Secret Sea Warrior

Feelings truly were impossible to fathom.

They could be so faint as to seem unbelievable, or they could touch the soul so deeply that tears welled up in one's eyes.

The story of Thousand Shadow White Dragon was recorded by many and spread at an astonishing speed.

What spread just as quickly was Zhuang Hong's feat of taming Thousand Shadow White Dragon.

After being embellished layer upon layer, these accounts bore almost no resemblance to what had actually happened. They became: Heaven Treasury Warrior "God's Claw Zhuang Hong" battled the "Invincible Divine Beast Thousand Shadow White Dragon" for three days and three nights, stirring the winds and clouds and shattering heaven and earth. In the end, he struck the back of Thousand Shadow White Dragon's neck with the divine skill God's Claw, successfully subduing it.

Little books such as "Number One Expert Under Heaven Zhuang Hong Battles the Divine Beast Thousand Shadow White Dragon," "The Legend of Zhuang Hong," and "Man-Beast Battle" began appearing in cities everywhere and became immensely popular.

Zhuang Hong also became known to countless people and was bestowed the title of Number One Expert Under Heaven.

Naturally, many refused to accept it. Drawn by his reputation, they came to challenge Zhuang Hong, hoping to claim the title of Number One Under Heaven for themselves.

Unfortunately, Zhuang Hong kept a low profile. Most people could not even find out where he was, and only a very few knew that a small white puppy followed at his side.

"Multiple sources have confirmed that a warrior named Zhuang Hong truly did capture the incomparably powerful Thousand Shadow White Dragon."

"It is said that even Phantom Hand You Baojiang could do nothing against Thousand Shadow White Dragon. This shows just how terrifying Hand of God Zhuang Hong's strength must be. He may very well have reached the legendary realm—the Heaven Treasury Warrior."

"How many years has it been since a Heaven Treasury Warrior appeared? That is a realm comparable to the gods."

"Pah. They say Hand of God Zhuang Hong is merely a young man in his early twenties. He probably has not trained for more than a few years. How could he possibly be a Heaven Treasury Warrior, much less deserve the title of Number One Expert Under Heaven?"

"I hear many people have already set out to find Zhuang Hong and challenge him. We need only wait a while to learn the truth."

You Baojiang was walking through a pavilion corridor when he suddenly saw a sword-bearing man leaning against a pillar at the far end, waiting for him. He immediately stopped. "Spring Light Sword Zhu Tianming?"

Spring Light Sword Zhu Tianming was, like You Baojiang, one of the Anlan Ten Great Experts. He ranked only two places below You Baojiang. If they truly fought, You Baojiang was not absolutely certain he could defeat him.

Moreover, Zhu Tianming was famous for seeking out challengers. Running into him now left You Baojiang feeling deeply unlucky.

Zhu Tianming brushed aside the bangs by his face and said softly, "Phantom Hand You Baojiang, don't worry. I'm not here to challenge you, because I have found a better choice. I merely came to ask you about something."

You Baojiang smiled. "Hand of God Zhuang Hong?"

Zhu Tianming said, "That's right. I heard you've met him."

You Baojiang burst into laughter. "Challenge Zhuang Hong? Give it up. You are no match for him. Not just you and me—even if all of us so-called Anlan Ten Great Experts joined forces, we still would not be his match."

Zhu Tianming asked, "He is a Heaven Treasury Warrior?"

You Baojiang shook his head. "No. You'll understand if you ever truly meet him. His strength is beyond comparison with us mortals. Also, a little white dog follows behind him. Ask around carefully, and you will find out where he is headed."

"Us mortals?" Zhu Tianming smiled faintly. His figure flashed, and he vanished into the corridor.

Xiang Dongping, dressed in a green robe, entered an imperial palace. When he saw a man frowning as he reviewed documents, he happily called out, "Second Brother!"

The Second Prince smiled. "Tenth Brother, you're back. I heard you went to Luo Family Village. How was it? Did you see the legendary Thousand Shadow White Dragon?"

Xiang Dongping laughed and recounted everything that had happened along the way. A look of fascination appeared on the Second Prince's face. "Who would have thought that the famed Thousand Shadow White Dragon was actually a puppy? As expected, neither documents nor rumors can be trusted. One must see things with one's own eyes. And as for Zhuang Hong, he truly is an extraordinary man. I simply do not know how strong he is."

He then asked, "Did Zhuang Hong show any interest in serving in my palace?"

Xiang Dongping shook his head. "I asked him, but he has grown accustomed to a carefree life and has no desire to become an official."

The Second Prince sighed.

Xiang Dongping asked, "Ever since I came in, I've seen you frowning, Second Brother. Have you encountered some difficult problem?"

