Shackles of Humanity

Luo Kai was brought to an interrogation room and shackled firmly to a chair. He hadn’t resisted at all. He was now completely at their mercy, a fish on the chopping block, so his only recourse was to wait and see. He closely observed his surroundings, waiting for an opportunity.

The middle-aged man sat at the interrogation table, sizing him up. He suddenly chuckled. ”You’re not bad. Let me introduce myself properly. I am Lang Kun, the captain of the security division. The City Lord of Longyang City, Lang Zhennan, is my uncle.”

A sarcastic smile appeared on Luo Kai’s face. ”Oh, so you’re practically royalty!”

Lang Kun said, unfazed, ”In Longyang City, you could say that. Kid, I’ll be straight with you: I admire you. If you’re willing to work for me, I can forget what happened and even set you up with a great future.”

”What kind of future?” Luo Kai asked, feigning interest.

”Heh heh, Zang Haisheng couldn’t offer you more than a bit of money. I, on the other hand, can give you status and power. It wouldn’t even be impossible to make you a Baron.”

”A Baron?”

”A noble. A Baron may be the lowest rank, but they’re nobles all the same. Nobles are not only exempt from taxes, but they also receive a stipend from the government and possess legal immunity. Once you become a noble, you’re no longer a commoner—you’re one of the elite!”

Luo Kai asked as if he were genuinely interested, ”And what rank does your uncle hold?”

Lang Kun said proudly, ”Viscount.”

Luo Kai curled his lip. ”Only a Viscount?”

Lang Kun said, annoyed, ”Kid, do you think titles are easy to come by? If you’re in politics, you have to successfully govern a region, ensuring the people live and work in peace. In any other field, you have to make a huge contribution to mankind. The Xingma Kingdom doesn’t even have the authority to confer titles; it has to be reported up to the Dongyuan Upper Country. Lord Yiven holds the rank of Duke, but that’s because he’s a Great Lord who governs an entire territory.”

Luo Kai found this amusing. ”Then it seems the people of Longyang City must be living quite well, having met the standard of ’living and working in peace’.”

Lang Kun’s face darkened, and he said in a cold voice, ”Are you mocking me?”

Luo Kai glanced down at the black iron shackles on his wrists and said expressionlessly, ”Is this your condition for letting me leave?”

Lang Kun sneered. ”If I didn’t see that you had some talent and hadn’t completely sworn yourself to Zang Haisheng, do you think you would’ve lived this long?”

”The one thing I hate most is being threatened.” Luo Kai suddenly closed his eyes, appearing as if he had nothing more to say.

Lang Kun was growing impatient. In a sinister voice, he said, ”Life or death. The choice is yours.”

The interrogation room fell silent. Lang Kun got up and paced back and forth, restlessly waiting for Luo Kai to yield.

About a minute passed before a bizarre change came over Luo Kai’s body. He suddenly twisted. His wrists and ankles slipped out of their shackles as if he were a boneless invertebrate. His coiled body resembled a venomous snake poised to strike. Completely defying the laws of physics, his arm suddenly shot out nearly a meter, instantly arriving before Lang Kun, seizing his throat, and yanking him close.

With Lang Kun’s abilities, he never should have been taken down in a single move. But Luo Kai’s method of attack was simply too bizarre, something no human body should have been capable of.

When Luo Kai opened his eyes again, his pupils had turned a solid, blood-red, like an Evil Ghost from Hell.

”Stand down, all of you! You... we can talk about this. I... I can let you leave.” Lang Kun was terrified, his courage shattered. The hand on his throat felt like an iron clamp that could easily crush his larynx. He hastily ordered the guards who had rushed in to retreat.

Luo Kai’s face was twisted. A brutally violent killing intent welled up from deep within him. It took an immense amount of willpower to suppress the urge to crush the man’s windpipe. In a voice devoid of all emotion, he said, ”Get me out of here!”

The two left the room. The outside corridor was already packed tight with guards. Using Lang Kun as a shield, Luo Kai slowly walked toward the exit. The guards exchanged glances, but knowing Lang Kun’s identity, none dared to block their path.

Standing on the training ground outside was an enormous fat man. He was nearly two meters tall and massively obese, his torso as solid as a city wall. His loose-fitting uniform was stretched taut like a bodysuit. His eyes were squeezed into narrow slits by his fleshy face, and a cold light glinted from within them.

The huge fat man stood ramrod straight in the middle of the grounds, his massive frame completely blocking the exit gate.

Luo Kai stopped in his tracks, his expression turning grim. The big man gave him an extremely dangerous feeling. Luo Kai said coldly, ”Move, or I’ll kill him.”

The fat man’s large face was devoid of expression. His thick lips twitched, and a somewhat androgynous voice spoke up. ”Go on, kill him. If the City Lord learns his nephew died in the line of duty, I’m sure he won’t be upset.”

Lang Kun’s face was etched with fear. He hastily said to Luo Kai, ”That’s Liu Hou, the Prison Director here! He’s also a Martial Artist! He barely listens to a word my uncle says. Let me go first. I’ll go back right now and get the official documents to release you.”

