Chapter 706: Newcomer

Splash!

A jet-black catfish swam freely in the water; after an unknown length of time, it felt a sudden heat in its belly.

Thump!

Inside the Zhenwu Space, a jet-black catfish landed on the ground, its tail still twitching incessantly.

“Can this… animal practice martial arts? Turn into a beast spirit? A Beast God?”

“No way—look at its intelligence, I’d collapse from exhaustion…”

Fang Xing wrinkled his nose and flicked his hand dismissively.

The catfish was thrown out again.

…

Time passed, unknown how long.

Splash!

A splash of water— a plump catfish was pulled from the water and landed before a boy.

“What a huge catfish!”

The boy was tall, with pale skin and features bearing a hint of mixed heritage.

He whipped his fishing rod, skewered the catfish, and carried it toward his home.

This was a shantytown by the river, built from discarded planks and cardboard boxes, resembling a slum.

Just beyond a single wall, not far away, lay the great Luo port city—Xinfeng!

There, one could see elegantly dressed gentlemen and young ladies, rickshaw pullers, watchmakers… as well as ancient escort guilds, martial arts schools, and clinics.

Even on the streets, one might spot a few steam-powered buses, their roofs laden with bulky packages, their designs bizarre and unfamiliar.

Most of these technologies originated from Baiying and were later localized in Luo.

They carried a strong modern-industrial aura, yet felt strangely hybridized.

“Li Wei, back already?”

A few neighborhood aunts greeted him: “Catch another fish?”

“Yeah.”

Li Wei grinned broadly and returned to his shack.

It looked crude—just a few loosely nailed planks—but housed four people.

He expertly began slicing the fish, thinking to himself: “Good catch today—I can visit Teacher Kyle.”

Teacher Kyle was a white man; yes, he claimed to be from Baiying, but in Luo, people simply called him “white man” for convenience, given his pale skin.

He was said to have once been a formidable knight, having joined several frontier expeditions.

But later, when Luo Shenchao went to war with Baiying, he took a sword through the knee and was forced to retire.

Yet he never developed hatred toward Luo; instead, he believed this continent, which Baiying called “the Far East,” was rich with gold and opportunity, so he followed a martial artist across the sea.

The martial artist he followed intended to establish a school in Xinfeng, so he had to adhere to local martial traditions: he set up seven consecutive days of challenge platforms at the busiest intersection, accepting duels from every martial school.

He was then killed by the head of one martial school—since they’d signed a death contract, the victor paid not a single coin in compensation…

Poor Kyle lost his job, then had all his belongings stolen by a thief; he tried to use brute force to rob others, but was spotted by several enforcers from the labor guilds, beaten half to death, and dumped in the slum.

Since then, he had become utterly docile—now he carried heavy loads at the docks as a laborer, occasionally teaching basic combat, all just to save enough for a ship ticket back to Baiying…

Though Kyle looked pitiful, to Li Wei he was still an extraordinary “master.”

And due to his mixed heritage, Li Wei himself also struggled in Luo Shenchao—he was an outcast.

He had once saved Kyle, so Kyle held affection for him and was willing to teach him a little.

In Baiying, that would mean taking him as an apprentice—requiring him to address Kyle as “teacher.”

According to Luo’s simple customs, once one had a master, even if poor, one should still offer tokens of gratitude.

As he walked, Li Wei tossed a stone talisman in his hand.

The talisman was gray-white, marked with strange patterns, and had inexplicably appeared inside the fish’s belly.

He paid it no mind and casually tossed it into his pocket.

Not long after, Li Wei arrived at a spot in the shantytown, carrying half the butchered fish.

The wooden huts here were sturdier; around Kyle’s hut stood a fence.

In the corner of the hut was a clay pot, simmering herbal medicine.

The entire room reeked of bitter medicinal scent.

“Teacher…”

Li Wei raised the fish meat: “I caught a fish today…”

“Ah, Li Wei.”

Kyle coughed.

He had a muscular build, golden curls, and sapphire-blue eyes.

But now his weakness was obvious—he had not fully recovered from his injuries and was overworked.

The master and disciple quickly cooked and ate the fish; Kyle sipped a bit of yellow wine, then sighed: “How is your practice of the ‘Cross Breathing Method’ going? This is a secret technique to become a proper knight—on Baiying, countless knight apprentices spend their whole lives longing for it… I only taught it to you because I couldn’t bear to let my sect’s core art die out, and because you have half-Baiying blood…”

“I haven’t even entered it yet…”

Li Wei’s expression darkened: “Besides—even if I mastered the breathing method, I doubt I could stand against those martial guild enforcers…”

“Nonsense!”

