Chapter 13: Martial King
Chen Chu's residence lay in the city outskirts, technically within the city limits but truly situated within an old, urban village. The surrounding structures were typical two or three-story low-rise houses, each featuring a small courtyard. Not far away flowed a rushing tributary of the great river.
It was a Sunday afternoon. The scorching rays of the summer sun beamed down as Chen Chu sat in front of his computer, perusing online posts regarding mutated beasts and the cultivation world.
He discovered that in recent years, various Federal countries were increasing their efforts to reduce the populations of mutated beasts.
The Amazon Rainforest was one of the highest priorities, as the number of mutated beasts had become uncontrollable. Some had even captured images of a hundred-meter-long giant python in the river. These creatures had already reached the level of colossal beasts.
In addition, there were disturbances in many parts of a certain Federal country.
Citizens had become dissatisfied with the control of power by ordinary people; led by vocal cultivators, they had declared a new nation, one that would allow everyone to cultivate.
Some analysis suggested that evil cultists were behind all of these disturbances. Many people were closely following this international event, and videos from local citizens spread around like wildfire.
In those videos, cultivators charged towards rows of machine guns, ignoring the dense rain of bullets completely. Their speed was terrifying, and in a flash, they traversed hundreds of meters. A mere punch or kick was strong enough to demolish walls and flip armored vehicles. The enemies' fortifications were destroyed in the blink of an eye.
Faced against these cultivators, the ordinary soldiers were like lambs in a slaughterhouse. Only explosions from grenades or anti-tank missiles could slightly hinder them.
In just over ten minutes in the video, the cultivators had seized the city's center. Flames were everywhere, while people screamed and guns fired in the background.
After watching all this, Chen Chu felt somewhat fortunate. He was lucky he hadn't transmigrated to one of those chaotic places.
Chen Hu's voice came from downstairs. "Bro, do you want some watermelon?"
Chen Chu shouted in response, "I'll have some if it's cut up."
"I knew you'd say that." Chen Hu took the watermelon from the fridge, cut it up, and brought it upstairs. He slipped into the room, curious about what was on the monitor. "Bro, are you following the stuff with the Kyrola cultivators too?"
Chen Chu picked up a piece of watermelon, surprised. "You know about this too?"
Chen Hu took a bit of the watermelon himself. "Of course! I'm going to be the Martial King. Isn't it natural for me to pay attention to international affairs?"
"Martial King? Then I might as well be the Pirate King then," Chen Chu teased.
Chen Hu was confused. "Bro, what's the Pirate King? You mean the King of the Ocean? Is he strong?"
Chen Chu felt speechless. "It's in the name. A pirate is someone who's chased by the navy. Do you think that's powerful?"
"Then forget it. I want to be the strongest Martial King."
Sitting on the bed and eating watermelon, Chen Hu said, "By the way, bro, I saw a lot of frozen fish when I opened the fridge. Can we even finish eating all that? That stuff is so bland."
"That's not for us."
Chen Hu was curious. "Not for us? Then who is it for?"
"There. For it." Chen Chu pointed towards the desk with his chin, where the sturdy thirty-two-centimeter-long six-horned salamander sat lazily.
Chen Hu was shocked once he finally noticed the salamander lying next to the water tank. "Is this… your pet!?"
"Yeah."
"Is that really the salamander? How did it grow so big in just a week?" Chen Hu was amazed.
He remembered what he saw last week, when he came into the room to take care of his sick brother. The salamander was tiny, barely growing. How did it grow faster than a thriving puppy?
"It might be a mutation," Chen Chu casually remarked. "In these last few days, it's been eating more and more, and its size has surged. But it's not dangerous. Take a look, Hu… Turn over."
Chen Chu gave the salamander avatar visual cues, and Chen Hu saw the seemingly fierce six-horned salamander flip over.
"Wag your tail."
"Raise your paw…"
Chen Chu continued with a series of self-orchestrated theatrics, using his mind to control the avatar and blowing Chen Hu away.
Chen Chu didn't intend on hiding the existence of the avatar anymore. He couldn't do so, given that it now needed to consume so much every day. He probably would have been able to hide it for a day or two more, but it would be exposed over time. It was better to come clean and tell them the truth.
Mutations in pets weren't uncommon anyway, and there were official policies for management. Typically, registration at the local authorities was required for mutated pets, as long as they were weaker ones that listened to their owners. If the pet was aggressive and posed a danger to the neighbors, the government would confiscate it.
For a salamander that was slightly bigger than a suckling puppy, it wouldn't seem aggressive even if it was mutated. With parental consent, there wasn't even any need for registration, and when it evolved next time, he would release the avatar into the river.
During dinner, Chen Chu told Zhang Xiaolan about the salamander himself. She didn't mind that at all, and only reminded him to be careful while feeding it.
In her mind, that tiny pet, even if mutated, would only be a slightly larger fish.
***
On Monday, Chen Chu walked into the classroom and immediately sensed the restlessness within.
Before even sitting down, he learned from his classmates that Lin Xue and Yi Rui had come to school yesterday to tell the teachers they had completed Foundation Building. Although it was Sunday yesterday, some students liked to come in to cultivate in the school's spacious area.
Xia Youhui came over and whispered, "Ah Chu, how are you? Do you feel the pressure?"
Chen Chu glanced at him and took the textbook for this morning out from his drawer, saying indifferently, "It's useless to feel pressured. I'll cultivate at my own pace."
"As expected from you, Ah Chu. You're right. It doesn't matter if others are getting ahead, one should do things at their own pace." Xia Youhui could see that Chen Chu's calmness wasn't a pretense, but a genuine indifference to whether he was falling behind his peers.
Not like the others in class. Hearing that the class monitor and the martial arts representative had completed Foundation Building, while they were still visualizing the first few petals in meditation, or finishing just a few cycles of vitality circulation, had made them anxious.
As if that would help the situation. What were they doing earlier? Did they not know better to practice every day after school?
"By the way." Xia Youhui seemed to remember something and said, "Ah Chu, I'm going to finish Foundation Building tomorrow. By that time, I will be practicing true martial arts in Zone C without you. Remember to work hard."
"After all this talk, were you trying to set up for this reveal?" Chen Chu took a glance at him and shook his head, uninterested in entertaining him.
"Heh… wasn't I trying to surprise you this whole time? You just weren't cooperative." Xia Youhui chuckled, regretful his reveal didn't shock Chen Chu.
Finishing Foundation Building tomorrow, within seven days. So he has exceptional talent…
Looking at Xia Youhui's smile, Chen Chu was still a bit surprised. He didn't expect this sly and mature-looking guy would be a genius.
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