The next day, when Wang Xu awoke, he looked at the white ceiling and sighed with relief.
At last, he hadn't perished at the hands of that damned twin scythe insect beast.
"Xu'er, you're awake?" A familiar voice came through, brimming with joy.
"Mom." Wang Xu's eyes immediately reddened.
Before him stood a woman with half her hair turned white, though only in her forties, her face was lined with wrinkles, and she was his mother, Lin Hui.
His mother reached out and stroked Wang Xu's face, tears flowing uncontrollably. Feeling the care in his mother's eyes and the calluses that had formed over years on her palm, Wang Xu's nose tingled, and tears welled up, choking him with emotion.
"Alright, it's good that Xu'er is okay, stop crying, it's annoying." His father, Wang Zhenguo, said with a stern face.
Although his father had a tough mouth, his heart was soft. Only after seeing that he was fine did he flick off the long ash from the cigarette in his hand.
"Wang Xu, you scared me to death. Don't ever do such reckless things again." Li Lian, who was also nearby, said with a long sigh of relief after seeing Wang Xu awake, his tone full of worry.
Wang Xu smiled slightly: "It's alright, I'm very lucky, I won't die."
With a few laughs and chats, before long a nurse came to let the patient rest, and Wang Xu's parents, along with Li Lian, finally left.
"Hoo~" Wang Xu let out a long breath, touching his abdomen, the wound that had been slashed open by the twin scythe insect beast had healed and scabbed over. Nowadays, medical technology is very advanced, even someone with a breath of life can be healed, though the cost is relatively high.
Then, Wang Xu took a history book from the stack his parents had brought and started reading...
In 2050, during the period of peace and harmony, the world was tranquil until December 31st, when a sudden invasion by the insect race army shattered the world's calm!
The insect race slaughtered humans, using them as food. They had strong shells and power, even bullets couldn't harm them in the slightest. Humans retreated steadily under the massacre frenzy of the insect race, ultimately forced to use nuclear weapons... Yet the outcome remained unchanged, there were too many of them to be killed!
In just a few years, the human population drastically decreased by over 80%!
This was an apocalypse, an unprecedented disaster, with human extinction on the horizon, everyone was in imminent danger!
Yet a meteor from outer heaven completely rewrote the fate of humanity!
This meteor contained mysterious cosmic energy, capable of easily piercing insects. The barriers built using this cosmic energy even the insect race army couldn't budge!
Finally, humanity welcomed its first victory in resistance.
With a breath of relief, humans began to desperately develop technology from the meteor, hoping for new miracles. It was at this time that the great Dr. Luo Jun developed a groundbreaking elixir—the Genetic Potion!
The Genetic Potion completely transformed human cellular limits. Originally, humans could only lift a hundred pounds, but after injecting the Genetic Potion, they could easily lift three hundred pounds, four hundred pounds, or even over a thousand pounds!
This transformation in power gave humanity the capital to fight against the insect race, and a new group emerged—Genetic Warriors!
Not only that, the potential of Genetic Warriors seemed limitless. Humans with strong talent successfully broke through to a legendary realm through the cultivation of ancient martial arts. With a mere gesture, they could annihilate thousands upon thousands of the insect race army, and some could even fly through the air, like deities.
Thus, humans began slowly reclaiming lost territories, taking back lands that originally belonged to them, and the fragmented humans reorganized, no longer divided by countries as in the past.
With the metamorphosis of strength, the status of humans was also classified accordingly.
The stronger the power, the greater contribution they could bring to humanity, and this group was granted privileges by the human government, giving birth to the "Core Area".
To the ordinary area, the core area represents "noble royal family", and one can imagine the splendor of the life they enjoy!
Furthermore, if someone from the core area killed a person from the ordinary area, a symbolic monetary compensation was enough to settle it. However, if someone from the ordinary area killed someone from the core area, they would be isolated entirely, and eventually vanish mysteriously from the world!
Amidst such "unfairness", humans have long become accustomed. Only those strong enough to reach a godlike existence are qualified to speak of fairness. As for ordinary people with no combat power, they merely linger on the edge of survival under this fairness.
"2058, July 4th, the Blood-colored Battle, when the energy barrier technology was still not applied, the Third Safe Zone was breached by the insect race. In the blink of an eye, a million people perished in the insects' mouths. At the critical moment, the Blood-colored Venerable, Lin Yi, soared into the sky, slaying the insect race leader, slaughtering a million insect beasts, and fought the insect race for three days and nights, ultimately burning his life force, exhausted to death! Successfully saving millions of lives."
"2061, March 18th, the Death Battle, the insect race army fiercely attacked the energy barrier, innate insect beasts appeared, the Second Safe Zone was on the brink of disaster. That battle deployed dozens of innate martial artists, who exhausted their lives, finally killing the innate insect beast, saving tens of millions of humans in the safe zone. Dozens of innate martial artists also sacrificed their precious lives, and the strength of the entire human race was nearly halved. All humanity mourned for the fallen heroes."
"2067, May 4th, the Annihilation Battle..."
As Wang Xu read on, he couldn't help but read aloud. He silently closed the book, and in his mind, he could imagine the scene of that era where human champions fought bloodily to protect humanity, not giving up even with the last drop of blood.
It was precisely due to the life sacrifices of their generation that today's momentary peace was achieved.
......
Three days later, with his discharge certificate, Wang Xu left the hospital and headed to the Ancient Martial Arts Hall.
The Ancient Martial Arts Hall is a place for exchanging "Ancient Martial Arts".
Ancient Martial Arts, as the name suggests, are martial arts passed down from ancient times.
