Chapter 189: The Power Of The 6th Page
Next morning Li Chen jogged to Chen Yunlong’s villa with the 6th page with him. Shi Mingrui welcomed him and said, "Please wait a moment, I will inform Master Chen of your arrival."
Li Chen waited in the living room and soon the old man came, hands behind his back. Chen Yunlong says "What brings you here so early?"
Li Chen took out the page and says "This."
Chen Yunlong says "You got the 6th page?"
Li Chen says "Yes, from Wu Chunlei."
Chen Yunlong says "I see, come to the training room. You have to be ready, this won’t be easy."
Chen Yunlong led Li Chen into the villa’s training hall, his expression growing serious. "You must know, my boy - the final two pages of the 7 Fists manual are its most profound and dangerous secrets. Their power far surpasses what you have experienced so far."
He motioned for Li Chen to be seated while the elderly master himself remained standing, hands folded neatly behind his back.
"The last pages are risky - temptation to abuse their abilities could overtake even stalwart minds."
Chen Yunlong eyed Li Chen sternly. "You may only access that power here, under my supervision as guardian. Once that box is opened and the 6th page connected...your body and energy will transform greatly. You must prepare mentally and physically for the change."
He waited silently to impress the gravity of this next step on his pupil. The ancient manual was not legend for nothing - its final secrets could unravel destiny itself if mishandled.
Seeing his master’s solemn face, Li Chen nodded silently and moved to the center of the training hall’s woven mats. He settled smoothly into lotus position, spine straightening as he centered his mind for meditation.
Eyes drifting closed, Li Chen turned his focus inward, consciously regulating his breathing while releasing physical tension from his body. The 6th page seemed to hum faintly from within his robes - a latent power awaiting its reawakening.
Li Chen visualized rivers of qi flowing through his core, energizing yet grounding him. He would need utmost spiritual focus to internalize the manual’s profound energy without losing himself.
Chen Yunlong observed Li Chen serenely, approving of the mature composure in his Li Chen’s bearing. The master knew best never to underestimate the manual’s formidable influence - its secrets could swell egos as quickly as combat prowess.
He noiselessly maintained his vigil, as Li Chen delved deeper into meditation - fortifying inner reserves before attempting to unlock the 6th page’s revelations.
After nearly an hour sunk deep in meditative stillness, Li Chen’s eyes slowly fluttered open, their dark gaze clear and resolved. Chen Yunlong stepped forward and handed him a small silver needle. Without any hesitation, Li Chen pricked his finger and allowed several drops of his blood to fall into the arcane characters engraved on the wooden box.
As the scarlet drops sank in, the seemingly unremarkable box began to emit faint pulsing light. An unearthly cold energy charged the air, sending goosebumps rippling across Li Chen’s skin. He nearly recoiled as the sensation of being doused in icy venom washed over him, but he clenched his jaw and endured.
With an airy click, the final lock twisted open. The carved lid shifted, iced tendrils of vapor curling out from within. Nestled inside was a paper yellowed with age yet covered in chillingly fresh ink. Arcane incantations and vivid illustrations of vicious combat forms swirled across its surface - the long lost 6th page of the 7 Fists at last revealed once again to human eyes.
Chen Yunlong watched the seething dark energy spill from the open box, cold wisps circling tightly around Li Chen. The promise of formidable power electrified the air, ancient secrets revealed once again.
Just then, the thrumming tendrils condensed and drove forcibly into Li Chen’s unguarded body. An involuntary cry escaped his lips as the long-caged energy unlocked its might inside his vulnerable mortal form.
Li Chen’s back arched painfully, muscles spasming beyond his control as unfathomable sidereal knowledge engrafted itself within his mind and sinew. His limbs shook wildly, bones near to splintering under the ruthless manual’s integration with its new vessel.
Chen Yunlong longed to intervene, but knew this trial marked a necessary crucible. Stirring now could sever the delicate process and cause untold damage to Li Chen’s battered body and psyche. He could only watch helplessly as Li Chen - suspended midair by the relentless assault of power - shuddered again and again under the manual’s resurgence.
Each thunderous pulse of energy from the manual page ravaged Li Chen without mercy. His entire body spasmed and glowed hot as the ancient power engrafted itself into his veins, nerves, and soul - violating every fiber of his human essence with a supernatural martial legacy.
