Chapter 167: The Mysterious Art of Moving Essence

Chapter 167: The Mysterious Art of Moving Essence

Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun exchanged a glance, momentarily at a loss for words.

Su Mo felt that his so-called father’s character was truly hard to describe.

Recalling what Li Siyun had once said, if Su Tianyang had been in the Jiaolong Water Village that day, he would have acted very differently from Su Mo.

He would have tested the poison on himself, trying each method one by one, rather than forcing others to test the drugs as Su Mo did.

Hearing Yang Yizhi’s words now, Su Mo couldn’t help but agree with Li Siyun.

Indeed, Su Tianyang was that kind of person.

“And the second question I asked him back then was…

“Why didn’t he strike first? Why did he wait until the woman tried to kill him before he took action?

“He told me that initially, he hoped these people could reform.

“Every path in this world isn’t a dead end. If they showed any sign of repentance, why not give them another chance at life?

“But later, when the woman attacked, he knew that this wasn’t their first time doing such a thing.

“The way she wielded her knife showed no hesitation, her movements were ruthless and precise, even though she wasn’t skilled in martial arts, she was exceptionally proficient.

“This indicated that they had done this many times before.

“If it had only been him, Su Tianyang, who suffered at their hands, he might have given them another chance.

“But how could he forgive the murderers on behalf of those who had already died?

“So, he sent them to the netherworld to settle their own accounts.”

As Yang Yizhi spoke, his face was filled with a mocking expression.

Sure enough, Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun looked stunned.

“Ha ha ha!”

Yang Yizhi laughed heartily. “When I heard his answer back then, my expression was exactly the same as yours. At first, I thought he was a naive and righteous man, but after hearing more, I realized that while he seemed righteous, he wasn’t as straightforward as I imagined.

“After that incident, I got to know Su Tianyang better.

“Although I didn’t intend to get involved with him much, he kept pestering me, saying he wanted to repay my life-saving grace.

“As we traveled through the martial world, I found his peculiar personality increasingly intriguing.

“He was generous and upright, always ready to stand up for what he believed was right, no matter the cost, even if it meant breaking his head and bleeding.

“He was lenient with others and strict with himself, almost to the point of being naive, yet he had a clear set of principles in his heart.

“Under his standards, the blurred lines between good and evil in the martial world became clear to him.

“He never hesitated to kill those who deserved it, but he also never raised a hand against those he deemed innocent.

“At first, I didn’t think much of him, but gradually, I was drawn to his somewhat stubborn nature.

“After sharing life and death several times, we became inseparable friends.

“So, we knelt on the ground, burned incense, and swore brotherhood!

“Looking back, I wonder if it was a bit hasty…”

He sighed softly, as if regretting his decision.

Su Mo was speechless, and Yang Xiaoyun couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.

But from his words, it was clear that Yang Yizhi and Su Tianyang shared a deep bond.

The reason he was attracted to Su Tianyang and eventually swore brotherhood with him was that he, too, was that kind of person.

If he weren’t generous and upright, would he have intervened whenever he saw injustice?

If he hadn’t approved of Su Tianyang’s actions, would he have risked his life time and again?

In the stories of Su Tianyang, who never retreated even when bloodied, wasn’t there also a figure holding a silver spear, standing firm beside him?

Otherwise, how could these stories be so vivid and detailed?

As Yang Yizhi spoke, the image of the once-strange Su Tianyang gradually became more three-dimensional in Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun’s minds.

Su Tianyang and Yang Yizhi’s friendship began on the martial paths and continued as they roamed the world together.

They experienced many things, spending over a decade in the martial world.

It was said that this was because Su Mo’s grandfather was still alive, and the escort agency didn’t need Su Tianyang’s help.

In his early years, Su Tianyang had also studied at the Purple Sun Sect.

At this point, Yang Yizhi added a reminder to Su Mo:

“In the past, you were no good, and the Purple Sun Sect didn’t pay much attention to you.

“But that was because I interfered.”

"The entanglements between your Su family and the Purple Sun Sect are far more complex than you can imagine.

"When you have the time in the future, you can visit the Purple Sun Sect yourself. As for what happened, it’s not my place to tell you; you will naturally know when the time comes."

"..."

Li Siyun had said something similar before.

But Yang Yizhi’s words carried more weight, and Su Mo nodded solemnly.

They then continued to talk about Su Tianyang and Yang Yizhi.

The two of them roamed the martial world for nearly ten years, during which many things naturally occurred.

They upheld justice, made good friends, and traveled together through the martial world.

During this time, they met the women they loved and saved many people.

Though they did not mingle with the various sects in East City, their reputations were not widely known.

But they truly enjoyed themselves.

Yang Yizhi eventually settled down in Sunset City.

Su Tianyang helped him establish his household and introduced him to the Ziyang Escort Agency, though at that time it was just a nominal position.

