Chapter 21: You
\n“Who\u2019re you?”
\nZuo Meng stared up at the living fierce beast.
\n“Right target.” The giant cracked knuckles like timber snapping. “Prove you\u2019re worth it.”
\nNo warning. The fist came like a battering ram.
\nThis man possessed immense strength and surprising speed. The moment Zuo Meng lifted his hand, the man’s fist already smashed toward his face.
\nBoom!!
\nThe single punch sent Zuo Meng sliding backward dozens of steps, his feet carving two deep trenches in the ground.
\n“Not bad. Try blocking another!”
\nThe man stomped, cracking the bluestone beneath him as he charged like a raging rhino.
\nBrutal. Unstoppable.
\nNo flashy techniques\u2014just pure, overwhelming power.
\nThe crushing air pressure forced Zuo Meng back again, but this time he only retreated half-step. Twenty years’ worth of internal energy surged through him, forming a current around his body. His hand shot out like an eagle’s talon, precisely catching the man’s fist mid-strike and halting his momentum.
\n“My turn.”
\nYoung Hero Zuo had never tolerated losses since leaving the mountains. He’d exploited chances to gain masters, pulled shameless schemes\u2014but swallowing defeat? Never.
\nHis energy whirled violently, bursting through his palm in a spiraling shockwave. To observers, Zuo Meng’s arms seemed to twist like Tai Chi patterns before unleashing devastating force. Caught unprepared, the man flew backward and slammed into a wall, leaving a body-shaped dent.
\nAfter blasting his opponent away, Zuo Meng lowered his hand, energy subsiding.
\nHe turned to resume searching for the storage room without checking if the man survived.
\n“Impressive energy! With such power, you qualify for Heifeng Fort.” The man climbed from the stone fragments, steam rising from his unharmed body despite taking a direct hit.
\n“I’m Xiong Gang\u2014Lord’s second disciple, three years your senior. Call me Second Brother.” The hulking man stayed put, apparently approving Zuo Meng’s strength.
\nZuo Meng ignored him.
\nHe cared nothing for brotherhood. He came to exploit advantages\u2014once his goals were met, even his master would mean nothing. As Zuo Meng walked away, Xiong Gang grinned and straightened his clothes, attempting friendliness in vain.
\nPassing several rooms, Zuo Meng soon found the storage room.
\nCreak!
\nThe door opened to reveal choking dust and chaotic clutter\u2014clearly untouched for years.
\n“A divine weapon?”
\nHe pulled a frost-glinting sword from beneath an overturned table. While ordinary martial artists would treasure this blade, Heifeng Fort treated it as trash. Two centuries of Lord Black Wind’s legacy made even their scraps legendary.
\n“No wonder fools grovel to join\u2014you could get rich selling their garbage.”
\nZuo Meng swung the sword twice before tossing it back. Having been a creator destined for invincibility, fancy weapons meant little\u2014his current Qinggang Sword sufficed.
\n“Dust powder!”
\nOpening a cabinet revealed a wine jar. Upon touching it, the vanished energy resurfaced.
\n“An undiluted full jar!”
\nFinding no more dust powder, he guessed new stock hadn’t arrived or mountain foot buyers took it.
\n“Only this?”
\nSatisfied nothing remained, Zuo Meng abandoned his search.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s enough.\u201d
\nZuo Meng estimated digesting this entire jar could accumulate at least three hundred to five hundred years\u2019 worth of internal energy. What did three to five centuries of energy mean? He could casually unleash Buddha\u2019s Palm strikes with pure energy alone. Such an absurd quantity could turn ordinary martial arts world techniques into full-blown fantasy.
\n\u201cBetter use it now before complications arise!\u201d
\nHaving no fixed residence anyway, Zuo Meng refused to waste time venturing out and risking unexpected changes. Unlike those typical novel protagonists who hoarded treasures without using them, Young Hero Zuo had zero patience \u2013 if he got something useful, he\u2019d take a bite first, just like Tang Seng would.
\nHe plopped down right there in the storage room and began absorbing.
\nHis palm pressed against the wine jar. A violent energy surged up his arm, coalescing in his right hand.
\nOne surge. Two surges. Three surges.
\nThe terrifying rate of increase gave Zuo Meng his first true thrill since gaining these powers.
\nAfter roughly ten breaths, the dust powder was fully consumed, leaving only pale dregs. The energy within Zuo Meng now defied all reason.
\n\u201cLaw chains.\u201d
\nHis pupils shifted as interlocking chains materialized in his vision.
\n\u201cStill internal energy.\u201d
\nZooming his perspective, a human silhouette appeared alongside magnified law chains. A single chain split into ten, then a hundred upon magnification. The deeper he looked, the more chains multiplied \u2013 intricate networks of rule power wrapping the human form. Close inspection revealed nearly a million chains within the silhouette, with endless subdivisions upon further magnification. This was the essence of reality itself, primal law woven into existence.
\nZuo Meng\u2019s current power only allowed tweaking the most basic human laws. Internal energy corresponded to chains around the dantian. Each adjustment temporarily loosened these cosmic constraints, mimicking how ancient true immortals severed all bonds to transcend the Three Realms and escape elemental cycles.
\nThough Zuo Meng couldn\u2019t fully break free yet, he could briefly let his dantian taste immortal liberation.
\nThis was why his energy kept growing.
\nLaw alterations boosting power all stemmed from this principle.
\n\u201cOne decisive change.\u201d
\nChanneling all energy into his index finger, Zuo Meng plucked at the dantian\u2019s law chain.
\nBOOM!
\nFreed from restrictions, his dantian erupted. Energy materialized from nothingness, skyrocketing beyond natural limits.
\n21 years. 22 years. 30 years. 50 years. 100 years!
\n150 years!
\n200 years!!
\nAt this threshold, Zuo Meng\u2019s meridians screamed under the strain. His blood vessels bulged with apocalyptic energy, crimson trickling from his nostrils.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chapter 21: You “Who\u2019re you?” Zuo Meng stared up at the living fierce beast. “Right target.” The giant cracked knuckles like timber snapping. “Prove you\u2019re worth it.” No warning. The fist came like a battering ram. This man possessed immense strength and surprising speed. The moment Zuo Meng lifted his hand, the man’s fist already smashed toward his face. Boom!! The single punch sent\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[3],"tags":[],"fcn_genre":[],"fcn_fandom":[],"fcn_character":[],"fcn_content_warning":[],"class_list":["post-1400","fcn_chapter","type-fcn_chapter","status-publish","hentry","category-dreaming-to-become-a-creator"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/1400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fcn_chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/1400\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1400"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_genre?post=1400"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_fandom?post=1400"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_character","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_character?post=1400"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_content_warning","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_content_warning?post=1400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}