136. With the Wind
"Come, come, comrades of the artillery company, we're about to part ways, let's have a good drink together."
"We're liberated! Finally free from that devil Enstan's grasp."
"I plan to delve into martial arts next. Before, I could only study the army's"Piercing Qi Refinement Technique", but society offers better options..."
The carriage swayed, like a lazy giant dragon passing through the ice valley. Without prior knowledge, no one would have imagined that five hundred years ago, this place was once a vast blue ocean.
It should be said that the modern people of Azure Star are fortunate. In this era, no oceans separate nations, and all civilizations are land-based. Communication and understanding have become easier.
But in reality, geographical proximity has not brought closer ties. People separated by tens of thousands of kilometers, never meeting in a lifetime, and enduring the same hardships, often harbor deeper hostility toward each other. Under the Calamity, everyone is vying for their limited survival resources.
A breakthrough in one or two technologies alone is insufficient to change humanity or alter any single nation.
The Empire deeply understands this principle. Accumulating generations of blood feuds has led to relentless military expansion to ensure that as many citizens as possible possess combat capabilities, ready to be deployed in war if necessary.
Until the year 221, the Empire realized the army had become overly bloated, with outdated systems and declining combat effectiveness. It immediately announced military reforms, reintroducing contract soldiers, which was one reason Isaac was required to retire early.
[Choosing the Martial Artist path is the optimal choice for maximizing returns. If that's the case, don't bother with miscellaneous martial arts schools; just purchase martial arts classics from the Abyss.]
Li Aozi, taking advantage of his nighttime sleep, switched back to his main body and contacted Orlaville, the owner of the 'Hero's Soul' bar.
"Are you there? Orlaville, I need something from you."
"Oh, Leoz, what's up? Short on cash again? Unfortunately, I don't have any suitable jobs for you right now." Orlaville appeared refreshed, casually shaking a cocktail, with jazz-like music playing in the background.
Having devoured Radon Sticky Planet, facilitated the Spirit Grub transaction, and completed the Vanlenkov mission, he made a huge profit. Now, his tone with Leoz was much friendlier.
"I have a friend's child who has just embarked on the Martial Artist's path. I want to find a suitable martial arts legacy for him."
Li Aozi thought for a moment and added some conditions:
"He's a carbon-based human from an edge planet, not even Alpha-tier yet. It'd be best if it has good growth potential."
"Is that all? Honestly, that's not particularly special. I have three suitable ones, and I'll give them all to you."
Orlaville seemed a bit incredulous. He couldn't quite understand why Leoz, who presumably had a powerful Abyss backer, couldn't offer a decent gift.
But thinking about it, it might be because Leoz's family specialized in the [Domination] system for so long that they lacked awareness of collecting other knowledge.
Such things were trivial. However, Orlaville still didn't know which Abyss bigshot was backing Leoz, so he considered it a gesture of goodwill.
"Thanks, Orlaville. I'll look you up when there's something good."
Li Aozi was slightly surprised. Getting it for free saved him a significant amount of Anium. Before long, Orlaville sent over the three martial arts books.
As expected of Orlaville, managing to establish himself in a place like Valkyrie Fortress, full of hidden talents, he truly understood human relations.
Li Aozi's main body could not learn extraordinary knowledge, but he could directly use the ability of the [Astral Echoer] to remotely transmit the knowledge of these three entry-level martial arts to himself.
He had used a similar approach with the Abyss Pioneer in the past.
Once he finished broadcasting, he immediately switched back to Isaac, and right on cue, the player system interface popped up:
[For some reason, the distant Resonator 'Li Aozi' has revealed a piece of [Destruction] knowledge to you—"Baphomet's Clan Secret Qi Refinement Technique".]
[How strange, the unfamiliar Resonator 'Li Aozi' has shared a piece of [Destruction] knowledge with you—"Qi Gathering Fist".]
[Admirable, the Resonator 'Li Aozi' holds you in high regard and has imparted a piece of [Destruction] knowledge to you—"Demonic Spirit Wave".]
"Huh, the name of this series sounds so familiar..."
Li Aozi thought for a moment and suddenly remembered:
"Ah, this is the martial arts masterpiece passed down from the [Outer Domain Society] during the civilization era."
Unlike the ancient monsters in people's impressions of the [Society], the [Outer Domain Society] didn't gain fame early. During its initial civilized phase, the Demon Civilization was not yet a narrative-level civilization, though it was close.
Demons once served as the main force against the Destroyers. They were advanced but not arrogant, gladly sharing their magical techniques. As affiliates of the [Craft] system's main god, they were active throughout the universe.
Unfortunately, except for the main god of the [Plunder] system, the great traitor Red King, none of the Star Abyss's main gods survived. Moreover, the Demon Civilization that once fought valiantly against the Destroyers had become the most terrifying [Outer Domain Society].
Regarding this, the Star Abyss -side civilizations had a complex attitude. Over the years, demons had transitioned from being admired and followed to being insulted and feared. Yet, the magic used today originated from the Demon Civilization.
"Meeting again, have the heroes of the past turned into dragons? I knew it. There are always these cliché, sigh-inducing stories. Turns out reality is full of such examples."
Although the Demon Civilization no longer existed, their weapons, technology, magic, and power were still fervently pursued. After all, these were not inherently flawed or influenced by the [Society's] values. Many demon-like civilizations even declared themselves the true demonic orthodox after the emergence of the [Outer Domain Society].
Learning this with Isaac's body posed no challenge. Although he didn't have enough experience to learn it directly, with the system's help to browse and understand it, self-training was entirely feasible.
Indeed, Isaac's talent proved excellent. With Li Aozi's wisdom as a player unclouded by filters, his comprehension remained at a Delta-tier level, making the learning process smooth.
[Baphomet's Clan was the main ground force of the Demon Civilization. Though not skilled in flight, they possessed formidable physiques and destructive power. Unlike conventional qi refinement techniques, Baphomet's method could significantly enhance one's bloodline and perfect genetic defects. However, it would also generate demonic aura during cultivation, affecting the practitioner's race to some extent...]
Truly worthy of being the pinnacle civilization of its time.
Cultivating qi to improve genes—even today's narrative-level civilizations probably couldn't offer much foundational knowledge of this caliber.
Isaac's [Constitution] attribute was strong, fully capable of withstanding the ravages of demonic aura. With Li Aozi's main body's wisdom supporting him, he trained for several hours on the train and successfully extracted qi from his cells.
[Through your own comprehension, you have officially stepped onto the [Destruction] path.]
[Please choose the direction you wish to take next from the following three paths.]
A. [Martial Artist]—Using [Constitution] and [Strength] as main attributes, focusing on close-range destruction and physical resilience. You can wear various heavy armors and implant more enhanced prosthetics to strengthen yourself.
B. [Assassin]—Focusing on [Dexterity] and [Strength] for swift movements, one-hit kills, stealth, and concealment. However, facing multiple targets may be challenging.
C. [Ranger]—[Strength] and [Dexterity] are your only requirements. You can combine qi with firearms, a unique skill unattainable by other professions. With [Dexterity's] support, you will achieve powerful firepower output and high mobility.
"[Martial Artist]."