Master of Kaidan
Chapter 162: The First Kaidan Entry

Chapter 162: Chapter 162: The First Kaidan Entry

As the champion of "human rights," yet in reality providing the wealthy a holiday-like prison experience, Nanides Prison had always been the focus of high attention. When it got entangled with the topic of Libra, which had become explosively popular across the nation in a short span of time, there was no need for Jessica to "leak" the news before the Fierce Sun Newspaper, Tasoke Newspaper, Daily Telegraph... and other renowned media swarmed in like sharks smelling blood, rushing over.

And the newspaper agency now quietly renamed "The White Rainbow," under Jessica’s name, stealthily merged with these big players, alongside other small tabloids rushing in, exposing the death state of the rich boy William before everything was hidden away.

It wasn’t that no one tried to cover it up, but the media’s nickname of "the uncrowned king" wasn’t for nothing, as each of these large newspapers was a big crocodile equipped with backers, history, and capital.

As for why the backers of these newspapers aren’t worried about the same happening to them...

There’s a saying that goes well, for the right price, capitalists will sell the rope that hangs them.

As for Feng Xue, he naturally was pleased with this outcome. As the Nanides Prison incident fermented, he suddenly discovered that his "Identification" was much higher than he had imagined.

Then, he understood why, because the current time had reached mid-July.

In any other year, July wouldn’t have anything special, but this year was different.

Because in this city, a sports event watched by the world was about to take place.

At this time, just over ten days from the opening ceremony, athletes from various countries had already arrived one after another, beginning to adapt to the competition venues, with media from all over the world already converging on the location. Under such enormous attention, the story of Libra also spread globally through the mouths of Bakerland citizens as a "local legend"...

Thus, on the dawn of July 21, 2012, at the darkest hour just before sunrise, a weird power woke Feng Xue from his sleep.

Before he could even check what this strange sensation was that had awoken him, an irresistible power had already acted upon his body.

At that moment, Feng Xue felt his body pliable as putty, kneaded by that power, crushed, then melded anew, and the process repeated.

Through this repetitive cycle, the tens of millions of "Identifications" he had accumulated over the days began to evaporate rapidly.

No, it wasn’t exactly evaporation, but a constant melding into his body, becoming a part of him.

Rationally, he understood that this was probably the condensation of the so-called Kaidan entry, a good thing he had longed for, but emotionally, having associated "Identification" with life for over half a year, he felt a subtle sense of panic seeing them disappear so quickly.

However, this feeling didn’t last long. The tens of millions of "Identifications" were like firewood thrown into intense flames, igniting a fierce light.

That was not a real flame but a sensation as if one could see the raging fires just by closing their eyes.

The fire was dark and profound, with a heavy sense of death, yet paradoxically, it emitted a warm feeling that made one harbor hope.

Just as the label holders could instinctively understand their own label’s power, under this subtle feeling, Feng Xue also clearly recognized his first Kaidan entry—perhaps due to his Golden Finger, that cognition also instinctively appeared in the format identified by the Golden Finger——

Entry: Libra - Swearer

Labels: [assassin], [instructor], [demon], [leader], [money printer], [justice partner]

Overview: Legend tells of a group of assassins that uphold justice and adhere to morality, active in human history since the emergence of the Hammurabi Code. They have appeared countless times and vanished as often, but as long as the law ceases to be just, and justice turns pale, no matter how many times, new Swearers will resurrect from the ruins.

The newly born Swearers carry ten oaths (oaths abbreviated) and seek out those who thirst for justice to establish a new Libra, balancing morality with law, and retrieving fairness for the mortal world. Regarded by villains as a Demon, the public, however, hails them as justice partners.

The assassins of this organization called themselves "Executioners" and abide by the ten oaths to exchange for powerful protection (protection abbreviated). Their creed is "When the law fails to bring justice to the concerned parties, personal vengeance from this moment becomes justified and even noble," and they seek reparation for those who cannot obtain justice through the law.

The Swearer is the strongest Executioner, drawn to injustice and despair. When he appears, the sinner’s death knell has already sounded.

When Executioners begin to indulge in the pleasure brought by power and start to look for loopholes in the oaths, attempting to profit from their protection, a Swearer appears, judging the Executioner who has betrayed the oaths.

