《I Am Truly Not the Main Character》 Chapter 1 - The Missing Sister Yellow Soil Village. The window was shut, and the glimmering sunlight slowly permeated the gaps, brightening the room. On the bed, a ten-year-old boy was sleeping until his eyelids twitched and slowly opened. He blinked twice, still dazed, before finally moving his body. He sat up and stared at the door. There was no movement, and the door was tightly shut. The boy finally realized why he had woken up late. He shook his head and prepared to start his day. After having the leftovers from the previous night, he stepped out of the house. It was just another regular day for Niu Chang¡ªworking in the fields and then coming back home to rest. But as he arrived in front of his house, he saw an old man, around sixty years old, standing in front of his door. "How dare you still come back here?" The old man, Uncle Zhang, spoke condescendingly to Niu Chang. Niu Chang didn''t bother and maintained his casual expression, not showing too much emotion, but somewhat kind or compassionate. He stood where he was and stared at Uncle Zhang. Uncle Zhang, who was not related by blood, was just an old man living next door who had always taken care of Niu Chang and his sister after their parents died. Observing Niu Chang''s unmoving and emotionless demeanor, Uncle Zhang became irritated, and anger turned his eyes red. "Your sister has been gone for three days and three nights, but you still live casually as if nothing has happened. Do you have any heart at all? Did you feed your conscience to a dog?" Uncle Zhang angrily pointed at Niu Chang, which was inappropriate for his age. Three days ago, Niu Chang''s sister went missing when she went to the forest near the village. But by nightfall, she hadn''t returned. On the second day, there was still no news about her. It was then that Uncle Zhang realized something might have happened to Niu Chang''s sister. But when he saw that Niu Chang hadn''t changed at all, he grew suspicious. Yesterday night, when Uncle Zhang finished questioning other villagers, he became certain that something had happened to Niu Chang''s sister. Uncle Zhang confronted Niu Chang in front of his house. "Your sister has been missing for two days and two nights, and you didn''t even flinch. Are you even human?!" Uncle Zhang berated Niu Chang that night. As for the other neighbors, they only came out from their homes and listened without any intention to intervene. They knew that Uncle Zhang and the Niu siblings were rather close. Like today, Niu Chang stood his ground and with placid eyes, he sighed and said, "Uncle Zhang, what do you want me to do? I''m just a kid, not even eleven years old. My sister went missing in the forest, and her whereabouts have been unknown for two days. What can I do? Even if I went to the forest, I would only be feeding those wild beasts." "You... You!" Uncle Zhang was shocked by Niu Chang''s response. "How can there be such an ungrateful bastard like you? Your sister works day and night to feed and take care of you, but when she is in trouble, you don''t even think twice to abandon her!" Niu Chang then slowly lowered his shoulders as if a huge mountain of sadness pressed down on him. His face was filled with sadness and helplessness. "My sister took care of me. That''s exactly why I don''t want to waste her efforts! Do you think she wants her only family member to face danger that she alone couldn''t handle? Do you really want me to go to the forest and risk my life, Uncle Zhang?" Niu Chang''s voice was low and quivering. But due to the lack of light at night, Uncle Zhang could hardly see Niu Chang''s eyes. His eyes were strangely unmoved, calm, and tranquil, like water in an old well. Due to anger, Uncle Zhang''s voice was loud and attracted the attention of other neighbors. When he came to his senses, he realized many eyes were on him. Stolen story; please report. Although there were no whispers, Uncle Zhang felt a chill down his spine. This village was poor, and every member struggled to survive each day. Asking a child to go to the forest alone was no different than asking him to kill himself. Even so, because of their precarious situation, the bond between the villagers was quite close, but only limited to the assistance they could provide. If Niu Chang chose to ask for help from his neighbors, he would only receive some words of condolence and vague promises. "Our lives are already difficult, and you want us to help you find your sister who went missing in the forest? No, thanks." "My child, wife, and parents still need me to support them." But no matter what, humans are strange creatures. Although they understand the reasoning and logic behind their answers, they tend to criticize those who act accordingly. Although Niu Chang hadn''t asked for help in the past three days, he had at least shown his gloomy mood through his actions. His shoulders were slumped all day, his eyes were dull, and he had become more silent than usual. The villagers naturally sensed that something was amiss with him, but they already had their own problems, and since Niu Chang himself didn''t bother to talk about it, others only pitied him in their hearts. Tonight, the neighbors finally understood why Niu Chang had been acting differently these past few days. Back to the present. ¡®This Uncle Zhang is really strange. Although he has helped our family a little, he doesn''t seem to genuinely care about us. His eyes don''t match his words and actions,¡¯ Niu Chang shook his head and ignored Uncle Zhang. He didn''t care about the reasons behind Uncle Zhang''s actions, nor did he want to know. As long as his daily life wasn''t affected, everything was like the wind to him. Come and go, but nothing else. Niu Chang walked towards his door. Uncle Zhang''s face was red, but he didn''t take any action. He could only watch as Niu Chang entered his house. He stood there for a moment, his mouth opening and closing as if he were uttering words, but no sound came out. Uncle Zhang shook his head and walked to his own house. Inside the house, Niu Chang stood behind the door, carefully listening to Uncle Zhang''s footsteps. ''Just wait for a few more days. If he doesn''t cause more problems, just let it be. But...'' Niu Chang thought to himself, his casual and placid face slowly forming a smile. He didn''t like to meddle in others'' business, but he cared a great deal about his own. So if someone wanted to create problems for him, he would naturally take the ''necessary'' action. Niu Chang stretched his stiff body after working in the fields. His entire demeanor seemed different from what he showed on the outside. He became calmer and more composed, like a nobleman playing in a poor district¡ªa place that had nothing to do with him, where he was just a passerby. After resting, he went to the backyard and started practicing martial arts. He didn''t have any manuals or books to refer to; all he relied on were his memories of martial arts from his previous life. Niu Chang was a reincarnator. He had reincarnated three years ago in this world and became Niu Chang. The first thing he did was to learn about the world. It was a world of martial arts, where practitioners could use qi to easily break steel and cut down big trees. Because of this, Niu Chang no longer cared about mundane things and focused solely on martial arts and becoming a martial artist. With strength in his hands, there would be a day when he could live the way he wanted. But for now, he needed to hide and train hard to become stronger. One month passed. Nothing had changed, and even Uncle Zhang had given up on the seventh day after Niu Chang''s sister''s disappearance. At night, when Niu Chang finished his daily training, he sat down on the broken wooden floor and closed his eyes. ''Three years. Not a single day has I wasted on meditating to gather qi, but no matter what I do, I just can''t sense this so-called qi'' ''I have five books about cultivating internal energy or qi, but none of them have helped me. I have thoroughly read them, extracted their essence from their obscurity, and compared their teachings to find the simplest method of gathering qi into one''s body.'' ''Even after that, I continued simplifying the method and gathering more information about qi cultivation. I created more than twenty different cultivation methods, each using different approaches.'' ''But still, none of them worked. Then I gave up on qi cultivation and focused on external cultivation, which involves training the flesh and body. But in the end, it''s still in the realm of mortals! No matter how much I train my body, it will reach the limit of my mortal body. In the end, I still need this so-called ''qi''!'' ''Gathering qi into one''s body and increasing its quality and quantity is qi cultivation. Training the physical body and guiding the qi to transform its essence is body cultivation. Then there''s the last one, which is mind cultivation, harnessing the qi and transforming mental energy into psychic energy that can affect the outside world.'' ''I have tried all of them, but this body just can''t...'' Niu Chang shook his head. In just three years, his efforts to cultivate and elevate his life from a mortal to a cultivator had been futile. But his knowledge in this area was richer than that of ordinary martial artists. Still, he chose to persevere and continue working hard to explore the mysteries of cultivation. He believed that the reason for his lack of success was that his body was not suitable for the "normal" cultivation methods. As long as he maintained his pursuit of knowledge, he believed that one day he would create a cultivation method that would allow him to step onto the path of cultivation and become a martial artist. [Ding.] A clear and crisp sound echoed in Niu Chang''s mind. [Host detected.] [Initialization starting.] [Loading: 1%... 70%... 100%] [Connection established.] One after another, a cold and machine-like voice could be heard by Niu Chang. But he couldn''t help but feel anticipation. ''The system is here! It''s finally my time to shine and become the main character!'' Niu Chang cheered in his heart. [Hooooosssstttt!] Suddenly, a meek and childish voice appeared. Chapter 2 - The System is Here [Hooooosssstttt!] A meek and childish voice suddenly appeared. The childish voice sounded like that of a ten-year-old boy. [Ashdvbsiufhkjewfiuewgfuiwo¡­] The childish voice spoke in incoherent words, as if he wanted to express many things, but his heart and mind were overwhelmed, leading to mere complaints. Niu Chang was slightly surprised by this development. "Can my system speak? But why does it sound like a little boy? Wouldn''t it be better for it to sound like a mature woman or a little girl to attract more readers?" Nevertheless, Niu Chang remained silent and waited. [Why? How? Why? Just why?] [How can you be like this, host?] [Why are you unmoved by anything?] [Three years ago, one day after you came to this world, your parents were poisoned, and they needed herbs that are rumored to exist in the forest. Why didn''t you choose to enter the forest and search for those herbs?] [Why didn''t you follow the rules?!] [You''re not playing by the book at all!] The voice of the little boy was clear and weak, but it didn''t hide his emotions. Anger and resentment were evident. The system truly hated Niu Chang for what he did three years ago. The system had received education about such matters and the rules in the book. Its host should be responsible for his new parents, but no! Its host didn''t even bat an eye at such a thing, and there wasn''t even a slight turmoil in his heart! What a heartless bastard. The system still remembered what Niu Chang felt that day. ''Why do I bother with them? They gave birth to and took care of Niu Chang, not me. I don''t owe them anything.'' Because this was inside Niu Chang''s heart. The system couldn''t hear it, but it clearly sensed the emotion in Niu Chang¡ªnone at all. He didn''t feel anything, and instead, he felt pity for his sister, as she would now be the backbone of this family. Heartless bastard. The system cursed at that time. Hearing what the system said, Niu Chang remembered that event. Indeed, it happened one day after he reincarnated. But he didn''t feel any responsibility at all. He wasn''t Niu Chang. "Sorry, I''m not the main character you''re looking for." "I''m not such a wimpy, naive, and hot-blooded teenager with a high moral self-righteousness." "You do yours, and I''ll do mine." [Then the next event. Host! You don''t play by the book for the second time!] The next event in Niu Chang''s reincarnated life in this world was when he went to the forest and found a dying old beggar. The old beggar was wearing old clothes full of patches, his body full of wounds, and blood dripping from him. [When encountering such a scene, shouldn''t you follow the rules and help him?] ]But no! You just watched from where you were and observed your surroundings until he passed out due to blood loss. Then you waited for another ten minutes to make sure he was truly unconscious and killed him!] ]What the f*ck, host! Are you even a candidate for the main character? And then you brought that old beggar''s body deeper into the forest and took away his belongings.] Recalling the second event that the system mentioned, Niu Chang vaguely remembered the scene where he found five old books with the old beggar. He was really happy at that time, even though he couldn''t read. He was still happy and left the forest. ¡®Well, that was actually a good encounter. Thanks to that, my clueless research became easier,¡¯ Niu Chang replied. [Then the third event¡­] The system stopped speaking. The next words choked it. [What kind of reincarnator are you?! You found an unconscious woman in the forest, and what did you do?] The system''s voice was high-pitched and full of sarcasm. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. [Heh. You picked up the dagger from her waist and slit her throat, but you didn''t stop there. You completely beheaded that poor woman. You monster!] [And then¡­ and then you use it like a cadaver to learn from. Can''t you be more normal?] Niu Chang remained as calm as ever, his face placid. He said, ''It''s not exactly as you said; I''m just curious about how the human body works to find its weaknesses, making it easier for me to face my enemies in the future by targeting their vital points.'' He shook his head as if the system was wrong this time. Not only this time, but the previous two as well. [But you are the one who killed her, don''t you feel some rejection from your conscience?] ¡®A little bit,¡¯ Niu Chang said without a change in his voice. ¡®I''m not an edgy person lacking any empathy and sympathy for others, but this is this, and that is that. Something must be done to survive and grow stronger.'' If the system had a physical body, its mouth would gape, and it would slap such a ridiculous man. ¡®Also, please understand I''m treating the cadaver with professionalism. Don''t tell me you can''t tell what I''m doing at that time? I obviously avoid certain parts of her body to remain respectful to my last bit of conscience. Niu Chang said with righteousness. Although the system didn''t have a physical body, it could sense Niu Chang''s heart and mind. It naturally sensed what Niu Chang felt and did at that time. He was indeed doing it to fill the gap in his medical knowledge. [But still, I believe that you became excited at that time?] The system tried its best to retort. ¡®Now you are trying to pick on me by gaslighting something that I didn''t do. I do get excited but that was when she was still alive and well! I treat you with respect, and is this how you try to win the argument?'' Hearing Niu Chang reprimand its childish nagging, the system chose to be silent. The system couldn''t help but curse in its heart. ¡®He is not wrong, but I just can''t help it. You are my host, how can I withstand it if you are not normal?'' It chose to stop discussing this topic because it intuitively felt it would lose when arguing with Niu Chang. This man was in his own league. Then the system brought up the fourth, fifth, sixth, and finally the seventh events in Niu Chang''s second life. The seventh event was naturally when his sister, who had always taken care of him after their parents passed away, went missing. [How can there be a human like you? Indifferent towards everything, detached yet compassionate, full of emotion yet oblivious to all of them?] The system was in a dilemma, doubting the teachings it had received before fulfilling its role as a golden finger for transmigrators or reincarnators. It was still remembered when it was drawing the lottery, evaluating the qualification of its host, Niu Chang. It was very high! The system was thrilled at that time and started bragging to other systems of the same generation. The management team at that time had only given one sentence about Niu Chang''s potential: "Immortality is only a matter of time." Such an evaluation was naturally very good. The system had heard many stories about its seniors being the golden finger for the main characters in other worlds. They bragged about how their hosts were the true owners of their respective realities. Becoming the strongest entity and ruling over everything, omniscient and omnipotent. With such a successful mission, those seniors now lived a lavish and grand life that many systems envied. Naturally, as a newcomer, Niu Chang''s system also wanted to have such an easy mission. It only needed to latch onto a good candidate and ride the coattails to success. The bigger the thigh to hug, the easier life becomes. Watching over Niu Chang for three years had subverted its worldview. All its preparations for its first mission had gone right into the trash bin. If that wasn''t enough, its preparations had also been spat on and defecated on by every choice Niu Chang made. "This is not how it should develop. Everything is wrong! What a ''very good'' evaluation? What ''immortality only about time''? This psycho doesn''t fit any template for the main character at all!" While the system was preoccupied with its own thoughts, Niu Chang thought that it should be finished complaining about him. So he asked, ¡®So, system, when do I receive the golden finger? Where is the system interface?¡¯ Since it was his golden finger, naturally, Niu Chang believed the system could hear his thoughts. There was no need to take any risk by speaking out loud and potentially being seen as crazy. It was also a good habit so that in the future, no one would notice anything amiss from him. As a stable and careful person, Niu Chang didn''t want to take any risks. If someone were to regress to the past and jump in front of him saying, "You bastard!" He knew his character in the present and future would undoubtedly make him many formidable enemies, and none of them who were still alive would be ordinary. Those ordinary mobs would die without even knowing the reason. So, naturally, those regressors would greet him with such heartwarming words. The system stopped lamenting its fate, organized its thoughts, and switched to professional mode. "I''m a system, the golden finger for the main character," the system tried to hypnotize itself. [Currently, the host doesn''t have any supporting system. The host is still in standby mode, waiting for a fateful event to trigger the support mode of the system.] [Normally, the host would immediately encounter such a fateful event, and due to the host''s determination, the system would be triggered and activate the support mode.] [But... due to the host''s uniqueness, such fateful encounters are useless because of the host''s choices at that time.] The system no longer had the voice of a little boy but a clear and cold mechanical voice. ¡®So, you''re saying that I still need to wait for such a fateful encounter and then make a choice that is the opposite of my own way?¡¯ Niu Chang asked, getting to the crux of the problem. If he failed to activate the support mode due to his personality, naturally, he only needed to change the course of his life at crucial times, and after activating the support mode, he could return to his normal routine. When thinking about this, Niu Chang''s mind flashed with many memories of his first life. ¡®If I''m not mistaken, many of the web novels that I read were like this. The system arrives right when the main character needs it, or rather, when the story starts.¡¯ ¡®So, in short, my story hasn''t actually started yet?¡¯ Niu Chang felt a sense of strangeness. Three years of suffering from hunger, fatigue, and cold, and his story hadn''t even begun. He laughed. Chapter 3 - The Development is Wrong [It''s not as easy as you think. The support mode is customized according to the host way of life, personality and the world. As to help the host to overcome any problem and difficulty in his way to reach the peak.] [So, even if you change your action at such crucial timing. The support mode will not activate because in essence your will and determination is still the same.] The system explained that the problem is never in the choice and action at crucial times. But in the changes of the host¡¯s life. In the beast taming novel, the system activated the support mode when the main character is about to choose its partner. In the super power novel, the system activates the support mode when the main character is about to awaken his super power or talent. In many other novels, it is activated when the story actually begins. Where the direction of the main character¡¯s fate takes the turn. When the carp starts to swim against the tide and jump over the gate and become a dragon. Listening to the system explanation. Niu Chang¡¯s brain was working trying to analyze the input and process it to get the way to exit his predicament, The system was watching Niu Chang. As it could only comment in its heart, ¡®as expected from him.¡¯ Niu Chang was a weird one. Not as human but as the system¡¯s host. In the system¡¯s knowledge base, there are no such cases and templates of main characters like Niu Chang. Maybe because the system was only a newcomer in this business so its privilege and access is not enough to know the template like Niu Chang or maybe something else, no one knows. The problem didn''t revolve around Niu Chang''s personality or his character, which resembled more of a villain than a main character. Niu Chang''s problem lies in how his mind was working. His mind was not like how a main character should be and no character should think like him. You can¡¯t cultivate? Let me make my own cultivation method. Gathering low level cultivation manuals, extracting their essences and then comparing them to each other then pulling the logic behind cultivating. At this time, wasn¡¯t the main character supposed to travel mountains and seas to find the cultivation method instead of researching himself? What? You can¡¯t cultivate the qi or essence? Then let me choose body cultivation. What? My body is unable to follow body cultivation? Let me do some research first. Hmm.. my body is indeed unable to do qi and body cultivation. Then I will do mind cultivation. Still not working? I will do soul cultivation. Still not working? I will try every possibility from the novels I have read and if it''s not enough I will make my own cultivation path. It was exactly because of this kind of thinking that the system was having a headache. Instead of calling him a main character, it''s more correct to call him an intruder from being a reader into the world of a novel. His thinking is just not limited to the world he is living in at all. He used all of his accumulated knowledge from his first life after reading so many novels, using them as reference and making his own way instead of taking the risk of finding it in this world. Such willful and ridiculous people naturally will be mocked by others. Although there is a chance he will succeed, there will be more failure. Even after knowing this in his heart, Niu Chang didn¡¯t bother at all. Walking the path of thorn and darkness, he was actually excited and passionate. The goal naturally is immortality. But as much as the goal is important, the journey to reach such a destination actually plays a more important role. So what if I ascend to immortality in one step? It¡¯s okay, but I will not be satisfied. Now that I have become omniscient and omnipotent, naturally I will enjoy this power and enter various realities to play as the main character where I never enjoyed before. The system was unable to hold and spoke. [Host, your fourteen answers will not be able to activate the support mode of the system.] Niu Chang was deeply immersed in how to exploit and finding the method to activate the support mode, he already has fourteen methods but still keeps increasing the number. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. [Your fourteen- no, your fifteen methods are useless and more so those that will come in the future. Host, the problem is not with the system nor the world.] [The problem is you, Host. In your way of thinking it is your will, the one thing that defines you. That person who now called himself Niu Chang.] [I already know this and so you are. You even already deduced this before you came up with your fourth method on how to activate the support mode.] When the system stopped talking, Niu Chang actually paid more attention to the system. His mind was still running but their attention was no longer on how to activate the support mode. He stopped after the fifteenth method. Niu Chang chose to be silent, since the system directly responded when he came up with the fifteenth method. There was no need to talk about it since the system right now was already reading his mind. [Yes, you are correct, Host. No matter how many methods you come up with, all of them will be useless because this is no longer a normal development.] As far as Niu Chang knew, he never read a story where the system appeared before the support mode activated. Even if the system is activated and it has some artificial intelligence to help the main character. His development was unheard of. While Niu Chang was thinking, the system continued his train of thought. [As if the development met with a problem that was never recorded before.] Before Niu Chang could construct his thinking into words, the system already deduced sentences that in essence were similar to what he was thinking right now. [There were many fateful encounters that could trigger the support mode, but none of them were successful. Following this trend, there is a big possibility that the future will be the same.] [Considering this situation. The host can be said to have failed to become the main character.] But Niu Chang didn¡¯t flinch nor reacted. He is still calmly thinking. ¡®Then the reason why you appear now is naturally because that possibility is no longer a possibility, right?¡¯ [Correct.] Silent. The system didn¡¯t continue to speak and so with Niu Chang. The system has its own rules and way of conduct in encountering many possibilities in its duty. While Niu Chang used his first life knowledge to deduce many things. The system already knew what would happen while Niu Chang was on his way to know. Finally, Niu Chang found the answer and sighed in realization. [This scenario shouldn¡¯t happen.] The system gave its confirmation to what Niu Chang had deduced. The system and the host shouldnt interact, or rather the core system and the host wasn¡¯t allowed to have interaction at all. This was breaking the fundamentals to any story and potentially leaking the secret about the system''s truth. Why is there a system? What is a system? Why did it help the main character? What is its goal? [Stop it host. Don¡¯t continue your thought or there will be no ¡®next.¡¯] The system tried to stop Niu Chang from deducing further by giving vague description. Niu Chang stopped immediately but he was helpless. ¡®System, you have already been with me since I came to this world, so you naturally understand me very well. It¡¯s not that I want to continue to deduce the answer but I can¡¯t. Humans are such weird creatures, the more you try to stop thinking about something the stronger you think about it.¡¯ Shaking his head, Niu Chang let go of all his thoughts by solely focusing his mind on his vision. With his mind focusing on his vision, watching over the dark night and the lonely moon. Niu Chang is finally able to stop his mind in running on their own and only able to watch the scenery. [Such things naturally have been considered by the system, as long as the host didn¡¯t intend to do it. Even if the host already has his own thoughts, it is heavily forbidden to speak it out.] ¡®Sure.¡¯ Niu Chang followed the advice of the system. [Since the situation is already clear to the host. I will give the host choices to exit his predicament.] Instinctively, Niu Chang deduced the choices that the system wanted to give him. He came up with seven possible choices in an instant right before the system spoke. The system wanted to speak, but stopped when it read Niu Chang¡¯s mind. ¡®What a troublesome and fearsome man.¡¯ Slowly the system finally understood why the management team gave Niu Chang ¡®very good¡¯ evaluation. His awareness of out of the box thinking is just too high. [The host has two choices. The first one is to alter the host personalities so that he can become a proper main character and the second is to drop the qualification of becoming the main character.] The system chose to be oblivious towards the other five choices that Niu Chang came up with. Those five choices were indeed very good, but the system didn¡¯t want to consider them. Since the system could read his mind, Niu Chang didn¡¯t bother to argue. Whether it¡¯s impossible or the system didn¡¯t want to, since the system said so. He just follows the flow. [If the host chose the first choice, then there is a chance for the host to achieve immortality in this life. As for the second choice-] Niu Chang cut the system¡¯s speech. ¡®Stop it system. We have already lived together for three years, you should know me better. If I can¡¯t achieve immortality what is the point of being alive? If in the end I only end up as a pile of soil and ash, it''s better to strive for a sliver chance of success.¡¯ The system was confused. Although it understood what Niu Chang said, it just didn¡¯t get any confirmation from Niu Chang¡¯s mind on which choice he took. [Host, please don¡¯t play with me. You said you want to achieve immortality even if it''s only a sliver of hope and nigh impossible. But in your heart you didn¡¯t take any of my choice.] Niu Chang shook his head and said, ¡®no, I already gave you my answer. It you who chose to ignore it.¡¯ Chapter 4 - The Reason The system was silent for a moment. Its indeed read something in Niu Chang¡¯s mind, but it was just too inconspicuous. No matter how inconspicuous it was, it was different from any thoughts in Niu Chang¡¯s mind. This thing is more like an obsession of Niu Chang. Because of this, Niu Chang didn¡¯t need to think about it because this was his root and philosophy of life. The system sighed. [Then what do you want to do? Do you really think that you can activate the support mode by yourself?] Because of its professional act, the system can only be sarcastic in its heart. ¡®You want to become a main character by virtue of fate?¡¯ ¡®Dream on.¡¯ The system snorted. There were many templates of main characters in the system database. But none of them match Niu Chang. This person is just not fit to be the main character. Being too smart actually is not one of many criteria of being a main character. ¡®Yes, I want to let everything follow the course of nature. There is no need to be hasty nor there is need to be forceful.'' ¡®Since I already reincarnated into this world, naturally there will be a chance.¡¯ Niu Chang was calm and relaxed as ever. The corner of his lip lifted slightly. [Since the host already made his mind then there is nothing more to discuss.] The cold mechanic''s voice then disappeared. Watching the dark night sky and the lonely moon. Niu Chang truly didn¡¯t feel anything. ¡°The world is beautiful as it is, but my heart is just too big that it''s hardly affected by it.¡± ¡®It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to change my mind. It is the nature of humans that I was afraid of, their mind is fragile as match fire. With a blow of wind it went off, with its brilliance it''s only able to illuminate a pitiful area in the midst of endless darkness.¡¯ ¡®With such power how can I wager my life on something as fragile as that?¡¯ There is a thin difference between a coward and a realist. The fine line was the opportunity, but how they saw it was what became their difference. Look at those main characters in the novels. They have a poor background, unbending will and determination. In face of adversities, they face it with their belief alone and turn misfortune into fortune and take another leap becoming stronger than before. But no matter how well the author pictured it by reasoning or bluntly admitted it as plot armor. Human mind still takes it for granted. If you were given the role of the main character in that story, would you be as good as him? Yes, and I can be better than him. They said after reading the first half No, I can¡¯t take his role. They said after reading the second half. Naturally the first half was full of coincidence and easy to follow and made some changes. But when all those coincidences in the first half accumulated and became the reason for a coincidence in the second half. If it was only one time coincidence naturally it can be accepted. But when the coincidence in the second half merged with the accumulated coincidences in the first half to make another coincidence and then continue this loop. Can this still be called coincidence? When every coincidence lined neatly to pave the road for the main character to reach his end goal. No. This is not a coincidence but a pre-planned series of events so that the main character could have an exciting journey. With such an arrangement, naturally the main character problems in his journey are nothing but a fart. Baiting technique used by the author to kept the reader at bay. A nonsensical and useless dramatic scene. Since many readers were accustomed to read such stories, naturally they just accepted it as natural. This is the danger that Niu Chang is afraid of the most. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The nature of the human mind. Since it¡¯s normal and happens every time naturally it becomes normal, right? Niu Chang didn¡¯t learn much about psychology and how such a phenomenon was called. Herd or crowd awareness or something like that maybe. But there was a theory that Niu Chang remembered the most. Survivor bias. Imagine a box that contains many things and you don¡¯t know the contents. Then give the box entry and exit point. Send ten people as test subjects and wait at the exit point. Only eight out of ten successfully exited the box. Then you ask for their testimonies. Four of them said they encountered a wolf while the other four said they encountered a huge dog. From this naturally you can make an assumption that the other two that didn¡¯t reach the exit point either be killed by the dog or the wolf. But what if, what if the other two actually encountered something other than a dog or a wolf, something that guaranteed their deaths. Because of this, you will make a mishap in your thinking and just accept that the other two were unlucky to not survive the attack from a wolf or a dog. This is survivor bias. Such a thing became the reason as to why Niu Chang acted very carefully and steadily. Just because he only read stories where the main characters survive due to a chain of endless coincidence, naturally there are also stories which he never read where the main character died in the middle of his journey where his coincidence suddenly stopped. The things that he prepared from learning the mistakes of the main characters that were successful naturally would be useless when facing the problem of the failed main character. Since he don¡¯t even know what kind of mistake that made them lose their lives. After reminding himself about the fickle nature of the human mind and the danger of various biases. Niu Chang stood up and walked to his bedroom. His conversation with the system didn¡¯t cause any ripple in his heart and didn¡¯t change his plan. Since he already reincarnated into this world, he won''t be so weak and lamenting his pitiful fate then swearing to find a way back to his world where only ordinariness that will welcome him. This was his chance that many would be envious. The night passed without problem. In the morning when the sunlight sneaks up on the gaps between the window and reaches Niu Chang¡¯s face. Niu Chang woke up from his sleep and was still half-asleep when he saw something in front of his face. It was illusory, rectangular and blue in color. Rubbing his eyes a few times, Niu Chang was stunned. He was not dreaming. The system panel was finally here. [Host : Niu Chang] [Karma point : 0] [Cultivation : unable to cultivate] [Skill : Kendo.] There were only four options on the system interface. But on the bottom left corner was a small ¡®!¡¯ sign with red color as if saying ¡°click me.¡± Niu Chang chose to postpone clicking that exclamation mark and analyze his information. The first two pieces of information were normal, but the third one was different. Niu Chang never stepped on the road of cultivation, he was never able to gather any qi. So he was expecting the status would show zero or ¡® - ¡¯ signs. But instead, it was ¡°unable to cultivate.¡± What does this mean? Because Niu Chang was focused on the third line in his status. He was vaguely able to explore more about this ¡°unable to cultivate¡± line. Just as he willed, the system interface changed and a new window appeared in front of him. [Unable to cultivate qi.] [Unable to cultivate the body.] [Unable to cultivate the mind.] [Unable to cultivate the soul.] [More.] Niu Chang became speechless when he saw this new pop up window. Only by reading the four lines does he already understand what it means to be unable to cultivate. He doesn¡¯t even need to click the more option to know what kind of cultivation path that couldn¡¯t take. ¡®Unable to cultivate. As it says, I¡¯m not able to cultivate. Not because of my aptitude or any part of my body, mind, and soul. It''s me that is unable to cultivate as if the whole world put a restriction on me. Banning me from cultivating¡¯ Now that he recalled his conversation with the system last night, he now understands why the system broke the norm and contacted him first. No matter how smart you are, no matter how many methods you have and how many paths you make. If you can¡¯t even move, what is the point? Laugh. Niu Chang felt bitter in his heart. If not because of this ban on him. He should have already made huge progress in his cultivation. According to the books he has, he was confident that three years he wasted on. He could achieve the master stage in martial arts. Martial artists have differentiation in level namely third rate, second rate, first rate, peak stage, master stage, and grandmaster stage. As for the next stage after the grandmaster stage was not mentioned in the books. But at least it did mention there was a legendary stage above the grandmaster stage which countless people hoped to reach but only few succeeded. Then Niu Chang moved to the next column on his information. Except for kendo, I did some punching and kicking training but the system only registered kendo as my skill. This only means one thing, I need to have complete or incomplete teaching.¡¯ Back in his first life, Niu Chang indeed learned about kendo just to have some romance with swinging bamboo swords. But that¡¯s all, he didn¡¯t continue to practice after that. But the knowledge he has indeed given him the basics of kendo. Niu Chang wanted to test the system if it could register a theoretical technique in his head, but he chose to do it later. Now his curiosity was on how to use this system and then with his will, he clicked on the exclamation mark that seducing him. A new pop up window appears and a long page full of words explaining how to use the system. Chapter 5 - Breach In a place that was farther than here and closer than there. The world of systems. Various systems were watching over the systems that were taking missions. When suddenly on one of the monitors a warning appeared. ¡°What happens?¡± ¡°Whose mission is that?¡± ¡°Quick, report to the elder!¡± Some systems were alarmed when the warning appeared and some quick witted ones directly reported this situation to its superior. Swish. An older system appeared on the scene instantly after receiving the report. It stared at the warning message and asked the one who was responsible for this section. ¡°What is the situation?¡± The one who was responsible for this section was nervous and quickly tried his best to confirm the situation. Not long after, it said. ¡°Sir, it is a breach.¡± ¡°A breach?¡± The elderly system murmured under his breath. ¡°What is the code for this breach?¡± It asked. ¡°It¡¯s breach code-4, Sir.¡± The system responsible didn¡¯t need to open a manual book to find the code. Breach was one of many sections in the manual book. While the code four refers to the situation where the world made a counterattack caused by the host that tied with a system. ¡°Bring me the file of this person, put this to on record and increase the priority level.¡± The elderly system gave an order on how to handle this situation directly. One second later, the elderly system already left the scene while reading the file about the host that caused breach code-4. It only took one second to finish the file but took another two seconds staring at it. Then the elderly system put the file away. ¡°With such a background it¡¯s only natural for such a breach to happen.¡± The elderly system sighed. . . . Niu Chang took his time to read each paragraph of the instruction manual of his system carefully. It''s a lot of information to read but thankfully it was written in a humane way that made it easier to understand. Feeling grateful that the system manual is not like the programming book or the law book which have many clauses. He closed his eyes and tried to process the information from the instruction manual. Five minutes later, Niu Chang opened his eyes and he more or less understood how to use his newly acquired system. In his understanding, this system only has three important rules. All living beings are equal. Respect is essential. Uninformed person is innocent. And to summarize these three rules into a more simple form is naturally : ¡°Don¡¯t make any karma.¡± Karma here refers to both good karma and bad karma. The reason why the instruction manual was long was because it explained many things about karma. For Niu Chang who didn¡¯t want to make any problem until he actually became omnipotent and omniscient, such a system naturally suited him the best. When Niu Chang stood up from his bed and looked around his bedroom, he couldn¡¯t help but feel disgusted. ¡®This lord, no longer need to live in this broken home anymore.¡¯ Now that he has his system, naturally it''s time for him to take off. But this doesn''t mean he dropped his guard down, it¡¯s mainly because of the nature of his system he felt this way. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Feeling disgusted, Niu Chang walked out of his bedroom and made his breakfast which was very plain and tasted poorly. After finished with his breakfast. Niu Chang packed up his things and started his journey. Because Niu Chang woke up late, the villagers were already busy with their routine. When they saw Niu Chang who brought a big luggage, a big cloth that contained his daily clothes. ¡°Hey, Little Chang, did you finally choose to move out?¡± One of the aunty said this to Niu Chang. Niu Chang didn¡¯t stop and only gave a nod at that aunty. The aunty¡¯s changed from normal to slightly mad. But when she saw Niu Chang walk away, she only snorted. ¡°Hum, let''s wait until how long can you last in the wilderness.¡± On his way to exit the village, Niu Chang was greeted by many people but none of them told him to reconsider his action. Instead many of them said punctual words and gave superficial smiles. Uncle Zhang who came out from his house was happy and enjoying the morning sunlight. When he saw two villagers passing in front of his house. ¡°Oh, Old Zhang, good news for you.¡± One of them said. ¡°The kid from Niu family finally chose to leave the village on his own, now you no longer need to take care of him.¡± The other one said. Hearing this, the smile on Uncle Zhang¡¯s face was stiff. A glint of light flashed in his eyes. Then he asked the two villagers in front of him with a hoarse voice, ¡°in which direction is that boy going?¡± The two villagers didn¡¯t take any change on Uncle Zhang seriously, and pointed out the north. ¡°He exited the village through the north gate.¡± Before the other one was able to ask about what Uncle Zhang would do, he saw Uncle Zhang quickly move to chase after Niu Chang. Watching the running Uncle Zhang, one of the villagers said. ¡°What a weird old man, he didn¡¯t have any connection with the Niu family except being a neighbor yet he still cares a lot about the two, sister and brother.¡± The other one shook his head. ¡°Let him be, maybe he already takes both of them as his family member.¡± Uncle Zhang running with all of his might chasing after Niu Chang. Because Niu Chang didn¡¯t run or walk fast. Uncle Zhang was able to catch up with him in less than fifteen minutes. Uncle Zhang continues his chasing and grabs Niu Chang¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You little brat. How dare you run away from me!¡± Uncle Zhang was out of breath but his grip was strong, his face was ferocious like a hungry beast. Niu Chang dropped his luggage and turned around, feeling the pain on his left shoulder. He looked at Uncle Zhang. Looking at Niu Chang''s placid face only caused Uncle Zhang''s anger to rise another level. On the other hand, Niu Chang was actually watching the system panel in front of him. [Ding.] [Detected the host has established karma with Zhang Ping.] [Option 1 : Karmic retribution.] [Option 2 : Resolve the karma by yourself.] Although the instruction manual mentioned such a thing, it¡¯s now clearly mentioned the option that was given to him. Niu Chang doesn''t need to think much about the options, since he already made up his mind. He willed and chose option number two. In that instant, Niu Chang felt his body suddenly filled with strength that he didn¡¯t have before. The grip on his shoulder no longer gave him pain. Before Uncle Zhang could make any move due to his anger erupting like a volcano, he saw Niu Chang blinked at him and then punched. Niu Chang''s punch was so fast that Uncle Zhang was unable to react. The punch landed on his stomach. In his heart, Uncle Zhang sneered at such stupid move. But when the punch hit his stomach, he was pushed back and pain spread across his body before finally falling on his back. Still unable to think what just happened, Uncle Zhang saw Niu Chang approaching him rapidly. He saw Niu Chang¡¯s placid face, but now he no longer felt disgusted at such a face but fear. He saw Niu Chang no longer that dull and introverted boy, but a full fledged warrior. In front of a warrior nothing can cause a ripple in his heart as he feels no fear. ¡°St-¡± Niu Chang kicked Uncle Zhang¡¯s chin to stop him from screaming. His kick alone caused Uncle Zhang¡¯s teeth to break and his gum to bleed. Uncle Zhang was unresponsive to his pain due to fear overwhelming his mind. But before he could do anything, he saw Niu Chang raise his right leg and stomp down. The light on Uncle Zhang¡¯s eyes slowly faded. With one stomp, Niu Chang breaks Uncle Zhang¡¯s neck, ending his life. [Ding.] [Congratulations to the host for resolving the karma.] [Acquired 326 karma points.] Looking at the pop up window from the system, Niu Chang no longer had intention to stomp on Uncle Zhang¡¯s broken neck. The system already gave him confirmation that the karma between him and Uncle has been resolved. Niu Chang then turned around and walked to his luggage, picked them up and continued to walk away. ¡®It¡¯s not different from how the instruction manual I had read before. As long as I only mind my own business, with the system''s help I am invincible!¡± ¡®With this system, whether being a monk that isolated himself inside a cave or a normal person who travels the world. There is no difference between them. Invincible!¡¯ Chapter 6 - The First Step Walking on the unstable road. Niu Chang was looking at his system panel. [Host : Niu Chang.] [Karma point : 326] [Cultivation : unable to cultivate.] [Skill : Kendo.] Then with his thought, the panel changed. [Cultivation method : Three Fundamental Breathing, Shallow Green Leaf, White Heart Energy. More] This panel shows the cultivation method that Niu Chang knew before. They were five from the old beggar he encountered in the forest and the rest of them that he came up with. Then he changed his mind and the system panel also changed. [Cultivation method.] [Qi cultivation : Three Fundamental Breathing, Shallow Green Leaf, White Heart Energy. More] [Body cultivation : none.] [Mind cultivation : none.] [Soul cultivation : none.] Confirming his guess was correct, Niu Chang smiled lightly. ¡®System, cultivate the Transformation Energy.¡¯ Transformation Energy was one of the fruits of Niu Chang research. This cultivation method focuses on the nature of the qi that is gathered and stored into the body. It didn¡¯t have many additional detail except that the qi that produced after using this method will not have any conflict with other qi with different attribute. [Cultivate Transformation Energy to the third rate stage require 300 karma points.] The system showed its other function, which is naturally to help the host to cultivate with rapid speed. ¡®Confirm.¡¯ Niu Chang said in his heart. Wind. Niu Chang felt a sudden surge of unknown energy seeped through his body for half a minute before finally stopping. He chose to take a break and sat near a tree. Closing his eyes, Niu Chang began to sense the unknown energy in his body. This energy was elusive and moved freely inside his body without fixed place and form. He moved his thoughts and those energy followed his thought. Niu Chang opened his eyes and moved that energy to flow into his hand. The energy reached his hand but was still in its natural state unreactive. After modifying these energies with his thought, Niu Chang finally was able to make it react with his physical body. The energy seeped into his flesh and bone, giving Niu Chang the sense of power but only limited to his hand. The energy needed to be channeled into the hand, but due to Niu Chang¡¯s energy reserve being very small, he couldn¡¯t maintain it for a long time. His energy was consumed, but that¡¯s all. ¡®So this is qi.¡¯ Feeling something was wrong, Niu Chang couldn¡¯t help but frown. ¡®System is this the energy reserve of a third rate stage?¡¯ It¡¯s too little. But there was no response from the system. Niu Chang could only think it by himself. ¡®It¡¯s either my Transformation Energy technique is too low level or the division of the cultivation stage is wrong.¡¯ For the level of Transformation Energy naturally very low, since Niu Chang only has theory of it and that was limited as to how to gather qi and how it should behave. He hasn¡¯t thought about how this qi would be stored, how will this qi flow through his body and many more. To confirm his thought, Niu Chang said to the system. ¡®System, cultivates White Heart Energy to the third rate stage.¡¯ Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. [Cultivate White Heart Energy to the third rate stage require 1050 karma points.] The system showed the confirmation that Niu Chang was looking for. ¡®So White Heart Energy is three times more effective than my poorly made Transformation Energy.¡¯ ¡®System, fuse Transformation Energy with White Heart Energy.¡¯ Niu Chang commanded. [Fusion between Transformation Energy with White Heart Energy requires 830 karma points.] Niu Chang nodded, ¡®it¡¯s close to three times more than my original creation.¡¯ Since Niu Chang was a man full of curiosity he then asked the system. ¡®System, fuse all the cultivation methods that I know.¡¯ [Fusion of twenty eight cultivation methods requires 2655 karma points.] ¡®Well, that sounds cheaper than I thought. Maybe because the essence was the same and some difference is small in number causing the price to not increase too much.¡¯ Looking at the numbers, Niu Chang couldn''t help but feel weird. Why did his system give him such a weird number? Why not something more neat? Niu Chang shook his head and then stood up to continue his journey. It''s time to collect more karma points. On his way, Niu Chang kept asking the system to test his theories. The system could help Niu Chang to confirm his theoretical cultivation method as long as it reaches a certain threshold. This could be seen from the registered cultivation method in the system. Because the road was boring, Niu Chang kept deducing various things and used the system to filter them. He gained some martial skills registered in the system. Flowing steps technique, fist technique, and kicking technique. Three of them are just ordinary techniques without any ability that require qi to boost their effect. If Niu Chang wanted martial skills that can be infused with qi, he would need to learn more about the characteristics and nature of qi before deducing them. Yellow Soil Village was a small village. Such a small village was naturally unable to stand alone and because of this, there was a bigger village near it. This bigger village was called Yellow Village. In the end it is still a village, not a city. It took half a day of walking to reach Yellow Village. But because Niu Chang was only ten years old, he would require more time than half a day. But that was not a problem with Niu Chang, he got all the time he needed. Hours of walking felt nothing when Niu Chang was immersed in his thoughts, endlessly deducing various cultivation techniques and martial skills. He rested when felt too tired and then continued his journey after a short rest; he didn¡¯t want to reach Yellow Village after the night arrived. When he was thinking that his journey was too smooth and he was already one hour away from Yellow Village, finally bags of kama points delivered themselves to him. Niu Chang sighed in relief, ¡®and here I thought I would need to take some turns to encounter bags of karma points. This is how things should be done.¡¯ Niu Chang gave a thumbs up to the world. ¡°Greeting sirs. May I know what your business is?¡± Niu Chang stopped a few steps from two men who were wielding crooked swords. What could Niu Chang say, these two people were just poorly made. Their faces are those that made anyone who saw them irritated and stamp them as mob A and mob B. One of them was too skinny while the other one is just a bit less skinnier. They wore thin clothes revealing their stomach and chest. Their pants were rolled up and their skin was greasy. Niu Chang only shook his head. Before those two people said anything. The system already confirmed the development. [Established karma with Chi Yi.] [Established karma with Er Gou.] ¡®Damn, system you could do this? No physical contact needed? Only need a certain amount of determination? Very good.¡¯ Without thinking too much Niu Chang chose the second option. His body suddenly filled with power, maybe because he was facing two people at the same time that his power actually superimposed one after another as if he was having the strength of two people. Niu Chang let go of his luggage and launched himself at the skinny on the left. Trash talk? My ears are already tired of them! ¡°You!¡± ¡°How dare you!¡± In the end it was unavoidable. The two of them spoke the forbidden words, maybe that was their destiny. The skinny man on the left swings his sword clumsily. Niu Chang easily dodged it by moving himself slightly to the left and kicking the man on his knee. That small leg reached the man¡¯s knee and bent it backwards. ¡°Aaaaaaa!¡± The man screamed in pain and fell down on his butt. The other less skinnier man was surprised, but before his body could react. Niu Chang already jumped at him and landed a punch on his face. Niu Chang could feel it, due to the increase of his overall physical attributes. Doing acrobatic movement felt natural for him, when his fist landed on the man¡¯s face he hardly felt the resistance from the skull. It was the same when he kicked the skinny man on the knee, instead of bone and connection between the muscles, it felt like a thin stick. Niu Chang never held his strength and his fist went deep into the man¡¯s skull. The skinny man was rolling on the ground in pain so he wasn''t aware that his partner had already half stepped into his grave. Plop. Niu Chang fist went through the man¡¯s skull. He quickly pulls his fist, it''s mainly due to cleanliness. If it was another worthy enemy he wouldn¡¯t bother to pull it too quickly, but for those mobs? He only felt disgust. Niu Chang''s foot landed on the ground and he unceremoniously kicked the skinny man in the head to resolve the karma between them. [Acquired 571 karma points.] [Acquired 622 karma points.] Chapter 7 - Safety First Niu Chang opened his information. [Karma point : 1519.] ¡®Not bad, not bad.¡¯ Looking at the huge amount of karma points, Niu Chang couldn¡¯t help but be curious on how the system calculated the karma points. What is the criteria? ¡®Is it bad karma? The more they do evil things, the more karma they accumulate?¡¯ ¡®Hey hey, this isn¡¯t bad. Others were looking for heavenly materials and earthly treasures to increase their level, because those items are old and contain rich energy.¡¯ ¡®But look at me, everyone is no different than elixir. The demonic path is naturally the best since they accumulate evil deeds, but those righteous old fogies aren''t different either, their hypocrisy naturally made them accumulate many karma points too.¡¯ Laugh. Niu Chang then searched for the two mobs'' belonging and found only a pitiful amount of coins. ¡®Well, at least it''s better than nothing. With this I should be able to eat well for two or three days.¡¯ Then Niu Chang observed his surroundings and found no one was watching them from afar and picked up his luggage and then left. His bloodied right hand was too catching. So he could only do his best to remove the blood with the filthy clothes of those two. ¡®Sigh, I need water to completely clean them up.¡¯ While walking, Niu Chang said to the system. ¡®System, cultivate the basic body refinement to the first level.¡¯ Basic body refinement was the result of Niu Chang deduction on body cultivation. It was like his Transformation Energy which was very basic. [Cultivating the basic body refinement to the first level requires 300 karma points.] Niu Chang didn¡¯t confirm it immediately, but changed his command. ¡®System, cultivate the basic body refinement to the third rate stage.¡¯ [Cultivating the basic body refinement to the third rate stage requires 300 karma points.] This was a must, since Niu Chang never skipped any chance to gather enough data to fill his information bank. ¡®Confirm.¡¯ After Niu Chang gave the confirmation. He could feel energy seeping through his body like the previous time. But this time this energy was not entering his body and then just being virtually in it. This time, that energy was seeping into his body, flesh and bone, thoroughly. Nourishing and refining them into a better states. Niu Chang doesn''t feel any discomfort when he undergoes such changes contrary to what he expected. Instead he felt like having a good warm bath. ¡®Isn¡¯t those novels always said the main characters were under serious pain like they were being burned alive and so and so. Is it just a scam to justify the rapid growth used by the authors?¡¯ The idea behind body cultivation was simple. Qi cultivation naturally gathers the qi into the body and slowly increases its quantity and quality. It¡¯s the same for body cultivation, introducing spiritual qi into the body and slowly elevating its level from mortal into immortal. Because no matter how many times one exercised, their mortal body, in the end it is still in the realm of mortal. Only by using extraordinary means could the body breakthrough from its mortal shell and slowly transform into an extraordinary body. Not long after, the shot given by the system finished. Niu Chang could feel his body different from before. Full of energy, light, and easy to move around. ¡®It¡¯s still far from achieving qualitative changes.¡¯ Niu Chang gave his evaluation. Continuing his journey. Niu Chang couldn¡¯t help but think about the weak point of the system. The system required him to establish a karma before getting an invincible buff. But before that, if Niu Chang met someone that could one shot him, he could only cry in his grave. That¡¯s why Niu Chang focused on defense and healing. Body cultivation was the best when it comes to defense and healing. But the only problem was that. [Unable to cultivate the basic body refinement to second rate due to the limit of cultivation method.] Niu Chang absentmindedly watched this information window from the system for a long time. This was expected, since Niu Chang didn¡¯t have any knowledge about body cultivation except the theories that came up from his reading experiences. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡®System, fuse Transformation Energy with White Heart Energy.¡¯ Since he couldn¡¯t come up with the continuation of basic body refinement, he could only enrich his knowledge first. After that, deduction will become easier. [Fusion between Transformation Energy and White Heart Energy requires 830 karma points.] Then Niu Chang compares this price with his second option. ¡®System, increase the proficiency of White Heart Energy to small success.¡¯ The system not only can improve his cultivation base and fusing his method, but can also increase Niu Chang proficiency in his methods. [Increasing White Heart Energy to small success requires 255 karma points.] The system evaluation of proficiency only has three stages. Small success, big success, and perfection. Looking at the price on the system, Niu Chang felt it was too costly. At least for the current him. He shook his head and chose the most safest option in increasing his survivability. ¡®System, cultivate White Heart Energy to the third rate stage.¡¯ [Cultivating the White Heart Energy to the third rate stage requires 1050 karma points.] ¡®Confirm.¡¯ At least with the increase of his qi, Niu Chang believed he could survive a one shot attack. The mysterious qi suddenly appeared and entered into Niu Chang¡¯s body and collided with his Transformation Energy qi. Normally a martial artist could only cultivate one type of cultivation method to prevent degradation of his qi quality. But since Niu Chang, the creator of Transformation Energy, was sure that White Heart Energy qi will not collide with each other, at very minimum they will not attack each other. Inside Niu Chang¡¯s body, the impure Transformation Energy qi was suppressed by White Heart Energy qi but there was no other reaction. To solve this differentiation of qi, it is actually very simple. Niu Chang only needs to fuse those two cultivation methods. But his karma points were not enough for that. [Karma point : 169.] Since he found two bandits blocking his path before and he was close to the Yellow Village, there was a big possibility that there was a bandit hideout around this area. But looking for it will be difficult, Niu Chang might waste his time in searching for them and must spend his night in the forest. ¡®Better reach the Yellow Village first.¡¯ The rest of the journey was normal, Niu Chang didn¡¯t encounter the second road blockage and he arrived near the Yellow Village. The village was surrounded by wooden walls, reaching the height of an adult chest. The gate was guarded by two guards. Walking towards the gate, Niu Chang was stopped by the guards. Taking a glance at Niu Chang, the left guard spoke without interest. ¡°Are you alone?¡± Niu Chang, with his placid and innocent face, nodded. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± After hearing Niu Chang¡¯s answer, the guard didn¡¯t bother with him anymore and just said. ¡°Go on.¡± ¡®So easy?¡¯ Niu Chang enter the village while in doubt. He thought he could trigger the system and then after he solved his karma with the guard, the villager would come at him to deliver a hefty sum of karma points. But it seems, Niu Chang was thinking too much. The Yellow Village was in a better situation than Yellow Soil Village. The house was better, the wall was not full of cracks and the ground was clean without littering trash. ¡®Now, where do I find a place to sleep tonight?¡¯ Niu Chang kept walking while observing the village. The villager¡¯s clothes are also better than his previous village. Walking with a big luggage on him, Niu Chang naturally attracted the attention of the villagers. Not long after wandering without direction, someone approached him. A man in his forties, with a clean face, short sleeves, and long pants. ¡°Boy, are you alone?¡± Waiting for a few moments for the system to give him the options, Niu Chang shook his head inwardly. There were no pop ups. Putting a kind smile on his face, Niu Chang replied to the man. ¡°Yes, senior.¡± ¡°Senior?¡± The man gave Niu Chang a weird look before finally laughing. ¡°You, boy, don¡¯t seem to have any experience with people. Are you planning on staying for tonight?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The man seemed friendly and Niu Chang had a good chat with him. There were still a few more hours before night. Thanks to the man, Niu Chang understands the layout of this village. Except for villagers¡¯ houses, there was actually a martial school in this village. But after arriving in front of the martial school. Niu Chang lost his interest, the instructor and the owner were from the same family. The owner, the headmaster, was just an old man, and the instructor was his grandson, a man in his twenties. Being a third rate warrior, Niu Chang could feel a stronger qi on the old man while the instructor only slightly less than the old. From this, Niu Chang thinks they are some big shot laying down. The old man might be made an enemy in his days and cause his son or daughter to be killed leaving only their son. ¡®Not interested.¡¯ Niu Chang shook his head and turned around. In the martial school, the old man was an experienced second rate martial artist, he could sense someone was looking at him. Thanks to Niu Chang not having any martial skills, his action just now undoubtedly can be seen by the old man and the instructor. Seeing that Niu Chang was just a boy with third rate cultivation, no martial skills, and more importantly doesn¡¯t have any intention on them. The instructor was sweeping the courtyard, looking at his grandpa. Since his grandpa didn¡¯t say anything he also chose to ignore it. In this world, naturally there was a lucky person. A ten year old with deep and stable third rate cultivation was not rare. Maybe he just found some cultivation method and has good comprehension and was able to reach his current level and became full of himself and began traveling. Niu Chang found a place to stay for tonight. It was a house of a family of three. The couple was in their late twenties with a daughter. By paying the family, Niu Chang can have a good dinner and place to sleep without any problem. Sitting down on the hard bed made of wood. Niu Chang was thinking and pondering. Nothing was better than creating and improving his martial arts. With his unlimited ideas, it¡¯s really easy for him to deduce various things. Chapter 8 - Thinking Too Much is Not That Bad Last night''s bedtime pondering session was fruitful. Niu Chang created four types of techniques that he needed the most after analyzing the weaknesses of the system. He was vulnerable before the system gave him invincibility. The problem of raising his defense by practicing an automatic self protection qi naturally out of question, since Niu Chang hadn¡¯t delved too deep into how qi works. Then, even if he succeeded in surviving the first confrontation, he needed to give confirmation to the system to gain the invincibility. Thus the split second gaps could easily kill him if he met with powerful enemies. The system didn¡¯t have a toggle option for any issued tasks. So if the system didn¡¯t have it, Niu Chang thought he just needed to create it by himself. He named this technique, Automatic System Answerer. This technique could be said to be a psychological technique that trains the body and mind to make specific action after encountering a specific trigger. Yes. It''s the pavlov dog! He just needs to train himself to answer the system option without needing to think about it. [Skill : Automatic System Answerer.] The system already registered that trick as a proper technique, naturally what Niu Chang needed to do was to gather karma points and increase its proficiency. ¡®Hehe, aren¡¯t I am a genius?¡¯ The second technique was an auxiliary martial art. It didn¡¯t have any specific weapon or movement sets. It can be applied to any martial skill regardless of their function. It''s called Impact. This inspired Niu Chang from his frustration after watching useless attacks by the main characters or their enemies. Fist met fist, sword met sword, leg met leg. No matter what, those exchanges never gave any damage to their enemy except when one of them had a higher realm than the other. Thus this Impact skill was to to damage the enemy with any attack regardless the enemy block it or take it directly. Because this skill is only a mortal martial skill, it mainly focuses on the use of the body and maximizing the power of each attack without wasting any power. Sending destructive vibration in each attack. Breaking the bone, boiling the blood, ripping the flesh and crushing the organs. One hit and the enemy¡¯s suffer great damage instead of losing a limb or having a hole on their body. Which frustrated Niu Chang very much in his first life. What is the use of practicing various martial skills if your attack only renders the enemies lose part of their strength. What a waste. Martial arts and techniques are always for killing the enemy. The third and fourth were movement skills. Falling Leaf Step was for fighting. It focuses on flexibility and stability, like a falling leaf. Unobstructed and untouchable, everchanging and reactive. And then the Rapid Step. It focuses on speed, good for escape and chasing. Having explosive momentum in every step. Niu Chang could only dejected when he saw the amount of his karma points. He exited his room and headed to the main room for the Huangyu family. The main room was used mainly for gathering and eating. Because Niu Chang was late, the husband, Huangyu Sheng, already left for work. ¡°Good morning, did you sleep well?¡± The wife, Huangyu Yao, greeted with a smile on her face. Niu Chang gave a warm smile and nodded. ¡°Yes, although my body felt stiff.¡± He added a small laugh at the end of his words. ¡°Oh my, that can¡¯t be helped.¡± Huangyu Yao knew that Niu Chang didn¡¯t complain but rather joked with her. ¡°Then, for the next night, why don''t you use straws to fix it?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Niu Chang then sat down and ate his breakfast. The food was not bad, full of carbs and fill the stomach for the day, albeit being a little tasteless. ¡°Do you have any plans for today?¡± Huangyu Yao asked. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Yes, I already have a plan for today. I might come back late.¡± Niu Chang already planned to look for the bandit hideout to fill his karma point stash. ¡°I see,¡± Huangyu Rao seemed distracted a bit, but she smiled again. ¡°Then be careful.¡± ¡°Naturally.¡± After finishing his breakfast, Niu Chang left the house and walked directly to the village gate. While on his way, he watched the villagers minding their own business. ¡®In my first life, I really wanted to experience it directly. No matter how many times I see it, it brings me some joy. This rural area and this simple kind of life really make me feel relaxed.¡¯ The main reason why Niu Chang felt relaxed was because those villagers only needed to think about what to eat tonight. They didn¡¯t need to think about various assignments. Just plow the field. Exiting the village, Niu Chang headed towards the west forest. From the villagers he already knew the general direction of where the bandit hideout was. Walking alone in the forest, nothing much to do except thinking on how to improve his strength and assure his safety. Never stop thinking. Life was already hard enough, only by having enough strength could Niu Chang has the life he wanted. Not doing any job and enjoying the time wishfully. After walking around for half an hour. Niu Chang met two men in the forest. From their clothes and the weapon on their hands, there was no need to think much about their identity. One of the bandits saw Niu Chang and stopped. He informed his partner and both of them looked at Niu Chang. Smile appeared on Niu Chang¡¯s face and he waved at them. ¡°Greeting, sirs.¡¯ Niu Chang politely greeted them. One of the tenets of his system, respect is essential. ¡°Buahahah.¡± The bandits burst out in laughter, they had never met such a situation before. Normally regular people would be afraid and try their best to not be notified by them. But this boy actually walked towards them and greeted them politely. This boy didn¡¯t know how to write the word death at all. ¡°Where did this boy come from? I have never seen such stupid people in my life.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. This is also the first time for me. Hahaha.¡± While approaching them, Niu Chang was paying attention to the system. ¡®Still no reaction?¡¯ ¡®These two are newbies. They didn¡¯t directly have any thought to start the confli- no, the karma at all. Maybe they think there is no need for violence?¡¯ Interesting. ¡°Hey boy. Do you know where you are?¡± The bandit on the left, loudly asked Niu Chang. ¡°No? Where am i? I am looking for herbs. Sirs, do you know a good area in this forest?¡± Niu Chang was having fun playing this game. He always wanted to play the pig eating tiger. ¡°Puff. I can¡¯t take this. Hahahaha.¡± The bandit on the right was a humorous person, he seems to have a good sense of humor. But the bandit on the left was also quite happy and chose to play along. ¡®I don¡¯t know where this came from, but since he is already here then he can forget to leave. I will play along with him for now.¡¯ ¡°Herbs? Are you perhaps from Yellow Village?¡± ¡°Yes, I just came to this village yesterday. I want to make some money before leaving the village and heading towards Heichen City.¡± Heichen City was the nearest city from Yellow Village, this was information that Niu Chang acquired from yesterday after asking around. It was quite far and roughly needed an entire day to reach. The villagers usually take a rest for the night in the Heichen City before going back. The bandit on the right was hinting at his friend with his eyes. There was no need for words, they already made a plan for Niu Chang. ¡°Oh is that so, then what kind of herbs are you looking for?¡± The bandit on the left changed his character immediately. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Niu Chang didn''t know anything about herbs. The books that he read only the one for learning and the five martial arts for cultivating the qi. If he wanted to say anything, he would say something like ginseng or mushroom. ¡°Maybe some ginseng?¡± He asked hesitantly. ¡°Oh, ginseng. I know a good area where they grow.¡± The man on the right entered the conversation, his character too became much nicer. ¡°Really?¡± Niu Chang naturally didn¡¯t want to fall behind those two. ¡°Yes, how about this. You follow us to that place, the matters you find or not will depend on your luck.¡± The man on the left calmly assured Niu Chang. Niu Chang put his amateur acting on show, being somewhat hesitant. By putting his finger on his chin and pondering. ¡°Take your time.¡± Said the man on the right. After a few seconds, Niu Chang stopped hesitating and nodded. ¡°Okay, please show me the way, kind sirs.¡± After that he walked towards the bandits. [Ding.] [Established karma with Kong Kong.] [Established karma with Jun Tan.] Seeing the system prompt, Niu Chang couldn¡¯t help but smirked in his heart. ¡®Courtesy before the soldier. The system really can see through peoples¡¯ hearts. Both of us have bad intentions, but mine is not that deep. After all I don''t do too badly of them, if it is fate then it is fate. Their death and life depend on their actions, I am just a passerby in this world, spectating myriad wonders to satisfy my curiosity.¡¯ As much as Niu Chang wanted to kill bandits to get karma points, it didn''t have much weight on his heart, just like playing a game and killing mobs to get exp and item. But even so, there was an intention. The system didn¡¯t care about the arguments that were brought forwards as consideration. Since both parties think they are playing a game and didn¡¯t have any intention to harm the other party, then nothing will happen. But when one of the party already made their mind in harming others, naturally the system took this as the bandits took the initiative to harm Niu Chang. If the bandits really took Niu Chang to a place where ginsengs grow or even just pranked him, the system will not be triggered. And Niu Chang wouldn¡¯t bother to attack them nor provoke them. Like he said, respect is a must. As long as he didn''t cross the line, he will be found. ¡®System, I chose the second option.'' Chapter 9 - Karma Lines Joking around and playing with words could be said to add flavor and spice in this life. Emotions were hard to quantize, so using emotions as standard for the line was a good point and a bad point. From extreme emotions stems the true intention. When the true intentions are born, the action will be affected causing the ripple in lines of karma. Causality, cause and effect. Another name for karma, since the cause was already there naturally the effect also pre determined and thus karma was established. Niu Chang was walking behind the two bandits. He was thinking how long will the buff of invincibility given by the system last? Since the system gave the option of ¡°resolve the karma by yourself¡± naturally it¡¯s to stop any interaction between the two parties. If the perpetrators lose their life by ¡®accident¡¯ naturally the karma will end there and solve the case. But if the perpetrators suddenly realized they made a big mistake and lost their will to continue, such as running away and begging for mercy. It won¡¯t be that simple. Humans were weird creatures, especially those who were too demonic and those who were too righteous. Even the normal and regular one wouldn¡¯t be better since everyone has their own thinking. Hatred was hard to remove, thus even if Niu Chang let them go. Will they let Niu Chang go? Since the source of karma was still there, how can the system let them go? Even if the perpetrators completely cut off their hatred and no longer care, how could it be so easy? You came into my life to harm me physically or mentally, but when I showed you my strength you wanted to shake hands and call it a joke? Am I a joke to you? Thus, to resolve the karma. Either one of the parties is no longer able to cause any future interaction or both parties agreed to forget about the incident. Now Niu Chang was buffed with the strength of two men. ¡®According to my deduction, the buff of invincibility given by the system is corresponding to those that established karma with me. The buff only increases my base stats by one point so that I can ¡®easily¡¯ resolve the karma. But for the time limit, there is none.¡¯ So, Niu Chang was thinking if he could use this to build up huge amounts of buffs stacked together by not taking care of his enemies. Just as the thought of letting go of the bandits in front of him, Niu Chang suddenly felt something was wrong. It was a feeling that is hard to describe, it¡¯s not in his body or mind, but something deeper. ¡®It feels like something in the existence of myself was trembling.¡¯ He then checked his system just to make sure if his guess was right. [Host : Niu Chang.] [Karma point : 167.] [Cultivation : Qi - Third rate, Body - Third rate.] [Skill : Kendo. More] Niu Chang was stunned when he saw the value of his karma point drop by two points. He was speechless, ¡®it''s just a thought but the system immediately responded?¡¯ Right now, Niu Chang no longer has any intention of letting go of two bandits in front of him. ¡®What will happen if the karma point reaches zero? Will I have negative karma points?¡¯ Thinking of negative karma points, Niu Chang was trembling in fear. The system gave him the buff of invincibility because someone actively sought a problem with him, but if he actively sought a problem by himself or made a karma or had negative karma points. He didn¡¯t dare to think too much about it. The system instruction manual clearly said about equal reward and punishment. What kind of punishment is equal to the buff of invincibility that virtually made him a god in the mortal world? This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Heavy. Even hell would be a good place to hide from the punishment from the system. Cleaning his distracting thoughts, Niu Chang unknowingly arrived at the bandit hideout. It is more like a fortress. The wall of thick wood was tall and strong, there were also watching towers with bandits taking their post. The two bags of karma points stopped. Since they already arrived in front of their hideout, naturally Niu Chang should be panicked. Thus both of them turn around. The moment they turned around, Niu Chang immediately launched a sneak attack. Targeting the vital points, he easily gained advantage over the adult bandits. But for now, he didn¡¯t want to kill them immediately, he wanted to fish. ¡°AAAAAAAA-.....¡± ¡°FUUUUCC¨C....¡± The bandits were in pain, both of their knees were bent backward and Niu Chang also stomped on their stomach. The sudden cry of pain alerted the bandits on duty and those near the wall. Fishing. With an intention to fish the bandit, Niu Chang was actually still in the safe zone of the system. The two bandits in front of him already established karma with him, thus he was free doing anything with them. But it was different with the bandits in the hideout. Just as Niu Chang expected. Series notifications from the system appeared one after another. [Established karma with..] [Established karma with..] [Established karma with..] In a flash, three people driven by their emotions, either anger or arrogance of being a bandit. In any case, there is no difference between them. Since they already signed their death. The one on the watching tower was looking at Niu Chang intently. His eyes were red and full of anger and murderous intent. ¡°Hey hey.¡± Niu Chang was happy and then took the sword to the ground. He raised the sword with ease and with the corner of his eyes, he seduced the man on the watching tower. ¡°Hey hey, scream. Scream more, let me hear it.¡± Niu Chang said softly. Then he slashed the bandit under his foot, cutting off his left arm. ¡°AAAAAAAA-...¡± The bandit on the right was frightened seeing this, but the hatred in his eyes was unconcealed. If glare could kill people, Niu Chang would have already died three hundred times already. ¡°Oh, you also want one too?¡± Niu Chang playfully asked the bandit on the right. Hearing this word, the bandit on the right panicked and tried to speak. ¡°Too late.¡± Niu Chang cut him off and stabbed his throat. The bandit looked at Niu Chang with reluctance and resentment, but unable to do anything due to pain was paralyzing him. Niu Chang played with the sword in his hand and slowly cut the man¡¯s throat. [Established karma with..] [Established karma with..] [Established karma with..] [Established karma with..] [Established karma with..] [Established karma with..] Unknown to him, series notification from the system already stacked and his vision filled with the system asking him which options he would pick. With thinking too much, Niu Chang chose the second option. The hideout gate was opened and more than five people came out, their eyes landed on the bandit under Niu Chang¡¯s sword. ¡°Hey hey.¡± Niu Chang provoked them, since they already established the karma naturally there will be no problem. Even if there was no karma, saying ¡°Hey hey.¡± wouldn¡¯t cross the line. This was why Niu Chang was afraid of human nature. So fragile and volatile to emotions. Words alone could lock their fate and guarantee their deaths. [Established karma with..] [Established karma with..] As expected, two more people joined the ride. ¡°Hey hey, don¡¯t be too excited shall we?¡± Niu Chang said with a kind and compassionate smile. ¡®Ah, this feeling of having unrivaled power and strength to pinch my enemies to death is really thrilling. This can be addictive.¡¯ Niu Chang thought to himself. Since Niu Chang wasn''t a fan of trash talk, he killed the bandit on the left instantly with one attack and ran towards the bandits in front of the gate. His face was brimming with a smile, he no longer contained himself at this moment. This was the first for him to have such a feast, all you can chop and slash buffet! ¡°Come and greet your grandpa! I will send you to the afterlife.¡± Niu Chang was high and madly attacked the bandits. More bandits came out from the hideout. The superimposed strength made Niu Chang''s body become lighter and full of power. He even felt that the qi in his body increased by a large amount. This only means one thing. There was a martial artist among the bandits. Niu Chang was in ecstasy. His body didn¡¯t stop moving at all, like a machine solely moving for an endless flow of excitement. This was the romance of man. Only violence could bring more color in this world. Like crushing weeds and rotten vegetables. No bandits survive his powerful attack. It¡¯s mainly because Niu Chang¡¯s strength was unbearable for them. One slash and the sword went through their body, splitting them into two. After three of them die in succession, the arrogance in the bandits¡¯ heart wavered and was replaced with fear. Chapter 10 - The Boss is Here Laughing madly and drunk on power, only increase the fear in the bandits¡¯ hearts. The bandits no longer saw Niu Chang as a kid, but a beast. A ferocious and fearful beast at that. The mad laughter was echoing in the air and Niu Chang was jumping and slashing like a monkey. But his attack was no longer as brutish like before, he was saving the buff of invincibility. He didn¡¯t intend to let go of those bandits, but he was careful in nature, so wanted to make sure he was in his best in case something unexpected happened. In case if this bandit hideout having a master stage or grandmaster stage expert. His attack only immobilizes the enemies, by cutting their entire arm or leg. ¡°Ru-runn!¡± One of the bandits was no longer able to control himself and run away. But the old and experienced bandits controlled their fear and began to surround Niu Chang. ¡°Attack! Don¡¯t leave any gaps, let''s see how long this beast can last.¡± The bandit with traces of qi in his body spoke loudly. Since he was in an overcharged state, Niu Chang wanted to see if his qi would be replenished endlessly under the buff of invincibility. He then started to infuse the qi in his body to strengthen his body parts. Woosh. Endless amount of qi flowed through his body and followed his thought. Then these qi entered his bones and muscle to strengthen them. ¡°Hahaha. This grandpa still wants more!¡± Niu Chang was laughing and enjoying himself very much. The qi in his body has fixed quality and quantity, this only verified further about his hypothesis that the system only gave him a fixed amount of buff corresponding to his enemies¡¯ strength. The qi was like a surging river flowing with great momentum like a mad flood dragon on rampage, but this great momentum also brought hidden danger on Niu Chang¡¯s body. If not for multiple physical enhancements brought by regular bandits, Niu Chang¡¯s body would suffer backlash. But he found something else, his body recovery speed actually increased and easily repaired his small hidden wounds. Sensing a sudden change in Niu Chang. A fierce wind was blowing around his body, this was a sign of uncontrollable qi. This phenomenon was normal for inexperienced martial artists, since the control over their qi was still lacking and the qi was wasted. The knowledgeable bandits were stunned and then became pale. They knew martial artists could strengthen their body, but low level and inexperienced ones caused unnecessary movement and wasted their qi. But what happened to Niu Chang confronting their knowledge. Unnecessary movement? What was that? Backlash from overusing the qi? What was that? Limited amount of qi? What was that? Asking the three questions of their life, the bandits¡¯ suppressed fear erupted to the surface once again. Even the martial artists among them become hesitant. As they watched Niu Chang on a rampage, the wind around his body also became more powerful and chaotic. Hey, is this still human? While they were stunned and confused, only the laughter amplified by the qi could be heard on this battlefield- no, slaughterfield. Slashing enemies around him, Niu Chang slowly reduced the amount of enemies that could run away. That one bandit who ran away, was heading toward the place where his boss lives. He knew that his boss was a strong martial artist and there were also other three martial artists that were slightly weaker than his boss. ¡°I need to report this!¡± The bandit convinced himself that he was not running away but doing an important task. When he reached the house where his boss lives, the bandit was relieved. He calmed down his breathing and knocked on the door. He didn¡¯t dare to be presumptuous in front of his boss, who knows what will happen to him after the boss takes care of that kid. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Knock. Knock. ¡°Boss, someone attacked our base and more than five of our men have already fallen.¡± The man said clearly so that his boss could hear. The door was opened with a bang. A man appeared behind the door. Around his thirties, he was one of three vice captains in this hideout. Brutish build and fierce facial features. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Speak clearly.¡± The vice captain asked. ¡°Vice Captain Kun.¡± The man was stunned, but he still explained the event. ¡°It was a sudden attack, a boy starting attacking our men and killing them in one attack every time. One slash from him is enough to tear an adult into two.¡± ¡°A little boy?¡± The vice captain was confused. ¡°Yes, a boy, maybe around ten or eleven years old.¡± The man clarified the information. Then suddenly a scream could be heard from within the house. It was a woman screaming. ¡°What happened?¡± A naked man, tall and big, his muscles were well defined and his aura was frightening. ¡®The- the boss!¡¯ The man was frightened by the appearance of his boss. ¡°A boy attacked our base, he said that the boy can cut an adult with one attack.¡± The vice captain pointed at the cowardice bandit. ¡°A boy?¡± The boss was like the vice captain with confusion written on his face. ¡°Yes, around ten or eleven years old.¡± The vice captain stared at the cowardice bandit. The cowardice bandit nodded his head like a chicken. ¡°Interesting.¡± The boss grinned, his interest was piqued. In this world, there was naturally genius in everything. Since he encountered the so-called genius he became interested. ¡°Did he use qi?¡± The boss asked. ¡°N-no.¡± The cowardice bandit stammered in his words. When hearing this the boss was thinking that the boy was born with innate divine strength which was a rare case. But when he thought of this, he suddenly looked towards the front gate. A sudden burst of qi attracted his attention. This sudden burst was not weak at all, almost reaching first rate martial artists. Niu Chang was facing a third rate martial artist so the system gave him the power of a second rate martial artist. With his reckless usage of qi, his aura peaked instantly, almost reaching the aura of a first rate martial artist. The boss then looked back at the cowardice bandit. ¡°You said he didn¡¯t use any qi at all?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the man¡¯s voice was so small like a mosquito. He also felt that sudden burst of energy albeit no being a martial artist. Naturally he became afraid that he brought fake information to his boss. ¡°Xiao Gu, Xiao Ba came out. We got a guest.¡± The boss called the other vice captains. Even before they were called, thanks to Niu Chang¡¯s burst of power, their attention was already attracted. The one on the left brought a pair of pants for the boss. Fighting with one¡¯s assets dangling freely naturally would affect their combat ability. The vice captain on the outside suddenly spoke. ¡°He is here.¡± Everyone turned their heads and saw Niu Chang was walking calmly with a weird face. It was a mix of ecstasy and compassion. With blood all over his body, Niu Chang¡¯s figure entered the bandits vision. His small body was too contradictory with his aura. As experts, the vice captains and the captain could feel that Niu Chang was full of bloodthirst but this bloodthirst was different from normal. Normal bloodthirst is usually like a beast which is very brutal and violence and there aso hatred bloodthirst which is driven by emotions instead of desire. Niu Chang¡¯s bloodthirst was like the excitement of playing. Mix of desire for violence and unrestrainedness together with joy and anticipation mixed in. The bandits could only think about two cases which kind of background the boy in front of them has. The first one was born as a noble in a big clan. Those who were born with a silver spoon were like this, they regard the lives of others as plaything and enjoy using their background to bully them. To them, if you''re not born from noble family then you are not a human at all. The second one was a true demon. Those people were extreme to the limit, but they still had their reasoning. In fact their reasoning was so strong that their emotion became plaything for them. Since they completely control their emotion, what¡¯s the lives of others to them? Looking at unsophisticated control over his qi, the bandits leaned more towards the second case. There was no a young master from big clan would use such haggard and ugly clothes together with his low level control and low level cultivation method. While walking calmly, Niu Chang never dropped his guard. [Congratulations for increasing the proficiency of Impact to small success.] [Congratulations for increasing the proficiency of Falling Leaf Step to small success.] [Congratulations for increasing the proficiency of Rapid Step to small success.] Niu Chang increased his proficiency in the three martial skills that he needed the most. He could feel information entering his mind and body. Deeply engraved to his body. A split second felt like a long time, when Niu Chang fully controlled his focus, his body already adapted to the martial skills. Small success, although it has small in its name, those who reached this proficiency wouldn¡¯t dare to underestimate it. If the proficiency could be divided into more stages, then skilled or proficient would fall under the small success stage. Niu Chang wanted to increase his proficiency over his cultivation method, the White Heart Energy so that he could control his qi efficiently and easier. But after experiencing the previous sudden change, Niu Chang didn¡¯t dare to do it. So he could only do the best thing. [Congratulations for fusingTransformation Energy and White Heart Energy.] The fusion between cultivation methods brought a big change in Niu Chang¡¯s body. The small and inconspicuous Transformation Energy qi suddenly devour the White Heart Energy and undergo qualitative changes. Chapter 11 - The Ultimate Technique Humans will never be satisfied. When they get something good, they will want something better. Even after getting something better they still want something even more better, naturally the perfect thing. But even such perfect things will not satisfy them until they get everything that they can get. Under such a premise, Niu Chang was also looking for the best and perfect cultivation technique. The one that was all-encompassing and able to grow endlessly, what is more important is its ability to evolve independently. Such a cultivation method, naturally everyone wants it. So in search of such cultivation methods, countless attempts were made. Although not exactly like what the creators want to be, it at least became very useful for them. The Ultimate Void Mantra. The True Origin Scripture. The Undying Heavenly Sutra. The Endless Emperor Energy. And so and so. But these techniques only suited their creator the best and maybe half of them was not perfected by one person but by an effort of countless inheritors that allow these techniques to reach their current profundity and height. As someone who liked to think and ponder, thanks to endless supply of repeat and rinse with slight variation stories, Niu Chang also created his cultivation method that could rival those techniques and maybe surpass them. Niu Chang questioned himself before. ¡°What word can contain everything in this world?