Dawn of a New Era - Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Extreme Joy Begets Sorrow

Translator: Lordbluefire  Editor: Lordbluefire

The time in the dreamscape was very long, but it was in fact so short that it seemed as if he had just been lost in thoughts for a short moment.

Chen Shouyi opened his eyes, lying in bed as he quietly recollected his memories in the dreamscape.

The optimization this time caused the Thirty-six Stances of Body Training to change a lot. Not only were the actions a lot more complicated, the difficulty was higher, and there was also an additional hint of mystery to them.

He guessed that this should be due to the changes in the Earth’s environment.

Without the invasion of the mysterious force field, without the support from this kind of environment, the optimization this time around might be presented in another version.

He couldn’t help but suddenly think that if he had been on the small island during the optimization, then what would the outcome be like?

The density of the mysterious force was higher over there, and he reckoned that it’d be closer toward the mysterious force field.

However, these were just his guesses after all, and Unverified guesses would just remain as empty talk.

Chen Shouyi decided not to think about this.

He couldn’t hold back his urge and quickly got up. Next, he assumed the stance in the narrow room and started practicing.

He hadn’t realized this when he was in the dreamscape, but when he started practicing in person, he realized that it was difficult, very difficult!

All of his actions seemed to go against the principles of human movements. The center of gravity kept on changing and tended to result in his body being subjected to an extremely imbalanced situation. At the same time, he must constantly maintain conscious meditation, keeping his consciousness free from distractions.

Thankfully, the conscious meditation, which tended to be difficult for ordinary people, was something that he had experienced many times in the dreamscape. To him, it wasn’t something hard to accomplish.

However, the crucial thing was that for every stance, his body would feel as if it was struck by electric currents. It would feel very numb and uncontrollably itchy.

As the movements continued, the numbness and itchiness would continue to accumulate, becoming increasingly intense. It would create a serious disturbance to his mental state.

If there was the slightest ripple in his consciousness, his actions would be disrupted.

In the beginning, Chen Shouyi only managed to practice to the 11th or 12th stance, and then he would find it hard to continue.

His body turned numb, and he broke out in goosebumps. Even his muscles seemed as if it was cramping up, twitching non-stop.

The most unbearable thing was still the itchiness. It didn’t come from the skin, but from the muscles or even the bones. It was impossible to scratch, and it made his heart seethe.

However, it was this intense reaction that made Chen Shouyi feel the powerful impact of the second optimized version.

Although his entire body found it hard to bear, he continued to clench his teeth and persist.

He would rest for half a minute after practicing for a few times., waiting for the numbness to dissipate before he continued practicing.

After half an hour, he was able to practice to the 21st stance. When he came to a stop, his entire body felt stiff and his scalp was numb.

After two hours, he was already able to practice to the 33rd stance. It was a pity that a ripple broke out in his consciousness, causing his body to stiffen up. He fell hard onto the ground, unable to move.

…

When the shell girl, who was feeling very bored, saw the giant collapsing, her eyes instantly lit up. She let out a cry and immediately jumped off the bed like a flea, running rapidly toward him.

“Giant, what happened to you?”

As she said this, she squatted down, sneakily grabbing a glass marble that had dropped out from his pocket.

Chen Shouyi didn’t notice it at all.

“I’m fine!” After lying down for a while, he felt better.

Seeing that he had gotten up, the shell girl quickly backed off by a few meters. She stood under the bed, not blinking at all as she stared at his pocket.

Chen Shouyi didn’t pay her any attention. He got up and continued practicing.

He refused to believe that he wouldn’t be able to master this set of actions.

One minute later, his body fell down hard once again.

At the next instant, the shell girl’s eyes lit up. She quickly ran over, repeating what she did earlier. She smiled brightly and asked, “Giant, are you alright?”

Many glass marbles had dropped out this time around, and she couldn’t pick them all up with both hands. With each additional one she picked up, she would drop another.

The shell girl tried hard, wanting to get all the marbles. Feeling both exhilarated and increasingly anxious, she completely forgot about the flow of time.

“These gemstones are mine!” At this moment, a thunderous voice rang out. The shell girl got such a shock that she stiffened up, dropping all the marbles in her arms onto the ground.

