Chapter 425: Strategy

“I heard that Great Master Fa Xiang wants to give me the Heart of Asura as a gift?” King An said coldly.

Fa Xiang pressed his palms in front of his chest and shook his head. He said with a deep voice, “Your Highness, I’m here to advise you to give up on cultivating the Asura Power Technique.”

“Give up? Why would I give up?” King An said. “I’m progressing fairly quickly in my cultivation. This technique suits me perfectly!”

“I myself have cultivated the Asura Power Technique before, but it’s abandoned now,” Fa Xiang said in a deep voice. “You didn’t eat the Heart of Asura, Your Highness, so you would be experiencing extreme pain while cultivating it. The kind of pain that made you feel like you’re being hacked into pieces. I’ve felt that pain before.”

King An’s expression softened.

The progress of cultivating the Asura Power Technique was indeed fast, but how many people would understand the kind of pain you had to endure in the process?

Those who knew about the Asura Power Technique would know about the pain during cultivation. This kind of pain could not be explained through words or experienced through imagination. They would never know how painful it was!

Fa Xiang had cultivated the Asura Power Technique before, so he naturally would understand the pain very well. It made King An feel closer to him.

However, he threw away those warm feelings at once and demanded, “Why did you cripple the Asura Power Technique, Great Master?”

Fa Xiang sighed. “You can make a lot of progress in one day with this technique, but you’ll become addicted to the speed and the power that comes with it. You’ll also reach your limit in no time. It won’t matter how much you cultivate after that. The only way to progress further would be to murder. Your Martial Art won’t progress otherwise. It’ll deteriorate instead!”

“Mm?” King An furrowed his brows.

Fa Xiang pressed his palms in front of his chest and sighed. “Your Highness, I’m a monk. I don’t lie. During the later stages of the Asura Power Technique, killing people will be the only thing on your mind. You won’t want to think about anything else. If you refuse to kill, you’ll feel extremely restless and as if you haven’t eaten all day and are on the verge of losing yourself!”

King An continued to stare at him with furrowed brows.

Fa Xiang said, “I depended on the dharmic base as well as the incantation of the seniors from the temple to suppress the urge, but they were simply not enough. Therefore, I could only cripple my Martial Art. Although Your Royal Highness has Xu Ning, it’s still not enough to suppress your urge to kill! You’ll still be able to suppress the restlessness and the urge to kill now. But as you continue to cultivate your skill, you’ll become a monster who only knows how to kill. Your Royal Highness, you’re born from an honorable family. You can have everything you want. Why do you have to pay such a price?”

King An did not say anything.

Fa Xiang continued, “Let me cross the line and say one more thing. If Your Royal Highness really has the intention to succeed the Emperor’s throne, then it would be better for you to discontinue the cultivation. How could the Emperor, looking at how wise he is, not know of the dangers of cultivating the Asura Power Technique? And yet, he didn’t try to stop you…”

He shook his head as he sighed.

King An’s expression darkened. He said, “You’re sticking your nose in other people’s business a bit too much, Great Master!”

“Yes, I’ve said too much.” Fa Xiang pressed his palms together. “The temple is doing this for the sake of the people’s lives. We can’t bear to witness so many deaths, so we’re here to advise Your Highness to give up on cultivating the Asura Power Technique. Even if you don’t care about the people nor the temple and you’re only doing this for your own sake, it still remains that you should stop the cultivation. Otherwise, your position, your great wealth, your beautiful family, your vast plans and prospects will all become the flower in the mirror or the moon in the water—they’ll all turn into nothing!”

“What if I don’t give up?” King An asked.

His expression was calm as if he did not hear what Fa Xiang had just said.

He spared Chu Li a quick glance, who had a hint of a smile on his lips, and felt his hatred grew. The thoughts that were initially fading away returned with more resolute.

If he could not take Chu Li down, then what was the point in being a Royal Highness? If he needed to kill someone, he should just kill them. At most, he would have to cripple his cultivations when the time came. He would continue his cultivation as long as he could kill Chu Li!

Fa Xiang exhaled heavily and shook his head. He took out the Heart of Asura, which looked like a black pebble, and gave it to King An. “Your Highness, you should recognize this object. It’s a gift to you from the temple.”

“What are your conditions?” King An asked.