And you are the Swearer of oaths, the spokes-entity of Libra.

Power: [Protection], [Training], [Contract]

Current World Rules: [Inheritance], [Unfairness], [Execution]

...

Feeling the "flames" burning within his body, Feng Xue took a long breath. Although the version of Kaidan seemed to have some subtle differences from the original one he knew, it was probably added by the spreaders during its dissemination and became the widely recognized "fanon." (Just like Ling Meng’s one hundred thousand witches, and Hikikomori Princess’ Hikikomori identity)

Of course, for Feng Xue, these fanciful legends were at best "playing by the rules." What he truly cared about were the three powers and three Current World Rules.

Power refers to the strengths he could obtain from this Kaidan entry, different from the pure Knowledge in the tags, power is the real supernatural ability, following rules similar to fantasy items (The setting prevails over everything, with a special attack on sun Immortals).

[Protection] is the seven powers among the ten oaths, which are materialized from the legends after [Nothingness] was sublimated into [Kaidan], somewhat like treasures gained by heroic spirits due to their legends.

After the consolidation of the Kaidan entry, he genuinely possessed these protections and was not merely relying on Martial Arts, Knowledge, or fantasy items as a Disguise. Conversely, when using protection, he must also strictly adhere to the ten oaths. If violated, the protection will be nullified, although this nullification is temporary. As long as the Kaidan is not forgotten, he just needs to re-abide by the oaths for the protection to reappear.

[Training] is the trait produced by the combination of the [Instructor] tag and the legend. Feng Xue can use the [Training] power to impart his mastered Knowledge, Skills, abilities, and even his powers to others. Whether the recipient can learn and to what extent depends on how well they match with the imparted material.

The final power, [Contract], partly stems from signing the ten oaths but also draws some of its strengths from the [Demon] tag. It allows Feng Xue to sign contracts with targets that have intelligence and intellect. As long as both parties voluntarily (it can’t be forced, no brainwashing, mental manipulation, etc.) set the terms of the contract, it will come into effect.

The efficacy of the contract ignores Space and distance. For example, if Feng Xue signs a contract with an Executioner stating, "After completing the mission, you can obtain coins matching the task," then even if Feng Xue is in Infinite City, the contract can transport his coins into the hands of the person who completes the task.

Compared to [Power] as a source of strength, [Current World Rules] are the "means" by which Feng Xue can shuttle between two worlds without a door.

[Inheritance] originates from the legend that the Swearer selects fresh Blood to join the Libra organization. When someone "fit" to join Libra desires Power and justice, Feng Xue can choose to Descend to their side, sign a contract with them, and instruct them until they become qualified Executioners.

As for this "fitness," it’s basically in line with the legend’s setting, such as losing one’s entire family, being persecuted by an Enemy, with nowhere to seek Vendetta; or being born poor but having a kind, just heart; or suffering an unwarranted injustice, and so on. In short, any situation that fits into the public perception of those who should be part of the Libra Kaidan can potentially trigger the [Inheritance] rule.

The [Unfairness] rule is derived from the legend of the "strongest Executioner." When faced with a commission that proves exceptionally difficult for ordinary Executioners, or takes place in an area not yet covered by the Executioners’ intelligence network, or the matter is rather urgent and other Executioners can’t accept the assignment in time, Feng Xue can choose to Descend and take on the commission.

Finally, the [Execution] rule is even simpler. As the name suggests, it comes from the legend of the Swearer executing those who have violated the founding principles of the Libra organization. If an Executioner does something unacceptable, like exploiting loopholes in the oaths or profiting from protection for personal gain, Feng Xue can choose to Descend and mete out Punishment depending on the severity of the situation.

...

Having sorted out his new capabilities, Feng Xue finally deeply appreciated the difference between [Kaidan] and [Nothingness]. Although the Kaidan he created had inherent combat Power, when considering the genesis of [Power], Mr. Li’s dog-thief might well possess formidable powers such as [Concealing], [Un-capturable], [Special Attack on Dogs], [Absolute Stealing].

"Indeed, the world of Kaidan is profound..."