Returning to the Mysterious Era

The Shadow Demon was gone, seemingly vanished into thin air.

The basement was empty, with no traces of a struggle. Cassius furrowed his brows and walked over. Several durable, specially-made iron chains lay on the ground near the heavy fitness equipment. They were severed cleanly in two.

He bent down and picked up one of the chains, grip relaxed. Given the smooth cross-section, it looked as though it had been cut by a sharp blade.

Someone had rescued the Shadow Demons from the basement.

Cassius stiffened. He glanced around the area.

He couldn't see any clues that would give him an idea as to how the person had entered the basement. They had been extremely cautious. Nothing else had been touched in the basement, and there were no footprints on the ground.

Cassius noticed the Shadow Demons had eaten approximately one-third of the food that had been placed nearby. Using a normal human's meal size as a reference, it seemed the Shadow Demons had been taken away about two days ago.

The only ones who knew about the Red Eye-level Shadow Demon in the residential basement were Cassius and the Shadowless Clan. However, the two sides had just reached an agreement to cooperate, plus Cassius had sold a Sharp Claw-level Shadow Demon to them. It was unlikely they would be so impatient.

Moreover, the Shadowless Clan was aware of how strong Cassius was. They'd be playing with fire if they intended to pull any tricks on him.

While the Shadowless Clan were unlikely to have taken the Red Eye-level Shadow Demon, someone from within might have leaked the information, allowing others to find out.

Then there was the other possibility: an unknown number of Shadow Demons might have arrived at Baichuan City and, upon sensing the presence of their companion, rescued the Red Eye-level Shadow Demon. If that were the case, Cassius would need to be vigilant in the coming days. A group of Shadow Demons might be lurking in the shadows and keeping watch of his residence.

He wasn't particularly afraid of an ambush. With the hardening Qigong, as long as it wasn't a direct hit from a cannon, it would be hard to kill Cassius instantly. Even a small-caliber sniper rifle wouldn't do the trick.

The disappearance of the Shadow Demons was somewhat of a loss for him. Cassius had originally intended to use the Red Eye-level Shadow Demon as an experiment to see if dark creatures could replace the blood sacrifice materials for the Demonic Water Ritual, and if so, sacrifice it for the Demonic Water Ritual.

He had a ready-made subject in the basement, but now the cooked duck had flown away. Cassius would have to consider other options.

After tidying up the basement a bit, he threw the slightly spoiled food into a garbage bag and then walked out. With some difficulty, Shockwave raised his head off from where he was lying on the sofa, looking curiously at Cassius.

What was this "good thing"?

As Cassius walked through the hallway, he met everyone's eyes and said calmly, "A thief broke into the house and stole something." He then took the garbage bag and walked out the door.

"Huh? A thief?"

Shockwave was a bit puzzled. So even the homes of the strong could be burglarized? But then again, as long as people lived in society, it was inevitable that they would have some interaction with other people. Unless one held themselves in such high regard that they no longer considered humans as their peers.

The so-called strong often seemed to live loftily, only interacting with formidable enemies, powerful friends, or illustrious individuals. But in reality, it was a lonely, hollow, and desolate way of life.

Shockwave was familiar with this. The number of neo-humans was already small, and he was among the even fewer extremists. Most of Shockwave's adult life had been like this.

Cassius was clearly a more ruthless and domineering figure. Yet, the place he lived in had a rather cozy courtyard with warm-toned tiles, a reddish-brown sloped roof, a mailbox posted at the door, a stone path, and white flower beds. There were also neighbors nearby and a road.

These elements seemed at odds with the image Shockwave had in mind of the cold-faced, muscular strongman. He should be roughing it, like training under waterfalls and going through dangerous and mysterious events across the Federation. But to his utter surprise, Cassius seemed quite like an ordinary person. Perhaps he was using the facade of a peaceful and stable life to conceal the other side of himself.

Shockwave looked shiftily away and lay back down.

Cassius arranged for Bass, Shockwave, and Haisha to stay on the first floor, while he trained in his dedicated training room on the second floor.

The room had rows of black bookshelves crammed in the corners, filled with books related to combat techniques. There were also many historical books from the Hongli Federation, covering topics such as festivals, customs, and languages.

Cassius had specifically prepared these books for himself. To know oneself and the enemy was the key to any victory. Only by understanding the specifics of each era in the time-travel epochs could he better integrate into them.

