Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 364 - 339 will undoubtedly be defeated

Chapter 364: 339 will undoubtedly be defeated

"Why is this?"

I felt a bit perplexed, but soon came up with a rational explanation, "Is it because my power is too strong?"

For a human who can move at tens of times the speed of sound, who can flatten a mountain with a single punch, and whose body is so tough that even a nuclear explosion to the face wouldn’t faze them, ordinary martial arts techniques are indeed useless to them.

Take, for example, the most basic and core principle in traditional martial arts, "power starts from the ground", which is useless for a superhuman. If a casual stomp could shatter the earth, then the step of borrowing force from the ground is completely superfluous; and if a person can move freely in the air, they don’t need to pay attention to their body’s center of gravity, since they don’t even have to worry about their body falling to the ground.

Yet, Mr. Zhu shook his head: "While that is a factor, it’s not the most important one.

"Zhuang Cheng, you’ve never fought with a normal demon hunter, right?"

Hearing this, I recalled all the opponents I had fought so far.

Apart from never having fought against Bad Level demon hunters, I’ve fought against all ranks from Residence Level to Achieved Level, and up to Great Success Level, even having a brief skirmish with Impermanence. Since Mr. Zhu referred to "normal demon hunters," then the ranks of Great Success and Impermanence obviously do not count.

As for the Residence Level and Achieved Level enemies, the ones I encountered were mostly freaks, with the Achieved Level consisting only of freak creators, they clearly don’t count as normal demon hunters. During the operation led by Lu Youxun to kidnap Mazao, there were indeed normal demon hunters, but they were subdued by me before they could mount any substantial resistance, so it’s hard to say that I had actually fought them.

I nodded towards Mr. Zhu.

Mr. Zhu revealed an ’as expected’ expression, then said, "If we evaluate by the standards of demon hunters, Zhuang Cheng, your control over power has reached the pinnacle level attainable by demon hunters... in fact, you have far exceeded it. For us hunters still trapped within the framework of common sense, we can’t even begin to catch up with you."

Receiving such high praise, I felt the situation was turning very sour.

"But I’ve never formally learned the techniques of controlling Mana," I said.

"Mana operates in the realms of intuition and a priori knowledge, where the learned knowledge and trained techniques are just meant to help demon hunters better reach those realms. This is also where Mysticism diverges the most from science," Mr. Zhu patiently explained, "Think carefully about the abilities you’ve used so far, Elementalization, Flame materialization, Flame Transmission, Flame Avatar, Thermal Perception...

"The variety of Divine Skills you possess, each one if taken separately, would take a normal demon hunter countless years to learn and imitate, and even then they might not succeed. You can also make your flames automatically discern different components within the same object, and destroy just one part without damaging the others... do you understand how profound and exquisite such a feat is in our eyes?

"These are all things you can do by instinct alone. This is the Innate Realm that myriad demon hunters dream of, and you’ve been standing in this position right from the beginning.

"I also have some knowledge of spells related to fire and can teach you those right now. Once you hear them, you will definitely find them absurd, thinking that I am teaching you how to breathe, how to walk, wondering why someone would need tens of thousands of words to explain how to ’pick up a cake from a table and put it in your mouth.’

"Demon hunters’ spells originated as poor imitations of the natural order and divine actions. Even though they’ve been refined since then, they still can’t shake off their imitative nature. And now, you wanting to learn demon hunters’ techniques of using power is like the beauty Xishi trying to imitate Dongshi’s frown... doing so would only lower your own strength."

After listening, I could only sigh: "I see... I understand.

"Then, Mr. Zhu, in your opinion, what should I do next to improve myself?"

Mr. Zhu is not an Impermanence; he can’t provide me with specific guidance, and I didn’t expect it. But since the Zhu family had given birth to Impermanences in the past, perhaps there was some useful knowledge left behind, at least to point me in a vague direction.

