Dawn of a New Era

Chen Shouyi gave Shell Lady a bath, changed her into new clothes, then took out a bunch of glass beads and placed them on the bed, where she began counting them for fun, while he trudged back to the bathroom to clean the dirty clothes she'd taken off.

After applying soap and scrubbing several times, the white princess dress was still marred by patches of gray and black.

Chen Shouyi frowned slightly.

Seeing the dress, it was like a pristine field of snow with a black footprint on it, utterly displeasing to the eye.

What did Shell Lady do during the day? It had sticky tree sap on it that wouldn't come off.

Next time we go out, I should dress her in gray or black, so any dirt won't show—or maybe just let her go without clothes, since she wears so little and never seems to feel cold.

As for this dress? He hesitated slightly, then waved his hand and dropped it accurately into the trash can.

After all, she has plenty of clothes, wasting one doesn't really matter!

He washed his hands, dried them with a towel, and walked back to the bedroom.

At last, he had a moment to enter the Memory Space.

He lay on the bed, thought for a moment, and upon opening his eyes again, he was already in the Gray Mist Space.

He walked to the World Tree and chose a memory leaf from today's memories, and his mind immersed into it.

The space changed, and Chen Shouyi felt himself back in the conference hall.

The previous scene replayed.

"Chief Advisor Chen, it seems you have different thoughts, why don't you share them?" Lei Ruiyang said lightly.

"Tell it to your mother, you idiot!"

As soon as he spoke, Chen Shouyi felt the pent-up frustration from leaving the meeting dissipate in large part.

He was training so hard every day, striving to improve his prowess for one day when he would no longer have to endure the taunts of idiots.

If you're not convinced, I'll beat you to death!

Of course, now he could only indulge in this feeling within the Memory Space, as his current strength couldn't leap outside the rules to bypass them.

Amid the bewildered faces of the attendees, Chen Shouyi suddenly stomped the ground hard, causing the floor to shake slightly. In the next moment, the table before him shattered by his body's collision, sending countless wooden splinters shooting like arrows in all directions.

Before they could fall in the Earth's gravity, these splinters were swept further by a surge of wind.

A blurred figure sliced through the air, quickly approaching.

"How dare you!" At this moment, Lei Ruiyang finally reacted, shouting, disbelief still lacing his face, seemingly unable to fathom how reckless the opponent was—completely isolating himself in Hedong City.

He kicked the podium, and the massive redwood table, weighing hundreds of pounds, seemed light and rolled fiercely toward Chen Shouyi, while he strode violently at Chen Shouyi.

Facing the rolling podium, Chen Shouyi's expression didn't change a bit. His feet landed lightly on the rolling table like a swallow skimming the water, and in the next moment, he made an airborne kick at Lei Ruiyang's head.

Lei Ruiyang seemed ready for this moment, a cold smile appearing on his lips, as his big hand wrapped in fierce wind reached for his foot swiftly like electricity.

Chen Shouyi snorted inwardly; this kick was a feint with only about fifty to sixty percent strength. As soon as the opponent was about to grab his foot, he quickly retracted it and then launched it out again at even greater speed.

Even the air was torn with the kick.

Lei Ruiyang's expression drastically changed; he underestimated the opponent. His face was rattled by the wind, and in the nick of time, he barely shielded his head with another hand; the next moment, a terrifying dull thud resounded in the conference room.

His entire body was kicked flying; his left hand was oddly twisted, face bloodied.

While still airborne, a blurred figure quickly chased him, both hands rapidly grabbing his left leg.

Lei Ruiyang was evidently dazed from the kicks, only responding when Chen Shouyi grabbed him, and started struggling fiercely.

The opponent's dreadful strength made Chen Shouyi feel like he was grasping a giant snake rather than a leg, almost breaking his hold with its power.

But the moment was already too late; Chen Shouyi shouted fiercely, exerting all his strength, and slammed the leg violently into the ground.

A thunderous boom erupted like the sound of snapping beans; the floor was instantly cratered. The leg he was clutching kicked once like a frog that had been beheaded, completely stiffening.

