The Moment of Sky Turning Dream

I am Zhuang Cheng.

It has been over four years since I awakened my superpower, and I have re-evaluated my current level.

To evaluate one's level, one must have a clear standard for evaluation. The concept of "superpower" is vast in scope. If someone's superpower is "mind reading," it is not suitable to use "how much solid matter can be destroyed" as a standard to judge their level. However, my superpower is adept at destruction and combat, so here I will use the hypothetical judgment material of how strong an enemy I can contend with.

Suppose—an army from the cold weapon era, fully armed and well-trained, appeared before me, determined to fight me to the death. I think no matter if the army was ten thousand or a million strong, in the end, only I would be victorious. Even if all the armies in the world were gathered, I could not imagine a scenario where I might be defeated. This is due to the nature of my superpower; direct physical attacks have no way of harming me.

What if it were a modern army primarily using firearms? I still don't believe I would be defeated. Bullets, artillery shells, missiles, as well as chemical and biological weapons, none of those would affect me. Even a nuclear bomb couldn't kill me.

However, I haven't actually been hit by a nuclear bomb, so insisting on this conclusion is somewhat lacking in confidence. Perhaps, as some science fiction stories suggest, the human soul is electromagnetic in nature, and a nuclear explosion can disrupt electromagnetic fields, thus also destroying souls.

Moreover, the wisdom of scientists should not be underestimated. In monster movies, there are occasional plots where seemingly invincible ultimate life forms are found to have a fatal weakness by human scientists. I sometimes can't help but put myself in the monster's shoes. I think, if I truly believed my superpower was invincible, I might encounter a Waterloo in an unexpected situation.

As for what would happen if I were to face other superpowered individuals, that is truly difficult for me to judge. As I mentioned before, there are too many types of superpowers. What if the enemy directly attacks my soul, how could I defend myself?

I am not a violent maniac obsessed with fighting, but in "adventures beyond reality," conflicts with others, even with one's own kind, must be considered in advance. Many fantasy stories have featured similar plots.

I think, if there were a superpowered individual skilled in mind reading, who could frequently read my inner thoughts, they might perhaps wonder why I always mention "fantasy stories."

Or perhaps, how I define "adventures beyond reality."

I often distinguish clearly in my mind between "pursuing supernatural things" and "pursuing adventures beyond reality," because in my heart, "beyond reality" does not necessarily require "supernatural."

Everyone's reality is different. Ancient people from thousands of years ago would consider modern airplanes to be beyond reality. Fools who know nothing of science would consider quantum mechanical phenomena to be beyond reality. People living in peaceful countries might also find the chaos in war-torn nations to be different from their experienced reality. And what I consider "adventures beyond reality" are adventures that transcend my experience and life, unpredictable and incredible.

So, not long ago, Maza appeared before me, covered in blood and carrying a real gun. Even though she hadn't shown any supernatural signs at the time, I couldn't resist bringing her home.

Yes, adventures beyond reality do not necessarily exist in fantasy stories; they must also exist in the real world. War correspondents risking their lives to gather material in war-torn countries, explorers traversing mountains and jungles, mercenaries living on the edge of death, even criminals who disrupt social stability... Even without superpowers or abnormalities, there are many people in the real world who are experiencing absurd adventures.

Even in the battlefields of politics and commerce, there are legends generation after generation. Even if the reality I face is monotonous, it doesn't mean that everyone in this world faces the same reality.

I actually understood this principle when I was fourteen, however...

I had a dream.

It was a dream I had not long before awakening my superpower. Of all the dreams I had from childhood to adulthood, this one was not special. I dreamed I was standing in a long corridor, with gray concrete walls on all sides.

It looked like the corridor of an abandoned building, without even light bulbs. Yet, like a character in a horror game, I could inexplicably see the area around me. Only nearby; further away was darkness, like the maw of an abyss in front and behind the corridor.

A vague premonition arose in my heart, and I walked forward. Before long, I found an iron door next to the corridor. Opening it, I found an empty room inside. In the center of the room was a set of wooden table and chairs. The chair was facing the door, and a person was sitting on it.

