Stronger with Crimson Modifier

Chapter 198 - 196: The Road Ahead

For He Yun Country to do such a thing...

From Hu Qi’s perspective, it was, in a way, an extremely foolish act.

If this continued, no matter how monstrous Habukawa Chisui’s aptitude was, she would never have the chance to break through to the Refining God realm. It would even be difficult for her to reach the Third Realm of a Qi Dao Grandmaster, the Unity of Essence and Qi.

This was because her Martial Arts Will had been externally influenced; it was no longer pure and now possessed a flaw.

However, for He Yun Country, perhaps this version of Habukawa Chisui was exactly what the higher-ups wanted to see—someone who was easier to control.

Those in power would never tolerate the emergence of a force beyond their control.

These thoughts flashed through Hu Qi’s mind.

As Hu Qi withdrew the Power of the Heart he had used for Hypnosis, the frozen state of the surroundings vanished without a trace.

Habukawa Chisui’s eyes gradually regained their clarity.

"I... You... Who in the world are you?"

She seemed to recall what had just happened. Although her consciousness had been in Chaos, she still retained some impression of it.

As she spoke, Habukawa Chisui already had some guesses about Hu Qi’s identity, which was precisely why she felt a profound sense of dread.

This was a feeling she hadn’t experienced since her breakthrough to the rank of Martial Arts Family, after she defeated that Lord of the Cabinet from Yunhe Country.

"Who I am is not important. What’s important is, who are you?"

Hu Qi chuckled softly, his eyes turning into Crimson snake pupils.

The vertical, jet-black pupils were like unfathomable vortexes, drawing one into their depths.

"I... I am..."

Habukawa Chisui’s eyes met Hu Qi’s gaze.

Gradually, a hint of red seemed to appear in her dark pupils, and strange whispers echoed by her ears.

"I am Habukawa Chisui. You are my master!"

A moment later, Habukawa Chisui spoke.

The way she looked at Hu Qi was now like that of a devotee gazing upon a god they served—pious and fervent.

Seeing this, Hu Qi nodded in satisfaction.

By integrating the Traits of multiple Secret Martial Arts and channeling his Power of the Heart, he could directly plant a mental imprint on his target.

This kind of mental imprint could modify the target’s memories to a certain extent.

However, it was not impossible to break.

If a Refining God Venerable took action...

Or if the target’s willpower became stronger than the caster’s, the mental imprint would disappear.

But, barring any accidents...

Habukawa Chisui would never be able to remove this mental imprint in her entire life.

...

「Half an hour later, at the Yunhe Country Cabinet Office.」

In a luxuriously decorated, spacious, and bright room, Hu Qi sat leisurely on a chair.

Habukawa Chisui stood to one side.

As for the distinguished Lord of the Cabinet of He Yun Country, he was kneeling on the floor, his face pale.

Hu Qi paid the two no mind. His gaze fell upon the table before him, where a pile of strange and peculiar Jade artifacts, Bronze wares, and two beast-skin scrolls were laid out.

The script on them was somewhat similar to the language of the former Longyuan Country.

Aside from a few obscure characters, the rest was understandable.

One scroll recorded the Secret Martial Arts that Habukawa Chisui practiced.

As for the other scroll, it was a general introduction to this School. However, the material of the latter was clearly inferior to the former, and large portions of the writing on it were damaged.

Hu Qi’s gaze first swept over the Bronze wares and Jade artifacts. The Power of the Heart belonging to a Refining God Venerable swept across them like a tidal wave.

Instantly, the internal structures of the few Bronze items and Jade artifacts, as well as the patterns on them, all appeared clearly in his mind.

The Power of the Heart was extremely formidable.

It could even penetrate and observe things at a molecular level.

Of course, for now, it was limited only to observation; manipulating molecules was completely impossible.

But even so, it was terrifying enough.

"These are the only things from the ruins?"

Hu Qi asked faintly, his gaze turning to the kneeling Lord of the Cabinet of Yunhe Country.

This was an old man with half-gray hair, looking to be around sixty or seventy years old.

However, his eyes lacked the murkiness typical of the elderly. Instead, they were sharp and clear, filled with a shrewd light.

His skin was firm and smooth, without the slightest hint of sagging.

It was just that the expression on his face at this moment was somewhat dull.

"Based on our excavation of the ruins and many years of research and verification, we can confirm that it belongs to a Secret Martial Arts School from twelve thousand years ago called the Dog Blade Sect.

These are the identity tokens and some miscellaneous items from that Secret Martial Arts School."

Hearing Hu Qi’s question, the old man immediately replied.

"At the time, there were many things in those ruins, but ten thousand years is too long a time. Many of the items, due to earthquakes, couldn’t be protected in time. The moment they were exposed to air, they instantly decayed into Ashes. These are the only things that managed to survive."

Hearing this, Hu Qi remained noncommittal and reached out to pick up a palm-sized token made of cyan jade.

When his Power of the Heart had swept over it earlier, he had noticed something unusual about this token—parts of it could actually block his senses.

The moment his palm closed around it and his Power of the Heart spread into it, a massive flood of information appeared in his mind.

The amount of information recorded within was substantial, but for Hu Qi’s current Divine Soul, digesting it was a simple matter.

A moment later.

The luster of the Jade in his palm dimmed, turning translucent.

With a crisp CRACK, it snapped into two pieces.

And Hu Qi simply stared at the broken cyan jade.