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"This Pain Demon Art 1.0..."

"It’s easier to understand. It contains many safeguards to remind the practitioner not to go too far, which shows that its creator cares about who reads it."

"Although the painful experience that the user must feel when practicing this technique wasn’t completely removed or negated, the one who wrote this version added more exercises to mimic sensations at a more controlled level for the practitioners to have better ways to comprehend the essence of the art without necessarily forcing them to endure unreasonable amounts of pain and risk potential injuries."

"The baseline pain amplification values haven’t been changed; they didn’t lessen or increase. They’re still 2× at base and 10× at peak mastery."

"However, instead of the technique being a one-hit wonder, the improved technique turned into a status effect instead. It starts at 5 seconds with 2× pain amplification at the initial mastery and turns to 30 seconds of 10× pain amplification at perfection."

"This is insane, especially since it’s effective for both people and monsters too."

"The value of this technique sharply increases in dungeon runs. It will force the monsters to feel so much pain that they’d be crippled. And instead of it coming from a single source, like in the previous version, since it turns the pain amplification into a status effect instead, it benefits the whole party."

"Dad! This is insane!" Alex’s voice was shaking as he stated the new improvements brought by the Pain Demon Art 1.0; his sharp and analytical mind was firing off on all cylinders.

"And this is just the 1.0 version. Could it be possible that there would be a 2.0 in the future?"

"Actually, no! That’s too greedy. I’m already with this. The 1.0 version is more than enough! This...this is what an inherited martial art should be like! This is more than enough."

"But there’s also this...the Green Lotus Core Technique." Alex’s eyes were practically shining as he held the thin book that contained the information about the technique.

"This is a godsend to us. I never thought that such a simple and easy-to-understand technique could bring so much impact to a practitioner’s life. I totally agree with you now. This one’s going up to the honor roll for sure! In the martial arts section, more specifically. I just don’t know how high it’ll rank, though."

Mikel stayed silent. He was glad that his son’s brains hadn’t deteriorated with all his antics with his party. At least his heir was showing his worth.

"Well, let’s wait and see. For now, let’s disperse. Try out these two techniques and feel their benefits. It’d start with the Green Lotus Core Technique if I were you. It’s always bound to be practiced first anyway."

Mikel concluded the meeting for now and dismissed the elders. He could tell that all of them are itching to practice the techniques right now, and he wasn’t one to hold them back.

There are still a few hours before the Honor Roll completely manifests; they could use this time to get used to the effects of the new martial arts they now possess.

Alex already hopped on the rooftops to go to the training hall; that’s where he’ll be for the next few hours.

As for Mikel, he stood by the window and closed his eyes.

His vision turned to his body, and there, he saw his green lotus core chakra draped all over his entire physiology. He could see and feel it kneading its way to his most stubborn and oldest injuries with endless patience, moisturizing them until they completely soften.

It won’t happen today or tomorrow. Maybe not even a week later, but eventually, it will happen.

Mikel was moved. Anybody in his position would be.

Although neither his father nor his grandfather forced him to practice the old version of the Pain Demon Art, he still learned and used it throughout his youth.

He could remember the days where he bitterly endured the torture it brought. He remembered crying, complaining, and cursing their ancestor for making such a bizarre and torturous martial art.

Mikel was even more heartbroken when he discovered that this very martial art also injured his potential. By the time he discovered it, it was already too late.

His elders warned him before; everybody who’s got enough experience warned him as well. It’s his fault for not listening or adhering to their advice and suggestions, and he suffered immensely because of it.

He thought that he was at the end of his road. He thought that he already met a dead end and tried to make peace with that. Recently, he’s just been hoping that his own son could go further than he did. If he could, then Mikel would happily stand down and pass the position of the clan leader to Alex.

But after just 15 minutes of practicing this simple and easy-to-understand technique, which is just a fancy stretching exercise accompanied by a simple breathing pattern, he felt hope returning to him.

Alex was right; this was a godsend to the Banished Arms Clan.

It wasn’t just Mikel and his son who practiced the old version of the Pain Demon Art. It’s everybody. Not because they were forced, but because they felt compelled to for some reason.

And because of that, it wasn’t just him who had their potential hurt and damaged. It wasn’t just him who was injured by the same martial art. It wasn’t just him who was forced to accept a bitter reality and driven up to a wall that felt impossible to break.

With the Green Lotus Core Technique, though? There’s hope.

The warm, gentle, soothing, and slow-healing chakra it produces might not add more power or might to its wielder, but it sure does help them recover.

It could fix what’s wrong with them even without their conscious need or control. It acts on its own. And all it demands is the commitment of the user to practice it for around 15 minutes every day.

Just that, 15 minutes, every single day, if they could. If, somehow, they are incapable of doing so, someone could practice in their stead and pour the chakra on them, and it’d be the same as them personally doing it.

How absurd was that? How incredible is that?

Sure, the healing was slow. Very slow. But it’s persistent. So long as there’s a steady supply, the green lotus core chakra will work nonstop to soften any injuries and restore them to their optimal state. That’s the real power behind this.

Furthermore, this technique doesn’t compete with any martial art. It’s alive and neutral in attributes. Even if you practice a martial art with an attribute at the complete opposite spectrum, the green lotus chakra won’t be affected.

Hah...

Mikel sighed and opened his eyes. He looked at the rolling clouds and the still dark sky above them that hid the silhouette of the honor roll behind.

As an experience leader, Mikel could tell how huge this was. This technique wasn’t just a godsend to his clan; it’s the same for everybody.

"This will make a lot of noise," he muttered to himself.

Mikel could already feel the presence of the old monsters slumbering within the Central City being roused from their sleep.

The disturbance in the air was starting to permeate everywhere. And with how large the commotion was, it will get increasingly hard for anybody to ignore what’s going on.

Such a large movement from the Honor Roll hasn’t happened in a while.

Sure, the Honor Roll manifested a couple of times before, but the commotion wasn’t this huge. They’re miniscule compared to this, negligible, even.

There was this one time during his youth when Mikel personally saw this scale of commotion.

He was a naive boy back then, and his father had to explain clearly to him what’s happening.

That was when the Martial Gods of the GMU marched to the 5th floor and cleared Stage 80 within 50 hours—a record-breaking achievement, for sure.

That record now dominated the Dungeon Clearing List of the Honor Roll. And the achievement was celebrated through the entire human population for an entire month.

There were parties everywhere. Items were discounted. Bonuses were sent. It’s practically a holiday that lasted for an entire month.

The participants were heavily rewarded, but it’s not exclusive to them. Because of their record-breaking feat, the entire human civilization was rewarded by the World System.

Mikel could still remember it...

For the next ten years, the human race’s fertility rate increases by 30%. The human world had been expanded by at least 10%, harvests are doubled in quantity, mineral deposits were refreshed, and humanity’s fortune and luck were increased by 50%.

It’s outrageous. Such rewards completely escaped the understanding of his young mind back then, but now that he’s older and more experienced, he understands how huge those bonuses were.

Alas, such fortune never happened again. That achievement was made after tons of sacrifices. It cannot be easily replicated.

Mikel doubts that the Green Lotus Core Technique will bring such large rewards and fortune. It’s in a completely different category after all.

But this commotion sure was loud.