Resonating with Heaven and Earth, Harmony of Man and Nature (45k)

Resonating with Heaven and Earth, Harmony of Man and Nature (4.5k)

Although Shen Gang found it hard to accept at first, he was not unreasonable. After all, the transfer order had already arrived.

When he finally saw that he could not change Shen Mu's mind, he returned to Luanhe Base that very day to complete the handover. At the latest, he would report for duty in Changshan City within a week.

That evening, Shen Mu and his mother, Chen Wen, took a King-Class Fighter to Jincheng, one of Kyoto Base City's satellite cities.

In the suburbs of Jincheng, within a townhouse community.

Shen Mu's visit to Tang Yongqing's home had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. Chen Wen had only spoken with Tang Yongqing's parents that morning, so the Tang family was understandably rushed.

Even Tang Yongqing and her younger brother, Tang Yongyuan, had taken leave at the last minute and returned to Jincheng.

Everyone in the Tang family was gathered in the living room on the first floor of the villa.

Chen Wen first led Shen Mu to greet the eldest member of the family, Luo Hongqin. "A-Mu, this is your Grandma Luo Hongqin. Hurry and say hello."

"Hello, Grandma Luo." Shen Mu greeted her politely.

"Good, good, good. Such a good child, no need to be so polite." The old lady looked exceptionally kind and had not changed her attitude toward Shen Mu just because he was a councilor.

Aside from the old lady, Tang Yongqing's parents, Tang Cheng and his wife, as well as her younger brother Tang Yongyuan, all seemed highly unnatural. They did not know what sort of attitude they should take toward Shen Mu.

Chen Wen then introduced them to Shen Mu one by one, beginning with Tang Cheng and his wife.

Tang Cheng was a teacher at Kyoto University, while his wife, Lin Yuying, was Chen Wen's high school classmate and also from Changshan.

After graduating from high school, Lin Yuying successfully entered the best university in the base city, while Chen Wen chose the martial path. Lin Yuying had met Tang Cheng during university, which was why she had married into Jincheng.

Seeing that the Tang family was all uncomfortable, even somewhat restrained, Chen Wen said, "A-Mu, you and Xiaoqing are meeting for the first time too. Why don't you go out for a walk together?"

"Okay, Mom." Shen Mu naturally had no objection.

Tang Yongqing could not stand the awkward atmosphere either, so she followed Shen Mu out.

The streetlights along the community roads were dim, casting blurry shadows of the two of them.

Shen Mu glanced at Tang Yongqing beside him. Even her steps were cautious.

"Sister Yongqing, don't you have anything you want to ask?"

Shen Mu turned to look at Tang Yongqing beside him.

In terms of appearance, Tang Yongqing was also outstanding. Her slender curves were just right, her looks easily rated an eight or nine out of ten, and paired with her scholarly temperament, she possessed a unique charm.

It was precisely because of this that she had caught the eye of that playboy from the Wang family. He had even given her an over-the-top evaluation and used all kinds of methods in an attempt to force her.

"I... I don't know what to say. I just... suddenly feel like you and I aren't people from the same world anymore."

Confusion appeared in Tang Yongqing's eyes.

When Wang Xing'an had first targeted and harassed her, Tang Yongqing's parents had begun calling in favors to see if they could resolve the problem. That was why Lin Yuying had turned to Chen Wen for help.

Chen Wen saw that Tang Yongqing was beautiful, had entered university at fifteen, and had become an official researcher at a research institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences at just twenty. She was clearly highly capable, so Chen Wen began to entertain some thoughts.

Chen Wen then revealed that Shen Mu was a student at the War God Training Camp. It was called the War God Training Camp because any student who graduated successfully could become a War God-level powerhouse.

Afterward, Chen Wen suggested that Lin Yuying spread the news that Shen Mu and Tang Yongqing had been betrothed since childhood.

Although the Wang family was powerful, it would not offend a future War God over the reckless behavior of a junior. The price was simply too high.

