Child of Destiny

Real World

Soaring Continent, Eastern Sea Region, Ace City.

That night, a teenager was sitting in a lotus position within the training under the Research Department.

He had a steady and controlled breathing, clearly indicating that he was in a deep meditation.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The energies surrounding his body were revolving at different paces – sometimes, it was fast and violent; at times, it was slow and gentle; other times, it was stealthy and cunning; or it could even move with multiple courses and variations.

Under this condition, the young man was constantly fading in and out of existence as if he were some sort of spiritual being.

This was Shin, who was currently in a trance after receiving the Heart Realm Technique from Professor Henry.

The old professor initially expected that Shin would require at least a couple of days before he could even master the technique and reach its second state. This assessment was already quite exaggerated after putting all the abilities that Shin had into consideration.

However, there was something that Professor Henry had somewhat overlooked, or even underestimated, in the entire process.

It was the thing that Shin had gained during their operation in the Sun-Moon Continent, particularly after listening to the Buddhist Mantras when he was trapped in those ancient ruins.

These hymns and mantras resonated well with his Jade Kirin Scripture, which produced another mystical effect after interacting with one another.

It had even affected the digestion of all the experience and insights that Professor Henry had passed to Shin along with the Heart Realm Technique, which further hastened the entire process.

When all these were stacked together, Shin managed to reach the minimum stage that Professor Henry wanted him to achieve with his current state, the Spirit Heart Expansion.

However, Shin did not stop there and pushed through everything, skipping the first two stages altogether and reaching partial mastery over the third stage.

Professor Henry had somewhat thought about it, but his expectation was relatively low since he understood this technique very well and knew how hard it was.

Skipping the Spirit Heart Establishment Stage and gaining an advanced mastery over the Spirit Heart Expansion was already impressive.

However, breaking through these two stages and gaining mastery over the Spirit Heart Manifestation was way beyond the old professor’s expectations, especially when it only took Shin an extremely short amount of time.

That was right! Shin had only taken a few hours reaching this stage when he was supposed to take two days at the very least and an entire week at his slowest pace.

Hu~!

Exhaling softly, Shin slowly opened his eyes, which released a blinding light that illuminated the entire training room before receding to his eyes after a couple of seconds.

“This-…? Isn’t it a bit too easy?” he mumbled, surprised at how fast he had digested everything.

It took him quite a while to process everything before realizing why that was the case.

“The Jade Kirin Technique?” he mumbled along with a deep frown. “This technique that Mom and Dad have created is surely not as simple as it seems.”

Not only did he find that it was helpful at suppressing the Seed of Hatred within his heart, but it could also help him gain some insights when he was training in either of his disciplines.

Now, he also found that it could also help him digest all the enlightenment that he gained much faster – insanely faster!

He could tell there were still many secrets about this technique waiting to be discovered.

Aside from this, Shin could also sense that the Jade Kirin Scripture itself was somewhat related to the Origin, or more precisely, the True Origin that everyone was chasing after when they reached the Transcendent and Exalted Realms.

He could feel that the tiny portion that they had touched when he dived into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness during his ‘slumber’ and let Uno take over the main body was suddenly aroused after the Jade Kirin Scripture was ‘awakened’ earlier.

Clank! Clank!

Not long after, his thoughts were disturbed by the sounds of the door being opened.

When he raised his head, he saw Randel walking inside the training and immediately locked his gaze on him.

“Oh!? You truly exited your training this early?” asked Randel after seeing Shin fully awake at the center of the training room.

Hearing his words, Shin raised his brows and realized that the other party was aware that he had already finished digesting everything that Professor Henry had imparted to him about the Heart Realm Technique.

Seemingly knowing what the opposing side was thinking, Randel immediately explained. “The Professor has informed me about it. He sensed that you had unexpectedly ended your trance much earlier.”

“I thought that some accident had happened, but Professor Henry has reassured me that you have normally exited it,” he added while observing Shin quite closely.

“Your aura seems to have undergone another transformation as well. It feels like you have been baptized by something sacred,” he continued after seeing a unique aura that Shin was passively emitting. “Such a presence is something that I have only felt from certain individuals, particularly those old monsters.”

Shin was not that sure what Randel was talking about, but still got a gist of it. “It’s probably something to do with the insights that Professor Henry has imparted to me alongside the training method of the Heart Realm Technique.”

Randel shook his head in response. “You may have carried a portion of their temperament, but you are still far from truly achieving that level.”

He then focused on Shin’s body before asking. “I wonder what stage we have reached with that technique? I have heard from the professor that you have far exceeded his expectations.”

“Given his excited voice earlier, I can tell that you have done something incredible this time. After all, it is quite rare for that old man to be surprised about anything.”

“It is a pity that Professor Henry can’t come and check on you this time since they are currently at the most crucial stage of one of their main projects,” he added alongside a regretful sigh.

It was only at this point that Shin recalled all his gains from the most recent trance, which shocked even himself.

“I seem to have reached the third stage and have gained a decent mastery over it,” answered Shin, unable to show what he was currently feeling.

“What!? Third Stage already!? And not only have you skipped the first two stages, but you go straight to a decent mastery of the third stage as well!?” Randel was extremely surprised, making him look at Shin as if the latter were some sort of monster.

He was quite familiar with this powerful technique that Professor Henry had imparted to Shin, which far surpassed the ‘Unified Strengthening’ said to be the most perfect technique fusing martial arts and mentalism by many.

Shin understood what Randel was currently feeling since he himself was also aware of how powerful the Heart Realm Technique could be and how hard it was to train.

After all, even Professor Henry had only achieved the fourth stage, and it was barely at an intermediate level of mastery.

It was easy to imagine what kind of feeling Randel was currently experiencing right now.

Learning about this, Randel was also itching to give fighting a try, wanting to personally experience how powerful this Heart Realm Technique was in the hands of someone with similar strength.

Little did Randel know that the version of the Third Stage Heart Realm Technique that Shin currently possessed was something different from what he knew.

Aside from the regular version of it, where Shin was supposed to manifest a fraction of the ‘Spiritual Realm’ into the ‘Physical Realm’ to greatly increase his Mentalism Prowess, he had also gained a certain ability that seemed to be solely for himself.

It was an ability that not only involved and transformed his already powerful mentalism energy and mentalism techniques.

It was an ability to ‘summon’ something else other than the said fraction of the ‘Spiritual Realm’.

He was not sure where such a ‘mutation’ came from, but his good guess was about the so-called incomplete immaculate being that they had gotten from the hands of the Black Serpent Mafia and Voidwalker Tribes during their last big operation.

He could sense that Uno seemed to have been affected by the Heart Realm Technique as well. Even though he was not sure to what extent it was.

‘It may also be because of the technique itself being a combination of mentalism and martial arts, so there should be some connections that I have yet to fully understand.’

‘After all, I am still far from truly uncovering its full mysteries,’ he thought to himself.

Shin was still lost in thought when Randel suddenly continued. “Let’s go. I will bring you home. Professor Henry said that he will not be able to see your progress personally due to his duties.”

“It can only wait until he is finished on his side before checking on your progress,” he added while getting ready to bring Shin back to their villa.

…