Chapter 26: Could He Really Be a Legendary Genius!

Jiang Ningan’s emotional journey that night was treacherous.

After Fang Can had her watch a documentary on transmigrants, she was stunned to discover that physics—a universal knowledge—actually existed in this world.

Especially those weapons: whoever mastered their principles could replicate identical results simply by following Fang’s instructions, producing weapons of extreme lethality.

This was utterly unlike her former idealist beliefs.

Even the same cultivation technique, when practiced by different people, could yield vastly different results due to variations in their thoughts and understanding.

Of course, she was merely intrigued by the video’s emphasis on the reproducibility of such devastating weapons, not convinced their destructive power was truly invincible.

After all, according to her understanding, the Heavenly Craft Bureau in the capital of Dayan already possessed similar martial lineages.

They could produce objects capable of terrifying damage, their power no less formidable than these technological weapons.

As for psychics?

In her view, they were merely martial artists who had skipped the Flesh Transcendence stage, each ability arising with the same uncertainty as martial arts themselves.

In practice, psychic abilities and martial arts showed no real difference—perhaps just slightly more logical.

In just one night, Jiang Ningan grasped the general nature of this world, and deeply etched the two characters “physics” into her mind.

In her opinion, these present-day knowledge systems still held some value—even if she didn’t delve deeply, merely understanding them as a layperson would suffice.

After all, knowing a bit of physics made it easier to bullshit idealist claims with a veneer of plausibility.

Coming back to herself, she heard a rustling of air from the living room behind her—the sound of Fang Can practicing fist techniques all night.

Compared to the beginning, his Tiger Fiend Fist now looked markedly different, giving off a sense of perfect harmony with nature.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Fang Can’s fists became blurs; each shift in his posture left a crisp, explosive crack in the air. Had this not been his own villa, neighbors would have long since complained about the noise.

Watching Fang Can’s movements, a sense of absurdity rose within Jiang Ningan.

Because whether in power, speed, or intent, Fang Can was clearly stronger than last night.

‘Could everything he said be true?’ A wave of self-doubt stirred in Jiang Ningan.

As the newest senior disciple of Jiejian Pavilion, she had sensed Qi within days, shed her mortal form within a year, and taken three steps on the Path to Heaven by age twenty.

The sect master had praised her as “a once-in-a-century genius of Jiejian Pavilion,” “the reincarnation of the founding ancestor,” “the hope to revive the entire sect,” “the crown of Dayan’s new generation of martial artists…”

She! Jiang Ningan—the genius among geniuses, with so many titles she couldn’t even stand on stage without crowding it—was now staring at this person before her.

Even she wouldn’t dare to cheat this hard—could this really be a human?

“Pah!” Fang Can spat out the few grains of arsenic in his mouth, frowning in dissatisfaction.

Flesh Transformation: 4.5%

‘Too slow. Progress is far too slow. After an entire night of practice, it’s only increased this much. At this rate, reaching 100% will take at least three or four months—far too slow.’

‘Clearly, I’ve been taking too little arsenic. These few grains aren’t enough anymore. After my body strengthens, even complete digestion won’t even cause bleeding from all seven orifices.’

Counting his few dozen remaining pills, Fang Can calculated how long until his online order arrived—if he didn’t keep up the dosage, he’d be stuck in Flesh Transcendence for a whole year, and that would be a disaster.

‘By the way.’ Fang Can turned his gaze to Jiang Ningan, who had been staring at him in daze: ‘Elder, I have a question.’

Jiang Ningan snapped back, suppressing her emotions: ‘Ask.’

‘While practicing just now, I felt my heart grow restless—I desperately wanted to release something, to vent it somewhere. Is this a case of deviating from the Dao?’ Fang Can asked seriously.

After all, he was still new to martial arts and didn’t understand many basics—he feared making a fatal mistake.

But the moment he spoke, the expression on the other’s face turned complex.

‘This is the initial stage of Mind Manifestation. As your will permeates your entire body, your mental pressure may radiate through your gaze and movements to intimidate enemies.’

‘At this stage, don’t suppress it—let this aura flow out as freely as possible.’

Fang Can nodded in understanding: ‘I get it—this is the martial arts version of Conqueror’s Haki.’

Since this wasn’t a bad thing, Fang Can stopped worrying about it—he’d let it unfold naturally.

Jiang Ningan’s emotions, however, were now deeply complicated.

Most martial artists only developed Mind Manifestation just before breaking through; the earlier it appeared, the greater their martial talent.

She herself had taken over five months, nearly halfway through Flesh Transcendence, before even a hint appeared—yet this guy…

In short, Jiang Ningan, known in Jiejian Sect for her cold detachment and singular devotion to martial arts, felt for the first time a pang of defeat.

Watching the boy, still energetic after a night of training, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and heading to school, Jiang Ningan didn’t resort to role-playing to deceive herself—she began seriously pondering a question: ‘Could this guy truly be a cheat system incarnate, surpassing even a legendary genius?’

Leaving Jiang Ningan’s existential crisis aside, Fang Can arrived at class with his backpack, as usual pulling out his textbook to review with his classmates.

But just as the entire class was about to settle into study mode, air raid sirens blared across the entire city of Z.

‘What’s going on? Another psychic battle?’

‘Has this been happening too frequently lately?’

‘I don’t care! I want to see rivers of blood!’

…

At that moment, every citizen of Z city turned their gaze outdoors.

Outside, the sky was clear and bright—nothing seemed amiss except for the piercing alarm.

But only those behind the scenes knew: Z city had now been completely physically isolated from the outside world.

‘All external signals from Z city have been fully blocked. All access points are sealed. Now, initiate the plan.’

In Z city’s underground base, researchers watched countless screens displaying surveillance footage from every major street in the city.

‘Next, distribute the cultivation techniques. Let the city’s millions begin practicing—such a massive population should fully reveal the characteristics of idealist cultivation methods.’

‘Isn’t this too extreme?’ a young researcher whispered.

An experienced elder glanced at him: ‘This is nothing. Don’t forget the Festival of Carnage coming later—when the nation’s scum will be dumped into this city to fight. That’s when things will truly become extreme.’

‘This? Just an appetizer,’ another researcher shook his head. ‘If these people actually manage to cultivate something, they’ll gain some self-defense capability—but still… it’s hard.’

(End of Chapter)