Invincibility Begins with Mastery of Fist Techniques-Chapter 185 - 179: That’s All
Zhou Yuanjue was stunned when he got a clear look at the man before him.
The man had a full head of white hair, but his body was not nearly as powerful or terrifying as Zhou Yuanjue had imagined. In fact, it was difficult to sense any tangible fluctuations of vitality from him at all. With wrinkled skin stretched over his bones, he looked like an old man at death's door.
Beneath the old man was a circular, jade-like stone dais, upon which were blood-red patterns similar to the peculiar talismans on the Demon-Catching Bottle.
But what was even more terrifying was that several jade chains emerged from the dais, piercing through the man's collarbones, thighs, and arms, locking him firmly in place.
He was bare from the waist up, and Zhou Yuanjue could see the heads of countless Silver Needles protruding from his skin. They were driven deep into his body and even his brain. The terrifying, densely packed sight was enough to make one's scalp crawl.
As Zhou Yuanjue drew closer, he saw that the man was blind. His eyeballs seemed to have been gouged out, leaving only shriveled hollows beneath his eyelids.
If not for the extremely terrifying magnetic field that permeated the area, he would have mistaken the man before him for a corpse.
He had never imagined that the Chief Commissioner of the Secret Inspection Bureau would be in such a state. No wonder that despite his title, only legends of him circulated within the Bureau, and few had ever seen him take action.
"You've come."
The voice echoed again out of thin air. This time, the sound was generated by using a magnetic field to vibrate the air.
Though his body was withered and horrifying, the voice sounded vast, deep, and majestic.
"I'm here. I never expected the highest-ranking person in the Donghua Secret Inspection Bureau to be in such a state."
Zhou Yuanjue walked to face the Chief Commissioner and sat down cross-legged, though he knew it made no difference to the man whether he stood or sat.
"To gain such power, one must pay a commensurate price. Is that not so?"
The Chief Commissioner's voice vibrated through the air once more.
Zhou Yuanjue fell silent for a moment. He had to admit that the Chief Commissioner's abilities were truly inconceivable, even for a Saint Awakening. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
"Is this price not a bit too steep? If I'm not mistaken, these Silver Needles have completely sealed off your five senses. Your very life functions must be maintained by your two disciples outside, correct?"
Zhou Yuanjue said slowly.
With his knowledge of the human body, he could naturally see that these Silver Needles sealed many of the Chief Commissioner's vital acupoints, completely cutting off his five senses.
Bereft of all five senses.
Unable to see, smell, touch, taste, or hear.
An ordinary person would likely go mad after just a few days in a silent, pitch-black room, to say nothing of a state like this.
"You are correct. But for beings such as us, the presence or absence of the five senses makes no real difference. Moreover, this is but one of my body's forms."
"The limitations are extreme, but compared to the Power I've gained in return, the price is small. I am able to connect with the 'National Fortune' precisely because of this method. Here in Shangjing Prefecture, the National Fortune is potent. This magnetic field, a convergence of the will of the masses, acts as my tendrils, allowing me to perceive the imperceptible. Therefore, as long as I exist and the National Fortune endures, no demons or ghouls can infiltrate this Capital City."
"I can even wield abilities that are difficult for even a Saint Awakening to possess. I trust you've already had a taste of what I mean."
The Chief Commissioner said.
"What is 'National Fortune'?"
Zhou Yuanjue asked.
"It is nothing more than the collective will of the people. For our Donghua, as long as the Donghua people endure, the National Fortune will never dissipate."
"This land does not belong to a single family or clan, but to all people. Dynasties may rise and fall, but the people's sense of belonging has remained unchanged for thousands of years."
The Chief Commissioner said softly.
'The collective will of the people… that is the National Fortune…'
Zhou Yuanjue seemed to have an epiphany at these words. The will of a single person may be insignificant, but when the wills of billions converge, they become an ocean formed from countless drops—a surging tide that nothing in this world can stop.
'The National Fortune… it's a unique kind of magnetic field, too.'
He once again gazed deeply at the seemingly withered old man before him.
'To seal his five senses, bear the National Fortune with his will, and sit in a withered state atop Zixiao Mountain… Using the mountain as a focal point, he spreads the tendrils of his mind throughout Shangjing Prefecture to guard the Capital City and keep all demons and ghouls from its gates…'
'Shangjing Prefecture is a special administrative region, only about the size of a single city district, but to accomplish even that is an astonishing feat.'
Zhou Yuanjue had always thought himself quite mad, but he never expected to meet someone in this world even madder than he was.
Although the Chief Commissioner made it sound easy, Zhou Yuanjue knew that to be constantly immersed in a world of magnetic fields was hardly any better than losing one's five senses. One might endure it for a short while, but to live that way eternally was nothing short of inhuman torment.
'A true pillar of the nation.'
Zhou Yuanjue finally understood the weight behind those words. No wonder Donghua's high command placed so much trust in this man.
Because he had paid a price that ordinary people could hardly imagine.
"Was it worth it?"
Zhou Yuanjue asked in a low voice, looking at the man's horrifying physical state.
"It's not a matter of whether it's worth it, only whether it should be done. Let me tell you a story."
The Chief Commissioner's voice once again vibrated in the air.
"Decades ago, just as the chaos that would later engulf the world was beginning to stir, a child was born in a mountain village in the north. This child was exceptionally gifted; from a young age, he could see things that others could not."
"The nation was in crisis at the time, and as the saying goes, 'when the world is in chaos, demons emerge.' Many in the village believed the child was an anomaly, the source of their Calamity, and wanted to sacrifice him to the Mountain God. The child's parents couldn't withstand the village's pressure, but they also couldn't bear to see their son become an offering, so they abandoned him in a city to live or die on his own."
"The child lived as a beggar. For a time, he believed he didn't deserve to live in this world. Only later did he realize that he was not the one who was wrong; it was the ignorant beliefs in people's hearts. The 'abnormalities' he could see were not demons, but the human heart—something far more chaotic than any evil spirit."
"As he journeyed, he walked in darkness. In those chaotic times, his unusually powerful mind and gifted body witnessed countless Demon Fiends—and death, betrayal, evil, greed, and avarice... The world of men was a Purgatory. Even those who initially cried out for the nation's salvation had Demons living in their own hearts."
"Living in Purgatory, the boy thought he too would gradually become the very sort of evil creature he despised. That is, until he met someone who, far from shunning him, welcomed him into a community."
"There, that person told him that no one is born a slave, no one is born a peasant, and certainly no one is born an anomaly. All good people deserve care, and every individual deserves respect. Ignorance would eventually be dispelled, this nation would one day rise, and every good person would have the right to stand tall with dignity."
"Do you know? For the people of that era, the rights of an individual were often nothing but a fairytale. The boy once believed it was just another group spouting slogans while secretly feeding the selfish desires of the Demons within them. But reality… changed my perspective."
"Darkness still existed there, but what the boy felt more keenly was the brightness and warmth of 'light.' He learned that the world was not merely a Purgatory."
"Later, this light spread to illuminate all of Donghua. Darkness can never be truly eliminated, but now it only dares to hide in the corners. In the boy's life of over a hundred years, this was the closest thing to a true human world he had ever seen, and the place where he felt most at ease."
"For that boy, protecting this light was as natural as a creature's instinct to seek warmth. And for that, he was willing to pay any price."
The Chief Commissioner's voice carried a faint hint of a smile as he slowly spoke.
"That is all."
