Chapter 123

If Only I Weren’t Distracted

The next day, the kids were stuck in their temporary classrooms learning about classification of spell casting. Desks hadn’t been made yet but the teachers were well on their way to finishing them. While that happened, the materials Chu Shen sent for had finally arrived.

Chu Shen wasn’t actually going to be making them though. That was Lucas’ job. Using the fabricator, Lucas was able to make standardized swords, spears, shields, and armor. The materials they had brought included black iron, bowstring, and leather, enough to finish all of the tools.

Chu Shen, however, was focused on making more money. In order to let the kids spend their contribution points, they needed more items at the store. Right now, they didn’t have any money to stock their store; not that they had the store built yet either.

His job was to use his artificing skills to make some weapons he could sell. Fortunately when they were in the previous dimension, Chu Shen had kept all of his forging tools in his spatial ring. His whetstone, fuller, anvil, tongs, inscription ink, and hammers. He also had the materials to forge six swords.The only thing he didn’t have was a forge.

Without a forge, Chu Shen couldn’t heat up the metal to work with it. Luckily, Chu Shen had picked up a martial art that he could use in place of the forge. Remember when Chu Shen was forced to fight the pillar warriors for two weeks straight by Master Ti Wu in the Black Night Sect? Master Ti Wu only let Chu Shen go because he had managed to beat the seventh pillar.

Because of him being able to beat the seventh pillar, Chu Shen was able to receive a seventh martial art. The one he chose was <Stellar Flame>. It was one of the martial arts that Master Ti Wu had chosen for him when he first entered the Void Sect. It was a martial art that allowed one to use fire to burn their enemies. It was only suitable for those who used void, or null qi.

One must remember that null and void Qi was a combination of everything in the universe and it’s opposite. It means that everything is contained inside null Qi. The <Stellar Flame> was a martial art that isolated the fire portion of void and null Qi. With that, Chu Shen could harness the power of the universe’s flames.

Even the most heaven defying flame belonged to the universe because it was the universe itself that birthed it. As for the void and null Qi that represented the universe? Of course it could recreate such terrifying flame. The only difference was that one needed sufficient strength to recreate them.

Right now, with Chu Shen’s strength, he could only create flames that were suitable to forge. As for attack? Chu Shen hadn’t even started training <Stellar Flame>. He had been busy forging and cultivating in the previous dimension. Much too busy to practice the new martial art.

Him using <Stellar Flame> to forge was a win-win for all. It let Chu Shen forge the things he needed and allowed him to practice the martial art. The only one who didn’t like it was Master Ti Wu.

As a matter of fact, he was actually enraged by it. ‘You brat! So disrespectful! Don’t you know that is one of the best martial arts in the library?! To think that you would use something that others would kill for to simply, simply….ARGH!’

‘To sully a martial art like this and use it to forge! Where is its dominating image! Don’t you remember it’s introduction?! (Burn the universe to nothing. Incinerate your enemies and let nothing stand). That was <Stellar Flames> introduction and yet you still seem to fancy using it as a fireplace!’

Chu Shen mentally shrugged. ‘I don’t see what the big deal is master. A martial art is supposed to be used however the user wants. If a martial art is used simply to fight, then don’t you think it’s beauty is lost? Maybe the creator of this martial art never intended it be used as a forge fire but it could also be true that he would be grateful that I am using it for creation and not just destruction.’

Master Ti Wu would have none of that. ‘Bah! Using honeyed words to try and coax me. You shameless disciple! Huff. You know what? I think you only picked that martial art because you needed a fire for your forge.’

Chu Shen eyes glanced away real quickly at that. ‘A-anyways master, I still need to forge these weapons so…..’

‘Of course. Forget about your master. Humph. I’ve never had such a disrespectful disciple. Go on then! Sully that martial art and get forging. I’m taking a nap!’ Master Ti Wu left in a huff. Or at least, he stopped talking to Chu Shen.

Chu Shen decided to continue with his plan to forge. It was worth Master Ti Wu’s disapproval. He brought out his tools and started laying everything out. Setting up a small table, he set his forging hammers and other hand tools on it. Placing the anvil beside the table, Chu Shen was ready to start forging.

He brought out the black iron and placed it on the anvil. He backed up slightly and then pointed his palms at the material. He took a deep breath before activating the <Stellar Flame>. Qi flowed from his dantian and into his meridians.

 It flowed in a specific pattern inside his body, going into his chest before traveling into Chu Shen’s arms. If one could see his meridians, the Qi would form the image of a fire, forever frozen in time. The Qi surged forth from his arms before coalescing into his palms. There, the Qi emerged. Unlike all the other times before, it was not a gray color but rather a pure bright white.

Why was it white? Most people think of fire as red or orange colored. However, even a mortal knows that the hottest fire is not such colors but rather white. How could null Qi contain such awful fire like red or orange flame? This white fire did not have any special properties and Lucas’ world would have deemed such fire as actually being on the cool side.

To a blacksmith however, this fire was the hottest one could have for mortal metals. If Lucas was struck with this fire, it would soften the Dragon Iron but wouldn’t melt it. From that it could be seen how tough Dragon Iron was but also how useless this fire was as well.

 For combat capabilities, this flame truly was useless in it’s current stage. However, Chu Shen had only just started to practice <Stellar Flame>. If he had some time to practice it, then it would soon become much stronger. This was his whole reason for practicing <Stellar Flame> by using it to forge.

The white Qi emerged from Chu Shen’s palms. When it did, the surrounding temperature immediately shot up by a few degrees. With a thought on Chu Shen’s part, the white Qi transformed into white fire and covered the black iron. As the black iron started to heat up, it turned a beautiful cherry red.

As soon as it reached this temperature, Chu Shen tried to stop the flame. It didn’t work. Panicking slightly, Chu Shen stopped circulating his Qi. When he did, the white flame was suddenly enveloped by gray colored energy that continued coming from his palms. The white flame disappeared without a trace as Chu Shen’s null Qi devoured it.

Chu Shen shrugged. Looks like he still needed to practice a bit more with <Stellar Flame: Flame Blower>. This was the first stage of <Stellar Flame> which required one to blow fire from their palms.

 There were stages to <Song of The Universe> as well. Chu Shen had completely mastered the first stage, <Song of The Universe: Celestial Weapon>. It was where one applied the vibrations to their weapon, like Chu Shen had with his hammer. Currently he was working on the second stage, <Song of The Universe: Solar Vibrations>, which was when one could send vibrations with their Qi, allowing their Qi to gain the quality of vibration. Chu Shen couldn’t even make his twitch so far but he had only recently gained mastery over the first stage.

He had also stepped into the 3rd stage of the <Void King: Bones of Null> technique. This stage was basically the tempering of one’s bones where the previous two stages were the tempering of muscles and skin. Chu Shen still only had 60.25 tons of force from the 30th circulation of the <Void King> technique.

Remember, it might have seemed like a long time since coming to this world but it hadn’t even been a month yet. Chu Shen had been busy the entire time with research, hunting, or protecting the kids. He just hadn’t had a whole lot of time to actually cultivate.

Chu Shen had almost mastered the first stage of <Comet Travels Through: Booming Step> and <The Stars Dance: Light Step>. If Chu Shen actually mastered Vapor Trail then he would leave a sonic boom behind him when he used this technique.

If Chu Shen mastered light step, he would be able to condense his Qi and appear to walk on light. With this his agility would soar since he would be able to travel in the air. Of course, the cost would be enormous amounts of Qi since he would have to condense it into thin, solid layers in midair.

This was the power of martial arts. This was the reason why Master Ti Wu scoffed at those warriors when Chu Shen asked about their martial arts. Honestly, if Chu Shen wasn’t so distracted with forging and researching technology, he would be far stronger than he was now. The only thing holding him back was his constant curiosity about the things in new realms.

Chu Shen continued forging new blades. Only four swords were successfully made. The others were ruined by his learning experience with <Stellar Flame>. Upon forging them, Chu Shen went to the hunting town and sold them. Using the money, he had the teacher go back for more materials. He repeated this for the rest of the week. After that, Chu Shen started to stock the store, which was now built, while the kids were equipped and sent hunting.

1. N/a

Chapter 121
Scouting

Chu Shen, Lucas, and Su Gagi took two days to reach the magical beast hunting zone. Just like with the previous world, there was towns around each hunting zone. Chu Shen and co. went into the local town to check out the atmosphere and the resources the town had for sale.

They browsed a couple of shops to find out what was there. They also bought a couple tools such as axes, saws, and some other building materials. After they looked around town for two hours, they left for the hunting zone. Su Gagi told them his opinion of the town’s wares as they entered the forest.

“This place is a ripoff. The prices are 30% higher here than in any other place I’ve been. Not to mention the fact that the beast cores sell for 5% less as well.” He was obviously offended at the prices in the hunting town.

