Through relentless cultivation, Jack Young gradually realized that so-called martial arts techniques aren’t the source of power—they’re just a path to it. Whether you walk fast or slow, diligently or lazily, that’s all up to you. And being a Chosen One, traveling between worlds, doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get stronger. The real advantage of a Chosen One over ordinary folks is getting to see different sights and having way more opportunities.
Honestly, what most people lack is just a road to success—a shot at something extraordinary.
Just that little bit of luck pretty much guarantees Chosen Ones will be way stronger than your average person.
Besides opportunities, Chosen Ones have another totally unfair advantage over regular people—time.
To this day, even the analysis nerds on the World Observation Bureau’s forum can’t figure out how time actually converts between Earth and the Otherworld. But there’s one rule everyone agrees on: time in the Otherworld moves faster than on Earth. Jack Young might dream all night, live months in the Otherworld, and back on Earth it’s just a blink.
Of course, dream-jumping to the Otherworld is kinda extreme and not exactly common, so let’s call it a special case. For most Chosen Ones, though, a month on Earth equals several months, half a year, or even a whole year in the Otherworld. This weird time thing is pretty widely accepted.
No matter how good your path or your luck, you still need time to build up your skills. Even with Jack Young’s seven-layered Prajna Technique, he still needs time to refine and develop his martial arts. Thanks to the "Earth–Otherworld time exchange rate," Chosen Ones get to level up way faster.
A month ago, you might’ve been a greasy old uncle, but a month later you’re swinging a light wheel and playing Quidditch with a score of two thousand. That foot-scratching tomboy from last month? Now she’s a fireball-slinging mage grilling frogs. Chosen Ones are the kind of people who make you do a double-take every few days. Their growth rate leaves the whole world in shock.
But on the flip side, when Chosen Ones come back to Earth from the Otherworld, they also have to face a world that’s changed. If they keep using their old ways of thinking, this mismatch in understanding can really bite them.
About a week after Jack Young was sent to the Otherworld by the Soul Rift in Baotou, the world’s top dogs started getting some ultra-classified news. These folks with the most power didn’t get neat, detailed reports—instead, their files were full of guesses, predictions, and maybe-this-maybe-that evaluations. The sources? Unknown. Reliability? Who knows. Totally rare for the old days. But after all the thick reports were summed up, it really boiled down to just two words: "Fated One." "Shanghai."
The term "Fated One"—in a world already buzzing about "Chosen Ones"—sent a jolt through everyone’s nerves. Suddenly, big shots were signing secret memos, powerful folks were whispering in hidden rooms, and half the world started thinking and moving. And all those secret orders? Still circled around just two words: "Fated One." "Shanghai."
Shanghai—this international megacity, China’s economic powerhouse, always the center of praise and criticism—is now under an even brighter spotlight. On the surface, everything looks calm; no weird traffic rules like during Hong Kong’s White Night incident in August, just business as usual. But for those in the know, Shanghai’s been shoved right into the eye of the storm.
Early October, a red-haired woman arrived in Shanghai. She was tall, powerful, and intimidating. Her red eyes swept across the city like a dragon eyeing its battlefield, muttering under her breath: "So, it’s here?"
Early October, a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses arrived in Shanghai. He looked frail and scholarly, always smiling, but his grin was pure mischief and madness. He adjusted his glasses and smirked at the city, like a snake flicking its tongue: "So, it’s here?"
Early October, an old white-haired professor returned to Shanghai from Beijing. His eyes were clouded with confusion, his face the picture of silent contemplation. Under a spotlight, he studied a jade shard the size of a fingernail, flipping through notes. He’d pored over this ancient script for ages, but still had no clue. After a long sigh, he straightened up, took off his glasses, rubbed his nose, and shook his head: "So, it’s here?"
A few days later, still early October—a Soul Rift appeared over Baotou, Inner Mongolia. The Void Ferry docked and brought a traveler home. In a tiny, unnoticed corner, Jack Young slipped out. First thing, he scanned the area for danger. After a careful sweep, seeing nothing weird and nobody watching, he finally relaxed.
This Otherworld trip didn’t get much page time, but for Jack, it was a goldmine. Most obvious win? His internal energy broke through the forty-year mark, boosting his combat power. Plus, his Crown Chakra bloomed with 999 petals, pushing his Insight Technique to a critical state. The biggest surprise was the twin timeline and mental sense finally getting fixed.
Ever since the Void Storm threw the twins into separate martial arts worlds, Jack Young had felt off. After returning to Earth, things got way better, and once he reached the Otherworld through the Soul Rift, all the weirdness vanished. Clearly, whatever error the Void Storm caused finally got fixed after a redo. When the Void Ferry sent the twins back to their respective worlds, Jack Young felt just like he did during their old twin time-share days.
