Chapter 244: Unparalleled in the Modern Age, The Venerable Zhao!

Chapter 244: Unparalleled in the Modern Age, The Venerable Zhao!

The live-streamed test was brief.

All that the audience witnessed was Zhao Zheng throwing a single punch.

Yet, the impact of that single punch was unparalleled!

Its effect was also extraordinary! After witnessing the might of Zhao Zheng's punch, the higher-ups bestowed upon him several honorary titles.

These included Chief Inspector of the Zodiac Guardian Bureau, Honorary Chairman of the Extraordinary Association, and Consultant to the Military General Headquarters...

Despite these positions being nominal, the higher-ups had already issued orders to these three departments, mandating that they must fulfill all of Zhao Zheng's demands to the best of their abilities!

This was a gesture of goodwill from the higher-ups towards Zhao Zheng.

Not only did Zhao Zheng benefit from this, but his family also reaped rewards.

For instance, his father's company was listed as a "Nationally Supported Key Technology Company" by the authorities! This statement carried significant weight.

It could be said that as long as Zhao's father didn't do anything outrageous, it would be difficult for his company to go bankrupt.

Zhao Zheng's grandfather, great-uncle, and other relatives also received some benefits.

It seemed like "when one ascends, even the dogs and chickens rise with them"!

Previously, many foreign media outlets had been clamoring, claiming that the murderer of Mr. Smith, the "Magneto," was very likely Zhao Zheng. But after Zhao Zheng's punch was broadcast overseas, all the media fell silent, never daring to utter a word again...

The most exaggerated reaction came from Korea!

Previously, many online speculations suggested that Chen Ye was Zhao Zheng's alias, and the Koreans firmly believed this.

As Zhao Zheng rose to prominence, even a fool would realize that the Kryptonian bloodline was not ordinary. Chen Ye's motive for killing the old man with the Kryptonian bloodline was too obvious—it was Zhao Zheng's attempt to suppress a peer with similar powers.

Initially, Korea had intended to use this incident to condemn Zhao Zheng and even demand compensation from him.

However, when Zhao Zheng's power test video was released, all condemnation was stifled, never to be voiced again.

The Royal-class Warrior "Puzhanyu," along with Ma Dongwu, personally visited Zhao Zheng to express their apologies.

This was because, during Zhao Zheng's previous encounter with Liu Qing, some conflicts had arisen between them...

Now, witnessing Zhao Zheng's rise, they couldn't sit still.

If Zhao Zheng were in his thirties or forties, they might not have cared.

The crucial point was that Zhao Zheng was only twenty years old!!

His extraordinary journey had just begun!!

The future Zhao Zheng would become an unprecedented god-like warrior, a fact acknowledged by the higher-ups of various countries! To avoid Zhao Zheng settling scores later, they had to proactively resolve this grudge.

Fearing that Zhao Zheng might refuse to see them, Puzhanyu and Ma Dongwu did not directly seek him out. Instead, they brought some precious gifts to Zhao Zheng's hometown and conveyed their apologies to his parents and grandfather.

Among the gifts were some extraordinary items, things that could prolong life and were even edible by ordinary people.

Puzhanyu, the Royal-class Warrior, humbled himself before Zhao Zheng's father, acting subserviently.

To be honest, Zhao Cheng Hua was startled.

He, an ordinary man, never imagined that one day, a Royal-class Warrior would treat him with such an attitude.

After calming down, Zhao Cheng Hua immediately called Zhao Zheng.

Hearing this, Zhao Zheng couldn't help but laugh.

Indeed, he had been planning to confront the Koreans.

However, since the two Koreans were so understanding, he didn't need to hold a grudge. After all, neither side had any deep-seated hatred.

Most importantly, he also wanted his grandfather and parents to live longer.

So, Zhao Zheng allowed his father to accept the gifts.

...

These events all transpired within the past few days.

Additionally, there were other news stories, but Zhao Zheng couldn't be bothered to pay attention to them.

Suddenly, he realized that fame wasn't as great as he thought; it didn't bring him any progress but rather caused him numerous troubles.

Now, he could no longer stroll around carefree.

Forget about strolling; even at school, when his juniors and seniors encountered him, they became so excited that they surrounded him, asking for autographs and photos.

They treated him like an idol.

As a result, Zhao Zheng could only stay in his dormitory, and if he wanted to go out for some fresh air, he had to fly.

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye.

Half a month went by.

The sensation caused by Zhao Zheng had not cooled down; the hype was still explosive.

One morning.