Chu Shen shrugged. “It’s not that big a deal. All we have to do is make a trip to get supplies from a different town. There’s one a day’s ride from the hunting zone. We can collect any supplies we need from there.”

Lucas nodded. “Chu Shen here is an artificer. If we can buy the supplies cheap and sell the artifacts here then we’ll definitely make a killing.”

Su Gagi looked confused. “What is an ‘artificer’? It sounds like an important job from your voice but I’ve never heard of it.”

Now it was Lucas’ turn to be confused. “Haven’t you heard of an artifact?”

Su Gagi shook his head. “No, I don’t know what an artifact is.”

Lucas sighed. “Well, artificers create artifacts. Artifacts are essentially weapons or armor that has inscriptions in them. The inscriptions give the item different effects like unleashing a blast of mana.

Su Gagi suddenly showed comprehension. “Ah, you mean you can create magic tools? No wonder you seemed so protective of him, such a rare job to be a Magic Painter. It’s a pretty valuable occupation.”

Chu Shen, who had been listening in on the conversation, decided it was time to butt in. “Sorry for all of Lucas’ annoying chatter. We just called it a different name in our town. Artificers create the weapon from the ground up. We forge the blade and then put the magic paint on.”

Su Gagi was shocked at that. “You mean you actually make the tools yourself? I’ve never heard of a Magic Painter doing that. Most of them are stuck up snobs. That must explain why you’re so nice, you actually know about hard work.”

Chu Shen shrugged. “Well, by making the tool myself I can get a feel for the metal. Then I can make the best inscription for it. Altogether it’s much better than inscribing some random hunk of metal.”

Su Gagi shrugged. “I don’t know. It seems like you would know more about it than I do. All I can do is kill stuff and teach so I’ll leave the crafting part to you. Anyways, shouldn’t we be more focused on scouting the forest?”

“Oh please.” Lucas rolled his eyes. “I have a program running to identify threa-”

“Ahem” Chu Shen coughed lightly.

Lucas appeared suitably chastened after Chu Shen’s gentle reminder. “Uh, what I mean to say was that we should split up and cover at least ten miles of the hunting zone. We’re looking for any hazardous spots and especially dangerous magic beasts, right?”

Su Gagi nodded. “There shouldn’t be any since we checked the map in town but it is still a good idea to double check everything. This isn’t like buying a hat, there are people’s lives at stake”

“Alright, so we are agreed then? We split up and cover the hunting zone?” Chu Shen asked as the mediator. Everyone nodded in agreement. “Alright then. I’ll take the left, Lucas you take the middle, Su Gagi you take the right. Everyone good? Then let’s get started.”

Everyone started off in their own directions. Chu Shen wasn’t too concerned with scouting out the hunting zone. To be honest, they didn’t even need to enter the forest at all. The reason was because of Lucas’ drones. Lucas loved modifying them and one of the mods was adding a scanner to each drone.

The drones had energy scanners, 3d mapping, cameras, and pattern recognition software that had been uploaded from different dictionaries and encyclopedias. As a result, them going into the forest was more like an excuse for Chu Shen to relax for a little while.

Of course, there was also the additional reason for keeping Su Gagi in the dark about their capabilities. While Chu Shen was confident that Su Gagi and everyone else in their ragtag group wouldn’t betray them, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

By not having Su Gagi know about technology, he was kept safe from mentioning it on accident. Unlike a certain cyborg that keeps blurting things out. He was getting a headache just thinking about Lucas and his big mouth. Normally Lucas wasn’t so talkative but having someone new around seemed to stimulate his motormouth. Literally.

They only stopped scouting out the forest after four hours. With that it was getting close to night time. Chu Shen volunteered for the first watch while everyone else got into sleeping bags they had brought along. Every three hours the guard would wake one of the others up and have him take their place.

The next day, they went back into the forest and started scouting once again. They covered forty miles of forest that day which was half of the hunting zone. It turns out that since this was only a Rank 3 hunting zone, it was very big. The higher rank the hunting zone, the smaller it was.

The reason was that low rank magical beasts can breed a lot faster than high rank magical beasts. An example would be the Scorching Horned Rabbit. A single couple can make over 12 baby rabbits, all of which will be adults in less than two months.

As a result, low rank magical beasts need a lot of space since they seem to constantly repopulate. Furthermore, high rank beasts need less space but these hunting zones have stricter policies than the low rank hunting zones. Strict laws to prevent overhunting were enforced in high rank hunting zones. It would be bad if all the animals were killed after all.

They scoured the forest for the rest of the day before they finally called it quits. The next day it was time for the final step. They needed to locate an area outside of the hunting zone that they could base the kids training camp out of. The requirements for it weren’t very strict.

They needed a large open area with running water by it. They also needed trees so they could have wood for the fire. It also needed to be far enough from the hunting zone that the beasts wouldn’t bother coming out to attack them.

Everyone started looking for such an area even though Lucas found one pretty quickly with his drones. Chu Shen subtly guided them to the area Lucas had found for Su Gagi’s sake. Upon reaching it, they took out the axes and cut down all of the trees surrounding the twenty foot diameter clearing, expanding it to 100 feet. They also destroyed the other foliage. Then they cut all the felled trees the same exact size..

After they were done cutting up the trees, they took out the saws they had bought earlier. Using the saws, they cut notches into the ends of the felled trees. Next they stacked the felled trees on top of one another, creating rudimentary square log cabins. Then they cut more wood the same length as the cabins to make a roof.

The ground was only dirt and there was obvious gaps between the tree trunks. Next they used wood chips mixed with mud from the river that went through the clearing to fill the gaps. It was a crude solution but there wasn’t a better one for the time constraints they had.

With that, they had managed to build some roughshod houses for the kids. There was still some things they could do to make it better, making planks for a floor for one, but it was already getting dark. They had only accomplished this much in one day because of their cultivation. Everyone slept inside the cabins. The next day they left to head back to their camp.

1. N/a

Chapter 120
Proposal

While Lucas was finishing up with getting his new skin done, Chu Shen was able to start on the kids. The first kid was a boy that was eight years old. If he was any indicator on how this was going to go, Chu Shen was in for a rough ride.

The boy constantly asked questions even after Chu Shen had answered them. He could barely sit still for the one meridian that Chu Shen could open for him. He was only a Rank 2 mage since they were considered too immature to fully awaken their abilities.

Slowly Chu Shen worked his way down the line. That cheery and hyper kid was, unfortunately, an exception. Most of the other kids were gloomy and depressed. You could see their sadness as plain as day. Their seriousness helped Chu Shen go through all 81 kids in only five days.

After Chu Shen finished opening the kids meridians, he went to talk with the teachers. What they needed to decide now was the future of these kids. Chu Shen could make them strong but they weren’t soldiers. It was like giving a child a gun. Even if they could kill someone, they wouldn’t have the mental fortitude to do it on purpose.

Chu Shen decided to approach the teachers about this problem. “We can all agree that those sect’s won’t leave us alone. If they discover that Lucas and I tricked them, they would immediately set out to kill us.

“We need to take them out before they take us out. Also, I bet those kids want revenge for their friends, teachers, and loved ones that were killed. We need to face those sects sooner rather than later.”

The teachers all nodded. One of them spoke up first. “Allowing the kids to take revenge is a good idea. I would say that in four or five years their hearts will be hardened enough to kill.”

Chu Shen shook his head. “Well, I agree to that assessment. Unfortunately, we don’t have time. Due to some…. special circumstances, Lucas and I may leave at any time with no warning. It could be tomorrow or it could be in a year. There is no guaranteed time.”

All of the teachers showed shock upon hearing that. The one that had first spoke immediately cried out in protest. “What?! If you leave, how can we protect ourselves?! Please, don’t leave!” The others cried out in agreement. When Chu Shen mentioned leaving, they became aware of just how much they had come to depend upon this thirteen year old and his bodyguard.

Chu Shen shrugged helplessly. “Unfortunately this is something that I have no control over. I can’t stop nor delay it. You will all simply have to accept it for what it is.”

The teachers spent over half an hour trying to convince Chu Shen to stay but Chu Shen couldn’t tell them the reason why he had to leave. Of course, the reason was because of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. If it left, then so would Lucas and Chu Shen. They wouldn’t have a choice in the matter.

Eventually though they managed to accept this fact and moved onto the more pressing matter of the kids. One of the teachers looked at the others. “So, does anyone have viable options? We need to act quickly now since we don’t know how long our savior will be with us.”

A teacher at the end of the table stood up. “I think I have an idea. What if we……” He started explaining his idea but it was shot down pretty quickly. Other teachers introduced their ideas as well but every one of them seemed to be impossible or had some sort of major flaw.

Finally there was a teacher that had an idea that didn’t have any real noticeable flaws. “I know everyone hates the Asura Sect but no one can deny that they are very good at training warriors. I actually studied some of their training methods and I believe we can adapt it to ourselves.

