Shackles of Humanity

Luo Kai lay on the bed, staring into the pitch-black night. Ever since his physical fitness had fully recovered, his insomnia had returned. His mind was overactive, and his senses of perception and hearing were far too sensitive. The rustling of mice digging underground and the hushed whispers and snores of his neighbors streamed endlessly into his brain, leaving him agitated.

He sighed helplessly, found two wads of cotton to plug his ears, and then immediately pulled them out. They did nothing to block the sounds from outside.

Since he couldn’t sleep, his thoughts turned to his Body Techniques. He pondered how to combine the Soft Body Technique with the Mighty Dragon Fist. One technique was soft, the other hard; if he could fuse them into one, their power would surely increase immensely. The problem was that the Soft Body Technique had no offensive methods, only the coiling and constricting attacks he could perform unintentionally. This was the polar opposite of the direct, straightforward style of the Mighty Dragon Fist.

He pondered for a long time but couldn’t come up with a solution. His own knowledge was limited, after all. Since escaping Nanya Island, he hadn’t encountered anyone particularly skilled in Body Techniques. In truth, the only person who could be considered his match was Liu Hou.

His thoughts couldn’t help but drift to Liu Hou’s ability to control an opponent’s heartbeat through rhythm. An ability like that was simply too powerful; it transcended the scope of combat with Body Techniques, reaching a profound and mysterious domain. This domain was very likely what Shisan had once told him about—Refining Spirit!

That night in the fishing village, intense anger had amplified his Qi and Blood Surge ability, allowing his consciousness to blanket his surroundings like radar. It was a miraculous feeling, as if he held Heaven and Earth in his grasp. That must have been a state of Refining Spirit. The difference was that he had relied on his Qi and Blood Surge ability to reach that realm, whereas Liu Hou had achieved it naturally.

The physical toll of fully activating his Qi and Blood Surge was simply too great. It could only be used as a trump card, not as a standard combat tactic. ’If I run into another opponent like Liu Hou, what will I do?’

After a moment of thought, a flash of inspiration struck him. ’Accelerating my heartbeat led me to understand the Qi and Blood Surge ability. So, what would happen if I deliberately slowed my heart rate?’

The metabolism of most living things is closely tied to blood flow. Blood is the transport system for cellular Energy, and each pulse stimulates cellular activity while carrying away dead cells and impurities. The faster a creature’s heart rate, the greater its physical capabilities, but the shorter its lifespan.

Conversely, creatures with slower heart rates have slower metabolisms and much longer lifespans. Some creatures can even actively lower their heart rate through hibernation to reduce Energy consumption. The lifespan of slow-moving creatures like turtles can reach hundreds or even thousands of years. Ancient China had legends of the Turtle Breath Technique, which he figured was a method of deliberately lowering one’s heart and breathing rates to reduce metabolism and extend one’s life.

Luo Kai sat up in bed, excited. ’If this idea works, living to be a hundred won’t just be a dream. It might even be possible to live for several hundred years!’

He decided to act at once. Luo Kai took a deep breath and tried to lower his heart rate. As his heartbeat gradually slowed, his turbulent Heart Spirit began to calm. In a daze, he seemed to enter a wondrous state, like returning to the womb. A familiar sleepiness washed over him, and he slowly drifted into a deep slumber.

In the darkness, Luo Kai’s chest rose and fell only once in a long while. His breathing was nearly imperceptible, and the surface of his body grew cold. His blood vessels constricted, pooling the blood around his vital organs to keep them functioning.

Luo Kai began to dream again. This time, the dream was long and vivid. In it, he started as a baby. The first time he opened his eyes, he saw the lovely face of a young woman, and a sense of familiar warmth bloomed in his heart. That was his mother.

Then he saw another small face, one that bore a slight resemblance to the young woman’s. It was a little girl, five or six years old, who reached out with a chubby little hand to pinch him. She seemed to be complaining; her lips formed the words, ”So ugly.”

The scene shifted again. The little girl had grown into a young woman but still hadn’t outgrown her habit of pinching people. He seemed to live in fear of her mischievous little hands.

In a daze, the tender flesh of his waist began to ache again. Luo Kai’s eyes flew open. In front of him was a small, tanned face. It was Erya.

”Uncle, you’re finally awake! You’ve been asleep for three days and three nights!” Erya wiped the tears from her cheeks and exclaimed with delight.

Luo Kai tried to sit up but found his body stiff and his limbs numb. He couldn’t move at all. He quickly accelerated his heart rate, and as blood rushed back to his extremities, warmth returned, and he was finally able to sit up.

”I was asleep for three days and three nights?” Luo Kai asked in disbelief as the fog in his mind cleared. ’Could the legendary ”Hundred-Year Dream” be real after all?’

”Yes! Uncle, you scared me to death!”

Luo Kai forced a smile. ”I’m fine. I was probably just exhausted from blade practice. You can go on back.”

Erya gave him a skeptical look, then turned and brought over a plate of meat. ”Uncle, you must be hungry. Here, eat something.”

”Yeah, thanks.”

After Erya left, Luo Kai felt a wave of lingering fear. This ability to lower his heart rate was frankly terrifying. ’What if I had never woken up?’ But then he dismissed the thought. The human body has self-preservation mechanisms; he should have woken up automatically once his body’s stored Energy was depleted.

He stood up and stretched his limbs, feeling inexplicably refreshed and clear-headed. A flicker of joy went through him. ’Well, it’s certainly a good way to cure insomnia.’

After eating, he returned to bed, closed his eyes, and tried to recall the dream. He hadn’t dreamed about this body’s past since leaving Nanya Island. The two people in the dream must have been this body’s mother and sister. The warmth of that feeling still lingered in his heart, making him yearn to remember more.

...

Luo Kai pedaled his bicycle toward the sports academy, his thoughts occupied the entire way by the Turtle Breath Technique he had recently grasped. He felt this Turtle Breath Technique couldn’t just be for lowering his metabolic rate; it had to have a greater purpose. When he slowed his heart rate and calmed his body and mind, his Spirit and consciousness entered an inexplicable, ethereal state. That state was indescribable, like the wondrous feeling of melting into the embrace of Heaven and Earth, of returning to the source.

Lost in thought, he didn’t see the figure that suddenly darted out of an alley. He was cycling too fast; it was too late to brake. With no time to think, he lunged forward, his arm shooting out to scoop up the person in front of him. A scream tore through the air as a soft body landed in his arms.

The person in his embrace screamed and struggled, and Luo Kai felt a stinging pain as long fingernails raked across his face and chest. ”Sorry!” he said quickly. ”I wasn’t paying attention. I was afraid I’d hit you, so I—”

Before he could finish, the person in his arms slapped him. SMACK! Luo Kai hadn’t even yelped in pain before his assailant cried out, snatching back a reddened little hand. ”You creep!” she yelled furiously. ”Let go of me!”

The voice sounded familiar. Luo Kai looked down and saw a delicate, pretty face before him. Her large eyes, shimmering with unshed tears, blinked rapidly. Her fine hair was disheveled, and her expression was one of indignation. It was none other than the young woman named Lu Qing.