Chapter Fifty-Five: The Special Trial Card

Seeing Sun Meng leave, the young woman finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had felt some dissatisfaction after losing to him in a direct confrontation, but during their recent martial exchange, she realized that Sun Meng’s talent and strength surpassed hers. If all those martial arts techniques were his own creations, then his innate gifts might well surpass many from his father’s generation.

Therefore, facing Sun Meng brought her considerable pressure. Now that he was gone, her first instinct was to write down all the martial theories, secret techniques, and moves she had just learned, and then send a letter to her father. Perhaps, within these insights, there lay hope for them to break through their current limitations and reach even greater heights.

Meanwhile, Sun Meng hurried to the location where he had arranged to meet Kokolaru.

“You’re really slow! I kept everyone else occupied for you,” Kokolaru said.

“I was just being cautious, you know! Besides, I had no idea there were so many traps left in that place. If I hadn’t been well-prepared, things might not have gone so smoothly!” she replied defensively. She had devised several plans, and succeeding on the first try wasn’t even something she’d expected.

“Well, the task is complete. According to our agreement, I’m free to act as I wish now, right? By the way—what exactly is that inheritance that you went to such great lengths to obtain?” Sun Meng had been curious about this from the beginning.

“This is it!” Kokolaru’s face lit up with excitement as she revealed her prize. The rest didn’t matter much; what truly caught Sun Meng’s eye was the Murong Family’s supreme technique—Stellar Shift!

“Seriously? All this effort just for this?” Sun Meng exclaimed. While Stellar Shift was indeed a first-rate martial art, it fell just short of being the very best. More importantly, to master it, one needed to be familiar with other martial arts to effectively turn the opponent’s moves against them, rather than simply reflecting attacks.

That was the effect it had within the martial arts system, but since Kokolaru was a practitioner of magic, the system would convert these skills into the equivalent for her own discipline. Could it be that this technique would be especially useful within the realm of magic?

“I want it for two main reasons,” Kokolaru explained. “First, this technique involves stellar magic, which is a standard high-level spell. With this as my foundation, I’ll have a landmark for advancing high-level magic in our civilization. Second, its rebound ability is unique—no existing spells in our magical system can do this!”

Sun Meng nodded in understanding. With the system’s help, items obtained by different contestants in various quests and trials would be adapted to suit their own civilizations. A technique that was only average in one system could have tremendous utility in another.

“I have another skill—one that can maintain youth and beauty, and also mimic attacks of various attributes. Interested?” Sun Meng asked, testing the waters. If this worked, he’d have a reliable way to earn points in the future!

As expected, no woman is indifferent to her appearance. Kokolaru’s eyes sparkled. “Really? Let me see! If it’s as effective as you say, I’ll trade with you—points or anything else, you name it!”

Sun Meng’s lips curled into a slight smile. “Points will do. Take a look—this is the result confirmed by the System.” As he spoke, he revealed the attributes of the Minor Formless Art.

“This martial arts system really is extraordinary. It’s a pity, though—even if it’s adapted to our civilization, the effect is a bit weaker. In our world, only upon breaking through to the second tier do we undergo an elemental refinement of the body, which increases physical qualities but doesn’t help with youthfulness. If this one simply uses magic power, the effect is limited. Still, even so, the women in our civilization will go absolutely mad for it!”

“How about a thousand points?” she offered, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. Sun Meng readily agreed, but only for a copy, and only after returning to the main city. He was sure that with Kokolaru’s endorsement, the Minor Formless Art would become a hot commodity.

“It’s settled then. I’ll be off,” Sun Meng said, preparing to leave.

“Aren’t you going back to the main city?” Kokolaru asked.

“Don’t worry—you’ll get your share,” he replied, waving as he soared away.

He quickly calculated the time—this should be a lull, right after the one hundred and eight stars of Liangshan and their demonic thoughts had just reincarnated, with a long stretch before the main plot began. If he wanted to have a major impact, he had two options: first, to establish his reputation in the martial world, as he had begun in the Western Xia palace; second, to leave some influence either on Liangshan or within the Song Dynasty’s court.

The latter was tricky—he wasn’t skilled enough to set up spirit-gathering formations, and altering Liangshan’s environment might cause unforeseen problems. For now, he had no wish to change the main storyline there.

Arriving in Kaifeng, Sun Meng flew straight over the imperial palace. He had to admit, the Song palace was much better guarded than Western Xia’s. As he landed, nine formidable experts appeared before him, each at least at the mid-second tier. Three were eunuchs, and of the remaining six, the youngest looked to be about fifty.

“No one is allowed to trespass in the Song imperial palace!” one of the eunuchs barked, darting toward Sun Meng with astonishing speed.

But Sun Meng was ready—he activated his Invincible Body Art, the intense yang energy instantly repelling the elder eunuch.

“What a powerful external technique!” gasped the old eunuch as two others caught him. The way they looked at Sun Meng changed.

“With your skill, you’re on par with the strongest survivors of the previous era, but don’t think you can storm the palace just to make a name for yourself!”

“I’m not here to cause trouble—I’ve come to deliver something to His Majesty. The item must reach the Emperor himself. I can see him now.” Sun Meng looked at the Emperor below, who was peering up at the sky, surrounded by guards. With a flick of his wrist, Sun Meng sent a book flying directly into the Emperor’s hands.

“You may choose not to make this public, but if you don’t, I’ll take matters into my own hands. What happens then, I can’t guarantee.” With that, Sun Meng turned and flew away. None of the palace experts dared to pursue him.

They had no choice—all their best attacks had failed to breach his defenses. Even if they ganged up, they couldn’t subdue him immediately, and if he retaliated by launching endless sneak attacks, they would be in serious trouble.

The Emperor stared at the book in his hands, opened it with great anticipation, and his expression shifted from hope to uncertainty.

It was an excellent book! If its contents could be realized, the Song Dynasty’s military power would soar. Perhaps they couldn’t defeat the Liao, but Western Xia, Dali, and Tibet would all be forced to submit.

Did they really think the Emperor didn’t resent Western Xia for their repeated humiliations? Did they think he didn’t want to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun? With this, if the opportunity was right, even the Song infantry might stand a chance against Liao’s cavalry!

So why the hesitation? Fear, of course! If the status of the military rose too high and they emulated the founding ancestors, what then? He needed to find a way for those generals who mastered this art to have strength and talent, but not too much status, and above all, to remain loyal to the Song.

Suddenly, a solution occurred to him—a special group within the Song military system.

“Summon the Celestial Supervisor!” he ordered, recalling Grand Preceptor Hong’s earlier report about the descent of the Demon Star. If that was true, perhaps it could be used to his advantage!

Just then, as Sun Meng was considering his next moves, a notification sounded from the system.

“You have advanced the world’s development and played a crucial role. You have three options—choose only one: First, a reward of five thousand points. Second, a portion of Stellar Force (starting at Tier 2, up to Tier 4 perfection). Third, a special trial card, which after the first evaluation can be used to replace the mission world with the current world’s main storyline at any time.”

A smile spread across Sun Meng’s face. His gamble had paid off!