¡± Many words appeared in his mind; origin, endless, void, time-space, energy, matters. But Niu Chang was focused on the word ¡®transformation.¡¯ With transformation, he could contain everything in this world, from the ¡®beginning¡¯ to the ¡®end¡¯, including both ¡®life¡¯ and ¡®death¡¯, ¡®time¡¯ and ¡®space¡¯, ¡®true¡¯ and ¡®false¡¯. Transformation was not limited to itself, it could transform into anything, in simple terms. ¡°Everything that exists in this world is under constant transformation, even those that are not affected doesn¡¯t mean something can''t transform into it.¡± ¡°The gap between the beginning to the end, the circle of life and death, the duality of energy and matter, the classic space and time. I can explain everything with one word alone! Transformation!¡± All-encompassing, ever-growing, and endlessly evolving. The aura on Niu Chang''s body changed from a rampaging flood dragon into an angry flood dragon that gained its focus and stared at the bandits. ¡®Wow.¡¯ Niu Chang couldn¡¯t help but feel refreshed when his qi merged together and gained control over everything. Unable to contain himself, Niu Chang quickly called the system. ¡®System, fuse all my qi cultivation methods!¡¯ [The host lacks the karma point to fuse all qi cultivation methods.] Niu Chang, who was anticipating becoming stronger with one command, was slapped by the notification given by the system. Such a blow made his heart calmer. ¡®System, fuse all qi cultivation methods except for Shallow Green Leaf, Shadow Flash, and Green Forest Guardian.¡¯ Niu Chang gave the command, he only left three cultivation methods that he got from reading the books. [Congratulations for fusing Transformation Energy with twenty three qi cultivation methods.] The qi inside Niu Chang¡¯s body undergo another huge transformation. Using transformation as the core, the various cultivation methods banded together forming a profound qi with various attributes. ¡®Steady.¡¯ Niu Chang said to himself as he had control over the transformation of his qi. The vice captains and the bandit boss were surprised by the sudden changes in Niu Chang¡¯s qi fluctuation. The first change was enough to make them envious. They thought that Niu Chang had some epiphany and made an advancement in his martial art. Epiphany was a rare opportunity for any martial artist. Many of them looked far and near just to get one but hardly anyone could get it. But when Niu Chang¡¯s aura undergoes the second change and this change actually better than the previous one only made them angrier at the lucky Niu Chang. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Seeing such a talented kid, the bandit boss was intrigued to recruit Niu Chang. Having two epiphanies in succession, no one would believe him if he told anyone about this. ¡°Innate divine strength and talent in martial arts.¡± The bandit boss said calmly. His eyes changed from a ferocious aura into someone who appreciate talent. ¡°Boy. Seeing you have a good talent and gift, I will give you a chance to enter my group.¡± The bandit boss said loudly, he infused his qi into his voice. Niu Chang only smiled and said, ¡°I will consider it if you give me the heads of the four people around you.¡± He added a giggle at the end of his words. [Established karma with..] [Established karma with..] [Established karma with..] Three people jumped into the hole, he could discern the source of these notifications just by sensing the aura fluctuations around the people near the bandit boss. The bandit boss narrowed his eyes in contempt. ¡°It seems you overestimate yourself.¡± There was no need to trash talk anymore. The three vice captains made their moves. Weirdly enough, Niu Chang didn¡¯t receive a new notification from the system. ¡®This bandit boss is kinda cute. I will give him a few services before sending him to the west.¡¯ Niu Chang made a mental note. Then his aura burst out for the second time, becoming stronger than before after he chose the second option given by the system. ¡®No way, these three people are second rate?¡¯ Niu Chang is naturally more adapted when identifying the strength and realm of his enemy after using his qi without any limitation. The best way to learn was to let it all lose control without any limitation or restriction. Only after understanding where the limit was could someone make adjustments. The three bandit vice captains use big blades. Their momentum was fierce like a tiger entering the forest or like a flood dragon entering the sea. Each of their movements was refined and the control over their qi was delicate. But when they felt Niu Chang¡¯s aura rose up almost equal to a peak stage martial artist, they became wary of him and no longer took him as a small kid. The bandit boss was also surprised, he only at the late second rate stage, he only needed an opportunity to breakthrough to first rate and then made a name for himself. This small forest with only three small villages was not enough for his appetite anymore. His desire to recruit Niu Chang grew again, but when the undulating like a stormy sea aura on Niu Chang it woke him up. ¡°If you can¡¯t have it then you can¡¯t have it.¡± The bandit boss shook his head. Red glint appeared in his eyes. [Established karma with Yan Tan.] Niu Chang smiled after receiving the notification. He silently chose the second option. When his sword faced Xiao Ba¡¯s blade. His aura once again rose. His sword suddenly coated with dim white energy. Third rate martial artists are able to gather and store qi inside their body. Second rate martial artists have enough qi that allowed them to use physical enhancement easier, First rate martial artists have enough qi and purity that allowed them to extend their qi outside their body and coated their weapon or body parts. ¡°Sword qi!¡± The bandits was surprised. ¡®This boy not only has the aura of first rate but also combat ability of first rate?¡¯ Xiao Ba was already too close with Niu Chang and he couldn¡¯t retreat, because once he retreated. Niu Chang would take advantage of him. But thankfully Xiao Ba was not alone, he still had two comrades fighting together with him. Xiao Gu chose to attack Niu Chang to give Xiao Ba a room to retreat. But Niu Chang was not a pushover. His realm alone was close to peak stage martial arts. His body was surging with endless and powerful qi. With a thought, he controls his qi instinctively to cover his body. Even if XIao Gu attacked him, what can a second rate martial artist do to his qi protection? Slash. Niu Chang''s movement was unobstructed and he cut through Xiao Ba¡¯s blade and made him into two Xiao Bas. Because there was one karma resolved, Niu Chang¡¯s power dropped slightly, but his aura was still beyond that of a regular peak stage martial artist. Yan Tan¡¯s heart was trembling watching his subordinate die under one attack. ¡®Isn¡¯t he only a second rate martial artist? Why did he suddenly become stronger? Did he hide his power?¡¯ Countless questions began to surface in his head. The other two vice captains stopped their movement. They chose to take a defensive stand instead of being offensive. There was no need to talk, Niu Chang never a fan of time padding and adding uncertainty in his battle. He attacked Xiao Gu on his left. After increasing his proficiency of Falling Leaf Step and Rapid Step to small success, he no longer needed to jump around like a monkey and solely took advantage of his high agility. The moment his left foot became his support to turn his body and with a slight push, his body gained momentum decreasing the distance between him and Xiao Gu. Xiao Gu gritted his teeth and chose to take it head on. His instinct as a martial artist told him to not run, because once he did it, he would be at mercy of Niu Chang¡¯s sword. Niu Chang was also experimenting on his new level of cultivation. First rate stage, under the maximum utilization of his qi, he was close to peak stage expert on their aura alone. ¡®This extension of qi to my weapon is not bad, but it would be better if I can shoot it toward my enemies.¡¯ Niu Chang mumbled to himself. But he was in a battle right now, so he could only do everything on motion. Whether he succeeded or not, that could be done in another time. When the gap between Niu Chang and Xiao Gu closed, Niu Chang¡¯s sword was slashed down with great strength, the rampaging wind around him only increased his cool point. ¡®Now let''s see the effect of Impact skill.¡¯ When Niu Chang was anticipating the skill''s sole purpose was to kill any conflict before it bloomed, turning the unnecessary development into nothingness. One hit, one kill. No second form will appear or the enemy''s reinforcement joined the battle to turn the tide. No more frustration from watching the indecisive action of the character where the small problem becomes a big problem and a big problem becomes a disaster. ¡°Little Chang!¡± Chapter 12 - Do You Dare? Inside the house of Yan Tan, the bandit boss. Before the cowardice bandit came to report the attack. Yan Tan was taking his time with the kidnapped women from the surrounding villages. His muscular and big body with the additional strength of a second rate martial artist, only made those who were chosen by Yan Tan to feel pain instead of any joy or pleasure. The woman under Yan Tan was gasping for breath due to her body being thrusted by a big weapon. ¡°Ugh.. Kuhggg..¡± After listening to the commotion on the outside, Yan Tan no longer has the mood and throws away the woman like a sack of potatoes. The poor woman''s body flew across the room, the light that entered the room through gaps showed her bruised and purple skin. Not only Yan Tan, but Xiao Gu and Xiao Ba also like to enjoy themselves, except for the last vice captain. As the battle on the outside continues, the women who drained from any strength slowly recover a small amount of energy to realize the battle on the outside. It was only when Niu Chang¡¯s ¡°Hey hey.¡± Did one of the woman¡¯s ears perk up. Niu Bai, Niu Chang¡¯s sister, who went missing more than a week ago was actually being kidnapped by this group of bandits and treated as a sex slave day and night. Her body was weak due to malnutrition, her face was not too good either, just average. But when the light was dim, what is the difference between beautiful and average? Niu Bai though she was hallucinating due to endless torture, but she would never forget Niu Chang¡¯s mischievious voice. So she dragged her battered and weak body closed to the door. Although still far from the door to see what is on the outside. She called out. ¡°Little Chang!¡± On the battlefield. Niu Chang was surprised, ¡®hey, this voice sounds familiar.¡¯ ¡®Wait, no way. Damn girl, did your head only have water in them?¡¯ Surprised by the sudden call from his sister, Niu Chang''s movement slowed down slightly. But this is enough for Xiao Gu to avoid his qi-coated sword. But that¡¯s all, Niu Chang regained his focus and enjoyed himself hunting Xiao Gu down. Yan Tan was also surprised when Niu Bai called Niu Chang. As a martial artist he could see that Niu Chang has some relationship with this woman. So he turned his head and saw Niu Bai was crawling towards the door. Her face was pale, full of bruises, damped eyes, dried lips, and unkempt hair. One of her eyes was closed only leaving the other one open in a small slit. Yan Tan walked towards Niu Bai and picked her up by the neck. ¡°Kugh¡­¡± Niu Bai was gasping for air when she felt her neck was grabbed by a big and strong hand. Due to her weak body, she is unable to struggle so she looks like a boneless corpse. Limping without any resistance. Yan Tan glared at her, then brought her to the outside. Pointing her face towards Niu Chang. With a heavy and brutish voice, he asked : ¡°Do you know him?¡± Niu Bair tried her best to get some air to breathe in, but she was helpless and unable to hear anything. Her harsh breathing only became a nuisance to Yan Tan¡¯s ears. He became impatient because of this stupid woman. But watching Xiao Qi being cornered by Niu Chang, Yan Tan made his choice. ¡°Stop, or I will kill this woman!¡± His voice was loud like thunder thanks to qi amplification. But he was guaranteed to be disappointed. Since Niu Chang wasn¡¯t some naive kid nor he aspired to be a hero. In his path to supremacy, everything could be discarded. Niu Chang could only blame such stupid actions done by his sister. He wouldn¡¯t mind helping her later, but now she jumped into hell by herself. She could only blame herself. Slash. Niu Chang''s attack was successful, after his qi-coated sword cut through Xiao Gu''s blade like butter meets a hot knife. Niu Chang cut down Xiao Gu at his shoulder all the way to his hips, turning him into two Xiao Gus. ¡°Boy! Stop!¡± Yan Tan was angry and increased the power of his grip on Niu Bai¡¯s neck. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Niu Chang didn¡¯t bother with Yan Tan¡¯s childish threat. He directly targeted the last vice captain. The vice captain could only face his demise by gritting his teeth. It could either be slashed from the front or from the back. ¡®Why? Why did such lunatics come to their base?¡¯ The vice captain was unconvinced, he stole a glance at the woman on Yan Tan¡¯s hand. Then focused back on Niu Chang who was grinning evilly at him. ¡°You force me into this!¡± The vice captain then burst out all of his power. Some uncontrollable qi leaked out from his body and created wind. But compared to Niu Chang¡¯s relentless wind, his was too small and not worth mentioning. Yan Tan then calmed down when he saw that Niu Chang really didn¡¯t care about the woman in his hand. ¡®Did I make a mistake?¡¯ ¡®Is this boy acting to not care to deceive me?¡¯ Yan Tan was considering this possibility. He clearly saw that Niu Chang reacted towards this woman¡¯s call from before. He then grabbed Niu Bai''s right elbow and crushed them. ¡°AAAAAHHHH-...¡± Niu Bai suddenly woke up due to her right elbow being crushed and screamed. Yan Tan completely watched over Niu Chang¡¯s reaction. None. Niu Chang was playing happily by slashing and chopping, jumping and kicking. Yan Tan began to question his life experience. But before he came up with any answer, he watched Niu Chang cut his last vice captain into two. After cutting down the last vice captain, Niu Chang stood where he was and began stretching his arms out. But also couldn¡¯t help but yawn, his eyes were fixed on Yan Tan. He already thought Niu Bai was dead. It was a good yawn, a full two seconds. The two were in a standoff. Niu Chang was relaxed and full of a kind aura on his face while on the other hand, Yan Tan was tense all over his body, his eyes were like a predator watching over his prey. ¡°Why so se-¡± Niu Chang wanted to finish his word, but stopped it immediately. ¡®Ahem, stay cool.¡± The image that Niu Chang wanted to show was not a psycho who doesn''t care about life and death, but he wanted his image to be that of a passerby and spectator who didn¡¯t have any connection with this world. Unrestrained and uncaring. ''Since I am just a passerby, naturally I don¡¯t want to affect the play by my actions or words. So naturally being kind and compassionate wouldn''t attract too much attention like being an enigmatic silent or being a high profiled young master.¡¯ [Acquired karma points¡­] [Acquired karma points¡­] Watching the system pop up and his strength slightly drop, Niu Chang remembered that some ordinary bandits must have met their end. Since he saw the system prompt, he recalled the wonderful feeling of using martial skills, especially movement skills. ¡®Falling Leaf Step ''is just too good when in close combat, but it was too soft and lacked explosive power to catch the enemy off guard. While the Rapid Step was too strong and linear, it lacks the flexibility and too stiff.¡¯ ¡®System, fuse Falling Leaf Step with Rapid Step.¡¯ [Fusing Falling Leaf Step with Rapid Step requires 635 karma points.] Without taking a look at his information, Niu Chang confirmed the command. [Congratulations for fusing Falling Leaf Step with Rapid Step.] Niu Chang didn¡¯t bother to look at the system for what kind of name it would have, he was enjoying a sudden realization on how to fix the drawback of each technique. The fusion between the two movement skills was very useful. The collision of thoughts allowed Niu Chang to glimpse into a better skill for this new movement skill. He even vaguely felt he could turn this mortal martial skill into a proper martial skill that uses and utilizes qi. But due to fusion between the two skills, their proficiency also dropped from small success to unassigned proficiency. When Niu Chang was thinking of increasing this new martial skill to small success. He saw Yan Tan break the silence. ¡°You think you can fool me?¡± Yan Tan sneered with disdain, he threw Niu Bai to the ground and pulled out his blade. Without waiting for Niu Chang¡¯s response, he stabbed Niu Bai in the stomach. Her naked stomach immediately drenched with the flowing red blood. She was already too weak, no longer has any energy and enough mental energy to be aware of her body and surroundings. The pain from being stabbed was blurred in her mind. Niu Chang didn¡¯t flinch and slowly walked towards Yan Tan. His eyes still fixed on Yan Tan, as if saying ¡°go on, don¡¯t stop.¡± With his small kind smile, every step that Niu Chang took was like a heavy boulder slammed down on Yan Tan¡¯s body. Yan Tan already had the feeling something was wrong from the beginning, but his vanity as a bandit leader chose to ignore it. But now, every time Niu Chang takes a step towards him, his will and vanity is eroded and slowly replaced with fear. ¡°Do you believe that I don¡¯t dare? I dare you to take another step! I will kill this bitch!¡± Yan Tan was unrelenting and fought the uncomfort in his heart with his determination alone. Niu Chang kept walking without any reaction, that slight kind smile hanging on his face was the same. Not too superficial but contain a small amount of compassion in them. ¡°Do you dare?¡± Niu Chang opened his mouth and said softly. But his steps never stop. Yan Tan gritted his teeth, his face was bright red like a cooked lobster, his muscles were tense, beads of sweat slowly rolling on his back drenching his clothes, and his eyes were bloodshot with borderline madness. In the end Yan Tan was overwhelmed by Niu Chang. Niu Chang has long since stopped activating his ruthless and chaotic aura after he finished with the last vice captain, now he is just like ordinary ten years old. But his presence in Yan Tan¡¯s heart was heavier than the mountain and grander than the heaven. Niu Chang stopped three steps away from Yan Tan, the only thing that prevented Niu Chang advancing further was his sister, Niu Bai, laying down on the ground, unmoving. With his eyes locked into Yan Tan¡¯s eyes, he softly asked. ¡°Are you not going to kill her?¡± Yan Tan already gave up on the fight in his heart, he said with a weak voice : ¡°isn¡¯t she your sister?¡± Niu Chang¡¯s smile grew bigger, ¡°why don¡¯t you guess?¡± Chapter 13 - Dont Pity Me! The daily life of the Niu family in the Yellow Soil Village was mundane and very pitiful. Niu Bai worked hard all day just for her only family member to fill his stomach. She worked on the field and also helped others to get more food to the table. She was happy that her brother was actually very smart. He was able to learn how to write and read without any problem under the tutelage of other villagers. Naturally the one who bore the price for the teaching was Niu Bai. Niu Chang knew about this, he only said one time to his sister that he wanted to learn how to read and write. His sister only smiled at him at that time, ¡°I will give it a try.¡± She only said that on the surface, but the next day she was asking door to door to the villagers that know how to read and write. Asking them to teach Niu Chang. Thankfully one of the villagers agreed. Niu Chang knew about his sister''s hardship. But he didn¡¯t take it deep into his heart. The system was watching all of this progress in its hidden space and was angry and frustrated. ¡°This bastard actually thinks it was a pity? If you pity your sister, shouldn¡¯t you help her more so as to decrease her burden?¡± But when the system read Niu Chang¡¯s heart. It became angrier and started cursing Niu Chang endlessly. ¡°What kind of human is this? Can he even be called a human with such a heart?¡± The system learned that Niu Chang was pitying his sister. ¡°Why are you working so hard? Why are you working more just to earn a slightly more tasteful food where there is no difference at all?¡± ¡°It just a food¡± ¡°I already told you to take it slowly, but you take it that I was feigning ignorance.¡± ¡°If I was really heartless, I would have already told you to scream and find your own life out there. But watching your smile- and the fact I still need someone to do the job for me, I can¡¯t say it.¡± ¡°Stupid people are not low in intelligence, but they are just too naive. Such naivety was the true worth of humanity.¡± ¡°But in this world, how can naivety be valued?¡± ¡°If you know what is better for yourself, kill yourself to find a better death. Being dead is better than living this kind of life.¡± After telling his sister not to care too much about mundane things two times, he no longer paid attention to her. ¡°I already did my best. It was your human nature, being too attached to your emotions that brought all the pain.¡± ¡°If not for the fact I still need a place to grow, I will kill you myself to end your suffering. Living in this world will only bring more pain for you.¡± . . . It became silent, where the drop of a pin could be heard. Yan Tan was still unable to process the development. His mind went blank for a moment before finally understood Niu Chang¡¯s words. He couldn¡¯t help but being blunt. ¡°Is she really not your sister?¡± ¡°Are you going to kill her or not?¡± Niu Chang said softly. On the ground, the half unconscious Niu Bai heard her brother¡¯s voice. She always felt pain when she heard this kind of tone from Niu Chang. His voice was too soft, full of warmth, care, and compassion. ¡°How can someone as kind as my brother have this kind of life? How will he survive this world with such kindness?¡± Niu Bai was actually not that slow, she has average intelligence and was able to learn the hidden meanings from superficial things. Although she was unable to see through her little brother¡¯s true nature, which was impossible for her since Niu Chang¡¯s true nature was simple as it is. She was able to learn about the hidden nature of the other villagers. Uncle Zhang, who seemed kind to her family, actually has a hidden agenda. She wasn¡¯t sure what kind of plan Uncle Zhang had, so she could only feign ignorance. The old men in the village were always looking at her with hungry eyes behind their smiles. But only her little brother showed her what true kindness was. So when she heard her brother saying she no longer needed to work hard and live moderately. She felt guilty. ¡°Why must you be born into this family? And this world?¡± ¡°Ch- Cha-.... ng¡± In her half unconscious state, Niu Bai was dreaming. In her dream, she was still in that small and broken house. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. She watched her little brother, was silent and put on a placid expression as if not to care about his surroundings. Niu Bai was sitting on the other side of the room, she was smiling watching his brother¡¯s action. ¡®Who are you going to deceive with such acting?¡¯ Niu Bai giggled in her heart. She didn¡¯t want to break the confidence in her little brother¡¯s acting. ¡®The outsider might think of you as a dull and slow kid, but you can¡¯t hide your true self from me. Humph, I am your big sister after all.¡± Niu Bai was sleepy, her consciousness slightly blurry. In front of her, Niu Chang was looking at her with an indifferent yet sincere gaze, his lips moving as if saying something at her. ¡°Ch- han¡­.. Ng.¡± Niu Bai called out Niu Chang''s name in her half unconscious state. ¡°Little Chang? Little Chang ?! Little Chang!¡± Niu Bai kept calling her brother, the distance between them was only a few meters but it feel world apart, and what¡¯s more her little brother is just across the room. The scene in front of her slowly faded away, her vision slowly filled with fog. ¡°Little Chang! Wait there, I will get there. Stay calm and wait for me!¡± Her instinct as a big sister drove her action. She was panicking. When she felt the distance between her and Niu Chang increasing in rapid speed. The fog slowly turned from gray into black. But she kept looking at that small figure, standing alone watching at her with his clear indifference gaze. On the ground, the overlapping scene of her dream and reality mixed together. Niu Bai saw that her little brother was actually on her side, standing and ignoring her gaze. He was the true Little Chang she knew, that warm and kind kid, now standing on her side looking straight to his front. With the last bit of her consciousness, she was happy that her little brother was safe and still the same. The reality and dream fused together. The fog slowly dissipated and she saw Niu Chang was walking among the fog towards her yet he was unmoving on her side. The time felt slowed down, the world slowly dimmed giving them all the light and the two of them were indefinitely close. She saw Niu Chang¡¯s gaze(eyes) change(moved). Both of Niu Chang were overlapping, their eyes were the same cold and indifference, but Niu Bai knew that Niu Chang still cared about her behind those pairs of eyes. ¡°Pity.¡± both of Niu Chang said at the same time. Niu Bai could feel something was pulling her from her back. Like countless invisible hands various in size and length. Niu Bai wanted to tell him many things, but the pulling force was getting stronger exponentially. ''Don''t sleep too late!'' Niu Chang has a habit where he would stay awake on his bed as if trying to make a groundbreaking innovation. ''Don''t eat too fast!'' Niu Chang has a habit of eating his food like nothing. The taste didn''t bother his tongue at all and all he care was filling his stomach. ''Wake up early!'' Niu Chang was a heavy sleeper, he would only wake up early in the morning if someone woke him up. ''Pay attention to your appearance!'' Niu Chang didn''t care about his appearance at all. Clothes and hair were messed up, as long as they did their job and didn''t hinder him, he would ignore them. Countless images of Niu Chang''s bad habit resurface in Niu Bai''s mind. She still has many things to do as Niu Chang''s elder sister, yet the time they have is too short. ''I want to see him grow into a handsome young man. I want to see him open his heart to his beloved. I want¡­.'' But in the end she chose to comfort her little brother. ¡°Don¡¯t pity me!¡± The pulling force already enveloped her entire body and slowly devoured her into the endless darkness. Niu Chang saw his sister¡¯s eyes were opened, her murky and cloudy eyes no longer had any light in them. Her lips parted slightly, but it was when she breathed her last. Unable to bring out any voice. She was only able to silently say. ¡°D¡­..¡± Yan Tan saw this silent scene that happened in less than two breaths. Niu Chang moved the corner of his eyes towards the woman on the ground and said a word. Then he saw Niu Chang was unmoved, the heavy atmosphere around them changed instantly. Niu Chang was back to his placid face with a kind smile. ¡®It¡¯s good that you are gone now. There will be no longer need to work your broken body under the glaring sun and the cold night. Since you still have me in your heart at your end, then I will honor your life. I promise you when I reach the peak, I will let you have a new and better life. Where your parents are still alive and your beloved Niu Chang opens his heart for you.'' As much as Niu Chang being ignorant to his surroundings. He was aware that her sister took him as someone who was too good to live in this world. Since she has that illusion. Niu Chang naturally will honor that fantasy of her, in her next life. ¡°She passed away.¡± Niu Chang said softly. There was no change in him. ¡°I..¡± Yan Tan¡¯s heart was under stormy turmoil right now. He was afraid, frightened of his very being. He no longer has the mentality of a second rate martial artist and a boss of a group of bandits. Before Yan Tan was able to form a concrete word to speak out. He saw Niu Chang move rapidly, so fast that he was unable to see what happened. There was no burst out of the aura at all. When he came to his senses, he realized he was laying down on his back. Then suddenly he felt a burning sensation on his legs. He raised his head and saw his leg was gone. But Yan Tan didn¡¯t scream, this pain was nothing for him who suffered after training to this point. His eyes fixed on Niu Chang with an uncertain look. Then he saw Niu Chang was leaving him alone. Niu Chang walked towards the cowardice bandit who tried his best to hide his presence behind the door frame. ¡°Sp-spare me, young lord!¡± The bandit¡¯s voice was crisp and very high pitched. He was kneeled on the ground, cupping his hand and bowing his head. But he was unable to run, he was paralyzed by fear. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Niu Chang said softly. He came in front of the bandit and tore off his left arm. ¡°AAAAAAA¡­¡± The bandit screamed at the top of his lungs. ¡°Ple-please spare me.¡± The bandit tried his best to plead for mercy, his eyes were wet and tears flowed down. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Niu Chang said softly. Then he grabbed the other arm and tore it off. ¡°Sp-... spare me¡­. Ple-please.¡± The bandit was speaking with difficulty. He already long surrendered his fate on Niu Chang¡¯s hand. Niu Chang stopped for a moment, his eyes flashed with cold light. But he then said softly, ¡°don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Chapter 14 - Not Fated Niu Chang, who was in his first life, was happily sitting in a back-breaking posture on his sofa. He was reading a manga on his phone, but suddenly his face became cold. He saw the images and the story progressed where the main character suffered tragedy due to the main character being too naive and too indecisive. Anger was burning in his heart, murderous intent rose in his heart and he wanted to cop off the author of this story. Niu Chang turns off his phone and throws it to his side. ¡°Why is the main character too stupid?¡± ¡°If only he directly used his ultimate move from the start and killed the enemy in one clean move, this stupid development would not happen.¡± ¡°If only that stupid bitch is not that stupid. Running into the battlefield without any preparations and stopping the main character by saying a bunch of high morale speech.¡± ¡°Oh fuck, I want to kill the author of this story!¡± Then after some time, he seemed to have forgotten his hatred and continued reading that manga. The main character didn¡¯t even learn anything and made the same mistakes three more times. But since this was a ¡®story¡¯ naturally the ending was good. The main character revived his allies and even until the very end, he never learned anything. ¡°Why do I even bother to read such a story?¡± ¡°If only I was the one who got reincarnated, then I will make a story that will not make my heart get irritated.¡± . . . The slight turmoil in Niu Chang¡¯s heart is already long gone. Now he was back to his usual self. The reason why he was playing right now was due to two reasons. The first reason was to test the system. The system gave him the buff of invincibility, but what is the limit of his action? Is it limited to instant kill his enemy or can he play around with them first? The second reason was because he suddenly became clear headed and realize he was inside a bandit hideout. The one in front of him was a bandit that had done many evil deeds. How can such a person have a good death? Since he already established karma with Niu Chang, naturally he should pay something in this life for every evil deed he has done. It was not due to jealousy naturally. It was not that Niu Chang couldn¡¯t do any evil deeds, because he was afraid his system would give him a big surprise because actively seeking problems with others. Obviously not because of that. When hearing those same words and no change in Niu Chang¡¯s face. The cowardice bandit relieved himself and wet the floor. Niu Chang, who was about to tear this bandit¡¯s left leg, suddenly lost interest. ¡°I planned to give you a good treatment, but why do you need to anger me when I have no animosity with you? Don¡¯t you know I¡¯m doing this for your good? I¡¯m giving you the punishment you deserve so that when you are in hell, the punishment you receive will be less painful.¡± Niu Chang said softly as he raised his sword. Naturally what Niu Chang said was bullshit and part of his image as a kind and compassionate person. As for hell, Niu Chang didn¡¯t think such things existed in this world. When the cowardice bandit saw Niu Chang stopped for the first time, he was happy and his face regained its color. Then he heard Niu Chang say some comforting words, he thought Niu Chang was telling the truth but even so he was afraid. ¡®I don¡¯t care about hell, I don¡¯t want to die!¡¯ His face paled when he saw Niu Chang raise his sword. Before he could say anything, he saw Niu Chang gesturing to him to be quiet. ¡°Ple- Hieeeekkkkk¡­¡­ Noooooo-¡± His eyes fixed on the sword, the sword speed was slow enough for him to evade. But he couldn¡¯t, he still cling unto the false hope, delusion created from desperation. Niu Chang mobilized his qi to flow into the sword. His previous sword qi was not suited to his taste, they were brutish solely depending on his endless supply of qi. What Niu Chang loved the most was simplicity and practicability. Thus having a good control over his sword is naturally indispensable for him. Albeit, there would be no such case since no matter in what situation he fell. He wouldn¡¯t actively trigger the system first and got his punishment. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Instead, his every fight would always be brimming with a power that was enough to disgust his enemy to their bone. The dim white light shrouded the sword, it gently fluctuated on the sword surface. Sometimes flickering like flames, sometimes breathing like the wind. ¡®The first rate martial artist is quite powerful. This level of purity is just insane and there is also a huge leap in quantity. I don¡¯t know about other cultivation methods, but my Transformation qi is quite useful for now.¡¯ The sword fell on the cowardice bandit¡¯s shoulder. Looking at the still begging cowardice bandit, Niu Chang¡¯s emotion was affected. ¡°Sigh.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but break his image. ¡®Why are you treasuring your life so much? Why are you not repenting? Why are you being so weak minded and leaving your fate in the hands of others?¡¯ ¡®As much as I don¡¯t like to have any useless emotion. I just can¡¯t help but hate people who are indecisive and weak minded.¡¯ Niu Chang shook his head and the slight change in his heart was gone. ¡°Now, don¡¯t be too scared, since you are begging for your life. Naturally I give you a chance, help me in my training, if you can withstand it I will let you go.¡± Seeing Niu Chang¡¯s devilish kind smile, the cowardice bandit gains another hope after hearing Niu Chang¡¯s words. ¡°Really?¡± He asked timidly, but his eyes avoided the sword in Niu Chang¡¯s hand. ¡°Naturally.¡± Niu Chang said truthfully. ¡®As much as I hate people like him, but I also like people who struggle and try their best to survive even at the cost of losing everything, where being dead will be a better choice for them.¡¯ ¡®If he can survive my sword qi training, I will cut off his legs, pull his tongue, take his ears and one of his eyes, the nose will not be spared either. I want to see, will he change? Will he regret such a decision? What determination will he have after experiencing all of this? Isn¡¯t this the true meaning of life? Only when you face the cold and hard truth of the world will you resent yourself for being weak and try your best to liberate yourself from the binding chain of fate.¡¯ ¡®I want to see. Show me a miracle, like that man.¡¯ Niu Chang¡¯s eyes were full of expectation and kindness. He no longer saw this man as a filthy sewer rat. He took him as a candidate that might become a true adversary of fate. He wanted to have a friend with the same kind of mind as him. ¡°Now my friend. Follow me to the great journey to supremacy.¡± The words fell and the sword started to move down. With cold and emotionless eyes, Niu Chang was focused on feeling the changes and control over his sword qi. Ignoring all the agonizing small sounds made by the cowardice bandit. Sadly, there was no end of this tunnel. No hope was too grand and too good. The sword qi fluctuated, following Niu Chang¡¯s control. They slowly uniformly distributed and formed a vague shape instead of flowing like leaking water. When Niu Chang came to his senses, he saw that his sword had long gone to the other side and the cowardice bandit''s upper half had already fallen to the ground. His eyes were still pleading for mercy. ¡®Sadfully. You are not fated with the dao my friend.¡¯ Niu Chang turned his body and walked towards the boss bandit¡¯s location. He saw Yan Tan was trying to run away by dragging his body. As an expert of peak second rate, Yan Tan was able to stop the bleeding on his legs. Watching this scene, Niu Chang thought his attack was too weak. ¡®My attack should have some aftertaste, no matter what my enemy did, they will not be able to close their wounds. The blood must flow, the flesh must rot, the bone must decay, and the dao must dissipate.¡¯ With his back on Niu Chang, Yan Tan felt a gaze fall on his back. He gritted his teeth so as not to turn around and kept crawling. Regret filled his heart. ¡®If only I join my subordinates to corner this kid, maybe there will be a chance for survival!¡¯ Step. Niu Chang no longer controlled his steps to be silent, he let Yan Tan to hear them clearly and slowly. ¡®This is also a good play. He is the exact opposite from the previous bandit. He chose to hold his life and death in his hand, as expected from a martial artist, their vanity is higher than heaven and deeper than the earth.¡¯ As Niu Chang took his steps with calmness, he turned his eyes into the house. His sharp sense as the martial artist allowed him to feel the weak pressences there. The room has poor lighting, only the small array of sunlight entering through the gap increasing the situation inside. ¡°Five.¡± Niu Chang counted the number of people inside the room. All of them were hanging on to their life. ¡°Come out.¡± Niu Chang said softly. His eyes brightened and the corner of his lip slowly rose. He has thought of another good experiment to do. After waiting, no one came out of the room. Step. Niu Chang arrived where Yan Tan was. No words were needed, Niu Chang stomped on Yan Tan¡¯s elbows and shoulders to break them. He then lowered his body to drag the body back to the house. He dropped Yan Tan in front of the door and walked into the room. There he saw the poor condition of the kidnapped females used for plaything by the bandits. Niu Chang approached the closest one. Carefully holding her bruised and naked body, Niu Chang moved her to the entrance near the bandit leader. Then he came back again to move another one, he moved all of the sex slaves to the entrance. Now when the light was present, Niu Chang came to full view of these females. Three adults and two teenagers. All of them only have average looks except for one of the teenage girls. She was not bad, with a well defined face, clear and big eyes, long eyebrows and cute lips. But all of these features are almost gone thanks to overuse by the bandits. ¡°No need to be afraid. I¡¯m here to help you. As you can see, the person in front of you all is the person you should remember deeply in your body. I want you all to give him the punishment he deserves.¡± When he finished speaking, the fearful and muddled expression on the females suddenly changed into a fierce and full of hatred. They didn¡¯t need to ask if it''s true or not. They weren''t affected by the kind image of Niu Chang at all. All they cared about was Yan Tan laying on the ground without any strength. ¡®Since the system is deeply connected to karma. It gives me reward when I punish evil, shouldn¡¯t it also reward me when doing good deeds?¡¯ Niu Chang was full of expectation then called out the system. Chapter 15 - The Value of Lives [Host : Niu Chang.] [Karma point : 4127.] [Cultivation : Qi - Third rate, Body - Third rate.] [Skill : Kendo, Impact, Rapid Leaf Step. More.] ¡®So many?¡¯ Niu Chang felt unreal when he saw the karma point reach thousands. ¡®Hey hey, isn¡¯t this development too fast? What about the forceful restriction put by the author to prolong the story?¡¯ ''Normally, when the main character has his first big event. Somehow his gains were cheated on by the author as to not allow the main character grow too fast.¡¯ Niu Chang could only laugh in his heart. He really couldn¡¯t help but think about the stories he has read in his first life and comparing them with them. Then he asked the system to show the activity log. [Acquired karma point 574] [Acquired karma point 662] [Acquired karma point 809] [Acquired karma point 344] [Acquired karma point 475] [Acquired karma point 782] ¡®There is a slight variation between the value of each bandit. Some of them were as high as nine hundred with the lowest at three hundred. On average they gave six hundred karma points per solved karma.¡¯ Niu Chang couldn¡¯t help but guess. The criterias used by the system should be related to the lives taken by the bandit and the hatred they gather through the action. The first criteria was self-evident. If the bandit kills someone, naturally there will be karma. The only problem is how much karma acquired through killing others? If the bandit kills a baby which has no karma except with their parents. Will it have the same karma as an adult? Then, will the good deeds done by a person affect the value as well? The second criteria was because karma was intertwined with everything. A small puddle could cause a carriage to fall. The act of robbing someone will cause them to change their actions which in the end also affect others around them. After remembering the amount of karma points he has, Niu Chang returned his attention to the group of people in front of him. The weak and harmless females suddenly turned into crazy witches. But seeing none of them made any move, Niu Chang was perplexed. ¡®It seems the mental shadow left by the bandits is too deep that affects their body.¡¯ ¡°If you are confused I can give you good advice.¡± Niu Chang''s soft voice pulled the angry witches from their hesitation. ¡°Do you want to kill him directly or do you want to give him pain until the very end of his life?¡± Niu Chang stopped. He was waiting, as a spectator naturally he must watch everything from the start to the end and as a passerby, he could give some advice but not make any action by himself. After a moment of silence, one of the adult women opened her mouth. ¡°Pain.¡± Her voice was hoarse and could make any baby cry. The unconcealed hatred was very clear. ¡°Okay, I suggest you put a blindfold on him and stuff his ears with something. With this his other senses will be enhanced thanks to the defense mechanism of the human body.¡± Eyes and ears were the main sense receptors used by humans. When those senses was blocked, the main input of vision and hearing, the body will naturally increase its other sense as to de Niu Chang didn¡¯t know much about the human body, but he remembered some trivial facts that piqued his interest. ¡°After that, you can start your party. You can cut his ears piece by piece, destroy his finger one by one, skin him alive, then you can make small and shallow cuts on his genital, and lastly for the best. You can find a good wood, not too big and not too long, insert it into his anus and push it deep inside, there is no need to be too strong, once it enters the body, a slight movement is enough to stimulate the pain.¡± ¡°Also, don¡¯t target the vital points as to keeping him alive as long as possible.¡± ¡°Put some dirt into his eyes before putting the blindfold so as to not let his eyes get wasted away.¡± Niu Chang tried his best to bring out the most luxurious treatment for Yan Tan. This was a mental note that Niu Chang made not long ago. To give him a good gift. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The female was surprised and stunned when hearing Niu Chang¡¯s advice. Their naked body trembled slightly in fear and unknowingly their gaze avoided the kind and gentle little boy in front of them. Then Niu Chang and the group of naked witches started to treat Yan Tan to the best day of his life. A handful of soil was slapped down into his eyes without any gentleness in them, then he was blindfolded. His ears were stuffed with wet soil, spitted on by the witches. His mouth was filled with dirty clothes made into a ball, preventing him from biting his own tongue off. Niu Chang brought some iron tools that can be used as a hammer by the witches to destroy all of his fingers. A slightly bigger wood with rough surface was placed near his ass. Then the treatment began. Muffled sounds were the only thing that had variation the entire time. The sound of an iron tool hammered down, knife cutting the skin and flesh, and the kicking sound made between the foot with the wood. At first the witches were inexperienced and went all out in their services, but after the reminder of Niu Chang, they slowly savored their time. They also regularly change their posts with each other. The most favorite post is naturally the one that deals with Yan Tan¡¯s manhood and the one to kick the block of wood. The pale and hopeless face of the witches slowly replaced with brimming joy as the time passed by. Then they also began to giggle and talk to each other. Niu Chang was watching all of this with his placid plus kind smile in silence. The service itself didn¡¯t attract his attention too much, but the changes on the females brought him some enjoyment. He was interested more in how humans change from ordinaryness and follow their heart content in a good way. The good way here referred to personal preference, since Niu Chang didn¡¯t like to watch someone who was too indulgent in their feelings. Young masters flaunting their background, king and gods with their pretentiousness and sanctimoniousness. It didn¡¯t take too much time until Yan Tan sublimated into the joy brought by the treatment. The endurance of a second rate martial artist was really admirable for him to last this long. [Acquired karma point 1788] The females realized that Yan Tan no longer gave them any response, they even tried to give a stronger kick to the wood to see if he was pretending or not. The happy atmosphere abruptly stopped and was replaced with eerie silence. The females with more lively complexion turn their eyes to Niu Chang. They didn¡¯t dare to say anything, for them, this little kid was scarier than the bandits. The bandits at least only use them as a play thing but this kid treats others way too far as a play thing. Seeing the hesitation and fear in their eyes, Niu Chang said softly. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± If the cowardice bandit is given a chance to say something here, he will let out a shriek saying : ¡°RUUUUUNNNNN!¡± Thankfully this noisy and cowardly one is already gone. But the females were still afraid to speak. ¡°I will give you all two choices,¡± Niu Chang stopped in the middle of his speech to let the females set up the atmosphere. ¡°One is to end this misery once for all and the other one is to continue to live in this world.¡± This was a rare chance for Niu Chang. He already confirmed that doing good deeds didn¡¯t give him any karma points. Since that was the case, he was thinking how much karma points ordinary people would give him. Since he couldn¡¯t start any aggressive action, these pitiful and fragile females in front of him were the best test subjects. The females were shocked by the first option, but they somehow let out a sigh of relief after hearing the second option. They looked conflicted. Part of them wanted to give up on this harsh life while the other half was afraid of death. It was funny none of their reason was to strove for the hope of a better life, their only reason to stay alive was fear and helplessness only. ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t live anymore.¡± The best looking girl among them was the first to speak. It seems her appearance was her pride, after getting played with day and night where her pride was nothing but a joke. She no longer has the intention to hold her head high. The other four were stunned, but they were still hesitant. Since she already gave up on her life, the girl is no longer afraid of Niu Chang. She walked two steps and asked in a low voice. ¡°Will it hurt?¡± Niu Chang looked at the girl in the eyes. His eyes became kinder, ¡°I don¡¯t think it will hurt. I will cut your head off in one single strike. So the pain should be less than what you have suffered day and night in this place and it is also for a very short time.¡± The girl¡¯s shoulder trembled greatly. But her eyes are still maintaining contact with Niu Chang¡¯s. ¡°I- I see¡­.¡± ¡®She has good potential. If she can overcome this difficulty and see through the falseness of this world. Maybe there will be more variables in this world.'' The other four seem to have made up their mind. ¡°I don¡¯t have any family to come back to. I don¡¯t think others will accept me either. I''m already tired, it seems being alive is more painful for me.¡± ¡°My-... my father is still waiting for me. I think I will go back.¡± ¡°....¡± One of them only looked at Niu Chang and shook her head. ¡°I will go back too.¡± Two of them chose the first option and the other two chose the second option. Niu Chang didn¡¯t say anything and gestured to them to leave. Looking at the other two that chose the first option. Niu Chang was judging their potential, but sadly their eyes were already murky and blinded by the curtain of fate. ¡°Close your eyes.¡± Niu Chang said softly. The first one was the pretty girl followed by the other two after a moment of hesitation. Thud. Thud. [Acquired karma point 26] [Acquired karma point 18] Two blunt sounds echoed in the air, the heads rolled and the headless body gushed out fresh blood before finally fell down. ¡°Open your eyes.¡± Niu Chang said to the teenage girl. With her shoulder trembling hard. She gathered her courage to open her eyes. She watched as Niu Chang didn¡¯t change at all and looked at her with those kind eyes. ¡°I will give you an option to have a second life. You no longer need to care about your past, you will be reborn into a new person and pursue a great cause.¡± ¡°Are you willing?¡± Chapter 16 - Willfulness The teenage girl was at a loss and unable to decipher the meaning behind Niu Chang''s words. Niu Chang calmly watched over her reaction. But when he saw that a glimmer of hope raised in the depth of the teenage girl''s eyes, he was disappointed. Having qualification didn¡¯t mean she could be one. ¡®She lacks determination.¡¯ If not for the system, Niu Chang would already behead this teenage girl. He didn¡¯t want to waste anymore time in this place. If it was before he asked the teenage girl. The system wouldn¡¯t be triggered as both parties already reach an agreement. But now, the teenage girl already has hesitation in her heart. Killing her now, means making a karma with her. The teenage girl didn¡¯t know anything since she didn¡¯t see any change in Niu Chang. ¡®Since you can¡¯t do what you want, just do it out of generosity.¡¯ Niu Chang made up his mind. Although the chance she became the same species as Niu Chang was very slim. Maybe one out of ten, if Niu Chang gave her some advice it will only increase to two out of ten. ¡°If you have any question just ask. I will help you reborn into a new person.¡± Niu Chang said softly with a kind smile. ¡°Wh- what do you want?¡± The teenage girl said in stutter. ¡°I want to give you an alternative option instead of dying in this rotten place.¡± ¡°May I ask why?" ¡°Because I think you can be a better person. Standing above an endless amount of people and proudly walking on this earth.¡± ¡°....¡± This was the reason why Niu Chang was no longer interested in her. If she was the one, she wouldn¡¯t bother asking such useless questions. She would lose all normalcy and saw the world through a different lense. ¡°Tell me what you want in this life.¡± Niu Chang tried another approach. The teenage girl opened her mouth in reflex, but didn¡¯t utter any words. Then she closed her mouth without saying anything in the end. ¡°Do you want endless wealth? Do you want a warm family? Do you want to be surrounded by people you love and who love you? Do you want to not be worried about sickness and old age?¡± The teenage girl thought for a moment before finally nodding. ¡°Then, do you think it is possible for you to have all of them?¡± ¡°Endless wealth? Will you work day and night to gather them?¡± ¡°Warm family and people? Will they stay the same after a decade? What about another decade?¡± ¡°Longevity? Can you guarantee your life from the bad intentions of others?¡± ¡°Ridiculous. All you want to be happy with mundane possession. The wealth can be stolen, the relationship can be broken, and longevity can be killed.¡± ¡°Now tell me, what do you want?¡± Niu Chang thought he would use the three questions of life. Where are you from? What are you doing? Where are you going? But then he thought it was not in the way of his method. He prefers something unexpected and surprising. Each of the questions he asked to the teenage girl was unprepared and impromptu on the spot. He, too, wanted to have some expectations. The teenage girl then began to recall her life. Born into a poor family. Stupid parents, egoist siblings, broken house, disgusting food, and tattered clothes. The day was hot and tiring while the night was cold and hard. The only thing she could be proud of is her beauty was acknowledged by the whole village. But because of this, the richest man in their village wanted her to be his concubine. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. He was fat and ugly, not much different than a pig. The reason he was rich was only because of his family background. He spent money on useless things and boasted about his wealth to other villagers. Despite never hearing any stories, the teenage girl also dreamed about a good life. Where a handsome and kind man will find her one day and have a family together. There was no need for a lavish lifestyle, being together in good and bad was enough for her fantasy. But when she was captured by the bandits and had her first time with the big and brutish Yan Tan. That fantasy crumbled apart, everytime Yan Tan moved his lower body, the shattered pieces only shattered more into the finest dust. At that moment, she no longer wanted a good life with a good husband and warm house. She only wants to be with her family. Then it changed into wanting for a safe place. Then it kept changing according to which bandit used her body as a pleasure reliever object. In the end, she only wants to stop caring and have a good sleep to forget everything. The teenage girl looked at Niu Chang. He was younger than her, shorter than her, and physically seems weaker than her. But why did this person look more human than any people she saw in the past? Walking among corpses, hand washed in blood, cold and indifference. But his words and demeanor were kind and warm. Such contrasting characters only increase the mystery of Niu Chang. ¡®Why is he better than anyone?¡¯ ¡®If he is a human¡­ Then what are we? What am I?¡¯ The teenage girl looked at the surroundings, she saw the ground stained with blood, the corpse cutted into pieces and the person she feared the most suffered the most painful death. Unable to hold her curiosity, she asked after swallowing her saliva. ¡°What are you?¡± Instead of asking who Niu Chang was, she was more interested in what kind of person Niu Chang was. Seeing Niu Chang didn¡¯t have any change of expression. The teenage girl in fear apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t mean to-¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Since you already have questions naturally you also have your doubts. Only when doubting something can you question whether it¡¯s true or not. So tell me, what am I?¡± Standing there for a long time for this kind of conversation, Niu Chang didn¡¯t feel too comfortable. He looked around to find a good place to sit down and had a casual talk. After looking left and right. He found a good spot. A long bench made of wood just right under a tall and lush tree. The teenage girl followed Niu Chang''s gaze. She saw a slight laziness in Niu Chang¡¯s face turned into a bad one for a moment and thought she made some mistakes. But seeing Niu Chang was nonchalant walking towards the wooden bench, she let out a breath of relief. ¡°Follow me.¡± Niu Chang called. Walking behind Niu Chang, she saw the small back view of Niu Chang. So small but it contains endless strength. ¡°Sit.¡± Niu Chang sat down and pointed to the place beside him. But seeing the trembling naked teenage girl, he suddenly realized he made a mistake. ¡°Go find yourself some clothes first.¡± After receiving permission from Niu Chang, nodded and turned around. Seeing the naked teenage girl in the open space, the small and round butt, clear and wet back view, Niu Chang felt sad. ¡®When can I have fun with women in this world? This body is still immature, waiting for it to grow naturally takes too long. I think I will create some body modification or a growth acceleration martial art. But the problem is I can¡¯t force my way with any woman thanks to the system being strict. It''s either I find myself a woman that willingly offers her body or go to a brothel.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s one thing to do in the future though, for now just enjoy life to the fullest.¡¯ Niu Chang was aware of his willful tendency. Although he swore to only have one goal and could discard anything just to reach that one goal, he was too inexperienced. Just like someone who lock themselves inside the library all year long and gathered enough information and data then walked out to start their journey. They couldn''t help but be distracted by the hustle and bustle of people''s lives, the myriad colors of the world and numerous encounters and separation. That''s why Niu Chang wanted to create someone that was similar to him and watched them grow to be a replacement for him and also learn from them. Only after numerous failures and setbacks could one mind mature from seeing what''s on the surface and what''s hidden inside everyone''s heart. Only after countless joy and sadness could one grow tired of the mundaneness of mortal life and seek for a better and meaningful life to have. All lives are limited by their nature. Whether it''s humans, animals, and plants. The only innate goals of life was to survive and reproduce. Such was mortal life. They even spread the idea of life being meaningful because of the people around you. Such a shameless claim. If this was a world where extraordinariness was impossible, naturally Niu Chang wouldn''t bother to have a grand dream of achieving supremacy. But now there was a chance, he didn''t care if it was smaller than dust. All he needed to know was that there was a chance. To escape from meaningless life, gathering wealth, building relationships, chasing mundane happiness. Not enough! With time, the wealth would be lost, the relationship would be broken, and the joy would lose its meaning. In that kind of life, what''s the difference between now and then? What''s the difference between that and a pebble on the side of the road? What''s the difference between that and a pile of soil? Meaningless, truly meaningless. Only supremacy would last forever and the journey was worth the time and effort. Chapter 17 - Reward The teenage girl finished looking for something to cover her naked body. Instead of proper clothes, what she wore was a piece of plain cloth to cover the body. She arrived in front of Niu Chang. When looking for clothes, she naturally has the idea to run away. But she also wanted to learn more about Niu Chang. ¡°May I sit?¡± Niu Chang only gave her a nod. She sat beside Niu Chang but drew a distance between them. She was afraid of dirtying Niu Chang. ¡°Um¡­ how do I address you? S-savior.¡± The teenage girl didn¡¯t know how to properly address Niu Chang and choose the best one after much consideration. ¡®If not savior what else should I call him? Sir? I don¡¯t want to offend him since he looks young.¡¯ ¡°Up to you.¡± ¡°Okay, Savior. I thought that you are better than anyone I see in my life. It¡¯s hard for me to grasp it and turn it into words, but I just want to say that you seem more human to me.¡± ¡°You are free. You didn¡¯t have any burden on your mind.¡± ¡°Although you are strong- ah sorry I don¡¯t mean saying that-¡± ¡°No problem, just continue.¡± ¡°Yes, Savior. You are not like the bandits who are strong but evil. They become evil because they are strong. But you are different, Senior, your confidence is not in your strength. You are also kind and¡­ cold.¡± The teenage girl lowered her voice at the end. She already thought about it, which is the main reason that Niu Chang felt different from anyone she saw in her life. It was his uncaring and willful character. He didn¡¯t care about anything and anyone, he did what he wanted, killing without any hesitation and also kind and compassionate to enjoy himself. ¡®This savior didn¡¯t differentiate good and bad, for him all of these were only superficial. Only his will is the truth.¡¯ When thinking of this, the teenage girl couldn¡¯t help but steal a glance at Niu Chang¡¯s side profile. Her heart was unknowingly beating faster. The colorless skin on her face slowly turned red. It was pure admiration. Close enough to be called worshiping. She then turned down her gaze in guilt and shame. No longer dare to look up at Niu Chang directly. ¡°Are you done?¡± Niu Chang turned his head, he saw that the development was not to what he intended it to be. What he wanted was someone who rebelled against the world together with him, the same species as him, but now. ¡®This girl suffered a great mental blow that her mind went haywire.¡¯ ¡®Talking more with her only leads to unpredictable outcomes that I don¡¯t have any interest in. Sigh, humans are really interesting!¡¯ Niu Chang smiled and said. ¡°Since you said so, do you want to become like me?¡± ¡°No- no, I don¡¯t dare to be like you savior.¡± The teenage girl shook her head and waved her hands. Didn¡¯t dare to compare herself with Niu Chang. ¡°Then what do you want to do now?¡± ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± She said truthfully, she no longer has intention to live a dull and painful life, it will be better for her to end her life at the hand of Niu Chang, who she admired the most. ¡°Since you don¡¯t know, what about following my advice?¡± The teenage girl¡¯ eyes brightened up. She nodded hurriedly like a chicken. ¡°Go in search of strength. Only by having strength can you see this world in a better position. Walking among rivers and mountains, unhindered by others and following your own will. When you become stronger than anyone else and you no longer have direction to go, you can come to find me. Until that time comes, do not be limited by anything, unrestricted by moral and norm, you can discard anything for attaining greater power. Money, friends, even your humanity will not be out of the question.¡± ¡°Do you understand?¡± Niu Chang looked deeply into her eyes, his smile contained more sincerity. His eyes were like a deep well that pulled her consciousness in. Mesmerized by the advice, Niu Chang''s image grew bigger in her heart. Something small started to germinate in the deepest part of her heart. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Unconsciously, she no longer has fear toward Niu Chang, she replied in great confidence. ¡°Yes!¡± The boring look in her face was no longer there, replaced with a new ambition and determination. Niu Chang was still calm on the surface, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel weird for this teenage girl. The expression she made looks like some cult follower after having her brain washed by some shady ideology, not the unafraid of anything but still maintaining its rationality that Niu Chang was looking for. ¡®The only problem was that her motive is impure.¡¯ ¡®Will this be okay? Did I just create something like a hidden boss for myself? Or maybe some crazy and powerful zealot follower?¡¯ ¡®No it¡¯s okay. I have my system, no matter how strong she becomes in the future. I will not be dominated by her, not by a chance!¡¯ ¡°Okay, I will give you something to help you begin your own path.¡± Niu Chang nodded with his kind smile. ¡®But it doesn¡¯t sound too bad, I mean having something fun in this long journey to supremacy is inevitable.¡¯ Niu Chang didn¡¯t have many things on him right now, only a few coins and that¡¯s all. But thankfully, he just finished this bandit hideout subjugation. There should be some money the bandit hid in this place and maybe some low level martial arts. ¡°Do you know where the bandits hide their wealth?¡± Niu Chang asked. The teenage girl was still feeling dreamy as to what just happened and felt discomfort in her heart. But she chose to suppress it for now, and answered Niu Chang''s question. ¡°Reporting to savior, I don¡¯t know where the bandit hide their wealth, but maybe you can start from the previous place.¡± Niu Chang nodded and started walking towards their previous location. When arrived, he entered the house and started to look carefully. It was too dark inside there. Niu Chang chose to make some holes on the wall to let the light enter the room. Bam bam. His fist strengthened with qi and easily went through the wall. Beams of light lightened the room and the view became clearer. With the help of light, Niu Chang continued to search the whole place and used force if necessary. He found the hidden treasury of the bandit. Gold, silver, some precious jewelry and many miscellaneous items. He browsed through them one by one so as to not miss any suspicious item. Now when he thought about it, if he chose to look for his sister and activated his system early on. His encounter with the bandit would be inevitable. At that time with the help of the system he would have a mixture of bad and good time, the bad time naturally when he was cornered and the good time when he made a sudden comeback thanks to the system and saved his sister then raided the treasury. As the first event in his journey, naturally he would find some beginner packs from the bandit treasury. It could vary from something with immediate use or something he would carry for the whole journey. After a long time browsing, he couldn¡¯t find anything suspicious from the treasury. The martial arts that the bandit practiced were registered by Niu Chang but after asking the system for their value, it didn¡¯t cost too much to cultivate them into third rate. As for the last assurance, Niu Chang used his qi to increase his perception which was amateurish since he never did it before. With limited effect, he chose to give up and start to bulldoze anything he found suspicious. Bam bam. On the outside of the house, the teenage girl still felt discomfort in her heart due to her determination to follow Niu Chang¡¯s advice, seeking strength. ¡°The savior told me to seek strength and not limit myself with anything, everything can be discarded. I know what it means, but I can¡¯t imagine how far I can go.¡± Feeling confrontation in her heart, she was confused and wanted to ask for advice from Niu Chang. As an ordinary village girl with limited education, Niu Chang¡¯s advice was too grand and confronting to her worldview. ¡°Should I ask the savior about this? But, what if he hates me because of this? But, the savior is a good person, he shouldn''t be bothered if I ask this question, right?¡± Not long after, she saw Niu Chang walking towards her with a big sack on his hand. Still not daring to look at Niu Chang directly, she turned down his gaze. She gathered her strength to ask some questions. Niu Chang who was confused at his failure deduction still thinking where his deduction went wrong. ¡®It¡¯s impossible for me to not find something useful in this place.¡¯ ¡°Savior¡­¡± Looking at Niu Chang deep in his own thoughts, the teenage girl didn¡¯t dare to speak loudly and sounded like a mosquito buzzing. Niu Chang suddenly woke up from his thinking thanks to the small voice, he looked at the pitiful teenage girl in front of him. A ridiculous thought rose in his mind. ¡®No way. Is she the main reward of this bandit hideout?¡¯ Then Niu Chang replayed his encounter with this girl from the start to the present. An appearance that was slightly above average even when in a battered and worn out state. Even so, Niu Chang could see her beauty in one glance. Looking at the teenage girl in front of him, Niu Chang tried to restore her normal appearance. With his powerful brain power and large fantasy female character databases from his first life. Niu Chang tried his best to picture the peak condition of the teenage girl. Delicate face with sharp line and curve like the fairy from painting, big watery eyes accompanied by long and phoenix brows, delicate nose, natural and subtle lips. The hair fell down freely like a waterfall, the bosom was healthy and full of vitality, the hip was small and looked fragile with ample butts, the legs were long and slender. ¡®She is the one!¡¯ What was the main characteristic of a major character? It was easily spotted by their appearance alone. But sadly this good seed was already soiled because Niu Chang was not the true main character. If only he chose to be more boring and hot blooded, he would awaken the system, save his sister, kill the bandits and save this teenage girl. The story would be more wish fulfillment and self satisfactory for the main character and the reader. Then this girl will follow Niu Chang back and slowly deepen their bond. But sadly, there were no ifs in this world and Niu Chang was not suitable for any main character formats. Chapter 18 - Priority Niu Chang calmed down his thoughts and no longer paid attention to the normal plot that might happen. ¡°What is it?¡± Niu Chang asked softly. His treatment for this teenage girl will not change, even if she somehow revealed the fact she was an heavenly empress, Niu Chang would only feel joy for seeing such unexpected turn of event but then he would lose his interest. ¡°I¡­ want to ask about something if it is okay with you, savior.¡± Towards the end of her words, the teenage girl¡¯s voice became weaker. ¡°Speak up properly, didn¡¯t I already tell you before to not be limited by anything? What are you worrying about speaking with that weak voice? Did you not have any breakfast this morning?¡± The girl wanted to reply, but didn¡¯t dare to. She could only comment in her heart: ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t have any breakfast at all, the last meal I had was last night. But since last night the bandit never let go of me and I was really hungry and tired.¡± But after considering that not answering Niu Chang was wrong, she could only nod her head. Knowing his joke was not right for the situation, Niu Chang chose to be oblivious to it and continue talking. ¡°You can eat if you want after this. This bandit hideout should keep food for their own consumption.¡± But the teenage girl was still silent with submissive posture. ¡°Ask away your question.¡± After receiving the permission, the teenage girl followed Niu Chang¡¯s advice and tried her best to not look weak. ¡°Savior, you said to not be limited by anything and restricted by anything. But I don¡¯t think I can do such things. If it is only limited to using violence towards my enemies, I still can do it. But when it is about myself, I don''t know if I can do it or not.¡± ¡°Just that? Are you feeling uncomfortable because of such a ridiculous reason?¡± Hearing Niu Chang reply and an unchanging tone. The teenage girl felt she was wrong but when she recalled the previous advice, she didn¡¯t completely surrender immediately. This was the reason why Niu Chang lost interest in the first place. She was still holding on to the chain that restricted her freedom of mind. It was not the chain itself the main problem but because she held it around her body, this chain wouldn¡¯t get loose no matter how hard she tried. Only by ignoring everything she had learned would she be able to let go of this binding chain. To confront the teaching of good and evil, letting go of the normal way of thinking, and liberating oneself from the secular world could one become a free being. But someone whose freedom was too high, naturally wouldn¡¯t be accepted by society. They didn¡¯t care about any rules and regulations, between them and their goal nothing matters. To the world they were demons. But for them, the world was too small. ¡°Yes, I really don¡¯t know what to do now, savior. Please give me some guidance.¡± ¡°It''s simple.¡± Niu Chang now felt something good would happen. ¡°Think about the most valuable and important thing that you have right now. It can be your life, your parents, your possessions, anything that you think sacrificing your life for will be worth it.¡± The teenage girl listened quietly, she then began to think about the thing she treasured the most. At first she thought it was Niu Chang that she treasured the most. The most important thing in her life. ¡®Savior is the one who saved me from the hands of the bandit, he also helped me in taking revenge. I also admired him from the bottom of my heart, but¡­ if it is something that I can give my life for¡­ it feels somewhat wrong.¡¯ She raised her head in confusion, she stared at the casual and nonchalant Niu Chang who hung a kind smile on his face. ¡®Although I really admired the savior and will do anything for him, it¡¯s still not enough for me since I still have doubts about his words!¡¯ The teenage girl¡¯s heart was in turmoil trying her best to look for the most important thing in her life. ¡®Wait- in my life? Is it my life that I treasured the most?¡¯ She shook her head, ¡®after encountering the savior and watching his action. I don¡¯t think this life is too important, at least not right now.¡¯ ¡®Then what is it?¡¯ Suddenly she got an inspiration for the answer. ¡®It¡¯s like what the savior said before! The answer is the reason why I feel comfortable even though I really admired the savior from the bottom of my heart but still unable to completely follow his advice.¡¯ Her eyes brightened up and she felt proud of herself. ¡°Savior, I think I know the answer.¡± She was waiting for Niu Chang to say something, but he didn¡¯t say or do anything. So she continued. ¡°It was my heart! The source of my uncomfortable feeling is my heart. My heart feels conflicted when I think about doing something that I have never done before.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Savior, what do I need to do to solve this problem?¡± She asked excitedly. Niu Chang increased his smile power by three points. ¡°The method is simple. What do you do when you find a chain restricting your body?¡± ¡°I¡­ unbind them and throw them away?¡± After slight hesitation she answered. ¡°Yes, just throw them away.¡± ¡°But how do I throw my heart away?¡± ¡°You confused your physical heart with your mental heart. Since you can¡¯t throw it away, you only need to not care about it anymore. The discomfort is that your heart was conflicted with your thought because you care more about your heart instead of our thought.¡± The teenage girl gets an idea of what Niu Chang said. She then tried to convince herself to ignore the voice of her heart but she ran into a problem. ''The voice of my heart is also what I want. If I want something naturally it comes from my heart. Why is it becoming contradictory now?'' The puzzlement in her mind reflected on her troubled face. "Savior, I feel contradictions in your words. It''s not that I doubt your teaching, but can you help me to enlighten me?" "Sure, no problem. Listen carefully, we, humans, have something called heart. When this heart says something is good then we tend to accept it and follow it and when the heart says something is bad we tend to hate it and object to it. But we are born with a clean and untainted heart, so who defines which is good and which is bad? Who is right and who is wrong?¡± Niu Chang put his hands on his back and raised his head to a perfect angle looking at the sky. ¡°As a baby naturally you learn from your parents, but from whom did your parents learn about this? They learn from their parents and this continues to be the root of humanity. If so, this root would end up in one point and this one point definition of good and bad naturally the best answer of this question. But, this first human, who gives him the right to define what is good and what is bad?¡± ¡°By having a heart that makes us human, if there is no heart we wouldn¡¯t be different from plants and animals. But if we choose to be emotionless and detached from any emotions, our hearts will turn cold, at this point even animals would be better than cold-hearted humans.¡± ¡°Because animals still have the heart of an animal. So when the heart turns cold and no longer different from dead thing, you will be no longer from a rock and a lump of feces.¡± ¡°So you need to have a delicate balance which only you can know. One of its methods is to place priority in your heart, as long as you put your priority right. The contradictory feeling will no longer be a problem.¡± ¡°Now tell me, what is the number one priority in your heart?¡± Niu Chang turned his head and looked at the teenage girl who was in awe. When Niu Chang realized it, he felt that what he taught was actually the great dao. ¡®I teach her to not be bothered by anything but also need to maintain her heart from getting cold and dead. If this is not the true way of immortal cultivation what else?¡¯ ¡®The righteous path teaches their disciples about morals and rules behind the gate. But when they encounter treasure of heaven and earth, they would be the one to bare their fangs and reveal their true face. What they taught was the dao of hypocrisy.¡¯ ¡®The demonic path on the other hand teaches their disciples the cold embrace of this world and turns their heart into a cold and dead one. What they taught was the dao of feces, since they are no different from the heartless feces.¡¯ ¡®This¡­ my teaching is good and proper, should I just open a sect and teach others about the great dao of self-sufficient?¡¯ Self-sufficient was the word that came into Niu Chang¡¯s mind. Although what he taught to the teenage girl was only the mentality part, not yet the part of techniques and other parts. Niu Chang already could see everything laid down in front of him. Self-sufficient meant the heart didn¡¯t bother with outside temptation but also didn¡¯t reject it completely. Since the heart is now already on the correct path, the only problem left naturally is to increase the cultivation level. What is the source of every conflict? It is the interest of each party. Cultivation resources were limited, because of this scarcity there was competition. Information, land, materials and people. But Niu Chang¡¯s dao of self-sufficiency didn¡¯t bother with any of these resources. If the disciple didn¡¯t have any good potential just made a tailor made cultivation technique that suited them the most. Bottleneck never about the potential of their physical body but about their mind. As long as they were creative enough to find a way to bypass the bottleneck, naturally there was no need for resources. Only with a strong heart and not narrow-minded thinking, immortality was only about time. After pondering what Niu Chang¡¯s said, the teenage girl finally was able to move on from her problem and walked farther in her thinking. She looked at Niu Chang, the uncomfortable and contradiction in her heart already melted away and replaced with new feeling which she didn¡¯t understand. ¡®I admire the savior so much, he¡­ can become number one priority in my heart at any moment now, but why do I feel something preventing me from doing it?¡¯ ¡®What is this feeling? Instead of prioritizing the savior at the top of my heart, I actually want something else. My heart beats faster when I try to think about it.¡¯ ¡®I¡­ I want to follow the savior¡­ but I also want him to look at me.¡¯ The increased heart rate only disturbed her confused mind. The surge of heat crawled across her face and painted it red. The feeling of adoration and admiration conflicted directly with the sense of yearning. One was to offer one¡¯s life for the other party without wanting anything while the other one was to ask the other party¡¯s attention. After thinking about Niu Chang¡¯s character, the teenage girl tried to compromise about her main priority. ¡®Since the savior told me to increase my strength and after I reach the limit I can ask him for the next step. I don¡¯t know what the savior goal is, but if I have enough strength I should be able to help him and stay on his side.¡¯ ¡®But what about the savior¡¯s goal?¡¯ The hesitation only appeared for a moment before finally disappearing, the previous weak and timid already learnt her lesson and respectfully asked the question. ¡°Savior, may I know what your goal is?¡± The voice was not submissive or too casual, but respectful. Niu Chang felt the change in temparent from the teenage girl and guessed she already solved her problem. ¡°I will tell you after you complete what I told you before.¡± Niu Chang said softly, but in his heart he was rather careful. ¡®No way I will be so open with a stranger, what if she causes a problem and harms me, what if some regressor knows about me and brings more problems.¡¯ Even with his virtually invincible system, Niu Chang didn¡¯t forget his roots. Always be careful and steady. The teenage girl didn¡¯t seem sad or depressed, but she smiled instead, a big and bright one on top of that. ¡®The savior didn¡¯t reject me directly! There is a chance for me to follow him!¡¯ Chapter 19 - The Unexpected Visitor After that, Niu Chang taught her his philosophy of cultivation. ¡°Talent will not determine how far you can walk on the path of cultivation, talent only allows you to have a better pair of legs to walk easier. Even if you have no legs, you can still walk with the help of your hand, never limit your way of thinking.¡± ¡°Resources are important for cultivation, but it is not as important as your mindset. With a good mindset you can learn by yourself and no longer need to depend on others to acquire cultivation methods and martial techniques. With a good mindset you can make a suitable technique to overcome your limit without any help from external materials.¡± ¡°When facing your enemies, never let your guard down. Instead you should never let your guard down at any moment, since you never know when someone will become your enemy.¡± The teenage girl listened and absorbed every teaching from Niu Chang. She had some doubts and asked about it, Niu Chang answered them one by one to solve the confusion. It took half an hour for Niu Chang to completely teach the teenage girl everything that he wanted to teach. Then he parted ways with the teenage girl to look for hidden treasury in this bandit hideout while the teenage girl went looking for food. Using brute force to tear and make holes in everything he encountered, Niu Chang finished in a short amount of time. He took a nice bath to clean his body and changed his clothes. He went to the front gate and on his way he casually resolved the karma with those who are still alive. The system notification rang in his ears like music. [Acquired karma point 325] [Acquired karma point 509] [Acquired karma point 322] [Acquired karma point 628] [Acquired karma point 446] With a big sack on his body, Niu Chang happily left the bandit hideout and went to Yellow Soil Village. After thinking about the beginner gift pack from starting his journey as the main character which never and will never be. Niu Chang thought about his past missed fateful encounter. Together with the disappearance of his sister, there are seven fateful encounters that he has so far. The first one was when his parents got sick or poisoned, which he didn¡¯t know the truth about, but thanks to a random villager who said there should be an elixir to cure them. Niu Chang guessed there should be such herb but it might only be a beginning then by chance and sheer luck he encountered the main reason why he needed to go to the forest risking his life. The second one was the dying old beggar, the third one was the unconscious beautiful lady, the fourth one happened in winter, the fifth one happened because there was a problem with the villagers'' crops, the sixth one because of the mysterious disappearance of three villagers, and the last one about his sister. Niu Chang didn¡¯t hope too much about the main reward for each fateful encounter since there should be a time limit and location limit. As for those with a time limit, there was nothing that Niu Chang could do about time. But those with only a location limit, were waiting for Niu Chang to pay them a visit. Discovering such hidden secrets was one of many harvests that Niu Chang got from the bandit subjugation. Karma points naturally was one of them, wealth and lastly the data he gathered after becoming a first rate martial artist for a short amount of time. ¡®With the experiences from before, I believe I can make my own proper martial skills.¡¯ . . . On the bandit hideout. Dong Qiuyue, the teenage girl, whose name that Niu Chang didn¡¯t bother to ask, finished her breakfast. She wanted to make something more delicious and a sumptuous meal, but she was too weak and hungry. So she could only do it with roasted meat with some light seasoning. ¡°Now that I finished my breakfast. I can start my journey.¡± Dong Qiyue wiped the grease around her mouth and went to take a bath. She took her time to clean her body properly, both outside and inside, while humming a happy tone. On the outside of the bandit hideout. The trees swayed slightly and the sound of the wind suddenly silenced. The shade under the trees grew darker and the sunlight beams that passed the gaps between the leaves slowly retreated. The temperature dropped significantly. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. All of this suddenly happened as if announcing the arrival of the ruler of the night. The area where these strange phenomenons occurred moved towards the bandit hideout. When the darkness reached the open space between the forest and the bandit hideout wall, it no longer continued to move forwards. But the temperature near the forest kept plummeting and the green grass became shriveled and lost its luster. On the forest side, the darkness became darker and after a few moments, a silhouette slowly appeared. A slender figure with long legs, wide bosom, small hips, and distinct rear. It was clearly a female silhouette but as the silhouette kept moving forward, it became easier to discern that this silhouette under the veil of darkness was naked. When the mysterious naked figure finally reached the open area with her left foot. The sun pushed away the darkness on her body and revealed a deathly pale skin but still maintained the allure of living creatures. The foot was not only skin and bone, but the flesh was well maintained. Step. The left foot landed on the already dying grass, then she took another step with her right foot. Her body revealed their full view under the bright sunlight. From the bottom of her deathly pale yet enchanting feet, the legs were long, the hips were not covered by anything revealing everything that could be seen, then continued to the bare breast slightly swaying under the motion. The twin peaks basked under the sunlight. The sleek and long hair that should cover the peaks were absent but when the focus moved upwards, the reason was revealed why such a scene wasn''t covered by anything. Above the shoulder that should be a pristine swan neck accompanied by a devastating face and long hair were gone. There was nothing above the shoulder, a hollowness without any shadow or darkness. The headless beauty continued its step towards the bandit hideout, but it suddenly stopped when it reached a pair of corpses under her feet. These two corpses were the corpses of two bandits that lead Niu Chang to the bandit hideout. The headless beauty only stopped for a moment before raising her foot and stepped on the corpse. The cold feet landed on the bandit corpse and ghostly qi gushed out forming a suction force, the blood on the bandit corpse moved towards the suction force and entered the cold foot. It only took around seven seconds before the blood fully drained from the bandit corpse. The headless beauty continued moving her other feet to step on the second bandit corpse to devour the blood. She continued her actions on every bandit corpse before finally reaching the inner area of the bandit hideout. She was eating quietly before suddenly stopping and her body moved as if looking towards a certain direction. Dong Qiuyue just finished her bath and using the coarse cloth to dry her body, she was too relaxed when suddenly she felt cold on her spine. ¡°Why did it suddenly become colder?¡± She was confused and raised her head to look around, observing her surroundings she found nothing unusual until she found something beyond her understanding. Her pupil dilated, a headless naked woman was standing not far from her like a statue, unmoving. Various thoughts rose in her mind, but she was unable to make the decision right away. When she was distracted as to what to do, she suddenly felt a shadow enveloped her head. A putrid and rotten stench attacked her nostril and made her mind spin. But she quickly regained her focus and screamed while taking a step back. ¡°Ru-!¡± But she was too late, her body was enveloped by black and ghostly qi rendered her movement and attempt to escape useless. She tried her best to liberate herself, but it was no use. The ghostly qi has no form and shape; it restricted her like a giant snake. The long forgotten memories slowly unsealed themselves and resurfaced in her mind. Her mind immediately filled with fear and hopelessness which she tried to forget. But when she wanted to give up, her heart thumped loudly, the light in her eyes suddenly reignited. She saw the small figure of her savior acting nonchalantly, which she found funny and cute when she thought about it now. That small figure said softly and sincerely, ¡°go in search of strength.¡± The overwhelmed mind suddenly exploded with endless determination, one obsession to quell all emotion and one emotion to control the mind. Uncaring and willful! Not limited by anything and not restricted by any means. ¡®My life is mine! My will is mine! Nothing can stand in my way and stop me from moving forward!¡¯ Dong Qiuyue roared in her heart, it was not long ago when she learned about Niu Chang¡¯s way of living. But that short amount of time is enough for her to allow the seed to take the root and raise its small stem. She was not fighting for her life nor fighting for survival, she only wanted to not be restricted by her mind and the ghostly qi around her body. The headless beauty flinched and her ghostly qi around Dong Qiuyue¡¯s body moved towards her head. Dong Qiuyue no longer has any fear and other useless emotions in her eyes and watched the ghostly qi crawl to her head and slowly enter her mind. When she was thinking about what to do next, she felt her consciousness was blurred and her eyes became heavier. The last thing she could see was the headless beauty raising her right hand and pointing her index finger to her forehead. Dong Qiuyue used the last bit of her consciousness and strength to stay awake, just before her vision was completely covered by darkness, she saw the headless body in front of her disintegrated into fine dust and blown away by the wind. . . . The next moment, Dong Qiuyue found herself woke up in a strange dark place. She couldn¡¯t see the end of this place and no matter which direction she observed, there was no light in this place. Then she tried to examine her own body, but she found it in contrast to this dark place. She saw endless fog around her body. ¡°So because of the darkness I couldn¡¯t see this fog, but comparing it with my body the fog became visible.¡± Dong Qiuyue guessed the strangeness of this place. Recalling the last scene before she went into this place, Dong Qiuyue felt her head in pain when she tried to. The more she tried to remember, the stronger the pain became. She didn¡¯t give up easily and the pain caused her to go limp and slumped down to the ground. She tried to stand up and when she regained her focus, she suddenly saw the unforgettable figure in front of her. The deathly pale skin but still maintains the vitality of the living, the headless beauty stands in front of her. The body was so close that Dong Qiuyue could feel her nose could touch the other party¡¯s naked breasts at any moment. Thankfully the rotten stench is no longer there. If not, Dong Qiuyue would already be on the ground emptying her stomach. Chapter 20 - Obsession That Lasts for 300 Autumns No matter how Dong Qiuyue tried to suppress the rebellious reaction from her body, the strange unfamiliar dark place and sudden appearance of the headless lady was beyond her limit. The unwanted emotion and natural instinct of survival kicked in, the fear slowly consumed her mind. Gnashing her teeth, Dong Qiuyue tried her best to confront this enigmatic headless ghost. ¡°What do you want?!¡± She took a step back to distance herself and took a defensive stance. The headless beauty didn¡¯t react, but the fog around them slowly became more active. ¡°Are you a ghost?¡± Dong Qiuyue tried to probe for information. But she didn¡¯t receive any feedback. ¡°Where am I?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± She asked the question one by one as to look for any useful information but all of them left unanswered. Dong Qiuyue frowned, she didn¡¯t know what to do now. Let alone a ghost, she hasn''t officially started any martial art training. She felt down for being dragged in this situation. She learned so much from Niu Chang and hoped for a bright future, but who would have thought such misfortune befall upon her right before she left the bandit hideout. ¡°Am I destined to die in this place without ever stepping outside? Haha, to stay in this place forever?¡± Dong Qiuyue''s heart and mind was in chaos, she didn¡¯t receive any response from the headless beauty and she would die in the place she loathed the most. Fueled by hatred, she recalled her savior. The freedom he showed at that time is still fresh in her mind. Under the restriction of her mind, she reached out for that brilliant light called freedom. ¡°HAHAHA¡­ you want to kill me? Do you have the ability?