Ashen God
Chapter 45: Dimensionality Reduction Strike

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Dimensionality Reduction Strike

If it were under normal circumstances, rascally kids, or the elderly out for a walk would definitely have set their sights on this Silver Frost Flower that, at first glance, gave off an extraordinary vibe.

After all, ever since the Empire had announced the Spiritual Qi Recovery, it had been vigorously pushing the new policy of national cultivation internally, so basically, every Imperial citizen over eighteen with a fully developed body would practice the Cultivation Techniques issued by the Empire.

Right, only adults over the age of eighteen could practice cultivation. As for high school and middle school students whose mental maturity was already on the rise? Don’t even think about it! They must wait until college to start practicing.

As for the reason? Naturally, there were a multitude of them. For instance, minors’ bodies were not fully developed and not suitable for practicing adult-oriented Cultivation Techniques, or minors had heavy school workloads and couldn’t afford additional cultivation stress, and it was also said that the less mature minds of minors had a higher chance of experiencing Deviation due to over-fixation during cultivation.

In short, if one wanted to find reasons, they could definitely come up with a truckload.

In Zhang Yanhang’s view, prohibiting minors from cultivating Cultivation Techniques could also effectively lower the likelihood of campus Violence and bullying incidents, especially the "Three years of being down and out in the east, three years of thriving in the west; don’t bully the youth when they’re poor" kind of thing, which had to be absolutely eradicated.

Once such an evil atmosphere took root within the schools, it would likely escalate from mere campus Violence and bullying to full-blown homicide, which could spark a wave of public opinion against the practice of national cultivation.

But with the arrival of the Spiritual Qi Recovery Era, cultivation for all was undoubtedly correct—hindering it was akin to halting the unstoppable march of history’s chariot and was doomed to have no good outcome.

Besides, besides certain contrarians and fools, truly no one could resist the temptation of cultivation, for cultivation could extend one’s Life Span. Simply advancing from First Tier to Second Tier could magically add twenty years to one’s Life Span, so the most tangible benefit of national cultivation was that it could allow the average Life Span of Imperial citizens to easily surpass a hundred years.

"Although this conspicuous Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures seems to be waiting for some fated individual, I believe first come, first served applies to those with virtue," Zhang Yanhang mused, speaking words usually reserved for villains as he reached out and plucked the remarkably eye-catching Silver Frost Flower.

Having just picked the Silver Frost Flower and walked only a few steps, Zhang Yanhang caught sight of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye—a female college student Awakener. No mistake about it, it was that Zhao Yalan from yesterday with the smelly "jio". She was out early in the morning, holding a camera, seemingly capturing something.

"Wow, turns out you’re the fated one, eh? No wonder you made it into the multiple choice questions." Zhang Yanhang figured that if he’d arrived a minute or two later, this Silver Frost Flower would certainly have been picked by Zhao Yalan, who would also probably upload a short video online to show off.

Right now, Zhao Yalan was on the opposite side of the road, but Zhang Yanhang didn’t hide his movements at all and continued walking straight ahead. After all, he did nothing wrong and everything he did was with a clear conscience—put simply, his actions were all justifiable.

However, although guilt-free, Zhang Yanhang, as the aggressor facing the gaze of the victim, couldn’t help but quicken his pace. Being already not far from the store, he sprinted off and ran inside.

"What just whisked past?" Initially, Zhao Yalan didn’t care much about the person across the street, but his sudden burst of speed caught her attention. The more she pondered, the more she felt a strange familiarity, "Could it be someone I know? Should I go over and say hi?"

"I’m somewhat of an internet celebrity now; I’ve got to seize this rare chance to make an impression."

Zhao Yalan believed the person must be some old middle school or high school classmate. With her status as an Awakener and an internet celebrity facing classmates who were still just ordinary college students, she thought she could deliver a bit of a "dimensional knockdown" with an especially good brag effect.

In her first attempt at this kind of encounter, an inexperienced Zhao Yalan grew more and more excited and crossed the road, walking up to the dumpling shop’s entrance.

At that moment, Zhang Yanhang had just finished buying his buns and was heading out, while Zhao Yalan was making her way in, and the two met in the narrow passageway of the dumpling shop.

Zhao Yalan looked up at Zhang Yanhang’s face, while Zhang Yanhang looked down at Zhao Yalan’s profound neckline—sorry, even though he should’ve been looking at her face as well, he just couldn’t help himself.

When he finally brought his gaze back to Zhao Yalan’s face, Zhang Yanhang could clearly see the confusion and surprise on her expression—a complex expression, so complex that most of the time, it’s referred to as a "face acting" skill.

And what about Zhang Yanhang’s expression at the time? It was still expressionless, actually. Zhang Yanhang’s lack of expression was his default steady state, turning into something else only on rare occasions, such as when injured by a Licker’s attack, causing his expression to twist into something fierce and malevolent.

"You..." Zhao Yalan seemed to want to say something to Zhang Yanhang as she came to her senses.

But Zhang Yanhang, quick on the uptake, took advantage of the moment Zhao Yalan opened her mouth to stuff in one of the fresh-out-of-steamer buns, "Please accept this bun as my sincere apology. That said, whether to speak or not, having a ’jio’ smell is a sickness that must be cured; farewell, senior."

After his ’heartfelt’ ’advice’, Zhang Yanhang quickly sidestepped Zhao Yalan, who was blocking the passageway, and moved near the shop’s entrance.

Upon hearing Zhang Yanhang’s words, Zhao Yalan instinctively clenched her fists, then bit down, forgetting the scalding soup-filled bun was still in her mouth. Her bite instantly caused the sizzling juice from the freshly steamed bun to burst forth, scalding the unsuspecting confines of her mouth.

Despite the bun’s delicious taste, the intense heat left Zhao Yalan in no mood to appreciate it, feeling instead an inexplicable torment.

"Lastly, as a senior on the path of cultivation, I want to leave you with a word of advice, senior; do not attempt to chase after men faster than you, as they are existences you will never catch up with."

After delivering his peculiarly poignant comment with an emotionless face, Zhang Yanhang swiftly stuffed the dumplings and millet porridge into his Waist Bag and, turning on his heel, took off at his highest speed.

After all, if he didn’t run now, when would he?