Carrying the manual, he sat at the table at the center and looked at the panel again. He had one more important beginner reward to take.
A decade of martial experience.
He wondered how this would feel.
Calming his mind, he decisively willed it in his mind. 'Retrieve'.
BOOOMM
It was like he went on his first ayahuasca trip. His consciousness got absorbed into a different space.
Standing on grey soil, he stood under a sunless sky.
'I have a bad feeling about this. I'm not gonna stay ten years here…. Right?', he thought and looked around.
As soon as he finished, a gray figure appeared before him. The figure took a martial arts stance, and he instinctively knew what the martial art was with the theory of the strikes.
'No no no… NO! SHIT!'
Bang!
"KAgh! Oi oi… wait.. I'm not rea-"
Bang!
A fist gleaming in metallic sheen planted itself in his abdomen and keeled over. Clutching his stomach, he knelt on one knee vomiting his guts out.
Closing his eyes, he got ready for the next strike, but it never came.
Noticing the figure was not punching again, he let out his breath and lay on the ground, breathing heavily.
Cursing with all the words he knew in all the languages he knew, he slowly got up. But…
Bang!
"Fuck!"
And so… a decade passed.
......
A minute later, he opened up his eyes. However, they were no longer the eyes of a civilian.
Nor did those eyes contain any trace of humanity. Only dull predatory instinct. Ready to kill or maim anything 'it' saw.
Out of nowhere, a cool energy entered his brain and flowed through to his soul. Rapidly repairing his broken psyche.
Another minute later, 'Riven', now back to being a complete human, blinked rapidly.
It took a moment for him to realize what had happened.
"A decade…. Did I fucking lose my mind?", he asked no one in incredulity. "I did… didn't I?"
He closed his eyes and rubbed his nose bridge, collecting his thoughts.
Apparently, he spent a decade in that space… somewhere along the line, he lost his mind… like any sane man would. And again, was jolted back to sanity.
It took a while for him to open his eyes. What happened in that space was now a sort of distant memory.
A bone deep…. But distant memory.
He raised his hand and looked at it. Calluses. He saw calluses in the same places he remembered growing them in that space.
He remembered everything.
He could NOT believe it. Within a minute in real life, he had gone from a worthless civilian to a killing machine.
Even if he lost all his memory now, he would remember how to kill. Meridians, acupoints, tendon connectors, soft bone points, arteries…
"Foooooohhhh", he let out a breath. Calming himself down, he turned to the matter at hand.
Well… it passed. Let's move on—no point in wallowing about it.
So, he opened the Grand Ancestor Fist manual.
.........…
Inside the secret room, Selene woke up.
Cultivation session complete!
Selene Virelyn fully refined and absorbed the [Primordial Pill], her consciousness returning from the state of "emptiness," she opened her eyes.
Two rays of divine light flashed in her pupils, illuminating the dimness.
Her internal strength has greatly increased.
She vaguely heard the sound of lake waves and insect chirping. There was a feeling that the world seemed to have wiped away a layer of dust, becoming clearer and more intimate.
She even felt like she could rise and fly away – it is the uncontrollable emotional manifestation when one gains sudden power.
She stood up, lightly tapping the tip of her foot, gracefully hopping out several feet, her posture graceful, like an immortal descending from heaven.
She was executing a lightness skill she had long memorized. Despite having no martial arts skills herself, she could instinctively perform them.
She truly was a talent.
She not only knew the moves and patterns of various sects' martial arts.
She also had a profound understanding of the practical application techniques of these moves. Understanding born from theorizing multiple methods of application in head.
To the extent that a casual hint from her could significantly enhance someone's martial arts skills and turn defeat into victory.
Such insight into martial arts was enough to make renowned martial artists in the world sweat in shame!
And now that she had the internal strength of the 'Minor Phaseless skill,' the martial arts she had learned gained an incredible and magical power in her hands, transforming mediocrity into wonder.
Selene Virelyn stood still, quietly sensing the changes in herself. Counting the transformation stages she had gone through, she exclaimed.
"Postnatal Fetal Breathing Stage! Is this really a Ten-Day Death Pill?" Her small mouth slightly agape, she was deeply shocked inside.
*whistle*
"She Walks Where Gods Dare Drown, with grace not given, but taken— like dragons in their death throes beneath the tide, she dances in defiance of silence."
Riven Ashvale's poetic praise rang out.
If there was anything he learned from all those years of studies… it was the ability to make up poems.
Selene Virelyn raised her eyes. What was originally a dim stone cave now appeared as bright as daylight to her. She saw that bad guy looking at her.
There he was leaning on the frame of door, with arms crossed, eyes slightly closed with a playful smile on his face.
He was handsome, with scholarly elegance with a hint of feral aura. In every way he surpassed her cousin. But that seemingly playful gaze made Selene Virelyn feel both shy and annoyed.
Thinking back to earlier, when he had hugged her, causing her heart to stir, she felt angry and couldn't help but softly scold,
"Bad man, what are you laughing at?"
Selene Virelyn's mind moved, and she raised her hand.
She raised her right palm and stirred, carrying the wind of the stagnant cave, with it her figure floated forward, coming to Riven Ashvale's front.
Air coalesced around her palm in a translucent white color, and she brought it forward towards Riven's chest.
"Hahaha…. Miss Virelyn , don't forget, we pinky promised!"
Facing Selene Virelyn's angry palm strike, Riven Ashvale neither dodged nor avoided.
