Chapter 89: Twilight Silk (1/2)

Chapter 89: Twilight Silk

Translator: YHEditor: Pranav

Zu Yan’s second defeat caused a much bigger sensation than his previous loss.

That was because movie beans of the battle were available this time around.

Although people were curious about his earlier defeat, the lack of footage meant that most people were unable to watch the battle. The students of Central Pine Academy were also not that familiar with Zu Yan, which further contributed to the more muted reaction. Zu Yan’s publicly issued challenge was what triggered greater interest in this talented member of the Zu family.

Yet he was once again defeated by the same opponent.

Many people even suspected that the two of them were secretly colluding to put up a show.

Nevertheless, quite a number people still rushed to purchase the movie bean, tempted by the chance to witness an absolute art. The students’ eagerness to improve and their need for exposure were the main reasons that drove the training ground’s sales. While the Induction Ground imparted the basics and did indeed provide some opportunities for further learning, information regarding more powerful skills often required one to reach a certain level or contribute to the Induction Ground in some way.

The things that ordinary students could learn in the Induction Ground were pretty much fixed. Daily training was not an issue, but it could be difficult to attain more powerful techniques.

The Induction Ground also had several absolute arts in their possession. It was, however, extremely challenging to be deemed worthy of receiving one, as evident from the small number of successful cases.

Aristocratic families had an absolute advantage when it came to absolute arts. Any family with more than a hundred years of history would definitely have some form of inheritance. The Avalon of Five Elements was constituted of a culture steeped in innovation, and as such, each new generation would further research and develop their family’s unique legacy. This continued advancement resulted in a more profound understanding of elemental energy, allowing the gradual formation of many different styles.

The appearance of a genius would lead to the culmination of all the knowledge that was accumulated prior to his generation, resulting in the creation of an absolute art out of the family’s legacy.

The saying, “Absolute arts are created through accumulation,” was, indeed, an apt one.

The older the family, the greater their accumulation of knowledge. The emergence of an individual with monstrous talent would also tend to vastly benefit a family’s prowess.

Passing on a legacy was the nature of those families, not the Induction Ground. It wasn’t easy for teachers to find suitable successors. The teachers themselves were likely to contribute to this environment since they usually preferred to study what interested them rather than follow others’ paths.

The Induction Ground may be an incubator for all sorts of brilliant ideas, but rarely did it produce absolute arts.

The teachers’ most obvious weakness was their lack of combat experience. They lived relatively simple lives in the Induction Ground, which was the safest place in the Avalon of Five Elements. The teachers were only exposed to combat during their students’ practical training or while accompanying them on missions.

Absolute arts were mainly used in combat and were often born out of rich combat experience.

Families that sought to get ahead of others would send successive generations of members to the frontline. These members would proudly enlist into the Thirteen Divisions, the unit that was positioned in the forefront of battle and held combat abilities in the highest regard.

In the long run, they would get a deeper understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of their inherited teachings. And this understanding was necessary for further improvement.

The members of aristocratic families were exposed to absolute arts from a young age. To ordinary students, however, absolute arts were an elusive and unattainable goal. All families shared a similar zeal in protecting their own absolute arts from the prying eyes of the outside world—even accumulated knowledge was not divulged to outsiders. These were the fruits of their ancestors’ labor and were also the core of their strength.

In the eyes of ordinary students, absolute arts were shrouded in mystery.

Upon finding out that there were movie beans with footage of an absolute art, many students quickly rushed to get one. Even though the beans were not cheap, being able to see an absolute art made them worth it in the end. This was particularly true in a remote place like Central Pine Academy where such opportunities were hard to come by.