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Chapter 58: Fifty-Percent Suppression

After buying Caban’s Prison, Ashura also purchased several vials of beast blood used for tracing magic runes in the black market.

He then took Hughes and left the underground plaza that housed the black market.

On the way, he chatted with Hughes, who had used the commission he made from helping Ashura buy the shop to purchase a decent house and now planned to work as a broker instead of drifting aimlessly in the streets.

Grateful to Ashura, he firmly refused the fee Ashura tried to give him this time.

Ashura said he would seek him out again, asked him to gather intelligence on Puro City, and promised to check next time whether any of that information could aid his cultivation.

On the main road outside Saint Gobban City, a common black dragon horse carried a hooded warrior galloping toward the city.

The rider was none other than Ashura, who had been away from the academy for more than 4 months!

Perhaps because of the confidence that came with his recent breakthrough, the youth radiated spirited vigor.

After entering the city, Ashura rode straight back to Saint Gobban Academy; it happened to be the afternoon self-training period, and as he stepped onto campus he paused in thought.

He chose not to return to his dorm but headed toward the Magic School, for the one he most wanted to see was Instructor Yuan Da.

He wished to share the joy of his breakthrough with the mentor who had guided him onto the dual mage-warrior path; Instructor Yuan Da was also the only teacher who knew his secret.

When Ashura reached the Magic School, he should have gone to the instructor’s office or quarters to look for Yuan Da.

Yet on a whim he walked to the classroom where they often discussed cultivation and peeked inside.

There he found the thin Instructor Yuan Da writing something on the lectern, so absorbed that he did not notice Ashura approaching.

Ashura laughed and patted Yuan Da’s shoulder, and only then did the instructor jerk upright and look at the youth in a warrior uniform.

He instantly grabbed the boy’s shoulders and cried out excitedly, “You’re back?”

Equally excited, Ashura grinned and replied, “I’m back, Old Yuan; did you miss me?”

Instructor Yuan Da looked him up and down, uncertain and a little hesitant, and asked, “You… broke through?”

Ashura had been waiting for that question; acting showy, he pulled the level-5 Earthquake Berserk Bear beast core from his space belt and placed it on Yuan Da’s desk… he had kept it unsold for precisely this moment.

With swagger he said, “Fresh kill, still warm!”

Instructor Yuan Da looked at the level-5 beast core on the desk, then at the youth before him, his mouth agape and speechless for a long time.

Ashura seemed to relish the stunned gaze, for he craved recognition.

After all, he had paid dearly to gain this strength.

Ashura had assumed Yuan Da would next say, “Impossible,” or ask where he got the core, or how a mere Grand Magician could slay a level-5 berserk bear.

Yet the instructor’s first words were, “You must have suffered a lot, child.”

That single sentence nearly made Ashura burst into tears; Yuan Da did not doubt his ability to kill a level-5 beast but cared instead about the hardship he had endured these months.

Ashura forced a smile, lifted his warrior uniform top, and revealed more than a dozen scars of various sizes across his torso.

The palm-sized wound on his abdomen was particularly striking, the stitched flesh still pink and new.

Seeing this, Yuan Da quietly wiped the corner of his eye; he truly regarded Ashura as his own child.

He then seated Ashura beside him and asked him to recount in detail what he had experienced over the past few months.

Ashura held nothing back, telling every detail of his adventures, especially the hair-raising tale of meeting the level-5 Earthquake Berserk Bear while at Martial Master rank 3, a story he embellished until it sounded utterly perilous.

After listening, Yuan Da remained unsettled for a long while; he had worried daily that Ashura would face harsh battles out there.

He had never imagined the boy would encounter a level-5 Earthquake Berserk Bear and even slay it, and he felt indescribably proud.

When Ashura finally mentioned the pair of shackles called Caban’s Prison and how he meant to use them, Yuan Da pondered for a moment and said, “Let me see those bracelets.”

Ashura handed them over without hesitation, and because Yuan Da knew little about magic runes, he explained the bracelets’ function in detail.

Once placed on someone’s wrists, the bracelets apply 3 layers of seals that suppress the wearer’s own power.

The lowest level cuts power to roughly 50%; removing the first seal raises it to about 70%, the second to around 90%, and lifting the last seal restores it fully.

Of course, if Ashura wore them himself, he could control the seals at will.

After a long silence, Yuan Da said, “Your idea is sound; these bracelets may truly help you, not just in concealing strength.”

“I suspect that training while continuously suppressing your cultivation will have unexpected results.”

“Do not remove the final seal lightly; when you eventually lift all 3 layers, your strength may reach 120%, but afterward resealing yourself will no longer grant that explosive boost.”

Ashura’s eyes lit up; he had only meant to hide his strength and had not expected such a bonus.

Without hesitation he snapped Caban’s Prison onto his own wrists, activated all the seals with a thought, and instantly dropped his power to 50%, roughly between Magician stage 3 and early Grand Magician.

If a magic-testing stone scanned him, it would read Magician stage 3; the sudden drop felt strange, but he trusted Yuan Da’s judgment.

Seeing Ashura’s unconditional trust, Yuan Da felt gratified, handed him a thick stack of papers from the desk, and said, “This is your next training plan… read through it first.”

“Given your current state, many adjustments are still needed, but the main direction is the same… advance through combat.”

“And if you meet an opponent like the Earthquake Berserk Bear again, release every seal immediately; never hold back!”

Ashura nodded solemnly; playful as he was, he would never gamble with his life.

The two then spoke for a long time, and although Ashura tried to gift the level-5 beast core to Yuan Da, the instructor refused firmly.

He believed such a vital cultivation resource should remain with his student to hasten his growth.

When Ashura returned to Dormitory 138 at dusk, the room erupted instantly.

His three roommates had expected him to brag about how much stronger he’d become.

But Ashura merely shared a few amusing anecdotes and told Jin Ze that he had tapped the Jinli Lai Trading Company’s connections in Puro City.

Jin Ze did not care at all and did not even ask who headed their family branch in Puro City.

Instead, Angelo informed him that many freshmen had already advanced to Grand Martial Master and Grand Magician, which shocked Ashura… after risking life and limb to reach his realm, he had still been overtaken by these new prodigies.

What pained him even more was that Lan Yu, Magina, and Clara had all broken through to new tiers as well.

His once-buoyant mood sank again, and he brooded over it for quite some time…

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