Chapter 280 - 278: Night Owl and Dire Straits

In early December, Yang Shen was completely engrossed in his preparations for Breaking Realm.

On this day, Yang Shen was at the stadium, practicing his Cultivation alone.

He wasn’t in class, but doing independent study.

There were quite a few students like him. The grind at Jiangti was relentless; if you didn’t push yourself, you’d just be left in the dust by those who did.

Yang Shen held a training-model Nine-Section Whip, which he was swinging continuously.

The Nine-Section Whip, which should have been segmented, seemed to take on any form he willed. When he thrusted, it was as straight as a spear. When he retracted it, it was bonelessly flexible, even capable of changing direction mid-swing.

He was practicing the "Spiritual Snake Force."

It was considered a low-to-mid-tier Martial Art, lacking even a Magic-like Technique effect. It wasn’t very difficult, but it could help a Martial Artist find an opportunity for Life True Gang.

Compared to the longspear he usually used, the force exertion logic and move templates for this kind of "Long Soft Weapon" were completely different. However, proficiently wielding a Long Soft Weapon was a prerequisite for practicing the "Spiritual Snake Force."

This Cultivation Technique was jokingly called the "Police Joyful Skill." It was incredibly convenient for apprehending criminals. A skilled user didn’t even need a specific weapon; they could take off their belt and tie up two people with it.

It just tended to bind a bit tightly.

It was also a great tool for traffic police to stop speeding Martial Artists. Compared to intercepting someone mid-air with a whip kick, binding them was less likely to draw complaints.

With his Late-stage Innate Power control and reaction speed, Yang Shen picked it up quickly. After all, it was just a Science Level Cultivation Method, which could theoretically be practiced by someone at Late-stage Marrow Refining.

But Yang Shen still felt something was missing.

’I keep feeling like it’s not long enough...’

’The "Spiritual Snake Force" can be used with many weapons, but every weapon has a fixed size. This requires "nodes" for controlling the force... but what if I used something with a length I could control at will?’

Yang Shen set the Nine-Section Whip aside. With a wave of his right hand, his Curse Engraving coalesced into a black Nine-Section Whip.

After returning from the Noon Realm, he could now use his "Curse Engraving" openly.

After a moment’s hesitation, however, the Nine-Section Whip changed again, becoming an ordinary black rope.

Then he resumed practicing the "Spiritual Snake Force."

As expected, the flow of force felt much smoother, completely subject to his will.

After all, weapons with "freely adjustable length" were extremely rare in this world. The creator of the Cultivation Technique would never have considered such a thing.

As Yang Shen swung it again and again, his source energy and force spread along the rope according to the methods of the "Spiritual Snake Force," making the black rope seem to move as if it had a mind of its own.

The immense power behind it caused the rope to constantly crack through the air, drawing the gazes of many people in the distance.

"Flame Fist Yang Shen" was the center of attention wherever he went. However, a few of Yang’s Disciples were subtly scattered around the area, preventing anyone from disturbing their master or trying to get close to him.

Yang Shen gradually brought his body’s force to its peak. Then, with a thought, he suddenly stabbed toward the ground.

The tip of the black rope coalesced into a sharp point and drove three feet into the earth, embedding itself deeply.

But Yang Shen wasn’t very satisfied with this level of power.

’Long Soft Weapons excel at range and control, but they’re weak in terms of impact force. Even with my physique, this is the most I can manage. Against a true master, I’m afraid it would have limited use...’

Yes, a long whip could use inertia to flay a person’s skin and flesh, but it couldn’t split a Martial Artist in two.

A sword or saber could, however. They could even slice the long whip in half.

If both were made of metal of the same quality and wielded by opponents of equal strength, a single slash would cleanly cut it. It was a structural problem, difficult to solve.

Yang Shen pinched his chin, and a moment later, a new idea came to him.

Without any visible movement, golden flames appeared behind his back.

The "Rising Sun Flame," Flame Fist’s signature ability. Its properties were unknown; not even the Qilin List had revealed them.

The golden flames gradually linked together, finally becoming a brilliant golden Celestial Silk that coiled and floated behind Yang Shen’s back.

Yang Shen reached a hand behind him and slowly closed his fist around it.

He actually held the "Golden Flame Celestial Silk" in his palm!

These flames, lethally dangerous to anyone else, were like a long-tamed Spiritual Snake in Yang Shen’s own hand...

So why not just... use it as a Spiritual Snake?

He began to wield the "Golden Flame Celestial Silk" as a weapon, following the principles of the "Spiritual Snake Force."

’It has no mass, so its impact force is weakened by 99%... but its lethality is maxed out...’

Even if it were blocked, a single stray spark could be a killing blow.

His movements also became more elegant, with an elusive quality that made its trajectory hard to predict. The constant burning and flickering of the golden flame was highly deceptive.

Staring at it for too long could even make one’s vision blur...

It was also extremely fast.

’This is an interesting direction for development! Once I master "True Gang," I can even make up for its only weakness—impact force. A mere touch will be enough.’

’At the same time, my use of the Rising Sun Flame has improved... Compared to simply shooting out fire, the Celestial Silk’s trajectory is far more complex and unpredictable... It can be long or short, large or small...’

Just as he thought, the "Spiritual Snake Force" he’d chosen was a perfect fit for him!