After getting up, Zhao Zheng first checked his attribute panel:

Race: Human.

Constitution: 7585

Spirit: 26

Strength: 7585

Agility: 7585

Talent: Rumble Fruit Ability, Kryptonian Bloodline [Steel Skin Level 9, Super Strength Level 9, Super Speed Level 9, Super Flight Level 9, Heat Vision Level 2, Super Vision Level 1, Bio-Field Level 1]



Title: The Abnormal Situation

Skills: Bone Fist Impact, Armed Color Overlord, Descent of the Demon King, Extraordinary Sense, Overlord of the Tyrant Color, Immortal Demon Body.

Support Ability: Dimensional Space.

Spirit Points: 2445.

...

This was Zhao Zheng's current attribute panel.

In addition to his rapidly increasing basic attributes, his Spirit Points had also reached 2445.

After one more trip to the Soul Realm, he would be able to level up his Overlord of the Tyrant Color to the maximum.

And with the Overlord of the Tyrant Color at its maximum level, his strength would receive a significant boost.

Suddenly, Zhao Zheng heard his phone vibrating on the table beside him.

Someone was calling him! Zhao Zheng's phone number was no ordinary one; it was a specially customized official number. Only familiar contacts could get through; strangers couldn't call him.

He had arranged for this number to prevent Zhao Zheng from being harassed.

So, upon hearing the phone ring, Zhao Zheng immediately turned on the Sun Bath Apparatus and went to answer the call.

Oh, that's right!

The higher-ups already knew that Zhao Zheng's strength was entirely due to sunbathing.

This was too easy to investigate...

To accelerate Zhao Zheng's strength progression, the higher-ups ordered the Academy of Sciences to build a more powerful and effective Sun Bath Apparatus, requiring the simulated sunlight to reach a realism of 99.9%.

Zhao Zheng was naturally delighted by this.

When he picked up the phone, he found that the caller was Song Haitang.

Recently, Song Haitang had also attracted a lot of attention.

It was remarkable that she had successfully achieved Elemental Transformation at such a young age.

However, her brilliance was completely overshadowed by Zhao Zheng, so it didn't cause much of a stir...

Fortunately, the girl wasn't one to crave vanity and didn't mind it at all.

"Hello? Haitang?"

Zhao Zheng glanced at the time; it was only a little past eight o'clock. He smiled and asked, "Why are you calling me so early? Do you miss me?"

But what came from the phone was Song Haitang's solemn voice, "Zhao Zheng, open the curtains and take a look outside."

Hearing this, Zhao Zheng immediately drew back the curtains and found that the outside world was unusually dark.

It was already past eight in the morning, and the visibility outside was similar to that of dawn.

This was highly abnormal.

Although there was no sun before, the outside world had at least been bright, like a cloudy day.

The current situation was very unsettling!

Even yesterday, everything seemed fine.

"I see," Zhao Zheng frowned.

"People are talking about this on the internet. Citizens who woke up early this morning have noticed the abnormality, and it's already causing panic." Song Haitang spoke with a heavy tone, "Zhao Zheng, I suspect that the celestial existence in outer space might have succeeded."

Her words were vague, but Zhao Zheng understood.

Song Haitang meant that the entity in outer space, which was devouring the sun, might have succeeded.

The sudden drop in visibility indicated that the sun had been further consumed...

"I know..."

Zhao Zheng's expression turned grim.

The images the higher-ups had sent him of the outer space monster showed a black mist-like entity enveloping the sun.

This terrifying monster seemed to possess a bizarre ability to alter light.

Even high-precision space telescopes couldn't capture its true form...

...

After hanging up with Song Haitang, Zhao Zheng turned on his computer to check the online public opinion.

Everywhere he looked, he found people discussing the same topic.

"What's going on? Why did the sky suddenly become so dark?"

"I had to use a flashlight when I went to buy groceries this morning; otherwise, I couldn't see the road."

"It's like nighttime; all the cars on the road have to turn on their headlights."

"What's happening? Why haven't the authorities explained the situation yet?"

"Hmph, they probably haven't come up with an excuse to fool us yet."

"Never mind all that; let's hurry to the supermarket and stock up on supplies! Those elderly folks are almost emptying the shelves..."

"Damn! It's true; even the convenience store downstairs has a long queue."

...

Just yesterday, the internet was abuzz with discussions about Zhao Zheng.

Topics about Zhao Zheng had dominated the trending lists, and the heat remained high.

But now, not many people were talking about Zhao Zheng anymore. Everyone was unsettled by the abnormal phenomenon of the day.

