Chapter 478: Desire

Heihuan Private Mechanical Academy.

"Fang Xing… you've been taking leave more and more frequently lately; you've already accumulated several unexcused absences…"

Monaqi looked at Fang Xing, his expression one of frustrated disappointment: "If you keep going like this, I doubt you'll graduate at all…"

"Sorry, Mentor."

Fang Xing, rare as it was to return, had come specifically to browse the library, and now offered a sincere apology.

Sincere apology, absolutely no intention to change.

"Lately I've been designing a mechanical device. Here are the blueprints."

Still, Monaqi was tied to some of his social connections, so he needed to be placated.

Fang Xing immediately produced a set of schematics.

After his Awakening, he possessed knowledge from the Interstellar Age; designing a few mechanical marvels was child's play.

"Hmm?"

Monaqi's interest sparked instantly. He took the blueprints, glanced at them, and his eyes lit up: "Excellent… if you refine it further, I'd say it's worthy as a graduation project."

"Mentor, I've been taking leave to travel across Heihuan City, seeking inspiration for mechanical design—after all, this place once buried the Mechanical Capital: Heting."

Fang Xing invented an excuse for his absences.

"Hmm… you must understand, we mechanical engineers are not just scientists—we are artists. Every marvel requires passionate devotion."

Monaqi seemed to accept Fang Xing's explanation.

After Fang Xing took his leave, Monaqi stared at the blueprint in his hands, lost in thought: "Truly a genius conception. That once-pale soul, now filled with knowledge and passion… how sweet… my very soul feels the longing."

Monaqi pondered a moment, then picked up the bell beside his desk and rang it.

A mysterious figure in a black cloak appeared at his side, as if he had always been there.

"This 'sacrifice's' soul is nearly ripe."

Monaqi spoke as he handed the design blueprint to the mysterious figure.

"Inspiration, longing… what a sweet, succulent soul. He will surely satisfy those wandering in the 'Forest of Hunger,' and open the 'Gate of the Unfixed' for us…"

The mysterious figure's voice was hoarse, dry… yet tinged with eerie fervor.

"Indeed. I always felt his designs held great spirit—that's why I recruited him specially. A college student with no background vanishing won't draw much attention… of course, I can give him a letter of recommendation, saying he's off to seek work far away."

Monaqi smiled.

When he first met Fang Xing, he knew the boy fit the 'sacrifice''s needs—but it wasn't enough!

Beyond sufficient genius and inspiration, he must be deeply longing, utterly obsessed!

"But… his recent behavior has been unusual."

Monaqi described Fang Xing's recent changes: "I think we need to investigate—and perhaps act sooner than planned…"

"I'll have someone watch him… and you can give him that book, *The Beauty of Machinery*. Let his soul dry out, feel hunger, even become one of *us*…"

The mysterious figure said: "A novice with a certain mystical rank makes a better sacrifice…"

"I understand."

Monaqi nodded, the longing deepening in the depths of his eyes…

…

"The library contains no books on the supernatural…"

"That's only natural."

Disappointed, Fang Xing left the library and arrived at a villa.

Inside, a massive training ground had been built: red wooden flooring with no gaps, resilient and faintly scented with medicinal herbs.

"Indeed, the upper class's notion of luxury always leaves one speechless…"

Fang Xing stepped on the floor, watched Shi Lei sweating as he pounded a wooden post, and nodded.

Since agreeing to become Shi Lei's fitness coach, the man had purchased this villa.

To him, it was a drop in the ocean.

To Fang Xing, it was laughable.

In the Interstellar Age, a billionaire without a few private planets wouldn't dare greet others.

The truly powerful conglomerates, if not for the Federation's restraint, could control entire star systems…

Precisely because of this "unfazed" attitude, Shi Lei valued Fang Xing even more.

"Coach, how was my form?"

After a long bout with the post, Shi Lei wiped sweat from his face, eagerly watching Fang Xing.

"One word… terrible!"

"If you haven't even worn down the surface, how will the herbal energy seep in?"

Fang Xing stepped before the post, left hand up, right hand down.

*Crack!

Wood chips flew instantly; two clear palm prints appeared on the wooden pillars.

"These two strikes—my month's worth of effort—if you train hard…"

Fang Xing spoke calmly.

"Then I could be like you?" Shi Lei's eyes lit up.