Perhaps because it was a dream, I could not describe the person's specific appearance or clothing, only that it was a man. Upon seeing him, my premonition grew stronger. This strange person could fulfill my wishes.

--Do you want power?

The strange person asked me.

--Power?

I retorted.

--Yes, power.

--The power you've always dreamed of, the power of fantasy, the power that matches the adventures beyond reality in your heart.

The strange person tempted me like a devil.

I wish I could have firmly refused him. Because I had already seen clearly that adventures beyond reality do not need to be pursued in dreams.

The real world has its own wonders. I only need to abandon illusions, recognize reality, and strive to reach that place.

However, at that time, I must not have been strong enough...

More than four years later, I had this dream again, and came to that dark, dilapidated corridor.

I could recognize that it was a dream I had before, and I could even recall all the details of my last conversation with the strange person with perfect clarity. This time, there was no mysterious premonition to guide me. Relying on my own memory, I walked down the corridor and soon found the iron door from before, and then opened it.

Inside the room, the wooden table and chairs from back then were placed alone. However, the strange person was no longer there.

I entered the room and casually closed the iron door, then sat down at the wooden table and chairs, idly observing my surroundings.

A moment later, footsteps were heard from outside the door, approaching from afar.

Someone opened the door and walked in.

It was a boy about fourteen years old, with a face both familiar and strange to me. His eyes were wary, his movements tense, exuding an aura of rejection towards others.

He was me, another me, the me who had not yet grown up.

His gaze focused on me, as if silently urging me to introduce myself quickly.

I did not introduce myself. Instead, I recalled my conversation with the strange person back then and posed the question.

"--Do you want power?"

"Power?" he retorted.

"Yes, power..." I deliberately used a seductive tone, "The power you've always dreamed of, the power of fantasy, the power that matches the adventures beyond reality in your heart..."

Hearing this, he fell silent, seemingly caught in an internal struggle.

I stopped speaking, silently awaiting his answer, hoping he would give a different answer this time.

However, this time, I did not receive his answer.

In this enclosed room, for some reason, a hazy mist appeared.

The mist quickly became so dense that it was impossible to see the scene, and I could no longer see the familiar yet strange boy, nor even my own body.

My vision gradually darkened within layers of swirling mist.

Until I opened my eyes, awakening from a dream.

-

One day had passed since the true Fallen Demon Hunter—Agent Kong—died.

Fighting with Agent Kong towards the end, though I didn't know why he suddenly roared in despair, "Impossible, I don't admit it," he had finally used a unique move. On impulse, I couldn't help but counter with a rather powerful move myself.

When I say "move," I don't really have any special techniques for using my power. It's just concentrating a lot of flames together and blasting them out. The result was that I accidentally split the unfinished building in half, and the shockwave that spread out seemed to shatter the windows of nearby buildings.

Such a massive commotion naturally attracted Zhu Shi, who was still dealing with the Fifteenth Floor rooms in the distance.

I could only tell her the news of Agent Kong's death and collect most of the scattered, shattered corpses from the explosion. Fortunately, the residual heat from my flames was still present, making them not too difficult to find. Actually, this shouldn't have been caused by my attack; I deliberately held back against him, and who could have predicted that after being sent flying backward, he would self-destruct in mid-air? The whole thing was baffling from start to finish.

Self-destruction aside, his remains actually reverted to human form. This made it look as if I, out of control, had murdered the innocent Agent Kong. I didn't even know how to explain this to Zhu Shi at first, so I just told her the truth.

Fortunately, Zhu Shi didn't suspect me. She carefully examined the fragments of Agent Kong's remains, and her focused gaze reminded me of the last time she determined that my superpower didn't originate from demonic bloodlines. After a while, she seemed to reach a conclusion, admitting that Agent Kong was indeed a Fallen Demon Hunter. Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief.

However, she reacted with a look of almost incomprehensible shock to the other parts of my story.

"So... you personally split this building in half. You can turn your body into flames, and even if your head is blown off, nothing happens. Even if Agent Kong ambushed you from behind, you were completely unharmed..."

"That's right," I nodded. "Can I join Luoshan now?"