“The Asura Sect would take their students and teach them how to cultivate and learn a couple abilities. After that they would be equipped with weapons and armor before being dropped off next to a magic beast hunting zone. There they were required to hunt down magical beasts each day for food.

“If they didn’t then they wouldn’t be fed at all. The students were trained there for a year before they would then be taken to dueling arenas. There the students would then fight and kill other members of the arena. If they survived there for another year, they were considered as members of the Asura Sect.”

The teachers faces turned ugly upon hearing that. Even Chu Shen was shocked at how ruthless the Asura Sect was to their students.

“How is this a suitable method for raising our students? We know how the Asura Sect turned out from the fact that they killed our sect down to the last man, woman, and child.” One of the teachers asked, clearly disturbed by what the other teacher was suggesting.

The one that proposed the idea shook his head. “I am not suggesting the arena part. That is just too cruel for young ones such as these. Instead, I suggest taking the kids to a magical beast hunting zone.

“There we can set up a temporary base like we have here and hunt down beasts for their training. Of course, we would be protecting them from the sidelines so that they won’t be killed by the beasts.
“With that they can get used to killing and gain experience fighting. We can also have training duels in the camp so they can become experienced with fighting against humans as well.

“However long it takes for them to gain a killing edge is how long it takes for them to become truly strong. Once we judge them to be of the right level, we can go forward with destroying the Golden Palm, Ice Dragon, and Asura Sect.”

The other teachers adopted a thoughtful look after hearing the entire proposition. “So will there be rewards for hunting more?” One of the teachers asked.

The one that proposed the idea shrugged. “I’m not sure. I figured we can all work out the details together. As far as I can tell though, this seems to be the only idea that can take less than a year.”

Everyone nodded. One of them turned to Chu Shen. “We have been kind of rude haven’t we? We haven’t even asked if the savior agrees with our proposition. Please savior, is there anything more you would like to add?”

Chu Shen shook his head. “No, I can’t think of anything really. I actually grew up in a small town that was attacked by magical beast hordes all the time. That was how I grew up being able to kill without thinking too deeply. Honestly, this sort of training method is the best one if we can assure everyone’s security.

“The best way to do that, in my opinion, is to choose a beast forest with low rank magical beasts. I think we should go to a forest with the average ranked beast at Rank 3. After everyone grows strong enough, we can move to a higher ranked forest.”

The other teachers liked that idea and immediately incorporated it into their plans. They spent another five hours going over the finer details such as the reward system, food, shelter, weapons, and other details.

It was also decided that they would need to scout out any forest before the students entered. After all, this was real life. Things changed all the time. It would be bad if all their promising students were wiped out because of a Rank 6 or Rank 7 beast moving into a Rank 3 hunting zone.

Because of that, Chu Shen, Lucas, and Su Gagi were chosen to scout out a Rank 3 magic beast hunting zone. They would return in a week with their report and then escort the kids to their new training camp. The reason Su Gagi was going along as well was because of the possibility of Chu Shen and Lucas disappearing. They chose Su Gagi simply because he was one of the only teachers they knew.

Chu Shen informed Lucas of their decision to scout the forest and their plans to train the kids. He didn’t like the idea of them killing beasts but decided it was okay so long as no one died. It had been decided that leaving as soon as possible was the best idea.

The next morning, they took the horses from the wagons and immediately set off to towards the magic beast hunting zone.

1. N/a

Chapter 119
Mages Abilities

Chu Shen had just finished with unblocking Aslo and Chrissa’s meridians. He could not, however, start on the other kids. The reason was because Lucas had not come back with the toys for the kids yet. While he was waiting, he continued talking to the twins.

He learned a couple interesting things about them. Their father had been a Rank 2 warrior and used his strength to become a lumberjack. They had a happy but simple life with their father and mother. Unfortunately, he was killed by a magical beast while chopping down trees in the forest.

A Rising Tide Sect member brought them his body. They had tried to rescue him but were too late. Upon delivering his body, the Rising Tide member felt guilty and offered to take the twins to be tested for potential. That was the reason they joined the Rising Tide Sect. Everything after that was the very sad history that Chu Shen had heard before.

Ten minutes later, Lucas finally appeared. He carried a satchel on his shoulder that Chu Shen had inscribed the [Shrinking Inscription] on. Chu Shen stopped talking with the twins and went over to Lucas. “So Lucas, you got the toys?”

Lucas set down the satchel and nodded. “Sure do.” He reached inside the satchel and pulled out a toy mage. He had on black robes with his hands lifted up, palms facing outwards. A fireball was in the palm of it’s hands. Lucas smiled at Chu Shen. “Pretty cool right? Now watch this!” He pushed a button on the toys back and the fireballs shot forward about two feet.

Chu Shen smiled. “You’re right, that is pretty cool.”

Lucas smiled back. “I know right? There’s springs in the hands so that you can load the fireballs and shoot them. I also have ones with lightning, ice balls, rocks, and wind scythes. I also have a couple warrior ones that their arms chop down instead.”

Chu Shen grinned. “Well, that should definitely be cool. How about the girls though.”

Lucas’ grin faded a bit. “Oh, yeah. Well I have a couple of girl dolls in dresses with tiny brushes and extra clothes.”

Chu Shen nodded. “Well, I’ll let them choose. I may need you to make more so stay close.” Lucas grunted in confirmation. After that, Chu Shen left to gather a few more kids to open their mana rivers.

While he was doing so, Aslo came up to Lucas. “Hey, what is that you got there?” He pointed at the toy in Lucas hands.

He held up the mage. “This? This is a toy mage that I made for as a reward for those that open up a new mana river.”

Aslo nodded. “Well, me and my sister Chrissa,” he gestured towards Chrissa behind him, “just got done with opening up a mana river. Do you think we can have one?”

Lucas nodded. “Here you go kid.” He handed Aslo the mage. “My names Lucas by the way, what’s yours?”

Aslo replied off-hand, absorbed into studying the toy. “My names Aslo.”

Lucas immediately became intrigued. He had spent time with the other teachers and kids after all. He had learned the name of the twins from them but never actually approached them since he was usually busy. Now he was able to see them face to face.

“Hey, Aslo. I heard you were a Rank 3 mage. Is that true?” Lucas asked casually.

Aslo looked up. His face puffed up with pride. “Well actually i’m a Rank 4 mage now.”

Lucas smiled. “Well, how about a duel then? I was getting bored and I need the practice.”

Aslo shrugged. “I don’t know. I am pretty new to this whole mage thing. It’s barely even been a month since I became one. I only know a couple spells.”

Lucas walked off a bit before making a come-at-me-bro gesture towards Aslo. “Don’t worry, this is only a spar after all. I’ll go easy, I swear.”

Aslo shrugged before putting his fists up. “Alright then.”

Lucas held up his hand. “On my mark. 3….2…..1….begin!”

Immediately Aslo held up his hand, palm pointed at Lucas. “Flames gather in my hand and create balls of fire. Go forth, Fireball Barrage!” As Aslo finished his chant, six fireballs appeared in front of his outstretched palm. Aslo thrust his palm towards Lucas. When he did, the fireballs flew towards Lucas, one after another.

Lucas reacted immediately, firing beams of ice from the beast core in his palm. The first beam hit the first fireball, causing it to explode. Lucas hit two more but the resulting blasts knocked his aim off slightly. The fourth fireball was already in front of him before he could shoot it.

Lucas leaned left, barely dodging the fourth fireball. The fifth one, however, caught him on the shoulder and sent him flying backwards. As he did though, Lucas legs seemed to explode! Fire streaked from them as Lucas not only stabilized himself mid-air, but also flew upwards above Aslo.

Aslo had not been slacking though. “Flames gather here before me. Create a dragons breath to destroy the enemies in front of me. Go forth, Dragon’s Fire!” Perhaps due to the longer chant, the flames were much more intense. A cone like flame shot towards Lucas.

They bathed him in fire, causing his skin to melt slightly. Lucas panicked somewhat when that happened. He opened his mouth and a high pitched squeal came out of it. The noise was deafening and caused Aslo to falter. When Aslo did so, the Dragon’s Fire sputtered out. That sonic weapon was just Lucas’ voice modulator that he had tweaked a bit.

When the Dragon’s Fire went out, Lucas immediately landed on the ground. Digging his hands into the ground, he pulled up a hunk of rock. Using this rock as a shield, he charged towards Aslo. Aslo continuously pounded the rock shield with fireballs while retreating backwards.

Each time a fireball hit, the shield would slam into Lucas making him pause for a half second. The rock shield also had small craters from when the fireballs exploded. Unfortunately, he could only create twelve fireballs before Lucas reached him. Comparing Lucas and Aslo’s speed, it was obvious that Lucas was superior.

By the time Lucas reached him, his rock shield was a mess. Scorch marks covered the front of it and cracks were spread throughout it. Lucas had cheated slightly though. He used the earth Qi from his beast core to prevent the rock shield from being destroyed by firing earth Qi into the rock shield and making it even thicker.