Luo Kai’s expression flickered. This was the first time he had encountered a Martial Artist. He knew from personal experience just how difficult the cultivation of Body Techniques was. Those who could become a Martial Artist were truly one in ten thousand; aptitude, temperament, resources, and luck were all indispensable. Judging by the big man’s physique, his Power had to be absolutely formidable.

”Release him, and I can guarantee I won’t kill you,” the fat man said softly, his voice chillingly cold.

Luo Kai remained unmoved. ”Then go ahead and give the order to fire. We’ll see who dies a more miserable death.”

The fat man said nothing more. After a moment, he began to move, striding forward. The ground trembled slightly with his every step. The vibrations seemed to carry a strange rhythm that hammered its way into Luo Kai’s very core. His own heartbeat began to slow, matching the rhythm, until it was on the verge of stopping completely.

Luo Kai’s face turned deathly pale, and his limbs began to tremble uncontrollably. He struggled to regulate his heart rate, but it felt as if his heart no longer belonged to him, simply slowing down with that inexorable rhythm. Waves of dizziness washed over him—a sign of his brain being deprived of oxygen. He feared his brain would die from severe hypoxia long before his heart even stopped. An boundless sense of Fear welled up inside him. ’What kind of power is this?!’

The fat man’s steps also grew slower, until he paused for nearly a full minute before taking another.

Luo Kai’s greatest trump card was activating a Qi and Blood Surge by accelerating his heartbeat, but now that very trump card was being completely neutralized. His limbs grew cold, and he was losing his grip on Lang Kun.

Lang Kun felt the hand on his throat go limp and weak. Overjoyed, he immediately struggled free. With a vicious sneer, he drove his elbow hard into Luo Kai’s chest.

A blow like that would have shattered an ordinary person’s heart. But Luo Kai was different. The instant the blow landed, the muscles of his chest subtly rippled, deflecting a portion of the force. Though the pain was excruciating, his heart was unharmed. More importantly, the impact acted like a defibrillator on a person in cardiac arrest. The muscles around his heart instinctively contracted and expanded from the external force, stunningly allowing him to regain control.

With a pained grunt, Luo Kai staggered back a step. When he looked up again, his eyes were blood-red. The immense sense of crisis drove him to accelerate his heart with all his might. Its frequency shot up from a near-standstill to four or five beats per second, and it was still climbing. His breathing grew more and more rapid as a massive amount of Energy-filled blood surged into his brain.

Time seemed to slow. His arm shot out once more, grabbing Lang Kun by the neck. In a single motion, he surged forward, his other fist smashing against the great fat man’s, who had already closed the distance.

BOOM! Dust and debris flew. Cracks spiderwebbed across the concrete beneath Luo Kai’s feet as he was forced back several steps to bleed off the momentum. ’This fat man’s Power is astounding!’ This was the first person he had met since escaping Nanya Island who could go head-to-head against his Mighty Dragon Fist.

The look of astonishment on the fat man’s face deepened. He glanced at his own thickly calloused palm, then back at Luo Kai’s crimson eyes. A trace of hesitation appeared on his massive face as he suddenly asked, ”You’re Luo Kai?”

Luo Kai yanked Lang Kun in front of him, ready to use him as a human shield if the fat man attacked again. Hearing the question, he answered warily, ”I am. And if you want to kill me today, you’re not getting away without paying a price.”

The fat man clasped his hands behind his back and paced in place for a few steps, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment, he looked up. ”I can let you go, but you have to promise me one thing.”

Luo Kai refused without a second thought. ”You want me to be your subordinate? Dream on!”

The fat man burst out laughing. ”No, I want you to be my disciple! And don’t worry, I would never force you to do anything you’re unwilling to do.”

Not only was Luo Kai stunned, but even Lang Kun was completely astonished. This fat man was no ordinary person; he was one of the few long-renowned Martial Artists in Longyang Commandery City. The line of people who wanted to become his apprentice could stretch from the city center to the suburbs, yet he was extremely strict in accepting students. To this day, he had only three direct disciples, one of whom was also a Martial Artist.

Luo Kai hesitated. ”You really won’t force me to do anything?”

The fat man patted his chest in assurance. ”Of course! My disciple can do whatever he pleases. No one would dare force him!”

”I need to go home and think it over.” Luo Kai considered for a moment. ’In my heart, I already see Shui Su and Shisan as my masters. No one else carries that weight. But this fat man’s skills are unique. If I could learn his ability to control another’s heartbeat, then I’d no longer have to fear my own greatest strength being turned against me.’

The fat man agreed. ”Alright. Whenever you’ve made up your mind, just come find me at Pan Shi Sports School. I teach there most of the time.”

’A man of his stature probably isn’t lying.’ Luo Kai released Lang Kun and backed toward the gate. As expected, no one blocked his path. The guards here revered the fat man as if he were a god; no one dared to defy his commands.