Chapter 908: Chapter 908

Moonlight shone brightly, and shadows of drifting clouds were reflected.

The cool, slightly chilly evening breeze brushed past the steam rising from the tea, as He Ao sat in the empty courtyard, setting down the new temporary cell phone he had just purchased, cradling the hot tea in his palms, and gazing up at the bright moon in the sky.

Within the field of view affected by the Eye of Truth, some extremely subtle, hard-to-notice changes seemed to appear in the most basic lines of this narrow courtyard.

These changes seemed to already be present when he first came to the courtyard, and were thoroughly solidified accompanied by the invisible ripples when he "accepted a disciple."

He Ao could feel a special ’mystical connection’ between these changes and the Eye of Truth, the pages of the Book of Bygone Days, and his own existence, but he couldn’t yet fully understand the function of these changes.

However, from what he could perceive at the moment, it seemed that just by sitting in this courtyard, his ’comprehension’ of Martial Arts had been deepened to a certain extent.

Simply put, his ’comprehension’ had improved somewhat.

This piece of the courtyard appeared to have become a special area that could enhance one’s Martial Arts comprehension.

This was not something He Ao had actively constructed; it was more like a ’response’ from the world itself to certain actions of his.

More precisely, it was a ’interference’ with the world on a mystical level that resulted in a ’response’ from the Main World.

And he could vaguely sense that his ’connection’ with the entire world had grown stronger.

This wasn’t the first time he had received a ’response’ from the Main World; when he was promoted to C-level, he had gained more ’energy’ from the Dawn, literally receiving an extra Divine Sense out of thin air.

But the ’responses’ he had received in the past seemed to be related to his own strength level, with a promotion to C-level bringing a bit of C-level power.

Logically, even if he had impacted the world this time, the response he would receive should have been limited to around the ’C-level.’

Not like now, where a certain area’s inherent properties had been permanently changed.

This had far exceeded the energy category of C-level.

He Ao watched as the dim clouds drifted under the moonlight; he raised his fingertip, and black ashes cascaded like tiny dragons along his finger’s edge, while at the same time, an eye set within an inverted triangle emerged as twinkling illusions behind his head.

And all these differences might lie in the Angel-grade Items on him.

He could distinctly feel that these two Angel-grade Items had also mixed into his ’connection’ with this world.

Though his own power was not strong, the High Positional Grade items he possessed might have acted as a kind of ’amplifier,’ deepening his mystical connection with this world and thereby eliciting such a ’powerful’ response.

Had he not possessed Angel-grade Items when he accepted his disciple, he might not have received any particularly clear ’feedback.’

After all, when he had previously given guidance to a Fighter and Elfia, he had not received any feedback.

The smartphone screen next to him lit up faintly, signaling a successful transfer notification from the bank.

Following the completion of his disciple’s acceptance and sensing the anomalies in the small courtyard, He Ao had immediately contacted the original landlord and purchased the house.

The transaction was straightforward because the remoteness of the courtyard made it difficult to rent and it had been vacant for half a year before He Ao’s arrival.

Initially, Elfia had sent He Ao several options, including commercial properties on busy central streets and office areas in high-rises.

He Ao had chosen this particular one because it was the cheapest.

Both renting and buying were inexpensive.

The landlord did not live in the Yika Republic or plan to reside here, and was actually considering cashing out in a timely manner, but was unable to sell it even though it was listed; hence, when He Ao showed interest in purchasing, the landlord quickly offered it at a price below the market rate for a timely sale.

The next step was to let the agent transfer the ownership of the house, and that was the end of the matter.

When choosing the house, He Ao had actually considered the point of purchasing a property.

However, he hadn’t anticipated that the courtyard would become some kind of ’anomalous area;’ he just thought about how Martial Arts teaching could be very destructive, and owning the house outright would save a lot of trouble should it accidentally be destroyed.

He sipped the tea from his cup, and the faint illusions behind him dissipated slowly as he walked along the gaps between the courtyard tiles.

The courtyard was not small, measuring over thirty meters in length and about twenty meters in width, with the back row of houses broad like terraced villas.

Even though it was remote, such a spacious house wasn’t common in Mote City.

The sound of trickling water came from the house behind.

It must be Lin Chichi and Elfia washing up.

He Ao had asked them to wake up at around four in the morning, so they needed to go to sleep early tonight.

Elfia had gotten the plumbing running upon arrival, but due to the tight schedule, she only managed to tidy up two rooms.

That meant the two girls had to squeeze into one room tonight.

