Chaotic World Book

Although he was well aware that the blind man's eagerness for him to improve was geared towards obtaining subsequent Heavenly Books or perhaps some other unknown purposes, he could now think about it like Ah Q: "I've already slapped you in the face, and yet you're still obsessively encouraging me to read and improve..."

Thus, Zhao Changhe was in a good mood and genuinely began to immerse himself in the study of the Heavenly Book.

These two pages stand out as important primarily because both concepts are abstract and ethereal, one about light, the other about Qi, and both are difficult to directly apply to practical effect.

In the practice of Martial Arts, the more abstract the concept, the more difficult it is to decipher, and once mastered, it can also be the most powerful. This is because all things are relative; if you find it difficult to unravel, it's even harder for others. Therefore, it's fair to say that these pages are stronger than the others.

Is light only used to manipulate and deceive vision? Or can it only take advantage of certain situations to alter its path, engaging in retaliation, refraction, concentration of light and heat?

On its own, though? Does it possess force? Can it cause harm?

The answer is a definite yes, and it is not the heat energy from sunlight as commonly perceived; those are two different matters.

Einstein would tell you about the interaction between light and matter, "the amplification of light by stimulated emission" which is the basis for lasers. The potency of lasers is clear from various sci-fi works, revealing they can even penetrate cosmic spaceships. Regrettably, he was not a science student and only had a vague understanding of the concept, with no grasp of the actual mechanism.

However, knowing the concept is quite an achievement. Once you have the concept, and the Heavenly Book provides an outline, it can actually devise a set of Magic Skills for you to employ.

Zhao Changhe gazed into the void, and indeed the text began to manifest slowly as if creeping on the surface: "Unnamed Laser Magic Skill..."

And that was it. The following text appeared even more slowly, like the creeping of a turtle, as if the Heavenly Book also required time to deduce the specifics.

It wasn't clear whether it was because the blind man intentionally suppressed the ability of the Heavenly Book or simply couldn't manifest it himself. The Heavenly Book was indeed "creating" a set of laser magic skills, but the process was exceedingly slow, comparing to an old, lagging CPU that takes an eternity to load an image, only revealing a corner of a skirt, never the full picture.

The level was too high... Creating a laser with human effort might be even harder than achieving human flight, and it felt like even if the loading bar eventually revealed a set of magic skills, they would still be beyond his ability to learn or execute.

To put it bluntly, even the Rejuvenation Technique is still half-baked to this day; he hadn't completely grasped it, which goes to show that having a cultivation technique doesn't necessarily mean it can be used... Zhao Changhe was quite accustomed to this and didn't fret, moving on to study the next page, reasoning that someday he would be able to make use of this page when it finished loading.

The vague Qi described on the fifth page seemed more directly accessible.

He started with the Power of Faith, which Zhao Changhe himself possessed a bit—it was the faith in the Blood God. It felt as though the faith of people like Xue Canghai had manifested within him... As if they truly considered him a spokesperson for the Blood God. It was just a pity that there weren't many followers of the Blood God Sect; there seemed to be a vast number of bandits, but they didn't count, leaving only a core congregation of a thousand or two. The power of faith was fundamentally based on the masses, and such a small amount was insignificant, not even comparable to what could be gained from Dual Cultivation.

The small number wasn't a big deal; the key was that it gave Zhao Changhe a foundation, making it easier for him to discern and control various types of Qi. Otherwise, how could he have so easily guided San Niang and changed ingots to deceive her... It was because he already had a foundational grasp of it.

Zhao Changhe didn't plan on pursuing this path of faith and incense; he was also not too keen on things like merit, preferring to be a chivalrous hero for its own sake. If he sought merit, it would feel selfish and strange to him.

What did pique his interest, though, were matters of fate and qi veins.

This element—light in observation of one's fate, thriving in divination and guidance through misfortunes and fortunes; moderate in steering the fate of dynasties, presiding over their rise and fall; and significant in harnessing the lifeforce of beings for oneself, commanding wind and rain, showcasing divine capabilities.

He sat quietly in the void, drawing the magic skill related to fate from the Heavenly Book into his sea of consciousness, slowly digesting and absorbing it.

In the virtual world of the Heavenly Book, the clouds scurried by as tangible entities.

Within his sea of consciousness, stars twinkled above, illuminating the mountains and rivers below, where qi veins flowed like serpentine dragons.

The blind man hovered in the void, arms crossed, watching in silence, with a flutter of excitement in his heart.

He was learning way too fast.

Previously, when Zhao Changhe said, "Even with the help of the Heavenly Book, you should realize my own level isn't bad," he was actually being modest, or perhaps due to the Heavenly Book, he found it difficult to discern his own proportion of skill and lacked that confidence.

Only the blind man knew the extent of this guy's talent was off the charts.