After the Genetic Potion developed human potential, Genetic Warriors erupted with powerful forces, capable of fighting the insects head-on. However, some discovered that Ancient Martial Arts could let their power be exerted to the fullest, making it effortlessly easy when facing the insects again.
This discovery shocked the entire human world, and all Genetic Warriors began to cultivate Ancient Martial Arts, sparking a wave of Ancient Martial Arts, and the Ancient Martial Arts Hall came into being amidst this wave.
From a distance, the Ancient Martial Arts Hall looks like a gigantic spaceship perched on the ground, glowing with a silvery-white light. If you take a casual look at it, you will also notice a faint green barrier enveloping it, which is the Energy Barrier.
"Coach Wang!"
"Brother Wang!"
"Madman!"
Upon entering the hall, people warmly greeted Wang Xu, and those observant enough would notice that these people all had a medal with a star hanging on their chests, shining brightly.
The number of stars on the medal represents the status of these people — One-star Coach.
A coach is meant to guide Genetic Warriors who are confused in their cultivation, just like a master from ancient times, passing down their own experience so that future generations can learn more effectively.
At the same time, to prevent people of all trades from sneaking in and being impostors, the Ancient Martial Arts Hall has specially prepared an assessment, and only relatively strong individuals can pass it and thus be granted the title of coach by the Ancient Martial Arts Hall.
Wang Xu is one of them.
The minimum requirement of being a One-star Coach is a Tier Four Genetic Warrior, and Wang Xu is just a Tier Three Genetic Warrior. However, due to his mastery of the "Basic Flesh Body" to the Third Layer, the Ancient Martial Arts Hall still awarded him the title of One-star Coach.
With this title, Wang Xu could earn a salary to buy cultivation resources and support his family.
Wang Xu knew that this time he was seriously injured, almost losing his life under the Double-scythe Insect Beast. The cost of hospital treatment would naturally be high, perhaps already exhausting his family's savings.
His parents hadn't mentioned it, which didn't mean Wang Xu was unaware. Wang Xu wasn't a man of many words, and since the family was financially strained, he had to work hard to earn money.
A One-star Coach's fee is very high, with one hour earning 1,000 Earth Coins. For Wang Xu, working three hours a day is enough to support his family, with even some extra money to buy cultivation resources.
"Coach, I always feel like I can't control my strength, and I can't fully unleash the ultimate power of the 'Black Tiger Fist'. What should I do?"
Wang Xu was instructing a young man named "Han Xin." His father is a company boss with a wealthy background. Originally, Han Xin didn't have a talent for cultivation, but he had an obsessive passion for martial arts and wanted to follow the martial path. His father couldn't persuade him otherwise and had to hire Wang Xu to teach him.
When they first met Wang Xu, who was only a Tier Three Genetic Warrior, they couldn't help but frown. Han Xin even wanted to apply to the Ancient Martial Arts Hall for a coach change, but under Wang Xu's guidance, within just one day, Han Xin stepped into the threshold of "Basic Flesh Body", reaching the First Layer, which shocked them.
When they learned that Wang Xu had cultivated the "Basic Flesh Body" to the Third Layer, they were even more aghast, with two words surfacing in their hearts — genius!
Becoming a Tier Three Genetic Warrior at eighteen isn't a big deal, but being able to cultivate "Basic Flesh Body" to the Third Layer is something extraordinary. Even Tier Four or Tier Five Genetic Warriors rarely achieve the Third Layer of "Basic Flesh Body".
At the Third Layer of "Basic Flesh Body", the flesh body can achieve the hardness of steel, ordinary bullets can't penetrate it, and one can shatter rocks with bare hands!
When Wang Xu faced the Tier Four Double-scythe Insect Beast, if it weren't for reaching the Third Layer of "Basic Flesh Body", a single slash from the Double-scythe Insect Beast could have cleaved Wang Xu in half.
"To understand 'Black Tiger Fist', you must first understand Ancient Martial Arts. Tell me, what do you know about Ancient Martial Arts?" Wang Xu said with his hands behind his back.
"I've researched this online. Simply put, Ancient Martial Arts are ancient martial arts, but because of the need, Ancient Martial Arts are classified into levels: Low, Middle, High, and Top-grade. The higher the level of Ancient Martial Arts, the more powerful they are, and correspondingly, the cultivation requirements increase."
"There are many types of Ancient Martial Arts, including fist techniques, palm techniques, leg techniques, finger techniques, sword techniques, and swordsmanship, among others. The 'Black Tiger Fist' I am cultivating is a low-level fist technique focusing on the eruption and control of power, delivering a fatal blow to the enemy like a black tiger."
Han Xin recited all the online explanations of Ancient Martial Arts, analyzing the characteristics of the Ancient Martial Arts he practiced.
"What you said is just the surface of Ancient Martial Arts. The real strength of Ancient Martial Arts does not lie in the so-called power, but in the mind."
Wang Xu pointed to his heart, "Your 'Black Tiger Fist' isn't failing to unleash its ultimate power; rather, your mind hasn't exploded. Once your mind is completely open, you can naturally display the ultimate power of 'Black Tiger Fist'."
"Open my mind?" Han Xin had never heard of such a theory.
"Bowing your head in contemplation and pondering is useless. Go hunt insects, and soon you'll understand what it means to open your mind," Wang Xu said.
Han Xin didn't understand how to open his mind, but upon hearing Wang Xu's request, he didn't dare delay, saying promptly, "Yes, coach."
......
Three hours later, watching Han Xin leaving in the distance, Wang Xu muttered, "I hope you can truly open your mind."
Opening one's mind sounds simple in four words, but only after experiencing life's brink and death's dance can the mind be unleashed. Wang Xu understood after experiencing it, but Han Xin had never had combat experience; the insects might bring him not a release, but an everlasting psychological shadow.