Fa Xiang shook his head and pressed his palm in front of his chest. “If you really can’t let go of the Asura Power Technique, please use this.”

“I don’t need it,” King An said. “My progress is now extremely fast. I’ll soon be progressing as fast as the speed eating the Heart of Asura will give me. Why do I have to risk my life to eat this? The chances of me living through it are low!”

Fa Xiang said, “Your Highness, there’s no need to worry. Both of us will use our secret skill to help you. You can safely absorb the Heart of Asura.”

“This kind of a secret skill exists?” King An furrowed his brows.

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Fa Xiang pressed his palms in front of his chest and did not say anything more.

King An looked at Xu Ning.

Xu Ning said plainly, “Your Highness, there are no risks to this secret skill. This secret skill will transfer all your skills into the Heart of Asura.”

“What does that mean?” King An furrowed his brows.

Xu Ning said, “Your Highness, all your skills will flow away like the water, and you’ll have to cultivate again, just like Fa Xiang!”

“What?!” King An’s handsome face darkened. He turned his gaze that was as sharp as a blade to Fa Xiang.

“Amitabha Buddha…” Fa Xiang pressed his palms in front of his chest and sighed. “Xu Ning, you’re cultivating the Eye of Insight!”

“Indeed,” Xu Ning said calmly. “Fa Xiang, I can see through your plans very clearly. His Royal Highness won’t be tricked. You’re from a sect as great as the Tempest Temple, and yet you dare to use such a sly trick. The idea of a pure mind in Buddhism is getting more and more unbearable!”

Fa Xiang sighed. “You can’t become Buddha with good deeds alone. For the sake of the people, why does it matter if I used some tricks?”

“Very well!” King An said coldly. “It seems like the Tempest Temple will only stop when my cultivations are crippled!”

“Your Highness, our temple isn’t doing this for ourselves. It’s for your own sake and for the people of the world, too!”

“Silence!” King An yelled angrily. “You keep on saying that you’re doing it for the sake of the people. You make it sound like the Tempest Temple is the only one that cares about the people and the Imperial Court of the Great Ji doesn’t!”

“Amitabha Buddha…” Fa Xiang chanted and sighed. “It sounds like you don’t want this Heart of Asura, Your Highness!”

“Leave the Heart of Asura. All of you can go!” King An scoffed.

Fa Xiang said, “It seems that we’ll have to offend you now!”

He turned his head and looked at Xing Ming.

“Amitabha Buddha, forgive me!” Xing Ming pressed his palms in front of his chest and strode towards King An. He reached out his hand to grab King An’s wrist.

“Bam!” Xu Ning was faster. He shielded King An from the side by blocking Xing Ming’s attack with his palm.

King An sneered, “The mighty Tempest Temple, huh? You don’t respect the rules and law. How dare you behave so atrociously in my imperial residence?”

“Your Highness, as long as you cripple your Asura Power Technique, our temple will make up for it!” Fa Xiang pressed his palms together and said with a genuine tone.

King An was furious. He would not believe him anymore. His body transformed all of a sudden. He grew taller and slimmer, his handsome features turned skeleton-like, and his body movement technique became as fast as lightning. He appeared in front of Fa Xiang in a flash.

Fa Xiang chanted the Buddha’s name and pushed both of his palms forward. The movement looked slow, but it was extremely fast in reality.

“Bam!” King An and Fa Xiang’s palms clashed together. King An stumbled two steps back.

Fa Xiang sighed. “Your Highness’ cultivation of the Asura Power Technique is still quite flimsy. It wouldn’t be a waste to cripple it. Please don’t persist in going about things the wrong way!”

“Die!” King An’s eyes turned as cold as ice, lacking any human emotions. He pounced towards him again.

“Bam bam bam bam…” Both of their palms clashed with each other relentlessly. Their fists collided again and again as if they had given up on using their inner energy and were fighting purely with their bodies.

Chu Li was impressed. Fa Xiang was indeed better than King An.

On the other hand, Xing Ming was also better than Xu Ning.

If it were not for Xu Ning having the Eye of Insight which had the ability to detect Xing Ming’s next move, he would have been defeated much earlier before.

Xing Ming might have looked ugly, but his movements were extremely graceful. If one were to not focus on his appearance but his body, he looked very much like an elegant dancing woman. His moves were smooth and generous, soft and fine. There was not a shred of intention to kill at all.