Upon reaching Aslo, Lucas decided to stop goofing around. Aiming at Aslo with his hand, a yellowish-brown beam struck Aslo in the leg. Immediately rock enclosed his leg, forcing Aslo to a stop. Lucas didn’t stop there though. Instead, the beam of Qi traveled upwards, completely enclosing Aslo in rock except his head.

Aslo’s face showed a panicked look along with anger. Suddenly he started chanting again. “Flames gather, create that which I want. Create that which can destroy what I want. Gather into a sphere so that I may throw it at mine enemies as I wish. Go forth, Apocalypse Ball!”

As Aslo chanted, a ball of fire appeared before him. It was only the size of his fist, the same size as the other fireballs. Because of that Lucas hadn’t been worried. As Aslo chanted though, the fireball started doubling in size with every passing moment. By the time he finished chanting, the fireball was as big as a house.

Aslo started yelling at Lucas. “Lucas, this is the only Rank 4 magic I know! All of the others were Rank 3 or Rank 2! You should really stop fighting, I’m not sure how well I can control this Apocalypse Ball!” His face was pale and covered in sweat, his brow furrowed in concentration.

Lucas stood in front of the Apocalypse Ball, his arms covering his face. He could feel the heat from where he stood and it was like a blazing furnace. He spread his arms wide. “Come on then! I can take it! Hit me with your best shot if you think it can take me down!”

Aslo gritted his teeth. “Then don’t blame me if you die!” He frowned in concentration as the Apocalypse Ball surged towards Lucas. The Apocalypse Ball did not explode but rather enveloped Lucas in a world of fire and heat. After Lucas was in the direct cent of the Apocalypse Ball it exploded. Lucas didn’t move, but his fake skin burned off completely.

Other than that, Lucas was not damaged in the slightest. Aslo looked at Lucas in a sort of horror. That strike took up all of his mana. Lucas hadn’t even used his mana shield yet he could withstand that! That was the equivalent of a Rank 5 warriors full out attack and yet Lucas didn’t even flinch!

Then suddenly Aslo recoiled. Lucas had transformed from a normal human into a metallic beast! Chu Shen suddenly appeared behind Aslo. Seeing Lucas the way he was, he stopped, taken aback. Just what had happened here? He had heard some explosions while he was talking with the teachers about what student to start on next. So he ran here only to find a stark naked Lucas.

Chu Shen appeared in front of Lucas like a ghost. “Hey, buddy.” He whispered. “You do realize that your skin and clothes are gone right?” Lucas immediately looked down. His face showed embarrassment but it looked weird without any skin.

Chu Shen turned towards Aslo. “Don’t worry, this is just an ability of Lucas. He can turn his body into metal when he needs to. It’s a unique mana shield like mine.” To demonstrate, his gray Cancellation Armor appeared around him.

Aslo nodded. “You sure do have some weird techniques Chu Shen.”

Chu Shen turned towards Lucas. “Come on Lucas, we need to get you some new skin. Why don’t we try that carbon fiber mesh skin you were talking about. I know you didn’t want to change your skin but since the old one is gone….”

1. N/a

Chapter 118
Another Puzzle Piece

Chu Shen faced the two kids after they introduced each other. “So. Are you ready to begin?”

Aslo nodded. “I’m ready.” The girl nodded as well.

Chu Sen nodded. “Alright then. Aslo, you are a battle mage and so is Chrissa, correct?”

“Sure am.” Aslo said, pride evident in his smile.

“Okay then. Let me go ahead and start with you then. Sit down over here.” Chu Shen approached Aslo and sat down behind him. Chu Shen closed his eyes and used his spiritual sense on Aslo. When he did though, Chu Shen’s eyes flew open in shock.

He stood up abruptly, pointing a finger at Aslo. “You, you… You’re already a Rank 4 mage!”

Aslo looked at him in confusion. “Well yeah. In another week I’ll be a Rank 5 mage as well.” Chu Shen just stared at him, his mouth wide open. Just what kind of cultivation speed was this?!

Then Chu Shen remembered something he read at the library. A mage can connect their mana rivers to their magic source at any time. This is why warriors were considered inferior to mages. A mage could reach tremendous power in less than a year. A warrior needed years to reach the same amount of power.

Despite being able to connect mana rivers at any time, it is recommended that mages connect one mana river a week. The reason for this was that the body would become stressed and experience pain. The more mana rivers opened at once, the more intense the pain. A mage once connected five at once and died after his body exploded. The mage was only nine years old and had been too impatient to impress his parents.

When you open a meridian, the body becomes flush with mana which strengthens it. However, the body must adapt to this new amount of mana inside it. Otherwise, just as with martial arts, it can overload the body and cause it to self destruct. Which, of course, explains the pain of those that open multiple major meridians.

As Chu Shen followed this thought, he immediately realized something. How could the teachers he helped with their major meridians withstand that pain? He remembered though, that their reactions to the first meridian were to immediately connect it to their magic source. After that though, they wouldn’t connect any of the newly opened mana rivers.

Now it all made sense! They were worried about overloading their body with mana from those new mana rivers. As a result, they did not connect the mana river to their magic source. Most likely they would wait after a week to connect their mana rivers to their magic source.

Chu Shen realized just how ignorant he had been to this issue. Maybe he needed to warn the kids when he helped them open their major meridians otherwise it could be very bad indeed.

Chu Shen, who had been lost in thought, was rudely awakened by two hands that grabbed his shoulder and started shaking him. “Uh, hello? Chu Shen are you there? Come on! You need to open those mana rivers for me right?!”

Chu Shen brushed Aslo’s arm off. “Hey! Let go!”

Aslo shrugged. “I just got a bit tired of waiting for you to stop staring off into space.”

Chu Shen smiled. “Fine, I just needed a bit of time to think. Anyways, go ahead and sit back down so we can get back to opening up your major meridians.”

Aslo sat down with his back to Chu Shen. “So what is this major meridian you spoke of.”

Chu Shen froze for a second before sitting down behind Aslo. He casually explained his accident slip up to Aslo as he did. “It’s nothing. Just another name for mana rivers.” A drop of sweat fell down his forehead as he spoke.

Aslo nodded sagely. “Of course of course. I just didn’t recognize the name that’s all. So, who calls it that exactly?”

Chu Shen’s shirt was starting to become damp from all the sweat. “Well, that’s not important. We need to get back to you opening your mana rivers.”

Aslo immediately became distracted. “Well then, let’s get on with it! I need to become stronger!”

“Alright then. Now focus. I am going to put my mana inside your body. You need to make your mana follow mine. Eventually, if you follow my mana properly, you will sense something blocking your mana. All you need to do is break through that barrier and it will unlock a mana river.”

Aslo’s face scrunched up. “How is that possible though?”

“Well you see, inside our bodies are all mana rivers. Most of them are blocked off from us. Just like a dam, it prevents any mana from coming inside us. However, by breaking the dam, we can allow the mana river to flow. The mana river will be off course though. We still need to force the mana river to flow into our magic source.”

Aslo still looked confused but eventually he nodded. “Alright then. I may not understand what a dam is but I don’t need to in order to get a new mana river. Let’s get started then!”

“Hold on.”

“Now what! Why can’t we just get started already?”

Chu Shen shook his head. Aslo was quite impatient. Though, that was understandable since his mother had died in front of him. “I just wanted to make sure that you know not to link any more mana rivers after you open them. I don’t want your body to explode or anything.”

Aslo rolled his eyes. “Of course I know not to. I’m not an idiot after all. Now can we get on with it. Sitting on the ground is not exactly comfortable, my butt is falling asleep.”

Chu Shen smirked at that. “Fine, let’s get started.” Chu Shen wasn’t able to help Aslo much since he could only open up one more major meridian, just like with the teachers.

However, doing this was life changing. Remember that those four powerful sects had only ten Rank 6 adventurers and none that were of a higher rank. With this, the two twins became a Rank 7 and Rank 8 battle mage. This would let either of them become almost unrivaled in the city they were raised in. They could be considered the elites of the world by now!

Chu Shen just helplessly shrugged his head. Maybe it was time for him start advancing his cultivation level again. Otherwise, the protector may just become the protectee in only a month.

He then helped Chrissa unblock another meridian as well. She was silent throughout, only nodding or shaking her head when Chu Shen asked a question.

Aslo looked on helplessly as Chu Shen helped her. His sister was an outgoing person before but ever since she saw her mother killed she had clammed up. She barely even spoke a word unless it was to him.

He sighed. They had truly had a tragic life so far.

1. N/a

Chapter 117
Kids Turn

Su Gagi was able to open up another two mana rivers with Chu Shen’s help. Afterwards, Chu Shen found the other teachers to help them open up their mana rivers as well. Some of them, like the mage teachers, could only open up one.

