Chapter 4

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

When Wong Xu woke up the next day, he looked at the white ceiling and heaved a long sigh.

At least he didn’t die at the hands of that damn Double Scythe Beast.

“Xu, you’re awake?” A familiar voice came. The joy in her tone was shown in her words and on her face.

“Mom.” Wang Xu’s eyes turned red right away.

The woman in front of him, whose hair was half gray and whose face was full of wrinkles at the age of forty, was his mother, Lin Hui.

His mother reached her hand out and caressed Wang Xu’s face. Tears kept streaming down her face uncontrollably. Feeling the concern in his mother’s eyes and the calluses that had grown on her hand over the years, a lump came into Wang Xu’s throat and tears welled in his eyes.

“Alright, it’s good as long as Xu is fine. Don’t cry. It’s annoying.” Wang Zhenguo, his father, said with a straight face.

Even though his father didn’t admit it, he was soft-hearted. He only shook the long cigarette ash off from his hand when he saw that Wang Xu was alright.

“Wang Xu, you scared me to death. Don’t do such risky things again.” Li Lian was also beside him. When he saw Wang Xu wake up, he heaved a sigh of relief and said worriedly.

Wang Xu smiled. “It’s alright, I’m very lucky. I won’t die.”

The few of them chatted happily. After a while, the nurse came and asked them to let the patient rest. Wang Xu’s parents and Li Lian finally left then.

“Phew…” Wang Xu let out a long sigh and touched his abdomen. The wound that was cut open by the Double Scythe Beast had already healed and scabbed over. Medical technology nowadays was very advanced. As long as he still had one breath left, he could be cured. It was just that the price he had to pay was much higher.

Then, Wang Xu took out a history book from the books his parents brought and started reading it…

In 2050, during the harmonious period, the world was peaceful. Until December 31st, the insect army suddenly came and broke the silence of the world!

The insects slaughtered humans and fed on humans. They had powerful bodies and strength. Even if bullets hit them, they wouldn’t hurt them at all. Humans were defeated by the insect army and eventually had to use nuclear weapons… But the outcome was the same. There were too many insects. There was no way to kill them all!

In just a few years, the human population had dropped by 80%!

This was an apocalypse, an unprecedented disaster. The extinction of mankind was imminent, and everyone was in danger!

However, a meteorite from outer space completely changed the fate of mankind!

This meteorite contained mysterious cosmic energy, which could easily penetrate insects. The shields made by this cosmic energy couldn’t even be destroyed by the insects!

Finally, humanity welcomed their first victory.

After getting a breather, the humans began to develop the technology in the meteorite, hoping for a new miracle. At this time, the great Dr. Luo Jun developed an epoch-making drug, the gene serum!

The gene serum could completely change the limits of human cells. Originally, humans could only lift things that weighed 100 kilograms, but after injecting the gene serum, they could easily lift things that weighed 300 kilograms, 400 kilograms, or even 1,000 kilograms!

The transformation of strength gave humans the ability to fight against the insects. At the same time, a new group of people was born, the Gene Warriors!

Not only that, there seemed to be no limit to the potential of Gene Warriors. Human beings with great talent successfully broke through to a legendary level through training in Ancient Martial Art. They could annihilate thousands of insects with a raise of their hands. Some could even fly in the air like gods.

As a result, humans began to slowly regain their lost territories and reclaim the land that originally belonged to them. The scattered humans also came together again, and there were no longer countries like in the past.

Following the transformation of strength, the status of humans was also categorized by it.

The more powerful they were, it meant that the more they would be able to contribute to humanity. These people would be given special privileges by the human government, thus creating the “core districts.”

To the ordinary districts, the core district was the “royal family.” One could imagine how luxurious the life they enjoyed was!

Besides, if the people from the core districts killed the people from the ordinary districts, they only needed to compensate their families with some money to settle the matter. However, if the people from the ordinary districts killed the people from the core districts, they would all be quarantined and would disappear mysteriously in the end!

Humans nowadays were already used to this kind of “unfair” phenomenon. Only those who were powerful enough to become gods had the right to talk about “fairness.” As for ordinary people who had no combat power, they were just struggling at death’s door under such unfairness.

“July 4th, 2058, the Battle of Blood. At that time, the energy barrier technology hadn’t been used yet. The third safe zone was broken through by the insects. In the blink of an eye, millions of people died in the insects’ mouths. At the critical moment, ‘Bloody Master’ Lin Yi stepped out of the air and killed the leader of the insects. He slaughtered millions of insects and fought with the insects for three days and three nights. Finally, he used up all his vitality and died from exhaustion! He successfully saved millions of lives.

“March 18th, 2061, the Battle of Death. The insect army attacked the energy barrier and a connate insect appeared. The second safe zone was in danger. Dozens of connate martial artists were dispatched in that battle. After exhausting their lives, they finally killed the connate insect and saved millions of humans in the safe zone. Dozens of connate martial artists also sacrificed their precious lives. The power of the entire human race was weakened by nearly half. All humans mourned for the dead heroes.

“May 4th, 2067, the Battle of Destruction…”

As Wang Xu read, he couldn’t help but read it out loud. He silently closed the book. He could imagine in his mind the scene of human powerhouses fighting a battle to protect mankind in that era and wouldn’t give up even if they had to sacrifice their last drop of blood.

It was because of the sacrifices of that generation of people that they had this short period of peace.

…

Three days later, Wang Xu left the hospital after receiving the discharge certificate and went to the Ancient Martial Arts Hall.

The Ancient Martial Arts Hall was used for exchanges of “Ancient Martial Arts.”

Ancient Martial Arts, as the name implied, were martial arts passed down from ancient times.