"It’s quite simple, just continue to polish your intuition and accumulate your own insights." Mr. Zhu said, "Starting from Great Success Rank, demon hunters will step into an unknown realm where all knowledge and techniques can hardly be of any help. After reaching Impermanence, you will stand in a place beyond the understanding of anyone.

"Not to mention us demon hunters who have not become Impermanence, even those among you who are also Impermanence often cannot truly understand each other’s powers, unable to provide guidance.

"You are all lone wanderers on your own paths."

In other words, there are no shortcuts on this path. I have to spend time practicing step by step, gradually accumulating experience.

I was still hoping to cram the knowledge I missed and seek salvation at the last minute, but as it turns out, I am that "salvation."

Strictly speaking, it’s not that there aren’t other "salvations" I can seek now; those would be the Power of Divine Seal Fragments and the Artifact Refining Power.

I can continue to perceive the connection between myself and the Divine Seal Fragments, trying to extract their power. Even for Impermanence, the power of the Divine Seal Fragments is not to be underestimated. But as I deepen my perception, I gradually realize that this is a challenge too difficult for the current me to overcome.

To clearly grasp the Power of Divine Seal Fragments, there are only two methods. One is to strengthen my connection with the Divine Seal Fragments. I have a premonition that my connection with the Divine Seal Fragments is, in fact, my connection with the Void Realm. To deepen this, the most direct way is to conduct more trades with the Master of Divine Seal.

This is a route that emphasizes "quality." There’s another route that emphasizes "quantity," which is to collect more Divine Seal Fragments. If the number of Divine Seal Fragments bound to me increases, connections will increase, making it easier for me to perceive the Power of Divine Seal Fragments. This is also the safest method.

However, even if I were to obtain a sufficient quantity of Divine Seal Fragments, I estimate it would take me more than three months to perceive them. And no matter which method it is, they cannot be implemented in a short time. I can’t afford to delay until then to challenge Ming Zhuo.

As for the Artifact Refining Power... to be honest, I still haven’t figured out how to refine someone else’s soul into a magical artifact, rather than into slag. Even if I could do it, I don’t think that just refining enemies below the Great Success Rank into artifacts would be effective against enemies in the Impermanence realm.

"Mr. Zhu, is it really okay for you and Zhu Shi to be with me now?" I asked.

I haven’t kept secret about challenging Ming Zhuo. Not only did Mr. Zhu not discourage me, but he also brought Zhu Shi with him to the Luoshan Headquarters.

To prevent being targeted by Ming Zhuo and his subordinates, the Zhu family had previously displayed an attitude of cutting ties with me publicly, while secretly continuing to provide me with intelligence support; now, this act of accompanying me openly tells everyone that the Zhu family and I, Zhuang Cheng, are on the same side.

Does Mr. Zhu think I have a high chance of winning?

"I had no intention of hiding behind the scenes until the end, letting you venture into battle alone. Although we can’t provide any substantial help in your fight with Ming Zhuo, at the very least we want to show an attitude of shared adversity. If we don’t even have this level of attitude, it would seem insincere to say we want to join your ranks or even maintain a friendship in the future."

Mr. Zhu glanced at Zhu Shi, who was meditating and communicating with the Yama Sword, and continued: "I never thought that after you became Impermanence, the road ahead would be smooth sailing; on the contrary, upon becoming Impermanence, you must face tribulations that belong to you. At first, I thought your tribulation would come from Ming Zhuo, but I didn’t expect it to come from Shan Liangyi...

"No matter which, the tribulation that falls upon you will not disappear, and whether or not you can overcome it is irrelevant. Your tribulation could spread to all people related to you; and deciding to take on such risk is also a must for those who want to stand on the same front as you.

"I have discussed this with my granddaughter in advance. Originally, when she realized you might directly challenge Ming Zhuo, she wanted to dissuade you, but I convinced her."

Hearing this, I expressed my doubt: "So, in your and Zhu Shi’s view, if I were to fight Ming Zhuo... I’m not completely without a chance of winning?"

Mr. Zhu, however, said without hesitation: "No, you are bound to be defeated."