Chapter Thirty-Nine: Awakening Succeeded (Second Update) Requesting Votes and Favorites

On the open ground outside a small house, Liang Jing was persistently exploring his path forward, his body practicing several movements he had found to be particularly effective for training. It had been some time since Liang Jing had instructed Zhang Huke and the others to kill Black Snake’s underlings. At breakfast, he found it amusing that after an exhausting night, the group had little appetite because they had just killed a man. Of course, not everyone could remain as calm as he did, and Liang Jing understood this well. Still, Wang Meng’s composure was remarkable; he ate his breakfast as usual, showing hardly any reaction to the killing, which was a stark contrast to Zhang Huke and the others. It seemed Wang Meng had been through quite a lot himself.

Liang Jing had no intention of setting out or moving on today. He was waiting for Old Jia—Jia Yujin, known as “Master Jin”—to awaken. After running twenty or thirty miles overnight, and escaping from the rat tide the day before, everyone’s physical and mental strength was spent; they desperately needed rest. Old Mouse and Iron Pillar were still recovering from serious injuries after days of relentless pursuit. Now, except for himself, everyone else was inside sleeping.

After these harrowing days, Liang Jing needed time to consider his next steps. The mutated creatures were terrifying beyond words: the all-consuming tide of rats that destroyed everything in their path, the monstrous “Jiao Dragon” with its invincible might—all of it weighed heavily on his spirit and reminded him of his own frailty. He needed to find a safe place to learn about what had become of humanity: how many survivors remained, how many had awakened, whether research institutes had made any new discoveries, how to increase his inner energy—the questions were endless. Most important was a secure, stable base where he could hunt monsters to grow stronger and rest without constantly keeping his nerves taut, fearing a mutant attack. The world had grown ever more mysterious, terrifying, and dangerous; even with his abilities, Liang Jing could not feel truly safe. He longed to meet more of his kind.

Half a day passed. Seeing the group still fast asleep, Liang Jing let them rest, realizing just how exhausted they were. He himself felt fatigue rarely, and so he ate a little dried food for lunch and left it at that. He hadn’t expected Old Jia’s awakening to take so long—he remembered his own process taking only two or three hours. Worried for Old Jia, Liang Jing sat nearby, watching him anxiously.

What Liang Jing didn’t know was that his own awakening had begun much earlier, as he continually absorbed the life essence of monsters. Only after collecting enough energy did the final step occur, which took two or three hours—his awakening was quite different from others.

“Aaah! Hng—”

Jia Yujin groaned unconsciously, his brow furrowed, his whole body trembling, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, legs straightening and bending as though he couldn’t bear the pain or itching. A faint golden mist shimmered over his skin, while streaks of gray-black filth oozed out and filled the air with a foul stench.

It was nearly done!

Seeing this, Liang Jing, now familiar with the signs of awakening, could not help but cry out in encouragement—Jia Yujin would succeed within ten minutes and become an awakened one, a strong man.

“Brother Liang!”

“Brother Liang, how’s Master Jin?”

The sun was already low in the west when the rest awoke. Hearing Liang Jing’s exclamation, they all hurried over, anxious for Jia Yujin’s condition. Old Mouse and the others, seeing Jia Yujin still unconscious, were deeply worried.

“It’s all right. He’ll wake soon,” Liang Jing said.

“He’s about to evolve into an awakened one—a strong man like Black Snake and myself.” Excitement filled Liang Jing’s voice. To have his brother grow strong meant freedom from hardship and constraint.

Everyone, including Ling Qinghe and Wang Meng, who had come in after, was astonished. Old Mouse and Wang Meng, in particular, looked on with envy at Jia Yujin, who muttered and struggled on the bed. After all they had been through, they desperately craved strength—not daring to aspire to Liang Jing’s power, but even Black Snake’s would be formidable enough.

Black Snake’s abilities were indeed formidable. If not for Liang Jing’s specific counter, after further mutation Black Snake’s powers would be bizarre and deadly—enough to threaten even the most elite assassins, mercenaries, or martial artists, who had honed their skills for decades before the world changed. At that time, the limits of human power held them back, but now, with the new world’s energies, awakened ones could amplify their abilities immensely. These were not ordinary men, and this was why Liang Jing had nearly fallen to Black-clad Dai Wu’s assassination attempt. In a direct fight, however, Liang Jing no longer feared them—it was like a flurry of wild blows overwhelming a master. Still, when it came to assassination, he was at a disadvantage. If only he had a digital map like those online, showing the terrain and the positions of friend and foe—then there would be nowhere to hide.

Black Snake’s powers were both sinister and useful—Liang Jing envied him, but could only sigh. He had once considered using his “Copy” talent to acquire others’ abilities, but now even scanning was difficult, let alone entering another’s mind. Living beings were incredibly complex, and the human brain was the most mysterious and complicated of all. “Copying” was impossible.

His energy reserves were simply too meager. Although he could slowly absorb a little life essence from monsters, it wasn’t nearly enough for the attempt. There seemed to be a force within others that repelled him. Liang Jing could only shake his head and give up.

This was only natural. Although his “Copy” talent was extraordinary, it still required energy. Energy itself could exist as gas, liquid, or solid, but Liang Jing’s own energy was still at the most basic, chaotic, and unrefined stage. The runic structures needed to create innate talents required energy of the highest order—far more refined than even the solid state. The earth’s awakened ones had gained their abilities when the planet collided with another universe’s laws, sparking a unique energy that was now quickly fading. Soon, it would vanish entirely, and it would be nearly impossible for new awakened ones to appear. Their meridians were fully open, no longer requiring slow cultivation, and they possessed all sorts of unique abilities. Perhaps this was akin to the first batch of primordial deities after the world’s creation, beings with all kinds of incredible powers—though, naturally, these were far weaker by many orders of magnitude.

Boom!

At that moment, Jia Yujin suddenly sat bolt upright in bed. Grabbing a steel rod by the bed, he caused it to dissolve and reshape in his hand, transforming into all manner of objects—a machete, a spear, a shield, a helmet...

The others in the room stared with wide eyes—this ability was beyond belief! With enough steel, could he not shape anything he desired? If he donned a suit of steel armor, even bullets might have no effect!

Of course, that was only wishful thinking. Wearing heavy steel armor would be cumbersome—would he even be able to move? He’d be nothing but a sitting target, and there were always weapons powerful enough to penetrate armor.

“All right, Old Jia! Enough showing off…” Seeing Jia Yujin playing like an excited child, Liang Jing couldn’t help himself. It had been so many years since he’d had a proper conversation with this old friend.

“Liang Jing! Is it really you? I knew it was you! I sensed it this morning…” Jia Yujin seemed to come to himself, and seeing all the others in the room, turned to Liang Jing and began to barrage him with a torrent of words…