After the gene serum revealed the potential of humans, the Gene Warriors released great power and were able to fight the insects head-on. However, some people found that Ancient Martial Arts allowed them to unleash their full potential, and it was effortless for them to face the insects again.

This discovery shocked the entire human world. All the Gene Warriors began to practice Ancient Martial Arts, creating a frenzy. The Ancient Martial Arts Hall was also built during the tide.

Looking from afar, the Ancient Martial Arts Hall was like a huge spaceship entrenched on the ground. It was suffused with a silver-white glow. Looking at it inadvertently, one would notice a layer of faint green shield around it. That was an energy shield.

“Coach Wang!”

“Brother Wang!”

“Madman!”

As soon as Wang Xu entered the hall, someone greeted him enthusiastically. The attentive ones would notice that there was a medal with one star hanging on their chests, shining brightly.

The number of stars on the medal represented the status of these people, one-star coaches.

Coaches were used to guide Gene Warriors who were confused about their cultivation. They were like the masters who passed on their own experience in ancient times. It would also be much easier for future generations to learn.

At the same time, in order to prevent people from all over the world from coming to pretend to be a coach, the Ancient Martial Arts Hall had specially prepared an assessment. Only those who were relatively strong could pass the assessment and be given the title of coach by the Ancient Martial Arts Hall.

Wang Xu was one of them.

The minimum requirement for a one-star coach was a level-four Gene Warrior. Wang Xu was only a level-three Gene Warrior. However, since he had reached the third level of “Basic Body,” the Ancient Martial Arts Hall also gave him the title of one-star coach.

Only with this title could Wang Xu earn money to buy cultivation resources and provide for his family.

Wang Xu knew that he was severely injured this time and almost lost his life to the Double Scythe Beast. The price of treatment in the hospital would certainly be expensive as well. He might have already emptied his family’s savings.

Although his parents didn’t say anything, it didn’t mean that Wang Xu didn’t know. Wang Xu wasn’t a talkative person. Since his family’s finances were tight, he had to work hard to earn money.

The one-star coach’s salary was very high, which was 1,000 Earth Coins per hour. To Wang Xu, working three hours a day was already enough to support his family. He could even buy some cultivation resources with the extra money.

“Coach, I always feel like I can’t control my strength. I still can’t fully unleash the ultimate power of ‘Black Tiger Punch.’ What should I do?”

Wang Xu was teaching a young man named “Han Xin.” His father was a company’s CEO and he came from a wealthy family. Han Xin didn’t have any cultivation talent, but he had a love for martial arts and he wanted to take the path of martial arts. His father couldn’t persuade him, so he could only ask Wang Xu to teach him.

The first time they met, they saw that Wang Xu was only a level-three gene warrior and they couldn’t help but frown. Han Xin even wanted to apply to replace him at the Ancient Martial Arts Hall, but under Wang Xu’s guidance, Han Xin had crossed the threshold of “Basic Body” and reached the first level in just one day, which shocked them.

When they found out that Wang Xu had reached the third level of “Basic Body,” their jaws dropped. They couldn’t help but think of one word, genius!

It wasn’t a big deal for someone to become a level-three Gene Warrior at the age of 18. However, to be able to reach the third level of “Basic Body” meant that he wasn’t an ordinary person. Even for level-four and level-five Gene Warriors, very few could reach the third level of “Basic Body.”

After reaching the third level of “Basic Body,” his body was already as hard as steel. Ordinary bullets wouldn’t be able to penetrate it and he could shatter rocks with his bare hands!

When Wang Xu faced the level-four Double Scythe Beast, if it weren’t that he had reached the third level of “Basic Body,” he would have been split in half with just one slash from the Double Scythe Beast.

“If you want to understand ‘Black Tiger Punch,’ you have to understand Ancient Martial Arts first. Tell me what you know about Ancient Martial Arts.” Wang Xu said with his hands behind his back.

“I’ve looked it up on the Internet. Ancient Martial Arts are martial arts of the ancient times, but because of the need, Ancient Martial Arts are divided into levels, low, medium, high and supreme. The higher the level of Ancient Martial Arts, the more powerful they are. At the same time, the need for cultivation also increases.

“There are many types of Ancient Martial Arts. There are fist arts, palm arts, leg arts, finger arts, knife arts, sword arts, and so on. The ‘Black Tiger Punch’ that I’m cultivating is a low-level fist art. It emphasizes the burst and control of strength. It can be used to make a deadly attack on the enemy like a black tiger.”

Han Xin recited the meaning of Ancient Martial Arts as described on the Internet and analyzed the characteristics of Ancient Martial Arts he practiced.

“You’re only talking about the surface of Ancient Martial Arts. The true power of Ancient Martial Arts is actually not the so-called strength, but the mind.”

Wang Xu pointed at his heart. “It’s not that your ‘Black Tiger Punch’ can’t unleash its maximum power, but that your heart has yet to exert its strength. Once your heart is completely released, you will naturally be able to unleash the ultimate power of ‘Black Tiger Punch.'”

“Release my heart?” Han Xin had never heard such a theory before.

“It’s useless to lower your head and ponder over it. Go and hunt some insects. You will understand what it means to release your heart soon,” said Wang Xu.

Han Xin didn’t know how to release his heart, but after hearing what Wang Xu asked, he didn’t dare to wait and he quickly said, “Yes, Coach.”

…

Three hours later, Wang Xu looked at the departing Han Xin far away and mumbled, “I hope you can really release your heart.”

Releasing one’s heart was easy to say, but one’s heart would only be released after experiencing life-and-death situations where one was at death’s door. Only after experiencing it did Wang Xu understand. As for Han Xin, he had never had any actual combat experiences before. The insects would probably not release his heart, but give him an eternal psychological trauma.