"I've seen that look in your eyes more times, but most of the time I just ignore it. After all, someone whose heart is dead is more difficult to revive than those with physical death!" The little girl spoke as she looked at Lu Zhen closely.
Seeing how he had not reacted, and his eyes resembled those of a fish, she couldn't help but change the subject. She had expected him to ask who she was, but he actually just seemed indifferent.
"This empress has a way to help you practice again. It is just that the method is not orthodox and the most suitable for your situation!" She indeed saw a slight ripple in his cloudy eyes.
"Since you risked your life to save me, I can assure you that this method is definitely enough to allow you to rise to the point of breaking shackles. It is just that I can't guarantee whether you can break shackles with this technique, as the creator of this technique died before he could pass it on, and I have never put it to the test. Are you willing to practice this technique?" The little girl asked.
"Why?" This was the only question that came from Lu Zhen's mouth, but she understood clearly what he meant.
"It is actually simple, I don't like to owe others. The moment you looked at your parents' grave, I could feel an intense killing intent, but this was clearly only directed towards that other grave and not your parents. You called it elder sister. I help you accomplish this by giving you a path to reach the Martial Awakening stage, and we are even." Hearing these words, a strange glint of brightness shone in Lu Zhen's eyes.
His entire demeanor seemed to have changed, as this little girl seemed to have grasped onto something.
He was very eager to get revenge for his elder sister and had never had any plans of informing his elder brother about it.
He had not cared about this little girl's origin from the moment he saw her, as he realized she wasn't simple. He, however, had no interest in asking, as he wanted the technique more than knowing her background.
"Oh! I forgot to tell you something. Once you practice this technique, it might not be possible to change. Think about it carefully." She reminded.
"No need! I have decided to practice it." A resolute voice escaped his mouth.
At the moment, he had no other choice, and seeking help or other paths was impossible. The thing he wanted the least was to add more burden to his elder brother or Xu Jing.
"Okay! I'll pass this to you then. It can be considered as having accomplished the unspoken wish of an old friend." Without even realizing it, she was already before him and stretched her little finger. It was just that in Lu Zhen's eyes, his figure was shrinking and her figure magnifying in his sight, before tapping on his forehead.
He suddenly found himself standing in the middle of a dark ocean. Before him was a bunch of characters, and together they formed the words:
Demonic Dao Classics!
The words weren't the only thing, as he could see vivid pictures presenting themselves before him, and it was very easy to understand through the pictures.
The Foundation stage technique was also included, which was something new. More than just that, he looked at lifelike animal pictures that kept flowing and changing with some admiration.
Until the entire Foundation chapter was done, he didn't realize a seal was left in place; clearly, he couldn't access any other information about the next chapter until he successfully practiced this chapter.
He was in a daze as the memories of the pictures slowly flowed around in his mind; he had memorized them all. It was shocking, but then he seemed to remember the situation at his parents' and elder sister's graves. He seemed to have replayed the scenes of his happy memories with his family through his mind.
At this moment, though, a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Photographic memory!"
With a photographic memory, it would be much easier to get started on most martial arts and become proficient at them.
To practice them further is what would require talent.
But from what he had already seen on these technique pictures, he just had to practice the moves based on the depicted scenes in the pictures.
Blood essence of different creatures was also preferred to be used; after all, the technique was copied from Demonic Creatures, and external help is required.
With the blood of the creatures related, when the moves are performed, something is absorbed from the blood and fused with the body, forging a foundation for the Demonic Dao Classic.
When he was still immersed in this, he heard a voice.
"This technique is not something that can be cultivated easily, but since this empress decided to pass it on, I shall be a good person to the end." Without even speaking further, she produced seven small gourds, pushing them beside him.
"Kid! This can be considered sufficient repayment. Let's not meet again."She felt that Lu Zhen was very disrespectful towards her. It was just that such a person, who doesn't seem to be afraid of death, was not someone she could gain any fun from threatening.
Her figure vanished as though he had not been here at all. But her appearance was the beginning of Demon Lu in the path to revenge.
When he heard these words, he suddenly realized something wasn't right, and he felt a pulling force before he collapsed into the ocean beneath him.
The next moment, he opened his eyes, looking around; he discovered the gourds on the ground beside him.
Without even wasting time, he collected one of them and looked at it seriously. He opened the cork, and what assailed his nose was a fresh, fragrant smell. He then looked inside and could see deep red blood in the gourd.
"How does this blood essence smell so refreshing?" He looked at the gourd suspiciously. Even so, he was grateful to her for it, as compared to seeking it himself, it would become impossible to even forge the foundation using this method.
He put it to his mouth, and a drop was swallowed, but this turned out to disrupt his previous enthusiasm. Instead of the fishy smell he had anticipated before, the blood was extremely bitter.
Just one sip and he had the urge to throw up, but he moved according to the moves of the first picture, but nothing happened even after trying several times.
"Wait! Each picture corresponds to some sort of animal. If I want to know what creature this blood belongs to. best to practice the whole moves of the foundation chapter."Lu Zhen felt his body was incapable of accomplishing this.
"Best to do this another time. " He collected all the gourds and walked out of this cemetery in the backyard.
Walking towards the entry of the door, the first person he ran into was Kun Ding, who looked at him more.
Clearly, he was wondering where Lu Zhen had obtained Seven Gourds.
"Young master Lu! Where did you get this?" He couldn't help but ask.
Instead of answering him, Lu Zhen ordered, "Help me carry three!"
He had no plans to share about the Demon Dao classics.
After entering the room, he put them on the floor next to his bed and collected the rest from Kun Ding.
"I want to rest. Let's talk about other things later. I am tired today!" He chased this man away because he was too perceptive.
He didn't want him to grasp something from him and end up reporting to his elder brother.
His brother had frequently been touring beyond the Boundary wall, a dangerous zone completely dominated by Mutated creatures.
Even though the place had a lot of opportunities, it was also dangerous. The danger didn't just stem from the Mutated creatures; rather, humans were also to be guarded against.
Only once someone has passed a martial arts assessment can they get permission to venture outside the boundary wall that protects the human cities.
Those who had just entered the ninth rank were advised to join a group before venturing out, but this wasn't forced.
The reason for this was simple: once someone became a martial artist, they had complete decision-making on what to do with their lives.
The status of a martial artist was completely different from that of ordinary people.
Allowing more to venture out and hunt mutated monsters was a good thing for the cities. Other than gathering rare materials, the fighting would disrupt order among these mutated creatures.
No one wants to experience a beast tide, as such delaying for even a day was good news.
Humanity lacks enough manpower and powerhouses to stabilize the situation.
Even the strongest individuals are limited, compared to the mutated creatures, whose numbers increase daily.
The very reason was that it would have become difficult to even form a foundation without the support of the seven gourds left behind, as he couldn't cross the boundary wall.
Even if he could, with his strength, what could he do?
Lu Zhen was looking forward to forming a new foundation tomorrow.
****
The next day, Lu Zhen's figure was standing outside, facing the rising sun. He took a sip from all seven gourds first, withstanding the bitter aftertaste.
With the execution of the moves, he felt heat spreading out from his stomach and was elated.
"Finally there is hope!"