Chapter 19: The Mighty Barbarian

Chapter 19: The Mighty Barbarian

When Chen Shouyi opened his Attribute Panel that night, he realized that this experience wasn’t entirely without benefits—his Willpower had increased by another 0.2 points, now reaching 11.2.

Yet, compared to Willpower, what he truly desired was physical strength.

He never wanted to encounter a barbarian again only to flee like a headless fly, leaving his life to the whims of luck and his enemy’s mercy.

That night, he trained harder and more desperately than ever before.

Swordsmanship, the Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques, and Meditative Self-Refinement—he practiced them all in sequence, draining every last ounce of his physical and mental energy.

But as soon as his spirit recovered slightly, he lay down and entered the Gray Mist Space once more.

Over the past month, his form within this space had grown increasingly solid.

Though it still felt somewhat illusory, there was now a faint sense of substance to it. The same went for the small tree—it had grown a few inches taller, and the space itself seemed more stable.

But these were minor details. None of these changes had done anything to enhance his actual strength.

He turned his attention to today’s memory leaf and quickly immersed his consciousness into it.

He selected the memory of his encounter with the barbarian. The moment his mind entered the barbarian’s body, an indescribable sensation surged through him.

Power. Overwhelming power!

His body brimmed with explosive strength, his feet pressing against the ground as if he might float away at any moment.

And that wasn’t all.

Like the oppressive heat after a thunderstorm, the world around him seemed to come alive. His ears were flooded with countless sounds, both loud and faint. His nose detected subtler scents, his vision sharpened, and even the sensitivity of his skin heightened to an extraordinary degree.

After just a few seconds of this, the sheer volume of sensory input left Chen Shouyi dizzy and disoriented, forcing him to withdraw his consciousness from the body.

The experience left him both awed and shaken. Was this what a barbarian was like?

Of course, the barbarian who had casually killed Zhou Shaofeng amidst the armed police’s suppression fire was no ordinary barbarian.

……

Time flowed slowly within the Memory Space, soon reaching the moment when the middle-aged man stepped forward to confront the barbarian.

As the dizziness faded, Chen Shouyi hesitated over whether to re-enter the barbarian’s body.

He wanted to feel how the barbarian’s muscles moved during combat.

But this was murder—brutal, bloody murder.

The middle-aged man’s skull would be shattered, his brains splattering everywhere.

If this were just a movie, he could watch it without flinching, munching on popcorn without a care.

But this was a memory. That very afternoon, this middle-aged man had died right before his eyes, in the most gruesome way imaginable.

And now, he was about to inhabit the barbarian’s body, to personally experience how "he" had killed the man—how "his" fist had crushed the man’s skull.

He wrestled with the decision, watching as the memory of the battle was about to pass by.

Finally, he made his choice.

In the next moment, his consciousness entered… the middle-aged man’s body instead.

This body was stronger than Chen Shouyi’s own, at least at the level of a Martial Artist Apprentice. But after experiencing the barbarian’s physique, it now felt unnervingly "weak."

Just before the tragedy unfolded, the man gripped his broom tightly, every muscle in his body tensed as if preparing to strike with a "sword."

However, the barbarian was too fast, far beyond his reaction speed. In an instant, a gust of wind rushed toward him, and the next moment, a fist closed the distance in a flash, slamming heavily into his head.

Chen Shouyi only felt a deafening explosion, his vision went black, and his consciousness was forcibly ejected.

If he could feel his heart, it would probably be pounding violently right now.

The experience of death was unpleasant. Even though it was merely a diluted version, incomparable to the real thing, he still felt a bone-chilling dread deep within.

He rewound the memory, returning to that moment once more.

This time, he chose to inhabit the barbarian. Having already died once, his guilt was nearly gone, leaving little psychological resistance.

……

Looking at the corpse on the ground, Chen Shouyi emerged from the barbarian’s body. He steadied his complicated emotions, feeling somewhat disappointed.

The barbarian’s way of exerting force was crude, still in its primitive stages. Compared to an ordinary person, he might have refined his strength through relentless training, but it still couldn’t compare to human Martial Arts.

It made sense, after all. One was the accumulated experience of generations in a primitive tribal era, honed through hunting, while the other was the collective wisdom of an information age.

