Chapter 279 - 277: I Know Him Very Well
After that, Deng Ming’s mood soured, and he only made small talk about his experiences in the Noon Realm.
For instance, the girl named Black Rice was learning the Yanhua language and basic Martial Arts, serving as a model for the cooperation between the two realms.
Also, Huo Jun was still stationed in the Noon Realm. Due to his merits, he was now managing all of Yanhua’s advance teams there; previously, he had only been in charge of matters concerning the Hei Race.
Deng Ming brought something up. "I heard your family is in the medicinal herb business. Perhaps there’s room for cooperation in the future."
Yang Shen was a little surprised. "Oh? The Deng Family is involved in that as well?"
Deng Ming shook his head. "No, the Deng Family’s business is mostly in trade—import-export and Exotic Realm trade. For example, metals from the Hai Realm, and miscellaneous things from the Dongying Remnant Island."
A thought suddenly struck Yang Shen. "Are you involved with the Si Realm, too?"
Deng Ming gave an affirmative reply. "Yes, the medicinal herbs from the Si Realm are quite good. But we import them, and you sell them. Seems like our interests overlap, doesn’t it?"
His previous suggestion had been about helping the Yang Family export their herbs to other countries.
Yang Shen shook his head and smiled. "No, quite the opposite. There’s a real possibility for cooperation. We’re planning to explore... medicinal herb cross-breeding techniques."
Although Deng Ming wasn’t very involved in the Deng Family’s Yanhua business, he was definitely knowledgeable and well-informed.
"That’s not easy to pull off. Using herbs from the Si Realm directly is fine, but due to genetic limitations, cross-breeding leads to severe degradation. Many large corporations have tried before, but with poor results."
Yang Shen said, "It’s fine. The Yang Family has some experience in herb cultivation. We can take it slow."
To go to an Exotic Realm, one needed a convincing "pretext."
Just saying you were a tourist would never get you in. Moreover, this "pretext" needed backing from either the government or a massive corporation.
Universities were also an option, but the itineraries were often very restrictive. They didn’t let students conduct business or stay for long periods. Most trips were for practical experience in the Exotic Realms or research projects, which didn’t offer enough freedom.
Originally, Yang Shen had thought that to get an opportunity to freely enter and exit the Si Realm, he would need to cooperate with one of those Universal Giant Corporations, just like Lin Yuebai’s grandfather.
Now, it seemed the Deng Family might be able to solve this problem.
After the small talk, Deng Ming took his leave without any hesitation.
However, he mentioned he would be staying for at least a month or two and might visit from time to time.
Yang Shen naturally had no objection and welcomed Deng Ming to visit.
’Being wary of the Xu Family at every turn would mean overestimating them and underestimating myself.’
Deng Ming wasn’t just Xu Cheng’s friend; he was Yang Shen’s friend, too.
After seeing Deng Ming off, Xu Bamboo was waiting by the inner courtyard gate, seemingly with something to say.
Yang Shen smiled and pointed at the large crates by the wall. "Go ahead and pick out that sword. I’ll store the rest for now."
Xu Bamboo hesitated. "Will this put us in his debt?"
"How should I put it... Deng is a friend of the Xu Family, of course, but he’s also genuinely my friend. Besides, out of more than ten weapons, you’re only taking one. If anyone owes a debt, it’s the Yang Family."
Xu Bamboo said angrily, "So I don’t have a family?"
’Am I not part of the Yang Family?’
’Shenzi, you’d better explain yourself!’
Yang Shen quickly corrected himself, "A slip of the tongue, a slip of the tongue."
Xu Bamboo shot Yang Shen a look before finally picking up the longsword.
These weapons were all brand new, unnamed, and worthy of being named.
Xu Bamboo stroked the blade. "How about we call it... the Frost Star Sword."
_Extreme Cold that surpasses frost and snow, with a body like a field of stars..._
Although she was happy to have a new weapon, Deng Ming’s visit today also made Xu Bamboo understand something.
If she didn’t sort things out completely with the Xu Family...