"If things had continued like this, perhaps everything would have been fine.

"After he had his fill of roaming the martial world, he would naturally join the escort agency and start working there.

"He would fully inherit the Ziyang Escort Agency, and I... I would be content being his deputy head.

"In the beginning, everyone has lofty ambitions, but as time passes, some things don’t necessarily need to be fought to the death.

"Especially when you have more ties and responsibilities, stability becomes the best option.

"But I never expected that something would happen at this juncture."

Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun perked up, knowing that they were finally getting to the crux of the matter.

Yang Yizhi sighed, "This incident stemmed from a consignment. We thought it was just an ordinary one, but we didn’t expect... the consignment to be lost."

He glanced at Su Mo, "Your grandfather, along with dozens of skilled hands from the Ziyang Escort Agency, all went missing.

"How could Su Tianyang remain calm after that?

"Naturally, he set out to investigate, and I went with him. We followed the trail for several months before we finally found your grandfather...

"But by then, he was already on his last breath.

"Before he died, he handed Su Tianyang an item and instructed him to deliver it to the Purple Sun Sect.

"With that, he passed away.

"Looking back on this matter now, I understand a bit more, but at the time, we had no idea what lay ahead.

"The pain of losing a father is unbearable.

"But we had to pull ourselves together and bring the old man’s body back to Sunset City for burial.

"However, we encountered a severely injured and dying person on the road at that moment.

"This put both me and Su Tianyang in a difficult position.

"It was mid-summer, and if we hurried back, we could still give the old man a proper burial.

"But if we delayed any longer, it might be too late."

Yang Yizhi shook his head, "In the end, Su Tianyang, being a man of principle, couldn’t ignore the situation.

"If we hadn’t seen it, we could have pretended it never happened.

"But having seen it, how could we let someone die on the roadside?

"Conflict in the martial world is inevitable, and we didn’t know whether this person was good or bad.

"Ultimately, he decided to save the person.

"But when we rescued him, we found that his injuries were almost beyond saving.

"The Immortal Spring Pill from the Healing Pavilion is a miraculous medicine, hard to find in the world.

"But even it couldn’t fully revive him.

"This person had an extremely obscure internal energy within him, and every time we revived him a little, it would kill him again.

"Both your father and I, who consider ourselves well-informed, had never seen such a bizarre internal skill.

"Due to this strange internal injury, we could only use the Immortal Spring Pills to sustain his life and continuously transfer our internal energy to him day and night.

"After three days and nine Immortal Spring Pills, we finally managed to revive him.

"But we didn’t expect that this person was extremely wary and guarded against us and Su Tianyang.

"By nature, I would have left, but your father said that this person wasn’t evil, just persecuted and thus distrusted others.

"Moreover, his condition showed no signs of improvement, and it was a stroke of luck that he woke up. If we abandoned him, he would likely die again.

"Reluctantly, Su Tianyang had to bury the old man’s body temporarily.

"After that, we continued to confront him.

"This confrontation lasted for a full three months.

"Each day, his aura grew weaker than the previous one, and he would often curse us and your father, telling us to leave.

"Your father ignored it all, and while I felt indignant, I couldn't abandon him there.

"So, we endured for three months until he finally gave up.

"He called us to his side and explained that his actions were actually for our own good.

"His enemies were too powerful, and although he could enjoy temporary peace, they would inevitably come after him.

"Since we had saved the life of an unrelated person, how could he let us die because of him?

"That's why he kept trying to drive us away, hoping we would sever ties with him and avoid getting into trouble.

"After saying this, he sternly told us to leave immediately, so as not to lose our lives for an unrelated person."

Su Mo sighed, "If that's the case, my father would have been even more determined not to leave."

"You're right."

Yang Yizhi nodded, "Your father is that kind of person. If the person we saved was a heinous criminal, he might have killed him on the spot.

"But if it was a good-hearted person, even in mortal danger, he wouldn't let them die unjustly.

"That's why he insisted on staying to help, and I couldn't leave alone.

"The man, seeing this, became furious and cursed us repeatedly... thinking back, his words were truly vulgar.

"But later, when he realized he couldn't drive us away, he sighed deeply and said,

'If you want to stay and help me, your current martial arts skills are far from sufficient.

"Although he was severely injured, he had observed the daily practice between you and your father.

"At the time, I was still young and proud, and I refused to believe his words.

"I immediately refuted him, but to my surprise, he didn't get angry; instead, he asked me to attack him.

"I didn't want to harm a severely injured and dying person.

"But after much discussion, I couldn't contain my anger, especially after enduring three months of insults. I wanted to show him who was in charge.

"In the end, I attacked him.

"My strike wasn't meant to kill him, but it was still formidable.

"However, despite his injuries and weakened state, he casually deflected my attack with a strange force, and with a flick of his hand, I found myself retreating several steps.

"His martial arts were mysterious, something I had never seen or heard of before.