Kyle’s Luo speech was stiff, but his tone was clearly angry: “The knight’s path grows stronger the further you advance—far beyond what you can imagine…”

“Yes, yes, yes—are you going to tell me again about the legend that the Heavenly Knight can conquer the sky?”

Li Wei rolled his eyes: “In Luo, martial artists who can fly with their bodies are called Supergrade ‘Void Realm’… oh, your first Heavenly Knight was killed by a Void Realm elder from the Canal Guild.”

“Alright… Luo is indeed a strange land.”

Kyle hobbled into the courtyard enclosed by the fence.

His disability was also the work of Luo martial artists: “But without money to pay for the cheapest martial school tuition, you’re stuck learning my knightly combat… Now, continue.”

Li Wei immediately stripped off his shirt, revealing a lean torso; he crossed his arms in a cross shape and assumed an unusual posture.

As he adjusted his breathing rhythm, his muscles began to subtly ripple.

“Feel the wind, feel the earth… feel the pulse of life… you’ll discover the entire world is composed of different ripples, each with its own frequency…”

Kyle began explaining the essentials of the Cross Breathing Method.

“Your Luo martial arts—below the third rank—are merely physical conditioning… our knight path, in terms of physical refinement, is no less advanced… if you wear specially crafted knight’s armor, your advantage becomes even greater, and your progress accelerates… a knight squire in armor can slaughter a squad of ten lower-rank martial artists… unfortunately, our top-tier strength cannot match the Luo’s…”

Kyle sounded regretful.

“Come on… you guys wear armor and demand opponents fight barehanded…”

Li Wei reflexively countered: “Besides, we have many top-tier forces here—like the Demon Cult… they’d never cooperate with Luo Shenchao; they’re a massive burden.”

Thwack!

As Li Wei spoke, Kyle suddenly struck.

His joints were thick, his fingers blunt; he slammed several spots on Li Wei’s torso.

With sharp cracks, the struck areas immediately reddened and swelled…

Li Wei shuddered violently, as if struck by lightning.

In this strange state, he maintained the Cross Breathing Method’s rhythm—and somehow grasped something, but couldn’t hold onto it.

“I felt something… but it vanished…”

After the beating, Li Wei bowed deeply as he saw Kyle sweating: “Thank you, Teacher…”

“This training damages your body severely—you can’t sustain it long… Also, Li Wei, if you don’t break through to a full knight before twenty, this method will ruin you.” Kyle exhaled slowly, serious.

“Twenty is enough…”

Li Wei smiled: “Teacher, how many slum kids even survive to twenty?”

Kyle sighed: “Most of my money must be saved for a ticket home… but before I leave, I’ll teach you as much as I can. Once you break through the breathing method, you’ll condense the Seed of Life—truly entering the realm of transcendent knights—and then you can learn the true secrets of our ‘Red Snake Sect.’”

“Red Snake Sect?”

Li Wei’s eyes lit up—this was something Kyle had never mentioned before.

“Knight paths have many sects, just like your martial schools and clans… My branch is the ‘Red Snake Sect’—a powerful lineage that once produced Earth Knights.”

Like martial academies and sects... my branch is called the 'Red Snake Stream,' a powerful lineage that has produced Earth Knights.

“So… even no Supergrade…”

Li Wei sighed: “Looks like… I’ll have to rely on my own efforts.”

In truth, having grown up in Luo Shenchao, he had long believed Luo martial arts surpassed all others; he planned to use Kyle’s knightly combat to earn his first fortune, then seek a prestigious sect.

As for the Cross Breathing Method? The follow-up combat techniques? The Red Snake secrets?

Merely stepping stones and launchpads!

Night fell.

Li Wei returned home.

“Big brother?”

A little girl with a red hair tie ran over.

“Father… Mother…”

Li Wei patted her head and greeted his adoptive parents.

His adoptive parents were pure Luo blood, kind-hearted; they said they found him during a great snowstorm a year ago.

His adoptive parents were of pure Da Luo bloodline, kind-hearted, and reportedly found him during a heavy snowstorm a year ago.

Just by looking at his face, you could tell why he was abandoned.

According to their speculation and Li Wei’s own guess, his mother must have been a Bao Sihan from Xin Feng City.

Hmm, the Da Luo Dynasty is quite barbaric, with a tradition of capturing foreign races as slaves.

The so-called “Bao Sihan” are white-skinned Bai Ying women, captured and immediately reduced to slavery.

Xin Feng City has many entertainment houses and brothels that keep large numbers of Bao Sihan, a popular trend that has emerged in the last few decades.

“Xiao Wei’s back? Have you eaten?”

Li’s mother asked.

“I went to my teacher’s house; I’ve already eaten.”

Li Wei answered briefly, then helped with the household chores before collapsing onto his bed and falling into sleep…