Chapter 1: I have waited for this moment, eyes weary from longing

"One Punch Man is truly invincible, right? Who could possibly withstand a single punch from him?"

"Kakarot could eat that bald guy in one bite."

"Ultraman is the strongest. A single beam can destroy a planet, and he can travel through the universe."

"DC's Superman is the real deal. He can blow out a star with one breath and pull a dozen planets around like it's nothing. Do you even understand the multiverse?"

The summer breeze blew in from outside the classroom. After the tedious math class ended, the boys, who had been suppressed for so long, were, as always, most passionately debating power levels.

Comparing power levels within the same series, or across different ones.

They cited sources, dug up settings, and analyzed frames; even a single drop of sweat during a fight could become an argument for someone's strength, and they argued over it with great delight.

"Childish."

Jiang Si, passing by, sneered. "You're all high schoolers now, and you're still watching this stuff?"

One of the bespectacled boys, who had been arguing until his face was red, slammed his desk, causing books to tumble to the floor. "And what 'not childish' things are you watching, then?"

Jiang Si didn't say a word. He simply sat back down and pulled out a thick book, the large characters on the cover dazzlingly bright.

*Shrouding the Heavens!*

"Ye Fan, Emperor Ye, is the strongest."

A burst of laughter erupted.

Naturally, there was no shortage of mockery.

Jiang Si didn't bother arguing with this group of frogs in a well.

What Ultraman? What Superman? The light of fireflies—how could they compete with the brilliance of the moon?

While they were still arguing about who was stronger, web novel protagonists had long since become the sole arbiters of eternity.

Forget the multiverse or parallel worlds; web novel protagonists had long ago achieved the "One Proof for All," reversing cause and effect, and turning space-time into a loop.

Not only was the gap in power like Three-Body Problem aliens crushing primitive humans, but the disparity in their realms was terrifyingly vast.

No matter how much he said, these kids wouldn't understand.

A dull school, boring classmates, and teachers who didn't know anything.

For Jiang Si, he had long grown weary of everything here.

If he could become an existence like a web novel protagonist, he would surely be able to escape all of this.

He had been searching for extraordinary power in this world.

Qigong, magic, superpowers—anything would do.

Any extraordinary ability found in the city could eventually be converted into cultivation.

As long as he could cultivate, he could step onto the Great Dao, achieve immortality, and rule over eternity!

Yet, there was nothing.

This world was utterly mundane, devoid of any extraordinary power. He had followed rumors of such abilities, only to be met with disappointment and deception time and time again.

Since that was the case, Jiang Si stopped obsessing over it.

All paths lead to the same destination. Since there was no extraordinary power, he would take the clumsy route of proving the Dao through physical strength. As long as he tempered his body to the limit, one day he would break through and glimpse the Great Dao.

That was why Jiang Si was constantly tempering himself. Even during class, he would continuously squeeze a grip strengthener under his desk.

During lunch breaks, he would go running, do push-ups, and pull-ups.

For over five years, he had never slacked off.

Exercise alone wasn't enough. Which web novel protagonist ever succeeded through closed-door cultivation? Everyone transformed through life-and-death combat!

So, to train for real combat, he often challenged local thugs.

From being beaten black and blue in one-on-one fights at the beginning, he could now skillfully handle being swarmed by two or three thugs without losing ground.

He could clearly feel his own transformation.

The stories might be fictional, but the principles were never false.

Jiang Si didn't neglect his studies either. What web novel protagonist didn't know a bit of physics and chemistry? Or couldn't recite ancient poetry by heart in a pinch?

These were basic skills. However, his energy was limited, so he only learned useful knowledge; as for things like English, which he didn't use, he was a total mess.

He was a bit lopsided in his subjects, but his grades in class were upper-middle—not good enough for the teachers to pay him much mind, but not bad enough to be mocked for letting web novels ruin his grades.

It was already the last few periods of the afternoon, and it wasn't long before school ended.

