Chapter 481: Secrets

"You… you you?"

Meng Naqi stared at Fang Xing, his pupils violently contracting, his body trembling with intense fear and shock, unable to utter a single coherent sentence.

He never imagined Fang Xing had reached the point where his flesh could intercept bullets.

Even specialists on the path of physical enhancement—the Blood Path—would likely need to pass through several gates before achieving such an unbelievable feat.

And he was certain that when Fang Xing first enrolled in the academy, he was merely an ordinary person.

What kind of divine favor could possibly empower an ordinary person to grow so powerful within just a few years?

The favor and aether required for this were simply astonishing!

"Is it the half-god 'Immortal Walker' who walks among mortals, or the great entity deep within Manlin?"

Meng Naqi's heart held both fear of death and thirst for new knowledge.

Greed and fanaticism burned like a constantly flickering candle, scorching his soul, driving him to crave mystery, to crave everything…

"I originally thought… you'd at least use a talisman or something."

Fang Xing sighed: "Turns out… it's this dull."

He grabbed Meng Naqi's wrist and applied slight pressure.

Crack!

A sharp bone-snapping sound echoed; immediate agony twisted Meng Naqi's face.

"Then tell me… where's Silver Ring?"

Fang Xing's words hammered relentlessly against Meng Naqi's mental defenses.

In inflicting pain upon the body, he was the master among masters.

Meng Naqi could not endure the agony hovering at the edge of collapse and unconsciousness; he rasped: "I'll tell you… he's right…"

Before he finished speaking, strange radiance poured continuously from his eyes, mouth, and nasal passages.

Boom!

Meng Naqi's corpse collapsed to the floor.

"A secrecy-sealing curse was planted in advance?"

Fang Xing nodded, then shook his head: "Too bad… I still lack the means to extract souls."

He had used the power and knowledge of the Mechanism Path to develop a set of 'Mechanized Arms,' but had yet to touch the soul.

At least, outside the body—he had no way to extract Meng Naqi's soul and swallow it, then burn it in the Great Sun Crucible to uncover more clues.

But…

"A mere first-rank Mechanism Path adept… doesn't seem worth my wasting much effort…"

Fang Xing's ear twitched; he moved to the window, pulled back the curtain, and saw two patrol officers approaching, their hands resting on their holsters.

Clearly, the sound of Meng Naqi's fire-pen had drawn attention from neighbors—and now the police.

"Time to go."

He tucked away the black notebook and slipped the fire-pen into his pocket.

This little device was quite clever—he could try reloading it with a new round later and give it as a gift…

Once prepared, Fang Xing raised his collar and pressed down his hat brim, leaving only his eyes exposed.

Click!

The villa's front door opened.

Simultaneously, a shadow slipped out the back door and vanished swiftly into the darkness.

…

"The Way of Strange Machinery?"

In Shi Lei's training villa, Fang Xing sat cross-legged, the black notebook of his spoils before him.

This rich second-generation had plenty of money; he only came here to practice combat, yet all living facilities were fully equipped, making it ideal for residence.

In fact, Fang Xing felt the security here was far tighter than at Meng Naqi's villa complex.

With Shi Lei's family's influence, even a murder case could be buried.

Of course, this meant nothing to Fang Xing.

After inventing the Mechanized Arms Path, he had already gained some transcendental power; ordinary firearms couldn't even pierce his defense.

Even high-powered steam rifles, he could dodge effortlessly.

After all, no matter how good a weapon is, it still requires a human to wield it.

Thus, he truly didn't care.

Still, avoiding trouble was better. Fang Xing paid no attention at all to cleaning up loose ends; instead, his focus was entirely on the black manuscript before him.

"Aether, secret transmission, transcendental…"

This copy of "The Way of Strange Machinery" was far more open than the earlier "The Beauty of Machinery"—it didn't hide anything, directly revealing transcendental secrets.

Fang Xing even felt the earlier "The Beauty of Machinery" wasn't truly a secret transmission at all—just a slightly mysterious, banned book.

"The world has two layers: the mundane realm and the Aether Plane, Manlin, the Inner World…"

"We, as mortals, enter the Aether Plane and create 'influences'… the Aether Plane responds with corresponding 'echoes'… the greater the influence, the higher the echo level in the mundane realm—this is the foundation of all transcendence!"

Fang Xing read a few lines and knew this secret transmission was straightforward—every sentence was pure substance.

