"You're not affected by the King's Game?"
Chen Qi wasn't panicked that his identity had been exposed.
He was no longer the same person he was when he had just obtained the Card.
What surprised him was that Yu Hongwu had managed to see through him. This meant the King's Game wasn't truly omnipotent.
"The King's Game? Is that the game created at the cost of the entire Lanyu Kingdom?"
"I can't believe the rumors were true. It really exists!"
Yu Hongwu's expression was complicated. The Celestial Martial Country wasn't far from the Lanyu Kingdom, so he had naturally heard the rumors of the Lanyu Kingdom being "ruled" by a Demon.
He had originally thought the Lanyu Kingdom would be living in dire straits, but unexpectedly, it was his own Celestial Martial Country that had nearly become a Human Purgatory.
How ironic!
'But how could one be sheltered by a Demon's power without paying a price?'
...
"The main reason I was able to see through your identity is that we've only just arrived in the Lanyu Kingdom, so the effect on us is still minimal."
"But even so, Wanqing and the others have already had their perception influenced by the game, creating a cognitive barrier!"
"As for me, it's because I once awakened a Martial Dao will, which gives me a slight resistance!"
Yu Hongwu was being frank. He was clearly aware of the Red Falcon Sect's situation, and even more aware of what Chen Qi meant to them.
"What? You're a fake Jomoya!"
"No wonder I felt something was different about you, yet I took it for granted. It turns out my perception was being influenced by the King's Game."
Yu Hongwu's words sent a shiver down Mu Wanqing's spine, and then everything clicked into place for her.
It was as if the answer had been right in front of her all along, but she had only just noticed it.
'She actually managed to break free from the influence. It seems the power of the King's Game has its limits after all!'
Chen Qi witnessed Mu Wanqing's change firsthand. Combining this with the information from Yu Hongwu, he began to form some conjectures about the mechanisms of the King's Game, or rather, the price paid by the citizens of the Lanyu Kingdom.
According to Chen Qi's deductions, anyone who entered the Lanyu Kingdom would be affected by the King's Game, leading to a distortion in their perception.
The longer one stayed, the greater the influence became; it had to be a gradual process.
However, considering the King's Game had been running for 43 years, the implications were truly terrifying to dwell on.
...
"Who are you, really?"
"And can you actually cure the Hall Master or not!"
Realizing she had been deceived by an "impostor," Mu Wanqing's gaze toward Chen Qi immediately turned hostile.
If not for the fact that this guy could still use a Superpower, she would have dealt with him as a swindler.
"Rest assured, Miss Mu, I will naturally fulfill the promise I made."
"Compared to the previous Jomoya, working with me is actually your good fortune—especially yours!"
Chen Qi's words were suggestive. Mu Wanqing instantly recalled the disgusting way the previous Jomoya used to look at her; this impostor was indeed much easier on the eyes.
"Alright, Wanqing, please step out for a moment. I have some matters to discuss in depth with this young friend."
Yu Hongwu interrupted Mu Wanqing. He didn't care who Jomoya really was.
As long as the other party possessed a [Player] identity, he was the partner they needed.
Mu Wanqing seemed to have something to say, but under Yu Hongwu's stern gaze, she left nonetheless.
"Hall Master Yu certainly has a lot of confidence in me!"
Seeing that the man wasn't hung up on his authenticity, Chen Qi's estimation of Yu Hongwu rose.
As expected of the leader of a Martial Arts Sect with a thousand-year heritage; even with a broken body, he could not be underestimated.
"Young man, you want to learn our Red Falcon Sect's Secret Technique!"
"But do you know what a Secret Technique truly is?"
Although Yu Hongwu couldn't even move, he was perfectly clear about everything that happened in the martial hall.
"I know very little about Secret Techniques."
"But I have seen the Divine Tiger Sect's Secret Technique!"
Chen Qi recounted his fight with Flette and showed the chip to Yu Hongwu.
The moment the latter saw the Blood-colored Chip, he froze for a second, then let out a sigh.
"Sigh... to think they actually completed it!"
"I can feel the Martial Dao will of the Divine Tiger Sect's Leader, Su Zhenqing, on this chip. To think he couldn't escape his fate after all."
Yu Hongwu's expression grew uglier and uglier. If Chen Qi hadn't been constantly monitoring his physical condition, he would have feared the old man might just kick the bucket right then and there.
"Hall Master Yu, I came here today to ask about the origin of the Martial Dao."
"I'm also very interested in the truth about Secret Techniques. If there's a price to be paid, please state it directly!"
Chen Qi was being sincere. This was a show of respect for a Martial Arts Sect that had endured for a thousand years.
"Young man, everything about the Secret Technique is a top secret of our Red Falcon Sect. Only the Sect Leader may know it!"
"Since you don't intend to join our Red Falcon Sect, I naturally cannot tell you!"
"Our deal is only for the exchange of the Cultivation Technique for the Secret Technique. Whether you can master it or not depends entirely on your own fate."
"However, seeing as you've helped the Red Falcon Sect re-establish itself, I can tell you some of the Black Blood Federation's research conclusions on [Secret Techniques]."
Yu Hongwu's words did not displease Chen Qi. The deal between them was voluntary from the start.
He was unwilling to get entangled in the [Red Falcon Sect's karma], so he naturally couldn't expect to receive everything.
The fact that Yu Hongwu was willing to tell him about the "Black Blood Federation's research conclusions" was already a show of goodwill.
Perhaps, for Chen Qi, the Black Blood Federation's research conclusions were more suitable for him anyway, since he now possessed one of their chips.
"Then please enlighten me, Hall Master Yu. If the Red Falcon Sect runs into any business trouble in Talin City, feel free to come to me."
Chen Qi wasn't a petty person. He was only promising to help with business troubles, which was reasonable since the Red Falcon Sect was new in town.
Yu Hongwu was very satisfied with Chen Qi's gesture. That was enough.
...
"Regarding Secret Techniques, the Black Blood Federation has its own research conclusions."
"After muscle usage efficiency reached 30%, researchers found that no matter how they adjusted the human neural network, they couldn't push it any further."
"After making numerous hypotheses, they ultimately attributed the cause to the obstruction from the will of the body's cells."
"From a microscopic perspective, every human cell is an independent Life Form with its own activity!"
"Although they all serve the human being as a whole, it doesn't mean they don't have their own ideas—like cancer cells, for example!"
"Scientists from the Black Blood Federation once made an analogy: the human body is like a Kingdom, the brain is the King, and the muscle cells are its billions of subjects."
"A King can establish all sorts of rules and regulations to continuously improve the work efficiency of his subjects, but there is ultimately a limit."
"If this limit is exceeded, the subjects will rebel, because it endangers their survival."
"Similarly, once human muscle usage efficiency exceeds 30%, the cells can no longer bear the exploitation and will begin to resist."
"The way Martial Artists overcome this obstacle is by consolidating a Martial Dao will!"
"According to the researchers' theories, Martial Artists use a specific type of neural signal to continuously brainwash the cells in their bodies.
After countless repetitions, they thoroughly integrate the scattered cellular wills throughout the body.
Thus, a Martial Dao will that surpasses all limits is born."
"Of course, this is the Black Blood Federation's understanding of the Martial Dao!"
"But since their chip was a success, I can't say that their path is wrong."
Yu Hongwu spoke eloquently, as if he weren't the "test subject" but rather a "researcher" who had participated in the entire experiment.
Chen Qi instinctively sensed that something was off, but before he could think about it in detail, Yu Hongwu's next words captured his attention.
"Regarding the origin of the Martial Dao, have you heard of the [Three Great Acts of the Inner World] promulgated by the [World Government]?"