Chapter 3

All of this seemed like a dream, and he didn't know how much time had passed—perhaps just a second, perhaps ten thousand years. Finally, Chu Yunfan awoke from the endless dream.

"Huff, huff, huff!"

Chu Yunfan panted heavily. In just an instant, he felt as if an entire lifetime had passed. When he finally awoke, it felt like he had been reborn.

The scenes in the dream were almost like personal experiences. From the initial nervousness when he first learned alchemy, to the confidence and pride when he became a renowned alchemy master, to the glory when he achieved the rank of Alchemy Emperor, and finally to his downfall—every scene was exceptionally clear.

It was as if he had truly witnessed such a grand battle in a distant era.

That was the twilight of the gods, where mighty warriors fell like dumplings in a pot.

Chu Yunfan didn't know how strong the strongest human experts were nowadays, as his level was still too low. However, he instinctively felt that they were far less powerful than the gods and demons in his dream.

Nowadays, the top human experts are said to be invulnerable even to nuclear bombs, which is unimaginable in the Gregorian era. However, no one has ever heard of anyone who could control the seas or catch the moon.

"That must be the Hyper Ancient Era," Chu Yunfan recalled the scenes in his dream. The characters used by the people in the dream were indeed ancient seal script.

For some unknown reason, the memory of that grand battle, the experiences of the Alchemy Emperor, and the memories of the Alchemy Emperor were preserved in the Mountain and River Map and suddenly flooded into his mind.

He had already figured it out. This was definitely not a dream. How could a dream be so clear? Many of the powers of the strong were beyond his imagination. Although he had never experienced them, it didn't mean he didn't understand. The Hyper Ancient Civilization itself hid many secrets that had never been unraveled.

For a long time, there had been a hypothesis in the historical community that the Hyper Ancient Era must have been a golden age of martial arts, as evidenced by the many martial arts-related artifacts that had been excavated.

However, they could never have imagined how magnificent that world was. After the Kunlun Calendar era began, the revival of martial arts started, but it had only been a few hundred years.

According to the materials excavated from the Hyper Ancient Civilization, it had been prosperous for many tens of thousands of years.

However, he also had doubts. Why did the Hyper Ancient Civilization, which was so prosperous, disappear?

This was also an unsolved mystery in the historical community. From the various materials excavated, it was clear that the Hyper Ancient Civilization did not decline slowly but disappeared overnight.

What secrets lay behind this?

Was it related to the grand battle in his memory?

Chu Yunfan just felt that something had changed in his body, making his thoughts clearer and his vision brighter, as if everything in the world had become more vivid and different.

This feeling was so obvious that he could sense the changes in his body without even trying. It felt as if his entire body was filled with energy.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Gao Hongzhi's voice came. "You've been standing there since just now. Don't tell me you're so engrossed. Hurry up, let's go home!"

Gao Hongzhi's voice pulled Chu Yunfan out of that dreamlike golden age. He looked around and saw that the students were gradually leaving. The sun was setting, casting long shadows.

"Nothing!" Chu Yunfan shook his head and decided to keep the dream a secret, not telling anyone.

"Why do you seem different?" Gao Hongzhi looked at Chu Yunfan and felt that his friend seemed to have changed, but he couldn't pinpoint how. It was as if he had undergone a complete transformation.

"Am I getting handsomer? Well, I can't help it, I'm just that handsome!" Chu Yunfan laughed.

"Get lost, I really think you're becoming more shameless!" Gao Hongzhi frowned, and the strange feeling disappeared.

"Alright, stop talking nonsense, let's go home!" Chu Yunfan said. He could feel the changes in his body and was eager to go home and check what had happened.

As usual, after leaving the school, Gao Hongzhi was picked up by a flying car. In the Kunlun Calendar era, vehicles were powered by energy blocks, not gasoline, and were pollution-free. Due to the widespread use of anti-gravity systems, they no longer ran on the ground but flew, far more advanced than the cars of the Gregorian era.

Chu Yunfan, on the other hand, had to walk for a while to catch the bus. In the Gregorian era, cars were very common, but in the Kunlun Calendar era, they had been upgraded to flying cars, which were much more expensive and out of reach for most people. Therefore, public transportation had become more developed than ever.