’...it would eventually become a thorn in her side, hindering her progress.’
Shenzi would shield her from all the troubles, but Xu Bamboo didn’t want those troubles to affect Yang Shen.
* * *
The Ranking Challenge at the beginning of the month passed in a flash.
Over five days, Yang Shen attended nearly every match involving someone from the Yang Family.
Xu Bamboo only had one match, but Yuan Rui, Cao Wei, and Tian Zihan each had a full schedule of three.
The three of them were absolutely dominating their opponents.
This was especially true for Tian Zihan. The moment he stood there and his promotion to the Innate Realm was confirmed, two of his opponents forfeited on the spot.
’Are you kidding me? It feels like that guy could shove your head right in!’
’Don’t ask where. He’s got his ways, that’s for sure!’
After all, among students ranked around 400th in their year, practically no one had broken through to the Innate Realm. It was only the first semester of their freshman year.
All three of their rankings rose to around 200th place.
Even at this rank, they were still steamrolling the competition. Ultimately, their starting point had been too low and their progress too fast.
On December 6th, the first day back to a normal teaching schedule, Yang Shen began his specialized training for Breaking Through to True Gang, supported by Jiangti’s formidable resources.
As Jiangti’s current rising star, the school’s support for him was top-tier.
Moreover, word was that even the top freshman over at Yan Wu was still a long way from True Gang. Why wouldn’t they jump at the chance to beat their old rival one more time?
Therefore, Jiangti not only provided several specialized Cultivation Techniques but also assigned an experienced "Breaking Realm teacher" for one-on-one guidance, pulling Yang Shen out of his regular classes.
In Gymnasium No. 3, there was a piece of expensive equipment.
It resembled a stasis pod from a science fiction novel. When a person lay inside, it could provide real-time feedback on the flow of Source within their body, visualizing it on a screen in front of them. It also integrated some training to assist with "Source Perception."
This set of equipment was jointly developed by Jiangti and the "Biological Domain." A single unit was said to be worth 50 million, and it wasn’t yet in mass production. The ability to use all sorts of cutting-edge technology for free was one of the reasons this school stood head and shoulders above the rest.
Of course, this device wasn’t of much use to Yang Shen himself. He just went through the motions of trying it out.
"Huh... in your abdominal region... why is there such a large white patch?"
The equipment technician stared at the screen, bewildered. Normally, the device used different colors to indicate the Source Concentration inside the body, similar to thermal imaging: blue... red... yellow... with the most intense being white.
In other words, when it displayed white, the reading had already exceeded the device’s preset maximum. A reading of 0.1 over would be white, and so would a reading of 10,000 over.
Since it was an experimental, non-mass-produced device, minor issues like noise were normal...
’But why is yours so big!’
’You could use it as a blanket!’
Yang Shen calmly replied, "It’s probably the effect of a family Secret Transmission."
The technician scratched his head. "A family Secret Transmission? Can you be more specific?"
Yang Shen’s face fell. "If I told you the specifics, it wouldn’t be a secret transmission, would it..."
"Right..."
This was clearly an issue with his "Qi Sea," but it wasn’t a sensitive topic.
Everyone who used this device would show a different Source distribution depending on their Cultivation Technique.
The legacies of Martial Arts in the world were countless, so all sorts of strange phenomena were perfectly normal. If this were a society without any Xuanqi, this issue might have drawn attention.
But on Cyan Blue, you just had to train.
The Yang Family had many Cultivators and had established a basic foothold of power. It was impossible for them to avoid all check-ups for their entire long lives. What if they got sick and had to go to the hospital?
’Hiding is pointless. If anyone asks, it’s just a family Secret Transmission.’
After getting out of the device, Yang Shen looked at his "breakthrough guidance teacher," a man around forty years old.
"Teacher Liu, I don’t think this equipment is very suitable for my situation. I hope future lessons can focus more on practical training."
This Teacher Liu was powerfully built, standing over two meters tall and following the Horizontal Training Route, but his personality was quite gentle. "No problem. Breaking Realm isn’t easy to begin with. We have to tailor it to each person’s characteristics."