¡± Dong Qiuyue¡¯s face was livid with strong emotion, her eyes were bright and no shadow could cover them. Her heart was thumping with excitement she never felt before. She was afraid of the unknown future but she didn¡¯t want to give up yet. The conflicting feelings in her heart become like a cocktail of ecstasy. The feeling she never heard before, but she didn¡¯t resist it. She fearlessly while smiling widely chose to attack the headless beauty directly without any plan. No fear. No consideration. Dong Qiuyue felt the fog to resist her movement but she didn¡¯t care, she would die if she didn''t do anything. The untrained body moved clumsily, the small fist was the first to reach the headless beauty. But it stopped before it touched the headless body. Dong Qiuyue gained her sanity amidst the overflowing madness, she saw the headless beauty stop her fist with one hand. She could feel the coldness from a dead body around her fist. Just like how the dead body retains its looks of a living human, Dong Qiuyue didn¡¯t feel soft tissue that can be torn with slight strength or dry texture of dehydrated skin. From that contact, Dong Qiuyue suddenly felt her mind being infiltrated by external forces. But she couldn¡¯t do anything about it as if watching her body being cutted open piece by piece. ¡°Ah¡­ is this the end?¡± Dong Qiuyue lamented in her mind, ¡°I am really weak, I can¡¯t even give my opponent any difficulty. This hopelessness is because I am too weak. If only I am stronger than I can defeat her without any problem¡­ but if I rely on strength alone, what is the difference between me and the bandit?¡± ¡°What about the savior? He didn¡¯t rely on his strength¡­ I wonder what his goal is.¡± Recalling the image of Niu Chang in her mind, the madness that was suppressed suddenly erupted again with greater momentum. ¡°That¡¯s right! My savior didn¡¯t rely on his strength to be who he was, so what if I am weak?¡± The dimmed eyes slowly regained their light. ¡°HAHAHA¡­ So what if you are strong?! Since you want to enter my mind, I will let you enter it. I want to see if your will and determination is stronger than mine. Can you even break the image of my savior?!¡± Dong Qiuyue let go of her struggle, she could sense her mind was expanded and many unfamiliar memories appeared. But what¡¯s more important was that someone tried to erase her consciousness and replaced it with theirs. The area under Dong Qiuyue¡¯s control was easily defeated and claimed by the invader¡¯s consciousness. Even with her strong determination, Dong Qiuyue¡¯s will alone couldn¡¯t resist the powerful force. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Dong Qiuyue didn¡¯t not wavered at all since she remembered the advice from her savior, ¡°the heart was complicated and hard to control, because of this you need to put priority on your heart.¡± The image of her savior became Dong Qiuyue¡¯s focus. She could let go of everything but she wouldn¡¯t let go of her first priority. All areas of Dong Qiuyue¡¯s mind had already become dark and controlled by the invader¡¯s will, but it was unable to control the last piece of Dong Qiuyue¡¯s consciousness. Even so, with only that small consciousness that no longer remembers who she was or what she was. Only the obsession of following that figure in the image left, now she is officially dead. The invader¡¯s attack stopped since they already control everything and the original consciousness no longer has anything. On the outside world. ¡®Dong Qiuyue¡¯ opened her eyes. But her eyes were cold and lightless. She moved her arms in awkwards way to check her body. After a few attempts, she became familiar with the new body. Even after a complete possession over a living body, the original headless beauty didn¡¯t have the intelligence of a living human. It seems, the cause of her becoming a ghost was not perfect leaving this defect to her intelligence. Without any spiritual intelligence, the ghost moves by instinct which is to feed only living being vitality. Humans cultivate the qi by meditating or consuming elixir. While other creatures also have their own path of cultivation. Animals could evolve into ferocious beasts after living for a long time or consuming a rare herb, the plants evolve after absorbing enough spiritual essence of heaven and earth, as for strange creatures like evil spirits or ghosts, they cultivate by absorbing the life essence of other living beings. ¡®Dong Qiuyue¡¯ then continued to find the corpse that hadn''t been eaten by her due to the sudden appearance of Dong Qiuyue. . . . ¡°Senior brother, should we stop at this village for today?¡± Wei Hong used her sweet voice to ask her senior brother. ¡°Let''s ask the villagers about this village first.¡± Wan You, the senior brother, has a calm demeanor like a true prominent martial artist. He calmly responded to his problematic junior sister. Both of them wear clean and neat robes. With white inner garment and fitting long-sleeved robe on the outside. But this was not their sect formal attire, they were on vacation- training in the outside world. Wan You always tried to delay his promise to accompany his junior sister, but he already delayed it for more than a year. He felt guilty to delay it any further and finally came to this small village. ¡°Okay okay, I will let you ask them, senior brother.¡± Wei Hong grabbed her senior brother¡¯ hand and shook them while smiling. ¡°Ahem, pay attention to your image. You are no longer a child.¡± Wan You pulled back his hand and reprimanded Wei Hong with a kind tone. But his face was cold showing his disciplined character. ¡°I understand, how many times do you want to repeat that? I''m already tired of hearing the same word over and over. Senior brother, can¡¯t you come up with a new sentence?¡± Wei Hong crossed her hands on her chest, she was no longer able to contain herself when hearing the same word her brother said more than twenty times on their journey. ¡°You¡­ just don¡¯t make any problems.¡± Wei Hong chose to compromise with his immature junior sister. Both of them entered the village looking for some villagers to ask. They look around the village with different thoughts. Wei Hong was looking around with interest since this was the first village that really expanded her vision. ¡°Wow, senior brother, this should be the first village that is very poor in our journey right? I mean the previous villages weren''t this poor, at least their houses were not as bad as the houses in this village.¡± Wan You looked at his junior sister whose mouth didn¡¯t have any filter at all and said everything that came up in her mind. ¡°Watch your mouth.¡± He only gave her a warning. Hearing the harsh tone of her senior brother, Wei Hong quickly closed her mouth and covered them with her hands. She looked at the side profile of Wan You, and let out a sigh of relief in her heart. ¡®Thank goodness that senior brother didn¡¯t get really mad. Or else¡­¡¯ Wei Hong no longer dared to continue her thought. She knew how strict her senior brother was, he rather chose to train all day long instead of wasting any time. But because of Wan You¡¯s strong character he entered the top ten strongest disciples in their sect. Since Wan You didn¡¯t want to attract any unwanted attention, no one knew his true strength. But some speculated he should be at least in the top three. Wei Hong kept her mouth shut, but her eyes kept wandering left and right. Her expression kept changing from surprise and confusion. ¡®How can these villagers live in such a poor environment?¡¯ She wanted to voice her question to her senior brother, but she chose to stop since she saw a villager walking towards them. The villager was a man in his late forties, his face was dark and wrinkled due to working under the sun everyday. His body didn¡¯t have any unnecessary fat but the muscle didn¡¯t protrude either. He wore thin brown clothes with dirty pants. The man stopped and quickly bowed to the pair. It was the ethics of a normal civilian when encountering martial artists. This might be different from a big city, but here in this small village, no one cares about the villager life except for themselves. So, instead of being rude it''s better for them to misunderstand anyone as a martial artist. There was no loss of doing so, but not doing so will cost them their lives. The man gave way to the pair to not block them and kept his head down the entire time. Taking an initiative might offend the other party, so it''s better for the villager to be silent until they leave. The villager would only talk when asked. Wan You and Wei Hong stopped a few steps from the man. Noticing this development, the man quickly played the role of a good villager to save his life. ¡°This lowly one greets the two esteemed guests.¡± ¡°You can raise your head, no need to be that formal.¡± Wan You said casually. As a righteous sect disciple, he naturally wouldn¡¯t bully the weak villager. The villager let out a sigh of relief in his heart and raised his head. He didn¡¯t dare to look at Wei Hong behind the man in front of him. ¡°Esteemed guests, please ask away what you want to know. I will try my best to answer your question.¡± ¡°Tell me about this village?¡± Wan You asked directly. Chapter 21 - The Impossible Idea On the uneven road. Niu Chang was busy digesting the information and experience he gathered from the previous battle. It would take almost the whole day until he reached the Yellow Soil Village. So he thought it would be better to deduce various things like cultivation methods and martial skills. ¡®No matter how many times I try to make a plan, it all depends on my karma points.¡¯ Niu Chang called out the system to show him his information. [Host : Niu Chang] [Karma point : 7982] [Cultivation : Qi - Third rate, Body - Third rate] [Skill : Kendo, Impact, Rapid Leaf Step. More.] ¡®My karma points is around eight thousand, this should be enough to increase my survivability when encountering enemies.¡¯ No matter what, Niu Chang chose to be steady and put his safety first above anything. ¡®System, increase Automatic System Answerer to perfection proficiency.¡¯ Automatic System Answerer was a psychological skill that helped Niu Chang to instantaneously, in theory, accept the task given by the system without any delay. His mind and body would react before he could think and choose the second option. So no matter how fragile his body was, as long as he could receive the invincibility buff from the system, he could avoid any one sure kill attack. Because no matter how hidden and powerful the enemies were, as long as they chose to establish karma with Niu Chang, the system would always react without any delay. With the Automatic System Answerer, Niu Chang no longer needs to be wary of everyone in his life. ¡®You want to kill me? Have you asked my system and Automatic System Answerer?¡¯ [Increasing the Automatic System Answerer to proficiency to perfect requires 1795.] ¡®Confim.¡¯ ¡®1795 is too cheap for having my life protected by the invincibility buff from the system.¡¯ Niu Chang tried to guess the reason for the cheap price. ¡®The first reason naturally is that the difficulty is not that hard. This can be seen from how a pavlov dog or any animal trained to do something specific with a cue.¡¯ ¡®The second reason is because the skill is very limited to one-to-one use cases. System gives the task and the mind gives the answer.¡¯ But Niu Chang wasn''t satisfied with only having invincibility buff from the system. What if he encounters someone that is really talented and has skills that are beyond their realm? Let''s say, the chosen ones? The darling of heavenly dao? The true main character? In this case, the buff from the system would be breached. ¡®So the next case is to increase my defense. The people in this world mainly cultivate the qi to increase their strength, so I need a skill that uses qi to provide strong and impregnable defense.¡¯ Niu Chang didn¡¯t really know about the mainstream cultivation in this world, but he chose to make an assumption. Since he would have an increase of qi in his body with unlimited supply thanks to the buff. He wanted to create a skill that didn¡¯t care about qi consumption, it would suck dry the user in exchange for powerful defense. But being strong from frontal attack alone was not enough to make an impregnable defense, it also needed to have a powerful foundation. The enemies couldn¡¯t shake the qi circulation at all as to guarantee the operation of the skill. Stable and robust. ¡®Stable means nothing can shake the internal structure and robust means nothing can deal any damage.¡¯ With his first life knowledge after reading so many stories where the logic was out of question, Niu Chang resentfully made many methods for the main characters to properly increase their power. There were endless ideas and many martial skill or cultivation methods that Niu Chang made in his first life, but they were only ideas and thoughts, even after carefully recalling them one by one, the system didn¡¯t register them into the database. The meaning was clear, the idea was good but it still needed to be improved according to this world''s principles. After increasing his survivability to their limit for the present time, Niu Chang wanted to increase his cultivation level. He was curious, ¡®I fused many cultivation methods with my Transformation Energy previously, the profundity should be increased due to this, my cultivation level should decrease. But the system still shows a third rate stage.¡¯ This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. To confirm his thought, Niu Chang asked the system. ¡®System, cultivate Transformation Energy to the third rate stage.¡¯ ¡®Cultivates the Transformation Energy to the third rate stage requires 1890 karma points.¡¯ It was not far from his prediction, so Niu Chang was rather calm. But he didn¡¯t directly choose to increase his qi cultivation level. After having a battle with the first rate stage cultivation, Niu Chang didn¡¯t feel anything useful except from having more qi and allowed him to increase his physical attributes and coat his body or weapon with qi. This was clearly not very efficient and practical for Niu Chang. Although he chose to be steady and careful, it doesn''t mean he would relax behind the shadow and thought he would be safe. ¡®Since I already decided to use my qi solely for defensive means, I actually don¡¯t need to increase my qi cultivation level. Instead I should increase my body cultivation level.¡¯ Body cultivation was the true cultivation path for male. Toned muscle and endless stamina, this is what defines masculinity. Which man didn¡¯t want to have a muscular body and the power to kill any enemies with only one slap? At least Niu Chang was such a person. But the problem was that Niu Chang¡¯s Basic Body Refinement cultivation method didn¡¯t allow him to increase his level. ¡®That¡¯s easy.¡¯ Niu Chang confidently thought to himself. In his imaginary vision, he opened a huge book and slowly turned the pages. Then he found many body cultivation methods that he had read and made before. Ultimate Tyrant Body Art. Heavenly Emperor Indestructible Body. Innate Primordial Vessel. Chaotic Cosmos Scripture. Expansion and Compression Art. Fire Lightning Refinement. There were many more that Niu Chang had in his mind, but those were enough to show how deep his accumulation was. The last two were his own creation. Expansion and Compression Art was to expand the physical body first then compress it in the second half. With this method, the physical body could retain the previous increase of physical attributes but still maintain the aesthetic value of humans and the strength became more integrated and fully refined under the practitioner''s control. Naturally, if needed the practitioner could unleash their body''s full potential and become a giant to break anything that was blocking the path. Fire Lightning Refinement was to use the destructive power of fire and lightning to destroy the body to increase its upper limit. Niu Chang already thought about the core of body cultivation, which is to let the body grow beyond its limit and the easiest way was to damage it then let it slowly recover with a higher limit than before. It was also this simple truth that not many chose body cultivation because damaging the body to let it grow was too painful. It could be said that the greater the pain the greater the result. For this problem, he didn¡¯t even need to use one percent of his brain to solve this problem. ¡°Just turn off your pain receptors.¡± With the pain receptors being unavailable, there was simply no problem in damaging the body to increase the cultivation level. The only drawback was that the practitioner needed to pay attention to their training since they couldn¡¯t tell how severe their injuries were due to being unable to feel the pain. As long as they supplied with endless vitality to maintain their life, the practitioner virtually could stroll leisurely to become immortal. But that idea was for Niu Chang in the past. Now he has the legendary golden finger, he no longer needs an ¡®ordinary¡¯ body cultivation method. Since his system skips the training part and directly gave him the result of cultivating his body. It was a fact he realized after cultivating his body with Basic Body Refinement to third rate which should have many inconveniences. A cultivation method that ignores the life of its practitioner to reap the highest result. The body should be destroyed beyond the limit as to bring the most authentic destruction then the body will be reconstructed as to complement the previous step which was creation. One step to destruction and one step to creation. Only through the cycle of destruction and creation could the practitioner gain the true essence of body cultivation. But that alone was not enough. The power that accumulated from the cycle of destruction and creation needs to be refined and compressed into a pure and stable form. So Niu Chang decided to add many ideas from his database. Expansion and Compression Art will be responsible for the compressing the abundant energy, Fire Lightning Refinement will be responsible for refining the energy, Ultimate Tyrant Body Art and Heavenly Emperor Indestructible Body will become its foundation, Innate Primordial Vessel and Chaotic Cosmos Scripture will the storage for vitality in the body. Niu Chang called this ridiculous cultivation method the Impossible Idea. it was straight to the point since this cultivation method only works on theory only! No human or any living being could cultivate it since they will die at the first step, the destruction of the body, before they could start the second step. So he took his time pondering and thinking. Deducing this body cultivation method by using his Basic Body Refinement as the step stone. Niu Chang unknowingly forgot the outside world and was fully immersed in his own sea of thought. Not only the previous body cultivation methods, but he add left and right to make sure every part of his body wouldn''t go waste and be properly utilized by him. Finally he got confirmation from the system that the Impossible Idea was registered. Feeling thrilled with such a stupidly powerful cultivation method, Niu Chang commanded the system with a slight trembling voice. ¡®System, cultivate the Impossible Idea to the first level.¡¯ ¡®I hope the price will not be too high or I can only cry.¡¯ As for the reason why Niu Chang didn¡¯t raise it to the third rate stage was because he didn¡¯t think the Impossible Idea followed normal advancement like qi cultivation. ¡®Cultivating the Impossible Idea to the first level requires 5000 karma points.¡¯ ¡®Confirm!¡¯ Niu Chang didn¡¯t think twice about his karma points or asking the system why the price was lower than he expected. He wanted to see how strong he would become after completing the first cycle of destruction and creation. Woosh. Surge of energy entered Niu Chang¡¯s body from the void and slowly transformed his body. The bones let out cracking sounds, the blood let out sizzling sounds, and other parts of his body let out terrifying sounds. If it was an ordinary person, hearing such a sound only meant one thing. That person suffer the most painful torture in their life before finally succumb to their death. But Niu Chang felt he was taking a comfortable rest. One second he felt like soaking in warm water and the next second cooling himself in his bedroom. The combo between the two gave him endless pleasure that he went limp and laid down on the road with a silly smile on his face. ¡°AH~¡± Chapter 22 - Esteemed Guests Niu Chang was laying down on the entire time while having seizures and moaning like boneless noodle. Everytime he wanted to calm his mind and woke up from such shameful display, he was helpless. Then he remembered the saying that if you can¡¯t stop it then enjoy it. With that, Niu Chang fully accepted the baptism in his body. Now without any limitation, he sounded like a crazy person. Sometimes moaning, sometimes giggling, and sometimes he said incohenrent words. Fifteen minutes passed. Niu Chang finally stopped receiving the endless supply of pure energy from the void, his body slowed their transformation before finally come into an end. With his eyes facing the sky, it was already past afternoon and soon the night would come. Niu Chang¡¯s mind was empty and he began to question everything. Was his life on the correct path? Was his choice correct? Before he fully woke up after the empty state of mind, Niu Chang unconsciously redirected his focus towards cultivation. What martial skill will he need the most for the present? How to fully dig out the qi utilization potential and many more. Without him realizing it, his clear minded state abruptly stopped not long after. Niu Chang sat up and wiped away the drool around his mouth, he was frowning. ¡®Did¡­ I just have post-nut clarity?¡¯ Niu Chang laughed to himself, he stood up and cleaned the dirt on his clothes. Looking back at the sky, he was sure that when he arrived at the Yellow Soil Village it would already be night. ¡®Let¡¯s hurry up.¡¯ With that in mind, he hastened his steps. Organizing the scattered thoughts while he was in a clear minded state, Niu Chang received a good sum of ideas to ponder on for two more days. Now he just needs a good and quiet place to test his idea then a true martial skill that utilizes qi will be registered in his system. When Niu Chang saw his village from afar, he was happy. The sky wasn¡¯t darkened yet, at best the red sun was casting a long shadow on the ground. It was thanks to his cultivation level that he was faster than his initial estimation. About his cultivation level, the newly cultivated physical body reached the first cycle of destruction and creation. The Impossible Idea was truly profound even Niu Chang as its creator was still full of questions as to what he can and can¡¯t do. The more he tested his theories to the limit of his Impossible Idea the more he realized that he became a walking experiments subject waiting to be dissect. But he still has a grasp as to what he has achieved so far. First level or the first cycle provided a strong overall increase of Niu Chang¡¯s physical attributes. Strength, endurance, agility, and vitality were abundant than before. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. If Niu Chang wanted to compare his present body with something else, it would be when he received ten buff stacks from the system when he faced ten ordinary bandits. Roughly his strength equal to ten men compressed together inside his tiny body, but different from the ten stack from the system, his strength was refined and compressed as a single entity. The system only provided a crude power boost not properly adjusted according to the host¡¯s body. It''s like increasing quantity to crush quality. Like comparing a sand castle without any proper construction facing a well built house. The sand castle only won by its virtue of quantity, smashing the well built house with its weight alone. Then the next improvement was a new dormant energy in Niu Chang¡¯s body. This energy was different from vitality and lifeforce, as it was purely generated because of his Impossible Idea. Niu Chang tried many methods, but he was unable to do anything with this new energy. This made him really disappointed and angry, what was the thing that he hated the most? That was when the author made the main character gain something like a powerful weapon or technique, but the main character was unable to discover anything, only for it to play a crucial role to escape a life and death situation. Everytime Niu Chang encountered this kind of trope he really wanted to tear down the fourth wall and slap the main character on the back of their head and order them to properly study this mystery. But facing the same condition, Niu Chang was feeling uncomfortable. ¡®Damnit, I want to see how far you can hide from me? This Lord will strip all your secrets off and use you to my heart content.¡¯ As for now, Niu Chang only labeled this energy as innate energy. The reason came from the stories he read before emphasizing that body cultivation always brought the concept of turning postnatal state into innate state. When achieving an innate state, the cultivator will have a new energy which is called innate energy. Niu Chang had a few guesses in his heart, but these guesses came from many body cultivation methods that he fused into the Impossible Idea which he no longer can tell which is which. The result of fusion brought out a miraculous result and Niu Chang actually got innate energy faster than he previously deduced. In his proposed theory, he should achieve this feat when his body cultivation level reaches the first qualitative change. There were still many things to explore but the time was too short. Walking past the village entrance, Niu Chang directly went to his old and broken house. While walking, he saw the village still the same. Weak body, thin and ugly clothes, wrinkled face due to being under the sun all day. Reaching his house, Niu Chang suddenly saw his neighbor waving at him. A woman in her late thirties, when she saw Niu Chang walking toward her, she let out a sigh of relief. Niu Chang with his placid face stood not far from the low fence. Before he could ask a question the woman already started talking. ¡°Niu Chang, I never know you will survive and come back. Did you have a bad time outside?¡± She then took a glance at the sack carried by Niu Chang, but she couldn¡¯t see the content. ¡°Whatever happens to you on the outside of the village that is all your problem, but in the village we need to help each other. You can¡¯t use your house now since esteemed guests were using them.¡± Pausing for a moment to watch Niu Chang¡¯s reaction, the woman then continued. ¡°It looks like you''re pretty good, now go back where you came from and look somewhere else to sleep in.¡± The woman didn¡¯t chase Niu Chang away with a hand gesture, but her eyes were looking down on the dull face of Niu Chang. If it was in the past where Niu Chang still needed time to gather his strength, he would silently agree to it. But now, he has some means thanks to his golden finger, he chose to be more participating in his surroundings. ¡°I see,¡± standing on the same spot, without showing any emotions he asked. ¡°Can you tell me what this is all about? Why did the esteemed guests come to our village?¡± The woman sneered, ¡°what do you want to know? Just lift your foot and walk away.¡± Niu Chang sighed in his heart. The three years playing dumb on the outside really made a good result. Now everyone in the village took him as a soft persimmon. But there was no fluctuation in his heart, he was too tired to care about a mere villager in the middle of nowhere. ¡®I already thought about this problem. Why does the life of the main characters in the stories seem more enticing? And why didn''t I experience it at all in the two days after my system activated?¡¯ ¡®The answer was very clear.¡¯ Niu Chang looked at the woman in front of him, ¡®trash talk and stupid people is needed to brighten up this long journey.¡¯ Niu Chang turns around and looks for a friendlier villager to ask about this problem. He didn¡¯t act rashly like entering his house and waiting for those so-called esteemed guests to arrive. Then a story developed from them talking and underestimating each other then a fight broke out and the winner naturally Niu Chang with his cheat. ¡®But sadly, there is no guarantee that such a thing will happen. What if the enemy is some old monster who disguised themselves?¡¯ Niu Chang has some acquaintance in this village that he was rather close to, after asking two of them and getting the same answers. Niu Chang finally understands what happened in his village. ¡®A demonic beast trace was found in the forest near the village. The third son of Li family found a big snake scale and reported this to his parents. Then after discussion, the village sent someone to the Yellow Village asking for help.¡¯ ¡®The finding of the demon snake scale happened in the morning and the village sent the messenger not long after, but the helper was already here. A wandering martial artist?¡¯ Niu Chang guessed the identity of people who occupied his house, but he couldn¡¯t understand. ¡®Why are they choosing my house instead of a better house of another villager?¡¯ The demonic beast was the term used by mortals to address the animal that evolved and stepped on the cultivation path. The big snake scale proved it was a snake demon, but according to the villager. It was as big as the palm of an adult, certainly it was not a newly promoted demon snake but an old and strong one. For mortals, the demonic beast was a nightmare, but for martial artists they were walking treasure troves. Every part of the demonic beast body was precious treasure for them, the blood and flesh could be used as a supplement to increase their cultivation, the skin could be used as decoration and many more. Everytime news of the demonic beast appeared, countless martial artists would swarm in to get their hands on it. After learning the ins and outs of the event, Niu Chang wandered around the village looking for a place to sleep in. But after thinking about it, he recalled the ownerless house in the village should be full of dust and need a lot of time to clean them. Niu Chang didn¡¯t want to waste his precious time just to clean a house. Although he couldn¡¯t use violence to take over the villagers¡¯ house, he could pay them for staying for a night or two. Niu Chang found his answer and without any hesitation walked towards the house he had thought of. In front of an ordinary broken house, Niu Chang knocked on the door. The knocking sound was weak but enough to announce his present to the owner.not long after Niu Chang heard footsteps from the inside. The door opened, a nineteen years old girl appeared. She looked straight but only found a bundle of hair, then lowered her vision to finally find Niu Chang in front of her. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you. The orphan from¡­¡± The girl tried to recall something but found nothing then gave up. ¡°What do you want?¡± She looks rather impatient, but she didn¡¯t directly slam the door to chase away Niu Chang. Looking at the teenage girl, Niu Chang recalled information about her. Qin Qing, an orphan, and her parents died in the previous winter. There was not much information about Qin Qing, but the fact she has some connection with one fateful encounter of Niu Chang, was enough to raise her status from mob into npc. That was not the only reason why Niu Chang chose her, Qin Qing was only a teenager and thus her life should be harder than the rest of the villagers, so she should need money the most. Niu Chang could look for a better place, but human greed was endless. If he showed them a glimpse of what was inside his sack, they would accept Niu Chang and then they either kill him or falsely accuse Niu Chang was stealing from them. With that in mind, the weak and in-need of money Qin Qing seems the best option for Niu Chang. ¡°Can I rest at your place tonight?¡± Niu Chang asked. But Qin Qing''s face contorted then turned dark. Niu Chang suddenly realized his words were too ambiguous, then he quickly added an explanation. ¡°My house was taken by the martial artists from the outside and now I am homeless, can I stay at your place until they leave?¡± Only then Qin Qing let go of her anger, ¡°why don¡¯t you say so early?!¡± She shouted with the last bit of her anger then slowly calmed down. ¡°I understand, but why me? I heard you have a good neighbor, the uncle¡­¡± When she tried to remember about Niu Chang¡¯s information, she abruptly stopped her mouth. She recalled that uncle was found dead not far from their village yesterday. Then Qin Qing looked at the small child in front of her, an absurd idea arose in her mind. ¡®It¡¯s not possible for him.¡¯ Chapter 23 - Dinner The sudden finding of the demonic beast scale was unexpected for every villager in Yellow Soil Village. No one wanted to do nothing and wait for their own death. Requesting help from the Yellow Village was just the first step, from the Yellow Village there will be some discussion and in the end they will also request help from a bigger and stronger faction, Heichen city. It would take half a day from Yellow Soil Village to Yellow Village and it would take another one day from Yellow Village to Heichen city. The sudden appearance of wandering martial artists naturally was good news for the villagers and they treat these martial artists with utmost hospitality. Considering the safety of the entire village and her own life, Qin Qing finished her internal calculation and chose to lend Niu Chang a hand. ¡°Ahem, you can come in first.¡± She widened the entrance by pushing the door and gesturing to Niu Chang to enter. ¡®In the end, he was just a boy. If he dares to do anything funny. Hmph, I want to see him do it.¡¯ Niu Chang was slightly surprised but he didn¡¯t show any change of expression and entered the house without any delay. ¡®She is surprisingly kind?¡¯ Niu Chang almost never had direct contact with Qin Qing before, so he only heard stories about her. The rumor says that on the day her parents died, she didn¡¯t even cry. The exact reason was unknown but many speculated their own theories. Some say she was just in denial and unable to process the sudden misfortune while the others lean towards her as just a heartless girl. The house interior was not too big but not too small either. Looking around, Niu Chang found not much furniture inside the house except the essential ones. Then his gaze fixed on the table in the room, the few wooden cups and two kinds of food were placed on it. ¡®It is only rice and some stirred vegetables.¡¯ Niu Chang was already used to this kind of food. He too, after the death of his parents, having rice itself was already a luxury for him and his sister. Niu Bai always complained about their food, but Niu Chang always told her not to be too demanding lest she overworked her small body. He needed her more to stay alive than having more food, only with Niu Bai working could Niu Chang have a good time to study martial arts. Qin Qing who on the side followed Niu Chang¡¯s gaze immediately commented. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it. It¡¯s only natural for those who work to eat, since you didn¡¯t work you can¡¯t eat.¡± The decision was final, except if Niu Chang could give her something in exchange. But seeing that Niu Chang no longer looked at her dinner, Qin Qing snorted inwardly then walked towards the dinner table to continue her dinner. But when she sat down and was ready to pick her chopstick, she saw a small shadow was following her. ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you?¡± Qin Qing stared directly at Niu Chang¡¯s face without hiding her displeasure. It was still the same old Niu Chang with the placid face, that was effective to trigger those who weren¡¯t close with him. ¡°I will pay you for it.¡± Niu Chang extended his fist and opened it. There was one coin on his palm. Qin Qing who at her limit immediately stupefied looking at the coin on Niu Chang¡¯s palm. She was taken aback by this sudden turn of event and the gears in her head were stopped. With a blank look, she then shook her head to regain the focus. ¡°Are you sure?¡± She shifted her gaze from the coin towards Niu Chang¡¯s face. She was rather uncomfortable, although she was short tempered, she was also rather kind. One coin was more than enough to buy her entire dinner, but Niu Chang offered her directly. ¡®Is this kid¡¯s head problematic? Didn¡¯t they say he is learning how to read and write? Did his sister not teach him the value of money at all?¡¯ The more she thought about it, the more she felt the fuse in her mind slowly burn out. ¡°Just take it as food money for the time I stay here, if it¡¯s not enough I will pay you later.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Ah,¡± finally Qin Qing found her salvation from overthinking and looked at Niu Chang with a gentler gaze. ¡°Okay, sit down and eat.¡± She was no longer repulsive about Niu Chang taking shelter in her house and eating her food. ¡°Just don¡¯t eat too much.¡± Niu Chang sat down and stared at the dinner table. Since it was a dinner for one, naturally there was only one set of utensils. Qin Qing, who already picked her chopsticks and brought the food to her mouth, stopped once again. ¡°Can¡¯t you not look at me like that? Can¡¯t you be more normal? Okay, okay, I will get you your bowl and chopstick.¡± Her tone was harsh but she only did it because Niu Chang kept interrupting her. She pushed her chair back and stood up, walking towards the kitchen. Niu Chang sitting on the chair, now can carefully inspect the food on the table. The rice was not that high quality, it¡¯s not pure white and the texture was too mushy. The smell was clouded with some other smell that Niu Chang didn¡¯t know of. Then he glanced at the vegetable, the main dish of this dinner. Overcooked and the age of vegetables were too old, they are mainly the ones that grow all year round and are easy to cultivate. Hearing the footsteps approaching, Niu Chang raised his head and looked at the Qin Qing who brought a small bowl and chopstick on each hand. Short hair, small eyes, small nose, small mouth, and short. The overall score according to Niu Chang¡¯s taste was slightly below average. It was at the level of passerby, not worth being detailed drawn. Niu Chang couldn¡¯t help but ask himself. ¡®Is this the legendary, short-tempered, short-stature, and bad at cooking tsundere?¡¯ Being watched by Niu Chang¡¯s scrutinizing gaze, Qin Qing only gave him a fierce look in her eyes. She sat down noisily and pushed the bowl and chopstick harshly towards Niu Chang. Then she only focused on her dinner and didn¡¯t make other sounds. Niu Chang took the bowl, filled it with the bad rice, then he picked the chopstick and started picking the overcooked vegetables. He didn¡¯t expect too much, in his mind as long as he could have something to fill his stomach, nothing worth his attention. Surprisingly enough, his tranquil state of mind was disturbed by the amazing flavor brought by the rice texture which propelled his tongue off the way and the vegetables caused his mouth to be sour both by their taste and their hardness. There was only a slight change on his face, but that¡¯s all. He chopped the drive to spit the food away and turned into his emotionless, unfeeling and unworldly mode. The time passed by without any sound, only the cold wind of the night could be heard accompanying the duo''s dinner. Qin Qing then remembered something important, she stopped her hands from stuffing more food into her mouth and looked at Niu Chang in front of her. She was having a difficult time coming up with words and her face was a mix of various emotions, such as guilt, shame, and hatred. But everything was washed away when she saw Niu Chang without any emotion with machine-like movement eating calmly. Not even batting an eye to her. Qin Qing: ¡°...¡± And more silence followed. In the end she only swallowed her thoughts and followed suit by eating quietly. After having ¡®a dinner¡¯, Niu Chang with his emotionless, unfeeling and unworldly mode looked at Qin Qing. There was no need for him to talk or bother with small things, in this mode he only cared about results and practicality only. Qin Qing unexpectedly does not make any scene and understands what Niu Chang wants to say and opens her mouth. ¡°Go there and choose any room that you like.¡± After nodding his head, Niu Chang walked towards the direction that Qin Qing pointed. After leaving the scene, he turned off his machine mode. ¡°Bah.¡± Niu Chang opened his mouth without any sound, he felt disgusted by the feeling in his mouth. Nothing could wash away this awful taste, not even the soda from his previous life. ¡®If it''s only the taste then so be it, but my mouth felt stiff too.¡¯ He was helpless and could only complain in his heart. ¡®Maybe I should take the task of cooking the food next time. For my mouth health and to not affect my cultivation.¡¯ Niu Chang arrived and stopped. In front of him were two doors, left and right. After giving it a thought, he opened the right door. Taking a peek into the room, he then went to the left room to compare them. The left room was bigger and more neat, so he chose the left room. There was no dust on the surface of the furniture and the floor. ¡®It seems that she was not that heartless after all to take care of her deceased parents? Or maybe she is just a clean freak.¡¯ Suppressing the uncomfortable feeling in his mouth, Niu Chang sat down on the bed and started his nightly routine. To ponder and deduce his ideas. To digest the experience he gathered on the day and learned from any mistakes he made. The first one that Niu Chang chose to start his study was the qi utilization and the creation of martial skills that utilize qi in their methods. With a thought, Niu Chang controlled the Transformation Energy qi in his body with utmost importance. He watched how they behave under much stimulation to test his conjunctures. Then he moved to the next step to watch how the qi moved in his body. These two were the fundamental knowledge of qi in general, he took his time efficiently and moved to the third step. The third step was to explore the nature of his ultimate qi cultivation method which uses transformation as its core. All-encompassing, unlimited growth, and endlessly evolving. There were more than twenty cultivation methods smelted into Transformation Energy, so it was granted that Transformation Energy qi also could transform into twenty different types of qi with different attributes and nature. This night would be a long night. But the moon was there accompanying Niu Chang for the whole time, watching silently and giving him the dim moonlight. Chapter 24 - Fantasy Fantasy was a big word with many uses and one of them was used as a genre in many stories and books. For those stories with fantasy genre they mainly used many elements that defy logic and the natural order like water is wet, water flowing to the lower place, fire is hot, and many more. But thanks to a certain element that being used as a universal term to be the reason and cause of such unnatural phenomena was called magic. Magic uses magical energy to allow the user to rewrite or bend the world around them to their heart wishes. Watching the characters use various magic to push and liven up the story, it was inevitable the reader would want to try it for themselves. But some of those readers also wanted to be the best in it. They began to ask the most crucial question. What is magic? ¡°Magic is what your heart defines.¡± ¡°Magic is the utilization of magical energy through certain calculations and casting to bring changes into the real world.¡± ¡°Magic is a miracle!¡± Various characters have their own definition and various books also have their own definition. But after reading so many books and stories, the truth showed itself even if someone didn¡¯t try to think about it. There was no need to make simple things difficult, no need to obscure the truth with one¡¯s own sentiments and cognition filled with biases. Magic is fantasy. Fantasy gave birth to magic. Fantasy rooted in one¡¯s mind. To bend reality, rewrite the world and challenge logic. Only the wishful mind of an immature mind could do such things. So to be the best in magic one¡¯s only need to have a good mind. A rational yet still fresh mind to see through every falsity and rule the reality with one thought. But sadly, such a simple thing was slaughtered, shitted on, and spitted in disdain just for the story''s convenience. As for who to blame, that¡¯s the real question. . . . Niu Chang was playing with his Transformation Energy qi and concluded the last experiment. ¡®Phew, that was faster than I thought.¡¯ Niu Chang took a glance towards the night sky from the small gaps in his room. It was still dark, nothing was worth mentioning. As long as Niu Chang felt it was not too late, no matter the night sky situation, he would take as the night was still long. ¡®As I thought, the qi in general was just energy. An all-purpose kind of energy that can be used as anything to do anything.¡¯ ¡®If not for its small amount, the ability to change the whole reality itself was not an impossible task.¡¯ Recalling his own understanding on what magic or qi is in his previous life, Niu Chang bravely ignored the unknown and locked his own theory as the truth. ¡®So what if my theory is wrong? Look at the 999th cultivation level, the Ultimate Genesis Primordial Chaos Emperor God Saint isn¡¯t at their level, one thought enough to change the concept of reality itself?¡¯ ''So what rules or restrictions are there in this world that can shackle their will?'' ¡®With that in mind, how could my own theory be wrong? Just because I can¡¯t do it right now doesn''t mean my theory is wrong!¡¯ Niu Chang thought of another example in his mind. Purposely a certified mentally disabled person who was an adult has the 999th cultivation level. No matter how slow and dull his thinking will be, his words will become the rule and his action will dominate everything. With this kind of thinking and belief, Niu Chang was already set up to create martial skill just by thinking and pondering. ¡®Since the qi was omnipotent energy from a certain perspective, there was no need to make things difficult. Just use the mind to mobilize them to use a martial skill.¡¯ Just imagine it, he said. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. If any martial artist heard the audacity of ignorant Niu Chang. They would raise their eyebrows and hum loudly. ¡°Humph, the ignorance of youngster?!¡± ¡°Such audacity. You don¡¯t know the immensity of heaven and earth!¡± Niu Chang chose to ignore this ridiculous thought in his mind and started to calm his excited heart. ¡®Finally it¡¯s here! The thing that the reincarnator or transmigrator never did in their story.¡¯ As an avid reader, it was unavoidable for Niu Chang to read stories that were beyond him. The main character was naive, then that¡¯s fine. The main character was stupid, that''s also fine. But when he saw the main character who clearly called genius and had a strong reader background in their previous life but never once did they try to open the Pandora box and really made Niu Chang¡¯s kidney hurt so much. If Niu Chang was inside one of those stories, he would already puked a mouthful of blood and then passed away in anger. With only resentment in his heart, not even hell wad able to contain his frustration. In the clear minded state without any distracting thoughts, Niu Chang imagined the world in his mind. The world was blurry and didn¡¯t have any clear detail but the sense and nuance were there in Niu Chang¡¯s heart. ¡°Tree.¡± A tree suddenly emerged in this desolate world, even the sky wasn¡¯t properly thought of by its own creator. With the sudden appearance of the tree, the other elements followed suit. The down direction from the tree, soil and earth bloomed. The tree was big and reaching towards heaven, when this thought arose, the sky followed suit to exist. The crown was verdant and lush, standing under the towering tree, Niu Chang could feel the refreshing feeling from it. The first martial skill that Niu Chang wanted to create was the advanced version of Rapid Leaf Step. A sudden gust of wind reached the tree crown. But it didn¡¯t shake its trunk, only a large amount of leaves started to fall down. Due to the nature of human¡¯s mind, the limitation of focus was there. Niu Chang could only imagine ¡®leaves¡¯ but he couldn¡¯t project what kind of leaves in his mind. Watching the green, inconceivable falling leaves, Niu Chan tried to catch this fleeting feeling of event in his mind and heart. Feeling the blowing wind on his skin, the bright blue sky, the towering tree, the shade under the tree, and finally the countless leaves falling in front of his eyes. ¡®The qi followed the thought and the thought followed the mind, the mind followed the heart and the heart followed the will.¡¯ ¡®But the will is sometimes under the control of the heart and vice versa, only the body movement or concrete language can incite both the will and heart at the same time.¡¯ ¡®But this is not what I want. Not limited by any gestures or body movement, not limited by oral command or specific words, I want my heart to be unrestricted!¡¯ ¡®Since the will and heart is fragile, then let it be.¡¯ Hearing the bustling wind carrying the countless leaves around him, Niu Chang slowly grasped the ethereal feeling in his heart. All he needed was to capture the nuance then he all set. Niu Chang opened his eyes, he was in his room but the Transformation Energy qi in his body was constantly moving as if following an invisible path inside Niu Chang¡¯s body. Without stopping the instinctual response from his qi, Niu Chang let go all his thoughts and solely immersed himself deep in the nuance of falling leaves. The dim white qi of Transformation Energy was filled with green spots. As the time passed by, the green spots slowly dyed every qi in the body. Wind slowly aroused around Niu Chang¡¯s body, he was feeling like being carried by the wind just like a falling leaf. But that¡¯s all. He suddenly stopped from the immersion because his qi was exhausted. Niu Chang calmed down his mind, ¡®sigh, the amount of third rate stage was too small for this kind of martial skill.¡¯ Niu Chang didn¡¯t even create a form on how to utilize the ethereal feeling of nuance in his heart to a specific martial skill. Calling out the system to check if everything was correct, Niu Chang starred at the system information. [Skill: Kendo, Rapid Leaf Step, Impact. More.] Niu Chang chose to explore more in the skill tab. Then he found it. [Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky.] That was all the information given by the system about the martial skill that Niu Chang came up with. Staring closely at the short introduction of Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky, Niu Chang made his deduction. ¡®Ah, I get it. This martial skill is not only a martial skill but also a cultivation method. The qi transformed according to the rhythm of Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky. It proves that to use the derivation martial skill from it, one needs to cultivate the qi specific for Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky.¡¯ Feeling happy for his own success, Niu Chang chose to celebrate his first success to make the second complete cultivation technique, that compiled qi cultivation and martial skills. ¡®But this is hard, I need inspiration to do it.¡¯ The creation of Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky was because Niu Chang¡¯s mind already has some insight about them. The proficiency of Rapid Leaf Step was a great idea source for Niu Chang to construct his mind and imagine the essence of Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky. He chose not to push it too hard and then laid his back on the bed. It was hard, but it was softer than the bed in Yellow Village. The thought wanders aimlessly without any correlation to each other. In his daze, Niu Chang recalled his first life, What is the thing that pushed Niu Chang to create the Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky? It was because he needed a good movement technique. Thinking this simple reasonable answer, Niu Chang then recalled his Impact skill, his qi-based protection skill and his body cultivation. But this was not in line with his current mood right now. He wanted to do something that made his heart pounding like never before. Niu Chang¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened up and an idea came up in his mind. ¡®I know it! I know what I want to create. I want love!¡¯ Chapter 25 - That Smile... Humans were driven by their own desires and emotions. With any of those, they will be no different than a walking dead man without any goal or joy in this life. Among the emotions that brightened this life naturally it was love. Niu Chang smiled foolishly due to his childishness. ¡®It¡¯s not the love that I want but I want to use the love as the core motivation to create the second cultivation technique.¡¯ Laying down comfortably, Niu Chang closed his eyes. The heart was full of warmth of affection and longing. In the chaotic space of mind with no direction and light. ¡°World.¡± Niu Chang commanded for the world to be born out of nothingness, in this space of mind, he is the god. The primordial void pushed away and the gray and empty image filled Niu Chang¡¯s mind. ¡®Now, what kind of love should I use? Love for a woman? Love for the family? Love for achievement? Love for objects? Or love for myself?¡¯ Various memories from his first life played in Niu Chang¡¯s mind. The chaotic yet easy to discern memories was like an endless sea. Niu Chang watches all of them with great interest, before finally set his eyes on specific memories. ¡®I choose you.¡¯ In the gray world, Niu Chang created a towering tree. But different from the previous tree, this was a cherry blossom tree or the sakura tree. The old sakura tree stands as a testament to the passage of time and enduring the beauty of nature. Its gnarled trunk, weathered and etched with years of growth, tells a story of resilience and wisdom. The branches, once vibrant with youthful energy, now gracefully stretch outward, their delicate pink blossom adorning the tree like delicate whispers of fleeting beauty. Under the elegant canopy of the blooming sakura tree, a Japanese temple stands in serene harmony with nature. The soft red petals delicately cascade down, creating a picturesque scene of tranquility and beauty. As light flows upon the temple¡¯s traditional architecture, enhancing its ethereal allure. In the front of the temple, bathed in the enchanting ambiance of the sakura tree, stands a shrine maiden, a graceful embodiment of tradition and spiritual devotion. Adorned in a flowing kimono, her steps are light and deliberate, as if in harmony with the delicate dance of falling cherry blossoms. With serene composure, she offers prayers and incantations that her presence is an integral part of the sacred connection between the mortal realm and the divine. Watching his mind was overtaken by his desire for watching this beautiful scene, Niu Chang was flabbergasted and rooted to his place. His heart was beating faster when he saw the graceful figure wearing a kimono under the sacred tree. ¡®Is this love?¡¯ He couldn¡¯t help but be mesmerized. ¡®Bah! Love my ass, this is nothing but my fantasy, how can I fall in love with an imaginary character?¡¯ Then he seems to recall something important in his first life about this problem, but he was too distracted to care about it. His thoughts were rolling like the waves on stormy sea, delivering themselves as to complete this piece of art. The sakura tree, the temple, and the shrine maiden slowly become more realistic and full of vitality of life. The lonesome yet holy figure of the shrine maiden moved as if she sensed someone looking at her. She turned her delicate body adored with red and white kimono, her face slowly revealing their brilliance. Badump. Badump. Badump. Niu Chang could feel that his heart was beating next to his ears, left and right. The mind was confused with silly thoughts and a strong desire to rush towards this unworldly beauty. Clank. As if something was breaking apart in Niu Chang¡¯s mind, he was finally able to see part of the shrine maiden¡¯s face. Under the shade of sakura tree, the upper part of her face was blurred leaving only the lower profile. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Under the delicate nose, the bright red lips were beguiling the thought and causing disturbance in the heart. Among the fleeting sakura petals, the shrine maiden''s eyes were looking at Niu Chang. She gently raised her cherry lips slowly. That previous feeling of something breaking apart was not a fantasy, but the self defense mechanism for the danger. Niu Chang was fully enchanted by the shrine maiden that he himself was unaware of. The last bit of rationality in Niu Chang¡¯s mind kept roaring and tried their best to wake Niu Chang from his state. A flash of light filled the world and Niu Chang realized something was wrong, his heart was encroached by something and his determination of supremacy was shaken! ¡°Danger!¡± Niu Chang didn¡¯t care about anything because he had a firm belief in his heart, as long as he achieved supremacy, then he could enjoy himself afterwards. No matter how harsh the world, he would face it with a kind smile and unbreakable determination. No matter how tall the mountain is, no matter how deep the sea is, he alone will pass them without any fear. But now, his very core of existence was affected by something, trying to replace his obsession with something else. This was the very first time he felt fear after reincarnating in this world. Niu Chang couldn¡¯t but curse endlessly in his heart. ¡®What is this? The legendary qi deviation?¡¯ Qi deviation was when the cultivator interrupted in a crucial moment of their cultivation leaving their heart and mind vulnerable to any external disturbance causing imbalance in their control. The qi went uncontrollable due to a confused state of mind. The mind controls the qi, but sometimes it also works the other way. So when qi deviation occurs, it only starts a negative loop where the cultivator would only face greater danger the longer they stay in qi deviation state. With his intensive study on how to beat the world and achieve supremacy in case he is chosen as reincarnator or transmigrator, Niu Chang never cared about small things like qi deviation. In his words: ¡°Qi deviation? Only stupid people who don¡¯t have immortal life and supremacy in their heart can suffer such stupid and ridiculous things.¡± Niu Chang shifted his gaze, looking towards the gray horizon in the space of his mind, but he felt something tingling around his body. ¡®No! This is wrong. I need to wake up!¡± Opening his eyes like there was no tomorrow, Niu Chang felt the qi in his body was transformed into an enchanting red qi that ran in his body autonomously. The uncomfortable feeling still lingering in his heart, the image of that face still flashing now and then in his mind. That bewitching smile was haunting him. Niu Chang gnashed his teeth to take back the control of qi inside his body. But he was helpless, he was like a single mortal that tried to stop a fifty kilometer tall tsunami. He could feel his heart slowly give birth to love towards the shrine maiden. His obsession was crying aloud. The thought in his head was running at full speed, racing against time. ¡®My cultivation was too shallow, only an incomplete third rate level, if I am able to hold until I exhaust my qi, I will survive!¡¯ ¡®But my heart and mind are slowly being taken over. I need something, an external stimulation to jolt my mind!¡¯ ¡®Pain! I need pain!¡¯ With his life on the line, Niu Chang¡¯s mind was very active and he reviewed his condition and the possible solutions in a very short amount of time. He raised his small hand and slapped himself on the face. Slap. Slap. Slap. The sound of skin touching skin at high speed caused the echoing sound to reverbated in the room. But it was very effective. ¡®It''s not enough! I need more stimulation!¡¯ Niu Chang tried to attack himself on the other place that caused great pain, but he found they still not enough for him to fight against the coercion of the bewitching smile flashing in his mind. Then he looked down at his crotch, gritted his teeth, and quickly executed his own manhood. ¡®This should be enough for me to gain experience of this wonderful world. Who would have thought that one day I would need to do this by my own volition?¡¯ Bam. It was a soft sound, but due to Niu Chang¡¯s physique no longer an ordinary mortal body, the power of his attack was enough to break Qin Qing¡¯s shabby house. The surge of pain rushed up from his testicles through the spine and finally stimulated the last bit of consciousness of himself. ¡®Again!¡¯ Niu Chang roared in his heart, and attacked fiercer than before. In Niu Chang¡¯s mind, his manhood was nothing but worldly possession. As long as he created a certain martial skill to fix them, he didn¡¯t have any fear at all to destroy them at this time. His vision flickered, behind the very short moment of that blankness, the bewitching smile was there. Niu Chang¡¯s qi reached their limit and now pushing his body to its utmost limit to the overconsumption. His mind was sinking like falling into the deep sea. He finally won, he survived the corrupting force from that witch¡¯s smile. But even when he successfully survived the calamity brought by his great amount of curiosity. In his last bit of consciousness, he saw that same lady under the shade and red didn¡¯t look sad of her failure. Instead she kept her smile. Unaffected by the smugness of Niu Chang¡¯s victory, as if she knew this was not the end but only the beginning. ¡®Crazy bitch.¡¯ Chapter 26 - The Messengers Yellow Village. The messengers from Yellow Soil Village, consisting of only two adult males, had finally reached their first destination. "Finally, we''ve arrived at Yellow Village. Let''s hurry," one of them exclaimed, catching sight of the village in the distance and letting out a sigh of relief. They had set out near midday, making it impossible for them to reach Yellow Village before nightfall. Upon reaching the front gate, they encountered a lone guard. "Halt! What is your purpose?" the guard asked. The two messengers, without hiding anything, immediately divulged the details of their journey from Yellow Soil Village. Upon hearing the purpose of their visit, the guard promptly left to find his resting partner. Although there should have been two people guarding the gate at all times, the rules were rather lax. Hence, the night guard would often take turns, allowing one to rest while the other stood guard. The guard returned with his partner and instructed the messengers, "Follow my friend here; he will take you to the village head." Without delay, the two messengers followed the guard towards the village head''s house. The night streets were quiet, with only a rare sighting of one or two people passing by occasionally. "Is this your first time visiting Yellow Village?" the guard asked without looking back. "No, this is not my first time, but it is my friend''s first time," the messenger replied. In an effort to ease the cold and dark night, they engaged in casual conversation. "Please, sir warrior. Please help me!" As they walked down a certain street, a woman''s plea shattered the calm atmosphere of the night. "What happened?" One of the messengers asked the guard, his curiosity piqued. The guard simply shook his head. "It''s the wife of the Huangyu family. They have been waiting all night, but their daughter has not returned. The husband is still searching, and the wife, as you can see, is seeking help. The sound came from the vicinity of the only martial school in this village." "The headmaster and instructors of the school, though martial artists, are humble and often lend a helping hand to villagers in need. That''s why she is pleading for their help now." To the two messengers from Yellow Soil Village, the Huangyu family were strangers. However, if Niu Chang were in their place, he would recognize the voice of the woman pleading. It was the wife of the place where he had stayed the previous night. In the morning, before Niu Chang left, Huangyu Yao, the wife, had asked if he could accompany her daughter to play. But Niu Chang had refused her directly, so Huangyu Yao could only accept it with a smile. She thought that since Niu Chang was around her daughter''s age, they should be able to play together. "Sir warrior, please. I will pay you as much as you want. Please help my husband in looking for our daughter." Huangyu Yao continued pleading in front of the martial school. "Let''s go. Our business is more important," the guard called the two messengers. Although Yellow Soil Village and Yellow Village were quite far apart, in the end, they were relatively close. Especially when it came to demonic beasts, the two messengers brought a scale found in their village as proof. The two guards were frightened, and they became serious about this problem. If Yellow Soil Village was destroyed by the demonic beast, they knew that they might be next. The two messengers nodded quietly and followed from behind. Unable to contain himself, the messenger who was visiting Yellow Village for the first time initiated a conversation. "Hey, Dalang, do you remember the mysterious disappearances in our village from last year?" Xi Dalang, the other messenger, looked at his partner. Due to the lack of light, it was difficult to discern Xi Dalang''s expression. "You mean the disappearance of three villagers without any clues or whatsoever?" ¡°Yes, I clearly remember that incident. It happened back then when the youngest child of the Ning family, my neighbor, went missing. It all began with his disappearance, and in the following days, two more people vanished without a trace. The villagers were filled with fear, and many started grouping together and returning early from the fields.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The strange phenomenon that occurred in Yellow Soil Village the previous year was known to the entire community. It was shrouded in mystery, as no one could comprehend why or how it happened. The first victim was the young boy from the Ning family. When night fell, and he didn''t return home, his parents went searching for him, but all they heard throughout the night were the distressed cries of his worried mother. News of the disappearance quickly spread among the villagers. Families with young children prohibited them from venturing outside their homes, while those without children could only offer their sympathy to the Ning family. Two days later, a young man also went missing, leaving no trace behind. Some believed he had chosen to leave the village without informing anyone, but others grew suspicious and linked his disappearance to that of the Ning family''s youngest child. It was unclear who started the rumor, but it sparked a wave of investigation into any possible clues related to the first missing boy. Many questioned those who had played with the Ning family''s youngest son on that fateful day, but no one provided any useful information. Two days passed, and the hearts of the villagers were filled with tension, as if an invisible hand gently gripped them. The following morning, everyone anxiously questioned each other, searching for any information about anyone who had gone missing during the night. However, in the first few minutes, none of them discovered any missing individuals. But soon, a report came in that the old man from the Jiu family had disappeared. The man next to Xi Dalang paused his recollection of the events, overwhelmed by fear in the present moment. ''Will the Yellow Village suffer the same calamity as our village did the previous year?'' he wondered. Initially, he felt sympathy for the people of Yellow Village, but now, he couldn''t help but tremble with great unease. "If it truly is the same strange phenomenon as before, the first victim was a young child, and the next one should be a young and strong person," he thought to himself. Lost in his thoughts, he unintentionally glanced at Xi Dalang, only to be surprised by the fearful expression on his face. Both of them recognized the fear reflected in each other''s eyes and inwardly cursed their luck. "Why did this disappearance have to happen today? We only came here seeking help," they lamented silently in their hearts. Regretting their misfortune, they suddenly remembered they only had to leave the village the next day in order to ensure their safety. The pattern of the disappearances revealed an interval of two days between each incident. This was the only clue the Yellow Soil Village had gathered regarding the mysterious phenomenon of disappearances. Just like him, Xi Dalang also pondered the possibility of the situation, and once again, their eyes met. Silently nodding to affirm their escape plan, they were interrupted by the guard who was leading them. "Tell me about the disappearances that occurred in your village," the guard demanded, standing upright with eyes sharp as a hawk hunting its prey. People in this world were highly sensitive to rumors and ghost stories, and they tended to be quite superstitious. Due to numerous unexplainable incidents and phenomena, their thinking naturally guarded them against negative rumors that circulated in their vicinity. Xi Dalang took the lead, keeping his composure rather than appearing anxious like his friend. "I will tell you about it once we reach the village head''s house. Since you will also relay this information to the village head, it would be more efficient to address it all at once." The fidgety man managed to calm himself, though he was still uncertain about whether to disclose the truth or not. He realized that revealing the truth could potentially lead to uncontrollable consequences, jeopardizing his own life. How could he make a rash decision in such a critical situation? Observing the words of Xi Dalang and the demeanor of the other messenger, the guard sensed the urgency of the matter surpassing the threat of the demonic beast''s presence near Yellow Soil Village. While the demonic beast might target Yellow Soil Village first, the sudden disappearance of the Huangyu family''s daughter and the rumors spoken by the two messengers held greater urgency. . . . In the forest near Yellow Soil Village, the duo, consisting of a senior and a junior disciple, made their way back to the village after an entire day of fruitless searching for the ferocious beast that had suddenly appeared. "Senior brother, what are your thoughts on this sudden appearance of the ferocious beast in the village?" Wan You asked, feeling tired and disappointed by their unproductive day. She pouted and called out to her senior brother, hoping for a response. Lost in his own thoughts, Wei Hong didn''t initially respond to her. Frustrated, Wan You became even more upset. Not only had their search yielded no results, but now her senior brother was also ignoring her. Finally snapping out of his reverie, Wei Hong turned his head towards the rebellious girl. "Ah, what is it?" he asked, noticing the change in her expression. In a quick motion, Wan You transformed her pout into an adorable and innocent look, blinking her eyes innocently at Wei Hong. Observing the obvious change in her demeanor, Wei Hong remained silent for a moment before releasing a heavy sigh that even made Wan You shudder. "Senior brother..." She spoke softly, her voice low and meek. "It''s nothing. I was just contemplating how unusual it is for this ferocious beast to suddenly appear," Wei Hong replied, pausing to gauge Wan You''s reaction. Although they were on a training vacation, Wei Hong had already given up on the idea of fully training his junior sister. Instead, he referred to it as "vacation training" to alleviate the burden he felt. As someone who valued discipline, he didn''t want to waste any time. Thus, he had to make the best of the situation. "As you know, what mortals call demonic beasts are referred to as ferocious beasts by us martial artists. It''s because no matter how strong they become, animals will always be animals. Cultivation may enhance their strength, but their intelligence remains limited, except for some exceptional cases," Wei Hong explained. "This also teaches young disciples not to fear the hidden dangers of this world. We simply refer to ghosts and evil spirits as spirits. The mindset and mental condition of martial artists are just as important as their cultivation level and understanding of techniques." Wan You made an effort to resist rolling her eyes in front of Wei Hong''s watchful gaze. Her mind quickly formulated a plan, prompting her to nudge her senior brother. "I remember a teaching from Martial Uncle Gong. By the way, senior brother, what do you mean when you say this case is strange?" she inquired, hoping to divert the conversation. Chapter 27 - Spirit Wei Hong didn''t complain; it had been his plan from the start, after all. He was well aware of his junior sister''s nature. He knew that by delivering the usual lecture, she would feel suffocated and attempt to divert the conversation towards something more interesting. Teaching Wan You about his deductions directly would only lead to her resisting and making an effort to avoid such dull instruction. Instead of engaging in a futile endeavor, he opted to offer the stick first and then the carrot. "The trail of the ferocious beast was discovered near the village, so close that even a small child could find its fallen scale." "If the scale were of regular size or slightly larger, it would indicate the ignorance of an ordinary beast. However, according to the villagers'' description, the scale was too large for a common ferocious creature. The possessor of such a scale naturally wouldn''t make such mistakes, as ferocious beasts grow older, their intelligence increases, and they do their utmost to avoid human settlements without any apparent reason." Having evaded Wei Hong''s tedious lecture, Wan You was now eager to follow the explanation of the demonic beast case instead. "But, senior brother, if what you say is true, how can the scale have appeared near the village then?" Wei Hong nodded in satisfaction. His senior sister wasn''t slow or dull at all; she was simply bored by the repetitive life of a martial artist. As a caring and serious senior brother, Wei Hong wouldn''t miss such a rare opportunity. "Why don''t you try to guess? If you can provide me with a proper answer, I will personally assist you with any martial technique problems you may have when we return to the sect." Wei Hong had initially desired a more enticing reward, but he had learned his lesson about making promises he didn''t intend to keep. Instead of making a promise he considered useless, he realized it would be better to offer Wan You his personal teachings on cultivation techniques. It would be a win-win situation for both of them. Wan You sensed something amiss. ''Why is my senior brother suddenly adopting his profound teaching mode? This... this smile... I remember seeing it before¡­'' Humans were like this. When faced with something they disliked, they would go to great lengths to avoid it, even if the alternative was more burdensome than confronting it head-on. Wan You''s mischievous nature surfaced in her thinking. She couldn''t help but sense that something was wrong, yet she couldn''t pinpoint the source of her uneasiness. Being close with her senior brother, she chose to be direct. "Senior brother... Did you do something to me?" Rather than presenting herself as weak and vulnerable, she voiced her thoughts openly. Wei Hong lightly tapped his junior sister''s forehead with his index finger. He didn''t exert much force, but the exaggerated Wan You used her own strength to push her head backward. "Senior brother, you meanie!" In apparent agony, Wan You complained while holding her forehead as if experiencing intense pain. "Maintain your image," Wei Hong warned her. "Humph." Unwilling to comply, Wan You, unaware of what her senior brother had done, flung her head and pouted. After giving Wan You the necessary time to calm down, Wei Hong dropped his amiable demeanor. He called out to her, signaling the end of their training session. "Junior sister, shall we conclude our training for now? We''ll rest in the village and return after a night''s rest." Facing the subtle threat from Wei Hong, Wan You ceased her antics and, with a sour face, began contemplating the question posed by her senior brother. After pondering for a while, Wan You finally provided her answer. "Well, since such a large snake is not an ordinary ferocious beast, it wouldn''t leave the forest without a specific goal. Considering its size, it should understand the danger posed by martial artists." She stole a glance at Wei Hong, but found no change in her senior brother''s expression. ''Humph, block of wood,'' Wan You playfully stuck her tongue out in her mind. "In addition, after thoroughly searching the area where the snake scale was found and even venturing into the forest, we couldn''t find any traces left behind by such a massive snake." This was an undeniable fact they had discovered soon after entering the forest following their search around the scale''s location. "So, either the big snake can fly, or someone deliberately placed this scale in a spot easily found by the villagers." Before Wei Hong could compliment her deduction or add more to it, Wan You continued. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. "Senior brother, do you think the big snake can fly?" Wei Hong fell silent, attempting to decipher the hidden intention behind Wan You''s question. ''Is she pretending or genuinely curious?'' The longer he observed Wan You''s expression, the deeper his frown became. In the end, he couldn''t discern his junior sister''s true motive and answered the question. "It''s not impossible, but it is highly unusual. For a snake to possess the ability to fly, it must either undergo a mutation that grants it wings or break through the constraints of mortal limitations and advance to the next stage in its cultivation path." "No matter which scenario it is, both are exceedingly difficult to achieve. However, due to their rarity, many martial masters and even martial grandmasters would descend from the mountains to hunt these creatures." "A mutated beast possesses special qualities that ordinary ferocious beasts lack, while a beast that transcends its mortal limitations can offer immense benefits to any martial master or martial grandmaster." Wan You couldn''t contain her excitement any longer and eagerly asked, "So, senior brother, does that mean we''ll become rich?" Wan You, driven by her own interests, cared more about mundane matters than the martial world, thanks to the safety and shelter provided by the sect. Who said martial artists didn''t need money? Wei Hong contemplated for a moment before speaking. "You''re not wrong, but with our current strength, we can only handle the mutated type. It''s impossible for any martial artist below the master stage to confront ferocious beasts that have taken the second step in their cultivation." Wei Hong was a peak martial artist, while Wan You was a first-rate martial artist. Both were young and promising, but their personalities differed greatly. If Wan You could dedicate herself fully to cultivation, she would progress to the master stage faster than Wei Hong. However, due to her talent, many in the sect admired and spoiled her, contributing to her mischievous and problematic nature. Realizing the grave danger that even her senior brother couldn''t handle on their path to riches, Wan You immediately inquired, "Then, senior brother, can we escape if we encounter such a ferocious beast?" From her question, it was clear that she still held hope of encountering that mutated snake, completely forgetting their main discussion. It remained uncertain if the ferocious beast even existed in the first place. Wei Hong patiently indulged Wan You''s fascination with the ferocious beast, unaware that time was slipping away from them. As they approached the edge of the forest, the howling wind that carried the song of darkness and the mysterious night suddenly ceased. Both Wei Hong and Wan You, as peak stage and first-rate martial artists, quickly sensed the unusual shift in their surroundings. It was as if the forest itself became fearful and concealed its nocturnal charm from an unwelcome visitor. Without needing any instructions from Wei Hong, Wan You swiftly drew her sword and prepared herself for any sudden movements. As the guardian of his junior sister, Wan You was extra cautious and watched his surroundings. Although both of them were geniuses in their sect, they in the end were still in the realm of mortal realm. The qi of those under master stage unable to leave their body and thus vulnerable from any long distance ambush. The biggest difference in master stage and peak stage was in their mastery over their qi. Master stage could control the qi even after leaving their body, although limited, but it is still better than many peak stage martial artists. At best, with the help of profound martial technique or skill, peak stage martial artists could shoot their qi as a long range offensive method with more ease than those in lower cultivation stage. Circulating the investigation type of martial skill of their sect. Their sense of hearing and sight was enhanced greatly. It was a benefit of becoming a disciple of a sect, their cultivation method and martial skill could be easily obtained and their quality was quite high. Ordinary martial skills were like what Niu Chang made through arduous trial and error asking the verification of the system. Even after all of that, his martial skill was only limited to the optimum use of his physical body without any use and enhancement of qi. From the deep of the forest, the light was dimmed. The moonlight as the source of lighting was pushed back to the sky, only leaving the enigmatic darkness under the trees. ¡°Senior brother¡­¡± Wan You felt immense pressure on her shoulder. Even with her first rate cultivation stage, her mind was still not up to her cultivation level. Only by watching the strangeness with the absence of any sounds, enough to shake her confidence. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I am here.¡± Wei Hong¡¯s voice was calm and assuring. His focus was on that silhouette covered in darkness, he used his left hand to caress Wan You¡¯s head to give more assurance for her. With Wei Hong¡¯s investigation type martial skill circulated to its limit, he was still unable to hear anything from the approaching stranger. But the cold and lifeless aura from that darkness, enough for him to guess the identity of this stranger. "Demonic cultivator practicing evil cultivation techniques or a spirit," Wei Hong concluded, his judgment leading him to believe that this was not just a mere stranger, but an enemy. "State your name!" Wei Hong asserted, following his instinct despite knowing that this encounter could escalate into a battle. "Senior brother, should we just run?" Wan You''s timid voice reached Wei Hong''s ears from his side. He contemplated this option as well. There was no preexisting enmity between them and the enemy had made their presence known openly. However, he also understood that this enemy must have been confident in their abilities, as demonic cultivators often resorted to dirty tricks to achieve their goals. If they allowed themselves to be intimidated, it would only provide an opening for the enemy to strike first. In response to Wei Hong''s shout, the silhouette shrouded in darkness lifted its head. It''s dark eyes seemed to be stimulated, fixated on Wei Hong. Wei Hong sensed that he had made a grave mistake. This stranger in the darkness had been unaware of their presence until now. In that moment, he realized the identity of the enemy¡ªa spirit with low spiritual intelligence. Wei Hong considered running, but he didn''t know where to flee. The challenge with spirits of low spiritual intelligence was their stubbornness; once they set their sights on their prey, they clung to them like a haunting apparition. To make matters worse, this spirit had already achieved a formidable level of cultivation, evident from the peculiar phenomena surrounding its body. Chapter 28 - Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree When the sun had already risen in the sky and the villagers had left their houses to attend to their fields, Niu Chang was sleeping soundly in his room, happily chasing butterflies in his dream. As the sunlight touched his face, his nose twitched, and he finally woke up from his sleep. The fatigue from his excessive use of qi had already healed, thanks to his extraordinary physique that surpassed that of ordinary martial artists at his stage. Lying in his bed with his eyes wide open, Niu Chang embraced laziness akin to a salted fish, indulging in contemplation of his weaknesses in cultivation during the tranquil early morning. As the fog of the dream of chasing butterflies dissipated, he began to recall the events of the previous night. Immediately, he turned his head to look at his crotch without moving his body. ''There is no pain or discomfort,'' he confirmed. Satisfied, he continued with his thoughts. It didn''t take much effort or time for Niu Chang to reflect on everything and draw several conclusions. Naturally, his approach of creating martial techniques through contemplation alone was correct, but it came with strict rules. The first rule was a strong conviction and unwavering belief. If another person were to attempt what Niu Chang did last night and even possess a better imagination to create a more detailed mental image, it would not be enough for them. They would also need the same mindset as Niu Chang because who out there never imagines something during their free time? Even powerful martial artists with high cultivation levels would not be able to do it. Their minds are more rigid than those of ordinary people, partly due to their vanity after training day and night, which prevents them from approaching the creation of cultivation techniques lightly. However, there are always exceptions to everything. What about those who advance their cultivation levels effortlessly, as if strolling through a flower garden? Or those who possess eccentric minds like Niu Chang? The second rule pertained to the cultivation method. Different cultivation methods would result in various types of qi, each with different attributes and restrictions. After all, to activate any martial skill that required qi, it couldn''t be just any ordinary qi. It was akin to using ordinary water as fuel. It simply wouldn''t work. Therefore, when someone attempted to create a cultivation technique, they would begin with the development of the cultivation method to obtain the necessary qi for executing the additional martial skills derived from the previously created technique. Not everyone possessed Transformation Energy qi like Niu Chang did. His Transformation Energy, although low in level for his current stage, possessed profoundness that he had worked towards in his two lifetimes. Primarily due to these two factors, Niu Chang was able to surpass mediocre individuals and leisurely contemplate on his bed while creating martial skills. Yes, he didn''t concern himself with the cultivation method at all. His Transformation Energy alone was sufficient to encompass everything in this world. So why bother with something that would ultimately be engulfed by Transformation Energy? As Niu Chang contemplated this, he desired to provide a direct answer, but he understood that he couldn''t bypass this method. ''No matter how powerful my Transformation Energy is, it remains in an early stage. If I wish to optimize the use of any martial skill that requires specific qi, I still need to create them first and then integrate them into Transformation Energy,'' Niu Chang concluded. With that, Niu Chang concluded his review of the events from the previous night. Now, it was time to address the issues. "But before that," Niu Chang intended to proceed to the next step but encountered a problem. He employed his Transformation Energy qi and recollected the sensations and nuances from the previous night in order to incite the specific qi. However, Niu Chang couldn''t directly transform his qi into the red qi from the second cultivation technique he had developed the previous night. Thus, he resorted to the only available method. The dim white qi gradually tinged with a faint red hue, ultimately transforming the entire dim white Transformation Energy qi into red qi. However, it lacked the bright radiance and the captivating luster of affectionate love that it had possessed the previous night. After converting his qi into the red qi, Niu Chang recalled the smile of the enchanting shrine maiden. A smile. The corner of his mouth involuntarily curled up into a kind smile. The red qi surged vigorously within Niu Chang''s body, triggering a mysterious chain reaction. The red qi rapidly drained away, accompanied by a faint, sweet scent of cherry blossoms that filled the room. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "Bah." Niu Chang quickly suppressed his unintended smile and halted the circulation of qi in his body. ''As I suspected, it''s a genuine martial skill that utilizes qi!'' Niu Chang couldn''t help but feel delighted by his success, prompting a smile. However, he promptly ceased his smile as he encountered a significant issue with this martial skill. He was required to smile at his enemy. It wasn''t that he didn''t want to, but he found it rather peculiar. Shaking off the distracting thoughts, he called upon the system. [Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree] The name was too long and overly descriptive of the technique''s nature. However, Niu Chang realized something upon seeing this concise and solitary description of the cultivation technique he had created. In many stories, techniques often had medium or short names, but ultimately, they only possessed one core essence with additional modifiers. The same applied to Niu Chang''s technique. The name itself encapsulated its essence, and altering or adding words would only change that essence. "Alright," Niu Chang agreed with the system''s straightforward approach and provided a name for the smiling skill. ''Let''s call it [Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red].'' It was straightforward and enabled Niu Chang to quickly evoke the feeling necessary to execute the skill. The name depicted the technique itself. Underneath an ancient cherry blossom tree, amid falling red cherry blossom petals, stood a solitary figure of a shrine maiden, quietly emanating a smile that pulled at the soul of anyone who beheld it. The upper part of her face was obscured by the shade, leaving only the bottom part visible. ''But still, this is not enough. This [Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red] only works when the target sees me smiling at them. It is limited to sight alone.'' As someone who detested drawbacks the most, Niu Chang employed his intellect to conceive a new skill that would overcome this limitation. In less than two minutes, he came up with an idea. ''Since the first skill is targeted and limited to sight alone, naturally the second skill should be more advanced. It should not only overcome the drawback but also improve in all aspects!'' Humans possess five senses that they primarily use to gather information from their surroundings. Therefore, since sight is already covered by the first skill, Niu Chang desired his next skill to target all five senses. ''Now, even if my enemies realize the weakness of the first skill, they will be devastated when I employ the second skill. I shall call it [Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red].'' As for the details of this technique, Niu Chang only had ideas and theories and couldn''t be certain. Given that the first skill depicted him being mesmerized by the captivating smile of the shrine maiden, causing him to almost lose control and chase after the illusory figure, Niu Chang wanted the second skill to be the opposite. Instead of those who encountered the shrine maiden being compelled to chase after her, triggered by sight alone, he desired the shrine maiden to take the initiative to pursue the other party. Thus, even if they closed their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, they couldn''t escape the heat and touch of the shrine maiden, even if they wished to. Hence, it was named "demonic embrace." After all, one cannot escape the loving embrace of a beautiful woman, can they? Contemplating the contrasting effects of his skills, Niu Chang couldn''t help but wonder what would happen if someone who had been affected by the first skill, chasing after the imaginary beauty, was also targeted by the second skill, making the beauty chase after them. A slight shiver ran down Niu Chang''s spine as he dismissed this peculiar thought and moved on to the next issue. While at it, he couldn''t help but ponder the next step. Niu Chang sighed, acknowledging his remarkably insightful mind. The first skill involved attacking through the eyes, the second skill through all five senses, and the third skill should bypass these senses altogether and directly target the enemy''s mind. Niu Chang named this third skill [Dream Visit]. However, upon acquiring these three skills, Niu Chang couldn''t help but feel a sense of foreboding about the future. ''If I continue creating cultivation techniques every time I go to sleep, how many will there be? What about in one month? Thirty? What about in one year? What about ten years?'' Niu Chang shook his head in dismay. He now understood why the main characters in stories typically focused on a limited number of cultivation techniques. Having too many would only lead to confusion about which technique was which. After the sun reached its highest point in the sky, Niu Chang completed his morning tasks. Feeling a slight hunger, he stepped out of his bedroom. However, the memory of last night''s taste dampened his appetite. ''Fortunately, my constitution is not ordinary. Otherwise, my mouth would be sore right now.'' Niu Chang searched the house for Qin Qing but couldn''t find her, assuming she had gone to the field. Without parents to support her, she had to work to put food on the table. Niu Chang breathed a sigh of relief at this discovery, as it meant he would have to cook his own food instead of eating Qin Qing''s dishes. Engaging himself in the search for available ingredients, he decided to prepare a simple and satisfying meal. As he brought the food to the table, he savored the aroma of the ordinary-smelling dish. The rice was evenly cooked, with a light and pleasant fragrance, while the main dish consisted of a medley of vegetables. Meat was a rarity and luxury for the villagers in this village. Halfway through his combined breakfast and lunch, the front door creaked open. Exhausted and drenched in sweat, Qin Qing entered the house. The first thing she noticed was Niu Chang sitting at the table, enjoying the food. He glanced briefly at the front door to see who had entered but lost interest upon realizing it was Qin Qing, diverting his attention back to his meal. Qin Qing''s eyebrows furrowed, revealing her displeasure. She walked toward Niu Chang, and with each step, her brows knitted tighter. Finally, when she stood near the table, she realized that the food Niu Chang was eating was not the meal she had prepared for him. Aware of the approaching presence of the irate young girl, Niu Chang''s instincts kicked in, prompting him to speak first. "Don''t be angry." He was unsure of what he had done wrong, and he didn''t particularly care. When dealing with someone with a short temper, it was best to divert their attention. Chapter 29 - Short Temper Watching the main character from a certain country in the far east, Niu Chang felt helpless from the other side of the screen. "How can you call yourself a man if you let any woman trample on your head?" Having witnessed the main character being endlessly stepped on and beaten up for foolish reasons by a mentally unstable short-tempered individual with anger management issues, Niu Chang reached his limit. It wasn''t that he couldn''t stop watching, but rather that no matter which show he watched, he found no difference at all. "Does the creator of this show possess any common sense? I understand it falls under the comedy genre, but when it lacks any jokes or funny elements and instead focuses solely on showcasing pure violence, it becomes unbearable." Sighing, Niu Chang refrained from delving into the topic of main characters being reincarnated in different worlds. . . . Watching the fuming Qin Qing, Niu Chang displayed a rare kind smile that he had kept hidden during his three years in the village. He only dared to reveal such an expression due to his confidence in his system. In this world, kindness was only meant to be exploited by strong and cunning individuals. Even though Niu Chang could easily silence this short-tempered girl with just one hand, he realized that encountering this minor conflict was invaluable in his seemingly long and tumultuous journey filled with blood and tears. Compared to the challenges he had faced, confronting this infuriated girl felt like a gentle breeze under a tree on a hot day. As the little boy spoke to her with an innocent and smiling face, Qin Qing''s last ounce of reason snapped. She was so enraged that all she could do was glare at him with deadly intent and breathe heavily like an enraged bull. But just as she was about to gather her thoughts and respond, Niu Chang once again cut her off. [Ding.] [Detected that the host has established karma with Qin Qing.] [Option 1: Karmic retribution.] [Option 2: Resolve the karma by yourself.] Niu Chang glanced briefly at his system, but he decided to ignore it for the time being. It was a rare opportunity for him to test the system, as handling the angry Qin Qing seemed like an easy task. ''What will happen if I don''t choose any options? Is there a time limit?'' he pondered. "No need to be angry," Niu Chang''s voice remained calm, carrying a refreshing feeling like a gentle breeze. He also projected a kind and compassionate image, treating all living beings with endless love. Niu Chang observed the contorted expression on Qin Qing''s face, from fiery red with anger to erupting frustration, and finally the classic signs of physical aggression. Qin Qing raised her hand, intending to harm Niu Chang. Sitting in his chair without moving his body, Niu Chang fixed his gaze upon Qin Qing''s eyes. She grabbed both of Niu Chang''s shoulders, starting with a firm grip and then slowly loosening her hold. The unwavering gaze on Niu Chang''s face stirred emotions in Qin Qing''s mind, a mix of burning anger and confusion. Niu Chang blinked slowly and then asked, "Have you calmed down?" For a moment, the grip on his shoulders tightened, but it quickly weakened. With a perplexed expression, Qin Qing was at a loss as to what she wanted to do. Her thoughts were clouded, and she felt an urge deep within her heart to strike the boy in front of her. Sensing the brewing emotions in Qin Qing''s eyes once again, Niu Chang felt a sense of strangeness. He could clearly perceive that this short-tempered girl had just calmed down, but for no apparent reason, she became angry again. ''Is she one of those unreasonable types? Are their minds filled with water instead of functioning brain cells?'' Niu Chang wondered. Anticipating that the situation might escalate into violence, Niu Chang made the decision to stand up, asserting his pride as a man, and a proud one at that. With his small hand, he firmly grasped Qin Qing''s hands. This small action served as the final catalyst for Qin Qing''s confused mind. However, as she attempted to move her hands, she found herself unable to do so. A strong force kept her hands immobilized. Gnashing her teeth, she angrily roared, "What are you doing?! Let go of me!" Thanks to the enhancement from the first level of the Impossible Idea, Niu Chang''s petite frame was more than capable of overpowering any ordinary person, let alone the short-tempered Qin Qing. "Let! Go! Of! My! Hands!" If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "AAAAAAAAAAAA!" Niu Chang closely observed this mentally unstable girl. She resembled a beast taking on human form, or perhaps more accurately, a volcano assuming human shape. The surging emotions were like a scorching wind blowing against Niu Chang''s face. The thought of releasing Qin Qing''s hands flashed through Niu Chang''s mind. Not only that, but also the desire to stand up and slap some sense back into Qin Qing''s head. However, he chose to resist the urge for violence, recognizing that he still needed to live in this place. Finding another place to live was merely a matter of time, but lazy as he was, Niu Chang opted to stay where he was. His mind stirred, and he felt a sense of seeking refuge under the shelter of a towering verdant tree. Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky. Although Niu Chang had initially developed this cultivation technique for the sake of acquiring a proficient movement technique, he soon discovered that it offered much more than he had anticipated. The solitary towering verdant tree stood amidst the open field, providing shelter and a refreshing breeze beneath the bright and scorching sky for weary travelers. The dim white Transformation Energy qi slowly circulated within Niu Chang''s body, guided by the sensations in his heart rather than a proper qi circulation method. As his qi transformed into a vibrant green hue, a gentle breeze emanated from Niu Chang''s being. This was primarily due to his limited proficiency in qi control overall, and even more so when it came to advanced techniques like the Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky. Deliberately directing this refreshing gust of green air towards the hands he held, Niu Chang conducted an experiment of sorts. Instead of attempting to calm down the enraged girl, he chose to treat her as a subject of study, using her as an opportunity to delve deeper into the realm of qi and the Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky. Thanks to the direct contact between their skin, it became easier to transfer the verdant green qi to Qin Qing. Watching Qin Qing''s facial expression closely, Niu Chang continuously infused his verdant green qi, carrying the sensation of a refreshing breeze. Qin Qing tried her best to struggle and free herself, but suddenly she became calmer, as if a bucket of ice had been dropped on her head. She felt a sense of mellowness and refreshment, although the quantity and quality of this feeling were so small that she could only be distracted by it. Feeling the emptiness of qi inside his body, Niu Chang shook his head. His level of qi cultivation was too low. But then, he suddenly noticed the tense hands he was holding becoming relaxed. Raising his head to look at Qin Qing, he was surprised. "What... what did you do?" Qin Qing asked bluntly, with a slight tremble in her voice. Niu Chang cast a peripheral glance at the fading system. Since he and Qin Qing no longer had any karmic entanglement, the system naturally followed suit. Qin Qing had regained her human intelligence, but she was hesitant and slightly afraid of the small boy in front of her. Niu Chang released her hands and let them go, watching as Qin Qing slowly walked away from him. ''Damn. Now you''re playing the victim with me?'' Niu Chang felt amused in his heart. This turn of events was even beyond his expectations. He had thought Qin Qing would try to justify her anger, but seeing the weak and small girl retreating from him, Niu Chang was confident that this short girl truly had a severe mental disorder. "Are you calmer now?" Niu Chang asked softly, a small kind smile hanging on his face. However, he received no response from Qin Qing. She was still wary of him and uncertain about what had just happened. Feeling too tired to play along with this drama, Niu Chang shifted his focus and enjoyed his unfinished meal. On the other side, Qin Qing was questioning her own mind. "What just happened?" She tried her best to recall how things had escalated to this point, starting from the moment she opened the door. She remembered her past self gradually accumulating an erupting power of anger inside her head and heart. Then, upon seeing that the food Niu Chang had cooked was cleaner than the food she had prepared, she snapped and could no longer remember what happened afterward. Only a small episode lingered in her mind¡ªit was when she grabbed Niu Chang''s shoulder¡ªbut then her memory became blurred once again. "Then, did I get angry because he made food that was better than mine?" Qin Qing asked herself. The more she thought about this question, the more ashamed she felt. ''Did I lose control simply because he cooked better rice than I did? Not because he cooked without my permission?'' Her face turned red once again, but for a different reason. She tried to hide her ashamed face. Unable to remain where she was, Qin Qing ran away from Niu Chang. Watching the weak and short figure running away from him, Niu Chang''s mind filled with countless question marks. ''What a strange girl,'' Niu Chang shook his head and continued chewing his food. ''If she''s willing to be treated, then I''ll help her with that anger management problem. A few slaps to her head should fix the irregular gears inside her mind.'' Leaving the house, Niu Chang stretched his body. The reason Niu Chang returned to his starting village was to revisit the missed opportunities he had rejected due to their ridiculous requirements. The sick parents, the old beggar, the unconscious beauty, the harsh winter, the failed crops, the mysterious disappearances, and finally, the missing sister. The last one had already been resolved, and the reward was a large sack of money and other items. There was also the teenage girl whose name Niu Chang had forgotten to ask. With his goal in mind, Niu Chang set out to find villagers who were familiar to him. As he walked around the village, inquiring about the esteemed guests and events from previous years, he didn''t attract much attention. Niu Chang easily gathered all the necessary information and continued walking towards his favorite spot in the village. It was on the edge of the village, an old tree with medium height and sturdy branches. Niu Chang effortlessly climbed the tree and settled on a branch. From up there, he had a broader view, but that wasn''t his main focus. What he enjoyed the most was the simplicity of the village¡ªthe impoverished and dilapidated houses, the frail and unattractive villagers. The fleeting feeling of insignificance and worthlessness was what Niu Chang relished. Only when he was at the bottom could he truly appreciate what he had. Looking at those in the same circumstances as him who had given up and lacked the courage to embrace hope, complex emotions brewed in Niu Chang''s heart. However, he couldn''t sort them out and could only focus on two prominent emotions. ''How can you live in such a village? You''re so stupid and useless. How can you raise your child in this place? Where is your dignity as a human being?'' ''Are you like cattle? Born in a small shed, unaware of what lies beyond? Following the teachings of older cattle to become another one?'' Chapter 30 - Poem of Rats Qin Qing¡¯s house. After calming down from her own mistake, Qin Qing left her room in search of Niu Chang to apologize. Without asking for permission, she opened Niu Chang¡¯s bedroom and found only a large sack, devoid of any other presence. "Well, at least he didn''t leave the bed in disarray," Qin Qing nodded, content with the tidiness. She left the room without disturbing any of Niu Chang''s belongings. As she reached the kitchen, she discovered the meal that Niu Chang had prepared for her. It was evident that he hadn''t bothered cooking for her since it was a small portion. Qin Qing approached the food and inspected it¡ª the rice was white and evenly cooked, with no strange odor, and the vegetables were well-prepared and cut into bite-sized pieces. A strange feeling gripped her heart. Ever since her parents'' death, she hadn''t experienced much kindness from others, mainly due to her anger management issues. People tended to avoid her. Carrying the food to the table, Qin Qing sat down and began eating slowly. The long-forgotten texture of rice stirred memories of her mother''s cooking. It didn''t taste exactly the same, but the familiar sensation rekindled the flavors of old. A heaviness settled in her heart, causing tears to well up in the corners of her eyes. She picked at the vegetables, savoring their texture more than their taste. Tears streamed down her cheeks, unlocking memories of her parents with each bite. A whimper escaped her throat, but she continued eating, determined not to let these long-lost emotions slip away. It was fortunate that Niu Chang wasn''t present to witness this display of vulnerability. If he had, he would have likely scorned and mocked the weak Qin Qing. "It''s just food. No need to be so dramatic, right? If you want, I can cook for you tonight," he would have said, prioritizing his own taste buds and jaw muscles over her well-being. . . . Walking through the forest, Niu Chang felt as though he was strolling in his own backyard. The confidence in his physical strength, coupled with the protection of the Automatic System Answerer against any surprises, granted him an unexpected sense of ease. Niu Chang recalled the conversation he had with the villager that was rather close with him. ¡°They said they just wanted to live in the countryside to avoid the danger of the mortal world.¡± There was nothing of much interest until after the fateful winter. "Some villagers said they saw the Qin family couple leaving the village during heavy snowfall. After waiting for three days with no news, everyone accepted it as a misfortune that couldn''t be avoided," they explained. "As for the change in little girl Qin? Yeah, I remember something about her. She used to be cold and withdrawn from the outside world, but after her parents passed away, she started opening up and working honestly in the fields.¡± "At first, I thought her bad mood was due to her parents'' death. But as time passed, her anger issues became more apparent, and now everyone calls her the short fuse. You know what I mean? Short both in height and temperament. Hahaha." "Anyway, it''s best to avoid her as much as you can. Her taste in food is strange, and due to her problematic temperament, no one wanted to teach her how to cook." "As for the mass crop failure? Well, that was an unfortunate event. I remember hearing that it wasn''t just happening in our village, but also in Yellow Village and Yellow Roc Village at the same time! Do you understand what I mean? It means this year isn''t good for farming!" "Now, about the disappearance of the three people? The young boy from the Ning family, the poor young man, and the old man from the Jiu family? Shhh, keep your voice down, no one wants to recall that strange event. You know we have a rule to not speak of ill things, as it may bring repetition." "After a lengthy investigation, nothing could be found. No clues or anything useful to tell us how they went missing. But one thing is for sure, I believe it must be the work of a ghost or evil spirit sealed in this land! It must be some kind of sacrifice to appease their endless resentment." ¡®In short, little girl Qing indeed has a mental condition that prompted her parents to relocate to this village,¡¯ Niu Chang mused, shaking his head and suppressing a chuckle at his own jest. ¡®But, of course, that was purely a jest. Did her parents truly venture out in the midst of a heavy snowstorm? It all appears rather dubious and peculiar. Since I have never crossed paths with them, it is difficult to discern whether they possess martial arts prowess or not.¡¯ Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ''Maybe they grew tired of dealing with little girl Qing''s problem and chose to leave her in this village? That sounds more realistic!'' Aside from the past fateful encounters, he also learned about the esteemed individuals who had not yet returned to the village. Niu Chang pondered it for a moment, considering the danger. In the end, he found himself inside the forest, taking his chances. After a short time in the forest, Niu Chang halted his steps, confronted by signs of a recent battle. Sword marks marred the trees, some toppled, and the ground lay devastated. ¡®Am I really this fortunate?¡¯ Niu Chang pondered, unsure if his luck was favorable or otherwise. If it was good luck, then he had entered the forest at a crucial moment. But if it was ill-fated, he had entered at a time of great danger. Approaching the destroyed tree, he examined the sword marks. Some were shallow, others deep, and a few even succeeded in felling nearby trees. "These seem to be the result of martial artists employing sword techniques. Perhaps the two wandering martial artists?" Niu Chang speculated. Following the trail of the battle, Niu Chang stumbled upon something unexpected. Traces of a peculiar energy piqued his interest. Touching a decaying, withered tree for no apparent reason, Niu Chang sensed an unusual energy permeating it. As the qi within the tree resonated with him, Niu Chang narrowed his eyes. "Cold and lifeless. It feels more like the dead qi of a demonic cultivator rather than the brutal aura of a beast." ¡®Could this be the machinations of a mere random demonic cultivator, or does it hold some connection to my fateful encounters?¡¯ Niu Chang pondered deeply. ¡®If indeed there is a correlation, then which one of my encounters could it possibly be?¡¯ His mind raced, deducing various possibilities and envisioning different outcomes. But he was dissatisfied with the ordinary paths, and Niu Chang''s attention turned to the periphery of his vision. He nodded, embracing the allure of the unknown. If Niu Chang were an ordinary individual, he would have eagerly rushed to the aid of the wandering martial artists, chasing after the trail of the battle like a valiant knight in shining armor, mounted on his majestic white steed. But in this world, there were no "ifs." ¡®In the end, it''s not just about the demonic snake. There are other factors at play, and I choose to trust my instincts as an experienced reader.¡¯ Recalling the forest''s terrain in his mind, Niu Chang identified potential hiding spots for the massive demonic snake. As for the two wandering martial artists, they would have to rely on their own abilities. Directing his steps towards the first designated location, Niu Chang arrived in a dense section of the forest. The trees stood so close together that sunlight struggled to penetrate the canopy, casting an eerie darkness. Trusting his seasoned instincts, Niu Chang pressed forward into the heart of the foreboding realm. Even at midday, the forest emanated a chilling aura. The rustling of leaves created an unnerving symphony, amplified by the meticulous arrangement of the trees. "Come out! I know you''ve been watching me!" Niu Chang suddenly bellowed, exuding confidence. His eyes gleamed with determination, unwavering in the face of uncertainty. It was a reckless move, driven by curiosity and the desire to explore the possibilities of his newfound circumstances. Niu Chang contemplated the consequences, unaware of the answer he sought. Humans were like this¡ªcurious about actions they longed to take but were unable to. Now that Niu Chang had the opportunity, he wouldn''t squander it. Have you ever wondered what would happen if the main character acted foolishly and incited suspicion in their adversaries? Well, Niu Chang didn''t know the answer, but he aimed to find out. There was no cost to such a gamble; in fact, it could only benefit him if it worked. After all, his system required a trigger to activate. To meet his demise, unaware of an assassin lurking in the shadows, while relying on the invincibility bestowed by the Automatic System Answerer, would be a grave disappointment. Niu Chang stood his ground, unwavering. He possessed an unwavering belief that nothing could sway his resolve, even if he was merely pretending. His own conviction would convince even himself of the sincerity behind his charade. "Still too afraid to show yourself? Do you need me to pinpoint your hiding spot, you fool!" Niu Chang calmly surveyed his surroundings, though his actions lacked purpose. He reveled in his own bravado. "Hmph, a mere rat that eats shit, hiding in a hole full of filth, smelling like excrement, consuming feces day in and day out, and giving birth to more pieces of shit like itself-" Niu Chang intended to continue his creative string of insults, but his foolish theatrics succeeded. The wind fell silent, and a faint yet formidable aura enveloped the area where Niu Chang stood. ''So, it''s not the demonic snake after all,'' Niu Chang thought, bewildered. He had anticipated bypassing the mob fights and encounters with wandering martial artists to face an unprepared boss directly. Little did he know that instead of the demonic snake, he would find himself face-to-face with a rather unexpected enemy. Chapter 31 - Jie Tiangong Jie Tiangong concealed his weary frame behind the dense foliage of the forest as he observed Niu Chang with a mix of intrigue and desperation. Time slipped through his trembling hands, each passing moment a painful reminder of his mortal limitations. After observing Niu Chang for a while from his hidden position, Jie Tiangong concluded that this kid didn''t show any strangeness except for his confident antics. As Jie Tiangong prepared to make his move to prevent this ignorant boy, he noticed that the boy suddenly turned his head towards his hidden location. ¡®Impossible,¡¯ thought Jie Tiangong. ¡®I¡¯m clearly hiding my presence with Concealing Art. This must be one of his antics!¡¯ As a martial master with deep cultivation, slightly less than reaching the martial grandmaster stage, Jie Tiangong believed his improved Concealing Art was enough to remain hidden from those below the master stage. On Niu Chang''s side, while anticipating any surprise attack with tense nerves, he suddenly heard the system notification, but it disappeared before he could see the content. The Automatic System Answerer didn''t disappoint Niu Chang''s expectations for its function. Knowing it was his own passive skill in action, Niu Chang shifted his gaze towards a certain direction. This was the connection he had with his hidden adversary. The system also gave Niu Chang an unhindered sense of direction with those who established karma with him. Niu Chang was calm at first, but only a few moments later, he felt a huge amount of qi entering his body like a flood after a dam was broken. Due to his low level of control over his qi, Niu Chang''s body was surrounded by a raging wind. But this wind had the color of his Transformation Energy qi, which was dim white, proving that the quantities were too great and causing visual effects due to his low-level qi. Feeling suffocated by the overwhelming qi in his body, Niu Chang helplessly let go of his control over his qi. He knew his limits; if he tried to forcefully control and contain them inside his body, he would explode before controlling even a quarter of them. ¡®What cultivation level is this?¡¯ Niu Chang marveled at this sense of being overpowered, intensifying his gaze. This was no longer an ordinary enemy like the bandits from the previous day. This person''s cultivation was beyond anything he could understand. ¡®Master stage? Grandmaster stage? Or something higher?¡¯ Niu Chang furrowed his eyebrows, unable to help but complain. ¡®What is a big shot doing in this poor backwater village?¡¯ While he was confused by the turn of events, Niu Chang saw an elderly man walking out from behind the trees. An aged cultivator, carried the weight of time upon his weathered face and silver hair. His piercing eyes held the wisdom of countless battles, while his graceful movements revealed hidden strength. Clad in flowing robes, he wielded a staff and wore a pendant that symbolized his spiritual enlightenment. In his presence, one could feel the indomitable spirit of a martial artist who had journeyed through the realms of cultivation. After pondering for a while, Jie Tiangong decided to take a closer look at this weird boy. ¡®I''m pretty sure he is just an ordinary third-rate martial artist, but then he suddenly becomes a grandmaster stage martial artist based on the quantity of his qi alone. Unreasonable!¡¯ The main difference between the master stage and the grandmaster stage still lay in quantity and quality, but when it came to utilization, grandmasters could prevent the weakening of their qi after leaving their body. This could be seen from the color of the qi. The more vibrant the color, the stronger the grandmaster. Regarding texture and other qualities, it mainly depended on the cultivation method that the grandmaster practiced. Standing on guard while formulating a plan, Niu Chang watched the old man walking with no less caution than himself. Both were scrutinizing and probing each other''s depths. ¡°Who are you?¡± Niu Chang emotionlessly said, without adding any additional movement, he was like an untouchable expert. Jie Tiangong frowned when seeing this; he could feel something was amiss but didn¡¯t dare to jump to conclusions. No matter how sloppy Niu Chang''s acting skills were, the fact that he had qi comparable to the grandmaster stage was enough for Jie Tiangong to be more doubtful. ¡®Is he playing with me?¡¯ Living for a long time and almost reaching his end, Jie Tiangong had already seen many things. One common occurrence was encountering individuals with a high cultivation level but an eccentric mind. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. There was a probability that Niu Chang was just teasing him at the moment. Acting with deliberate small mistakes might be a skill he had honed all his life to lower his opponent¡¯s guard. After reaching a certain distance, Jie Tiangong was finally able to see more clearly the condition of Niu Chang. The raging qi that flowed from Niu Chang¡¯s body was somewhat weak, indicating a low-level cultivation method. Moreover, more importantly, the qi was exiting his small body freely. ¡®Is this still an act? How can a grandmaster be unable to control his own qi?¡¯ With a condescending look, Niu Chang snorted. ¡°A mere junior dares to cast his gaze upon the great me? Have you had enough of your life?!¡± His tone was harsh, just like how a person of great power reprimanded those with low status. At this point, Niu Chang didn¡¯t even need to act since he had always wanted to do this for a long time. It was ingrained in his bones to act more pretentious than an emperor and more sanctimonious than a god. While on the inside, he was busy conducting various tests that he couldn''t do primarily due to his lack of qi and low qi cultivation level. ¡®Oh, so this is how you split the qi into two parts and control them independently.¡¯ ¡®Oh, this is the correct method of seamlessly transforming my normal qi into a different type of qi.¡¯ ¡®Oh, oh, this is how¡­¡¯ In just a short amount of time, Niu Chang learned many things about qi and how to control it. Slowly but surely, his control over his qi slightly increased. However, compared to the quantity that compared to the grandmaster stage, his control was as slow as a moving snail. Jie Tiangong also didn''t do anything; the more he observed Niu Chang, the more he discovered many mistakes that were impossible for a grandmaster. ¡®It''s simple to let the qi flow unhindered from leaving the body; even a first-stage martial artist could do it without any problem. But the micro mistakes he made were simply impossible.¡¯ Instead of controlling his qi by dividing it into branches to gain more precise and powerful control, Niu Chang could only control his qi entirely with singular control. There was also the uneven qi distribution when circulating the qi, which was one of the basics for those who wanted to reach the peak stage. There were too many small yet crucial mistakes in Niu Chang. Jie Tiangong narrowed his eyes, closely observing Niu Chang''s foundation. The reason why a master was called a master was because of their overall control over their qi. Those unaffiliated martial artists might think it was about the martial master''s control over the qi outside their body, but for those with a teacher and sect, they knew it was about the qi inside the body. Jie Tiangong''s eyes brightened as he noticed the missing foundation inside Niu Chang''s body. The qi inside his body, which was obstructed by the raging flow of qi, was seen through by the experienced Jie Tiangong. ¡®There was no proper path and construct inside his body at all! How can this be?¡¯ Jie Tiangong was more shocked than angry at being deceived. ¡®Impossible! With this amount of qi, it is impossible for him to stay alive. Only by letting those overflowing qi in his body could he delay the immense pressure inside.¡¯ Arriving at this conjecture, Jie Tiangong once again looked at Niu Chang''s eyes. His gaze was sharp, and without even realizing it, he had entered a death battle with the little boy. ¡°This boy is just pretending! How hateful.¡± Jie Tiangong cursed under his breath. Increasing the strength of his grip on the staff, Jie Tiangong circulated the qi in his body. ¡°Boy, how dare you play with me. It seems that your elder didn¡¯t teach you how to live properly.¡± Filled with anger, Jie Tiangong raised his staff slightly and knocked it on the ground with a momentum not too fast nor too slow. The previous grievances, the poem of rat, and the pretentious actions, Jie Tiangong was now taking his time to collect his interest. With a blunt sound, the energy channeled inside the staff lets out an invisible sound wave that travels at great speed reaching Niu Chang. Without lowering his guard at all, Niu Chang urged up the qi in his body to solidify to protect him from any attack that he couldn¡¯t see or hear. The dim white qi that flowed out from Niu Chang¡¯s body stirred but not entirely. They began to change direction to linger around Niu Chang like a coiling snake or a circumstanced armor. Bang. A loud sound suddenly exploded from Niu Chang¡¯s body. The qi that protects his body was destroyed in an instant and returned to their uncontrollable behavior while the person himself was sent flying backward. Niu Chang¡¯s vision was rolling; he was unable to follow what just happened, and the next moment he realized he was sent flying, and a tree stopped him from flying farther. ¡®The qi protects me from direct confrontation, but my physical body plays a more important role. Without the enhancement of the Impossible Idea first level, I¡¯m afraid I will be half-dead at best.¡¯ While Niu Chang tried his best to observe his surroundings and plan a counter-attack, his sharp senses captured the changes of wind pressure in front of him. His eyes widened, and he clenched his teeth for the incoming impact. Jie Tiangong was giving his all but still maintained some caution against Niu Chang. In the end, Niu Chang still has qi quantity that is higher than him, comparable to those martial grandmasters. But also because of this, Jie Tiangong¡¯s attacks were fierce. If it were ordinary first-rate martial artists, they would die from the first attack at best, hanging for their life. Tap, tap, tap, tap. Jie Tiangong continuously tapped his staff onto the ground and watched how Niu Chang would react. Receiving the painful beating from Jie Tiangong, Niu Chang was hurt, not his body, but his pride. ¡°Damn old man!¡± Niu Chang roared loudly, but before he could say something more provocative, he received more sonic attacks from Jie Tiangong. Chapter 32 - Martial Symphony Being attacked from various angles, Niu Chang was tossed around like a sack of potatoes. Jie Tiangong counted his attacks from the start to the present. "I have already attacked him more than fifty-six times, and yet he still survived?" Although Jie Tiangong was strong and much stronger than the paper tiger Niu Chang, he was ultimately just an ordinary master stage martial artist. He had limited qi, and every time he used Sonic Tap, a small amount of his qi would be depleted. To save his qi reserve for unexpected situations, Jie Tiangong slowed down his attacks to probe a little further. "As long as I maintain intervals between my Sonic Taps, it is not impossible to keep attacking this stinky boy." Niu Chang, who had been focused on defending the entire time, noticed that the attacks decreased. He knew his true strength compared to any martial artist. The system provided him with an endless supply of qi, so as long as the enemy didn''t kill him in one attack, Niu Chang would ultimately win, no matter how painful and long the process might be. "Heh, you stinky shit-eating rat. Have you grown tired? Did that worn-out body of yours reach its limit after consuming shit your entire life? That''s why you should eat proper food-" "Kugh!" Niu Chang suddenly received a greater attack in the middle of reciting his poem about rats. Jie Tiangong''s ears turned red when he heard such mocking words from Niu Chang. He was old and had experienced many things, but he still couldn''t accept some random boy saying anything about him. "Hehe. Boy, let''s see how long you can last," Jie Tiangong snickered with an evil smile. "Hehe. Old ghost, let''s see how long your stick can last," Niu Chang followed suit in his defensive position. Jie Tiangong was stunned, and his evil smile began to fade. He no longer had the mood to play with Niu Chang. Changing his qi circulation, Jie Tiangong used a different technique to forcefully penetrate Niu Chang''s hard turtle shell. The tapping sound of the staff and the ground halted for a moment, and the next moment, Niu Chang felt a powerful attack coming in his direction. It was still the invincible sonic attack, but this one carried a heavy atmosphere. Hammering Beat. This technique had more destructive force but also required charging time and was more difficult to use compared to the instant casting of Sonic Tap. "Old man, you have no shame at all. I thought we were friends who got along during this short time, but instead, you chose to return to your shit-eating rat pathetic life-" Still not giving up on his poem about rats, Niu Chang was hit by Hammering Beat. His body, which had been lifted up by Sonic Tap, was slammed down as if an invisible hammer had struck him. The ground cracked, causing dust and soil to fly around. Niu Chang was embedded deep into the ground, bleeding from every hole in his head. Drying the soil with his blood, Niu Chang was unconscious due to the powerful impact. But thankfully, the endless supply of vitality quickly restored his consciousness. Blowing the blood out of his nasal cavity, Niu Chang slowly raised his battered body. Every part of his body crackled with a loud sound, like old gear full of rust. Jie Tiangong stopped using his Sonic Tap since it wouldn''t do anything to Niu Chang. He decided to observe first and make a move later. The main reason was still the same: Niu Chang''s qi was still flowing freely from his body without any change. Even Jie Tiangong couldn''t help but feel doubtful about Niu Chang''s cultivation level. "Is he really a grandmaster? This amount of qi, from the start until now, is not just at the master stage. I couldn''t even sustain such consumption myself." Standing on his feet, Niu Chang glared fiercely at Jie Tiangong. This was the first time he had been beaten up so heavily, and he couldn''t even do anything about it. "Look, boy, we don''t have any real conflict between us. It was you who started to antagonize me in the first place. If you know what''s best for you, you should know what to do," Jie Tiangong coldly said. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Niu Chang had been absent minded just now, but he sobered up shortly before Jie Tiangong finished his speech. "Ah, indeed. We didn''t have any deep conflict, so I agree, let''s just forget about our misunderstanding from before," Niu Chang said honestly. ''Like I will believe your nonsense! You clearly wanted to take my life just now. The system was triggered by you.'' Cursing in his heart, Niu Chang slowly stirred up the emotions within him. His restless mind started to calm down. "It''s good that you still have common sense," Jie Tiangong nodded. But his eyes were fixed on Niu Chang. He had his own reasons to confront Niu Chang, not only because of his taunts from before. Jie Tiangong raised his staff at lightning speed and shouted, "Burial of Silence!" Profound qi exited his body, and with the staff as the medium, waves of silence were directed at Niu Chang. Niu Chang snorted inwardly. The transformation of his qi had already finished. The dim white qi around his body was tainted with a red color, partially dyed. Raising the corner of his mouth, the overflowing qi suddenly found its purpose. The red qi turned into cherry blossom petal shadows flying around Niu Chang''s body. The cherry blossom petal shadows were illusory, without a fixed form. Interchanging between cherry blossom petals and lumps of red qi. Jie Tiangong felt a sudden rush of fresh cherry blossom fragrance in his nose and watched the smile on Niu Chang''s face. The precise control of his Burial of Silence was disrupted for a moment, but it was enough for Niu Chang to avoid being targeted. "A beguiling technique?" Jie Tiangong found it amusing for a small boy to learn such a feminine technique. But that was all. He redirected the invisible sound wave to target Niu Chang once again. Feeling the change in his surroundings, Niu Chang felt helpless. He knew that his Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red was merely superficial. It was only thanks to the large quantity that he was able to affect the state of mind of someone like Jie Tiangong. Unwilling to give up, he kept using his Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red to disgust Jie Tiangong to death. ''I never thought I would find myself in this situation, the one I hate the most, in my first real fight. Facing an enemy without the ability to kill them in one clean strike.'' It wasn''t that he didn''t want to use the Demonic Embrace of Lady in White and Red or Dream Visit, but he was unable to use them. These two skills were only theories that Niu Chang had come up with. Jie Tiangong watched as Niu Chang tried to escape. He tapped his staff on the ground, and an invisible Sonic Tap was instantly cast, attacking Niu Chang without any delay. Niu Chang''s plan to escape was blocked by Jie Tiangong, and now he found himself blasted by the attack. Tossed into the air, Niu Chang turned his face to show his smile. Jie Tiangong calmly looked at him. Then he felt that distracting emotion once again in his heart. But that was enough for him to test his guess. "Hahaha! Boy, I have already analyzed the weakness of your technique. You need to show your smile to your enemy. Now you can''t escape anymore. Surrender obediently, and I may let you go," Jie Tiangong laughed as he cornered Niu Chang with his Sonic Tap and Burial of Silence. Niu Chang''s heart sank when he heard it. With his own incompetence, he sighed and did his best to avoid the haunting Burial of Silence. But he still used his smile to distract Jie Tiangong''s mind. Without this distraction, it was impossible for Niu Chang to escape. His Rapid Leaf Step was ultimately a mortal martial skill without any utilization of qi. To escape from Jie Tiangong''s Burial of Silence powered by qi, it was too weak. Noticing the change in Niu Chang''s qi, Jie Tiangong closed his eyes to avoid his smile. Even without looking at Niu Chang, he was still able to determine his location. Sound-based martial arts were very rare, and even more so were practitioners who reached a high level like Jie Tiangong. Now, with his hearing alone and the help of an auxiliary martial technique called Clear Sound, he was able to locate Niu Chang''s position. Niu Chang frowned when he saw Jie Tiangong close his eyes. But sensing that weird attack closing in, Niu Chang knew that Jie Tiangong was using some auxiliary martial skill to locate his position. He urged the qi into his throat and screamed at the top of his lungs. "AAAAAAAAA!!!" There was no need for him to guess the method that Jie Tiangong used to locate him. He used sound-based martial skill, and that clue alone was enough. The calm forest stirred, and the leaves swayed from the loud scream. Feeling the feedback from his enhanced senses through the first level of the Impossible Idea, Niu Chang knew he had gained a small moment to distance himself from the Burial of Silence. "AAAAAAAAA!!!" Jie Tiangong''s brows knitted when he heard the scream disturbing his Clear Sound. But he reacted calmly, opening his mouth and letting out an even louder shout. Niu Chang was stunned for a moment and felt his eardrums almost explode from this powerful shout. Fresh blood flowed from Niu Chang''s ears. But he didn''t dare to pay attention to them and opened his mouth to scream once again. The two of them kept up their performance in a stalemate. Not too far from them, Wei Hong and Wan You heard the loud voices. Chapter 33 - Shen Sanhua The conditions of Wan You and Wei Hong were not good. After being chased throughout the night with very little rest, they were tired and worn out. When they were targeted, they attempted to fight ''Dong Qiuyue''. However, to their surprise, ''Dong Qiuyue'' easily overpowered them with her powerful cultivation level. They tried to escape but found that ''Dong Qiuyue'' blocked their paths every time they attempted to do so. "Senior brother, there is someone else in this forest," Wei Hong followed her senior brother from behind, her face lacking its previous luster and her eyes cloudy. "That place again," Wan You looked towards the source of the loud voices, the dense part of the forest. "That possessed girl keeps pushing us towards this place. There must be something wrong there," Wan You added. "This possessed girl could easily kill both of us and consume our blood, but she didn''t do it. Instead, she kept forcing us to this place." Wan You was in better condition than Wei Hong since he always trained his body and mind to increase his cultivation level every day. Not sleeping for one or two days wouldn''t be a big problem for him. The only damage from his fight with ''Dong Qiuyue'' to protect Wei Hong was his torn clothes. After contemplating and considering Wei Hong''s condition, Wan You decided to give it a try. After all, there were other people in that place. If anything went wrong, they could make ''Dong Qiuyue'' give up on them and target others. "Are you still able to hold on?" Wan You softly asked Wei Hong. If it weren''t for his junior sister, he could have escaped the pursuit of ''Dong Qiuyue'' long ago. "Um," Wei Hong weakly responded, as she had already pushed her body to its limit. If she decided to rest, then she would make Wan You block ''Dong Qiuyue'' for her. After repeating this pattern from the previous night until now, she no longer wanted to see Wan You suffer any longer for her. "Let''s hurry up," Wan You said. Inside the dense part of the forest, the battle over who could scream louder had already changed. Jie Tiangong decided to face Niu Chang head-on, even though he would have to endure the discomfort of being charmed by a stinky boy. ''I thought this boy''s charm skill would be dangerous, but it was only a facade. His mastery is still too low to utilize this strange beguiling technique,'' Jie Tiangong gave his opinion. Jie Tiangong couldn''t help but wonder how Niu Chang could use such a high-level technique with such a low level of proficiency. Niu Chang knew nothing about the world of martial arts, so he was unaware of what was considered normal or abnormal. Even if he knew that his mastery of his newly created skills was lacking, he could only rely on the fact that he was the creator of the techniques. Niu Chang understood the essence of the technique, but his cultivation level was too low to properly demonstrate the true value of his self-created martial techniques. Trapped inside the invisible Burial of Silence, Niu Chang was bombarded by Hammering Beats from all directions. However, it wasn''t enough for Jie Tiangong to kill Niu Chang, who was protected by an unreasonable amount of qi shielding his body. So Jie Tiangong used two more techniques to end the fight. "Boy, give up. You are trapped inside my Burial of Silence. Your life and death are in my hands. If you choose to surrender, I will spare your life in exchange for your secret," Jie Tiangong said, intrigued by the secret behind Niu Chang''s seemingly unlimited amount of qi. He suspected it was a special constitution, but he dismissed the idea as impossible. ''How could a simple special constitution directly boost someone to the level of a grandmaster without any drawbacks and continuously replenish their qi? It was unheard of.'' Jie Tiangong wanted to claim this secret for himself, but he knew his time was limited. If he prolonged the battle, something unexpected might happen. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Inside the Burial of Silence, all kinds of sounds were eliminated. Niu Chang''s body was restricted by countless invisible chains made of sound waves. ''It went better than I expected. Although the old man''s attacks were fierce and painful, it still couldn''t kill me in one single strike.'' It wasn''t to say that the attacks were weak by any means, but sound-based martial skills had this inherent weakness. While sounds were easily produced and controlled by martial artists, they lacked physical properties and thus had less strength compared to swords and other martial techniques. Niu Chang had already gained many insights from his various tests, and now he could control the overflowing qi to surround his body as a means of protection. However, it was still too weak, so he compensated by continuously replenishing it with the help of the system. Jie Tiangong shifted his gaze to a certain direction and sensed multiple presences approaching his location. "It must be the two from last night," he acutely guessed the identity of Wan You and Wei Hong. However, his attention was drawn to another presence following them¡ªan eerie and lifeless sensation. "The headless ghost is here too?" "No, it''s no longer a headless ghost but a possessed girl," his mind raced as he looked at the hard-to-kill Niu Chang. He contemplated whether to stay or leave Niu Chang to deal with the uninvited guests. "Hmph, boy, you''re lucky this time," Jie Tiangong said as he released Niu Chang from the Burial of Silence and retreated into the forest. Niu Chang, whose body was restrained in mid-air, fell to the ground with a small thud. Opening his eyes, he couldn''t find Jie Tiangong''s figure. "Did he choose to give up?" Niu Chang wondered if it was a trap, but then he turned his head and saw the weary and exhausted Wan You and Wei Hong. Wan You was wary of Niu Chang. Niu Chang''s body emanated a powerful pressure, and the overflowing qi from his body was beyond his comprehension. "A grandmaster?" Wei Hong asked the question, as both of them had encountered a few master and grandmaster stage experts in their sect and were aware of the characteristics of a grandmaster stage. Niu Chang silently observed them. He didn''t know who they were and didn''t care. He chose to escape first. However, when he tried to choose a direction, he found himself bound to the mission given by the system. Thus, he could only pursue Jie Tiangong. He could vaguely sense Jie Tiangong''s location and distance, but he discovered that the old man was hiding not far away. "What is this old man planning? Stirring up trouble?" Niu Chang asked himself. Fearful of the unknown punishment from the system, Niu Chang turned his body to chase after Jie Tiangong. But then he felt a vague sensation¡ªa cold wind blowing in his direction. Behind the two unknown individuals, he saw a figure cloaked in darkness running swiftly towards his location. Gradually, he recognized that figure. "What? Why is it this girl?" "Senior, may we ask for your assistance?" Wan You, with his righteous character, asked Niu Chang as he moved to avoid ''Dong Qiuyue''. Emerging from behind the dense trees, the naked ''Dong Qiuyue'' slowly revealed herself. Her skin was pale, her eyes dim and lifeless. She moved like a mechanical puppet at times and like a normal human at others. ''Dong Qiuyue'' raised her eyes and fixed her gaze on the retreating Niu Chang. [Established karma with Shen Sanhua.] The Automatic System Answerer chose the second option without delay, but Niu Chang continued to look at the system. ''Her name is Shen Sanhua?'' he carefully observed ''Dong Qiuyue''. The longer he looked at her, the stronger the feeling of familiarity grew. It wasn''t his connection with the real ''Dong Qiuyue'', but rather a connection with the person called Shen Sanhua. However, since Niu Chang didn''t know ''Dong Qiuyue''''s name, he couldn''t be sure and deduce the source of this peculiar familiarity. As if triggered by something, the puppet-like Shen Sanhua also felt a strong attraction towards Niu Chang, more so than the two she had chased throughout the night. Her abyss-like black eyes were fixed on Niu Chang. With her low intelligence, she couldn''t find any useful answer, so she followed her instinct as a ghost and aimed to kill him. Ghostly qi enveloped her body as she launched herself at Niu Chang. Niu Chang pushed away his distracting thoughts and faced Shen Sanhua head-on. He covered his body with a dim white qi and charged forward. The height difference between them wasn''t significant, with ''Dong Qiuyue'' standing about one head taller than Niu Chang. Boosting his physical attributes with qi, Niu Chang stomped with his left leg and threw a punch with his right hand. He could feel that his body received a huge qi boost thanks to his karma with Shen Sanhua. But he was bewildered because the amount of qi wasn''t much different from what he had experienced with the previous old man. Realizing he had underestimated his opponent, Niu Chang decided to bite the bullet and channeled even more qi into his right fist. The stiff and mechanical Shen Sanhua moved solely on instinct and skillfully evaded Niu Chang''s powerful punch. Her sudden movements were precise, without any unnecessary actions, reminiscent of a trained martial artist. Chapter 34 - The Showdown with Shen Sanhua Shen Sanhua''s sudden agile movements, resembling those of a martial artist, were the main reason Wan You, who had the advantage of high intelligence, couldn''t defeat and kill her. If it were an ordinary possessed person, regardless of their high cultivation level, lacking any spiritual intelligence, they would be no different from mere moving practice targets. After deftly avoiding Niu Chang''s right punch by shifting her body, Shen Sanhua skillfully utilized Niu Chang''s momentum to her advantage and delivered a powerful kick to his head. Unable to keep up with her high-speed movements, Niu Chang was sent flying backward. Fortunately, since he primarily focused on defense, his head remained intact despite the force of the kick. After landing on the ground, Niu Chang felt a pang of pain in his neck, but it quickly subsided. ''What was that? It felt as though someone else was controlling that body, rather than this lifeless girl. Wait, lifeless? Is this little girl possessed by something? The system didn''t mention two names. Does that mean the little girl is already dead and her body is now fully occupied by this Shen Sanhua?'' Various thoughts raced through Niu Chang''s mind, but he only paid attention to the important ones, as Shen Sanhua had already made her second move. Niu Chang didn''t back down from the challenge and charged forward. No matter how strong his enemy was, they were ultimately limited by their qi and stamina. "Senior brother, why does this boy''s movement seem so crude?" Wei Hong couldn''t help but ask. She could sense the domineering qi emanating from Niu Chang''s body, but her nature deeply ingrained calling Niu Chang a boy. "Don''t speak nonsense. Even if this senior lacks refined martial techniques, his cultivation level is at the grandmaster level. So watch your mouth next time," Wan You reprimanded tersely. They observed the battle between Niu Chang and Shen Sanhua. Instead of calling it a battle, it seemed more like a one-sided beating. Initially, Niu Chang had the advantage with his agile movements, but as they closed in, Shen Sanhua gained the upper hand and delivered fatal blows to Niu Chang''s vital spots. Niu Chang was effectively sent flying backward, but he gradually learned from his mistakes and was thrown less frequently. Before long, the battle neared its end, as Shen Sanhua''s qi began to dwindle. Each of her attacks carried powerful qi that could easily kill Wan You with a single strike. However, facing the resilient Niu Chang, her power wasn''t enough to kill him in one attack. "Senior brother, why does this senior always smile before attacking the spirit?" Wei Hong couldn''t help but ask after noticing Niu Chang consistently smiling at Shen Sanhua. This question had also crossed Wan You''s mind, but he didn''t voice it. "Perhaps it''s some kind of martial art that this senior has practiced. Don''t you see how his white qi turns red when he smiles?" "Yes, his qi turns red when he smiles, and I can faintly smell the fragrance of cherry blossoms. Senior brother, do you think he is from the Lunar Blossom sect?" The Lunar Blossom sect was a powerful and well-known sect that focused on cherry blossoms as their core technique. "Perhaps, but I''ve met disciples from the Lunar Blossom sect before. Their core cultivation method didn''t involve red qi; instead, it was silver in color." Due to their distance and Niu Chang''s limited mastery of his skills, the effect wasn''t very effective for the two disciples. They only felt a slight turmoil in their hearts, not enough to grab their attention. However, Wan You, being aware of this, couldn''t help but speculate that the technique Niu Chang used was some form of beguiling technique. "Could he be from the Hundred Flower Pavilion?" Wei Hong asked softly, hiding her face from Niu Chang. "What are you talking about? Didn''t I tell you not to speak nonsense? And how do you know about the Hundred Flower Pavilion?" Wan You turned his face and glared at his junior sister. "Well... I heard it from a disciple of the sect," Wei Hong evaded Wan You''s gaze and tried not to put the blame on her friend, knowing her senior brother would take care of this small mishap. Shen Sanhua''s stiff movements became slower, and the ghostly qi surrounding her body greatly decreased, leaving only a faint wisp of smoke. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Niu Chang remained cautious of Shen Sanhua''s potentially powerful final blow and kept his distance. He closed in on her while goading her to waste her energy to the limit. Suddenly, Shen Sanhua turned her head towards a certain direction and ran without hesitation. Not wanting to give his enemy a chance to transform into her second form, Niu Chang chased after Shen Sanhua. After numerous attempts, Niu Chang was finally able to superficially integrate the use of qi into his Rapid Leaf Step, but it was enough. Shen Sanhua, low on ghostly qi, couldn''t escape from Niu Chang. Her heightened instincts only triggered when faced with an attack. Niu Chang passed her and blocked her path, charging forward to prevent her from reaching her goal. If Niu Chang could kill Shen Sanhua directly, he would have done so long ago. Even with his Impact skill, he still needed to land a clear hit on his enemy. Shen Sanhua''s martial instincts kicked in, and she used her remaining qi to deliver a fatal and powerful blow towards Niu Chang. Though pushed backward, Niu Chang charged forward once more. Again and again, he denied Shen Sanhua any chance to advance towards her goal. Not far from Niu Chang, a hidden cave nestled among dense trees. Inside the shadowy cave, there were movements as if gigantic lines were flowing. Near the entrance of the cave, Jie Tiangong watched attentively. "Will the battle outside attract the attention of the snake?" "Although my plan didn''t go as intended, since it successfully attracted the snake''s attention, it doesn''t matter. As long as I get my hands on that thing, I can break through to the grandmaster level and possibly achieve the next step to immortality!" Jie Tiangong observed the movements inside the cave, his contentment evident. A faint, indistinct fragrance emanated from within the cave but quickly dissipated in the wind. The shadows inside the cave shifted, and two bright lights suddenly illuminated. Puff. Niu Chang blocked Shen Sanhua''s punch. However, he was no longer being pushed backward, as her punch no longer contained qi to increase its power. Realizing the opportune moment, Niu Chang''s eyes gleamed as he controlled his qi throughout his body to deliver a devastating blow. The left hand that blocked the punch flipped and caught Shen Sanhua''s hand. Without hesitation, Niu Chang thrust his right punch towards her chest. If he were taller, he would have aimed for her head, shattering it to pieces. But for now, he settled for the chest, intending to destroy her heart and obliterate her chest completely. The punch was only a few centimeters away from its target when the ground trembled, causing Niu Chang to lose his footing. Unyielding, he chose to continue, pulling Shen Sanhua''s left hand to draw her closer and unleashing a powerful right fist. A massive shadow flashed among the trees, catching Niu Chang''s peripheral vision¡ªa vague, long black snake heading in his direction. "So what? I want to see you save this girl from me!" Niu Chang''s right fist struck Shen Sanhua''s chest, the accumulated momentum and the Impact skill combining to create a powerful explosion. Niu Chang''s vision blurred amidst the raging qi, and he still felt the cold touch of Shen Sanhua''s hand. However, receiving no notification from the system, he disregarded the obstructing qi, relying on his sense of direction from the system. Aware that the distance was too great for her hand to remain intact, he threw it away. "There!" Niu Chang sensed his target''s location and unleashed another powerful right punch. Bam! Still no notification from the system. Niu Chang used his left hand to launch another attack, retracting his right hand. The demonic snake drew closer. The trembling ground intensified, announcing its presence. "DIE!" Niu Chang unleashed a barrage of fierce attacks with both hands, relentlessly striking Shen Sanhua. The explosive qi did not hinder his assault; he kept hitting his target. [Acquired karma point 3421] Seeing the system window in front of him, Niu Chang immediately distanced himself from Shen Sanhua and ran away. His heart raced relentlessly, the adrenaline pumping through his veins, and his vision restricted. Tension and nerve-wracking anxiety filled the air. ''Thankfully, I was able to destroy the cliche I hate the most!'' Niu Chang felt a sense of pride in eliminating the development he despised the most. He ran with all his might. Having witnessed the enemy escaping in the midst of battle and subsequently returning with powerful allies or gaining increased strength, Niu Chang had encountered this scenario numerous times in the stories he had read. Naturally, he was determined not to repeat the same mistake. Although he sensed the strange feeling of deviating from his mission target, Jie Tiangong, he didn''t care. He needed a moment to rest and calm his mind. After putting some distance between himself and Shen Sanhua, Niu Chang protected his body with qi and scanned his surroundings, searching for the massive snake. However, his thoughts were abruptly interrupted when he received a notification from the system, causing a momentary distraction. Chapter 35 - Demonic Snake Watching the demonic snake slither out of the cave, Jie Tiangong felt a surge of happiness and decided to leave his spot. He approached the cave silently, careful not to disturb anything. Deep within the forest lay an enigmatic cave, its large opening concealing a vast and dark interior. Venturing inside meant unraveling a world of secrets and wonders, beckoning exploration into the unknown. Finally, Jie Tiangong took his first step into the cave, and a sense of joy blossomed within him. "After waiting for more than half a year, I have finally entered this cave. If it weren''t for that snake, I would have already claimed the treasure it holds." As Jie Tiangong ventured deeper into the cave, he passed through a dark passage and entered a spacious interior. The gray-colored walls surrounded him, with a small hole in the center providing the only source of light. At the heart of the cave stood a small stone, upon which rested a yellow branch bearing a single red fruit. The fragrance emitted by the red fruit aroused Jie Tiangong''s curiosity. It possessed the characteristics of an extraordinary elixir. Animals that cultivated their abilities were known as ferocious beasts, while ghosts and evil spirits were referred to as spirits. Plants capable of cultivation were called elixirs. Unlike ferocious beasts, which had useless parts, every part of transformed plants was valuable and filled with treasures. However, in terms of strength, transformed plants were weaker than ferocious beasts at the same level. "It''s real! There truly is an elixir in this small place! Hahaha, my luck is good. With this, I should have enough time to break through and become immortal." Unable to contain his excitement, Jie Tiangong quickened his pace. However, as he approached the red fruit, he reminded himself to remain cautious in case the elixir was sentient and posed a threat. He leaned on his staff, which resonated through the cave, exploring hidden cracks and crevices. After tapping a few more times, he concluded that there was nothing else lurking within the cave, and his smile grew wider. Standing in place, Jie Tiangong used his qi to control sound waves, ensuring he didn''t take any chances. The air around him stirred as an invisible sound wave approached the red fruit. The sound wave successfully touched the red fruit, and Jie Tiangong swiftly grabbed it. "Why don''t you celebrate?" A soothing and gentle voice, that of a young woman, sounded behind Jie Tiangong. But before he could turn his head, thin yet hard yellow branches pierced his chest, instantly destroying his heart. The remaining branches began to absorb his vitality and cultivation base. "What...?" Jie Tiangong died without understanding what had killed him, his eyes filled with resentment towards the cruel world that had snatched away his hope. In the dense forest, Niu Chang was still tense after making the nerve-wracking decision to kill Shen Sanhua on the spot. [Karma points acquired: 7413] The sudden system notification bewildered him, but he refocused his mind on his current predicament. Just then, he noticed a large demonic snake slithering among the trees, heading in his direction. The snake had a big head, and its cold reptilian eyes stared chillingly at Niu Chang. The snake''s speed gradually slowed as it realized Shen Sanhua was already dead. Without flicking its tongue, it gazed at Niu Chang''s small frame. Suddenly, Niu Chang received a notification about Jie Tiangong''s death, causing his overflowing qi to abruptly vanish. The demonic snake opened its mouth, almost as if it were laughing at this strange turn of events. It had not tasted human flesh in a long time, and now seeing Niu Chang''s cultivation level drop significantly below the master stage, the snake hastened its approach. ''He''s dead?'' Niu Chang was confused, but then he received a new notification. [Karma established with an unnamed snake.] ''Just a snake, how strong could it be?'' Niu Chang couldn''t help but ask, but he felt his qi increase to the same level he had when facing Jie Tiangong. "This snake is that strong?" Without wasting any time, Niu Chang quickly utilized his overflowing qi once again to protect his body. The demonic snake, which had almost reached Niu Chang, appeared stunned. It was perplexed by how this small human had suddenly become stronger. It realized that Niu Chang hadn''t hidden his cultivation level but that it had completely vanished. Driven by the momentum it had built, the snake decided to attack Niu Chang, disregarding his sudden surge of qi. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Opening its unhinged jaw, the demonic snake covered Niu Chang''s field of vision with its deadly maw. Niu Chang initially thought of entering the snake''s mouth and attacking it from within, but he quickly discarded the idea and dodged the attack. However, before Niu Chang could regain his balance, he saw the snake''s body curve, and its tail lashed out at him. "Shit," Niu Chang cursed, raising his hands to defend himself. Unlike the attacks of Shen Sanhua and Jie Tiangong, Niu Chang''s body was sent flying like a kite. The qi protection around his body couldn''t withstand the impact, primarily because Niu Chang hadn''t used any specific defensive skill. His hands were left swollen and red from the blow. The first tree he encountered failed to halt his small body, and only the second tree managed to stop his momentum. "Cough." Niu Chang felt his insides in disarray, but they quickly healed thanks to the powerful vitality provided by the system. After a few breaths, Niu Chang was back to his peak condition. ''This snake is different from a human. Although its qi cultivation is almost on par with the old man, its physical body is on another level.'' Niu Chang moved his body to confirm his conjecture. In response to the strong physical attributes of the snake, Niu Chang also improved his physical attributes one level above those of the demonic snake. Knowing he could win this fight, Niu Chang smirked unconsciously. ''Isn''t it just another mortal? I want to see how this stupid snake exhausts itself.'' Having experienced two battles beyond his current level and with his overflowing qi, Niu Chang had grown accustomed to this level of combat. His mentality had also been influenced. Now, facing this demonic snake, he no longer felt any anxiety or fear. Instead, he would take his time to learn more about this unfamiliar cultivation level. The demonic snake turned its head, preparing to launch another attack. It slithered at high speed and once again opened its mouth, attempting to devour Niu Chang in one bite. Niu Chang snorted and forcefully controlled the overpowering qi around his body, condensing it in his hands. Without hesitation, he ran towards the demonic snake. He once again felt that rush of adrenaline he had experienced when massacring the bandits. "HAHAHA, come and meet your grandpa!" The demonic snake sensed that something was amiss with this little human, but it didn''t perceive any serious danger from Niu Chang. It continued its advance. Niu Chang evaded the gaping mouth and punched the snake''s side. Similar to his attack on Shen Sanhua, the qi around his fist exploded, but its power was weakened due to Niu Chang''s limited mastery of qi. The scales of the demonic snake were incredibly tough, and Niu Chang''s punch merely left a slight dent. Just like in the previous attack, the snake coiled its body and lashed out with its tail towards Niu Chang. However, this time was different. Niu Chang gathered additional qi in his right hand and confronted the tail head-on. Thanks to his experience with Shen Sanhua, he was able to adjust his footing when facing an enemy stronger than himself. The fist and tail collided, causing another qi explosion. But Niu Chang was only pushed backward, leaving long trails on the ground. He stomped his feet heavily to maintain his position. A wide smile spread across his face, and his fighting intent reached its peak. ''System, increase the proficiency of Closed Loop Protection to perfection.'' Even in the midst of an intense battle, Niu Chang was able to see a few steps ahead and prepare for the worst. He could increase his proficiency in Impact to enhance his attack power or focus on the Rapid Leaf Step to improve his agility. However, those options were useless against an enemy at the level of Jie Tiangong and Shen Sanhua, or even the snake in front of him. Thus, it was better for Niu Chang to enhance his defense and avoid being killed by a single powerful attack. [Congratulations on increasing the proficiency of Closed Loop Protection to perfection.] Without concern for the number of karma points he had accrued, Niu Chang absorbed the information and understanding of Closed Loop Protection. Closed Loop Protection was the defensive skill Niu Chang had conceived while contemplating on his bed that morning. He had taken yesterday''s idea of utilizing his excessive qi to create an endless, resource-consuming qi protection, resulting in the most powerful defense. The demonic snake ceased its advance on Niu Chang, feeling pain in its tail. Both combatants had launched ruthless attacks without holding back, and now they were suffering their own backlash. The scales around the snake''s tail were deeply dented, and some even fell off its body. Niu Chang was not in a better condition. His right hand was unrecognizable, with numerous fractures and open wounds. However, it healed rapidly. The qi around Niu Chang''s body surged, gradually taking shape. A glimmer of light shone in his dim eyes, and he found that he had already assimilated more than half of the information he had absorbed. Moving his newly reconstructed hand, Niu Chang observed the silent demonic snake that made no further movements. The white qi tinged with red grew brighter, and a smile crept onto Niu Chang''s face. For a moment, the snake''s vertical pupils dilated, but it quickly returned to normal, shaking its head. Niu Chang needed more time to digest the information about Closed Loop Protection, so he simply stood there and repeatedly used Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red. With its limited intelligence, the demonic snake naturally fixated its eyes on its prey. Even after being mildly affected by Niu Chang''s skill, it continued to face him without any significant problem. It was both a blessing and a curse. The low mastery of Niu Chang''s skill only caused a minor disturbance, keeping the snake fixated on him. As Niu Chang continued to activate Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red, his understanding of Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree gradually improved at a slow pace. The feelings in his heart and the nuances in his mind slowly transformed into a better understanding that could be described with words and letters. The red qi also brightened gradually, and the silhouette of cherry blossom petals took on a clearer shape. Chapter 36 - Huang Zhi Niu Chang had just finished digesting the proficiency of Closed Loop Protection and was now fully engrossed in learning more about Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree. He continuously practiced the first skill, Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red. The red qi emitted from Niu Chang''s body fluctuated between low and high saturation, causing the overflowing qi to be dyed in an irregular pattern. ''With such a high amount of qi and an endless supply, learning any martial techniques will be as easy as drinking water. There are no limits to the number of mistakes I can correct and repeat.'' The demonic snake, which had intended to strike, was disturbed by the strange emotions stirring in its heart. However, as time passed, it found it increasingly difficult to avoid Niu Chang''s gaze. Now, the snake was torn between the internal struggle of leaving or staying. Its bestial instinct urged it to flee, sensing the threat to its life, while the fluctuation in its heart compelled it to keep watching Niu Chang''s smiling face. Being a creature with limited intelligence, the demonic snake was particularly susceptible to Niu Chang''s beguiling technique, which disregarded race and gender. Merely seeing his smile was enough to haunt them with the image of a smiling shrine maiden. Maintaining his smile, Niu Chang couldn''t help but find the situation beyond his expectations. He turned to his system and asked, ''System, increase the proficiency of Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree to the level of small success.'' [To cultivate Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree to the level of small success, you require 33,440 karma points.] Receiving this answer from the system left Niu Chang stupefied. Undeterred, he continued, ''System, increase the proficiency of Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree to perfection.'' [This cultivation technique is incomplete, and the proficiency cannot be increased to the level of perfection.] Upon seeing the system''s response, Niu Chang fell into contemplation. He kept activating the Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red, pondering, ''Perhaps it''s because I lack the red qi cultivatio method from Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree. After all, this cultivation technique combines both a cultivation method and martial skills.'' ''What are the limits? Can it achieve great success?'' Niu Chang mused, about to pose the question to the system. But before he could, he was shocked by an unexpected development. [Established karma with Huang Zhi.] Without delay, the Automatic System Answerer chose the second option. Niu Chang, stunned by the revelation, quickly regained his focus and followed the sense of direction indicated by his system. Suddenly, a shiver ran down his spine as he realized the direction and distance pointed directly behind him. "What an interesting boy. Ah, it seems you''ve already sensed my presence. Huhuhu, how amusing," a seductive voice of a young woman whispered into his right ear from behind. "It appears you possess deeper secrets beyond your special physique," she remarked. Niu Chang swallowed nervously and pushed his Closed Loop Protection to its limit, uncertain of how much it could harness from his abundant qi reserves. Having assimilated the knowledge of Closed Loop Protection, Niu Chang wasted no time in putting it to use, paying no heed to the paralyzed demonic snake. Unwilling to take any risks, especially with an unknown enemy lurking behind him, Niu Chang remained cautious, utilizing the limitless quantityl of his qi. The mingling white and qi energy around Niu Chang began to circulate in accordance with the Closed Loop Protection, forming rings that spun around his body. Despite achieving a level of perfection in his proficiency, Niu Chang could only create three rings, with plenty of qi still escaping from his body. Stomping his right leg firmly into the ground, Niu Chang launched himself away from his original position. In mid-air, he turned his head and beheld a grotesque sight. Not far from his previous position lay a chilling and unnerving spectacle¡ªan unparalleled tree monster. Its body consisted of a tangled web of thin, yellow branches, resembling animated skeletal stick figures. Each twisted and gnarled branch moved with an eerie grace, casting an unsettling silhouette against the forest backdrop. As the creature stood calmly, its branches swayed and quivered, seemingly animated by otherworldly forces. They writhed and entwined, creating a mesmerizing yet deeply unsettling display. Fragile branches, reminiscent of forsaken tree veins, sprawled out in chaotic patterns, embodying the essence of a creature born from nature''s darkest realms. Dangling from the creature''s neck hung a severed head, serving as both an ornament and a disconcerting testament to its nature. The woman''s countenance bore a livid complexion, with an expression reflecting a mixture of amusement and keen interest. Clear and vibrant eyes radiated profound spiritual wisdom, while alluring lips curled into a captivating smile, painted in a seductive shade of red. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. However, the true intrigue lay within the monster''s hollow chest cavity. Deep within the tangle of branches, nestled a single mesmerizing fruit¡ªradiant red and pulsating with life. Its mere presence captivated anyone who laid eyes upon it, emanating an irresistible allure that tempted and enchanted those who dared to pluck it from its precarious abode. Approaching this abomination elicited an overwhelming mix of dread and fascination. Its presence served as a chilling reminder of the blurred boundary between the realms of the living and the supernatural. Ancient enchantments and curses gave birth to haunting abominations like this amalgamation of tree and severed human form. The sight evoked a deep sense of unease, heightened by the mysterious allure of the enchanting fruit hidden within its chest cavity¡ªa fruit that beckoned those who dared to succumb to its seductive call. Niu Chang''s eyes widened as he beheld this unspeakable monster, but his shock stemmed mainly from the smiling face before him. His mind was thrown into chaos and confusion. ''How? How can it be her?'' Living in a small and impoverished village, Niu Chang could count on one hand the number of beautiful faces he had encountered. Consequently, he vividly remembered when and how he had met each of these alluring individuals. Observing the shock on Niu Chang''s face, the severed head on the tree branch monster''s neck appeared stunned as well. It, too, seemed to recognize Niu Chang. "Hahaha, boy, it seems we are fated," Huang Zhi, the name mentioned by the system, was indeed this tree branch monster. Amidst his bewildered thoughts, Niu Chang managed to land safely on both feet. He stared intently at Huang Zhi, attempting to comprehend this sudden reappearance. "Don''t look at me like that," Huang Zhi waved its yellow branch-like hand, its cheeks blushing slightly. However, its lower body displayed conflicting view, causing confusion for those who witnessed it. "Are you surprised? You should be, aren''t you? Hehehe, because you''re the one who made me like this. Huhuhu~" Huang Zhi acted as if it were intimately acquainted with Niu Chang. Its words and gestures resembled those of old friends reuniting. Its enchanting laughter flowed melodiously, entering Niu Chang''s left ear and exiting from the right, but it failed to stir his heart. "Who are you?" Niu Chang asked tersely. "How cruel. Don''t you remember me?" Huang Zhi moved its branch-like hands to touch its human head, pointing to various parts. "This face, doesn''t it trigger any memories from the past?" "I remember that face, but I don''t recall ever encountering you in the past. The owner of that head was killed by me, and now you use it as an accessory. So, who are you?" Huang Zhi''s head belonged to the unconscious woman Niu Chang had encountered in the past¡ªthe woman who should have been his second chance to activate the system. But Niu Chang was different; he didn''t adhere to the rules. He killed the unconscious woman, beheaded her, and used her body to deepen his understanding of female anatomy. Unfortunately, his actions were purely scientific research due to his immature state, preventing him from fully exploring the not-yet-cold body. "What are you talking about?" Huang Zhi playfully displayed disappointment and sadness, holding its head with both hands asking for sympathy. Niu Chang furrowed his brow. ''This monster doesn''t seem to be lying. Its words carry a deeper meaning.'' Mobilizing his mind to deduce an answer, Niu Chang glanced at his side, where the demonic snake remained in a state of suffering from the continuous smiles inflicted upon it. The demonic snake continued to shake its head, occasionally pausing to regain composure. "Huang Zhi?" Niu Chang called out the name given by the system. The severed woman''s head appeared stunned, its once smiling face turning cold. Huang Zhi started to regard Niu Chang with a different gaze. "Hah! I knew it! It''s you, Little Zhi! How did you end up like this? If I remember correctly, I left you at the brothel in Heichen city. But look at you now, tsk tsk, the future is truly unpredictable. The last time I saw you, you were still playing with dirt and mud near Old Yang''s pigsty. I distinctly recall that day when you gleefully ate pig feces." Niu Chang''s behavior took a sudden turn, and now he was the one who seemed close to Huang Zhi. His face bore an expression of nostalgia, his eyes slightly moist, and his tone soft and friendly. On the other side, Huang Zhi''s face grew colder, and its forehead darkened. "Hey, hey, don''t be angry. Just look at that menacing face of yours. There''s no need to get angry, right? I''m merely stating the facts, and now you''re upset. Tsk tsk, has becoming a plaything for those old pigs in Heichen city made you colder? I still remember the day after you ate pig feces; you became addicted to it and asked for my help to find different types of feces." "I helped you scour the village for dog, cow, and chicken feces, and we even ventured into the forest in search of wild beast feces! Look at the sacrifices I made for you." Niu Chang chose to disregard Huang Zhi''s fierce gaze and continued speaking. "Now that you''re grown up, you resent my kindness? You certainly know how to bite the hand that fed you. Tsk tsk, or is it because of what happened the next day?" "The next day, I helped you satisfy your curiosity by taking the largest and fattest pig from Old Yang''s pigsty to the forest. Why did I do that? Wasn''t it for you? You kept pestering me about the taste of pig urine, so I brought the biggest pig to the forest to fulfill your desire!" "You ungrateful brat! I even assisted you in getting the pig to insert its repulsive penis into your asshole so you could have a better experience. And then, and then¡ª" Just as Niu Chang was about to recount how he helped Huang Zhi have her first time with the pig, he was interrupted. "Shut up!" Huang Zhi bellowed at the top of its lungs, its voice no longer human but a hoarse, monstrous sound. "If you dare to open your stupid mouth again, I will make you taste what it''s like to have a pig''s penis inside your ass!" Huang Zhi''s eyes turned bloodshot, and any semblance of playfulness vanished from its demeanor. "You bet," Niu Chang replied cheerfully and tauntingly, as if mocking his best friend, fully aware that they wouldn''t dare to carry out their threats. Huang Zhi gritted its human teeth. "Good, good. You truly have the audacity to talk back to me. Even if you beg for forgiveness and plead for death later on, I will keep you alive for eternity so you can never escape my grasp." The branches comprising Huang Zhi''s body trembled with tension, ready to burst from within. "Oh, is that so?" Niu Chang continued teasingly, escalating the situation even further. Chapter 37 - Master Qi ¡®After establishing karma, what was there to fear?¡¯ Niu Chang chuckled audibly. It had been a considerable amount of time since Niu Chang accepted the mission assigned by the system. Engaged in conversation with Huang Zhi, Niu Chang skillfully manipulated the immense amount of qi provided by the system. ¡®This abundance of qi surpassed even that of the old man, Shen Sanhua, and the snake.'' It was so plentiful that it made no discernible difference from Niu Chang''s previous state. Niu Chang breathed as usual, only now noticing a subtly refreshing fragrance wafting through the air. His gaze couldn''t help but fixate on the red fruit hanging from Huang Zhi''s chest. ¡®What purpose does it serve? I am forbidden from cultivating on my own, so even if I were to consume this fruit, what changes could occur? If I can cultivate with the assistance of external means, I would have already advanced my own cultivation by absorbing the endless amount of qi provided by the system.'' "No better threats to offer? Come on, Little Zhi, you were more creative than this. Give it a try¡ªI believe in you!" Niu Chang raised his hand, offering a supportive thumbs-up and a smile. "Cease your futile attempts. Your charm technique are useless against me," Huang Zhi retorted, its expression still as dark as charcoal. "Oh, is that so? Then why don''t you flash me a big smile? Maybe I''ll fall for you? Who knows?" Finally, Huang Zhi made its move, slashing with its tree branch hand. Yellow qi surged from its yellow branch body, propelling thin yellow needles towards Niu Chang. Without hesitation, Niu Chang swiftly maneuvered, evading the incoming needles. "Hmph," Huang Zhi scoffed, unleashing another barrage of needles made from thin branches. As Niu Chang observed the needles rapidly approaching, seemingly endless, he decided it was time to test the waters. ¡®Even if I wanted to deceive this creature into believing I am weak, I cannot be certain if it has already witnessed my past battles and is aware of my vulnerabilities.'' With this thought in mind, Niu Chang halted and pushed his foot against the ground, successfully avoiding the incoming needles. However, several of them still managed to hit his qi barriers. Niu Chang realized, "It is still manageable," feeling a sense of satisfaction internally, "now I can continue with my usual routine." Mortal beings are inherently limited by their design, possessing finite energy. Standing his ground, Niu Chang swayed his hips with a graceful motion, akin to a seductive courtesan luring clients. A mischievous grin adorned his face as he activated the Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red. The qi, tainted with a hint of red, partially transformed one and a half of the three rings, altering their color to a captivating crimson. ¡®Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red! Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red! Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red! Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red! Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red!'' Niu Chang calmly honed his skills, diligently improving his proficiency in both Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree and Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red. Observing that its attacks were ineffective against Niu Chang''s qi protection barrier, Huang Zhi snorted, questioning, "Do you believe this is sufficient to defend yourself?" The tree branch hands of Huang Zhi swirled with yellow qi, transforming into wooden swords with sharp edges on both sides. The swords were long and appeared more menacing than an ordinary blade, as Niu Chang could sense condensed yellow qi fluctuating just above the surface. ¡®What kind of sword qi is this? A higher level of qi manipulation?'' Niu Chang was astonished, but his attention shifted when he noticed Huang Zhi charging towards him with formidable momentum, executing flawless movements without any superfluous actions. Sensing the impending threat to his life, Niu Chang was momentarily taken aback. It wasn''t because he had wasted time earlier with meaningless banter instead of improving his skills. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. [Karma Points: 0] Niu Chang''s karma points had already hit rock bottom after achieving perfection in Closed Loop Protection. Perfection proficiency, as the name suggested, represented the highest level of mastery over a skill, encompassing both theoretical understanding and practical application. Niu Chang not only gained deeper insights into Closed Loop Protection but also learned how to control qi. With no room left for improvement in Closed Loop Control due to perfect proficiency, it was now Niu Chang''s turn to employ everything he knew and elevate this qi-emptying martial skill to a new level. ''Six rings? Perhaps nine rings or more,'' Niu Chang estimated how to enhance his Closed Loop Protection to an even greater extent. Huang Zhi''s speed was astounding, not only enveloping its sword hands with advanced sword qi but also augmenting its physical attributes through refined manipulation of qi. The assimilated yellow qi seamlessly blended with its yellow branch body. Niu Chang could only perceive a yellow blur hurtling towards him, and the next moment, he realized his qi barriers were being torn from both sides. Ceasing the use of Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red, his qi returned to its pristine white state. Niu Chang focused solely on utilizing his Closed Loop Protection to absorb more qi, generating and interlocking numerous layers of protective barriers. The closer Huang Zhi''s sword hands approached Niu Chang''s body, the greater the resistance of the qi barriers. "What kind of technique is this? It can even withstand my amplified qi," Huang Zhi exclaimed, taken aback by Niu Chang''s resilient qi barrier. For those below the master stage, they could only extend their qi beyond their bodies to cover specific body parts or weapons. However, this was limited in its application. Only upon reaching the master stage could martial artists refine their control over qi and utilize the advanced version of qi coating, known as amplified qi. Nevertheless, countless martial artists had their own interpretations and perspectives. Thus, rather than referring to it as amplified qi, many would term it master qi, reserved solely for masters. With advanced qi control attainable at the master stage, qi was no longer restricted to mere strengthening. It could be used to enhance the sharpness of a sword, increase the weight of a hammer, and possess countless other applications. For Huang Zhi, its master qi allowed it to augment the sharpness of its sword hands. On Niu Chang''s side, his qi barriers followed a complex yet simple arrangement. Continuously supplying qi to the three rings, new barriers formed and assembled, originating from the deepest layer. "Why are you standing there gawking? Don''t you have something better to do?" Niu Chang raised an eyebrow and let out a dismissive snort. "Get away from me. Your foul breath is suffocating me. Have you been sucking on animals and old men''s canes? It''s truly repulsive." Despite his mocking words, Niu Chang sensed the wooden sword slowly inching closer to his neck. He quickly decided to create some distance between himself and Huang Zhi. ''Phew, as long as it can''t break through my qi barrier in a single attack, it''s highly unlikely to harm my body.'' Niu Chang breathed a sigh of relief, reminding himself of the essence of Closed Loop Protection contained in its very name. Closed Loop. As long as the loops remained intact, it was impervious to destruction. Taking a few steps back, Niu Chang noticed Huang Zhi following suit, regarding him with a newfound intensity. "Boy, your defensive skill has only reached this level due to the copious amount of qi continuously pouring into it." However, this revelation didn''t deter Huang Zhi from persistently attacking Niu Chang. Having already identified the biggest flaw in Closed Loop Protection, it was natural for Huang Zhi to exploit it. "Old hag, didn''t I tell you to stop talking and spare us from the stench of your breath, reeking like a rotting animal carcass?" Niu Chang continued to retreat, trying to evade the menacing sword hands of Huang Zhi. But his efforts were in vain, as Huang Zhi proved to be overwhelmingly powerful. The clash of Huang Zhi''s sword hands and Niu Chang''s qi barrier resonated, tugging at Niu Chang''s heartstrings incessantly. Niu Chang contemplated using his hand to push away Huang Zhi''s sword hand, although he doubted the effectiveness of such an attempt. However, fueled by Huang Zhi''s relentless attacks, he decided to give it a try. With his right hand covered in qi barriers from Closed Loop Protection, Niu Chang cautiously pressed against the sharp edge of Huang Zhi''s sword hand. Chi. A single touch was enough to tear through the first layer of the qi barrier, but Niu Chang persisted, pushing his right hand forward, disregarding the sound. However, when he observed the unwavering determination on Huang Zhi''s face, a sudden realization jolted his mind, prompting him to swiftly retract his right hand. ''That was close. Individuals like the old man, Shen Sanhua, and Huang Zhi possess levels of power unknown to me. If I carelessly come into contact with their qi, it could potentially invade my body and wreak havoc from within.'' "Old Cheap Zhi, how about we forget about this encounter? Let''s pretend we never met each other," Niu Chang suggested. "Now you''re willing to speak kindly. Just lower your barrier, and we can still have a conversation," Huang Zhi replied calmly, yet its sword hands continued to advance. "Of course, of course," Niu Chang nodded fervently. "What are you waiting for?" Huang Zhi saw no change in their current situation except for Niu Chang''s nod. "Are you playing games with me again?" "How can you say that? If I put down my barrier, your sword will sever my head. So I need you to take a few steps back first." "Boy, it seems my kindness was wasted on you. Since you disregard my goodwill, you can only blame yourself for your own stupidity." Chapter 38 - A Short Journey As their confrontation continued, Niu Chang couldn''t help but notice subtle mistakes in Huang Zhi''s actions. ''This Huang Zhi is clearly stronger than anyone I have encountered so far, but why didn''t it make any fancy or stronger moves? It only used needle throwing and sword hands to deal with me. Is it hiding something? Or is it waiting for something?'' ''Well, thanks to Huang Zhi''s relentless attacks, I can further improve my already perfected Closed Loop Protection,'' Niu Chang thought, yawning within his safe and stable qi barrier. Three rings floated around his body, rotating constantly. Yellow shadows kept flashing in front of his eyes, but none could reach his physical body. There were many attempts, but nothing managed to penetrate his impenetrable qi barrier. The severed woman''s head on Huang Zhi''s branch neck gritted her teeth. After multiple attacks, Huang Zhi finally realized that it couldn''t bypass Niu Chang''s qi barriers. Huang Zhi stopped its sword hands and sneered, "Boy, do you think this is all of my strength?" Huang Zhi merged its tree branch sword hands together, causing them to move like tiny snakes accompanied by yellow qi, fusing into a larger sword. "Is that so?" Niu Chang raised an eyebrow without much interest. "If you''re truly that strong, why don''t you try to finish me off in one blow?" A smile crept onto Niu Chang''s face, accompanied by Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red. "Or perhaps you can''t use all of your power? Are you afraid of something? Like that red fruit on your chest. I can''t help but notice that the fragrance in the air grows stronger the more you utilize your qi. So why don''t you try to kill me with everything you have?" The white qi around Niu Chang''s body became tainted with a red hue, expanding its range. Huang Zhi fell silent for a moment but quickly regained its composure. "So what if you''ve realized this? Your words are nothing but baseless assumptions. Do you think I didn''t use my true strength because I''m planning something? Hmph, you don''t deserve my full power." "Hehe, you know what''s funny about sentient beings? They tend to react when their secrets are exposed. Some choose to be silent, while others attempt to answer vaguely," Niu Chang remarked, watching Huang Zhi intently. Huang Zhi''s gaze pierced through Niu Chang as its big sword hand reached completion. However, it was still waiting. As Niu Chang continued to spam Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red, he spoke casually, "See, look at that livid expression of yours." "Great yellow slash!" Huang Zhi dashed forward, swinging its big sword hand vertically from above. Niu Chang didn''t want to be a sitting duck, so he kicked his feet and evaded Huang Zhi''s attack. He knew he was slower compared to Huang Zhi, but taking action was still better than doing nothing. While in motion, Niu Chang felt the surge of the sweet fragrance becoming even more apparent. Before he could think further, he sensed a tremendous force pressing down on his body. The big sword hand slashed from above, instantly obliterating every qi barrier in its path. However, new qi barriers swiftly formed, pushing the big sword backward. But these new barriers were still unable to halt the advance of the sword. Niu Chang found himself under immense pressure, desperately maneuvering his body to evade the fast-approaching weapon. Within a brief moment, Niu Chang felt the right side of his body suddenly warm, gradually intensifying into a burning sensation. When he turned his gaze, he witnessed the breach of the qi barrier he relied on, and the enormous yellow sword pierced through his right side, severing it. From his right shoulder to a small part of his thigh, his body was cleaved, and blood flowed like a small waterfall. Despite the shock and pain, the invigorating vitality from the system and his heightened adrenaline subdued his senses. However, before Niu Chang could tend to his condition, he saw the massive yellow sword abruptly change direction, returning towards him. "Shit!" Niu Chang cursed helplessly as he watched his body being split into two. Thud. The upper half of his body, the only part he could still feel, hit the ground. Even in that dire situation, Niu Chang felt an absence of any particular sensation, perhaps due to the influence of the system''s endless vitality or his own indifference. "What a short journey," he remarked to his pitiful state. ''But why don''t I feel the sudden urge to resist and fight back? Where are the flashbacks of my life and the surge of power? Haha, I''m truly not the main character after all.'' Accepting what had just transpired without an excessive response, Niu Chang shifted his gaze to the yellow branch legs of Huang Zhi. Then, slowly, his eyes ascended to meet Huang Zhi''s mocking smile and contemptuous gaze. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "Heh, no need to be so thrilled, are you winning something?" Niu Chang casually engaged in conversation with Huang Zhi, exposing his true nature. Huang Zhi''s face contorted in peculiar ways. "What an interesting human you are. Despite your youth, you possess such a level of mental fortitude. Tsk tsk, if given more time to grow, you could become a remarkable individual who surpasses others and achieves greatness. But alas, you encountered me here, and all those possibilities are now merely potential." The boundless vitality from the system began its wondrous work. Niu Chang''s upper body, severed in half, ceased bleeding as if contained by a thin energy membrane, and his body regenerated at a visible speed. Yet, that was not the primary concern at the moment. "Well, this was already within my expectations, and it''s something I wanted to experience regardless. What difference does it make if it''s completed now or in the future?" "What matters more is what you intend to do. Didn''t your sudden appearance stem from an interest in the secret within my body? So why not attempt to unearth that secret now? Perhaps it can alleviate the anger in your heart." "Who knows, maybe I''ll even plead for mercy?" The more Huang Zhi listened to Niu Chang''s calm and nonchalant voice, the greater its disappointment grew. "You are more of a monster than I am." Numerous thoughts raced through Huang Zhi''s severed woman head, but in the end, only that brief sentence was uttered. "Hahaha... How amusing it is to hear those words. From the beginning, I expected others to speak such phrases to me. I thought it would awaken the last remnants of normalcy and mediocrity within my being, but who would have thought I''d feel nothing at all? Perhaps the circumstances were wrong. Maybe someone close to me would be required to achieve such an effect." "Normalcy? Mediocrity?" Huang Zhi echoed, its eyes darkening and growing more profound. "I see, you''re that kind of person. Unbound by societal constraints and even your own emotions, yearning for a greater purpose within your limited existence. Despising others for their ignorance of life''s profound blessings and willingly choosing to be normal and mediocre." "Hey! It seems you understand better than I anticipated. So, does that mean we''ve become friends now? Can you answer a few of the questions that have been lingering in my mind?" Niu Chang''s once-bored expression brightened with emotion, becoming more friendly. Huang Zhi walked towards Niu Chang, his body consisting only of his head, upper torso, and left arm. "You can, but wouldn''t it be a loss for me if I''m the only one answering your questions?" Huang Zhi continued with a slight smile. "I''ll answer one of your questions in exchange for you answering one of mine." "Sure, no problem." Niu Chang nodded. "My first question is about that snake. Did it become like that after consuming some miraculous herb inside this forest in the last three years?" Niu Chang contemplated his missed fateful encounter, considering various clich¨¦s from his previous life and deducing possible outcomes for those significant encounters. "That snake?" Huang Zhi turned to look at the snake nearby, which had dismissed the haunting smile it had suffered earlier. It now watched quietly from the sidelines. "I thought you would ask something more interesting, but you want to know about it? Alright. After I woke up from my deep sleep, this foolish snake, weaker than its current strength, attempted to steal my fruit. So I defeated it and tamed it. Afterwards, I asked about its past, and it told me that it had recently consumed a precious ginseng and embarked on its cultivation path." Niu Chang also directed his gaze towards the demonic snake, struggling to do so but ultimately succeeding. "Tsk tsk, one ginseng and three years were enough for it to reach such heights." ''If in the past, I had chosen to help the original body''s parents, would I have also obtained that miraculous ginseng? With the assistance of the system, I could have surpassed the achievements of that stupid snake in just three years.'' Niu Chang contemplated the possibility of his first missed fateful encounter, feeling a sense of pity but not regret. "Now it''s your turn. Ask me anything you want." "I have many questions, but we''ll have plenty of time together. Right now, I want to know what you desire the most." Huang Zhi approached Niu Chang''s position, standing in front of his face. Its shadow enveloped Niu Chang, although not entirely due to its thin body made of tree branches. "Right now? Heh, you wouldn''t believe me." Niu Chang smirked and bantered. "I want to be embraced by a beautiful lady I once met by chance. I always wonder how she smells, how she feels, and how she sounds. Let me tell you, this lady is truly breathtaking if you ever have the fortune to encounter her!" With a serious tone, Niu Chang offered some advice to the severed woman''s head before him. "Is that truly what you desire right now? Hahaha, you''re truly different from any other human I''ve encountered in the past. You speak without hypocrisy or foolish teachings from your elders. It seems you truly live for yourself." Although Huang Zhi didn''t utter any derogatory words, the woman''s head displayed a contemptuous expression towards Niu Chang. ''How can you think of another beauty when there is already a beautiful woman right in front of you?'' Huang Zhi scoffed in its heart. "What''s with that look?" Niu Chang frowned, but he didn''t care and continued. "As I mentioned before, she is truly beautiful. There''s no need to compare yourself to her. Now, my next question is about that head of yours. Can you tell me what happened after I left that woman deep in the forest?" Huang Zhi''s woman''s head snorted in displeasure. "Nothing significant happened after you left her body in the depths of the forest. She possessed a unique constitution, and it was thanks to this that I was able to awaken from my hibernation. I initially intended to take over her entire body, but her special constitution allowed her to retain her cultivation base even after you killed her and she turned into a headless zombie." "As a result, I could only take control of her head and slowly recuperate myself. I kept an eye on her headless body, but I never anticipated that it would possess a random girl, whom you then killed for the second time." Huang Zhi glanced at Shen Sanhua''s current body, lying naked on the ground with visible bruises and an unrecognizable chest. If not for its location on the upper torso, no one would be able to tell. Unable to contain its curiosity, Huang Zhi asked, "Did you have to kill her in such a brutal manner?" Huang Zhi had planned to claim the body to complete its cultivation, but Niu Chang''s disdain for unnecessary plot developments didn''t allow it any chance. "Is that your second question?" Niu Chang inquired. "Ah, you''re right. That''s not what I wanted to ask." Huang Zhi''s facial expressions changed for Niu Chang''s kind reminder. "You never cease to surprise me. My second question is to understand what made you become who you are now." Chapter 39 - Immortal "For a human lifespan, you should be very young. Being so young, it is almost impossible for you to have the mindset of an old ghost who has reached the end of their life. So, tell me, what causes you to become more evil than a practitioner full of bloodlust and more kind than a practitioner full of hypocrisy?" Huang Zhi, with its long experience before falling into a deep sleep, had encountered many people and various martial artists. However, it had never met anyone who embraced their goal as passionately as Niu Chang did, and the goal itself was more grandiose than Huang Zhi''s. ''Perhaps it is not their goal that is less impressive than this little boy''s, but rather their mindset that is inferior to his.'' Niu Chang listened silently, falling into deep thought, pondering Huang Zhi''s question. He delved into memories of his first life, trying to understand what had shaped him into who he was now. Fragmented ideas, images, and videos flashed before his eyes. Among them, he saw a particular idea and image. However, these memories were ever-changing and had no fixed form. ''A man?'' Niu Chang asked himself, realizing the answer but also feeling confused by it. After pondering for a while, Niu Chang opened his eyes, looking up at Huang Zhi. "I-" Clap, clap, clap. Both Niu Chang and Huang Zhi turned their heads, and even the snake on the side followed suit. The sudden clapping sounds startled them, causing an exaggerated reaction. Unable to detect anything with his enhanced senses, Niu Chang reflexively turned his head to trace the source of the clapping. His gaze started from the general direction and found nothing among the trees. Then, he looked up and raised his vision to the tops of the trees. Above the trees, in the air, a man dressed in ordinary robes was walking effortlessly. Clap, clap. He continued clapping, wearing a smile and narrowing his eyes. The man glanced at Niu Chang briefly before fixing his gaze on Huang Zhi. After adjusting his eyes to the bright sky, Niu Chang was finally able to fully capture the man''s image. His face reflected a blend of youth and age. His deep, dark eyes seemed to draw in the surrounding light, carrying the enchantment of crystallized wisdom acquired over time, while also radiating a spark of youthful hope. His physique boasted well-developed muscles, neither overly prominent nor excessively thin. Despite wearing casual and inexpensive robes, his commanding presence remained unaffected. Instead, a captivating paradox emerged, highlighting his status and elevating the value of the garment he adorned. Every aspect of his being exuded an air of prestige, augmenting his inherent charm. Huang Zhi''s eyes widened in shock, unable to analyze this man''s cultivation level. However, his ability to walk on air already demonstrated his high level of cultivation. "Walking on the void and hidden from the secular world. An immortal who condenses his core?" Huang Zhi''s voice trembled, and it used its yellow qi to cover the red fruit hanging on its chest. Niu Chang, who had never been in such a calm state, caught Huang Zhi''s words and his interest was piqued. ''An immortal? Condensing core?'' ''So, this world follows the regular norm? Qi Refinement, Foundation Building, and then Golden Core?'' Niu Chang thought to himself. ''That''s why I didn''t feel any qualitative change after receiving such a huge amount of qi. No, perhaps it was the limit given by the system.'' Niu Chang recalled the battle he had with the bandits. At that time, he received a cultivation increase equivalent to that of a first-rate martial artist, but he didn''t feel anything different except for an increase in the quantity of his qi. ''Perhaps the first rate stage was still within the realm of Qi Refinement, with the old man Shen Sanhu, the Snake, and Huang Zhi above this level. Even so, the system only provided me with a change in quantity without any qualitative improvement.'' "Who are you?" Huang Zhi asked cautiously, with its condensed yellow qi squirming on the surface of its tree branch body like a small river flowing. The man, Feng Ning, confirmed his goal after reaching this place. He had been following a fragrance that was hard to capture while cultivating. "You don''t have the right to know this Venerable One''s name," Feng Ning said calmly. Despite his condescending words, he didn''t come across as arrogant due to his appearance. It was Huang Zhi who seemed rude in the first place, like a banished immortal. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Taken aback by this bold claim, Huang Zhi snorted. On the ground, Niu Chang also snorted inwardly. ''This little shit dares to act so presumptuous in front of me?'' they both thought to themselves. Huang Zhi had lived for a long time before hibernating and had already seen many people who condensed their cores and even those who were able to destroy mountains with a single finger and move rivers with one hand. As for Niu Chang, he stayed true to himself. To him, those who were not omnipotent and omniscient were merely fools pretending to be kings and gods, including himself. That''s why he delighted in playing around like a young master and an expert when dealing with his enemies. Amused by Feng Ning''s grand claims, both Huang Zhi and Niu Chang grew less cautious. ''The bigger one''s mouth, the bigger their ego. This is an unavoidable sickness for those who have the strength to silence their weaker opponents,'' Niu Chang shook his head. Observing the changes in Huang Zhi''s expression and even the mutilated Niu Chang, Feng Ning felt a sense of unease and stopped smiling. He frowned, displeasure rising in his heart. "You ants, how dare you look at this Venerable One with such eyes. Die for me!" Feng Ning shouted and waved his right hand. Dark purple qi materialized from his palm, forming a large palm of qi that headed towards Huang Zhi and Niu Chang. Huang Zhi used its tree branches to pick up Niu Chang and evade Feng Ning''s palm attack. Confused, Niu Chang could only stare at Huang Zhi''s long hair. "My friend, I offer you a piece of advice. Since we have hit it off and become friends, I want to remind you not to delay anything you were planning on doing to me. Otherwise, you will regret it." The large palm didn''t cease its relentless pursuit and followed Feng Ning''s command to chase after Huang Zhi. With his cultivation level, Feng Ning was able to hear what Niu Chang said, and the frown on his face deepened. Busy evading, Huang Zhi was also stunned and almost choked on its words. "What the hell are you saying? Who is your friend? You want me to give you an easy death? Keep dreaming!" Feeling intense imaginary gazes from Huang Zhi and a glimpse from Feng Ning, Niu Chang felt wronged. ''What? Don''t look at me like that! I sincerely offered you advice, but you didn''t accept my sincerity. It''s your loss. And you, you little shit, how dare you look at me like that?'' Niu Chang, on Huang Zhi''s back, struggled due to the high-speed movement but continued to gaze at Feng Ning in displeasure. Knowing that the palm wouldn''t stop chasing after them, Huang Zhi decided to block it. Slapping the trees in its path, Huang Zhi made them grow rapidly to block the palm. The palm and trees collided, causing a massive explosion. Even with Niu Chang''s overflowing qi and qi barrier, he felt a rough wind on his face. Feng Ning had noticed from the beginning that Niu Chang was exuding a tremendous amount of qi despite his crippled condition. At first, he thought it was because of Niu Chang''s circumstances, but it seemed that wasn''t the case. "What a peculiar boy. His cultivation doesn''t seem high, yet he possesses such an abundant amount of qi. Is it a special cultivation technique or a unique constitution?" Greed started to take root in Feng Ning''s heart, and his eyes flickered with a cold glint. Regardless of the answer, it was worth investigating. [Established karma with Feng Ning.] Glancing at his system, Niu Chang didn''t take it seriously, only expressing slight complaints. ''My Automatic System Answerer works like a charm, but it also brings endless troubles. I wanted to choose the first option, karmic retribution, because I wanted to see what would happen, but... Sigh, I''ll fix it in the future.'' The Automatic System Answerer had reached proficiency in perception at a relatively cheap price. However, it came with great limitations, forcing Niu Chang to keep choosing the second option. Regarding what happened with Qin Qing earlier, it was mainly because at perfect proficiency, Niu Chang was able to toggle it off and on. If he was in a safe place, he would turn it off, but if danger lurked from any direction, Niu Chang kept it in active mode. Niu Chang felt a surge of new qi entering his body from the void. However, his body was limited, as was his cultivation level. No matter how abundant the qi entering his body, the channel for it to enter remained limited. Thus, there was no difference between two Huang Zhis or two Feng Nings. As long as Niu Chang''s cultivation level remained the same, the amount of qi entering his body through that small channel would stay the same. ''Although the channel remains the same, the speed at which qi enters my body increases, putting a great strain on my physical body. My first level of the Impossible Idea has already reached its limit.'' Afraid of being overwhelmed, Niu Chang turned off his Automatic System Answerer. While watching the fight between Feng Ning and Huang Zhi, Niu Chang was occupied with his own thoughts. "Where do you think you''re going? Do you believe you can escape from the grasp of this Venerable One?" Feng Ning launched one palm attack after another. Four large palms made of dark purple qi flew like ghosts, haunting Huang Zhi. Feeling immense pressure from the battle, the demonic snake silently slithered away. "Humph, do you think you can escape?" Feng Ning controlled one of his palms to capture the foolish snake. The snake, with its master-stage cultivation level, was unable to escape the palm and was captured easily. Feng Ning didn''t kill it immediately but broke its spine by clasping his palm. The snake hissed in pain and suddenly went limp after many of its spines were broken by Feng Ning. It fell to the ground, limping like a big black noodle. Observing the direction in which Huang Zhi went, Niu Chang couldn''t help but turn his head to look ahead with the help of his left arm. ''Tsk tsk, it seems I''m about to witness the development I hate the most.'' Chapter 40 - The Inevitable Development After Niu Chang left to chase after Shen Sanhua, the two disciples, Wan You and Wei Hong, who had been unable to sleep all night, chose to stay where they were. "Senior brother, shall we leave now?" Wei Hong asked quietly, her eyelids trembling due to the sleepless night. Wan You watched attentively in the direction Shen Sanhua and Niu Chang had gone. After confirming that both of them were far away, he let out a sigh of relief. ''Should I leave or should I wait for that senior?'' Wan You was torn between his teaching as a righteous sect disciple. But when he saw Wei Hong, who kept nodding off, he made a decision and chose to compromise. ''I will thank that senior after escorting my junior sister out of this place," he thought. "Do you want me to carry you on my back?" Wan You asked softly, grabbing Wei Hong''s shoulder to keep her from slumping to the ground. Wei Hong yawned without bothering to cover it, opened her heavy eyelids, and looked at Wan You with dreamy eyes. "Hehe... Senior brother, carry me on your back." Without making any excuses or feeling flustered, she accepted Wan You''s offer in a drowsy state. Without further delay, Wan You respectfully lifted Wei Hong''s small body onto his back, adjusted her position, and started walking without looking back. They traveled through the forest at a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow, in order to provide a comfortable ride for Wei Hong. . . . Niu Chang watched Huang Zhi as it ran, placing various obstacles in its path to evade the pursuing palms. He scanned his surroundings, searching for something. ''We have already left the dense part of the forest, but we still haven''t found them yet. These two are really skilled,'' Niu Chang thought, slightly angry, shaking his head. He saved the two of them, but they didn''t even wait for him to say thank you. They truly embody the core teachings of the righteous sect. ''Wait, are they even disciples of the righteous sect?'' Then he spotted Wan You, carrying Wei Hong on his back, skillfully running to ensure his junior sister''s comfort. "Little Zhi, over there!" Niu Chang pointed with his mouth, unable to use his left arm as he climbed and supported himself. "Don''t call me Little Zhi!" Huang Zhi scolded, irritated. "I know where they are; you don''t need to point out their location to me." Niu Chang ignored Huang Zhi''s reply and focused on the next development. ''Since Little Zhi is already close to its goal, it must have a big plan that allows it to fight Feng Ning.'' Wan You, utilizing his movement technique with his remaining qi, felt someone chasing them. He turned his head and saw the grotesque appearance of Huang Zhi¡ªa stickman made of thin yellow tree branches with a severed livid woman''s head on its neck. His eyes widened in shock, and he also noticed Niu Chang hanging on Huang Zhi''s back, eyes closed. This only increased his shock, and he felt a sense of urgency. He used his remaining qi to escape. Behind them, Feng Ning flew in the sky, his palms constantly blocked by the trees arranged by Huang Zhi. "Your efforts are futile," Feng Ning said, clenching both palms as dark purple qi enveloped his body. "Mountain Crushing Palm." The dark purple qi rose into the air, forming a large palm that covered the sky. Niu Chang sensed the shadow looming above his head and opened his eyes. "Wow," Niu Chang admired the large palm briefly. "Little Zhi, don''t hold back if you want to stay alive. Fight!" Niu Chang encouraged and closed his eyes once again. Huang Zhi could only swallow its words from Niu Chang''s remark. Its woman''s head gritted her teeth and shouted, "Yellow Branches Protection!" This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Without any hand signs, Huang Zhi''s shout caused the forest to tremble, as if something was awakening. The yellow qi on Huang Zhi''s body drained towards its feet, connected to the ground. Suddenly, the trees burst open, turning into fine yellow branches that wove a shield above Huang Zhi. Feng Ning snorted and commanded his big palm to descend. The air stirred, and his vast qi covered the area. Under the moving and rearranging yellow branches, Huang Zhi no longer hesitated and launched its body like a projectile towards Wan You. The distance between them closed in an instant. Before Wan You could react, Huang Zhi extended its tree branches to grab the sleeping Wei Hong. With great momentum, Huang Zhi flew forward, carrying Wei Hong with it and leaving the attack area of the big palm. "Junior sister!" Wan You shouted in exasperation. But the palm broke through all the yellow branches blocking it and landed on the ground, causing a big explosion. Dust and dirt flew around, and Wan You was pushed by the wind, crashing into a tree. With his qi sense, Feng Ning always locked onto Huang Zhi''s location. He glanced briefly in Huang Zhi''s direction. But before he could say anything, he sensed drastic changes in the forest. The trees, or the forest itself, began to wither as if aging rapidly. With his high cultivation level, Feng Ning realized that something was absorbing the trees'' vitality through their roots. It wasn''t just the forest. In Yellow Soil Village, many people found weird yellow tree branches crawling from the ground, entangling their legs. "What''s happening?" "Someone, save me!" "Help!" Their vitality was quickly absorbed by the tree branches, leaving behind withered husks and bones. Niu Chang opened his eyes once again due to the disturbance caused by Huang Zhi. He could feel his qi increasing rapidly thanks to the system. ''Sigh, Little Zhi is now entering its second form. It''s a good thing I prevented this from happening to me; I would have been really angry to let it happen,'' Niu Chang thought. Niu Chang''s body had already reached its limit after receiving abundant qi from Feng Ning. Now that Huang Zhi had grown stronger, his body was reaching its limits. ''Go,'' Niu Chang softly commanded his qi, and they began to circulate according to his technique. The three rings around his body fluctuated and slowly shrank. As they shrank, their qi consumption increased exponentially. But these rings stopped shrinking after reaching half of their initial size. ''Well, my idea is good and applicable, but my mastery and lack of testing on this improved version of Closed Loop Protection prevent me from using it completely.'' ''But this is already enough since it allows my body to withstand the immense pressure from my overflowing qi.'' Huang Zhi was enveloped in a thick yellow qi that prevented anyone from peeking at its transformation. Even Niu Chang could only see the spinning yellow qi in front of him. "Is this monster breaking through to the next level of its cultivation? Will it reach the same cultivation as mine? Interesting," Feng Ning pondered. "If I attack it right now, it will fail its transformation and suffer great injuries. But if it successfully breaks through, its red fruit will also greatly improve." A greedy light flashed in Feng Ning''s eyes. However, he wasn''t completely blinded by greed. He condensed multiple palm-shaped qi attacks and struck Huang Zhi, aiming to moderate his attacks and avoid causing excessive harm that could hinder Huang Zhi''s transformation. His goal was to exhaust Huang Zhi''s energy reserves and weaken it after it completed the transformation. After completing the improvement of Closed Loop Protection to the next level, Niu Chang had no pressing matters to attend to. He closely observed Huang Zhi''s transformation, considering it a precious learning opportunity. The palms made of qi rained down on Huang Zhi''s yellow cocoon. Sensing the danger, the yellow cocoon started to sway and suddenly flew to avoid the palms. But the palms were manipulated by Feng Ning, forcing Huang Zhi to spare some of its focus to control the trees around it and block the palms. The dark purple palms were like droplets of water on a rainy day, endless and covering vast areas. Niu Chang, attached to Huang Zhi, felt dizzy due to the sharp turns made by Huang Zhi. But soon his flight experience stopped when Huang Zhi released Niu Chang from its body to conserve more energy for self-protection. Upon landing on the ground, Niu Chang saw the dark purple palms ignore his presence and continue chasing after the flying yellow cocoon. Niu Chang then examined his crippled body. ''The battle should be reaching its end. If my body isn''t healed by then, I''ll be in a very precarious situation.'' He called the system. ''System, cultivate the Impossible Idea to the second level.'' [Incomplete cultivation method. Unable to cultivate the Impossible Idea to the second level.] Confirming his doubts, Niu Chang nodded. He knew his karma points were empty, but he simply wanted to satisfy his curiosity. ''It seems I need to digest and sort out the first level of the Impossible Idea before I can increase it to the second level.'' With that, Niu Chang busied himself exploring the mysteries contained within his physical body. Chapter 41 - Transformation Because the yellow cocoon was flying, its energy source was cut off from the hidden arrangement underground that gathered vitality from the forest. So, occasionally, the yellow cocoon would land for a short time to absorb more vitality, replenishing its energy and hastening its transformation. Niu Chang was overwhelmed by the various findings about his physical body. His head was filled with more questions than answers, and he kept murmuring, "What is this?" The various body cultivation techniques that he had read in his first life evolved from his original intention and were incorporated into the impossible idea. ''The Ultimate Tyrant Body Art should make my body stronger than steel, heavier than mountains. Impregnable and impervious to anything. But what is this? Why did this characteristic go missing? Where did it go?'' ''The Heavenly Emperor Indestructible Body, which was meant to create a holy body filled with vitality and the domineering aura of the emperor, has also changed. Why hasn''t the vitality of my body become apparent as I deduced?'' ''The Innate Primordial Vessel and Chaotic Cosmos Scripture, which focus on energy reserve, haven''t created any aperture or energy storage inside my body. The five viscera are empty, and the heart is hollow.'' ''It''s normal for those two copied techniques, but my self-created Heart Aperture Energy Storage hasn''t done its job at all!'' ''My Supreme Sword Bone also hasn''t changed my bones as intended. This is my self-created technique that turns the bones into swords and nurtures them with the excessive vitality of the body. But why is it absent?'' ''And the innate energy is still the same, elusive and ignoring my control. Dude, my body is literally dying, and you still choose to be dormant? Why are you even here?'' Frustrated by his unreasonable body, of which he was once proud, Niu Chang helplessly waved his white flag and chose to use qi cultivation techniques to restore his body. It wasn''t that he hadn''t examined his body before and was oblivious to these changes, but due to his special condition, it should be easier for him to distinguish his body from a normal human body. ''I hope my Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky will not disappoint me.'' Ignoring the explosions occurring outside, Niu Chang recalled the feeling and nuance of the towering tree under the sunny sky. The dim white qi became tainted with a green hue and slowly spread more, creating a refreshing feeling running through Niu Chang''s body. The more he activated Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky to heal his crippled body, the more conflicted he felt from the bottom of his heart. ''The Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky that I first created only focused on its surroundings¡ªthe falling leaves and the blowing wind. But now, I don''t need this aspect. Instead, I want the aspect of the tree''s own vitality, its ability to grow endlessly and be full of life as long as the sun shines brightly in the sky.'' Changing his perspective from a traveler seeking refuge under a towering tree, Niu Chang''s mind entered the tree trunk and began to feel the running vitality of the tree. He recalled the facts about trees that he had learned in his first life and selectively used them according to his needs. ''As long as the roots still exist, this tree will forever exist. With the caring sun sharing its power, the tree will keep growing without hindrance.'' However, he was unable to reach that level of immersion of watching the smiling shrine maiden who had left a big impression in his heart and mind. Niu Chang opened his eyes and watched the verdant green qi freely circulate around his body, some of it moving and fusing into the open wounds. ''Although it''s not a proper technique or skill, this kind of qi utilization that heavily depends on its nature or attributes alone will be very wasteful for any martial artist. Well, this is what I can do for now.'' Niu Chang pushed his heart and mind to feel the essence of Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky, transforming his qi into verdant green qi. The updated verdant green qi began to act accordingly and slowly heal Niu Chang''s body. But the healing was painfully slow, even with the endless amount of qi he had. Sensing the qi fluctuation, Feng Ning cast a side glance at Niu Chang. "What a weird boy. This feeling is like a profound cultivation technique, but this boy is able to activate it with very low control, which is very difficult. Did he also encounter a hidden cave that contains profound cultivation techniques in this small place?" You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Feng Ning was only an ordinary old man a year before, but he had found a hidden cave around his village, Yellow Rock Village, during winter. There, he found the Three Phase Mystical Life technique, which allowed him to begin his cultivation journey. From the short amount of time he had, it was evident how profound and powerful this cultivation technique was. "Maybe this small place actually hides many cultivation caves of experts? Mine is just one of them, and this boy is also one of them? How many cultivation caves are out there if this is true?" Excited by his own thoughts, Feng Ning suddenly snapped out of it, alerted by the sudden change from the flying yellow cocoon. The yellow cocoon was slightly above the ground now, connected to the ground by an intricate bridge made of yellow tree branches. The pulsating yellow qi gave a weird feeling to those who saw it. It was like the beating heart of the forest itself. The trees in this forest had already reached their end. Their leafless crowns, shriveled trunks, and fragility were such that even a touch would make them crumble and fall apart. Six palms made of purple qi rushed at great speed, but they were unable to shake the yellow cocoon. The fragrance, full of life and vitality, spread in this dead forest, so alluring and powerful that even the half-dead snake felt its wounds starting to heal. The mysterious fragrance worked wonders for any living beings except plants. Niu Chang also breathed in this fleeting fragrance like a whale swallowing seawater. His eyes closed, and his mind was very active. The image of his towering verdant tree sprouted rapidly, creating various big branches on its side. Niu Chang''s self-created techniques were like this¡ªhe needed a chance to kick up his mind to truly capture the essence and turn it into a skill. The chance could come from his own dreams, desires, memories, or encountering beautiful and impactful events or things in the outside world, which could trigger his mind to create an essence that left an everlasting mark on his heart and mind. The mark was like a lighthouse that could be easily found in his vast sea of knowledge with a single thought. This was why Niu Chang could use the skill easily with just one thought. The lonely towering tree grew rapidly, its branches splitting into more branches, filling the surroundings with green and brown colors. The shade it provided expanded, and the refreshing feeling no longer needed the ever-changing wind to blow. Deep in his own mind, Niu Chang was unaware of the changes in his body. The open wounds around his torso began to tremble, and a small sprout made of verdant green qi wiggled around. As Huang Zhi approached its limit, the fragrance also grew stronger. Five breaths later, the yellow cocoon dimmed and revealed a round cage made of thick yellow branches that looked like it was made of pure gold, full of metallic luster. At the same time, the fragrance disappeared completely. Niu Chang frowned and opened his eyes. ''Just a little more, and I will be able to create a healing skill.'' Niu Chang was disappointed but then made a sudden realization. ''Maybe the true meaning of tree vitality is not their endless growth, but rather the persistent will to live.'' The forest that had expanded from the main towering tree began to collapse on its own. The tree branches around Niu Chang''s wounds also began to wither away and turn into flesh and bone. Looking at his body, which had somehow transformed into tree bark, Niu Chang was shocked, but thanks to his timely realization, he was able to stop this wrong development. ''That was very dangerous. It was the same with the first skill of Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree. Her captivating smile almost drove me to become a mindless slave.'' ''Maybe this is the main reason why not many choose this path that I am taking. One small mistake can lead to irredeemable consequences and endless regret.'' Being a curious person like he was, Niu Chang immediately reflected on this problem that filled his path of cultivation. Just because it was dangerous, Niu Chang didn''t choose to give up. Instead, he would learn from his mistakes and take a bigger leap after this. This was the beauty of cultivation for Niu Chang. The path of the unknown is full of danger and uncertainty, but it is also filled with endless possibilities. Emerging from the blossoming yellow cage, Huang Zhi unfolded like a flower in vibrant spring. Petal by petal, she revealed herself, her silky black hair cascading down her back like a majestic waterfall. Her exposed shoulder, neck, and upper chest glistened like freshly fallen snow, radiating ethereal purity. As the cage continued to bloom, it became apparent that she had nothing to conceal, for her newly transformed body shone with resplendence. With her eyes opening for the first time, a pair of bright yellow orbs met the world, radiating unfiltered light. Her mature womanly form boasted generous curves, accentuated by ample breasts and captivating buttocks. The captivating sight of her hourglass figure held an entrancing allure. As she raised her delicate hand, Huang Zhi reveled in her newfound womanhood, her giggles dancing softly in the air. The cage of interwoven tree branches caressed her long, graceful limbs, gradually transforming into a natural dress that accentuated her already perfected form. Crafted from various plant elements, the dress allowed her to proudly display her body, revealing glimpses of her chosen exposed areas. Each reveal spoke of her confidence and acceptance, a testament to her journey of self-transformation. Unknowingly, Niu Chang dropped his jaw while watching Huang Zhi exit her yellow cocoon. "Damn. What a vixen." Shaking his head to wake himself up, Niu Chang swallowed the saliva collected in his mouth. ''One day, one day I will have my own servant who outmatches her beauty. But damn, look at those twin peaks above the large mountains, and look at that hidden waterfall between those valleys.'' ''I really need to create a technique that allows me to transform my immature body into a mature one, so I can do what I want and no longer be confined together with this distracting desire.'' Niu Chang kept his mind running through various thoughts, but his eyes were unable to leave Huang Zhi''s new body. Chapter 42 - Not Paying Born in the Yellow Rock Village, Feng Ning had only his mother to take care of him from the start until he reached the age of eleven. Unfortunately, his mother fell ill and died shortly after, marking a turning point for Feng Ning''s life from bad to worse. Due to insufficient nutrition and the hard work he endured to bring food to his stomach, his small body was unable to grow properly. From a young age to adulthood and finally to old age, he reached the age of seventy-two, beyond his expectations. Having endured so much suffering, he no longer held an optimistic or pessimistic outlook on life, but rather lived comfortably on his own. "It wasn''t a perfect life, but it''s still my life after all. The only thing I regret is not being able to have my own family." Quietly waiting as his twilight years reached their end in his small house, Feng Ning ventured out after a heavy snowstorm in search of unburied treasure around the yellow mound near the village. The so-called unburied treasure was a stroke of luck from a villager who had found a beautiful yellow stone of high value. However, the villagers didn''t know what it was, and some wandering martial artist bought it from them. They also attempted to search the yellow mound but returned empty-handed. Feng Ning wanted to test his luck, wondering if the heavy snowstorm might have altered the topography of the ground and brought up more of those yellow stones. When he reached the yellow mound, he was alone, filled with happiness and excitement as he wandered through it. With his old body and tattered clothes, he persevered until noon. Just as he was about to return home, he noticed something strange protruding from the snow-covered ground. Curiosity got the better of him, and he went to investigate, only to discover that it was someone''s foot wearing a sandal made of cheap material. Shocked by his finding, he wanted to run away, but his curiosity outweighed his fear. Feng Ning tried to dig out the buried person, pushing away the snow as he continued digging. To his surprise, he uncovered not one, but two people buried in the area¡ªa man and a woman who seemed to be a couple, judging by their clothing. Offering his condolences and checking their belongings, which held no precious items, Feng Ning felt disappointed and wanted to leave. However, as he walked away, the ground he had dug became unstable and he fell down. To his amazement, Feng Ning discovered a spacious underground cave with an eerie atmosphere. Driven by his foolish ambition from his youth, he explored the cave and stumbled upon a book titled "Three Phase Mystical Life." This marked the beginning of his martial journey. Beside the book, there was also a jade bottle. The cultivation technique contained both cultivation methods and martial techniques. Thanks to his old age, which was well-suited for the Three Phase Mystical Life, Feng Ning was able to cultivate with ease. With the help of the elixir in the jade bottle, all he needed to do was sacrifice three people from three phases of human life¡ªthe young, the adult, and the old. Within a year, he had reached a stage above grandmaster, experiencing immense strength and a transformation of his body, which changed his mindset. Now standing in the air, Feng Ning stared coldly at the enchanting beauty on the ground. It was the first time he had seen such a beautiful woman, and his old heart started to bloom again. However, he only sneered, realizing that she was nothing more than a monster. He believed that obtaining her red fruit would grant him power over any woman in the world, for it was strength alone that could fulfill his desires. Feng Ning was certain that Huang Zhi still possessed her red fruit because he could sense it with his strong qi sense. The red fruit had integrated into Huang Zhi''s new body, becoming her heart. Ignoring the condescending and cold gaze from Feng Ning, Huang Zhi shifted her eyes towards Niu Chang, who was utilizing his newfound healing skill. Observing the passionate and lustful gaze from the young boy, Huang Zhi felt proud of her new appearance. However, her mind recalled their previous conversation, and she shook her head in helplessness. ''If I had never heard his comments before, I would have taken this lustful expression as genuine. But for him, it''s nothing more than a plaything to alleviate his boredom. Anger, joy, sadness, and even guilt are merely playthings for him.'' This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "How do you find my body, boy?" Huang Zhi taunted. "Didn''t you say you wanted to be embraced by a beauty you had met before? Well, how about now? Who is prettier?" Thanks to her complete human body, Niu Chang''s previous discomfort with the disparity between plant and human had diminished. As verdant green qi surrounded his body, healing his massive injuries, Niu Chang blinked twice, the lustful look still present but diminished. "You?" he responded with ridicule. Despite his gaze fixated on Huang Zhi''s body, Niu Chang stood his ground. "With your level, you dare to ask such an obvious question? It seems your transformation only affected your physical appearance, not your essence." Although his words contradicted his actions, Niu Chang couldn''t help but keep his eyes fixed on the best parts of Huang Zhi''s body. Huang Zhi was speechless, caught between anger and laughter. Gritting her pearly white and delicate teeth, she held her anger while saying, "Boy, you really are something. You look at my body and then say otherwise. Do you want to see it without paying?" As she moved her body slightly, trying to provoke Niu Chang with a glimpse of her best features, she thought, ''I want to see how long you can keep fooling around.'' "Woman, have some respect for yourself," Niu Chang hastily shouted, although his actions betrayed his words. "Haha," Huang Zhi couldn''t contain her laughter at Niu Chang''s antics. Her face contorted in a weird way, appearing angry but only enhancing her adorableness and cuteness. Feng Ning in the sky couldn''t help but laugh along. His laughter, too, carried a certain charm due to his new body after undergoing the body reformation. Hearing the laughter, Huang Zhi stared coldly at Feng Ning with her intimidating yellow eyes. However, Feng Ning dismissed it as a fleeting wind. "See!" Niu Chang suddenly interjected. "Now she wants to educate me on how to behave properly. This woman is clearly lusting after my body." Niu Chang didn''t want to lose out on this change in Huang Zhi and continued to scan her body from top to bottom. Clearing his throat, Niu Chang pointed his index finger at Huang Zhi, putting the blame on her. "Ahem, that woman over there, I''ll say this much: no matter how you ''educate'' me, I will never give my heart to you. I already have someone in my heart." Continuing to gaze at Huang Zhi''s best features, Niu Chang''s eyes were fixated on them, contemplating, ''Tsk tsk, how can a change in temperament cause changes in her overall beauty?'' ''I intended to have a maid in the future for convenience. Should I make her well-rounded or take in more maids?'' Lost in thought, Niu Chang fell silent, his eyes silently piercing through Huang Zhi''s body. "This boy has quite a way with words, don''t you think?" Feng Ning broke the silence. He, too, observed Huang Zhi''s womanly figure, starting from her midriff, passing her voluptuous breasts and open cleavage, and finally arriving at her cold face, which returned his icy glare. He nodded in agreement. "Indeed, a beautiful body. But that''s all. Will you hand over the fruit willingly, or do I have to take it from your lifeless body?" Huang Zhi sneered and laughed mockingly. "You? How do you think you can kill me with your puny skills? Although I don''t know how you managed to achieve the golden core stage in your life, your abilities are lacking. Do you really believe you''re superior to me just because you recently reached this stage?" Huang Zhi had already noticed Feng Ning''s shortcomings in combat during their exchange of moves. Feng Ning had focused solely on increasing his cultivation level and abandoned martial skills and techniques in order to undergo the body reformation as quickly as possible, avoiding death from old age. This made him lacking in fighting ability but strong in terms of cultivation level alone. "So what?" Feng Ning responded, not hiding anything. "You''re no different from me. You only recently reached this stage as well. Do you think you''re better than me?" Despite his shortcomings in battle, Feng Ning possessed a deep understanding of the Three Phase Mystical Life. This cultivation technique was truly profound, as cultivating the qi aspect also granted him practical skills. On the ground, Niu Chang also noticed that Feng Ning''s attacks were somewhat lackluster compared to what he had imagined. Instead of turning the heavens and earth upside down or filling the world with seven-colored lights, he only saw dark purple palms flying around, breaking many trees. "Heh, you''ll regret this," Huang Zhi said with a cold smile. Meanwhile, Niu Chang cheered from the ground, thinking, ''Heh, you''ll regret this.'' Chapter 43 - Feng Ning vs Huang Zhi "Big words!" Feng Ning shouted as dark purple qi flared up from his body. The dark purple qi expanded uncontrollably and then suddenly stopped, converging into two spots beside him. The expansion of the dark purple qi was mainly due to Feng Ning''s lack of control over such massive qi. The next part revealed his true intention. Naturally, Huang Zhi wouldn''t allow her enemy to finish whatever he was doing. She directly struck at Feng Ning. The yellow cage beneath her withered and turned into dust carried by the wind. She also levitated in the air, just like Feng Ning did. This was a characteristic of their cultivation stage. Once they reached this stage, flying or walking in the air became as simple as breathing for them. ''Golden core? Is it really like I thought? Well, the golden core in this world seems different from the stories I read back then.'' Niu Chang continued to heal his body and increase his proficiency in his new skill. He named this new skill Verdant Will, derived from his skill Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky. As long as the will was present, death would be just a phase, and life would be another phase. ''Hey, this seems similar to my Impossible Idea. Is it possible for me to use Verdant Will as a stepping stone to open the second level?'' Excited by this discovery, Niu Chang immersed himself joyfully in delving deeper into understanding the Verdant Will. Yellow qi surged from Huang Zhi''s body, but unlike Feng Ning''s uncontrollable expansion, her yellow qi was more controlled, flowing around her body like a stream of water. Feng Ning frowned upon seeing Huang Zhi''s mastery over controlling qi. He sensed danger and hastened his technique to finish. The two spots of dark purple qi began to spin and absorb qi faster from Feng Ning''s body. "Yellow Dragon Branch," Huang Zhi said softly as the yellow stream of qi separated from the yellow qi around her body and transformed into a dragon. The yellow dragon had the face of a dog, horn of a deer, scale of a snake, claw of an eagle, and tail of a fish. It transformed from interwoven yellow qi into a lifelike dragon with solid bones, strong muscles, and shiny scales. The yellow dragon opened its yellow eyes, resembling Huang Zhi in wisdom. Fixing its gaze on Feng Ning, the yellow dragon roared. On the ground, Niu Chang opened his eyes. He saw the yellow qi transform into a yellow dragon. His mind was confused, unable to contain himself, he directly asked Huang Zhi about her technique. "Little Zhi, why must you say the name of your technique?" Being a friend of Huang Zhi, Niu Chang naturally called her Little Zhi to show their closeness. However, in the air, Huang Zhi''s expression turned cold, her eyes filled with fire and hatred. "Don''t call me Little Zhi!" After angrily shouting at Niu Chang, she turned her face back to face Feng Ning. The yellow dragon soared into the sky, opening its jaw to swallow Feng Ning whole. Thanks to his old age, the sudden appearance of the charging yellow dragon didn''t cause much disturbance in his heart. He smiled and waved his left hand, directing the spot of dark qi gathering on his left to fly towards the yellow dragon. The yellow dragon didn''t want to eat random things and spewed a large amount of burning yellow qi. Niu Chang could see the strong invisible connection between the dragon and Huang Zhi. He had also sensed the qi fluctuation from Huang Zhi earlier. ''It''s more like an avatar than a mere offensive skill. The name Yellow Dragon Branch is not that simple. Perhaps Little Zhi actually infused a part of herself, a branch, into this yellow dragon, as it doesn''t possess any characteristics of a branch.'' With his mind occupied by their problem, Niu Chang once again examined Huang Zhi''s body, searching for the part she put into the yellow dragon. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Feeling the leeching gaze that felt like it was licking her body from various angles, Huang Zhi turned her head again. ''This boy really has unmatched audacity.'' However, she couldn''t help but feel strange. Previously, she felt an insatiable desire to ravage her body from Niu Chang''s gaze, but now it felt even worse. ''Why do I feel like his gaze is prying open my body and exploring every single part of it, like children playing with a dead animal?'' Choosing to ignore Niu Chang''s harassment, Huang Zhi focused on controlling her yellow dragon. The yellow breath faced the ball of dark purple qi, but the dark purple ball kept advancing without giving up. Huang Zhi didn''t want to take any risks, so she turned the dragon''s head to the side and continued to advance, using the dragon claw to slash at the dark purple ball. Niu Chang closed his eyes again, as the battle no longer piqued his curiosity. He was unable to find the part he suspected was severed from Huang Zhi''s body. ''Maybe it''s different from what I thought. Instead of using a part of her body, a branch, Little Zhi uses the characteristics of her golden core cultivation stage to remotely control this dragon.'' Niu Chang only knew about cultivation up to the grandmaster stage from the five books he gathered from the dying old beggar in the forest. Although the books mentioned the stages up to the grandmaster stage, they lacked crucial information about the master stage and the grandmaster stage. This meant that the five cultivation books didn''t have the cultivation methods for those stages. Without any information about what masters and grandmasters could do, Niu Chang had to rely on his knowledge from his previous life to fill the gaps, even if they were mere assumptions. The dark purple ball sharply turned after realizing that the yellow dragon had turned its head, avoiding the incoming sharp claw. Huang Zhi moved her delicate hands together, guiding the flow of her qi into a specific circulation path. When it was completed, the flowing yellow qi rose from Huang Zhi''s body and transformed into a tree. The tree trunk was large, and its crown was full of yellow branches and leaves. But it appeared illusory, like an ink painting floating in the air. "Go," Huang Zhi commanded her yellow tree. The tree swayed gently, and the yellow branches lashed out like a whip, launching the yellow leaves in a barrage of bullets. Feng Ning noticed the sudden appearance of the yellow qi and distanced himself. The yellow dragon was entangled with the dark purple ball, but the dark purple ball was suppressed by the yellow dragon. Holding the dark purple ball with its claws and coiling its body around it, the yellow dragon moved toward Feng Ning. Feng Ning narrowed his eyes, calculating his next move. He decided to take care of the yellow dragon first, as it was a vanguard for Huang Zhi. He made a hand seal with his right hand, and the dark yellow qi shone on top of his index and middle fingers. He pointed it at the dark purple ball on the yellow dragon''s body. As if receiving a command, the dark purple ball became restless, loosening its grip and allowing the dark purple qi inside to expand and envelop the yellow dragon. The yellow leaves rapidly approached Feng Ning, but they were obstructed by the yellow dragon, covered by the dark purple qi. Huang Zhi smiled at this scene. The yellow leaves entered the dark purple qi and transformed from leaves into roots. Various small roots started to absorb the dark purple qi as nutrients, and small sprouts began to grow. Feng Ning was stunned, his anger evident on his face. "Hehe, you can deceive me with your little tricks." Niu Chang opened his eyes to observe the development. He saw the dark purple qi being absorbed rapidly by the yellow roots. The yellow roots that had sprouted then moved toward the yellow dragon and fused with it. The seemingly transparent yellow dragon became more vivid and real. ''It seems that Little Zhi utilizes the characteristics of plants, taking nutrients from its surroundings to enhance itself as the core of her cultivation technique.'' ''But still, this kind of battle doesn''t seem like something a "martial artist" should have. Where are the fancy choreographed movements? Instead, it feels more like two mages casting their skills. Is this world in the genre of xianxia rather than wuxia?'' After observing for a few seconds, Niu Chang closed his eyes again and focused on improving his skills. The yellow dragon continued absorbing the yellow sprouts into its body. It became more vivid, and its body slowly grew bigger. The dark purple qi around the yellow dragon continued to decrease before finally dissipating. The yellow leaves that hadn''t sprouted transformed back into yellow leaves and fell back to the yellow tree. The energized yellow dragon roared at Feng Ning and increased its speed. Feng Ning maintained his composure and continuously waved his hands, pushing dark purple palms toward the yellow dragon. However, the palms were unable to hinder the yellow dragon''s advance and were effortlessly destroyed. Feng Ning kept retreating from the yellow dragon. The dark purple palms kept hindering the yellow dragon by taking advantage of their numbers. Seeing Feng Ning cast numerous dark purple palms continuously without any issues, Huang Zhi frowned. "What a strange cultivation technique. Is he unafraid of wasting his qi? Does he believe that the qi for the golden core stage is endless just because he keeps using those small moves?" Realizing the uniqueness of Feng Ning''s cultivation technique, Huang Zhi paid closer attention to the dark purple ball on the right side of Feng Ning. She felt a sense of danger brewing in her heart as she saw the ball continuously absorbing seemingly endless qi from Feng Ning. Chapter 44 - Mystical Life Transformation The stage after the Grandmaster stage was challenging to achieve, but the difficulty resulted in immense power upon reaching it. However, not many are aware of the magnitude of this power gained, as different cultivation techniques yield different benefits. Huang Zhi, a plant monster from the beginning, focused on enhancing and perfecting her plant characteristic, specifically absorption. Her goal was to absorb her own red fruit, ensuring she wouldn''t be targeted by other golden cores once she left the forest. Without the red fruit in her body, no one would pursue her or know of her past as a plant monster. Plants on the cultivation path had a worse fate compared to spirits or animals because they lacked the spiritual wisdom derived from the starts. Many plant creatures became mindless elixirs, waiting to be harvested by others while they continued to improve their cultivation to gain higher spiritual wisdom. Impatient in her heart, Huang Zhi decided to increase her offense. She tapped her foot in the air and chased after Feng Ning while carrying the yellow tree. Surprisingly, the yellow tree didn''t hinder her movement; instead, she used it to propel herself and increase her speed. Witnessing Huang Zhi''s determination, Feng Ning no longer retreated. He unleashed his Mountain Crushing Palm towards the yellow dragon, gathering dark purple qi above his head, forming a bigger palm than before. Without wasting time on condensing the mountain crushing palm, Feng Ning directly attacked the incoming yellow dragon with the powerful technique. The yellow dragon roared and swung its claws, attempting to strike the big palm. Meanwhile, Huang Zhi almost reached the yellow dragon, manipulating her yellow qi and causing the yellow tree to shudder. The expansive tree crowns suddenly shrank and merged into the trunk, transforming the yellow tree into a straight and oppressive block of wood. Huang Zhi raised her small hand, effortlessly lifting the yellow block of wood. With a wave of her fingers, she propelled the block of wood at astonishing speed towards Feng Ning, disregarding the yellow dragon entirely. Her sole focus was eliminating the enemy; there was no room for distractions. At the last moment, the yellow dragon changed tactics and struck the big palm with its tail, creating an opening for the block of wood to directly assault Feng Ning. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Huang Zhi launched herself at Feng Ning, propelled through the air. Anticipating Feng Ning''s next move, she prepared to take action. The big palm clenched its finger, halting the yellow dragon''s progress. Feng Ning, feeling immense pressure from the block of wood and Huang Zhi, glanced at the ball on his right side and made a choice. "You leave me no choice!" With a heavy heart, Feng Ning struck the ball. A strange purple qi flowed from his body into the ball, causing it to energize and appear on the verge of breaking free. Huang Zhi, controlling the block of wood, targeted the unstable dark purple ball instead of Feng Ning. As the block of wood grew larger before Feng Ning''s eyes, it shifted slightly to destroy the dangerous dark purple ball. Shocked, Feng Ning shouted, "No!" Behind the block of wood, Huang Zhi revealed herself, her judgment complete, and she prepared to cast a new technique. Her hand emitted yellow qi, conjuring a yellow sword formed from intricately combined tree branches. She grasped the sword and slashed forward, coating its surface with a serene yellow color qi that blended seamlessly with the sword. This display of qi control on the wooden sword surpassed Feng Ning''s understanding. As a golden core, he could manipulate master qi due to his high cultivation base. However, he aimed to achieve a level beyond master qi, known as grandmaster qi. Grandmaster qi possessed unparalleled amplification across all aspects of the wielded weapon and reached profound enhancements at its limits. Huang Zhi displayed the fundamental form of grandmaster qi through her wooden sword. Although she was far from fully harnessing its power, her demonstration showcased her deep foundation. "Die!" Huang Zhi slashed her wooden sword with seemingly no effort. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The block of wood pierced the dark purple ball, causing it to explode in failure, dissipating the dark purple qi. The wooden sword advanced at rapid speed towards Feng Ning''s neck. Left with no choice, Feng Ning extended his palm, allowing the dark purple qi to surge forth and block the sword from reaching his neck. Anticipating this move, Huang Zhi snorted and delivered a kick to shatter Feng Ning''s jewel of man. Deceived for the second time, Feng Ning couldn''t contain his turbulent emotions and let out a roar. Instead of sound, a surge of dark purple qi similar to what he had infused into the ball earlier erupted from his mouth. Huang Zhi halted her kick and changed her stance, preparing to strike Feng Ning decisively. With her wooden sword no longer aimed at his palm, she unleashed a forward slash. "Stop!" Feng Ning firmly commanded, and the qi exiting his mouth moved erratically, resembling a wriggling worm being electrocuted. It suddenly lunged towards Huang Zhi. Niu Chang, who had opened his eyes to observe the developments, couldn''t locate the combatants in their previous positions. He shifted his body to search for them, eventually finding Feng Ning and Huang Zhi standing close together. "Damn, you guys were having so much fun while I was preoccupied? How enviable." The fast-moving strange qi encountered great resistance from Huang Zhi''s yellow qi, while her natural dress shifted, climbed up to her neck, and transformed into a face protector. Niu Chang was stunned by the astonishing design of Huang Zhi''s face protector. ''Do you have to make everything look so good?'' To make it even more impressive, the face protector was enhanced by grandmaster qi as the first layer of protection. Unable to detect the invisible and formidable grandmaster qi, Niu Chang could only perceive the strange qi experienced significant resistance from the face protector. The unobstructed wooden sword slashed upward, and Feng Ning could only stare with resentment at Huang Zhi''s grandmaster qi, surpassing his expectations for a mere plant monster. The wooden sword effortlessly cut through Feng Ning''s jaw to a small part of his nose. He pushed himself backward, attempting to kick Huang Zhi''s body, but her hand blocked his movement. Strangely, no blood flowed from the wound on Feng Ning''s face. Confirming her suspicions, Huang Zhi sneered in disdain. "As I expected, you practiced demonic art." "Demonic art differs from normal cultivation techniques in that it yields quicker results and grants formidable strength at the cost of sacrificing lives and paying various prices for its practitioners." Despite his lower jaw split, Feng Ning laughed. "Haha, so what? You''re just a tree demon, daring to judge what is demonic and what is not?" "How many humans have you drained to increase your cultivation level? The name ''demonic art'' itself primarily refers to demons, creatures devoid of humanity and spiritual wisdom, who will do anything to enhance their strength." "Demonic beasts kill and consume other demonic beasts to grow stronger. Isn''t that the most authentic demonic art? You plant demons are no better; you entice numerous beasts and humans to your domain, draining their vitality until only dust remains of their bones." "A newly transformed plant demon dares lecture me? Merely attacking me doesn''t mean you can win!" Feng Ning''s face gradually transformed from its previously handsome blend of adulthood and old age into an aged countenance. Simultaneously, his wounds, corroded by invisible yellow qi, began to heal. The Three Phase Mystical Life had a unique method to attain the golden core stage. Practitioners needed to undergo the first mystical life transformation, reverting from their old phase to the adult phase, followed by the transition to the young phase, and finally achieving the ultimate transformation. The physical appearance of the final transformation would be random, depending on the sacrifices made during the previous two phases. Having completed his first mystical life transformation and breakthrough to the golden core realm, regaining his youth, Feng Ning found himself cornered and in desperate need of power. With no other options available, he made the difficult decision to sacrifice his first transformation in order to enhance his strength. "Come out," Feng Ning commanded. His aging face reverted to his original countenance, while a face constructed from purple qi started to take shape. Observing this peculiar scene of facial splitting, Niu Chang couldn''t recall where he had seen the purple qi face before. ''Isn''t that the face of someone from Yellow Village? Which one was he again?'' Frustrated, Niu Chang abandoned his attempt to remember, focusing instead on the ensuing spectacle. The face made of purple qi resembled the face of the instructor from the only martial school in Yellow Village. With his mouth wide open, Feng Ning consumed the face of the martial school instructor. His aging face rapidly transformed into that of the instructor. "Now, I will show you what true demonic art looks like!" Feng Ning exclaimed with a malicious grin. Chapter 45 - Can I Recite My Poem? ''What a weird old man,'' Niu Chang thought to himself, ''he said he disdains the demonic creatures for their demonic way of cultivation, and yet now he claims he will show the true demonic art as a human? Tsk tsk, he must have become senile after eating that weird thing.'' Niu Chang criticized Feng Ning''s lack of consistency in his words. Then Niu Chang saw Feng Ning change his body posture into a striking position and launch a direct attack on Huang Zhi. Huang Zhi was cautious about what kind of weird skill Feng Ning possessed, but she felt somewhat disappointed with the outcome. In her opinion, the technique she had prepared for him seemed overly powerful. Her qi reserves were not abundant, thanks to Feng Ning''s interference during her transformation. The yellow dragon had already destroyed the large palm and charged towards Feng Ning. However, upon seeing Feng Ning''s confident expression regarding his physical abilities, Huang Zhi called her yellow dragon back. Fighting a martial artist with a large body became a disadvantage instead of an advantage if the difference in strength was not significant. The yellow dragon turned its body and flew back towards Huang Zhi. The yellow dragon shrank and merged into Huang Zhi''s dress, transforming it into battle armor, leaving Niu Chang astonished once again. Adorned in her extraordinary battle armor, Huang Zhi stood before the astonished onlookers. The once majestic yellow dragon had become an exquisite ensemble, seamlessly merging with Huang Zhi''s dress. Every inch of the armor exuded a seductive allure, captivating all who beheld it. Delicate vines adorned her limbs, their verdant tendrils intertwining with her movements, evoking a mesmerizing dance. Though prioritizing aesthetic appeal over practicality, the armor offered little defensive capability. Nevertheless, its enchanting beauty and undeniable sensuality made it a work of art. ''This... Little Zhi really knows fashion. This battle armor may prioritize sexiness and attractiveness over practicality, but it still covers her vital parts... Well, at least with this kind of armor, she is indeed protecting her ''vital'' parts,'' Niu Chang remarked, capturing the sight in his memory. ''Tsk tsk, how can such a small armor protect Little Zhi''s prominent assets? It''s like an ant trying to hold a mountain with its body alone.'' Unable to contain his astonishment, Niu Chang gazed at Huang Zhi''s alluring battle armor. The intricate design left him in awe, appreciating her remarkable fashion sense. Though not the most practical choice for battle, the armor possessed its own value. It accentuated Huang Zhi''s curves, drawing attention and admiration. Niu Chang marveled at the daring protection the small armor provided for her physique, emphasizing the contrast between the delicate attire and her formidable presence. He pondered how such an enchanting ensemble would fare in the face of true danger. Somehow, Niu Chang desired to be that danger, but he shook his head, dismissing these thoughts as he watched Feng Ning closing in. Unlike before, Feng Ning appeared to have become a master of martial arts. His movements were agile and fluid, devoid of any unnecessary actions. His eyes were cold, resembling a killing machine. He skillfully moved his palm, utilizing his dark purple qi to launch a palm attack towards Huang Zhi. Huang Zhi observed Feng Ning, searching for an opening to exploit, but found none. After absorbing her yellow dragon into her body, Huang Zhi''s strength had greatly increased. It was not merely due to the design of her battle armor, but also the hidden enhancements that were added to her body. The dragon engraving on her battle armor seemed to swim alongside the yellow qi river, and faint sounds of dragon roars could be heard. Huang Zhi faced Feng Ning head-on with her sword. On the ground, Niu Chang finally had the chance to witness the true fight between martial artists. Both Feng Ning and Huang Zhi possessed the ability to stand on air effortlessly. They exchanged blows endlessly, their movements too fast for Niu Chang to track, with flashes of purple and yellow here and there. However, the yellow color managed to push back the purple color. With a powerful explosion of yellow qi, Huang Zhi remained airborne while Feng Ning was sent crashing to the ground like a falling meteor. Thanks to his qi protection, Feng Ning avoided any significant damage from the fall, but his clothes were already torn, and he had sustained numerous injuries. Blood started to drip onto the ground. Huang Zhi glanced at Niu Chang to ensure he wouldn''t attempt to escape. The look in her eyes seemed to say, "Next, it''s your turn." Slightly shocked, Niu Chang could only giggle at this feeble threat. Then, he felt a tug on his heartstrings and quickly turned his head, only to see a flash of dark purple rushing towards him. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ''Sigh, must you do this?'' Unable to move his body to avoid the sneak attack, Niu Chang shook his head and activated Closed Loop Protection to its maximum. The verdant green qi surged, transforming the qi barrier into a mix of white and green that became more visible around Niu Chang''s body. Unlike before, the advanced version of Closed Loop Protection included the physical body within its safe area. Layer upon layer of qi barriers interwove, creating a delicate sphere where the outer layers were pushed outwards and dissolved, making room for new barriers constantly forming from the inside. Feng Ning launched two attacks¡ªone aimed at Huang Zhi and the other at Niu Chang. Easily blocking the dark purple palm attack with her wooden sword, Huang Zhi swiftly rushed towards Niu Chang. The qi barriers were pierced by a hand covered in master qi, pushing into the inner area but encountering great resistance before ultimately being unable to advance further. Feng Ning showed a perplexed expression on his martial instructor''s face. Unable to accept his failure, he pushed again, this time using the Mountain Crushing Palm on Niu Chang. Time was short, and the mountain crushing palm was unleashed with great force. The large palm shattered the inner layer of qi barriers, finally reaching the core area and blasting Niu Chang''s body. It was unavoidable since this was a genuine attack from a stage above the grandmaster level. Huang Zhi had managed to break the Closed Loop Protection before primarily due to the use of grandmaster qi. Because her cultivation level had been insufficient at the time, she needed to concentrate her mind into one sword to control the grandmaster qi. Being directly struck by the large palm, Niu Chang immediately grabbed by Feng Ning. His vision blurred before finally realizing that he was being held in the air by his neck. "Stop!" Feng Ning shouted loudly, his eyes bloodshot upon seeing Huang Zhi approaching. Huang Zhi slowed down but continued to advance. She took small steps, closing the distance. "Do you want to use him to threaten me?" Huang Zhi asked, her expression amused as she observed Niu Chang in his pathetic situation. Niu Chang''s face was turned towards Huang Zhi, and due to Feng Ning''s strong grip, he struggled to breathe. Even with enhancements from the first level of the Impossible Idea and a powerful physique like that of a demonic snake, he still felt suffocated. Lowering his gaze, Niu Chang noticed that Feng Ning was using his mastery of qi to strengthen his grip. Niu Chang merely gave a disdainful look, deeming the excessive violence unnecessary. Turning his eyes back to Huang Zhi, he found her smiling at him. "Having fun there?" she taunted, taking another step forward. Feng Ning flinched and increased his grip strength, but he found it increasingly difficult to close his hand due to the powerful force pushing it back. Although not perfect, the new Closed Loop Protection now allowed the production of a new qi barrier at the skin level, inside the body. This enabled Niu Chang to push against Feng Ning''s grip without any issue. ''What is this?'' Feng Ning felt cornered and threatened by Huang Zhi''s true strength. He wanted to escape but couldn''t find a suitable opportunity to do so. Thus, he turned his attention to Niu Chang, who seemed close to Huang Zhi and appeared weaker. However, he encountered great resistance from this seemingly ten-year-old boy. Despite releasing a significant amount of qi, Niu Chang''s cultivation proved to be nothing but a joke¡ªa pile of sand without any structure to support it.. Only when he attacked Niu Chang did he realize that the boy possessed peculiar defensive skills. The skill itself wasn''t particularly powerful, but when combined with Niu Chang''s seemingly endless qi, it provided formidable protection. "Boy, stay still, or I will break your neck," Feng Ning threatened Niu Chang in a cold voice, pouring more qi into his hand. Yet, his hand trembled greatly against the increasing force that pushed it back. "You, human, your greed is always your weakness. You could have lived peacefully after forming your core, but instead, you chose to plunder what belongs to others and risk your life," Huang Zhi''s cold voice resounded. She continued to advance, and even Niu Chang also continued the qi barrier to push Feng Ning''s hand away from his neck. Feng Ning knew that killing Niu Chang would be difficult without a powerful attack. So far, Feng Ning had only displayed mediocre skills, with only one that posed a threat to Niu Chang. However, that skill was unusable in the current situation unless Feng Ning chose to blast Niu Chang from close range, thus losing his only meat shield to slow down Huang Zhi. Even if he blasted Niu Chang off, he wouldn''t gain anything since killing him would be challenging. Niu Chang possessed the first level of the Impossible Idea, and his physical attributes were one level higher than Feng Ning''s own, not to mention Huang Zhi and the demonic snake. "Release me, and I will never trouble you again," Feng Ning finally faced reality. Huang Zhi shook her head, her black silky hair mesmerizing to behold. "Even if I release you, will you spare me?" Speaking in a perfunctory manner, the sword in Huang Zhi''s hand started to emit a yellow glow. "Must you push me to the limit?" Feng Ning teetered on the brink of losing control. His voice trembled greatly, and his eyes oscillated between madness and calmness. "Even if you kill me here, you won''t have a good ending." Suddenly, Huang Zhi halted her steps, and the distance between them was now only three meters. But before she could speak, Niu Chang interjected. "Um... can I say something here?" Niu Chang awkwardly raised his shoulder. Without waiting for a reply, he continued, "Can I recite my poem?" His gentle voice and the unexpected request added a strange atmosphere to the already tense situation. Chapter 46 - Divine Embrace After a brief silence, Huang Zhi spoke first, "Why now?" Niu Chang looked directly into her eyes and earnestly asked, "Can''t I?" Raising her eyebrows in a questioning manner, Huang Zhi turned her gaze towards Feng Ning and asked, "What is your opinion on this matter? After all, it was you who was stalling for time." Although her words seemed to imply something else, Feng Ning remained unaffected. However, deep down, he felt fear at Huang Zhi''s perceptiveness. "Go on," Feng Ning replied with a hoarse voice. "Ahem, this poem was inspired by you, Little Zhi," Niu Chang said, slightly blushing on his cheek. The frown on Huang Zhi''s forehead deepened, and her mood instantly worsened. "Speak properly," she admonished. "Well, what I mean is that looking at your great figure allows me to understand the true greatness and beauty of women," Niu Chang''s eyes wandered towards specific parts of Huang Zhi''s body. Hearing such blatant words made Feng Ning almost vomit blood and lose control of his qi, causing qi deviation. A strange smile appeared on Feng Ning''s rigid face. "Do you know how to write the word ''death,'' boy?" Having lived for a long time, Feng Ning realized that Niu Chang was as crazy as he appeared. It was impossible for Niu Chang not to understand the seriousness of the situation, but he chose to ignore it. ''Perhaps this boy is not as simple as he looks,'' Feng Ning thought. ''The powerful vitality that keeps him alive in that state, and that endless amount of qi. But unfortunately, I can''t extract his secret.'' Feeling regret in his heart, Feng Ning observed Huang Zhi''s reaction. "If it''s about me, why don''t you recite it for me once I''m done dealing with that man? It would be more appropriate," Huang Zhi suggested. Huang Zhi couldn''t understand what Niu Chang was thinking, nor did she bother trying to comprehend his mindset. ''This person simply defies common sense. Trying to understand him only causes harm to oneself.'' The blush on Niu Chang''s face faded, replaced by a serious expression. "Well, if it''s just the two of us, how could I feel embarrassed by reciting my poem? We are good friends, so naturally, I wouldn''t feel embarrassed in front of you. But it would be different with this old man here." Huang Zhi''s forehead reached its limit of frowning, and Niu Chang''s reply caused her left eye to twitch. Feng Ning found himself perplexed. ''Does this boy even speak human language? I can''t understand a word he''s saying.'' "Are you intentionally trying to embarrass yourself? Because it seems like you''re doing a pretty good job already," he responded, bewildered by Niu Chang''s words. Seeking some clarification, he turned his gaze towards Huang Zhi, hoping to find some clues to unravel the mystery. As he observed her equally confused expression, he came to the realization that his confusion was justified. Huang Zhi kept her eyes on Niu Chang. She felt beyond irritated and confused, and the more she tried to inquire, the more she regretted her decision. ''This boy has already reached a point where he can''t connect with other people in this world,'' Huang Zhi thought. ''At this point, only he can understand himself.'' "Suit yourself," Huang Zhi said, shaking her head with indifference. "Alright," Niu Chang smiled softly, his eyes filled with compassion. "Listen carefully and don''t shed any tears, okay?" He winked at Huang Zhi as he finished speaking. After making her decision, Niu Chang''s playful behavior no longer bothered Huang Zhi. Instead, it was Feng Ning who almost lost control and suffered qi deviation due to the dramatic scene. Niu Chang calmed his heart and let his thoughts immerse with his emotions. The compassionate smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a soft voice. "Oh, my beautiful lady, Once again, I have come to see you. Your enchanting smile still lingers in the depths of my mind. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. My heart aches, consumed by the relentless fire of desire, eagerly anticipating our reunion. Today, I will not depart until I can inhale the sweet fragrance of your pure body intertwined with that sacred robe. I wonder, will it differ from the cherry blossom petals that gracefully dance around you? I yearn to feel the fiery breath of your life''s essence. I crave the tender touch of your velvety skin, longing to embrace the warmth of your delicate form." Niu Chang''s voice was low, neither too fast nor too slow, but enough to convey his emotions through his words. Huang Zhi listened attentively. The first line gave her goosebumps, the second line conveyed Niu Chang''s strong affection, but the third line made her feel uncomfortable. The fourth line triggered her sharpened instincts, and before she could grasp the situation, she heard the next line, causing her heart to pound heavily. A flashback played in her mind, recalling the imagery that Niu Chang referred to in his poem. It suddenly dawned on her, and her eyes dilated in realization. Without a moment''s hesitation, her body reacted before her mouth could utter any words. Feng Ning was puzzled by Huang Zhi''s sudden movement and unintentionally revealed his hidden card. Dark purple qi expanded from his body, forming a pair of hands on his back. The hands, with intricate details, pushed forward, launching palm attacks towards Huang Zhi, buying him some time. Niu Chang closed his eyes and ignored the changes around him, continuing to recite his poem. "Alas, the confines of time and space deny our meeting. My senses ache for your presence. I thirst to taste your crimson lips, and I ache to hear the melodious melody of your voice." As the sixth line ended, Huang Zhi finally understood Niu Chang''s intentions. "Stop him!" she shouted at Feng Ning with a clear voice. However, due to her forceful opening, Feng Ning thought it was a smokescreen to confuse him, so he exerted even more power with his palms. Thanks to Feng Ning''s palms blocking Huang Zhi, Niu Chang was able to recite the last line. "Oh, my beautiful lady in white and red, might you grant this destitute soul the chance to experience your divine embrace?" Feng Ning suddenly realized something was amiss when he saw the dark expression on Huang Zhi''s face, tinged with fear. He finally understood that Huang Zhi''s target was not him but the boy he held. Before he could react, he heard the final line. Inside Niu Chang''s mind, the gray horizon and the gray heaven and earth surrounded him. Only a small area not far away showed something different. Under the aged cherry blossom tree, cherry blossom petals fell, providing cover for the shrine maiden who stood alone. She enjoyed the cherry blossom petals, gracefully dancing as part of a sacred rite. Her movements were subtle, almost as if she were doing nothing in particular, blending with her surroundings. In his original spot upon arriving in this place, Niu Chang smiled upon witnessing the divine dance, expressing his longing through the poem he created. The strange sensation he experienced during his half-dead state directed his focus towards understanding the longing for the shrine maiden''s embrace, which he couldn''t comprehend. Then, upon seeing the transformed Huang Zhi, he used his eyes to capture every detail of true beauty. Despite his curiosity about many things, he prioritized his goal. Finally, he finished creating his poem and began reciting it. He arrived in this place, seeking the shrine maiden''s mercy and requesting her divine embrace. The shrine maiden, engrossed in her sacred dance, finally paused and turned her head toward Niu Chang. As if his voice could reach her through the vast expanse separating reality and imagination, she saw Niu Chang. Hearing the longing in Niu Chang''s heart, she accepted his emotions and smiled gently. However, this time, there was no immediate effect. When the last line was recited, she chose to grant Niu Chang''s request. Stepping with butterfly-like grace, she broke free from the restrictions that confined her in this imperfect world. In the outside world, Niu Chang opened his eyes and smiled, just as the shrine maiden had. The qi inside and around him turned a deep red, radiating affection and longing. Cherry blossom petals bloomed from the affectionate qi, their shape clear and lifelike. But there was more to behold. The wind carried the scent of cherry blossoms, along with the temperature and ethereal sounds of spring from a distant place, bringing the essence of spring to this location. Niu Chang experienced the authentic sensations of the five senses as the qi transformation enveloped him. Even without mentally naming the skill, he unleashed his most powerful technique. Demonic (Divine) Embrace of the Lady in White and Red. As if emerging from the imagery surrounding Niu Chang''s body, the shrine maiden appeared in this world. Just as Niu Chang had envisioned this second skill of the Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree, it targeted the five senses. As long as the enemy was unable to block their senses, they would be struck by the Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red. Let''s not discuss the eyes, which could be closed, the nose that could be stopped from breathing, the tongue by sealing the lips, or the ears that could be blocked with something. The skin, being the largest sense receptor, couldn''t be closed or shielded from temperature or the sense of touch. Behind Feng Ning and Huang Zhi, a red phantom of a lady slowly materialized. She encircled her hands around her target''s neck, like an intimate lover. Made of red qi, her body appeared shallow and hollow on the inside. Yet, her mere presence showcased the immense power of the Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red. Huang Zhi, who had been charging forward, came to a sudden halt as the red qi penetrated her body, gradually corroding her yellow qi. The same fate befell Feng Ning. Witnessing the successful casting of his skill, Niu Chang smiled and softly asked, "My lady, what about me?" Chapter 47 - Risky Cultivation Path Overwhelmed by his own emotions, Niu Chang felt like he had been left behind by the enchanting shrine maiden. His mind was still dreamy after reciting the poem and he was unable to think clearly. As his words fell, the two shrine maidens clinging to Feng Ning and Huang Zhi suddenly turned their heads towards Niu Chang. The mist that clouded his thoughts suddenly parted, and a pair of hidden eyes appeared in the back of his mind. The eyes were shut, but slowly they opened. The drunkenness of love was still present, but not as potent as before. The sound of a beating heart became more apparent in his ears. Badump, badump, badump. It felt strangely familiar to him, as if he had heard this sound before. The eyelids began to roll back, revealing the blurry orbs within. It was hard to discern the eyes, but the feeling of their piercing gaze was very realistic. Unconsciously, Niu Chang also turned his head to check the strange feeling on the back of his head, only to find a red phantom of a lady slowly materializing on his back. For now, it was only the head without any facial details. It was then that Niu Chang realized the sound of the beating heart in his ears was not his imagination; it was true that he had heard such a sound before. ¡®Well, well, well. If it isn''t the consequence of my own actions,'' Niu Chang lamented his bad luck with his risky cultivation path. Avoiding the glaring eyes from the pair of hidden eyes in the back of his mind, as well as from the incomplete phantom on his back, Niu Chang started to think of a way to escape his predicament. He was the creator and caster of this skill, but he knew very little about it, except for its potential use. His highest expectation was for the skill to successfully activate, which is why he openly recited his poem instead of keeping it in his heart. He needed the anticipation and excitement of being watched by others, the sensation he felt when watching an epic battle scene in his previous life, where his hair stood on end and he was immersed in the beautiful animation on the screen. ¡®How do I escape this predicament of mine?'' Niu Chang scanned his surroundings and noticed that Huang Zhi was taking steps back while fighting against the phantom lady on her back. "What kind of ridiculous technique did you use?" Huang Zhi exclaimed in astonishment and hatred, realizing Niu Chang was looking at her. Niu Chang was like a paper tiger with a great amount of qi but without a solid foundation, a sandcastle without support. Due to the invasion of the red qi, Huang Zhi was unable to circulate her qi properly, resulting in a significant decline in her battle strength. The technique of the Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red wasn''t great or powerful enough for Niu Chang''s current abilities. It mainly relied on its deep profundity and the ridiculous endless supply of his qi to maintain and strengthen the shrine maiden phantoms. The red qi, brimming with affection, continued to project images that enveloped the five senses. Unless the source was halted, it became challenging to fend off the shrine maiden phantoms. The fleeting cherry blossom petals in the distant time and place bloomed. Observing how Huang Zhi forcefully pushed back the corroding red qi from the shrine maiden phantom, Niu Chang realized that this method was wrong, or rather, inefficient. He wanted to look at Feng Ning, but he was afraid of the shrine maiden phantom on his back. His heart was restless, caught between the pulling force of lust and the pushing force of fear. He was both horny and scared, and his body was confused about what to do. However, feeling that his pants were getting tight, it seemed he enjoyed such conflicting feelings. ¡®Well, this is still better than being fully immersed in the skill itself. It''s just a scratch compared to completely losing myself.'' Refusing the urge to delve into the strange emotions in his heart, Niu Chang tried his best to detach himself from the world, cutting off any mundane connection. He became otherworldly and detached. But as he attempted to do so, he could sense two additional gazes fixated on him, bringing the total to four: one in front, one in the back of his mind, and two from behind. Drops of sweat drenched his back. He quickly stopped his machine mode, realizing it was wrong. ''The core concept of Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red is to make the shrine maiden chase after the enemies. So if the enemies try to escape, it will only arouse the shrine maiden even more.'' A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Deducing the reason for the previous horror, Niu Chang felt the other two eyes slowly leaving his body. Exhaling a mouthful of turbid air, he chose to think more thoroughly before acting. He didn''t want any unwanted consequences. While pondering, Niu Chang felt his body slowly falling down, and then he heard a scream from Feng Ning. Floating in the air, Feng Ning, with a pair of arms on his back, was holding his head and screaming in frustration. The two shrine maiden phantoms of Huang Zhi and Niu Chang turned their heads towards Feng Ning. Feng Ning had already noticed that the technique Niu Chang used was heavily affecting his emotions, so he chose to cut off his emotions. Being an old man himself, he was naturally able to do such simple things to calm himself from negative thoughts that followed his pitiful life. As he started to cut off his emotions to defend himself from the invasion of the red qi, he found that the red qi was greatly aroused and became more aggressive. Feng Ning''s mind was greatly affected, and he lost his composure and became mad. Driven by the will to survive, Feng Ning unleashed his dark purple qi without restraint, fighting against the red qi with all his might. The pair of arms on his back moved erratically, sometimes clawing and sometimes punching. The dark purple qi blazed like a fire roaring at the sky, but the red qi tried to conquer it through subtle infiltration. Without any specific investigation technique, everyone could tell that the red qi was aggressively invading the dark purple qi because the only thing slowing down the invasion was the continuous pump of new dark purple qi from Feng Ning''s body. Huang Zhi watched the mad Feng Ning for a moment, and her eyes lit up. She realized that Niu Chang had also caught the attention of the shrine maiden phantoms before, but it quickly disappeared. Then she saw Feng Ning''s reaction this time, and she had a guess. She turned her gaze to Niu Chang, who was on the ground, looking at her with a bored expression and tranquil eyes. Niu Chang slightly shook his head, raised the corner of his mouth, and instantly the red qi imagery on his body reacted. Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red. This was a crucial moment for Niu Chang. He knew that if he messed up this chance, his journey would truly end here. Left without any choice, he braced himself and smiled at his enemies. ¡®It is now a battle of attrition, either I''m devoured by the shrine maiden phantom first or they,'' thought Niu Chang. The cherry blossom petals that fell around him energized and danced happily in the air. The incomplete shrine maiden phantom on Niu Chang''s back loosened her hold, but at the same time, the pair of eyes inside his mind slowly transformed. From a pair of eyes, a round shadow of a head emerged, followed by other details such as hair, nose, mouth, and neck. Exiting the tiger''s mouth and entering the lion''s maw. Huang Zhi''s eyes constricted at that moment when she realized she had just made the biggest mistake of her life. She regretted her foolish choice to look at Niu Chang. She knew about the beguiling smile of Niu Chang, but she seemed ignorant about its power. The reason why she was able to swiftly respond when Niu Chang recited his poem was because the poem itself described the exact detail of that same beguiling smile. A wave of the sweet scent of blooming cherry blossoms hit her nostrils, and her heart was heavily affected, as if being hammered by a powerful force. The shrine maiden phantom on her back slowly lifted the corners of her mouth. The shrine maiden phantom was incomplete, having only an upper body and blurry facial textures. Transparent hair and a robe that was hard to discern. The red qi surged with great momentum and successfully bypassed Huang Zhi''s defenses. Petrified on the spot for a very brief moment, she regained her focus once again and pushed back the invading red qi, but she quickly lost her mind once again. Niu Chang successively activated the Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red, not giving Huang Zhi any chance to recover. "AAA!!!" Suddenly, a scream, like that of a wild beast, could be heard from where Feng Ning was standing. Niu Chang glanced at him and saw that Feng Ning was also affected by his Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red. ¡®It seems that as long as the enemies are affected by the shrine maiden phantom from Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red, they will be vulnerable to the Smile Under the Shade and Red within a certain distance, even if they didn''t directly see the smile.'' Niu Chang quickly made this assumption and cast his smile once again to observe the difference in effect on Huang Zhi, estimating its effectiveness. Watching the slightly dazed expression on Huang Zhi''s face, Niu Chang noted this down and then looked at Feng Ning with his peripheral vision. Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red. Feng Ning''s body suddenly shuddered, and the blazing dark purple qi around him became more ferocious than before, returning to its previous state. ¡®Those who directly see the smile will have their minds emptied, while those who don''t see it directly will only become more agitated and have uncontrollable emotions.'' Thanks to the sudden burst of emotion from Niu Chang''s testing, Feng Ning was able to regain his mind for a moment. Driven by his instinct to survive, he chose to leave this damned place first. The pair of arms on his back clenched their fists and swung uncontrollably due to the invading red qi that had stained them. Feng Ning gritted his teeth to regain control and forcefully detonated the extra arms on his back, propelling himself away from this place. Niu Chang slightly frowned when he saw this but ultimately did nothing. His methods were very limited at the moment, and his condition was not at its peak. Making a decision, Niu Chang recognized that his primary focus should be on dealing with one opponent rather than chasing after the fleeing Feng Ning and abandoning Huang Zhi. This way, he could achieve something substantial. Based on the previous battle, it was evident that Huang Zhi possessed greater battle strength than Feng Ning. By eliminating Huang Zhi, gaining karma points, and enhancing the proficiency of the Closed Loop Protection, Niu Chang believed he could withstand any attack from Feng Ning. Chapter 48 - Spectator Without anyone to intervene, Niu Chang went all out to quickly take care of Huang Zhi, unsure if he lived in a ridiculous story. One thing he believed was that prolonging the battle would only lead to unwanted development for him. Huang Zhi appeared older than she looked, and who knew what kind of backup plans she had in her hands. ''I want to end this fight as soon as possible, but the problem is that I really don''t have an offensive method to do it. My only destructive skill is Impact, but it''s clearly an auxiliary skill used to increase the lethality of an offensive skill,'' Niu Chang thought, feeling troubled. To buy some time for himself, Niu Chang kept activating Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red, incapacitating Huang Zhi from taking any action. But by doing so, he also slowly immersed himself in the presence of the shrine maiden inside his mind, who had already manifested her full body but remained blurry in detail. Observing Huang Zhi standing in mid-air, Niu Chang discovered two problems in killing her. The first was their distance, with Huang Zhi positioned high above the ground. If Niu Chang wanted to reach her, he would need to boost himself with qi. The second problem was the invading red qi surrounding Huang Zhi''s body. Niu Chang discerned a natural protection made of qi, similar to a natural qi circulation rather than a martial skill or technique. Perhaps it was something that occurred after reaching a specific cultivation stage. Niu Chang tried to recall the strange natural protection around Feng Ning''s body and compared it to Huang Zhi''s. Despite their different forms, Niu Chang determined that they were the same in essence. After understanding the obstacles, it was time to come up with a plan. However, time continued to tick, and Niu Chang couldn''t find a suitable method to end Huang Zhi''s life. The shrine maiden in the back of his mind became more detailed and lifelike, causing Niu Chang''s calm heart to grow uneasy. His thoughts, once smooth, now encountered friction, leading to lag in his thinking. His forehead grew moist, though not enough for a drop of sweat to roll down. Despite the panic and urgency creeping in, Niu Chang effortlessly pushed them away, realizing they were no longer necessary and only a hindrance. As someone who always stood on the other side of stories, Niu Chang was mesmerized by the intense battles of the characters, feeling a sense of envy. He longed for a spectacular battle, experiencing the danger of walking on a thin line where life and death were only separated by a second. ''I thought that after becoming a reincarnator myself, I would be able to replicate that feeling from back then, where electricity ran through my spine, my hair stood on end, and I had endless inspiration as if I held the world in my palm. But sadly, I can''t feel any of that,'' Niu Chang admitted. With his plan for an epic comeback failing, Niu Chang casually dismissed the panic and urgency in his heart, as they were no longer needed and only brought disadvantages. Being both a spectator and an actor played a crucial role for Niu Chang. He never considered himself someone who merely satisfied others and followed the hidden arrangement of fate. He was also one of those spectators who wouldn''t experience the danger the same way an actor would. In his heart, he was aware that the so-called danger was nothing more than a method used by the director to intensify the situation, allowing the main character to make a satisfying comeback for the spectators. Once again, Niu Chang marveled at the fragile nature of the human mind. Even though they knew it was a theatrical play, they still wanted to immerse themselves in the story, despite knowing the good ending awaited the characters in the end. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Feeling a bit envious of the main character, backed up by the power of fate, Niu Chang decided to move on to his next plan. ''Since the world didn''t help me, I can only rely on myself,'' Niu Chang concluded. With a calm heart, he observed the current situation to prepare his next plan on how to deal with Huang Zhi, not as an actor but as a spectator in this world. Unrestricted by anything in front of his eyes, Niu Chang stepped away from the stage and approached the seat where the spectators sat. He chose a comfortable chair for himself and looked back at the stage, smiling as he put his own fanfiction into play within this story. "What I want to do is..." Niu Chang murmured under his breath, casually glancing at the shrine maiden phantom on Huang Zhi''s back. The shrine maiden phantom appeared as a mere shadow without any spirituality. Then Niu Chang shifted his gaze to the dazed Huang Zhi, a smile forming on his face. "Little Zhi, your acting is so good that I''m unable to discern it," Niu Chang said softly, not looking at Huang Zhi''s face but searching for something on her body. The dazed Huang Zhi didn''t respond and stood silently in the air. Suddenly, her battle armor, fused with the yellow dragon, moved. The dragon accessories appeared, and a dragon head made of yellow qi emerged on the back of her head, staring at Niu Chang. The dragon head phantom possessed the same intelligent gaze as Huang Zhi. Opening its jaw, the dragon head phantom spoke. "Little brat, do you think you can kill me with this half-baked technique of yours? It may be profound, but you still can''t use it properly." In response, Niu Chang maintained his Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red. Unfazed, the dragon head phantom fixed its reptilian yellow pupils on Niu Chang, only to hear him speak. "No need to try to hide it. You''re stalling for time, aren''t you? You''ve already started countering my technique, but you chose to delay it until it''s ripe and break it in one move." Initially, the invading red qi from the shrine maiden phantom spread unhindered, and the only method Huang Zhi used to deter it was by sacrificing her yellow qi to push it back. After a moment of silence, the dragon head sneered, and the yellow qi around Huang Zhi''s body began eliminating the red qi, albeit not very effectively. Out of ten yellow qi, only one red qi was eliminated. "You''re not like the others. You don''t bother with things like grudges and hatred. How about we end our conflict here?" the dragon head phantom spoke in a monotone voice without any fluctuations. "Indeed, I don''t care about such things, but what about you?" Niu Chang smiled as he used his skill. "Can you forget this ''misunderstanding''?" The dragon head phantom fell silent, pondering the question. After a while, the yellow qi began to change, and the ratio increased from ten to one to ten to four. "You see," Niu Chang said compassionately, "you never intended to let me go. Our current conversation is nothing but a stall tactic. I can''t leave because I need to restrict your body''s movement, and you need time to crack my technique. We are not the same." "Hur hur hur," the dragon head phantom laughed with its peculiar sound. "So what if you know? Can you do anything about it? Like you said, you need to use that weird beguiling technique to restrict my physical body and arouse the invading red qi around me, but that''s all you can do." The dragon''s eyes gleamed with coldness. "Don''t tell me you''re also stalling for time." Niu Chang didn''t respond immediately, waiting for Huang Zhi''s reaction. Then, both of them burst into laughter simultaneously. "Hur hur hur." "Hahaha." "Because you''re my first friend, I''ll give you another chance, Little Zhi. If you choose to back off now, I''ll let you go," Niu Chang said warmly, speaking like a close friend. The dragon head phantom had limited facial expressions, but its eyes blinked twice. Huang Zhi could sense the sincerity in Niu Chang''s words but was unsure of what to do. ''This human is a lunatic that I can''t comprehend. He may speak kindly now, but who knows if he''ll change his mind shortly? After all, with his eccentric ways, life and death mean nothing.'' Niu Chang noticed the yellow qi transforming once again, increasing the ratio to ten to nine. He sighed in pity. Chapter 49 - Eternal Vow In the realm of cultivation, resources were essential for every cultivator along their path. The limitations of talent and understanding could only be overcome with the aid of external items. Niu Chang was uncertain about how the cultivation path worked in this world beyond the so-called golden core stage defined by Huang Zhi. Nevertheless, he had his own approach, a self-sufficient dao. Even without his system, as long as he wasn''t prohibited from cultivating on his own, he would excavate an underground cave and meditate there until he reached his limits. This world did not heavily rely on external resources for cultivation. One simply needed to meditate and increase their qi to progress. If everyone in this kind of world had an open mind and focused on developing methods that suited their needs without relying on external items, conflicts over resources would naturally be avoided. However, Niu Chang held this opinion without truly understanding the world he was in. On Huang Zhi''s side, she possessed more knowledge about cultivation than Niu Chang. Reaching the golden core stage was her limit, but she wouldn''t miss the opportunity to obtain the secret within Niu Chang''s body and transcend that limit, ascending to immortality among immortals. The endless amount of qi and vitality within Niu Chang presented a privileged opportunity for her to soar to new heights and become like a phoenix. Although certain special places contained abundant spiritual qi that facilitated faster cultivation for martial artists, it was almost ineffective for those at the golden core stage. The path of cultivation had always been a survival of the fittest, a dog-eat-dog world where the strongest dog stands atop countless fallen enemies. Plundering had always been the most efficient way to increase one''s wealth without requiring any investment. The dragon head phantom gradually receded into the battle armor, breaching the final line of defense. Now, the yellow qi could effectively neutralize the invading red qi. Huang Zhi''s dazed expression also began to fade, her eyebrows twitching slightly and her nose moving. "The endless greed of living beings is something I''m helpless against," Niu Chang said with a sense of pity, reflecting on the loss of his friend. "Perhaps it''s a one-sided claim, but I did enjoy our brief conversation at that time. Maybe I am indeed seeking companions to walk together on this long path, discussing the world and laughing at others." "Traveling to witness its wonders..." Niu Chang murmured softly, finally able to let go of everything. He straightened his relaxed back and smiled compassionately and kindly at the world, not just limited to Huang Zhi. Losing a friend, especially his first friend, the feeling of separation and parting due to a chance encounter provided him with everything he needed and ignited a small spark to ignite the long-prepared fuse. The Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree was a cultivation technique that encompassed both cultivation methods and martial techniques. However, so far, Niu Chang had only managed to derive two practical skills and one theoretical skill from it. However, these three skills were still inadequate. The first skill could only distract the enemy''s thoughts. The second skill could only invade the enemy''s qi. As for the third skill, even Niu Chang himself didn''t know its full capabilities, except that it targeted the enemy''s soul. These three skills lacked the crucial elements necessary to cause fatal harm to anyone. Of course, if the first skill reached the highest mastery, Niu Chang might be able to turn anyone into his mindless slave, just as he felt when he first encountered the smiling shrine maiden. As for the second skill, the shrine maiden phantom was an upgraded version of the first skill, targeting the enemy''s five senses. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. With these thoughts in mind, Niu Chang looked at the Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree from a different perspective, aiming to extract its offensive potential. He had the idea but lacked the essential element. He needed inspiration and intense emotions to activate the skill for the first time. "My fair lady in white and red, Our meeting was a fortuitous mistake, You smiled at me, but fear and resentment made me flee, Unaware, I failed to recognize your kindness," Niu Chang reminisced about his first encounter with the shrine maiden. Their meeting was nothing but a coincidence and a misunderstanding that created a distance between them. The powerful shrine maiden was oblivious to her own strength, while the ignorant Niu Chang feared and resented her. "Shamelessly, I once again seek your aid, You heard my plea and chose to help me, My heart remained cold, unable to contain your affection, But at least, it can offer you a promise," In a time of need, Niu Chang did his best to find a solution to his problem, ultimately returning to the same place seeking help from the woman he had feared and resented. However, the shrine maiden did not ignore his plea and extended her assistance. Now, for the third time, he visited that place, seeking another favor, but without any negative feelings towards the shrine maiden. "The time I have is limited by heaven, The distance between us is stronger than anything, Only in the timeless and spaceless realm can this promise endure, When death befalls me, I shall give you my eternal vow." As Niu Chang chanted these words, the shrine maiden in the depths of his mind fluctuated. What was once a blurry image now became a tangible person. Yet, Niu Chang still could not see her true appearance. The flowing white and red sacred robe appeared even more intricate up close, with a shadow partially covering her face, although her eyes conveyed kindness as they gazed upon him. The moment he made his promise, the red qi and cherry blossom petals surrounding his body surged like a waterfall, flowing in an unknown direction. A faint sound of a ringing bell drifted through the air, and if one listened carefully, they could hear the fleeting giggles of a maiden. Soft and gentle, the giggles carried the sweetness of cherry blossoms and the warmth of spring. The abundant qi within Niu Chang''s body rapidly drained, yet there were no significant movements in his surroundings. Meanwhile, Huang Zhi had already broken free from the restrictions and was able to resist Niu Chang''s beguiling smile. However, as she prepared to launch an attack, she heard that same affectionate voice. In response, her shoulders trembled, and she fixed her gaze upon Niu Chang, who seemed to be conversing with himself. The red qi surrounding his body converged behind him, transforming into a lifelike shrine maiden in white and red, even more realistic than the one behind Huang Zhi. The shrine maiden''s long ethereal hair cascaded down her back, reaching the ground. Her sacred robe adorned her body, her skin pristine white with a hint of rosiness, and her face partially obscured with a sweet smile upon cherry lips. The shrine maiden embraced Niu Chang with boundless love. Her lips parted, and Huang Zhi could see her giggling after hearing Niu Chang''s promise. Raising her head, the shrine maiden met Huang Zhi''s gaze. It was a spontaneous gesture, and now the shrine maiden replaced the shrine maiden phantom on Huang Zhi''s back. Although slightly more transparent and with blurred details, the essence remained unchanged. She wrapped her arms around Huang Zhi''s neck and held her close. The yellow qi, which neutralized the invading red qi, was counterattacked, akin to fire being swallowed by a towering tsunami. The red qi once again showed its dominance, preventing any counterattack. In the midst of all this, Niu Chang was in a daze, his recollection of the shrine maiden''s appearance evoking a sense of affection. However, he snapped out of it when Huang Zhi blasted her yellow qi to push the shrine maiden away. Shifting his gaze, Niu Chang witnessed a spectacular scene unfolding before his eyes. Huang Zhi, donned in her impractical battle armor, struggled to free herself from the woman cloaked in white and red. The shrine maiden appeared so lifelike that Niu Chang questioned whether he was hallucinating. To confirm his reality, he checked the qi within his body and discovered that it was rapidly draining, equivalent to three-quarters of his total qi. Observing the wrestling match between the two beautiful women without being blinded by lust, as he no longer needed it, Niu Chang noticed something peculiar. Huang Zhi did not attempt to use her limbs to shake off the shrine maiden. ''It''s strange. Why isn''t Huang Zhi using her limbs to fend off the shrine maiden?'' Niu Chang observed further until he found the answer. ''It''s not that Huang Zhi doesn''t want to; she seems unable to move.'' Redirecting his gaze to the shrine maiden, he pondered, ''The first three skills involve pulling the shrine maiden from within my mind and projecting her onto the enemy. The first skill leaves a haunting smile in the enemy''s mind, the second skill summons the shrine maiden phantom, and the third skill likely sends the shrine maiden directly into the enemy''s soul. However, these skills are prerequisites for activating the fourth skill, Eternal Vow. The encounter itself was nothing more than a coincidence, but since there was an encounter, separation naturally follows. This aspect of separation serves as the offensive method, dragging the enemy''s soul and spirit into the timeless and spaceless realm of eternal death.'' Chapter 50 - If Only Being physically restricted by the shrine maiden and despite her best efforts to break free, Huang Zhi reached a conclusion. ''It is nearly impossible to escape from this strange ghost. Although her body seems attached to my back, it is merely an illusion designed to confuse the mind. She is rooted in my senses. As long as my five senses remain connected to the outside world, she will restrict my body.'' ''But if I attempt to sever my senses, I am uncertain of what will happen next, similar to how the old man triggered a strong reaction from the ghost.'' Huang Zhi also attempted to use her grandmaster qi to push away the shrine maiden, but it proved ineffective. No matter how profound the Eternal Vow was, its effectiveness was still limited by Niu Chang''s cultivation realm and skill mastery. As with any fantasy power, if the opposing force is strong enough, any skill can be broken. The same applied to Huang Zhi''s grandmaster qi, which was in the realm of the golden core stage. However, her enemy, Niu Chang, was supported by an endless amount of qi, rendering her attempts futile, like trying to cut through flowing water. With no better option, Niu Chang decided to train. His entire qi had transformed into the red qi of the Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree. By analyzing this red qi, he hoped to reverse engineer it and create a cultivation method for the red qi that Niu Chang lacked. But he didn''t limit himself to that alone; he also aimed to deepen his understanding and proficiency of the Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree. As he closed his eyes, he felt a strong connection that transported his senses to different places. Opening his eyes, he found his vision blurred with a red hue. Unable to perceive anything through this connection, Niu Chang severed it and realized that the direction of the connection was toward the shrine maiden on Huang Zhi''s back. Only then did he recall that the second skill, Demonic Embrace of Lady in White and Red, was still active and was the main reason his qi had turned red. ''So the second skill isn''t a one-time use, but rather continuous. As long as I channel my qi into it, any enemy near me will be embraced by the shrine maiden phantom, rendering them immobile.'' ''There is still much to learn,'' Niu Chang added. The Eternal Vow didn''t cause any physical harm, but it targeted a more delicate and essential part of a living being¡ªtheir soul and spirit. Without the soul and spirit, the body would become nothing more than an empty shell, akin to a mannequin. Initially, Huang Zhi only believed that Niu Chang''s strange technique was an ordinary charm or beguiling technique that confused the heart and affected the mind. However, as time passed, she realized her assumption was gravely mistaken. As a plant demon, Huang Zhi held great regard for her spiritual wisdom, and now she could feel it being eroded by the shrine maiden on her back through the invading red qi that tainted her yellow qi. ''This boy is truly unfathomable. I have never encountered a beguiling technique with such absurd effects. Fortunately, his control over the skill is still too weak to unleash its true power. Otherwise, I would have already lost half of my spiritual wisdom.'' Due to Feng Ning''s interference during her transformation and the invasion of red qi, Huang Zhi''s qi reserve was depleted, especially now that the shrine maiden was stronger than before. "I don''t want to resort to this, but if I don''t, I''ll perish in this place." With her mind made up, Huang Zhi finally decided to make her final struggle. Her grandmaster qi fought desperately to delay impending death. Then, from within her body, the yellow qi drilled into her chest''s red beating heart like worms, releasing a rich fragrance full of vitality into the air. Niu Chang opened his eyes to see what was happening, took a deep breath, and felt his body trembling slightly as it began to heal faster. Without overthinking, he greedily swallowed the fragrant air. Unafraid of any trick from Huang Zhi, his body was saturated with the same red qi that had invaded her body. It would be ludicrous for a sheep to use wolf skin to infiltrate a pack of wolves. One thing he could guess was that Huang Zhi had finally chosen to compromise and make her final move, either delivering a powerful blow to kill Niu Chang or to escape. While inhaling the fragrant air, Niu Chang pushed his Closed Loop Protection to its limit and readied himself to evade any incoming attacks. Escape wasn''t an easy option since the Demonic Embrace of Lady in White and Red had limited range. After creating small openings in her heart, Huang Zhi absorbed the contained vitality and converted it into her own qi. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Unlike Feng Ning, who had been blinded by greed, Huang Zhi knew that Niu Chang was not an easy target and likely had hidden cards up his sleeve. So she decisively chose to retreat. Channeling her grandmaster qi towards the shrine maiden, Huang Zhi finally saw a glimmer of hope. Niu Chang could sense the connection with the shrine maiden on his body being affected by something, but he was helpless and unable to intervene. Shortly after, Huang Zhi regained control of her physical body and cast a final glance at Niu Chang before finally escaping from the area. Niu Chang focused his mind to sense the karmic connections provided by the system to assess any potential risks. He discovered that Feng Ning was far away from his location, followed by the motionless demonic snake nearby, and finally, Huang Zhi rapidly distancing herself from him. Exhaling a breath of relief, Niu Chang deactivated the Demonic Embrace of Lady in White and Red and employed Verdant Will to heal his body. Bound by the mission, he needed to move toward his target to avoid punishment from the system. Furthermore, his karma points were at zero, and any delay would result in punishment. Without wasting any time, he crawled toward the dormant demonic snake deep within the dense forest. ''Fortunately, Feng Ning didn''t kill the demonic snake. Otherwise, I''d be forced to crawl toward his location.'' Niu Chang silently expressed gratitude for Feng Ning''s large appetite. Concentrating the healing power into his right arm, Niu Chang accelerated the regeneration process. With both arms functioning, his movement speed increased. He arrived at the demonic snake shortly and positioned himself not far from it. Although the system required him not to release any of his enemies, the rule was somewhat flexible. This was evident from Niu Chang''s encounter with the bandits; he left them incapacitated on the ground to retain the system buffs without facing punishment. He did leave them on the ground, but that was because he was pursuing the next target. ''The system only punishes me when I try to abandon the target, but it won''t punish me if I stay near it without any intention of letting it go.'' Feeling the fierce gaze from the crippled demonic snake, Niu Chang snorted and decided to assess its condition. "I still need you to stay alive for me, so don''t die just yet." Niu Chang silently spoke to the demonic snake and touched its scaled body. His qi entered the body of the demonic snake but encountered resistance from the snake''s own qi. However, this was also Niu Chang''s secondary objective. This demonic snake was no ordinary creature. In terms of the buffs bestowed by the system, it possessed the same cultivation stage as Jie Tiangong and Shen Sanhua. By actively engaging with the demonic snake''s qi, Niu Chang hoped to grasp the disparity between his own cultivation level and that of the snake. The demonic snake''s qi was black in color, but it had been fatally wounded and needed to conserve its qi to heal its broken spine. Sensing that Niu Chang''s qi was purely for scanning its body and recognizing that Niu Chang''s qi quality was far inferior to its own, the demonic snake chose to surrender. Niu Chang smiled and began exploring the interior of the demonic snake''s body with his qi. The snake was taken aback by this audacious scanning, feeling as if it had been stripped naked and treated like a plaything by Niu Chang. "Hiss hiss hiss," the demonic snake voiced its displeasure but made no attempt to repel Niu Chang''s qi. . . . In the village of Yellow Soil, inside Qin Qing''s house... A short teenage girl lay on the ground, her legs entwined with tree branches. In this regard, she was no different from the other villagers who had become nourishment for Huang Zhi''s transformation. However, there was a distinction. Qin Qing''s body hadn''t turned into a hollow husk with only brittle bones remaining. Her skin was charred black, but she was still alive, albeit not for much longer. The only sound she could perceive was her feeble breathing. Her eyes were gone, as if liquefied by fire, and the muscles in her body had long ceased to function, depriving her of her senses. In the endless darkness, she could only anticipate the arrival of death. ''Mom, dad, where are you?'' She cried and sobbed silently in her heart. The day her parents left her in the midst of a heavy snowstorm replayed in her mind. "Qing''er, Mom and Dad need to leave the house to find something to heal you. Don''t worry, we''ll be back soon." Her mother gently stroked her head. In a fit of anger, Qin Qing erupted on the spot, shouting furiously, "Don''t leave me here! Why do you have to go? I''m not sick!" Fortunately, her father held her small body, preventing her from harming her mother. "Qing''er, just trust us this time. Once we find a cure, you''ll be able to live a normal life without hurting anyone, including yourself." "Don''t go! Don''t leave me alone! I''m afraid of being alone!" Qin Qing pleaded with her parents, though from an outsider''s perspective, it seemed like she was merely angrily shouting and throwing tantrums without any ulterior motive. But no matter how she pleaded in her own way, she could only watch as her parents slowly left the house, restraining her from following them. Peering through the closed door and listening to the raging snowstorm outside, Qin Qing''s hatred grew. But with no one else to direct her anger toward, she could only turn it inward and blame herself. "Why? What''s wrong with me? This... this stupid body of mine keeps getting angry over trivial things... It''s not my fault! Not my fault! Not my fault..." Repeating the same words in her current predicament, tears streamed down her charred black face. Then, she remembered the only person who had been able to remain calm and not look at her with a strange expression. ''If only... Why did this have to happen today? I wanted to make amends with that boy, to apologize properly for what I did. I wonder if he would forgive me?'' ''I wonder if he despised me because of my anger issues. I wonder how he''s feeling right now. I wonder if he still hates me and chose to stay with someone else.'' Unknowingly, Qin Qing''s thoughts wandered into a realm of potential futures, a way for her troubled heart to find solace. As her consciousness began to fade, she couldn''t help but wonder. ''If only this disaster hadn''t occurred today, perhaps I would have had a friend of my own.'' The isolation imposed upon her by the entire village weighed heavily on her young heart, and so she couldn''t help but yearn for something positive, even if it was only a figment of her imagination. ''If only¡­'' Authors note First of all, thank you for reading my story. To be honest, the previous chapter marked the end of Volume 1: Undesirable Outcomes. I''ll leave the interpretation to you, guys. This is my second time finishing writing the first volume of my works because many wouldn''t pass after chapter ten or less. Anyway, you might have noticed that Volume 1 was flat and anticlimactic. Unfortunately, I can''t do much about it. Mainly, my skills are still too low to uncover its true potential. The other reason is that the MC didn''t follow the predetermined path set for him, the thread of fate that weaves his journey from beginning to end. Having read some novels, I couldn''t help but ask myself why transmigration/reincarnation MCs don''t try to use their knowledge from the previous world in a specific or strategic way. Why do they just passively follow the path laid out for them? Why are they wasting such a chance by having a mundane life? To sum it up, here''s what I want to see:
  1. A determined MC from the start with a grand goal. To set a worthy and meaningful journey.
  2. Carefree and curious. To relate with readers instead of being a heartless and emotionless block of wood.
  3. Aware of the hidden hands controlling their fate.
  4. Actively using their previous life''s knowledge to understand the "fantasy" within the fantasy world.
I managed to do it and finished Volume 1, but I discovered a fatal flaw lurking behind my hopeful vision. It wouldn''t work as I intended. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. If the MC is determined and has a grand goal, it means they won''t be swayed by random passersby to prolong their journey to gather strength. If they encounter an inevitable problem, they need to resolve it without delay, creating no conflict for the story. Being carefree and curious, in a world where strength is everything, the MC naturally wants to maximize their potential by using their strength to achieve their desires, instead of being restricted by the morals they grew up with, which may disgust the readers with immoral actions and thinking. Being self-aware of their own condition, after reading so much, the MC should naturally be able to avoid tropes that are easy to perceive and not bring trouble upon themselves. However, they should also avoid becoming an actor on stage; instead, they should be a spectator who plays their own fanfiction within the play to disrupt the director''s plans, basically an easy conflict solver. Lastly, using their knowledge from their previous life, I can''t help but think that after reading so many xianxia novels and witnessing endings where the so-called "dao" turns out to be nothing but an attainment, readers should also have their understanding of the dao. Although it may be superficial, the depth should be there, waiting for readers to enter a world of cultivation and cultivate that dao with ease. If I were to ask you what the dao is, you should understand what I mean. You have your understanding of the dao, and after reading so many books, it''s inevitable that your dao attainment shouldn''t be weak. What readers need is a world that supports cultivation. And because of this, the MC will get endless skills at the end of the day. I have many things to convey, but I will stop here and convey them through the story instead. I will also try not to extend simple things to fix the pace. Also, I won''t be posting a new chapter for a few days, but I will resume once I finish what I need to do. Have a good day! Chapter 51 - Spawn Camping In the dense part of the forest, a cheerful humming could be heard as a ten-year-old boy delightedly amused himself beside a paralyzed demonic snake. "Hey, little snake, why don''t you hiss once more?" Niu Chang teased, spreading his qi deeper into the snake''s body to humiliate it. He grew excited upon discovering that the demonic snake was actually female, allowing his childish nature to surface. He reasoned with himself, ¡®Although it''s a demonic snake and unable to transform into a human, it''s still a female! Shouldn''t I treat every female equally to avoid being a hypocrite with double standards? How can the great me be that kind of person? So, for my own good, I should humiliate this snake to my heart''s content. Kuahaha!¡± With his internal monologue justifying his questionable actions, Niu Chang couldn''t contain his laughter. The weak demonic snake tried its best not to be agitated by the boy''s crazy taunts. Even with its limited spiritual wisdom, it understood that Niu Chang''s behavior was abnormal. Receiving no response, Niu Chang decided to delve deeper into the snake''s body, targeting its vital parts to stimulate its emotions. Helplessly succumbing to Niu Chang''s relentless teasing, the demonic snake opened its mouth and hissed. If it could speak, it would have said, "There, are you happy now? Hiss! Hiss! I''ll give you plenty of hisses. Can you stop scanning my body now?" Rolling its eyes, the demonic snake expressed its annoyance with its limited spiritual wisdom. Observing the snake''s eye roll, Niu Chang burst out laughing. "Haha, I never knew a demonic snake could understand eye-rolling." Having had his fill, Niu Chang withdrew most of his qi from tormenting the paralyzed snake and focused on his studies. He still had the buff from the system, but he couldn''t fully comprehend its effects. Instead, he directed his attention to studying the inner structure of the demonic snake''s cultivation level. ¡®Hmm... From what I see, this demonic snake''s cultivation is clearly on a different level. The qi inside its body is no longer like air in a balloon but more like a skeletal or blood vessel structure. Is it due to the demon cultivation method or a higher level of cultivation?¡¯ Niu Chang pondered, testing his thoughts to confirm his conclusions. After a while, he reached a conclusion. ¡®The classic cultivation stages in stories start from qi refinement, then foundation building, and golden core. From there, variations are introduced. But based on what I see, this demonic snake''s qi has undergone a qualitative change. It has transitioned from unregulated circulation to proper circulation without conscious control, which can be seen as a foundation.¡¯ Niu Chang delved further into his thoughts, questioning the naming conventions of the stages. ¡®So, does that mean the third-rate to peak stage represents qi refinement, while master corresponds to foundation building? The grandiose names suggest this, but why complicate things? Why not be straightforward?¡¯ While he solved one question, another arose, making Niu Chang realize that his musings could continue endlessly. Not willing to waste his time, he considered the excellent location he was in. If any wandering expert passed by, they would be curious and potentially lead to conflicts. Thus, he decided to temporarily put aside his inquiries. Stepping away from the snake, Niu Chang examined his broken body, a half-human form without the lower part. He chose to prioritize fixing his body first. Closing his eyes to enhance his focus, he activated Verdant Will, allowing the verdant green qi to heal his body. Although his proficiency was low and the proper qi cultivation method was missing, Niu Chang''s first level of the Impossible Idea and abundant qi made the process relatively easy. While he wanted to gather more data about his physical body, he also aimed to increase his proficiency in both Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky and Verdant Will. However, uneasiness in his heart made him realize he could only choose one. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "There should be priorities in everything. If not now, I can still work on it in the future, but my life comes first," Niu Chang determined, his mind immersed in the towering verdant tree, symbolizing the will to survive. A soft green light, akin to an aurora in the night sky, radiated around the tree, embodying the essence of Verdant Will. Amidst his contemplation, Niu Chang discovered the true essence of learning a martial skill. "In the end, it''s not about how you move your body or anything else; it''s about energy manipulation. No matter how one trains their body in foundation and movement, the human body has its limitations. But what about qi? It''s an energy that can be semi-omnipotent as long as the quantity is sufficient. The key lies in the user''s control. Even with a small amount, if you have enough control, qi can unleash its true power." Delving further into his thoughts, Niu Chang questioned the concept of dao. He acknowledged that if he asked the people in this world, they would provide abstract and grandiose answers about the nature of dao. However, he believed the answer was simple. "Qi is like a genie in a magic lamp that can grant any wish when encountered. Similarly, cultivation levels are no different. Both have prerequisites, and once fulfilled, any wish can come true. This is ''the'' dao!" Engrossed in his contemplation of dao, Niu Chang unknowingly accelerated his recovery. The verdant qi surrounding him exhibited various mutations, reflecting his ponderings. When he considered Verdant Will as the tree''s will, the verdant qi transformed, resembling the aurora light around the towering tree in his mind. When he regarded Verdant Will as the tree''s resilient nature, the verdant qi changed, becoming flexible yet strong, with a lighter shade. These phenomena occurred repeatedly, some only once while others recurred frequently. Upon opening his eyes, Niu Chang noticed the demonic snake staring at him in astonishment. Realizing what the snake was thinking, a mischievous smile appeared on his face. "What? Do you also want to experience my healing technique?" Niu Chang playfully teased the snake, revealing his perverted intentions through his eyes. The demonic snake, once terrifying enough to make ordinary mortals flee in terror, hesitated. Its vertical pupils stared intently at Niu Chang, who had already fully healed himself. Ultimately, the demonic snake turned its head away. The cheeky smile vanished from Niu Chang''s face, and his interest waned. "How should I put it? Is it just the beastly instinct of an animal?" While Niu Chang had some plans for the demonic snake, he decided to observe its behavior further before taking action. But now, he has made up his mind. Feeling the cold ground against his naked bottom, Niu Chang stood up and approached the demonic snake. Enhancing his physical body with qi, he firmly grasped the snake''s tail and slowly moved toward Shen Sanhua''s corpse. The demonic snake struggled but was unable to rebel due to its spinal injuries, which Niu Chang had purposely aggravated. It was now nothing more than a long, black noodle. Exhaling a sigh, Niu Chang finally reached the corpse and released the demonic snake''s tail. He began examining the remains, Niu Chang couldn''t help but think, "What kind of monster would attack a woman''s chest in such a grotesque manner that it''s unrecognizable?" Niu Chang couldn''t help but feel sorry for the corpse, as it had been grotesquely attacked in the chest area, making it unrecognizable. Ignoring the small voice of conscience and reason in the back of his mind, he decided to heal the corpse. Curious to know whether this world truly adhered to the concept of heavenly dao, Niu Chang allowed the verdant green qi to flow from his right hand and began the healing process. As he focused on healing, Niu Chang had missed the visual effects of his Verdant Will before. Now, as he witnessed it, a smile spread across his face. The right hand emitted the soothing verdant green qi, it entered the open wounds, gently attaching itself to the remaining tissues. Working its magic, the qi reassembled and restored the damaged parts, gradually closing the wounds and bringing the corpse back to its former state. As the corpse was restored to its living state, Niu Chang couldn''t help but entertain the idea of exploiting a loophole if Shen Shanhua were to actually resurrect. ¡®If she truly comes back to life, wouldn''t that mean I could continuously spawn camping her to collect karma points?¡¯ A mischievous smile played on Niu Chang''s lips as he expedited the healing process. He wasn''t one that liked to be suppressed, so what was wrong with gaining power early on without exciting adventure and various adversaries? ¡®Author''s plans? Pre-determined plot? What are those anyway? I don''t live in such a ridiculous story, after all. Even if I did, I wouldn''t be controlled by it. But still, will she truly come back to life?¡¯ Chapter 52 - Success? Inside a dark, cornerless space, the unreachable horizon loomed. The atmosphere was eerie, with a small, barely visible crystal floating in the air. It possessed no extraordinary qualities, emitting no light or unique aura. However, the tranquility was shattered when the dark space trembled, as if a giant was traversing through it. In response, the small crystal reacted, slowly unfurling its hard outer layer and expanding its core. . . . Expecting a power-up, Niu Chang witnessed unexpected changes. Ghostly qi began to manifest and move around Shen Sanhua''s newly healed body. Initially directionless, the ghostly qi soon surged towards her head, converging and dispersing in an enigmatic manner. Noting these peculiar transformations, Niu Chang maintained his Verdant Will, but grew more intrigued by the behavior of the ghostly qi. ¡®Could this be the result of the special constitution that Huang Zhi mentioned?¡¯ he pondered. In response, he activated his Closed Loop Protection and engaged the Automatic System Answerer, ensuring his safety. Before long, Niu Chang sensed a faint trace of life emanating from the healed body. It had repaired its vital parts and could now be considered a living being. Although the weak heartbeat gradually stabilized, it remained feeble, hindered by an unknown obstacle. Meanwhile, the ghostly qi underwent a dramatic change, dividing into two parts, one dominant and the other subdued. Observing the active part attacking the dormant one, Niu Chang formed a hypothesis. ¡®The active portion appears to possess some level of sentience, while the dormant part acts solely on instinct.¡¯ His eyes sparked with anticipation as he sensed the breath of life growing stronger. Without any visual cues or overt signs, the so-called breath of life was merely a hunch, a result of his heightened intuition from the first level of the Impossible Idea. After a momentary leap, the heartbeat finally settled, mimicking that of a normal living person. Although her eyelids remained closed, the ghostly qi dissipated into her body. Finally, the long-awaited moment arrived. The once lifeless body opened its eyes. Her gaze locked onto Niu Chang, fixated like a possessed individual. Maintaining his composure, Niu Chang entertained numerous thoughts swirling in his mind. Shortly after, the resurrected body blinked, attempting to speak. Her mouth movements were crude, reminiscent of a baby attempting to form coherent words. After struggling with strange noises, she eventually succeeded. "S... a... vi... or..." Once again, her eyes fixated on Niu Chang, as if possessed. Hearing the word "savior," Niu Chang couldn''t help but feel a sense of ridiculousness. ¡®Can such a thing be possible?¡¯ he questioned himself, a glimmer of belief flickering within. If anyone else had called him a savior, Niu Chang would dismiss it without a second thought. However, this body, originally belonging to his first victim-, his first follower, now echoed the same word. He wanted to test her by calling her name but realized he didn''t even know her name. Feeling a sense of awkwardness, he stared back into her eyes, attempting to unravel the truth hidden within. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. "Her wisdom and intelligence don''t seem too high. The underlying emotion appears complex, likely due to her confusion, but at the core, there''s an undeniable longing. Furthermore, she''s learning at a rapid pace," Niu Chang thought. Though an unusual method, looking into her eyes provided valuable insights. They were said to be the windows to the soul, offering glimpses of one''s innermost self. When the girl reached her limit, she blinked several times, manually adjusting her gaze. As Niu Chang predicted, her expression became more natural, as if she had learned to regulate her emotions. With her newfound understanding, she also realized something else. Her eyes widened, brimming with excitement, as if she were seeing Niu Chang after a long separation. "Savior!" she exclaimed with a voice filled with elation, unveiling her newfound emotions. She reached out her arms towards Niu Chang, attempting to embrace him, only to be thwarted by a qi barrier surrounding his body. Momentarily stunned, curiosity overcame her, compelling her to explore the barrier with wonder. Choosing to lower his qi barrier, Niu Chang extended his hand towards hers. Instinctively, she grasped his smaller palm, holding it tightly. Then, she pulled Niu Chang''s hand towards her, embracing him. Caught in her arms, Niu Chang frowned. ¡®No matter how long I wait, I sense no malice or negative emotions from her. Could it be that the girl was resurrected instead of Shen Sanhua?¡¯ he wondered. Feeling the warmth radiating from her bare chest against his face, Niu Chang experienced the genuine comfort of human connection. "There''s no ulterior motive behind this. It''s simply pure affection," he thought, contentedly rubbing his face against her chest. As he tried to inhale her body''s fragrance, he realized it wasn''t as pleasant as he had expected. ¡®She should clean herself first,¡¯ he concluded. The girl didn''t do much else; she simply held Niu Chang tightly and closed her eyes. Various fragmented memories flooded her mind, and she struggled to comprehend each one. Digesting these memories allowed her to become more human, granting her the ability to express her intentions. While navigating through these fragments, she encountered an obstacle. Her mind housed two sets of memories, making it difficult for her to fully accept them. In one life, she experienced luxury and opulence, born into a wealthy and prosperous family. In the other, she endured a life of poverty and suffering, a stark contrast to her previous existence. Initially, she didn''t perceive the second life as miserable. Only when she comprehended the meaning of a proper life did its hardships become apparent. It was in the presence of light that darkness stood out. Instinctively, she yearned to revel in the memories of her privileged life, but she couldn''t sever the transparent bond she shared with her second life¡ªthe life attached to a vital set of memories. For her, in that dark and ignorant space, she acted solely based on her fixation. Even when confronted with an adversary, her obsession enabled her to fight. As she opened her eyes, she had already grasped crucial details related to her savior. Sensing the girl''s emotional shift, Niu Chang no longer found solace in her embrace. ¡®Well, that was a pleasant moment, and I have a few ideas to improve the proficiency of the Demonic Embrace of Lady in White and Red. This method works remarkably well. I should have various beauties hold me in their embrace,¡¯ he contemplated, savoring the lingering emotions and nuances. While cherishing these fleeting feelings, Niu Chang gently pushed the girl away and spoke, "Give me some time." He then settled down, delving into the new ideas that had surfaced within him. The overflowing dim white transformation qi swiftly transformed into the affectionate red color of the Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree. Having overcome the initial and final hurdles of activating a new skill, Niu Chang no longer needed to recite anything. He simply had to find the mental lighthouse and ignite it. The warmth and fragrance of spring permeated the air, as cherry blossom petals danced around him. Once again, he returned to the desolate world, where only a small land housed the sacred tree and the shrine maiden. Rather than approaching her, he remained where he stood, observing her from a distance. "It''s not that I don''t want to meet you directly, but I simply can''t..." Niu Chang expressed his apologies to the unaware shrine maiden. He had his own reasons for keeping his distance. Using the ideas he had garnered earlier, he effortlessly overcame various obstacles, honing his proficiency in the Demonic Embrace of Lady in White and Red. The girl, silent all this while, found herself captivated by the beautiful imagery surrounding Niu Chang''s figure. Since Niu Chang had no intention of fully using the Demonic Embrace of Lady in White and Red at that moment, neither the girl nor the demonic snake suffered any consequences. As her savior had instructed her not to disturb him, she remained still. Enchanted by the captivating scene before her, she sensed the subtle allure of the Demonic Embrace of Lady in White and Red¡ªan allure that affected her delicate mind and heart. Chapter 53 - Qiuyue After completing his training, Niu Chang opened his eyes only to discover that the girl had been deeply affected by the power of his Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree. She stood there, her eyes unfocused and a slight blush on her face. ¡®What could she have been daydreaming about?¡¯ Niu Chang wondered to himself as he walked towards the girl. He gently shook her body to wake her up, and the external stimulation helped her snap out of her trance. Blinking a few times, she smiled at Niu Chang. Her smile was different from before. Previously, she had smiled at him like a child smiling at an adult, but now her smile held the maturity of an adult. ¡®I''m certain she had some inappropriate thoughts in her mind just now,¡¯ Niu Chang thought, ignoring the obvious. He began asking her various questions to test and verify what he wanted to know. "What is your name?" he asked. The girl tilted her head cutely and pondered for a moment before replying, "Which one?" Niu Chang intuitively understood what she meant without getting lost. "Tell me both. Let me know what you know." "Okay," the girl nodded. "The first one is Shen Sanhua, and the second one is Dong Qiuyue." "Shen Sanhua had a privileged life, born into a wealthy and prosperous family. On the other hand, Dong Qiuyue had a difficult life, born into a poor family and has suffered since birth." Although Niu Chang didn''t know much about Shen Sanhua, he knew she came from a prestigious family based on her expensive clothing before he killed her. ¡®Why would a woman like her venture into this forest near a remote village? Is it just for plot convenience?¡¯ Niu Chang wondered. "Between the two, which one do you think you are?" he asked the girl. Without hesitation, the girl replied, "Since only Dong Qiuyue has a connection to the savior, naturally I''m Dong Qiuyue." She happily disregarded the pleasant memories of Shen Sanhua and chose Niu Chang. ¡®Based on her answer, it''s clear she''s not as innocent as a newborn baby. She already harbors a deep obsession with me, just like the other girl. Even when given the choice between sweetness and bitterness, she unhesitatingly chooses the bitter option,¡¯ Niu Chang thought to himself. Satisfied with her responses, Niu Chang continued to ask her various questions to test her personality. After fifteen minutes, he concluded that the girl could be useful to him, even though he couldn''t do anything about her due to the limitations imposed by the system. "Alright, Qiuyue, I want you to harbor animosity towards me," Niu Chang instructed. Qiuyue was the name he had chosen for her, mainly because it had a favorable meaning. Since she belonged to him now, there was no need for a surname. Qiuyue felt strange for a moment, but their fifteen-minute conversation had molded her childish and pure personality to comply with Niu Chang''s command, even if it went against her heart. [Ding!] [Karma established with Qiuyue.] The system''s notification appeared, and the Automatic System Answerer displayed its function. "Good," Niu Chang smiled at Qiuyue and wanted to pat her head, but he was too short. He made a mental note to find a safe place and create a technique to change his physical appearance. With a new companion to accompany him, Niu Chang no longer needed the demonic snake to have some freedom. He considered killing the snake using his Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree skills but decided against it. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡®Eternal Vow targets the soul and spirit. If I kill it with that, the body would remain alive but empty. How would I resurrect it then?¡¯ Niu Chang pondered. Walking towards the large black noodle, the demonic snake could sense danger emanating from Niu Chang. It tried to curl up and protect itself, but its spinal injuries prevented it from doing so. ¡®A good instinct indeed,¡¯ Niu Chang thought. ¡®There''s no need to have a follower with good instincts or a good head.¡¯ Approaching the demonic snake, he placed his palm on its scales, feeling the cold and rock-hard texture. The qi surrounding Niu Chang changed direction, following his command to invade the snake''s body. Since his qi control proficiency was still basic, he couldn''t directly cut the snake''s innards. The transformation qi, taking the form of sharp sword qi, split into thin threads that sliced through the snake''s body. Wriggling and struggling in pain, the demonic snake tried its best to shake Niu Chang off, but it couldn''t. Niu Chang finally reached its heart and crushed it without hesitation. Instead of destroying the entire interior, he severed the heart from the surrounding blood vessels, opting for efficiency. Niu Chang also took the opportunity to scan the demonic snake''s body, gathering a wealth of data. While scanning human bodies was easy to find in the future, it was more challenging with demonic beasts. ¡®The qi is rioting due to its survival instinct,¡¯ Niu Chang observed. ¡®The muscles are trying to stop the internal bleeding, but it''s clumsy. The demonic snake can''t control its smooth and cardiac muscles properly. This vitality... it''s even more prominent than in humans, but I can''t sense its spirit or soul growing fainter.¡¯ He partially activated his Eternal Vow to sense the presence of the snake''s soul and spirit. Although he couldn''t directly perceive them, he could capture a hint of their existence. To delve deeper, Niu Chang activated the Demonic Embrace of Lady in White and Red, using the connection with the shrine maiden phantom to enhance his perception. Niu Chang was focused on efficiency, realizing that targeting the soul and spirit was more effective in killing enemies than physically attacking them. The shrine maiden phantom materialized around the snake''s head, and through its connection, Niu Chang activated the Eternal Vow. For a fleeting moment, he sensed something. He couldn''t find the words to describe it, but it was there. As the dying snake was vulnerable to mental attacks, it didn''t take long before it passed away. [Karma point acquired: 3012] After receiving the system''s notification, Niu Chang deactivated his skills. However, he was dissatisfied with the small number of karma points he gained. ¡®Only three thousand? So little. Shen Sanhua also gave me around three thousand karma points, while the old man gave me around seven thousand. They all had similar cultivation levels, so what does this mean?¡¯ Niu Chang pondered. He came to a disheartening conclusion, ¡®This only means one thing: a stronger enemy doesn''t necessarily yield more karma points. Strength isn''t the main factor influencing the amount of karma points one receives... or perhaps, this is a method to suppress my cultivation speed?¡¯ ¡®Instead of basing the amount of karma points on the enemies, the system manipulates it to suit my conditions. Is this an arbitrary power suppression and improvement for the sake of plot convenience? Ridiculous! I don''t believe such nonsense,¡¯ Niu Chang thought, smiling crookedly. He looked up at the sky and silently prayed, hoping his assumption was wrong. Shaking off the distracting thoughts, Niu Chang began to heal the corpse of the demonic snake. It served as a good exercise for him. Instead of accumulating grains of sand to build a mountain, it was better to gather boulders for the task. By resurrecting various corpses, his proficiency in Verdant Will would naturally improve significantly, rather than merely healing minor injuries. The verdant green qi entered the demonic snake''s corpse, working to heal it from the inside. Niu Chang had already identified the area where he had caused damage, so he focused on restoring the demonic snake to a living state, rather than its peak condition. Engaging in a fight with it would only waste his time. Before long, the severed blood vessels reconnected to the heart, initiating the pumping of new blood through the body. Simultaneously, the fresh corpse regained a renewed sense of vitality. With his heightened intuition, Niu Chang sensed the precise moment when the boundary between death and life was breached. The demonic snake rapidly closed and reopened its eyelids, its initial instinct being to shake off Niu Chang from its body. However, it abruptly halted its movement, as if questioning itself, "Am I already dead?" A sense of unreality washed over the demonic snake, causing it to doubt its own mind. Observing that the demonic snake appeared similar to how it was before, Niu Chang confirmed the crucial piece of information he had sought. "The heavenly dao does not exist in this world!" Chapter 54 - Authority Heavenly Dao, the most enigmatic and all-powerful concept, is the most sacred thing that many cultivators respect on their journey. But why is that? Are you born into a poor family? Blame the Heavenly Dao. Are you unable to cultivate? Blame the Heavenly Dao. In any case, the Heavenly Dao is the source and the reason why everything bad happened to you. Because good things can easily be forgotten, just like how humans ignore the importance of oxygen-rich air. But that''s not all. The reason why the Heavenly Dao stands above everything else is because it is a culmination of everything that regulates this world. It is akin to physics in the modern world; without physics, everything would be impossible. In the world of cultivation, where the virtually semi-omnipotent qi exists, the power of the Heavenly Dao is truly immense. It prevents any cultivator from advancing by leaps and bounds with mere breathing. Naturally, it also governs over the most sacred authority that mortals and cultivators must respect. The authority over life and death. Just as mortals define gods, anything that can control such authority would earn respect and fear. That''s why the Heavenly Dao receives such praise and the highest respect, even from arrogant cultivators. But what if some random reincarnator were able to create a healing technique that allowed him to completely heal the body? What if he could restore everything to its previous state before death occurred? Not some ridiculous elixir from legend or some technique that requires a heavy price, just a simple healing technique. He could casually resurrect the dead. So where does the Heavenly Dao stand in this situation? The entity that was always the target of anything unexplainable, now its authority is easily breached by someone on the third-rate cultivation stage. That''s the state of Niu Chang''s mind right now. For him, nothing was higher than him as long as it didn''t have complete omnipotence and omniscience. In the absence of the king, even a dog and pig proclaim themselves as the king. ¡®The fact that the demonic snake remembers and remains the same means that nothing actually regulates the soul of the dead. In essence, the soul is akin to a joke; it exists in one way or another, but it is not dominant. It needs a healthy body to exist. For example¡­¡¯ Niu Chang controlled his overflowing qi, making it more menacing than usual. He rarely showed such arrogance, but he wanted to experience it at least once in his lifetime. After reading so many main characters face-slapping everyone, naturally, as a reader, he also wanted to try it if he got a fair chance at being reincarnated. Bullying the weak was always the nature of this world, just like how water flows downward. The demonic snake, having shaken off its doubts about what happened before, faced the approaching Niu Chang. Niu Chang could kill it once again by touching its body, but he wanted to conduct the next experiment. The satisfaction of intimidating a demonic snake that was feared by many made his heart race with excitement and ecstasy. ¡®Fear me, respect me¡­¡¯ Niu Chang couldn''t help but become full of himself. ¡®Heh, in the end, strength is always the method that works for every problem. If you can''t solve it with strength, it means your strength is still not enough.¡¯ It was just a game for him, but having that authoritative and dominating state made his heart race and various insights bloomed in his mind. In the end, his path of cultivation was about energy manipulation. The mind controls the body, and so does qi. As long as the mind is sufficient, making the qi behave in a way that defies reality is just a flick of the finger. Naturally, there were many problems with this thinking alone, but that was the problem for everyone. The mind is the king. If the king believes he can''t do it, naturally the subject won''t follow his lead. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. In this world, will, emotions, and thought are more powerful than any swords and spears. But the problem right now was what kind of king, emperor, or ruler Niu Chang wanted to use as his base. ¡®A cold-blooded tyrant that controls everything with an iron fist? A wise emperor who seamlessly controls everything with his intelligence? Or maybe a figure that has no authority, but everything will bow before him? Meh, not good enough. In the end, such figures will have their counter at some time. A tyrant would suffer a rebellion, a wise emperor would face treason, and a powerful lone wolf would be hated by everyone. I don''t need anything, for I am the one existence that the word ''authority'' came to exist for!¡¯ With his internal monologue, Niu Chang made up his mind. The chaotic and random emotions in his heart immediately found their goal and converged into it. He didn''t need to envision anything in his mind''s space because he thought it to be so; he was the authority itself. Everything in this world followed him and obeyed him unconditionally. The dim white transformation qi around Niu Chang''s body suddenly halted its movement, as if the lord of all qi passed by. Then, with one command from Niu Chang, the qi suddenly stopped its erratic flow and began to follow his command unconditionally. From an outside perspective, they only felt a suppressive atmosphere from Niu Chang, then suddenly that feeling disappeared, followed by his qi becoming still. The aura around Niu Chang''s body changed, though it was hard to describe. To be safe, he opened the system to see what kind of skill it would be named by the system. [Authority] Looking at that one word, Niu Chang smiled casually. ¡®It is only one word, but its weight is enough to make all the words in this world bow down.¡¯ Shifting his gaze from the system to the demonic snake, he found that the effectiveness was not that powerful. Being evolved from an animal, the demonic snake could feel a powerful blow just by staring at Niu Chang. But its low intelligence made it go berserk to preserve its life. For any living being, the will to survive naturally was the strongest mental barrier when facing a powerful enemy. Since the skill was already created, Niu Chang could now test its effect. He didn''t say a word, but he just thought about it. The qi around his body circulated accordingly without his control, and they exhausted at a rapid speed. A powerful aura burst out from Niu Chang''s body, and the qi around him began shrinking rapidly as it was consumed. At the same time, he could feel a change in his body and mind. ¡®My body feels light, as if the strain of anything physical begins to avoid me, and my mind also becomes more subtle and expansive.¡¯ Since he still hadn''t reached his limit, the qi consumption was still not up to the level of qi regeneration. Naturally, Niu Chang, who liked to go all out, chose to make them equal. ¡®The best way to learn a skill naturally is to go all out every time, to see and feel everything. Only after understanding the boundaries will it become easier to control.¡¯ The qi of two newly advanced Golden Core Martial Artists and a Master stage demonic snake. Niu Chang''s qi reserve was more than the three of them combined, thanks to the advantage of being increased by one level due to the system''s inherent nature. When Niu Chang reached the equilibrium of regenerating and consuming qi, he could feel the world become silent. He turned his gaze towards the demonic snake, and his thoughts immediately materialized in an ethereal form. The demonic snake reached its limit of sanity and began to lose control. Even the spinal injuries it suffered were unable to stop it from rampaging. ¡°A beast indeed. If it were a human, they would collapse instead of going on a rampage. But so what,¡± Niu Chang snorted and exerted his thoughts further. The demonic snake let out a beastly howl that shook the souls of any living beings. The light of wisdom in its eyes had long been extinguished, replaced by uncontrollable savageness. It moved its injured body and slammed its head towards Niu Chang. Perhaps it was because it had lost its mind, or perhaps it wanted to end the suffering from madness, either by killing the cause or killing itself. Niu Chang didn''t move from his place; instead, he chose to advance and confront the demonic snake head-on. "Stop," Niu Chang commanded in a low voice. The demonic snake, which should have been unable to perceive the world in its current state, halted for a moment before continuing its headbutt. But unlike before, the madness in its eyes had already been replaced by a more sane mind. Instead, it chose to attack Niu Chang because it was the only right thing to do. Niu Chang smiled at such a development and raised his right hand, forming a fist and enhancing it with his Authority. If he wanted to become stronger, he didn''t need to do anything else; the qi would follow his command and do as he said. The fist didn''t have any menacing visual effect, just a plain fist. But Niu Chang could feel the strength contained in it surpassing anything he had felt before. ¡®I wonder if I can use Authority to enhance other skills,¡¯ he thought. The demonic snake approached at lightning speed and already reached his face. Niu Chang threw his punch at the demonic snake''s head. He didn''t forget to use Impact as well to thoroughly get the job done. Boom. A loud explosion could be heard from the brutal exchange of head and fist. Niu Chang''s body trembled greatly, but he didn''t get pushed backward. Meanwhile, the demonic snake achieved a new achievement: "Die Twice." Its head was like a smashed watermelon, hard to discern. Various tissues, blood, and brains were scattered around, tainting the withered forest with new color. Its headless body fell to the ground. But Niu Chang didn''t feel all that good. In exchange for achieving such formidable outcomes and not being pushed back, he had destroyed half of his right arm. ¡®Authority. It is indeed a good skill to become a badass character.¡¯ Chapter 55 - Feast The system sent a notification indicating the completion of a task. Niu Chang lost interest immediately upon seeing the notification, as it only had two digits. From this alone, he had already drawn a conclusion in his heart. ''There goes the task,'' Niu Chang thought to himself. He had completed what he intended to do - destroy the brain of the demonic snake for his next experiment. He commanded his partially destroyed right arm to heal itself using Authority. The dim white transformation qi obediently followed his command, swarming into the injuries and starting the healing process. Niu Chang noticed that the healing progress was much slower than that of the Verdant Will. ''That is to be expected; there are no strongest skills after all. In the realm of fantasy power settings, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. If you claim to have the power of death and the ability to kill anything, someone might come up with the power of anti-death or immortality just to counter you.'' With that in mind, he slightly adjusted the equilibrium of his consumption to leave room for the use of the Verdant Will. Activating the Verdant Will, Niu Chang used Authority to enhance its effects, and it worked seamlessly. The verdant green qi surrounded his half-destroyed arm and began repairing it at a visible speed. The blood vessels wriggled like worms, flesh grew grotesquely, and bones extended from where they had been damaged. Before long, his right arm was completely healed. He approached the headless demonic snake and began repairing its corpse. ''If restoring the corpse to its healthy state allows for revival, then destroying the brain should have a negative effect on resurrection. It might result in true death, where the newly resurrected self no longer remembers its previous existence.'' Once again, Authority enhanced the healing effect of the Verdant Will and reduced the time needed to heal the broken head by half. In just a few minutes, the head had regained its shape. Soon after, Niu Chang felt the breath of life rising once again from the newly healed body of the demonic snake. The snake moved its eyeballs and regained focus, staring blankly at Niu Chang, who stood in front of its head. Observing the snake''s eyes, Niu Chang found no intense reaction or anything of that sort. Instead, driven by instinct, the snake attempted to attack him. It shook off the hand that touched its face and opened its jaw, attempting to devour Niu Chang whole. Niu Chang confirmed his suspicions and casually slapped the silly demonic snake with his hand. Overwhelmed by the force, the snake''s head was pushed sideways. Its reptilian eyes showed clear confusion. "What happened? Why did my food slap my face? And why is it so powerful and painful?" However, with its limited intelligence, the demonic snake disregarded these distracting thoughts and charged once again. Niu Chang was already done with the demonic snake and had no further use for it. He activated the Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red, causing the now-diminished overflowing qi around his body to manifest slightly, showcasing its imagery. A handful of red qi transformed into the essence of spring, with cherry blossom shadows dancing in a flickering manner. The infantile intelligence of the demonic snake was easily stunned by the restricting effect of the Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red. A phantom shrine maiden appeared near its head and hugged it from behind. With its unhealed spinal injuries and the newly improved Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red, the demonic snake was halted in place. Niu Chang was momentarily dazed when he used the newly improved Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red. A faint shadow enveloped his mind, rendering him immobile for a moment before he regained his composure. ''The improvement was successful, but the potency has also increased to the point that I was affected by it as well.'' Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Since he was not in a hurry, he delved deeper into his mind to eliminate any remaining hidden dangers. Then he carefully observed his surroundings to see the differences brought about by the improvement. He had used the skill before, but only in a half-activated state. Now, when he activated it to its fullest, the improvements were clearly evident. The first noticeable change was in the shrine maiden phantom, which was now infused with crucial traces of white. As the name implied, the shrine maiden should wear a red and white kimono, and now it had a tinge of white among the red in its robe. The imagery around Niu Chang also changed slightly. The cherry blossom petals became more fantastical, defying the laws of physics. They floated in the air, refusing to fall. As if trying to embrace him... ''No, this is wrong! I don''t want to be embraced by the shrine maiden. I need to revise this new update when I have the time.'' Then he discovered two more differences: the conversion of red qi and the nature of the red qi itself. It became more subtle and potent. The demonic snake was the first to experience the improved version of the Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red. It was now on cloud nine and had lost its own will. ''Well, it seems the core idea works, at least. Once you are held in her embrace, nothing else matters.'' After being embraced by Qiuyue for a brief moment, Niu Chang realized that his Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red lacked the essence of true emotion. The lifeless shrine maiden phantom now exhibited compassionate and affectionate love through its embrace of the demonic snake''s head. Eternal Vow. Executing the killing move, the red qi surged momentarily, and the shrine maiden phantom let out ethereal giggles that faded away. As the demonic snake''s soul was dragged into oblivion, the shrine maiden phantom became more defined and lifelike, as if absorbing the soul of the demonic snake to strengthen itself. ''A demonic technique indeed, taking from others to strengthen oneself... but I like it.'' Since it was taking too long, Niu Chang activated the Eternal Vow once again. The Eternal Vow could be activated at any time as long as the enemy was already affected by the first three skills of the Shrine Maiden under the Sacred Tree. Activating it for the second time or more would result in a more potent attack on the enemy''s soul and spirit. Spamming the Eternal Vow like a bored gamer, Niu Chang finally killed the demonic snake, leaving behind an empty shell. The shrine maiden phantom now appeared as a semi-phantom, half-real entity, but many details remained blurred due to Niu Chang''s limited proficiency in the Demonic Embrace of the Lady in White and Red. Through their connection, he could control the shrine maiden phantom, but it was currently useless as there were no enemies around. He called back the shrine maiden phantom and compressed its essence to save it for later. A lump of red qi filled with the spirituality of the demonic snake floated on Niu Chang''s palm. ''If my guess is correct, I can turn the shrine maiden in my mind into a living being if I gather enough essences.'' Closing his hand, he stored the red qi deep within his body. ''Now, the final task,'' Niu Chang turned his body and noticed Qiuyue looking at him with a crazed and uncontained idolization. Her face was flushed and hot, her breathing slightly increased, and her gaze was too sharp, causing a pang in Niu Chang''s heart. ''I know I''m not entirely sane, but what is that gaze? Her level of craziness surpasses mine. I need to tweak some gears in her head to my liking.'' Observing Niu Chang walking toward her, Qiuyue gradually returned to her usual innocent and pure personality. "Did you digest more memories?" Niu Chang casually asked her. Qiuyue nodded obediently, like a well-behaved child. "I believe I already mentioned that not everything in those memories is meant for you to follow," Niu Chang began to educate her on how to be a perfect follower that suited his tastes. Throughout the conversation, Qiuyue continued nodding, accepting everything Niu Chang said. "Do you remember what I said?" Niu Chang asked to confirm if his long speech and specifications for an ideal follower were understood completely. "Yes, savior. I will follow all your orders!" Qiuyue displayed a serious expression as she confirmed her commitment. "Very well," taking her words at face value, Niu Chang instructed her to consume the demonic snake. Qiuyue, who was possessed by the zombie Shen Sanhua, had inherited a unique constitution. Naturally, Niu Chang desired a strong follower who could perform various tasks on his behalf, as he himself couldn''t cultivate like an ordinary person. Instead of wasting such a healthy demonic snake at the master stage, it was better to feed it to Qiuyue. Niu Chang healed the demonic snake''s spinal injuries to improve its vitality so that Qiuyue could absorb more energy. He watched as Qiuyue consumed the vitality of the demonic snake, along with its cultivation base. Despite this, Niu Chang didn''t allow her to stop, as he continued healing the demonic snake while Qiuyue continued absorbing its vitality. There were two reasons for doing this. First, Qiuyue firmly rejected the idea of absorbing Niu Chang''s vitality, and second, Niu Chang was curious to see if Qiuyue''s ghostly qi would undergo any upgrades after absorbing the potent vitality of a demonic beast. Naturally, the Verdant Will couldn''t restore the demonic snake''s cultivation level, but it didn''t diminish the quality of its vitality. Chapter 56 - Fate: Burdens and Choices "Hah... hah..." Qiuyue gasped for breath, her voice trembling. "Savior... I can''t continue. Please, let me rest for a moment." Her voice clearly conveyed her exhaustion and limitations. Chuckling, Niu Chang taunted Qiuyue with his seemingly limitless stamina from the system. "What are you talking about? I still have plenty of energy left. How can you ask for a break when I''m not finished yet?" Niu Chang cruelly pushed Qiuyue to her limits, urging her to endure further. Qiuyue couldn''t hold back a cry of anguish. In the withered forest, a male, a female, and a hollow shell of a demonic snake came into view. Contrary to expectations, Qiuyue was placing her hand on the demonic snake''s body, draining its vitality. On the other side, Niu Chang was supplying vitality to the demonic snake. Niu Chang found Qiuyue''s playful innuendos amusing and played along, enjoying the banter. However, he soon realized that Qiuyue had reached her breaking point. After being resurrected, Qiuyue''s cultivation level had dropped to the peak stage. To progress further and achieve mastery, she needed to undergo a preparatory phase for a qualitative breakthrough, rather than a mere quantitative increase. Since Niu Chang had forbidden Qiuyue from resting, she dared not stop consuming the demonic snake''s vitality. "You can stop now," Niu Chang finally said, ceasing his healing of the demonic snake. He had slightly improved his proficiency in Verdant Will. Though filled with vitality, Qiuyue could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground. Her body was overflowing with energy, making it difficult for her to breathe properly. Lying down, she controlled her breath to prevent discomfort in her stomach. Niu Chang approached her with a smile, intrigued by the sight. ''Can one be overstuffed from consuming vitality?'' he wondered. Shaking his head, he squatted down to examine Qiuyue''s condition. "Savior..." Qiuyue weakly opened her eyes but couldn''t keep them open for long before closing them again. Sensing Niu Chang''s transformation qi entering her body, she held her breath. Since her body was already brimming with energy, Niu Chang''s qi put an additional strain on her mortal body. The excess vitality within Qiuyue rapidly transformed into ghostly qi, but the high quality of the vitality made the process time-consuming. Moreover, her body had limited capacity to hold such an immense amount of vitality and ghostly qi simultaneously. Given that this was a gift from her savior, she refused to expel the excessive qi. Using his Authority, Niu Chang commanded the ghostly qi and vitality within Qiuyue''s body to calm down. Since his body normally overflowed with qi, he chose to conceal his special abilities by toggling his Authority. In the cultivation stages of peak and lower levels, qi freely circulated within the body. In normal circumstances, it didn''t strain the physical body, but excessive amounts could cause harm. Thanks to Niu Chang''s Authority, the qi and vitality within Qiuyue''s body began to settle. Qiuyue relinquished her resistance as Niu Chang''s Authority effortlessly took control of her qi and vitality. "Convert," Niu Chang commanded once again with his Authority. Scanning everything inside Qiuyue''s body took only a few seconds for Niu Chang, who made note of the differences. He aided Qiuyue in digesting her vitality while pondering over her unique constitution. ''Her special constitution is like an innate cultivation method etched into her body. She doesn''t require comprehension; it''s as natural as breathing and eating for humans. However, consuming vitality alone cannot bypass major realm barriers. She must break through those barriers through her own efforts.'' Cultivation was akin to constructing a house. Martial artists began by clearing the ground, refining their qi, establishing a foundation, and ultimately forming a golden core. Foundation building required some understanding of construction, which martial artists could accumulate during the qi refinement stage or acquire from seniors, teachers, or cultivation books. Unfortunately, none of these resources were available to Qiuyue at the moment. Niu Chang himself didn''t possess a qi cultivation method for the master stage either. He had an idea about the foundation building stage, but it might differ from the master stage in this world. Once the vitality had completely transformed into ghostly qi, the strain on Qiuyue''s body lessened but did not disappear entirely. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Niu Chang withdrew his hand and observed the pale, ominous ghostly qi swirling on his palm. The warmth vanished rapidly due to its presence. ''What a peculiar qi. It repels all living beings yet is attracted to their vitality. It''s like a parasite that cannot coexist with any living being. How can a living being contain such qi?'' Glancing at the healthy Qiuyue, who showed no signs of deterioration, Niu Chang contemplated possibilities. ''Could it be a special constitution? Perhaps a unique technique passed down through Shen Sanhua''s family lineage? Or a ritual bestowing this constitution exclusively upon core members of her family?'' Numerous questions filled Niu Chang''s mind, but he lacked answers due to the boundless possibilities of this world. ''One thing is certain: this woman, Shen Sanhua, is a pivotal encounter in my journey. Following typical plot development, her existence will bring forth a cascade of problems for the main character. If I were to act as a typical main character, the Shen family would hunt me down for kidnapping their gifted daughter, and the Shen family''s ancestor would likely intervene...'' Niu Chang massaged his forehead. ''In short, any initial fateful encounter foreshadows future story arcs.'' After pondering for a while, Niu Chang made a decision. Placing his hand on Qiuyue''s stomach, he dissipated the excess ghostly qi. Qiuyue suddenly opened her eyes, gazing at Niu Chang with a questioning expression. "Did... did I make a mistake, savior?" Qiuyue asked sorrowfully, tears welling up in her eyes, unable to control her fragile emotions. "No," Niu Chang shook his head. "Get up, I''m done testing. We should leave now." Niu Chang''s kind tone instantly calmed the turmoil in Qiuyue''s heart. She rose from the ground and followed closely behind him. Suddenly, Niu Chang stopped and swiftly dashed back to the hollow shell of the demonic snake. After performing some peculiar actions, he extracted the snake''s eyes, then incinerated the entire corpse, leaving nothing behind. Niu Chang emitted a satisfied grunt and happily returned to Qiuyue. "Here, hold these," he said, tossing a pair of eyes to Qiuyue. Catching them mid-air, Qiuyue sensed an eerie aura emanating from the eyes, as if they were alive and observing their surroundings. Curiosity piqued, she refrained from questioning and continued to follow Niu Chang. Niu Chang''s destination was the Yellow Soil Village. Since they were both unclothed, they needed new garments to avoid attracting unwanted attention. As they left the withered forest and entered the village, Niu Chang was struck motionless by the unsettling sight before him. Empty human husks littered the ground, entangled by yellow roots. As he proceeded towards Qin Qing''s house, his heart was deeply affected. No words were needed to understand the horrifying truth revealed by the gruesome scenery. Qiuyue, not fully mature in mind, found herself intrigued by the lifeless husks. She occasionally observed them closely, driven by her innocent curiosity. ''They resemble humans, but why do they look like this? Are they dead? And if so, why?'' She glanced at Niu Chang''s back, sensing his preoccupation, and decided to ask him later. Finally, Niu Chang arrived at his destination. Before him stood a decrepit and impoverished house, with a different type of corpse adorning the open front door. The corpse, that of a teenage girl, revealed her identity through her short stature. Her charred black skin and sunken eye sockets, streaked with red lines running down her cheeks, depicted a painful and sorrowful expression. Niu Chang''s breath caught in his throat. His mind conjured various alternative scenarios, envisioning the different paths the story could take. He saw himself saving the entire village, defeating the demonic snake and Huang Zhi, befriending the old man, and rescuing Shen Sanhua alongside Dong Qiuyue. Moreover, he saw a possibility of saving his sister. When he saw the familiar house once more, filtered through the lens of an alternative future, he witnessed Qin Qing scolding him while his sister defended him. Others were present in the house as well. In that vision, the Niu Chang there realized something and turned to him, staring dumbfounded for a moment before raising an index finger and laughing. "Serves you right!" he casually remarked. ''Ah... I understand now. This story is not about me after all.'' Niu Chang took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil within. ''No matter how much I try to deny it, the truth remains, waiting for me to accept it.'' ''This world revolves around Niu Chang as the main character. Regardless of the dangers that lie ahead, there will always be a heroic way out to solve every problem. That''s the nature of this story and this world.'' ''No side characters should suffer, and no background characters should be sacrificed, as it would disrupt the story.'' ''Looking back now, I realize I could have easily prevented any tragedies. If only I had accepted the responsibility of being a proper, ordinary human plot device, my story would have garnered much more attention.'' ''This family... I can save them. This village... I can save it. These people... I can save them. This world... I can save it.'' ''Due to my selfishness, they suffer when they should naturally find happiness.'' Niu Chang shook his head, accepting reality. ''But even so...'' His cold eyes surveyed the surroundings. ''I have finally witnessed it for myself. The realistic outcome of a story, the outcome I always wondered about¡ªwhat would happen if the main character made different choices? Now I see it.'' The withered forest, the destroyed village, the deaths of countless background characters¡ªall consequences of the main character''s choices not being the right ones. ''An undesirable outcome indeed,'' Niu Chang murmured to himself. He foresaw the future if he continued defying his fate as the main character. Everywhere he went, disaster would follow, innocent background characters would suffer due to the conflicts of the century. Wherever he stepped foot, destruction would follow¡ªa harbinger of doom, the bearer of ill tidings, and ultimately, a bringer of misfortune. Niu Chang tore apart every lingering thought in his mind with his own hands. ''So what? What does their innocent lives have to do with me?'' ''Everyone is destined to die once they are born into this world. It''s merely a matter of time. If my choices burden my heart, so be it! I want to witness the weight of this burden in the final stage of my journey. Will it crush me with its sheer weight, or will it become my sharpest spear?'' Chapter 57 - Fated Failure Being a highly resourceful individual, Niu Chang utilized the turmoil in his heart as a catalyst to develop a new technique. This technique needed to be distinct from others, reflecting his role as the chosen one in the eyes of the world. The strength of the technique would be directly proportional to the amount of destruction he caused. Contemplating this, Niu Chang recollected something from his past life. ¡®What was it again? The four horsemen of the apocalypse?¡¯ ¡®Yes, I can draw inspiration from them. Wherever I go, destruction will follow,¡¯ he decided. Within the depths of his mind, a chaotic world unfolded, mirrored by a replica of the current Yellow Soil Village¡ªa place plagued by poverty and desolate inhabitants. In the midst of this scene, Niu Chang stood alone, facing a flickering shadow devoid of a fixed form. This figure represented the core concept of the technique he aimed to create. "What should it resemble? A horseman? Or something else?" Niu Chang pondered, attempting to mold it according to his preferences. He envisioned a skeleton riding a pristine white horse, then transformed it into a beggar dressed in tattered clothes. He continued altering the figure to suit his taste, but his creative instincts told him that none of the iterations matched the image he desired. After contemplating for a while, he finally realized the simplest solution. "That''s it! Since I don''t know, I''ll let it develop independently. Don''t I enjoy this kind of path? I wonder what it will manifest as when I reach the final stage of my journey." With his decision made, Niu Chang waved his hand, and the shapeless figure began to wander on its own, seeking to comprehend whether it had erred or made the correct choice. At one point, it stopped within a house and hovered there, observing the hollow shells of the family that resided there. "I wonder if all the techniques I create now or in the future can somehow transform into living beings. The lush tree could morph into an animal or humanoid creature, and the shrine maiden already has her own path to follow." "Excellent, this way I''ll have numerous companions as I tread this path," Niu Chang smiled, envisioning the future he had imagined. With the core concept established, it was time to create the skill. Niu Chang possessed an abundance of inspiration, enough to conceive a skill effortlessly. It was a combination of ease and difficulty¡ªhe simply needed inspiration, and a skill would manifest seemingly out of nowhere, just as a fantasy power should. It all hinged on energy. As long as one fixated enough on the desired form of thought, the energy would naturally follow that path and influence the outside world accordingly. Naturally, this method only worked in low fantasy settings where there were no fixed rules dictating how magic should behave. Based on Niu Chang''s knowledge, this world belonged to the low-tier xianxia genre, where the limits of qi usage were non-existent. In another story, the protagonist unexpectedly inherited the powers of the Divine Illumination Dragon Emperor, Chaotic Phoenix, Primordial Desolate King, and other divine beings. The atmosphere in the village grew oppressive, manifesting the weight of fate, which was not meant to occur. "This future shouldn''t come to pass, just as it won''t in the future," Niu Chang whispered to himself, unable to discern whether it affected only him or others as well. "Eh? That''s a good idea!" Niu Chang suddenly had a revelation. He manipulated the air in the vicinity, causing it to stir according to his will. It began to infiltrate the deeper layers of reality, where only various points and lines existed¡ªthe fabric of fate. Each point represented a variable, while each line represented their connections. As the foul and repulsive air permeated the fabric of fate, the lines and points attempted to defend themselves against external interference. However, their efforts proved futile within Niu Chang''s mental domain, where he held the power of a god. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Helplessly, the fabric of fate succumbed to the foul air, altering the course of events. The future changed, as did the present, but the past remained unaffected. Yet, for Niu Chang, this was sufficient. "I shall name this skill ''Fated Failure''..." he hesitated momentarily before modifying it slightly. "No, let''s call it ''Plaguing Misfortune.''" Niu Chang focused his mind and exited his mental space. When he opened his eyes, the world seemed different. Qiuyue stood trembling behind him, hesitant to approach. Niu Chang turned to gaze at the bewildered Qiuyue, about to say something when he heard the adorable cry of a small animal. "Kya!" Unable to contain herself any longer, Qiuyue crumbled under the weight of the strange and enigmatic pressure emanating from Niu Chang. As usual, whenever he activated a skill for the first time, it went awry, often proving too powerful for casual use. This time was no different¡ªQiuyue had been innocently observing her surroundings when a sense of impending danger overwhelmed her. Yet, upon realizing that the threat emanated from her savior, she found herself torn on how to react. Refusing to back down, she could only suffer under the weight of Niu Chang''s aura. Recognizing the cause, Niu Chang employed his Authority to suppress the aura surrounding his body. He then approached Qiuyue and helped her up. "Are you okay?" he asked kindly. Qiuyue obediently nodded, though the tears in her eyes betrayed her true feelings. Niu Chang found it rather endearing and considered teasing her further, but decided against it. Qiuyue was currently in her infancy, and any negative memories would leave a lasting impact on her future personality. Assisting Qiuyue to her feet, Niu Chang entered the house to retrieve his sack. Soon after, he emerged, prepared to depart. However, he paused, glancing once again at the charred corpse at the doorstep. ¡®It was indeed her,¡¯ he thought. As a reader himself, Niu Chang deduced that Qin Qing''s peculiar condition marked her as a notable side character. After contemplating for a moment, he resolved to take her aboard his ship. Niu Chang had a weakness for special and unique things, and Qin Qing''s hints of possessing a unique constitution motivated him to revive her. However, his intentions were not purely charitable. Everyone aboard his ship, except himself, served a purpose and was considered his follower. With that in mind, he destroyed Qin Qing''s head and brought along her headless, charred body. "Let''s go," Niu Chang commanded. Qiuyue followed closely behind, carrying the sack after dressing herself. Exiting the village, Niu Chang pondered their next destination. ¡®The nearest city is Heichen City, but is that the best choice?