This was because their magic source, the dantian, was filled from them connecting their previously opened mana rivers, major meridians. They could only open up one more mana river with the mana they had inside their magic source. It was actually similar to a martial artist breaking through to the next level in that regard.

All of them, however, were able to become Rank 4 mages with a few becoming Rank 5 mages. Not one was able to become a Rank 6 mage. Chu Shen not only opened their mana rivers, he also opened their mana network or minor meridians. This way, all of them were battle mages. Though of course, these new battle mages would need to expand their mana network. As of right now, they were only Rank 1 warriors.

Afterwards, Chu Shen became a bit flustered. Just how was he going to open the kids meridians? They were only nine years old at most! Well, besides the fourteen year old kids he had seen before. As for the others….

This was going to be tough. They needed the kids to sit very still and concentrate hard as well. Just how were they going to convince them to do that? Chu Shen found this problem abnormally difficult. Finally he brought it up to Lucas.

Lucas, upon hearing the idea, smiled at him. “That’s all you need to do? Don’t you know in my universe they called that school? All you have to do is give them a treat and they’ll fall right in line. How about I make them a little toy and if they do as we ask we give them the toy? I could make little action figures or dolls. I bet they would love that.”

Chu Shen just gaped at Lucas for a while. Now that he thought about it, it seemed like such a simple idea. Why didn’t he think of that. Finally, he nodded at Lucas. “Alright Lucas, you go ahead and make a sample of each kind of toy. Then we can use it to motivate them while you make more.”

Lucas nodded. “Okay then. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Chu Shen had to wait twenty minutes before Lucas came back with two small dolls tucked under his hands. Chu Shen quickly walked over to him, impatient to get started. “What took you so long? The fabricator only takes a minute to make something so trivial.”

Lucas shrugged. “Well, it wasn’t as easy as you think. I had several models already preloaded onto the fabber. The only problem was it required some materials we just don’t have. I had to design them on the spot and replace the materials just to make it. Than I went ahead and made each one have a slight variation in it’s face and body so that every child will have a unique one. They should like that.”

Chu Shen nodded. “Fine then. Let me get the teachers, they should be able to help us get the kids together.” The teachers were concerned about the abilities of the their students but were put at ease from the dolls that Lucas had made.

Working together, they brought all of the students to an empty courtyard. Once there, Chu Shen explained to the kids that he would be need their help with something and if they did they would get a toy, which he showed them. All of the kids seemed excited.

All except the two teenagers at the back. The boy seemed to be angry and the girl was depressed. Both were in complete contrast to the other happy kids. Chu Shen knew why they felt that way. He had asked the teachers after seeing them around the camp. They were the two disciples that caused the sects downfall.

One could imagine the kind of suffering they were going through mentally. The other kids had put up a sort of mental barrier, blockading off those painful memories. However, they most certainly did distance themselves from the cause of those memories.

Isolated from most comfort and without any support besides each other, it wasn’t a wonder the two teens became depressed. As for the anger, it was understandable. To have seen such bloodshed and yet no one seemed to be doing anything about it would cause anyone to be angry. Especially when such pointless things such as passing out dolls was introduced.

After the students were informed, they all left back to their various rooms. Except for the two teenagers. Chu Shen had asked them to stay. Eventually Chu Shen approached them.

“So I understand that the Rising Tide Sect was destroyed because of you two.” Chu Shen said matter of factly when he stood in front of them. Upon saying so, the girl burst into tears while the boys face became red with anger.

He jumped up, shaking his fist at Chu Shen. “What do you mean we caused the destruction of the Rising Tide! We had nothing to do with it, it was those other sects that destroyed the Rising Tide! Not us!”

Chu Shen nodded at the boys outburst. “Well, that might be true. Except they only attacked the Rising Tide sect because you were in it.”

The boy just stood there, his hand clenched into a tight fist. Chu Shen watched him before he suddenly nodded. “Alright you two, I decided. Now, the other kids are all too young to grasp the true meaning of what this is, but you guys can.

I can unlock more mana rivers inside you and unlock your mana network as well. That is, if you are up to it. With the newfound power you can grasp, I believe getting revenge on the Ice Dragon, Golden Palm, or Asura sect would be easy.”

The girl looked up sharply as soon as Chu Shen mentioned unlocking more mana rivers. The boy seemed to become even more agitated after Chu Shen mentioned revenge. For a second it seemed as though he would snap. Finally, he calmed down.

He faced Chu Shen. “How can we know what you say is true?”

Chu Shen shrugged. “Well, if you ask the teachers they can tell you I already unlocked extra mana rivers in them. If you don’t believe you can trust what they say, then there is nothing else I can do to prove to you that what I say is true.”

The girl spoke up this time. “Is it dangerous at all?”

The boy swiveled towards her. “What do you mean ‘is it dangerous’!? Even if it was I would still do it! We both saw our mom die because of them!”

The girl sniffed before facing Chu Shen. “We will do it. No matter the cost.”

Chu Shen smiled. “Well, it won’t actually cost anything and it’s not dangerous either. All I want is promise you will not reveal what I do to anyone except the teachers and your classmates here.”

They both nodded without hesitation. Chu Shen smiled “Excellent! Now, I do believe we should introduce ourselves. My name is Chu Shen.”

The boy smiled. “I’m Aslo.”

The girl looked away shyly. “I’m Chrissa.”

Chu Shen clapped his hands. “Nice to meet you Chrissa and Aslo. I believe we will be good friends.”
s

1. N/a

Chapter 116
Opening

Chu Shen rested for a day at the camp. The next morning he woke up and immediately went to find Lucas. He found out Lucas had gone hunting and would be back soon. After an hour, Lucas came back with several dead primordial beasts.

Chu Shen went up to Lucas. “So Lucas, have we decided to do anything?”

Lucas nodded. “Yeah, since you came back the teachers decided it’s time to move on. We need to go to the town nearby and buy some supplies. After that we head out to the ruins of Garson.”

Chu Shen gave him an inquisitive look. “The ruins of Garson? What is that exactly?”

“Well, apparently there is some ruins nearby. It was a small town that didn’t have powerful mages or warriors. A small family group of Class 4 apes took moved by the town and was harassing the people there. Eventually the townspeople decided to leave since they couldn’t even farm properly.”

“As a result, Garson was abandoned, becoming a ruins. No one goes there because it’s a small farming town and it’s pretty far from other cities. There is simply nothing worth fighting those Class 4 apes for in Garson.”

“It’s about forty more miles from the town we are stopping by. It should take about a week, maybe a week and a half since we’re not trying to move at top speed like before.”

Chu Shen nodded. “Alright, we should get moving.” Not long after, they left to resupply at the closest town. Two weeks later they arrived at the outskirts of Garson. That is, if a rotten wooden fence can be called the outskirts of any town.

Upon nearing Garson, Chu Shen and Lucas went ahead. They encountered over twenty of the apes that the previous citizens of Garson had problems with. However, only nine of these apes were Class 4 apes and these Class 4 apes were all apes in their prime.

The other apes were either old and had regressed to Class 3 apes or were young and had yet to mature. Chu Shen didn’t want to kill them and neither did Lucas. So Lucas and Chu Shen both defeated the Class 4 apes and then let them go. Immediately the apes left, scampering off scared for their lives.

With the problems of the apes solved, the remnants of the Rising Tide Sect flooded into the abandoned town. The teachers, along with Chu Shen and Lucas, used the materials they bought from the town to fix up the various houses.

Boards were nailed into place over holes in the buildings, with a hand being used instead of a hammer since they couldn’t afford to buy one. The town was in surprisingly good condition after being abandoned for ten years. By the end of the day, they had enough houses for all of the kids and the teachers.

The next day, Chu Shen was woken up by Master Ti Wu appearing in his soul form once again. ‘Hey, brat! It’s time for you to get to work here! It’s time for you to start changing these kids lives.’

Chu Shen yawned. “Yawn. What master?”

‘Hey! Keep your voice down, use your soul to communicate. Anyways, it’s time for you to start opening these kids meridians. Also, open those teachers meridians too. They should be able to appreciate the impact a lot more than those kids.’

Chu Shen nodded. ‘Okay master. I’ll start with the adults if that’s alright.’

Master Ti Wu nodded. ‘I was about to suggest that actually. Lucky guess brat, you better get started.’

Chu Shen found Su Gagi afterwards. He was the only teacher Chu Shen actually knew of. After he found him, Chu Shen took him aside, away from everyone else.

He sat down next to Su Gagi and looked him in the eyes. Of course, Chu Shen had to stare almost directly upwards to do so. “Listen Su Gagi, I need to know if I can trust you with a secret. This could get the entire world to hunt you down so I need to know if I can.”

Su Gagi was visibly startled at this news. He had thought Chu Shen wanted to ask him some questions about warriors again, or maybe mages this time. ‘This must be extremely important for it our savior to say something like this.’

