Shackles of Humanity

Liu Hou briefly explained the essentials of the Straight Blade Technique. True mastery lies in simplicity, and a true killing art must be concise and efficient. The Straight Blade Technique was an art for the battlefield; it didn’t rely on comprehension, but entirely on perseverance. The daily requirement was to perform one thousand vertical slashes. Only through years of practice could one grasp the fundamentals and unleash its initial power.

Roz, his second senior brother, gave Luo Kai a long blade the same length as a proper straight blade and helped him register for a student ID. He told Luo Kai he could come to the school to ask Liu Hou about anything he didn’t understand. Real straight blades were incredibly valuable, as they had to be forged with Fierce Beast bone powder to ensure both Sharpness and durability. Therefore, Luo Kai could only practice with an ordinary long blade.

After Luo Kai left, Roz asked Liu Hou, looking puzzled, ”Master, can this new junior brother of ours really get a spot at Shangjing University?”

Liu Hou clasped his hands behind his back and gently shook his head. ”More than that. He could even take the championship.”

Roz exclaimed in surprise, ”He’s that good!”

Liu Hou looked at his palm, his expression incredibly grim. ”I crossed hands with him yesterday. If it were truly a fight to the death, the odds would be fifty-fifty!”

Now, Roz was no longer surprised but utterly horrified. He stammered, ”Th-that’s impossible, isn’t it? He’s not even a Martial Artist, and Master, you’ve already glimpsed the Refining Spirit Realm. There are very few people in the entire Xingma Kingdom who are your match.”

Liu Hou fell silent, his gaze shifting to a small box on the table. It was empty, yet it still gave off a heart-chilling aura.

...

For the first couple of days, Luo Kai would often visit Pan Shi Sports School to ask Liu Hou for guidance on his Sword Technique. He stopped coming as often after that, because the Straight Blade Technique didn’t really involve any specific Sword Skills. Its effectiveness depended entirely on proficiency and the user’s physical condition.

Roz had studied Body Techniques for over twenty years and had already achieved some success in Refining Tendons, the most fundamental stage. His control over his body was exceptional. He specialized in the Round Extreme Body Technique, which was derived from a form of wrestling and sumo and excelled at joint locks and Close-Range Combat.

The two of them sparred once. Luo Kai’s Mighty Dragon Fist was incomparably fierce, giving Roz no opportunity to get close. It was an incredibly frustrating fight for Roz; winning was impossible, and in the end, he had no choice but to concede.

...

A week passed. Luo Kai rarely went to the sports school anymore. Nominally, he and Liu Hou were master and disciple, but in reality, it was more of a contractual relationship. Each was simply getting what they needed from the arrangement.

He spent his free time practicing with the long blade in the courtyard. The straight blade was one of the most lethal cold weapons; unleashing its power depended mainly on the user’s physical condition. After a few days, Luo Kai’s practice was already looking quite impressive. His Power was immense, and a single downward slash would produce a sharp, sky-breaking sound. If a person had been standing in front of him, they would have been sliced in two with one strike.

”Big Brother, I came to see you! What have you been doing lately? You didn’t even come to see me!” Xiaozhuo came skipping into the small courtyard, dressed in a snow-white down jacket.

Luo Kai raised the nearly two-meter-long straight blade in his hand. ”I’ve been busy practicing with my blade. You need to work hard too, Xiaozhuo, or else you won’t even be able to beat Erya in a few days.”

Xiaozhuo pouted and said indignantly, ”Erya’s stronger than me! It’s not fair!”

Luo Kai smiled and shook his head. He had visited the sports school recently to observe the Body Technique System’s training methods. ’They’re a bit like the fitness routines from my past life,’ he thought. ’They’re mostly for physical conditioning, and the actual combat techniques are just flashy moves with no practical use in a real fight.’

’It makes sense, though. A sports school isn’t the army; there’s no need for life-or-death combat. Besides, most of the students are children of the rich and powerful. They’ve been pampered since birth with delicate constitutions, unable to endure hardship. Most of them are also still in their developmental years. If the training was too harsh, it would be counterproductive. No wonder the graduation rate is so low.’

”Big Brother, my dad invited you to our house,” Xiaozhuo said after a small twirl in the courtyard, finally revealing the purpose of her visit. She looked adorably pitiful, afraid that Luo Kai would refuse.

Luo Kai hesitated for a moment, then nodded. ”Alright.”

Xiaozhuo’s home was in the North District. It was a connected villa, surrounded by several watchtowers, and security was extremely tight.

Old Fu, who acted as the head butler, invited Luo Kai inside. He stepped into a magnificent foyer where a thick carpet covered the floor and Fluorite Lamps shone as bright as day, giving Luo Kai the strange feeling that he had returned to his original home.

Xiaozhuo’s father was a tall, middle-aged man in his forties, right in the prime of his life. However, his temples were already graying, and his eyes were bloodshot, making him seem extremely weary.

”You must be Xiaoluo. I apologize, I should have invited you over much sooner. Please, sit down. No need to be so formal, just make yourself at home.”

Luo Kai shook his hand and said, ”Sir, there’s no need for you to be so formal either. Xiaozhuo is a sweet girl, and I’m very fond of her.”

Xiaozhuo’s face bloomed into a wide smile, and she eagerly went to pour tea, serving a cup only to Luo Kai and not her father.

Zang Haisheng helplessly poured himself a cup of tea and said with a smile, ”Words can’t express my gratitude. Brother Xiao Luo, if you ever need anything in the future, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Luo Kai nodded.

”By the way, I heard you became Master Liu Hou’s student recently?” Zang Haisheng asked suddenly, taking a sip of his tea.

”Yes.”

”A promising young man indeed!” Zang Haisheng praised. Then, a hint of hesitation flickered across his face before he finally said, ”Young man, would you mind coming with me?”

”Dad, what are you doing? Big Brother hasn’t even eaten yet!” Xiaozhuo complained from the side, clearly displeased.

”I just need to discuss something with your Big Brother.”

Xiaozhuo immediately became guarded. ”You’re not allowed to bully Big Brother.”

Zang Haisheng said with a doting smile, ”Your Big Brother is our family’s benefactor. I haven’t even had a chance to properly thank him, why would I ever bully him!”

Puzzled, Luo Kai followed Zang Haisheng to the study on the second floor. The first thing that caught his attention was a map hanging on the wall. It depicted a massive continent in three colors: red, Blue, and gray. All the human nations were marked in Blue, the edges of the Blue regions were red, and the rest was gray.

This was the first time Luo Kai had seen a map of this world. He was shocked to see that the gray area, representing the unknown, covered more than half of it. The entire interior of the continent was gray; only the eastern and western coastal regions were Blue. The Xingma Kingdom was just a tiny nation in the southeastern corner.

Zang Haisheng followed Luo Kai’s gaze to the map and sighed. ”Our Xingma Kingdom is so small... A small country, but no shortage of trouble.”

Luo Kai ignored his comment and, pointing to the red areas, asked, ”What does the red on the map represent?”

Zang Haisheng gave him an odd look. ”That’s the battlefield between humanity and the Fierce Beasts, of course.”

Luo Kai stared intently at the map, committing its details to memory. ’I originally thought humanity had driven the Fierce Beasts into the barren wilderness, but now it seems the opposite is true. The Fierce Beasts have cornered humanity on both sides of the continent, forcing us to depend on the sea. No wonder oil is such a scarce resource; the territory humans occupy in this world is just too small. Are the Fierce Beasts really that powerful?’