Volume One: The Youngest Among Three Hundred Chapter Sixty-Three: Fixation

Upon hearing Chen Chang'an's words, the martial artists gathered for the Black-Robed Guard assessment were momentarily stunned. Buy with copper coins? What wishful thinking! They had scoured the jungle, darting back and forth, painstakingly accumulating their meager troves. How could they be expected to hand them over? The final tally directly affected their assessment score for the Guard. Besides, it wasn’t just one person in need of food—everyone was famished, their stomachs hollow. Who would bother with rules? Wouldn’t it be easier for the crowd to simply rush in and snatch what they wanted?

The first man made his move, the force of his energy bursting forth, revealing the power of a third-grade Initiation Technique. Chen Chang'an, standing opposite, didn’t block him at all—instead, he stepped aside, letting the man charge toward the fragrant roast chicken wings and grilled fish.

Yet, just half a meter away, an invisible wall of energy materialized out of nowhere, sending him flying. Chen Chang'an leisurely brushed nonexistent dust from his clothes and addressed the hundreds of martial artists, “Ah, what a coincidence. There’s a girl in our group who’s awakened the Fifty-Fifth Original Technique: Domain Partition.”

“The barrier created by Domain Partition is impenetrable—unless you use the One Hundred and Eleventh Original Technique: Nullify. Of course, if you’re overwhelmingly powerful, you might stand a chance.”

Originally, Chen Chang'an had planned for the four of them to guard the food themselves, a plan lacking foresight. Fortunately, he later learned that Lan Yingxue’s Original Technique could create the hardest barrier among its type, and immediately praised its usefulness. Wen Jin’s Original Technique allowed her to carry food, while Lan Yingxue’s could protect it—a match made in heaven.

He bore a mark, permitted by Lan Yingxue, that allowed him to pass through the barrier, so he turned and strolled through it without hindrance.

“Hmph, I refuse to believe this Domain Partition barrier is truly so tough,” someone shouted obstinately, stomping heavily to launch himself into the air. “Behold my One Hundred and Fifth Original Technique: Vajra’s Lament.”

His hands formed signs over his chest, weaving golden layers of brilliance that rippled outward in concentric circles, accompanied by a thunderous wailing. Dust billowed, rocks around him cracked and splintered under the strain.

Yet, when the force reached the barrier, all sound and fury vanished as if nothing had happened.

“What?” The user of Vajra’s Lament, weakened by hunger, depleted his last reserves with the technique and collapsed on the spot.

Several other groups then attempted to attack and seize the food, using Original Techniques or their own martial skills, but every effort ended in failure. The peculiarity of Original Techniques lay in their unique, non-overlapping properties. Take Master Fen Yang’s Slaughtering Life: at the same level as Hua Mu Lan, yet able to wound her without resistance, all thanks to the technique’s specialty.

Domain Partition’s property is to create barriers; unless countered by an equal Original Technique or a vast disparity in power, breaking it is nearly impossible.

After repeated failed attempts at brute force, the martial artists had to abandon their efforts.

Separated from the hundreds by a transparent wall, Chen Chang'an curled his lip, picking up a grilled fish stick and feasting like an internet celebrity, smacking his lips and flamboyantly wiping grease with his sleeves.

“Oh, how delicious! The fish stick is crisp outside, tender inside, rich but not greasy—both skill and flavor are top-notch.”

“Ha! Come, let’s enjoy together!”

Enjoy together? Everyone’s eyes narrowed in resentment, glaring at Chen Chang'an with murderous intent, wishing to dismember him and feed him to the dogs.

At the same time, throats rumbled and saliva dripped as hunger gnawed at their insides.

“Give me two roasted chicken wings and two grilled fish sticks!”

Finally, the man with the disc pouch at his waist—who had previously commented about Chen Chang'an at the Black-Robed Alley entrance—stepped forward, lavishly tossing twenty-six copper coins into Wen Jin’s designated storage space.

Chen Chang'an threw him the requested food. The man retreated to the back, enjoying his meal alone, ignoring his teammates.

“He... he just spent twenty-six copper coins on food? Did I see that right? How could anyone have so many?”

“Yes, and he acted like twenty-six coins meant nothing.”

“Our group has only gathered twenty coins since we started climbing the mountain.”

“Well, whatever. If you don’t have enough, eat bread instead of meat. I can’t hold out any longer.”

“If we really can’t keep going, let’s buy a little. There’s still plenty of time to search and make up for it—just don’t fall too far behind and get eliminated.”

They could have toughed it out, but Chen Chang'an, that damned scoundrel, flaunted his chicken drumstick before their eyes. The earlier man's display of wealth was the final provocation. After much drooling and discussion within their groups, Chen Chang'an’s business boomed.

“Give us two meat buns.”

“Four! I want four meat buns.”

“Over here! Five flatbreads and a roasted chicken wing.”

“One grilled fish stick.”

