Chapter 048: The Lost Nine Steps

Swish!

All of a sudden, a beam of light shot out from Su Jingxing’s chest.

“What’s going on?”

Startled, Su Jingxing opened his clothes and looked at his inner lining.

There, he saw the “Eight Steps Ascending Dragon” manual he had kept close to his body, now glowing.

A faint golden-red light!

A glowing manual?

Su Jingxing was astonished and suspicious.

When he realized it wasn’t some strange mutation, he calmed himself, took out the manual, and examined it carefully.

He quickly found the source.

The last page of the manual was emitting a golden-red glow!

Beneath the soft sheen, what had once been a completely blank page now revealed several ancient characters.

They were, however, quite blurry—hard to make out.

Why was this happening?

He’d possessed the “Eight Steps Ascending Dragon” manual for some time now, and until today, it had never glowed. Why today?

“Could it be...”

Su Jingxing’s gaze shifted from the manual to the white goose on the opposite bank of the river.

“Could it be the silver-white radiance coming from the white goose?”

He subconsciously clenched his fists, his eyes brimming with wonder.

Nothing else could explain this sudden change on the last page of the manual.

Nothing like this had ever happened before—yet now, of all times, it did.

This hypothesis was easy to test.

Holding the “Eight Steps Ascending Dragon” manual, Su Jingxing retreated, walking back until he left the area covered by the silver-white glow.

He looked at the last page again.

Sure enough, the light had vanished, and the page returned to its usual yellowed state.

The source was the silver-white light emanating from the white goose!

This radiance possessed a unique property, revealing things otherwise invisible to the naked eye.

“Innate divine ability?”

Su Jingxing pondered.

Undoubtedly, this glow was one of the white goose’s innate supernatural powers.

And as for the last page of the “Eight Steps Ascending Dragon” manual, it was clear someone had tampered with it—an ancestor of the Wei family had left behind some sort of concealment technique.

If not for the silver-white light from the white goose, the secret would have remained hidden, and no one would ever know what was on the last page.

Thinking this through, Su Jingxing brought the manual back into the silver-white glow.

He advanced step by step, observing what appeared on the final page.

As he drew nearer to the white goose, the text became clearer.

When only half a meter separated Su Jingxing from the river, the contents of the last page were fully revealed.

“Nine Steps Treading the Heavens!”

At the top of the page were four ancient characters.

“Nine Steps Treading the Heavens”—a martial art.

Wei Jia had once said that the Wei family possessed three peerless skills.

“Seven Steps Long Fist,” “Eight Steps Ascending Dragon,” and a third, something with nine steps.

They had preserved the seven and eight step arts, but the one with nine steps had been lost. She didn’t even know its name.

Now he knew: “Nine Steps Treading the Heavens”!

For generations, the Wei family had searched for the name, and it was recorded here, on the last page of the “Eight Steps Ascending Dragon” manual...

No, wait!

As Su Jingxing quickly scanned the contents of the last page, he frowned slightly.

What was recorded here wasn’t information about “Nine Steps Treading the Heavens.”

Rather, it was a map!

A map to the true location of the “Nine Steps Treading the Heavens” manual!

The accompanying text explained why it had been hidden.

It turned out that, long ago, the Wei family faced annihilation. To preserve their legacy, their ancestor separated the three peerless arts, entrusting each to a different descendant to escape with—“Nine Steps Treading the Heavens” was carried by the family head’s own child.

Split into three parts, they fled separately, saving the last embers of the Wei family.

Decades later, the descendants reunited.

But, fearing another disaster, they hid the most important art, “Nine Steps Treading the Heavens,” in secret.

Using a concealed technique, they recorded the location on the last page of the “Eight Steps Ascending Dragon” manual.

As for how to reveal it, the instructions were there, too.

Mixing the blood of a Wei clansman with certain herbs would make the contents visible.

Of course, in practice, this secret was only to be revealed at the brink of death.

But accidents happen—the family suffered further calamities, and as time passed, those who knew the secret died before they could pass it on.

In the end, the information was lost.

The Wei ancestors failed to pass down this crucial message.

From that point on, “Nine Steps Treading the Heavens” was lost to history.

As for the white goose’s silver-white glow, the Wei ancestors could never have foreseen it.

And so Su Jingxing was the lucky one—having obtained the “Eight Steps Ascending Dragon” manual from Wei Jia, and, with the white goose’s help, he happened upon the contents hidden on the last page.

Working quickly, Su Jingxing took out paper and pen from his pack and carefully transcribed the map.

Whatever kind of martial art “Nine Steps Treading the Heavens” turned out to be, he had struck it rich.

“Seven Steps Long Fist,” “Eight Steps Ascending Dragon,” “Nine Steps Treading the Heavens.”

The Wei ancestors certainly had their own style—each of the three peerless arts was structured around steps.

Once the map was drawn, Su Jingxing hid it securely on his person.

This was an unexpected windfall.

Wei Jia could never have imagined that, in a single transaction, she had given away not only the “Eight Steps Ascending Dragon,” but also the long-lost “Nine Steps Treading the Heavens”!

Indeed, Su Jingxing had no intention of telling Wei Jia about the existence of “Nine Steps Treading the Heavens.”

First, it was his stroke of luck.

Second, if he told her, would she still hand over the manual to him? Obviously not.

Since she wouldn’t, why should he say anything?

Su Jingxing had no desire to seize it by force and violate his own principles.

Finally, the Wei family valued “Nine Steps Treading the Heavens” so highly—if he told Wei Jia, she wouldn’t have the strength to protect it.

Rather than causing chaos, it was better she remained blissfully unaware.

He would bear the blessings and burdens of “Nine Steps Treading the Heavens” himself.

Ahem.

Having made up his mind, Su Jingxing put away the “Eight Steps Ascending Dragon” manual, returned to his original spot, and continued to watch over the “Moonlit Flower,” taking the opportunity to train his night vision.

By the next evening, the “Moonlit Flower” had blossomed.

Su Jingxing took out the box he had prepared, plucked the flower, and placed it inside.

Closing the lid, he hid the box on his person to prevent it from being lost.

At dawn, he waved farewell to the white goose that had been watching him from across the river.

He would return to this valley again.

The white goose’s innate ability was extraordinary—if he could tame it as a spirit pet, it would be a tremendous aid.

Su Jingxing smiled to himself.

He left the valley the same way he had entered.

With steel claws on his hands, he used “Eight Steps Ascending Dragon” to climb the thousand-meter cliff, then dashed and leaped through the forests to return to the edge of the mountains.

Once back in the woods, things became easier.

He found a secluded spot and buried the tusks of the red-scaled porcupine.

Then he hurried on, and after most of the day, emerged from the Azure Cloud Mountains.

Reaching the logging town at the mountain’s foot, he caught the last bus back to Qinghe City.

The timing was perfect.

Back at his courtyard dwelling, he set down his pack, took a bath, and planned to go out for a hearty dinner.

But just then, his phone rang—it was Gu Bo.

“Xiao Su, come to the crematorium immediately, there’s an urgent assignment!”

“What is it?” Su Jingxing asked curiously.

“Another Black Tiger Gang branch has been wiped out!”