At this moment, Chen Shouyi felt a chill in his heart, raising the corpse by the leg and hurling it forcefully behind him.

A shadow stepped back hurriedly:

"Chen Shouyi, you're courting death!" Xiao Changming shouted, his face dark, murderous intent evident.

Seeing Xiao Changming, Chen Shouyi chose not to withdraw, ready to test his might.

Lei Ruiyang obviously underestimated him earlier, not using his full strength, leaving Chen Shouyi unsatisfied.

Chen Shouyi hurled the corpse toward him, then rapidly charged forward.

Xiao Changming narrowly dodged the corpse, suddenly seeing a shadowy fist enlarge before him, and hurriedly raised his arm to block the attack, while his other fist aimed at Chen Shouyi's head.

Chen Shouyi tilted his head slightly, easily dodging, feeling a stinging pain as the wind grazed his face. Instead of retreating, he approached, his feet gliding as he closed in, but Xiao Changming, now alert, quickly stepped aside.

The two exchanged blows swiftly, their figures blurring.

The marble floor exploded with many shallow pits, dust swirling everywhere.

After all, Chen Shouyi hadn't trained much in hand-to-hand combat. Although mastering one skill leads to mastering many, swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat are different disciplines, and he lacked the other's experience.

Yet with agile footwork and superior reaction speed of roughly twenty to thirty percent, he remained composed.

But resolving Xiao Changming in a few moves wasn't easy.

Moreover, the attacking side has a longer journey than the defending side, partially offsetting the reaction gap. Coupled with the opponent's cautious defense, the resolution was delayed.

More martial artists from the military drew closer to the podium.

At this point, a senior martial artist attempted to ambush Chen Shouyi from behind.

The next moment, he was sent flying by Chen Shouyi's swift back kick, soaring through the air, with cracks like firecrackers from his bones suggesting his chest was fully collapsed, obviously no longer alive.

Given his current level of strength, senior martial artists were utterly insignificant.

Yet the massive recoil also caused Chen Shouyi's body to pause momentarily.

Xiao Changming tried to seize this rare chance, abandoning defense, stepping forward, his fist producing a sonic boom, aiming at Chen Shouyi's face.

Chen Shouyi squinted slightly against the fierce wind, his body remarkably unmoving, and before the punch landed, the right foot that kicked the senior martial artist earlier lifted sneakily.

In the next moment, the heel struck the chin heavily, with a crack sound, shattering it completely.

Meanwhile, the immense impact jerked his head back sharply, his cervical vertebra immediately fracturing, and the body rolled a few times in mid-air, falling heavily on the ground.

Chen Shouyi refrained from engaging further with the increasing number of military martial artists, quickly retreating from the Memory Space.

...

"That was so satisfying!" Lying on the bed, Chen Shouyi opened his eyes, looking thrilled.

This kind of unbridled, consequence-free, sheer enjoyment of battle made him feel utterly liberated.

The whole fight consumed less than ten seconds, two of which were wasted on showing off.

But without the showing off, blindly charging wouldn't be fun at all.

It would be like soy milk without soy sauce and green onions—soulless!

Even in a virtual Memory Space, rather than reality, without showing off, there's still no savor or flavor.

After a wave of excitement, he gradually calmed down.

"Seems like I've reached the strength of a martial artist."

"Combat is the best yardstick for measuring strength. Anyone who can kill a martial artist naturally has a martial artist's strength. If I had found a sword earlier, it would have ended much more cleanly."

Yet he could feel these two newly promoted martial artists hadn't fully exerted their true power. Their combat strength was brutish but lacked finesse, with slightly rigid movements—even less adept than senior martial artists. This was evidently the side effect of a sudden surge in power. As time goes on, their strength will likely continue to improve.

But there's nothing to fear.

Chen Shouyi squinted his eyes slightly: "What difference does it make when becoming stronger, merely between one sword and several swords, besides, in about twenty days, my Martial Skills Upgrade can be optimized again."