NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20: Chapter 20
Chapter 20: The Mystery of the Domain
By the time Shen Mu returned home with Tang Yongqing, Chen Wen and the Tang couple were chatting quite happily. However, as Shen Mu entered, the originally natural atmosphere became somewhat constrained again, although it was much better than the previous awkwardness.
"A Mu, come here." Chen Wen called out to Shen Mu.
Shen Mu sat down beside Chen Wen and chatted with the Tang family elders for a while before Chen Wen rose to bid them farewell.
***
High above the base city, the deep blue king-level fighter jet broke through the sky like a streak of light. The three-dimensional virtual projection was activated, allowing a direct view of the outside scenery.
"A Mu, what do you think of Yongqing?" Chen Wen withdrew her gaze from the wilderness area and looked at her son.
Shen Mu nodded slightly: "Yongqing is quite good. She's focused on her ideals, and I think we can respect each other as equals in the future."
Having experienced true life and death, Shen Mu no longer had any thoughts of pursuing love. He just wanted to live well, see further horizons, and reach the end of the universe. Originally, Shen Mu didn't even plan to get married, but he happened to meet Tang Yongqing, who was top-notch in both appearance and temperament, and also had a connection with Luo Feng.
"Since you feel she's okay, then get married. Mom will arrange everything for you."
"Thank you, Mom."
Chen Wen looked at Shen Mu with a sense of emotion: "Suddenly, I feel like you've grown up. Back then, when your dad and I told you to practice martial arts diligently, you were always reluctant."
"People always have to grow up."
At the speed of over 10 Mach, the king-level fighter jet could cross from one end of the base city to the other in just a minute. After returning home, Shen Mu decided to enter seclusion and instructed his mother Chen Wen not to disturb him, no matter who came.
***
Inside the underground meditation room, Shen Mu sat cross-legged on a cushion. Invisible spirit force filled the entire room, undulating at a special frequency. The genetic energy within Shen Mu's body was also surging, resonating with his spirit force. His soul and flesh became increasingly harmonious and unified in this process. Vaguely, there seemed to be the sound of waves in the meditation room. This was the sound of air being stirred as spirit force manifested its realm.
The entire seclusion lasted for three days. When Shen Mu opened his eyes again, there was a look of disappointment in them.
"I didn't expect that even after reaching the realm of the unity of heaven and man, I still couldn't break through to the planetary level." Now, Shen Mu's physical fitness and spirit force had reached the limit below the planetary level. No matter how hard he practiced and absorbed cosmic energy, there would be no further improvement.
"It's already August now. There are still 14 months until January of 2060."
Shen Mu exhaled a turbid breath and took out his phone to dial a number.
"Hello." The call connected, and the calm, deep voice of Master Hong sounded.
"Master, I've broken through to the realm of the unity of heaven and man, but I still can't directly break through to the planetary level."
During their previous exchanges after hunting the Mountain Giant Ape and returning to the dojo, Hong and Lei Shen had informed Shen Mu about the divisions of levels such as the apprentice level and the planetary level. Hong had even directly stated that if Shen Mu could one day reach the realm of the unity of heaven and man like Lei Shen, he could guide him on the mysteries of the domain.
"You've reached the unity of heaven and man?" Shen Mu could actually hear emotional fluctuations in Hong's voice, which was rare.
"I was lucky to make some progress. After reaching the unity of heaven and man, it's as if I'm always in a state of cultivation, able to vaguely perceive the external cosmic energy."
"I'm at the dojo. Come over." Hong hung up the phone and looked out of the floor-to-ceiling window at the bustling base city, recalling Shen Mu's journey so far.
In just three months, his martial arts and spear techniques had reached the perfection and Artistic Conception. If the first three levels were about technique, which could be compensated for with hard work, then the realm of Artistic Conception had nothing to do with effort. If one couldn't comprehend the mysteries of nature, it would be impossible to reach the realm of mastery.
And now, in such a short time, he had reached the level of the unity of heaven and man, which made Hong curious about how deep Shen Mu's insights into the ocean were.