Lin Yuying knew that students of the War God Training Camp could become War Gods after graduation. She thought having a War God as a future son-in-law would be quite good, and the two families knew each other well. Thus, the two best friends hit it off immediately.

"I told you long ago that your fiancé was amazing and would graduate from the training camp early. You just kept treating it as a joke."

As Shen Mu spoke, he directly reached out and took Tang Yongqing's small hand.

Tang Yongqing symbolically tugged at her hand with a slightly aggrieved expression, muttering softly, "How could I have known you were this amazing? When I saw Limit Martial Hall's announcement, my mind went completely blank."

Tang Yongqing's thoughts had actually been simple from the beginning. Her dream was to become China's greatest female scientist, and she had very few requirements when it came to love.

As long as it did not affect her research in the future, even if her future partner was an ordinary person, a plain and peaceful married life would be quite nice.

Thus, she had not resisted her mother Lin Yuying's introduction. After all, someone screened by her own mother had to be more reliable.

During her first video call with Shen Mu, she had developed a basic favorable impression because of his looks. After chatting several more times and sensing Shen Mu's support for her pursuit of her ideals, she naturally confirmed their relationship.

After all, a boyfriend with good looks, sufficient ability, and support for her dreams was not easy to find.

"Sister Yongqing, have you ever flown?" Shen Mu suddenly changed the subject. If they delved deeper into the matter, he was the one in the wrong. He had never seriously told Tang Yongqing about his true circumstances because he was afraid of frightening her.

Tang Yongqing froze at his question and said blankly, "Do you mean flying in the way I think you mean?"

"I mean flying in the literal sense!"

Shen Mu took Tang Yongqing's hand. Then, a flat landscaping stone from the nearby greenbelt floated up and instantly appeared before them.

Shen Mu then stepped onto the landscaping stone and extended his hand to Tang Yongqing. "Get on."

"Oh, coming."

Tang Yongqing held Shen Mu's hand and stepped onto the stone. In the next instant, its speed surged as it shot into the sky.

Her fear of heights and the sensation of extreme speed drained the color from Tang Yongqing's face. Looking at the blurry scenery below, she clutched Shen Mu's hand tightly, her full chest heaving violently.

"Slower, slower!"

"Sure!"

Shen Mu took the opportunity to pull Tang Yongqing into his arms. Not only did he not slow down, he even accelerated a little.

A moment later, a piercing alarm echoed through Jincheng's air defense command center.

After receiving the intelligence report, a bald middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"So it's Councilor Shen taking his girlfriend out for some thrills. Then it's fine. Lift the alarm."

While Shen Mu was flying through the sky with a beautiful girl in his arms, his Azure Dragon Avatar was cultivating bitterly in distant ocean waters.

Roar!

A long, deep dragon roar echoed beneath the sea surface, frightening countless monsters throughout the waters until they trembled in terror beneath that dreadful aura.

The dark azure dragon churned through the deep sea, streams of light formed by bone spikes circling around its body along a particular trajectory.

Boom!

Undercurrents surged through the sea, colliding under the control of twelve bone spikes and producing repeated dull explosions.

"The first step of Harmony of Man and Nature is trying to merge with heaven and earth."

The Azure Dragon Avatar was itself a lifeform of the sea. When stepping into the realm of Harmony of Man and Nature, it possessed an advantage humans could not compare to.

Roar!

Another clear dragon roar rang out. It had been roughly a month since Shen Mu's movement technique and spear technique had reached major accomplishment at the Artistic Conception Level, and he had constantly been trying to resonate with heaven and earth, yet he had never found the key.

Shen Mu could sense that mere Artistic Conception Level spear and movement techniques could not carry his understanding of the ocean and water, but he could not find a way to advance further.

"Since I can't find a method, I'll break through under pressure!"

Azure Dragon opened his eyes. Vast, boundless mental power surged around him, harmonizing with the fluctuations of the ocean currents.

There were no fewer than a hundred King-Level Monsters in the western Pacific Ocean. Only two had reached Planet-Level Rank 2, and their territories bordered China's waters, making them extremely famous within human society.

