Start with a red name

Apart from freaks like Geng Xuan, others might have mastered one or two, or even three or five, secret techniques.

In one's lifetime, one can only specialize in one or two things at most, and it is very difficult to cultivate them all to the level of a master or above.

The Master level is basically a watershed moment for a secret technique.

This is the first step in lifting the veil of appearances to reveal the truth behind them, which points directly to the essence.

The progression from master to grandmaster, and from grandmaster to perfection, essentially involves continuous deepening within this single level.

However, the "truth" revealed by each secret technique is like the blind men touching an elephant, only showing a certain partial aspect.

This means that even those who master these secret techniques are only aware of the "how" but not the "why."

An oddball like Geng Xuan has mastered dozens of secret techniques to perfection.

What he gained was not only these secret techniques themselves, but also the "image" that was gradually built up and became clearer and clearer from these increasing number of secret techniques.

The combination of various secret techniques, such as "Life-Gathering Techniques," "Cut-and-Cut Techniques," and "Medicine and Stone Techniques," gave him a deeper understanding of the originally ethereal "vital energy."

The "Art of Military Maneuvering" and "Art of Mind Analysis," each with its own unique mysteries, were all revealed to him through the "Art of Star Determination" that they could all be observed from the perspective of "human body ripples."

Various secret techniques for controlling birds and beasts further spread this "human body ripples".

Now, the newly mastered "bedroom techniques" and "finger-circling techniques" have further improved this system.

On the other hand, this system already has a solid foundation.

Based on this, because of these two secret techniques, some ideas that had long been budding in Geng Xuan's mind immediately had an extremely large and stable "root system".

With the continuous supply of nutrients provided by this "root system", Geng Xuan only took two days to grow a tender new bud on the "root system".

Immediately, a series of messages flooded into Geng Xuan's mind from the "flint."

[Congratulations, host! You have grasped the true meaning of the theme of "???". You have consumed 5 points of good fortune to enter the beginner level.]

【whether?】

Before he could even select "yes," the new message had already overwritten the previous one.

[Congratulations, host! You have achieved a thorough understanding and have independently mastered the basics of "???".]

It is nighttime.

After thinking for a moment, Geng Xuan paused his cultivation and went to a certain spot on the western edge of the island.

On the way here, he had already changed into an unfamiliar face.

He had a clear goal and walked straight toward a certain area.

Here, someone is on night duty.

They quietly hid in a secluded spot, watching the sea to the west.

The sound of Geng Xuan's undisguised, rapid approaching footsteps drew his attention, causing him to turn his head to look at him, muttering something under his breath:
"Is the shift change happening so early today?"

As soon as he finished speaking, his head turned around, and by the light of a few lonely fires in the distance, he could barely make out the outline of Geng Xuan's figure.

Although he couldn't see the person's exact appearance, the person on night duty was certain that this was a complete stranger.

According to the rules, if strangers are switching shifts, either a mutually agreed-upon third party will act as a liaison, or the two parties will meet in advance.

It's absolutely impossible to be so reckless as to just come over like this.

Upon realizing this, he immediately became wary.

He hissed in a low voice, "Who are you?"

The next moment, he suddenly felt dizzy and disoriented, as if a hazy shadow was floating past his eyes.

I was stunned for a moment.

The next moment, he felt he saw a pair of eyes.

—Oh, it's not eyes, it's clearly the deep, desolate starry sky, impossible to see through or understand.

Then, a voice sounded from the side.

"Go catch me a fish," Geng Xuan said.

Such an order is clearly unreasonable.

Not to mention the person in front of them is on night duty; anyone with a modicum of sense would find it inappropriate.

Even if someone agrees under pressure or due to circumstances, it's easy to tell.

But the person on duty in front of him naturally replied, "Yes."

Then, he walked directly from his post, quickly went to the shore, and then, with a "thud," as if a stone had fallen into the water, he plunged into the water.

Soon, the person submerged underwater and disappeared from his sight.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, with a "splash," a figure leaped out of the water and landed back on the shore.

