I changed the world.

Zhang Jing opened the "FreeLiving" platform and checked the video again. He found that in just one day, the video had received more than 20 views, and if external reposts were included, the number would probably be even higher.

In this way, Zhang Jing's wish points reached 19752, which is close to 20000.

In high spirits, Zhang Jing turned to the next page of the wishing book, and then, to his surprise, he found that a new message had been generated:

Special Event: A paranormal event has occurred in Building C of the First Hospital of Jiangdong Province. Surveillance cameras have captured phenomena that cannot be explained by common sense.

Your actions have led to a significant change in the understanding of materialism among a very small number of people, and have caused a very slight disturbance to the consciousness of the world's bottom layer, which is still expanding.

Zhang Jing reached up and touched his chin. This information confirmed to him that his previous entry into the hospital building had likely been captured by security cameras and discovered by the hospital. However, they obviously couldn't explain the incident and would likely attribute it to some kind of paranormal event.

These paranormal events have shaken some people's worldviews, causing them to question materialism itself. However, the spread of such events is unlikely to be widespread, as it didn't circulate online like the previous video. Therefore, overall, the disturbance to the world's underlying consciousness is extremely weak, even smaller than the slight disturbance in the previous video.

It's still unknown how many wish points this will bring him. This is probably due to the rule of settling at 0 points. Zhang Jing pondered. Overall, he was quite happy. In this way, he now had two faucets that could increase wish points. He thought optimistically that there would be more faucets in the future.

In addition, Zhang Jing had another question in his mind: did a "hidden world" like the one in his previous life's novels exist behind this world, with many extraordinary people disguised as ordinary people, silently existing in this world?

When he first gained his extraordinary powers, he was somewhat suspicious. After all, the things that clearly happened to him proved that there were indeed certain power systems behind this world that had been previously overlooked by ordinary people. Existence is its own justification; it's neither scientific nor not scientific.

However, as time went on, his thoughts gradually changed. Unlike the true natives of this world, he possessed a soul from another world, and in his observations, comparing it with his past life, he couldn't find any trace of extraordinary power in the development of this world.

From his past life, he believed in one saying: all power will, on the scale of time, reach its rightful place.

So, why do these powerful forces, which are by no means dispensable, and their inheritors, seem to have left no visible trace in the history of this world?

He considered a possibility, and recalling his initial wish, he increasingly felt that this possibility might be correct. And now, he was ready to prove it.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Jing took out a coin. Now that he had a basic understanding of how to increase wish points, he felt it was necessary to confirm some things.

"I want to know, within the scope of modern human civilization that I currently inhabit, including Earth and all areas where traces of modern human civilization exist, are there any cultivators or inheritors of extraordinary powers besides myself? I will toss a coin in my hand; if yes, heads; if no, tails."

After saying that, Zhang Jing tossed a coin. The coin landed quickly on the table, rolled twice, and lay there tails up.

P.S.: I suddenly realized I've never asked for monthly votes before. Hmm, I'll timidly ask for them and see what happens. If you have any monthly votes you haven't cast yet, please send them over!

Chapter Forty-Three: I Am the Only Extraordinary

Zhang Jing looked at the wishing book again:

"Wish: I want to know, within the scope of modern human civilization that I currently inhabit, including Earth and all areas where traces of modern human civilization exist, are there any cultivators or inheritors of extraordinary powers besides myself? I will toss a coin in my hand; if yes, heads; if no, tails."

That wish has been fulfilled.

2000 Wish Points will be deducted.

Feeling that the deducted wish points were acceptable, it seemed the wishing book didn't assess the difficulty of this wish too highly. Gritting his teeth, Zhang Jing made another wish:

"I want to know if governments and mainstream academia, including the UN Human Rights Council, are completely unaware of the existence of supernatural forces? I will toss a coin in my hand; if yes, heads; if no, tails."

The coin was tossed again, spun for a while, and then lay down, this time heads up.

"My wish: I want to know if governments and mainstream academia of all humankind, including the Human Federation, are completely unaware of the existence of supernatural forces? I will toss a coin in my hand; if yes, heads; if no, tails."

That wish has been fulfilled.

2000 Wish Points will be deducted.

Putting away the wishing book, Zhang Jing rested his head in his hand. Just as he suspected…

The reason, just as he guessed, was that his wish—that "there was once a legacy of some advanced and extraordinary powers in this world, but now it has disappeared for some unknown reason"—was very likely that, for some reason, these powers and their inheritors disappeared in some ancient era and never appeared in this world again.

And the history of this world, beginning in that era, embarked on a path similar to Earth's, one of extraordinary obscurity, until modern times when technology developed and increasingly leaned towards a materialistic way of thinking. Everything from the past is now seen as legend from humanity's primitive age…

This also confirms another of Zhang Jing's guesses.

The wish he made on Mount Yuxian to "obtain the opportunity to inherit some extraordinary power" cost him 20000 wish points. Zhang Jing had pondered this number for a long time. If the world was truly transformed from a materialistic world to one with supernatural or idealistic powers because of his wish, then the number of points used was obviously too few and did not conform to common sense.

