Chapter 2: The Pulse-Burning Technique and Luo Xuan’s Divine Mechanism

The next morning, Zhou Yan returned to the apartment with breakfast.

At a glance, he saw Luo Xuan standing motionless in the living room with her eyes closed. On the large television screen before her was a projected image.

It was a static picture of a mass of blazing white flames.

Yet there was something mysterious about the pattern. Though the image was still, Zhou Yan could almost see the flames shifting rapidly, as if they had no fixed form.

“This is the Leaving-Fire Diagram.”

Luo Xuan’s calm voice sounded just as Zhou Yan was studying the image with curiosity.

At some point, she had opened her eyes and ended her meditation.

“When Breath Cultivation reaches the Crane’s Cry stage, the body itself has already reached its limit in terms of physical composition—the flesh, fascia, and bones have all been tempered as far as they can go. Continuing to practice Breath Cultivation can, at most, allow a human to attain the strength of ten men. Beyond that, Breath Cultivation can only preserve the body’s condition; it can no longer serve the purpose of training it further.”

Zhou Yan nodded. “The strength of ten men. That’s already invincible against ordinary people, isn’t it? With nothing but knives, clubs, or even pistols, ordinary people probably couldn’t touch someone like that before he ran out of stamina, right?”

He was well qualified to comment on the matter. He had once started with average attributes of “100,” so he knew exactly how overwhelming such a level of power was compared with that of an ordinary person.

“That’s right.” Luo Xuan pointed at the white flames on the screen. “Although the strength of ten men is no different from superhuman power in the eyes of ordinary people, human strength has its limits. Through the tireless efforts of generation after generation of extraordinary talents, people eventually found a path beyond the limits of human strength.”

“The mind,” Zhou Yan guessed.

Luo Xuan glanced at him and nodded. “Yes. The body has limits, but the mind and will do not. The people of old discovered long ago that, given equal physiques and skills, the person with the stronger will was more powerful. Eventually, they confirmed that the body’s actual functions could be influenced by one’s will, allowing a person to accomplish things that would normally be impossible.

“Someone who could normally lift only two hundred pounds might be buried beneath a four- or five-hundred-pound boulder, yet rely on an outburst of willpower to lift and throw it aside.

“Someone trapped in a fire might unleash astonishing potential simply to escape with their life.”

After giving a few simple examples, Luo Xuan returned to the main point.

“What I just described concerns only the willpower of ordinary people. In reality, the functions they influence with their will are still merely the superficial functions of the body, such as the muscles and bones. The strong are different.”

She raised a finger.

“The limits that ordinary people must break through with an explosive exertion of will are things martial artists who have tempered their bodies to the extreme can accomplish with ease. Therefore, the purpose of training the will among the strong is to find a way to influence deeper bodily functions, such as vital energy and blood, or the body’s acupoints.”

“It sounds like something out of a martial-arts story,” Zhou Yan said, playing along at the appropriate moment.

“It is a realm that transcends ordinary human beings.” Luo Xuan’s expression remained calm. “Returning to the Leaving-Fire Diagram: this is an accompanying visualization chart for the Vein-Burning Method. Only martial artists who have reached a level above the Marvelous stage in the Vermilion Bird Palace are permitted to practice it. By visualizing this image in the mind through the corresponding meditation method and constructing its form, one can temper the strength of the spirit through the constant expenditure of mental energy.

“Only after one’s spiritual strength has been tempered to a certain degree can one attempt to influence the body with the mind, drive the vital energy and blood into motion, and activate the body-strengthening function of the Vein-Burning Method.”

Zhou Yan looked at Luo Xuan and raised a hand to stop her. “Wait. Come to think of it, Little Xuan, am I even allowed to hear this?”

“Why do you think I took the initiative to tell you?” Luo Xuan shot him a sideways glance. “The Pavilion Master indicated that I could tell you. If you want to learn it, you may even give it a try.”

Zhou Yan stroked his chin. “Looks like after joining the Demon Extermination Bureau, we’ve become Pavilion Master Cong’s trusted people.”

