Shackles of Humanity

”Instructor, I heard that the Luo Family’s Fearless Body lets them turn into giants and multiply their physical power. Can you tell us about it?” the young man in the passenger seat asked, turning his head with a cheeky grin.

Tuoba Ye took out another beer. As he drank, he explained, ”The Fearless Body is a powerful Transformation Body Technique. In its normal state, the body is kept taut, like a coiled spring. Once they start exerting force, they gradually release that power. The angrier they get, the stronger they become. Plus, the more severe their injuries, the stronger their Recovery Power, and they ignore all pain. That’s why it’s called the Fearless Body. It’s a Genetic Body Technique, so you guys can’t learn it.”

”Sigh, alright.” The young man sighed and fell silent.

As the name implies, a Genetic Body Technique is a powerful Body Technique capable of altering one’s own genetic structure. There are only two ways to master it. The first is through the Fusion of a corresponding Fierce Beast’s genes. The second is through inheritance. When the Cultivation of a Body Technique reaches a certain level, it will gradually change one’s genetic makeup. This change is passed down to the next generation, allowing them to directly cultivate the Genetic Body Technique. From the very beginning, they are different from ordinary people. This is how the four great families have been passed down and continue to thrive to this day.

Of course, some people are different from ordinary people from the start not because of Body Technique modification, but due to genetic mutation. The Tri-Eyed Race, the Sea Race, and others are examples of this.

The vehicle drove on for a while before they suddenly saw billowing black smoke ahead. A huge fire had broken out in the wilderness and was spreading rapidly in all directions.

”Damn, the weather’s so hot it started a wildfire!”

The vehicle stopped. Tuoba Ye said in a low voice, ”Xiaohu, go take care of it.”

The young man with glasses in the driver’s seat nodded, pushed the door open, and charged directly into the inferno’s surging heat waves. He took out something that looked like an oversized lighter from his coat, holding it high. All the flames gathered toward him, swarming into the lighter. The surrounding fire formed a massive fiery storm around him, with him at its very center.

More than ten minutes passed before the massive wildfire that had been spreading across the wilderness was extinguished. The man with glasses looked down at his soot-blackened clothes with a pained expression before turning and getting back in the vehicle.

The young man in the passenger seat was full of envy. ”Fire Element Masters are so cool.”

The bespectacled man named Xiaohu shook his head. ”Not good enough. There’s too little flammable material in the air. It’s nowhere near as good as a Water Element Master.”

Tuoba Ye seemed to recall something. ”Xiaohu, are you interested in cultivating Body Techniques on the side?”

Xiaohu gave a bitter smile. ”Instructor, please don’t make things difficult for me. Besides sleeping, I spend most of my time refining Elemental Essence. Where would I find the time to cultivate Body Techniques?”

”Sigh, forget it. It’s better not to bite off more than you can chew.”

The vehicle started moving slowly. Tuoba Ye stared straight out the window, a strange expression on his face as if he were lost in thought.

Xiaohu glanced at him in the rearview mirror and asked, ”Where are we headed next?”

Tuoba Ye snapped out of it and said lazily, ”Back to Longyang City. I expect Su Chengbo is about to make a move on the South Sea Pirates. The Evil Cult remnants we’re after are definitely hiding in the Broken Star Islands, so we’ll go take a look then.”

”Instructor, I hear you have a good relationship with this Tri-Eyed Race City Lord?”

”It’s alright, I guess. We’ve been fighting each other since we were kids. That old guy is so profound and inscrutable now, I probably can’t even beat him anymore.”

After entering Longyang City, the vehicle drove directly to the Su Family Manor. It was as if Su Chengbo knew he was coming, as he was waiting especially for him in a pavilion in the manor.

Tuoba Ye wiped the sweat from his forehead, walked into the pavilion, and chugged a glass of ice water. He sighed in contentment. ”You really know how to live, Old Su.”

Su Chengbo smiled. ”Brother Tuoba, did you see that young man today?”

”I did. Looks like you weren’t lying. Damn, that kid is really something else. He used a Body Technique I’ve never seen before, called ’Azure Wave Force.’ The force comes in endless, overlapping layers, and it can even summon wind and thunder to bolster its power. Old Su, you’re worldly and experienced. Have you ever seen a Body Technique like that?”

Tuoba Ye then described his battle with Luo Kai.

Su Chengbo frowned deeply and mused, ”’It seems to be a Dharma Gate that boosts Power. A Body Technique that can draw on external Energy for support is something usually only a Body Master can do. Add to that the amplification from the Fearless Body... it seems that although this person is not yet a Body Master, he already has the combat prowess of one!’”

”Yeah. If we had kept fighting, it would have turned into a fight to the death, so I came back.”

Su Chengbo murmured, ”’If he’s really a disciple of the Luo Family, why would he come all the way to the Xingma Kingdom?’”

Tuoba Ye was just as clueless. ”I don’t know. The Luo Family is in the Far North Land, tens of thousands of miles from here. Even if they had a disciple out training, they wouldn’t come to the Xingma Kingdom. Forget it. In a few days, I’ll go back and ask my second sister-in-law. She’s from the Luo Family, so she might know something.”

After a moment, Tuoba Ye looked around and asked, ”Where’s your little sister?”

Su Chengbo took a sip of his cold tea. ”My little sister went to Shangjing for school.”

Tuoba Ye chuckled slyly. ”Oh, good! He’s in the same year as my son. If the two of them hit it off, you can’t stand in their way.”

Su Chengbo replied helplessly, ”Brother Tuoba, my Tri-Eyed Race is different from your four great families. You can intermarry freely, and it doesn’t matter which family one lives with. But for the Tri-Eyed Race to ensure the purity of our bloodline, the man must marry into our family. This is the foundation of our people; I can’t change it.”

”Alright, alright. Let the young people make their own decisions. Don’t be such an old fossil. Let me ask you again, are you preparing to make a move on the South Sea Pirates?”

Su Chengbo nodded. ”Yes. The South Sea Pirates have been a constant threat to maritime trade. It’s time to deal with them.”

Tuoba Ye changed the subject, asking with feigned casualness, ”I heard your fourth brother has come as well. It seems the Tri-Eyed Race is planning to establish a foothold in the Xingma Kingdom?”

Su Chengbo hesitated for a moment, then sighed. ”Sigh, we have no other choice. You know how difficult our situation is.”

A cold glint flashed in Tuoba Ye’s eyes. He said icily, ”This Emperor Dongyuan is determined to be an emperor for the ages. He doesn’t just want to move against your Tri-Eyed Race; he’s also extremely wary of our four great families. If trouble really breaks out in the future, your Tri-Eyed Race can’t just stand by and watch.”

”Of course not.” Su Chengbo nodded, his face grave. He knew his plans could not be hidden from those who were paying attention. The various factions of the Human Race were already caught in a surging undercurrent; no one was going to be a lamb led to the slaughter.

...

Luo Kai arrived at a small county town called Ningye County. He exchanged the gold nugget he had for some money, bought a few sets of clothes and some oak barrels, and then found a leatherworker’s shop to buy a sturdy leather bag for all his miscellaneous belongings.

He was preparing for a long journey. To find a way to get to the moon, he had to go to the center of human civilization, the Dongyuan Upper Country, to see its level of technology. He also had to fulfill the promise he made to Shui Su. With no more ties holding him back, he could finally leave with peace of mind.