Blind Spot
Chapter 299 - 279 Variable Three

Chapter 299: 279 Variable Three

Ten o’clock at night.

In the Chaoyu suburb, at the Hongxin Warehouse.

The large number of warehouses in the suburb merged into one piece, like colossal beasts crouching silently in the night.

In the distance, the night sky featured the bright and glowing Sky River, resembling the Milky Way, colorful and magnificent.

Countless lights from various flying vehicles ascended from the ground, merging into the Sky River.

Li Chengyi stood silently on the second floor of the warehouse, gazing at the Sky River, speechless.

He had leased this warehouse to serve as a temporary base for training and cultivation for the upcoming period.

With his long hair cascading over his shoulders and a commanding figure, even simply standing on the second floor gave off an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Sharp, needle-like thoughts stirred invisibly beside him, drifting chaotically.

That was the Sword of Wisdom belonging to the Holy Spirit Technique.

The moment Da Zhuang mastered the Sword of Wisdom, Li Chengyi almost simultaneously achieved the same level of cultivation.

The first section of the first layer, the entrance level, was accomplished!

But even though it was the same Sword of Wisdom, the extent of Da Zhuang’s and his were worlds apart.

As a bearer of the weaker Shadow Dragon Bloodline, Li Chengyi’s consciousness and physique were far stronger than Da Zhuang’s in every aspect.

This also meant that his Sword of Wisdom was much more powerful than Da Zhuang’s.

Hiss...

Within a breeze.

The invisible sword intent surrounding Li Chengyi finally retracted completely, converging into a singular focus.

’This Sword of Wisdom, controlled entirely by mind and thought, is born and extinguished at will. A slight lapse of attention could cause it to materialize and harm others... It truly lives up to the basic technique of the Faceless Sword Sect. Sword Sect, Sword Sect... so the sword was hidden here!’

Li Chengyi reflected inwardly.

This Seven Spirit Holy Technique seemed far more dangerous than he had imagined.

Thoughts and intentions are such perilous things.

No one, not even the austere ascetics in temples and monasteries, can guarantee they won’t harbor some dangerous thought.

And if a single thought arises, if this thread of thought cannot be controlled and becomes mixed with desires, it would congeal into the Sword of Wisdom, moving as one wills.

Wherever stray thoughts reside, the Sword of Wisdom exists. It can easily cause everything around to be destroyed.

This is a powerful technique that can easily harm those close to the user. Even as a basic technique, it far surpasses the scope of Combat Technique.

In Li Chengyi’s broad experience, only those so-called xianxia tales from his past life could possibly contain such techniques.

And to be so fast-acting and powerful, it would definitely not be considered orthodox in those xianxia stories.

Quick success often signifies danger. It implies a shaky foundation, which can lead to deviance.

But no matter... he needed the Holy Infant...

"Teacher, I’ve arrived..." Da Zhuang’s voice came from behind him.

Li Chengyi’s gaze shifted slightly as he turned around to look into the dark space behind him.

Da Zhuang Li Chongnan, the cheap disciple he had recently taken on, had changed into a body-hugging black exoskeleton and was standing a few meters behind him.

Compared to the Li Chongnan he had seen before, she had clearly slimmed down quite a bit.

The lines of her face had also softened significantly.

If before she was indistinguishable from a man or woman, a chubby cylindrical figure in a gym,

now at least one could tell she was a woman.

"I’ve noticed your progress. Not bad," said Li Chengyi.

"Teacher, it’s my blessing to have met you. Whatever you command, just say the word! I’ll do everything within my power to accomplish it!" said Li Chongnan, looking down with a glimmer of admiration and yearning in her eyes.

She was well aware that she had obtained such strange abilities just at the entrance stage of her practice.

What about her teacher then?

Having practiced for so long, his absolute strength was surely far beyond her imagination.

"There is something I need you to do," Li Chengyi said. "I need to search the electronic library for all information on the Blind Spot. Can you get in touch with someone with sufficient authority?"

The Hall of Oblivion, the Eternal Wishing Book, such items he didn’t believe the officials would have no records of.

