Chapter Ninety-Six: The Map Hack

And what was the Heaven-and-Earth Compass for?

The name was certainly audacious, but as something forged by Chu Hanyu, the Demonic Sovereign of Ten Thousand Aspects, it truly deserved it. According to Third Senior Brother Zhuge Yi, its name came from a divine weapon of creation that their master, Chu Hanyu, had once smashed to pieces long ago. So if anyone thought it could only roughly detect various kinds of energy within a radius of ten miles, they were clearly underestimating it. Though it had not yet awakened any true intelligence, the Heaven-and-Earth Compass already possessed a measure of spiritual awareness. In truth, it was practically a map hack.

Ever since Chen Zili betrayed Third Senior Brother, he and all the people who followed him had long since turned into red dots on the Heaven-and-Earth Compass. Their strength even determined the size of the dots. On his way to this ruined temple, Zhang Ning had encountered plenty of red dots, some of them even gathered in groups, yet he still managed to walk in a straight line all the way here. It truly had the bearing of a man sweeping everything before him, unstoppable and unrivaled.

Still, Zhang Ning was not entirely satisfied. It was not that he was unhappy with his cultivation level. From all the intelligence he had gathered, this was simply a low-martial world: from unranked experts to third-rate, second-rate, first-rate, grandmasters, and great grandmasters. Ignoring failure rates, Zhang Ning could just tap the system a few times and be done with it.

What dissatisfied him was the style of technique he had used. His Great Freedom Hand and Startling Immortal Palm could already be considered polished and well-practiced, but what was there to be proud of in that? Since this was revenge for Third Senior Brother Zhuge Yi, of course he should use the Seventeen Death-Crushing Finger Forms to eliminate those traitors and show them real pain.

For that reason, Zhang Ning had spent the whole journey training the flexibility of his fingers and wrists. After all, the Seventeen Death-Crushing Finger Forms, one of the ultimate arts of the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon Sect, included not only palm techniques but also an exquisite finger strike art. So these past few days, Zhang Ning’s hands had never rested; he would rotate his wrists, care for his fingers, or practice dexterity. The pebbles he had casually flicked just now had served exactly that purpose.

Earlier, when Zhang Ning saw many red dots inside the ruined temple, he struck and took their lives. As for those orange dots belonging to the neutral camp, there was no need to pay them any mind at all. Zhang Ning would remain in this place for at most a month and a half, so what was the point of making friends with the locals? Only that woman with the green dot from the friendly camp kept following him, impossible to shake off. Zhang Ning had no choice but to continue, as planned, straight toward the largest red dot.

These days, Zhang Ning could be said to have broken his taboo. Before, whenever something happened, it had never fallen to him to make the final move and kill. So he had expected that the first time might feel awkward. Instead, when the moment truly came, it was because Third Senior Brother Zhuge Yi had been assassinated. Zhang Ning’s fury had reached the extreme, and paradoxically, he had grown calm. Besides, he had heard that these people were the running dogs of evil powers, shouting slogans about equality for the lowborn while following Chen Zili all the way, mouthing lofty ideals until even they themselves nearly believed them. In truth, they were not even as decent as the former foremost force in the martial world. Zhang Ning therefore felt no psychological burden at all; the change in his mindset was not even especially great.

Zhang Ning’s state of mind had barely changed, but the others were in turmoil, their emotions surging like a storm tide, almost a tsunami.

Zhang Ning did not know that as he swept through everything in his path, his reputation in this small world had grown ever louder. He had gone from an unknown peak second-rate expert, to a newly emerged first-rate master, to a titled grandmaster, and now some people were even spreading the rumor that he was a great grandmaster standing at the summit of the world.

Most people did not believe Zhang Ning could have reached such a level at his age. They thought the rumors were absurd; no one could possibly possess such terrifying talent and comprehension. But there were also those who believed that even this assessment underestimated him, such as An Ruoyin. She had stubbornly followed Zhang Ning all this time, and in these days no one knew how many tears she had secretly wiped away whenever she avoided him.

