Chapter 12

'I won't be coming here for vacation, that's for sure…'

I was standing in a desolate, snowy mountain range. I came right when a storm decided to strike. The cold, sharp wind and the lack of oxygen that came with such high altitude would kill any normal human within 48h.

Before proceeding any further, I adjusted the settings of my resistance Sigils. Yes, I inscribed those around five years ago across my body as a means of training. It was the best type of physical training for me because of the adaptation Sigils throughout my body.

The amount of pressure they put forth was evenly spread and depended on the amount of Prana used to activate them. In the beginning, without relying on the physical enhancement brought by Prana and just by using pure bodily strength, I was able to set it to around 100 ATM. Now, after a few years of gradual adaptation, I was at 2000 ATM. I could literally take a dip in the Mariana Trench and not feel a thing. (AN: Now, I think another class is needed to better understand what I'm talking about. So, for today's class, were going to learn about pressure. First of all, how do we measure pressure? various units can be used, either kPa, psi, bars and ATM (atmosphere). The atmospheric pressure at the surface (where we live) is 14.7 psi (pounds per square inch )=(1 ATM) or around 100 kPa. Now, in the ocean, pressure increases by about 1 atmosphere for every 10 meters of depth, so at a depth of 5,000 meters, the pressure will be approximately 500 atmospheres (ATM) or 500 times greater than the pressure at sea level. Now for the interesting facts, the deepest freediving (while holding breath) record to date is currently 831ft. The Mariana Trench, at 10,911 m (35,797 ft; 6.780 mi) is the deepest known spot in any ocean and the crushing water pressure on the floor of the trench is more than 8 tons per square inch (703 kilograms per square meter). This is more than 1,000 times the pressure felt at sea level (1000 ATM), or the equivalent of having 50 jumbo jets piled on top of a person. That was all for today folks, don't forget to take notes and to finish your homework in potions or professor Snape will snap.)

Aside from the first reason, which is simply to get a stronger body, I wanted to get ready for a body technique I was still working on, namely, the Eight inner gates.

Yes, Maito Gai's experience with the technique, as the only living person who opened the whole Eight inner gates formation, was invaluable and showed me that the technique in itself was flawed, most likely a downgraded version that only allowed temporary boosts at the cost of one's vitality.

I believe that the real technique should resemble Lin Ming's (Martial World) Eight Gates of Hidden Celestial Stems in its effects. That is what I was trying to achieve by completely modifying the opening sequence of gates as well as their locations, which is why I'm still not completely done. (AN: That was a good read :) )

From the results I have so far, the Final technique is expected to have massive, passive increases with the possibility of temporarily increasing strength at the cost of energy.

Feeling ready with the new adjustments, I cast a Dimensional-energy-localization spell, a matrix I especially prepared for this case. The first cast gave me the input of the surrounding 100km which wasn't precise enough, so I tuned it down to only one kilometre around me, finally getting a good reading.

I flew to the rocky, steep mountain path that was pointed by the spell and finally found the entrance to Kunlun. I skipped the whole 15 years needed for the dimension to open and just directly opened a portal. I was ready to meet those bald monks. (AN: you thought it would be Xavier, but it was I, (…)! (I'll let you fill the blank ;) )

It truly gave the feel of an immortal realm. The World energy was purer while the pagodas in the distance screamed Xianxia.

'I hope there are no young masters here…'

Since I purposefully arrived loudly, it was not surprising to see a couple of people running towards me. At their forefront was the Iron Fist, if the two glowing fists were anything to go by, while the two others seemed to be from the Elders.

Neither of us talked as they simply charged at me, killing intent visible in their eyes. I did not release any of my pressure sigils since there was simply no need. I 'danced' amidst their strikes, evading each and every blow by a hair-margin, getting a feel of their skills.

An incoming glowing fist made me curious about its strength, so I raised my palm to intercept it.

'It can indeed break iron, but that seemed to be his limit.'

Seeing the shock in the monks' eyes, I grew bored and just released my Prana to engulf them, making them like kneeling statues on the ground. Time to use the Mandarin I learned.

"Alright, now that we are in proper positions to talk, let me first introduce myself first. In the outside world, I'm known as Arthur Dawnstar, Earth protector, master of the Order of Veiled Light."

Since they seemed to understand, I gradually lessened the pressure on them until they were warily standing together. I then looked at them in the eyes.

"Since I introduced myself, you should follow basic courtesy and introduce yourselves, no?"