Lost in thought, He Ao had already reached the edge of the wall and lightly touched the courtyard’s boundary.

His fingers brushed over the old stone bricks of the wall.

A trace was left on the thick stone brick, casting off a bit of dust.

He Ao’s gaze fixed on the wall in front of him.

The wall was much harder than normal walls.

The deepest anomaly hadn’t completely stopped and was still continuously affecting this area.

The moonlight streaked across the sky, and Lin Chichi dashed out from the bathroom and dove into the fresh cotton blankets.

Then she curled up into a ball, poking her head out of the blanket to look at Elfia, who was just walking out of the bathroom still fixing her hair and pajamas, and extended her small hand, "Senior sister, come over quickly."

Elfia nodded, walked straight over, sat on the bed, and tied up her hair.

Through the gap in the pajamas, Lin Chichi caught a glimpse of the girl’s abs and couldn’t help but reach out and touch them, "Wow, senior sister, your abs..."

"If you train often, you’ll have them."

After Elfia fixed her hair, she lay down on the bed and then reached out to pull the blanket over herself.

Lin Chichi turned off the light, gazing at the pitch-black ceiling, and quietly asked, "If we go by what we were just talking about in the bathroom, doesn’t that make you a royal princess of the Ruodan Kingdom?"

Although Lin Chichi had started following their teacher earlier, Elfia had been by He Ao’s side for longer and was stronger, so Lin Chichi thought of Elfia as her senior sister.

After getting confirmation from He Ao, the two had settled on their respective positions.

Elfia also looked up at the ceiling, lightly shaking her head with her hands clutching the edge of the blanket, "But the Ruodan Kingdom has long since perished, so whether or not I’m royalty doesn’t seem to matter much."

"But didn’t the royal family leave behind any heritage?"

Lin Chichi asked excitedly, "I saw on TV that there are things like royalists and stuff. Maybe one day they’ll find you and say, ’You’re the last of the Ruodan royal bloodline; from now on, you’re our queen!’."

Elfia turned her head and glanced at the outline of Lin Chichi’s small face in the dark, reached out, and pinched it, "Little girl, have you been watching too many TV shows?"

"Who knows what the future holds, right?"

Lin Chichi pouted, then seemed to recall something and quietly asked, "Senior sister, how long have you been with Minister He... Mister He?"

Elfia thought for a moment, "It seems only a few weeks, actually. Mister didn’t really teach me hand-to-hand, he just gave some guidance."

"You’ve become this skilled in just a few weeks?"

Lin Chichi’s eyes widened slightly.

Elfia slightly lifted her eyelids, seemingly reminiscing, "Although I’ve always been training hard since I was a kid, the speed at which my strength grew was very slow. These past few weeks under Mister’s guidance are the fastest I’ve ever grown."

Her voice slightly elongated, "Sometimes I think that what Mister and we practice might not be the same thing at all. We train in Martial Arts, while Mister trains in the Way."

"So Mister trains in the true Martial Arts?"

Lin Chichi asked softly, "Senior Sister, did you follow Mister to learn Martial Arts?"

"That’s only part of the reason,"

Elfia gently nodded, "Mister once saved me, and he guided me without asking for anything in return. So even if he didn’t take me as a disciple, I would still be willing to follow him."

Lin Chichi looked at the ceiling light, "Minister He is like that, he’s quite popular in the Research Institute."

"I’ve only been exposed to the Transcendent not long ago. I only know about the World Tree, Research Institute, and an organization named ’Moonlight’?"

For the first time, curiosity was clear in Elfia’s eyes. She turned her body to face Lin Chichi, "Is Mister famous in your ’Research Institute’?"

Lin Chichi’s eyebrows slightly raised, "The story starts with a classic train that can travel through countless landscapes..."

As one of the promotional officers of the Research Institute’s forum, Lin Chichi was very familiar with the rumors and stories about ’Minister He.’ She recounted them as if recounting treasures, one of her work missions to the Western Lands was even to ’interview Minister He’.

She began her story with the Velora, narrating each incident with vivid detail.

Her storytelling ability was strong, with many ups and downs that drew Elfia in, sometimes even expressing worry out loud about ’Minister He’s’ dangerous situations.

Although had He Ao been there to listen, he would have found that Lin Chichi’s stories contained many fabricated elements, mixed with various rumors that seemed credible but were not from the forum.

But she was eloquent, and Elfia listened intently, even asking questions about things she didn’t understand.

And so, with the moon rising and setting, who knew how much time had passed, Lin Chichi finally finished narrating all the stories.