The giant had sat up without her noticing.

“No! No! No!” The shell girl immediately grabbed two of the marbles and held onto them tightly. She turned her head as she said this, tears flowing out from her eyes.

“They dropped out from my pocket, so they are mine.” Chen Shouyi was trying to reason with her. He was still wondering earlier why the shell girl had become so nice. It turned out that she had done so for the sake of the marbles.

“But… but I picked them up.” The shell girl pouted.

“But they are still mine!” Seeing how aggrieved she looked, Chen Shouyi changed the topic. “But, if you’re willing to help me pick them up, I can give you one!”

At this moment, he felt like a black-hearted capitalist… but just a little.

When the shell girl heard that, she immediately stopped crying. Her expression turned a little hopeful. “Then what if the gemstones fall out from your pocket again next time? Will I get a reward for picking them up?”

“There won’t be a next time. I’ll put the gemstones in another place.”

The giant replied brutally, causing the shell girl to start crying uncontrollably once again. She sobbed, wiped off her tears, and squatted down to pick up the gemstones from the ground, feeling aggrieved as she put them onto Chen Shouyi’s hand.

“There’s still one more under your foot.” Chen Shouyi’s eyes were sharp, and he immediately noticed that her heel wasn’t flat on the ground.

When the shell girl heard that, she cried even more intensely. She moved her foot slowly, picked up the marble, and placed it fiercely onto Chen Shouyi’s hand. “#@￥ giant! Here! Take them! Take them all! There’s really no more now!”

Chen Shouyi wasn’t assured and checked the floor carefully. He realized that there were really no more marbles.

It was only then did he dig out all the marbles from his pocket.

The blurry glow enchanted the shell girl, and she subconsciously held her breathing.

Chen Shouyi kept to his word, giving the shell girl one marble. He then counted the rest of them in front of her, then placed the several tens of green bean-sized marbles into the bedside table’s drawer.

The shell girl’s gaze was fixed on the marbles, and she only pretended as if she didn’t care about them after they disappeared from her sight.

After seeing the giant coming over toward her, she retreated under the bed, looking from the corner of her eyes at the marble she had picked up the first time around. She couldn’t help but feel proud.

She had two more now.

…

At 5 p.m., Chen Shouyi finally went through the Thirty-six Stances of Body Training completely.

At the next instant, he felt a mysterious aura appearing. He seemed to feel a weak but omnipresent force. Every organ, every muscle, and even every cell in his body were all soaked in this power.

The numbness in his body was dissipating rapidly. In its place, there was a warmth that made his entire body feel very good.

…

After taking a shower, Chen Shouyi headed out once again.

The traffic was still congested, and some restaurants had stopped their operations. However, most of them carried on with their business as usual. Chen Shouyi saw a fast food restaurant in operation nearby, and was about to enter when he felt that a gaze was fixed at him.

His senses were very sharp now, and he immediately turned.

A beautiful young lady wearing a short dress was standing in the streets, seeming a little uncertain. “Brother?”

“Xing… Xingyue, what are you doing here?” He couldn’t help but feel a little panicky when he saw his younger sister. Thankfully, he calmed down very quickly.

“Brother, I should be the one asking you that. Aren’t you supposed to be at the training camp?” Chen Xingyue assessed her elder brother who had become a little unfamiliar to her. She felt suspicious, but she didn’t stand on ceremony with the way she spoke to him.

“The electricity was cut off today, and after a long period of training, the teacher informed us that the training will be postponed by a few days. I was about to prepare to head home.”

Chen Shouyi frowned and continued, “Given how chaotic the situation is, why are you running around instead of staying at home?”

With her sister around, he would feel assured about the situation back at home. After all, she was a martial apprentice and wasn’t someone ordinary people could compare against.

“You think I want to come? Mom told me to come and see if I can buy anything from the supermarkets here,” Chen Xingyue said. She didn’t know why, but she felt a little nervous when faced with her brother’s scolding.

“We didn’t manage to buy things?” Chen Shouyi asked.

“We did, but Mom feels that there might not be enough.”