Shackles of Humanity

With just a few strokes, Xiaoxue sketched an incredibly grim picture. The man in the drawing seemed to be in his death throes.

Luo Kai guessed that the man in the drawing might be him, and couldn’t help but ask in shock, "You can see the future?"

But Xiaoxue just shook her head and lowered it to continue drawing. This time, the scene changed completely. A man was smiling as he accepted a gleaming gold medal. Xiaoxue kept sketching, one scene after another: the man sprinting through the wilderness with a crowd in hot pursuit; the man standing on the deck of an airship, gazing down below...

In no time, she had sketched several scenes. The protagonist in every one was the same man: Luo Kai himself.

Luo Kai understood her meaning. His expression grew grave as he said, "You’re saying the future has countless possibilities? You can only deduce them, not see them with certainty?"

Xiaoxue finally stopped drawing and gave him a firm nod.

Most of the scenes pointed toward a dark outcome, and a shadow fell over Luo Kai’s heart. He didn’t believe anyone could truly see the future. That would involve the fundamental Laws of Time and Space. If someone could foresee the future, it would mean they could control Time and Space. They wouldn’t be human; they’d be a god.

But there were patterns to everything in the world, including Time and Space. In reality, the rate at which time flowed was relative for every individual. For those with faster minds, time seemed to pass more slowly; for those who were slower-witted, it appeared to move faster. This wasn’t merely a subjective feeling but a tangible reality. In other words, an individual’s consciousness could influence how the flow of external time affected them.

’The ability to sense danger that all living beings possessed was, in reality, a special product that transcended time. It was just that some people’s premonitions were particularly strong, while others were weaker. My own is quite strong,’ Luo Kai thought. ’But this delicate-looking girl in front of me is on another level entirely. She can even use her premonitions to deduce various possibilities.’

Luo Kai couldn’t help but worry. He looked toward the main platform, where several important figures from the Xingma Kingdom were seated. The Great Lord, Duke Yiven, was prominently among them. In the center sat an old man with a white beard and hair, Fang Hong, the president of the Xingma Kingdom’s Body Technique Association. It was said that he had been a High-level Martial Artist for decades, and Liu Hou guessed he was only half a step away from becoming a Body Master.

Besides those two, there were three other High-level Martial Artists. One was a refined-looking older man with a dark beard, Lu Rui, the principal of Jinlan Academy. Another was a burly man carrying a long saber on his back, Xiang Bo, the Chief Instructor of the Hanzhou County Guanghan Sports School. The last one was Liu Hou himself.

All five were High-level Martial Artists who had made their names long ago. According to the Body Technique Association’s records, the Xingma Kingdom only had ten High-level Martial Artists in total. For five of them to show up at once spoke volumes about the importance of the fighting tournament.

The fighting tournament was not only a grand event in the Martial Arts World, but also the most crucial factor in determining the rankings of the various county sports schools. The school rankings were based on their students’ placements. For years, students from Jinlan Academy had consistently ranked the highest, but one or two spots in the top five were always left for other schools. This year’s tournament, however, was different. The military’s Body Technique Cultivators were now involved. Not only did the other sports schools have no chance, but even Jinlan Academy would find it difficult to break into the top five.

The five High-level Martial Artists sat on the platform. Aside from Duke Yiven, who was dozing with his eyes narrowed, none of them looked pleased. Fang Hong, the president of the Body Technique Association, turned to the others and explained with a wry smile, "Gentlemen, letting the military participate wasn’t my idea. The directive came from the main Body Technique Association. They said that excluding the military from the tournament was discriminatory."

The principal of Jinlan Academy looked refined and easygoing, but his words were laced with animosity. He said coldly, "Hmph. As far as I know, the higher-ups only suggested the local associations deliberate on the matter. It was by no means an order."

"Sigh. Principal Lu, you truly misunderstand me," Fang Hong said. "Shangjing University has been rather dissatisfied with the students we’ve sent over the years. They intend to reduce or even eliminate the exchange student slots for the Xingma Kingdom. If all of you principals were producing elite students, I wouldn’t have to be so concerned."