As Song Haitang had said, panic was spreading on the internet.

What puzzled Zhao Zheng was why the authorities hadn't stepped in to calm the situation. Allowing this panic to spread could lead to chaos...

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Just as Zhao Zheng was deep in thought, a knock sounded at the door.

Zhao Zheng immediately got up to answer the door.

As expected, it was Old Chu.

The moment they met, Old Chu anxiously said, "Zhao Zheng, I have news from above. Our sun might be gone!"

Since becoming the messenger between Zhao Zheng and the higher-ups, Old Chu's status had evidently risen significantly, and he had also gained access to many confidential pieces of information.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zheng's heart sank.

"What exactly is going on?"

"Take a look at this first."

Old Chu took out a large photo and said, "This is a satellite image. At around 3 AM in the Imperial Capital, the black mist that devoured the sun suddenly grew stronger, blocking more than ninety percent of the stellar radiation..."

"Once our star is devoured, Blue Star will face a series of severe consequences, including darkness, cold, ecological collapse, and a survival crisis for all humanity."

"Even if that monster doesn't come to Blue Star, the humans remaining on Blue Star are destined to perish!"

"Anyway, according to the researchers' estimates, the time left for us is already running out."

Zhao Zheng's gaze fixed on the photo, his eyebrows furrowed.

Then he asked, "Do they have any ideas or measures?"

Old Chu shook his head. "For this kind of situation, they are also helpless and can only watch it happen."

Zhao Zheng didn't ask if it was possible to evacuate humanity to the Monster World.

This idea was simply impractical.

Even without considering the constant monster attacks in the Monster World, the survival environment there was unsuitable for humans.

Extraordinary beings might be able to adapt, but ordinary humans would not last long before dying.

As for procreating, such an environment was even more impossible.

Therefore, relocating humanity to the Monster World would only be a path to self-destruction.

Suddenly, Old Chu spoke again, "However, someone has thought of a solution."

"Oh? What solution?"

"This solution is to place all hope on you."

Old Chu's gaze burned into Zhao Zheng.

Zhao Zheng's eyebrows furrowed.

He said, "If given enough time, I would not hesitate, but now... Even if I go, it's just a death wish. I can't stop that kind of monster."

He wasn't trying to shirk responsibility.

A few days ago, he had tried to fly out of the atmosphere to face the unknown existence.

Unfortunately, as soon as this thought emerged, his Extraordinary Sense warned him that even with the Immortal Demon Body, he would not succeed.

This showed that his current strength was still far from being able to face such a monster.

"They don't want you to go now; they plan to rapidly enhance your strength in a short time!" Old Chu explained.

At these words, Zhao Zheng's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Has the new sun apparatus been successfully researched?"

"Probably not," Old Chu shook his head. "I haven't received any news about that yet."

Zhao Zheng was disappointed, then asked, "Then how can my strength be enhanced quickly?"

"Zhao Zheng, you mentioned before that in the eleventh Soul Realm, your strength increased significantly, and the sun in that realm had an especially good effect on you, right?" Old Chu asked.

"Yes." Zhao Zheng nodded, then asked, "Can I return to the eleventh Soul Realm?"

"Of course not," Old Chu said. "However, the eleventh Soul Realm is a phased task, and the thirtieth Soul Realm belongs to the same world as the eleventh Soul Realm!"

Zhao Zheng's eyebrows knitted together.

His current progress had just passed the fifteenth Soul Realm, and he was still fifteen realms away from the thirtieth Soul Realm.

This meant he would need fifteen months to enter the thirtieth Soul Realm!

If they had that much time, the higher-ups wouldn't be in such a hurry to find him.

Zhao Zheng knew that if Old Chu was mentioning this, there must be a solution.

Indeed, Old Chu continued, "You might not know this, but among the Extraordinary Items, there's a very peculiar one called the 'Request Card'!"

"Extraordinary beings who possess this card can seek help from a powerful being, allowing them to enter their Soul Realm and assist in completing tasks!"

"No matter how far the powerful being is in their Soul Realm progress, they can enter the requester's Soul Realm!"

Hearing this, Zhao Zheng's eyes lit up.

He couldn't help but ask, "There's such a thing?"

"Yes!" Old Chu sighed. "I just found out about it. Apparently, this card is extremely rare, and there are other strict requirements for seeking help..."

---

(PS: Wishing everyone a happy Chinese New Year's Eve! May your New Year be filled with great fortune!)



(End of Chapter)

Chapter end