When Jiang Si stood up to leave, he passed by the classmates who had been arguing about power levels. The group, who had been whispering, suddenly went quiet.

Although many classmates looked down on Jiang Si for being obsessed with web novels and not liking to socialize, no one dared to provoke him.

After all, he could really fight.

Everyone else said they wanted to be Superman or Ultraman just to talk, just to fantasize.

Only Jiang Si, this blockhead, was serious about wanting to become a web novel protagonist and cultivate. After all, everyone could see him risking his life training every day.

No one wanted to get close to such a weirdo.

Of course, there were exceptions.

For instance, Lu Ya, a girl from the next class.

This girl, who came from a well-off family, had excellent grades, and was stunningly beautiful, just happened to be close to the unpopular Jiang Si.

Every time school ended, she would come find him, ignore the many strange looks from those around them, and follow behind Jiang Si to walk home with him.

She would even take new novels out of her bag and hand them to Jiang Si.

The two wouldn't take the main road; once they left the school gates, they would walk into the quiet alleys and soon disappear from sight.

If it weren't for the fact that Lu Ya had some popularity in school and was favored by the teachers, rumors would have been flying everywhere long ago.

Yet, in reality, there was truly nothing scandalous about their relationship.

Jiang Si had simply helped her out when he was challenging thugs, and later asked her to help him rent some novels to read.

As for Lu Ya, she found it hard to see this classmate, who was always muttering nonsense and was paranoid to the point of madness, as a romantic interest.

"Even if you read every web novel in existence, you still can't become a protagonist, you know."

She just wanted to remind him every time, hoping he wouldn't be so obsessed.

To this, Jiang Si would only reply without lifting his head: "Do not disturb my Dao heart."

Lu Ya, long used to this, would just hug her bag and continue nagging

"The college entrance exam is coming up soon. My mom also said that you should put the web novels aside for a while and focus on reviewing. If you just put in some effort, it won't be hard for you to get into a first-tier university. If we go to the same one, I can still help you find novels later."

"I have my own plans."

"Is your plan just to maintain the status quo until college, or even into adulthood?" Lu Ya looked at him earnestly. "You can't live like this forever, can you?"

"Why not?"

"You'll regret it."

Jiang Si shoved the book Lu Ya had handed him back and turned to walk away. "Fate is heaven-made, and in fate, I fail."

Lu Ya had read enough novels to know what he was talking about, so she naturally knew the next line of the poem.

*The Immortal Venerable regrets, but I do not!*

She hugged her bag and stomped her foot. "Why won't you listen to reason?"

Just as she was about to chase after him, a small truck crashed through the wall nearby with a roar!

The alley was already narrow, and the truck suddenly squeezed in, blocking the entire path!

Without slowing down in the slightest, it charged straight toward the two of them, leaving them nowhere to hide.

"Jiang Si!"

The boy looked up at the dazed driver and walked straight toward it without flinching!

He kicked a large rock under the wheels, and the truck, jolted by the bump, slowed down slightly. Jiang Si delivered a front kick head-on, his leg bone snapping on the spot.

It actually managed to make the truck pause for a split second.

Immediately after, he slammed his entire body into it, knocking the front of the truck off course, but also pulling himself into it.

He was pinned against the wall by the front of the truck, dragged along as it scraped against the brickwork.

Finally, it came to a dead stop right in front of Lu Ya.

A stunned Lu Ya sat down on the ground, then stood back up, looking helplessly at the boy whose clothes were shredded and whose body was half-bathed in blood, yet who was still swaying as he stubbornly forced himself to stand.

The driver on the other side climbed out of the truck, his face covered in blood, and began making a panicked phone call. Lu Ya's eyes turned red.

"You—you idiot, why didn't you run..."

The quiet alley began to grow noisy, and Jiang Si's vision slowly blurred until he couldn't see anything clearly, but before he collapsed, he still managed a disdainful sneer

"Me? Avoid its edge?!"

(End of chapter)