Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques

Inside an air-raid shelter somewhere in the capital of the Jade Dragon Kingdom, the ground shook violently the moment the nuclear bomb hit the ground. However, instead of concern, the people inside it breathed a sigh of relief. The truth was, everyone gathered there was an important figure within the Federation, and they had been waiting for precisely this moment.

"Everything went according to plan. The nuclear bomb hit its target, so Lu Yuan is finished!"

"Once Lu Yuan is dead, there will be nothing left standing in the way of our annexation of the Jade Dragon Kingdom."

"We ran into a few setbacks, but in the end, we still succeeded."

The Federation's higher-ups were filled with joy. None of them spared a thought for the countless people who had died in the blast. As far as they were concerned, those lives were insignificant compared with eliminating Lu Yuan and securing the Jade Dragon Kingdom.

Once the worst of the blast had passed, one of them spoke, "All right, the explosion's over. Let's go out and take a look."

"Put on your protective suits first. We still need to be careful."

After changing into protective gear, the Federation officials emerged from the shelter and made their way toward Federation Tower. Or rather, toward where the building had once stood.

The towering structure had been completely destroyed, leaving only a vast heap of shattered concrete and twisted debris. Seeing the severity of the damage, the Federation officials became even more certain that Lu Yuan could not possibly have survived.

"Looks like Lu Yuan was blown to pieces. There probably isn't even a bone left."

"Yeah. It doesn't matter if he was impervious to swords and spears, or if he could withstand ordinary bombs. Even though he was an evolver, he was still made of flesh and blood. There's no way he survived that nuclear explosion."

"Without Lu Yuan, the Jade Dragon Kingdom is already within our grasp. It belongs to the Flame Dragon Federation now..."

Smiles spread across the faces of the Federation's leaders. In their eyes, the greatest obstacle to conquering the Jade Dragon Kingdom had finally been removed, and victory was now all but certain. Not one of them spared a thought for the nuclear blast that had torn through Flame Capital, or the devastation it had wrought upon the entire city.

Thump!

Suddenly, an eerie sound broke out.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

It sounded like a heartbeat, steady and rhythmic, and eerily clear, as though it echoed right beside everyone's ears.

"What is this?"

Unease spread through the leaders of the Flame Dragon Federation. Before anyone could make sense of the sound, one of them suddenly clutched his chest. His face drained of color as several attendants hurried to support him.

"It hurts..." he cried out.

Then another person doubled over, also clutching their chest. A third quickly followed, then a fourth and a fifth.

Within moments, one Federation official after another was clutching their chest as sharp pain tore through their hearts. Even the president was not spared. He pressed a hand against his chest, his expression changing as a terrifying possibility suddenly came to mind.

The frontlines had reported something like this before. According to their reports, Lu Yuan possessed a strange and terrifying technique that allowed him to control another person's heartbeat. Once he seized control, he could force the heart to rupture and kill his target.

The president's eyes widened. "This sensation... Is Lu Yuan still alive?"

As the words left his mouth, movement appeared among the ruins ahead. The figure of a man slowly rose from the wreckage and stepped through the drifting smoke and dust. He was scorched black, and the surface of his skin was charred like coal.

Crack.

As the man walked toward the president, his scorched, hardened skin split apart. Beneath the charred layer was fresh, ruddy skin that was completely unscarred. Burned flesh cracked and peeled away with each step until the face underneath was finally revealed.

The Federation officials stared at him in horror. It was Lu Yuan—the man who had ushered in the age of evolvers and founded the Extreme Martial Dao!

The president gasped in horror. "You really are still alive... But how is that possible?"

Even though Lu Yuan was standing before him, alive and unharmed, he could barely accept what he was seeing. Lu Yuan was hit directly by a nuclear bomb, so how was he still alive? How could any human being possibly survive something like that?

Lu Changsheng stopped in front of the president and glared at him coldly. "Twice! You have already dropped two nuclear bombs on me! The first was in the capital of the Jade Dragon Kingdom, and another one here.

