The scent of spice-basted meat filled the galley as I tore into a slab of roasted thunder-beast flank, steam curling off the bone.
Hammerhead was snoring seven tables away, a flagon tipped sideways in his grip.
A few crew members played slow dice in the corner, but the mood was calmer now—grounded.
I'd just survived a battle with a skyscraper worm.
I needed the protein.
My Animus felt stretched tight, vibrating just under the skin from the rush of that last technique.
Zhun'dral Fist had taken a chunk out of me.
Felicity bubbled like a warm current in my bloodstream.
"You're recovering fast," she said sleepily, her voice laced with amusement, "And certainly not from my lack of knitting."
"But if you keep burning through Animus like that, I'll have to start charging rent."
I smirked and wiped my mouth with a cloth, standing and rolling my shoulders.
"Eat. Heal. Study. Repeat," I muttered.
Back in my private chamber aboard the Starbite, the wind outside hummed like a sleeping frost giant.
Marla was back to meditating , suspended in stillness like a stormcloud mid-birth.
I knelt down on the shag rug with many pillows.
Before me was the Ancestral Scroll of the Vorpal Path, I unfolded it slowly across the low table.
It was thick with layered glyphs and divine calligraphy—a scroll that grew as you did, fed by Animus density and spiritual clarity.
It was up to three techniques now, I wanted to see if the scroll had a fourth secret art to reveal.
With my Golden Animus fully awakened…
I placed both palms against the weathered surface and pushed my Animus into it—radiant and heavy with Sovereign echoes.
The scroll began to change.
The parchment shimmered like sunlight on water.
The ink shifted. Runes crawled.
And then—something new emerged:
FOURTH TIER TECHNIQUE UNLOCKED
Spirit Man Switch Tier IV – Vorpal Displacement.
My eyes flashed as I read into the text.
"Trade places with a target that has launched a chi-based ranged attack."
"The caster and attacker instantly switch positions in space."
"The enemy's projectile continues on course… striking its new target."
"Must be timed within 0.4 seconds of enemy's chi strike leaving their body."
From everything I gathered this ''Spirit Man Switch'' Technique was a counter to Cultivators who were projectile centric.
I considered for a moment falling victim to this switch teleport at my own Thousand Lords Spirit Palm, or The Continues Meteor Fists technique, and shuddered.
However, the technique was not without its drawbacks or ''cons'' as they were called.
For one, it had an extremely high focus cost.
It Required a snapshot memory of the battlefield layout.
It also could not be used on Earth, Soul, or Heaven grade weapons.
And finally, it could only be used once per breath cycle
I blinked, breath catching in my throat.
"This… this is insane."
The diagrams came to life in the scroll showing a silhouette dodging sideways—not by moving, but by folding space and switching with the other person!
The Animus signatures braided, mirrored, and then switched.
Perfect against fighters that wanted to keep distance.
And against arrogant cultivators who fired first.
Felicity stirred again.
"Wait, are you saying… if someone launches a Heaven-Slaying Palm at you—"
"—I switch with them, and they eat it," I said.
The thought made me chuckle.
No. Laugh.
And I did.
The scroll shimmered once more as I pulled my Animus back.
The winds outside changed course.
Tomorrow, we'd descended toward the Meeting of the Hundred Clans.
But tonight…
I had one more technique to master.
And a trap to perfect.
I stood barefoot on the upper sparring deck of the Starbite, the sky burning gold with a coming dawn.
The crew had been warned training in progress. Stay clear unless you wanted your bones vaporized.
The wind was sharp this high up.
Good.
I needed the pressure.
Marla hovered just a few meters away, arms folded, the coming morning rays glinting off her Black-blade armor.
Her Serpents trailing behind her like smoke.
Her snakes were oddly still, like they too wanted to see what would happen.
"You want me to throw chi volleys at you?" she asked, voice laced with dark amusement. "This is either training… or a suicide pact."
"I've read the theory," I said, rolling my shoulders. "Now I need the real thing. You're the fastest long-range striker I know."
Marla's smile was like a blade being slowly unsheathed.
"Well, I do like being appreciated."
I entered stance—feet shoulder-width apart, golden Animus circling me like a cyclone of intent.
I took a long breath, eyes narrowing. "Just fire one at a time. I'll try to mark your Animus thread and—"
But I didn't finish the sentence.
Because she was already moving.
Fangs bared, she struck out with a palm—and from it, a Viper Fang Bolt of jagged emerald chi tore through the air toward me!
I activated the Spirit Man Switch.
Tried to, anyway.
The world quivered. Animus twisted.
I could feel my signature starting to reach for hers—our spiritual threads just beginning to align…
Then—snag. I flinched.
Too slow!
The bolt nailed me in the ribs; however, it stopped just short of impact as my Spire crab Spirit shell armor flashed reducing the destructive power of the bolt.
It still sent me skidding ten feet across the deck.
"Ow," I muttered, coughing.
Marla tilted her head with mock sympathy, "Shame. You almost didn't get vaporized."
I shook my head and stood again. "One more. I'll time it better."
This time, I opened my spiritual senses fully and watched her Animus more carefully.
The way her chi coiled just before launching.
The twitch of her wrist, the shift in footwork, the heat in the air.
The second bolt came—and I activated Spirit Man Switch again.
And this time… the world snapped.
The deck warped.
Threads surged.
I saw Marla's silhouette invert, her place with mine spinning around like twin moons caught in a gravity lock.
And then—I was where she had been.
And she was in front of her own Viper Bolt.
It hit her point-blank in the hip, shattering her defensive chi field with a flash of green light.
Marla's body twisted with the blow, her serpent hair flaring as she skidded backward across the deck and landed hard on her side.
There was a pause.
Her snakes hissed in outrage, spitting sparks.
She propped herself up, rubbing her hip.
"…Okay," she said slowly. "That was new."
I held up my hands, breathing hard but smiling. "See? It works."
Marla slowly stood, brushing her robes off.
"That's dangerous."
"It's perfect."
She studied me, one hand absently soothing a hissing viper.
"Next time, I'm throwing three."
I grinned, golden Animus swirling tighter. "Good. I need the pressure."
Marla's eyes gleamed, and for once, she didn't hide her smile.
"You're turning into something very dangerous, Ash. I like that."