Global Awakening: I'm the Only One Ready

Within the room, Lu Yuan was fully submerged in the bathtub. His skin was crimson red, flushed as though blood was coursing wildly beneath the surface.

At the same time, as time passed, the faint violet glow swirling within the water began to dim. Along with it, streaks of dark filth began to rise, floating to the surface.

Lu Yuan knew exactly what those were. They were impurities within him, forced out by the remnant pill essence that had seeped into his body. And to reap even more benefits, he had to persevere.

The process dragged on and on, long enough that Lu Yuan had to occasionally lift his nose and mouth above water just to breathe.

Finally, after two to three hours, the fragrance and traces of violet light completely vanished from the water.

Lu Yuan rose to his feet and stepped out of the water.

Hiss.

In this very instant, it felt as though Lu Yuan’s skin had been unleashed with jets of white steam shooting out from every pore, evidence of the scorching heat radiating from his body.

Not only that, with every slight movement, a sharp crackling chorus echoed from within. That was his muscles and bones resonating in harmony from their newly tempered strength.

Using a towel, he wiped the grime and water from his body and stood before a mirror.

Lu Yuan gently clenched his fists; a series of audible pops rang from the joints of his knuckles.

His upper body had grown more defined and robust, his muscles sculpted like flowing stone.

He swung his arm through the air in one fluid motion, swift and powerful. A sharp whoosh followed, as if the air itself was being split in two.

”Not bad...” Lu Yuan muttered. ”But let’s see the actual results.”

Excited, Lu Yuan walked into his personal gym and reached out for a barbell weighing 250 kilograms. To his own surprise, he managed to lift up the bar with one hand. Though it did expend some of his strength, he still succeeded.

250 kilograms per hand... That means my strength’s easily over 500 kilograms now. That’s half a ton...

Lu Yuan did a quick mental calculation and was taken aback. Half a ton of strength. If he were to throw a punch at someone, that would be fatal.

He then went on to test his speed. It took him merely five seconds to run one hundred meters.

Following which, he tested his hearing, reaction time, and eyesight. Each of them displayed a drastic improvement from before, reaching or even surpassing, the limits of human capability.

If it had been any ordinary person undergoing such transformation, they would be overwhelmed with shock at first before being consumed by euphoria.

But Lu Yuan was different.

He had lived through the new era and his emotions hadn’t fluctuated much.

The essence left behind in the Meridian Heavenmend Furnace is really formidable. All that effort was worth it. I think my strength should be close to an Awakened at Foundation Realm I now. Lu Yuan silently assessed his own power.

Indeed. After the global awakening, those who awakened super powers were collectively known as Awakened.

And Awakened were classified into different realms by their power.

The first realm was known as the Foundation Realm. It had nine tiers with Foundation Realm IX being the highest tier.

Right now, Lu Yuan estimated he was close to Foundation Realm I.

However, that was way far from enough. He knew that the better his foundation before the global awakening, the more edge he would gain after that.

Lu Yuan turned toward the Meridian Heavenmend Furnace placed next to him. He estimated that the traces of pill essence left within was enough for two more rounds.

According to his calculations, if he were to use them all, he would be on equal standing with a true Awakened.

Of course, that was only in terms of raw physique. Apart from enhanced physical power, Awakened would also acquire other unique abilities.

But for Lu Yuan at this point of time, this was already more than enough.

Without wasting more time, he resumed his training routine, to allow himself to adapt to his new tempered body.

Besides, the human body couldn’t absorb all the pill essence at once, as it could be overwhelmed and even proved deadly.

In the next few days, Lu Yuan focused on training. While he tried to adapt to his enhanced physique, he also started preparing for his trip out of Hu City.

One fine day. Outside the villa.

An afterimage streaked through the open space, so fast that only a high-speed camera could capture it.

The next moment, the blurred figure halted in front of a giant tree. Without warning, a fist swung at the trunk.

Crack!

In the blink of an eye, the massive tree—with a trunk so wide it would take two adults to encircle it—splintered apart and crashed to the ground.

That punch could probably kill an ox outright. And with this speed... I’ve likely surpassed the limits of human potential, Lu Yuan mused as he withdrew his fist, a flicker of satisfaction crossing his face.

His fist remained perfectly smooth; it didn’t seem to suffer even a scratch from the impact and was almost glowing with a healthy luster.

Ever since acquiring the Meridian Heavenmend Furnace, Lu Yuan had been using the pill essence to temper his body.

The results had exceeded even his expectations. His strength was now dozens of times greater than that of an ordinary person.

Even his hearing, vision, nerve responses, and the toughness of his skin had all broken past the limits of human boundaries.

But more notably, a faint fragrance now lingered around his body. Subtle, yet unmistakably present.

In ancient times, it was said that venerable Daoist masters and enlightened monks would emit a natural sweetness from their bodies upon reaching a hundred years of age. Even after death, their flesh would not decay. This phenomenon was recorded in historical texts and came to be known as the Sanctification of the Flesh!

At this thought, Lu Yuan realized that after days of training and tempering, his body had already reached the absolute limit of what a mortal could endure.

But, the sanctification of the flesh was only the initial step. To cultivate any further, he needed to wait till the global awakening happened.

Only when that moment arrived would heaven and earth undergo a world-shaking transformation. Some individuals would awaken the innate treasures hidden within their bodies, unlocking the full potential of human flesh and taking a step into power once thought to exist only in legends.

According to what Lu Yuan knew, the so-called global awakening was, at its core, a kind of evolution—one that encompassed mountains, rivers, humans, and beasts alike.

In other words, the world was thrown into an era when the strong would prey on the weak. Natural selection would become the law of existence.

Those who managed to seize opportunities would soar to unimaginable heights. Naturally, those who failed to adapt to the new era could only accept their demise of being mercilessly eliminated.

That was the cruel reality of the new age.

However, Lu Yuan had already established his foundation. By using the remaining pill essence in the Meridian Heavenmend Furnace, he had taken steps ahead of everyone else. When the new era arrived, he would possess an advantage no one else could match.

”Now, I just need to get the last two items. It’s August 1st today...” Lu Yuan muttered to himself and reviewed his plan once more. ”I’ve got exactly one month left. Time’s tight. I need to move quickly.”

Most of his preparation before the global awakening were completed. Only the two essential pieces—the Wordless Stele and the Celestial Sword Embryo—remained.

Once he acquired those two items, the only thing left for him to do was to wait for the global awakening to descend. After that, he would make use of the memories in his past life to search for the other divine treasures scattered around the world.

Yes, some divine treasures would only truly manifest after the global awakening. Even if one knew their location beforehand, they wouldn’t be able to acquire it.

However, Lu Yuan had already laid out the groundwork. Now, he just needed to execute the steps in his plan, one by one.

Having regressed to three months ago, and combined with the financial power he wielded, his plan was well within reach.

Without hesitation, Lu Yuan returned to his villa, washed up, and packed all his essentials.

He was going to set off at dawn the next day.

His first destination was naturally Mount Hulong, which was further away.

Right now, Lu Yuan brimmed with confidence. With his current strength, as long as he didn’t need to fight head on with heavy firearms, he could basically walk freely without restraint.