"According to it, every time a transcendentalist enters the Aether Plane, it's equivalent to performing a ritual—leaving various influences… causing the Aether Plane's echoes to intensify… the mundane world is devoid of magic; the Aether Plane's echoes are the source of mystery!"

"So the 'echo' is essentially a counterforce of aether?"

"Thus, transcendentalists treat increasing Aether Plane echoes as their primary cultivation path… after countless generations of trial and summary… they discovered that passing through sealed gates is the most effective way to amplify influence—each gate passed yields vastly different echoes, forming rank distinctions."

"Those who have not passed the first gate—the Gate of the Unfixed—are Wanderers! They drift only at the outermost edge of the Aether Layer, barely touching mystery, existing as 'visible but intangible'—thus, craving is their common mental state…"

"Those who pass the Gate of the Unfixed and leave an influence behind are First-Rank Transcendentalists… they gain Aether echoes, allowing them to manipulate aether in the mundane realm to transform themselves or manifest supernatural arts…"

"Those who pass the Gate of the Deep Sea are Second-Rank 'Depth Seekers'… their influence deepens, granting stronger aether power…"

"Those who pass the Gate of Illumination are Third-Rank 'Illuminated Ones'… exceedingly rare in the mundane world; each is a true master of the arcane, capable of founding schools and leaving behind numerous secret transmissions…"

"Those who pass the Gate of Immortality are Fourth-Rank 'Immortals'… they gain extended life, even altering their life form, capable of entering the Aether Plane in physical form—called 'Half-Gods'…"

"Transcendentalists on different paths manifest different powers and abilities at each rank."

"Moreover, passing each gate requires unique rituals, trials, and offerings… and likely each sect's method differs—this advancement knowledge is true secret transmission."

"This copy of 'The Way of Strange Machinery' is not the original, merely a transcription… it only records the method to pass the first gate—the Gate of the Unfixed: locating, seeking, wandering… then using the soul of a genius mechanical engineer as an offering…"

Fang Xing read it, nodded, then shook his head.

"My way of passing through gates is somewhat different."

"If the orthodox transcendental path in this world is crafting keys to open gates calmly… then I smash them open with my own fists!"

"This is harder, but the influence generated is immense—and the Aether echoes gained after breaking through are the richest!"

"In martial cultivation, this practice is called 'Breaking Limits!'"

"Smashing the Gate of the Unfixed is a martial cultivator who breaks his first great limit."

"Passing the Gate of the Deep Sea breaks the second limit! The Gate of Illumination breaks the third limit… smashing the Gate of Immortality breaks the fourth limit—a martial half-god!"

Fang Xing had no interest in this world's so-called Immortals.

After all, all their power comes from the Aether Plane—if the Aether Plane collapses or they enter another realm, they're instantly useless.

It's like a Xian Dao cultivator who refines emptiness—'borrowing power for immortality,' not 'achieving immortality through self-power!'

He needed to integrate these mysterious teachings into his own martial path, making transcendental martial arts 'legal'—or at least 'compatible with the rules'—in this world!

Rustle!

Fang Xing flipped to the next page of the black manuscript and finally saw several techniques—or rather, ritual-like practices:

"Dreamwalking, Frenzy, and Word-Spell?"

He examined them: the 'Dreamwalking Technique' involved using various drugs and rituals to induce sleep, then wandering the Aether Plane in dreams.

'Frenzy' was a technique to maintain constant vigor and mental acuity, but it had limited duration and side effects—overuse could cause mental instability.

The final 'Word-Spell' was the very spell Fang Xing had seen placed on Meng Naqi, preventing the target from uttering certain keywords.

"Passable…"

Fang Xing always absorbed the essence and discarded the dross when studying secret transmissions.

After fully understanding a technique, he attempted to integrate it into his own martial path, manifesting it through transcendental martial arts.

For instance, 'Dreamwalking' could be remade into a martial meditation technique.

'Frenzy' could be incorporated into explosive techniques.

As for 'Word-Spell'?

Fang Xing fell into thought: "The essence of transcendence lies in Aether echoes… one person's power is never as great as many… if I teach my martial path, and countless martial artists smash through these transcendental gates, how great would the collective influence be?"

In any world, the reputation of a pathfinder is always the greatest.

As for what effect this might have on the world? Fang Xing didn't care.

His only goal was to defeat the Creator!

"Teaching disciples, building a faction… I can start both at once."

"And… I must prepare from the beginning to prevent rebellion. Though martial artists shouldn't fear any challenge, being challenged by one's own disciples would be embarrassing…"

Fang Xing pressed his temples, a few ideas forming.

(End of Chapter)