The two of them did not stay at the harbor for long. They were both amateurs, after all, and could tell nothing beyond the fact that the ship looked pretty good.
But Marquis Argyle was no sucker. A professional inspection team had already examined it yesterday; their visit today was only for show.
Then something happened that made Kronos grit his teeth: Marquis Argyle simply abandoned him at the harbor and returned to Backlund on his own.
In the marquis's own words, "Your uniform is so beautiful, you simply must let more people see it. How will anyone see you if you're sitting in a carriage?"
"He's definitely salty! Definitely! All I did was show off how handsome I looked in uniform! Was this really necessary?" Kronos grumbled as he walked.
The big leather boots on his feet looked impressive, but they were utterly unsuited to walking long distances. He had covered less than two kilometers before he started feeling tired, and there was still a long way to go.
It was evening by the time Kronos finally reached the Navy Base. Fortunately, he was a Beyonder, and his physical condition had improved considerably. Otherwise, the walk back would definitely have left his feet covered in blisters.
As a result, he had missed lunch, and dinner was already over. Philip was no longer here either, leaving him nowhere to scrounge a meal.
As for Gner, food had never once appeared in his room. In his words, alcohol supplied everything he needed to live.
In the end, weak, pitiful, helpless Kronos could only clutch his little blanket tightly and fall asleep hungry.
Early the next morning, an exhausted Kronos arrived at the training ground, where Gner was already waiting for him.
"Why do you look so worn out today?" Gner asked curiously.
"Don't even ask. I was dumped at the entrance to Pritz Harbor yesterday and had to walk back alone. It was evening by the time I arrived. I missed both lunch and dinner, and now I'm hungry and exhausted!"
Gner immediately burst out laughing, nearly giving himself cramps.
When he finally stopped laughing, Gner asked, "Aren't you a Beyonder? Can't you do something to recover?"
"What am I supposed to do?" Kronos replied helplessly. "I'm just a knowledge-oriented Beyonder, not a Sequence that strengthens the body, let alone an Apothecary."
"Meditate! I'm not even a Beyonder, but meditation always relieves both my mental and physical fatigue!"
Kronos gave Gner a puzzled look. "Are you sure? My meditation only relieves mental fatigue. It works on your body too? Are you sure some swindler hasn't conned you?"
"Heh, all I know is that my meditation method works pretty well. I've asked plenty of Beyonders, and their methods are all incredibly crude. Looks like yours is too." Gner gloated, his face animated.
"Your meditation method is unique?" There had been nothing in the original novel about different meditation methods or anything like that.
"Yeah. I found a book when I was little. I couldn't read a single word, but it had a few hand gestures. I didn't think much of them, and the book disappeared later. Once, while meditating, I happened to make one of those gestures, and it worked incredibly well. A pity I can only remember one." Gner's regret was clearly genuine.
Kronos grew curious too. "Didn't you look into what that book was afterward?"
"I did. It was written in Emperor Roselle's script. Maybe he left it behind. Even if I hadn't lost the book, though, it wouldn't have helped. Nobody can read it."
Emperor Roselle's? Kronos's curiosity was thoroughly piqued. Others might not be able to read it, but he could.
Although his Eye of Time could not yet see events from Gner's childhood, he would surely get a chance in the future. Besides, he could examine Gner's meditation gesture right now.
Kronos acted immediately. Green light flashed in his eyes, and the scene of Gner meditating the previous night appeared before him.
Uh... that gesture really is complicated. And for some reason, it looks a little familiar!
For the moment, Kronos put that aside. He memorized the gesture first, then withdrew from Gner's timeline.
The two launched into another furious sparring session. Even Gner admitted that Kronos was genuinely talented. On the first day, he could only take a beating while wearing the weighted bags; now, he could just barely fight back. His rate of improvement was quite respectable.
After breakfast, Kronos headed into the Research Institute as usual. This was probably another change brought about by the fusion of his two souls.
Kronos had always liked science. His grades in mathematics and biology had been outstanding, and he had majored in chemistry as an undergraduate. Unfortunately, his physics grades had been downright painful to look at.
He still loved mathematics, chemistry, and biology, but now his interest in physics had also skyrocketed. Mechanical engineering in particular was something he not only enjoyed, but had considerable talent for.
Still, that was a good thing. With mathematics, physics, and chemistry under his belt, he could make his way anywhere. If he had not been born with every advantage already handed to him, Kronos would have researched ways to produce several high-strength metals and collected patent royalties like Professor Portland.
