Child of Destiny

Chapter 1422: Unexpected Move

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”Pouring the different intent or sword principle in a single world produces different results,” said Old Ryong as he wrote the word ʼBladeʼ multiple times on different paper before showing it to Shin.

Shin observed the words and realized that some words carried the intent of ʼsharpʼ, others possessed the intent of ʼswiftʼ, while the rest carried different intents.

”But you can also produce the same result by putting them on a different with similar properties,” added Old Ryong as he showed different words to Shin such as ʼSwordʼ, ʼKnifeʼ, ʼDaggerʼ, and such.

Shin observed them one by one before comparing them to the first batch of words with ʼBladeʼ in them.

Then Old Ryong continued. ”At the same time, you can also apply that method of combining them that you have already learned.”

This time, he wrote the word sword that carried multiple intents in it.

Shin stared at it for quite a while before nodding his head. This lesson was teaching Shin how to transfer his ʼintentʼ to words by writing them. It sounded a little simple, but it included a set of complex steps in them.

Shin first had to put an image inside his head or at least imagine the word that he wanted to write along with the intent that he wanted to project. Then he had to carefully transfer them toward the brush on his hands while writing the word that he ʼvisualizedʼ inside his head.

”Once you are capable of projecting your intents into words, you can start with the next step and try writing a single phrase,” Old Ryong continued while writing on a paper.

When he showed it to Shin, the words written on it showed – ”The sword descending from the heaven.” –

Seeing that phrase, an image seemed to have been projected inside his head. He saw a giant sword falling from the sky before destroying the land where it landed.

In that image inside his head, Shin could sense multiple intents such as Straight Sword, Swift Sword, Heavy Sword, and Destructive Sword. These principles united into one and produced such a result.

Shin could not describe what he was feeling.

After Shin digested everything inside his head, Old Ryong continued. ”You can also project similar things when you are painting, but in a more complex manner and much clearer.”

The old man picked up a brush and started drawing a sword before showing it to Shin.

After looking at the drawing, Shin could not help but compare it to the words that Old Ryong had written earlier. This drawing carried similar intents as the previous ones, but it projected a much more intense ʼfeelingʼ in them and clearer as well.

As Shin was looking at the sword, Old Ryong was already painting the scene that Shin had seen inside his head.

When he showed it to Shin, the latter felt like his consciousness was transported into a different dimension where he could see the scene within the painting. It was as if the painting had become lifelike.

While Shin was too immersed in the vision that he was seeing, Old Ryongʼs voice sounded inside his head like a clap of thunder, waking him up.

”Once you reach a certain level when practicing this method, you will be able to visualize your desired ʼoutcomeʼ whenever and wherever you want.”

”Being able to visualize these scenes inside your head, which also projects your understanding of your sword, your path, and your ideals, will produce results that even yourself will become surprised.”

”This method will not only be good for your swordsmanship but will also be of great help for your Martial Arts and Mentalism, especially the latter since it is a method perfect for making use of a strong willpower trained through Mentalism.”

”That is enough for now,” Old Ryong paused as he found that should be enough for today.

”You should focus on projecting your intent into words first since putting them into painting is much harder than you think. You should start with the fundamentals before moving one step at a time.”

”Remember this, haste makes waste. And even if you have taken longer, it doesnʼt mean that you will not reach your destination. Building a more solid foundation is more important than achieving your goals in haste.”

”This will create a sturdier building that cannot be shaken easily compared to something that is built with lousy materials as it will easily crumble.”

Hearing that, Shin nodded his head. This was something that his Master and Teacher had repeatedly warned him about, so he was not a stranger to it.

Seeing that Shin fully understood his words, Old Ryong nodded before standing up to leave.

Shin also stood up as he bowed to the old man, sending off Old Ryong. After that, he quickly sat down as he excitedly practiced his ʼcalligraphyʼ based on the lessons that he had just taken.

He felt that this method that he just learned perfectly suited what he needed. But he still felt something was missing. It was as if Old Ryong was not telling him everything and holding back a little.

But given the Old Ryongʼs temperament, he could tell that there must be a reason for it. It is either it is not time yet or he had to find the answer himself.

…

Later that day, Shin went back to his room and took a quick shower. Even if he did not achieve much progress in his training, it had given him a deeper understanding of the sword principles that he just learned and the similarities and differences between the intents that they possessed.

He could not easily infuse more distinct intents when wielding the sword and even fused more sword principles in a much easier way. He also found a few tricks that could help him when using his sword techniques.

But the thing that made him more interested in this was the fact that he could combine his Mental Energy and the Sword Principles to some extent. This became a crucial clue for his Mentalism Swordsmanship.

With this trick, he was able to make him use the sword-drawing and ever-changing styles more freely.

”Is this what Instructor Ryong wants me to find by myself?” he mumbled as he walked out of the bathroom while drying his hair with a towel.

Right at the same moment, he suddenly sensed that the atmosphere within his room was somewhat odd.

The air seemed to carry the scent of death.

His vigilance level instantly went up to maximum as he sharply scanned the surroundings with his fierce gaze. He particularly paid extra attention to the darker corners of the room, especially the ones with curtains.

Even if all the lights were on, there were still some corners that had ʼshadowsʼ lingering in them.

