Chapter 44: All Dispelled!
The guests remained in the living room for another half hour or so before gradually taking their leave.
Now that Jiang Zhe had broken through to planetary level in both his psychic cultivation and martial path, the old man finally felt at ease assigning him responsibilities. With a lifespan stretching over a thousand years, a bit of work wouldn't slow his cultivation progress.
There were three tasks at hand:
First, compile an ultimate training manual capable of delivering at least tenfold explosive power.
Second, revise the Six-Harmonies Soaring Dragon Spear. He would abandon the focus on explosive force and spear technique, and instead specialize in the "Three Internal Harmonies" to lay the groundwork for mastering a domain.
Third, create a recommended reading list. From now on, every martial trainee in the family would be required to take their "academic studies" seriously—to cultivate their hearts and nurture their minds.
After all, everyone had now witnessed the terrifying power of domains. Who wouldn't fantasize about attaining one for themselves?
Jiang Zhe didn't mind. He knew perfectly well that none of them would actually be able to develop a domain.
But what was the harm in learning? Even if the results weren't immediate, the accumulated foundation would eventually pay off.
Besides, this process gave him a chance to refine and validate his own knowledge. It wouldn't take too much effort anyway.
Still, Jiang Zhe didn't immediately get to work. Instead, he lowered his head and looked at the purple-gold bracelet on his wrist.
He sent a wisp of consciousness-imbued psychic power into it.
The moment it touched the deathly still life imprint within, Jiang Zhe's eyes widened in shock.
Damn!
It was like drowning—only this wasn't just any body of water; this was a vast, abyssal ocean.
The gap in strength was simply too great.
Even though the immortal had already perished and the life imprint had become like water without a source—its quality severely degraded—the quantity was still overwhelming.
It was as vast as the sea. No mere planetary-level psychic could hope to challenge it.
"Anna, this isn't moving mountains—this is filling the sea with stones!"
Oriana, who had quickly mastered Earth's cultural references, gave him an innocent shrug.
She had warned him that the bracelet couldn't be dealt with at this stage.
But Jiang Zhe really needed the legacy stored inside.
Whether to sell or to use for himself—it was valuable.
Especially the latter.
He had awakened the Thunder Prison Realm, which, like that of the mechanical immortal, was based on the law of thunder. Their paths overlapped considerably. There was bound to be something inside the world bracelet that he could use.
All he could do now was sigh. "I'll keep chipping away at it… and figure out a better plan later."
And so, he spent the next nine days working on the bracelet—though some might say he was slacking off, conveniently coinciding with the approach of the Lunar New Year.
At night, he continued training in the Hibernating Dragon Method.
In his dreams, he experienced different "lives"—though none as magnificent as the one with Tiger-18.
Sometimes he was animals: sparrows, rabbits, snakes, wolves, deer—living in a pre-cataclysmic age, without any path to power, with lifespans of just one, a few, or a dozen years.
Other times, he was an ordinary person—receiving basic education, graduating in his twenties, becoming just another cog in the machine, finding a partner through arranged dates, struggling through life until finally breathing a sigh of relief on his deathbed.
…
Each dream lasted only a night—short and seemingly pointless—but gave Jiang Zhe a deep sense of life's fragility.
Still, as the saying goes: Too much of anything is harmful.
He trained in the Hibernating Dragon Method for seven days straight.
After finishing a dream life as a slave, he woke up groggy and stumbled out of bed, his face dark, the oppressive aura around him almost taking physical form.
He only began to recover after standing by the window, gazing at the rising sun and forcing himself to readjust his mindset.
"Whew... this is unbearable. I need to take a break..."
"Every day it's either being a primitive beast or a beast of burden being worked to death. These suffocating lives are having a serious effect on me!"
"If I keep this up, I'm going to develop a split personality from having these dream characters take root!"
After seven days of immersion in different lifetimes, Jiang Zhe had gained a profound realization:
The Hibernating Dragon Method was powerful—it tempered one's mind and will—but becoming addicted to it was like wielding a double-edged sword. The damage would be self-inflicted and brutal.
