Starforce Warriors

Chapter 169: Three Secret Scrolls

At the crucial moment, Li Xiaofei's rationality overcame his desire. There was something different in him recently. Li Xiaofei sensed something was amiss. His inner desires had indeed exceeded the normal range. Even a young man full of vigor wouldn't be this thirsty.

Could it really be as that fraud master said, that practicing martial arts requires a balance of yin and yang? The two martial arts I've been cultivating, Great Strength Vajra Fist and Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms, are both extremely masculine.

Is the excess of yang causing my intense need?

Li Xiaofei's mind conjured up the Su Nu Pian from the modified version of the Huangdi Neijing.

Should I give it a try?

A dangerous thought stirred within him. As a martial arts fanatic and a young man with dreams of being a great hero, he admired the unrestrained and unconventional heroes in Gu Long's books [1]. He wasn't a purist in terms of relationships but adhered to his principle of better to have none than to settle.

His aunt was family. Little Tan was a friend. The principal was like an elder sister. None could be desecrated.

Wait a minute. Isn't the light core virtual world able to solve these problems?

He just wasn't sure if the water in the virtual world could quench the fire in the real world. But while Li Xiaofei was distracted, his aunt finished the massage.

"Rest early," she said, holding the bottle of medicine as she left the bedroom.

The sky was already dark. A crescent moon hung high in the sky, casting a faint silvery frost. Li Xiaofei got up and moved his body a bit. He could feel that his condition had improved again.

"Moonlight Dog Box, time to work," he said to the moon.

"Woof, activating," replied the Moonlight Treasure Box, acknowledging Li Xiaofei's call.

Li Xiaofei quickly found himself in the Secret Time Pavilion.

"Can I draw the lottery now?" Li Xiaofei asked.

Every time he entered the Secret Time Pavilion, he habitually asked that question. Usually, the answer was negative.

But this time the box replied, "Woof, you can."

"Hmm?" Li Xiaofei was overjoyed. "Draw now."

A familiar vortex of space-time appeared before him and he reached in.

As his hand rummaged through the vortex, a thought popped into his head.

Why don't I try grabbing multiple scrolls at once? There's no need to grab just one each time.

Li Xiaofei's hand frantically scooped through the vortex. After grabbing one scroll, he didn't pull his hand out and instead continued to rummage. Sure enough, his fingers touched another one. He grabbed it and kept fishing. He found another one.

However, when Li Xiaofei tried to grab a fourth scroll, the voice of the Moonlight Dog Box rang out.

"Woof, the host is being a bit greedy."

The space-time vortex began to shrink rapidly.

"How stingy," Li Xiaofei muttered as he quickly withdrew his hand.

He held three scroll-like manuals in his hand. He opened the first one. The first four words that caught his eye were — Medicine King Divine Manual.

Li Xiaofei was stunned. He quickly searched his memory and found the answer. This was a classic masterpiece renowned for its dual expertise in medicine and poison. It originated from the Jin Yong martial arts world and was authored by the master Wu Zhen, also known as the Poison Hand Medicine King. 90 percent of it dealt with medical techniques for curing and saving lives, while the remaining ten percent focused on poison cultivation, including planting poisonous herbs and raising venomous insects.

The book was also famous due to a poignant unrequited love story in the Side Story of Fox Volant. The Poison Hand Medicine King had entrusted this manual to his young apprentice, Chen Lingsu. This poor girl was extraordinarily talented and perceptive and so used the book to cultivate the world's most unique poison, the Seven-Star Begonia. However, she ultimately sacrificed herself to save Hu Fei, dying from the poison she had consumed for his sake. Their unfulfilled love was a significant regret in the story.

When Li Xiaofei read this part years ago, he couldn't help but curse Hu Fei out loud. Chen Lingsu was such a remarkable woman, yet Hu Fei didn't cherish her. Instead, he preferred the two-faced green tea girl Yuan Ziyi. No wonder he had ended up single.

In that martial arts world, the Medicine King Divine Manual was an all-encompassing treatise on medicine and poison. However, it was not a manual for martial arts cultivation. He hadn't expected to draw such a book this time.

Li Xiaofei fell into deep contemplation. The manual didn't seem particularly significant to him. His ambitions lay elsewhere. But it could be extremely beneficial for someone like Ren Dong, who pursued the path of a medic. The only uncertainty was that many of the poisonous plants and insects recorded in the manual were from the normal world. The entire world had undergone a nuclear winter, and the wilderness was filled with radiation and star beasts, causing many plants to mutate.

He didn’t know whether the herbs and insects mentioned in the Medicine King Divine Manual, along with the associated treatments, were still applicable.

Maybe I should let Little Aunt study this book first?

A thought popped into Li Xiaofei's mind. He had a vague feeling that his aunt's medical knowledge might be inherited from ancient times, and her expertise could far surpass what many could imagine.

Li Xiaofei opened the second scroll.

The first two characters made his spirit lift—

Nine Yin...

Could it be the Nine Yin Manual?

It was the ultimate martial arts classic from the Jin Yong martial arts world. However, as he fully unfurled the scroll, Li Xiaofei discovered that it wasn't the Nine Yin Manual.

It was... The Nine Yin White Bone Claw.

Memories of various novel plots flooded back to him. The Nine Yin White Bone Claw was renowned due to the ruthless actions of Iron Corpse Mei Chaofeng during the era of The Legend of the Condor Heroes[2].

The Twin Killers of the Black Wind had made a terrifying name for themselves in the martial world with this skill. Martial artists would tremble in fear wherever they went despite their incomplete understanding of martial arts and lack of sufficient internal energy, which led to their skewed practice.

Unfortunately, Bronze Corpse Chen Xuanfeng, after a brief appearance, had been killed by the young Guo Jing. Later, Mei Chaofeng was left blind, which made it difficult for her to achieve greatness. Ultimately, she had sacrificed herself to protect her master, Huang Yaoshi, from a sneak attack by Western Poison Ouyang Feng. When Mei Chaofeng died, the Nine Yin White Bone Claw martial art also faded into obscurity.

"In terms of achievements in the novels, the Nine Yin White Bone Claw is far inferior to the Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms. Guo Jing had only mastered fifteen palms, and Mei Chaofeng couldn't defeat him. Once he mastered all eighteen palms, he could easily overpower her. But that was because Mei Chaofeng lacked internal energy and was blind, while Guo Jing was young, strong, and trained in authentic Quanzhen internal energy."

After careful analysis, Li Xiaofei concluded that this technique was worth practicing. Then, he opened the third martial arts scroll.

Three large words caught his eye— One Yang Finger.

1. Gu Long, was a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese novelist, screenwriter, film producer and director. A graduate of Cheng Kung Senior High School and Tamkang University, Xiong is best known for writing wuxia. ☜

2. The Legend of the Condor Heroes is a 2017 Chinese television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title and a remake of the 1983 Hong Kong television series based on the same novel. The series was directed by Jeffrey Chiang and starred Yang Xuwen, Li Yitong, Chen Xingxu and Meng Ziyi in the lead roles. ☜