Chapter 4: The World of Qi

For the first time in his life, Shen Shi laid eyes on "talent." Of course, he had heard of such things before, but to actually witness it was a different matter entirely.

The most immediate change after talent entered his mind was that the books the old man had given him became effortless to read. He no longer absorbed knowledge passively with his eyes; instead, he actively drew in that current of talent. As talent entered his Heavenly Pivot, it was like a trickling spring flowing into a parched riverbed. Suddenly, as if struck by some fateful opportunity, Shen Shi’s soul and spirit expanded explosively, hovering above his head and emitting a faint glow that pierced the darkness.

He was not sure what state he was in, only that, in some inexplicable way, he had broken through a certain barrier. A mysterious world, utterly different from the one he knew, opened a door for him.

From initial confusion, he was drawn into a profound and subtle state of being.

The world, as he now saw it, was transformed—a world of energy. The light flickering from the words in his books was the brilliance of talent; green was the energy of grass and trees; earthy brown was the breath of the land... And among all these energies, the golden one, imperishable in nature, was the legendary primordial energy of heaven and earth.

Upon seeing this primordial energy, Shen Shi could not help but take a lick…

The moment that primordial energy entered his body, without conscious effort, he found himself sitting cross-legged, his palms facing the sky. The celestial energy he had ingested ceaselessly nourished his body and soul.

Others might not have noticed any striking change, but Shen Shi was acutely aware. This was enlightenment.

In truth, enlightenment was not unique to the demon clans—the various human schools also possessed their own methods for awakening the mind. Generally, it was a way to train the spirit.

For instance, the supreme power of Righteous Spirit, when fully exerted, was terrifyingly mighty: one shout could frighten away evil spirits; two shouts could obliterate them; three could rout an army of a million!

Just imagining it was enough to send a thrill through his veins.

But with the decline of those ancient schools, such methods had long been lost. Even Zhuge Wolong, it was unknown how he learned his arts. His writings carried his own intent, giving birth to a unique talent.

Having shared a cell with him for so long, Shen Shi had been imperceptibly influenced; the core of his mind was constantly stimulated by that talent, and today, he finally achieved enlightenment.

However, Shen Shi’s enlightenment had little to do with scholarly knowledge; instead, his eyes were opened to the energies of the world. Just as he saw Zhuge Wolong’s name in prison, he hadn’t actually seen the name itself, but rather the talent that represented Zhuge Wolong. To Shen Shi, his talent was like a strand of DNA from the twenty-first century—his unique proof of identity.

What he saw and muttered was no different from before, yet the sensations in his heart had changed. It was as if an ignorant fool had suddenly awakened, glimpsing the vibrant wonder and intricate mysteries of the world.

Since this enlightenment was less about scholarship and more about mysticism, Shen Shi called it the "Eye of the Way."

…

The bright moon hung high in the sky.

A gentle breeze rustled myriad trees; in the mountains and rivers, a beam of spiritual light shot up to the heavens. Had any Daoist seen it, they would surely have come to worship.

Cultivating the Way was no easy feat—even sensing primordial energy stumped countless aspirants. Whether through stillness or movement, swallowing elixirs or practicing myriad techniques, the goal was always to sense the primordial energy of heaven and earth.

But no matter their efforts, the world itself set the limits: the innate and acquired auras of the ancient wilderness had thinned to a mere wisp of primordial energy in every million strands.

Among these myriad energies—those of plants, stone, joy and sorrow—how many could even locate a single thread of primordial energy to absorb and refine? And even if one could sense it, a single misstep might lead them to absorb something else entirely.

But Shen Shi, with eyes that could discern energies, held a unique advantage in this age. Henceforth, with the Eye of the Way, he could observe, absorb, and the world would be forever changed before him!

"No matter what kind of world this is, I'm coming to cultivate immortality. Ha ha ha..."

As a son of China, the allure of immortality was eternally irresistible.

Suddenly, his laughter was cut short, for a wild wolf had silently emerged from the bushes. Across the campfire, its eyes shone with a ghostly phosphorescence, fixed intently on the laughing Shen Shi.

His pupils contracted instantly, and a chilling cold swept through his body; his temperature seemed to plummet to freezing in an instant.

Damn! He’d always heard tales of wild animals roaming everywhere in ancient times, but he hadn’t expected to encounter one so soon.

There was no time to ponder whether the wolf had been drawn by the roasted eggs or the firelight. On instinct, Shen Shi summoned his spirit back to his body, snatched up a half-burned branch, and hurled it at the beast.

Shen Shi was no ordinary man; he came from a martial family, and his physique was hardly weak. What’s more, before crossing over, he’d been renowned as a top brawler in the army—not quite a one-versus-ten, but certainly two or three at a time.

He had already tested this new body and found it little different from his former one—in fact, since it hadn’t been honed by systemic training, its potential surpassed his previous self. Especially after swallowing a mouthful of primordial energy.

A single wolf? Bring it on.

But what happened next defied all logic.

The wolf opened its jaws; the flaming branch was extinguished in an instant. With a single bite, it seized the dry wood, its fangs crushing a limb-thick stick into splinters.

From this bite alone, Shen Shi instantly realized this was no ordinary wolf. At least, he had never before seen a wolf with such terrifying jaw strength.

And that was far from the most frightening thing.

When the wolf lunged at him, Shen Shi dodged, but what he saw left him stunned—the force of the wolf’s pounce whipped up a bloody wind, slicing the grass behind him flat in a single sweep. Several foxtails drifted down through the air.

"What the hell is this?" Shen Shi was dumbfounded, unable to make sense of what he was witnessing.

This was utterly unscientific! Sure, he’d heard that dragons ride the clouds and tigers ride the wind.

But who could tell him why the wind from this wolf was as sharp as a blade?

And wasn’t it supposed to be tigers who ride the wind? Since when could wolves do this too?

The great blue wolf snorted disdainfully, as if mocking Shen Shi’s overconfidence, its gaze as sharp as a hawk's. It scrutinized Shen Shi, as though searching for something.

This creature was nothing like the sluggish, dull animals he’d seen at the zoo not long ago. In the wolf’s eyes gleamed an intelligence that made Shen Shi feel as if he were facing a human rather than a beast.

"Could this thing be the legendary wolf demon?"

Shen Shi’s eyes: "..."