Duke Zhiting was not yet forty this year, but he looked even younger. He was broad and fat, with a pale face and no beard. Standing around one metre seventy in height, he weighed a full three hundred jin. Supported by four beautiful maids, he was helped out, resembling nothing so much as a large white ball oozing with oil.
The moment he saw the stunningly beautiful Suo Ningbing, the duke’s eyes lit up sharply.
“Suo Ningbing pays respects to Your Grace the Duke.” Suo Ningbing curtsied.
“Get up, get up quickly…” The duke’s smile was so wide it seemed ready to spill over the fat on his cheeks. He hurried his steps as much as he could, wanting to lift Suo Ningbing up. His narrow eyes appeared almost to shoot out beams of light.
“They say there are two most beautiful women in the royal city. One is Zhining, and the other is you.” Duke Zhiting smiled dreamily. “In my opinion, Zhining is far inferior to you. Where does she have your mature charm?”
“Your Grace is joking.” Suo Ningbing replied.
Supported by the four maids, Duke Zhiting collapsed like a mountain of flesh onto the enormous golden throne. He said, “Tell me, what do you want from this duke?”
Suo Ningbing said, “My younger brother Suo Lun is facing difficulties passing the graduation examination of the Royal City Academy this year. Yet he must inherit the title and become the City Lord of Tianshui City. Therefore, I beg Your Grace to help.”
Duke Zhiting laughed. “Why not ask Zhiwei for your family’s matters? He is the governor of your southeastern province.”
Suo Ningbing said, “Going to him is not as good as coming to you.”
“Good judgement, excellent judgement.” Duke Zhiting clapped his hands, then put away all his smiles and said, “However, Miss Suo, your matter is not easy to handle. You know very well that many people in the royal family have their eyes on your Tianshui City.”
This playboy duke spoke with remarkable directness. After all, he himself was a member of the royal family.
Suo Ningbing took out three contracts and said, “I am willing to present these three deeds in exchange for Your Grace’s assistance.”
Immediately, a maid took the three contracts and handed them to Duke Zhiting. He opened them, and his eyes instantly brightened. For a moment he even forgot to leer at Suo Ningbing. In his eyes, nothing could compare to the allure of gold coins.
These three properties were worth fully ten thousand gold coins. Duke Zhiting had accepted countless bribes, but rarely anything on such a grand scale.
One must know that a large city with several hundred thousand people generated less than twenty thousand gold coins in annual tax revenue. An ordinary family of a few people would never save ten gold coins in their entire lifetime.
He slowly closed his eyes, weighing whether this matter could be done.
Why did Duke Zhiting enjoy the king’s favour and trust? Because he had absolutely no political ambition, never meddled in royal power, and showed boundless devotion to King Zhi Bian.
Back when Zhi Bian and several princes fought fiercely for the position of crown prince, the struggle had been extremely brutal, even to the point of rivers of blood.
Almost all the adult princes were affected, and brotherly affection had long been cast aside.
At that time Zhiting was only a few years old. Not only did he fortunately escape the battle for succession, but he also gained the affection of all King Zhi Bian’s brothers.
Because Zhi Bian had killed too ruthlessly during the succession struggle, it was as if he wanted to make up for all his guilt by doting on his youngest brother Zhiting.
And Zhiting had behaved very obediently, acting coquettish and cute in front of Zhi Bian since childhood. This youngest brother was treated almost like a son.
Would intervening in the matter of the Tianshui City Lord position count as meddling in government affairs? Would it displease King Zhi Bian?
Indeed, someone in the royal family wanted to seize the Tianshui City territory, namely the future crown prince Zhi Li. As for King Zhi Bian, he had never expressed any opinion.
If he accepted this job, he would offend the future crown prince. If he refused, the temptation of more than ten thousand gold coins was simply too great.
After much thought, the balance in Duke Zhiting’s heart gradually tipped towards the gold coins.
In any case, in his eyes there was only the king, and no one else mattered. As for Zhi Li, he could wait until you become king before I start fawning over you.
Immediately, Duke Zhiting opened his eyes and said, “Fine, I will take on this matter.”
Suo Ningbing felt joy in her heart. Although this Duke Zhiting was greedy, his reputation was truly excellent. Whatever he agreed to do, he would always complete.
“Thank you, Your Grace.” Suo Ningbing knew very well that once Duke Zhiting accepted this task, it meant he was opposing Zhi Li.
“It’s nothing. In my eyes there is only His Majesty the King. I care nothing for anyone else.” Zhiting smiled.
“Then this little woman will take her leave.” Suo Ningbing bowed. She truly could no longer endure the duke’s lecherous gaze.
…
Early this morning, Lancelot began learning the second step of martial initiation from Ye Jingyu: Dragon Force Activation.
Normally, only when the body reaches a certain limit it can no longer endure does the heart surge with bloodline power.
But in battle, what is needed is the ability to use Dragon Force at any moment. Waiting until the body reaches its limit to activate Dragon Force would already be too late.