“That is indeed the case.” Luo Xuan continued looking at him. “So, do you want to learn it?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” Zhou Yan agreed at once.

“I’ll teach you when we get back tonight.” Luo Xuan picked up the remote and turned off the television. “We have to report formally to the Demon Extermination Bureau shortly. There isn’t enough time.”

At that moment, the door of a room adjoining the living room opened. Luo Ke emerged in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes.

“Sis, you’ve been mumbling on and on so early in the morning. You’re so noisy!”

“You’re simply too fond of sleeping. Go wash up, then come eat breakfast.” Luo Xuan glared at her. “Zhou Yan and I are going on patrol today. You’re staying home and watching the place.”

“What!?” Luo Ke jumped on the spot. “I’m supposed to watch the house all by myself? No!”

She shook her head repeatedly. “I’m scared!”

“Scared of what? Didn’t you used to look after that enormous sword school?” Luo Xuan said coldly.

“How is that the same?” Luo Ke’s little face crumpled. “I grew up at the sword school, and all our neighbors were familiar old residents. But I don’t know anyone around this new place. What if someone kidnaps and sells me?”

As she spoke, she turned pitiful eyes on Luo Xuan.

“Please take me with you on patrol, Sis. I’ll behave!”

“No.” Luo Xuan refused without hesitation.

Luo Ke’s face immediately fell. Then she turned to Zhou Yan, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Brother Zhou Yan, will you take me with you?”

“I don’t really mind,” Zhou Yan said with a smile, instantly brightening the girl’s face.

This little imp’s acting was almost comically fake.

“No!” Luo Xuan cut him off at once.

Zhou Yan helplessly shrugged at Luo Ke. “See? Your sister is my superior. I have to listen to her.”

Luo Ke flew into a rage and began making faces at Luo Xuan.

“Stinky old sister! We should never have let Mom and Dad give birth to you!”

“I think you’ve got that backward,” Luo Xuan said coldly. “I’m older than you. If our parents were going to refrain from having one of us, they should have refrained from having you.”

“Bleh, bleh, bleh!”

Luo Ke continued making faces at Luo Xuan.

Zhou Yan thought for a moment, then returned to his room while the two girls were busy bickering.

Ever since learning that this world contained anomalies such as Chaos Rifts, he had been deeply concerned about safety.

Luo Xuan possessed formidable martial skills and the mysterious Divine Engine, so she had more than enough strength to protect herself.

Luo Ke, however, was just an ordinary student. Although years of sword training had made her agile and healthy, when it came to actual combat ability, she was not much stronger than an ordinary person.

If something happened while he and Luo Xuan were away, it would be too late for regrets.

With that thought in mind, Zhou Yan took out a small stuffed toy he had kept hidden as a spare.

Then he retrieved an item from his equipment bar.

It was an item he had obtained during his most recent journey through the Calamity Realm: the Modified Protective Vine.

The Protective Vine could only function after being equipped, so Zhou Yan equipped it and then ordered it to enter its “activated” state.

The vine slipped from his wrist and transformed into a gigantic vine-like creature. Under Zhou Yan’s mental command, it shrank back into a tiny tendril, then burrowed into the garlic-shaped bud on the stuffed toy’s back.

A one-star, zero-rank vine creature would probably be troublesome even for a grandmaster to deal with. Using it to guarantee Luo Ke’s safety was more than sufficient.

Zhou Yan attached the stuffed toy containing the Protective Vine to a key ring, took it in his hand, and smilingly opened the door.

In the living room, the sisters were no longer speaking to each other.

Luo Xuan was eating breakfast on her own, while Luo Ke sat on the sofa hugging a pillow and sulking.

“Are you angry?” Zhou Yan asked as he walked over to the girl.

“Hmph!” Luo Ke looked up at him, then immediately turned away. In a muffled voice, she said, “My sister doesn’t love me anymore, and you won’t take me with you either.”

Although she deliberately refused to look at Zhou Yan, she held her little ears upright, clearly hoping he would say something comforting.

