Chapter 68: The Mysterious Heaven Technique? I Have It Too!
The campfire crackled and popped. The aroma of grilled fish mingled with the crisp, fresh scent of the forest, weaving together an atmosphere of quiet, peaceful warmth.
Huo Yuhao turned the fish and rabbit meat on the grill with practiced ease, the fat dripping onto the charcoal with that irresistible sizzling sound. The late-morning sun was just right, stretching his silhouette long and lean. He lifted his head and offered the two newly met strangers a friendly smile. "Hello. My name is Huo Yuhao."
His introduction was simple and concise, because he knew the main event was about to be handed over to Furina. This ever-mysterious Pope was at that moment quietly observing Tang Ya, an unfathomable light shimmering in her azure eyes.
Furina rose gracefully to her feet, her skirt hem stirring gently in the morning breeze. "A pleasure to meet you both. I am Furina." Her voice was clear and melodious, carrying a unique, almost musical rhythm. "It's a delight to encounter the two of you on such a beautiful morning."
Bei Bei studied the pair before him with thoughtful consideration. Though Huo Yuhao was young, his bearing was steady and composed, and his handling of the ingredients was clean and efficient. Furina was even more inscrutable—she radiated a calm self-possession and an air of mystery that far surpassed her apparent age. Curiosity piqued, he asked, "Are the two of you on your way into the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt soul beasts?"
Furina and Huo Yuhao simultaneously shook their heads.
This answer left both Bei Bei and Tang Ya puzzled. If they had come all the way to the outskirts of the Great Star Dou Forest but weren't here to hunt soul beasts—had they truly come just for a picnic in the wild?
A mischievous curve lifted the corner of Furina's lips. "We're on our way to register at Shrek Academy."
"What?!" Tang Ya's eyes flew wide with delighted surprise. "You're enrolling at Shrek Academy? What an incredible coincidence! Bei Bei and I are students there!"
Huo Yuhao smiled as he added, "So you're our future senior classmates. It seems fate truly has brought us together."
But Tang Ya still felt a lingering confusion. "Why, then, did you make a detour all the way to the Great Star Dou Forest? This isn't on the way to Shrek Academy at all."
Furina gently toyed with a strand of her silver hair resting on her shoulder, her gaze lingering on Tang Ya with veiled significance. "We decided to stop here and rest for a bit. And, incidentally, to wait for someone." She paused, a hint of mystery threading into her voice. "And now—the person I've been waiting to see has arrived."
Bei Bei and Tang Ya exchanged glances, each seeing the same confusion mirrored in the other's eyes. Waiting for them? How could that be possible? Neither Bei Bei nor Tang Ya had the slightest recollection of ever having met Furina or Huo Yuhao, nor had they ever heard anyone mention these two names.
Just then, Furina began walking slowly toward Tang Ya. Her steps were light and graceful, as if she were moving through a silent dance. Stopping just a few paces away, she spoke words that struck everyone present like a thunderbolt:
"Lady Tang Ya, if I am not mistaken—you are the current Sect Master of the Tang Sect."
These words were like a massive boulder hurled into a tranquil lake. Tang Ya's eyes flew wide, and the grilled fish in her hand nearly slipped to the ground. Bei Bei instantly tensed, his entire body coiling taut, his eyes flooding with wary vigilance.
"Y-you... how do you know that?" Tang Ya's voice trembled unmistakably. She had never once revealed her identity to outsiders. Aside from Bei Bei, a few teachers at Shrek Academy, and those with deep, inextricable ties to the Tang Sect, no one else knew this secret.
The mysterious smile still played on Furina's lips. "Please do not underestimate my intelligence network. I am the Pope of the Church of the Water God—and the Water God herself."
"The Church of the Water God?" Tang Ya repeated the unfamiliar name in confusion.
But Bei Bei had clearly heard of this organization. A flash of understanding crossed his eyes. "You're the Pope of that church that's risen so rapidly in the Star Luo Empire? The one renowned for aiding the common people?"
Furina inclined her head gently, her hair shimmering with a soft luster beneath the sunlight. "The very same."
Bei Bei couldn't hide his astonishment. "I never imagined you'd be so young..."
Tang Ya was equally incredulous. "If you're already a Pope, why would you need to study at Shrek Academy?"
"Ah, as for that..." Furina raised an index finger to her lips in a gesture of secrecy. "There is a reason. But I'm afraid I cannot disclose it."
She certainly wasn't going to explain that she was actually heading to Shrek Academy to poach talent. While Tang Ya might be understanding, Bei Bei was, after all, a member of Shrek Academy—and moreover, the great-grandson of Mu En, the Master of the Sea God's Pavilion.
Tang Ya drew a deep breath, struggling to calm the turmoil within. "Then... what exactly do you want with me?"
Furina extended her right hand forward—an elegant gesture, as if inviting a dance partner. But the words that left her lips froze the very air.
"I wish to invite you, Sect Master Tang Ya, to bring the entire Tang Sect and join the Church of the Water God."
Without waiting for Tang Ya's response, Furina continued to elaborate. "The Tang Sect would become an independent division within the Church of the Water God. I will provide you with funding, personnel, and a considerable degree of autonomy. You will continue to do what you wish to do—little will differ from how things are now, save that you will have a higher organization above you."