¡¯ Having read numerous stories, Niu Chang harbored disdain for one particular narrative element. It irked him when the main character would journey to the next location solely to suffer and captivate the reader''s attention. These main characters would often pursue one or more of the following: attract a beautiful woman from a high-status background, participate in an auction, uncover a major scandal within the city, or stumble upon a once-in-a-millennium event. In essence, it was a mechanism to inject excitement into an otherwise mundane existence while simultaneously granting the main character a power boost. However, Niu Chang found such developments futile and devoid of purpose. Since his cultivation path deviated from the norm, and he required a bountiful harvest, he deemed it unnecessary to follow the tedious conventions that resulted in needless suffering. Having made up his mind, he declared, ¡®Let''s dig a hole and cultivate until I become immensely powerful. Then, I''ll venture forth to reap karma points from the world.¡¯ The area surrounding Yellow Soil Village should be avoided due to its abnormality, and Yellow Village was not a viable option either, being the closest to the city. This left the third village in the area¡ªYellow Rock Village. Niu Chang considered asking Qiuyue if she hailed from Yellow Rock Village but decided against it, not wanting her to recall more useless memories. He had heard various stories about Yellow Rock Village, with one of the most prominent being the strange stone that had captivated a passing martial artist. With this in mind, Niu Chang chose to establish his underground cave away from the yellow mound area, specifically between Yellow Soil Village and Yellow Rock Village. However, he erred on the side of caution, deviating slightly from the straight line connecting the two villages. Lost in thought during their journey, Niu Chang jokingly considered a certain possibility. ¡®This world wouldn''t go to such lengths just to introduce conflicts and keep readers entertained, would it?¡¯ Chapter 58 - Celestial Astrolabe Watching his surroundings, Niu Chang took in the sight of the slightly flat land, filled with random bushes. It wasn''t quite a forest; rather, it resembled a gathering of useless plants in a disorganized fashion. "This seems like a good spot," Niu Chang nodded in agreement. He squatted down, placing his palm on the ground. Utilizing his Authority, he effortlessly dug the soil, creating a hole. He continued working diligently, gradually transforming the hole into a spacious underground cave. Two hours later, Niu Chang examined his handiwork. The underground cave was roomy, with flat ground and boasting sturdy walls. However, several issues needed addressing: the absence of water supply and food, limited air circulation, and the lack of a light source. Given that the cave lay two kilometers below the surface, encountering such problems was only natural. Niu Chang had intentionally avoided selecting a random rocky side of a mountain to construct his cultivation cave, as it would have been too predictable for passersby. ¡®This way is better. I can address the food and water issue using my Verdant Will,¡¯ Niu Chang remarked. "Light," Niu Chang commanded with his Authority. His body emitted a soft glow, illuminating every corner of the underground cave. Realizing he couldn''t remain a living light bulb indefinitely, Niu Chang acknowledged that finding a solution for this issue would be a task for the future. Stretching his body, Niu Chang cleansed his dirtied physique using the power of his Authority. A gentle stream of qi washed over him, refreshing his body like a delicate morning dew. "If you feel thirsty or hungry, just call me, Qiuyue," Niu Chang said without looking at her. Qiuyue stood there, puzzled, her gaze lost in the vast emptiness. She turned her head towards Niu Chang, only to find that he had already begun his training. Numerous tasks awaited him: improving his skill proficiency, developing more diverse skills and techniques, and mentoring Qiuyue and Qin Qing. ¡®So much to do, yet my ability to think feels limited,¡¯ Niu Chang contemplated. ¡®It seems I need to create a new skill.¡¯ Having read various stories that revolved around easy power-ups in the event of reincarnation or transmigration, Niu Chang realized they all hinged on one key aspect: knowledge itself, which many stories failed to depict accurately. As a modern man, he appreciated the convenience of automation and machinery in his daily life. Thus, he encountered several tales where technology played a central role, such as the omnipotent AI chip. That was what Niu Chang aspired to create¡ªa skill that would grant him a virtual AI chip within his mind, capable of assisting him in nearly every task, allowing him to embody the epitome of sloth. AI assistants do this. AI assistants do that. In the not-so-distant future, the main character was replaced by an AI assistant, handling everything. ¡®Well, it''s not my problem if my story turns into a boring power trip. Who told the author to choose me as their victim?¡¯ Niu Chang mused. He decided to fashion a skill that enabled instant saving and loading of data and memories, boasted swift computing and calculating capabilities, and imposed no burden on the user''s mind. This was Niu Chang''s vision for his skill. Initially, he considered creating a conventional AI chip since he had read a book about it. After all, plagiarism was easier than coming up with an original idea. However, he chose not to stoop so low and modified the concept. ¡®Directly using an AI chip seems rather dull. It''s not an original concept either. Anyone can use it, but few can truly stand out and be accused of being copycats,¡¯ Niu Chang reasoned. Stolen novel; please report. Having contemplated this extensively in his previous life, Niu Chang''s current task was to make the system recognize and integrate his skill. As an ordinary person lacking profound knowledge of martial arts in this world, Niu Chang saw only one solution to overcome this obstacle. ¡®The good old method of brute-forcing my thoughts until the system acknowledges my skill,¡¯ Niu Chang chuckled. He pondered three potential skills: the Chaotic Mind, the Lazy Tree, and the Celestial Astrolabe. Each served as an auxiliary skill, assisting in learning and improving proficiency in various areas. The Celestial Astrolabe, in particular, focused on calculation and data management. Since the underground cave lacked direct sunlight, it was challenging to determine the passage of time. However, Niu Chang eventually opened his eyes, greeted by the system window. [Celestial Astrolabe] [Grants the practitioner the abilities and capabilities of an AI without burdening the mind] Without hesitation, Niu Chang instructed the system to enhance his newly created Celestial Astrolabe. [Increasing the proficiency of the Celestial Astrolabe to a small success requires 2755 karma points] ¡®Accept,¡¯ Niu Chang promptly responded. [Congratulations on increasing the proficiency of the Celestial Astrolabe to a small success] Disregarding the system''s shallow congratulations, Niu Chang delved into his mind. Above his head floated an intricate and unique astrolabe, rotating gracefully. A surge of excitement washed over Niu Chang, a rare feeling in his heart. ¡®While the system has its limitations, this ability to enhance my skill proficiency is a massive advantage. It''s like letting a wolf loose in a sheep pen,¡¯ Niu Chang remarked. Unlike a typical story character who obediently followed the unfolding events, enduring physical and mental torment to create an exciting narrative, Niu Chang was a real person with a past and free will. Naturally, he could think for himself and take care of his own interests. Taking time to familiarize himself with the Celestial Astrolabe, Niu Chang realized that this skill primarily involved data and information management, unlike his other skill, which was plug and play. The knowledge imparted by the system resembled a consumer handbook for operating a computer¡ªeasy to understand for a modern person but difficult to implement due to the sheer volume of information. However, unlike self-training, the proficiency bestowed by the system remained unaffected, offering genuine mastery of the skill. Before long, Niu Chang completed assimilating the information flow from the system and happily tested his second brain. "Initiate synchronization," he instructed the Celestial Astrolabe before him. The astrolabe emitted a buzzing sound and began rotating in various patterns. Niu Chang sensed a sudden change in his mind, not in his physical surroundings but in how his thoughts were processed. Once the astrolabe ceased its high-speed rotation, Niu Chang felt an enhanced access to all his accumulated knowledge. Given his limited memories as a human, significant gaps existed between his recollections. Niu Chang proceeded to assign tasks to his second brain. "Deduce the Chaotic Mind, the Lazy Tree, and the Massacre skill. Afterward, create a PowerPoint presentation detailing my current situation and a safe yet exciting development plan," Niu Chang commanded, utilizing the fruits of modern civilization to their fullest. Finally, he could recline and become a proper salted fish. Exiting his mental space, Niu Chang opened his eyes, feeling content and eager to provide Qiuyue with a good treatment and share his happiness. To his surprise, he found the young girl sitting not far away, lost in her thoughts. "What could she be contemplating?" Niu Chang wondered. Then, a crucial realization struck him. ¡®Wait... Qiuyue is akin to a newborn baby without any preprogrammed personality. If she grows up in this environment without proper education from me, she might develop significant psychological issues.¡¯ ¡®I need to address this,¡¯ Niu Chang resolved. "Qiuyue, come here," he called softly to the girl, who abruptly snapped out of her reverie. "What is it, savior?" she responded with a melodious yet sheepish voice. Hearing her voice, which felt intimate and familiar, Niu Chang couldn''t help but shudder. ¡®Oh no, she might already be on the path to becoming a psychopath with a twisted sense of affection!¡¯ Maintaining his composure, Niu Chang waited for Qiuyue to approach. In the darkness, he noticed her facial expressions continuously changing, as if she were searching for the perfect mask to wear when facing him. ¡°I...," Niu Chang found himself speechless, finding the situation oddly intriguing. ¡®Should I allow her to develop into a yandere with multiple personas?¡¯ Observing Qiuyue drawing closer, Niu Chang contemplated this question. ¡®Wait, as long as I keep her under control, it should be fine. With a leash, she won''t be able to unleash any violent acts against me in a fit of rage. Yes, I should add another task to my second brain, creating a skill that governs the life and death of my followers!¡¯ Chapter 59 - Trust Qiuyue stood before Niu Chang, wearing an innocent expression. She had decided to be her usual self in the end. Niu Chang smiled kindly and asked, "What were you thinking just now?" Qiuyue paused for a moment before responding to his question. "Well, I... I don''t really think about things." As she struggled to give a proper answer, Niu Chang continued to inquire, "So you were thinking about nothing?" Under the gentle prodding of Niu Chang, Qiuyue felt a tinge of guilt and could only nod meekly. ''How can I tell my savior that I''ve been dwelling on inappropriate thoughts about him while trying to process my memories?'' "Impressive!" exclaimed Niu Chang, his eyes filled with anticipation as he looked at Qiuyue. "Huh?" Qiuyue, not understanding what was impressive, felt even worse than before. "To think that you can reach such a profound state of thinking nothing," Niu Chang remarked appreciatively, his tone void of mockery. "Emptying your thoughts and freeing your mind from any form or shape, reaching a higher level of consciousness." Only then did Qiuyue realize what her savior meant by "impressive." Having already lied and now facing further misunderstanding, she felt overwhelmed. ''How did it come to this? Shouldn''t my savior just brush it off and discuss why he called me here? Who is at fault here?'' For the first time, Qiuyue found herself needing to use her brain to solve complex problems with no clear answers. Naturally, Niu Chang was merely joking with her. It was almost impossible for someone to truly think about nothing, as it would be akin to achieving enlightenment. In the world of cultivation, such a state would bring great improvement to anyone. Pressured by her own conscience, Qiuyue felt her brain overheating. Eventually, she gave up. "Savior, I was wrong. I wasn''t thinking about nothing or achieving what you described. I just..." Her next words got caught in her throat. ''How can I admit that I was thinking inappropriate thoughts behind his back?'' ''What should I do? Should I lie again?'' "Just what?" Niu Chang prompted, urging her to continue. "I... I was just thinking about you, Savior," she finally mustered the courage to lie outright, convincing herself that it was the truth. "Oh," Niu Chang''s expression shifted slightly. "Is that so?" Qiuyue nodded repeatedly, trying to convince him. ''Tsk tsk, what a good girl. Now you want to try the art of deception? Mixing truth and lies?'' Niu Chang thought to himself, his enhanced senses capturing the subtle changes in Qiuyue''s body that revealed her inclination to lie. "Random eye movements, tense muscles, sweating, and an increased heart rate," Niu Chang listed her changes one by one. "Do you know what these signs indicate?" Still caught up in her desperate attempt to deceive, Qiuyue could only shake her head. "These are signs of someone lying against their own conscience, signs that their body subtly rejects. Now tell me, why did you lie to me?" Niu Chang lectured. "Waaaaa..." Qiuyue''s cover was immediately blown, and she cried out loudly like a baby, reaching out to Niu Chang. Contrary to attracting sympathy, her miserable appearance stemmed from feeling bad about herself. She didn''t dare approach Niu Chang directly and instead wept before him. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. He opened his arms and said, "Come here." "Waaaa... Savior, please forgive me." She immediately jumped into his arms, seeking solace and healing her wounded heart in his embrace. Due to their size difference, their position appeared quite odd to any onlookers. After waiting for Qiuyue to calm down, Niu Chang gently combed her hair, and finally, her tears ceased. "Are you finished?" Niu Chang continued to pat her head. Qiuyue, with her face buried in his small chest, didn''t raise her head, only nodding. "It''s okay. You can cry more if you want," Niu Chang added. He waited a few more minutes until Qiuyue began to lift her face from his chest. Her eyes were still wet and red, giving her a pitiful look. "I''m sorry, Savior, for lying to you. I once again dwelled on my memories without your permission," she openly admitted her wrongdoing. She didn''t dare meet his gaze while apologizing. "Qiuyue," Niu Chang called her name in the most subtle way, causing her body to shiver. "Waaaa..." she let out another cry. "I know I was wrong, Savior. Please punish me. Please! Please don''t leave me!" She mistakenly believed that Niu Chang''s gentle approach meant he had decided to abandon her. ''Tsk tsk, if I hadn''t read stories or psychology books, I might have made a mistake here. Qiuyue is just a little girl, and everything that happens now will shape her future personality.'' "Don''t worry, I won''t abandon you," Niu Chang assured her, reaching out to gently caress her left cheek. Qiuyue, closing her eyes as she wiped away her tears, opened them to see Niu Chang looking the same as always, a kind smile on his face. "You won''t abandon me?" Qiuyue whispered, grasping onto that glimmer of hope. "I won''t, and I never will in the future," Niu Chang shook his head. "Now tell me, why do you think I would abandon you?" With tears welling up in her eyes once again, she replied, "Because I lied to you and broke my promise." "Is that all?" he asked, as if it were unimportant. "Do you think I would abandon you for such trivial matters?" Qiuyue hadn''t given it much thought and simply answered, "No." "That''s right. I''m not that kind of person. Now cheer up," Niu Chang said, placing her left hand on her other cheek and playfully squishing her face like a dumpling. He continued to play with her cheeks, even though they weren''t as squishy as he had expected. It at least alleviated his boredom. "Hahaha," he let out a hearty laugh. Somehow, Qiuyue found solace in his actions and smile, and a smile began to bloom on her pitiful face. Soon, she joined in, laughing as well. "Hahaha." "Do you feel better?" Niu Chang let go of her cheeks and asked. "Yes," Qiuyue nodded, adding, "Thank you, Savior." She said it casually, but the weight behind her words was worth a thousand words of thought that she was feeling right now. "That''s good," Niu Chang agreed with a nod. He continued his therapy and counseling, educating her on how to be a proper follower. He asked about her thoughts, her reasons, and so on. In the end, he helped improve her perception of him. "Since the issue has been resolved, we can forget about your punishment," he said. "Instead, let''s play a game!" Now that he understood the cause, Niu Chang naturally chose to address it. "Erasing your memories would be pointless. So I will help you process them while we''re here." They sat side by side, and Qiuyue began sharing what she had seen in her memories. Niu Chang listened attentively, offering her guidance on how to handle these memories. Time seemed to slip away, and before long, Qiuyue had fallen asleep. ''This endless flow of vitality and qi from the system is truly something. I don''t feel tired at all.'' Niu Chang stretched his stiff body, even though it was physically impossible. He did it just because. He delved into his mind to check the results of various tasks he had assigned to the Celestial Astrolabe. The Celestial Astrolabe itself wasn''t a powerful AI technology. It could only analyze and provide output based on the given input. For instance, the skill Niu Chang had asked it to create and had the system accept as a legitimate skill. ''The Celestial Astrolabe will take into account my past interactions with the system, record them, set various parameters, and then begin brute-forcing its way into the system. In doing so, it gathers data on how the system reacts. Based on these interactions, the Celestial Astrolabe is finally able to create a module that allows it to generate a skill without starting from scratch.'' ''In the end, it''s just a skill, not a true living being with its own free will. If it had the ability to think for itself and help me without any input, everything would be pointless. The technological singularity would occur, where the Celestial Astrolabe generates various insights about the truth of the world, and I transcend the limits in one step.'' Chapter 60 - Automation With the assistance of the Celestial Astrolabe, Niu Chang crafted a set of chairs and a table, which housed a computer. Using his memories as a foundation, he engaged in virtual gaming within his mind. "I feel like there''s nothing I can do to bring about a significant change," he mused. On his computer, he discovered a PowerPoint presentation created by the Celestial Astrolabe that outlined his future development. The presentation was engaging, easy to comprehend, and didn''t take him long to grasp. "In essence, I simply need to enhance my skill mastery and diversify my abilities," he concluded. "The Chaotic Mind, the Lazy Tree, and the Massacre skill are already completed, along with the module. It''s time to focus on improving my skill proficiency," Niu Chang contemplated. Niu Chang''s Celestial Astrolabe had only achieved a small success in proficiency, which limited the tasks it could handle. Otherwise, he would have delegated everything to it. While spending time playing games on his computer, he occasionally performed tasks to assist his second brain. These tasks involved recording various parameters about his body, such as movement and channeling his qi for different skills. The challenge with humans when learning new things and improving their skills was the inability to clearly discern right from wrong. However, with the Celestial Astrolabe, everything became transparent, with only a binary choice of zero or one. If his current action contained mistakes, the Celestial Astrolabe would input zeros, which would then be flipped to ones, thereby correcting his actions accordingly. The number of trial and error attempts was significantly reduced to calibrate the parameters. Upon completing his last gaming session, Niu Chang suddenly sensed a vibration in his mental space. "Oh, it''s already done," he remarked. He turned his head and noticed a crystal tree standing beneath the Celestial Astrolabe, measuring a height of only three and a half meters. The tree exuded an aura of purity and extravagance. "The Lazy Tree," Niu Chang nodded in recognition. Beneath the Lazy Tree, a serene pond filled with chaotic air appeared out of thin air. "The Chaotic Mind," Niu Chang added. Each of these auxiliary skills possessed its own specialty. The Lazy Tree occasionally produced fruits of knowledge after accumulating enough, while the Chaotic Mind provided random insights at unpredictable intervals. Both skills had their advantages and disadvantages, which was why Niu Chang created three of these auxiliary skills to assist him in becoming more proficient. Unlike the Celestial Astrolabe, Niu Chang couldn''t assign specific tasks to the other two skills. However, in return, he didn''t need to assign tasks to them, as they would provide him with benefits on their own. After assigning a new task to the Celestial Astrolabe, which aimed to improve its own level, as well as the other two auxiliary thinking skills, Niu Chang''s next objective was to create a skill that would grant him complete control over his followers. The three auxiliary thinking skills emanated their unique lights, symbolizing their connection to each other and their collective effort to overcome their flaws and increase efficiency. "Now then, let''s continue on as a professional salted fish," Niu Chang remarked. Deliberately, Niu Chang chose not to incorporate a clock into his mental space. He would become bored if he realized only a few minutes had passed. Therefore, the moment he received feedback that Qiuyue had awakened, he promptly left his mental space. Rather than hastily approaching her, he took the time to sort out the results of his idle activities while waiting for Qiuyue to fully regain consciousness. "Aaaaaaahhh..." Qiuyue stretched her body and rubbed her eyes, realizing it was still dark outside. Despite feeling well-rested, she pushed aside any remaining laziness. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Following the source of light, she discovered her savior sitting and training like a true martial master. "I''m hungry. Should I ask the savior for food now?" she pondered, contemplating whether to disturb Niu Chang or not. In the end, she decided to approach him first, considering their previous night spent together had brought them closer. Niu Chang opened his eyes and noticed Qiuyue cautiously approaching him. He chuckled and said, "Come here." "Okay," Qiuyue nodded and walked toward him. "Savior, did I interrupt your training?" she asked, expressing her concern. "No," Niu Chang reassured her immediately. "Are you hungry or thirsty?" "Yes," she obediently nodded. Observing this, Niu Chang couldn''t help but think that his first follower seemed like a chicken, constantly nodding. ¡®Perhaps it''s because of her youthfulness. Given some time, she''ll grow out of this habit,¡¯ he speculated. Subsequently, he used Verdant Will on Qiuyue, replenishing her energy to its peak state. As her face grew more radiant and energized, Niu Chang ceased using Verdant Will. "Are you satisfied now, or would you like more?" "I''m satisfied, thank you, savior." "What do you plan to do next?" "Um..." Qiuyue pondered for a moment before scratching her head in embarrassment. "I''m not sure what to do next. I''ve finished organizing my memories." "I see," Niu Chang observed her embarrassed expression before adding, "How about I accompany you in learning martial arts?" He was simply bored. "Okay!" Qiuyue exclaimed with joy upon hearing his proposal. Thanks to his use of Verdant Will, Qin Qing''s corpse emitted no foul smell, ensuring that the underground cave remained pleasant. Time passed. Using Qiuyue''s biological clock as a reference, Niu Chang estimated that two days had elapsed. Nothing significant occurred outside the cave. Qiuyue absorbed various insights about martial arts from Niu Chang''s perspective, which could prove detrimental if she engaged in casual conversations with other martial artists. Meanwhile, within his mental space, Niu Chang''s progress skyrocketed. He created numerous skills, increasing their proficiency as if water flowed effortlessly downstream. The three auxiliary thinking skills operated like perpetual machines, providing endless feedback to aid their improvement. Presently, their proficiency had reached perfection without any issues. "Tsk tsk, truly the pinnacle of human civilization. Automation shall be my dao!" Niu Chang exclaimed. In his mental space, Niu Chang witnessed the physical transformations of the three representations. The Celestial Astrolabe expanded in size, adorned with additional rings and inscriptions that held no symbolic meanings. They exist just for aesthetic value. The Lazy Tree didn''t grow taller, but its width increased. Its crystal body emitted a spectrum of colorful lights, resembling an aurora. Flowers adorned its branches, gradually transforming into fruits. The Chaotic Mind expanded both in width and depth. The previously transparent chaotic air grew muddier, making it difficult to perceive with the naked eye. Niu Chang raised his right palm, revealing a seed. "The Seed of Loyalty!" Niu Chang''s eyes gleamed with excitement. The seed appeared plain and unremarkable, making it impossible to determine which plant it belonged to. The Seed of Loyalty was derived from his Authority skill. Although he had created this skill two days ago, Niu Chang had postponed its usage until its proficiency reached perfection. Exiting his mental space, he briefly glanced at the slumbering Qiuyue before shifting his gaze to Qin Qing''s corpse. Since it was a powerful skill, its usage came with strict requirements. Placing his hand on the charred corpse, verdant green qi entered its body, rapidly restoring it. The blackened, charred skin regained its natural hue, and muscles filled the body. However, Niu Chang didn''t settle for a simple healing. He desired a flawless follower. Leveraging the assistance of his second brain, he meticulously transformed the corpse into an astonishingly beautiful figure. "What beauty?" one might question. Wasn''t it simply a matter of physical appearance? By cultivating certain skills, anyone could become handsome or beautiful. "What wisdom?" one might inquire. Wasn''t it merely an issue of intelligence? By honing specific skills, one could also become intelligent. "What social status?" one might query. Wasn''t it just a case of weaker individuals masquerading as leaders? Simply cultivate enough strength to earn the respect of others. Ultimately, everyone is equal, and only those who pursue immortality may rightfully call themselves human. Chapter 61 - Maid Working with his hands and reshaping the body was quite easy with the help of his auxiliary thinking skills. The difficult part was creating the character, shaping a new personality for the new follower. Since he already had Qiuyue, who was cute and fun, naturally, he wanted a different kind of follower, like collecting super rare characters in the game. While doing so, Niu Chang also noticed the difference in Qin Qing''s body that made her charred black instead of turning into a hollow husk. Niu Chang concluded, ''She has a special constitution with an affinity for fire. It remains dormant most of the time, but a small leak causes her anger problems.¡¯ Multitasking, Niu Chang finally found something fun to do in this empty and dark underground cave. Tinkering with something new and expecting the unexpected naturally piqued his endless curiosity. As Niu Chang''s meticulous work came to completion, an unconscious woman lay before him. She was a breathtaking sight, distinct from the charming and playful Qin Qing. Every detail had been carefully crafted to transform her into a whole new person. Starting from the top, her head was adorned with blazing red hair, radiating a fiery aura. Her face possessed exquisite features, with phoenix eyes that seemed to hold a flickering flame within them and delicate, inviting lips. Her figure was a marvel to behold¡ªher bosom ample and bountiful, requiring more than one hand to hold, complemented by a narrow waist and well-proportioned curves. Niu Chang had meticulously shaped her appearance, reaching the pinnacle of beauty for a woman in her mid-twenties, subtly infused with a mature charm that typically graced those in their late thirties. He couldn''t help but approve of the result, finding her appearance befitting of his follower. While admiring every aspect of his arduous work, the woman finally stirred and woke up. Her long, slender phoenix eyelids fluttered open, revealing mesmerizing ember-shaped pupils with flickering flames dancing within. ¡®Damn, it''s incredible that such exquisite eyes exist, seemingly more valuable in their visual appeal than for practicality,¡¯ Niu Chang remarked silently. ¡®But fortunately, I reside in a fantasy world where strength holds greater significance than anything else.¡¯ As she stared at the joyful Niu Chang, the woman immediately woke up and bowed her head. "Master," she said solemnly. ¡°Good," Niu Chang acknowledged. ¡®Finally, my own personal heaven-defying, country-toppling jade beauty!¡¯ ¡®Not only that, but she also has a faithful maid as her core personality!¡¯ ¡®Kuahahahaahahahahahahahaahahahah¡­¡¯ Unable to contain his excitement, Niu Chang got lost in his thoughts. Even with his auxiliary thinking skills and unlimited qi, there were limitations to how much personality he could instill in his maid. Naturally, her knowledge would be limited, and she wouldn''t be much different from Qiuyue. Since her master hadn''t done or said anything, the maid kept her head down, waiting for further instruction. Unable to stop his maniacal laughter echoing in his mind, Niu Chang pushed away his distracting thoughts and moved on to the next step. "Alright, since you''re awake, my work here is done. Go get your clothes from those sacks over there and come find me afterwards," Niu Chang instructed her. She immediately stood up and gave a devastating visual impact to Niu Chang. His heartbeat increased, and a surge of heat filled his body¡ªsomething was rising within him. But he didn''t do anything as he watched her walk away. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. With every step she took, her long red hair cascaded down her back, flowing all the way to her thighs. Occasionally, the strands parted, providing fleeting glimpses of her curves. Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Niu Chang couldn''t help but complain to his second brain. ¡®Hey, why isn''t the body transformation skill working? Have you finished analyzing the problem?¡¯ Since the three auxiliary thinking skills were already mastered to perfection, Niu Chang could simply dump everything he wanted into them and wait for the result. But even so, there were limitations. The body transformation skill they created was unusable for him. And right now, they were analyzing the problem, but Niu Chang already knew the answer long ago¡ªthe Impossible Idea he had. Since it was the pinnacle of body cultivation, he didn''t know much about it. But it was only a matter of time before he figured everything out. The scenery on the outside was just too enticing for him to care about mundane tasks that could be solved with his second brain. The maid rummaged through the clothes inside the sack while half-squatting. After a while, she picked up a set of clothes and put them on. Her every movement when putting on the clothes was on a whole new level, making Niu Chang doubt what he had done to her. ¡®Does she have to be so demonically enchanting just by putting on clothes?¡¯ Niu Chang shook his head in approval. In the end, with a forceful attempt to fit the small clothes onto her body, she finished changing. Walking toward him, Niu Chang couldn''t contain his astonishment at the sight before him. The maid''s figure, accentuated by the tight-fitting clothes, possessed a captivating allure. Her body exuded a vibrant vitality and healthiness that left Niu Chang in awe. Too healthy, in fact! In the end all he could do was let out a sigh. "What''s wrong, master? Did I do something wrong?" the maid asked, her voice laced with concern. She lowered her body, meeting Niu Chang''s gaze, but her posture held a subtle charm that drew his attention. Once again, he sighed, his admiration for her growing even stronger. "Nothing," Niu Chang replied with a flat tone, struggling to contain his emotions. He gestured for her to sit in front of him. "Sit." She obediently followed his command, settling before him. Her seated posture, though not cross-legged, displayed a gentle poise that added to her allure. Niu Chang, who had relinquished any distracting thoughts, took a deep breath, trying to regain composure. But even as he did so, a delightful scent, meticulously modified by his own hand, reached his nostrils. ¡®Damn it!¡¯ he exclaimed inwardly. . . . In the Southern Region. It was well known that there could only be one organization that used the word "cult" in its name¡ªthe notorious Heavenly Demon Cult. Because of this, the faction compass in the Southern Region was divided into three: righteous, demonic, and heretic. The first two were self-explanatory, but the last one referred to the cult members who were so fanatical that they were labeled as heretics by everyone else. If a martial artist from a righteous faction encountered a problem, they would solve it by following the law. If it was a member of the demonic faction, they would do as they pleased. But if it was a heretic, they would say, "According to the Lord Heavenly Demon..." They would praise their lord and then brutally solve the problem. Because of this, the two factions, righteous and demonic, agreed to kill any heretic on sight. In the heart of the Heavenly Demon Cult, a grand palace stood aloof among the surrounding buildings, towering over them all. Within the palace''s tallest room, saturated with a strong yet invigorating fragrance, a figure stood by the window, gazing down at the world below. Clad in a resplendent robe, adorned with hues of red and black, the figure exuded an aura of might that enveloped his being. This was the Heavenly Demon, a prominent presence within the cult. Kneeling respectfully behind him were two maid servants, their heads bowed in deference. The air around them carried an air of subservience, their purpose being to attend to the Heavenly Demon''s needs. The maid servant on the right side, possessing a unique allure, exuded an enchanting charm that added to her elegance. Her every movement conveyed a gracefulness that drew the gaze of any who beheld her. The maid servant on the left, while not as striking, emanated a quiet confidence, her eyes reflecting a deep dedication to her duties. These maid servants remained loyal and dedicated to the Heavenly Demon, serving him faithfully. Their roles were to fulfill his commands and provide assistance whenever required. The maidservant on the right side asked the standing figure, "My lord, please give us your instructions." Without turning around, the Heavenly Demon stared into the outside world in a certain direction. "The child of divine fire has appeared. Bring her back to the sanctuary," his ethereal voice carried endless pressure. The two maidservants trembled, not because of the Heavenly Demon''s pressure, but because of the news they had just heard. ''The child of divine fire has appeared!'' they happily repeated in their hearts. Chapter 62 - Star of Calamity After being dismissed by the Heavenly Demon, Guo Lanying and Mo Qi walked together, side by side. Guo Lanying, a tall and gorgeous woman, was the one who had questioned the Heavenly Demon. Even in her simple attire, it was evident that she came from a prosperous background. Every inch of her exuded the confident aura and charm of an intelligent woman. On the other hand, Mo Qi seemed overshadowed by Guo Lanying''s presence. She wore a cold expression, devoid of any emotion, causing everyone to unconsciously focus solely on Guo Lanying. Nevertheless, Mo Qi possessed a unique beauty of her own, emitting an aura of cold and unattainable allure, captivating those who beheld her. They continued walking until they arrived at an empty room in the hallway, as the palace for the Heavenly Demon. Naturally, the hallway remained unoccupied most of the time. Closing the door behind them, Mo Qi nodded at Guo Lanying. "This news is of utmost importance to our Lord. If not for those hypocritical righteous experts and the deranged demons, the Lord would have dealt with this matter personally." Guo Lanying looked at Mo Qi with understanding eyes. "You''re right. That''s why we must do everything in our power to complete this mission for our Lord." Mo Qi spoke earnestly, though her facial expression remained unchanged. "So, who will go?" Guo Lanying asked, considering their options as they made their way to the room. "You should stay. Given my lower profile within the cult, my absence won''t attract much attention. Even if my substitute is forced to take action, you should be able to handle it before anything happens." "I''m relieved to know we share the same view," Guo Lanying added. "However, your efforts alone may not guarantee the success of this mission. You should take a few experts from the Netherworld Demon Cave." The Netherworld Demon Cave held a special place within the Heavenly Demon Cult akin to a gu jar, functioning as a breeding ground for new members, where they could reap benefits effortlessly. "The Netherworld Demon Cave?" Mo Qi echoed rhetorically. "It is a vital location for our Heavenly Demon Cult, and its members only follow the Lord''s orders." Before she could say more, Guo Lanying interjected. "The Lord must have already considered this. If you don''t believe me, go there and inquire." Without doubting Guo Lanying''s words, Mo Qi continued the conversation. "I will visit them afterward. May the heavenly demon illuminate your path." "May the heavenly demon illuminate your path," Guo Lanying reciprocated, echoing the unique prayer within the cult. ... Meanwhile, in another part of the Southern Region. Within one of the seven major sects, the Supreme Heaven Sect, stood a peak known as the Heaven Observing Peak. There was a lonely structure, nestled amidst a vibrant forest, blended grandeur with simplicity. Rather than soaring in height, the building expanded in width. In the tranquility of the night, a gentle gust of wind blew. "You''ve arrived," an aged yet still vibrant voice emanated from an old man who was preparing tea. He sat on one side of the table, exposed to the open sky. A man dressed in a Taoist robe materialized gracefully, carried by the wind, and took a seat. Handsome, with no trace of age on his face, his eyes possessed a sharpness akin to a sword, and a mark of good fortune rested between his eyebrows. "Old Jiang, how have you been?" The man''s tone was casual, as if he were greeting an old friend. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Same as always, neither good nor bad," Old Jiang replied, raising an eyebrow as he observed the man before him. "And you? Why do you appear younger than the last time we met?" "Me?" The man''s expression shifted slightly, and he responded, "Same as usual, neither good nor bad. In fact, it''s been too good. Hahaha!" He chuckled at the end of his statement. "Sigh, I can''t fathom your obsession with physical appearance. How many centuries have you lived that you still concern yourself with such trivial matters?" Old Jiang asked, his curiosity genuine and without malice. "Heh," the man smirked. "How many times have you asked me that? Haven''t you understood by now? The path of martial arts is long and never-ending. In our extended lives, it''s natural to have hobbies that fill our daily existence." Since Old Jiang had posed this question on previous occasions, the man swiftly changed the topic based on their past interactions. "So, what crucial insight have you deduced today that prompted you to summon me here secretly?" Old Jiang finished preparing the tea, pouring a cup for himself. However, he didn''t raise it to his lips; instead, he stared at the still surface of the tea and said, "The star of fire displays signs of turmoil." "Turmoil?" The man''s attention was captivated. "Is it a good or bad omen?" "It''s both," Old Jiang replied, his voice steady, but his gaze grew deeper. Suddenly, the man comprehended what Old Jiang was implying. His countenance changed instantly, seriousness replacing his formerly kind and handsome demeanor. His charm now emanated a sharpness akin to an unsheathed sword. "The child of divine fire? Has a new one emerged?" The man questioned Old Jiang, though it seemed he was questioning himself. "Considering the time, it''s been over a century, so it''s possible for a new one to appear." "But how is that possible?" he asked, incredulous. Old Jiang remained silent, raising his gaze to the night sky. "It is the way of heaven. No one can predict what will transpire." "If what you say is true, another great war will consume the Southern Region," the man lamented. "But..." He looked at the slightly despondent Old Jiang. "Why do you appear this way? The arrival of the second child of divine fire shouldn''t affect you like this. So... tell me, what else have you deduced?" Old Jiang sighed, lowering his gaze to meet the man''s eyes. "The star of calamity." The man''s eyes widened upon hearing the startling news. He spoke in a hushed voice, "Are you certain?" "I don''t know," Old Jiang openly admitted. "While my abilities have improved over time, there are still many things beyond my reach." "Don''t beat around the bush. Tell me what you mean," the man urged Old Jiang. Old Jiang picked up his cup and said, "I couldn''t discern the appearance of the star of calamity. However, I can sense its presence lurking in the shadow of the night sky, waiting... biding its time to reveal its true form." "This..." The man was at a loss for words, his thoughts racing as Old Jiang calmly sipped his tea. "Are you sure?" Distracted by his racing mind, he unintentionally questioned Old Jiang''s abilities. "I cannot be certain. My abilities are limited, and there are many things beyond my deduction," Old Jiang replied, placing his cup back on the table. "Nevertheless, preparing for rain is never a wrong move during the rainy season." The man accepted Old Jiang''s words, internalizing them, and began contemplating on the spot. Meanwhile, Old Jiang refrained from pouring another cup of tea, instead watching his friend, who finally seemed to engage his mind rather than indulging in trivial pursuits. ''The era of peace has indeed dulled the mind and the sword,'' Old Jiang mused. ''Even the renowned Supreme Heavenly Sword has succumbed to the comfort of tranquility.'' Ultimately, the man, known as the Supreme Heavenly Sword, made a decision. As he rose from his seat, his aura shifted once more, shedding the remnants of gentleness. "Since you say so, we must prepare ourselves," he declared. Pausing briefly, he added, "If someone is concealing the star of calamity, could it be the machinations of the demonic factions? Are they attempting to cultivate their own?" He voiced the most perilous possibilities. "I couldn''t discern their involvement among the stars, but I am certain there is no trace of blood surrounding the concealed star of calamity. However, my abilities have improved since our last encounter. Perhaps those ghosts from the demonic factions have surpassed me in the interim." "So you''re implying that we are the first to know?" Supreme Heavenly Sword sought confirmation. "Yes," Old Jiang nodded. "I have also taken measures to conceal any knowledge about it, but my abilities are limited. It is only a matter of time before the demonic factions realize the emergence of the new child of divine fire." "If this isn''t the clandestine plot of the demonic factions, then it is good news for us. However, as a precaution, there is only one course of action." Observing how Supreme Heavenly Sword chose to stride instead of toying with his movement skills, Old Jiang felt reassured. "The era of turmoil has arrived. I wonder how many immortals will fall this time," Old Jiang mused. "If the conflict remains confined to the Southern Region, it is still manageable. However, if the other regions join as well, bloodshed will increase." Chapter 63 - Transcending Truth Since he had already planted the Seed of Loyalty in his maid, naturally he also created a proper cultivation technique for her to cultivate and be useful to him. But before that... "..." Niu Chang wanted to call her but then realized he hadn''t given her a name yet. Various names surfaced in his mind, but none of them were good names. In the end, he gave up thinking, even though he could ask his second brain for an opinion. "Your name will be Xiayue." "Thank you for bestowing me a name, master," Xiayue expressed her gratitude. ''Well, since I already have a Qiu Yue (Autumn Moon), naturally I should collect the other three, right? To make a full collection of them,'' Niu Chang pondered, then just let it pass by. "Alright, Xiayue, I will impart a cultivation technique to you. You should already have the qi within your body, but what I will teach you now is how to cultivate that qi." Niu Chang waved his hand, and a red qi with crimson blazing color appeared, dancing on his palm. At a single glance, the crimson blazing qi appeared tranquil and calm, just like a water surface, but within it contained roaring fire. Using his Authority, Niu Chang tried to take control of the same crimson blazing qi from Xiayue. Xiayue didn¡¯t resist the control from her master and let go of the resistance, allowing a trail of crimson blazing qi to be drawn from her body. It was the same kind of qi, but they felt a bit different in Niu Chang¡¯s sense. ''Well, even though the cultivation technique is the same, the uniqueness of each individual is inevitable,'' he thought. While guiding her with direct control of qi circulation, he also began to teach her the cultivation technique verbally. Since he had already fully mastered it to perfection thanks to his three auxiliary thinking skills, Niu Chang could preach about it in a proper manner. But when he first said it with his thought, he realized that the original text of the cultivation technique was rather full of nonsense. It talked in a roundabout way and beat around the bush five times before starting again from the beginning. This made him recall his first cultivation books, which he obtained from the dying beggar. He had tried his best to understand the meaning behind more than two hundred words just to explain the background for the qi cultivation method, to no avail. It talked about qi, but didn¡¯t explain what qi was. It talked about human anatomy based on how ancient people labeled the human body, the five elements, the dantian, the meridian, the acupoints, and so on. Every time he tried to comprehend it, he almost suffered qi deviation even though his body couldn¡¯t cultivate it. In the end, he just took everything for granted and skimmed through all the words as if he were reading an MTL novel. And miraculously, it worked like a charm. Thanks to his previous life being a cheapskate and a certified skimmer and demon of the MTL sect, he was finally able to finish the first step and was ready to take the second step. Pushing away the memories of the past, he looked at Xiayue¡¯s beautiful face. ¡®The dao is bullshit, the cultivation is a shithole, and nothing is worth anything. But why is no one able to see this like I see it?¡¯ The more he looked at the enchanting appearance of Xiayue, the more he couldn¡¯t help but ask himself, ¡®why do I feel alone in this world?¡¯ Being someone who sees through the veil of reality, he sometimes found himself being alienated by everything. His transcendent thought made him out of touch with the world. So he could only sigh. ¡®Use my current feeling as a base for a new cultivation technique,¡¯ Niu Chang commanded his second brain as he regained his willfulness. "Ah, I got blanked for a moment. Let¡¯s continue our study," he said with the same kind tone. "Yes, master," Xiayue responded. "First, I want to tell you what qi is and what dao is," Niu Chang stopped all his action and ceased the qi around both of them. "Qi is energy, and as long as you have it, you can do anything. What is energy? It is what it is. If you need to move, then your body needs fuel to do so, and that fuel is energy." Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. He then pointed at the left chest of Xiayue. "The heart that is beating inside your chest is the same. For it to move, it needs energy to do so." "So tell me, what is energy?" Xiayue pondered for a moment before answering, "the energy that makes everything move?" Niu Chang nodded, "you are not wrong." Xiayue tilted her head in confusion, "master, why do you say I¡¯m not wrong instead of telling me I¡¯m correct?" "Like I said, your answer is not wrong but not the truth." "The truth?" she insisted to satisfy her curiosity. "Yeah, the truth. Your answer is only a part of the truth but not the truth itself. The statement that energy makes everything move is correct, but what about anything else?" "Anything else? Like what, master?" "I don¡¯t know myself," Niu Chang said flatly. "That is why I don¡¯t take your answer as the truth but as a placeholder in the absence of the truth," then Niu Chang''s expression became serious. "Remember this, the truth never exists; what exists are only facts." "Facts?" "Yes, facts. Like verified information. The fact that fire is hot, water is wet, the day is bright, and the night is dark, and so on." "It is not the truth, the truth¡­" "What is the truth, master?" "I don¡¯t know," Niu Chang shook his head. "I¡¯m still looking for it." "Then, according to you, nothing is actually correct?" Xiayue asked the question that appeared in her head. Niu Chang, who was also pondering himself while having the conversation, was stunned when he heard that question. His eyes showed a long-lost light, the light that only appeared once after he arrived in this world. "Haha¡­" he laughed heartily. Wiping the tears of joy from the corner of his eyes, he said. "Yes, that is correct. Nothing is correct in this world, for it exists on the basis of facts, not the truth!" Then he raised his hand, and the transformation qi appeared. They danced on his palm, changing their attributes and essences, showing spectacular shows. Fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, darkness, light, and many more. Xiayue was captivated watching the changing of the qi. "See this, if the world were built on truth, how can a mere thought of a mortal be able to change its rules?" "The truth, yes the truth, the truth shall be one and one only. Nothing can change it, and no one can affect it." It was just a small talk and a show of Niu Chang¡¯s mastery over his Transformation Energy. Yet, Xiayue was already able to grasp the core knowledge of his teaching. ''Nothing is correct in this world, in the absence of the truth, everyone can do anything,'' she recited in her heart. After realizing the dao, she couldn¡¯t help but want to learn more, and she broke her maid character as she showed greed for her own. "Master, master, tell me more and teach me more," she said with gleaming eyes. Niu Chang, who was in a good mood, continued to teach her about his transcendent thinking. ''Ah, how good it feels to have someone who is able to connect with me.'' They spent the whole night chatting and training, unknown to them, their loud and unrestrained actions woke up Qiuyue from her sleep. Hearing a crisp and melodious voice of a female, she felt she was still dreaming, so she turned her head to the source of the voice, only to find a scene that bewildered her even more. In front of her were her savior and a woman she had never met before. That was not the focus; the problem was that the woman was breathtakingly beautiful, with every part of her body carrying the essence of beauty itself. The reason why Qiuyue was able to see it was that the woman was naked and was playing around with her savior. "Is this a dream? Am I still sleeping?" Qiuyue kept watching how her savior just ignored the fact he was playing around with a naked woman. "This should be a dream; my savior is not that kind of pervert!" Qiuyue tried to convince herself. But the longer she watched, the more she realized that this dream takes too long to be broken. "Ah," the naked woman turned her head and found Qiuyue already sitting upright and watching her and Niu Chang. She stopped her training and subtly notified Niu Chang. "Master, Qiuyue already woke up." Niu Chang, who was happy discussing the dao, abruptly stopped and turned his head. Since he was too immersed in discussing the dao, he had ignored his surroundings, mainly because he felt no threats. "Well," he looked at Qiuyue for a moment before coming back to Xiayue, who was naked, then he looked at himself and found at least he was wearing clothes. "Let¡¯s stop here for now," he said while walking towards Qiuyue. Xiayue followed from behind like a dutiful maid. "Savior¡­ this¡­ woman¡­" Qiuyue had already accepted what she saw as reality instead of a dream, but her mind was too convoluted right now to think straight. "Ah yes," Niu Chang turned his body slightly to give a proper view of Xiayue behind him to Qiuyue. "Let me introduce her to you; she is my maid, and she will be your companion from now on." "Oh, is that so," Qiuyue said shortly with no delay. But her eyes were fixated on Xiayue¡¯s bewitching physique. A flame raised in the deep of Qiuyue¡¯s heart that was unknown to her, as she stared at Xiayue¡¯s healthy assets, she couldn¡¯t help but fan the flame in her heart. Her face turned cold for a split second before returning to normal. "Nice to meet you¡­ what is your name, sister?" Niu Chang somehow felt a goosebump when hearing the flat tone of Qiuyue. Chapter 64 - White Rose of Desolation "Nice to meet you, my name is Xiayue." Xiayue chose to ignore the split-second weirdness of Qiuyue. As someone who was handmade by Niu Chang, not only was her physical appearance a peak creation, but also all other aspects of her nature. "Xiayue?" Qiuyue repeated her name, realizing its meaning. She turned her gaze to Niu Chang, her eyes conveying an impeccable meaning, but Niu Chang chose to ignore it. "But why are you naked, sister Xiayue?" Niu Chang wanted to step in, but Xiayue already answered. "As you can see," Xiayue moved her delicate body in an alluring way, showing various curves. "There were no clothes that fit me, so I couldn''t help but take them off." Recalling the past... In their heated dao discussion, Xiayue asked Niu Chang if it was okay for her to take off her clothes since it made her uncomfortable. Without any problem, Niu Chang allowed her to do so. He was too focused on their dao discussion, not letting his lower part take control of his mind. "I see," Qiuyue blankly stared at Xiayue''s body, and then it became silent. No one spoke. Niu Chang busied himself with what to do next, Qiuyue lost in her thoughts, and Xiayue still eager to learn more about the truth from Niu Chang. "Alright," Niu Chang broke the stale moment and said, "Since you two already know each other, I will leave you alone." Then he went to another corner and started to digest his previous dao discussion. Different from before, he was finally able to find some motivation to do the work himself instead of just relying on his second brain. Watching Niu Chang''s small back moving away, Xiayue''s lips curved up. She walked toward Qiuyue. "I have heard about you from my master." She walked around Qiuyue, observing her from various angles. "I see," she finally made her judgment. "Hehehe, what a naive girl." Xiayue finished walking around Qiuyue and stopped in front of her. She showed a bored expression as if looking at an insect. "Your petty thoughts of mundane obsession won''t take you anywhere towards your goal." Her tone was full of mockery and condescension towards Qiuyue. "What do you mean?" Qiuyue asked coldly, a pale ghostly qi starting to appear around her body. "This is exactly what I mean," Xiayue snickered, watching how easily Qiuyue was taunted. To make it worse, she moved her hands around her curves to show how perfect her body was compared to Qiuyue''s. Qiuyue felt the impulse for violence but took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "Oh, you can take it faster than I thought. That is something to be expected from someone who is allowed to be on my master''s side." "Just tell me, why are you acting like this in front of me when we are alone?" Qiuyue sharply said. "Hehehe, don''t be angry. I''m just like you. There are many things that I don''t know, so just take it as me playing, okay?" Xiayue tried to be innocent by making a cute expression. "So you are the charred black corpse?" Qiuyue finally got the final piece of the puzzle; she couldn''t help but observe Xiayue''s body once again. But her previous jealousy was no longer there. She just let out a short mockery. "Heh!" Taking it as just air, Xiayue continued. "That was not me. If you think so to make yourself comfortable, then so be it." "Anyway, let''s talk seriously now." Xiayue dropped her superiority complex and put on her maid character. Niu Chang was staying inside his space of mind to do his training, creating new skills or improving them. Creating new skills was like a daily occurrence for him, but improving them required him to do so himself. As his various skills reached perfection mastery, he naturally needed to improve them to a higher rank so they wouldn''t be useless. As useful as it seemed, the three auxiliary thinking skills had their own limitations. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. So, to improve skills beyond perfection, it still required human ingenuity to create the path and for them to build the path. In front of Niu Chang, various digital holograms were floating, showing various data and information for him to understand easily. Occasionally, he would ask his second brain to show his memories in video form, making it easier for him to get inspiration. Then suddenly, he received a notification that someone was calling for him from the outside world. His eyebrows furrowed, and he thought for a moment before finally choosing to postpone his current action. He opened his eyes and found Xiayue and Qiuyue standing side by side. Xiayue was still the same, naked and beautiful with the solemn expression of a dutiful maid. And then there was Qiuyue, who seemed a lot different than before. Niu Chang couldn''t put his finger on the specific answer, but he could feel it through his enhanced intuition. "Savior," Qiuyue opened her mouth first. "I have heard from Xiayue. I want to be your true follower!" Listening to what she said, Niu Chang thought for a moment before shifting his gaze to the silent Xiayue. ¡®Well, I did plant the Seed of Loyalty in her. But... it seems it was not omnipotent. As long as loyalty is guaranteed, the bearer herself seems to have a bit of freedom in thinking and actions.¡¯ After returning to his space of mind where various distracting thoughts were easily negated by his second brain, Niu Chang found that Xiayue showed more eagerness than he expected. This eagerness reached the point of greed. With his database of countless stories, he was somehow able to predict Xiayue''s future development. ¡®A two-faced maid, in front of her master, she will show the most perfect persona, but behind my back, she will turn into a different person who might be no less pretentious and arrogant than me¡­¡¯ Stopping his speculation there, Niu Chang accepted Qiuyue''s request. The Seed of Loyalty had strict requirements for it to be planted on someone. Naturally, one of them was for the person to willingly accept it, fully understanding its consequences without any mental manipulation. This requirement could be easily bypassed if Niu Chang planted it when resurrecting someone since, from his perspective, he was the one who created that living person. Niu Chang made a Seed of Loyalty appear in his palm and started to recite the whole consequences of being his true follower. "Do you understand now? Do you wish to continue?" he asked. "Yes!" Qiuyue answered without any hesitation. Then Niu Chang put the seed into her forehead, where it implanted itself inside Qiuyue''s mind. When she opened her eyes, she didn''t feel any changes. "Then, Savior, can you teach me your self-made cultivation technique?" Niu Chang once again looked at Xiayue, who still wore a solemn expression. "Okay," Niu Chang then sat down and instructed her to sit down too. Qiuyue naturally followed his instruction, and the maid behind her also sat down. ¡®I see, this is what you''re after. Niu Chang was amused when he finally realized Xiayue''s true intention. He opened his palm and showed his qi blooming from there, turning into a beautiful white rose. It was so lifelike. The stem was gray with detailed contours, adorned with small yet sharp thorns, and the crown itself was made of white petals. Xiayue admired this scene without holding back her expression, but on the other hand, Qiuyue was terrified to the point she started to distance herself from the white rose. Trying her best not to let out any scream, she could only slowly retreat with horror revealed on her face. Xiayue just ignored her and remained more interested in the white rose. "It seems your special constitution makes you rather sensitive to the negative aspects of life. Or should I say, good at identifying the predators of life itself?" Since there were no longer outsiders in his vicinity, Niu Chang, who rarely voiced his thoughts, started to explain his technique. "This cultivation technique is called the White Rose of Desolation. It was born and grew from a once prosperous city that suddenly met its decline. After time turned the remaining city into fine gray dust, the ethereal moonlight gave birth to this exotic plant." He stopped and used his Authority to show the imagery around him. The transformation qi expanded from his body and turned into a hologram that showed the scene he wanted to portray. Phantoms of humans started to wander around like a prosperous city, and gradually, the human phantoms began to decline, showing the rapid decline of the population. Root-like structures began to grow from the empty night sky, expanding quickly to cover the entire desolate land. In the middle of it, a small trunk began to rise into the sky. Under the moonlit, a single stalk of a white rose bloomed amidst the desolate land of gray dust. Its slender form reached towards the sky, defying the barrenness that surrounded it. Each pristine petal unfurled with grace, reflecting the moon''s ethereal glow. In the stillness of the night, this solitary white rose stood as a symbol of resilience and beauty. Its delicate presence was a stark contrast to the desolation, reminding all who witnessed it of the enduring power of hope. Against all odds, it bloomed, radiating a pure and enchanting aura that spoke of the transformative magic found even in the most desolate of landscapes. "Beautiful... Master, can you show me my cultivation technique next?" Xiayue, who was always watching from the beginning, was unable to contain herself any longer and asked for her turn. "Let''s do it after we wake up your colleague." Niu Chang said as he looked at the half-conscious Qiuyue. Since showing the vision of the White Rose of Desolation required him to use its respective qi, Qiuyue would naturally be overwhelmed by its presence and might pass out. Using his Verdant Will to hasten Qiuyue''s recovery, Niu Chang began to forcefully control the ghostly qi inside her body and artificially made her cultivate the White Rose of Desolation technique. Her body gave persistent struggle, but she was unable to confront the more powerful death-related qi and Niu Chang''s abundance of qi. Doing so, he also gathered data about Qiuyue''s special constitution. Chapter 65 - Heavenly Demon Cult(1) In the natural wilderness of the Southern Region, a group of people was running at high speed, each utilizing their own unique methods. They had been running nonstop for more than two days, their bodies concealed by a unique set of clothes and their own martial skills. They chose a route void of people to ensure their secrecy. No one was talking as they solely focused on their goal. The team consisted of three people, one of whom was holding a small lantern in their hand. Inside the lantern, dark red fire calmly lit up without being affected by their rapid movement. Instead, it pointed to a certain direction like a compass. When the night fell, they finally arrived at a corner with hardly any major organization influence, flat land with hardly any high terrains and a verdant forest. One of them asked, "Is this the place?" It was a man''s voice, directed at the person holding the small lantern. The person didn¡¯t say anything and once again checked the condition of the dark red fire inside the small lantern. It was bigger than before and showing great attraction towards something nearby. ¡°This should be the place," said the person who held the small lantern. Unexpectedly, it was a woman¡¯s voice, her tone cold and flat. The woman turned her head and asked the last person who hadn''t spoken, ¡°Do you know where this is?¡± Since they looked the same from the outside, the last person looked around them for a moment and started to calculate in his mind. Then he answered, ¡°This place should be near a city called Heichen City. This city is under the jurisdiction of the Shen family. As you know, the Shen family was one of the six major families in the Southern Region. But this place should be on their outermost area since no collateral family members were tasked around this place." "But even so, we should be careful; around two or one year ago, there was a rumor that one of the direct descendants of the Shen family went missing, and they spent a lot of manpower to look for that direct descendant." ¡°Oh, that little girl?¡± the first man asked. ¡°Yes, she was born with an innate constitution that is very suitable to cultivate the main cultivation method of the Shen family. But alas, she went missing." ¡°The family head already gave his direct order that the investigation will not stop until they find her corpse, so we should be careful even though we are at the outermost area of the Shen family.¡± The woman who held the small lantern nodded. Then she led the other two men following the direction the dark red fire pointed to. Not long after, they arrived in an inhospitable place where wild bushes grew uncontrollably. The dark red fire was at its peak, almost filling the entire space, but it didn¡¯t show any specific direction. ¡°Is this the place?" the first man asked. He scanned around but found nothing noteworthy. ¡°Yes," the woman suddenly said, "we are in the right place. It is below us." Without asking further, the other two activated their martial skills and scanned the ground underneath them. The first man utilized blue fiery qi that effortlessly entered the ground, while the other man used qi that mimicked the appearance of gray smoke. ¡°There is space beneath us!¡± said the first man. Without further ado, he stomped his right foot and broke the ground. Thanks to his high cultivation level and mastery over his skills, no big noise was made, and it purely showed destructive ability targeted at the ground. They didn¡¯t communicate with words, but each of them had already done their own jobs. The second man enveloped the area with his gray smoke qi to prevent any escape, while the woman directly jumped into the hole. With the second man waiting above the ground, the other two already arrived inside the underground space. It was dark with little to no ventilation, but they were able to sense a person waiting for them within that darkness. In the gap between the mask she used, the woman¡¯s eyes flashed with cyan light. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t flash me with your eyes," a floppy voice of a yet matured child called out to her. He waved his hand to cover his face. But the woman didn¡¯t make any rash decisions and scanned the entire underground cave. There were no secret tunnels or any escape route; the only way was the hole they opened to come in. What was more, there were no others in this place, only them and that small boy. But soon, she realized something. Hanging on the small boy¡¯s waist were two human heads. One of them had fiery red hair, and the other had black hair. Without checking the small lantern on her waist, she knew the identity of one of the heads that was hanging. With his enhanced sense, Niu Chang was finally able to get his answer. ¡°So you guys were looking for this one?¡± he whipped his waist to the right where Xiayue¡¯s head was. The first man didn¡¯t show many changes, but the woman with him showed intense response, although it was concealed very well. [Established karma with Mo Qi] Thankfully, Niu Chang was not a person who used his five senses only. Getting his second verification, he grinned. ¡°Go on, tell me your threat," he said expectantly. As his voice arrived in their ears, a fleeting sound of falling petals also arrived. Demonic Embrace of Lady in White and Red! Niu Chang activated his crowd control skill without any delay. Without holding back, red affectionate qi bloomed from his body and turned into a shrine maiden coiling her hands around his neck. Due to the height difference, the shrine maiden''s lower half was laid on the ground. More vision appeared on his body, showcasing the five senses enchantments. But his surprise attack didn¡¯t go through as his enemies were golden core experts. As they already stabilized their cultivation and explored more into the profundity of the golden core stage. They already improved the basic qi protection given by their golden core cultivation and integrated it with their own unique martial skills. [Established karma with Earth Demon No.2] [Established karma with Earth Demon No.3] Niu Chang was at least able to get what he wanted from testing the water. Naturally, he didn¡¯t target the man on Mo Qi¡¯s side from the beginning. ¡°Heh, what a powerful group," he praised them while feeling the changes inside his body. ¡®This much qi should be on the golden core stage as well, but their quantity should be more than Huang Zhi and Feng Ning.¡¯ Since he already got permission from the system, naturally he needed to end this fight as soon as possible. The third skill - Dream Visit! Different from the previous two skills from the Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree, the third skill, Dream Visit, didn¡¯t have any effect upon activation. Within their mind, a shrine maiden came to visit. She was accompanied by the atmosphere of spring and the fleeting cherry blossom petals around her. ¡°Soul attack!" Earth Demon No.2 exclaimed in shock. Realizing the type of attack, he immediately activated his soul-based martial skill to protect his soul. While Niu Chang frowned upon seeing how his soul attack didn¡¯t go as well as planned. ¡®Why do they have soul-related martial skills? Shouldn¡¯t this be my privilege?¡¯ he was unable to contain his curiosity, ¡®maybe this is another perk that comes up after you reach the golden core level?¡¯ Expelling the shrine maiden from their mind, Earth Demon No.2 charged directly at Niu Chang. His fist enveloped with a cold blue flame and struck Niu Chang. But he found the closer he got to the small boy, the more he felt something was holding his body in place. Since Earth Demon No.2 was already tangled with the shrine maiden, Niu Chang naturally activated the Eternal Vow instantly. The invisible restrictions caused by the Demonic Embrace of Lady in White and Red were stimulated and gave birth to a shrine maiden phantom with a very lifelike appearance on Earth Demon No.2¡¯s back. Mo Qi, who was watching for a while, was gathering information as much as she could to determine Niu Chang¡¯s ability and background. ¡®He used a beguiling technique based on cherry blossoms. The red qi contains the trace of corruption from powerful lustful emotion. And that weird phantom of a woman wearing clothes that I have never seen before.¡¯ Matching every clue she got from the first confrontation, Mo Qi listed various possible answers. But she was unable to match any of them with Niu Chang¡¯s Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree technique. Seeing how Earth Demon No.2 was completely suppressed by Niu Chang, she chose to help him first. Cyan-colored qi flowed from her fingers and turned into many icicles targeting the shrine maiden phantom and Niu Chang. The icicles stabbed the shrine maiden phantom on the back before corrupting them into her own red qi. While Niu Chang didn¡¯t do anything and just stood there being protected by his Closed Loop Protection. Earth Demon No.2 was not a golden core for nothing; even under the constant erosion from the Eternal Vow, he was able to hold his own ground without being damaged, he was only held in place solely focusing on resisting the erosion. ¡°Don¡¯t hold back," Niu Chang suddenly said as he walked forward. Mo Qi tried to use her QI Gazing skill to perceive the coverage area of Niu Chang¡¯s weird skill. While she was intensely calculating how powerful Niu Chang was, she suddenly realized a very fatal mistake. ¡°Oh no," she wanted to do something about it, but it was already too late. ¡°Hehe," Niu Chang chuckled and added. "That¡¯s more like it." Chapter 66 - Heavenly Demon Cult(2) As a reader who lives in a completely different dimension of the story they read naturally has its own advantages and disadvantages. One of them was that the reader couldn''t interact with the characters within the story. They couldn''t harm the reader, and the reader couldn''t harm them. So when reading a nerve-wracking development where a poorly written drama was forced into play, as a reader, they could only scream and scratch in agony. Niu Chang has experienced many such situations. It was to the point where he became numb and just gave up on reading any more. ¡°The story is at least good for time-wasting, but the development is just poorly executed. Except that the main character has the average IQ of an ordinary human, others only have the IQ of room temperature. Playing the hero and so on, it gives mental masturbation to the reader so they keep reading¡­¡± ¡°It is not like I hated it, but it needs to be done more logically. Everyone loves face-slapping because it was basically the point of the power trip story.¡± ... Stopping his reminiscence of the past, Niu Chang was quite happy as the person involved directly in the story. With his enhanced senses, he could capture a group of people approaching his little underground cave. So without any hesitation, he beheaded his followers so they wouldn¡¯t be a nuisance, and he kept their heads naturally to check why those people were able to find his little underground cave accurately. Inside his mind, he opened his manual on how to properly handle this situation, Niu Chang read it briefly to make sure he didn''t miss anything important and waited for his guests to appear. There were many things to do, but in short, they could be explained in simple manners. This was Niu Chang¡¯s guide on how to properly fight when you were chosen as a reincarnator or transmigrator. The first step was to identify the plant. Since you were at a disadvantage of not knowing the information of your enemy, you need to understand their motives so you could make a proper judgment in the following steps. The second step was to burn the peak of the plant. Since the identification was already finished, in case it was an unavoidable conflict. Then you need to confuse the enemy first and distract their attention from how their head was burning. The third step was to cut the root. This was a crucial step since plants have ridiculous tenacity like cockroaches. So make sure you cut off their escape route and their energy source. Doing the third step right now. Niu Chang was floating in midair and holding a handful of dust. After the opening of their encounter, he directly concealed himself and put a puppet in his place to attract the attention of Mo Qi and Earth Demon No.2 The system only gave him three new karma bonds, but he chose to be more careful and scanned the whole area first. To his surprise, there was indeed another rat that was called Earth Demon No.1 hiding not far from the guarding Earth Demon No.3 Since he needed to do it fast, he didn''t hold back his attack and overkilled Earth Demon No.1 with one strike. Calling it one strike would undervalue the power of Earth Demon No.1. So it was better to call it a superimposed and very calculated set of skills that could disintegrate anything. It was a killer move since it was not a single skill, there were no fireworks or lights or anything. Just an old plain pure obliteration of the enemy¡¯s existence. Then he headed back to where Earth Demon No.3 was and one shot him too. Completed his third step on his own guide. Niu Chang naturally came back to the underground cave to finish everything. ¡®The fourth step was to destroy the trunk.¡¯ It was a simple guide consisting only of four steps, but it was very effective in avoiding unnecessary development where the main character could make an impactful performance. But in practicality, it wouldn''t be so simple as that. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. When Niu Chang arrived inside the underground cave, he found that the puppet he used in his place was already being pushed back to the point of destruction. It was not like he couldn¡¯t connect with the puppet, but because the cause was just simply hilarious. Mo Qi was cornering the puppet alone. That was not the focus, but the man that went into the underground cave with her. Earth Demon No.2. The clothes that hid his body had already disappeared, replaced with a martial robe with wide long sleeves. His hair was dark red and long. What was noteworthy was how he radiated the suppressive aura. The aura was invisible and substanceless, so it was hard to perceive because it was nonexistent, but it was there. Niu Chang felt it directly and directly found the answer. ¡®It was soul suppression.¡¯ He called it soul suppression because that was it, the aura manifested the powerful soul of Earth Demon No.2 to the outside world and suppressed every living being with a soul. [Ding!] But that was not all; Niu Chang heard the system and cast his gaze slightly only to find something different. [The new change of karmic bond already adjusted] [Established karma with Earth Demon No.2 (Gu Fa)] [Established karma with Gu Fa] It was when their eyes met, the intangible soul suppression filled the entire underground cave, making the puppet at a disadvantage. But when Niu Chang looked directly into Gu Fa¡¯s eyes. The power of soul suppression increased tremendously. It was like a dozen mountains were thrown directly at his mind. The concealed Niu Chang was forced to show himself. But his face was calm and casual. ¡®The power of the soul is indeed very strong, but¡­ what kind of shithead is he? Me? This great me? Did he want to suppress me in matters of the soul? What a joke, I can¡¯t even think of a proverb on how utterly ridiculous such an attempt is.¡¯ The power of the soul was mysterious; all living beings had their own soul, but for those who didn''t cultivate them, their soul power was solely based on their mind. The mind consists of knowledge and obsession. For Niu Chang, who had three auxiliary skills that he had already upgraded to guard his mind and the fact that his thinking already reached the profound state of transcending truth, it was just ridiculous for him to be attacked by a soul attack. It felt like he was thrown crap when he just finished taking a good and thorough shower. But he held the anger in his heart; he needed to take care of the current problem first, then he would be able to take his revenge. The puppet immediately turned into a lump of qi under Niu Chang¡¯s order. It was the red affectionate qi of Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree technique. Niu Chang slowly floated down to the ground. Earth Demon No.2, who was possessed by Gu Fa, and Mo Qi silently watched him land. Their eyes focused on Xiayue¡¯s head on Niu Chang¡¯s waist. Observing them in reverse, Niu Chang tried to get more information. ¡°We can solve this matter with words, so tell me. Why did you guys abruptly enter my cultivation abode?¡± Mo Qi, who was the leader of this expedition, was silent. She just walked towards Gu Fa and stood respectfully behind his back. Seeing this, Niu Chang naturally judged Gu Fa as their leader. So he focused his gaze on him. Then he realized the qi inside this person actually changed; it did not change in color from blue to dark red. But it was like he changed his cultivation technique with no backlash. ¡°Give me the head,¡± Gu Fa said with an emotionless voice but containing demanding means. ¡®Again?¡¯ Niu Chang felt Gu Fa¡¯s voice contained the same soul power that affected his mind, but¡­ for him, it felt like he had just been slapped with a hand that was covered in animal dung. His face was contorted in anger, but he tried to control it. Forcefully hitting the ¡°Calm¡± button in his mind, Niu Chang''s mood was reset to its normal state. But the aftertaste was still lingering in his tongue. Gu Fa didn¡¯t show any reaction when his method didn¡¯t work. He just stood there straight like a spear stuck on the ground; he also showed the thing that Niu Chang hated the most. The pretentiousness of Gu Fa was enough to reach the ninth heaven. ¡°Are you deaf?¡± Niu Chang said in agitation, ¡°I asked you, who are you, but you said another thing. Did your mother drop you on your head when you were still a baby?¡± Before waiting for any response, Niu Chang kept using his mouth to shoot a barrage of insults. ¡°Considering how your mother is just a cheap bitch, I doubt she would care if you hit your head or not. Maybe she also does it for a handful of money by allowing her customer to bang your shit-filled head.¡± ¡°I bet one of the customers has a unique taste and shoved his dick into your ass too.¡± ¡°When you reached two years old, your mother grew tired of your retarded behavior and sold you to another brothel where you put into a show called Warm Love.¡± ¡°Where they put you on the stage together with a group of adult animals like dogs and pigs to fuck you thoroughly.¡± ¡°Man, I bet it was an interesting play to watch.¡± Mo Qi was silent while her heart was in chaos like a stormy sea. Her eyes flashed with cold-killing intent then she quickly dismissed them. ¡°Are you done?¡± Gu Fa asked with the same flat tone. Seeing how his enemy kept being pretentious even though he was not that strong, after the adjustment of the system, Niu Chang was naturally able to grasp the strength of this new enemy called Gu Fa. But it was just so-so, ''Although he is more powerful than anyone I have encountered, he is still within my capability.'' ¡°Are you talking to me?¡± Niu Chang raised one of his eyebrows in disgust and continued. ¡°How dare a son of a lowly bitch talk to me!? Did you mother¡­ eh, did your pig dad and dog mother not teach you how to respect humans when they are talking?¡± ¡°Did you become too retarded that the teaching you received in the brothel went to waste? You ungrateful dog-pig!¡± Was that enough? No, who was Niu Chang? So he kept using his mouth to spit more insults stacked on each other. Chapter 67 - Heavenly Demon Cult(3) As various kinds of insults left his mouth like sharp knives flying towards Gu Fa, Niu Chang couldn''t help but stop. No matter what kind of insults he had thrown, Gu Fa stayed still and remained calm. ¡®It feels¡­ it feels like how an adult treats children''s tantrums¡­ am I childish?¡¯ Pondering the question in his head, Niu Chang accepted the hard cold truth. But even so, he just refused to accept his loss. "Are you gonna talk or not?" shedding away the remaining emotions, he coldly looked at Gu Fa. Even so, Gu Fa just stayed the same, as if taking Niu Chang as nothing but a fool of himself. ¡°Ah,¡± Niu Chang finally realized something that he had been feeling about Gu Fa''s behavior. ¡®To put it plainly, he has already reached a new level of mentality. It''s not good, but rather bad. Just like those who are kept in an asylum for being unable to connect with the outside world, they live in their own world and have their own unique set of minds. No matter how others treat them, they will take it as nothing but air. For them, this is the norm.¡¯ Finally able to put his thoughts into words, Niu Chang also felt weird when he realized how sick Gu Fa was in the head. ¡®Isn¡¯t his case just like mine? Pah, I want to befriend him, but he chose the path of supreme pretentiousness. He has long since abandoned his humane nature, the childish heart, and carefree will.¡¯ Then Niu Chang nodded hard at Gu Fa. "You and I aren¡¯t the same!" Choosing to be silent, Niu Chang slowly brewed a plan in his mind. Since the chatty Niu Chang no longer talked, Gu Fa and Mo Qi didn¡¯t talk either. Both of the Heavenly Demon Cult members could telepathically speak to each other, but since her Lord didn¡¯t talk, Mo Qi didn¡¯t try to contact him either. She stared hard at young Niu Chang, unable to understand why her Lord kept being silent for the whole time. ¡®Is this boy that strong that even the Lord chose to be very vigilant?¡¯ Recalling fighting with Niu Chang¡¯s puppet, she found it rather wrong, ¡®although his beguiling art was weird, it is not to the point of being irresistible for me. In direct combat, beguiling techniques usually lack the explosive power of other arts.¡¯ Mo Qi, who already knew how powerful her Lord was, chose to believe in him. ¡®This boy might be someone whose age differs from his real appearance.¡¯ "I will make you a deal. Hand over the heads, and I will give you anything you want as long as it is within my capabilities," Gu Fa suddenly said. Niu Chang, who was casually cultivating in this tense situation, raised one of his eyebrows. "A deal? Heads? Anything that I want?" "Heh," he mocked. "Can you give me what I want? I bet you can''t." "Whether it is true or not, you wouldn''t know if you don''t try," Gu Fa unexpectedly kept the conversation going, always maintaining his pretentious demeanor. "That was unexpected of you." Niu Chang made a face and continued, "let¡¯s talk about that later. How about you tell me about these two?" He moved his waist to give a clear indication of his words. The heads swayed slightly due to the motion. "After you give those heads, they won''t be your business anymore. So why ask?" "Is that so?" Niu Chang just couldn''t connect with his communication partner. It was like talking to a man who was clearly poor and weak, but he spoke in a high and mighty tone. No matter who it was, they would be irritated by this kind of behavior. "I¡¯m curious, will that stoic expression on your face ever change? Or have you already lost the ability to change it altogether?" Niu Chang casted out his kind smile, but his eyes were smiling brighter. The meaning of his words was clear. His body didn''t undergo any changes; it remained unmoving. But Gu Fa¡­ the most pretentious person that Niu Chang had met so far gave an immediate response. It was as if the dark underground cave turned into the deepest layer of the abyss. A powerful momentum exploded from Gu Fa¡¯s body and turned into a weightless dark red illusory flame that enveloped the whole underground cave in less than a blink of an eye. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. At the same time, he moved forward in an attempt to attack Niu Chang. Everything happened so fast that Niu Chang¡¯s eyes and other senses were unable to follow such rapid developments. But his preparations were for nothing. Even if his senses were unable to control his body, and even his mind was unable to think fast enough, the various skills he had created would never betray his expectations. There were no explosions, and the heads on his waist turned into fine dust before those dust also went into oblivion. It was also the time when Gu Fa had already closed the gap and arrived in front of him. Gu Fa gathered dark red qi in his arm and slashed forward. In these rapid actions, Gu Fa couldn''t help but feel something was wrong. ¡®Was it only a coincidence?¡¯ The moment Niu Chang said his words and the time he arrived near Niu Chang. Although it was a very short amount of time, Gu Fa could feel it was happening in an orderly manner. He never underestimated Niu Chang, not even the slightest. Having lived long enough as the number one person in the Heavenly Demon Cult, his experiences were greatly vast and deep. Whether it was martial problems or social problems, he had already experienced many of them. So, following his hardened and refined instinct, he canceled his attack and chose to step back. But it was too late. Niu Chang''s eyes were focused, but not on the fight since he was unable to catch up to the superhuman speed. It was his body that reacted for him, as if the body had its own mind and moved accordingly to any perceivable threats. There were no qi leakages or anything; his body was able to contain everything and only used qi in the most efficient way. The dark red illusory fire that filled the entire underground cave around Niu Chang changed and turned into red affectionate qi. Having an endless supply of qi from the system, naturally, Niu Chang took the best of it and used his skills with no limitations. Blinding the eyes, closing the ears, shutting the mouth, blocking the nose, enveloping the skin. Sealing all five senses. Holding the physical body, interrupting the mind, and sealing the soul and spirit. Catching the qi, infiltrating the qi, and locking the qi. Turning a functional human into a harmless lump of meat was the easiest way to kill an enemy. After doing all those cutting the root, Niu Chang moved to the next step of destroying the trunk. The space around his body trembled as if an ancient creature woke up from its slumber. It was the pinnacle form of the Impact skill. Having increased its proficiency and rank, Niu Chang arrived at the point where his attack was no longer superficial, but directly obliterated his enemy. Naturally mastering such a powerful technique not only required tremendous effort and time but also luck. But his second brain could do it; as long as the path was already built, they could fill it with no problem. There was only one limitation for this skill: Niu Chang needed direct contact with his enemies. Since he was already aware of such weakness, he just needed to come up with new skills to pull his enemy towards him and also push himself towards his enemy. Then he also needed another skill that allowed him to penetrate his enemies¡¯ protection with no problem. This was the reason why it¡¯s called a killer move, since this move would kill the enemy. Niu Chang called this set of well-connected skills "Parting Gift." Mo Qi, who also began to react the moment her Lord made his move, was stunned when she saw the body of Earth Demon No.2 suddenly materialize in front of Niu Chang and stay still for a split second before turning into fine dust. Her mind was in chaos as her pupils dilated. Before she could do anything. She only saw a flash of light, and she lost consciousness. When Niu Chang¡¯s mind was finally able to refocus to the present time, he found that only he and the unconscious Mo Qi were left inside this underground cave. He then checked his karmic bond with Gu Fa, then let out a sigh of relief when he realized Gu Fa was far from his position and didn¡¯t make any move. ¡®Just to be sure,¡¯ Niu Chang thought and scanned the whole place. But he found nothing strange even after doing more than five types of scannings. Since there were no grand visuals or sound effects, he deemed it rather safe to stay in this small underground cave. ¡®But, just finish this quickly and then relocate to another place.¡¯ Niu Chang ended his judgment. He was not a coward, but avoiding unnecessary conflict should be a wise move. Pointing his index finger at Mo Qi¡¯s forehead, he started to dig up information from her. Niu Chang was not a reader for nothing; various skills were made in advance by him for every scenario. Just like how his body reacted way before his mind, it was a skill called Massacre. There were no strongest cultivation techniques or martial skills in this world. The reason was pretty simple. All of them used qi as their resource, and any attack fueled by qi would have endless potential. As it grew in rank, it inevitably reached a point where "my skill is rank 1, so your rankless skill loses to me" and then "my skill is rank 2, so your rank 1 skill loses to me." It was ridiculous, but it was a fact. It''s just like toddlers arguing between themselves, "my dad is so and so, while your dad is so and so." But it was different from mortal skills. Mortal skills weren''t fueled by qi but were very limited physically and mentally on a human¡¯s body. Massacre skill was a mortal skill, but its power was able to topple anything, as it was the ultimate and strongest mortal skill. It allowed the practitioner to train their body and mind to the point where they no longer needed to think, since the body already knew what to do as long as the senses were able to perceive the threats. Again, this shows how limited the Massacre skills were, but thankfully Niu Chang had already created various senses enhancement skills, two kinds for each. But that alone was not enough to be the ultimate mortal skill; the main reason was its adaptability and lack of forms. It was reactive and thus had no weakness. When facing hardness, it would become soft or maybe harder, and when facing softness, it would become softer or hard. ¡®Now then, let¡¯s dig in.