Chapter 2: Escape

Innate Heaven and Earth Art, Fragment Two (Grade Seven)

Note: The Innate Heaven and Earth Art consists of ten fragments in total. Once all ten are collected, they can be combined into a Grade Five technique: "Innate Heaven and Earth Art."

Remark: The technique contains seven forms and eleven moves. Among the fragments, the first, fifth, and tenth are notably difficult to obtain.

As Wang Liang picked up the book, a strange voice suddenly echoed in his ear, startling him so much that his grip faltered and the "Innate Heaven and Earth Art" dropped to the floor.

To his astonishment, as the book fell, another identical "Innate Heaven and Earth Art" instantly appeared in the place where it had lain.

Simultaneously, that peculiar prompt sounded once more in his ear.

Curiosity stirred within Wang Liang. He quickly picked up and set down the "Innate Heaven and Earth Art" repeatedly, sorting them according to the fragment numbers indicated by the prompts.

After collecting more than twenty copies, he miraculously assembled a complete set.

Arranging the ten volumes in order from one to ten, Wang Liang hadn't even had the chance to open a single page before the stack of books began to shrink rapidly, condensing at last into a jade tablet shaped like a tortoise shell.

The moment he saw the jade tablet, Wang Liang couldn't help but exclaim, "Hetu?"

Innate Heaven and Earth Art (Grade Five, Max Level 70)

Explanation: The Innate Heaven and Earth Art, also known as the Innate Eight Trigrams Heaven and Earth Art, enables the practitioner to cultivate up to level 70. The art consists of seven forms; with every ten levels, the practitioner automatically comprehends one form. The first form contains two moves, forms two through six each have one move, and the seventh form contains five moves.

Remark: If the practitioner possesses knowledge of the Book of Changes or similar skills, derivative skills may be comprehended upon unlocking each move.

Would you like to learn "Innate Heaven and Earth Art"?

Holding the jade tablet and hearing the prompt, Wang Liang was utterly perplexed. What on earth was happening? How was he supposed to learn something like this?

No sooner had the thought of learning crossed his mind than the jade tablet vanished from his hand, and a flood of information surged into his mind—insights regarding the Hetu, speculations about the Eight Trigrams, and new understandings of the Book of Changes.

Something seemed to be auto-matching.

In a place beyond his sight, a series of mysterious numbers flickered continuously.

Due to your comprehension of the Book of Changes, your mastery of "Innate Heaven and Earth Art" is advancing more rapidly. Mastery +0.001...

...

At this moment, Wang Liang felt as though his entire being had been overturned. Everything he had ever learned or experienced seemed suddenly false; several times he felt as though he had returned to that night when he first went to the capital for the examinations.

He did not know how much time had passed before he suddenly opened his eyes, sensing that something within his body had changed.

Outwardly, he looked unchanged, yet his aura had lost the former weight of one accustomed to wielding life and death.

If before Wang Liang had the bearing of a high-ranking official, now he resembled a spirited young scholar just entering his twenties.

His once round, plump belly had also diminished. Though his stature and frame remained, he no longer appeared overweight; instead, he exuded a sense of robust strength.

Stretching his hands, Wang Liang suddenly extended his right arm behind his back at an angle impossible for an ordinary person.

He then performed several other actions no normal man could accomplish, and finally, with a single punch forward, the force of his fist seemed to shake the entire prison cell.

The old man sitting in the corner, however, remained utterly unmoved, as though he and Wang Liang existed in separate worlds.

"So this is the Formless and the Boundless Heaven and Earth—quite impressive indeed," Wang Liang remarked with satisfaction.

After the recent integration of his knowledge of the Book of Changes with the Innate Heaven and Earth Art, all his comprehension had been transformed into nourishment for the technique, propelling his mastery to the first form.

Unlike the subsequent forms, the first of the Innate Heaven and Earth Art was the very foundation, designed to strengthen the practitioner's body. The Formless path cultivated flexibility, allowing the body to transform and move with unmatched agility. The Boundless path developed rigidity, enhancing muscle and strength, bestowing superhuman power and defense.

The completion of this cultivation had reshaped Wang Liang's body as it now was.

As for the change in his aura, Wang Liang himself was unaware.

Assessing his current state, Wang Liang felt immeasurably stronger than before. He removed the old man's robe, gathered the scattered "Innate Heaven and Earth Art" books displaced by his punch, bundled them together, and strapped them to himself.

He then approached the wooden bars, took a deep breath, and began twisting his body.

Under his manipulation, his body lengthened, allowing his head to slip through the gap between the bars, followed by his shoulders and arms.

Placing his hands on the wood, he pulled with all his might, and his entire body was drawn through the bars, tumbling heavily to the ground.

After lying on the floor for a moment, Wang Liang got to his feet, checking that the "Innate Heaven and Earth Art" volumes fastened to him were intact, and a smile flickered across his face.

He did not know what use these books would have outside, yet something instinctual compelled him to take them along.

Rising, Wang Liang glanced down the corridor. There were five cells in all; besides the three central ones that were occupied, the other two were empty.

One was deserted, inhabited only by rats, while the other contained a skeleton bleached white with age.

Suddenly, Wang Liang noticed something amiss. He turned to look at the central cell, where he had previously been held. There, in the spot where he had once reclined, sat a stranger.

Wang Liang rushed forward in disbelief. He saw a man who looked nothing like himself, dressed in ordinary clothes, with the air of a fortune-teller.

This discovery left Wang Liang dumbfounded. He had intended to investigate his prison and perhaps release the woman in the adjacent cell, but now he had lost all interest.

He proceeded down the corridor to the dungeon door. The moment he pushed it open, a voice sounded in his ear.