Shen Ye was beginning to understand.
Disciples from prestigious families like Xiao Mengyu had been honing their comprehension skills since childhood—was this a way of developing their brain potential or enhancing their spiritual perception?
Tsk.
Once again, ordinary people were left far behind.
After all, if one lacked comprehension ability, they wouldn’t even be able to grasp martial techniques, let alone keep up with these aristocratic heirs.
No wonder the great families remained the ruling class in this world.
As Shen Ye continued practicing his palm techniques, he pondered their key principles, gradually losing track of time.
He had no idea how long had passed.
His palm strikes flowed effortlessly like moving clouds and flowing water. As he delivered several consecutive strikes, a sudden clap of thunder resounded.
A line of glowing text appeared before his eyes:
“Congratulations, your comprehension is exceptionally high. You have reached the Minor Achievement level in ‘Thunder Palm Secrets.’”
Applause rang out from the side.
Shen Ye snapped back to reality and turned his head, spotting Xiao Mengyu standing nearby with a smile.
“Congratulations. It seems you’re quite suited for palm techniques,” she said.
“This technique wasn’t too difficult,” Shen Ye commented.
“That’s not true,” Xiao Mengyu said with a complicated expression. “Many people have decent comprehension, yet they spend their entire lives studying this technique without ever producing a true thunderclap.”
“Really?” Shen Ye was surprised.
“Yes. It involves resonance affinity—very few people are suited for lightning-based techniques,” Xiao Mengyu explained with a nod.
Suddenly, a line of glowing text appeared before Shen Ye’s eyes:
“You have practiced other techniques from the Moonlit series, making it easier for you to learn Thunder Palm.”
Moonlit series…
Before Shen Ye could ponder this, Xiao Mengyu suddenly remembered something and said, “Check your card. Your strength rating must have changed.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and your appearance will change too.”
Shen Ye was delighted and quickly took out his card.
On it, his image now showed him holding a skull, with lightning occasionally crackling along his arm.
—He looked even more like a villain now.
Above his head, next to the existing star, a new shining star had appeared.
Two stars!
Several lines of text appeared on the card:
“You have become a Two-Star Rookie. In addition to receiving basic information, you can now obtain a personalized figurine, a new hairstyle, new clothing, and a slogan.”
“—You have mastered Thunder Palm in an extremely short time!”
A figurine?
What do I need a figurine for?!
A new hairstyle might be worth a try, though!
“Use new hairstyle,” Shen Ye commanded.
In an instant, the hair on his card vanished completely.
Shen Ye froze.
…You call baldness a new hairstyle?!
And now…
I look like Sha Monk!
“Cancel the transformation, I beg you. Change my hair back,” Shen Ye sighed.
His hair finally returned.
It had annoyed him before, but after losing it, he realized he was just grateful to have it at all.
“Forget the rest. Let me see the new clothing,” Shen Ye said.
Boom!
The card trembled slightly.
His wrinkled school uniform turned into… a brand-new school uniform.
New clothing…
It was new, but wasn’t this a bit too lazy?!
“Use slogan.”
Unconvinced, Shen Ye gave another command.
On the card, a slogan board appeared behind him:
“Betrays for profit.”
“This is random. You can try again,” Xiao Mengyu said.
“Change.”
“Fickle and unfaithful.”
“Again!”
“Greedy for money.”
“Change!”
“Lustful.”
“Why do they all start with ‘Greedy’?! This is too degrading! I refuse!”
Shen Ye exploded in frustration.
He grumpily put away the card, only to see Xiao Mengyu smiling at him.
“Don’t worry, it’s just teasing you—once you reach Four Stars, it’ll start treating you better,” Xiao Mengyu reassured him.
“Oh, right. What time is it now?” Shen Ye asked.
“A little past noon,” Xiao Mengyu replied.
“Crap! I lost track of time while practicing—Qian Rushan told me to meet him at noon!” Shen Ye exclaimed.
Xiao Mengyu nodded.
“You should also meet with the people from the Mortal Martial Arts Group. They must be waiting for you.”
“Where will you be later?” Shen Ye asked.
“I’ll stay here and continue comprehending the sword. You can find me anytime if you’re free.”
“Alright.”
Suddenly, Shen Ye recalled something.
As he stretched his sore shoulders and neck, he said,
“By the way, with your abilities, can you keep investigating that ‘Skinner’?”
Xiao Mengyu paused, then immediately understood.
“Yes,” she murmured. “Zhao Yibing came back to life, so maybe…”
“He’s alive too,” Shen Ye said.
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the cold glint in each other’s eyes.
Shen Ye thought even further.
—Maybe it was because they both came back to life that he received the title of ‘Drowner.’
Would he die at their hands?
…
The Mortal Martial Arts Group had a building in Yunshan Port.
—It seemed that in any large city, this group always had a building.
Ever since arriving here, Qian Rushan had been busier than ever, not even having time to invite Shen Ye for a meal.
Left with no choice, Shen Ye ate alone in the group’s cafeteria, then took his room key and went to a personal room to rest.
Closing the door, he asked in a low voice, “How’s the environment here?”
