Chapter 16: I Could Do That Too

Chapter 16: I Can Do It Too

Midnight.

The moon hung high in the sky as a surge of spiritual energy suddenly erupted. Merging with the dust in the air, it formed vibrant rainbows that shimmered in various colors.

A call echoed suddenly within Xiong Yan’s heart. He did not resist; his consciousness faded away.

When Xiong Yan regained awareness, his body felt incredibly light. Before his brain could even react, his limbs already moved.

He left the house and began to run.

Since his rebirth, his body had been in a state akin to a dying ember, barely clinging to life.

To survive and to minimize future losses, Xiong Yan had taken the initiative to lay all his cards on the table, enduring immense pressure throughout.

Though spiritual energy had prolonged his life, it only kept him barely breathing, perpetually teetering on the edge.

Therefore, Xiong Yan never dared to exit this constant state; he maintained it continuously, suppressing all negative emotions.

But now, his body was free and light, restored to the vigor of his twenties, able to run and leap with abandon.

This was one of the wonders of the Virtual Realm—it allowed one to autonomously adjust their physical state, reversing age as easily as turning a page.

In the future, some Virtual Realms would be deliberately altered by the realm masters so that even height, weight, appearance, and even gender or race could be modified.

An hour later, the group gathered in a secluded courtyard overgrown with wild grass. After brushing aside the weeds, they all sat down on the ground.

“How strange—I was just chatting with everyone in my hoodie, holding a bag of chips, and in the next moment, I’m here wearing ancient clothes,” Jiang Ju said, glancing disdainfully at her worn garments. “But they’re so shabby—tattered and old. Nothing like the elegant attire I usually see on refined ladies in historical dramas.”

“My skin even darkened automatically, my hair quality noticeably worse, and my teeth have turned into a set of big yellow choppers. It’s downright ugly!”

Jiang Ju’s complaints were so numerous that Xiong Yan didn’t know where to begin responding. But Chu Xuan was not about to indulge her.

“Do you know where you think you are? Do you understand what kind of background this place has?”

“If you showed up in the Virtual Realm with your real-world appearance, guess what fate would await you?”

“If in the Virtual Realm your identity were that of a wealthy man’s concubine, could you accept that? Or if you were a mother in that world, could you bear it?”

Before Jiang Ju could answer, Peng Bing shook his head. “No one could accept that, right? How many hats would you have to wear?”

Jiang Ju shook her head in agreement.

“Thank the Heavenly Emperor, thank the Supreme One, thank the ancient patriarch Fuxi, thank the ancestress Nuwa, thank Emperors Yan and Huang!” Jiang Ju suddenly bowed toward the sky.

At the thought of the scenes Chu Xuan described, she felt utterly hopeless.

That kind of world was terribly unfriendly to women.

At that moment, Jiang Ju sincerely appreciated the superiority of modern civilization. At least the surface-level equality among people was guaranteed.

“The Virtual Realm is like the Age of Exploration was for past nations—it is the most important matter for every country, bar none.”

“And the Virtual Realm is the fairest. Every country, regardless of its real-world strength, land area, or population, initially encounters the smallest, shortest-lived, and lowest-level realm.”

“Only by fully conquering the first Virtual Realm and establishing effective governance can the second, third, or even countless realms emerge—each corresponding to that country’s history and culture.”

“All realms are Virtual Realms. The one based on the Three Noble Sons of Takamagahara is surely best suited for the Japanese, while the one grounded in the ancient Chinese Yan-Huang civilization is best for us.”

“I won’t bore you with the significance and value of the Virtual Realm—you’ve all heard it before. But here’s one more point: depending on the actual conditions of the people when a Virtual Realm is occupied, the number of new realms born varies.”

“All right, enough talk. Peng Bing, no more holding back—show us your breakthrough.”

“Got it!”

“This time, I, Peng Bing, will become the first person on Earth to achieve transcendence.”

“I started martial arts at four years old, and now it’s been thirty-two years. Over these years I…”

“Enough chatter! We know how hard you’ve worked pushing human limits, how much you’ve sacrificed chasing immortality and transcendence. But now, just break through already!”

Peng Bing sighed playfully, took a long, deep breath, settled into a lotus position with his hands resting on his knees and eyes gently closed.

After several breaths, he threw his head back and howled, “Ha ha ha! Thirty-two years of pursuit—today I finally transcend!”

Wow, he broke through in just a few breaths?

Chang Kong Daoist rubbed his eyes. “Come, test a palm strike against me. Don’t be afraid—I’ve also recovered my peak physical condition. Though I’m a bit behind you, I’m at least an Olympic champion, a world record level.”

Peng Bing sat on the ground. Chang Kong Daoist stood firm in a perfect horse stance, and the two pressed their palms together forcefully.

Peng Bing remained seated, motionless, while Chang Kong Daoist executed a backflip before landing once more in his stance.

“Everyone, watch closely!”

Peng Bing stretched out his right hand, fingers spread, and pressed down on the wild grass below. The grass emitted the faint smell of scorched, underburned leaves.

“Anger harms the liver, joy harms the heart, worry harms the lungs, overthinking harms the spleen, and fear harms the kidneys. Just now, my heart was filled with the joy of impending transcendence. I then used spiritual energy to tap into the hidden power within my heart and cultivated the power of qi and blood.”

“The heart corresponds to fire in the Five Elements, so I used the power of qi and blood to scorch these weeds with one palm.”

“However, since I’ve just transcended, my qi and blood power is very limited—only a thin thread—so I didn’t actually burn the grass, just lightly toasted it.”

Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses and closely examined Peng Bing’s remarkably fair right hand and the scorched marks on the grass, engrossed in study.

“I thought transcending would be earth-shattering, something out of legend—like generating electricity in an empty room or wind spontaneously blowing—but to break through in just a few breaths, it’s nothing like I imagined!” Jiang Ju said, puzzled.

“Yeah, it feels too easy, like anyone can do it. It feels unreal,” Huang Zixing added, patting his head.

“Who are you? You are the very first to awaken gifts after the spiritual energy resurgence! You are the first wave to answer the Virtual Realm’s call!”

“At this moment, worldwide, it’s hard to say if even a hundred people can enter the Virtual Realm.”

“And the global population is six billion! Even if you’re not one in a hundred million, you’re at best one in fifty or sixty million.”

“In wuxia novels, that kind of rarity belongs to legends like Bodhidharma, Zhang Sanfeng, or Ling Donglai—figures who might only appear once in an era.”

“Don’t be fooled by how quickly Peng Bing broke through. He had a strong foundation—before the spiritual energy resurgence, his physique was undoubtedly the world’s best. His title as number one was hard-earned.”

(End of Chapter)