Dawn of a New Era-Chapter 495 - 469: Undercurrents Surging

Provincial Government Building.

Conference Room.

An important meeting is in progress.

"The losses in this war have been tremendous. According to statistics submitted by various counties and cities, the post-war industrial output of enterprises above a designated scale has fallen by 30% compared to before the war. The most important heavy industrial output has even decreased by 50%, severely affecting the supply for military units.

This year, the primary task for the entire province is to restore productivity as quickly as possible to cope with the potentially adverse situation of the new year!" The high official spoke while rubbing his temples, clearly exhausted, and continued: "Additionally, there’s the recruitment work for this year. Let’s discuss the appropriate numbers..."

There was a light knock on the door.

The conference room fell silent.

The chief secretary sitting in the corner, responsible for taking meeting notes, immediately stood up and opened the door. It was the Office Director, looking both suppressed and excited. He said, "Leaders, something major has happened!"

...

February 17th, New Year.

The second year since the second anomaly.

The dim winter sunlight carried a hint of laziness and lethargy.

After noon, an undercurrent began to spread outwards from Jiangnan University, at a speed of one or two meters per second, in all directions.

Human cultivation methods have been popularized for the past twenty years.

Even the most ignorant and indifferent individuals know a thing or two, and some had even practiced for a while.

Especially in these perilous times of war, where safety feels elusive.

Out of every ten people, if not all ten, at least four or five practice daily.

Hence, when the news that the strongest individual in Jiangnan Province released a more efficient new cultivation method during a speech emerged, it was like a nuclear bomb was dropped, and its influence began to spread rapidly.

...

Inside the conference room.

The curtains were tightly drawn, and the light was dim.

At this moment, an old-fashioned projector was set up, and a staff member was slowly turning the handle.

On the projection screen, the image flickered with snowflakes.

An air of old cinema permeated the room.

In the scene, a young man was performing a set of complex and challenging movements slowly yet fluidly.

It looked somewhat similar to the Martial Arts Thirty-Six Styles but was distinctly different.

Once completed, the image suddenly became oddly blurry but quickly returned to normal.

The footage hadn’t been subtitled and didn’t have accompanying audio yet.

A professor who had attended the speech was providing manual voiceover from memory.

"When cultivating, one needs to concentrate and calm the mind, entering a state of clarity and tranquility...

This modified version of the Martial Arts Thirty-Six Styles can slowly absorb Original Force from other worlds, quickly strengthening oneself. The effect is about ten times that of the original version..."

...

Time passed slowly.

The attendees sat for more than two hours, and four reels of film were changed.

Until the end of the footage.

Everyone felt as if they were awakening from a dream, their faces showing restrained excitement.

"Professor Wang, you are an expert in the Martial Arts Thirty-Six Styles. What do you think?"

"It’s hard to say!" Professor Wang cautiously responded: "I can’t quite understand General Manager Chen’s set of movements, but I can still see traces and thought patterns of the Martial Arts Thirty-Six Styles.

It seems to be a continuation, potentially genuine.

Furthermore, there’s no reason for someone as powerful as General Manager Chen to play a prank.

Did you all notice that each time General Manager Chen completed a round, the image became blurry, indicating that a significant amount of Original Force gathered, interfering with the footage.

However, if it is genuine, no one has yet managed to master it, and the true situation remains unverified."

Although Professor Wang’s words were ambiguous, his inclination leaned towards belief.

No one dares to offend a legendary figure wihtout evidence.

"Organize researchers to verify its authenticity as quickly as possible. As for funding... once the provincial government collectively researches and decides, a special appropriation will be made. This is the top priority!" the high official said firmly, feeling invigorated.

If a new, more efficient cultivation method is developed, its impact on the current situation would be like a beacon of light in the darkness, worthy of utmost importance.

...

As for Chen Shouyi, who caused all this, he was warmly entertained by the school and left with his sister after having lunch.

"Brother, when did you perfect this new cultivation method?" Chen Xingyue asked on the way.

She didn’t believe her brother comprehended it shortly after becoming a legend. Given his cultivation speed, he certainly had been secretly practicing it long before. Otherwise, how could his strength improve so rapidly, as if he was riding a rocket?

No matter how hard she worked, she couldn’t catch up.

"When I became a Martial Artist!" Chen Shouyi said casually.

As expected.

Chen Xingyue pouted, a bit dissatisfied:

"Then why didn’t you teach me?"

She only found out about the new Martial Arts Thirty-Six Styles along with everyone else. It was truly infuriating; she was his dearest sister.

If she could have learned earlier, she wouldn’t be at her current level of strength. Perhaps... she would be a legend like her brother.

"Didn’t I teach you to enter a state of tranquility for self-cultivation? But you couldn’t learn it." Chen Shouyi responded, speechless.

"But you didn’t teach me the Martial Arts Thirty-Six Styles!" Chen Xingyue said indignantly. He definitely didn’t want her to catch up to him.