Zhang Jing didn't believe that points worth approximately 200 million could change the very foundation of the world's existence. The only explanation, then, was that the world was always like this, but for some reason, the existence of certain forces had been hidden.

He even went further, thinking that the paths to these powers might also be blocked. He thought of the massive volcanic eruption; perhaps there lay some greater secret he had yet to uncover.

As he pondered this, a sense of unease began to rise in Zhang Jing's heart. What kind of power had caused those powerful inheritances to disappear from this world? Zhang Jing felt that this was something he had to figure out in the future.

However, he felt that things might not be so bad. After all, humanity had developed peacefully to this point over thousands of years, which meant that even if there were some reasons that he did not yet understand, they should not be very urgent.

As long as you give yourself enough time...

As Zhang Jing pondered, many new ideas popped into his mind, but he quickly suppressed them with reason. His priority was accumulation. While mainstream human society hadn't yet noticed the extraordinary phenomena, he needed to build up his strength, knowledge, and wealth before embarking on further plans. After all, this was a highly civilized world, and he couldn't act rashly or impulsively.

***

Although he went to bed late the night before, Zhang Jing still got up early the next morning. In fact, since he entered the world of cultivation, the amount of sleep he needed each day had been greatly reduced; three to four hours of sleep was enough to replenish his energy. So, most of the time, sleeping a few extra hours was just a continuation of a habit.

After finishing his morning exercise and having breakfast, Zhang Jing decided to visit the "Gui Family Dayue Martial Arts Academy".

When he arrived at the martial arts school, Gui Cang was cleaning the area with a broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other. Seeing Zhang Jing push open the door and enter, he quickly put down his tools and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "Hongjian, I really have to thank you this time. Please accept my bow."

"Master Gui, what are you saying..." Zhang Jing hurriedly reached out to support Gui Cang's bowing body, but Gui Cang insisted on bowing. The two were locked in a stalemate for a while, but Gui Cang was ultimately unable to bow down.

Guicang became increasingly certain that Zhang Jing possessed extraordinary hidden strength, and said with a wry smile, "Hongjian, you kept this from me for quite a while."

"What exactly happened? Master Gui pulled this stunt as soon as I came in. I'm really confused..."

“Yesterday, Yan Hu came here specifically to apologize…” Guicang didn’t keep anyone in suspense and directly explained the whole story.

It turned out that Yan Hu had come to the martial arts school alone yesterday morning. At first, Guicang thought he was here to cause trouble again, and he was a little annoyed. But to his surprise, Yan Hu was extremely humble this time, his words full of apology, and he even took out 3000 yuan as an apology to show his sincerity. This whole operation left Guicang completely dumbfounded.

Although Yan Hu didn't explain why things had changed, the conversation revolved around Zhang Jing, and he praised Zhang Jing's skills highly. Before leaving, Yan Hu even hoped that Gui Cang could act as a go-between and invite Zhang Jing, as he planned to host a special banquet to apologize.

At the same time, during the conversation, Guicang also keenly sensed that Yan Hu was obviously lacking in energy, as if he had internal injuries.

In this way, even if Guicang was slow-witted, he would understand that the problem must lie with Zhang Jing, and it was very likely that Yan Hu had been defeated by Zhang Jing.

"So that's how it is..." Zhang Jing immediately understood and shook his head: "There was indeed some conflict before. There's no need for an apology. To be honest, I don't want to have anything to do with those gangsters. If Yan Hu asks again, Master Gui, please pass on a message for me, telling them to follow the right path."

Although Guicang was still curious about what had happened between Zhang Jing and Yan Hu, seeing that Zhang Jing didn't intend to say more, he stopped asking and nodded, saying, "I will definitely deliver it."

"Oh, right, this money should be returned to Hongjian. I truly feel unworthy of it." Gui Cang took out 500 yuan from his pocket and handed it over: "From now on, Hongjian, treat this place like your own home. Come over and visit whenever you have time. We can exchange ideas, but please don't give me any more money..."

Zhang Jing declined twice, but seeing that Guicang was very determined, he accepted the money.

Afterwards, the two naturally turned their conversation to martial arts. Zhang Jing was quite interested in Guicang's swordsmanship and asked him for advice. Guicang answered all his questions without reservation. So, the two spent the rest of the time exchanging martial arts techniques.

Time flies, and it was noon in the blink of an eye. Because it was a weekday, there weren't many people at Guicang to study at this time. For the entire morning, there were only the two of them in the martial arts school.

So Zhang Jing suggested they go for a meal at a nearby restaurant. He remembered that the ginseng chicken there was quite delicious. Guicang was also interested in making friends, so he simply locked the restaurant door and went with Zhang Jing.

