Master, What Dao Do You Cultivate?-Chapter 36: Like a Sword Without an Edge, Mo Warrior Does Not Attack

On the way back from the Northern New District, Yu Ye gave up on being the driver and obediently sat in the backseat, wrapping her arms around her Master’s waist.
To give Yu Ye a quiet environment to get familiar with those higher-level techniques, Ji Qinglin told her to stay upstairs and study, while he ran the store alone.
But Ji Qinglin’s attention wasn’t really on the store either—he kept examining the glass box in his hands over and over.
It was definitely tempered glass. The black powder inside looked uniform, didn’t seem like anything was broken, and there was no sign of clumping or hardening.
Even using Divine Perception right up close revealed nothing about what the black powder in the box actually was.
Since it had “Dao Heart Forever Steady” and a phone logo printed on it, it had to be related to whatever was inside his body. But there was no clear connection now. And the thing was sealed. The only way to get the powder out was to smash it open.
What if it was something dangerous...
Thinking of that, Ji Qinglin recalled the last time he used the Qi Sea Cloud Storage—the Dao Cultivation Phone shouldn't be lethal. Or more accurately, it didn’t harm people of the Old Era. In that case, it should be safe for him to open.
But if the thing required staying in the glass box to function, that’d be awkward.
No—if that were the case, they could’ve used stronger material. Using tempered glass was probably so it could break without injuring anyone.
D*mn, he was overthinking it. Destruction begets creation. Maybe the whole point of the glass box was to be shattered.
Still, to be safe, Ji Qinglin placed the glass box on the workbench, set up barriers around it to prevent the black powder from spilling, opened Beidou Maps to plan a quick escape just in case, and finally pulled out a hammer and smashed the glass box.
Crack—
He jumped back right after the hit. Just as he suspected, the tempered glass box shattered instantly, and the black powder spread across the workbench. But strangely, it didn’t scatter in all directions.
At such close range, under the bright bench light, he noticed there wasn’t even any smoke or dust—like it wasn’t powder at all, but a clump of black mud.
Just as Ji Qinglin was about to lean in for a better look, a pop-up appeared on his Divine Perception interface.
Identifying your weapon.
Weapon? This handful of black powder was a weapon? What—was he supposed to throw it in someone's face during a fight?
This was getting more and more ridiculous. Still, Ji Qinglin chose to wait. He thought, fine, let’s see what the h*ll this really is.
Sure enough, once the interface displayed “Identification Complete,” the black powder on the desk quickly gathered together, pushing aside the bits of broken glass as if it were alive.
So it was sealed in the glass box for so long... and it’s still alive?
Ji Qinglin leaned in for a closer look. The black powder wasn’t loose—it was clustered together, with black, hair-like strands swaying on the surface. It looked like a small patch of black grass had sprouted from the workbench.
Was this a box of... chives?
Shhh-shhh—
As he was thinking that, the “black grass” on the table suddenly moved. The black powder rapidly reassembled itself, and in the blink of an eye, formed into a sturdy but simple black rod.
“Hss—this is...”
A wand? No, it was too long for that. Otherwise, Harry Potter would be a swordsman.
Recalling the object’s transformation, Ji Qinglin suddenly remembered something he’d seen at a cultivation-tech expo.
Though what he saw back then wasn’t nearly as amazing as this “black grass,” the way it changed shape so fluidly with just a thought—it could only be one thing.
Nanobots!
Eyes wide, Ji Qinglin stepped up to the workbench and picked up the black rod formed by nanobots. From the outside, there was no way to tell it was made of countless tiny machines. Engraved along the rod was a line of text:
Mo Warrior: Like a sword without an edge, the Mo Warrior does not attack.
Mo Warrior? It even had a name. Looked like the creator of these nanobots left their personal signature.
Using the experience he just gained, Ji Qinglin tried reshaping the nanobots with his mind to form something new.
He gripped the black rod and visualized a longsword. Mo Warrior immediately restructured in his hand, like a mass of black dust finer than sand shifting shape. In an instant, it transformed into a black longsword, also stamped with the small “Mo Warrior” logo.
Looking at the sharp blade in his hand, Ji Qinglin thought, the person who made this had to be a master. “Like a sword without an edge, the Mo Warrior does not attack”—how poetic. But I’m not that enlightened. If you don’t finish the job after striking, you’re just asking to get stabbed.
With another thought, the Mo Warrior began to melt and quickly wrapped around his right arm, looking just like a tattoo.
The potential of nanotech is enormous. Morphing form is just the most straightforward use. In the medical field, nanobots can even be used to repair external wounds—meaning, they can fill in and close bleeding injuries.
Of course, the reverse is also theoretically possible—using nanobots to damage an opponent’s prosthetics or nervous system. You wouldn’t even need to fight all the way to the end to win. Now that he thought about it, that was basically like poisoning someone.
If nanobots can be controlled remotely, could they also be used for sword-flying techniques? What about transforming into a gun? Would complex structures still work?
Realizing that this “hand-ground coffee” was actually a nanobot weapon called Mo Warrior, Ji Qinglin’s mind filled with bold ideas—but all of them would need to be tested.
He couldn’t help but admire the creator of the Dao Cultivation Phone even more. They actually made something like this—nanobots controllable by thought without any direct connection. It felt just like artifact manipulation or shape-shifting in cultivation.
Could this thing attach to Yu Ye and help her pull off a surprise move during the Cultivation Tournament? But if so, would it have to be hidden on her...
Gah-gah—
Just as he was deep in thought, Coal Boss suddenly flew down from the second floor, letting out two sharp cries that it only made when something was wrong.
“Yu Ye?”
No reply from upstairs—only the sound of something shattering.
Ji Qinglin dashed up, full of concern, only to find Yu Ye’s graceful body slumped beside the sofa, trembling all over. Her thin shirt was soaked with sweat and clung to her body, vaguely revealing the “weak points of the human form.” Her head was down, face obscured, but her breathing was heavy.
“Ugh... huff...”
“Yu Ye?”
Just as the words left his mouth, Yu Ye suddenly snapped her head up. Beads of sweat rolled down her delicate cheeks. The usual charm and confidence in her alluring almond eyes were now replaced by aggression.
“Yu Ye, you...”
Before he could finish, Yu Ye stomped off her back foot, used a Cloud-Cutting Step, and appeared right in front of Ji Qinglin—then struck straight at her Master’s face with a knife-hand strike.