That damned Chen Zili had an unclear background, so Hidden Blade Sect had only taken him in temporarily, making him the lowest-ranking disciple. She, on the other hand, had been naturally curious and often liked teasing him. Over time, the two became familiar with each other. After hearing Chen Zili say that the sect treated him unfairly, and seeing his condition, she truly came to believe that he was being bullied in secret. She had not then thought that Chen Zili was merely an ordinary disciple. Why should he receive the same treatment as the direct disciples?

But at the time she had been blinded by sentiment, utterly disappointed in the sect, and had fled with Chen Zili all the way. Seeing the look of fulfillment on Chen Zili’s face when he finally seemed able to realize his ambitions, she had even felt deeply that her wish had finally been granted. Only later did An Ruoyin gradually grow more and more uneasy. At last, finding a moment to return and take a look at the sect, she saw a scene like hell itself, and only then did she understand that Chen Zili had been deceiving her all along. He was plainly a thankless wretch impossible to feed. If others were good to him, he suspected them of scheming against him; if anyone treated him even a little badly, he would surely repay it a hundredfold in the future.

But by then Chen Zili’s momentum was already complete. Everything was too late.

Fortunately, the Senior Brother had not died. Truly, Heaven had eyes! And as expected, the Senior Brother was indeed worthy of being the future sect master. His progress was so rapid. Only... An Ruoyin stole a glance at the Senior Brother’s right hand, which he always kept behind his back, then quietly wiped at her eyes again.

The Senior Brother’s right hand was probably ruined.

If only the Senior Brother had not suffered such a calamity. His achievements would certainly have been far greater than they were now. Such a proud person must be suffering terribly inside, surely? He even refused to speak his former name anymore!

In truth, Zhang Ning was not suffering at all. He was rather... pleased.

Having a cheat and not having one were entirely different things. Before, Zhang Ning had never used the system like this because he feared becoming immersed in the endless, absurdly rapid allocation of points. Though his strength would rise with terrifying speed, he would inevitably forget his original intentions and leave his foundations unstable. Having finally come to another world where cultivation was possible, if he only indulged in power and abandoned the things he could truly comprehend, then that would be putting the cart before the horse. Wouldn’t it be even more satisfying just to play a game directly? So although Zhang Ning had the system, a weapon of tremendous destructive power, in his hands, he had actually endured the temptation all this time and had not chosen the poisonous solution in a moment of desperation. It had to be said that although Zhang Ning usually seemed indecisive, a little soft-hearted, and fond of relying on others, he still had some admirable points.

But now, after using every possible excuse to cheat so openly in this small world, Zhang Ning’s progress had become astonishingly fast. He was enjoying himself, while everyone else’s eyes were nearly popping out of their sockets.

By conservative estimate, Zhang Ning had swept through this foreign world for more than half a month, never once encountering any real obstruction, and had smoothly eliminated every red dot in his path. To the people of this small world, it looked as though the Martial Alliance had suddenly suffered a devastating blow. What made it even more shocking was that the name Zhang Ning used outside was Qin Guanlan, a name no one had ever heard before.

A first-rate expert who had never appeared before the public eye was still understandable. But a grandmaster was far too shocking. After all, people were not plants; they had to interact with the outside world. How could someone live in this world without leaving even the faintest trace? That air of mystery only magnified Zhang Ning’s momentum.

However, apart from a few people who knew that Zhang Ning’s borrowed body in this small world belonged to Chen Zili’s senior brother, and therefore believed this was merely a conflict between fellow disciples, everyone else was at most stunned that someone dared stand against Chen Zili. But that was not Zhang Ning’s true purpose in using the name Qin Guanlan.

What Zhang Ning truly wanted to intimidate with that name was, of course, Chen Zili and his followers, whose guilty consciences already made them uneasy.