Chapter 3: That Man Is Actually Cultivating Immortality

Concrete walls, incredibly hard—if a healthy adult man were to strike one with all his might, he might leave a faint mark, but never a dent. The bones simply cannot withstand such force; push them further and they snap or shatter...

Chen Chu rubbed his palm, his knuckles swollen and red, a bit disappointed. “So this is all I can manage? I can’t even break through the outer layer of the wall…”

The experts monitoring from various countries were stunned. Chen Chu looked barely in his early twenties, yet he could unleash such power—it's a miracle his fingers weren't broken!

Their interest in the manual lying on the ground only grew…

In the research lab of Xia Nation, Director Li Yuanze’s brow was tightly furrowed.

Exercise certainly strengthens the body, but for Chen Chu to write his own manual on a whim, train himself, and actually succeed—gaining such destructive power—was utterly beyond belief.

He might be a prodigy, but… with the imminent solar helium flash, even the strongest bodies will be reduced to ashes.

Just then, his assistant entered carrying a tablet. “This ‘Earth’s Last Son’ is trending; tens of billions are following him! Many, both domestic and foreign, are attempting to ‘cultivate’ using the manual he wrote on the ground. We know of at least thirty million people...

Of these, two million reported physical discomfort after following the manual—dizziness, nausea, and so on.

But more than four hundred claimed to sense the ‘spiritual energy’ mentioned in the manual, and most are from Xia Nation. They share two traits: deep talent for language, and profound knowledge of Xia’s ancient culture. Someone even compiled a clean, unedited version of the manual…”

Could it be that true masters dwell among the common folk?

Li Yuanze gently massaged his temple. “You’ll be responsible for tracking this ‘Earth’s Last Son.’ Have you not yet discovered his identity and background? ‘Last Son’ isn’t exactly a fitting name…”

The assistant looked embarrassed. “Judging by his behavior, speech, writing, and appearance, he’s almost certainly one of us, but we can’t find any information—it's as if he appeared out of nowhere. Of course, we haven’t given up; people are still running nationwide identity and facial comparisons…”

Li Yuanze sighed. “Alright, I understand. Protect those four hundred who sensed the ‘spiritual energy.’ And collect that clean, unedited manual—don’t let it leak abroad…”

Earth.

As night fell, though humanity had fled, many devices continued to operate.

Streetlights flickered on. Chen Chu scribbled an IOU at a small shop, boiled water, soaked a few buckets of instant noodles, and sat at the door, eating and watching this quiet world…

Through a day of cultivation, he realized the world’s spiritual energy was far too sparse. Later stages would demand more and more.

He’d have to plan ahead—how to gather this energy.

The system was taxing, really—it dumped knowledge at the start, but everything afterwards was up to him…

In a normal world, this might be bearable. But with only three years until the solar helium flash, failing to cultivate meant certain death. It was like the frantic week of cramming before final exams in his previous life.

Chen Chu propped his cheek with one hand, staring absent-mindedly at the steam rising from his noodles. Wait—he hadn’t created any spells!

Cultivation was the romantic dream of so many. Not just for immortality, but for those wondrous arts—summoning wind and rain, moving mountains, filling seas, and soaring through the sky on a sword, roaming the world at will...

He set the noodles aside, pressed his palms together, steam rising between them, and slowly guided his power to converge…

He tried to control the water molecules in the steam. Unlike spiritual energy, water molecules seemed inert, and his power didn’t alter their form…

He switched hand gestures, even mimicking various seals from movies he’d seen in his previous world, and discovered that different gestures did indeed elicit different reactions from his power. With practice, the power could almost serve as a third hand, sensing the world…

Nothing but skill and repetition. Like a racing driver who, after enough practice, achieves oneness with the car, manipulating it as easily as his limbs.

Without any epiphany, Chen Chu experimented for over two hours. Sweat beaded on his brow, his mood grew impatient, his expression twisted—and then, the cold soup in his noodle bowl suddenly stirred with a ripple. Huh? He hurried to repeat the previous manipulation, and sure enough, another ripple appeared…

It actually worked!

Viewers in the livestream, who had been yawning as he stared at his noodles for three hours, instantly widened their eyes at the strange ripple in the soup, eager to see what would happen next…

Once the first step was overcome, subsequent steps would be easier.

Chen Chu brought his middle and index fingers together, circling them above the noodle bowl. Something miraculous happened: with no contact at all, the soup seemed to be stirred by an invisible chopstick, forming a small whirlpool…

The water molecules no longer resisted fusion with his power. The soup slowly rose, separating from the bowl and hovering in midair, with noodles spinning inside for the viewers to see.

Chen Chu suddenly shouted, “Condense!” and flicked his sword fingers outward. “Go!”

The soup twisted into a ball, shot out, and slammed heavily onto the distant trash can lid, splattering everywhere…

The livestream exploded with popularity!

The audience was electrified.

All at once, they dismissed the idea of kung fu. Different cultures had their own guesses: some called it sorcery, some magic, others witchcraft.

Cultivation—real cultivation!

Their horizons had been too narrow before!

Viewers from Xia Nation trembled with excitement. Cultivation, so fantastical and unreal, actually existed!

The manual on the rooftop, “Qi Refining Formula,” was wildly copied and translated into various languages. The Xia Nation translations online soared in price, rivaling stock speculation in moments!

On the international black market,

Translations by Xia language and ancient culture scholars or professors broke all price records, with corrected local translations fetching even more astonishing sums…

The Xia Nation authorities tried in every way to stop it.

Even with intranet walls built aboard the spaceships, translation leaks couldn’t be prevented—after all, among the billion-plus residents, some genius would always find a way to circumvent the firewall!

Ultimately, the top officials met to discuss and decided to stop resisting.

After all, “Earth’s Last Son” was broadcasting to the world. If they stopped it this time, what about next time, and the countless times after that? Rather than blocking, it was better to allow, and perhaps earn a few international accolades…