Chapter 2: Time Stop Domain
Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Time Stop Domain
Fang Chen stared coldly at Huo Ming as he approached, saying sternly, "Is your skin itching for a beating again?"
Intimidated by this imposing manner, Huo Ming subconsciously took a half step back. He immediately braced himself and yelled, "What... what do you want! I’m... I’m not afraid of you anymore!" Though his voice was loud, it betrayed his guilty conscience.
"Meaning you want to spar?" Fang Chen took a step forward. "Very well. Let me see exactly how strong your Superpower is."
"Hold on! I... I won’t stoop to your level today!"
SMACK! Before Huo Ming could finish speaking, Fang Chen slapped him across the face, following up with a clean shoulder throw that tossed him right out the classroom door.
"Whoa! The class monitor is awesome! The class monitor is enforcing the class law again!" The classroom immediately erupted into an uproar as many students excitedly crowded out to watch the show.
Fang Chen followed closely behind, chasing him outside.
SMACK! Another slap landed.
"I’m trash, huh? You can’t even fucking beat trash!"
"You... just wait three more years!" Huo Ming cried out, clutching his face.
SMACK! "Wait three years, is it?" Fang Chen’s hands didn’t stop.
"You dare hit me! My Superpower is... uh... it can increase Elemental Affinity!"
SMACK!
"Then show me some of that affinity."
"You’re still hitting me! I’m going to the Magic Academy in the future!"
SMACK!
"Perfect. That means I won’t be able to hit you later."
"You... I’ll be a noble Mage in the future!"
SMACK!
Running out of words to accompany his slaps, Fang Chen turned his head and shouted, "Yuan Xiao, you do the talking! I can’t think of anything else to say."
Yuan Xiao chuckled and took two steps forward. "Huo Ming, why don’t you cast some Magic then? Don’t tell me your side effect is... exploding after a single use? Hahaha!"
The surrounding classmates burst into laughter.
In this environment where martial prowess was revered, not everyone possessed a talent for Martial Arts. In other classes, students like them were often targets of bullying. But in Class Two, Fang Chen fought violence with violence—anyone who wanted to bully a classmate had to beat him first. This had allowed them to live in peace for the past three years, so naturally, their loyalties lay with Fang Chen.
"Bah! No it’s not!" Huo Ming hollered, acting tough to hide his cowardice. "It’s just that I haven’t fully developed yet! Just you wait! You, you, and the rest of you laughing your asses off—I’m going to hammer all of you to death in the future!"
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! Fang Chen wasted no more breath, directly delivering a flurry of Fists and Feet that beat Huo Ming to a pulp.
Coincidentally, just as Fang Chen finished his work, the homeroom teacher, Mr. Wang Mang, happened to appear.
"Oh my, Fang Chen! Why are you using violent enforcement again!" Mr. Wang kept a stern face. "No more of this in the future!" As he spoke, however, he gave Fang Chen an imperceptible wink.
Fang Chen understood perfectly. Mr. Wang had likely been nearby all along, intentionally waiting for him to finish executing the class law before coming out to say a few token words. Over the past three years, the two had cooperated tacitly countless times. Mr. Wang Meng would always reprimand him verbally, but he had never stripped Fang Chen of his position as class monitor.
Huo Ming was sent to the infirmary, and the others returned to the classroom to continue their studies.
Because students were successively undergoing Spirit Awakening over these two days, Martial Arts classes were suspended, and the curriculum consisted mostly of academic subjects. After Mr. Wang finished teaching the textbook material, he arranged for everyone to self-study. Noticing that Fang Chen seemed a bit absent-minded, he casually walked over while patrolling the classroom.
"What’s wrong? Was the result of your Spirit Awakening not ideal?" he asked in a low voice.
Hearing this, Fang Chen silently turned his wrist, revealing the green Spirit Seal.
Mr. Wang furrowed his brows slightly. "Green? Tier Two..." But he immediately patted Fang Chen on the shoulder and consoled him, "Even at Tier Two, you’re still a Superpower User. That’s much better than someone like me who has no Superpower.
"Don’t worry too much about it. I’ve lived a few more years than you and have seen a bit of the world. Some Superpowers may seem useless in the early stages, but as your realm increases, the side effects might weaken, or you might find new ways to utilize them.
"Take Yuan Xiao, for instance. His Superpower is teleportation..."
Fang Chen was a little surprised. "You know about it, sir?"
"Hmph, that blabbermouth showed off to me the moment he entered the school gates. He can’t keep his mouth shut, so you’ll have to remind him more in the future," Mr. Wang continued. "Although this side effect seems a bit troublesome at present, once his realm is high enough, bursting out of the ground won’t be difficult even if he gets buried. The key is how you use it.
"Furthermore, with your talent in Martial Arts, you stepped into the True Martial Realm at the age of sixteen, breaking the school record. Your future achievements might not even need to rely on a Superpower. By no means should you lose heart over this."
"Mhm, thank you, Mr. Wang."
"By the way, have you researched your Superpower yourself?"
"Not yet."
Mr. Wang nodded and didn’t press further. He knew the rules well—don’t ask what shouldn’t be asked. At the same time, he guessed that Fang Chen’s Superpower might be too strictly limited by its side effects, making it difficult to use.
After a busy morning, Fang Chen still hadn’t had the time to test out his Superpower. He decided to check it out right now.
With a slight shift of his mind, he circulated his True Qi and activated his Superpower.
HUM—
An indescribable sensation instantly enveloped him, as if his consciousness had been pulled out of its original dimension. Everything before his eyes froze completely. All matter stood still, and all sound was annihilated, leaving him as the only person standing alone within this absolutely static space and time.
He could think, and he could move. Fang Chen tried raising his hand; the motion was smooth, and he didn’t feel any extra resistance.
"So this is Time Stop..." he thought, looking around. Everything maintained the exact posture it had the moment before he activated it.
"The side effect is World Revert after it ends... which means that no matter what I do here, it will be reset when it’s over, as if it never happened," he pondered. "So, what can I do in this domain? Is it merely for observation? But my memories will also be reset, so what’s the point of observing?"
He tried walking toward the window. His footsteps landed on the still air, yet it felt like walking on flat ground.
Fang Chen reached out to touch a frozen leaf. The tactile sensation was real. However, the moment his fingers left the leaf, it actually broke free from its static state and fluttered down, landing on the windowsill with a faint yet clear rustle.
"Objects that I’ve touched can resume moving?" A thought flashed through his mind as he cast his gaze toward Yuan Xiao not far away.
"What about... people?" he wondered.
He walked to Yuan Xiao’s side and tentatively reached out to poke his friend’s arm—there was no reaction.
He applied a bit more force and gave a push. Yuan Xiao’s body immediately fell backward, crashing heavily onto the floor. Yet, he still maintained his rigid posture, showing no voluntary movements or expressions of pain.
"It seems that what resumes after being touched is merely the most basic state of physical motion; it doesn’t break the Time Stop," Fang Chen realized thoughtfully. He then tried tearing up a textbook on the desk and knocking over the nearby chairs and tables.
Sure enough, any object he applied direct force to would undergo displacement or deformation in accordance with the laws of physics, but the objects themselves remained in a state of absolute stagnation.
After messing around in the classroom for a while, he decided to expand his scope.
Class One, Class Three, Class Four, Class Five... The students out in the hallways were likewise standing like statues.
When he arrived at the door to Class Five, his gaze swept across the podium, and a standing female student caught his attention.
He remembered that this was a newly transferred student. She had a pretty and elegant appearance, and right now, she seemed to be in the middle of explaining a problem.
A dark thought quietly sprouted in his mind. "Should I give it a try?"