Therefore, the purpose of the second step of initiation, Dragon Force Activation, is to use the mind to trigger the bloodline Dragon Force at any time, without needing the body to reach its limit.
How to achieve this? It is done through a form of mental deception. Even though the body has not reached the limit of pain, one deceives the brain and nerves into believing it has already reached the limit. Then this is repeated hundreds or thousands of times. Eventually the nerves and brain form a memory point, turning it into a conditioned reflex. As soon as the mind touches this memory point, the bloodline Dragon Force is instantly triggered.
The principle is very simple and also very scientific.
For example, when a sharp hard object strikes your knee heavily, it hurts tremendously. After repeating this pain once, twice, three times, and so on, eventually you do not even need the strike. Merely thinking of it makes the pain feel as if it is vividly returning.
Ye Jingyu said, “There is also a mantra for this, though it is quite long, fully three or four hundred characters. I will recite it once, and you memorise it.”
Then Ye Jingyu began to recite the “Mantra of Suffering”.
The content of the mantra was still very simple and direct. It described oneself transformed into a slave, hands and feet in shackles, building a pyramid tomb in a vast desert. The sun scorches fiercely, the body is weak, hands and feet are torn and bloody, carrying huge stones, climbing steep and sharp cliffs, while enduring terrifying lashes from whips.
In short, it described the extreme limit of physical suffering.
After just a few recitations, Lancelot had completely memorised the entire mantra, and vivid images had already appeared in his mind.
Ye Jingyu said, “What you must do now is to silently recite the mantra over and over, letting your mind fully immerse itself in the world described in the mantra, experiencing the pain there as if you were truly present.”
Lancelot asked, “How long does this second step of Dragon Force Activation usually take to complete?”
Ye Jingyu said, “More than a month, and this has nothing to do with talent. Because the brain and nerves require thousands of repeated stimuli to form the conditioned reflex point.”
After saying this, Ye Jingyu smeared a special drug under Lancelot’s nostrils.
Instantly a strange fragrance rushed into his nose, and Lancelot immediately felt his mind become dazed and hazy, the effect somewhat similar to cocaine on Earth.
Then Ye Jingyu recited the mantra over and over beside his ear.
Lancelot also recited it repeatedly, constantly imagining the scenes in the “Mantra of Suffering” in his mind, placing himself in the role of that suffering slave. Although he had the Demon Star in his body, he still wanted to try the ordinary person’s cultivation method.
Lancelot had thrown himself completely into it, and because of the drug, his mind was already fully dazed, with rational defences lowered.
However, there was still a part of his mind that remained clear-headed, so it was impossible to become completely immersed as if in a real dream.
One time, two times, three times…
After who knows how many repetitions, more than two hours had passed. The only result was failure. Lancelot could not fully immerse himself in the world of the Mantra of Suffering. The Demon Star never appeared, let alone trigger any Dragon Force.
Ye Jingyu said, “Do not feel discouraged. This is inherently very difficult. Even those with high mental talent need a month. Moreover, the younger the age, the easier it is to complete. The older one is, the clearer the mind and the firmer the will, making it harder to deceive oneself.”
Yes, that was the reason. That is why the three steps of initiation are best done at a young age, usually around ten years old. At this point Lancelot was already nearly twenty.
Lancelot also clearly felt how difficult this truly was. To make oneself believe for no reason that one is the slave in the Mantra of Suffering, and to fully feel the pain as if facing death, how could that be possible? And to feel it as vividly as in a dream.
Next, Lancelot continued to try again and again.
Another hour or more passed. Not only did he fail to succeed, but his mind grew clearer and clearer, and he felt it more and more absurd. This made success even less possible.
Lancelot even felt that continuing this way was simply a waste of time.
So he closed his eyes, entered the mental illusion of the Inverted Moon Technique, and called out inwardly, “Demon Star.”
Immediately, a faint light lit up deep in the illusion. It was the Demon Star.
“What does Master require?”
Lancelot said, “I want to activate Dragon Force.”
“Yes.” The Demon Star contracted sharply, and a surge of power rushed out. Then it said, “Master, my power is almost depleted. Please quickly go and kill enemies so I can devour enough energy.”
After speaking, the Demon Star’s light vanished.
Lancelot opened his eyes and said to Ye Jingyu, “I… have already completed Dragon Force Activation.”
Ye Jingyu’s round eyes widened once more in shock. “This, this is impossible. Dragon Force Activation has nothing to do with talent. It is purely countless repeated stimuli. No amount of talent helps.”
With that, Ye Jingyu grabbed Lancelot’s hand and said, “Try releasing Dragon Force once. I can sense it.”
Lancelot mentally ordered the Demon Star to release energy. Almost at the same moment, the Demon Star lit up and released countless strands of energy light.
Instantly, Ye Jingyu felt this energy. Then she was completely stunned. Looking at Lancelot in disbelief, she said, “You… you truly are a monster.”
The second step of Dragon Force Activation, which should take at least a month no matter what, Lancelot had still completed in just one day.
Ye Jingyu could no longer find words to describe the feeling in her heart.