t compare me to someone who knows no restraint.”
“Tch. Jest, jest. Your temper hasn’t softened in hundreds of years, has it?”
Guan Yu’s cold, piercing gaze made Zhang Jiao subtly shift his rock backward.
Though Zhang Jiao was revered even among the immortals, before Guan Yu he was nothing more than a petty Daoist charlatan.
“Pardon me, sirs, but I’m rather confused. What in the world are you all talking about?”
“Ah. You’re here after all.”
The cunning Zhang Jiao turned his gaze toward Guan Hui.
“Since I owe my descendant a debt, I’ll explain in his stead. Have you heard of the Heavenly Murder Star?”
“Yes, I have.”
The Heavenly Murder Star referred to a being born with lethal intent and malice that mortals could never hope to bear.
A creature born to kill men and spill blood.
Throughout Zhongyuan’s history, most who had brought about great bloodbaths possessed the Heavenly Murder Star.
“Tch. Then we can speak plainly. In the heavens, there are one hundred and eight calamitous stars like the Heavenly Murder Star.”
“That many?”
Guan Hui’s eyes widened in shock.
One Heavenly Murder Star alone was terrifying enough—and there were one hundred and eight of them?
“Tch. Most have lost their luminescence, so have no fear.”
“Thank goodness.”
“Not so fortunate. That light was stolen from them.”
“Stolen? By whom?”
“Yes. To steal a star’s light is to claim its fate. What do you imagine would happen if one hundred and eight calamitous stars like the Heavenly Murder Star were merged into one?”
…….
Guan Hui could not bring himself to answer.
The Heavenly Murder Star itself carried a fate that could slay even Heaven itself.
A single Heavenly Murder Star could bring about a bloodbath that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives—what unspeakable horror would unfold if a hundred such fates were bound together as one?
“What your ancestor is attempting to kill right now is precisely the creature bearing this Grand Calamity Star.”
“I see.”
Guan Hui glanced sideways at Guan Yu.
Though the man said nothing and did not explicitly deny it, his silence seemed to confirm Zhang Jiao’s words.
‘But why?’
One question still nagged at him.
Why would Guan Yu, already departed from this world, seek to kill the Grand Calamity Star?
This remained a mystery to Guan Hui.
“You look puzzled, boy.”
“Yes, I am.”
“That would be the result of a bargain with Heaven—”
“That’s enough.”
“Ahem. My apologies.”
Zhang Jiao, belatedly realizing his slip, clicked his tongue.
Meeting someone from the Mortal Realm after so long had made him careless and nearly caused him to say too much.
“I owe you my apologies as well.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“That information you just heard—if you’d truly comprehended it, your head would have split open. The living cannot know such things.”
“I see. I understand.”
Guan Hui didn’t fully grasp his meaning, but he nodded obediently regardless.
He had no desire to ask further questions if it meant risking his skull bursting open.
“But who is this Grand Calamity Star?”
“Hmm.”
Zhang Jiao turned to regard Guan Yu, who remained silent and gave a slight nod.
“You should have heard of him. Feng—”
Splorch!—
In an instant, Zhang Jiao’s left arm and side exploded outward, spraying blood in all directions.
“……!”
Guan Hui braced himself, pulling his Qi taut, while Guan Yu watched the scene unmoved.
“Tsk. So even blindfolded, one cannot evade it.”
Zhang Jiao, now missing an arm and portions of his organs, murmured coolly.
He watched the blood cascade like a waterfall, then waved his hand lightly.
The blood flowed backward into his body, reforming his shape until he stood whole once more, exactly as before.
It was the Way of Great Peace’s Daoist Magic—time itself reversed.
“It seems a prohibition has been placed upon the name.”
“Indeed.”
Guan Yu nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Zhang Jiao’s expression shifted from confusion to sudden alarm.
“You……did you already know? Were you using me to confirm it, just on the chance?”
“…….”
Guan Yu offered no reply.
But his silence spoke louder than words—no one in that chamber failed to hear the affirmation.
“Ha! The legendary Yun Zhang has grown quite clever. Time has indeed changed you much.”
“Time is up. Send them back.”
“Don’t worry. That’s exactly what I intend to do.”
Zhang Jiao smiled as if amused.
Guan Yu’s glacial transformation had piqued his curiosity.
