Chapter 22: The Chapter of Epics

In the quiet basement.

Shuangxue listened to the conversation between the two about Combat Conversion Rate (CCR).

A thought suddenly struck her:

In the future, even if Li An’s CCR remains low, it won’t matter—because mine will be high enough to average out his data. The reason? I can cultivate automatically, consuming resources dozens of times less than others my age. My CCR denominator is inherently dozens of times smaller than theirs.

Li An also realized this. He turned to Shuangxue, his mind racing: If Shuangxue fully recovers, she could become the existence with the highest CCR in all of humanity. The strongest in history! Her advantage is overwhelming!

“Uncle Zhang,” Li An asked abruptly, “who currently holds the highest CCR in the human realm?”

“The Grand Marshal, of course,” Zhang Sanfeng replied casually.

“What about the highest in history?”

“There’s no official ranking for that,” Zhang Sanfeng shook his head.

“Why not?”

Zhang Sanfeng countered, “Suppose one day the Grand Marshal passes away. Who do you think should rank higher—him or Li Dingtian?”

Li An answered without hesitation, “Of course, my… ancestor? Wait, no—the Grand Marshal continued achieving great deeds afterward, so…”

“Exactly,” Zhang Sanfeng said calmly. “Historical rankings are impossible to define. Though it’s just a number, it carries immense implications. These are individuals who contributed the most to humanity—their sacrifices can’t be measured by data. Forcing a ranking might even spark feuds among the great merit clans. That’s why we have the Chapter of Epics.”

“The Chapter of Epics represents the highest honor, transcending CCR. It immortalizes those who achieved monumental feats for humanity, enshrining their spiritual wills alongside the heavens in the Ancestral Temple. Their positions are ordered chronologically—as it should be. Without the sacrifices of predecessors, there would be no successors.”

Zhang Sanfeng sighed softly. “The Chapter of Epics… enshrinement in the Ancestral Temple… That’s everyone’s dream.”

Li An felt his heart surge. The history textbooks he’d studied since childhood detailed every figure enshrined in the Chapter of Epics.

The First Human King, Zhao Zhongtian, whose talent was Blazing Wildfire, led humanity’s rise.

The Second Human King, Ke Sheng Guo, whose talent was Eye of the Heavens, waged war against the Ghost Clan, seized divine materials to forge the Human King’s Sword, and ultimately sacrificed himself to stall the Ghost Clan’s suicide assault for eight days and nights, buying humanity critical time to escape. To this day, his remains are displayed in the Ghost Clan’s museum—a humiliation that fuels humanity’s unending rage.

There were many such heroes, none alive today. Li An often fantasized about showing them humanity’s thriving lands, proclaiming, This golden age is what you fought for! Every time he recalled these histories, his heart burned with reverence.

Minutes later, Li An’s class transition completed. He stood and asked solemnly, “Who currently holds the highest CCR among humanity’s prodigies?”

Zhang Sanfeng shook his head. “Their CCRs aren’t impressive. The highest is likely the Divine King Physique, Guan Ditian—177%. Second is Lin He—175%.”

“That low?!” Li An exclaimed. “Mine is nearly double theirs—326%! But today, Old Zhu told me Lin He’s battle achievements are twice mine. How is his CCR so low?”

Zhang Sanfeng smirked. “Did you consume the same resources? You grew up using Transcendent-grade materials. They use Infinite-grade—priced ten times higher in CCR calculations. Their denominators are ten times larger. Their CCRs are lower, but their total combat power far exceeds yours. Still, high CCR is high CCR. If they knew a Transcendent-grade like you overshadowed their Infinite-grade status, they’d panic.”

“Enough,” Zhang Sanfeng chuckled. “Test your new power. Let’s see your zero-time charge multiplier!”

Li An focused, channeling his innate talent’s runes. His Class Core activated automatically.

Fist Intent Converges!

His heart pounded—This feels incredible! It was as if a high-powered vacuum sucked in all the fist intent released by his talent, condensing it instantly. He threw a punch.

BOOM!

The basement walls cracked. Shuangxue raised an eyebrow. Zhang Sanfeng gasped.

“Over two times?”

“Roughly 2.1x,” Li An replied, swallowing hard, his grin unstoppable. No charge time—every punch a critical strike! He stared at his fists, exhilarated. “This power… it’s addicting!”

Zhang Sanfeng laughed. “Still clinging to that pathetic Stamina Tree? Fist Intent Convergence is your true divine skill! Honestly, I’m worried your talent can’t produce fist intent fast enough.”

Li An nodded urgently. “Exactly! My charge speed’s nearing the limit of my talent’s output. The Supreme Fist is like a blower, releasing energy constantly, while Fist Intent Convergence vacuums it up. Soon, the blower might not keep up with the vacuum’s demand. My talent… could become a bottleneck?”

Zhang Sanfeng patted his shoulder. “Greater talents have greater potential. You might not have fully unlocked yours yet. Keep refining it. By the way, what is your talent? I don’t recognize it.”

Li An said gravely, “It’s absent from all records. Even the talent detector couldn’t identify it. Humanity has never seen this before. I call it… Supreme Fist.”

“Seriously? Undetectable?” Zhang Sanfeng’s eyes gleamed. “Fascinating. A never-before-seen fist-oriented talent… Could this mean the path of fist dao is about to ascend?”

He pointed to his abdomen. “Punch me. Let’s see how ‘supreme’ your fist truly is.”

Li An hesitated. “It’ll destroy the surroundings.”

“Arrogant brat. Worried I can’t neutralize your force?” Zhang Sanfeng snorted. “Focus. Strike with everything!”