One of them was Shen Mu's East Sea Azure Dragon Avatar, while the other was the Poisonous Jellyfish King!

"You're the one!"

In the next instant, the enormous form of the azure-scaled dragon seemed to transform into an illusory streak of light, racing through the ocean at more than a thousand meters per second.

If Shen Mu's Azure Dragon Avatar flew through the air, then despite its size advantage, its speed would only reach around seven hundred meters per second.

But in the ocean, its swimming speed was even a little faster than its flight speed through a vacuum. The water filling every inch of space became its source of power.

Before becoming Shen Mu's avatar, East Sea Azure Dragon had already been deeply at odds with the Poisonous Jellyfish King. Their territories in the ocean had even been adjacent.

About fifteen minutes later, Shen Mu crossed more than a thousand kilometers and entered the Poisonous Jellyfish King's territory.

"Roar!"

A dragon roar filled with provocation, accompanied by mental power, rapidly spread in all directions.

A moment later, an eerie blue-green color suddenly erupted from the distant waters.

Within that eerie blue-green sea, a nearly transparent figure could vaguely be seen. Its umbrella-shaped body had a diameter of over thirty meters, and countless fine, translucent tentacles danced around it, releasing terrifying venom.

Countless tentacles swayed, sending out vibrations humans could barely perceive. It could be understood as the jellyfish's cry.

Boom!

At that moment, the two overlord monsters of the western Pacific Ocean clashed head-on.

Boundless mental power surged forth, while the Poisonous Jellyfish King also frantically released its venom, using it to greatly weaken Shen Mu's mental power.

"Roar!"

I am no longer who I used to be. If you don't fight for your life, you'll die!

Vast mental power swept outward, controlling endless currents and manifesting Shen Mu's oceanic Artistic Conception.

In an instant, the giant jellyfish seemed to feel the entire sea rejecting it.

"Wuuu—"

Within a sonic range humans could not hear came the Jellyfish King's shocked cry.

Its old nemesis, Azure Dragon, had suddenly acquired the special ability that only human powerhouses possessed.

Boom!

An explosion seemed to erupt from the depths of the sea. The Jellyfish King knew that if it did not risk its life, it would truly be finished.

The enormous transparent jellyfish instantly lit up with dazzling brilliance. Endless genetic energy surged, and within it, two faint green planets could be seen revolving.

Endless tentacles, carrying terrifying wood-attributed genetic energy and venom, lashed toward Shen Mu. Each of those countless tentacles possessed the immense force of the limit of Planet-Level Rank 2.

The countless tentacles were like countless hands. Although they had little skill in exerting force, just as with a Mentalist controlling objects, when the power of all the tentacles struck in one direction, their impact stacked together.

Yet the foundation of all this power ultimately came from those two miniature genetic-energy stars. Such a desperate full-force eruption could last one or two minutes at most before exhausting all of its genetic energy.

Roar!

The Azure Dragon Avatar let out an excited dragon roar. This was exactly the sense of pressure it wanted.

Faced with the Jellyfish King's desperate assault, the Azure Dragon Avatar entered a suppressed state.

At that moment, on the sea surface, a hurricane seemed to arise from nowhere, stirring terrifying waves that crashed in every direction.

Beneath the surface, the two powerful King-Level Monsters fought to the death.

As time passed, the Jellyfish King, which had completely gone all out, would inevitably grow weaker.

Meanwhile, under this pressure, Shen Mu's vast mental power blended with the fluctuations of the endless ocean currents, seeking that mysterious and indescribable resonance.

"Wuuu!"

In just one minute, the Poisonous Jellyfish King felt its strength nearing exhaustion. Under the threat of death, it let out a mournful cry as the genetic energy inside its body erupted beyond its limits, and it was injured by its own violent energy.

The power of its tentacles rose another level, just enough to break through Shen Mu's mental power and defenses and pierce into the gaps between his scales.

Terrifying venom spread, bringing excruciating pain as though he were being burned alive.