ʼHow can they sneak here when the entire hotel is heavily guarded by the people of Flying Dragon Corporation?ʼ mumbled Shin as he carefully looked for traces of the person, who managed to sneak inside his room. ʼThey must be highly skilled assassins.ʼ

Due to the recent events that happened, Shiella and Nathan increased the protection for Shin and the rest of the group, especially for him due to the most recent assassination attempt.

Since he was the main target, the people responsible for guarding him secretly were the most skilled and most trusted people from the Springfield Family.

There were also some specially arranged people meant for his security because of his connection with the Black Serpent Mafia, who were currently in an active state in different parts of the world despite most of their bases being obliterated by a monstrous couple.

Cloe was also put under heavy protection due to the competitors of the Cilvana Family. Even if one of their major rivals had already been dealt with, there were still a few people, who were intending to fish on troubled waters.

There were also those organizations that were currently in the Soaring Continent due to the recently discovered tomb of an ancient cultivator.

The current state of the continent was quite unstable due to these foreign powers that were setting their eyes on a few inheritance places that the country had.

Recently, he heard from Arthur and others that some geniuses or talented individuals within the academy were being ambushed left and right. The attempt might not be enough to kill them, but all the victims were seriously injured and they had to be hospitalized for at least a whole month or even more.

From their assessment, this might be a scheme that those outsiders were cooking to limit the number of people who would participate in the exploration of the cultivatorʼs tomb.

This also caused some chaos within the academy as some people took advantage of the situation to get back on the people that they had conflicts with.

Information about the assailants was quite accurate as well as all their targets were the selected participants for the mission. The majority of them were from their class, which indicated that there was most likely a mole within the academy that was feeding those people enough information.

ʼBut why am I included in the target list? I am not included in the mission,ʼ as this thought crossed his mind, his eyes suddenly turned wide as he realized. ʼThese people are most likely from the organization that is specifically targeting him.ʼ

There were only two major dark organizations that were targeting him – the Black Serpent Mafia, which had had a history with, and the Shadow Alliance, which he had messed with during the incident in the Central Region.

As this string of thoughts ran through his mind, he was already sending distress signals to the people close to him, particularly Shiella, David, and Nathan.

But he later realized that the signal was being jammed. By spreading his Spiritual Sense into the surroundings to further look for the intruders, he also noticed that multiple formations stacked on one another were sealing off the entire room.

ʼTsk! Now this is troublesome. I donʼt know who they are, but their skills are no joke. I never noticed the formation until they were activated,ʼ Shin frowned deeply as he glanced at himself.

He was currently topless while the pants that he was wearing were meant for sleeping. Aside from the spatial rings that contained his swords and the advanced watch on his wrist, he did not have anything else on him.

Not long after, shadows within the room seemed to move as multiple figures in dark cloaks revealed themselves one after another.

There was also a buffed man in a set of assassin outfits but with a sleeveless shirt. His muscular arms were fully exposed, signifying that there was a lot of strength in them.

But what caught Shinʼs attention was the black serpent coiled in a dagger tattoo on one of this personʼs arms.

ʼSo, it is them,ʼ the expression on Shinʼs face suddenly turned grave when he realized who these people were.

But what confused him was that these people were only at the peak of the ʼQi Refinement Stageʼ with some being in the early stages of the ʼCore Formation Stageʼ.

If they wanted to assassinate someone, then these people were more than enough. But with Shinʼs current strength, these people were far from being enough to handle him. He easily wiped the floor with them within a couple of minutes.

The only problem that Shin had to worry about was the buffed guy and the mysterious person behind their formation, who happened to be a Mentalist as well. Shin guessed that this person must be the one who set up the set of arrays inside his room.

Seeing Shin remained calm despite the current predicament that he was in, the buffed guy, who seemed to be the leader of the group suddenly said. ”You canʼt rely on those people outside. All of them are pretty much occupied with our people.”

”As for your friends-… all of them were currently trapped within their rooms. I reckon that they will only be able to escape once we leave the vicinity,” he added with a provoking look on his face.

ʼThe others as well?ʼ Shinʼs eyes suddenly turned cold as a dangerous glint appeared in them.

The buffed guy was quite surprised at the immense killing intent coming from Shin, but he was able to recover himself within an instant.

He then crossed his arms in front of him and said. ”Donʼt get too agitated yet. We donʼt have enough people to deal with all of you since we also have to keep the Dragon King busy.”

”Some of our people are also keeping an eye on the Junior Dragoness of the Springfield Family, the Wanderer, and those two Young Ghosts of the Valentine Family.”

”But the traps that we have set up within this hotel are more than enough to harm them and the other innocent people staying here.”

His eyes then suddenly turned dangerous as he continued. ”Deserter Uno. All we need is for you to come with us and your friends and the others staying within this building will be fine.”

Shin did not immediately respond as he was trying to come up with a plan to deal with the current situation. At the same time, he was also trying to figure out what these guys were planning to do with him.

ʼIt has been a long time since these guys made a move on me. What are they plotting this time to risk waging war against the Springfield Family?ʼ

He was not sure about it yet, but he felt that it had something to do with the current events within the Soaring Continent.

...…