Shackles of Humanity

A train sped through the wilderness. Luo Kai sat quietly in a corner of one of the cars. The Severing Blade on his back trembled slightly, emitting its unique frequency, but Luo Kai did not respond.

Today was the day they were heading to Jinlan Prefecture. Liu Hou had chartered several train cars for a group of students attending a fighting competition. The students were all seventeen or eighteen years old, and most had never left Longyang City before. They laughed and chattered endlessly in the car, creating an unbearable racket.

Luo Kai had only attended the sports school for a single day, so he didn’t know anyone. Besides, his mental age made it impossible for him to fit in with these vibrant students. He sat alone in the corner, lost in thought. The few days he had spent at Granny Hua’s place had made it feel like home, and he was reluctant to leave. ’I had planned to set off for the Dongyuan Upper Country after the fighting competition,’ he thought, ’but now I have attachments holding me here.’

"Whoa, look! What a huge lake!" The students in the car grew excited. Luo Kai turned to look out the window. Outside was a massive lake, so vast one couldn’t see the other side. Fishing boats drifted across its surface, and countless birds soared and played above. The last train Luo Kai had taken was a special military transport on a different route from this civilian one, which is why he was only now seeing this great lake.

"It’s so beautiful!"

"Yeah, I wish we could go for a swim!"

"Yao Qing, after the competition is over, I’ll bring you all here for some fun."

The voices drifted from the front of the car. It was the students from the sports school—a few boys chatting with a group of girls. Among them, a petite girl with a sweet voice sounded familiar to Luo Kai. He thought she might be the one who had sat in front of him during his class.

Finding them too noisy, Luo Kai got up and walked to the vestibule between the cars. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

A man in his thirties walked over, frowning in disgust. "What class are you in? Don’t you know students aren’t allowed to smoke?"

Luo Kai put out his cigarette and walked to the next car. This one had private compartments, and Liu Hou was occupying one by himself, clutching a bottle of liquor and taking large gulps. When he saw Luo Kai, he smiled. "Xiaokai, you’re here. Sit down."

For some reason, Luo Kai felt that Liu Hou looked even older. The characteristic frequency of his body’s Magnetic Field was also very weak. He sat down across from Liu Hou, unable to suppress his concern. "Teacher, are you sick?"

Liu Hou drained the bottle in one gulp and gave a bitter laugh. "Heh, so you noticed. I’ve told you before that I have two hearts. After one was severely damaged, the other has struggled to support my body. I can no longer handle intense combat, which is why I retired from the army to become a teacher at the sports school. I thought I’d be able to live out my years in peace, but a month ago, I ran into a powerful opponent. I got hurt, and it triggered an old ailment."

Luo Kai frowned slightly. ’Liu Hou must be a High-level Martial Artist, so only another High-level Martial Artist could have injured him.’ He asked, "Is there any way to treat it?"

Liu Hou shook his head. "It’s hopeless. This old ailment is called myocardial weakness—heart disease, basically. Now that the old injury has flared up, my heart will find it harder and harder to support my body. At most, I have two or three years left."

Luo Kai felt a pang of sadness. He hadn’t spent much time with Liu Hou, so they didn’t have a deep bond, but the big man was a person of good character. ’It would be a real shame for him to die.’

"Xiaokai, while we may be master and disciple in name, I’ve never taught you anything truly profound. To be honest, I’m quite ashamed about that."

Luo Kai quickly said, "Teacher, I’ve actually learned a lot at the sports school. And with you as my backer, I’ve avoided a lot of trouble in Longyang City. I’m the one who should be thanking you."

"With your skills, you wouldn’t be afraid of any trouble." Liu Hou waved his hand dismissively, then suddenly grew serious. "Xiaokai, I want to formally accept you as my fourth disciple. Would you be willing?"

Luo Kai smiled. "Yes, of course I’m willing. But we don’t need to hold a formal discipleship ceremony, right?"

Liu Hou’s spirits lifted, and he let out a hearty laugh. "Of course not! But I still have to give you a proper gift." He retrieved a long box from under the bunk and handed it to Luo Kai.

Luo Kai could already feel a chill coming from the box. It was Liu Hou’s straight saber. The box was only about a meter long. ’That’s still long,’ he thought, ’but how could it possibly hold a two-meter saber? Can it be folded?’