"Do you think it’s that simple? These two cultivation methods complement each other. You can’t even learn the tranquility method, and you want to learn the Martial Arts Thirty-Six Styles?"

"Who knows? Maybe I can master it once I try!" Chen Xingyue said defiantly.

From a young age, she had been flexible. No matter how difficult the movement, she could perform it. She didn’t believe she needed to master the abnormal tranquility method before practising.

"Fine, fine. Let me know when you’ve learned it!" Chen Shouyi said, exasperated with a grunt.

She simply couldn’t appreciate kindness.

"What if I do learn it? How will you compensate me?" Chen Xingyue said, her eyes gleaming, taking advantage.

"I’ll give you five bottles of Divine Marrow. Are you satisfied now?"

Five bottles of divine marrow from a demigod, only five merit points; for Chen Shouyi, who has accumulated 350 merit points, it’s just a drop in the bucket.

"You said it!" Chen Xingyue’s face lit up with joy: "Brother, you’re the best!"

Wait until you learn it, then be happy.

Chen Shouyi snorted quietly to himself.

...

Chen Shouyi returned home.

Walked back to the bedroom and closed the door.

Discovered the Shell Lady was already awake, with a picture book spread out on the bed.

Sure enough, after a while, she emerged from the blanket and greeted politely, "Good Giant, you’re back."

"Yes." Chen Shouyi replied.

Went to the bathroom, washed his face, and hung up the towel.

Opened the attribute panel.

The time for the Book of Knowledge to be optimized again was getting closer, and he couldn’t help but look at it several times every day.

Strength: 18.4

Agility: 18.4

Constitution: 18.4

Intelligence: 18.0

Perception: 16.7

Will: 17.1

Energy Accumulation: 26.5

Faith Value: 503.5

"Another 74 hours!" Chen Shouyi thought to himself, looking at the value of 26.5.

At this moment, he looked at the Faith Value and couldn’t help but exclaim softly.

"I checked this morning, and it was only 502 points, half a day’s work increased it by 1.5 points."

The growth of the Faith Value isn’t linear; it fluctuates with time.

All his believers are in the parallel world. Observing the growth of the Faith Value can reveal whether it’s day or night there.

If the Faith Value grows slowly or stagnates, it must be nighttime; if it grows rapidly, it’s definitely daytime, and right now it’s exactly midnight in the parallel world, with five to six hours until dawn.

"If it’s not a change in the parallel world, then it must be due to my speech!" Chen Shouyi contemplated.

Chen Shouyi didn’t pay much attention to it; nowadays, his Faith Value grows by an average of twenty-three or twenty-four points every day, two or five points haven’t surprised him for a long time.

However, this was clearly just the beginning.

As time passed, the growth rate of the Faith Value increased rapidly.

By evening, it had grown an additional 5 points.

...

During dinner.

Even Mrs. Chen, who rarely talked about Martial Arts, asked curiously and worried if his modified Refining Body Thirty-Six Styles really worked that well.

After the Spring Festival, the restaurant had reopened.

Today, the people who came for lunch were talking about this passionately, leaving Mrs. Chen surprised and proud.

Many times, listening to the guests’ discussions, she almost couldn’t resist saying that this was her son!

But she held back every time.

Since the mutation, the situation has become dangerous, and she hasn’t bragged outside about her son being a Martial Artist.

In her heart, there’s nothing to boast about.

Every time her son goes out on a mission, it’s the most nerve-wracking moment; fearing he might not come back, or fearing strangers knocking on the door.

She allows her children to practice martial arts to give them a respectable identity and a chance to stand out, not to take risks and do dangerous things!

Killing barbarians and monsters, let others do it.

Not her son or daughter.

Humans are selfish, and a mother even more so.

Fortunately, her son has always been safe and has now become unimaginably strong to her; missions are fewer, and he has become more obedient and mature, and her daughter has found a stable job, no longer taking risks like her brother.

...

The next day, as the influence continued to ferment and spread, extending to surrounding cities like Hedong.

Faith Value growth accelerated again.

Subtracting growth from the parallel world, in a single day, it gained an extra 20 points.

The third day saw an additional growth of 50 points.

Pushing the Faith Value to over six hundred points.

Chen Shouyi was both thrilled and slightly unexpected; this was much faster than the growth from those barbarian believers.

Fifty points, already twice the previous average daily growth; he seemed to greatly underestimate the impact of this speech.

Of course, he also understood that this kind of burst of popularity fades quickly and can’t be sustained.

After a while, it would likely drop back down, unlike true faith which is enduring, but even if it drops, there should still be a lot left.

It’s all clear profit.

Chen Shouyi now worried if anyone could practice his optimized cultivation technique.

It might lead to a wave of massive negative emotions then.

But...

It doesn’t seem like a bad thing!

His internal World Tree seems to enjoy negative emotions like curses.

Maybe it might even expand the space a bit more.

...

ps: Sorry, it’s writer’s block today, there’s only one Chapter. Tomorrow there will definitely be two Chapters, otherwise, I’ll eat dirt.