In only a few seconds, beneath the Jellyfish King's final burst of attack, countless tiny wounds appeared all over the Azure Dragon Avatar's body, and endless venom spread throughout Shen Mu's body in the blink of an eye.

Pain, weakness, and all manner of negative states surged forth from East Sea Azure Dragon's body. In the blink of an eye, it was as though offense and defense had completely switched places.

"Roar!"

Under the terrible pain and crisis, a peculiar impulse surged from deep within its genes.

This was the ferocity that had lain dormant within East Sea Azure Dragon's bloodline ever since it became Shen Mu's avatar. Now, it awakened once more.

At that moment, Shen Mu's consciousness finally fused with this avatar's instincts. The previous sensation of disharmony and unnaturalness completely vanished. There was no longer any barrier between soul and flesh.

Shen Mu's mental power, moving with tidal fluctuations, resonated with the cosmic energy drifting between heaven and earth.

Buzz!

An invisible wave swept outward from East Sea Azure Dragon's body. All the venom that had seeped into its body was expelled through the wounds. Although the injuries caused by the venom remained, they would not continue worsening.

At that moment, Shen Mu suddenly gained a peculiar perception. It was not mental perception, but a vague, indescribable sensation.

Splash!

The endless ocean currents surged once more. As Shen Mu's mental power spread, the cosmic energy contained within them resonated with his mental power.

Boom!

Under the control of his mental power, the endless waters compressed frantically, pinning the transparent jellyfish firmly in place.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

One bone spike after another turned into streaks of light, converging into one under Shen Mu's control before violently shooting forth.

Boom!

The endless currents erupted again. The twelve bone spikes instantly shot into the Poisonous Jellyfish King's body, then expanded and churned wildly, annihilating the old nemesis he had once been unable to kill in the blink of an eye.

Above the endless wilderness outside Kyoto Base City.

Shen Mu, who was flying on the rock while holding Tang Yongqing, suddenly froze, and the flat landscaping stone stopped in midair.

In the next instant, boundless mental power spread outward. This time, through his own vague perception, he sensed the cosmic energy drifting through the void.

Moreover, by using mental power to imitate the fluctuations of cosmic energy, he could resonate with that energy and amplify the power of his mental power.

"A-Mu... what happened?"

Tang Yongqing nervously hugged Shen Mu, looking down at the wilderness below. The roars of monsters rose and fell around them, making her face turn pale.

"Don't worry, it's a good thing. Being with you has cleared my mind, and a bottleneck in my martial path suddenly loosened. My strength has improved."

Shen Mu came back to his senses and smiled at Tang Yongqing.

"Smooth talker!" Tang Yongqing was not shy like some young girl, but her eyes curved into crescents. Clearly, Shen Mu's words had made her very happy.

"Come on, let's go home."

"Okay!"

On the way back, Shen Mu continued sensing the cosmic energy between heaven and earth.

Normally, unless one calmed down and carefully sensed cosmic energy, even Planet-Level martial artists could not detect its existence in an ordinary state.

But after entering the realm of Harmony of Man and Nature, that vague perception was like entering the Five Hearts Facing Heaven cultivation state, allowing one to faintly sense the existence of cosmic energy.

Shen Mu had finally understood the mystery of Harmony of Man and Nature.

So-called Harmony of Man and Nature meant breaking free from the limits of movement techniques and Combat Techniques, directly controlling genetic energy and mental power, manifesting one's own understanding of heaven and earth, and resonating with cosmic energy.

However, it was only resonance with cosmic energy, guiding it to attack. One could not freely mobilize cosmic energy as one could one's own genetic energy or mental power.

As for the Domain-Level beyond that, Shen Mu guessed it was no longer merely resonating with cosmic energy, but directly controlling it to form a domain capable of suppressing everything.

This chapter fleshed out Tang Yongqing's character a little. She will not have many scenes after this. This nearly five-thousand-word chapter is absolutely packed with sincerity, so brothers, throw your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at this author!