I'm Just Stepping Out

Standing at the edge of the rooftop, Lin Yi gazed down at the silent city and took a deep breath.

He didn't start practicing right away. Instead, he closed his eyes and pretended to be absorbed in digesting the information about the new techniques. He let a thoughtful, puzzled expression cross his face, followed now and then by a look of sudden understanding.

"Since it's my first time practicing, I don't need to make too much of a show of it... I can always improve after a fight."

Having settled on how much to reveal, Lin Yi suddenly opened his eyes.

"Flowing Star Step is primarily a dodging technique. It's all about weaving and maneuvering within a tiny space. It lacks a little in explosive speed, but its strength is in its endurance, and it uses very little source energy. The General Staff clearly chose it for a reason... Hmm... I'll just show that I've grasped the basics and gained some agility."

With that in mind, Lin Yi moved, stepping forward. His footwork was no longer simple running and jumping; it carried a peculiar rhythm.

At first, his movements were a little clumsy, and his steps even faltered now and then. But soon, they grew smoother at a visible pace, and he was even able to pull off several astonishing changes of direction.

That was the level of someone just beginning to master Flowing Star Step.

After practicing the footwork, Lin Yi drew the Abyss Breaking spear and channeled source energy into it, restoring it to its true form.

"As for Star Splitting Spear Art... it's a spear technique that pursues piercing power and destruction to the extreme. Its moves are fierce, and it excels at breaking through defenses with focused force... Tsk... This is interesting. From the weapon to the ordinary moves to the ultimate techniques, everything focuses on breaking through defenses with focused force... I'll just get the first few moves flowing smoothly, then. A little source-energy glow should be enough."

Having set the tone, Lin Yi held the spear in his hand. His gaze suddenly sharpened as he slowly thrust it forward.

At first, his movements were slow and deliberate, as though he were carefully studying every detail of how to exert force and every path taken by the circulating source energy. The spear's passage through the air sounded rather dull, and only a faint glimmer of source energy occasionally flashed at its tip.

But as time went on, his movements grew faster and smoother.

Thrust, jab, lift, chop, sweep... The basic spear moves gradually linked together in his hands, taking on a hint of fierce, murderous force.

The wind whistled around the spear, and source energy began to flow steadily along its blade. It was faint, but it had taken shape.

Every now and then, a forceful move even produced a sharp whistle!

Lin Yi practiced the first few moves of Star Splitting Spear Art over and over for nearly an hour. Only after they had become familiar and the source energy flowed without obstruction did he slowly lower the spear and stand at ease.

He took a short rest, then waited ten minutes before sitting cross-legged and beginning to practice Mote Secret Art.

This secret art didn't increase his total source energy. Instead, it focused on honing his control, emphasizing the precise manipulation of every wisp of source energy in his body until it obeyed his every command and could perform all kinds of complex, microscopic operations.

That was harder than fighting with broad, sweeping movements.

Lin Yi raised his right hand and extended his index finger. A wisp of pure source energy slowly seeped from his fingertip, forming a faint but steady blue glow.

At first, the glowing mass merely quivered slightly, its shape unstable, like a candle flame in the wind.

As time passed, beads of sweat began to form on Lin Yi's forehead, and the glowing mass at his fingertip began to change.

Its trembling grew fainter, and its light gradually drew inward.

Then the bottom of the glowing mass began to stretch and narrow, while the top slowly divided, outlining a flickering shape...

A moment later, a lifelike flame, motionless and steady, floated above his fingertip!

That was the sign of having just begun to master Mote Secret Art.

Shaping intangible source energy into a simple, stable form and keeping it that way required tremendous control over both its output and its shape.

Lin Yi looked at the stable source-energy flame at his fingertip, the corners of his mouth lifting in a faint, satisfied smile.

After admiring his "masterpiece" for a while, he finally let the source energy fade from his fingertip.

Then Lin Yi stood up. Next, he was going to "try" practicing Meteor Strike!

After a string of successful attempts, it was only natural that a "genius"—a young man—would want to try practicing a more advanced ultimate technique. It would actually be stranger if he didn't even give it a try.

So Lin Yi took out his spear again and began awkwardly going through the motions of the ultimate technique based on the information in his mind.

He deliberately slowed his movements to a crawl, and made the circulation of source energy seem sluggish and blocked. Several times, he even let the source energy escape because he couldn't control it properly, making the attempt look extremely difficult.

"Hmm... This ultimate technique really does have a high barrier to entry, but... could I do it this way... and try simplifying it a little?"