This was the man who had just left his post to catch fish after hearing his "request".

In his hands he held a large, lively fish that weighed several dozen kilograms and was still struggling.

He held the fish up to Geng Xuan and calmly said:

"Here, fish." Geng Xuan didn't reach out to take the fish, but instead looked at the man's eyes, his emotions, and the changes in the ripples around him.

Everything he saw told him that the man's calmness at that moment was not feigned.

It was an awkward scene, and at this moment, it was even more absurd, yet the person looked completely calm, as if he were performing a very ordinary task.

After a while, seeing that Geng Xuan did not reach out to take the fish, the man said again, "Fish."

Geng Xuan said, "Let it go."

If it were a normal person, they would have exploded by now.

But the "fish-holding man" in front of me didn't explode.

He calmly replied "Okay," and then threw the large fish, which he was holding in both hands and which was still struggling desperately, back into the water.

Geng Xuan looked at the man's wet clothes and asked:
"Can you dry the clothes?"

"Let me try."

The man responded and carefully channeled his strength, deftly flicking it out through his skin.

The water stains on the skin were instantly shaken off, and the originally wet clothes were as if they had been thrown into a washing machine for a spin-drying process.

Although the water stains were not completely wrung out, the dampness on the clothes became very faint.

To an outsider, without close inspection, it would be impossible to notice anything unusual.

"Alright, you can continue your post."

Geng Xuan felt that if things continued like this, he would ruin the child, so he sent him back to his post.

He then silently disappeared into the darkness near where the man was hiding.

About 15 minutes later, the man who had returned to his post to continue monitoring the situation in the western sea area had a brief moment of distraction.

Then, he sensed something was amiss.

Wearing clothes that aren't completely dry still makes a very noticeable difference.

However, he only glanced at it briefly and didn't pay much attention to it after that.

It's by the water, and it's nighttime, so it's not surprising that the humidity is a bit high.

Everything else, however, appeared perfectly normal to this person.

About an hour later, footsteps sounded again from behind the person.

The man on duty turned his head and glanced at him, vaguely recognizing a familiar figure. It was his familiar "night partner." He didn't say much and simply gave up his spot to the other person.

As the two passed each other, the newcomer suddenly exclaimed "Eh!" and turned to look at him.

The man looked at him with some confusion, wondering what was wrong with him.

"What is it?" the man asked.

The person who came to relieve the shift said, "Were you slacking off just now?"

This person was baffled and retorted, "You're the one who's been slacking off... Do you think I'm that free?"

"Then why do I smell a strong fishy odor on you?" the shift changer said.

The man sniffed and said, "How come I can't smell it?"

The saying goes, "One who lives in a fish market for a long time will not smell the stench," and besides, the fishy smell this person detected was not very strong, so the person himself became somewhat insecure.

"Maybe I've made a mistake."

After completing this first small experiment, Geng Xuan did not stop immediately.

They then went to find other targets and continued their mischievous experiments.

However, he did not assign anyone to such absurd tasks as fishing in the middle of the night.

When Geng Xuan finally stopped, he had already pranked several people at the Blood Refining Realm, and even those at the early and middle stages of Marrow Refining Realm.

Those below the Marrow Refinement stage have very poor "resistance" to this wondrous secret technique that he has only just begun to master.

They can carry out any order without much difficulty, as long as it doesn't involve committing suicide or jumping off a cliff—things that challenge their life-saving instincts.

However, after refining the marrow, this "resistance" increases significantly.

The orders he gives to the targets must not only not challenge their life instincts, but must also conform to their thought processes as much as possible.

The more reasonable, the better.

The more unreasonable it is, the more it challenges their established beliefs, the more likely it is to break them out of this control.

Moreover, the duration of the effect is becoming shorter and shorter.

When Geng Xuan finished "playing around," the secret technique he created, which was originally a question mark, now had a very straightforward name.

"Mind control techniques".

Geng Xuan's first thought was actually to name it "Controlling Humans," but considering the need for a consistent art style, he abandoned this somewhat joking name. (End of Chapter)