"Unfortunately, due to his severe injuries, he coughed up blood after that move.

"In the end, he sighed softly, saying he feared he wouldn't survive and that his life would likely end there.

"He then asked us again if we would leave.

"Your father, of course, refused to leave, and since he stayed, I naturally stayed as well.

"Seeing this, he sighed helplessly and said, 'This is fate. Since you won't leave, I will teach you two sets of martial arts to deal with the impending disaster.'

"Although we didn't want to accept, he said that if we refused, we would die anyway, so he might as well die in front of us first.

"Realizing he was serious, we had no choice but to accept his teachings."

Xiaoyun asked, "Is that the set of martial arts you often use?"

"Yes."

Yang Yizhi nodded, "He taught us two skills: an internal cultivation technique called the 'Mysterious Shift Power,' and another skill called the 'Fleeting Light Hands.'

"He claimed that the Mysterious Shift Power had the power to transcend nature and could serve as the foundation of all martial arts.

"The greatest benefit of practicing this technique is that it doesn't conflict with any other martial arts from different schools.

"The internal energy gained can be integrated into one's original internal cultivation.

"Initially, it requires focused effort to circulate, but over time, it can naturally activate the Mysterious Shift Power while practicing your own internal cultivation, leading to a synergistic effect and a significant increase in internal energy.

"It also generates a unique protective force called 'Mysterious Shift Heavenly Aura.'

"You've seen me use it before...

"At the time, I dismissed it, but after practicing, I discovered its profound benefits.

"Both your father and I are talented, and after half a month of practice, we had made some progress with the Mysterious Shift Power.

"Only then did he reveal his identity...

"He called himself 'Shou Xuan.'"

Just hearing these two words, Su Mo couldn't help but frown.

"Shou Xuan? The Shou of ‘guard’ and the Xuan of ‘mysterious’?"

Yang Yizhi looked up at Su Mo, smiled, and then found a place to sit down, sighing as he said:

"If only your father and I had been as perceptive as you, perhaps what happened afterward wouldn't have occurred.

"At that time, we simply took it as an ordinary name.

"Shou Xuan told us that he came from a secluded family, one that had been guarding something for generations.

"This time, he was severely injured because an enemy who had long coveted these things managed to turn one of their own, leading to a traitor stealing some of them.

"He went out to retrieve them but didn't expect to fall into an ambush set by his enemies.

"Even with two fists, one cannot fight four hands, and he ended up in this state.

"After telling us this, he handed us an object, saying that his life was about to end. Since we had received the Transcendent Power, he asked us to... deliver this item to his clan.

"To hand it over to the elders for safekeeping.

"But just as he finished speaking, black-clothed assassins attacked from all directions..."

At that time, Su Tianyang and I had made some progress with the Transcendent Power, and our internal strength had increased several times over.

We had just learned the Swift Light Hands technique and hadn't used it yet.

The black-clothed assassins underestimated us, and naturally, they were no match.

Only Shou Xuan couldn't avoid death in this battle.

With no choice, Su Tianyang and I cleaned up the scene, erased any traces, and then headed to the clan Shou Xuan had mentioned.

"But we never expected...

"When we arrived, we saw nothing but a silent hell.

"Blood almost stained every inch of the ground.

"Bodies piled up like mountains, a scene of utter horror!

"We searched among the corpses and explored the collapsed houses.

"In the end... we really did find someone who was severely injured but not quite dead.

"This person had been stabbed in the heart, but due to a congenital difference, his heart was on the right side, allowing him to barely cling to life when your father and I arrived.

"We immediately treated him with the Life Reviving Pill, and he ultimately survived.

"But the damage to his foundation left him unable to regain his former martial prowess.

"After asking his name, he introduced himself as... Shou Li."

At this point, he glanced at Su Mo: "This person is none other than the Li Siyun you met later.

"Hmph, he should have been a dead man back then.

"If not for your father saving him... how could he have survived until now?

"And yet, he still spoke nonsense in front of you, dragging you into this mess, truly despicable."

Hearing this, Su Mo's previous doubts were finally resolved.

"Li Siyun's misunderstanding of me... could it be because of the Transcendent Power?"

How could an ordinary martial artist suddenly make such rapid progress?

For ordinary martial arts, it would be extremely difficult.

But the Transcendent Power could do it.

Su Tianyang and Yang Yizhi were indeed talented, but if the Transcendent Power weren't so profound, how could their internal strength have increased several times over in just half a month?

It must have been that Li Siyun, seeing the once-ordinary Su Mo suddenly slay three people with a single sword strike in Profound Theory Valley, assumed that Su Tianyang had made some arrangement before his death, passing on the Transcendent Power to him.

Thus, he remained silent for ten years, only to shock everyone with his sudden display of power.

After hearing this, Yang Yizhi looked at Su Mo and sighed softly:

"That's just one part of it, and the matter is far from over..."