Chapter 15: Whispers of the Dawn: A Martial Warrior's Resolve

The morning sun rose in the east, accompanied by the chirping of birds. Thank God that it's the weekend, but...

Tu tu tu...

My clock still wakes me up at 6:30 am. Even though it is Saturday, I can still follow my routine. If I stray from the routine, I will eventually fall out of shape. My cultivation may not deteriorate, but my state of mind and instincts will. That's why I stay up and cultivate until breakfast at 9-10 am.

Getting out of my thoughts, I made my way over to the shower and had a nice shower...

After the shower, I got dressed and made my way over to my PC. Not to play games, but to look up the recent cultivation news and news from the frontlines.

And they were gruesome:

^ A General with a noble background fled the war sector, leaving 20,000 troops to die through impalement at the hands of the Blade Demon race. ^ 7,421 likes, 22,000 comments.

"What a coward, and because of his background, he doesn't face punishment," I thought, angry at a fellow human who ran instead of protecting his brothers in arms. I could not understand how people would like such behavior. "Do you want a general that protects the innocent or someone that sacrifices them to escape?"

I read the following posts:

^ Congratulations to the Martial Saint Drecov for having such a great disciple... ^ 15,766 likes, 112,945 comments.

^ Scientists made the discovery... ^

....

After 10 minutes of reading posts, I stopped and made my way to the cultivation mat, which had a training dummy newly installed right next to it.

Now that I had updated my knowledge on the state of the Human Federation, I started carefully reading the Stellar Body Forging Technique, specifically the part about the "Cosmic Transforming Technique."

The Burning Sun Fist had me hooked. I had never read a martial technique so carefully. It needed to be safe for me to try it. And after considering the pros and cons, I started.

I let the Qi from my Dantian gather in my strong heart. The energy there underwent a transformation, making it imposing and fierce. I got ready and made a striking pose. I let the energy accumulated in and around my heart explode forth as I struck with fierce momentum. I aimed right at the heart of the dummy and...

Fuuuuuu...

Boom!!!

My fist went right through the dummy, ripping apart its heart and exiting out of the back, creating a big exit hole. Additionally, I severely injured the fake internal organs with the fierce energy that was injected into the dummy. What brought about...

Boom!!!

Another explosion, but this time it was the dummy combusting from the inside, spraying fake blood all around. Its protective shock-absorbing coating could not protect it from my attack.

"Victor, are you alright?!"

My sister Elaine came bursting through my door, witnessing the aftermath of my punch and me in a striking pose. Her shock was apparent because her chin nearly hit the floor at what she was seeing.

"What the F**k happened?!!" I heard my dad yelling as he came running into my room, seconds after my sister.

"Eh, he he, I can explain," I stammered.

"Oh, you better." My dad looked pissed.

"So you see, I just broke through to the 8th stage of the Martial Student realm."

"That's great, son, but don't try to change the topic," said my father, not looking amused.

I needed nearly an hour of explaining to calm my family down. In the end, my father said, "Victor, even if you are excited to try your newly created technique, you should have warned us about it."

He scolded me for half an hour.

My father continued, "I now see that you are stepping into the realm where you destroy your surroundings by simply throwing a punch at a training dummy. So your mother and I decided that we will have some experts build you a martial arts dojo in our backyard."

"But doesn't a training room with equipment that can receive my punches cost a fortune?" I asked, looking somewhat puzzled.

My father pinched his short beard and said, "Yes, it does, considering you will need a dummy for Martial Adept cultivators. But your mother thought that something like this would start happening at some point, so she made a special low-price deal with our business suppliers for the costly equipment."

"And buying/building a suitable training shed does not cost much. We can afford that ourselves," my father looked a little proud at that.

"Let me make a call, and you can train in the training shed in two days."

I ran over and gave my dad and mom a hug.

"Thanks, Mom... and Dad."