After failing several times, Lin Yi muttered a few words to himself as he awkwardly went through the motions.

He pretended to ponder hard, sometimes pausing, sometimes trying to change a source-energy node.

To anyone watching, it looked like a genius struggling to get past the threshold of an ultimate technique, refusing to give up and trying to find a way through.

In the end, Lin Yi sighed, shook his head, and muttered, "Forget it. Looks like I'll need to spend more time thinking it over. I should focus on improving my strength for now."

But in truth, during that awkward practice and experimentation, he had already managed to simplify Meteor Strike into a "weakened version" that he could barely use right now.

Though far weaker than the original, its instant burst of power had already reached Stardust level, making it an adequate trump card.

I'll call this simplified version "Star Shatter"... If I run into a critical moment before reaching Stardust level, I can pass it off as a breakthrough under pressure, a burst of insight in a desperate situation. If that never happens, no matter. Once I reach Stardust level, I can learn the full version directly, and hand this simplified one over to the General Staff.

After finishing his practice, Lin Yi took three gray Source Energy Crystals from his waist.

Without hesitation, he crushed and absorbed them one by one.

The main reason he hadn't practiced Nine Heavens Primordial Method was that it was a cultivation method for Stardust level. Before he condensed Source Energy Stardust inside his body, he couldn't practice it at all.

So for now, he still had to stick to the Source Energy Guidance Technique.

This time, Lin Yi didn't use the Source Energy Crystals one at a time. Instead, he held all three in his hand and used the source-energy control techniques he had just learned to guide their energy.

Some of it went toward tempering his body more deeply, widening his meridians, and raising the upper limit of his total source energy.

The rest was converted into pure source energy, filling the Source Sea in his dantian, which had grown spacious as his limit increased.

When he had completely absorbed the energy of all three crystals and they had crumbled into ash, the source energy in his body had clearly grown by more than a little, and his physical strength had improved another step.

Lin Yi slowly opened his eyes. Feeling the surging power within him, he looked toward the throbbing nest in the distance, filled with anticipation for the battle to come.

By then, the eastern horizon had begun to lighten, and dawn was close.

But just as day was about to break...

"ROOOAR!!!"

A deep, thunderous roar suddenly burst from the direction of the purple-black nest in the distance, reaching Lin Yi on the rooftop in an instant.

The roar was far more powerful and violent than the Abyssal Wolves' howls. It was filled with a heart-stirring force and an oppressive presence.

Hearing the thunderous roar, Lin Yi hurried to the edge of the rooftop. His gaze cut through the dark streets and locked precisely onto the nest.

"Tsk, what a spectacle... For some reason, I'm actually a little excited..." he grumbled inwardly. People say that if you pretend to be weak and then surprise your enemies for long enough, you'll really become weak. But why am I getting all fired up from pretending to be a teenager?

Of course, jokes aside, Lin Yi knew the main reason was that he had spent so many years accustomed to a life of fighting and adventure.

Being forced to rein himself in and pretend ever since he was reborn had left him feeling stifled.

Now, after a few fights, he could finally loosen some of those restrictions. Naturally, he was itching for action.

"Everyone should be here soon."

As Lin Yi activated the Flowing Cloud Light Armor and took out Abyss Breaking, restoring it to its combat form, he estimated how much time had passed.

Soon, hurried footsteps sounded, and Zhou Jianjun, Chen Yu, and the others came rushing up to the rooftop, panting. They gripped their crude spears and shields tightly, their faces pale.

"Lin Yi!" Zhou Jianjun said, his expression graver than ever. "Chen Yu saw it through a crack in the window... A huge thing crawled out of the nest! At least four meters tall, and its whole body looked like it was built from boulders. The wolf pack is surrounding it, and it's heading this way. How do we defend this building?"

Everyone's eyes focused on Lin Yi. Though they saw him fully armed, they couldn't stop the panic welling up inside them.

After all, a Giant Bear that enormous could injure ordinary people just by brushing against them, and kill them with a single blow.

But Lin Yi slowly turned around, his face showing not the slightest trace of tension.

He even gave a light laugh.

"Defend?"

Lin Yi shook his head, his voice as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

"No need to defend."

The others stared at him in astonishment.

Lin Yi casually remarked, "I was just starting to get hungry and was about to go downstairs for breakfast when I heard all that racket over there..."

As he spoke, he gave no one time to react. He sprang forward from the rooftop's edge.

All he left them was the fading tail end of a sentence.

"I'm just stepping out for a bit."