Chapter 143 - 142: Ice River Immortals, Pocket Secret Martial Scroll, and the Taste of Battle

The demon child was speaking while retracting his aura, appearing completely harmless.

The only thing Su Qiangwei couldn’t understand was...

Why did he behave so familiarly?

Upon closer thinking, it seemed entirely different from regular "friendly gestures."

This sense of familiarity seemed directed solely at her!

The girl thought she must be going crazy.

She had always stayed well on Earth and had never traveled interstellarly!

So...

An old acquaintance from another star? Besides Lin Qiubai and the self-proclaimed "extremely effective" White Mane aliens, there couldn’t possibly be a third!

"Judging by your appearance, you should be a descendant of the National Guardian, ’Su Qiangwei,’ right!"

The demon child’s brow furrowed deeply, mumbling, "That old lady’s name is the most complex I’ve ever seen."

"Those three characters on paper, if not carefully looked at, look almost identical."

???

The girl’s eyes widened, nearly losing her composure.

Su, Qiang, Wei.

Zhang Kuang, open your dog eyes and tell me, how do these three characters look alike?

Except for all having a grass radical, there’s absolutely no resemblance!

The title National Guardian sounds somewhat poetic, quite tasteful indeed.

But...

Old lady?

In the girl’s heart, the demon child’s annoying level rapidly rose, surpassing Lin Qiubai, becoming second only to Ma Ran.

Although Zhang Kuang noticed Su Qiangwei’s emotions, he still behaved the same, seeming not accustomed to altering his attitude to appease others: "In ’Ice River Calamity,’ there are names and portraits of your ancestor and another ’National Guardian.’"

"I was born a hundred years ago, and those two were about the age you are now."

"Perhaps you don’t even know there’s someone called Su Qiangwei among your ancestors?"

At this point, the demon child observed everyone’s reactions, suddenly raising an eyebrow: "Hmm? My speculation is related to the truth, yet far from the real answer..."

"It seems, indeed, it is so."

"A hundred years later, still looks like a little girl, preserving youthful appearance?"

"No!"

"It should be the power of technology!"

"Cosmetic surgery?"

"You are Su Qiangwei herself!"

Not only Su Qiangwei, the topic’s center, but the other members and young soldiers present largely understood why Zhang Kuang was labeled "demon."

Call him stupid, he’s not at all, on the contrary, he’s profoundly smart.

Without evidence from others, he can deduce the truth on his own.

Yet this mega-straightforward male personality...

The fact that he wasn’t beaten to death and survived this long only means—he truly is strong!

While speaking, the demon child seemed to think of something amusing and burst into wild laughter.

"Hahahahaha..."

"Suddenly thought of something amusing!"

"The ’World’s Extraordinary Secret Codex’ ’Ice River Calamity’ is actually all kinds of human technical materials for resisting the ’Little Ice Age’!"

Zhang Kuang’s crimson eyes flickered with a malicious smile: "The first glance I saw those materials, I concluded they were texts, a structured language system, not some ’Pocket Secret Martial Scroll.’"

"That bunch of fools divided those technological documents into seven parts, treating them as sect treasures."

"They interpreted the pictographs, spending decades to a century, blindly deriving so-called moves one after another."

"A bunch of clueless idiots even called me a heretical demon!"

"They revered you and another National Guardian as the ’Ice River Immortals,’ making it a faith in seeking immortality, stubbornly upholding their beliefs, claiming they’d rather bend than break."

"It practically kills me with laughter!"

Zhang Kuang’s laughter was infectious, slightly raising the corners of people’s mouths present.

Even Wan Haihao, concealed among the crowd, nearly broke his composure.

The technical documents China provided to the Seven Vortex Sword Sect were treated as a world’s extraordinary codex, titled with a name as sophisticated as ’Ice River Calamity’....

Were those people so dumb, their wisdom less than one ten-thousandth of the Sword Master’s?

Perhaps so.

Preconceptions might lead to obstacles in recognizing the truth, but...

In over a hundred years, has no one thought the ancestors might have been wrong?

No!

There must be such people.

Zhang Kuang is one of them.

Comparing this with Chinese history, one can see through the absurd historical trajectory to grasp the truth beneath!

Those skeptical people, their points challenged the established system, shaking the Sect Leader class’ interests, so they were labeled disrespectful to the ancestors, becoming despised, marginalized, and suppressed into the dust!

Of course!

Zhang Kuang’s behavior exudes a sinister aura, mostly irredeemable.

When others use words to slam him, he probably feels no ripples inside, maybe even finds it amusing?

The old fogies thought they were smearing Zhang Kuang, but in reality, they were helping him "bathe."

Zhang Kuang was fiercer than they imagined.

Guess those who once argued with this demon child now probably have decaying skeletons...

"This way, it can be understood."

Up to this point, Wan Haihao deduced the demon child’s chain of logic.

The other side learned of Ma Ran and Su Qiangwei through Earth’s technical documents.

He knew that the Seven Vortex Sword Master Lin Qiubai had received help from these two a century ago.

That’s why he felt this mysterious familiarity with Su Qiangwei and voluntarily proposed a condition.

It’s just that...

He seemingly doesn’t know about the time flow differential between Earth and Cangming Star?

Nevertheless, Zhang Kuang truly deserves the "demon" title!

With a single piece of text material, he forcibly deciphered and reverse-engineered a complete Chinese language system.

Not to mention personality, in terms of wisdom...

It’s extraordinarily exceptional!

"That young man over there."

Wan Haihao suddenly noticed the demon child’s crimson eyes seemingly fixated on him: "When you hear ’Lin Qiubai’ or ’Sword Master,’ your emotional fluctuations are greater than anyone else."

"You, not quite right."

Looking around, Wan Haihao discovered Zhang Kuang was indeed speaking to him.

Despite the demon child’s intimidating presence, he didn’t retreat but advanced, stepping forward to say: "The Sword Master once resided in me for a period."

"Helping you find the gun, sure!"

"However, I hope you will promise us one request."

Zhang Kuang stretched lazily, in an extremely relaxed posture: "Speak."

"When you duel with the Sword Master..."

Wan Haihao’s words were halfway through, interrupted by Zhang Kuang: "Hey! You wouldn’t want me to hold back, would you?"

Judging from Wan Haihao’s expression, he guessed correctly.

"It’s better not to say such words."

"For years I’ve been fighting everywhere, and have received some of Lin Qiubai’s inheritance; I understand his temperament a bit..."

"The words you just intended to say are an insult to the term ’Sword Master.’"

"If Lin Qiubai knew about our conversation just now, most likely, he’d cut you down with a single sword."

Hearing this, Wan Haihao thought the demon child made sense, feeling a bit anxious inside.

Worry leads to chaos!

Considering the Sword Master’s pride, if he had really spoken the words that were on his lips and they reached the Sword Master’s ears, their relationship would probably end there.

"Hmm?"

Zhang Kuang suddenly turned his head, looking towards the northeast, his nostrils twitching slightly.

He leaped into the air, standing aloft, his red hair billowing in the wind.

"The smell of battle!"