"This..." Tang Ya was momentarily speechless. She had never imagined she would receive such an invitation. The matter had come far too abruptly, leaving her completely at a loss.
Bei Bei was equally stunned. Was this not poaching—right outside the gates of Shrek Academy itself? Yet he didn't immediately voice any objection. As Tang Ya's beloved, he genuinely hoped for the best possible future for both her and the Tang Sect. Though he had initially approached Tang Ya under Elder Mu's instructions, by now he had genuinely fallen in love with this lively, resilient girl.
"Could... could you give me some time to think it over?" Tang Ya's voice was hesitant. "I do wish to see the Tang Sect rise and flourish again, but... I've never imagined attaching ourselves to another organization."
Though she had heard from Bei Bei that the Church of the Water God was a good organization that treated commoners kindly, deep in her heart, Tang Ya was still unwilling to live under someone else's roof.
Furina seemed to have anticipated Tang Ya's reaction all along. Her composed smile never wavered. "There's no need to rush. Please, take a look at the other conditions I've prepared for you first."
So saying, Furina produced an ancient, yellowed scroll from her sleeve and offered it to Tang Ya. Huo Yuhao, watching from the side, recognized what it was—but he kept silent, quietly continuing to tend the grilling food.
Tang Ya accepted the scroll with some hesitation and slowly unfurled it. Yet the moment her eyes fell upon its contents, her face underwent a violent transformation. Her hands began to tremble uncontrollably, and the scroll slipped from her fingers with a soft thud.
"This... this is..." Tang Ya's voice was saturated with disbelief and shock.
Bei Bei bent to pick up the fallen scroll. When he clearly saw what was written upon it, he couldn't help drawing a sharp breath. "This is the Mysterious Heaven Technique! How do you possess the Tang Sect's closely guarded secret manual?!"
Bei Bei's question echoed the very one clamoring in Tang Ya's heart.
Furina maintained her enigmatic pose. "That—is a secret. However, I would like to point out to you both that the version of the Mysterious Heaven Technique in my possession may not be quite the same as the one you know. Wouldn't you agree, Sect Master Tang Ya? Perhaps you should examine it more closely?"
Tang Ya practically snatched the scroll back from Bei Bei's hands. She began reading with desperate, meticulous urgency. The further she read, the more her face drained of color, until it settled into a ghastly pallor.
"Why... Why are there sections here that our Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Technique doesn't contain at all?" Tang Ya's voice quavered.
Bei Bei leaned in for a closer look, and his brow furrowed deeply. "Indeed. What exactly is going on here?"
Furina's gaze swept across their stunned faces, and she slowly spoke the truth. "It's quite simple. What I hold in my hands is the complete version of the Mysterious Heaven Technique. What you have learned—is an abridged, expurgated edition."
She paused, and a subtle, almost imperceptible note of irony crept into her tone. "It seems the Sea God Tang San held fast to that venerable tradition—'teach the apprentice fully, and the master starves.' And so, he deliberately left behind a truncated version of the Mysterious Heaven Technique."
"Of course, it's also possible he believed that the section on opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians was simply too dangerous and excised it for that reason. But whatever the case—the version in your hands is incomplete."
These words struck like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky, leaving both Bei Bei and Tang Ya frozen in place. Tang Ya's fingers unconsciously clenched the edges of the scroll, her knuckles whitening from the force. Her lips trembled faintly. She wanted to speak, but found she could produce no sound at all.
Bei Bei was the first to recover from the shock. He looked warily at Furina. "What proof do you have that what you say is true?"
Furina gave a soft laugh and pointed at the scroll in Tang Ya's hands. "The proof is right there in your hands. Sect Master Tang Ya—please, circulate the Mysterious Heaven Technique according to the version I've given you. Guide your soul power as it instructs, and see for yourself what effect it produces."
Tang Ya did as she was told. She closed her eyes and silently began cycling her soul power. Moments later, her eyes flew open. Shock and disbelief filled her gaze. "Th-this... the circulation speed is nearly thirty percent faster than before! And my soul power feels more condensed, more solid..."
Furina nodded. "That is the effect of the complete Mysterious Heaven Technique. And that is only the beginning. In the training to come, the complete version will also help a soul master better break through bottlenecks and reach heights otherwise unattainable."
The midday sun was growing ever brighter, casting brilliant patches of light through the gaps in the leaves onto the forest floor. The flickering firelight danced across everyone's faces, illuminating the tangled, complex emotions etched there.
Tang Ya lowered her head, staring at the scroll in her hands. A fierce, tumultuous struggle raged within her heart. As the Sect Master of the Tang Sect, she understood better than anyone the value of this complete Mysterious Heaven Technique. If what Furina had said was true—then every single Tang Sect master and disciple, across all the generations, had been cultivating a flawed, incomplete technique. That truth alone was enough to shake the very foundations of the Tang Sect.
Yet, if she accepted Furina's proposal, it would mean the Tang Sect would no longer be independent. It would become a part of the Church of the Water God. For Tang Ya, who had shouldered the revival of the Tang Sect as her life's mission, this was a decision of excruciating difficulty.