As shouts for orders and the clattering of copper coins filled Wen Jin’s storage space, Wen Jin, Lan Yingxue, and Ruan Jingchu were excited and surprised. None of them had expected that Chen Chang'an’s delays in procuring food in Chang'an’s streets would pay off here. Participants for the Guard assessment had rushed over in the morning, eating little. When they set out, everyone focused solely on reaching Qinghua Mountain and gathering copper coins to boost their ranking, forgetting all about lunch.

As everyone knew, the Empress Bai Wan had driven all the animals from the surrounding mountains into the imperial hunting grounds, making wild game nearly impossible to find.

So when exhaustion set in, food became the most urgent necessity, enabling effortless coin collection.

Realizing the reason behind this, they had to admit that Chen Chang'an was deeply foresighted; at first, they’d thought him merely a glutton.

Despite filling their stomachs and banishing hunger, the martial artists felt only malice toward Chen Chang'an, not gratitude. They had crawled through thickets and waded swamps, enduring every hardship to collect a few coins—only to see them handed over for someone else’s benefit.

Everyone was here for the assessment—was he playing games?

Some, furious, pounded their stomachs, cursing, “Damn you for being hungry, damn you for being hungry, my copper coins!”

Others, full of self-pity, wondered why they hadn’t thought of such a scheme themselves.

“Brother Chen, Brother Chen, quickly—give our group some food!”

After a rush of business, a familiar figure arrived at the peak—it was Ye Lin. He’d led his group to search in remote hills and, despite catching the scent earlier, arrived late.

Chen Chang'an, separated by the transparent wall, gazed at him affectionately and beckoned, “Pay up!”

Ye Lin, his face collapsed from hunger, replied despondently, “Do we really need money, given our relationship?”

“Assessments are assessments, personal ties are personal,” Chen Chang'an replied, unmoved.

“You—” Ye Lin nearly cursed, but seeing Ruan Jingchu beside him, immediately swallowed his words. How could he appear stingy in front of a girl he liked?

He had to be generous! He had to make a good impression!

With a flourish, he tossed forty-eight copper coins. “Come on, give me eight grilled fish sticks.”

“Damn!” Chen Chang'an’s eyes sparkled at the sight of money—a big transaction!

Not far away, Ye Lin’s three teammates nearly coughed up blood. Forty-eight copper coins represented nearly all their day’s efforts—couldn’t he have discussed it first?

Yet as Ye Lin’s coins were about to enter Wen Jin’s storage space, a figure flashed by and intercepted them.

When he landed, everyone saw it was the same man who had first bought Chen Chang'an’s roasted chicken wings.

Ruan Jingchu drew her pale pink sword and pointed it, “What are you trying to do?”

The man smiled wickedly, “Isn’t it obvious? The Black-Robed Guard’s Cheng Mulong said: on the way, everyone is allowed to rob each other.”

With that, he snapped his fingers crisply. The pouch at his waist opened, and rows of silver darts, thumb-length and chopstick-thick, floated in the air, glinting coldly in the sunlight.

“Go!”

With a shout, over seventy darts shot toward the crowd—Ruan Jingchu, Wen Jin, Lan Yingxue included. Yet the process and outcome were eerily strange: no one dodged or defended.

The darts’ targets were far from where the people actually stood, and in the end, they all embedded themselves in the ground.

Ruan Jingchu, bracing to resist, scowled, “With this level, you think you can steal copper coins? That seems unlikely.”

“Indeed, not a single dart hit. You loser, return my coins!” Ye Lin threatened.

The man, still floating, burst out laughing and met Ruan Jingchu’s gaze, “You have the highest cultivation here, apart from myself. Truly worthy of being the Alliance Leader’s niece.”

“But your insight is lacking. Do you know why none hit? Because my target was never you, but your shadows.”

“What?” Ruan Jingchu’s expression shifted as she realized something. “Could it be...”

The man’s jaw tensed in satisfaction, “Exactly. It’s the One Hundred and First Original Technique: Shadow Fixation. As long as your shadow is struck, you’ll be frozen in place, unable to move.”

“Again, only those of high-grade strength or possessing the Thirty-Second Original Technique: Effect Concealment can break it. But none of you seem to have either.”

“So, with you immobilized, I can take as many coins as I like. After all, those with cultivation equal to mine are all caught by Shadow Fixation, and the rest are no threat.”

“Best of all, I get the coins without causing casualties.”

With a sudden movement, he appeared before Wen Jin, his tone soft, “Do you know why I was the first to step forward and buy food with copper coins? Because it stirred and influenced everyone’s emotions and thinking, focusing all their attention on you.”

“No more nonsense. Open your storage space and hand over all the coins.”

Bang!

Just as he finished speaking, a loud crash sounded behind him. Chen Chang'an stepped out of the barrier, cocked his head, and made a face, “Seems you didn’t fix my shadow. I can still move.”