Chapter 26 - 20: Bai Xiang’s Shock
At this moment, Bai Xiang was utterly shocked.
Ever since she contracted a strange illness at the age of six, the word "man" had been completely removed from her world.
Even when she was hailed as the Pearl of Jing Country, lauded as the most beautiful woman in the world; even after she was made Empress; and even when she was eventually reviled, scorned by all as the ruinous Demon Queen...
She was destined to have no connection with men.
This absolute isolation—where one could only look from afar but never touch—had fostered her cold, aloof personality, making her view all living beings as insignificant.
But now—
There was actually a man she could touch?
The cognitive dissonance was so jarring that no matter how composed she usually was, she couldn’t help but lose her composure.
To confirm that the sensation just now wasn’t a hallucination, Bai Xiang’s hand trembled as she once again gently caressed the man’s cheek.
The warm, real sensation of skin traveled clearly up her fingertips.
It was like an electric current striking the bottom of her heart.
It was no longer that ethereal, intangible wall of air.
It was the unique warmth of a living person.
As the pad of her finger brushed across his chin, she could even feel the faint, prickly sensation of his stubble.
Bai Xiang’s beautiful eyes widened in utter disbelief.
’It’s...’
’It’s really possible!’
’Why is it like this?’
’Why is he the only one who can touch me?’
Bai Xiang’s mind was in turmoil.
Her hand continued to wander over his body unconsciously.
His neck, his collarbone, his chest...
Then, she pressed it lightly against his heart, feeling the man’s heartbeat.
She felt the reality of this absurdity.
The dignified Princess, the former Empress, was secretly touching a man’s body in the middle of the night.
Who could possibly stand for this?
Perhaps her actions were too bold, or her palm too soft and smooth. Even Jiang Mu, forced into a deep slumber, found his breathing instinctively quickening.
Wait!
A possibility suddenly occurred to Bai Xiang.
’Could it be...’
’...that this guy isn’t a man at all!?’
Although the idea was absurd—after all, even a blind person could tell that Jiang Mu was a man just by his appearance.
But considering her strange illness had never once failed, with him being the sole exception...
...such a suspicion inevitably grew like wild weeds.
For example, what if this person had a man’s face but a woman’s body?
Or because of some special constitution, was an intersex person?
Or perhaps...
In short, she simply refused to believe a normal man could break the... prohibition on her body.
At this thought, Bai Xiang grit her teeth.
Her jade-like hand, which had been resting on his chest, grasped the edge of the thin blanket and began to pull it down, inch by inch.
As the corner of the blanket slipped away, the moonlight crept down his body.
Until—
A sharp gasp escaped her lips.
The woman sucked in a cold breath and froze on the spot.
After a moment’s stun, she jerked back as if her hand had been burned, frantically pulling the blanket back up.
THUMP! THUMP!
Inside the room, the woman’s heartbeat was clearly audible.
A deep blush spread from the tips of her ears to her cheeks, instantly covering her entire jade-like face.
Her snow-white skin seemed to glow with the translucence of crimson glass.
’Idiot!’
She struck her own forehead twice and cursed herself internally, ’What was I thinking? Did I really need to check... in that way... to see if he’s a man?’
Bai Xiang was filled with regret.
’Great,’ she thought. ’Now I’ll never be able to forget that for the rest of my life.’
"Xiang’Er!"
The man suddenly called out in a mumble.
Bai Xiang jumped in fright.
When she looked closely, she realized he was just talking in his sleep.
"Hurry and boil some water for your master! Once I’m clean, I’m off to slay some Demon Fiends!"
Bai Xiang: "..."
She took a deep breath, carefully tucked the corner of the blanket, and quietly left the room.
That night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
After all... it was the first time in her life she had ever touched a man.
...
The next day, Jiang Mu washed up and ate as usual.
But he sensed that Bai Xiang was acting a bit strange.
Not only did her occasional glances toward him seem shifty and evasive, but no matter what she was doing, she would subconsciously take half a step back whenever he got close.
She was like a completely different person from her usual calm and quiet self.
Jiang Mu was speechless.
It was as if he were some kind of lecher.
After thinking it over, Jiang Mu could only come up with one possibility.
’This woman might be lovesick.’
’She’s in love.’
’That must be why she’s acting so strange.’
’Alas, I wonder which young man has caught her eye.’
’It’s such a mystery.’
Jiang Mu gazed at his own handsome face in the bronze mirror and sighed.
"What a pity. My heart is made of stone, dedicated only to the path. A woman would only slow down the speed of my blade."
"Xiang’Er, you’ve fallen in love with a man you shouldn’t have."
...
The days trickled by like water dripping from the eaves.
The lone figure training on the sandy ground became two.
One large and one small.
Yuan Ahqing’s progress was astonishingly fast.
In just a few short days, she had mastered the stances and breathing techniques of the Pile Skill, revealing an exceptional aptitude for cultivation.
While Jiang Mu was pleased, he also felt a pang of "jealousy."
’This doesn’t make any sense...’
Jiang Mu muttered to himself as he watched the little girl.
’Am I useless without my cheat? I’m supposed to be the genius here, you know.’
During this time, the brothers Zhang Daxie and Zhang Xiaokui paid a special visit to express their thanks.
