Chapter 17: Twelve Sequences

Chapter 17: The Twelve Sequences

Three hours after the internal strife within the Paoge Society, at the Crow Clinic on Ghost Street.

Kuang Qingyun looked at Li Jun beside him, whose expression was tense, as if he were having his kidneys harvested, and finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"It's just setting a bone, Li Jun, why are you so nervous? This little lass couldn't possibly kill you, could she?"

Li Jun acted as if he hadn't heard Kuang Qingyun's teasing, sitting motionless in the chair.

Sure enough, the next moment, a flash of blade light suddenly erupted, grazing past Li Jun's ear and chopping straight toward Kuang Qingyun's head.

*Clang!*

The blade embedded itself in Kuang Qingyun's glabella, emitting a crisp, resonant clang. The artificial skin split open a seam, revealing the high-strength ceramic implanted beneath the flesh.

Struck heavily by the sudden impact, Kuang Qingyun's eyes glazed over; even as the girl withdrew the blade, he was dragged forward, stumbling a step.

"Bl... blood?!"

Kuang Qingyun stared at the white liquid dripping onto his robe, instantly flying into a rage: "You little wench, are you crazy? What are you chopping me with a knife for?"

The girl hoisted the blade onto her shoulder, let out a cold snort, "Too much talk. Stabbed you."

"You son of a... ow!"

Kuang Qingyun let out a miserable shriek, his whole body trembling in pain. He whipped his head around furiously: "What are you doing now?!"

Crow Hua shrugged his shoulders, an innocent look on his face: "Not my business, Second Master Kuang. You were the one thrashing about yourself."

I'll thrash your mother, do the two of you, grandfather and granddaughter, have a screw loose?!

Kuang Qingyun was furious, just about to explode, when the corner of his eye caught the strange, half-smiling expression on Crow Hua's face. A thought instantly flashed through his mind.

Both his arms were mechanical prosthetics; he hadn't had pain receptors in them for ages. How could this old man make him feel such excruciating pain?

A chill ran from Kuang Qingyun's tailbone straight to the crown of his head. He suddenly recalled the many stories and rumors about the doctors of Ghost Street.

These rumors were bizarre and varied, but the core was a single sentence: Offend anyone, but never offend a Ghost Street doctor.

Otherwise, you'd never know what they might secretly implant inside you while treating you.

"Cough, cough," Kuang Qingyun's face stiffened. He cleared his throat, "Crow Hua, your granddaughter... her saber skills are truly impressive."

"Your head is quite hard, too."

Crow Duoduo replied coldly, tossing the blade aside and turning back to continue repairing the gap in Li Jun's arm bone.

"Second Master, be magnanimous, don't lower yourself to a little girl's level. That little tear on your brow—I'll patch it up for you while I'm at it, no extra charge."

Crow Hua smiled faintly, continuing to lower his head and weave the artificial skin for Kuang Qingyun's arms.

Watching Kuang Qingyun eat humble pie, Li Jun likewise couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What are you laughing at?"

Killing intent rose from the back of his head. Li Jun shuddered all over, cursing inwardly how he'd forgotten there was a petty vindictive one standing nearby. He hurriedly changed the subject: "Second Master, are you walking the Soldier Path Sequence?"

Such a stiff transition made even Kuang Qingyun roll his eyes.

My two mechanical prosthetics are still exposed, brat, is there something wrong with your eyes?

Li Jun also realized his question was a bit idiotic. He scratched his head in slight embarrassment and continued: "The name of Martial Path Sequence Nine is 'Ruffian'. What is the name of Soldier Path Sequence Nine?"

Kuang Qingyun wiped the blood from his face, speaking irritably: "Soldier Nine: Mech Soldier."

"Mech Soldier?" The image of Kuang Qingyun stripped of his skin, a machine through and through, popped into Li Jun's mind. He couldn't help but ask: "So the core of the Soldier Path is self-modification?"

Kuang Qingyun's eyes hadn't finished rolling back. Hearing this, he simply froze, maintaining the eye-roll, and said irritably: "If self-modification alone could make a Soldier Nine, Zhao Dou, who modified himself until only a head remained, would have been one long ago. The key to Soldier Path advancement is the Mech Heart!"

Kuang Qingyun's words suddenly halted, a puzzled look appearing on his face, "How come you don't even know these things, brat?"

Before Li Jun could answer, Kuang Qingyun continued on his own: "Though I suppose it's not your fault. This information is known by those who won't speak, and spoken by those who don't know."