Chapter Forty-Four: Sky City

Upon arriving at the restaurant called "Linzhou Luo Ji Old Soup Chicken," they found it packed with people due to the peak dining season. They waited a while before finally getting a table. After ordering, the main dish was, naturally, a large pot of ginseng-stewed chicken. They also ordered a small bottle of locally produced low-alcohol Shaoxing wine.

The rice wine was served in a small, fist-sized bottle. Neither of them intended to drink excessively; they mainly focused on eating and occasionally clinked glasses for a small sip to enhance the atmosphere.

After several dishes and rounds of drinks, the two men had grown quite close. Gui Zang was a straightforward person who didn't mince words, which suited Zhang Jing's taste quite well. Therefore, they began to address each other as "Brother Gui" and "Younger Brother."

"Brother Gui, are there many people learning martial arts here now?"

"Never mind, sometimes I even think about closing the martial arts school and opening a restaurant or something." Gui Cang shook his head and sighed, "If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have been controlled by that guy Yan Hu."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jing immediately understood. He realized that Yan Hu had warned him the day he left, clearly intending to make the martial arts school deserted and unable to continue operating.

"Why does Yan Hu insist on bringing Brother Gui into the group?"

"That profession may seem glamorous, but it actually requires skilled people to oversee it. You can't do it without some tough guys under your command... However, it's a dirty job, and going there would be disgracing our ancestors."

Upon hearing Guicang's explanation, Zhang Jing immediately understood and couldn't help but chuckle.

The two clinked their glasses again, and Guicang, also intrigued, began to speak with a hint of venting: "The old rules require a high level of basic skills and are slow to show results, so they are becoming less and less popular. I've been thinking lately that these rules need to be changed."

"The older generation believed in the principle of righteousness, not shortcuts..."

“Brother, that kind of thinking is unacceptable right now. Most of the people who come to learn kung fu are either for fitness, for self-defense, or ideally, to show off a few moves. Whatever the reason, they want something that shows immediate results.” Gui Cang laughed, “If you bring out that old-fashioned three-year stance training method for beginners… hehe…”

Gui Cang shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I only recently figured this out. I plan to do some crash courses and add some children's interest classes. Maybe it will work."

"Then I wish Brother Gui all your wishes come true..."

After lunch, Zhang Jing bid farewell to Gui Cang and headed home. On his way home, he bought some fruit, planning to visit his neighbor that evening.

On his way home, Zhang Jing received a call from the courier company confirming that the recording equipment he had ordered had arrived. Shortly after arriving home, three packages were delivered to his front door by drone.

Zhang Jing carried the packages back to his study, unpacked them, and took out the series of equipment he had previously ordered.

In fact, Zhang Jing didn't have much experience with recording. Fortunately, there were quite a few relevant experience posts online. It took Zhang Jing about an hour and a half to finally set up the room and adjust the equipment.

The software Zhang Jing used on his computer was "Recording Master," a "foolproof" software that was generally considered suitable for beginners on professional forums. Although it was paid software, it did a good job in AI assistance. For this reason, Zhang Jing registered for a paid membership, which would cost 58 yuan per month.

Zhang Jing temporarily converted his study into a makeshift recording studio. According to his research, one of the biggest challenges in setting up a recording studio is noise reduction. Fortunately, the house Zhang Jing rented was a two-courtyard house, with ample space, giving him an inherent advantage in this regard. Furthermore, the Yunshanfang area was naturally quiet, unlike the noisy urban areas. Therefore, with some targeted arrangements by Zhang Jing, such as closing doors and windows and sealing gaps with blankets, the overall noise level was brought to an acceptable level.

With everything ready, Zhang Jing prepared his bamboo flute, turned on the equipment, adjusted the computer software, and prepared to start recording his first solo piece of music in two lifetimes.

This recording is experimental; Zhang Jing doesn't plan to record a difficult song right away. Of course, from the perspective of accumulating wish points, the song's popularity is still very important, as it directly relates to the breadth of its dissemination. In Zhang Jing's mind, this will also be closely related to the number of wish points he ultimately collects.

Therefore, Zhang Jing had been weighing the options for the first song over the past few days, and finally chose "Carrying You," the ending theme song from the 1986 Miyazaki Hayao anime "Castle in the Sky."

This song, composed by Joe Hisaishi, is also translated into Chinese as "Carrying You" and in English as "Carrying You." In the past, it was often mistakenly called "Castle in the Sky" in China.

This is a song that Zhang Jing greatly admired, and it is also a piece that is extremely suitable for adaptation into a bamboo flute. The melody is not complicated, and it can even be said to be somewhat simple, but its beautiful tune and moving melody eventually made it a classic of its generation and spread widely around the world.

After Zhang Jing finished preparing, he first recorded a test recording. After listening to it with headphones, he felt it was pretty good, so he officially started recording.

Zhang Jing recorded the video three times. He was slightly dissatisfied with the first two takes, but he felt that the third take was much better. After listening to the recording with headphones, he felt that it met his expectations.

Aside from the fact that the sound quality is somewhat lacking due to the absence of accompaniment, everything else is acceptable.