Chapter Twenty-One: Frightened by One’s Own Power

The price of a villa in Starheart Blossom Court was exorbitant, and for good reason. Blue Sky wandered around the house, looking for the spot with the best soundproofing. Although he had managed to stifle his screams during his second attempt in the virtual game, he couldn’t guarantee the same restraint in reality—because it was truly excruciating!

If he failed to hold back, even though the villas of Starheart Blossom Court were spaced far apart, his neighbors would undoubtedly hear his pig-slaughtering wails.

After several rounds of searching, Blue Sky realized that Chen Xiaoxuan’s success was no accident. She had not only renovated the interior of the villa in advance, but had even gone to the trouble of carefully damp-proofing the basement, repainting it, and stocking a few fine bottles of red wine on the wine rack.

Her attention to detail was truly extraordinary.

In the end, Blue Sky chose to lock himself in the basement, ready to begin genuine cultivation.

There was no need to worry about the universal energy being blocked; in fact, universal energy was omnipresent—even the depths of the sea several kilometers below the surface offered no reduction. Ordinary people simply couldn’t perceive it.

“Are you ready?” Bai’s three-dimensional projection asked.

“Uh... I guess I am. In the virtual game, after completing Level 1 Energy Convergence training, my flexibility improved dramatically; I could manage the first pose on my own. But now, back in reality...” Blue Sky moved his stiff limbs and smiled ruefully.

“No problem, I’ll help you,” Bai’s projection replied with a smile, then vanished. The semi-transparent crystal representing its true form began to squirm, transforming into two strange, mechanical arm-like appendages.

“Seriously, what even is your real form? It’s incredible!” Blue Sky couldn’t help but marvel.

“You’re incredible! My body is made of Qianluo Crystal, one of the rarest and most precious materials in the universe!” Bai’s proud voice echoed in Blue Sky’s mind. “It can shift freely between solid, liquid, and gaseous states, and it’s utterly indestructible. My creator paid an unimaginable price to bring me into existence.”

“Let me put it this way: even a fragment of Qianluo Crystal, one-thousandth the size of my body, would be enough to buy hundreds of life-bearing planets at a technological level similar to your Earth’s civilization.”

“Tsk tsk... I have nothing more to say. Go ahead and start...” Blue Sky fell into his customary state of shock and speechlessness.

“Mmmm! Hmph!”

Next, a series of muffled groans echoed in the basement as Bai, in the form of mechanical arms, forcefully adjusted Blue Sky’s body to meet the requirements of the foundational first stance.

Even though he’d experienced it twice before, the searing pain was still unbearable; beads of sweat the size of peas broke out instantly on Blue Sky’s forehead.

Fortunately, the pain was no worse than in the virtual game. Blue Sky dared not move a muscle. Enduring the ordeal with trepidation, he survived the initial stage, and gradually his body began to truly strengthen in the real world.

As time passed, his body started to relax. With his increasing physical strength, maintaining the first stance became noticeably easier.

“Bai, why can’t we perceive universal energy in daily life, but after assuming this pose, our bodies spontaneously sense and absorb it?” As Blue Sky felt his body growing stronger, he finally had the leisure to voice his confusion.

“Shut up and focus on your training!” Bai snapped without mercy. “Do you really think this pose is simple? It’s the crystallization of the wisdom of countless humans across the universe! And after endless eons of refinement by my creator, every tiny detail—every slight lift or drop of a limb—has been simulated and tested millions of times so that you can cultivate so easily.”

“Otherwise, do you think cultivation is really so simple? Just strike a pose and universal energy will automatically strengthen your body? And do so evenly, every last part being enhanced in perfect balance?”

“In truth, just figuring out how to distribute and channel universal energy evenly within the body spawned countless secret techniques and tomes among the cultivators of the Yuanlan Empire—many lives were lost in the process! And here you are, chatting during training?!”

“Alright, I get it... I was wrong again...” Blue Sky was speechless, and could only obediently maintain the stance, honestly waiting for his body to absorb the universal energy.

So, for the next half hour, the basement fell into silence. By the end, Blue Sky could feel the flow of universal energy into his body accelerating, and his body itself beginning to swell with power.

“That’s enough. Stop,” Bai finally commanded. “This pose should be held for no more than half an hour each day. Any more and your body won’t be able to withstand it.”

At Bai’s words, Blue Sky immediately ceased the first stance. Even the way to stop was particular: every part of the body had to return to normal at precisely the same moment. If some parts stopped while others did not, it would lead to disaster, ending in death.

As Bai had just said, cultivation was fraught with danger and required absolute focus. Unless one reached a supremely advanced level, the slightest misstep could spell the end.

“Haha, this feels amazing! I think I could punch through concrete!” Blue Sky exulted, feeling the surging strength within him.

Just half an hour had produced results far more dramatic than a few minutes in the virtual game. He felt brimming with energy, as though he could never tire.

A layer of black, foul-smelling grime now coated his skin; Blue Sky guessed these must be impurities expelled from his body. Even his mild nearsightedness had vanished, and his current vision might rival the keenest eagle on Earth!

“Oh my, look at my body!” Blue Sky exclaimed in delight. Beneath the layer of black filth, his physique had become sharply defined, his muscles streamlined and prominent.

This effect was leagues beyond any weight loss regimen or workout—nothing short of miraculous!

“Getting cocky already? You’re just getting started,” Bai’s three-dimensional projection reappeared, scanning Blue Sky with beams of light from its eyes. “Hmm, not bad. By my estimate, each of your hands can now exert a force of about 1,000 kilograms.”

“What?! That’s insane! A thousand kilograms is a ton—are you saying I could deliver a punch with a ton of force?!” Blue Sky stared at his own hands in disbelief.

“Wrong. I said your strength is about 1,000 kilograms per hand, which is impressive, but when you throw a punch—factoring in the rotation of your hips, the tensile strength of your wrists, plus the acceleration—you could probably unleash around 3,000 kilograms of force,” Bai corrected, shaking his head.

Blue Sky was stunned speechless, both by Bai’s explanation and the lethal power in his fists—three tons of force in a single punch!

What did that even mean?

A typical sedan weighs only about 1.5 tons; a single punch from him equaled three tons!

If he struck a human being, the result was unthinkable—certain death with the slightest blow, severe injury at a mere graze!

But none of that was the point. The point was, he’d only trained for half an hour, just begun Level 1 Energy Convergence, still far from reaching Level 2—yet already he possessed such terrifying power!

The effect of universal energy was, in a word, overwhelming.