This left the other principals speechless. Cultivating Martial Artists had grown more difficult over the years, simply because the world was at peace. Most sports school students were born into privilege; without external pressure, they naturally lost their motivation to strive for more. A comfortable life was certainly a good thing, but it tended to make people lose their martial spirit and combat readiness. It was an unsolvable knot. Even in the Dongyuan Upper Country, the advancement rate for Martial Artists was steadily declining.

After a moment, Fang Hong changed the subject. "Did everyone hear about the disturbance in Jinlan City last night?"

Xiang Bo, the Chief Instructor of the Guanghan Sports School, immediately piped up in excitement, "I heard a group of outsider Martial Artists ganged up on a young man, but he turned the tables and killed four of them! Hot damn, it’s been a long time since someone that incredible has appeared in our Xingma Kingdom!"

"I wonder if Principal Liu has heard about it?" Fang Hong suddenly asked, turning to Liu Hou.

Liu Hou said expressionlessly, "Of course I’ve heard. It seems there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers among the populace. Our Body Technique Association must not grow arrogant."

"Heh heh. As far as I know, this young man isn’t some unaffiliated Martial Artist. He’s a First Rank Martial Artist registered with our very own Body Technique Association. A First Rank Martial Artist who slaughtered a group of Mid-level Martial Artists without them being able to put up a fight. Heh heh... if First Rank Martial Artists are already that powerful, then we old-timers might as well hide our faces in shame."

Liu Hou said nothing more. The commotion last night had been too great; it couldn’t possibly have escaped the notice of interested parties. Luo Kai’s identity was surely exposed.

On the training grounds, the preliminary matches had begun. The format was simple: there were five fighting rings set up. Contestants were randomly matched. Win three consecutive matches, and you would advance to the winner’s bracket and could leave the stage to rest. Losers, however, could continue to challenge fighters on other rings until they, too, achieved three wins and moved to the winner’s bracket. Then came the winner’s bracket matches, which served as the placement rounds, with rankings determined by win rates.

The finale was the challenge round. All contestants in the placement rounds could challenge those ranked higher. If they won, they would take over that fighter’s rank. To prevent anyone from being worn down by endless fights, a challenged fighter could refuse consecutive challenges. However, they could not refuse a challenge from the person ranked immediately below them—meaning the number one fighter could not refuse a challenge from number two. The top five fighters in the final ranking would receive an invitation from Shangjing University.

Lord Yiven stood up, cleared his throat, and began reading a long-winded opening speech from a script. After droning on for a while, he seemed to grow impatient with his own words, broke off mid-sentence, and loudly announced the start of the fighting tournament.

With a thunderous roll of war drums, the contestants began to draw lots. Those who drew the first five numbers went directly up onto the rings to await their challengers.

The five rings were set up because of a tournament tradition: the "Ring Lord," a single fighter who could occupy a ring and defend it from start to finish without ever stepping down. Such people were extremely rare. A person’s stamina, after all, was finite. Even a Martial Artist would find it difficult to endure a relentless series of challenges.

Luo Kai drew a tag with the number 105, meaning there were over a hundred contestants ahead of him.

"Luo Kai, what number did you get?" Hao Fei asked anxiously from behind him.

"105."

"Damn, you’re lucky! The later your turn, the better. You can scout out the styles of the fighters who go first. My luck sucks. I drew number 10!"

Luo Kai smiled. "Want to trade?"

"Can we do that?" Hao Fei asked, glancing around cautiously.

Luo Kai’s hearing was incredibly sharp, and he could hear several other contestants nearby secretly swapping their numbered tags. Fighting later was clearly an advantage, as it allowed one to formulate a counter-strategy based on the Body Techniques of previous fighters. To him, however, it made no difference. He stuffed his tag into Hao Fei’s hand.

"Are you sure about this?" Hao Fei hesitated. He had witnessed Luo Kai’s terrifying ability to punch a bullet out of the air and guessed he was the school’s secret ace. It was better not to reveal such a trump card too early.

Luo Kai took the number 10 tag from Hao Fei and turned his gaze toward the rings. The one in the southeast corner was the most conspicuous. On it was a bald, scar-faced brute. He wasn’t standing like a normal person but was in a low crouch, his muscles bulging as if he were a tiger about to pounce.