Zhou Yan sat down beside her and gently poked her shoulder.

“Little Ke, don’t be angry. I have something for you.”

“Hm?”

Luo Ke forced herself not to look at him, but she lasted less than three seconds before she could no longer resist sneaking a glance sideways.

Lying in Zhou Yan’s hand was a cute keychain with a stuffed toy attached. It depicted a blue, four-legged creature carrying a green bulb resembling a garlic head on its back.

“Wow!”

Luo Ke sprang to her feet.

“Brother Zhou Yan, what is this? A garlic turtle?”

“You can call it that if you want.” Zhou Yan handed her the stuffed-toy keychain. “But I prefer to call it Bulbasaur.”

“This is for you. Consider it an apology from your brother Zhou Yan, all right?”

Luo Ke immediately accepted the little gift with delight and said with a beaming smile, “Then be careful out there. I’ll wait at home for you and that woman.”

When she said “that woman,” she turned toward Luo Xuan and made a face, proudly dangling the keychain from her hand to show it off.

Luo Xuan could not be bothered to respond. She quickly finished her breakfast, stood up, and said coldly, “Zhou Yan, let’s go, or we’ll be late.”

Zhou Yan rose with a smile.

The two of them left the apartment without incident.

The elevator was silent for a while.

Zhou Yan glanced at Luo Xuan’s cold expression and felt that he ought to say something to ease the awkwardness.

Before he could speak, Luo Xuan stared straight ahead and said coldly, “I want one of those keychains too.”

“What?” Zhou Yan froze, thinking he had misheard.

Luo Xuan turned her head away from him. “You only gave one to Luo Ke. That’s a little unfair.”

Zhou Yan smiled. “All right. I’ll make a different one for you tomorrow.”

Luo Xuan said nothing more.

After leaving the elevator and walking out of the residential complex, the two of them hailed a taxi. Because of the morning rush hour, it took nearly half an hour to reach the entrance of the Leaving-Fire Pavilion.

After getting out, Zhou Yan turned to Luo Xuan with a grave expression.

“Do we get reimbursed for the taxi?”

Wing City really was different from Sky-Sovereign City. Taxis were genuinely expensive.

Looking at the payment deduction notification on her phone, Luo Xuan’s expression was equally solemn.

“Looks like buying transportation needs to be put on the agenda.”

“I still have a few tens of thousands left. We should be able to buy a cheap car. But, Little Xuan, do you have a driver’s license?” Zhou Yan asked, stroking his chin.

Luo Xuan nodded. “Yes.”

Then she added, “You don’t need to spend your money. I have a motorcycle license. Buying a motorcycle would be more convenient.”

“Oh?”

Zhou Yan could not help glancing at the long legs of the girl beside him, then silently nodded.

Swordsmanship, a high ponytail, a cool and imposing long-legged female rider—they suited each other unexpectedly well.

Chatting as they walked, the two soon reached the Demon Extermination Bureau on one of the upper floors of the office building.

There, they met the bureau chief once again: Chu Wan, a stunningly beautiful woman with an exceptionally voluptuous figure.

When they entered, the chief was on the phone. Her expression was extremely serious, suppressing even her naturally seductive air.

“You went all the way to the eastern district? I understand. I’ll contact you again later.”

Chu Wan looked up and saw Luo Xuan and Zhou Yan entering her office. She murmured a few more words into the phone before hanging up.

When she raised her head again, the alluring smile Zhou Yan had seen before had already returned to her face.

“Little Xuan, have you finished moving?”

“Yes.” Luo Xuan nodded and went straight to the point. “Chief Chu, I’m settled in now. I’ve come to report formally today.”

“You’re being so formal, Little Xuan.” Chu Wan smiled warmly. “Now that we’re all on the same side, just call me what you used to. Don’t keep addressing me as Chief this and Chief that.”

Luo Xuan hesitated, then nodded.

“Chu Wan, Sis.”

Seeing Chu Wan nod in satisfaction, Luo Xuan immediately returned to the matter at hand.

“So, Sis Chu Wan, when do I begin working?”