Most crucially, the Otherworld was a place where supernatural abilities manifested, while Earth lacked such phenomena. The difference in their environments meant their pursuit of technique was nowhere near as meticulous as Earth’s.

Yet, the barbarian’s terrifying physical prowess made up for everything. "Absolute strength crushes all skill"—Chen Shouyi had heard this saying before but never truly understood it until now. Only in this moment did he personally experience the sheer terror of raw power.

It truly could overwhelm everything.

……

The next day, Dongning City was peaceful, and his family’s restaurant reopened for business.

He also faced his first monthly exam since entering his senior year.

Now, his mindset was steady. When the Chinese exam paper was handed out, he answered question after question, the tip of his pen scratching against the paper with a soft rustling sound. Apart from a few poetry fill-in-the-blanks he left empty, he filled the entire paper to the brim.

Whether he did well or not, he didn’t know, but at least Chen Shouyi was quite satisfied.

The second subject, math, was much harder for him. He first tackled the questions he knew, then struggled with the difficult ones. By the end of the exam, he still had no clue about two major problems.

The following day’s English and science subjects also gave him a headache.

By the time the exams were over, Chen Shouyi felt completely drained.

"Chen Shouyi, how did you do?" Zhang Xiaoyue suddenly quickened her pace to catch up with him after leaving the classroom.

Looking at her bright, smiling face beside him, Chen Shouyi couldn’t help but recall the softness of her hand when he held it two days ago. His heart thumped a few times uncontrollably.

But his expression betrayed nothing. A month of "training" had taught him to remain composed around women—at least on the surface.

"My grades are probably hopeless."

He had missed too many classes, and a month of effort couldn’t make up for it.

"But you’ll probably go to a martial arts academy, right?" Zhang Xiaoyue looked up at him with a playful smile, her sparkling eyes carrying an inexplicable meaning.

"Yeah, if nothing unexpected happens."

"What about you?"

"I’m not sure yet, but I’ll apply to universities in Zhonghai."

The tacit understanding between the two left Sun Xin, standing nearby, utterly dumbfounded. Unfortunately, neither paid him any attention.

Up ahead in the small grove, a group of people had gathered, seemingly engaged in a fight. Chen Shouyi didn’t pay it much mind—in an ordinary high school like Dongning Fifth High School, lax management made fights all too common, hardly worth noting. A bunch of hormone-fueled teenagers could spark conflict over the slightest friction.

"The one getting beaten up looks like Zhao Yifeng," Sun Xin whispered.

Chen Shouyi immediately halted.

Upon hearing it was a classmate, Zhang Xiaoyue quickly raised her voice, "Stop it! Don’t hit him! Which class are you from? I’ll report you to the teacher!"

"Oho, pretty girl, reporting us to the teacher? I’m so scared!" The three bullies paused, and the apparent leader, a tall boy with flowing hair, shook his head with a defiant smirk.

Chen Shouyi glanced at Zhang Xiaoyue’s flushed face, shaking his head inwardly. Reasoning with people like this was pointless—the weaker you appeared, the more they’d bully you. Only a harder fist could persuade them.

He had known this truth before but lacked the strength to act on it. Now, he had it.

In an instant, he charged forward. His speed was astonishing—a single stride carried him into the fray.

The tall boy barely had time to react before Chen Shouyi’s hand flicked out, sending him stumbling back until he landed hard on his rear.

The other two boys finally snapped out of their daze and rushed at Chen Shouyi, trying to pin him down together.

But against a Quasi-Martial Apprentice, their resistance was as futile as children trying to overpower an adult.

Chen Shouyi seized their arms, using their own momentum to yank them forward. They crashed face-first into the dirt with a satisfying thud.

"You just wait!"

"Don’t you dare run!"

...

"Thank you," Zhao Yifeng mumbled, his face bruised and swollen as he staggered to his feet. He glanced at Chen Shouyi, then at the pretty Zhang Xiaoyue, his voice barely audible.

"Aren’t we friends?" Chen Shouyi said.

"Zhao Yifeng, why were they beating you?" Zhang Xiaoyue asked.

"It’s... it’s nothing!" His lips trembled, his face burning red.

...

In the end, Zhao Yifeng never explained. He soon limped away without another word.

Chen Shouyi watched his retreating figure in silence, as if seeing his own past self reflected in him.