Chen Yunlong observed in helpless dismay as Li Chen was hollowed out and transformed by the long buried secrets, no trace left of the earnest young man. Only a vessel now for destructive techniques potent enough to desolate the world.
Just when Chen Yunlong believed he could stand no more...the manual released its grip on Li Chen. Every muscle still clenched taut from the agony of transformation, his face etched with the echoes of unspeakable suffering.
Then his strength fled entirely. With eyes rolled back, Li Chen collapsed limply to the floor at Chen Yunlong’s feet - the page still gripped tightly in his fist.
While unconscious, Li Chen found his perception shift until he walked along the dusty road of an ancient village. The wooden structures and rough-spun clothing of peasants marked this long past era.
In the distance, the sharp crack of a whip split the air, followed by a pained cry. Li Chen hurried towards the sound, his steps making no imprint on the strange dream-earth beneath him.
He came upon an older man with a cruel face tightly clutching a coiled whip, his muscled arm bearing prominent scars. Cowering before him was a tiny boy no more than 5 or 6 years old. Terror filled the child’s eyes along with tears as he cradled a swollen, bleeding hand.
The old man barked harshly, "Again!"
When the little boy hesitated, he received another brutal stroke of the whip across his shoulders. The child wailed, stumbling over his feet in exhausted efforts to assume a fighting pose once more...
Li Chen realized with building unease that he was witnessing a horrific martial arts training session gone abuse. The identity of the battle-hardened old man and the cowed young disciple sent his mind reeling...
Just as Li Chen struggled to make sense of the vision unfolding before him, the severe faced old man turned and looked directly at him. Li Chen startled, unsure how he was seen in what he had assumed was a disconnected dreamscape.
The old man’s lips curled in a razor-thin smile that nonetheless raised the hairs on Li Chen’s neck. "You are finally here, chosen one..." the man rasped,his voice distant yet piercing Li Chen to the core.
The old man ignored his shock, reaching into the folds of his bloodstained tunic to retrieve a single, curled brown leaf, brittle with age. Before Li Chen could pull away, the elder pressed the leaf firmly into his palm.
"Here is what you seek," the man intoned gravely. "Remember - with power comes responsibility beyond your lone self. You now live for the sake of the whole world..."
No sooner had these ominous words left his mouth than every nerve in Li Chen’s body ignited with searing, blinding pain. He screamed soundlessly, lost in oceans of white hot agony, the leaf burning mercilessly through skin and bone as though it would reduce him to ash...
Chen Yunlong hovered anxiously over Li Chen’s unconscious, rigid form. Li Chen’s skin glistened with feverish sweat as he battled unseen demons - or unlocked mysteries beyond his fathoming.
Each breath felt labored as Chen Yunlong restrained himself painfully from shaking Li Chen awake. Whatever transformation gripped him now teetered on transcendent...or catastrophic collapse if disrupted.
With no warning, Li Chen’s eyes shot open, pupils constricted to pinpricks, reflecting visions no longer of this earth. Chen Yunlong released a shuddering breath he hadn’t realized was trapped agonizingly in his chest.
As Li Chen slowly sat up, recognition dawned chillingly on Chen Yunlong that Li Chen had ventured too far beyond familiar shores to ever fully return again. The odd detached calm emanating from him now was at once otherworldly yet tempered with steely purpose. This weapon they had forged - could any mortal truly hope to wield it safely?
Chen Yunlong searched the preternatural eyes that met his own sadly. But the warmth that once filled Li Chen’s eyes was extinguished... replaced by a cold disengaged calculus between life and netherworld.
Chen Yunlong studied his disciple with guarded eyes. "And how are you feeling now, Li Chen?"
Li Chen turned to him with a subtle, cryptic smile. "Reborn," was all he offered in his newly resonant voice.
Chen Yunlong nodded slowly, unease mounting. He motioned Li Chen towards the villa’s bathroom. "Cleanse yourself then. It will...cool your head."
Without another word, Li Chen strode almost mechanically to shower and change. When he emerged shortly after, skin still flushed from frigid water, Chen Yunlong felt his breath catch at the raw vitality Li Chen now casually exuded.
Li Chen bid Chen Yunlong a curt farewell before jogging lightly back to his own villa, no trace of exertion on his renewed body and senses. In his quickened mind, revelation swirled above mundane dragging details of his former existence now left behind. What need to articulate the profound to limited vessels? More urgent destinies summoned him.
