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Chapter 9: 9

“Martial artists are divided into nine ranks,” Wang Siyu said . “The title of Grandmaster is awarded to those who reached rank seven, but I’m not sure about those who reached beyond the ninth rank . ”

Jiang He felt a headache .

As a martial artist, he was still a ‘quasi’—meaning that he wasn’t even one .

Thinking about it for a moment, he then asked, “But who is stronger: superhumans or martial artists?”

2

“That’s hard to say, and difficult to compare between the two as well . ”

Wang Siyu was actually familiar with the question because she had asked Bai Feifei about it as well, which was why she answered at once, “It was less than ten years since the return of Spirit Qi, meaning that it was quite recent . Even though the great burst of the Universal Force had increased the number of Awakened, there was at best a handful of Awakened out of a hundred thousand people, and the actual applications of superpowers are still developing . ”

“Moreover, many superpowers such as healing or my mind-reading are not suitable for fighting… which is why it is hard to judge the superior between Awakened and martial artist . ”

“For example, a rank one martial artist with rich combat experience would be able to overwhelm any superhumans with powers ill-suited for fighting . ”

“Likewise, certain special superhumans have the ability to kill normal martial artists instantly . ”

***

The exchange had finally given Jiang He a general idea about superhumans and martial artists .

Meanwhile, the bowl of corn had been quickly emptied .

Wang Siyu stroked her own belly in slight embarrassment and said, “You corn is too delicious . I couldn’t help overeating . ”

“No problem . I grew it myself anyway, and you could come whenever you want some . ” Jiang He replied courteously .

“Really?”

On the other hand, there was a twinkle in Wang Siyu’s eyes even as she smiled . “Okay, then . Don’t kick me out if I eat too much later… Oh, right . ”

2

Her face turned solemn then as she said, “Jiang He, you probably would have guessed it, but I’ve joined the National Special Case Management Bureau after I’ve awakened to my own powers . ”

“It’s a department in charge of handling Awakened, martial artists and certain special incidents . ”

“As a representative of our organization, we cordially invite you to join us . ”

She extended a dainty white hand .

Jiang He took it, feeling its softness and smoothness… If this hand would help him with this and that…

1

Wang Siyu blushed again .

Jiang He was displeased, however, and grumbled, “Can’t you stop reading my mind, Wang Siyu? Can’t I have some individual thoughts?”

“You!”

Stumped, Wang Siyu stamped her feet in frustration . “Could you not be so filthy, Jiang He? What do you actually keep in your head?”

Nonetheless, that was not a topic to be delved deeper into .

Jiang He therefore changed the topic, asking, “What are the consequences if I decline to join your organization?”

“You would have to sign an oath of secrecy!”

Wang Siyu replied seriously . “Before the country formally announces the matter regarding the Awakened, the mutation of Ferals and martial artists, you are not allowed to speak of it to everyone else . ”

“That works . I’ll sign it . ”

7

Jiang He nodded, although his mind was dancing with joy .

1

Before the country announces it…

1

“According to what she said just now, Spirit Qi is at the height of its return . This means that the special cases are on the rise and the bureau almost can’t control it, and the country would soon reveal the matter anyway . ”

Boom!

That was when a dull rumble echoed over the horizon, and the earth soon began quake . Jiang He’s house shook violently for a while, with dust and sand washing down the roof .

“Oh no, earthquake!”

Jiang He’s face fell . He ran out of the house, pulling Wang Siyu with him .

In the yard, he found Dumbo barking restlessly eastward, and when Jiang He looked there, he could faintly see a blinding white light over the eastern sky, with a mushroom cloud slowly rising into the air above it .

Many other villagers had run out of their houses as well, with astonishment written all over their faces .

‘Nuclear bomb!’

2

That notion suddenly came to Jiang He’s head!

3

“That’s not it . Nuclear radiation is exceedingly strong… it has to be some type of powerful missile!”

1

Wang Siyu’s face fell too, and she muttered, “There’s trouble… big trouble in Mount Dadong…”

1

Unable to offer an explanation in time, she promptly ran toward the direction of the explosion .

1

Meanwhile, Jiang He had quickly climbed up the roof to watch the mushroom cloud that wasn’t dispersing even after a long time in great shock!

“Mount Dadong? That’s almost four hundred kilometers from here… how powerful is the blast if the shock could be felt and seen all the way here?”

10

“Are things really so dangerous now?”

It felt like half a day had passed when Jiang He finally leaped off the roof, and scolded Dumbo who was still barking relentlessly before falling into deep thought .

“That world-ending weapon must have been used against a Feral . ”

5

Gasp!

Jiang He couldn’t help wincing!

How powerful could the Feral be?

And the most important question was whether the Feral was killed . It would be nice if it was dead, but if it survived even with such a tremendous explosion… The horror .

“Improve myself! I have to improve myself as soon as possible!”

“I’m not even a martial artist at the moment—I’m definitely getting killed if I run into such a powerful Feral!”

Wringing his hand, Jiang He drew out a cucumber .

He stared at it, only to burp right then because of his full stomach .

“Bleh… I’m getting sick!”

After finishing a whole ear of corn, how could he keep eating?

Even so, Jiang He must stuff himself to improve his abilities .

Dumbo whimpered when it saw Jiang He take out a cucumber . It turned into a black blur as it darted toward Jiang He and crouched in front of him, wagging its tail and drooling all over .

Be that as it may, Jiang He only ate off two-thirds of the cucumber after half an hour, throwing the remainder to Dumbo .

There was no helping it .

He really could not finish it, even if he could feel his body improving a little once more!

“No! Increasing my power like this too difficult and too slow! I would eventually get sick from eating cucumbers every day…”

2

“I might only ascend to the level of martial artist by having some cucumber coleslaw for supper… but that’s only on the physical aspect . I’ve never trained in cultivation, and it’s nonsense to have power and no method to use it . ”

“Cultivation…”

“Cultivation…”

“What am I supposed to do to learn cultivation?”

“Wang Siyu mentioned that martial arts has an ancient history, which means that the National Special Case Management Bureau would definitely have some cultivation methods . That said, I’m a person who prefers freedom… oh, right!”

Jiang He suddenly jumped off the ground, startling Dumbo, who quivered and almost choked on its cucumber .

2

It rolled its eyes at Jiang He .

“Dog! Go somewhere else to eat!”

Jiang He shoved off Dumbo with his foot before running back into his room, finding pen and paper and turning on his phone to Baidu cultivation .

“If I remember correctly, the cultivation of the Eighteen Palms of Dragon Subduing, the Nine Yin Manual, the Nine Yang Manual, and Shaolin’s Seventy-Two Supreme Moves are all available on the internet, even though all that stuff are mostly nonsense…”

1

“But… what if I could really develop a style of cultivation?”

Spreading the paper, Jiang He wrote:

The Proud Dragon Repents, as taken from the Qian Hexagram in the Book of Changes, with Qian denoting the sky . Explanation: even though the dragon was peerless in its time, its reign of power eventually came to an end, and that in turn made it regret, but that was already too late…”