Chaos World

Chaos World

Luo Jun looked at the old man, his thoughts racing, then broke into a delighted expression. "You're with those Ability Users? You're official Ability Users? Like the China Dragon Group?"

He remembered the people who had surrounded Windbreaker Man in the mall.

"More or less..." The old man nodded. "Very clever. You're even more outstanding than I expected. You've given me quite a few surprises."

At that moment, Prompt Sounds for Experience Settlement rang out in Luo Jun's mind one after another. All three of the old man's attacks had Severity Coefficients below one. It was clear that even if Luo Jun had failed to block them, the old man would have pulled back at the last moment and not truly hurt him.

"Thank heavens!" The weight in Luo Jun's heart finally lifted. His legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed onto the ground.

"You finally found me. Hurry up and get me out of this damned place. Outside, there are rules I can't make heads or tails of and monsters that eat people... I feel like Tang Sanzang falling into Spider Cave—everyone who sees me wants to take a bite..."

The old man nodded and led Luo Jun into the house to sit down. "I understand, I understand. You're an Ordinary Person, suddenly thrown into something like this. The fact that you've held out until now without emotionally breaking down is already remarkable."

"But I may have to disappoint you. I'm not here to take you away."

"Huh?" Luo Jun was startled. "Why?"

"Because I don't have that ability. You're currently in a Chaos Mission, and as an outsider, I cannot interfere with your mission."

"What was that?" Luo Jun was even more bewildered. "Wonton Mission? I haven't even eaten wontons lately. I like Jianbing Guazi..."

"It's Chaos! The chaos in Chaos! A Chaos Mission!" The old man sighed and explained, "You could say that you're not on Earth right now. You're in another world parallel to Earth."

"Another world?" Luo Jun looked utterly stunned. "Humanity has discovered parallel worlds?"

Discovered them? We've been secretly exploring them for over a century." The old man smiled. "Starting more than a hundred years ago, humanity gradually discovered many Different Worlds connected to Earth—or as we usually call it, the Main World. These Different Worlds come in all styles. Some possess technology beyond that of the Main World; some wield powerful spells or martial techniques; some have no civilization at all, nothing but a Wilderness crawling with monsters."

"And the world we're in now is called Chaos. It is the most special among all the Different Worlds."

The old man continued, "Because the Chaos World exists in an extremely unstable state and can easily be invaded and polluted by other worlds, it has no fixed style, no fixed entrances or exits, not even fixed laws of nature. You could say this world changes in a thousand ways—anything can happen."

"However, whether by human design or natural formation, this Chaos World has a unique mechanism. From time to time, it summons some people from the Main World and assigns them missions. If they complete those missions, they may even receive rewards from the Chaos World..."

"Oh, I've seen similar settings in novels..." As Luo Jun listened, he struggled to digest the information in the old man's words. "So I was summoned by the Chaos World too?"

"No..." The old man looked into Luo Jun's eyes and smiled. "You're not qualified!"

Luo Jun stared at the old man's face. "You explained all those settings just to insult me?"

The old man shook his head. "Not just you. No Ordinary Person is qualified."

"Chaos only summons those who have cultivated Vital Energy to at least the Foundation Establishment Realm."

"Vital Energy?" Luo Jun looked astonished. That was another concept he had never heard of.

"So-called Vital Energy is a form of energy that exists widely within living beings. It's just that, in most cases, living creatures cannot perceive its existence or make use of it." The old man explained, "But as we explored other worlds, people learned and developed methods to cultivate, strengthen, and use this energy."

Luo Jun nodded, half-understanding. "Like the Internal Energy in martial arts novels?"

"Something like that..." The old man smiled. "But Vital Energy can do much more." As he spoke, he glanced at Luo Jun's lower half.

"There's a hole in your underwear."

"What?" Luo Jun instinctively covered his buttocks. "How did you know? No, wait... are you a pervert?"

"That is the wonder of Vital Energy. Of course, detection and scanning are merely the tip of the iceberg among Vital Energy's many functions. If you cultivate Vital Energy well enough, you can even master many abilities like magic." The old man nodded with a smile.

"Like that masked woman!" Luo Jun's eyes lit up as he recalled what had happened during the day. He gestured with his hands. "With one wave, she sent out a streak of golden light and tore that Human Trafficker to shreds! That was so cool!"

"Her?" The old man looked at Luo Jun, his smile faintly teasing. "That woman is known as the Golden Edge Witch. Among the younger generation of Cultivators, she is a top-tier genius. Those golden lights are an ability she created herself after reaching the Heart Refining Realm, and they sweep aside all opposition. If you want to reach her level, I'm afraid your hopes are slim."

"Reach her level..." Luo Jun froze upon hearing that, and inspiration struck him. "Senior, are you willing to teach me Vital Energy?"

"What did you think I went to all this trouble for?" The old man looked at Luo Jun and stroked his beard. If not for his severely balding head, he might actually have carried a touch of immortal grace.

"After all this talk, let me formally introduce myself. I am Yuan Shouzhen, commander of the Ningdong Branch of the China Yuan Qi Cultivator Association, with elder-level benefits, a five-star Explorer, an expert in Vital Energy Theory, and an honorary professor at Explorer Academy."

Luo Jun had no idea what that string of titles meant. Seeing his blank expression, Yuan Shouzhen gave a light cough. "In short, you are an innocent person who was accidentally dragged into the Chaos World because the Yuan Cultivation Society was capturing a Polluter. This was the negligence of my subordinates, and therefore my responsibility. That is why I specially used certain means to come here. Although restrictions prevent me from directly helping you clear the mission, I can teach you Vital Energy and increase your chances of surviving."

"Really?!" Luo Jun's eyes brightened.

"Don't get too excited yet." Old Yuan pondered for a moment. "First, I need to make the stakes clear to you."

"First, Vital Energy Cultivators can clear Chaos Missions not merely because of their own powerful strength. More fundamentally, much of the Key Information in Chaos Missions is issued through Vital Energy. Without mastering Vital Energy, you cannot receive complete information in the Chaos World. You may not even receive a clear Mission Target, and can only blunder about like a headless fly, with little hope of clearing the mission."

"So that's how it is." Luo Jun nodded. Since arriving here, he had merely been dragged along by all kinds of rules, struggling to survive. He had never known what exactly he was supposed to do...

"But Vital Energy Cultivation is not something accomplished overnight." Old Yuan checked the time. "I can remain in this world for a little over an hour. Even if I teach you the method of Vital Energy Cultivation During This Time, it will take you at least a month or so to get started. For tonight, it would be completely useless."

"Then what do we do?" Luo Jun looked at Old Yuan. Since he had said so much, he must have a solution.

"There is only one method now." Old Yuan looked at Luo Jun. "I will open up the meridians throughout your body and help you make a rapid Realm Breakthrough."

"However, this method is somewhat dangerous. If the breakthrough succeeds, you will naturally obtain the power of the first level of the Body Refinement Realm. But if it fails, it will cause Vital Energy Backlash and severely damage your body. That damage may be treatable, but for this mission of yours, I'm afraid it will mean certain death."

"How to choose can only be decided by you."

Thanks to csbl for the 500 Origin Point Coins!

Thanks to I Just Can't Stand This for the 500 Origin Point Coins!

Thanks to Zui Qu Ren for the 100 Origin Point Coins!

Thanks to Ye Ye Bu Nai for the 100 Origin Point Coins!

Thanks to Ting Chuang Ping Yu for the 100 Origin Point Coins!

Thanks, everyone, for your recommendations and monthly tickets!