The Freewind Sect has lost countless martial arts manuals—who knows how many volumes of the Nine Heavens Canon have gone missing? But the most crucial, the ones they desperately need to recover, are none other than the Beiming Divine Skill, Small No-Form Skill, Lingbo Weibu, White Rainbow Palm, and the Deathmark Seal.
As for the Deathmark Seal, that's a lost cause—there are no written records left, so it's all up to self-study and innovation. According to a few scraps from the previous generation, the Deathmark Seal uses both yin and yang internal energy, twisting together to form a special internal energy lock. It's basically a supercharged, mutant version of acupoint sealing. But knowing is one thing, doing is another—everyone gets nuclear fission, but not many can build an atom bomb. So with the Deathmark Seal, you just do your best and let fate decide. No point obsessing over it.
The Small No-Form Skill and White Rainbow Palm belong to the lineage of Li Qiushui, one of the Freewind Three Elders. Li Qiushui became the imperial consort of Western Xia, gave birth to the emperor, and even left Freewind Sect martial arts diagrams in the palace. Logically, you could just ask the Western Xia folks and easily find those two skills. But Western Xia was wiped out thirty-five years ago by Genghis Khan, supposedly leaving no survivors. Wu Zhengfeng believes that if any member of the royal family practiced the Small No-Form Skill diligently, they might've survived the chaos. But from that point on, the Western Xia royals vanished—no trace, no news, nothing.
So, for now, the Small No-Form Skill and White Rainbow Palm are on hold too.
That leaves the main targets: Beiming Divine Skill and Lingbo Weibu.
These two legendary skills made Dennis Duan a winner in life—and Dennis was the emperor of Dali. Sure, Dali was conquered by Kublai Khan nine years ago, but the Duan family's luck was way better than the Western Xia royals—they even got a consolation prize as "Hereditary Governor of Dali." Plus, one of Dennis Duan's famous descendants still pops up in the martial world, preaching Buddhism. That's none other than one of the Five Supreme Masters, the Southern Emperor, Master Yideng—David Duan.
According to Jill Young's knowledge of the "original story"—and also what Wu Zhengfeng's heard around the martial world—Master Yideng never seemed to use the Beiming Divine Skill or Lingbo Weibu. Heck, he didn't even use Dennis Duan's famous Six Meridian Sword, just a budget version called the Sunbeam Finger. Still, if you can find the Duan family, or David Duan himself, you'll probably get some clues.
So, the current mission: Find Master Yideng!
But where is Master Yideng now? Ever since Möngke was killed outside Xiangyang, Master Yideng has become a martial arts legend—like a dragon whose head you see but whose tail is always missing. Getting real intel on him is tough. Ask ten info brokers and you'll get ten different stories—so many, it'll make your head spin.
And right now, as a total outsider, Jill Young actually beats the entire Freewind Sect—thousands strong—when it comes to connections!
"Hmm... now that you mention it, I think I know someone who could help." Jill Young didn't have any hard evidence, but she could tell that both times she landed in this world, it was the same universe: "That young lady is a second-generation martial hero. Her connections run deep—she's definitely on the VIP list."
Miss Xiang Guo, it's been ages since we've seen her. Ever since that chance encounter at Black Dragon Fortress, Jill Young's main timeline had already moved forward more than a year, and who knows how much time has passed in this world. If you try to estimate, it's not a short stretch, but not exactly forever either.
With someone like Xiang Guo—famous, specialized, and a second-gen martial hero—finding her is basically like finding half the martial world. With her dad, Jing Guo's, status and connections, asking her about Master Yideng should be a breeze.
But, of course, there's the classic problem—where on earth is Xiang Guo now?
A second-gen martial hero like her—Miss Xiang the Second—always has eyes on her wherever she goes. With her good family, great looks, and a bottomless pit of martial arts skills, she's basically the white-collar beauty of the martial world. No matter where she shows up, give it a few days and the gossip mill will spread the news everywhere. Honestly, she's way easier to find than Master Yideng. So, bottom line, let's start by looking for her.
At the same time, this whole operation isn't just about chasing down Beiming Divine Skill—it's also laying the groundwork for future moves. Jill Young and her crew are the advance team. Everywhere they go, if the vibe's good, they'll leave people behind to build up momentum. The leaders and the grunts each have their roles, but they all support each other. So even if Jill Young doesn't have a huge entourage at any one time, the real manpower behind the scenes is massive.
"It's like lighting a fire—first you scatter the sparks, let them quietly spread. When the flames finally break through the ground, that's when you get a real blaze going."
That's why this operation is absolutely crucial.
Before heading out, Jill Young put on her best serious face and said, "Remember, this time, we keep it low-key—no showing off, no drawing attention!"
Then Wu Zhengfeng put on her own serious face and quipped, "Honestly, out of everyone here, you're the last person qualified to say that."