Unexpectedly, Chu Wan shook her head.

“Take a few more days off. The eastern district that was originally assigned to you reported a suspected anomalous incident today. Once the experienced agents currently handling it resolve the matter, you can formally take over.”

“There’s no need.” Luo Xuan took two steps forward. “Sis Chu Wan, this is perfect. Let me handle the incident.”

Chu Wan frowned.

“Little Xuan, even if you haven’t dealt with an anomaly before, as a former elite seed of the Vermilion Bird Palace—and with your father’s status—you should know that anomalous incidents are not child’s play, right?”

She emphasized her next words.

“They are anomalies. There are countless examples of even grandmaster-level experts dying because of a moment’s carelessness.”

Luo Xuan, however, calmly replied, “I may be inferior to grandmaster-level experts in ordinary combat. But when it comes to strength after equipping a Divine Engine, they may not be stronger than me.”

Without waiting for Chu Wan to speak, Luo Xuan continued, “Sis Chu Wan, the Pavilion Master invited me here to serve as an expert. As an anomaly-extermination expert, if I have to leave every incident in my own jurisdiction for other colleagues to resolve, people will laugh at me later.”

Chu Wan’s voice faltered, and an inscrutable smile appeared on her face.

She looked Luo Xuan up and down and sighed.

“Little Xuan, who was so inexperienced back then, has grown up.”

Then her expression turned serious.

“Little Xuan, I can let you participate in resolving this matter. But as bureau chief, I must first confirm that you possess the necessary strength.”

Luo Xuan looked at Chu Wan’s solemn face without changing expression.

“All right. How would you like to confirm it?”

Chu Wan stretched lazily. The buttons across the chest of her white shirt immediately pulled taut, causing even the normally silent Zhou Yan beside them to glance over involuntarily.

She rolled her shoulders and smiled.

“Little Xuan, it’s been three years since the two of us last sparred. Come with me to the training grounds.”

“Bring your Divine Engine.”

With a smiling gesture, she pointed at the silver case Luo Xuan had been carrying the entire time.

“Divine Engine…”

Luo Xuan’s expression shifted slightly, and her grip on the case tightened.

“All right!”

Ten minutes later, Zhou Yan followed Chu Wan and Luo Xuan into a gigantic training arena. Only then did he discover that beneath the Leaving-Fire Pavilion’s base in Wing City lay a hidden underground space.

“Little Brother Zhou Yan, what do you think? Our Leaving-Fire Pavilion training arena is impressive, isn’t it?” Chu Wan turned back with a beaming smile. “After all, this is the Leaving-Fire Pavilion base in an important main city of the Vermilion Bird District. We certainly wouldn’t cut corners on the infrastructure.”

Zhou Yan raised his head and surveyed the enormous space before him, nodding slightly.

“Chief, I really didn’t expect there to be such a vast space beneath the Leaving-Fire Pavilion.”

The arena covered an immense area. The ceiling, walls, and floor were all lined with some sort of silver-white panels resembling ceramic, giving the place a distinctly futuristic, almost science-fiction atmosphere.

However, the size of the training arena was not what concerned Zhou Yan most at the moment.

His attention was fixed primarily on Luo Xuan, who had already walked to the center of the arena.

She wore the formal white-and-red uniform of the Vermilion Bird Palace. She stood the silver-white case she had been carrying upright on the floor, lightly resting her right hand on it, then turned toward Chu Wan and called out in a clear voice:

“Sis Chu Wan, come on!”

Chu Wan chuckled.

“Little Xuan, you’re as direct as ever.”

As she spoke, she turned and gave Zhou Yan a coquettish wink.

“Little Brother Zhou Yan, you’re in for a treat. Ordinary people never get to see a battle between two Mech-Warriors.”

She turned back, carrying a case covered in flame patterns, and walked step by step toward the center of the arena.

Zhou Yan’s expression grew serious as he silently watched the two women in the arena.

He was finally going to see it.

The true face of the Empire’s strongest military power!

***

The kid is incredible! Street Fighter 6 world champion!!