Shackles of Humanity

Every few days, Gao Fei would come over to give him a savage beating. The methods were complex and varied; needle pricks, branding irons, thorny whips, suffocation—every torture they had ever heard of, and some they hadn’t, were all used. Gao Fei was bent on prying out the secrets of Luo Kai’s Body Techniques, but all he got in return was Luo Kai’s endless mockery.

One day, Gao Fei arrived again. This time, he brought no attendants, only a woman dressed in thin gauze and wearing a pirate hat. The woman was very beautiful, with a delicate, slender face. Having spent a long time at sea, her skin was dark and glossy. She was an incredibly alluring, mature woman.

The woman took off her pirate hat, her sensual red lips curling into a strange smile. She leaned down and gently sniffed Luo Kai’s cheek, the tip of her nose nearly brushing against his skin. Her breath carried the pleasant scent of tobacco, which gave Luo Kai a jolt. He suddenly found himself craving a cigarette.

Through his intermittent chats with Fur Monkey over the past few days, Luo Kai had learned some of the pirates’ rules. For those who made a living at sea, usually only the first and second mates were allowed to wear pirate hats. Among the Dragon Shark Pirates, only a few Commanders held that privilege. Gao Fei was the Grand Commander’s son, so he wore one all day to flaunt his status. Since this woman also wore a pirate hat, she was clearly one of the Dragon Shark Pirates’ Commanders.

The woman seemed to understand something from his slightly quickened breathing. With a soft chuckle, she pulled a brown cigar from her collar. She trimmed it, lit it, took a puff herself, and then placed it between Luo Kai’s lips.

Luo Kai took a deep drag, let the smoke swirl in his throat, and exhaled with satisfaction. "Thank you," he said, his voice hoarse.

"Auntie Four, why are you being so nice to him?" Gao Fei snarled from the side, full of jealousy. "What happened to me is all his fault!"

The woman paid him no mind. Instead, she caressed Luo Kai’s scarred chest, her face filled with fascination. Her voice, hoarse and magnetic, rang out, "You’re very strong!"

With the cigar still in his mouth, Luo Kai mumbled in reply, "You’re very beautiful, too."

The woman chuckled softly and sat down beside Luo Kai, their skin touching. "I like you a lot. Do you like me?"

Luo Kai spat out the cigar. He tried to shift his body away but couldn’t move. He could only ask helplessly, "What kind of ’like’ are we talking about?"

"Heh, the kind between a man and a woman. What do you think?" The woman leaned down and kissed Luo Kai’s chapped lips. As their breaths mingled, Luo Kai felt a flush of heat rise in him involuntarily.

The woman pulled away, smiling. "You know, pain can be addictive. I think you’ve already developed a taste for it. You want someone to beat you right now, don’t you?"

She had hit upon his innermost secret. Luo Kai closed his eyes and refused to say another word.

The woman continued, her words flowing freely. "Before the Great Cataclysm, a practice known as ’scorpion sucking’ was passed down among humans. Scorpion venom is an extremely potent neurotoxin, so users should have been in unbearable agony. But after the pain, an indescribable sense of pleasure would arise. This is pain addiction. And compared to neurological pain addiction, savage beatings and torture can create it too. As long as the victim’s Life Force is tenacious enough, they stop feeling the pain. Instead, they feel... a sensation that is simply sublime!"

Gao Fei, standing to the side, was dumbfounded. "Auntie Four, what are you saying? You... you mean when I beat him, he doesn’t feel pain, but actually feels... good?!"

The woman nodded, a trace of excitement on her dark face. She looked at Luo Kai as if he were a priceless treasure, her voice tinged with envy. "It is said that back when Body Techniques first became prevalent, a group of Ascetics researched this method of pain addiction. They would frantically torture themselves, going so far as to shatter every single bone in their bodies. If they managed to recover, they lived. If not, they died!

"If they managed to recover on their own, they would shatter all their bones again years later. They repeated this cycle over and over, until their bones became harder than steel and tougher than alloy wires. In the process, their nerve tolerance and Recovery Power would grow stronger. This practice was called Bone Forging by the Ascetics, and it’s a step above the Bone Refining found in most Body Techniques!"