With a smirk, he simply raised his right hand and wiggled his index finger, flicking it, sending a small burst of internal energy that hit Selene's wrist, causing Selene's figure to pause mid-air. She felt both angry and helpless.
A gentleman cannot be bested by maiden fury.
Dealing with an inexperienced girl like Selene Virelyn, Riven Ashvale, or rather the previous life, who had experienced countless female temper tantrums, naturally had his ways.
"Ouch!"
Suddenly, Selene Virelyn cried out in surprise, leaned backward, and fell from mid-air.
It turned out she forgot the taboos of internal strength during her first use. Once internal strength is emitted, it must not be abruptly interrupted without skill, or it could rebound and injure oneself.
Without a target for her palm strike, her internal strength circulation was disrupted, similar to an electrical short circuit, temporarily leaving her powerless.
"Woahh… be careful~"
Riven Ashvale acted with practiced ease, stepping forward.
His left hand wrapped around Selene Virelyn's waist. His right hand smoothly supported her back.
As he held her close, he twirled around, gracefully dancing and turning to soften the impact of their landing.
Selene Virelyn's feet finally met the ground, and her once-frightened spirit began to find its calm.
"Tsk tsk… are you okay?" Riven Ashvale asked with a warm smile.
Selene Virelyn slowly regained her senses and noticed she was in the embrace of this so-called bad guy, snug against him.
If she weren't shorter, they would have been face-to-face. What made her even more embarrassed was that in her panic, she instinctively hugged him.
It seemed as if she deliberately threw herself into his arms.
Since childhood, Selene Virelyn had never endured such grievances.
She finally couldn't hold it in. Lowering her head, eyes red with tears, they began to fall like rain on pear blossoms. Choking back sobs, she said, "You… you're so mean!"
Tears dripped onto Riven Ashvale's chest, soaking a patch in the blink of an eye.
Riven Ashvale's heart softened; he looked at the little girl crying on his chest. Just as he was about to console her, he suddenly heard a reprimanding voice from outside.
Riven Ashvale placed a finger on Selene Virelyn's lips. "Shh, someone's coming!"
Selene Virelyn paused, her sobbing stopped, and she slightly tilted her ears.
With her newly acquired internal strength, her hearing sharpened, and she softly said, "It's my mother. I suppose she got suspicious because I haven't come out for a long time."
"Good thing I had Youcao guard the door. If your mother came in..." Riven Ashvale said.
Upon hearing this, Selene Virelyn realized she was still embracing Riven Ashvale. Her cheeks flushed red, but she retorted, "Let her come in then, she'll make you into flower fertilizer."
"Dying from unrequited love… ahh~ even if I die, I'll be happy," Riven Ashvale playfully said, releasing Selene Virelyn.
"You're hopeless!"
She took a step back, fiercely stomped on Riven Ashvale's foot with her small feet, and quickly departed, leaving a message, "You quickly hide!"
Selene Virelyn walked to the doorway, where she saw Madam Virelyn leading the maids in, and greeted, "Mother, why are you here?"
Looking at her one could know why Selene Virelyn was so beautiful. And they could also be sure that Selene will age like fine wine.
Madam Virelyn looked at her suspiciously and said,
"What's with you these past two days? Always running to the Jade Library Cave?
Today I sent a maid to fetch you for dinner, but you didn't come out. Your maid even said you were practicing martial arts, hmph!
I suspected Ah Zhu and Ah Bi are trying to lure you to Swallow Nest Manor again!"
Selene Virelyn lost her father before she was born – or more specifically the fucker went to buy milk and never came back from the corner store.
She was raised solely by Madam Virelyn .
This Madam Virelyn often threatened to turn people into flower fertilizer, a strict tiger mom. Thus, Selene Virelyn was quite fearful of Madam Virelyn .
She was just thinking of a reason when Madam Virelyn 's gaze, cold as lightning, swept across her daughter's face. She spotted the tear marks, furrowed her brow, and sternly said,
"Oh, so that Murong Fu secretly came and is hiding inside?"
As she spoke, Madam Virelyn strode inside, her tone icy,
"The Murong family has coveted the martial arts manuals in my Jade Library Cave for more than a day or two!
I forbade him from visiting. Now, if you had to even let him in—I'll definitely gouge out his eyes!"
Selene Virelyn couldn't understand where her mother's colorful imagination stemmed from.
To Riven, who was listening to this, this sounded like uncontrollable resentment towards men and a decades-long sexual frustration.
"Mother!" Selene Virelyn was startled and reached out to stop Madam Virelyn , her internal strength surging forth, accompanied by a whistling wind.
"Huh? 'Dragon Seizing Claw'?" Madam Virelyn was startled and stepped back half a step, casually slapping out with soft hands, but it was a counter to Selene Virelyn's move.
Unexpectedly, Selene Virelyn, having just experienced something similar, realized that techniques shouldn't be overused; halfway through the grappling technique, it transformed into a jade colored palm.
Bang!
Madam Virelyn and Selene Virelyn exchanged a palm strike. Internal strength surged, exploding with a bang.
Madam Virelyn stepped backward, landing and retreating four or five steps before hitting the wall and stopping, her face flushed with surprise.
On the other hand, Selene Virelyn stood unharmed, marveling at the power of her own palm strike.
"Ahh!" The maids collectively gasped.
"'Minor Phaseless skill', Postnatal Fetal Breathing?!" Madam Virelyn stared at Selene Virelyn in shock.