Chapter 216: This Move… Looks Familiar!

Chapter 216: This Move… Looks Familiar!

“Are these things you showed me… stories?” Lily looked embarrassed as she stared at the small booklet Zheng Yichen had prepared for her. She could understand every single word inside, but when they were all put together, she felt completely lost!

“Uh, well… my bad.” Seeing her reaction, Zheng Yichen scratched his head. Regarding that general outline of martial arts, after searching through a ton of ‘memories’ in the Dreamscape, he had managed to piece something together. As for whether it could be put into practice, that was still unknown.

After all, this thing was created by an amateur. Putting it together counted as starting from scratch. However, Zheng Yichen didn’t think he was being arrogant by trying to create some refined knowledge. He really had no foundation, but he had plenty of theoretical knowledge, and didn’t everything start from zero?

Even martial arts couldn’t have appeared out of thin air. There must have been a starting phase, and only after gradual development and refinement did it achieve the brilliance seen in novels or history. Zheng Yichen’s advantage was that he already had this framework!

He didn’t need to go through extensive trial and error like his predecessors to create such a framework. He was already standing at a high starting point, so starting from scratch might not be slow. Even if it was slow, so what? As a dragon, Zheng Yichen had plenty of time now!

But while Zheng Yichen could experiment, Lily couldn’t. He had a lot of Earth knowledge as a foundation, making it easier to start. Lily used to be just an ordinary commoner Loli—how could she have access to so much knowledge beyond what commoners could grasp? As for giving her hundreds of Earth martial arts novels… well, it wasn’t impossible, but it was a question of whether she could understand them and the time it would take.

Also, many novels were products of imagination. Even though in the Otherworld there was a possibility of turning these imaginations into reality, Lily didn’t have an Earthling’s perspective. This cross-world gap meant that novels Zheng Yichen found easy to understand were confusing to her. They were good for passing the time, but truly understanding them…

She didn’t have something like a search engine. When she saw some confusing term, she couldn’t just look it up and know its meaning. Even if Zheng Yichen didn’t mind acting as a dragon-shaped search engine, the problem was time.

When Zheng Yichen was on Earth, he had been an avid reader for over six or seven years. He wouldn’t mind Lily taking six or seven years, but would she?

So after thinking it over, Zheng Yichen came up with a better way. Wasn’t it just a lack of foundation? Couldn’t the foundation of warrior training in the Otherworld also work? At the very least, the basic requirement for a Warrior was to control their own physical strength, right? Even if not completely, to some extent, right?

As for Ranked Practitioners, their control was definitely higher. Otherwise, if they couldn’t fully control their own power, how could they advance further? Otherworld knowledge might very well be applicable. Clearly, there were resources that could help with the framework he built, and not using them would make Zheng Yichen wonder if he was out of his mind.

“But can I get into any school or academy?” After hearing Zheng Yichen’s suggestion, Lily asked hesitantly.

“That’s easy. Standing before you is a dual Secondary Profession master. Give me some more time and I’ll become a triple… Anyway, appearance isn’t an issue. You can just change your looks then.” Zheng Yichen patted his chest reassuringly. It wasn’t impossible to create a disguise mask with Alchemy that was hard to see through. He couldn’t do it before, but now he could.

Later, if he improved in Potionology, he could make some special Magic Potions as adhesives. Once worn, it would be like a layer of skin grown on her face, making it even harder to detect. Of course, reaching that level would involve some forbidden Secondary Profession knowledge, but so what?

Zheng Yichen didn’t follow those rules. Besides, from his understanding of forbidden Secondary Profession knowledge, so-called taboos were categorized. One type showed no respect for intelligent life; another was prone to getting out of control…

Additionally, Zheng Yichen noticed something: Why did researchers, especially in life-related studies, easily go astray? This happened a lot in movies and novels. Maybe it was designed by authors to suit the plot, but there might be some truth to it!

