A Post-Apocalyptic Journey to Another World

Dispersing one's inner energy is something I've never heard of anyone doing before. After all, in a post-apocalyptic world fraught with danger and treacherous people, doing so would be tantamount to suicide.

Zhang Xi had no prior experience to draw upon; he relied solely on the simple, universal energy guiding method he had learned in his previous life to guide the energy out of his body.

On the first night, his absolute power dropped from Bronze Rank 7 to Bronze Rank 1!

The next day, his strength had only dropped to Bronze Level Zero! As his strength weakened, Zhang Xi found it increasingly difficult to dispel the primordial energy within his body, and at Bronze Level Zero, he simply couldn't dispel a single trace. At this moment, Zhang Xi unexpectedly discovered that the remaining primordial energy was no longer evenly distributed throughout his body, but rather flowed slowly through his blood vessels and nerve pathways, centered on his lower abdomen. The primordial energy within those meridians had also become more refined and pure!

As if infected by Xu Liang's recklessness, Zhang Xi, unable to disperse the energy outwards, began to squeeze it inwards, gradually pushing the remaining energy towards his lower abdomen.

Xu Liang spent a full week in bed recovering, becoming extremely thin. Zhang Xi, too, lost weight and stayed by his side for a week. The first thing Xu Liang did upon recovering was to hug Zhang Xi and weep uncontrollably, deeply moved. Zhang Xi, however, pursed her lips, walked away, and thought to herself, "I was just losing my inner strength, not protecting you. Don't flatter yourself!"

Three more days passed, and Xu Liang had fully recovered. Meanwhile, Zhang Xi had finally succeeded in crippling himself! Strictly speaking, "crippled" wouldn't be accurate; his physical strength had indeed returned to that of an ordinary person. However, his Yuan energy hadn't dissipated; instead, it had been compressed into his abdomen. A tiny figure, about the size of a pinhead and the same size as Zhang Xi, composed of Yuan energy, sat quietly there.

Zhang Xi and Xu Liang recovered quickly and resumed training. Xu Liang ran on the training ground carrying a machine gun, then Zhang Xi, also carrying a machine gun and two boxes of ammunition, quickly caught up and overtook him. Next was the squad leader, then a group of soldiers. Now Xu Liang was the opponent of everyone in the Fifth Squad! No one wanted to lose to him! Xu Liang was already first in the giant swing; they couldn't let him be first in any other event!

During the combat training session, everyone in the fifth squad was locked in a chaotic melee, with no one-on-one fights. Military combat is always a free-for-all. With screams and groans, the number of people in the fighting group gradually decreased until only Zhang Xi, Xu Liang, and the squad leader remained, still locked in combat.

During the fight, someone's fist struck the squad leader's chin, and then only two guys with bloody noses and bruised eyes continued to wrestle!

The soldiers who had been knocked down earlier got up, cheering and shouting "Good!"

Despite having a nosebleed, Xu Liang was in a good mood because it was the first time the soldiers of the Fifth Platoon had cheered for him, and he was happy to be accepted and recognized.

Despite his dark circles, Zhang Xi was in good shape. He had already reached the strength of an ordinary person, yet he still managed to overpower Xu Liang. During the grueling training that pushed his physical limits, the energy miniature in his lower abdomen sensed the pressure he was under and continuously tried to release energy to help him. Zhang Xi had to expend energy suppressing the energy miniature even when he was exhausted, but this obstacle actually pleased him.

His body, refined by primordial energy, is far stronger than that of ordinary people. Therefore, focusing his energy on dealing with himself is more in line with his desire for a fair fight.

……

After the lights were turned off at night, the soldiers were all asleep, but Zhang Xi couldn't sleep, staring at the copper button in his hand that had been cut in half.

The Eighth Steel Company once again became the top company in the entire division, and Zhang Xi also gained an unexpected reward. Through continuous probing, he discovered many strange aspects of the energy miniature within his body.

Firstly, he could conceal his true strength. After a period of practice, Zhang Xi had mastered the ability to control the elemental energy within his miniature figure with complete freedom. When he absorbed the energy into the figure, he appeared as an ordinary person. When he released the energy, he instantly regained his Bronze-level 1 strength, and he could even freely control the amount of energy released! In his previous life, he hadn't found anyone who could do this; your strength was exactly what you were, and everyone could accurately judge you from the fluctuations in the elemental energy emanating from your body.

Secondly, Zhang Xi's Yuan energy has been purified. Although the absolute value of Yuan energy has dropped to the first level of Bronze, his combat power has remained at the level of the seventh level of Bronze! Just like two muscular men who weigh the same 70 kilograms, even though they have the same amount of muscle, their muscle strength and explosive power will not be the same.

The third point is what excited Zhang Xi the most: he can actually release his Yuan energy! Just now, he released his Yuan energy in the form of an energy blade five centimeters away from his finger, and cut open the button! Although he can only do so within five centimeters of his body at present, and the limit of his strength is only enough to cut open a copper button.

But Zhang Xi was overjoyed. In his previous life, countless qigong masters and martial artists had tried to achieve the above three points. After five or six years of effort, none of them succeeded, but he had done it!

He did something foolish—crippling himself—out of spite to a simpleton—but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise! No one expected that to gain greater power, one must first discard the power one has worked so hard to acquire!

In the apocalypse, power is the foundation of all survival, pursuit, and desire. People meticulously enhance their abilities to intimidate enemies and observers, both overt and covert. Who, then, has the courage and awareness to conduct suicidal experiments?

Zhang Xi spends his days training in the military and his nights exploring how to use his energy. Before he knew it, autumn was almost over, and he had been in the army for three months.

……

A sharp assembly whistle blew, and the loudspeakers on the training ground broadcast an alert: "Combat alert! Emergency assembly! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill!"

The training ground was instantly thrown into chaos as the soldiers rushed to their respective company assembly points.

Xu Liang followed behind Zhang Xi, asking as he ran, "Zhang Xi, are we going to the big monster?" He was both curious and excited.

Zhang Xi answered as he ran without stopping, "You didn't participate in the last battle?"

Xu Liang was a little embarrassed: "My previous class wasn't a combat unit."

Long Wenzhang passed by and shouted at the two of them, "Hurry up, you two greenhorns who've never been on the battlefield. There haven't been any since that massive rift appeared three months ago. Three months! Another battle is brewing!" He turned away, a fleeting sadness crossing his face, and continued shouting, "Remember what you've learned in these past three months; it might save your lives! Obey orders, don't be greedy for merit, and when the fighting starts, stay behind me, understand?"

Long Wenzhang's call of "greenhorn" made Zhang Xi roll his eyes. He thought to himself, "When it comes to fighting these otherworldly creatures, nobody in the world has the right to call themselves a greenhorn. You've only fought one or two battles, I've been fighting for ten years!"

In just a few dozen seconds, all the companies had assembled. Li Liansheng stood in front of his company and shouted in his usual loud voice, "Comrades, it's been three months. We thought things had calmed down. But those monsters are back, so we can only use our guns to make them quiet down!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a comprehensive supply vehicle arrived in front of the convoy. Without saying anything more, Li Liansheng gave the order: "Ready in three minutes, move out!"

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