“I don’t sense any prying eyes,” the deep voice of the giant skeleton replied. “It’s decent.”
“Good.”
Shen Ye closed his eyes, waited briefly, then opened them again and assumed a stance.
Then, in a sudden movement—
Within the confined space, his figure flickered as he dodged, twisted, kicked, and struck.
In an instant, he executed Moonlit Deer Step, Shadow Step, Frost Wind, and Thunder Palm one after another.
After completing the entire set, Shen Ye steadied his stance and held his breath.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
Nothing happened.
Whew—
He let out a breath, feeling a little disappointed, yet also thinking it was to be expected.
“I knew it… This Thunder Palm isn’t the one I was hoping for. How ridiculous of me to hold onto such unrealistic fantasies…”
Shen Ye muttered to himself for a moment and then relaxed.
“What are you rambling about?” the big skeleton asked.
“Nothing—I just wanted to test out a few moves,” Shen Ye covered up.
“I actually have some thoughts on that. Want to hear them?” the big skeleton said.
“Go ahead,” Shen Ye replied.
“Shadow step is the most worthless necromantic technique—so bad that even the undead themselves don’t bother learning it, let alone humans, beastkin, or elves.”
“Frost wind has a major flaw. After that kick, if another enemy seizes the opportunity, you’re in deep trouble. Only assassins, who rely on short bursts of power, would bother learning it. Even then, elven assassins look down on it, and only a handful of human assassins pick it up.”
“‘Moonlit Deer Step’ is merely the standard formation footwork for elven infantry. It’s of average quality at best. Once they earn enough battle merit, elves switch to higher-tier movement techniques.”
“As for the beastkin’s Thunder Palm, hardly any of them learn it—after all, beastkin inherently fear lightning.”
“In other words—”
“These are all trash.”
“You should hurry to the Imperial Military Academy and learn some real advanced techniques,” the big skeleton advised earnestly.
But Shen Ye fell into deep thought.
—That voice wouldn’t do something meaningless.
Besides, he had actually gained an incomplete comprehension of “Frost Moon Shocking Heavens” from these techniques.
Looking at it now, these techniques were all obscure and disregarded by the four races of the Nightmare World.
Why gather them all?
There was no answer to that. He would only know once he entered the Nightmare World and obtained the true Thunder Palm from the beastkin.
Forget it.
No point dwelling on it now.
Anyway, Qian Rushan was busy.
Might as well find Xiao Mengyu in the afternoon, practice together, and ask which high school she planned to attend.
Shen Ye reached for his phone on the bed.
Just as he picked it up, a sudden jolt ran through his entire body.
Snap.
Something in his mind seemed to break.
Blood seeped from every pore of his body, and an unimaginable pain surged through him, so overwhelming that he instantly collapsed onto the ground.
“What’s wrong with you?” the big skeleton exclaimed in shock.
Shen Ye couldn’t speak—his whole body was convulsing uncontrollably.
I’m going to die!
Agonizing pain rampaged through his body, making him cough up mouthfuls of blood.
He couldn’t breathe.
Suffocating.
Like drowning.
The world sank into darkness.
Everything drifted away, even the big skeleton’s shouts becoming faint and distant.
How absurd.
Just like that, he was dying?
Shen Ye’s consciousness blurred, plunging into the void.
Falling deeper and deeper.
Everything had come to an end.
Suddenly.
A chilling presence pierced through the darkness, touching his consciousness, forcibly jolting him awake for a moment.
No!
I have to live!
Find that presence—where is it coming from?
Shen Ye barely opened his eyes from the pool of blood.
Nothing around him.
No people.
No living things.
He was still lying on the ground, his phone having fallen nearby. The screen lit up for a moment, displaying Xiao Mengyu’s number.
After a while, the phone dimmed again.
Darkness swept over once more.
Damn it.
What was that cold presence? How did it pull him back?
Shen Ye slowly closed his eyes.
Just then, another wave of bone-chilling cold struck him.
He shivered.
The decay consuming his body seemed to be halted by this frigid energy.
As his chest rose and fell, he opened his eyes again.
—This time, he understood.
He was breathing in a way he had never experienced before—this breath carried an icy essence, restoring his consciousness.
Breathing—
In this moment, breathing was his lifeline!
A surge of survival instinct exploded within Shen Ye. He focused entirely on this new way of breathing, desperately maintaining his body’s function and keeping his mind clear.
Time slowly passed.
His phone lit up again—”Qian Rushan” calling.
Shen Ye still couldn’t move.
All his strength was devoted to sustaining his breath.
Qian Rushan called several times, but eventually, the screen went dark again.
Seconds and minutes slipped away.
Shen Ye never stopped using that breath.
Visions began to surface.
At times, he felt like he had become the entire universe, his body encompassing endless stars and galaxies.
Other times, he felt like an immovable boulder lying in the riverbed’s soil, enduring the erosion of countless ages.
Finally, he felt as though he was standing beneath the moonlight, merging with its radiance.
He had no idea how much time had passed.
Gradually, he began to master this breathing technique.
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