Shackles of Humanity

The campus was already abuzz with activity. Though they had only exchanged a blow or two, the crash from the impact of their power had been immense. Numerous figures were streaking toward the location. Luo Kai, who dreaded trouble more than anything, made a hasty retreat.

Several Body Masters rushed to the scene, each wearing a grave expression. Shangjing University was humanity’s Body Technique Sacred Land, yet they couldn’t even catch a single aberration. It was a disgrace to them all as Body Masters.

Looking at the jumbled footprints and the deep hole in the ground, a Body Master with disheveled hair asked in confusion, ”Someone fought the aberration?”

”Mm. From the looks of it, the aberration escaped. Let’s go back and ask which instructor it was.”

Back in the Mecha Manipulator dorm, Yun Ye carefully wielded a scalpel to open Lin Li’s chest cavity. Inside, a black, translucent, octopus-like creature could be seen clearly, with several of its tentacles wrapped tightly around her heart.

”What is that monster?” The faces of the others in the room paled.

Yun Ye carefully peeled the octopus-like creature off, bit by bit, and placed it in a container. He said gravely, ”It’s a Parasite!”

”What’s a Parasite?”

”It’s a larval-stage aberration, planted inside living creatures by more powerful aberrations. Once the Parasite matures, it devours the host’s consciousness. It’s terrifying. I need to take this back for further study. This young woman isn’t dead yet. Take her to the medical bay. She might have seen what the aberration looks like.”

However, when Lin Li woke up, she was completely clueless. She only vaguely remembered a pair of black leather shoes and, in her daze, what seemed to be a flash of a snow-white blade. As for when the aberration had infested her, she had no idea at all.

The investigators questioned every instructor on campus, but all of them said they hadn’t fought the aberration. This was a real head-scratcher. The aberration was extremely powerful; only a Body Master could possibly contend with it. Could it be that another powerful Body Master was hiding on campus?

The days of lockdown dragged on. Luo Kai lay on his bed, carefully replaying his fight with the monster and trying to figure out a way to defeat it. These aberrations had developed their own combat-oriented Dharma Gates based on their physiology—a fighting style that relied on curving attacks. Its seven or eight tentacles twisted and coiled with unbelievable nimbleness, giving it a powerful innate advantage in combat. The essence of the Body Techniques he revered was to overcome the enemy with strength, to break the curved with the straight. But that was predicated on possessing unstoppable power. The monster’s tentacles, however, were incredibly tough; they had withstood the flash of his blade without a scratch. In that case, the straight could not break the curved.

He thought about it until his head was splitting, but he still couldn’t come up with a solution. So, he got up, walked into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and began to silently absorb the Essence of Water. The Water Element was ubiquitous, but the Essence of Water was extremely rare; he estimated that only a tiny amount could be extracted from an entire ton of water. He had offensive techniques, but he was sorely lacking on the defensive side. From what he’d seen so far, the Water Shield created from the Essence of Water was quite formidable.

The other three in the dorm were utterly in awe of Luo Kai. Each lay on his bed, not daring to speak loudly. Getting beaten up through conventional means was one thing, but a bizarre technique that could make a person foam at the mouth and convulse with just a single glance... that was simply terrifying.

A tall figure suddenly burst through the dorm room door. The triangle-eyed Ba Heng, annoyed, was about to lash out, but he immediately froze upon seeing who it was. Instead, he asked fawningly, ”Brother Yong, what can I do for you?”

The figure replied simply, ”I’m looking for my master.”

”Your master?”

The three roommates exchanged a look. Fan Tong asked, confused, ”Is it one of the instructors?”

The figure shook his head. ”No. My master is just... my master.”

”Xiaoyong, what are you doing here?” Luo Kai broke his connection with the Water Element and stepped out.

The visitor was none other than Tuoba Yong. Seeing Luo Kai, he immediately exclaimed with delight, ”Master, I finally found you!”

”How did you find this place? Did no one try to stop you?”

”They did. I just beat up anyone who tried to stop me.” Tuoba Yong brandished an enormous fist.

Luo Kai’s expression turned cold. ”Don’t do that again,” he chided. ”The most important thing is to follow the rules. If everyone acted on their whims and did whatever they pleased, the world would descend into chaos.”

”Oh.” Tuoba Yong nodded obediently.

Seeing Tuoba Yong acting so meek and submissive, like a child who had done something wrong, the three roommates were so shocked their eyes nearly popped out of their heads. Tuoba Yong was infamous in his classes for having an explosive temper; he would even dare to strike an instructor over a minor disagreement.

Crucially, his power was immense. He could even hold his own against a Body Master for a few exchanges. Ordinary Martial Artists were like chicks in an eagle’s talons before him, completely unable to resist. Shortly after arriving at the university, he’d gotten into a fight with students from a High Rank class. He took on ten of them at once, beating the group of High-level Martial Artists black and blue, and had instantly become a legendary figure at Shangjing University.

The three roommates looked at Luo Kai with even greater reverence. ’This guy can’t actually use Demon Techniques, can he?’

Tuoba Yong followed Luo Kai to his bedside, squatted down as usual, and asked cautiously, ”Master, can you tell me another story? I want to hear the one about Sun Wukong wreaking havoc in the Celestial Palace.”

Luo Kai was feeling rather vexed today and was in no mood for storytelling. However, looking at the eager expression in Tuoba Yong’s eyes, he didn’t have the heart to refuse. After a moment’s hesitation, he stood up and said, ”Follow me.”

The dormitory basement housed a training hall. The floor and walls were reinforced with steel plates, and many students were inside, building their strength and sparring with Body Techniques.

Finding the room too noisy, Tuoba Yong roared the moment he stepped inside, ”I’m here to listen to a story! All of you, get out!”

Upon seeing him, none of the students dared to make a peep. In an instant, they had all vanished.

Luo Kai sighed to himself. In front of him and Tuoba Ye, Tuoba Yong was as docile as a first-grader, but in front of others, he was a completely different person—arrogant and domineering. Part of it was likely inherited from his father; people who specialized in Metal Attribute Techniques tended to have volatile tempers. The other part was his upbringing. Scions of great families were used to being lawless, and that was hard to change in a short amount of time.

”Xiaoyong, I’m not going to tell a story today,” Luo Kai said. ”Let’s talk about Body Techniques. What do you think is the purpose of cultivating Body Techniques?”

Tuoba Yong scratched his head and ventured, ”To fight?”

Luo Kai pulled over a small stool, sat down, and said patiently, ”That’s half right. The Celestial Dao takes from where there is a surplus to supplement where there is a deficit. The Celestial Dao is all about balance. The Human Dao, however, is the exact opposite. The way of man is to take from those who have little and give to those who have much. In other words, the rule of survival in this world is the law of the jungle. The strong prey upon the weak to make themselves stronger. The purpose of Body Techniques is to make us strong, to ensure we are not the ones being preyed upon.”

Tuoba Yong didn’t quite understand. He shook his large head in confusion and asked, ”Then does that make me one of the strong?”

”You are strong in the sense of the Human Dao, but before the Celestial Dao, you are weak. The Celestial Dao benefits all things and harms none. The Saint Dao is to act, but not to contend. The law of nature is to be beneficial, and this is also the ultimate goal of the Human Dao. The law of a Saint is to give, not to plunder.”

The moment his voice fell, an old man with a white beard suddenly appeared beside them. He exclaimed in admiration, ”Well said! ’The Celestial Dao benefits all things and harms none; the Saint Dao is to act, but not to contend’!”