Special Constitution

After learning that Dancer was the Grand Elder of the Eternal Prosperity Gate, Zhuang Hong left with her.

Since a sect elder knew him, everything would be easier to discuss.

As for the "news" Dancer mentioned, Zhuang Hong did not ask about it, though he could roughly guess that it was definitely a misunderstanding.

After Zhuang Hong and Dancer left, the registrar and Yu Fangchun stared at each other.

The registrar carefully asked, "That person... was really Hand of God—Zhuang Hong?"

"Probably!" Yu Fangchun was actually even more bewildered than he was. He had always thought Zhuang Hong was merely a student with the same name. Who would have thought he was the real one...

Shock, confusion, secret delight, bewilderment—countless emotions tangled together, leaving his mind in a complete mess.

Remembering that Yu Fangchun had arrived with Zhuang Hong, the registrar asked again, "Are you Hand of God—Zhuang Hong's friend?"

"Probably?"

The registrar's gaze toward Yu Fangchun immediately changed.

That was the friend of the Number One Expert Under Heaven. He had to be properly received.

The registrar then looked at the little female dog in Yu Fangchun's arms. "Could this dog... be the sweetheart of Hand of God's little black dog?"

Yu Fangchun said, "This..."

Zhuang Hong followed Dancer into a reception room and sat down.

He did not know why Dancer was being so enthusiastic toward him. Whenever he faced her, he always felt as if he were facing a Void Spirit that wanted to devour him. The hairs all over his body rose slightly, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Facing a Void Spirit was fine; he could simply attack. But faced with Dancer's unprompted enthusiasm, he truly did not know how to handle it.

Once they sat down, Zhuang Hong immediately stated his purpose.

Dancer covered her red lips with one hand and said in surprise, "You said you want to learn martial arts? Aren't you a Heaven Treasury Warrior?"

"Who said I was a Heaven Treasury Warrior? I only opened my Secret Sea not long ago. I only managed to open it successfully under a friend's guidance."

Zhuang Hong took the book Shadow God Art from his backpack and handed it to Dancer. "You Baojiang gave me this martial art manual some time ago, but there are many things in it that I cannot fully understand. That is why I came to the Warrior Holy Land to study. I want to learn systematically and open the remaining two of the Three Great Secret Treasures."

Dancer took the Shadow God Art and casually flipped it open. It truly was the Shadow God Art. After carefully sensing Zhuang Hong's aura, she confirmed that it indeed carried the feeling of a Secret Sea Warrior. She could not help but freeze. "You're telling the truth?"

When she had previously sensed that Zhuang Hong was a Secret Sea Warrior, she had not taken it seriously. After all, many techniques circulated through the martial world for concealing one's aura and hiding one's realm. But now, hearing Zhuang Hong say this and sensing him from such close range, she began to believe him.

Yet this still exceeded Dancer's understanding.

A rookie warrior who had only just opened his Secret Sea had killed Ge Mu, a Heaven Treasury Warrior, amid an army of tens of millions of trolls?

It was unbelievable just thinking about it.

Zhuang Hong nodded. "Absolutely true. My constitution is somewhat special, and it manifests different kinds of power. It looks fairly impressive, but I truly am a novice warrior who only opened his Secret Sea recently. I hope to learn systematic knowledge about warriors. Of course, I will not learn for free. I can exchange the Shadow God Art for it."

Dancer chuckled. "Our Eternal Prosperity Gate already has your Shadow God Art, and ours is more comprehensive and detailed. Don't worry. Since you want to learn, I will teach you. But before that, spar with me."

"Spar?"

Zhuang Hong had fairly extensive combat experience, but his opponents were usually Void Spirits. Once a fight began, he liked to go for the kill. He truly did not know how to engage in the back-and-forth, stop-at-the-point martial contests between warriors.

In that case, he could not be blamed for cheating...

Zhuang Hong and Dancer came to an open area and stood facing each other.

Holding her sword, Dancer saluted him. "Be careful."

With that, she raised her sword and flew toward Zhuang Hong, thrusting diagonally with a strike that seemed both swift and slow.

Yet in the next instant, Zhuang Hong's figure blurred slightly, breaking free of Dancer's qi lock before vanishing.

"Hm?"

Just as she was puzzled, she felt a trace of coldness at the back of her neck, like someone lightly tapping her with a fingertip.

Then Zhuang Hong's calm voice came from behind her. "You lost."

Dancer spun around sharply and indeed saw Zhuang Hong smiling as he slowly withdrew his finger.

"???"

She stood there in a daze, repeatedly replaying what had just happened, yet she still could not understand how she had lost.

Or rather, she could not understand what method Zhuang Hong had used to instantly break free from her lock.

Only then did she finally understand why the troll Ge Mu had been beheaded by Zhuang Hong in an instant.

Zhuang Hong's fighting style simply did not follow convention at all!

"How did you do that?"

Zhuang Hong said, "My constitution is rather special."

Dancer said, "..."

He was clearly brushing her off. How special could a constitution possibly be?

For some reason, a thought surfaced in Dancer's mind: she wondered whether his children would inherit that special constitution.