Anything related to Martial Arts, no matter how elusive light and Qi were, his understanding met no obstacles; he learned directly and mastered immediately. He himself might think, "Ah? Isn't it supposed to be like this?" Yet, recall how he fared with academic subjects; even when teachers broke it down and fed it to him, he still might not understand, which shows that knowledge isn't just about being taught—it's about learning, especially so for his self-taught approach without a teacher.

Such martial talents were rare, a phoenix feather, a unicorn horn; it is unlikely that a second could be found in the whole world. Even another person given this castrated version of the Heavenly Book could not possibly reach Zhao Changhe's standard.

Among his peers, none could even come close to him. Still, there were those slightly less eminent, first being Yue Hongling, second Xia Chichi.

...

Xia Chichi boarded the fast ship left by the Tang family and dashed toward Tianya Island like lightning. She deftly dove to the seabed to summon the statue, broke through the formation, and directly reached the realm between sea and sky.

Xia Longyuan had sent her here to help her break through to the Third Layer Secret Treasure. So far, she had only reached the Mid Stage of the Second Layer, quite a ways off.

But indeed, this place could help her break through to the Third Layer. Xia Longyuan had not drawn her an empty promise; it was real.

If she cultivated here a bit longer, even breaking through to the Imperial Realm wouldn't pose much of a problem. This was the ultimate destination of her Azure Dragon cultivation. If she merely stayed a paltry day and then fled, looking back, she would ridicule herself for madness.

Considering the essence of the Azure Dragon alone, after consuming the Eastern Extreme Fruit, she didn't necessarily have to return here, as it could be digested slowly over a lifetime. However, the unique boundary sense of sea's end, the rich plant aroma, and the widespread Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, were only found in this place.

And... that process from leaping in the abyss to becoming a Flying Dragon in the Sky, was that just merely driving one to leave? Absolutely not.

It should signify that when the Azure Dragon rises from the East Sea, it then looks down upon all beings, as the sun dominates the sky.

In the last epoch, the Azure Dragon had visited this place. It was not only the position of the Azure Dragon but also that of a human Emperor. Beimang was his Emperor's Tomb.

In this epoch, Xia Longyuan had come here and, upon leaving, swept through the Six Harmonies and dominated all under heaven.

What about now?

Xia Chichi always felt that there was another force within her, a force somewhat different from her own cultivation but which could still be harmoniously summoned... Once she grasped that power, she would be able to break into the Third Layer Heaven in a short time... and perhaps... even go beyond.

She extended her slender hand to touch the barrier between sea and sky, where the barrier was invisible, yet its energy tangible.

The sun rose and the moon set within it, the ascent of the Azure Dragon began from here.

She was waiting, waiting to once again undergo the process of the Flying Dragon in the Sky, to fully grasp and utterly control its essence.

It was not about any human imperial throne but a transcendent and unparalleled power.

"Whoosh!" Zhao Changhe burst out of the depths of the sea, looked around the Four Seas, and affirmed his learnings.

All over the East Sea, scattering, there pervaded countless small dragon-like intentions, representing the maritime nations.

To the north, on Penglai Island, another much weaker dragon energy was taking shape, somewhat chaotic... could that be... Changkong?

Zhao Changhe's gaze turned westward, toward the breadth of the Divine Continent, and felt a palpable sense of alarm at the sight.

The Mountain and River Dragon Energy was shattered and fading, numerous dragons, snakes, tigers, and leopards tearing at the largest dragon form— the weakened Azure Dragon teetered on the brink.

San Niang emerged from the Vortex, stood on the reef with him, gazing into the distance. Now having some ability to sense energy, she frowned and murmured in a low voice, "The situation in the Divine Continent might be worse than we expected... Xia Longyuan seems not to be badly hurt, is he truly so weak?"

Zhao Changhe shook his head, "This is a manifestation of the Qi Veins, it confirms what will happen in the coming period, not what is happening now, nor does it indicate it can't be changed. I wonder if Xiao Xia can restore peace to the land, and if not him, who will..."

Before he finished speaking, his heart stirred, and he turned to look east.

In the far east, the Dragon Star Constellation was rising at the border of sea and sky, just as on the day of departure, eternally coming and going, in ceaseless repetition.

But today, upon a second look, one could see tangible dragon-shaped energy filling the heavens, containing unmatched power.

Xia Chichi.

Zhao Changhe gazed for a long while, then whispered, "It's about time... she can return."

[End of Volume Six]

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PS: Just started driving the day before yesterday and already got reported today. I can't fathom what goes through the brain of such a moron; I've said it last time already, this book is almost entirely clean. Even with the reports, only a few sentences in random chapters may need changing, but that just makes thousands curse at you— why bother? Currently, it's nearly impossible to find pirated copies of the new chapters; if you want to report, you have to keep up with the latest updates... Well, this book's success partly owes to you; even many of the hardcore Alliance leaders don't keep up as diligently as you do, thank you.

Leaving that aside, I'd like to thank the brothers for their monthly tickets. I've been typing away without knowing if we've reached our goal, but even if not, there will still be bonus chapters tonight as a token of gratitude for everyone's votes.