"The school said you can choose any Cultivation Technique that helps with Breaking Realm. However, you’ll have to be selective. After all, Jiangti has hundreds, if not thousands, of relevant techniques... but your time is limited. I’ve pre-selected a few based on your situation and clearance level. Take a look."
With that, Teacher Liu handed over a form listing a full five Cultivation Techniques.
_Gang Condensation Spear Technique_, _Meridian Following Technique_, _Leaf-Reading Finger_, _Thousand Silk Force_, _Mirage Technique_...
Among them were specialized Cultivation Techniques and Martial Arts with shorter overall content, as well as impressive Primary Cultivation Methods with considerable length and depth.
For the latter, Yang Shen only needed to extract the relevant parts.
Yang Shen took it and glanced over it. ’Jiangti really is amazing.’ Their library of Cultivation Techniques was large enough to offer flexible combinations for every individual.
Three of them were exclusive versions, not available on the market or sold publicly.
Just like the Science Level Cultivation Method _Spiritual Snake Force_ that he had already obtained, Yang Shen could learn them himself, but he couldn’t pass them on to others.
However, for Yang Shen, who was determined to fuse Cultivation Techniques and even create his own, this wasn’t a big problem.
𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
’Refine them in an instant!’
The _Meridian Following Technique_ was particularly precious. It was a Primary Cultivation Method that could allow a Martial Artist to cultivate all the way to the "Tongshu Realm."
Yuan Rui had mentioned before, when he was helping his master find information, that this was a level of technique that could never be sold publicly. To learn it at Jiangti, one had to be an outstanding student for eight or nine years, reach the level of a Martial Arts doctorate, and then sign a mountain of contracts.
But Jiangti was offering it this time, both to help Yang Shen break through smoothly and to secretly give him benefits, letting him know that the school had plenty of good things to offer and he should just focus on his studies.
One could only imagine the prestige "Flame Fist Yang Shen" currently held.
Seeing how seriously Yang Shen was looking, Teacher Liu assumed he was stressed and offered some comfort.
"You don’t need to be anxious. Many people get stuck on the ’Source Perception’ step alone. Back when I reached Late-stage Innate, it took me a full year to finally break through to True Gang. You’re only a freshman, and your talent is far better than mine."
"Don’t worry! I’ll make sure you reach True Gang before the end of next semester!"
Yang Shen didn’t argue. He just said, "Also, I have an official Cultivation Technique called _Spiritual Snake Force_. It’s said to be very helpful for breaking through to True Gang, and I’d like to incorporate it into my training."
Teacher Liu nodded. "I’ve heard of that Cultivation Technique. Many in the police system practice it. However, official techniques can’t be practiced without authorization, so I can only help you from the perspective of my own experience."
"That’s more than enough. Thank you, Teacher. By the way, my high school P.E. teacher was also named Liu, and he also followed the Horizontal Training Route. Seeing you feels very familiar."
Building a good relationship couldn’t hurt. Although an Early Innate Stage like Liu Yuankui wasn’t even worthy of carrying this Late-stage True Gang master’s shoes, it didn’t stop Yang Shen from using him as a conversation starter.
’Liu Yuankui really had it rough. The dregs of his spiritual legacy are still around to this day.’
Teacher Liu immediately smiled. After all, having the school’s number one genius proactively build a connection with him made him quite happy. "Is that so? Then you and your teacher must have had a very good relationship."
"Of course. I knew him very well. Well-done, in fact."
In the process that followed, Teacher Liu taught very attentively and meticulously.
He had taught at Jiangti for nearly twenty years and had assisted over a hundred students in advancing to the True Gang Realm. Yang Shen was the youngest one he had ever encountered.
And Yang Shen didn’t interrupt him to pull a shocking reveal, claiming he no longer needed to practice Source Perception or Source Control.
Yang Shen wanted to try and understand the starting point of "True Gang" from the perspective of a Pure Martial Artist, starting from scratch.
This would help pave the way for the future generations of his family.
* * *