The Second Prince said, "The border has sent back the latest news. The Arctic Trolls have mobilized their entire army and marched south. North Border City and Sand Gazing City have fallen in succession, and the tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in those two cities were brutally slaughtered..."

Xiang Dongping's eyes suddenly widened. "When did this happen?"

"The news only reached me this morning. Judging by the distance, it must have happened five days ago. Father will surely summon us to the palace within the next two days. You'll know then.

"The trolls marching south is not cause for concern. What we feared was that they would remain entrenched in the Arctic and refuse to emerge. Their entire race marching south this time means they must have encountered some calamity in the Arctic. We can take this opportunity to wipe out the troll race in one stroke. But there is one troublesome matter. It is said that the troll chief Ge Mu's martial prowess has advanced greatly. The scouts suspect that he has already broken through into the legendary realm of the Heaven Treasury Warrior.

"If that is true, a group of trolls led by a Heaven Treasury Warrior will not be easy to handle."

Xiang Dongping's expression turned exceptionally grim. "The troll chief Ge Mu has broken through to become a Heaven Treasury Warrior?"

While everyone was discussing him, Zhuang Hong was sitting cross-legged on a bed with his eyes closed, cultivating as a warrior and attempting to open the human body's first secret treasure—Secret Sea.

The martial philosophy of this world held that every person contained boundless vitality. From the moment one was born, through adulthood, and into old age, the body's vitality was constantly being released until one grew old and died.

Once that vitality was exhausted, the physical body would die completely.

This process had been designed into humans from the moment of their birth. Without unforeseen circumstances, a person would begin as an infant and, following the predetermined process, slowly release vitality, grow taller, grow up, grow stronger, then begin to age until death.

Warriors were those who relied on their own wisdom and willpower to break the body's preset program. After reaching the age of sixteen, they could use special methods to alter the process by which vitality was released, gaining power that surpassed ordinary people.

This power was known as secret treasures.

The three Great Secret Treasures currently known were Secret Sea, Secret Awareness, and Sky Bridge. They were locked behind innate barriers known as Heaven Locks, and each was more difficult to open than the last.

Once one broke open a Heaven Lock and unlocked a secret treasure, it was equivalent to opening the treasury of the body's vitality and gaining the right to regulate it.

Put simply, it changed the body's vitality-release "program" from automatic to manual.

This had three benefits. First, one gained powerful strength that could be freely allocated. Second, one could control one's own direction of growth. Third, one could avoid the enormous waste that occurred during the release of vitality, thus gaining a longer life.

For many warriors, the third point was the most important. In their view, after the age of sixteen, only a tiny portion of the automatically released vitality was used to sustain life and bodily growth. The overwhelming majority was wasted.

Thus, warriors who unlocked secret treasures not only gained greater strength, but also possessed much longer lifespans than ordinary people.

However, unlocking a secret treasure and becoming a warrior was not easy. One had to undergo special consciousness training and actively stimulate ten corresponding locations within the internal organs, opening all ten Heaven Locks at once.

Even with decent talent, accomplishing this usually required at least two years of consciousness training.

But for Zhuang Hong, once he had grasped the method of unlocking secret treasures, there was no subjective difficulty involved.

Under Dimensional Sight, every minute structure of his body was laid bare before his eyes.

Following the method of the Shadow God Art, Zhuang Hong gradually adjusted his mental state and began stimulating the ten special locations.

The process was incredibly strange, as though ten pimples had grown inside his body and itched unbearably, while he scratched them with his mind...

The more he scratched, the itchier they became. The itchier they became, the more he scratched.

After an unknown amount of time, the ten locations seemed to connect into one.

In the next instant, an incomparably comfortable feeling swept through his entire body. It was like finally scratching an itch properly, like a clogged pipe suddenly clearing, like a cement plug blocking his nose abruptly coming loose.

Zhuang Hong then entered an extraordinarily wondrous state.

He seemed to see another world within his body, one brimming with life. His internal organs were interconnected, constantly radiating vigorous energy that flowed through unique channels to every corner of his body. A tiny portion was absorbed by his body, another trace merged into the blue Source Power Orb, while the vast majority overflowed from his body and dispersed with the wind.

At that moment, Zhuang Hong had a feeling. I can control this energy.

So this is Secret Sea!

Meanwhile, Thousand Shadow White Dragon, who had originally been crouching nearby and preparing to launch a White Dragon Assault at Zhuang Hong, was greatly startled when it sensed his change. It immediately turned its head and pretended to scratch its chin with a hind leg, then secretly observed Zhuang Hong.

"Woof?"