"Hey, you punk." My father started japing until my mother beat him in his place and dragged him to breakfast. Elaine and I obediently followed her without raising a fuss. My mother becomes a lioness when she's angry; better not cross her path when she's like that.

We had a great family time at breakfast... except my dad. Dad somehow made Mom angry again, nearly getting his ear pulled off and having to apologize for hours. Elaine, that little prankster of a sister, laughed at our father's misfortune and initiated even more drama for Dad.

"Rest in peace, Dad"... ("Ernest prayer")

I made my way up the stairs back to my room and started cleaning up the fake blood for the next hour.

After that, I settled for not training the Burning Sun Fist technique again until I could use the new training room and made do with cultivation using the red orbs.

I took out a handful of red orbs because five do not cut it anymore. I now need more than ten to even light up the stars in the inner vortexes a little.

6 pm...

Crack!.. Fuhr...

After nearly 30 orbs, I finally lit up the first star of the final and third inner vortex.

"Fuu, finally... I was getting desperate, thinking that my stock of 41 red orbs was not gonna be enough."

Now that I think about it, I know next to nothing about the dimension, except for the inheritance memory. I should visit the Clocktower/Library thing again. I decided to act upon my thoughts and let the storage open the vortex.

(Inhale) I took a deep breath and took a step into the vortex. The world around me exploded into a whirl of black, purple, and red-golden colors and sensations. And with a thud... I emerged from the vortex a couple of steps away from the library.

Its entrance was still covered with intricate carvings and runes etched into its surface.

I pushed the double doors, flanked by the two imposing statues, open and made my way inside. Inside, I was greeted by the chest. The chest was made of a dark, metallic material that seemed to absorb the light around it. Its surface was engraved with intricate patterns and runes, some of which glowed softly with a faint, purple light.

I approached the pedestal and looked around the intricate room filled with shelves of old books and scrolls.

I took one of the books close to the pedestal and began reading...

"The Elves, huh... Led by the Elven Goddess." (Flip) (Flip)

"So they all possess something called innate talent for the wind element, but especially for something called The Way of Life." I was intrigued and continued reading.

Hmm hmm... They guard the World Tree and existed long before most races. But that's where the book ends. It doesn't divulge more information. The elves remained secretive, never allowing visitors to know key information. This knowledge of the Way of Life was already worth a lot to the ancient races. Enough for the elves to be hunted and enslaved, which the book also talked about...

"The elves are truly kind, to forgive the human gods and work with them." I was grateful for this knowledge. It gave me a new appreciation for our cooperation with the elves. I put the book away and took a new one.

(Flip) (Flip)... No, not interesting. Next.

(Flip) (Flip)... "The Blade Demon Race." Now that's an interesting book. I began reading with renewed vigor.

"To the one who reads this book. I leave behind a sum of knowledge that, should the Blade Demon Race become a threat to the human race, will be of great use. You should follow my advice and modify some parts."

Weaknesses of the Race:

Advanced Weaponry: Use technology or magical artifacts that can counteract their physical prowess. Energy weapons, enchanted blades, or magical shields could provide a significant advantage.

Hit-and-Run: Engage in guerrilla warfare by using hit-and-run tactics. Avoid direct confrontation with their main forces and instead target smaller groups, supply lines, and isolated units.

Allies: Form alliances with other races or factions that have a vested interest in defeating the Blade Demons. United forces can provide additional strength and resources.

Deception: Use deception and psychological warfare to exploit their arrogance and overconfidence. Set up fake retreats, feigned weaknesses, or misleading information to lure them into traps.

Specialized Training: Train your troops to counter the specific fighting styles of the Blade Demons. Focus on agility, precision, and coordinated group tactics to offset their brute strength.

Terrain Advantage: Fight in environments that favor your strengths and limit the Blade Demons' effectiveness. Narrow passes, dense forests, and urban settings can nullify their numerical superiority.

On the page about the terrain advantage, I found a bloody handprint. And under it, it said: This is all I can leave behind... May it serve as a beacon of hope in humanity's darkest hour.