Chapter 81: My Fate is in My Own Hands!
Chapter 81: My Fate is in My Own Hands!
The Primary World.
Gao Jing, newly returned, discovered an unsettling sensation — he felt strangely out of place in his own world!
It was as if an invisible barrier had risen.
Though incredibly thin, this barrier undeniably existed!
However, after devouring a massive seafood feast at Guangfu Lou – polishing off three Azure Dragons, five geoducks, and a crate of oysters –
Returning home to Minglan Grand View, taking a hot bath, and sleeping soundly until evening,
Waking up, that strange feeling had completely disappeared.
Apparently, he simply needed to eat more stuff!
After brewing himself a cup of aromatic coffee, Gao Jing sat down at his desk.
He turned on the computer.
He removed the Bronze Anchor hanging around his neck and grasped it firmly in his hand.
The Power of Faith accumulated inside the Bronze Anchor was almost depleted, resembling a vast, arid sandpit.
Using his right hand to control the mouse, Gao Jing opened his browser and logged into Bilibili.
It had been a very long time since he’d last visited.
On “G93″‘s homepage, his video, the Three-Year Animation Graduation Project, still hung alone.
All its former heat had long since dissipated.
His fan count had shrunk considerably, and the latest comment dated back to two weeks ago.
This was the era of the information explosion. Over recent years, video platforms had exploded, fueling the rapid growth of related industries. The number of video creators and streamers had skyrocketed.
Countless new videos flooded different platforms daily, fighting for netizens’ eyeballs.
Things rose quickly,
And fell cold even faster!
In truth, the vast majority of videos generated absolutely no buzz and were instantly buried by the next wave.
Gao Jing had merely this one video.
Despite briefly catching fire back then, without any subsequent content or maintenance,
Its fading into obscurity was utterly normal.
Of course, the meaning of this video to Gao Jing remained irreplaceable!
It was also a shortcut to amassing Power of Faith.
He still had hundreds of gigabytes of videos. He could simply choose a few more clips and upload them, segment by segment.
Then, as long as it caught fire again, he could harvest an endless stream of Power of Faith…
Simple. Easy. Effortless!
Gao Jing released the mouse and pulled another laptop from his Storage Space.
Doing so consumed another sliver of his Power of Faith.
He opened this laptop and used the touchpad to navigate to its D drive.
This partition contained hundreds of gigabytes of video files. They were all footage Gao Jing had recorded in the Great World using his GoPro.
Including both books: Chronicles of the Great Wilderness and Records of the Great Wilderness Combat.
For security, Gao Jing had encrypted the folder containing these videos and disabled both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
He unlocked the folder’s password.
Then navigated back.
Selected the D drive again with the right mouse button.
Chose from the pop-up menu…
Format!
Begin!!
The laptop reacted fast. In less than ten seconds, the entire partition was reinitialized.
Every single file inside was erased completely!
Expressionless, Gao Jing picked up the first mouse again and logged into his Bilibili backend.
He deleted the video.
Then canceled his account.
“G93” became history!
Immediately afterwards, he consumed his last remaining bit of Power of Faith.
He extracted the Soul Nourishing Pearl – the gift from the elderly Shaman – from his Storage Space.
He gripped it tightly in his right hand.
After completing this dazzling series of actions, he looked down at the Bronze Anchor held in his left.
A smile touched his lips.
Surprised? Shocked?!
Gao Jing had long known that this strange object could influence his thoughts and consciousness.
The video he’d just erased was the ultimate proof!
Though the Bronze Anchor had granted Gao Jing unimaginable opportunities and vast wealth,
He absolutely refused to pay the price of losing his true self for it!
My fate is in my own hands.
He would not permit even influence over it!
The Bronze Anchor must, and would forever remain, just a tool.
A tool entirely under his control!
Otherwise, Gao Jing would rather seal it away forever.
Lose the Great World. Abandon its endless riches and resources.
And never use it again!
Gao Jing wore a smile, but his eyes held not a trace of amusement.
He was no longer his former self!
At his moment, white, thread-like wisps, finer than hair, emerged from within the Soul Nourishing Pearl. They soundlessly penetrated the crystalline pearl’s layers and seeped into the skin of Gao Jing’s palm.
They were being drawn out and absorbed by him!
His eyes grew brighter and brighter. His mental consciousness climbed ever higher.
The Soul Nourishing Pearl contained an abundance of Spiritual Energy, which nourished the Spiritual Soul and amplified mental strength.
Spiritual Energy was the very source of a Shaman’s power.
After completing the ascension ritual to become a Totem Warrior, Gao Jing possessed a superhuman physique.
But his mental strength hadn’t yet ascended to a superhuman level.
Now, stimulated by the Bronze Anchor, Gao Jing’s willpower erupted decisively.
The Soul Nourishing Pearl became his reinforcement.
But the Bronze Anchor showed no reaction.
Only the four Silver Scales on the anchor shaft still shimmered with a faint glow.
Gao Jing closed his eyes.
As Spiritual Energy poured in continuously, his willpower grew stronger and stronger.
He touched an invisible barrier!
Gao Jing’s eyes snapped open.
Crimson light flashed in his pupils.
His snake-like pupils narrowed to slits!
The unseen mental barrier shattered instantly. His Spiritual Soul sea expanded several times, becoming vast and profound.
Everything fell into place naturally.
The surrounding space became clearer, livelier, and sharper within his perception.
This feeling…
Gao Jing smiled once more.
This time, it was genuine joy lighting him up inside.
His will had just passed a crucial test.
His spirit ascended; his Spiritual Soul grew mightier.
Strong enough to match and command a supernatural body!
Gazing at the Bronze Anchor in his hand, the last trace of shadow in Gao Jing’s heart vanished.
He felt utterly weightless.
Now he noticed the Soul Nourishing Pearl held in his right hand had turned completely transparent.
No white wisps remained inside it.
Drained completely dry!
Gratitude toward the Elder Shaman welled up in him again.
Without this Soul Nourishing Pearl,
he couldn’t have advanced his Spiritual Soul or erased the Bronze Anchor’s mental hold!
He took a long, slow breath.
Gao Jing rose and left the study. He took the elevator down to the basement.
Placing the Bronze Anchor into the charging case inside the safe,
he thought, Stay put right here!
He shut the heavy door and pulled down the power switch.
Power activated!
Back in his study upstairs, Gao Jing sat down and toyed with the now energy-drained Soul Nourishing Pearl.
Then he logged onto Qiyu Live.
Applying the carrot and stick approach—hitting them first, then offering a treat.
That was the way to control things.
Since its mental grip was broken, and the Bronze Anchor lay silent and unchanged,
he was certainly not going to leave it sealed away unused.
The Bronze Anchor craved Power of Faith—fine. He needed it desperately, too.
Gao Jing hadn’t forgotten his promise to the Elder Shaman.
But the Power of Faith had to be gathered on his terms!
Doing dangerous stunts for it was foolish.
Flexing his spending power was the smart move!
Gao Jing topped up his account with a small sum of Fish Fin.
Tremble, mortals!
Big Bro is back!