Relaxed, at ease, and no more of that "Am I losing my mind?" feeling.
"Being able to go back the way you came—that’s seriously good news." Yep, the most unexpected but totally logical good news was that after Jill Young split from Jack Young in the Void Passage, she actually returned to the Later Heavenly Dragon Martial Arts World. This means the new nation plan won’t suddenly flop just because the main creator bailed. Jack Young still has no clue how to calculate the time difference between worlds, but he’s got a gut feeling: there’s absolutely nothing to worry about on the Queen’s side.
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So really, all he needs to worry about is himself.
Crown Chakra: 999 petals open, just one left for perfection. Jack Young knows he can keep boosting his spiritual power through the Supreme Spiritual Emotion Path and other methods. But this last petal is a real hurdle—without crossing it, he’ll never be complete. It’s like having tons of elephant power, but that’s still not the same as dragon power. He just knows that once this final petal blooms, a total transformation is coming.
To open that last petal, he has to break through his inner demons. And to do that, you need three keys—he’s already got one of them.
Let’s rewind to the day he got the key: After a good rest, the twins met again in the Mindscape World. Standing shoulder to shoulder in front of that weird door, Jack Young stared at the stair buttons and asked, curious, "So what’s the key?"
The Queen gave Jack Young a complicated look: "The key’s super simple—it’s right on the tip of your tongue, you just refuse to remember. Fine, I’ll give you a hint. Think back: When you lived in the company apartment, which floor did you stay on? I mean your first job after graduation."
"I lived on…" Jack Young opened his mouth, but the words just wouldn’t come out. He stared, confused: "Wait, what floor did I live on?"
"No rush, this is the easiest key. Think about all those scoundrels you used to hang out with, the little sisters popping into your room, and those shameless folks playing mahjong and always losing. If you remember all those people, you should remember the floor too." Jill Young put a hand on Jack Young’s shoulder, sighed, and shook her head: "Anyway, I can’t tell you what’s behind that door, but I can promise you: it’s all black history."
"Black history?" Jack Young was curious now: "That’s wild, I have black history even I don’t remember? Seriously, what dirt could a regular shut-in like me possibly have? How dark we talking—darker than the Steel Testicle City’s mob?"
"Not even close!" The Queen slapped both of Jack Young’s shoulders like a big sister: "Just let it all out—hate, resentment, whatever. If you need to punch someone, punch. If you need to yell, yell. Don’t bottle it up. Even if it doesn’t change anything, at least you’ll feel better. Remember that time in middle school when Su Yue left and you just kept it all inside, acting all emo, and ended up hurting yourself? Su Yue’s wounds got healed that time, but this time, you gotta help yourself!"
"Oh..." Jack Young nodded in that adorably clueless way, not really understanding but still impressed.
"Remember, go chat with Dummy Meg when you get back—she’s got clues. And if you see anyone annoying, stomp on them! Trust me, it works! Inner demons, brain demons, whatever—not a big deal—"
The Queen’s passionate shouts still echoed in his ears as Jack Young snapped out of his memories and returned to the present.
"After all this time, I finally remembered. This door is just like the old apartment elevator—I rode it up and down every day. And my floor was..." Jack Young closed his eyes and told himself the password for the first key: "Fourteen—I lived in room 1421."
Whoosh—in the Mindscape World, the "14" button on the elevator keypad lit up. Three passwords, and he’d finally gotten the first one.
With the first key down, the second was sure to follow—Jack Young totally got what the Queen meant. Dummy Meg, time to call her!
He’d been trying to reach her ever since he got back to Hong Kong, but she never replied to texts or picked up calls—he’d actually worried for her. Now, he powered up his phone (there’s always room for a phone in storage space), and ding-ding-dong, a whole string of texts popped up. The first one, right at the top, was Dummy Meg: "You there?"
Second message—still Dummy Meg: "Why aren’t you replying?"
Third message, again Dummy Meg: "If you’re not dead, say something!"
Judging by the timestamps, she sent them right after he left on the Void Ferry. Okay, Jack Young was sweating a little—he quickly dialed her up: "Hey? Dummy Meg?"
"Jack the Dummy?!" The voice on the other end was full of surprise.
That familiar voice knocked Jack Young off balance—a single shout woke something lost inside him. It’d been ages since he’d heard Dummy Meg like this. "Yeah, it’s me. I’m back."
Since the Queen had been so active lately, they hadn’t actually talked outside of texting for ages. After a round of long-lost banter and catching up, Jack Young finally asked the question burning in his mind: "Hey, let me ask you—what floor was your old apartment on?"
"Huh? Why are you asking that?" The voice was shocked, then turned indignant: "Come on, Jack the Dummy, it hasn’t been that long! Back then you’d show up at my place every other day—mooching food, mooching WiFi—and now you don’t even remember the floor? You’re messing with me, aren’t you!"