He gave a slight bow to Chu Shen. “You have saved us all so I do not doubt that none of us will betray you. All of the teachers here loved their students, to the point of laying down their lives for them. Anyone that was untrustworthy or was here for benefits has long since fled. Otherwise we would not have stayed with our students when the other sects tried to kill us.”

Chu Shen nodded. That made perfect sense. “Alright then, I believe I can trust you. Now, I have picked up a secret art that can allow me to change someone’s talent. Or rather, to create new mana rivers inside a person.”

What followed was the usual denial, disbelief, and then amazement. After Su Gagi had calmed down, Chu Shen explained what he was going to do. “I am going to send my Qi, I mean mana, into your body. I want you to send your mana along the same path as my mana. Eventually you will encounter a barrier. Force your way past and then you will open up a new mana river.”

Su Gagi nodded, still in shock from this astonishing fact. Inside he felt both hopeful and condescending. How could this method possibly create a new mana river? But at the same time, he wished he could create a new mana river. He himself was only a rank 4 warrior. He didn’t even have one mana river.

Chu Shen had him sit in the lotus position before sitting behind him. Using his spiritual sense, he had come up with a route through Su Gagi’s minor meridians on his back to the major meridian in his left arm.

Placing his hands on Su Gagi’s back, he took a deep breath. “Are you ready Su Gagi? Because we begin in three, two, one, now!” Chu Shen sent a small stream of Qi from his body. He had already disabled the nullification ability of his null Qi.

Su Gagi gasped as what seemed to be pure ice cold water flowed into his body. It first appeared where Chu Shen had his hands. He could sense it flowing through his body very slowly.

“Concentrate Teacher Su Gagi, I need you to concentrate. Make your mana flow in your body where mine does.” Startled, Su Gagi realized, he wasn’t really helping Chu Shen.

Su Gagi didn’t really know how to do what Chu Shen needed. He could control his mana, but not very finely. Concentrating, Su Gagi tried to force his mana to follow Chu Shen’s.

Chu Shen was starting to get frustrated. Su Gagi’s mana kept going all over the place. While his mana was in the right general area, his back, it was in over fifty different branches of minor meridians. This just wasn’t going well at all.

‘Fine. If I can’t make him go to the exact area, then I’ll just go straight to the major meridian. He should be able to follow me there.’ With that, Chu Shen had his Qi swiftly flow to Su Gagi’s left arm’s major meridian.

Su Gagi was immediately flustered. He had just starting getting the hang of manipulating his mana internally when that ice cold mana moved to his arm. Attempting to follow it, he manipulated his mana towards his arm.

As he got close to the ice cold sensation, his mana stopped. Something was blocking it. Su Gagi was stunned. This was his body, yet he didn’t even know that there was something inside his body that his mana couldn’t pass through?

“That is the barrier that I told you about. Gather as much mana as possible and force your way past it and you will gain a mana river.” Chu Shen was relieved that it was actually starting to work it out now. Though, he wasn’t sure if it was by skill or by luck that Su Gagi’s mana had reached the major meridian.

Su Gagi obeyed and collected as much of his mana as he could. Controlling it, he forced it towards the barrier. From the way Chu Shen had talked, it seemed as though this barrier was formidable. However, when he barely even touched it, it seemed to disappear.

A slight amount of mana flowed into him, increasing the mana inside his magic source by about ten percent. When Chu Shen saw this he was confused. Why did it seem so easy? But then it dawned on him.

The amount of mana Su Gagi had was already equal to a Martial Scholar. When one breaks through a meridian, all of the impurities are pushed out of the meridian and are stored in the other meridians, making them harder to breakthrough. As a result, the first major meridian is the easiest.

The amount of mana needed to breakthrough the first major meridian was as much mana as a martial Student had. However, because of Su Gagi being a rank 4 warrior, he had more than ten times that amount. This was a side effect of cultivating an unorthodox cultivation method.

Su Gagi gasped as he felt a river flowing just past his body. This was the mana river! Chu Shen had not lied! He could truly change their talent! Eagerly, he forced the mana river to connect to his body, making it his own. He smiled unconsciously as it went through him.

Chu Shen had been enlightened as to how their cultivation techniques corresponded well together. One could say it was a dual cultivation method that practically defied the heavens!

He sighed. “Su Gagi, I believe we can unlock another mana river, maybe two. Are you willing?”

Su Gagi did not answer right away but instead kowtowed to Chu Shen. “Thank you savior, thank you! You have given me what I have always hoped for, the ability to become a mage. Thank you!”

Chu Shen did not stop him, it was better for thanks to be expressed this way than in other ways. “You’re welcome. Now, should we continue?”

Su Gagi bowed. “Yes, if you can savior.”

1. N/a

Chapter 115
Ti Wu’s Joy

‘So Master Ti Wu, should I learn their cultivation system?’

Master Ti Wu looked at Chu Shen blankly for a second. ‘Should you learn their cultivation system? YOU IDIOT! I DON’T EVEN KNOW IF YOU SHOULD BE CALLED MY DISCIPLE WITH THAT KIND OF QUESTION! You stupid brat!’

Chu Shen flinched as Master Ti Wu started yelling at him. His head started pounding as his loud voice echoed inside it. Master Ti Wu looked at him before sighing.

‘Do you not understand what this system is! It’s a unique cultivation system that allows one to use an attack far greater than should be possible for their cultivation level. Expanding the meridians just once can lead to you using an attack five levels stronger than your current level. If you keep on expanding your meridians, than attacks five stages above yours is not out of the question!’

‘Sure it might waste all the energy inside you in doing so. But everything has a price to pay. Don’t you understand? Normally such a boost of power would come at the cost of crippling your meridians or destroying your arm. To only be exhausted and still have that kind of might…. It is unthinkable!’

‘So many warriors would sell their arm for that kind of thing. Not to mention that using your null Qi, you can quickly refill your Qi by absorbing other people’s energy. So using such strong attacks repeatedly, so long as you have Qi to absorb, isn’t out of the question! To be honest, if the Void Sect had this cultivation system, I guarantee that it would have not gone down so easily.’

Chu Shen finally started getting it. This cultivation system was practically tailor made for him! Unleashing an attack far beyond his level and being able to do so limitlessly and without backlash. Such a technique….. Was truly frightening.

Chu Shen nodded. ‘Alright master, i’ll get started right away then.’

Master Ti Wu nodded. ‘You better. I’ll protect you and guide you while you do. Go away from the the group though, we don’t want them to hear you screaming in agony.’

Chu Shen nodded and quickly dashed away, using <Comet Travels Through> to surge forward with blinding speed. After he was a half-mile away, he stopped beside a large tree. He sat beneath the tree after scouting for primordial beasts.

Finally he started absorbing Qi. It surged into his dantian which was slightly drained from using . After it was full, he controlled his Qi to surge into his minor meridians. Not a single bit of Qi was left inside his dantian.

As Chu Shen kept absorbing Qi, an intense sensation came over him. His entire body started to itch. He continued absorbing Qi, ignoring the sensation. His meridians were filled to the brim and he had to fight every second to prevent his Qi from going back into his dantian.

The itching turned into a pinching sensation as time went on. At this point, one of his minor meridians cracked. Chu Shen let out a grunt as an intense burning sensation completely engulfed his left arm.

‘Keep it up Chu Shen! You can’t be distracted! Keep going!’ Ti Wu yelled at Chu Shen.

Chu Shen gritted his teeth and continued on. The burning sensation spread from his left arm to the rest of his body as his minor meridians started cracking. By this time, Chu Shen had already started screaming from the pain.

As the minor meridians cracked they started becoming bigger. At first it was barely noticeable. Soon though, they became fifty percent bigger around. Several cracks were in every single minor meridian. The burning sensation became so strong, that Chu Shen could have sworn he was inside a fire.

He could barely think straight. However, he kept absorbing Qi and containing it inside his minor meridians. Master Ti Wu was kind of shocked at the willpower that Chu Shen showed.

Chu Shen had just enough clarity of thought to realize that his meridians, which were now twice as big, seemed to have reached their limit. Anymore and they would shatter. Remembering what Su Gagi had said, Chu Shen stopped forcing his Qi and allowed it to flow back into his dantian.

Then he let a trickle of Qi to permeate all of his minor meridians. He observed his minor meridians with his spiritual sense. Using the trickle of Qi as fuel, his meridians repaired themselves. Growing new walls, his minor meridians fixed the cracks and gaps inside it.

After he was done, Qi surged into his body and expanded his dantian. It was only a very slight amount though, not letting him advance to Martial Practitioner Level 10 from Level 9. It was from the widened minor meridians, allowing more Qi from the outside to flow into him.

Apparently this was how warriors expanded their dantian afterwards. Chu Shen however, wasn’t interested in such things. He got to his feet, sweaty and shaky from his painful experience.

Master Ti Wu faced him. ‘Well, how was it?’

Chu Shen shook his head. ‘It was definitely painful.’

