This World Has a Sky Full of Stars

After opening the third Great Secret Treasure, Sky Bridge, Zhuang Hong's body had not undergone any changes, but his perception of it had changed drastically.

He could clearly sense every part and every corner of his body, as though countless spiritual tentacles had grown from his brain and spread into every corner of his body.

Through these extended spiritual tentacles, he could control any part of his body and perform unimaginable movements.

For example, he could precisely control one of the Teres Minor Muscles in his back to contract, control the peristalsis of his stomach and intestines, control his sweat glands to secrete sweat, or make both eyeballs turn outward at once, forming a pair of wall-eyes...

He could even control his heart to shift left or right, avoiding fatal attacks.

Before this, such movements had been utterly impossible for him.

But now, all it took was a single thought.

For no apparent reason, Zhuang Hong understood what the so-called "Sky Bridge" truly was.

Simply put, the "Sky Bridge" was the human body's entire nervous system.

Opening the Sky Bridge meant opening the nervous system that connected the lumbar spine to the entire body.

What Zhuang Hong controlled was not actually his entire body, but his entire nervous system. By controlling the nervous system, he could control every corner of his body.

"No wonder Secret Awareness had to be opened before the Sky Bridge. So that was it."

If he had opened the Sky Bridge without first opening Secret Awareness and strengthening his mental consciousness, his entire body would most likely have gone out of control.

But after opening Secret Awareness, opening the Sky Bridge would not only prevent him from losing control, but would also allow him to completely command his physical body.

"Then, using the Sky Bridge's abilities, can I actively control my transformation forms?"

For no apparent reason, such a thought surfaced in Zhuang Hong's mind.

However, he did not act immediately, nor did he intend to try it lightly. Instead, he temporarily set the thought aside and slowly adapted to his current state.

After two days of adjustment, Zhuang Hong had basically returned to normal and went back to Lake Heart Island to find Dancer.

"Dancer, I've already opened the two Great Secret Treasures, Secret Awareness and Sky Bridge. By all rights, I should count as a Sky Bridge Warrior now. So how should I continue cultivating and break through to become an Earth Treasury Warrior?"

Upon hearing this, Dancer immediately felt dizzy and disoriented, waving her hands again and again. "Wait, what did you say? I didn't hear that clearly."

Zhuang Hong repeated himself.

Dancer gave a dry laugh. "Zhuang Hong, you're joking, right? Wait a moment. Let me sense it myself..."

Then Dancer moved closer to Zhuang Hong, her entire body nearly pressed against his.

Zhuang Hong leaned his head back so far that several layers of chin had practically appeared.

Very soon, Dancer stepped back in a daze. She looked Zhuang Hong up and down, then could not help asking, "You really opened Secret Awareness and Sky Bridge in just two or three days?"

Zhuang Hong said, "Yeah. It wasn't that difficult, was it? Perhaps it had something to do with my special physique. In any case, that isn't the main point. The main point is, how do I continue cultivating and break through to become an Earth Treasury Warrior?"

Dancer's eyes widened slightly.

And that wasn't the main point?

Did he not know that countless people cultivated their entire lives without ever opening Secret Awareness or Secret Sea? Even among the highly gifted Trolls, those with slightly poorer aptitude could only open Secret Sea.

Even exceptionally talented warriors needed at least five or six years to open each Secret Treasury.

And a heaven-blessed genius like her had spent a full three years opening Secret Awareness, while opening Sky Bridge had taken five bitter years...

At that moment, she felt an indescribable desolation in her heart. Sure enough, people were different from one another.

Someone who could easily kill the Troll Ge Mu was bound to be anything but ordinary.

Dancer could not help saying again, "Zhuang Hong, think it over once more. Have children with me! If you agree, I don't mind if you have other sweethearts."

Dancer's abrupt turn nearly made Zhuang Hong choke.

He waved his hands repeatedly. "Cough, we're not suitable for each other. Let's not talk about that for now. Let's discuss how to advance to an Earth Treasury Warrior first!"

Dancer sighed resentfully and slowly said, "There are two requirements, and two steps, to advance to an Earth Treasury Warrior. First, use qi to strengthen your flesh, blood, and bones to the utmost limit. Second, merge the Three Great Secret Treasures into one. Advancing to an Earth Treasury Warrior is not necessarily better the faster it is done. The stronger your physical body has been strengthened and the more qi you have accumulated, the stronger you will be after advancing to an Earth Treasury Warrior."

"How do I merge the Three Great Secret Treasures into one?"

"Guide the qi mass in Secret Sea upward along the Sky Bridge and merge it into the Divine Lamp of Secret Awareness, forging a spark of Divine Light. Once you successfully forge a spark of Divine Light, your entire being will undergo a qualitative transformation. At that time, you will be able to clearly perceive yourself and sense the pulse of heaven, earth, and all things. If you cultivate deeply enough, you can even borrow the power of heaven and earth. Such a realm is called Earth Treasury. Only those known as Earth Treasury Warriors can be considered true powerhouses. Below Earth Treasury, all are merely mortals."