The key was how to obtain these forbidden materials.

"The Blind Spot? That..." Li Chongnan took out her phone and rapidly tried to access the information with her privileges.

She had an account at the library.

Unfortunately, the page returned showed she had insufficient permissions.

"I need Grade Eight authority... I only have Grade Five. Sorry, teacher."

"Grade Eight..." Li Chengyi had glanced at the permission levels when he inquired.

The highest in Yi Country were up to Grade Ten.

The nine elders of Jiu Yi only had Grade Nine, so Grade Eight might only be accessible to the family heads of the Great Noble houses.

Such high-security clearance requirements... it seemed the officials were hiding far more secrets than he had imagined...

"Do you have a solution?"

"Yes, within my family, two individuals from my great-grandfather’s generation have the required clearance. But... my standing within the family isn’t favorable. I’m only on the fringes, they wouldn’t help me with the inquiry," answered Li Chongnan.

"Is that your solution?"

"Of course not. As one of the Chaoyu Nobility, if a younger member of our Li Family shows exceptional talent and the potential to draw the family’s attention, they can be granted a limited time of highest inside clearance to participate in and observe high-level family decisions.

This is what’s called the successor system."

"Successor system?"

"That’s right, many of the Great Noble families in Yi Country have such a hereditary rule. Although we enjoy a variety of resources, wealth, and benefits that commoners cannot imagine,

we also bear pressures and responsibilities inconceivable to commoners.

The successor system is just that. Once one becomes a successor, they can leverage the family’s resources as much as possible, and any opportunities are given first to the successor for cultivation."

"Why do you think becoming a successor would grant you high enough authority for the search?" Li Chengyi asked.

"Because... the authority temporarily held by our Li Family’s successors is equivalent to Grade Nine within the Empire’s system. I heard this from my father once," replied Li Chongnan.

Grade Nine...

It seemed that this cheap disciple had a bigger background than Li Chengyi had imagined.

"How does one become a successor?"

"By showing strength beyond one’s peers in certain aspects, it’s possible to have a chance. Contributing to the family and gaining enough potential influence can also make one a candidate," Da Zhuang Li Chongnan explained simply.

"Our family has three successor spots total. Everyone in my generation who is under forty years old, including those of the previous and the next generations, is eligible to vie for the successor position."

"And the number of these people is roughly over three hundred."

A single family has more than three hundred of the younger generation...?!

Li Chengyi was also slightly taken aback.

He had heard a saying before, that the Self-Circulating City was a noble’s city, a heavenly kingdom unreachable by ordinary people.

Now it seemed that this might really be the case.

"Does achieving a ranking in the Extreme Martial Fierce Battle Competition have an impact on your status within the family?" Li Chengyi asked.

"Yes, and a significant one," Da Zhuang Li Chongnan replied swiftly. She already knew that the teacher before her belonged to the Combat Technique circle. This was just a confirmation.

"The top individual participants of the Extreme Martial Fierce Battle Competition will gain the favor of the military, Jiu Yi, and even the Royal Family. They will receive invitations to join their ranks. Moreover, the influence of this competition within the nobility circles is much greater than ordinary people might imagine. It seems to involve a lot of interest chains related to gambling."

Gambling?

Li Chengyi, piecing together the information he had researched, faintly felt that this so-called Extreme Martial Fierce Battle Competition seemed similar to the NBA of his previous life—except it was an NBA for Combat Technique.

The top experts alone brought with them a great deal of aura and idol effect, making vast sums of money for their backing powers.

"I want you to participate in the Extreme Martial Fierce Battle Competition, do you dare?" he suddenly asked.

In the shadows, Li Chongnan slightly stiffened.

Her, a novice only versed in the basics of Combat Technique, participating in the Extreme Martial Fierce Battle Competition that was full of top experts??!

Was this not a death wish!?

Even if she now had a hint of something different, a hint of something extraordinary.

But those guys in the fierce battle competition were not ones she could beat with just a little Sword of Wisdom.

That was a dangerous competition where people could die!

