Era of Mist

After a satisfying meal, Shi Tiexin paid his "long-term meal tickets" no further mind and walked out of the cafeteria, beginning to stroll around the sports field. The Basic Essence Nourishment Technique consisted of six stances. Performed individually, they would look very strange. However, his Excellent-level mastery was enough to simplify the stances, turning them into what appeared to be odd fitness poses at first glance, but on closer inspection, seemed profound and professional.

Many students were on the sports field at the time, walking around to aid their digestion. When they saw Shi Tiexin performing movements as he walked, they stopped in their tracks to watch curiously. Exuding an air of ’you laymen wouldn’t get it,’ Shi Tiexin focused on his own cultivation of the Basic Essence Nourishment Technique, ignoring the gawking students.

It was impossible to learn a Nourishing Essence Technique just by watching the physical stances, just as it was impossible to develop psychic energy simply by studying language and mathematics.

The very first step in cultivating the Martial Dao required an initiation, a "spirit seed." In that world, the Martial Dao had originated a century ago with the Origin Saint. The Origin Saint initiated the masses and scattered spirit seeds far and wide, fundamentally changing the evolutionary path of the entire human race. He established a rule: initiation for all and martial arts for all. Opportunity was equal, and the scale of one’s achievements depended solely on perseverance and character.

Thus, initiation was universal in that world, regardless of social class. Even orphans from the Orphanage could receive their Martial Dao initiation at the age of five, embarking on the path of cultivating Heart Methods and Force Arts.

And the Origin Saint’s initiation marked the dividing line between the old and new eras.

But here, in this world, Shi Tiexin hadn’t met a single person with any trace of Martial Dao cultivation. Even the Basic Essence Nourishment Technique required a corresponding Heart Method. Simply mimicking the external movements could, at best, strengthen one’s body and prolong one’s life, but it was impossible to independently refine raw essence from it.

Therefore, Shi Tiexin was completely unconcerned about his secrets being exposed.

After one session, another three cycles of cultivation, he had once again refined three wisps of raw essence from thin air. Feeling the raw essence drifting and coiling in his lower abdomen, Shi Tiexin felt as if he had won the lottery. Forget everything else—at this rate of essence nourishment, if he could really stay here for two years, he might successfully break through to the Sharp Stage!

Refining essence into Sharp Qi and breaking through to the second stage of Force Arts—a goal that had once seemed impossibly distant was now actually within his reach!

However, the most pressing matter now was to cultivate his Heart Method. The Mandate of Heaven mission was still waiting. Although the rewards for completing it were invisible and intangible, they were real and absolutely could not be ignored.

He looked up at the sky. It was almost time for the evening self-study session, and the sky had already grown dim and dusky. Shi Tiexin glanced left and right, his eyes suddenly glinting with a sly light.

’No, I can’t waste any more time in the classroom. I should use the cover of darkness to go scout the place out. I don’t know what’s up with that Zhou Nan; I’ve looked high and low and can’t find him anywhere. But I can’t just rely on him. If he can find a way to sneak out for cigarettes, I can probably find an exit myself if I look hard enough.’

’Besides, Fengming First Middle School isn’t some isolated Suspended City. The only thing stopping the students is a wall. I don’t even need to find a real breach; as long as there’s a spot where the wall is a little lower and more concealed, or has something to stand on, that’s enough. I’ll just hop the wall and be gone. As if the security guards at the main gate could ever catch me.’

And so, Shi Tiexin simply slipped away, not even bothering to inform his homeroom teacher, carrying himself with all the self-assured swagger of a problem student from a dead-end class cutting school.

Night fell quickly, and Shi Tiexin focused on exploring the campus’s remote and hidden corners. His eyes darted about, gleaming like a thief’s, but paired with his dignified and imposing face, even that shifty gaze took on the powerful air of a leader on an inspection tour.

He wouldn’t have realized it otherwise, but Fengming First Middle School had plenty of these little corners, the kind you find in any old school with a long history. Some delinquents were lurking in them, squatting in the shadows and cupping their hands to hide the flickering red tips of their cigarettes.

Shi Tiexin strode past, his authoritative presence scattering them like startled birds. Many of the delinquents flinched and hastily stubbed out their cigarettes, assuming he was a new dean making the rounds.

Ignoring the weaklings, Shi Tiexin scanned his surroundings and made a delightful discovery. ’This world doesn’t even seem to have surveillance cameras!’

’I’ve been wandering around for ages and haven’t seen a single one. Not like the other world, with its tight surveillance everywhere, all in ridiculously high definition. I wonder if it’s just Fengming First Middle School being old-fashioned, or if the whole world is like this.’

’Either way, no cameras? Perfect!’

’A place without cameras is a place of lawlessness and freedom!’

This made climbing the wall even easier. Shi Tiexin searched diligently and found a secluded spot. ’Hmm, this place is good. The wall isn’t too high, and on the other side is a quiet residential neighborhood. It’ll be hard for anyone to spot me.’

’This is it!’

His spot scouted, Shi Tiexin patted his pockets only to find he had no money. He decided to memorize the location, go back for cash, and then return. As he was walking back, he suddenly heard a commotion from nearby—incessant cursing mixed with the sounds of THUDS and SMACKS.

’Sounds like someone’s fighting.’

’Not my problem.’ Shi Tiexin had no intention of meddling in other people’s affairs and was about to walk away. But just then, several louder, clearer curses reached him, and his ears perked up instantly.

’It’s the voices of those four blockheads.’

"Motherfucker! Run! Why don’t you try running now? Run again and we’ll fucking kill you!"

"Son of a bitch! If you hadn’t egged us on, we wouldn’t be in this mess!"

"Still fucking dodging? You think you can get away from us? This afternoon you were acting so damn tough, saying you’d teach us a lesson. Go on, try teaching us one now!"

"I’m telling you, Zhou Nan, even if your brother was standing right here, I’d still beat the shit out of you!"

’Zhou Nan?’

’He’s the one getting beaten up? No wonder I couldn’t find him all afternoon. So this is where he was hiding. But from the sound of things, it seems there’s some history between this Zhou Nan and those four.’

Shi Tiexin’s expression darkened, and his eyes narrowed. He strode toward the site of the beatdown.

In an empty lot behind some old, dilapidated houses, Fatty and his three cronies were ganging up on Zhou Nan. The air filled with the sound of CRACKS and THUDS and miserable screams as Zhou Nan was beaten so badly he was crying for his mother.

The moment he saw Zheng Kaoming blatantly protect Shi Tiexin, Zhou Nan knew things had gone south and got ready to bolt. He had wanted to find a place to hide for a while, and if that failed, he would go to his older brother for help. He planned to lay low and let things blow over before trying to smooth things over.

But no matter how big Fengming First Middle School was, it could only be so big, and there were only so many good hiding spots. Every delinquent from the dead-end class had a mental map of these prime locations and knew them like the back of his hand.

He thought he had found a good hiding place, only to be cornered by the four of them and subjected to a brutal beating.