Without delving into such fields, one wouldn’t know about the mysteries and pursuits. Once involved and reaching a sufficient level of knowledge, one would realize… forbidden research was really tempting. Whether to satisfy one’s curiosity or the anticipated unknown outcomes, it deeply tempted researchers.

Even Zheng Yichen occasionally had crazy thoughts, like: Since I’ve achieved so much by doing this and that, what kind of existence could I create if I experimented on someone? What unknown, wondrous gains would it bring?

Fortunately, he was now a dragon. Although curious about such matters, he didn’t have a strong obsession. After all, he didn’t have a Human body. No matter how much he researched, it would only benefit others and had nothing to do with him. Unless he got a dragon he could control freely… Ahem.

In short, only by experiencing something firsthand could there be mutual understanding. But understanding aside, Zheng Yichen still held an unfriendly attitude toward those who conducted insane experiments on living people. That was crossing the line. If he… well, Zheng Yichen thought, if he really needed it, he’d probably look for volunteers who were fully informed beforehand.

In the Otherworld, many pursued power. It wasn’t impossible for some to trade their bodies for power… Hmm, if really needed, he could try…

He shook his head, dismissing such dangerous thoughts. Lily shook her head seeing his behavior. Brother Dragon was acting weird again. Probably because he was too bored during his recovery. She noticed Zheng Yichen spacing out and acting crazy alone more and more often.

Lily worriedly asked once, and Zheng Yichen’s answer surprised her: Because he had too many thoughts, he couldn’t help overthinking, leading to such behavior?

Watching Zheng Yichen, who still hadn’t snapped out of it and was acting crazy alone, Lily rested her chin on her hand, recalling the framework he had shown her earlier. Even though she couldn’t understand most of it, that framework broadened her horizons. Unfortunately, it was still useless. Before fully digesting the framework, ninety-nine percent of the knowledge seemed impressive but confusing to her.

“Tsk~ I’ll think about it later.” Tapping his head, Zheng Yichen completely suppressed his earlier thoughts and clicked his tongue softly. He knew exactly why he had such ideas. Mainly, it was due to the obsessions brought by crossing over. Returning to Earth was one—after all, his life on Earth was comfortable, and he wasn’t despairing or anything… yet he was inexplicably dragged to the Otherworld, starting in Hell. Could he get a refund and go home?

Then there was the physical obsession. As a dragon, something others envied, Zheng Yichen felt he was being finicky. He was indeed a dragon, but he still wanted to become Human. Sadly, this world had no records of Dragon Clan turning into Humans. Dragons were dragons. Even if wings were removed, they could only cosplay as large lizards. Turning into something else?

Didn’t exist!

What a lousy Otherworld, not even having a shape-shifting setting. Magic didn’t work either. So Zheng Yichen had a bold idea: If Magic couldn’t do it directly, try other methods.

He’d think about that later. For now, he needed to escape his current predicament. Otherwise, he couldn’t settle down and research properly. All this was wishful thinking. Researching ordinary things was fine, but important studies required the right environment. Throughout this journey, Zheng Yichen hadn’t dared to attempt any deep or time-consuming research, afraid that new ideas would be interrupted by external circumstances.

That feeling was like being sleep-deprived for a week, desperately craving sleep, only to have a bucket of ice water thrown on you the moment you dozed off. That wouldn’t calm anyone down—it would make them furious.

Huh? Someone’s coming?

Zheng Yichen made a surprised sound, sensing that some warning Magic he set up nearby had been triggered. He immediately became alert. Even if whoever triggered it wasn’t strong, after the lesson from the Undying Witch, who knew if encountering someone randomly would lead to more trouble?

But this time, the people he encountered made Zheng Yichen’s expression strange. What kind of pair was this? Eloping with a girlfriend? Observing the boy and girl from afar, Zheng Yichen muttered, snapped his fingers, and a Projection appeared beside him. Shrunk to its smallest size, it silently approached to observe them up close.