After a busy day, Kronos returned to his room. Only then did he remember Gner's meditation gesture.
The gesture did look familiar, but not all that familiar. It was more like something he had seen at some unknown point and never bothered to memorize because it had not seemed important.
Kronos sat cross-legged on his bed and brought his hands before his chest. He interlaced all ten fingers, extended both index fingers forward, and pressed his middle fingers over them, with the fingertips touching.
Once he had formed the gesture, Kronos began meditating. At first, everything was normal. Then a voice as deep and resonant as a great bell rang out in his mind.
"Bing."
The sound startled Kronos into jumping to his feet. He remembered what this was: the Great Chongxu Treasure Seal, the hand seal for the Bing formula of the Daoist Nine Secrets.
No wonder it looked familiar. While reading another novel, he had once grown curious about what the Nine Secrets were in real life and specifically looked them up online. But Kronos had never imagined they would turn up here.
On reflection, it made sense. The Lord of the Mysteries was called the Celestial Worthy. Kronos would never believe he had no connection to Daoism. The other one was even called God Almighty outright.
It made Earth seem like God Almighty's grazing ground in the West and the Celestial Worthy's Marionette playground in the East.
Kronos flung open his door and rushed out, sprinting all the way to Gner's room before pounding hard on the door.
"Who is it?" A drunken voice came from inside. A little later, the door opened.
Gner reeked of alcohol and was clearly well past tipsy.
"Gner, does your meditation method make you hear any voices? Or see anything?" Kronos asked urgently.
Gner rubbed his bleary eyes, then answered, "No. I just make the gesture. Everything else is normal meditation: I picture something in my mind, and then I feel a warm current flowing in through my pores. It relieves physical fatigue."
"What do you picture?" Kronos pressed. He was terrified Gner would answer with something like an old man in Daoist robes.
Gner looked puzzled, but answered anyway. "A revolver. It was my first gun. What's wrong?"
"Nothing! Nothing!"
Under Gner's gaze, Kronos turned and jogged back to his room.
Gner should be fine. Besides, the Celestial Worthy was dead. Surely he could not resurrect himself in an ordinary person? Still, caution was necessary. Gner absolutely must not drink any potions from the Cowardly Trio's Pathways, or all bets would be off.
Kronos was now somewhat worried about his own condition too. If Gner had not heard the voice saying "Bing," then he had probably heard it because he recognized the character.
Surely the great Celestial Worthy wouldn't resurrect himself in someone from the Mystery Pryer Pathway like me? Would he just throw away his status as a Pillar? Emperor Huang Roselle Tao came out of Sefirah Castle himself and became the Black Emperor, yet the Celestial Worthy never laid a hand on him.
Kronos was now both frightened and curious. On one hand, he feared the Celestial Worthy might truly plant some contingency in him. On the other, he wondered what would happen if he tried all nine hand seals of the Nine Secrets.
Since he felt that his Pathway was incompatible and there probably would not be much of a problem, curiosity ultimately overcame fear.
Kronos sat cross-legged again and began using the Mystery Pryer's superhuman memory to recall the precise forms of those nine hand seals.
It really had been a long time. Without a knowledge-oriented Pathway and a potion-enhanced memory, Kronos would never have been able to remember them.
Once he had recalled them all, Kronos nervously brought his hands before his chest, interlaced all ten fingers, and extended his index fingers until they touched. This was the "Single Diamond Seal" for the character "Lin."
After he entered meditation, that majestic, bell-like voice rang out in Kronos's ears again. This time, it said, "Lin."
The voice repeated again and again, prompting Kronos's mind to begin involuntarily visualizing the character "Lin."
At first, Kronos had been tense, apprehensive, and afraid. But the moment "Lin" rang out, his mind instantly calmed. Those negative emotions vanished entirely, and a faint warmth began spreading through his muscles.
Kronos vaguely remembered that the Lin formula symbolized stability of body and mind, remaining unshaken in the face of events, maintaining an unwavering, unconfused will, and manifesting a strong physique. That seemed to correspond, at least faintly, with his current state.
After roughly ten minutes, the voice in Kronos's ears abruptly stopped. The world fell silent, the character "Lin" he had been visualizing disappeared, and he automatically emerged from meditation.
Kronos tried twice more to enter meditation using the Lin formula, but failed both times.
Before you continue