For a moment, silence fell between them.

Li Chongnan was thinking, hesitating.

"Are you afraid?" Li Chengyi said softly. "If you’re afraid, you can refuse and leave, and I will take back your cultivation of the Holy Spirit Technique."

"!! No!"

Before his words finished, Li Chongnan immediately responded.

She had finally seen hope, the hope for freedom, and she absolutely... absolutely couldn’t let it slip away!

"I’ll participate!"

She believed that the teacher would definitely not send her to her death just like that.

"Are you sure?"

"Sure!"

"No regrets!?"

"No regrets!"

Inside the warehouse.

In the empty second floor, the two stood facing each other, and invisible currents of air stirred faintly between them.

It was not an illusion, but the real collision of Swords of Wisdom.

Once one embarked on the path, any semblance of stray thoughts in the heart could manifest alongside the Sword of Wisdom.

This was power, and also a danger!

"Since you’ve agreed, starting from today, I will teach you the Dragon Whisker Sect’s unique Combat Technique of assassination," Li Chengyi said.

In order to obtain higher authority and investigate the Hall of Oblivion, he needed a sufficiently high-ranking pawn to enter the central circles of Yi Country.

And Li Chongnan just might have that potential.

"Okay!"

Li Chongnan’s eyes were resolute as she nodded firmly.

A pure Combat Technique competition, free from any mechanical intelligence—if it was an exaggerated technique like the Holy Spirit Technique, perhaps there really was hope to struggle into the top three in a short amount of time!

*

*

*

In the Chaoyu rain zone.

As a gigantic Self-Circulating City, the weather in Chaoyu was completely determined by the official government meteorological bureau.

They gathered all rain clouds in one area to maintain continuous rainfall all year round.

This was to precisely control the weather throughout the entire city.

It was raining every moment in the rain zone, sometimes heavily, sometimes lightly.

A variety of people who liked to sightsee and stroll came in and out unceasingly.

There were also many distinctive hotels and restaurants inside the rain zone, providing special services to the flows of people who enjoyed rainy days.

At this moment, inside the largest Lan Ding Restaurant in the zone.

Two burly middle-aged men were sitting on their knees facing each other in a private room quietly.

The walls around them formed a bamboo grove cottage scenery as if they were screens.

Outside the room was the pitter-patter of light rain, adding to the ambiance.

The two men seated on their knees, the one on the left about thirty years old with a black goatee, had sharp and well-defined facial features that conveyed someone not to be trifled with, someone likely to have a bad temper.

The other was much larger than his companion, towering over two meters tall. Even seated on his knees, he still appeared almost as tall as an ordinary person standing.

His features were more pronounced than an average person’s, more rugged, almost coveting an eerie resemblance to the divine guardians depicted in paintings.

"How are preparations going?" the man with the goatee asked softly.

"For this competition, it has been confirmed that the Imperial Family’s Zhou Shuo will also be in attendance," replied the man opposite, who resembled a divine guardian.

"And what are your plans?" the goatee man inquired.

"What do you mean ’my plans’?" The godlike man laughed, his naturally ferocious face making him appear intimidating, his mere smile enough to send shivers down one’s spine.

It was as if he could lash out in violence at any moment.

"I joined you simply to seek greater strength, to stir me, to unearth the potential within my body! If you obstruct me... I will treat you no differently, and I’ll crush you!"

He leaned slightly forward, his eyes widening, his massive pupils moving closer to the goateed man, causing his breathing to hitch and a profound sense of oppression to take hold.

"As a Whale Seat of the organization, you have the right to form your own team. We won’t obstruct you—we may even help you. But..." The goateed man leaned back slightly, as if trying to avoid the other’s overpowering presence.

"But, you should be clear that to gain something, one must give in return. If we support you, you must also provide something in return... Help us achieve our goals!" he said resisting discomfort, firmly.

"After Zhou Ying’s death, the one most likely to become the new Crown Prince of Yi Country is Zhou Shuo, I am of course clear about the mission target~~" the man called Whale Seat chuckled.