[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-immortal-path-among-the-stars":3,"chapter-the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-440":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Immortal Path Among the Stars",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2320372,4537,"Chapter 440","the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-440",440,"\u003Cp>\"Incredible—this ability is utterly outrageous. No wonder that 'Helena' had no defense against Brother Li; she collapsed at the first touch.\" Wang Yu was moved, exclaiming in awe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This 'Inversion' ability, though bizarre, still has many limitations.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The biggest drawback is that both hands must make direct contact with a person for the effect to activate. If I didn't have the first ability—'Super Tong '—I probably wouldn't have even gotten close to the British 'Countess' before being reduced to ash.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The 'Super Tong ' ability wasn't naturally awakened; I gained it accidentally after undergoing a 'special surgery.' The price I paid was over forty years of my lifespan.\" Li Shiyi touched his aged face and let out a bitter laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Special surgery?\" Wang Yu looked surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sorry, the details of the surgery are classified under confidentiality regulations—I can't reveal specifics. I can only tell you it was an experimental procedure of this kind.\" Li Shiyi fell silent for a moment, then spoke with a hint of apology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I understand. This kind of surgery must be a top-secret domestic project.\" Wang Yu nodded in understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Still, while I can't describe it, I can show you.\" Li Shiyi thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Show me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu blinked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man in the Tang suit suddenly rose from the bed, bent over, placed one foot on the small table, rolled up his pant leg several times, and revealed a thin, pale, frail-looking ankle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Wang Yu stared at the old man’s ankle, wondering what he intended, Li Shiyi’s hand pressed against it, pinched a patch of skin with three fingers, and tore hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ssssslick.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A patch of skin, half the size of a palm, ripped cleanly off the ankle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah, Brother Li, what are you—?\" Wang Yu’s heart leapt, but then he saw something—and his voice cut off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath his gaze, the area where the skin had been torn away wasn’t bloody flesh—it was a dense network of green threads, completely free of blood, instead filled with an odd milky-white fluid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Artificial muscle?\" Wang Yu stared fixedly at the ankle on the table, murmuring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not artificial muscle—half-mechanical prosthesis.\" Li Shiyi corrected him, then struck the 'green muscle' hard with his finger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thud.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hollow metallic sound rang from the ankle—undeniably not flesh and bone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shiyi then pressed the torn skin back onto the ankle, calmly rolled down his pant leg, and resettled himself cross-legged across from Wang Yu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With today’s domestic technology, they’ve even developed something this sci-fi.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mechanical prosthetics—I always thought they only existed in movies.\" Wang Yu took a deep breath, still struggling to believe it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Heh, when I first found out about this, my expression wasn’t any better than yours.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I had this surgery a year and a half ago. The technology’s still immature. In a way, I’m just a test subject. There were many volunteers for this procedure, but only three of us succeeded—otherwise, the Divine Warrior Team wouldn’t exist today.\" Li Shiyi replied calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So Mu Lan and Meng Jiang also have these mechanical prosthetics?\" Wang Yu suddenly understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course. Without these half-mechanical prosthetics, how could the three of us possibly stand against Britain’s A-rank psychics and hold our position as the nation’s top special ops team?\" Li Shiyi replied proudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ve never heard of your Divine Warrior Team before, but since you’re all psychics to begin with—and now with these half-mechanical prosthetics I’ve never heard of—ordinary A-rank psychics certainly couldn’t match you. But have you modified all four limbs, or just some?\" Wang Yu murmured, intrigued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"All four limbs? Too dangerous—current tech can’t manage that. I’ve only modified both legs. Mu Lan has one arm and one leg modified. Meng Jiang has both arms modified.\" Li Shiyi answered without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I see. So how powerful are these half-mechanical prosthetics?\" Wang Yu glanced at Li Shiyi’s legs across the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How powerful? In terms of reaction speed and strength, they’re roughly fifty to sixty times stronger than my original healthy leg.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fifty to sixty times?\" Wang Yu’s face flickered with surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What, you think that’s too low?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mu Lan and I weren’t ordinary people to begin with. We’re inheritors of several ancient Chinese martial arts. Before the surgery, my leg could easily bend an iron rod as thick as an arm—nothing an ordinary person could do.\" Li Shiyi chuckled twice, then explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Does China really have ancient martial arts?\" Wang Yu’s eyes lit up, asking eagerly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course. But it’s not like what you see in movies or TV. Our ancient martial arts aren’t mystical at all—they’re simply a collection of highly effective killing techniques accumulated by our ancestors over thousands of years. Training them requires special talent and is usually extremely 'cruel'.\" Li Shiyi shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Extremely cruel? What do you mean?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It means cruel not just to enemies, but even more so to oneself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For example, our Li family’s 'Blood Shadow Leg' requires a natural build with thick, muscular lower limbs. But training it causes one’s own legs to bleed and blister—sometimes permanently disabled. When you strike, you send your opponent flying with blood splattered everywhere—that’s why it’s called 'Blood Shadow Leg'.\" Li Shiyi smiled slightly as he explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu listened, momentarily speechless, but couldn’t help asking one more question:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What about internal force and qi?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There’s no such thing. Those are pure fabrications by later novelists and filmmakers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As far as I know, the most advanced ancient martial arts only contain special force-generation techniques, usually called 'jin li'—nothing comparable to the breathing method you brought back from the Sethan world.\" Li Shiyi’s expression turned serious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Li, you’ve also trained the breathing method?\" Wang Yu’s smile faded slightly as he asked slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course I have. I was among the first to succeed. But even so, my results are less than one-tenth of Mu Lan’s.\" Li Shiyi’s expression grew strangely uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t know how you trained the Black Tiger Breathing Method, but Mu Lan has truly grasped its essence.\" Wang Yu recalled the massive form Mu Lan had taken just days ago, his expression shifting slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>",1019,"2026-06-20T15:44:32.565Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","fcbd534ecb3750405f6c313d8bfdb8a8aa1925880aa77f816caa23b518caf968","the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-441","the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-439",530,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-immortal-path-among-the-stars-cover.jpg"]