In the entire Great Ming Empire, Sequences were the sole Dragon Gate for commoners to achieve a class leap.

Therefore, all factions guarded Sequence information like treasured brooms; what circulated on the market was almost nine parts false to one part true.

Even that single part of truth sold for a king's ransom, practically a thousand gold per word.

Since transmigrating to this world, Li Jun had been deliberately collecting information on Sequences, but he only understood a few things about the Martial Path.

His knowledge of other Sequences was practically a blank slate.

"No wonder you dared to infuse so many martial arts. Tsk tsk tsk, ignorance truly is bliss."

Li Jun fell silent for a moment, then said: "I haven't felt any discomfort."

"Of course not. No illness shows symptoms the moment it's caught, but by the time it flares up, it's beyond all cure."

"You infused so many martial arts; it's like walking while carrying several great mountains. The deeper the martial arts realm, the heavier the burden on your body."

Li Jun thought of Zhao Ding's withered, decrepit body. His face instantly turned ugly, "Then how do I solve it?"

This was a question destined to receive no answer. Sure enough, Kuang Qingyun didn't answer, merely revealing a 'you know' smile.

Li Jun sighed. He understood that only by agreeing to Zhao Ding's deal could he get the method to solve this problem.

It seems my Golden Finger can't be used recklessly either; otherwise, if I accidentally blow up my genetic enhancement, that would be true regret beyond remedy.

Seeing Li Jun's gloomy expression, Kuang Qingyun chuckled, "Don't worry. Once we're past this hurdle, Grandpa Ding will naturally help you solve it."

Things having come to this, Li Jun could only choose to trust Zhao Ding. He composed himself and continued: "Right, about the other Sequences, can you tell me a bit, Second Master?"

Kuang Qingyun shifted into a more comfortable position on the operating chair, "Actually, I don't know much either. What do you want to ask?"

"Besides the Martial Path and Soldier Path, what other Sequences does our Great Ming Empire have?"

"Three Teachings, Nine Streams. Twelve in total."

"I know the Three Teachings. Which ones are the Nine Streams?"

"Martial, Soldier, Law, Agriculture, Miscellany, Names, Mohism, plus Yin-Yang and Vertical-Horizontal. There seem to be some other Sequences in the Western Barbarian lands, called things like Witch, Black Emperor, and the like, but I've only heard rumors, never seen them."

"The Old Master mentioned them once, said they were heterodox paths, prone to attracting evil spirits."

Li Jun committed this information to memory and continued: "Three Teachings, Nine Streams—does this naming mean the Three Teachings are stronger than the Nine Streams?"

"Naturally," Kuang Qingyun nodded, "Whose fist is bigger stands in front. Originally, the Three Teachings were also one of the Nine Streams, but after they rose to prominence, they elevated themselves out of the Nine Streams, pulling in the Martial, Miscellany, Names, and other Sequences with few practitioners to fill the slots."

Kuang Qingyun glanced at Li Jun, offering comfort: "The Martial Path was originally a Great Path too, it's just that the difficulty of advancement was too high, so it gradually declined."

Regarding Kuang Qingyun's words on the Martial Path's decline, Li Jun, who had just entered Martial Nine, felt a deep resonance.

The Martial Path's competitiveness was indeed weak; the speed of physical enhancement was far from the simple, crude effectiveness of prosthetic implantation.

Take Kuang Qingyun, implanted with the Strength-Shaman Mech Heart—his explosive power was even greater than Li Jun's.

Even techniques and movement arts would be rapidly deciphered by mechanical prosthetic eyes loaded with high-grade bio-chips.

The only advantage was no obvious shortcomings; the enhancement brought by Internal Force was all directions.

While the two spoke, Crow Hua had already finished weaving the artificial skin.

Crow Duoduo's skill still fell short of Crow Hua's; she was still slowly filling the gap in Li Jun's arm bone.

But Li Jun didn't dare say much. The fact that this little lass was willing to treat him was already giving Crow Hua enough face.

Kuang Qingyun lowered his rolled-up sleeves, drew out that iron fan to hold in hand, and once again resumed the suave bearing of a dashing young master.

"Right then. You carry on with the treatment; I'll be off."

Kuang Qingyun cautioned, "Whatever you do, don't leave the poultry district for the time being. Luo Zhen wouldn't stoop *that* low, but it's best to stay on your guard."

After Kuang Qingyun left the clinic, Crow Duoduo, who had been bent over mending the fissures in Li Jun's arm, suddenly spoke up.

"The Martial Path sequence isn't nearly as bad as he made it out to be!"