He was going to use whatever advantages only someone who knew about the future could detect. His use of Lanxin Grass was a classic example.

The brightly lit room illuminated every corner of the training room with a soft yellow glow. Near the window, a stack of books was piled on a black desk, where Cassius was busily transcribing something.

The pen scratched softly on the pale yellow paper. He tapped his finger lightly and quickly scanned the page. It was filled with the various techniques that Cassius had brought back from the time-travel eras, all written from left to right.

Tufa Slashing Sword, Midak Storm Cross Sword, Yaka Blood Battle Ax, Stone Armour Technique, Heart Eye Secret Technique, Lion's Roar Breathing Technique. And the Midak Balance Disruption Technique.

He wasn't just sorting through and reinforcing the memories in his mind. He was also preparing for his future organization. A strong organization needed a solid foundation, and these techniques would serve as that foundation, completely separate from Cassius's core Covert Martial Arts.

He carefully considered which parts to offer as rewards to the members. It wasn't a bad idea; after all, an organization needed some kind of core attraction to gradually grow stronger. Cassius couldn't always rely solely on brute force. It had to be a combination of that and mutual benefit.

The pages were filled with densely packed characters, the handwriting crooked and twisted. No one in this world, and only a few in Cassius's world, could decipher what was written. His handwriting was just that terrible. But it did have built-in confidentiality. What a brilliant double-layered protection!

Half an hour later, a figure sat cross-legged in the training room. Cassius was quietly studying the three techniques displayed in the upper right corner of his vision.

[Midak Balance Disruption Technique: Minor Culmination (Stage One)]

[Heart Eye Secret Technique: Unmastered (Total Three Stages)]

[Lion's Roar Breathing Technique: Unmastered (Total One Stage)]

All the techniques had a triangular symbol next to them, indicating they were under the enhancement of Pure Black Demonic Water.

During the three days of rest in Anta City, Cassius didn’t immediately focus on mastering the easiest technique, the Entry Level of Lion's Roar Breathing Technique. Instead, he spent his time deepening his understanding of all the martial arts techniques he had learned and experiencing the varying effects of each technique’s amplification.

Now, back at his residence in Beiliu City, he intended to further test the various secret techniques he had only just scratched the surface of, starting with the Lion's Roar Breathing Technique.

This technique was a genuine lifesaver because it could stabilize one’s vital energies when suffering from internal injuries, temporarily restoring a portion of combat ability. By syncing breathing patterns with blood flow, it forced severely damaged muscles and organs to continue functioning.

It had severe drawbacks, though. After the technique's effects faded away, it left the person with intense organ failure and excruciating pain from the accumulated damage.

The technique had only one key point: practice relentlessly. One needed to frequently be on the brink of death and sustain multiple serious injuries in order to improve. This was not a shortcut anyone would willingly take, as it was tantamount to seeking death.

But with the use of the crystallized Pure Black Demonic Water, Cassius found his efficiency greatly increased. Specifically, his progress with the Lion's Roar Breathing Technique was fifteen times faster than normal. Honestly, this efficiency was almost indistinguishable from being in a critical state, and even if it wasn’t exactly the same, it was only slightly less effective.

The hallmark of mastering the Lion's Roar Breathing Technique was a lion's roar emanating faintly from one’s nose and mouth, which actually came from the sound of air surging.

"Huff…" Cassius took a deep breath, calming his mind, and began attempting the Lion's Roar Breathing Technique.

He sat in the standard cross-legged position, with his hands crossed—his left hand resting on his right knee, and his right hand on his left knee. His chest rose and fell slightly, following the rhythm of the airflow.

Sssss~

He breathed rhythmically, the air gliding into his nostrils in three separate inhales, followed by five exhales. At the same time, the viscous blood in his veins flowed slowly. When it passed through three specific nodes, its speed varied and circulated through different vessels at either a slow or fast speed.

This was the advantage of reaching the Major Culmination realm as a pugilist; Cassius could easily manipulate his blood flow to match his breathing rate, combined with the fifteen-fold increase in activity. He entered a state of deep cultivation in no time.

Air wrapped around his nose and mouth. His veins swelled up slightly as blood flowed through them. The rhythm of his breathing and the flow of his blood were like two forces rising and falling in response to each other, gradually aligning toward a common point. Cassius began to imagine himself gravely injured, on the verge of death, as his body slowly became exhausted and weakened.