“Besides, the Array Formation’s duration was nearly exhausted anyway.”
“Wait. So who exactly is this Grand Calamity Star?”
“The prohibition bars me from speaking. Think carefully yourself. Among all the generals, who was the only one your ancestor could never defeat?”
Guan Hui’s eyes flew wide open at those words.
“Could it be……?!”
The one general Guan Yu had never conquered.
Only a single name bloomed in his mind.

* * *
Guangxi Province. The Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
Located at the southernmost edge of Zhongyuan, the Ten Thousand Great Mountains were so treacherous, riddled with perilous terrain and deadly poisons, that few dared venture there.
And that solitude appealed greatly to the realm’s eccentrics and recluses.
Hermit masters typically favored remote lands untouched by ordinary feet.
Even a mere decade past, countless such recluses had journeyed to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, battling fiercely for territory and position.
The number of hermit eccentrics who’d perished attempting to make their nest there exceeded three hundred.
But in recent years, such things had ceased altogether.
A hermit master who’d once ranked among the top ten in all Zhongyuan.
When Zhang Shun, known as the White Surge, established his base in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, all conflict ended.
A monster who’d slaughtered hundreds of imperial soldiers and generals with nothing but his blade.
“Haugh……haugh…….”
That very demon, whose name alone struck terror into the hearts of Guangxi’s people, now breathed in ragged gasps.
The front of his pristine white martial robes was soaked with dark blood, and the white blade that once commanded the world lay shattered in half.
His left arm had been torn away as if by a wild beast, and countless wounds marred his body from thigh to torso.
What was truly strange was that each wound bore a different character entirely.
As if dozens of different warriors had attacked him all at once.
“Are you Zhang Shun, called the White Surge?”
A boy, scarcely knee-high to Zhang Shun, regarded him with cold intensity.
The youth in navy garments bore the refined features of a noble son, yet his eyes held an unsettling gleam.
The eyes of one possessing the Four-White Eyes—the pupils themselves burning crimson as if saturated with blood.
“You… just what in blazes are you?”
Zhang Shun collapsed to the ground, his face drained to a sickly white from blood loss.
He tried to muster a final struggle, but no strength remained.
And even if he had possessed it, it would have been meaningless against the boy standing before him.
The creature was something beyond description—a pure, unadulterated monster.
“Answer me. Your name is Zhang Shun, the one they call Wavering Blade, yes?”
“…Yes. I am Zhang Shun. But what are you? Some ancient master who has undergone Reverse Life Reversal?”
A child who appeared no more than ten years old could not possibly wield such tremendous power.
Yet he hardly seemed like a master of Reverse Life Reversal either.
Even one who had undergone that transformation would show age in their eyes, yet the boy’s gaze was as clear and innocent as that of a true child.
“Where could such a monster have come from… hack!”
Dark blood spilled from his mouth, mixed with fragments of his own organs.
Death was now inevitable.
As Zhang Shun’s eyes fixed upon the boy, he suddenly laughed—a thin, bitter sound.
“…You laugh?”
“Why should I not? Here I am, facing death, having fought against a master the equal of the greatest in the martial world today—one I could not defeat in a hundred strikes.”
“Fought? How amusing.”
The boy let out a cold snort as he drew closer.
With each step forward, a tremendous wave of energy erupted from beneath him, spiderwebbing the earth with countless fractures.
“…!”
It felt as though gravity itself had multiplied a hundredfold.
Zhang Shun’s entire body trembled violently, his bones screaming in agony.
“You call yourself a fighter? You are nothing but an insect crushed underfoot.”
The boy’s lips curled into a contemptuous smile as he took a single, casual step forward.
In that instant, the pressure bearing down on Zhang Shun intensified a thousandfold.
Crunch—
Like an insect splattered beneath a heel, Zhang Shun collapsed into nothing more than a pool of blood.
“Tch. The Heavenly Loss Star finally falls. Still so many left, and yet it takes this long.”
The boy drew a palm-sized Star Codex from his waist.
Beneath the name “Heavenly Loss Star” written in red ink, the characters “White Light Star” were inscribed in black.
“Next is the White Light Star. Location is… Shanxi Province?”
The boy puffed out his cheeks, as though annoyed.
“Dreadfully far.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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