Everyone is the Protagonist

2024-07-31 Author: Gu Zhenren

Everyone is the Protagonist

Ning Zhuo couldn't hear, see, or smell anything. He was once again plunged into a world of darkness.

But he was happy.

"I'm finally in!"

"From now on, I can use this method to enter the Lava Fairy Palace actively."

The previous method was too passive.

"Perhaps I can even activate the 'Trial Disciple' mark to leave the palace voluntarily?"

This conjecture lingered in his mind, but there was no need to test it for now.

As he thought this, Ning Zhuo activated the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art, channeling his spiritual power.

The released spiritual energy quickly connected with the first mechanism component.

Just like the previous two times, it was still the left arm.

Next, the head.

Also the same as before, still a big head.

Ning Zhuo assembled himself with practiced ease, then hopped and skipped down the small hill piled with mechanism components.

He limped towards the door.

To save time this round, he hadn't focused on finding legs of the same length.

"With the Suspension Rings, even limping is enough to pass through Room Two."

"The top priority is to conceal my identity as soon as possible. I'm on at least three lists. By the most conservative estimate, I need to make three trips."

However, when Ning Zhuo touched the door, he didn't see the Suspension Rings as a reward option.

The three options were: One Spirit Stone, Recoil Silk (mechanism component), and a Gust of Qi (spell).

"No Suspension Rings?!" Ning Zhuo was stunned for a moment.

The next second, he slapped his forehead. His wooden palm smacked against his large head with a dull thud.

"A mistake!"

"I should have deduced this earlier."

"During my second exploration, I noticed the Embrace Ice spell was replaced by Grasp Fire."

"This shows the reward options aren't fixed. It's likely because I chose it before, so it rotated out."

"If spells work that way, mechanism rewards should have similar changes."

"It's just that the Spirit Stone option remains constant, which made me less perceptive in this aspect."

Everyone makes mistakes.

Ning Zhuo was no exception.

Of course, his eagerness to conceal his identity also played a part.

Staring at the three rewards, Ning Zhuo thought for a moment and quickly chose the Recoil Silk.

He definitely couldn't choose the spell; he wanted to get off the lists successfully this time.

Although he could now enter the palace actively using the Trial Disciple mark, he hadn't fully figured out this mechanism yet. There might be other restrictions.

"For example, maybe I can only enter again after a few days?"

Ning Zhuo didn't want any complications at this critical juncture. Right now, his most urgent need was to get off the lists!

He didn't want to take unnecessary risks.

He also skipped the Spirit Stone.

His spiritual power was quite sufficient now.

The Recoil Silk was transmitted over.

It was a coil of metal wire, relatively thick. Looking closely, one could see gold and silver hues interwoven on its surface.

Ning Zhuo was very familiar with this.

He sat down, detached both his lower legs, and pulled out a section of the Recoil Silk.

His nimble fingers wound and twisted the wire into a spiral, whirlwind-like shape.

Then, he installed this coiled metal wire at the knee joint, adding a new connection method between his thigh and lower leg.

Finally, he reattached his lower legs.

Following the same method, he added Recoil Silk to his elbow joints as well.

He stood up and moved around a bit. It felt good.

There was nothing to practice in Room One, so Ning Zhuo directly pushed the door open and entered Room Two.

He ran on the backward-moving floor tiles.

The Recoil Silk between his thighs and calves compressed with each step. Once compressed to a certain point, it released a force, pushing back to its original length, giving Ning Zhuo extra momentum.

Previously, Ning Zhuo had run through the challenge straightforwardly. This time, he leaped and bounded, covering much greater distance with each jump.

In the previous two attempts, he fell behind the tiles' retreat speed by the midway point. But this time, his jumping efficiency was high. Even past the midpoint, he still stayed ahead of the tiles' speed.

A giant log swung towards him, but Ning Zhuo was prepared. With a light leap, he landed directly on the log.

"Before, I needed both feet to jump. Now, the height and speed from a single foot are better than using both feet last time!"

Ning Zhuo jumped between the giant logs and walls, occasionally landing on the floor tiles.

He failed twice during his attempts. On the third try, he successfully passed the final obstacle and landed before the door.

"Recoil Silk is more suitable for clearing Room Two than the Suspension Rings," Ning Zhuo concluded internally.

At that moment, he thought of the Speed Clearance leaderboard.

"Elder San Zong designed these challenges not just for assessment, but also for teaching purposes."

"The so-called speed clearance actually encourages us trial disciples to continuously hone our skills and practice using mechanical constructs."

"How would Meng Chong tackle this stage?"

"Could he skillfully use these mechanism components?"

"No, that's not the deciding factor. It's his puppet. The puppet granted by his Supreme-grade aptitude must be far stronger than mine!"

During the raid on the Ziyang Branch Courtyard, Ning Zhuo had witnessed Meng Chong attacking Han Ming from behind through his mechanical constructs.

"Although Meng Chong was surging with medicinal power, surrounded by leaking magic energy, the reason he could launch such a fierce attack was still due to his Supreme-grade aptitude, 'Rampant Thunder Rush'."

Ning Zhuo, being a walking library himself, fully understood the significance of a Supreme-grade aptitude. But seeing it firsthand still shook him profoundly.

What does Supreme-grade mean?

Low-grade, Middle-grade, and High-grade are still within the same tier. Supreme-grade, however, transcends the conventional, existing beyond equality!

Typically, only one in a million cultivators possesses it.

Cultivators with Supreme-grade aptitude, as long as they mature, invariably become proud geniuses of major sects or pillars of their nations.

"The Meng family is a super clan in the Southern Bean Kingdom, with countless members. With such a massive population, a Supreme-grade talent emerges every so often."

Ning Zhuo felt no jealousy.

Since he himself had Low-grade Early Wisdom aptitude and a mysterious arm aptitude, why couldn't others have theirs?

Why couldn't others possess something better than his?

What right did he have to think otherwise?

The year his mother died, Ning Zhuo understood a fundamental truth—the world does not revolve around him!

He is merely the protagonist of his own life, and everyone is the protagonist of their own.

All these protagonists perform on the grand stage of the world, enacting tales of gratitude and grudges, ambitions and schemes.

"It is precisely because of this that the world is so fascinating."

Meng Chong hadn't even entered yet, but Ning Zhuo already felt pressure from behind.

Concealing his identity was just the baseline, a way to maintain his current first-mover advantage.

But with Meng Chong officially joining, how long could this advantage last?

Ning Zhuo had no idea.

All he could do now was keep moving forward.

(End of )