It was as if he had just climbed out of a swimming pool with heavy, wet clothes like how chains might drag his limbs. This feeling of fatigue and powerlessness was precisely what he needed. The Lion's Roar Breathing Technique was meant to be practiced in this state.

Cassius remained motionless, blood coursing rapidly through his veins, causing them to swell slightly. The frequency of his breathing and the rhythm of his blood flow were like two hammers swinging in parallel at different speeds. At some point, these hammers would inevitably sync up. Each time they did, Cassius felt himself getting closer to mastering the breathing technique, etching this familiar sensation into his memory.

It happened once, twice, then a third time. His breathing grew stronger. Although he wasn't heaving significantly, a strong, faint white airflow encircled his nose.

Four, five, six times. He didn't need to consciously control the flow of his blood through his veins anymore; it naturally slowed where it should and sped up where it needed to.

Seven, eight, nine times. An unprecedented weakness swallowed him up, making Cassius feel as though he had suffered severe internal injuries, with his organs failing and bleeding. His limbs and muscles relaxed to the point where he couldn’t muster any strength.

On the tenth time…

"Roar!"

This time, a faint lion's roar mixed in with his breath. It was brief, but it was unmistakably clear. Cassius seemed to have succeeded, but he didn’t stop and continued as before. The breathing and blood flow frequencies continued to sync.

Gradually, the lion's roar began to intersperse with his breathing. At first, it was just one or two sporadic roars, then three or four, and eventually, continuously. With each breath, it was as if a lion was letting out a low growl. Cassius became increasingly proficient in the technique.

His body trembled, and a tingling sensation spread across his skin as if something was caressing him. There was a warm current, like a small fireball, continuously nourishing his internal organs and muscles.

"Hiss…" A stream of warm air slowly expelled out of his nostrils. Cassius opened his eyes and glanced at the upper right corner.

[Lion's Roar Breathing Technique: Entry Level (Total One Stage)]

The term "Entry Level" flickered slightly, as if on the verge of advancing to something else. It quickly stabilized.

Cassius attempted the Lion's Roar Breathing Technique again, and a lion's roar immediately echoed from his nose and mouth. The synchronization between his breathing rate and blood flow was now automatic.

Although he hadn't fully mastered it yet, he was confident it was only a matter of time. Once that happened, this auxiliary Secret Technique would soon become an invaluable asset in helping Cassius navigate difficult situations in battle.

In the dim light, he glanced at the clock. It wasn’t even midnight yet. He continued.

Next up was the Heart Eye Secret Technique.

This technique trained the five senses with the goal of partially awakening a rudimentary sixth sense, primarily focusing on enhancing intuition and bodily reflexes. In simple terms, it allowed one to sense an opponent's movements and their body would be able to instinctively respond before their opponent could even act. When fully mastered, it could even provide a god-like perspective, enabling the practitioner to perceive everything around them.

The drawback of the Heart Eye Secret Technique was that it had three stages, and there was a risk in the first two stages: a practitioner could not fully depend on the rudimentary sixth sense as it sometimes led to misjudgments. The key to training this technique required the practitioner to alternate between blocking the body's five senses so each sense could be trained individually.

Normally, Cassius would need to use tools or drugs to aid in practicing the Heart Eye Secret Technique. But in his experimentation, he knew the Pure Black Demonic Water made his brain abnormally active, allowing him to do things beyond a normal person's capabilities. For instance, he could forcibly blur certain perceptions, focusing his attention on a single sense, like how he was extending his hearing range!

Like a bat receiving ultrasonic waves, Cassius was using his ears to perceive his surroundings. The lights were off, and the room was pitch-black. As he held his breath, it felt like his skin’s pores were covered in a thin layer of gauze, making his tactile sense dim and indistinct.

The night was silent, unlike the clamor of daytime. There was only the sound of wind whistling through the alleyways, the rustling of leaves swaying in the wind, and the creaking of an iron gate's rusty hinges. What unfolded before Cassius was a world composed entirely of sounds, which he could instinctively visualize in his mind.

Where was the alley? The bushes? The iron gate? These simple sketches appeared in his mind, like light strokes on a blank sheet of paper.

"Huh?"

Cassius suddenly opened his eyes. There was now a shadowy figure on that mental sketch.