"Had the Flame Dragon Federation never bothered to investigate what happened the first time? All this second bomb accomplished was destroying your own capital and killing your own people!"

The president lowered his head and said nothing more. If even a nuclear bomb could not kill Lu Yuan, then what else could they possibly use against him?

"Lucky for you, though, I'm willing to let you decide whether you live or die." Lu Changsheng laid out their options. "If you want to live, you'll let the Jade Dragon Kingdom annex the Flame Dragon Federation. If you choose death, I can grant it to you right now."

He looked at the several hundred officials around him who were still writhing on the ground in pain. "These are your options. Choose!"

The full weight of their situation finally sank in for the leaders of the Flame Dragon Federation. They could mobilize the entire military, but it would accomplish nothing. They could drop another nuclear bomb, or perhaps several more, but there was no reason to believe those would succeed when the first two had failed.

Continuing to resist would only sacrifice more lives before reaching the same inevitable conclusion.

"We surrender!" The president finally cried out. "Mr. Lu, the Flame Dragon Federation is willing to surrender and accept annexation by the Jade Dragon Kingdom!"

One after another, the Federation's leaders begged for mercy. Whatever hope they had still clung to was gone. Against a man who could survive a nuclear explosion, resistance no longer seemed brave or even meaningful—it was simply suicide.

Lu Changsheng nodded. "I will remain in Flame Capital until the Jade Dragon Kingdom's forces arrive and complete the takeover of the Flame Dragon Federation."

And with that, he released his control over their hearts.

With Lu Changsheng remaining in Flame Capital, there was no opportunity for the Federation's officials to attempt anything behind his back—not that they would dare at this point.

They understood clearly that surrender and obedience were no longer merely their best option. It was the only one that left them any chance of surviving. If they failed to satisfy Lu Yuan, they had no doubt that he would certainly kill them.

***

Over the next few days, news of what had happened in the Flame Dragon Federation gradually spread across the world, and it ignited heated discussion around the world.

"Another nuclear explosion!"

"The Flame Dragon Federation must have targeted Lu Yuan with the second nuclear bomb. Otherwise, why would they purposely destroy their capital with it?"

"It's crazy that they're willing to blow up their own capital just to kill one man. And the funny thing is, they still failed."

"How could a human possibly withstand a nuclear blast, and not once, but twice? This defies the law of nature!"

"A human surviving a nuclear explosion... I never thought it was possible until today."

"I know. It's still hard for me to believe, but Lu Yuan has proven that it's possible."

"The age of evolvers is coming!"

"No, it has already arrived. I heard Master Lu has reached Fourth Growth."

"Fourth Growth... According to the Extreme Martial Dao system, Third Growth is when someone truly achieves transcendence. But at Fourth Growth, Lu Yuan can survive a nuclear explosion!"

"One man forced an entire nuclear-armed nation to surrender by himself. That's crazy!"

"Then the balance between ordinary people and evolvers has already changed. In the future, ordinary people may no longer be the ones who control nations..."

What had happened in Flame Capital was no longer simply a conflict between the Flame Dragon Federation and the Jade Dragon Kingdom. Its consequences extended across the entire world.

For the first time, evolvers had demonstrated a level of individual power capable of challenging the military strength of a modern nation. Lu Yuan had not merely defeated an army. He had survived the most destructive weapon humanity possessed and then forced a nuclear power into submission.

Governments around the world poured resources into cultivating practitioners of the Extreme Martial Dao, hoping to produce powerful evolvers of their own. A Third Growth evolver had already achieved transcendence, while Lu Yuan's Fourth Growth had demonstrated power on an entirely different level.

If a nation could produce even one evolver capable of approaching his strength, that individual alone could be enough to deter an enemy from attacking.

In that sense, a sufficiently powerful evolver could serve as a nation's ultimate deterrent, perhaps even more effectively than nuclear weapons.

At the same time, the Jade Dragon Kingdom's annexation of the Flame Dragon Federation created an enormous new power on the world stage. The territory, population, and military resources of the two nations were now being brought together, and with Lu Yuan presiding over this unified nation, the global balance of power changed almost overnight.