Chapter 92: Travel

In the blink of an eye, Su Chen had spent nearly a month amongst the Halcyon Wing Clan.

During this period of time, he read through all of the Halcyon Wing Clan’s books in their library.

The rate at which he was consuming all of their literature was nothing short of astounding.

Even though almost all of the publicly available Arcana Techniques were at the Fourth Ring and below, at this point Su Chen could genuinely be considered a Fifth-Ring Arcana Master despite the fact that most of the Arcana Techniques he had mastered were below Fifth-Ring Arcana Techniques.

This was much better than being merely a dabbler in Arcana Techniques like before.

The Halcyon Wing Clan had missed their best opportunity to snuff out Su Chen. At this point, Su Chen probably had mastered more Arcana Techniques than Halcyon Wing Streak had known, and he was most likely more proficient with them as well.

There was nothing Halcyon Wing Streak could have done about it. The consciousness crystal was simply too powerful - after all, Su Chen was able to control it as soon as he learned it, and he was able to master it as soon as he could control it.

Su Chen’s only regret was that his Arcana Technique talent was only so-so, meaning that he could only brand one innate Arcana Technique per tier.

However, Su Chen didn’t mind. His talent was on the learning side, and being able to learn things quickly was also a skill.

And even though he could only brand a single Arcana Technique per tier, that Arcana Technique didn’t necessarily need to be in the same tier that he had just achieved. As a result, Su Chen hadn’t branded any Arcana Techniques yet. He was waiting until he could master even more profound and powerful techniques. Quite a few Harpies chose to go this route as well, but their rate of learning simply couldn’t compare with Su Chen’s. The problem with emphasizing talent too much was that it led to early periods of weakness. Some Harpies might find their cultivation path obstructed before they managed to get very far.

Today, Su Chen was analyzing one of the Halcyon Wing Clan’s inherited techniques.

These inherited techniques were Arcana Techniques belonging to a specific clan, which served as the foundation for that clan. Even though Harpy clans were not as clearly delineated as human clans, who placed extreme importance on bloodline, they did still have some secret techniques that they kept for themselves.

One of these inherited techniques belonging to the Halcyon Wing Clan was known as Light Forcefield.

It had to be said that Arcana Techniques were usually more effective than Origin Skills.

Origin Skills were primarily used in battle. Because their offensive capabilities were limited, usually battles were fought by hurling Origin Skills at the opponent until they died. Arcana Techniques, on the other hand, allowed for more variation.

This was the case with the Light Forcefield. The user could create a gravitational field and control the strength of the gravity, allowing the user to suppress the movements of their opponents.

This Arcana Technique was a pretty powerful and was quite practical to boot. It restricted even strong opponents, since it was basically equivalent to placing heavy weights on the opponent’s limbs. Weaker opponents could be completely subjugated.

Light Forcefield was a Fifth-Ring Arcana Technique, but it was effective against any target. The only thing that changed was its effectiveness.

Because he was a Fifth-Ring Arcana Master, Su Chen only needed one day to master it. What Su Chen was more interested in, however, was the knowledge that had gone into creating this technique.

Yes, he was still focused on knowledge.

Arcana Techniques were, in some sense, crystallized knowledge. Through Su Chen’s study of these techniques, he was better understanding the discoveries that the Arcana Masters who had created these techniques had made.

Every Arcana Technique contained some of the principles behind what made the world work.

Su Chen’s mood was hard to describe.

As Su Chen continued to study and study, he suddenly had a feeling that this Light Forcefield could actually be improved.

He immediately went to work, activating his consciousness crystal rapidly as he tried to improve its effect.

Once he had achieved some results, Su Chen began to attempt to test the modifications he had made. The improved Light Forcefield appeared.

A ring of light began to orbit around Su Chen, the light appearing as if it had physical substance. Anything within its range of effect would immediately experience an increase in weight.

Inanimate objects could not explain how they felt to Su Chen, however. At that moment, Halcyon Wing Mourning walked in.

As soon as he walked in, he felt his body weight suddenly increase.

Given his experience, it was only natural that he was aware of what had transpired.

He was not actually that surprised by his son mastering Light Forcefield. After all, Halcyon Wing Streak had managed to learn it a long time ago. However, he very quickly discovered that the power of this Light Forcefield was greater than he had anticipated. When he tried to revolve his Origin Energy to resist its effects, he discovered that he was actually unable to completely extricate himself from its pull even with his current strength.

Two Light Forcefields should have canceled each other out because the power of the technique was fixed. What determined the effects of the technique was the strength of the person the gravity field was being used on, not the strength of the user. However, Halcyon Wing Mourning was only able to partially nullify the effects of the field, and he still felt like he was four times heavier than normal, making it difficult for him to even move.

“Streak?” He stared at Su Chen, surprised.

Su Chen waved his hand, gathering in the wave of light again.

He didn’t want to call the other person his father, so he maintained his silence.

Halcyon Wing Mourning was used to this attitude, and his attention was currently fixed on something else. He walked over and asked, "How are you able to use the Light Forcefield like this?"

"I'm not too sure either. All I know is that when I was practicing the technique, I suddenly had the mysterious feeling that I could improve the effects of the Light Forcefield."

Halcyon Wing Mourning was delighted. "Talent? Could it be that your unique talent has awakened? Does your talent allow you to improve Arcana Techniques?"

Su Chen shrugged. "I don't know."

Of course he had no such talent. If he did, then his talent was to study, invent, and create.

The increase in power of Light Forcefield was due to the improvements he had made, which could be passed down, but there was no way Su Chen would say so. This was why Halcyon Wing Mourning had interpreted it as his talent, which was a pretty passable excuse.