After hearing their conversation, Zheng Yichen felt a bit embarrassed for thinking too much. Turned out they weren’t elopers, but siblings… The sister was quite pretty. Watching Zheng Yichen’s dragon eyes fix on the girl shown in the viewing spell, Lily slightly pursed her lips and muttered something under her breath.

Her voice was very low, but Zheng Yichen’s hearing was just that sharp. He heard it clearly, retracting his gaze with a dark expression. Where did this little girl get so much jealousy from? He was just appreciating beauty. Even if his body changed, his Soul was still Human, okay?

What was wrong with looking at pretty girls when he could do so without being noticed at all?

Really!

“Something’s odd.” Zheng Yichen narrowed his eyes, his gaze shifting to the young man. He sneakily glanced at Lily. Tsk, her reaction was normal this time. Luckily, Otherworld had little same-sex romance culture, or else she might’ve thought of something else? Tsk, since fulfilling her wish, this Loli had become more and more normal. Good, very good.

Retracting his gaze, Zheng Yichen observed through the Projection that the young man had a very subtle aura, extremely hard to detect. However, Zheng Yichen found it easily because this aura somewhat resembled his own—very faint, but indeed present, and retaining a slight weird connection. Because both were so minimal, Zheng Yichen could easily sense this aura but couldn’t easily find clues to the connection.

What exactly caused this situation?

There was one reference example: the connection between the power beside him and himself was similar, but hers was clearer. What was it? Out of curiosity, Zheng Yichen left this Projection near the young man to observe further. As for himself… he’d stayed long enough and should leave soon.

Zheng Yichen’s observation didn’t affect the young man. He continued with his tasks, bringing his sister to a crude hut in the area. This place was very remote, not too dangerous, and had ample prey, which was why Zheng Yichen had stayed here earlier.

Of course, farther away was different. After leaving the girl behind, under her reluctant gaze, the young man walked firmly in another direction. During this, Zheng Yichen saw the girl worrying several times, wanting to follow, but held back by the young man’s instructions, seemingly afraid her actions would trouble her brother, and reluctantly chose to stay.

Wow, this sister was considerate. Just for that, Zheng Yichen left an extra triggered Projection here. He mostly didn’t manage this Projection; it only alerted his main self if something happened, allowing him to shift attention. Splitting his attention between two things was already taxing; splitting it three ways was much harder, and Zheng Yichen couldn’t handle it.

The Projection following the young man continued observing silently. The direction he chose wasn’t a good place. When resting here, Zheng Yichen had scouted the surroundings. Where the young man was heading, he’d encounter a bear-like Magical Beast. Not very strong—Zheng Yichen could kill it with one slap—but facing the young man, it might be the one doing the slaying.

Zheng Yichen didn’t sense any Mana fluctuations from the young man. Even Battle Qi was an energetic substance that could be sensed. Besides appearing exceptionally strong and having some Aberration-like aura, the young man had no other special powers.

Under these circumstances, facing a bear-type Magical Beast, even if not strong, seemed like a suicidal move from any angle. Yet the young man seemed specifically looking for trouble with that bear. Checking the time, it was about when the bear went hunting. Tsk, should he step in to help later?

If only for that pretty sister? Without her seemingly reckless brother’s support, that pretty sister likely wouldn’t have a good future. Well, since he encountered them, he’d help. Then he could educate the young man in a wise elder’s tone, secretly enjoying it as a life distraction.

The young man directly ran into the hunting bear. Seeing him, the bear roared intimidatingly and charged fiercely. It had seen many two-legged Humans; they tasted good, especially armed ones.

This one wasn’t as good as those, but… better than nothing. Since it was hunting and he showed up, of course it wouldn’t let him go. But the charging bear’s eyes widened the next moment. The young man’s skin quickly turned crimson, wisps of steaming Blood Essence misting out from his body…

“Holy crap, why does this move look so familiar!?” Zheng Yichen was shocked!