Thus, Dancer asked somewhat shyly, "Zhuang Hong, what do you think of my appearance? Would you be willing to have children with me? I have waited more than sixty years for a suitable husband, and now I have finally found you. If you are willing, we can marry and consummate our marriage in three days."

Zhuang Hong said, "???"

More than sixty years?

An image of an old granny could not help appearing in Zhuang Hong's mind, and goosebumps rose all over his body.

Dancer continued, "Your complexion is a little poor, as if you have not slept well, but that does not matter. Your appearance, character, courage, strength, and reputation are all worthy of me."

Zhuang Hong instinctively took several steps back and immediately shook his head. "No. My heart already belongs to someone."

Dancer sighed helplessly upon hearing that. "In that case, I can only continue waiting."

Dancer personally taught Zhuang Hong about warriors.

According to her, she intended to use the opportunity to cultivate some affection with Zhuang Hong and see whether she could win him over.

Very soon, Dancer discovered that Zhuang Hong truly knew nothing at all about basic warrior knowledge.

Dancer could not help asking, "Zhuang Hong, if you do not even know these things, how did you open the first Secret Treasure?"

Zhuang Hong coughed lightly. "A friend taught me this way. The results were pretty good—I opened my Secret Sea in one go."

"One dared to teach, and the other dared to practice!"

Dancer could not help covering her forehead. If this man had not been Hand of God—Zhuang Hong, who had slain the troll Ge Mu, she might have simply flicked her sleeve and left.

Dancer brought Zhuang Hong to the Waterside Pavilion by the lake. They sat opposite each other at a stone table. Before long, a maid brought tea and poured them each a cup.

In the blink of an eye, the air was filled with a faint fragrance of tea.

Only then did Dancer slowly say, "Zhuang Hong, do you know the source of our warriors' power?"

Zhuang Hong nodded. "That friend told me before that cultivation means opening the Secret Treasures, then retaining the naturally dissipating life qi and using qi to nourish the body in return, gaining powerful strength."

Dancer nodded. "That is how the vast majority of warriors understand cultivation, but that is only what appears on the surface. In truth, a warrior's power comes from our flesh and blood itself, not from qi. Qi is merely a key used to activate the body."

"A key?"

Zhuang Hong thought of his transformations. It was exactly as Dancer had described.

Dancer nodded. "Everyone knows that opening the Three Great Secret Treasures grants powerful strength, but very few know that the source of that strength is not the Three Great Secret Treasures. Opening them merely gives one three different keys—the 'qi' you mentioned. The function of those three keys is to unlock the shackles of flesh and blood and awaken the dormant power within the human body."

Zhuang Hong came to a realization. "So that's how it is."

That explained how he could transform.

Dancer raised her hand and slowly clenched it into a fist. "On this cruel land, the reason we humans were able to survive, the reason we became the final victors, is because the power contained within us is actually no weaker than that of trolls. It is simply that humans and trolls chose different paths.

"Trolls chose to activate their power naturally. As their bodies grow, they naturally master those three keys. That is why every troll we see is tall, powerful, and incomparably strong.

"But while that path appears powerful, it has one fatal flaw: a short lifespan. Trolls generally live only forty years. Opening their Secret Treasures too early not only fails to prolong their lives, but also drains their vitality and accelerates the aging of their bodies. This is one reason the troll race is not numerous.

"Humans chose the exact opposite. We chose to completely seal away our power, leaving behind only enough strength to survive. This makes each of us extremely weak, but it greatly extends our lifespan. And it was precisely this longer lifespan, compared with trolls, that allowed humanity to achieve final victory in our long struggle against them."

Dancer paused to let Zhuang Hong digest this, then continued, "In other words, we possess power beyond imagination within our bodies. We cannot sense it because it lies dormant. What cultivation does is awaken it."

Zhuang Hong clenched his fist and could not help saying, "Dancer, you are absolutely right. After I opened my Secret Sea and had only just used qi to activate my flesh and blood, I immediately felt surging power boiling within me..."

To his surprise, Dancer frowned. "That is not right. Using qi to activate flesh and blood does not allow you to directly feel power."

Zhuang Hong said, "Huh? It doesn't?"

Dancer said, "Muscle strength does not suddenly become stronger because qi exists. The 'power beyond imagination' I speak of is a transformation, a kind of growth.

"For example, no matter how much food an ordinary person eats, their muscle strength will not noticeably increase, because the human body automatically limits the continued strengthening of muscles and maintains them at a certain level.

"But warriors who have opened Secret Treasures are different. Qi can remove the body's restrictions on muscles and bones, allowing them to continue growing after eating.

"It is like a silkworm becoming a butterfly, an infant growing into an adult, a seed sprouting into a tree, an egg hatching into an eagle...

"Under the stimulation of qi, our muscles and bones gain another opportunity to grow. But if you want to turn that opportunity for growth into strength, you still need to eat!"

Only then did Zhuang Hong truly understand. "So that is how it is. A warrior becomes stronger the more they eat, and strength comes from food."

Only then did Dancer nod. "That's right. Strength comes from food. Martial arts manuals merely control the direction of your growth."