So he took a two-day break to rest and focused solely on wearing down the life imprint in the bracelet.
Before he knew it, New Year's Eve had arrived.
Under the old man's orders, the Jiang family went all out with the celebrations, practically showering the Lanling Base City with cash, under the banner of "celebrating with the people."
At the Jiang family martial arts school, every student received a secret manual containing double force output techniques as a red envelope. Everyone got one, no exceptions.
Jiang Zhe also prepared gifts for each family member—including Butler Wu and the newly engaged fiancée of his second brother.
Each received one Wood Sprout Crystal—he gave out fewer than twenty in total.
On New Year's Eve, he entered the Wargod Palace.
Thanks to the close relationship between Hong and the Thunder God, the Hanhua New Year had practically become a global holiday. A celebration gala was being held in the first-floor hall.
Jiang Zhe didn't sit with the other Council members. Instead, he changed into casual wear and joined the younger generation of the HR Alliance.
As a high-ranking Council member, people naturally tried to cozy up to him—some to build connections, others hoping to win his favor.
But anyone who approached was swiftly scared off by the cold glares of his two "guardians."
Jolene Farr and Katalan—both were "familiar faces" who had gotten to know him well through earlier fights, and treated him with ease rather than reverence.
"My precious treasure boy," Jolene teased, "after the New Year, I'm coming to your family's school to learn force techniques. You'll personally teach big sis, right?"
"And me too," Katalan added in fluent Mandarin, clearly the result of hard work. "I'd like to take you as my teacher and learn the path of a psychic."
Jiang Zhe gave the burly man a glance and rejected him inwardly with a grimace.
But on second thought—he did need a few guinea pigs to help refine the training manual, especially to account for the limited aptitude of Earthlings.
If he finished the manual and no one could understand it—aside from Hong, Thunder God, and a handful of Council members—wouldn't that be hilarious?
After all, most martial artists on Earth couldn't even grasp the Ninefold Thunder Blade, let alone something far more advanced.
"If you want to learn force techniques, come to the Jiang family and look for me."
"As for learning psychic cultivation…"
Jiang Zhe examined Katalan closely. The latter tensed up, nervous.
"I suggest you give it up," Jiang Zhe said bluntly. "You lack the talent. You'll waste decades just to barely touch Council level."
He spoke with brutal honesty, unconcerned with how harshly his words landed.
Later that night, bored with the festivities, he logged off.
Compared to the virtual space Oriana had created—where the inheritance of Inkfall Star awaited—this event was nothing. That place was like a rice bin for a hungry rat.
On the first day of the New Year, after paying his respects, Jiang Zhe returned to studying the purple-gold bracelet.
This time, he didn't try to wear down the life imprint.
He had come up with a better idea—to replace the rightful owner.
He once again sent his consciousness-imbued psychic power into the bracelet, continuing to erode the life imprint.
But during the process, he planted a fragment of his consciousness within it.
The rest would depend on whether his unique mental state could influence the imprint—and awaken a new ability.
Heaven and I are born together. All things and I are one!
That was the essence—complete integration.
All things are me. I am all things.
He tried to deceive the life imprint—to make it believe he was its long-lost master.
Since the imprint was ownerless and lacked a spiritual seal, this was very possible. (After all, mechanical beings had no soul.)
Nervously, Jiang Zhe clenched his jaw. Sweat beaded down his temples. His breathing grew labored. Finally, he couldn't hold it in and let out a low shout.
"Ha! Nailed it!"
Success!
He had used that faint thread of consciousness to briefly deceive the life imprint and take control of a portion of it.
"Break!"
"Disperse for me!"
Under his command, the controlled portion of the imprint began to unravel.
A thread, then a patch, then a whole segment…
Like dominoes, the entire life imprint collapsed.
In the blink of an eye, it was completely dissolved.
The world bracelet was finally an ownerless artifact.
(End of the Chapter)