Gao Fei couldn’t imagine that such insane people actually existed. A sudden thought struck him. Horrified, he pushed his wheelchair back a few feet and pointed a trembling finger at Luo Kai. "Th-this kid is an Ascetic," he stammered. "H-his bones... I can’t break them no matter how hard I hit him!"

Auntie Four sighed softly. "So what if he is? This Bone Forging method is the most primitive form of Body Technique Cultivation. There’s no secret to it. But would you dare try it?"

Gao Fei looked at his arm, which was in a plaster cast, a conflicted look on his face. ’He was actually well-suited for this Bone Forging method... but could he really survive it?’

Fur Monkey couldn’t help but interject from the side. "Fourth Commander, I know many of the Ascetics’ training methods. Most involve using external forces to hammer one’s own body, but I’ve never heard of a pain addiction training method this cruel."

Auntie Four shot him a cool glance, her tone shifting. "As Body Techniques have developed to the present day, the Ascetics’ pain addiction method has long been obsolete. The casualty rate was simply too high; not even one person in ten thousand could make it through. It doesn’t align with the evolutionary path of humans as social, intelligent creatures. Humanity’s greatest strength has always been our collective power. No matter how powerful an individual becomes, they cannot stand against millions. And they certainly can’t stand against a surging tide of Fierce Beasts!"

Luo Kai listened in silence. He, of course, understood his own condition best. ’I’ve never gone through any pain addiction training,’ he thought. ’It’s just that every time they’ve tortured me these past few days, my body recovers a tiny sliver of strength. My resistance to that God-Killing Scythe has even increased a little. This has nothing to do with pain addiction.’

Gao Fei said hesitantly, "Auntie Four, what do we do now? We can’t kill him, and beating him is useless!"

Auntie Four sneered. "Physical torture is the crudest form of punishment. To truly break his will, all you need is a very simple little thing." After speaking, she took a small bamboo tube from her pocket, picked up a nearby syringe, and drew up threads of a pale blue liquid.

"What is that?"

Auntie Four stared fanatically at the pale blue liquid in the syringe. "Heaven," she said. "It can let a person enter Heaven!"

Luo Kai couldn’t help but open his eyes, watching as the woman injected the pale blue liquid into his body. At first, he felt nothing. After a moment, a warm current began to spread throughout him, cozy and comfortable. He drifted into a daze, entering a wondrous state. It seemed as if he were the only being in all of Heaven and Earth. Feeling a little lonely, he waved his hand, and the heavens and earth separated. Oceans and continents appeared. Mountains, rivers, and grasslands formed one by one at his command. This feeling... it was as if he were a god!

He had no idea how much time had passed before a wave of weakness washed over him. Luo Kai’s eyes fluttered open in a daze.

Auntie Four chuckled. "How was it? Feel good?"

Luo Kai nodded vigorously. "It felt great. Give me more."

"Alright!"

With another injection of the pale blue liquid, Luo Kai’s consciousness began to drift away again. This time, he returned to his past life. He was standing on a stage at a company meeting, delivering a passionate speech. Everyone in the audience looked up at him with reverence. This was the profound satisfaction that came with power!

When he woke up, Luo Kai once again demanded an injection. Auntie Four obliged him. This time, he returned to his home, where his wife doted on him, whispering sweet nothings...

Opening his eyes yet again, Luo Kai emotionally demanded more.

This time, however, Auntie Four didn’t indulge him. Instead, she said with a smile, "How does Heaven feel? There are no worries there, no sorrows, no frustrations. Only joy, comfort, and satisfaction!"

The reality of the situation suddenly hit Luo Kai, and boundless terror rose in his heart. He roared, "You injected me with a hallucinogenic poison!"

"Hee hee, that’s right," she giggled. "And I’ll be back again tomorrow!"

For the rest of the night, Luo Kai couldn’t stop his mind from replaying the day’s hallucinations. As a result, he remained in a state of agitated excitement the entire night.