Zhuang Hong looked at the dazzling sun within his consciousness and asked curiously, "What does this so-called spark of Divine Light look like?"

Dancer said, "After opening Secret Awareness, a faint light will be born in the Sea of Consciousness. That is the Divine Lamp. If the Divine Lamp is regarded as a tiny flame, then a spark of Divine Light is a dazzling shooting star in the night sky."

"So that was it."

Zhuang Hong nodded first, then thought to himself, My little flame is rather dazzling, though.

After hearing Dancer out, he felt immense admiration for the humans and Trolls of this world.

The path of Martial Dao that had arisen in this world relied entirely on the power of the physical body, excavating the potential of the human form.

Warriors did not possess special energy like Source Power within their bodies for them to wield.

Yet even so, the warriors had pushed Martial Dao to an extraordinarily high realm, already reaching the point where they could touch nature itself.

If Earth Treasury Warriors were already like this, then what about Heaven Treasury Warriors?

For no apparent reason, Zhuang Hong thought of the Troll Ge Mu. If he had known, he should have captured him alive and forced out the secrets of Heaven Treasury Warriors.

But it was too late to say anything now.

Zhuang Hong cleared away the chaotic thoughts in his mind and asked Dancer many more details about Earth Treasury Warriors. Only when night was about to fall did he bid her farewell and leave.

Zhuang Hong was in no hurry regarding his breakthrough to Earth Treasury Warrior.

He intended to do as Dancer had said: strengthen his body further, accumulate more qi masses, and only then attempt a breakthrough to forge a spark of Divine Light.

What exactly was a spark of Divine Light? How could it allow one to clearly perceive oneself and sense heaven and earth?

Zhuang Hong did not yet know. He only knew that it was bound to be something exceedingly miraculous.

He had a feeling that once he forged a spark of Divine Light, he would undergo earth-shaking changes. Perhaps that spark would become the foundation upon which he could roam the endless void freely.

After parting with Dancer, Zhuang Hong did not leave Lake Heart Island. Instead, he took a small boat into the lake, lay down inside it, and quietly gazed up at the sky full of stars.

This world also had a sky full of stars!

Every world Zhuang Hong had passed through possessed a starry sky. It often made him think that he was actually still on Earth, that he had never crossed space and never arrived in another world wholly different from Earth...

As Zhuang Hong gazed at the stars, he could not help wondering what this starry universe was truly like.

Could Earth be somewhere within this very sky?

Could traveling through space be nothing more than an illusion?

Would he have a chance someday to fly into space and roam the universe?

And why, exactly, had he become an "Aberrant Cancer" capable of traveling through space at will?

Unfortunately, none of these questions had answers, nor could anyone give him a definite answer.

If he wanted to know, he would have to explore them himself.

Zhuang Hong could not help reaching toward the sky full of stars and murmured, "I really want to know all this. If I keep traveling and keep growing stronger, will I find the answers?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhuang Hong shook his head to himself. "No. Simply becoming stronger won't do. A powerful beast is still only a beast. Even if the truth of the world were placed before it, it could not understand it, just as a dog cannot understand wisdom."

"Woof?"

Xiao Bai, who was lying nearby, could not help lifting its head to look at Zhuang Hong. Seeing that Zhuang Hong ignored it, it lay back down and continued sleeping.

For no apparent reason, Zhuang Hong had a feeling. "Perhaps the road I've walked these past years has been crooked!"

Over the past few years, Zhuang Hong had wandered through various spaces and worlds mainly to evade attacks from Void Spirits, search for Other Selves in different dimensions to devour and strengthen himself, seek new abilities that would let him sleep peacefully, and listen to other people's stories...

Yet he had never spent time properly learning all kinds of knowledge.

If he did not study and enrich his mind, then even if he obtained more and stronger power by devouring Void Spirits, it would all come to nothing in the end.

Without sufficient knowledge to support it, tremendous power would either fail to be used or spiral out of control.

Just like a beast with nothing but a powerful body, capable only of using it by instinct.

Once it encountered an enemy with greater intelligence, the only possible outcome would be destruction.

Just as Zhuang Hong had experienced in the Golden Cloud World.

He had never imagined that the power he gained after devouring this world's Other Self would not be stronger than the power he had gained through learning Martial Dao.

"If I had not opened the Secret Treasures, I would never have known that such immense power was hidden within my body. In other words, without the knowledge of Martial Dao, that hidden power would have gone out of control!"

Zhuang Hong let out a long breath, and the hand reaching toward the stars slowly clenched into a fist.

"Looks like I've reached the age when I need to study."

"For me, the most valuable things in this endless void are probably not Other Selves in different dimensions, nor the omnipresent Void Spirits, but the different knowledge born from different spaces."

At that moment, a decision formed in his heart, and a smile crept onto his lips.

Drowsiness washed over him, and he let out a huge yawn.

Lowering his head, he found that Lord Thousand Shadow White Dragon was sleeping soundly. He reached out and patted its head. "Get up. It's my turn to sleep. Keep watch for me properly for a while."

Xiao Bai jolted awake in fright. "..."