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Chapter 5: Eternal Night Magic Codex
Although they could only choose the first-level cultivation methods of these techniques, Yang Xie couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.
These were all powerful techniques, and he found himself momentarily lost in thought.
Thinking about his god-level talent, an idea sparked in his mind—why not just take whatever he wanted?
He still didn't fully understand the extent of his talent, so wouldn't it be worth testing its limits?
However, the teacher had made it clear: each student could only select one cultivation technique.
How could he get around this restriction?
An idea struck him.
Yang Xie pushed open the door, intending to speak to the teacher. But just as he stepped out, he saw Nangong Ya walking out of Principal Wang's office. His curiosity was immediately piqued.
"Yaya, what were you doing in the principal's office?" he asked.
Nangong Ya smiled mysteriously.
"A generous person came to give me money again—one million, to be exact."
Yang Xie was startled. "Who was it?"
"The mayor."
"The mayor? Why would he come here? Is it because of your S-level talent?"
"That seems to be the case," Nangong Ya replied with a shrug. "He also said he would assign someone to protect me. I wanted to refuse, but he insisted."
At that, she wrinkled her delicate nose in mild frustration.
"Yaya, that's actually a good thing," Yang Xie reasoned. "Now that you have such a rare talent, it's inevitable that you'll attract attention. Assassins and heretics might target you. Having a bodyguard would ensure your safety."
"But my family members are already…" She trailed off before shaking her head. "Forget it. I guess one more person doesn't really make a difference."
She seemed to have come to terms with it.
"Yang Xie, aren't you supposed to be choosing your cultivation method?"
"I almost forgot!" Yang Xie said, snapping back to reality. "I need to ask the teacher something. I'll talk to you later."
With that, he hurried off to find the teacher.
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The Teacher's Advice
"Teacher, I've found three techniques that all suit me well," Yang Xie explained. "They belong to different systems, but I don't know which one is best for me. Can I choose all three and try them out one by one?"
The teacher's expression remained calm, as if he had anticipated this question.
"Yang Xie, you're not the first student to have this idea," he said. "Many before you have thought the same way. You're hoping that by practicing multiple techniques, you'll gain the benefits of their different attributes, increasing your combat power beyond that of your peers."
The teacher sighed and continued, "But this approach is incredibly dangerous. Even if two techniques share the same elemental affinity, the unique nature of their cultivation methods can still cause conflicts. There have been students in the past who tried cultivating multiple techniques at once. Initially, everything seemed fine. But as they progressed, their cultivation methods clashed, forcing them to destroy their own skills—rendering all their past efforts useless and even damaging their meridians."
Yang Xie frowned. He hadn't officially started cultivating yet, so he didn't fully understand the dangers of conflicting techniques. However, the teacher's explanation was enough to make him reconsider.
"I strongly advise you to give up this idea," the teacher continued. "I also understand your situation. Awakened individuals are entitled to one free technique, but acquiring more requires military merit or money."
The teacher studied him for a moment before saying, "You have awakened as a Shadow Warrior. If you focus on the shadow system, you could pursue the path of an assassin. In that case, the Shadow Killing Codex would be a great choice."
Yang Xie nodded but remained silent.
He was poor and had no means of obtaining additional techniques anyway.
"Alright, I understand. Thank you, teacher," he said, temporarily shelving his thoughts.
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Choosing the Eternal Night Magic Codex
Back in his training room, Yang Xie carefully reconsidered his options.
Among the three techniques he had chosen, he ultimately decided on the Eternal Night Magic Codex.
His talent wasn't just Shadow Warrior—it was Lord of Shadows. The Shadow Killing Codex was powerful, but it wasn't the best choice for him.
The Eternal Night Magic Codex focused on dark-element techniques, allowing its user's combat power to double in darkness. For someone like Yang Xie, who could summon an army of shadows, this was the ideal technique.
With his decision made, he wasted no time submitting his application.
Shortly after, a notification appeared on his personal warrior terminal:
> Application Approved.
Looking at the first-level skills of the Eternal Night Magic Codex now available on his terminal, Yang Xie immediately began his studies.
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The Path of a Warrior
In this world, warriors—also known as soul warriors—derived their power from their Martial Soul.
A warrior's strength was classified into the following stages:
Warrior → Martial Master → Martial Ancestor → Martial Commander → Martial King → Martial Emperor → Martial Saint → Martial God.
The Martial Soul was the foundation of a warrior's power. To cultivate, one had to use their Martial Soul to connect with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The soul then acted as a bridge, channeling that energy into the cultivator's body.
The first step in a warrior's journey was to sense spiritual energy.
The second step was to absorb it.
The third step was to circulate it throughout their body.
Only those who successfully reached the third stage and generated a spiritual seed in their Sea of Qi could be considered true warriors.
Now that Yang Xie had obtained a technique, his first task was to use his Martial Soul to sense the energy of heaven and earth.
Thanks to his god-level talent, he quickly succeeded.
He then attempted to absorb the energy into his body.
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A Sudden Phenomenon
As he did so, something unexpected happened in his Martial Soul Space.
Everyone's Martial Soul resided within a special domain known as the Shenting—a point located at the center of the forehead. It was through this Shenting that warriors channeled spiritual energy.
At this moment, Yang Xie's Martial Soul Space contained 100 Shadow Soldiers. Due to his low level, this was the current limit of his summons.
However, all 100 Shadow Soldiers were now absorbing spiritual energy alongside him.
A massive surge of energy flooded into Yang Xie's Shenting like a roaring tidal wave.
The intensity of the phenomenon did not go unnoticed.
In the training rooms nearby, other awakened students felt an unusual shift in the air. Though most of them couldn't directly sense the energy, they noticed an unexplained gust of wind swirling through the room.
In Principal Wang's office, both he and the mayor were stunned.
They immediately understood what was happening.
Someone had already started absorbing spiritual energy.
But that didn't make sense.
It had only been a few hours since the warrior terminals were issued.
At this stage, students were usually still studying their techniques and attempting to sense spiritual energy. Normally, it took an awakened individual about a week to succeed in sensing energy. Those with weaker talents often failed even after several months.
Yet now, someone had not only sensed but also begun absorbing energy with overwhelming force.
The strength of this energy surge dwarfed that of past B-level talents—by more than a hundredfold.
Principal Wang and the mayor exchanged glances, each forming the same thought.
Could this be the power of an S-level talent?
Their eyes flickered with astonishment.
Since Nangong Ya's and Yang Xie's training rooms were close to each other, the energy vortex was centered between them, making it impossible to determine the exact source.
Coincidentally, at that very moment, Nangong Ya also succeeded in sensing spiritual energy.
It seemed as though Yang Xie's powerful absorption had unintentionally pulled her into the next stage as well.
For now, the two remained indistinguishable.
But soon, the truth would come to light.
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