Mooching food? Mooching WiFi? Hearing that, Jack Young’s eyes flashed as broken memories flickered by. He saw Dummy Meg slicing potatoes at the counter, apron on, knife flying—yep, he’d visited her place a ton, and that floor was burned into his memory. Not just his brain, but his body remembered it too.
"Heh, I’m just messing with you. Like I could ever forget."
No way he’d forget—every time he stepped into that elevator, he could hit the button perfectly without even looking.
"You lived on..."
The button was right above "14"—up at a diagonal, like a knight’s move in chess.
"Nineteenth floor."
Whoosh—the "19" button lit up on the Mindscape World’s door keypad. Password accepted.
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"You lived in Building 5, nineteenth floor, room 1921 in the apartment complex."
Jack Young spoke slowly—each word brought him closer to his inner demons, each one hitting his heart with a wave of emotion.
Maybe Dummy Meg heard the nostalgia in Jack Young’s voice, because she sighed too: "Yeah, 1921. It’s been so long, I almost forgot. In a blink, it’s been over a year. I wonder if someone new lives there now. Everything’s changed."
It sounded like Dummy Meg was feeling all kinds of things too—her voice nearly overflowing with nostalgia, practically pouring through the phone. Jack Young was about to comfort her with, "Come on, you’ve got money, a house, a career, and freedom now—way better than those broke office worker days, so why the drama?" But Dummy Meg interrupted: "Jack the Dummy, there’s something even bigger I need to tell you. I’ve been debating for ages whether to say it, but… I can’t keep it from you. You have a right to know."
"What is it?" Dummy Meg sounded dead serious—and when she’s serious, it’s never a small deal. Jack Young straightened up too: "Go ahead, I’m listening."
"Before I say it, check your heart, and see if there’s anyone around who can save you. I’m worried you’ll keel over when you hear this. If you collapse and there’s nobody to rescue you, you’ll blame me!"
"No worries, my heart’s tough. Go on!"
"Alright, listen up—" Dummy Meg took a deep breath, then said as calmly as she could: "Xixi’s getting married."
Xixi’s getting married.
The moment he heard those six words, Jack Young’s mind went wild. He picked apart Dummy Meg’s fake-casual tone, realized she’d tossed in a joke to soften the blow, and knew she’d done it all to avoid upsetting him. Which meant she thought this news would hit him hard—so hard she’d hesitated and tiptoed around it.
But right now, Jack Young only wanted to ask one thing—who’s Xixi?
Who is Xixi?
What’s her connection to me?
He honestly couldn’t remember at all…
But why did his breath catch for a second?
Why did some weird emotion suddenly bubble up?
Why did something seem to flash before his eyes, yet he couldn’t grab hold of it?
Jack Young got it—this name had to mean something important.
So he squashed the dumb "Who’s Xixi?" question—he knew if he asked, Dummy Meg would be shocked out of her mind. Instead, he asked, "When and where?"
Jack Young’s steady tone surprised Dummy Meg, but she rolled with it: "You’re coming?"
"Yeah." Whether it was logic or gut feeling, the answer was the same: "I want to see for myself. You going?"
"Of course I’m going! Who else could be her bridesmaid? It’s on the fifteenth, in Shanghai. I’m heading there early to help out—lots of wedding prep. I’ll be in Shanghai for a while starting in a day or two. If you want to catch up, come early. Oh, and Zhu Ming’s been pretty wild lately. If you’re ready to get wrecked, come on over."
Zhu Ming? Who the heck is Zhu Ming? Still no clue.
Doesn’t matter—the point isn’t Zhu Ming.
"Wild? Get wrecked?" Jack Young chuckled—even if he couldn’t remember, it sounded like some kind of fated rivalry. The Queen’s repeated advice to "punch if you need to, stomp if you want" was probably about this. If so, he definitely couldn’t back down. Maybe his inner demons were tied to this. "I have to see how wild he really is."
After hanging up with Dummy Meg, Jack Young called home to check in, then dialed someone he always thought of when things got tough: "Hey, Bobby, it’s me."
It’s just showing off—who’s afraid?
"Book me a direct flight from Baotou, Inner Mongolia to Shanghai. Oh, and didn’t the Queen ask you to buy a villa in Shanghai? Is that done? By the way, does Eternal Night Holdings have any power in Shanghai?"
Next day.
"The plane is about to land at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. This journey is coming to an end. Thank you for flying with us…"
Soaring above the city, Jack Young looked out the airplane window at the sprawling metropolis below. His gaze swept over the steel forest, then he snapped the shade shut: "Is it really here?"
All the winds and clouds converge on Shanghai.