17: Imprint

As night gradually deepened, many Night Watch members from the Night Watch Division returned to their residences.

Nighttime was when they cultivated Night Tiger.

Unless there was a mission to execute, most Night Watch members would choose to cultivate Night Tiger in their rooms.

Xiao Shi had also returned to his room by this time.

The information he had gathered from Team Leader Ding still echoed in his mind.

“Activating it with one's own vital energy?”

He was deep in thought.

He took out a crystal from his storage bag, held it in his hand, and then mobilized his vital energy, causing the compressed vital energy within his body to boil.

In an instant, his vital energy surged, erupting with immense power, astonishingly potent.

However, he found that this vital energy could not break out of his body, making it impossible to act upon the crystal in his hand.

Xiao Shi pondered for a moment.

He took a knife from his storage bag.

This was a weapon that dropped when he killed a Spotted Bug, and he had many such mundane weapons in his storage bag.

Xiao Shi held the knife and drew the blade across his palm, attempting to cut open the skin of his palm.

However, after a single stroke, his palm remained intact, not even a scratch on the skin.

Typically, such mundane weapons could no longer injure a Martial Warrior of the Entrance to Martial Realm.

Especially one like him, a Martial Warrior of the Entrance to Martial Realm who had undergone body tempering.

Xiao Shi could only cut with all his might, and with the eruption of his own strength, it took him a great deal of effort to finally make a cut on his palm, while the blade became bent... During the night, both Xiao Shi's defensive and recovery abilities were greatly enhanced.

The wound on his palm was gradually healing.

Xiao Shi quickly placed the crystal on the wound, and before the wound fully healed, he stimulated his vital energy, allowing the vital energy within his body to surge out through the wound, enveloping the Secret Skill crystal to activate it.

For a moment, as Xiao Shi's vital energy boiled and surged, the crystal in his hand rapidly melted, successfully activated by his vital energy.

Xiao Shi felt a jolt in his brain.

The moment the crystal dissipated from his hand, all information about the Secret Skill Dust Seal instantly appeared in his mind.

The Secret Skill Dust Seal primarily focused on forming seals.

As long as one successfully mastered this Secret Skill, they could condense marks from various objects.

Whether it was soil, sand, wood, metal... or other things, different marks could be condensed.

However, these marks... could not be applied to oneself; they could only be applied to other targets.

One could form seals on weapons, on clothing, and also on other people.

But it just couldn't be formed on oneself.

Xiao Shi pondered for a while.

He took out numerous metal ornaments and a wooden sword from his storage bag.

Following the seal-forming method described in the Secret Skill, he prepared to first try forming a seal on the wooden sword using these metal ornaments.

He quickly performed the Secret Skill.

These metal ornaments immediately dissolved at a visible speed, turning into a golden solution, all converging together, and under Xiao Shi's control, flowed onto the wooden sword, quickly forming a golden mark on the wooden sword.

The entire mark was circular, roughly the size of a bottle cap.

The moment the mark formed, Xiao Shi gained a special sense and control over it.

“Let’s try it!”

A thought stirred in his mind.

He directly activated this mark.

The entire wooden sword was immediately covered by a layer of metal, making it no longer a wooden sword, but a sword constructed of metal!

A sharp glint flashed in Xiao Shi's eyes.

He drew the metal sword in his hand across the ground.

Hiss!

It easily left a long scratch on the ground.

Its sharpness was completely incomparable to the previous wooden sword.

Xiao Shi squeezed the sword body.

He found that besides its sharpness, its quality and sturdiness were also completely different.

This was clearly an essential transformation, from a wooden sword completely transforming into a metal sword.

However... the changes brought about by the mark were not permanent; there was a time limit.

Two hours later, the metal on the sword gradually faded, and it reverted to its original wooden sword, and the mark on the sword also dissipated with it.

“The mark can only be activated once. The material used to form the mark is equivalent to the mark's energy. Once the energy is depleted, the mark will dissipate.”

Xiao Shi suddenly understood.

According to the Secret Skill's records, what he was currently performing was just one of the mark's uses.

Xiao Shi continued to take out metal ornaments from his storage bag.

Using these metal ornaments, he once again formed a golden mark on the wooden sword, identical to the previous one.

However, this time he changed the way he activated the mark.

“Explode!”

Xiao Shi's eyes narrowed.

The golden mark on the wooden sword instantly exploded!

It formed a golden impact.

Under this impact, the entire wooden sword shattered with a crash, directly exploding into a sky full of fine wood splinters.

“The power is good.”

Xiao Shi was quite satisfied with this.

This was the second application of the mark.

Detonating the mark!

The stronger the material used to form the mark, the greater the power of the explosion.

For example, if a mark was condensed with flame, the power of its detonation would inevitably be stronger than a mark condensed with metal.

“This kind of mark is suitable for killing enemies!”

Xiao Shi thought of forming a seal on an enemy.

If he could make the enemy unaware, that would be ideal.

However, to form a seal on a person without being detected, the material used to condense the mark must be something the opponent already possesses.

If metal or similar materials were used to form a seal, it would be very obvious on the enemy's body and would definitely be detected.

“What kind of material would an enemy possess that wouldn't be detected?”

Xiao Shi fell into contemplation.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning seemed to strike his mind.

“I got it!”

“Vital energy!”

“If I just use my own vital energy to form the seal, it definitely won't be detected!”

Xiao Shi felt that his idea was highly feasible.

After all, everyone has vital energy in their body.

When a mark condensed from vital energy appears on the opponent's body, it will be like a part of the opponent's vital energy, making it difficult to detect.

As long as it's hidden properly and the mark isn't condensed in a place the enemy can see, it won't be detected.

“It's worth a try!”

Excitement surged in Xiao Shi's heart.

If he could condense an undetectable vital energy mark on others, he would undoubtedly gain a powerful assassination method!

In the future, even if he encountered enemies stronger than himself, he could hide in the shadows and launch a sneak attack by detonating the mark!

However, whether it was feasible or not, he would only know after trying it.

So, the next day, Xiao Shi went directly to the prison, drinking with Yang Zhen and Wang Changhuan while subtly attempting to condense vital energy marks on both of them.

He condensed the vital energy marks on their backs.

Hidden by their clothes, the marks were invisible to the naked eye.

Xiao Shi silently observed the two of them.

He found that neither of them had any unusual reactions; they were completely unaware that he had left marks on their bodies.