A faint smile appeared on Hong's face, and he directly used the auxiliary computer on his wrist to leave a message for Lei Shen.
"Hey Baldy, Shen Mu has reached the realm of the unity of heaven and man. Look at his talent, and then look at you, you're so slow." Who knows what Lei Shen's reaction would be to being called slow by Hong for no reason?
Before long, a deep blue king-level fighter jet arrived at Hongning Base City. Shen Mu came to Hongning Base City once again.
Inside the global headquarters of the Limit Dojo, within the giant spaceship building. In the spacious room on the top floor, which was Hong's training room, Shen Mu was the second person to enter the training room after Lei Shen.
Beside the small table by the window, Shen Mu and Hong sat opposite each other.
"You must have a lot of questions now, right?" Hong smiled, not hiding the appreciation in his eyes as he looked at Shen Mu.
Shen Mu nodded: "Master, I have already reached the limit of the wargod level. Is there any method to break through to the planetary level?"
Hong shook his head slightly: "I thought you would directly ask about the mysteries of the domain. Actually, breaking through to the planetary level shouldn't be difficult for you."
"No difficulty?"
Hong hummed in agreement and then said: "There are actually three methods to break through to the planetary level."
"The first method is to wait for an opportunity to arrive, or encounter a certain situation, which might lead to a direct breakthrough. Of course, it's also possible to wait for three to five years without breaking through. The second method is to use a powerful consciousness to push spirit force or genetic energy to the limit, making a breakthrough to the planetary level in one go. As for the third method, it requires a special breakthrough technique, which I only learned about from information obtained in an ancient civilization ruin. There is no similar technique on Earth."
After explaining the three methods of breaking through to the planetary level, Hong looked into Shen Mu's eyes and said: "Your consciousness is already incredibly strong, not weaker than that of a planetary-level spirit master."
Pushing spirit force to the limit? This could be tried later.
Then Shen Mu asked again: "Then, Master, what is a domain?"
"First, feel what a domain is." As soon as Hong's words fell, the black domain quickly spread, like the territory of a deity, instantly enveloping the entire room.
Immediately, Shen Mu felt a strong pressure, as if an ordinary person had entered a space with 10 times the gravity, or as if they had fallen to the bottom of the sea with their limbs entangled by countless tough seaweeds. Within this domain, Hong seemed to be receiving some kind of enhancement, his aura as deep and vast as a prison, like a celestial being dominating all living beings.
"This is the power of the domain." After Hong spoke, he withdrew the domain and looked at Shen Mu, asking: "Did you feel the difference just now?"
Shen Mu nodded slightly: "I did feel the change. It seemed as if the entire space was under your control."
"Good, actually, a domain, in essence, is the body, soul, will, and energy reaching a state of perfect harmony. In this state, one's own strength will merge and stimulate a force field, controlling the surrounding cosmic space through this force field, which is the domain."
Indeed, it was no different from what Shen Mu had speculated. Although there wasn't much description of domains in the original text, and Shen Mu had mostly forgotten it, he could still infer that a domain was about control based on his own situation.
"So, to have a domain, the only barrier is to elevate the harmony of one's soul, body, will, and energy from resonance to perfect harmony, and then one can deploy a domain."
Hong nodded in approval: "You are teachable. As for how to break through the bottleneck of the domain, this can only be understood through personal experience and cannot be taught directly. I can only let you experience the power of the domain more and comprehend it yourself."
"Thank you, Master." Shen Mu rose to take his leave. His next primary task was to break through to the planetary level first.
Seeing that Shen Mu was about to leave, Hong said: "Go ahead. If you have any insights, you can come to me anytime to experience the domain." Not stingy with his own insights, this was probably the courage and vision of Earth's number one person. Their horizons had already reached the stars.
After leaving the Limit Dojo, Shen Mu piloted the king-level fighter jet straight towards Kyoto Base City.
Next, it was time to break through to the planetary level.
****
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