‘Well, if you didn’t have a Void Constitution it would have been a lot more painful. Remember, your body doesn’t reject Qi otherwise it would have been twice as painful.’

Oh yeah. Chu Shen shrugged. ‘Well, I’m glad I don’t have to go through that.’

‘So you brat, are you ready to advance to a Rank 3 warrior? Right now you are only a Rank 2 warrior.’

Chu Shen paled. ‘Uh. I should get back before Lucas starts worrying. Bye master!’ Chu Shen left for the campsite quickly.

Master Ti Wu laughed and laughed as Chu Shen ran. ‘Aw man. I haven’t had so much fun since the Void Sect disappeared. Honestly, watching that pained expression brings back so many memories.’

Countless faces contorted in pain flashed through his mind at the moment. He became slightly gloomy at the memories of his former students. A moment later he shook his head. No use remembering the past. Right now he had a new student to tortu- ahem. Teach, a new student to teach.

1. N/a

Chapter 114
Warriors Techniques

“So who is Su Gagi?” The five adults stood up upon hearing Chu Shen ask this.

Most of them were puzzled. Who exactly was this kid? He was using a defense technique that wasn’t part of their school but he was familiar with one of the teachers. However, other adults became shocked. These were the ones that saw Chu Shen before he left.

The wagon driver that had thanked Chu Shen when he had rescued them earlier turned towards the other people. “I would like to introduce this young man to those who do not recognize him. He is the young master that helped us while his friend stayed behind.”

Immediately everyone’s eyes lit up with recognition and they looked at this young kid with newfound respect. This was the person that saved them? He was the one that, with his servant/friend, killed their pursuers?

One of the adults on the far right cupped his hands and bowed towards Chu Shen. “Greetings. It is an honor to meet you young master. This humble one is Su Gagi, the teacher for the warrior students here.”

Chu Shen nodded. “It is an honor to meet you as well Su Gagi. I wish to talk with you about a couple things. Could you please follow me?”

“Of course young master.” Chu Shen dismissed his Cancellation Armor and walked off to towards the side of the road. Su Gagi followed him. The other adults were puzzled. What did they have to talk about?

Su Gagi himself was confused, though he didn’t show it outwardly. Chu Shen stopped and Su Gagi stopped beside him. Chu Shen turned towards him. “So, Su Gagi. I heard you are the one that teaches warrior cultivation techniques.”

Su Gagi nodded. “Yes, I am the one who teaches them.”

Chu Shen smiled. “Great, I never really studied warrior cultivation techniques. Would you mind sharing them with me?”

Su Gagi frowned. “Young master, are you a battle mage? If you are just a mage, I would not recommend you trying to learn these techniques. Any mage who has tried to do so before has either made no progress or killed themselves on accident.”

“Don’t worry, I am a battle mage.” At least by your definition, I am a battle mage. Chu Shen thought inwardly.

“Alright then young master. I will go ahead and share with you the warrior cultivation techniques. I warn you though, do not attempt to advance a rank if you are not prepared mentally. You must be steadfast in your convictions, otherwise the pain will distract you and cause your mana to deviate and destroy your body.”

“I understand, please teach me.”

Su Gagi sighed and started sharing with him the cultivation technique of warriors. “Warriors are born with a mana network. It is a series of small streams we use to send mana outside our bodies. However, these small streams limit our rate of absorbing mana. So warriors have learned how to expand the streams inside their mana network.”

“Essentially, all we have to do is make the streams bigger. However, that is a very tough job. How we accomplish it is by absorbing mana and dispersing it evenly inside our mana network without holding any inside our magic source.” ”

“Eventually our mana network will then become over saturated with mana, causing it to swell up like a balloon causing intense pain throughout our body. Though we do not know the specific reason, we assume it is because of the mana network expanding.”

“Eventually cracks will appear on the mana streams as it is forced to expand. After it is stretched to a point where it just below snapping, you stop absorbing mana.”

“Instead you must absorb the mana into your magic source and then spread out thin amounts of mana throughout you mana network. This thin amount of mana will then nourish the cracked and stretched mana streams. The body will then heal itself, making the stretched mana streams permanent and the body becomes even stronger.”

“Later on, each warrior must repeat this process. However, as the mana streams have already expanded once, it requires even more mana to expand again. As a result, the pain becomes worse with each step. The body becomes even stronger as well though.”

Chu Shen nodded. All of this actually made perfect sense. As for the whole ‘we do not understand the specific reason for pain’, he did. Master Qin had previously explained to him about backlash of certain techniques.

It was because Qi would leak through the meridians and into the body. Then the body would become overloaded and could burst from the extra energy. This was the reason for the pain behind this technique. However, it was a very interesting cultivation technique.

“Thank you Su Gagi. Now, do you have a specific cultivation technique for your warrior students?”

He shook his head. “Well no. There isn’t any technique to cultivation. Instead there are some tips that teachers give. Schools are mostly about giving advice on cultivation and training them in techniques and how to fight. Other than that, schools give students resources and weapons.”

This was actually how all schools worked, including schools for mortals. Mortal schools could give advice on studying and learning along with providing tutoring or calculators. However, the actual learning was up to the student.

Chu Shen cupped his hands and gave a slight bow to Su Gagi “Alright. I think I am done talking about warrior cultivation but thank you for your time, Su Gagi.”

Su Gagi bowed. “It was an honor to talk with you young master. I will leave you then.” He walked back towards the other adults by the wagon. Upon arriving, they swarmed around him. Obviously they were very curious about what Chu Shen and Su Gagi had been talking about.

Master Ti Wu appeared in front of him. This was his soul form that couldn’t be seen by others unless he wanted them too. ‘So Master Ti Wu, what do you think of their cultivation system? It seems unique.’

Master Ti Wu immediately nodded. ‘I like it a lot. It is actually a lot like the Void King technique except it floods the entire minor meridian system with mana instead of just circulating through it.’

‘It has a stronger nourishing effect to the body compared to normal cultivators, but compared to the <Void King> technique, it still lacks power. With one breakthrough, it is equal to five circulations of the <Void King> technique but the Void King technique can be repeated multiple times. That is why it is superior. However, the benefit to discharging massive amounts of Qi is the true benefit of such a system.’

Chu Shen nodded. While he had some similar thoughts, Master Ti Wu was obviously a better judge. He even found several things that Chu Shen hadn’t seen, like the fact it strengthened the body.

‘So Master Ti Wu, should I learn their cultivation system?’

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Chapter 113
Camp Out

Chu Shen appeared on the edge of the road. Glancing around, he spotted a horse-drawn wagon parked in a small clearing not far from the road. Smoke trailed upwards from the other side of the wagon. Lucas and the kids were visible on the other side.

It was two days after Tai Ju had attacked him. He had run out of the forest and back onto the road after he had ran three miles away from where they had met. Then he started running to meet up with Lucas.

Of course, he called Lucas with his comm telling them the Asura Sect had stopped their pursuit. He mentioned that one of the Agni Asura had gone mad and may come after them so to be careful. However, Lucas could take care of a lone Rank 5 Assassin fairly easy. Especially since their invisibility was neutralized with their scanners.

Lucas and the teachers had decided to stop and camp on the side of the road. Since they no longer had to flee for their lives, it was better to let the kids rest for a bit then continue pushing them.

For the past two days, they had stayed beside the road. Chu Shen sniffed the air. The smell of cooked meat filled the air. Lucas and the teachers would catch some normal beasts from the surrounding area for food when they were hungry and coincidentally, they were cooking some now.

Chu Shen’s body seemed to became a streak of light, coving the five hundred feet in the blink of an eye. A couple of the kids jumped as Chu Shen suddenly appeared between them. A thud sounded as air compressed slightly from his speed making everyone glance over at him

Lucas was in the middle of serving meat from a large metal. He didn’t even look up at Chu Shen. Instead he used the ladle he was stirring the pot with to dish out a couple hunks of meat. He threw the bowl towards Chu Shen, who caught it without spilling anything.

Chu Shen nodded at Lucas before immediately started eating, not even taking the time to sit down. For the past two days, Chu Shen had only eaten some dried meat. Compared to the meal they were having, it was severely lacking.

After Chu Shen had two bowls of meat, he finally wiped his mouth and sat down beside Lucas. Lucas had given up his job of dishing out food to one of the teachers who passed out food as well. They had just gotten started so there was a lot of kids lined up.

Lucas sighed. “Well, what do we do now? I mean, what’s the plan? We scared off the Asura Sect like we planned but what’s the rest of the plan?”

Chu Shen sighed as well. “I don’t know exactly, but first I need to talk to one of the teachers. First i’ll go ahead and talk to those teachers about learning the warriors technique for expanding their meridians. After that, we need to set up a more permanent place for these kids. Then I can start helping them with opening their meridians.”

Lucas smiled at him. “You know, you really are a bit too kind.”

Chu Shen shrugged. “It’s a better character fault then some others.”

