Essence, Qi, and Spirit

After locking the door, taking the elevator downstairs, and stepping out of the building, Chen Wu finally came into real contact with this world.

The house he lived in now had been bought in Jincheng after his mother was transferred for work years ago and sold their old home back in their hometown.

When they bought it, the surrounding area had been nothing but clusters of old two- and three-story residential houses.

Because it stood by the Yellow River and beside a main road with convenient transportation, they had decided to buy it.

Who would have thought that, after only a few years...

The surrounding two- and three-story houses had all been demolished under the city government's direction, and several residential complexes had sprung up in their place.

Besides the original bus stop, a subway station had also been built nearby.

The developers had spotted the area's dense population and built two large shopping malls nearby. Supermarkets, amusement parks, martial arts schools, and other entertainment and living facilities were all available.

The residential complex had a fairly elegant environment, with its greenery coverage remaining above 40% year-round.

The buildings encircled the area, with a large garden in the middle. There were tennis courts, basketball courts, an activity center for the elderly, and all sorts of other facilities.

While Chen Wu was still in the complex, he saw quite a few elderly people rotating iron balls the size of human heads with their arms. Judging by the ferocious wind-whistling force of their movements, there was no need to ask—they were practicing martial arts.

After crossing the street, he entered the shopping mall. All along the way, he saw slogans related to martial arts.

"Preparing for the Qingwu Exam—helping you win at the starting line."

"Jinlai Martial Arts School is your best choice."

"Shuxiang Qi-Congealing Pills—one pill is stronger than six."

Looking at those strangely familiar advertising slogans, Chen Wu could not help sighing. No matter what world it was, the pressure of the college entrance exam was always there.

Inside the mall, the atmosphere was even more alive and bustling.

"Massive supermarket sale! Massive supermarket sale! Freshly arrived Level-One ferocious beast meat—180 Red Coins for three jin! 180 Red Coins for three jin! First come, first served! First come, first served!"

"The roast duck used by our restaurant is made from Level-One ferocious beast Lion-Head Duck, marinated in eighteen kinds of Chinese herbs and paired with a secret sauce—better suited to martial artists' tastes."

Seeing the dazzling array of snacks, Chen Wu, a food lover, wanted to try every one of them.

However, he had not forgotten the real reason he had come.

He took the direct elevator to the fifth floor of the mall. The moment he stepped out, he found himself before a martial arts school.

It was a four-thousand-square-meter martial arts school called "Zhiyuan."

In Red Continent, to qualify to establish one, there had to be a veteran Rank-Eight martial artist in charge, along with a teaching qualification certificate, before a martial arts school could open.

After turning down the enthusiastic front-desk girl's inquiry about signing up for a membership card, Chen Wu scanned his phone to pay a 200 Red Coin deposit and a 30 Red Coin daily usage fee.

Speaking of which, smartphones had already seen widespread use back in the 1990s. By Chen Wu's time, everyone owned several.

They were thin, transparent rectangular slabs less than a centimeter thick. They could be folded and rolled at will for easy carrying, and charged through kinetic energy—the jostling from walking and running—as well as solar power.

After receiving a randomly generated information code, Chen Wu was led to a room with the words "Training Room" written on the door.

As the name implied, training rooms were places specifically for aspiring martial artists to practice martial arts. Their soundproofing and privacy were both excellent.

This was where the nation's Seedling Program had to be mentioned.

It was a policy proposed by the Red Continent government five years ago, aimed at safeguarding aspiring martial artists and promoting social fairness.

Specifically, large numbers of basic facilities such as training rooms were built throughout towns, counties, and cities for aspiring martial artists and martial artists to cultivate in, strengthening the roots and solidifying the foundation while promoting the flourishing development of martial arts among the entire population.

The government had even imposed a hard requirement: on average, one training room had to be available for every three aspiring martial artists.

With the support of this policy, martial arts schools everywhere had voluntarily built such functional rooms in pursuit of government subsidies.

Driven by the Republic, Red Continent had reached the point where there was one training room for every two aspiring martial artists, far exceeding national expectations.

Suna Continent had an even higher ratio, an astonishing one training room for every 1.5 aspiring martial artists.

That was because the previous ferocious beast chaos had created vast uninhabited zones. Of the more than one hundred million people living there, nearly all had been resettled through state-led migration projects, so the infrastructure naturally had to keep pace.

Chen Wu placed the information code on his phone against the electronic lock outside the training room and scanned it. With a click, the door unlocked automatically.

For temporary rentals like his, it was usually one code per person, randomly generated and invalid once expired.

The membership cards introduced by the front-desk girl, on the other hand, were fixed.

Chen Wu pushed open the door and entered. It was a forty-square-meter room. On one side stood training equipment such as wooden dummies, iron balls, and iron rings, while the other side held every kind of weapon imaginable—sabers, spears, swords, halberds, and more.

The room's walls, floor, and ceiling were all built from special materials capable of withstanding the attacks of a Rank-Eight martial artist.

For the time being, though, he had no use for any of those things.

Chen Wu's body shook, and a figure emerged from within him.

The figure solidified from illusion into reality. A red-haired secondary body with an identical appearance to Chen Wu appeared in the room—Zhu Wu.

The moment Zhu Wu appeared, he immediately turned his back to Chen Wu, clasped his hands behind him, struck a pose of unclear significance, and recited a short poem.

"The ways of the world twist and warp; heroes laugh. Ask not why—the path to save the world: blade, blade, blade!"

When Chen Wu looked closer, he discovered that Zhu Wu's other hand had somehow snagged a saber from the weapon rack.

Under the lights, the blade gleamed with cold radiance.

"When your eyes gaze upon my blade, its light has already bloomed a brilliant flower in your heart."

Chen Wu looked at his secondary body with a face full of black lines. "What are you doing?"

That was right—this man was the secondary body of his dual bodies after he awakened the Holy Demon Embryo.

The secondary body rebuked him. "Insolence! I am Silver Sovereign Zhu Wu, the man who will become a Rank-One martial artist in the future."

"Fine, Zhu Wu. Got it, Zhu Wu. Are you going to practice martial arts or not?"

"Of course, main body."

The secondary body called "Zhu Wu" immediately tossed away the saber and ran eagerly to Chen Wu, rubbing his hands together as he asked, "Which one do we start with?"

Chen Wu took a deep breath and comforted himself. This isn't me. It's the secondary body. He must have inherited the founder's bad personality when the Holy Demon Embryo awakened.

After calming himself down, Chen Wu began assigning tasks. "You practice Eight Extremes Fist; I'll practice Primordial Palm. Half an hour from now, we'll spar and build up some combat experience."

The secondary body nodded. "All right."

After assigning their tasks, Chen Wu and his secondary body began practicing their respective martial skills.

The moment he began Primordial Palm, Chen Wu's mind immediately immersed itself in the art.

After completing one set of palm techniques, the Holy Demon Embryo displayed its extraordinary ability again, automatically absorbing spiritual energy from all directions to nourish his body.

The muscles across Chen Wu's body trembled, and his bones quaked. His vital energy coursed through his limbs and hundred bones, smooth and unimpeded.

As the tremors aligned with some hidden rhythm, waves of tiger roars and dragon chants issued from Chen Wu's body.

It was precisely: "Tiger and leopard thunder sounds, sinews and bones ringing in unison."