Didn't he know how tough these posts were?

Especially leaving clear palm prints—that was harder than breaking or destroying them.

"No… you'd need another ten years of daily relentless training, with all the right nutritional supplements."

Fang Xing shook his head: "Martial arts… are inherently grueling, and in the end, still worse than a gun."

That was the consensus of this era!

Martial Dao was already dead… "I know, but I still want to train. I love combat, I love the feeling of constantly surpassing myself."

Shi Lei was stubborn.

Or rather, without external aids, watching one's physique grow stronger day by day was undeniably addictive.

Think of how many people in his past life obsessed over fitness, torturing themselves daily for muscle aesthetics—even using drugs.

Exercise could be addictive.

Fang Xing nodded, noncommittal.

If this rich kid wanted to play, he'd play along.

As long as he could find what he needed.

He had no clear path to building power yet—so he'd rely on these upper-class networks for now.

"If so, I'll teach you a small trick… called 'Whole Force'… unify your entire body's strength into a single explosive strike. With your current control, integrating full-body power is absurd—but boosting your punch strength a bit? Easy."

Fang Xing pointed out a minor technique.

It wasn't even a martial art—just a small killing move.

More like a useless trifle, since Shi Lei's talent required a noticeable wind-up to achieve whole-force.

In real combat, pausing for one or two seconds would leave you a beaten mess.

But for punching bags, wooden posts, or strength testers? Perfect—immediate results.

And this kind of spoiled heir clearly had no real combat experience—so he was ideal.

"Great!"

As expected, Shi Lei's eyes gleamed.

After several more hours of training, he took a white towel from a maid: "Coach… I found a few things you asked me to look for. Want to see them?"

"Oh? You found a few?"

Fang Xing's interest stirred.

Shi Lei nodded, drank some salt water, and had items brought over.

One of them was unmistakably a black stone demon mask.

"This is a ritual item of the Heikuer tribe… said to enhance physical strength through mystical power, but really just an antique."

Shi Lei explained.

Fang Xing nodded, noncommittal, touched the stone demon mask, then glanced at the other items.

"Also rumored witch's parchment scrolls, a broken crystal ball of a witch… all worthless."

Shi Lei laughed: "If you like them, take them all."

Fang Xing stared at the fist-sized, cracked crystal ball called the witch's orb—it felt familiar, as if he'd seen it in Old Quain's junk shop.

The cracks? Made by Old Quain himself when he dropped it!

"You've been thoughtful. Keep gathering related items or information…"

Fang Xing picked up the stone demon mask: "I'll take this one. Deduct the cost from my private coaching fee."

Stepping out of the villa, he tossed the stone mask in his hand, shook his head: 'No strange sensation at all… my Great Sun Buddha Spell hasn't stirred. So it's just an ordinary antique after all.'

…

Back at his apartment, Fang Xing pulled out his key, opened the door—and his expression shifted.

He saw a package on the living room table, placed there without his knowledge.

"Sister's reply?"

"No—even if it were a letter, it'd be slipped under the door… how did such a large package get inside?"

Curious, Fang Xing tore open the packaging and found a book.

A book on mechanical engineering.

"The Beauty of Machinery?"

Fang Xing flipped through a few pages and found it a ordinary mechanical textbook, introducing several mechanical components, with somewhat imprecise terminology.

This made him, a mechanical engineering student, frown.

But soon, Fang Xing's expression grew grave:

"Steam roars, great bells ring, gears turn… the beauty of steel lies within…"

"Life is machinery; I am the flywheel…"

He softly recited those passages—emotional rather than rational, unfit for a technical textbook—and his tone unconsciously became rhythmic and cadenced.

He even felt an invisible force seeping into his very core.

All those years of study had left his soul starving for this "nourishment…"

"Truly… I've searched far and wide, only to find it right here."

A faint smile touched Fang Xing's lips; without the slightest hesitation, he opened himself fully to receive this "nourishment!"

Then…

Within his heart, an invisible blazing sun rose, incinerating every trace of this tainted knowledge.

A mere hint of corruption embedded in knowledge—even without the Great Sun Buddha Mantra—could not shake his will in the slightest.

"I've found the transcendent thing."

Fang Xing smiled faintly: "Who would've thought… the thing I sought all along was right beside me?"

(End of Chapter)