Chapter 13 - Chaos Training, Technique Mysteries

Xin Yang whooped as he dived into the mountain of treasures they'd snatched from the sects. Grinning, Ye Meng followed suit, the two brothers cheering and celebrating.

Bai Lihua settled for a small, satisfied smile. As the sole girl of the trio, she felt obligated to show at least a bit more maturity and restraint. But inside, she was just as thrilled at their victory.

"OCD much?" she teased as Xin Yang swiftly set about organizing everything. He couldn't help it—out of place objects offended his senses.

While Xin Yang sorted treasures, Ye Meng and Bai Lihua selected techniques and skills to acquire. Like always, Xin Yang claimed none for himself. He had to lie and tell them he had an unusual bloodline, and he was restricted to the ancestral techniques created for his clan alone.

"The old timers got around," he said. "Visited the whole world, soaked up crazy amounts of knowledge. To make sure us young'uns didn't get distracted, they made their techniques genetically locked."

He shrugged, unconcerned.

For today, they just relaxed and enjoyed the rewards of another scheme well played. What chaos might they dream up tomorrow? The possibilities made them grin in anticipation.

The oaths binding Xin Yang, Ye Meng, and Bai Lihua ensured none would betray the others' secrets. As for trust, Xin Yang trusted the oaths, not yet the people. In this world where bonds were cheaply bought with drink, he remained wary.

His casual reveal of Heaven-grade techniques shocked the others speechless. Holy sects might have one such technique; Xin Yang implied he had several.

Silently, Ye Meng and Bai Lihua swore to follow this man who gained such things with ease. While Xin Yang saw the treasures as tools to advance his own goals, they grasped how priceless resources had so simply fallen into their hands. With Xin Yang, the unthinkable became reality.

They hurried after him to cultivate using the windfall, excitement overriding shock. Xin Yang's goals were theirs to share, even if his methods and origins remained mysteries. All that power and possibility lay within their grasp, and they wouldn't waste the chance.

…

Dawn broke, and with it came Xin Yang's laughter. Never able to resist a dramatic moment, he tried coming up with a victory slogan. Something about shaking the world with his fists—ah, the life of a genius with flair.

Bai Lihua kept her distance, unsure whether to label his shaking excitement as inner beast or something requiring professional help. As for her, attaining Foundation Establishment stage one after just 16 years—a stage most barely dreamed of—must make her a genius. Before Xin Yang, her life had been bitterness and bewitching others so she could eat. Now everything had changed.

For Ye Meng, becoming Foundation Establishment stage two's peak was victory enough. His poisoned parents' deaths had fueled his initial drive to grow stronger, before an incident halted his progress. Then came Xin Yang, who'd gotten his cultivation back on track.

Xin Yang itched to explore his new page, but first came testing his strength increase. His Void Shattering Fist's additional forms let him craft four ripples as smoothly as ocean waves. Time to put them through their paces in the Chaotic Training Grounds, a colosseum for releasing and battling as many beasts as one dared. Surviving was another matter, but Xin Yang had installed failsafes for that.

If powerhouses who'd struggled for what he did instantly knew how easily his skills came, passion for vengeance might replace reason. His rate of growth made native cultivators seem handicapped in comparison. Here, immortality was the goal; in his world, diligent study earned you a grassy grave mound. Which better showed true genius?

Xin Yang rubbed his hands in anticipation upon selecting an Iron Wolf as his first sparring partner. At the fourth rank, it should give him a challenge to test his increased power.

The beast charged as it materialized, covering the distance between them in a few bounds. Xin Yang flowed into the opening stance of his Void Shattering Fist, gathering and settling his qi in preparation.

As the wolf leapt to strike, Xin Yang kicked off the ground to meet it in midair. When paw met fist, he poured his qi into a straight punch aimed at its skull.

The blow landed with a resounding crack. A ripple of force spread outward, distorting the air around Xin Yang's fist. For a breath, the wolf hung motionless. Then its head exploded, shards of bone and globs of gore splattering the arena floor as its body collapsed.

Disappointment flavored Xin Yang's victory. With his stage three mastery of the Void Shattering Fist, one punch should not so easily trump a formidable beast. Clearly he had yet to find a suitable challenge here.

He banished the wolf's remains and summoned a new opponent: an Eclipsed Iron Wolf Prince of the sixth rank. Bigger than an elephant and boasting fangs like spears, it should pose more of a threat. Perhaps this fight would finally let him cut loose.

Graceful despite madness, the wolf strode rather than charged at Xin Yang. He settled into his stance, content to allow its approach so long as it did not snub the fight by refusing to engage. To his relief, when halfway across the arena, it hurtled at him with crushing speed and weight behind its strike.

Xin Yang twisted out of its path, lashing out with one foot to kick its hind legs from under it. The wolf tumbled, crashing into the arena wall, and he seized the opening to unleash a flurry of blows enhanced by the qi fueling his Void Shattering Fist.

Ripple after ripple spread from his strikes until, with a final punch cracking the wolf's ribcage to puncture its heart, it fell motionless. Only then did Xin Yang recognize he had progressed from singular punches to a combination assault as naturally as breathing. His heart swelled with the proof of growth.

Satisfied he had gauged his current power, Xin Yang left the Chaotic Training Grounds. He informed Ye Meng and Bai Lihua of his victory in more detail, noting his combo assault debut, and both were eager to secure their own growth.

While they entered the training grounds, Xin Yang retired to study his latest Technique Page acquisition. A blue crystal and technique popped out of the book, confusion replaced anticipation.

"Divine Void Step" was a space-time movement skill. His Void Shattering Fist focused on force projection. What relationship could the two have, if any?

Poring over the technique and the crystal, Xin Yang sought understanding. Unless he could fathom how to integrate the approach with his favored art, the acquisition was useless. He had no intention of diluting his skills with lesser practices, no matter their rarity.

The key, he sensed, lay in the unique nature of the Void Shattering Fist and Divine Void Step alike. Both touched on the void and something more, on a profound level that transcended the physical. If he could discern the deeper connection, he might wield unimaginable power.

With that insight kindling motivation, Xin Yang dove wholly into analysis. Behind closed doors, he had to know what this blue crystal was, and what this new technique had to offer