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Everyone who, at least, reached the Pulse Awakening Stage felt something weird sometime just past midnight.

The feeling wasn’t so horrible that it irritated them but was noticeable enough to force them to get up and search for it.

They could feel a strange buzz in the air, and the sky felt strange for some reason.

Believe it or not, there were a lot of people who recognized what’s happening, and because of this, human civilization was strangely abuzz.

Mikel and the elders of the Banished Arms Clan were definitely among these people.

In fact, they’re more sensitive about it. They have an idea of what’s about to happen, and they’re making their own preparations.

"The Honor Roll is about to manifest again," one of the elders softly stated.

His words were met with tense silence. Nobody refuted him because everybody else had the same conclusion.

"When was the last time? Five years ago? Maybe more? I can’t remember anymore."

"Close. Five and half, actually. And that’s just an update to the Dungeon Clearing List. Somebody broke the lowest record and replaced the previous record holder."

"It’s not really that much of a big deal. It didn’t even cause much disturbance. Not like what’s happening now at least."

"So? Just because the manifestation of the honor roll this time was causing this much of a disturbance, it means that the new record is huge?"

"Pretty much, yeah. This is what everybody figured out after multiple comparisons."

"I see."

While the clan elders were busy deliberating among themselves and waiting for the manifestation to appear, Mikel sat on his seat deep in thought.

He was strangely distracted. He looked as if his mind wasn’t really thinking about the honor roll that’s about to manifest. He was thinking of another matter entirely, one that is enough to make him appear listless.

Alex, as his potential heir to the position, saw his father being distracted. He wasn’t being his usual boisterous self, not this time since this was an official meeting. He knows when to take things seriously, and this was one of those times.

Seeing his father distracted, he coughed and elbowed him softly, just enough to bring him back to the present.

Mikel was startled, but that did it. He returned to the present and saw his son looking at him inquiringly, as if asking if he’s okay.

He sighed and adjusted his position on his seat. He then cleared his throat, loudly, just to get everyone’s attention.

"The Honor Roll will complete its manifestation by the time the sun was up, before that happens, it’s momentum will rise as if alerting everybody that of its movement. That’s how it usually operates."

"The disturbance it’s causing right now is already this much. I can guarantee that it’s not just us who are up this early, or late. We’re not sleeping, that’s for sure."

"Your assumptions are correct, but you’re still underestimating this." His eyes sharpened. "This level of disturbance is huge, and it will only rise at each passing moment until the Honor Roll completely manifests."

"I can almost tell that by the time the Honor Roll’s about to manifest, everybody will be woken up from their sleep, regardless of their martial realm. Everybody will feel it."

His words raised the alarm on the faces of the listeners.

They didn’t doubt their Clan Leader’s words. He is, after all, their clan leader. He had no reason to lie to them. Besides, he won’t sit in that position for no reason at all.

Him having a clue of what’s about to come makes complete sense. His next words, though? Not so much.

"And I think I do have an idea of what’s going to appear this time."

"What!?"

"How can that be?"

"Truly?"

"Is that even possible?"

The clan elders were in disbelief. So was Alex.

He wasn’t expecting his father to say that. He looked at his old man, and he doesn’t seem to be lying. But even so, how can that be? How can he be ahead of everybody else?

The Honor Roll hasn’t even manifested yet? Where did he get this exclusive news?

"Alright, settle down. I said, ’I think’ I have an idea. I’m not so certain myself but..." Mikel then brought out two booklets from his storage device and placed them on the table. He pushed them forward and continued: "I found these on my bedside table, just as I returned a few hours ago to my room."

"I have no idea who put it there. I sensed no intruders, and I’m sure that nobody even came at all. I deployed all means I know to investigate, and I found nothing."

"The one on the left is called ’Pain Demon Art 1.0.’ The one on the right is titled the ’Green Lotus Core Technique.’ I’m fairly certain that it’s the latter that will appear on the Honor Roll soon."

After saying this, he passed around the techniques, starting from his son and onwards.

A tense silence enveloped the whole meeting hall. The Elders watched Alex read both books in anticipation.

And although it was brief, they saw the way his hands shook and his pupils constricted as he read the Pain Demon Art 1.0. His reaction was a bit more intense when he read through the contents of the Green Lotus Core Technique.

"This is..." Alex trailed off.

He couldn’t find proper words to say, so instead of continuing, he just passed the two books to the elder next to him.

Just like that, the two books had been passed around from one elder to the next. And they pretty much reacted the same way.

The contents of both techniques made them gloss over the fact that their clan might’ve experienced some kind of infiltration. They didn’t even think that their clan leader was in any sort of danger since he’s sitting just fine over there.

Instead, the moment they read the contents of both books, it’s all they could think of. And their reactions varied in intensity but were practically within the same spectrum: surprise, delight, shock, and excitement.

"Have you tried them out, Dad?" Alex asked, just loud enough for everybody in the hall to hear.

Mikel looked at his son and gave him a brief nod.

"Yes. I did. And both are incredibly effective." He sighed, holding back the immense praise he held for whoever made these techniques. "The Pain Demon Art 1.0 was already shocking enough. But the addition of the Green Lotus Core Technique is what truly sealed the deal for me."

"I’m not even mad about the fact that somebody might’ve infiltrated my house. I just want to thank whoever sent these to me because I think they just solved our clan’s biggest dilemma."

And that’s the complete truth of Mikel’s feelings with this.

Were the previous generations of the Banished Arms Clan useless or idiots? Mikel declined to think so. If they were, then the clan would’ve been destroyed by their hands long ago. He also didn’t think that they’re incompetent either.

Improving a martial art isn’t an easy thing to begin with. Especially not for something as strange and weird as the Pain Demon Art. As the clan leader, he knew that many others before him had desperately tried to ’fix’ this technique. They tried to improve it, to make it easier to practice, or at the very least, lessen the torture the practitioners experience whenever they use it.

But their attempts ended up in failure. Even the simplest act of adjusting the side effects of the Pain Demon Art ruins its essence and turns it into complete garbage.

It stayed as is simply because there were no better options.

Mikel also never forced anybody to practice this technique. At some point in the clan’s history, the mandated rule that every member of the clan must practice the Pain Demon Art once they reach a certain age had been abolished.

His own father didn’t force him; his grandfather didn’t either, and thus it’d make sense that he won’t either.

It’s just that the Pain Demon Art was the unique inheritance of the clan. It’s in their identity, and even though Mikel never endorsed it or forced anybody to practice it, most of the clan members will eventually learn about its existence and would definitely try it out.

That’s not something he could stop. He could only remind them to be careful.

However, this Pain Demon Art 1.0 was very different.

First of all, it’s a lot easier to understand. It states every sign that one must pay attention to. It’s practically a step-by-step guide. Even the most untalented descendant of the clan will see results by following the guide.

And yet despite its simplicity, the Pain Demon Art 1.0 contains a more profound application of ’painful chakra.’

The method of making it a timed status effect was brilliant. And the method on how to do it was also written down in a very detailed and easy-to-follow method.

And judging by the fact that this was a ’1.0’ version, it’s not outrageous to think that there might be better versions after this.

In addition to this, there is the Green Lotus Core Technique too...