However, Su Chen wasn’t very fond of the idea having that kind of talent, because if he did, then he should have been able to improve many different Arcana Techniques as a result.

In actuality, unless he had made specific modifications to the Arcana Technique or the technique got stronger as his cultivation base increased, most Arcana Techniques wouldn’t display any extraordinary effects in his hands.

Under these kinds of circumstances, it was only natural that he couldn’t admit to it, so he could only say that he didn’t know.

“Streak, try something else!” Halcyon Wing Mourning said with great excitement.

This kind of improvement talent was extremely rare and valuable. Anyone who had this kind of talent was destined to become someone important. Even though Halcyon Wing Streak had demonstrated some talent in the past, it was not to this kind of degree.

However, Su Chen’s performance afterwards disappointed him, as the next few Arcana Techniques hadn’t gotten stronger at all.

“How could this be?” Halcyon Wing Mourning didn’t understand.

Su Chen said, “Even though I don’t know why I cannot improve other Arcana Techniques, you cannot question that I have improved Light Forcefield. I think that my improvement talent is probably only applicable to a certain subset of Arcana Techniques.”

“What kind of subset?”

Su Chen shook his head. "I don't really know. Perhaps I will only be able to confirm it with repeated experimentation. In any case, it would be best for me to learn more Arcana Techniques."

“Is that so,” Halcyon Wing Mourning sighed, his tone filled with regret.

Su Chen was taken aback. One way or another, he now possessed a “talent”, but why didn’t Halcyon Wing Mourning seem happy at all?

It was probably more accurate to say that he wasn’t satisfied.

Halcyon Wing Mourning gazed at Su Chen, his eyes filled with affection. “A pity. If you had really awakened a Pattern Strengthening talent, that would have been good.”

“Has something happened?” Su Chen could sense the regret in Halcyon Wing Mourning’s voice, as if there was something he was going to say.

“This……”

“You can say it. I can handle it,” Su Chen said indifferently.

Even though he normally put on an aloof appearance, Su Chen could act calmly when he needed to.

When Halcyon Wing Mourning saw him like this, he focused himself and said, “Streak, have you ever thought about going somewhere else for a little?”

“Go somewhere else?” Su Chen was taken aback.

He had in fact thought about going out for a trip now that he had read all the books in the library. But Halcyon Wing Mourning seemed to have a specific reason for asking him to leave.

“Did something happen?” Su Chen asked.

“This…… I just want you to be able to go take a walk and clear your head.”

“I’m fine right now. My head doesn’t need any clearing.”

Of course Su Chen wanted to go, but since Halcyon Wing Mourning wanted him to leave, Su Chen pretended like he didn’t want to to find out why.

Halcyon Wing Mourning could only helplessly say, “That way you can avoid some…… unscrupulous rumors.”

Su Chen understood when he heard this.

It seemed like it was still related to the preparations he had made beforehand.

News of what had happened to Halcyon Wing Streak had still ended up spreading.

At this point, many clans had heard about what had happened to Halcyon Wing Streak.

These rumors were not good for the Halcyon Wing Clan, and if they reached his son, there was a possibility that they would trigger him. This was why Halcyon Wing Mourning wanted his son to leave for some time.

If Su Chen’s talent was Pattern Improvement, then Halcyon Wing Mourning would have done everything in his power to get Su Chen to stay. But since that wasn’t the case, and Su Chen had only managed to improve a mere Light Forcefield, there was no need to go to such lengths.

Even if Su Chen was his own son, there were still benefits to consider.

Su Chen had experienced this firsthand a long time ago, so he wasn’t surprised.

In any case, since he was planning on leaving anyways, this was the perfect cover for him to do so.

Su Chen nodded. “Where are you planning on sending me?”

Halcyon Wing Mourning hurriedly said, “Your younger sister-in-law’s place near the Prosperous Swelling River. What do you think?”

Su Chen couldn’t figure out who this younger sister-in-law was or where he was being asked to go. However, he didn’t mind and nodded. “Fine.”

Halcyon Wing Mourning was ecstatic when he saw that Su Chen was so easily swayed. “So when are you planning on going?”

“Why not tomorrow?” Su Chen replied.

Since he had decided to leave, it was better to leave sooner rather than later.

Halcyon Wing Mourning hadn’t expected Su Chen to be so straightforward, and he realized that his son was probably thinking of going in the first place. As such, he hurriedly said, “I’ll go and tell the servants to help you pack. You should go see your mother and tell her goodbye.”

The next morning, Su Chen left Halcyon Wing Clan on a carriage pulled by a silver flying horse, heading outside of Sky City.

Even though Sky City was the center of Sky Country, there were a number of smaller cities nearby as well.

The silver-horse-drawn carriage galloped on the clouds, very quickly leaving Sky City behind. Su Chen didn’t bother chasing the horse along, allowing it to pull him in the right direction. He seemed quite carefree as a result. By relying on Halcyon Wing Streak’s identity, Su Chen didn’t run into any problems as he progressed at a leisurely pace. However, Su Chen didn’t go to Prosperous Swelling River, making that sister-in-law of his wait anxiously, which was something he didn’t particularly care about.

As he continued to advance, he suddenly saw two streaks flying rapidly in his direction.

One figure was behind the other, as if they were giving chase.

When the two figures saw the carriage, they suddenly changed direction, flying towards Su Chen instead.

Su Chen frowned and prepared to get out of the way.

He didn’t want to get involved, but he suddenly heard a young woman’s voice say, “Prince, please save me!”