Shackles of Humanity

Luo Kai grinned and nodded at him. ’These lamas must be using some kind of Sound Wave detection method,’ he mused. ’The slightest changes in anyone or anything nearby are fed back to them, helping them identify anything out of the ordinary. My body and mind haven’t been taken over, so I have nothing to fear.’

The withered lama was rather surprised. He stared intently at Luo Kai for a moment. ’I can’t believe a Martial Artist can withstand my Soul-Calming Thunder Sound. Shangjing University is truly worthy of being a Body Technique Sacred Land!’

The chanting continued for about ten minutes before the three lamas stood up and headed toward the next dormitory building.

Luo Kai returned to his bed and lowered his heart rate. Just as he was drifting between sleep and wakefulness, a warning flared in his mind. He sat up, concentrating to perceive the changes in his surroundings. The darkness expanded his Perception without limit, feeding every change within a several-kilometer radius into his mind. There was nothing amiss on the surface, but a nearly imperceptible vibration was coming from deep underground.

It was difficult to sense the underground changes from the third floor. Grabbing the Severing Blade at his side, he leaped out of the window. Down on the ground, the vibration became clearer. It felt as if something large was tunneling beneath the earth. The ground itself was a heavy barrier; if he hadn’t spent the last several days attuning himself to the earth’s pulse, he might not have noticed it at all.

...

The campus was silent tonight, save for the occasional patrols of Mechanical Guards. In this era, the combination of technology and Body Techniques was considered humanity’s Complete Form, and Mechas were synonymous with cutting-edge technology.

A Mecha was a piece of equipment that used mechanical force to augment human strength. The manufacturing method was derived from Extraterrestrial Creatures. They were primarily synthesized by analyzing the ”metallic equations” from the bodies of these creatures, making them far harder than any natural metal. Furthermore, they could autonomously absorb solar energy. Once shaped, a Mecha also possessed a certain self-Healing capability, which could also be described as a form of metallic memory.

It mimicked all the pilot’s actions. If the pilot walked, it walked. If the pilot threw a punch, it threw a punch. The only thing a Mecha lacked is intelligence, so it must still be piloted by a human.

Even so, the advent of Mechas elevated humanity’s combat strength to a new level. A Mecha piloted by a Martial Artist could annihilate an army of a thousand men through sheer force and even withstand a blow from a Body Master. The only problem was the materials required to synthesize the metal. They were derived from the bones of Fierce Beasts and a type of extraterrestrial meteorite. The Dongyuan Upper Country possessed only a single deposit of this Meteorite Ore, making it extremely rare and difficult to mass-produce for the military.

Lin Li was a Mecha Manipulator. For Body Technique Cultivators, advancing to the rank of Body Master was obviously the ideal path, but most lacked the necessary talent and resources. As a result, many Body Technique Cultivators would switch to learning Mecha Control instead.

She was utterly exhausted from the near-constant patrols over the last two days. Every Mecha Manipulator had to stay with their Mecha twenty-four hours a day. Supposedly, this helped them become more proficient with the controls. However, it was quite inconvenient when she needed to use the restroom.

Lin Li carefully disengaged from the armor, humming a tune as she headed for the restroom. After just two steps, a sudden spasm gripped her heart, as if something was squeezing it tight. She staggered and collapsed, wanting to cry for help, but the air was trapped in her throat. She couldn’t make a sound.

The restroom door suddenly swung open, and a pair of jet-black leather shoes appeared in front of her. A flicker of hope appeared in Lin Li’s eyes. Using the last of her strength, she rasped out a plea for help. ”Help... me!”

A figure wrapped in a pitch-black robe stood before her, unmoved by her plea. Instead, their eyes, which glinted with a dark light, revealed a look of excitement.

Just as Lin Li was about to draw her last breath, seven or eight tentacles shot out from the black-robed figure’s body, plunging toward her.

Just then, a cold snort came from outside the window. Immediately after, a long blade, as white as a bolt of lightning, tore through the glass and flew toward them.

The black-robed figure expressionlessly whipped out a tentacle. CLANG! The gleaming blade was knocked back.

Luo Kai caught the Severing Blade, revealing himself. The situation had been urgent, forcing him to throw his blade directly. He stared at the strange, octopus-like person before him and asked in a low voice, ”What are you?”

The black-robed figure let out a piercing, cold laugh. Its tentacles rapidly retracted before it smashed straight through the wall and vanished into the night.

Luo Kai glanced at the girl on the floor before leaping out in pursuit. The monster was incredibly fast, moving almost with Instant Teleportation, and its aura flickered in and out of existence. If his Perception hadn’t been greatly enhanced by the darkness, he might not have been able to keep up.

The trail went cold in front of a small hill. Just as he was about to focus his senses, the hair on his arms suddenly stood on end. He instinctively swept his blade behind him. Pitch-black tentacles shot out directly from the hillside. The Severing Blade blocked one, but several others were about to strike his body.

At the critical moment, Luo Kai spat out a spray of shimmering water, which formed a translucent, disc-like shield. The black tentacles sank deep into this water Pan, barely saving him from a fatal blow.

He hastily retreated a few steps, breaking out in a cold sweat. ’Even a Body Master would have trouble dodging that sneak attack if they weren’t paying attention.’ Facing such a bizarre enemy, he could no longer afford to be careless. He took a deep breath, and the speed of his Qi and Blood Circulation surged. His frame swelled slightly, causing his gray robes to puff out.

The tentacled monster stood on the hill, its gaze tinged with surprise. ”You’re not a Body Master yet?”

Its voice was sharp and piercing, not sounding human at all. It was more like a chicken or duck mimicking human speech. Luo Kai stood tall, his blade at the ready. ”What kind of monster are you?”

The black-robed figure let out another sharp, cold laugh. ”From where I’m standing, you humans are the real monsters!” With that, its body shuddered, and seven or eight tentacles shot out. Some even twisted in mid-air to wrap around from behind, closing in on him like a great net from all sides.

Luo Kai was at a loss against such a bizarre attack pattern and could only retreat. The monster’s tentacles were incredibly tough. ’Even if I can block one or two, what about the rest?’

However, as long as he focused solely on evasion, the monster couldn’t land a hit. Man and monster, one fleeing and one pursuing, both moved like lightning as they began to circle the hill.

Luo Kai continuously increased the speed of his Qi and Blood Circulation, trying to predict the trajectories of the swirling tentacles. The creature’s attack style was actually quite similar to that of a Snake-man—it twisted and turned, covering every angle while leaving no clear path. It seemed chaotic, yet it secretly followed a certain set of rules. ’In this day and age, even monsters can study the Combat Dao,’ he realized. ’That means they have creativity!’

Just then, the monster suddenly stopped. With an angry grunt, it retracted its tentacles, plunged them into the ground, and burrowed deep beneath the earth. It knew it was powerless against the human before it; continuing the fight was pointless.

Luo Kai walked over and stared at the head-sized hole in the ground. ’No wonder this monster dared to cause trouble at Shangjing University,’ he thought. ’It has this kind of burrowing ability. Even with a few more Body Masters, we probably wouldn’t be able to catch it.’