They even brought a modest gift.
After all, the merit from dealing with those weasel Demons was too lucrative; they hadn’t had such a good haul in all their years at the Demon-slaying Bureau.
Jiang Mu graciously accepted.
’It’s a show of loyalty from my subordinates. Not accepting it would only make them feel uneasy,’ he thought.
Besides the Zhang brothers, Director Ran Qingshan also paid a visit.
He was mainly there to ask about the origin of the lead on the Demons.
Jiang Mu didn’t hide everything, relaying the story Yuan Ahqing had told him.
After all, the "Great Immortal Huang" was still at large, and informing the director would allow them to set up defenses sooner.
Upon hearing that the villagers worshipped Great Immortal Huang as a deity, Ran Qingshan fell silent for a long time.
As he left, he warned Jiang Mu:
"Don’t be so impulsive in the future. If you can find a pretext for killing someone, that’s one thing. But if you kill indiscriminately, it can be exploited by those with ulterior motives, and it will be very troublesome if the higher-ups investigate."
"The Court, after all, cares a great deal about its reputation. Especially now, with public sentiment being so volatile, you need to be even more careful. We must avoid escalating tensions between the officials and the common people, which would only give Demon Fiends an opportunity to exploit."
Jiang Mu knew that Ran Qingshan was reminding him about the matter of killing the ruffian Zhang A’wu and the others.
On the surface, Jiang Mu looked as if he had taken the lesson to heart.
But inwardly, he couldn’t help but retort.
’So the Court actually cares about public sentiment, huh?’
...
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Jiang Mu’s Body Tempering cultivation had finally reached Great Perfection.
As expected, with a "small" push from his cheat, the breakthrough process was smooth and utterly boring.
As the demonic blood was injected, Jiang Mu felt the Qi and Blood in his body surge violently.
It was like a great river bursting through a dam.
A series of dense cracks and pops echoed from deep within his bones.
The lines of his already-toned muscles contracted and re-formed, becoming even more refined and streamlined.
Jiang Mu opened his eyes and clenched his fists.
"To look upon my organs is as clear as looking at the lines on my palm. My tendons and bones hum in unison, like the roar of a tiger or leopard."
"So this is what the Second Realm feels like? It’s incredible!"
In addition to his Cultivation Level breakthrough, with the Demon Shadow’s round-the-clock power-leveling, Jiang Mu’s Heaven-Breaking Eight Skills had also finally reached the realm of Great Perfection.
Logically speaking, when a Martial Art reaches Great Perfection, it has been honed to its peak, with no room for further advancement.
But to Jiang Mu’s astonishment, he discovered the Demon Shadow hadn’t stopped.
It was still continuously deducing and refining the skill.
The saber intent actually showed signs of breaking through Great Perfection and reaching an even higher level.
’Beyond Great Perfection... can another realm be created?’
Jiang Mu was shaken.
However, the consumption of demonic blood was terrifying.
The once-abundant Demon Slot was already more than half-empty after helping him break into the Second Realm and pushing his Saber Skill to Great Perfection.
Now, in order to deduce the realm "Beyond Great Perfection," the demonic blood was evaporating like water.
After just a few days, only a thin film of blood remained at the bottom of the Demon Slot.
But Jiang Mu wasn’t worried.
There would be plenty more opportunities to slay Demon Fiends, anyway.
"I’m eager to see what new realm lies beyond Great Perfection!"
...
Two days later, at the very last moment before the demonic blood ran out, the Saber Skill finally broke through.
It had entered a completely new version.
Under the scorching sun, Jiang Mu gripped his saber with both hands and swung.
SHHIIING!
Distorted ripples churned around the body of the blade, and the air, violently compressed and shredded, let out a sharp cry.
Even the light itself seemed to bend slightly as if it were being cut.
The fine sand beneath his feet instantly turned into a shower of fiery sparks, and a trench several feet deep was plowed into the ground, extending for more than thirty feet.
The sandy walls on both sides of the trench collapsed inward.
Then, the aftershock of the saber’s force pulverized them into dust, kicking up a maelstrom of flying sand and stones.
"Holy crap, is this still the Heaven-Breaking Saber Skill I’ve been practicing?"
Jiang Mu was stunned.
This Saber Skill seemed to be a successor to the Heaven-Breaking Saber Skill, yet it was completely different. It was like a new secret technique that had broken out of its cocoon, evolving from the old form.
Jiang Mu clicked his tongue in amazement. He hadn’t expected his cheat to have this kind of ability.
’The Second Realm and a super-Great Perfection Saber Skill in just over two months... who else can do that?’
Jiang Mu felt a surge of triumphant pride.
As for how he would explain his rapid progress to others, Jiang Mu didn’t care.
There was no explanation. This was just how geniuses were.
You’ve never been a genius, so you wouldn’t understand.
’Hmm, first I’ll go find Zhang Xiaokui for a sparring session. I need to see if my strength is truly unrivaled within my realm.’
Having made up his mind, Jiang Mu turned his head and shouted to Bai Xiang, "Xiang’Er, get the bathwater ready for your master! Once I’m clean, I’m off to pick a fight!"
Bai Xiang: "..."