The bus was very fast, and it took only about twenty minutes for Chu Yunfan to get home. He lived in a quiet residential area with tall buildings. The area was equipped with various security facilities from the outer perimeter. In the Gregorian era, such a neighborhood would have been unaffordable for most people, but in the Kunlun Calendar era, it had become a place for ordinary people. The truly wealthy lived in villa areas, which had much better environments and security measures.

It was even said that some people had set up spirit-gathering formations based on the knowledge of the Hyper Ancient Civilization, making the spirit energy concentration in the villa areas several times higher than in the residential areas, comparable to that in the Kunlun Realm.

It is well known that the more spirit energy, the more benefits it brings to the human body. Breathing such high-concentration spirit energy every day can gradually improve one's health and extend one's lifespan. If one practices, their cultivation will advance rapidly. Growing up in such an environment, the success rate of becoming talented is much higher than for ordinary people.

In the current human society, the gap between the rich and the poor is already very obvious.

After entering the password, fingerprint, and facial scan, the door finally opened, revealing a house of about 100 square meters, neither too small nor too large.

"Mom, Dad, sister, I'm home!"

Chu Yunfan took off his shoes and entered the house.

"You're back. Sit down for a while, we'll eat soon. Wait for your father to come home, and then we'll start."

A woman of about thirty walked out of the kitchen, tall and slender, wearing an apron, with a gentle smile on her face. In the Kunlun Calendar era, people lived much longer, so even at thirty, she was like a teenager in the Gregorian era.

This was Chu Yunfan's mother, Yang Yayun.

"Brother, you're back!" A clear and pleasant voice came, followed by the sound of wheels rolling on the wooden floor. A girl of about thirteen or fourteen, sitting in an electric wheelchair, came out of a room.

The girl looked about thirteen or fourteen, but her body was that of an eleven or twelve-year-old, clearly shorter than her peers. Her legs below the waist were visibly atrophied, covered by a blanket.

Chu Yunfan walked over and touched the girl's head. In a place where she couldn't see, his eyes flashed with pain and sympathy.

This was his sister, Chu Qingxuan, the apple of the family's eye and also a source of sorrow.

Due to a congenital genetic defect, her lower body had started to atrophy from birth. She had been confined to a wheelchair for a long time and was in poor health, becoming increasingly thin. At thirteen or fourteen, she looked like an eleven or twelve-year-old, with slightly yellowish hair.

In the Kunlun Calendar era, medical technology was highly advanced. Diseases that were incurable in the Gregorian era, such as cancer, AIDS, and heart disease, were minor issues. However, congenital genetic defects were a major problem. Although a technology to treat them had been invented in recent years, the treatment cost, even at the cheapest, was in the millions of federal dollars, which the Chu family could not afford despite their concern for Chu Qingxuan.

The family's income relied on his parents' monthly earnings of four to five thousand, plus some extra income, totaling about ten thousand. Even if they saved every penny, it would take over a hundred years to afford the treatment.

Moreover, maintaining Chu Qingxuan's current condition required a large amount of medication and nutritional supplements, which was already a significant expense.

Therefore, if Chu Yunfan couldn't get into a martial arts class, he wouldn't consider attending a liberal arts university but would have to work to support the family.

Although Chu Qingxuan had been like this since childhood and couldn't go to school, she was so well-behaved that it made one's heart ache. She understood the family's difficulties and never made any unreasonable requests. Instead, she learned knowledge online every day, surpassing even her peers in middle school. She was intelligent and quick to learn, solving problems that even stumped Chu Yunfan.

If not for her physical condition, she would have been a genius far surpassing Chu Yunfan in martial arts and would have become a world-renowned scientist in liberal arts.

Because of this, Chu Yunfan felt even more heartache, wishing he could take her place. He could practice martial arts, but his talent in both liberal arts and martial arts was far inferior to his sister's.

"Brother, I found a job today. I'm doing commentary for martial arts live streaming videos online. I already have quite a few fans. Soon, I can earn money and won't be a burden to you anymore!"

Chu Qingxuan opened her big eyes and said excitedly.

"You're so silly, talking about being a burden or not!"

The more sensible Chu Qingxuan was, the more uncomfortable Chu Yunfan felt. He secretly vowed to earn enough money one day to cure his sister's congenital genetic defect.