Zhong Shenxiu gazed at the Heavenly Show System, perceiving streams of information.
"Turns out, the ’Gates of Myriad Paths’ also need a world as a foundation and coordinate, or rather... a ’anchor,’ in order to open!"
"At this moment, this very realm that I inhabit has become the largest anchor of the Gates of Myriad Paths!"
"Its opening doesn’t mean I have to immediately travel through, but rather it pushes open the doors to a new world, where I can venture in to explore or return..."
"So, that’s it, initially due to my insufficient strength, only my soul could travel there... is it just a soul travel then?"
"This definitely needs careful planning. I’m quite curious about an entirely new world."
First, there’s the matter of time, it’s best to inform Huang Xie and the others a word to avoid their worry.
Moreover, I need to ask Feng Xixi for a long leave since responsibilities weigh on me.
Besides that, there’s also the issue of safety.
When the souls depart the body, the flesh remains vulnerable.
However, Zhong Shenxiu wasn’t worried about this; he could claim to find a place for secluded cultivation, in reality, he could hide in an alternate space, then assign the Headless Earl to protect, ensuring perfect security.
After considering all these, Zhong Shenxiu, methodical as ever, first took leave.
Feng Xixi, with a grand wave of her hand, approved immediately; afterward, she seemingly implied something deeper, "It’s good for you to evade for a while."
This instantly made Zhong Shenxiu realize, the matter with Lu Huolong had indeed reached higher authorities.
Back at his residence, he summoned Huang Xie and the others, explaining his arrangements.
At the end, he glanced at the two dogs.
Huang Xie and Er Ha practiced Primordial Qigong daily, regretfully they had yet to breakthrough, cultivating even a thread of Innate True Qi.
Reversing the acquired back to the innate is the first huge threshold in Martial Arts cultivation, not so easily crossed.
As for Su Tang and Su Wei, they had barely replenished their depleted bodies and were just starting to re-cultivate from scratch.
Upon hearing Zhong Shenxiu was entering secluded cultivation, Su Wei’s big watery eyes were filled with reluctance.
"I’m unsure how long this secluded cultivation will last, in case of any issues, discuss with Su Tang and Huang Xie."
Zhong Shenxiu patted Su Wei’s little head, smiling, "If I return and see that you have made progress, I’ll impart a spell to you."
"Really?" Su Wei’s eyes widened in excitement.
Even in the former Su Family, true inheritances were exclusive to the direct line, and only heirs could practice.
They, being from collateral branches, had long been coveting the might of Daoist skills.
"Of course, a gentleman’s word, swift as a horse’s whip."
Zhong Shenxiu had at least two inheritances in his possession; although both were quite incomplete, they were sufficient to appease them.
Having arranged everything, he outwardly entered a secret chamber but actually, with a flash, he vanished from the residence.
In a pitch-dark space.
"Take good care of my physical body."
Zhong Shenxiu summoned the Headless Earl, gave the order, and then sat cross-legged, focusing on the Heavenly Show System, his mind thought: "Gates of Myriad Paths, open!"
His body shook, then he appeared to die off, entering a state of suspended animation.
At the same time, Zhong Shenxiu’s soul took a fierce leap, seeming to fall into some bottomless abyss.
His consciousness dispersed, yet he seemed to glimpse a hint of light.
Red, yellow, white...
Those were spheres of colorful, vibrant light.
Some colors even surpassed his conceptual imagination, indescribable in words.
Countless light spheres suddenly merged into one another, forming an immensely magnificent gate with a majestic aura!
Zhong Shenxiu felt a stir inside and knew that wasn’t just the power of the system, but also had something to do with that entity.
"If this stupid system transmigrated once, who knows how many achievements it would deduct from me? But now it’s behaving itself, so it seems that beating it up occasionally is quite necessary!"
Zhong Shenxiu found it somewhat amusing to think about as he entered that indescribable door.
His consciousness suddenly went dark, and he fell into a deep slumber.
"I must become the strongest martial artist!"
Zhong Shenxiu didn’t know how long he had slept, until a shout lingering in his ear woke him up.
He struggled to open his eyelids and saw the bright incandescent light falling from above, the familiar ceiling—or rather, an unfamiliar ceiling—hanging overhead, and the familiar smell of disinfectant echoing at the tip of his nose.
’Is this... a world like modern technology?’
Zhong Shenxiu slowly propped himself up to sit, leaning on the pillow, and looked around.
The place he was in seemed to be a hospital room, with a television in front of him broadcasting a mixed martial arts event.
On the screen, a young, yellow-skinned man was grappling with a beast-like, white Caucasian giant.
Suddenly, the yellow-skinned young man stepped forward with a horse stance, his spine vibrating like a dragon pillar, and his right fist shot out like a cannonball, striking the white giant’s chin dead-on.
The polar bear-like giant fell down, and the crowd cheered wildly.
"The 17th Annual World Unlimited Fighting Championship has ended, and the winner is a martial artist from the Star Alliance—Mr. Shi Xiaolong. Let’s cheer for him!"
The television emitted a language that seemed familiar yet foreign to him.
Zhong Shenxiu was suddenly shocked, as many memories surfaced.
Star Alliance, technology, Hua Wu, martial artist...
’So... this is a world with advanced technology, yet it’s not the world I transmigrated to...just very similar.’
’In this world, ancient martial arts exist, so even though technology is advanced, the martial spirit is very strong, with martial arts schools everywhere and various martial arts events emerging one after another...’
’Even further, there exists a specialized profession—martial artist—which is a major bargaining chip in many commercial negotiations, interest coordination, and even diplomatic mediations.’
’Why do I feel like it’s just an upgraded version of the twin flower iron rod? Upgrading gangs to companies or even nations, the taste is quite similar.’
’The youth I am inhabiting, called Hua Wu, his lifelong dream is to become the strongest martial artist?’
Zhong Shenxiu felt a kind of ’obsession.’
Through sensing the Heavenly Show System, he knew the downside of transmigrating through the Gate of Ten Thousand Gates.
He must fulfill the host’s obsession to return!
If he fails, he could only stay in this world forever.
"To be honest, staying in this technologically advanced world with all its delights isn’t bad; it’s just that life is short, not living past a hundred years old... and you can only ever be an ant, with a limit to your strength..."
Zhong Shenxiu thought, "But after having my fill, it’s time to go back."
The only thing that comforted him was that, compared to this world, his anchor world had a much higher energy level, hence the flow of time was also unbelievably fast.
Specifically, one day over there could be a year here!
"It really is the difference between Heaven and the human world. People always say being an immortal is great, yet they can’t forget the mortal world, haha... Although I may not be immortal, I can still sneak down to earth, not bad, not bad."
A smile appeared on Zhong Shenxiu’s face.
"What are you laughing at?"
The television was suddenly turned off.
Just as Zhong Shenxiu was distracted by the last disappearing dot on the screen, a gruff voice on the side said, "Wu, still watching these kinds of shows, dreaming?"
"What era is it now? No matter how good your martial arts are, one shot brings you down. Apart from the top martial artists, other martial men can only work as security guards, and making it as a fitness coach is considered good treatment!"
"Practice martial arts? What’s the use of practicing martial arts? In the past, fights were won by whoever was still standing, but now, fights are won by whoever lies down first!"