Chapter Twenty-Six: He Zhouzhou's Invitation

After finishing his words, Sun Ming hung up the phone.

Shen An set his phone on the bedside table and gazed toward the window.

Sun Ming was definitely hiding something from him; this was Shen An’s intuition. Judging by Sun Ming’s attitude, it seemed he was unwilling to reveal it, perhaps because of some hidden reason.

“Hopefully, he’s all right,” Shen An thought to himself.

...

“All right, if there are any other calls you need to make, hurry up and finish them. Training starts soon.”

At that moment, beside Sun Ming stood an elderly man, well past his fifties, dressed in a traditional long gown. He watched Sun Ming with a beaming smile.

Sun Ming wore a bitter expression. He had just endured the most grueling, hellish training of his life. This old man was a devil incarnate. Sun Ming swore that if he managed to survive and return home, he would never show his face around this man again.

“Since you’re done with your calls, today’s training will be doubled,” the old man said, almost as if on purpose, tossing over a backpack.

The backpack landed on the ground with a heavy thud, causing even the floor to tremble slightly.

Seeing this, Sun Ming’s face turned ashen.

“That’s it. I probably won’t live to finish today’s training.”

“I’m done saving the world! I just want to be an ordinary man!”

For a moment, the vast training field echoed with Sun Ming’s anguished, desperate shouts.

Meanwhile, Shen An was connecting with his future self.

As the saying goes, when in doubt, seek help from your future self. What you don’t know today, another version of you might already understand.

And indeed, by consulting his future self, Shen An had come to learn of many hidden truths. For instance, the existence of the Four Great Families, and of the ancient martial artists.

As for the ancient martial artists, his future self’s response was: “Ignore them. A bunch of stubborn old relics passing down outdated traditions—not worth your attention. Just focus on improving your own strength.”

Now, isn’t that attitude something?

Hearing these words, Shen An felt much more at ease. If his future self said there was nothing to worry about, then there truly was nothing to worry about. If he couldn’t trust anyone else, surely he could trust himself.

Thus reassured, Shen An relaxed considerably.

Just as he was lost in thought, his phone rang again.

Ever since the earthquake incident, he’d been receiving calls from all sorts of people lately.

This time it was from an unfamiliar number.

When he answered, a sweet voice came through the receiver.

Immediately, Shen An perked up, listening intently.

“Hello?”

The voice on the other end sounded timid.

Shen An quickly asked, “Zhou Zhou?”

He recognized the voice at once.

He used to hear this voice nearly every day. Back then, whenever the lovely Zhou Zhou was live-streaming, Shen An would always be watching. Over time, that voice became etched in his memory. On top of that, after meeting in person over the past couple of days, even though he hadn’t spoken much with her, he could tell that the online Zhou Zhou and the real-life Zhou Zhou were much the same.

He could see that Zhou Zhou’s online persona wasn’t an act—that was truly how she was.

“Hehe, I can’t believe you recognized my voice. I guess you’re not a fake fan after all,” Zhou Zhou said, clearly delighted that Shen An had known it was her.

After all, this was their first conversation over the phone.

“Of course. I watch your streams every day,” Shen An replied with a smile.

“So... are you all right?” Zhou Zhou suddenly asked.

“I’m fine,” Shen An reassured her.

He continued, “They didn’t give you any trouble, did they?”

He knew that Zhou Zhou and the others had probably already been summoned for a “chat.” Everything they had seen or heard would surely have been off-limits during that meeting. So, though Shen An didn’t specify what he meant, Zhou Zhou understood.

Some things simply couldn’t be discussed right now.

“It’s fine. I’m home again. I asked my boss for a few days off and I’m resting at home now.”

Hearing this, Shen An realized that the day’s events must have badly shaken her, so he didn’t press further.

“By the way, where’s your hometown?” Shen An asked casually.

“Wanyuan Village! You probably haven’t heard of it, and none of my followers in the stream know either, so you can’t tell anyone,” Zhou Zhou replied, as if sharing a secret treat, without hesitation.

“It’s a hard place to find, but the scenery is beautiful. If you ever have time, you should come visit and see it for yourself.”

Zhou Zhou, like a girl next door, began to talk excitedly about her hometown, her words tumbling out in a cheerful stream.

Clearly, she was deeply fond of her home.

When Shen An heard the name Wanyuan Village, a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

What a small world this was.

“Hey!” Shen An suddenly called out.

“What is it?” Zhou Zhou’s voice came back, lazy and relaxed.

“I mean, if I came to Wanyuan Village, would you be my host?” His voice was so deep and magnetic that Zhou Zhou was momentarily at a loss for words.

After a few seconds of silence, Zhou Zhou finally replied, “You’re not being serious, are you?”

She suddenly sensed that the voice on the other end wasn’t joking—he was truly waiting for her answer.

What was this? Was it a date?

Zhou Zhou, you must remember to play it cool!

“All right, if you dare to come, I’ll host you. I keep my word.”

In high spirits, Shen An ended the call. He hadn’t asked for directions to Wanyuan Village; he was confident he could find it on his own.

As for the details—well, he could always ask himself.

A little while later, several more people called to check on him.

There was Zhou Wang, and Han Feng as well.

It seemed his number had become quite well known.

Among these people, Zhou Wang served as a kind of go-between.

But through this, Shen An had come to know a number of truly influential figures.

And this was only the beginning for him.

Ordinarily, he might never have encountered such people in his entire life.

And yet, in just a few short days, he had come into contact with individuals he never would have dreamed of meeting. It was truly incredible.

Letting his mind settle, Shen An began to practice his breathing technique.

With his Grade A talent, his cultivation speed was astonishing, allowing him to absorb primordial oxygen at an extraordinary rate. He activated his devouring ability.

The scant traces of primordial oxygen in the surrounding air swiftly flowed into his body.

These traces were transforming him from within.

Shen An could feel his strength steadily increasing.

After half an hour, he stopped.

He realized he had completely exhausted the primordial oxygen in the area.

“It seems the supply is still too limited,” he muttered, shaking his head and ceasing his cultivation.

Shen An picked up his phone and looked over the recent developments.

He found that it wasn’t so much that nothing had happened lately, but rather that many events had been suppressed from above.

Take the spiritual fruit, for example—ordinary people knew nothing about it, but among the great families, it had already escalated to the point of armed conflict.

Suddenly, Shen An noticed a new post.

“You might not believe me, but I think I’m a superhuman,” the author declared.