“Agreed. Anyways, I believe that if you ask around, you should find an appropriate teacher to help you with the warrior training.”

He nodded. “Well, I’m off then. See you later Lucas.” Lucas nodded at Chu Shen as he stood up and went over to the teacher dishing out food. The teacher glanced up at Chu Shen and gave him an annoyed glance.

“Go and wait in line. No cutting alright?” Chu Shen almost tripped when he heard that. Of course, he did look young but this was just too much. Not even recognizing the person that saved them all, twice! Truly the legendary tales of ‘having eyes but not recognizing Mt. Tai’ weren’t exaggerated at all.

There truly was blind people in the world. Chu Shen shook his head. “Uh, no. I am not here for food. I wanted to ask where I can find the teacher that can help me with Warrior cultivation techniques.”

The teacher glared at Chu Shen. “Wait until i’m done serving food before you ask that. Can’t you see i’m busy brat?”

Chu Shen finally couldn’t take it anymore. “What kind of tone is that to the person who saved your life! Twice actually!”

The teacher immediately reacted. “Daring to raise your voice to me brat! And to claim that you are the savior!? How bold of you! See if I don’t spank you silly for that!” He raised the ladle in a threatening manner at Chu Shen.

Chu Shen sighed. The people of this world not being able to sense the cultivation level of others sure was a hindrance. He thought back to when he scanned the assassins and warriors sent by the other sects. He had to admit, there was some benefits to him though.

Chu Shen didn’t feel like arguing though. Immediately, gray samurai armor appeared around Chu Shen. Intricate designs were visible on the armor. The surrounding kids gasped in shock and the teacher stumbled back slightly. He pointed his ladle at Chu Shen.

“H-h-how? None of the students know such a technique!”

Chu Shen rolled his eyes. “Because I am not one of your students you blockhead! Sheesh. You would think getting older would help you learn somethings but nope. I guess everyone can still be thick headed no matter their age.”

The teacher nodded rapidly. “I guess you are the savior then. My apologies for not knowing but you were only with us for half an hour. As for warrior cultivation techniques, ask for Su Gagi. He should be over there with the other teachers.” He pointed towards the wagon.

Chu Shen nodded. “Alright, thanks.” He started to walk over to where the teacher pointed at. The teacher watched him for a minute before one of the kids bumped him in the side with their bowl.

“Um. Can I please have some food mister?” Her big round eyes looked up at him with an irresistible pleading stare.

The teacher shook his head to clear it before smiling at the girl. “Of course, here you go.” He was normally very sweet with such young ones. However, he was also strict about following the rules, which was why he got so upset with Chu Shen when he broke them.

Chu Shen walked up on a group of teachers all talking with each other. He hadn’t gotten rid of his <Cancellation Armor> since he didn’t want to repeat what had happened with the other teacher.

Upon seeing Chu Shen, all of them stood up. Chu Shen looked at them for a second. “So who is Su Gagi?”

1. N/a

Chapter 112
A Brothers Agony

Tai Ju swung his left foot over the horse’s saddle and jumped off the horse using it’s side like a springboard. He shot towards Chu Shen, drawing his sword in one fluid movement.

“SMILING LIKE THAT AT TAI MIN’S DEATH! YOU DESERVE TO DIE!” Tai Ju’s sword light up with silver light, becoming covered in lightning. He swung his sword at Chu Shen’s neck, aiming to behead him with one blow.

Chu Shen immediately became shocked at the sudden attack. Just what was this guy’s problem to attack someone like this? Utilizing <The Stars Dance>, Chu Shen avoided the blow, appearing ten feet away from the crazed Agni Asura. His body shield flickered into being, becoming a black shield around his body.

Gu Lan glanced over at the surprising scene. He sighed. Of course he understood that even the most cold hearted assassin would feel something after their brother died before his eyes. Of course, a true assassin would still put probabilities of success above their own emotions.

If Tai Ju needed to take his frustrations out on a Rank 4 warrior, that was understandable. However, it was indeed a bit embarrassing for an Asura Sect member to attack a Rank 4 warrior.

Gu Lan frowned. Make that a Rank 3 warrior. Surprisingly that Rank 3 warrior was already healed from his attack, and his body was also abnormally strong, making him think that kid was a Rank 4 warrior. How odd. Anyways, it wouldn’t matter when he was dead.

He turned a blind eye to the attack and rode even faster down the road. The other Asura glanced at each other but followed the Vajra Asura back towards the sect. Tai Ju’s horse stayed where it had fallen on the side of the road, from the force of Tai Ju’s kick.

Chu Shen faced Tai Ju. He held up his hands. “Whoa! I didn’t do anything to you so why are you attacking me? I mean, is this how the Asura Sect does things now?”

Tai Ju turned towards Chu Shen from where he had landed after attacking Chu Shen. “You smiled.” Came the cold, bone chilling voice from behind the demonic mask.

Chu Shen’s face became puzzled. “Huh? What does me smiling have to do with anything?”

“IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH IT!” Tai Ju screamed as he seemed to turn into a bolt of lightning. He shot forth at a speed that was near incomprehensible. Chu Shen reacted just as fast though. A circular shield made up of gray energy appeared before Chu Shen. Obviously this was the <Universe Shield>!

Tai Ju slammed into the shield, making it crack but it didn’t break. He stumbled backwards, blood coming from his forehead from the impact. His body shield finally flared to life. “YOU HAVE NO RIGHT! NONE!” Tai Ju screamed as he swung his sword at the shield in front of him.

The shield dimmed for a second after being struck by that sword. Then it became even brighter, the cracks from earlier repairing themselves. “MY BROTHER JUST DIED! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SMILE!”

Tai Ju seemed oblivious to the fact that with every swing of his blade, the lightning on it dimmed and his enemy grew stronger. After the fourteenth blow, the lightning seemed to have disappeared entirely. Unconcerned, he continued bashing his sword against the circular shield with no mana infused into it at all. Ironically, this made the shield start to weaken even though the blows themselves were weaker. For a full minute he savagely beat the shield reinforced with his own mana. “YOU HAVE NO RIGHT! NO RIGHT TO MOCK HIM! NO RIGHT TO BE HAPPY!”

Tears trickled down past the Agni Asura’s mask and into the folds of his clothes. His vision became blurry but he continued lashing out at the object keeping him from the one who disrespected his brother’s memory. Suddenly, the <Universe Shield> broke, shattering into pieces before fading into motes of gray light.

…………………………………………………………………………………..

Chu Shen had taken off while Tai Ju had been smashing at the <Universe Shield> like a wild animal. Of course he wasn’t going to fight him! That was a Rank 5 warrior, the equivalent of a Martial Warrior. He himself was a peak Rank 3 battle mage, the equivalent of a Level 9 Martial Practitioner.

That was a difference of two ranks or two stages! Of course, Chu Shen had taken on a Rank 5 warrior before and won but that was when the Rank 5 warrior had been weakened. If he fought now and used all of his techniques, revealing his null Qi, than he could win and fairly easily at that since he was consumed with grief and rage. Without logic, it would be easy to lay traps for Tai Ju.

He had many trump cards on his person. His body’s strength was on par with a Peak Rank 4 warrior. His null Qi allowed them to fight on even grounds when it came to mana/Qi. His techniques were advanced ones that were more powerful than their ‘parlor tricks’, as Master Ti Wu had said. All of these were trump cards to use in life or death situations.

However, so what if he did kill the rank 5 warrior? There was still two more Rank 5 warriors just down the road that were much more cool headed. If he fought them, he would probably be severely injured even if he did win. Not to mention that Rank 6 warrior.

The Rank 6 warrior was too much for him to handle right now. If Chu Shen fought with him, he could put up some resistance. Enough to last for a minute or two. However, he would still die in the end.

To sum it all up, whatever the outcome of this fight, he would die. The perfect example of a lose-lose situation. So why should he stubbornly fight and reveal his secrets when he didn’t need to?

It would be better to take the opportunity to escape from that berserk Asura while he was obsessed with destroying the <Universe Shield> than to fight and die. Using <Comet Travels Through>, Chu Shen had already ran over three hundred feet away  whenever he could no longer supply Qi to the shield.

Luckily as a true martial art, it could hold it’s form for a while even without him being connected to it. As a result, Tai Ju bashed at the shield for another minute before it broke. He was so consumed with grief and rage that he didn’t even notice the abnormal Qi that made up the shield that Chu Shen had conjured.

His head swiveled back and forth, looking for Chu Shen. Unfortunately, Chu Shen was already a quarter mile away inside the forest. “AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” Tai Ju screamed as he realized that he had been tricked.

As Chu Shen escaped from that dangerous situation, he heard Tai Ju’s blood curdling scream and shivered. The last thing he heard as he rushed to meet with Lucas was the words Tai Ju screamed.

“I WILL AVENGE YOU BROTHER! EVEN IF IT COSTS ME MY LIFE!”

1. N/a