After briefly introducing "Lock," Zhao Jingzhong did not have anyone demonstrate the skill's effects. Instead, he moved on to the next topic. "I'm sure you're all curious about the Crystal Body in front of you, aren't you?"
"Some of you have probably already guessed—you'll be using this Crystal Body to learn Aura Techniques."
"Although 'Garment' and 'Lock' are both extremely simple Aura Techniques, neither flashy nor particularly lethal—at least not in your hands—they are still very valuable techniques. Once you learn them, it will basically be equivalent to possessing the perfect power to subdue others at all times."
"Even if you appear in subways, trains, or airports, ordinary security checks will be unable to detect your cyclones. You won't need any weapons to deal with any ordinary person from a nonviolent agency."
"Taekwondo, karate, Xingyiquan, Baguaquan, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu... all the fighting techniques ordinary people learn are meaningless against you. As long as they are caught by you, they will inevitably be subdued."
"In other words, once you learn them, you'll already have one foot in the realm of 'superhumans.'" Zhao Jingzhong said, "Such important techniques naturally cannot be spread around casually."
"You were able to learn these two Aura Techniques only because you are state-approved talents, from respectable families, and possess the aptitude. However, the human heart is hard to predict. If other Awakened who have not been registered obtain these two Aura Techniques through you, they will become a major social hazard."
"Therefore, the way you will learn them is—"
Zhao Jingzhong pointed at his head. "They can only be understood, not spoken."
"This cubic Crystal Body is a special learning tool developed by the Academy of Sciences, called the 'Law Net Instrument.' Hold the Crystal Body, then try circulating the Breathing Method to mobilize your spiritual energy."
Ren Suo and the others gently picked up the Crystal Body floating above its base. It felt icy cold in their hands, its sharply defined edges refracting the incandescent light into a warm glow.
The Breathing Method did not require one to be in motion to be effective. Especially for trainee cultivators like them, who already possessed cyclones, they could still draw upon spiritual energy by circulating the Breathing Method normally. It was just terribly inefficient. According to scientific statistics, the basic Breathing Method was only one-thousandth as effective, the intermediate Breathing Method one-third as effective, and the advanced Breathing Method one-eightieth as effective. They might as well have used the time to sleep.
Yet when they began breathing this time, they saw the Crystal Body suddenly emit a faint glow. Then a chaotic sensation came from the arm touching the Crystal Body—like the feeling in one's calves after squatting in the restroom for half an hour and suddenly standing up. That chaotic sensation traveled up their arms and into the trainees' heads.
Then, the left eyes of trainees holding the Crystal Body in their left hands changed, while the right eyes of those holding it in their right hands changed.
Ren Suo held it in his right hand, and his right eye completely lost its normal vision, seeing only vast, lonely darkness.
"Close both eyes and follow the guidance carefully," Zhao Jingzhong said.
Ren Suo closed his eyes, and the world before him immediately fell into darkness. Through the haze, he saw what seemed to be a gray seed in that dark space, something distinct from the darkness.
He tried to touch the seed with his thoughts. In his field of vision, the seed rippled in response to his thoughts, but there was no further reaction.
What was going on? Ren Suo was slightly taken aback, but he soon heard Zhao Jingzhong say, "Some classes aren't in position yet... wait a moment."
Two minutes later, Zhao Jingzhong spoke again. "It's about to begin. Follow the guidance, wait patiently, and don't mess around! Ten-second countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7..."
When Zhao Jingzhong counted down to zero, Ren Suo saw fire ignite in the dark space.
At an incredibly distant place, a tiny flame that seemed as though it could go out at any moment flickered to life. It was so far away that Ren Suo nearly thought it was an illusion.
Yet the next second, another faint flame lit up elsewhere, followed by a third, a fourth, a fifth...
In only a few seconds, Ren Suo saw countless flames ignite throughout the dark space. Though the flames were weak and insignificant, they were all connected, weaving a great crimson net that completely illuminated the entire dark space!
As for the gray seed he had tried to touch just now, with a mere shift of thought, it too immediately burst into blazing flames!
As if understanding it instinctively, Ren Suo knew that this was his incarnation within the dark space. He shared a wondrous spiritual connection with the flames.
"Welcome, cultivators, to the Law Net." A line of Song typeface appeared before Ren Suo in the form of flames. "It is now time to impart 'Eye' and 'Lock.'"
"Regional verification will now begin. Person in charge of the Qinghai Region, please ignite the verification flame."
Ren Suo saw one flame among the endless sea of flames flicker faintly. Then, centered on that flame, a red circle appeared, encompassing the nearby flames as well.
"Next, person in charge of the Tianjing Region..."
Following the guidance of the text, more and more red circles appeared in the dark space. Soon, it was Ren Suo and the others' turn. "Person in charge of Lian Province, please ignite the verification flame."
Ren Suo only felt a burst of firelight instantly seize every color before his eyes. Only then did he see that his flame was inside an enormous pale-red protective barrier. So this was what the red circles looked like.
A few more minutes passed. The flaming text seemed to have finally completed verification for every region and moved on to the next step. "All persons in charge, please download 'Eye' and 'Lock.'"
Download? Hearing such an internet term all of a sudden, Ren Suo was stunned as well.
Then the flaming text transformed into two large characters emitting a warm yellow glow: Garment, Lock. Countless lines of fire extended from those two characters, connecting to the boundaries of each red circle.
Ren Suo saw that when the firelines from the two characters touched the red circle where he was, the circle swayed, then split off countless more firelines that stretched toward the flames within it.
Ren Suo's own flame burned more fiercely, as though fuel had been added to it. The next second, he felt a flood of information pour into his consciousness—
It was not words, not sound, not even images.
Rather, Ren Suo seemed to be inside a memory. A thought arose in his heart, his cyclone began to spin on its own, and spiritual energy moved according to his will. It either formed armor to protect his body or flowed through his arm and transformed into invisible shackles!
When Ren Suo came back to his senses, flaming words had appeared before him. "The imparting of Garment and Lock has concluded. This Law Net lesson will end in 13 seconds."
Thirteen seconds later, the most distant flame quietly went out. Then, like a city losing power, clusters upon clusters of flames stretching everywhere through the dark space went out. Even Ren Suo's own flame seemed to lose its fuel and was extinguished in an instant.
The Law Net was gone, and darkness returned.
Ren Suo opened his eyes and saw the other trainees setting down their Crystal Bodies as well, their faces filled with excitement and shock.
"This is how Aura Techniques are imparted." Zhao Jingzhong, standing at the front, said calmly:
"They can only be understood, not spoken."
Before you continue