While Yang Shen was immersed in his Cultivation, an uninvited guest approached from the side, but they involuntarily slowed their pace upon seeing his terrifying techniques.

One of Yang’s Disciples, acting like a loyal bodyguard, stepped forward to block them. "Can I help you? Our master is in the middle of his Cultivation."

He turned to see a short-haired girl. She wasn’t tall, but she had a slender figure and was dressed in black leather.

The short-haired girl was stopped, but she didn’t seem anxious. She just said calmly, "I’m a ’Night Owl.’ I’d like to talk to Flame Fist..."

After the Named Disciple came to ask for instructions, Yang Shen withdrew all the supernatural phenomena and gave a slight nod. Only then was the visitor allowed to approach.

The "Night Owl" couldn’t help but marvel internally... ’What immense presence...’

The short-haired girl said:

"My name is Ding Bing. I’m also a Night Owl. I believe I had your female disciple pass on my greetings a while ago."

Yang Shen nodded. "Yes, she passed it on. What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to introduce myself. I heard there was an issue with an unreliable middleman. I came to apologize and offer compensation for your losses."

Yang Shen smiled but didn’t respond.

Someone who eagerly came offering compensation was obviously just looking for an excuse to build a connection.

Favors were a matter of give and take. If the weaker party had no opportunity to "give back," they could start by "giving" first to open the door.

This Ding Bing was likely representing the Noble Family Descendants within Jiangti, sent to feel him out.

Truthfully... these people were overthinking things. They were used to being the high-profile ones at school, and now that someone even more high-profile had appeared, they automatically assumed they were on opposing sides.

In reality... Yang Shen didn’t even see them as competition.

Jiangti was full of hidden masters. Any random lecturer could be at the True Gang or Jade Viscera level, and above them were Tongshu and even Guiyuan cultivators... Not to mention countless top-tier research technologies and institutes.

The school’s waters ran deep, but that depth wasn’t reflected at the "student" level—at least, not at the "undergraduate" level.

Yang Shen now somewhat understood why the school’s attitude toward "Yang’s Disciples" was so... amiable.

It was similar to how he now viewed ordinary students.

"An introduction is fine. Don’t worry, I don’t particularly like Noble Family Descendants, but I don’t dislike them either... We’re just classmates."

Ding Bing was a bit lost for words. This wasn’t how she’d imagined it.

Shouldn’t this be a meeting of equals, a moment of mutual admiration and deep discussion?

"Because of that slip-up, I did some research afterward. It seems you’re very interested in the Rebel Species."

Yang Shen said nonchalantly, "I am. But I wouldn’t advise you all to get involved. It would probably be dangerous for you."

The caliber of the Nightwalkers was clearly not high enough to take on the Rebel Species. Even though the Jiangti students were strong, they were too undisciplined.

And the Rebel Species were too vicious.

But Ding Bing said, "I brought you some news. They’re investigating what happened that night, and they’re making a big scene about it. It seems their methods are completely different from a few years ago."

Yang Shen glanced at Ding Bing. "It doesn’t matter."

If both sides are searching for each other, they’ll meet that much faster.

It’s what you’d call a mutual pursuit.

Yang Shen’s reaction once again exceeded Ding Bing’s expectations...

’Aren’t you panicking?’

’That’s the Rebel Species! They have countless lives on their hands!’

Taking a deep breath, Ding Bing finally decided to present the gift she had brought.

It was a slip of paper with three addresses on it.

"My family deals with these sorts of things quite often, so we have some special information channels..."

"These are three of their bases... with high credibility."

This time, Yang Shen finally looked a bit more serious. He took the paper and saw that one of the addresses was the same one he had found by tailing them before.

Every Martial Arts Family, in addition to tirelessly trying to increase their strength and cultivate each new generation, naturally had their own businesses and livelihoods.

The Xu Family, for example, was in biomedicine.

The Deng Family was in the import-export business, even trading with the Exotic Realm.

’It seems this Ding Family specializes in intelligence and acting as middlemen?’

’A bit small-time... but right now, it’s exactly what I need.’

"A very nice gift. Thank you."

Ding Bing smiled faintly and took out another slip of paper.

"This is another gift."

Yang Shen opened it and saw three different names written on it...

’Are these... the names of high-ranking members of the Rebel Species?’

Behind each name were even details like height, weight, Martial Cultivation level, and their job or school.

This truly shocked Yang Shen. To be able to gather such detailed information—the Ding Family really had some skills!

But then he heard the second half of Ding Bing’s sentence:

"These are the potential marriage candidates for you from the Jianghuai Martial Arts Families. You’ve probably heard some rumors, but the specific candidates usually aren’t revealed in advance. I thought you might be interested."

Yang Shen: ...

"Wait, are you saying this Liu Qianjun—one-point-nine meters tall, 128 kilograms—is a woman?"

Ding Bing tossed her short hair, finally regaining some of her confidence and rhythm.

"That’s right. The eldest daughter of the Liu Family. Her younger sister, Liu Qianjin, is our school’s ’Horizontal Training Queen’."

"Because the two sisters’ Martial Arts talents are so outstanding—as is their mother’s—it’s suspected they have a stably inheritable talent. That’s why many families are interested in a marriage alliance. They’re hot commodities. If you’re interested, you’d better act fast."

Yang Shen: ’Act fast my ass!’

’Do you Martial Arts Families really live in such hell for the sake of your descendants?!’