He didn’t take it. "Teacher, this gift is too valuable. Besides, I already have a weapon." As he spoke, he drew the Severing Blade from his back. The Curved Long Saber trembled in the air, emitting a faint, clear hum. It was obviously a superior weapon.

All Body Technique Cultivators have a great fondness for weapons, and Liu Hou was no exception. He stared, mesmerized, at the long saber. "It truly is a fine blade. This must be the Severing Blade. Xiaokai... it seems you really were responsible for what happened to the Dragon Shark Camp."

Liu Hou shot to his feet, his voice filled with excitement. "You did something I’ve always wanted to do but never dared! Years ago, the South Sea Pirates burned, killed, and plundered their way through the Xingma Kingdom. Their sins were monstrous! But those old coots at the Body Technique Association actually forbade members from interfering, citing a rule about not getting involved in internal human conflicts. It made me furious!"

Luo Kai breathed a sigh of relief. "The circumstances were unique. I didn’t actually want to kill so many people..."

Liu Hou cut him off abruptly. "You did well to kill them! Before the Great Cataclysm, Body Techniques were known as Martial Arts, and they have always embodied the principle of using force to end conflict. Some people, if you don’t kill them, will only go on to harm many more!"

...

Liu Hou insisted on giving him the straight saber, so in the end, Luo Kai had no choice but to accept. Now he was carrying three different weapons, yet he didn’t know the proper way to use a single one of them. Relatively speaking, he had practiced the Dharma Gate of the straight saber for some time. It wasn’t particularly technical, much like the Mighty Dragon Fist; its power depended entirely on the user’s personal attributes.

"Xiaokai, there’s something else I need to tell you. The person you’re substituting for is named Luo Yuan. He’s my former teacher’s grandson and my junior martial sister’s son. That kid’s been a mischievous, lazy brat his whole life, with no interest in studying, but he’s dead set on getting into Shangjing University. Shangjing University accepts very few students each year, and the requirements are incredibly high, so we had no choice but to use the exchange student route. Once this is all over, my junior sister will definitely reward you handsomely."

"Alright," Luo Kai said nonchalantly. "You should get some rest, Teacher."

"Wait." As Luo Kai was about to leave, Liu Hou stopped him. He closed the compartment door first, then said, "Xiaokai, last time we spoke, you said you wanted to learn my Dharma Gate for controlling heartbeats. Well... the truth is, that Dharma Gate originated from a concert I attended in Shangjing City years ago..."

"A concert?" Luo Kai was stunned. ’He learned such an incredible skill just from listening to music?!’

"Mhm." A nostalgic look washed over Liu Hou’s face. He spoke softly, "It was a massive, magnificent concert, supposedly held only once every ten years. I was just curious at the time, so I went to have a look. But ever since that concert, I’ve been able to hear... strange frequencies."

"I gradually came to realize that this frequency seems to originate from the deepest cells of a living being—or, you could say, from the very source of life itself. A person’s Spiritual Will and their physical body aren’t actually a single, unified entity. Does consciousness control the body, or does the body control consciousness? No one can say for sure."

Luo Kai nodded profoundly. He had recently read some books about genetics in the Pan Shi Sports School library. ’Every living being actually possesses two types of memory: one is its individual Spiritual Will, and the other can be called genetic memory. Do genes determine the course of a life, or does consciousness? Most people would probably say consciousness, but in truth, all of one’s actions, even one’s thoughts, bear the deep imprint of their genes.’

Luo Kai stood frozen in place, lost in contemplation. Ever since he had glimpsed the secrets of the Little Cosmos, his understanding of himself had deepened. ’One could think of Spiritual Will as heaven and one’s genetic cells as earth. The two combine to form one’s personal Little Cosmos...’

Liu Hou’s voice broke him from his reverie. "Afterward, I figured out this method of interfering with the body’s functions. The specific Dharma Gate is something that can only be grasped intuitively; it can’t be conveyed through words. Xiaokai, if you’re interested, you could go to that concert yourself. From what I hear, it’s happening again next year."

Luo Kai snapped back to reality. ’My desire to go to the Dongyuan Upper Country is even stronger now,’ he thought. ’It’s not just the birthplace of things like Body Techniques, which allow one to transcend the limits of life; it’s also the place where humanity has delved deepest into the study of itself and the world.’