"Anyway, I was originally here to interview Minister He, then due to some serendipities, I ended up here and then saw Minister He."

The girl moistened her somewhat dry lips and spoke slowly.

Beside her, Elfia slowly turned her body, her face still holding a hint of amazement, "Mister has been through so much,"

She turned her body, lying on the bed and looking up at the ceiling, "It all sounds like stories from myths. One day, will we also be able to partake in these mythological stories and help Mister?"

Lin Chichi pursed her lips, as if remembering something, and spoke softly, "There might be a chance."

At this moment, Elfia suddenly turned her head to look at Lin Chichi, "Junior Sister, why did you seek out Mister to study?"

Lin Chichi clutched the edge of the blanket and turned her gaze to the hazy moonlight outside the window, "someone important in my life."

Elfia turned her head, but Lin Chichi had already closed her eyes.

Elfia raised her hand and glanced at the old mechanical alarm clock on the bedside, confirming the correct time before she slowly closed her eyes.

The night seemed to quieten at that moment, leaving only the whispers of the wind and the trees.

When the crisp sound of the alarm clock rang next to the bed, Elfia instantly opened her somewhat groggy eyes. She glanced at the alarm clock by her bed and then abruptly sat up with a start.

she said while quickly dressing and turning on the light, flipping the blanket off and shouting loudly.

"What’s happening? What’s happening?"

Lin Chichi awoke from her dreams in a daze; she sleepily sat up, clutching her head, and then her gradually clearing field of view focused on the swiftly dressing Elfia.

Then she flipped herself out of bed like a carp leaping out of water and hurriedly got dressed.

Both of them moved quickly; in just one or two minutes, they had completed all their preparations, then rushed out of the room, dashing into the courtyard.

The cold wind brushed against their skin.

Stars shimmered in the sky, while the moonlight’s glow illuminated the earth.

At four in the morning, when the city’s light pollution was not so severe, the group of stars once again became the masters of the night sky.

The bright street light shone down on the somewhat deserted courtyard, lighting up the figure of the young man in black standing at the doorway.

He Ao turned his head, looking at the two girls who had hurried out, lifted his phone to check the time, "Four fifteen, ten minutes earlier than requested, but just right."

His gaze swept over the two, placed his phone on the chair and then raised his hand, "Today, in our first session, we’ll learn two things. First, basic Fist Techniques,"

He poised his palm upward, leaning his body forward, and began moving smoothly like flowing clouds,

"These are a few foundational movements I’ve derived from my own Fist Technique, assembled into basic moves—just five in total, divided into ’Rise,’ ’Steady,’ ’Flow,’ ’Shock,’ and ’Recover.’

"Rise’ is to channel your qi, activating all your muscles and strength,

"Steady’ is to maintain this activation and keep the muscles lively,

"Flow’ is about your form, improving agility and speed,

"Shock’ is the moment of force, allowing your strength to explode in a short burst,

"Recover’ is to dissipate the force, returning the body to a normal state while reducing physical strain."

As he spoke, he had already completed a demonstration of the movements fluidly and naturally.

He lowered his hands, looking at Elfia, whose eyes held a hint of contemplation, and at the utterly perplexed Lin Chichi, then raised his hand again,

"Now, I’ll teach you each move one by one. Keep in mind that the movements I demonstrate are merely techniques to facilitate the use of muscles and strength, to give you a better sense of how to engage them, and it’s not necessary to use these exact movements.

"Once you get the hang of it, you should learn to integrate these methods into combat."

They nodded, seeming to understand yet not quite grasping the concept.

He Ao, without saying much more, raised his hand again to demonstrate, performing each movement as the two of them followed along.

Elfia was quick to keep up with He Ao’s pace, while Lin Chichi lagged behind, at times feeling utterly unable to follow He Ao’s train of thought.

However, as time went on, it was as if some invisible force influenced her thoughts, making her increasingly focused and her mind quicker, until she was able to keep up with He Ao’s pace.

And He Ao, calmly observing all this, continued to teach, move by move.

With his instruction, the ’anomaly’ present within the courtyard was slowly intensifying.

Once the two had fully kept up with the rhythm and started practicing on their own, He Ao retracted his hands.

After they had practiced for several rounds, he glanced at the light beginning to emerge at the edge of the sky, raised his hand, signaling them to stop, and then, looking at their faces now dotted with fine beads of sweat, he said in a calm voice,

"Next, I’ll teach you the second thing, ’Qi Induction.’"