¡¯ Niu Chang started to explore Mo Qi¡¯s mind. Chapter 68 - The World Niu Chang was anticipating what kind of information he would get from Mo Qi. But as time passed by, changes on his face continued to happen. Various expressions appeared and disappeared, indicating the shocking revelation he received from Mo Qi''s memories. Thanks to his second brain, he only needed to read it once, and now it had become a part of him. Letting go of his index finger, he walked and sat down, pondering the authenticity of those memories. His mind was in shambles, and with little strength, he raised his head, looking at the dark night through the hole above his head. "That is it?" Immeasurable disappointment latched onto his words. What he learned from Mo Qi, a direct subordinate of the Heavenly Demon, one of the three major factions in the Southern Region, was naturally quite deep and vast. Let''s start with the world first. There were five regions: the Southern Region, Northern Region, Eastern Region, Western Region, and lastly, the Central Region. Each region had its own uniqueness in culture and power distribution. That was the general division. As for the world itself, or rather the continent, everyone could fly after reaching the golden core level, so they found the edge of the land they lived in. In all directions, the land bordered the endless sea, with some islands scattered around. The next shocking information was about cultivation itself. Surprisingly, the limit of this world, or rather the highest known cultivation stage, was only the golden core. There was history and various facts that backed it up. It was rumored and later confirmed that the first golden core martial artist appeared seven hundred years ago in the Central Region, followed by more golden core experts. But that was not all; once someone reached the golden core stage, they achieved unaging quality, gaining longevity without a lifespan limit. Niu Chang thought this sounded like nonsense and tried to deny the facts. What about world above world? Realms above realms? Endless power-ups? After looking for specific information inside Mo Qi¡¯s memories regarding the legend of the Immortal World, he found nothing. It seemed there was no such legend as he expected. Regarding the sky above, someone already tried to reach its height but found a barrier that prevented them from flying further. So, the world was a continent, and the sky was barred, while the cultivation itself was limited to the golden core level. There was a thought that this continent should be an isolated starting point for the story, with the main character rising from the lowest family in the lowest village, near the lowest town, and in the most isolated continent. However, there was a thing called the great physician, a healer type martial artist that could do resurrection and prolong the age of ordinary mortals. Where was the heavenly dao? Where was the rule that governed the life and death of every living being? Where was the mechanism that controlled every soul? Sigh. It was okay for heavenly dao not to exist, but the great dao was also non-existent. From Mo Qi¡¯s memories, every martial arts manual and cultivation technique didn¡¯t have the so-called truth of the great dao. They would always talk about qi manipulation and usage, taking a scientific approach. As for why the knowledge circulating in the outside world was full of nonsense and confusion, it was to prevent more golden cores from appearing. Since achieving a golden core would grant unaging characteristics, they wanted to limit the number of people at that level. So there were hidden rules within every organization to keep the truth about real cultivation from the world. There were known levels like Third Rate, Second Rate, First Rate, Peak Stage, Master Stage, Grandmaster Stage, but then the records went missing. There were rumors, but they also acted to confuse those who reached the Grandmaster stage, preventing them from reaching the true goal of cultivation¡ªlongevity. For those who were born into great families or had a good background, the cultivation they learned would be like this: The first major realm was known as the Qi Training Realm, where ordinary mortals started to gather qi inside their bodies and hone their qi control ability. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The second major realm was the Qi Polishing Realm, focusing on polishing the qi within the body and building a foundation. The Master Stage was the starting point of the Qi Polishing Realm, where martial artists built their inner structure to passively regulate qi inside their bodies. The Grandmaster Stage was when martial artists started to form the initial core within their bodies. The third major realm was the Qi Condensation Realm, to turn a virtual core into a real core. Niu Chang called out the bullshit card when he learned about this. "Isn¡¯t this basically Qi Refinement, Foundation Building, and Golden Core?" As for why they made the cultivation process so convoluted, it was because there was no innate difference between everyone. Anyone could cultivate, and no special spirit root or xianxia nonsense was required. Naturally, there were some exceptions like having advantages such as a special constitution or disadvantages where one could only practice a very specific martial art. "I don¡¯t want to believe it, but based on how things developed from seven hundred years ago to this day and how perfectly balanced everything is, it is apparent that this world, no, this continent is not an endless power-up setting. Maybe as the reincarnator, I will be the one who breaks the sky limit and parts the sea to open a new, bigger place. But why would I do that?" "I will just stay here, quietly chilling and powering up until I reach the transcendent stage in a place where even the great dao is absent from everyone''s mind." ¡®Alter the future direction of the plan.¡¯ Niu Chang gave his command to his second brain to adjust his plan. He rose up from his sitting position and looked at the world from a new perspective. Recalling how very pretentious Gu Fa was, he now understands why this guy¡¯s nose reached the ninth heaven, albeit only slightly stronger than other golden cores. ¡®If I know that the Golden Core level is the limit, I will also act pretentious, even more so than you.¡¯ Niu Chang shook his head in dejection. He turned his head and found the unconscious Mo Qi lying down. Now that his horizon had expanded and things became more transparent in his eyes, he was unable to control his desires. The second brain already gave a result as to why he was unable to reshape his body to his will¡ªit was because of the Impossible Idea. The first level, or rather to some level, Niu Chang would be unable to reshape his entire physical body due to its uniqueness. It was mainly due to a technique called Nine Transcendent Metamorphosis that integrated the Impossible Idea. But due to the countless other techniques mixed up, its nature was altered, causing Niu Chang to be unable to reshape his body as he wished. And added to how he learned about the world, he thought waiting for the point where he was able to grow into his adult form would be meaningless and take too long. So, he walked towards the unconscious Mo Qi and woke her up. Mo Qi opened her eyelids heavily and found the same boy she wanted to kill, but she was unable to sense her qi. "What did you do!?" She asked warily. "Hehe," Niu Chang let out an evil laugh while maintaining his kind expression. "That¡¯s more like it!" He was bored of having a normal match for the first time, so he wanted to turn it into a competitive match instead. He believed it would become a good memory in the future when he becomes omnipotent and omniscient. Mo Qi herself was still a virgin, and to add to that, she was very old, rounding her age to one hundred and seventy-four years this year. According to her memories, she wanted to give herself to her Lord. ¡®Now that I know the truth, this could be said to be a repayment for acting pretentious in front of me!¡¯ Niu Chang thought as his wolfy paw started to reach for Mo Qi. ¡°I will cuckold the Heavenly Demon! Now scream!¡± Niu Chang then attacked and tore Mo Qi¡¯s clothes with no hesitation. ¡°Stop!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± ¡°I¡­ I will kill you!¡± ¡°Ah¡­. Don¡¯t!¡± Niu Chang was silent the whole time while he enjoyed Mo Qi''s competitiveness. "That''s more like it! Yes, this is competitive sex!" As for this place being a battlefield not long ago and the possibility of someone coming to investigate, Niu Chang had already calculated and deduced with his second brain that it was almost impossible for anyone to do so. Even if someone came in, what were they gonna do? A mere Heavenly Demon avatar was unable to survive his Parting Gift. As Mo Qi repeatedly bit her tongue to escape humiliation and showed no competitiveness, Niu Chang grew bored and decided to spice things up. Using the various skills he had long prepared for the future, he increased Mo Qi''s sensitivity and applied his knowledge as a modern man, familiar with sketchy websites filled with degeneracy. Soon enough, it worked like a charm. ¡°Ah~ NOOO!~¡± Chapter 69 - The Southern Region After a while, Niu Chang stopped his actions since his partner was no longer conscious. His shoulders drooped, and his expression lacked happiness. Instead, he cynically asked himself, ''Is that it?'' To ensure he made the most of his first time, he also enlarged his member. The Impossible Idea only limited him to a full body reconstruction but not smaller changes. The more his thoughts moved, the emptier he felt inside. ¡®It is not just post-nut clarity, but something more. It''s like getting something I really wanted, but when I finally get it, the excitement fades because it has become meaningless¡­'' In the faint moonlight that reached his small underground cave, he could only sigh. Touching the moonlight on the tips of his fingers, he raised his head and looked at the night sky, where there was no moon due to his location. ¡®It''s like the moon, high and beautiful. Some foolish monkeys think they can grasp the moon by touching its reflection in the water, but that is enough to make them happy since they succeeded¡­¡¯ ¡®Does reaching a goal truly hold meaning? Is it about the goal itself or the journey to get there?¡¯ ¡®Immortal life sounds grand, but do I really want or need it?¡¯ ¡®No, I didn''t care about it from the beginning. I just felt wronged after reading so many novels where the main characters never appreciated the chances they got and wanted to take things into my own hands.¡¯ ¡®But if I don''t attain immortal life, then my life wouldn¡¯t be any different from fleeting thoughts.¡¯ He pondered for a while, trying to reason with himself about what to do once he achieved immortal life and became omnipotent and omniscient. The promise with Niu Bai? He could accomplish it right now by waiting for his second brain to finish the plan. ¡®Well, for now, the grand goal will not change, but the first thing I want to accomplish after achieving it would be to return to my previous world and dismember then put those authors who wronged my innocent experience of reading novels into my personal handmade hell.¡¯ ¡®Hah¡­ just thinking about how torturing them for eternity gives me some dopamine at least.¡¯ Niu Chang clenched his hand, trying to contain the faint moonlight, but he failed. He shook his head and turned back to the unconscious Mo Qi, who was in a complete mess. Niu Chang didn''t hold back and let everything he had in his arsenal come into play. With a wave of his hand, a flicker appeared and beheaded Mo Qi. Then he sustained her life and hung her head on his waist. ¡®My two followers are already gone, so I need her head to be my anchor until I find a better one.¡¯ To ensure he didn''t make any rookie mistakes, he obliterated Mo Qi¡¯s headless body into fine dust. Taking his time to look at the small sack he brought from Yellow Soil Village and comparing it to the small continent where he lived. The amount of money in it seemed meaningless to him. But he couldn¡¯t just let it go, since greed is also part of human nature. Thus, he only took the money and precious things, abandoning the rest. Tapping his toes slightly, Niu Chang easily reached the ground. There he stood, watching the dark underground cave for the last time. Due to one of his cultivation techniques that required him to always look back at everything he did, he reminisced about his stay in silence. Various thoughts arose in his mind and his heart followed. ¡®One kid went in, and a man walked out,¡¯ he said with a smile. Under the grace of the night, he casually walked, but each step carried his body at inhuman speed. ¡®The seven major sects, the six major families, the five demonic sects, the four business houses, the three governmental bodies, the two hidden caves, and one cult.¡¯ Niu Chang thought of the general power distribution of the Southern Region. It was quite easy to remember since they were in an orderly manner. ¡®Among all of them, which one should I visit and play with first?¡¯ With the intention of harvesting some karma points, the muscles on Niu Chang¡¯s face squirmed before finally changing his ugly face into a pretty one. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. His skin also toned into better condition, as if it were made of the highest quality jade. Now his appearance was that of someone born of heaven itself, not just a mere mortal. ¡®Heh, since I want to harvest karma points, naturally, I need a shocking appearance, right?¡¯ ¡°Hahahaha,¡± he laughed. ¡°Lalalala~¡± he sang. ¡°Hum~ humhum~¡± he hummed in a happy tone. A story that should have taken more than a couple of hundred chapters was shortened to this point, where he, as the reincarnator, chose not to follow any rule set in the book. ¡°Ready or not, here I come.¡± ... When someone looked at the Southern Region on a map and saw the legends, they would be slightly confused if it was their first time. According to the seven distributions of power, it didn''t make any sense. The seven major righteous sects should be clumped together in a specific area to defend themselves, but that didn''t happen. The same applied to the others. It was like a chess table that had been left behind, and a child suddenly appeared and messed up the orderly pieces according to their liking, making this map possible. Mountains and forests were the most common features in the Southern Region. Because of that, they used rivers to divide this vast region into smaller branches. Coming from the Western Region and passing through before finally reaching the endless sea, the Yellow Jade River split the Southern Region diagonally from top left to bottom right. Then it was further divided by the three great rivers that came from the Central Region, roughly turning it into eight parts. Each part was called a province. The province where Niu Chang had lived his whole life was called Gray Bamboo Province, as only in this province did this kind of plan exist. Some provinces were named after their specialties, like Gray Bamboo Province; some were named after the strongest organization in that area, and others were named due to historical reasons. Within the Gray Bamboo Province itself, there was only one true powerhouse, the Shen Family. There were some minor sects and families, but they were merely under the control of the Shen Family. As a long time passed, countless geniuses would appear and somehow figure out the path to achieve longevity by themselves. Arriving at a small village a few hours after sunrise, Niu Chang stopped for a moment. This small village was naturally more prosperous than his Yellow Soil Village, located near a city. People here clean themselves at least once every three days. The buildings were not dilapidated and full of patched holes. The age of the materials also didn''t seem apparent to the naked eye. When inhaling the air, it didn''t feel stuffy and smelly. ¡®What a good village. I wonder if they also have another kind of farm raised by the Shen Family.¡¯ Niu Chang mused. It was just a thought, but he also wanted to try it for himself, to slap the face of a young master. But that would depend on fate. Walking on the street, where more people began to fill in, Niu Chang was looking for a place to buy a new set of clothes to complete his persona as the true heaven-chosen son. Not long after, he found one that was already open. He entered the shop and was greeted by various kinds of fabric in rolls. The owner, who was waiting inside, was stunned when he saw Niu Chang¡¯s handsome face. ¡°Welcome to our shop. May I know what you are looking for?¡± The experienced merchant quickly greeted Niu Chang while still in awe of his beautiful face. Feeling the intense gaze from the shop owner, Niu Chang couldn¡¯t help but feel pleased. ¡®Truly, having a good appearance feels so good. Since I walked into this village, everyone has been looking at me stunningly. Hehehe, this feeling is not bad.¡¯ Although he didn''t care about appearance, since he could just sculpt it as he wished, he wanted to play this role in this kindergarten. This continent didn''t have any strong people, which was why he thought it wasn''t different from a kindergarten. As such, he needed a new persona to blend in and enjoy himself to the fullest. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m here to buy some clothes,¡± Niu Chang replied kindly. He perfectly changed his character, choosing to live as another person, at least until he found it boring to continue. ¡°Clothes? Ah yes, we have many of them. Just let me know what you want.¡± The shop owner quickly started to show Niu Chang various fabrics he had. "I''m in a hurry, do you already have clothes in my size?" Niu Chang asked. The shop owner shifted his gaze and began mentally calculating Niu Chang¡¯s body size before finally speaking. "We do have some ready-made clothes for children, but I need to measure your body size first, if that''s okay with you." "Sure," Niu Chang nodded. The shop owner took the measuring tool and started measuring Niu Chang''s body. As he looked closer, he couldn¡¯t help but be astonished. ¡®What kind of human is this?¡¯ ¡®His face is well-defined and has its own charm, it''s not just about being handsome. His skin is pure without any impurities. And what about that smell? Is it really a human body odor? Why does it smell like expensive perfume?¡¯ Although distracted, the shop owner finished his work. "I''ve measured your body, but sadly, we don''t have anything that perfectly suits you." He looked at Niu Chang dejectedly. He felt like he had failed ten generations of his ancestors for being unable to provide a set of clothes for this handsome kid. "Can you make adjustments to the ones you have to fit my size?" Niu Chang suggested. The shop owner, who was previously sad, suddenly jumped, and his eyes brightened. "Yes, you are correct. Let me do it quickly for you." He walked to the front door and changed the sign to ''busy'', then walked back inside to do his work. Niu Chang, still standing, was left alone. Since he had already made up his mind, he played his role without any errors. He walked around, feeling the fabrics in the shop to entertain himself. As for Mo Qi''s head on his waist? He had already fiddled with it for the entire night and turned it into some kind of accessory. It was physically impossible for her to stay alive in that state, but Niu Chang found a way to solve this problem. In the first place, it wasn''t even a problem for his second brain to find the answer. Chapter 70 - Tian Zi After changing his clothes to a new one, Niu Chang completed one of his goals for coming to this village. Next, he walked around while enjoying the praise from others'' gaze as he headed towards a smithy shop. The shop owner was an old man with refined muscles but not protruded enough to be considered big. He wore sleeveless thin clothes and had a bearded face. The old man furrowed his brow when he saw such a good-looking boy entering his smithy, but he couldn''t help but click his tongue in amazement. "Hello," Niu Chang greeted kindly. "What are you doing in here, kiddo?" The old man didn''t treat him too harshly for fear of offending those who shouldn''t be offended. "I''m here looking for weapons." With that, Niu Chang waved his hand, and the old man seemed to have forgotten he had a customer. Niu Chang was still standing in his spot and couldn''t help but let out a sigh of relief. ''Huff¡­ at least I didn''t trigger the system, so as long as I didn''t intend any harm and stayed within the line of not affecting others, is it considered okay?'' As he walked around the smithy and observed various weapons and raw materials, the old man continued his previous actions. After he finished his last goal, he exited the smithy and immediately left that village. Inside the forest on the side of a big road that connected the village to a city, Niu Chang casually dug another underground cave. Since he was alone, there was no need for light. There were quite a few reasons as to why he entered the village with great fanfare just to buy some clothes and observe the smithy. Qi was a semi-omnipotent kind of energy that could do anything as long as one had the correct method. With qi alone, Niu Chang was able to revive someone from a drop of their blood. Seems magical, but in fact, it is just a reconstruction of the human body accordingly. It was not a complete miracle because the person who woke up from that new body would be a completely new person. Since he could make a new body out of a drop of blood, why didn''t he just create his own clothes? That was because he didn''t have enough data to do so; his second brain was a powerful thinking machine able to do any task as long as it was given enough inputs. But it still has limitations; if Niu Chang didn''t know about it, then the second brain also didn''t know about it. Transmuting the qi into mud and soil would be a piece of cake, but creating a fine fabric out of nothing would be very challenging without proper data, the same for weapons. There was nothing to do for Niu Chang personally since the job was done by his second brain. Since he was bored, he opened the system. [Host: Niu Chang] [Karma points: 184.772] [Cultivation: Qi - Third Rate, Body - First Level] [Skills: Kendo, Impact, Massacre, Authority. More] Seeing how his karma points reached six digits made him feel unreal. He already double-checked everything according to the system log but still found it was too much. Killing the hidden Earth Demon No.1 alone gave him more than one hundred thousand karma points, followed by Earth Demon No.3 for around sixty thousand and lastly Earth Demon No.2 for around twenty thousand. Using Mo Qi''s memories about them, the second brain made a list of deductions as to why the value of karma points varied differently. But the number one reason on the list was the deeds of individuals. Earth Demon No.1, who lived more than eighty years and had done various missions given by the cult, naturally has more blood on his hand. But it was different for Earth Demon No.2 and Earth Demon No.3. They were less than forty years old, and yet their value was more than the master stage demonic snake and the old man Jie Tiangong. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Cultivation level indeed played a role, but it was not that big. For the sacrifices that entered the Netherworld Demon Cave, they needed to survive in that brutal environment to be stronger and finally become puppets for the Heavenly Demon. Since Mo Qi didn''t know much about what was happening inside, there was a lack of data as to why Earth Demon No.2 and Earth Demon No.3 karma value has a gap of more than forty thousand. Niu Chang wanted to use his karma point to improve his safety and strength, but he found it was rather hard to do. Increasing his qi cultivation level seemed useless since the system gave him an endless supply of qi. As for the danger of his body being unable to contain it, this was no longer a problem since he already made a skill to fix it. It was called Ten Sun Reactors. So the possible choice was naturally his body cultivation level, but thanks to the second brain, he already unlocked soul cultivation. Being banned from cultivating on his own, Niu Chang would never be able to elevate his life level, no matter how much vitality and qi he has. But even so, he felt something was wrong and hidden danger lurking around his index fingers, waiting for him to make mistakes. He recalled various stories that use systems to help the main characters stand out more and gave an interesting premise. But as the main characters grow stronger, there would always be two outcomes. If the system was weak from the beginning, then it would also grow stronger for each major realm the main character achieved. But if the system was too strong from the beginning, it would ruin the story and make it lose the stakes for meaningful conflict for the main character to face. So because of this, the author would nerf the system while adding more powerful enemies into the stories. Tracing back his past experiences abusing the system, Niu Chang found his life didn''t seem to have any meaningful threat. There were various reasons, the main reason was that he didn''t let anything control the direction where he walked. No family members to attract troubles, no friend or accountant worthy of his attention, and he himself always played it safe. The next reason was that he was truly utilizing his vast knowledge of being a reader, bringing in the various ideas and plans he had made in his first life into his development. So when he raised his head as if looking through the thick barrier of his current world, he was unable to resist the strange feeling he got from the super computing power of his second brain. ¡®I''m doing my best to live as a proper reader, but why does the direction of my life feel so boring in some way? No stakes at play, no stupid mistakes for character development, and on top of all that, my own actions and choices felt too real to the point the right group would call me evil while the left group would call me a clown.¡¯ "Haaahhh¡­" Niu Chang accepted that his life was recorded in some kind of story, but he couldn''t just let go of the fact that if that story suddenly became dead, what would happen to his reality? ¡®Is it me thinking too much that I''m starting to break the fourth wall?¡¯ The overwhelming hopelessness of being unable to do anything about his own problem put a burden on his mind. It was too heavy, and he started to giggle on his own. ¡®Taking anything as granted, ignorant to the point of being happy. Thoughts and minds were a trap for one''s own delusion. Amidst the illustrious dream, only sanity is the reason for the suffering.¡¯ Taking a step back to prevent his sanity from breaking his limitation, Niu Chang drew a line for himself¡ªfor the goods and the bads. ¡®It''s okay for me to think I live in a story, but it shouldn''t be my worry as to what my story states. I just need to avoid the fourth wall while dancing around the edge to avoid falling down into the plotting hands behind mirrors and shadows.¡¯ It was an undeniable truth that he was able to skip all bothersome steps to reach his current progress. A system that is very suitable for his own character, starting his journey without anyone leading him by the nose, and learning about the world in less than one month after leaving his village. Thanks to all of it, his IQ never reduced to room temperature. But as he began to delve deeper, he began to lose the touch of reality, and his sanity began to crumble in front of his eyes. At least for the current him, using his knowledge to avoid common tropes and plot development should be sufficient. As for the rest beyond that, it would be poison for him. As the barrier to contain his logic and reason was rebuilt, Niu Chang couldn''t help but wonder to himself, ¡®Is it possible for me to transcend? Can I bypass the fourth wall? Or is the fourth wall still within the limit?¡¯ This question made him more motivated to grow stronger now. He wanted to see the answer for himself. ¡®All of this thinking just because I''m afraid of raising my cultivation level by a major realm? Hehehe, as expected from me. Maybe someday I would begin to ponder about *#**#*## when thinking about what to eat for dinner.¡¯ It didn''t take long before the second brain finished its adjustment on the data that Niu Chang gathered. He carefully controlled the qi around his hand, the qi was dancing like ethereal miracles before finally beginning to materialize. A small and thin fabric that Niu Chang had encountered in the clothing store appeared on his hand. This was the step for parameter adjustment; the second brain needed to configure the theoretical answer with realistic results. Comparing both of them would result in a more precise calculation and execution. After some trial and errors, Niu Chang was finally able to reap the fruit of his labor. He gently shook his body, and the clothes he was wearing changed in a dazzling light. As the light disappeared, his entire person seemed greatly enhanced, like an immortal from a fairy tale descended on a mortal world. Sacred air flowed around his body, holy light and halo accompanied him from behind, his eyes contained endless divinity, and on his right hand was a sword made of pure light that condensed into some kind of metal. "From now on, my name is Tian Zi, and my role is Tian Zi (son of heaven)." Niu Chang said in a solemn yet kind tone. Chapter 71 - Son of Heaven(1) As the sun rose higher in the sky, the hustling and bustling on the street began to increase in Shenyi City, the second-tier city from the Shen clan. Due to the uniqueness of this world''s cultivation, there were different tiers in city management. The golden core experts no longer aged, leading to an increasing number of clan members as time passed. And it was also true that the great physicians could extend ordinary mortals'' ages to be as long as golden cores and even revive the dead. Hierarchy among humans was inevitable, but it was even more pronounced within the clan. Those born into the lineage of the golden core were naturally respected by the rest of the clan members. Shenyi City, as the name suggested, was occupied by the Yi lineage from the Shen Clan. While the surname was naturally Shen, those born in the lineage had to wear their lineage name, such as Yi and San. Being a first-tier city, it was the homebase for the whole Shen Clan. The third-tier city would be those ruled by non-lineage Shen clan members. On the sides of the many streets in Shenyi City, a man in his mid-twenties was walking among the pedestrians. He wore clean but not expensive clothes without any patterns, and his face was ordinary, lacking distinct characteristics, but with clean features and bright eyes, promising a bright future. This man''s name was Li Pinghe, the second son of the Li family that ran a medium-sized restaurant in Shenyi City. His name had a good meaning, a blessing from his parents for a peaceful and harmonious future. Currently, he was on his daily errands, taking a break from his very limited personal time. As a male, he naturally dreamed of walking the path of martial arts since he was a child. However, even after his parents spent so much money to make him eligible to take the test from the martial school opened by the Shen Clan, he failed at the first step. The reason was simple: his bone quality was not up to the standard. As he dreamed of becoming one, naturally, he had already learned about it beforehand. It was one of the many requirements for someone to enter the martial school of the Shen clan. Bone quality refers to how strong the bone density and proportion are. The next step would be to test the blood, and then the meridians inside the body. As for martial art affinity or being a natural-born martial artist with high comprehension? Li Pinghe didn''t know about it because it was not part of the test. Even more so, he never heard any stories or rumors of someone entering the martial school with their aptitude alone. But if it were Niu Chang, he would only laugh for a moment and then sneer in disgust. He would also add his comment with great appreciation. ¡°The way of the Shen clan to recruit talents is indeed worthy of applause. They chose the basic requirement so any ordinary person is able to learn martial arts. But those people would only be able to reach a very low height due to their poor martial affinity. In the end, they would just be good free labor and loyal dogs to the clan.¡± But that was not only limited to one of the major clans like the Shen clan. As long as they were major clans among the six, it was natural selection for them to be able to stand through the years after countless tests and calamities. It wasn¡¯t that there were no good people in this world, but the circumstances forced everyone to become more resourceful. If they didn''t follow the trend, their enemies would only grow stronger while those good people would be left behind in terms of manpower. Since he failed the examination, Li Pinghe is no longer a fanatic towards martial arts itself. He instead became a fanboy of it. Maybe this was human nature, that they were interested in things they were unable to achieve. There was a word that originated from the Southern region, it was ¡°wuchi.¡± In Niu Chang¡¯s opinion, it was like being an "otaku" but for martial arts. As time developed, the major factions and organizations needed to close the gate and prevent as many talented people from learning martial arts. But as they tried various methods, the appearance of wuchi made them realize one thing. They didn¡¯t need anything to prevent anyone from learning martial arts; instead, they needed to popularize it and turn it into entertainment. It sounds contradictory, but in reality, it works very well, due to many young people becoming wuchi. Most of them would rather enjoy the news and anything related to martial arts instead of training hard for themselves. It was as if they were already a part of the martial world, even without any formal training or physical strain. Right now, Li Pinghe was heading towards his favorite store that exclusively focused on selling various merchandise for wuchis. They had stories and biographies of various martial heroes. The novels were about martial worlds, and there were even figurines available! Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. The application of qi was unlimited, so it was natural for someone who practiced earth-based techniques to be a wuchi and mold clay into their idol. Thankfully, Niu Chang found out that there was no idol group that sang and danced in this world. Instead of idol groups for wuchis to enjoy, it was more like a high-ranking courtesan that only rich people could indulge in when they entered the Hundred Flower Pavilion. The Hundred Flower Pavilion was one of the four major business houses that handled entertainment, especially for male or female customers to explore the profound mysteries of yin yang dao. As Li Pinghe arrived in front of his favorite store, one could see various items displayed for people to see. There were three medium-sized bookshelves with neatly organized rows of books and novels. On the other side were even more bookshelves, totaling five of them. Unlike the one on the left with only three bookshelves, the one on the right had more because it held more popular items for wuchis. "Boss Jin, have you already gotten the next chapter of Divine Emperor Ascension?" Li Pinghe walked towards a slightly fat man who was busy counting his money. Hearing the familiar voice, Boss Jin didn¡¯t bother to put down his money and just pointed with his chin. Li Pinghe was excited, as it basically told him to go find it himself. He walked towards the bookshelves on the right and began to run his fingers along the dozens of neatly arranged books. Then his finger stopped at the last book that had a different cover on its side. He picked it up and briefly opened it to see if it was the correct one. Since there was no plastic in this world, it was natural for the book to be in an unsealed state. Li Pinghe brought the book to the counter and handed over his money. But suddenly, Boss Jin opened his mouth. "Not enough, you need to add more." Li Pinghe was bewildered, as this was the price of books on the right side. "Why is that?" he inquired. "Do you want me to spoil you?" Boss Jin, with his lack of etiquette as a shopkeeper, said without batting an eye. But as an old customer, Li Pinghe became more curious about the reason why the book price had increased. Then suddenly something snapped in his mind, and he finally realized the reason. His eyes widened in shock. Boss Jin, who had already grown tired of those wuchis, only sneered. ¡®If it were not for you guys'' over-enthusiasm, I wouldn''t have opened this store. Each of you is uniquely problematic to each other. Oh, how corrupt are the young people these days.¡¯ "How much?" Li Pinghe asked impatiently. Boss Jin raised his hand and gave a number through his fingers. Li Pinghe grabbed the exact amount of coin from inside his pouch and handed it over. As he exited the store and saw a handful of people coming and going to the store, he felt really excited to the point he wanted to shout out. But he held his excitement and walked faster to his home. Since his mind was occupied, he didn''t realize that many people suddenly stopped in their tracks. It was only a few seconds later that he bumped into someone who was just standing on the street. Li Pinghe, whose eyes were glued to the book in his hand, couldn''t help but look ahead. Only then did he realize that many people were just standing in their positions, with their faces looking in one direction. Li Pinghe followed their gaze, and there he found something that broke his normal view of this world. A boy, a small child, not even a teenager, walked among the pedestrians on the street, but no one approached him within a one-meter radius. He wore clothes that seemed to be made of gold and rainbow, but they were very light as invisible winds kept them fluttering. On his back was a halo of divine light that captivated everyone who looked at him. But what was more was that his temperament was very different from any human, as if he were an immortal descended into the mortal realm. Li Pinghe, a wuchi, held a comic book in his hands and had naturally seen various images of immortals and heroes. However, only now did he realize how poorly drawn those characters in his comic books were. The boy seemed to have walked out from the comic book itself. However, this peculiar sight didn''t last long as the boy made everyone stop, causing a traffic jam. A few low-ranked city guards managed to slide through the stunned pedestrians and finally arrived in front of Niu Chang. The guards were momentarily stunned before they finally opened their mouths to speak. As city guards, they had naturally graduated from the martial school opened by the Shen clan. They were taught not to judge someone solely based on their appearance, considering the dangerous nature of this world. The guard on the left frowned when faced with this situation. Naturally, city guards needed to show strictness, but he didn''t want to offend this mysterious boy. ¡°Ahem,¡± the more experienced guard on the right cleared his throat slightly. ¡°Your excellency, may I inquire about your purpose for coming to Shenyi City? If you have already made a promise, allow me to guide you to your destination.¡± The guard treated Niu Chang with utmost hospitality, carefully selecting each word in that limited time. Niu Chang only gave him a smile, and then spoke with a voice that was almost ethereal, only perceptible to the mind and not the ears. ¡°I¡¯m here on behalf of heaven to eradicate the Shen clan.¡± His facial expression remained unchanged, and his tone sounded somewhat kind and benevolent. The guard on the right couldn''t comprehend the words at first, and his mind lagged for a moment before he started sweating intensely. He didn''t know why, but it was his well-trained instinct that told him the boy in front of him was speaking the truth, even though the boy himself seemed to take it as an empty statement. The whole street fell silent. ¡®Hey, why isn''t the development going as I expected? Shouldn''t those low-ranked guards show extreme arrogance towards me so that I can finally deliver the famous face-slap? Then, a higher-ranking guard would arrive, and I would also slap their face and put them in their place? But why does this city guard seem more rational and intelligent?¡¯ Pondering for a moment, Niu Chang finally found his answer. ¡®Ah, so it was my fault. Hehehe, my appearance was so shocking that they became wary of me. I should have just revealed my original face instead; I bet they would have immediately reprimanded me and dragged me to their camp.¡¯ Regretting his approach, Niu Chang could only enjoy observing how this logical development played out. Chapter 72 - Son of Heaven(2) Just the guards were trying hard to prevent any mistakes when suddenly the pedestrians behind them started to part. "Move out, move out!" Someone shouted without any regard for the pedestrians as the space was created. Niu Chang, who was in the center, could tell what was going on. "Get lost, give way to the young master here!" someone accompanied by two men who looked like his servants. However, these two men had bodies developed to the limit of humans, and every step they took showed their foundation as martial artists. In the middle of the two servants stood a young man in his early twenties, with a face that could make many envious, accompanied by his expensive clothes. But that was not all; he somewhat purposely showed his martial arts mastery just by breathing. With his sharp senses, Niu Chang could tell that the servants were at least at the master stage, and their young master should be at the grandmaster stage. The guards turned their heads and showed different reactions. The one on the left, who didn¡¯t speak, let out a sigh of relief, but the one on the right was panicked, though he didn''t show it thoroughly. "Young master Shen Yi Cai," the guard on the left quickly paid his respect while bowing down. The one on the right didn''t lag behind and also paid his respect, but his back was already drenched with sweat. "Eh, is that young master Yi Cai?" someone among the crowd who had never seen this young master couldn''t help but ask. "Don''t you know? Did you just arrive in this city yesterday?" someone berated the first person. Shen Yi Cai and his servants arrived in front of Niu Chang. He observed Niu Chang without much respect as his eyes moved from top to bottom. ''It''s here, it''s finally here!'' Niu Chang couldn''t help but grow excited as he waited for his turn. But after his previous mistakes, he learned that if he spoke now, he would just clear the misunderstanding, but he didn''t want that! He wanted to blow things up, slap that arrogant face, and gather karmic bonds so he was no longer restricted in his actions. After scanning Niu Chang''s body without any respect, Shen Yi Cai quickly changed his demeanor. "Friend, may I know why you visit Shenyi City?" ''Friend?'' Niu Chang only became more disgusted by this second-generation young master. ''Did your parents or even those above them not teach you the danger of the martial world? Don¡¯t judge people based on their appearance, even more so those who choose to be flamboyant to the limit.'' Seeing how thick-skinned the young master was, Niu Chang could only play his role and was unable to start giving him a lecture on how to survive in this world. "Are you a member of the Shen clan?" Niu Chang asked without any change in his tone. He was somewhat like a machine, but there was a trace of kindness in his voice. As if not hearing Niu Chang¡¯s first words when he arrived there, Shen Yi Cai tried his best to probe Niu Chang''s background. Naturally, he was aware of the danger of the martial world, but the prestige of the Shen clan was at stake at this moment. If he obediently lowered his head, wouldn¡¯t he be a sinner for his clan? With so many people watching from the side, Shen Yi Cai could only prolong the talk until one of his elders could arrive as soon as possible. He had already scanned the weird boy in front of him, but he couldn¡¯t discern anything about his cultivation. It only meant one thing¡ªan immortal who had already left the mortal world. Someone who had already condensed their core! As a direct descendant of the Yi lineage, he was naturally aware of many secrets. Thus, he didn¡¯t stupidly believe Niu Chang was just a mortal without cultivation. "Yes, I am Shen Yi Cai¡ª" "That¡¯s enough," Niu Chang cut his words short. "I will take you as the representative of the Shen clan. Now listen, as the mandate of heaven, I came to this world to eradicate your whole clan. No leaves would be left untouched, and no roots would remain after I finish my job." If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Various reactions appeared one by one from the pedestrians who watched from the side. "Wow." "Holy crap." "Is he crazy?" Shen Yi Cai frowned when he heard Niu Chang¡¯s words. It didn''t sound like a threat; rather, it sounded like he was stating a fact. So he wanted to prolong his time even more now. ''This boy is crazy! I can¡¯t handle an immortal if he wanted to kill me. Uncle, father, grandpas, quick, help this poor young man.'' Seeing how their young master frowned in silence, the servants accompanying him took this as a provocation from Niu Chang. So one of them chose to step up. Naturally, he was aware of the potential danger of Niu Chang, but he needed to sacrifice himself to save the face of his young master, even more so the face of the Shen clan. "Boy!" he raised his voice to quell any remaining whispers from the crowd. "Do you know who you are talking to?" He just stopped there and didn¡¯t dare to go overboard in case things became really messed up; then, if that happened, he, as a mere servant, would just be a black sheep. "A person who is destined to die, as determined by heaven," Niu Chang calmly said. The servants were flabbergasted. They just wanted to do their job well, but why was this boy not letting them do it? Then the other servant, who had more experience, chose to step up under the cue of his young master. "It seems your ears are not functioning properly. I will help you fix them!" [Established karma with Wu Lin.] As Niu Chang watched the servant, Wu Lin, come close, he couldn''t help but feel itchy on his hands. ''Why didn''t you just do this from the beginning? You are not professional at all!'' he complained in his heart. Wu Lin raised his right hand in rapid speed to attack Niu Chang, but he was stopped by Niu Chang¡¯s little hand. "Mortal, I carry the mandate of heaven to eradicate the Shen clan. If you choose to stand in my mission, I will also send you to hell to repent for your mistake." It was just for formality in accordance with his acts, but that was necessary after all. Wu Lin tried his best to pull back his hand, but he was unable to do it, not even making it squirm. Seeing Wu Lin trying to fight back, Niu Chang continued. "What is your answer, mortal?" "Boy! Stop!" Suddenly, a loud voice came from the air. Everyone on the spot, except Shen Yi Cai, felt their eardrums ringing in pain. But even so, they turned their heads in curiosity. A man who looked to be in his early thirties was walking on air like a powerful expert from books and novels. Some who were more knowledgeable shouted out in surprise. "It''s the immortal from the Shen clan!" Well, for those mortals, all they knew was that if someone was able to walk freely in the sky, they were immortals. But Niu Chang didn¡¯t even bat an eye as his gaze fixed on the panicked Wu Lin. While Wu Lin himself was walking on thin ice, on one hand, the elder from the Shen clan had already arrived. On the other hand, he could feel that if he did not answer the boy right now, his life would be gone. ''But if I answer the boy, if it is a no, I would be released, but the Shen clan wouldn¡¯t let me go. But if I answer yes, then the boy would only kill me right now.'' Facing the dilemma, he could only bite the bullet and put up his previous performance. "Boy, do you think you are the son of heaven? This is the territory of the Shen clan, how could you be so outrageous?" Niu Chang was laughing inside, but he kept his calm to the point of having a machine-like face. Then he said, "mortals¡­ I really don¡¯t know why you are so blind when heaven already gave you a pair of eyes." [Established karma with Shen Yi Ye.] Hearing Niu Chang¡¯s words, the elder of the Shen clan, Shen Yi Ye, took it as provocation directed towards him. So he quickly made up his mind and attacked directly. [Established karma with Shen Yi Chun.] [Established karma with Shen Yi Sou.] [Established karma with Shen Yi Shui.] Since he was now playing the role of the son of heaven, naturally Niu Chang wouldn¡¯t use his special skill like Impact. But that was not a problem for him since he already made various corresponding skills for this persona called Tian Zi. The hand that held Wu Lin''s hand didn¡¯t move, but faint golden qi surged out, and the next moment, Wu Lin''s body exploded. It was just a plain explosion with flesh and blood splattered everywhere. Without waiting for the audience to respond, Niu Chang already made his next move, which was to attack Shen Yi Ye. Golden light flickered where Niu Chang was standing, and the next moment, Shen Yi Ye''s vision turned upside down. There he saw his body leaving his vision, and when he looked up, he found Niu Chang''s small hand holding onto his hair. Then another flash of golden light appeared, and from the outsider''s perspective, Shen Yi Ye''s head disappeared into nothingness. Chapter 73 - Son of Heaven(3) As Niu Chang easily beheaded Shen Yi Ye, the rest of the Shen clan experts were no longer waiting for their turns to take care of him. They soared from their locations without hiding anything. Various auras burst up into the sky, and powerful momentums filled the entire sky of Shenyi City. Standing in the air, Niu Chang coldly looked down on everything. "Mortals, be obedient and hand over your heads to me. This is the mandate of heaven; nothing you do can save you for another day." "Cut the crap!" A man who wore a martial robe with a body full of muscles rapidly raced at Niu Chang. He held a sword in his hand, and his movements were seemingly chaotic and hard to predict. Then, another one came up from a different side, a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties, carrying a spear lunging forward. [Established karma with¡­] [Established karma with¡­] [Established karma with¡­] [Established karma with¡­] [Established karma with¡­] x45 As seconds passed, Niu Chang was bombarded by notifications from the system. He could sense their strength and location, but he didn''t find anyone who could withstand one attack from him. Even if he didn''t use his full power, he was too powerful for any golden core to fight him for more than one move. He avoided the attack from the muscled man who wielded a sword, then, as before, another golden light flickered, and the man was instantly beheaded. The one who used the spear flabbergasted for a moment and held his step, waiting for others to gang up on Niu Chang. As the system continuously gave him notifications, Niu Chang also realized it was not limited to Shen clan members but also others. ''Well¡­ since they offered their lives, naturally I wouldn''t reject their kindness.'' Since no one was mindlessly attacking him one by one, the sky was already filled with golden core experts. Filtered by his second brain, Niu Chang could easily distinguish who was from the Shen clan and who wasn''t. Every one of those golden cores was staring at him, trying to figure out his identity and background, even more so after witnessing his strange technique that could easily behead two golden cores. Niu Chang was waiting for every challenger to line up in front of him, so he didn''t need to chase them one by one after showing them the might of heaven. Since it was too boring to stand there, his hands were itching to make a move, so he could only do it according to his Tian Zi persona. "No need to be afraid, mortals. This is according to the mandate of heaven. Even if you reject it, it will still come at you without any delay." Niu Chang''s eyes scanned the city beneath his feet. It was just for a moment, but that was enough for him to confirm the mobs forming karmic bonds with him. While everyone was waiting for Niu Chang to make his move, a group of four people started to approach him. The group consisted of three men and one woman, and according to the system, their level was slightly higher than the rest. In Mo Qi''s memories, the Qi Condensation realm only had two levels. The first level was achieved when one condensed their core, and the second level was when they were able to cultivate their spirit and soul. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. As for why it was not considered an entirely major realm, even though it provided a qualitative change to the practitioner, it was because everyone could cultivate their soul even before reaching the golden core level if they had a proper cultivation technique for the soul. After becoming a golden core, it was easier for practitioners to cultivate their soul and spirit. The term generally used was soul suppression level, as an ordinary golden core faced a soul suppression level, their soul would be greatly suppressed by the enemy''s presence alone. From left to right, there was Shen Yi, a man who appeared to be in his fifties but still retained his vigor. He didn''t wear a very luxurious robe, but it was decent for his status. Then there was Shen Yi Yue, a woman whose beauty didn''t fade with her age. She appeared at the peak of her beauty with no makeup to enhance her already perfect appearance. Next was Shen Yi Gu, a boy in his late teenage age, but he didn''t show the eyes of someone at his physical age; instead, they were gloomy like those of an old person who has one foot in their grave. The last one was Shen Yi Yu; he looked like the oldest among the golden cores present in the sky right now, with long white eyebrows and mustache, and his back slightly arched forward as he held a stick to support him while walking. Looking at the name, Niu Chang couldn''t help but ponder for a moment. ''Shen Yi? No other additional word? Is he the one who opened the Yi lineage in the Shen clan? Am I lucky to meet him here?'' Since Shen Yi was the most senior for those in the Yi lineage, everyone gave him their respect by not speaking first. Shen Yi continued to advance while the other three stopped not far away. He stopped exactly three meters from Niu Chang. His eyes were sharp, and the sword hanging on his waist was ready to be unleashed at any moment. One wrong move, and Niu Chang could be greatly harmed... Let''s just take it as it is. Niu Chang didn''t speak to Shen Yi. They didn''t even stare at each other as Niu Chang gazed at his surroundings, acting like an inspector on duty. Even as Niu Chang didn''t pay any attention to him, Shen Yi was unable to perceive any openings from the casual Niu Chang. ''Every movement he makes seems weak and unconnected, but the sense of danger I sense from him is real. Has he reached the point where he no longer needs to think to act?'' Shen Yi gave his opinion on Niu Chang. "It seems there are no longer members of your Shen clan hiding behind the scenes. Since that''s the case, I will then show you the power of heaven." The system had already stopped giving him notifications. It was not exactly that there were no longer Shen clan members who bore ill intentions towards him, but rather they didn''t even care about this event. "I don''t know who you are and where you come from, but I believe this action of yours will only cause destruction for you and those behind you," Shen Yi said calmly without any emotions. As the head of the Yi lineage, naturally, his position in the entire Shen clan was quite high. So as an insider, his knowledge was more comprehensive than those golden cores who were participating right now. "Mortals," Niu Chang calmly said as he materialized a sword made of pure golden light, but it also had a physical appearance as if it was made of metal. Niu Chang also talked at the same time as Shen Yi, and he ignored the latter. "This is called the Sword of Heaven," Niu Chang grabbed the materialized sword that was proportional to his child''s body. He gently held it and said, "the technique that accompanies it is called the Heavenly Sword Technique." No one was silent anymore; they could feel the danger brewing in their hardened battle instincts and chose to attack directly. Shen Yi didn''t make his move as he watched what Niu Chang wanted to do next. Various kinds of qi in different colors and attributes were shot at him like a barrage of fireworks. Wind blades. Fire projectiles. Lightning palms. All kinds of exercises were thrown at him. Not only that, others also started to approach him in formation. But Niu Chang didn''t even move his eyes; nothing could enter his eyes right now as he continued to talk. "The heaven has nine layers, and thus, this technique has nine moves. The first move is called White Afterglow." Niu Chang, with little effort, moved the Sword of Heaven in his hand and showed the might of heaven to those who were blind enough to challenge its authority. Chapter 74 - Son of Heaven(4) Being resourceful was a weird sentence in the context of a story. You could have a regular person who perfectly utilized everything they had just before the battle and somehow dragged the entire battle to the climax, where the character pulled out their secret plan. As for the reason, naturally, it was the last resort which required a heavy price for the character. It''s not just for the convenience of the story, but also to logically approach limiting the character''s strength and sudden explosive power. But what would happen if the character didn¡¯t have the limitation of resources in the first place? Would it be interesting to watch how the character chose to be oblivious to their heaven-defying cheat ability? It might be a good exercise for the brain to get irritated for the whole ten chapters before finally the story gave feedback of a face slap on the eleventh chapter. Niu Chang didn''t have anything to hide since he just had that many methods up his sleeve. Every once in a while, a group of new skills would be pumped out from his second brain. Each and every golden core present showed a different reaction. Most of them attacked with their ranged abilities, while some just charged forward all together to gang up on Niu Chang. The flow of time slowed for Niu Chang; it was his newest creation after being one-sidedly attacked by Heavenly Demon¡¯s avatar. The human body was miraculous, but as much as it was miraculous, it still had limitations for being a living being. The speed of thinking and the awareness of the mind, in a biological approach, were limited by the brain itself. No matter how strong the mind was, if the brain said it could only do ten calculations at one time, then it was ten only. This was the beauty of martial arts, it was to hone the mind and body to improve beyond the innate limit of living beings. It started from building a good foundation for the body, to adjust it to the optimal state before starting to chart the realm of extraordinariness. White Afterglow, the first move of Heavenly Sword Technique, was a simple yet complicated move. It used the white heaven as a reference for its name, but that was all there was to it. The qi contained within Ten Sun Reactors immediately consumed a large amount at an instantaneous rate. The Sword of Heaven in Niu Chang¡¯s hand didn¡¯t make a fancy move; it only slashed down normally, but due to his enhanced state, only a handful of people could see what he was doing. The sword slashed down, but that was all from it; the real attack came from the heaven above everyone''s head. Bright light fell down like a torrent of stream as if the heavenly river poured down pure white light to Shenyi City. Many were flabbergasted as they saw white filling their vision. The golden cores immediately took the defensive stance and protected themselves as they were no longer able to sense the outside world with their remaining four senses. Two seconds later. The white light dissipated. The once-filled sky with various immortals and heroes was gone as headless bodies started to fall down. Some mortals were surprised because they didn¡¯t comprehend what just happened. But when they saw someone near their vicinity drop dead with their head and body separated, they immediately freaked out. ¡°What happened? Why were they beheaded?¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Plop. As the sound of something hit the ground, they saw the headless body with high-end clothes lying on the ground, and they immediately looked up. ¡®Gone,¡¯ that was what they thought. ¡°The immortals are gone!¡± someone shouted in disbelief. Naturally, some survived, but not for long. Shen Yi and Shen Yi Gu were still standing in the sky. For the first one, it was because Niu Chang planned something different for him, so it was a shocking development seeing there was actually one person surviving his nuke-like skill. ¡®Sigh,¡¯ he sighed inwardly. ¡®If it was not due to the restriction of the system, I would just create the most devastating skill instead of this kind of precise area of effect skill. But if I create an explosion type of skill, countless innocent people would only trigger the bad side of the system for me.¡¯ That was just one of the reasons why someone of golden core could survive his White Afterglow. The other reason was since the target encompassed the whole Shen City, it naturally has less power than when used as a single-target attack. ¡®But even so, with my second brain that does the overall calculation and energy manipulation together with Massacre on controlling the whole attack, the overall power should be no less than 95% of the original¡­ this young man who looks in his teenage years seems like a genius among people.¡¯ Niu Chang made his judgment as he held the Sword of Heaven to his side. Shen Yi was stunned for a moment before his gaze scanned his side and found his wife, Shen Yi Yue, was beheaded and her body fell to the ground. Shen Yi Yue has that surname naturally because of the politics in this world. Without having any background, being a golden core was considered a major sin. Seeing her body intact, Shen Yi was half relieved, but when he was unable to find her head, he was at a loss. As a big clan, one of the six major clans, the Shen clan naturally nurtured their own great physician for their use, so any powerful figure in the family could take care of their loved ones with no problem. But even so, there was a limit to the great physician''s healing ability; they could only restore the body but not the soul. Just like how martial artists seek to become more powerful, those who took the path of a doctor naturally also put their lifelong goal to become the best in their path. That grand goal was to restore the soul of the deceased, a perfect resurrection. Since it was a great feat, everyone called those who were able to do it as divine physicians to honor their ability to bring back the ¡®death¡¯. But, that was only a rumor circulated. Even Mo Qi, as a left-hand person for the Heavenly Demon, never met or actually clarified the existence of a divine physician. ¡°The work of the soul is the secret of heaven.¡± The Heavenly Demon preached to her and Guo Lanying. ¡°If anyone wants to become a divine physician, then they need to perfect their own soul first before trying to meddle in others¡¯ souls. The soul suppression level alone only superficially cultivates the soul and is unable to completely grasp its mysteries. Only when breakthrough to the next level of cultivation the first requirement of becoming a divine physician could be achieved, but for the other requirement, it was another mystery to solve.¡± Shen Yi¡¯s eyes were red with hatred as he turned his gaze back at Niu Chang. Then the next second, the turmoil in his heart started to calm down. On the other hand, Shen Yi Gu, the teenage boy, was breathing heavily as he tried to heal his body to prevent any more damage to his body. As someone who is at least normal and has a perfectly functioning brain, naturally, Niu Chang wouldn¡¯t create a skill that simply has one-hit skill; there should be a follow-up in case his enemies survived his skill. ¡®It was the correct thing to do¡­ but this made any battle to be pointless. At least if my enemies are only at the golden core.¡¯ Niu Chang lamented at this bland battle. There was a line circling around Shen Yi Gu¡¯s neck that looked like a thin thread made of pure light. They kept increasing their intensity, but Shen Yi Gu¡¯s persistent healing prevented it from causing the second attack from White Afterglow. ¡°If you do not have any explanation then¡­¡± Shen Yi said with a heavy voice before changing his tone once again after closing his mouth for a moment. ¡°My Shen clan would destroy your whole heritage, leaving nothing.¡± But even so, he didn¡¯t make any move. Even the sword on his waist no longer showed its intimidation. ¡°Mortals¡­¡± Niu Chang said with slight empathy. ¡°This is the mandate of heaven.¡± ¡°It is understandable for you to reject it, but it will not change anything. Your anger, frustration, and hatred are just meaningless as your struggle to resist.¡± ¡°Hahahaha.¡± Shen Yi laughed when he heard how Niu Chang kept saying heaven this and mandate that. His eyes were bloodshot, ¡°you said you are the envoy of heaven carrying its mandate. Then show me the mandate!¡± ¡°Your mind is no longer tranquil.¡± Niu Chang shook his head in pity. ¡°Even if I show you the mandate¡­ you wouldn''t be able to understand it since you, humans, are mortal beings.¡± Shen Yi reached his limit and brandished the sword on his waist and lunged forward with no error in his movement. But he only saw a flicker of golden light before his vision lagged behind and showed his body in front of his eyes, still advancing towards Niu Chang. In contempt, his eyes are still burning with hatred. ¡°It¡¯s your turn next.¡± Niu Chang said to Shen Yi Gu after he enveloped Shen Yi¡¯s head in golden light and made it disappear. Chapter 75 - Lake of Fish Being born into the Yi lineage and having a physique that had a great affinity towards martial arts, Shen Yi Gu was winning the lottery of life. From the time he started to remember things, all he could recall were good memories. Various family members treated him like their own child. Not only that, even the head of the Yi lineage took him as his disciple and personally taught him whenever he had free time. ¡°You are the pride of our Yi lineage.¡± ¡°It was heaven¡¯s gift to our Yi lineage to have you.¡± ¡°You will surely be able to increase the strength of our Yi lineage in the future." Various expectations and praises were thrown at him, but they seemed to have lost their meaning. However, the weird thing was that Shen Yi Gu never showed any arrogant traits as he grew older. He remained obedient and trained hard, perhaps due to his innate quality that allowed him to discern the hidden meanings behind everyone''s words. As he tried his best to utilize his healing technique, he was unable to do anything since when he split his attention, his head would roll. Niu Chang then started to walk towards him, and each step he took felt like a heavy hammer striking Shen Yi Gu¡¯s heart. It was the second time he felt fear in his life. The first time was when he met a young genius from the core of the Shen clan. Not only was he beaten up in a martial battle, but it was also the first time he realized his status was lower than a servant in front of the core lineage of the Shen clan. However, he was smart. He hid his sharp edge and swallowed the humiliation from that time to use it as his motivation. When he came back to Shenyi City, he spent a week in silence in his training room before Shen Yi called him over. He didn¡¯t spend much time inside or talk about many things, but when he came out, his heavy mood no longer existed. He began to smile once again, but the determination in his heart had already become a sword directed at the core lineage of the Shen clan. While holding onto his life, he knew his time had come. In a dejected feeling, he asked, ¡°Are you truly the envoy of heaven?¡± Niu Chang walked towards him. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Are you truly going to eradicate the whole Shen clan?¡± There was no fear, only the willingness to die here before he could achieve his goal. ¡°Yes.¡± Niu Chang stopped not far from Shen Yi Gu. He had a unique hobby of peering into someone''s eyes to determine their qualities as a living being. With his enhanced senses, intuition from the Impossible Idea, and super computing ability from the second brain, he was able to tell with great accuracy. ¡®Hatred, but not directed at me. It seems he already accepted his death. The heart is pure¡­ not hypocritical at least, but also fully painted with white that only understands half the truth of the world, maybe due to his background as someone born into the Yi lineage. The obsession is deep but not wide enough to contain the world, a meaningless life goal. The martial heart is painted with black and red, naturally he still needs to experience the world more.¡¯ As he judged Shen Yi Gu from a simple glance, Niu Chang found this person rather interesting. At least for his plan, Shen Yi Gu¡­ the present self was not enough to be anywhere close to him, but since he was a living being, naturally, he could grow and eventually become no different from a truth seeker, someone who only put the transcendent in his eyes. But that chance was slim. Shen Yi Gu, who was very perceptive since he was a kid, was able to feel that Niu Chang''s short glance was judging his whole life. But seeing there was no reaction from Niu Chang, he felt somewhat sad. ¡®Hahaha. It seems I am no different than other people. It''s just that I was born into a good family and have better perception than others, but this luck ends here.¡¯ This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°The heaven is vast,¡± Niu Chang said without changing his expression. ¡°I was tasked to eradicate the Shen clan, but¡­¡± Shen Yi Gu was confused at first, but with his exceptional perceptiveness, he was able to glimpse a little of the truth behind Niu Chang¡¯s words. ¡°It was I who did it, so the whole process is also up to me. Mortal,¡± Niu Chang said as he once again stared right into Shen Yi Gu. ¡°The heaven is impartial and perfect, but I¡¯m different. I am Tian Zi. Not the heaven, thus I have my own imperfection as such human nature. You can say I have the heart of a living being.¡± ¡°I do not care about your background nor your feelings, but since you already accepted the fate given to you by heaven, I will give you a chance to pursue your life goal. However, whether you are able to complete it will depend on yourself, and your time will be limited until I finish my task.¡± Without waiting for any response, the white line on Shen Yi Gu¡¯s neck disappeared, and he no longer felt the oppressive feeling of death on his body. When he sighed in relief and wanted to thank Niu Chang, he found no one was around. He was alone in the sky now. He was at a loss for a moment, before finally making up his mind. His aura was no longer the same as the teenage body he used; it started to grow together with his mentality. He wore a quite loose robe, so his newly adjusted mature body didn¡¯t break the clothes he was wearing. As he looked around the city beneath him, he realized how small his previous world was. Countless headless bodies were lying on the ground, and there was no difference at all. Whether they were martial artists or mere mortals, all of them had the same end. ¡°Tian Zi,¡± Shen Yi Gu recalled the name that Niu Chang gave. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you truly are, but since you already gave me a second chance, then I will take full advantage of it.¡± With a hardened expression, Shen Yi Gu flew out of the city. The major event had passed, and many were still confused. Ordinary mortals were talking to themselves, but many chose to be silent as they didn¡¯t know what to do. Various people started to move around, and it was more evident among those who worked under organizations. Among the four major business houses, the Night Secret Association was responsible for information. It expanded its power throughout the entire Southern Region and dominated the information market. Naturally, the other three and even other major organizations also had their own information networks, but they didn¡¯t match the Night Secret Association. On the top floor of a well-known brothel, a branch of Hundred Flower Pavilion in Shenyi City was busy with the higher-ups talking and discussing the major event. ¡°What do we do, manager?¡± ¡°Do it accordingly, don¡¯t make any mistakes, and report everything in detail.¡± In another place, a decorated building simply served as a public place for the Night Secret Association for regular customers to handle information exchange. In a more secretive place, the higher-ups also started to handle the situation effectively. ¡°Do not make any mistakes!¡± he shouted in a low tone. ¡°The value of information is strictly determined by its timing, so we need to report this immediately to the other branches.¡± As to why the leader didn¡¯t tell them to send it to the base, naturally his position was too low to know where the base was. ... Niu Chang was flying in a concealed state, and no one should be able to capture his movement now. He flew at full speed for about four hours before finally stopping in an empty forest. It was far from a medium city or even a small city. As he landed easily, the system kept giving him notifications of new karmic bonds. Various people showed clear animosity towards him, but they were too weak for Niu Chang to care about. Most of them bore the surname Shen, which was expected. However, there were also some people without the Shen surname at the golden core level who formed karmic bonds with him. ¡®All of them are still golden cores.¡¯ He shook his head as he casually waved his hand, and various qi followed his command to make arrangements with his surroundings. After learning about the world from Mo Qi¡¯s memories, he found it rather boring for only that level. He wanted more, a deeper knowledge about the world. If the world, the continent, was akin to a lake, then the small fish would swim near the surface while the bigger fish swam deeper. Naturally, Niu Chang could just fish and wait until his bait captured a fish that suited his taste, but that would be too time-consuming and boring, just like playing chess with the world. So he asked his system to create a better, enjoyable plan. Thus, he chose to throw a big rock into the lake to stir the water and see if any middle-sized or large-sized fish would show themselves. Naturally, he needed to be cautious. If he attracted a fish that was too big for him to handle, he would be in deep trouble. So he chose to use second-tier Shenyi City as his starting point. It was not that big nor important, but it should be enough to attract the attention of medium-sized fish. Chapter 76 - Dao of Formation and Spirit Array The Dao of Formation and Spirit Array was truly profound. Even the knowledgeable Niu Chang found it difficult to learn from scratch, and without any manual but solely relying on the stories he had read enough. It was like when you put Thing A in position A, and then Thing B in position B, suddenly you got the Heavenly Obliteration Formation! Does it make sense? Yes, since it worked. But does it really make sense? ¡®No,¡¯ Niu Chang shook his head, feeling a headache. ¡®No matter how much I think about it, this dao seems utterly nonsensical among the countless other nonsensical things I''ve already deciphered. There are martial dao, alchemy dao, talisman dao, forging dao, beast taming dao, and more, but this Formation and Spirit Array Dao is beyond the limit of nonsense and has reached the realm of absurdity.¡¯ He remembered a story where the main character focused on formation, and the author did a good job of explaining how formations work through the manual that the main character found by chance. ¡°The heavenly stem¡­ Has twelve¡­ The heavenly father¡­.¡± Niu Chang''s memories about it were full of holes, but he remembered one thing clearly. It was when the main character started to teach his potential partner, who he naturally married a few hundred chapters later. ¡°MC, I don¡¯t understand how this works. You said two plus two is three, and then on another occasion, you said two plus two is six.¡± Niu Chang stopped his recollection at that point since he already got the idea. ¡®Basically, using logic and math would be impossible when learning the Dao of Formation and Spirit Array. I should just turn off my brain entirely or find a new approach.¡¯ Then he began to ponder. It didn¡¯t take too long since he only needed to check the ideas given by his second brain. There he found it. ¡®When you put A in the first place and then B in the second place to achieve a chain reaction result. Isn''t this basically like a card game?!!!¡¯ ¡®I put my monster card and activate it first to summon another monster card. Then this second monster card activates its first effect that allows me to pick one spell card from my deck. With that spell card, I summon another and stronger monster¡­.¡¯ Niu Chang could vaguely remember some character saying all those words in his mind. He mentally imagined everything according to how card game mechanics work when he tried to implement formation and spirit arrays in this world. It works, albeit only in his head, but that''s what he needed. He just needed to point in a direction and let his second brain fill in the details later. . . . Niu Chang filled the place where he was standing with various formations that superimposed on each other to create a bigger and more powerful formation. He didn¡¯t have a limit since with the system, he could personally support its energy consumption. Not only qi, but also vitality, and more. The outer layer naturally had a defensive formation since what Niu Chang hoped for was someone stronger than the golden core level, which seemed non-existent in the information he has now. The next layer was an auxiliary formation to support the defensive layer to make it sturdier. As for offensive, trapping, and confusing formations, they were naturally at a deeper level. Because if the enemy was able to break his fortress-like formation, it showed his means were ineffective towards the other party. So at the core, what he prepared was a world extermination class formation that, in theory, brought the same amount of destruction as when the sun exploded. After he finished his preparation, he calmed down his mind for a moment simply by hitting the calm button. ¡®System, increase my Impossible Idea to the fourth level.¡¯ He had already calculated how many levels there were in the Impossible Idea and at what level it became a new major realm. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. According to his second brain, the Impossible Idea should have nine levels, with the first four levels equal to the qi refinement realm, the second four levels equal to the foundation establishment realm, and the last level, the ninth level, equal to the golden core. [Increasing the level of Impossible Idea to level four requires 85,000 karma points. Do you wish to continue?] Although he had already asked the next question, he just wanted the last confirmation. ¡®How about the fifth level?¡¯ [Increasing the level of Impossible Idea to level five requires 385,000 karma points. Do you wish to continue?] Seeing how the value of karma points increased tremendously, it gave assurance to Niu Chang¡¯s soul. ¡®This huge increment in karma points should be because it breaks through to the next major realm.¡¯ ¡®System, increase the Impossible Idea to the fourth level.¡¯ ¡®Confirm.¡¯ After he gave the confirmation, Niu Chang could clearly feel how his body was disintegrating to find particles before finally reconstructing again and again three times. It was magical since now he was able to retain his consciousness clearly. He observed his body and the second brain recorded everything with great detail. ¡®The cultivation itself was simple and didn¡¯t require some heavenly material or earthly treasure. It is just pure destruction, but the problem comes after that; it is to perfectly recreate the body. I can do it with my Verdant Will, but I can¡¯t protect the soul as the destruction itself reached the level of existence.¡¯ As his body now regulated with more strict control, he no longer turned into a noodle after the baptism of creation. He checked various parts of his body and did some movements to gather more data. ¡®Just like the second brain predicted, each level increases my body strength by ten times. Since it was the fourth level, naturally my strength is equal to ten thousand men.¡¯ The strength of ten thousand men, even Niu Chang didn¡¯t know how strong that would be. But he could vaguely feel the ground beneath his feet feel too soft. His weight didn¡¯t increase and his overall appearance as well, but the sense of the outside world greatly changed. If he wanted to move his hand at normal speed, it would easily break the sound barrier. Beyond his expectations, he didn¡¯t turn into a freak that somehow resisted the world, since his body compressed the strength of ten thousand men, naturally there would be many problems biologically and physically. But there were none, since this body cultivation technique already took care of all of it since it was a mix of various body cultivation techniques, so there was no apparent problem. ¡®If I reach level nine in the future, doesn''t that mean my strength would be equivalent to ten powers of nine? One billion men compressed into a single person?¡¯ Just imagining the numbers made his mind numb; if he reached that level, would he need to use fancy skills anymore? With a stomp on the ground, the continent would be destroyed. It would be an endless task to think about the future, so Niu Chang gave his second brain a new task. ¡®Go and adjust my mind with my new body.¡¯ Since he had already perfected the Massacre skill, it would be a natural occurrence for him to control his newfound strength, but that was unconscious control. If he needed more precise control, he still needed his second brain to do the task. While Niu Chang was cultivating his space of mind, he suddenly opened his eyes in shock. He opened the system and checked the log of the karmic bond. There he found it, [Established karma with Da Jiu] He frowned when looking at the name. ¡®What kind of name is this? Big nine?¡¯ Naturally, he felt conflicted with such a ridiculous name because the feedback he received from Da Niu was on a different level than anyone he has formed a karmic bond with. Even much stronger than the Heavenly Demon. Using the second brain to deduce Da Jiu¡¯s location, Niu Chang was able to make a mental map of the Southern Region according to Mo Qi¡¯s knowledge and frowned even more. There he saw the map of the Southern Region and the dot that represented Da Jiu. The dot didn¡¯t stay still nor did it move in a linear path; instead, it blinked and the position would change. ¡®What is this? Teleportation?¡¯ Niu Chang couldn''t help but ask in annoyance, even though he was still in progress to deduce the teleportation skill. It was impossible for Da Niu to cheat the system''s karmic connection; it was even more impossible for his second brain, which only contains a binary approach, to have any error. ¡®This is crazy,¡¯ Niu Chang shifted his face towards the direction of Da Niu. ¡®Thankfully, he didn¡¯t approach me directly; instead, he headed towards Shenyi City.¡¯ It seemed like that, but considering Da Jiu''s ability to do short teleportation, maybe he would have a means to track Niu Chang¡¯s trail. After the second brain does a thorough scan of the feedback from Da Jiu, Niu Chang was finally able to see a virtual representation of Da Jiu¡¯s strength. Basically, everything that he saw was beneath him. Da Jiu alone would still allow Niu Chang to have more qi and vitality than him, thanks to the nature of his system. ¡®The physical strength was much worse than mine, only reaching three digits. The amount of qi was much larger than any golden core, around five times more. The highest stat was his mental power, equal to two and a half times of mine before bonded with him.¡¯ Since Niu Chang was unable to cultivate on his own, his soul level was very low, and so was his mental strength. But even so, with his various auxiliary skills and the second brain, he should be on top of every golden core in the continent. So having someone with a higher mental capacity than him only means one thing. ¡®The next stage after the golden core should focus more on the soul, spirit, and mental aspects of cultivation.¡¯ Chapter 77 - Da Jiu Although the system allowed him to have stats that were one point higher than his enemies, it was full of limitations. Just like when forming karmic bonds with golden cores, he didn''t suddenly condense a golden core; instead, he just had the same amount of qi but one point higher. Thus, when realizing that Da Jiu had more mental power than him, this showed that the next stage after the golden core had a unique trait on these three aspects: soul, spirit, and mind. "It''s fine if it''s just a mere natural protection similar to the golden core, but for the soul, spirit, or mind. But if it is an entirely new power that I''m helpless with, this would be a big problem." With that in mind, Niu Chang quickly reformed his formation and, at the same time, raised the cultivation of his soul to the limit of the qi refinement realm. He almost didn¡¯t move since his body was being baptized by the system to increase his soul cultivation level. It was his second brain that handled the upgrade of the formation entirely. The soul was a rather unique thing or substance in this world. Even Niu Chang was skeptical about its existence. Although he was a reincarnation himself, he didn''t just go and be happy and smiley all the way through his entire journey. Instead, he believed there should be a deeper reason as to why he was able to reincarnate into this world, something that only after he had walked two-thirds of his journey if he followed the conventional path he would be able to unravel the first clue. There were various possibilities since he had already read so many books; one of them would be similar to what happened to him. So he made his second brain come up with a contingency plan for each scenario. Now getting back to the soul, Niu Chang, who chose to approach everything as nothing but mere facts and information, defined the soul as the body of thoughts. Just like the physical body, the soul also contained thoughts and became akin to a mecha for the mind. At some level, the soul would be able to detach itself from the body and live without any worries in the outside world. Going higher on the level, it would be the unification of the soul and physical body, allowing living beings who were mortals to be innate creatures where their mind and body were one and no longer limited by the nature of postnatal creatures. No longer limited to their biological logic nor by the physics of the world. Since it was a virtual body, it would be easier to cultivate it with the soul type Impossible Idea, right? No, it was completely wrong since the soul body was in another realm and played with different rules. Even Niu Chang was still researching the facts about souls. Even so, he still came up with a very powerful soul cultivation technique for his current self. It was called the Prisoner Suit. Sure, he admitted it has a wacky name, but it was because that was basically the technique. It could also be called a restraining cloth, but it sounded more like it was for a mental patient, so he chose the second option. The soul was mysterious and had various strange rules. It was uncharted territory that was hard to explore, mainly because of that, Niu Chang wanted to cultivate a technique that allowed his soul to be impenetrable by anything and escape the rules that work for the soul. If he could change his soul¡¯s rule that followed the rule of the physical body, it would be easier for him to guard it by any means in his arsenal, since his creativity knew no bounds as long as he was able to put his finger on the problem. So if his soul stayed as an ordinary soul where he knew nothing about it, how could he imagine something that he didn''t understand? Thus it was called the Prisoner Suit, to take the soul body as the captive of the physical body, changing anything that worked for the soul no longer applied to it. Naturally, it came with various drawbacks, but it could be easily handled by adding numerous auxiliary soul-based skills to fortify its defense. Niu Chang kept making his preparations as he second-handedly observed the approaching Da Jiu from his mental map. Not long after, he raised his head. In the sky, it was empty, but according to the system, Da Jiu had already arrived in front of him and was now standing quietly there. Various qi with different attributes started to glow in Niu Chang¡¯s eyes, trying different investigation skills to perceive Da Jiu, but he was unsuccessful. He could capture the strangeness of that place, but he was unable to fully unravel Da Jiu¡¯s existence. Then from qi, he changed the source to vitality and mental power. Only then was he able to get a better grasp on Da Jiu¡¯s hidden body. "It is no use; his hiding skill is beyond everything that I have now. It is as if he could isolate himself from the world, which should be on a reality-bending level¡­" With his vast array of information from reading various books, naturally, Niu Chang had his guess. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡®A stage where the cultivator is able to interact with the world? Or interacting with the Law or Dao itself?¡¯ It made sense, since all of his skills were still within the limits of physics. Even if some of them had effects beyond it, in the end, they still worked according to logic, not sentiment. If the skill worked based on sentiment, it wouldn¡¯t be different from bending reality at will. Niu Chang held his horse and limited what he could show to his enemy. From the karmic connection between them, Niu Chang could mentally locate Da Jiu¡¯s location precisely with no error. His eyes followed the spot that was supposedly where Da Jiu''s location was. ¡°Impressive,¡± an old man''s voice suddenly appeared directly next to his ears. It sounded like two people were talking next to his ears. But Niu Chang knew Da Jiu was still outside his formation; it may be a trick of those on Da Jiu''s cultivation level. Since it was a serious situation, Niu Chang withdrew from his seat and let his second brain take over his body since he didn¡¯t want to make any minor mistakes. The second brain seamlessly controlled his body like a cold, emotionless machine but still retained the touch of humans. With his usual tone, Niu Chang said, ¡°Old man, why are you standing there? Come on in.¡± The battle had already begun; it was a battle of nerves right now. Anything that happened from now on would give valuable information to each party. Da Jiu just stopped directly in front of the invisible formation. One step forward and he would be blocked by the formation. Niu Chang was unable to see his expression, so all he could do was to create and improve his current skill to be able to capture this invisible old man. The old man no longer talked as he continually flew around the formation that Niu Chang had built. Ten minutes later, he stopped and started another conversation. ¡°Boy, you are not what I¡¯m looking for, but that is not a problem anymore. You have a unique constitution that should not be less than what I¡¯m looking for. How about this, if you choose to be obedient and become my disciple, then I will help you uncover the secret in your body.¡± Niu Chang pondered for a moment before shaking his head, ¡°that won¡¯t do. I can cultivate on my own; if that is all, then you can go.¡± He neither directly rejected or accepted Da Jiu since he didn¡¯t want any direct conflict, at least for now. If he could change the date of their battle, naturally the second brain would act that way. ¡°Is that so?¡± the old man¡¯s voice contained a slight sadness. ¡°Then don¡¯t hate this old man for forcing his way.¡± As he finished talking, the formation that was carefully designed so that no golden cores would be able to destroy it was easily resolved. Niu Chang had a belief. As long as it was within a fantasy world, energy would always be the limitation for any kind of skills or techniques. Even if a cultivator or mage reached a level of reality-bending, they would be limited by their energy reserves, be it qi or mana or magical energy. So having an unlimited supply of energy from the system, naturally Niu Chang would utilize everything he was capable of to create the most powerful formation to guard against Da Jiu. ¡®But it seems, I was wrong for this one,¡¯ as he was not in control right now. Niu Chang saw how the invisible formation easily dissolved into their basic form, which was qi. The outer layer of the formation focused on defending; this was to test the bottom limit of the enemy. The inner layer of the formation focused on attacking; this was to test the upper limit of the enemy. It was simple yet effective, and Niu Chang liked effectiveness very much. Since it was the second brain in charge right now, Niu Chang could enjoy the live data being shown in front of his face as he tried to figure out how Da Jiu was able to dismantle his perfect formation. Everything was always about energy. So instead of replaying the scene, it was better to analyze the data and parameters since it was easier. The structure of the formation. The types of formation. The energy supplies of the formation. All of them were the control variables; they wouldn¡¯t change and stayed the same for the time of the experiment. The next variable was Da Jiu¡¯s method of attacking. It was the independent variable that was unknown for now and caused the destruction of the formation. The last one was the dependent variable; it was how the formation was dismantled. Da Jiu easily walked forward as he silently destroyed various formations in front of him. The more he walked forward, the longer it took for him to take his next step. The formation kept changing and testing his method subtly. But even so, their changes that tried to prevent Da Jiu from advancing naturally made it easier for him to realize this. "What a good technique, to be able to control such a delicate formation and change its form and shape at will, even more so to adapt to changes. Magnificent!" "You think this will buy you more time?" "Instead, this only made me want you more and take the secret in you." There was no need to panic; the greed of cultivators was always about cultivation, be it material or knowledge. In the end, they were no different from animals who were stronger than ordinary animals. Looked at how greedy Da Jiu became after he witnessed the ever-changing formation that Niu Chang implemented. Naturally, it was strong, strong enough for someone who was beyond the golden core stage to want it. Someone that only a handful of people knew their existence, how can someone at that level show greed for ordinary things. Seeing the data and parameters changing drastically, Niu Chang realized that Da Jiu was just playing before and now he was getting serious. But at the same time, it showed his true strength. There was nothing perfect in this world; everything beneath transcendence was imperfect. Thus Niu Chang was able to discern the truth of Da Jiu¡¯s method. But at the same time, he was confused. ¡®Is it still energy manipulation¡­¡¯ he stared at the changing data and parameters in front of him. ¡®But why is his energy able to act that way? It no longer matters on quantity, but the quality of qi is on another level.¡¯ Then in response, he manually told the second brain to do various tests to check which quality improvement that Da Jiu had on his qi. More and more data and tests were conducted, but more questions arose instead. Da Jiu arrived in front of the inner layer, the offensive layer. From there, he no longer took another step as he silently stayed there for a whole thirty minutes. For the whole thirty minutes, Niu Chang kept testing his hypotheses. He didn¡¯t go overboard in his testing, just a little tickling and picking here and there. Chapter 78 - Courtesy The inner layer of Niu Chang¡¯s formation was purely for offensive purposes. Even Niu Chang himself needed another set of formations just to ensure his safety in case someone actually dared to step inside. There were major facts that applied to every level and stage of cultivation. High compressed energy would always cause damage as long as the target was still within common sense. As long as it was not some kind of eldritch god that was no longer bound by any laws governing this world, naturally, it wouldn''t be effective against it. But it was different from before, which was only an explosion to exterminate anything. The new inner layer formation was a targeted kind of attack. How it locks the target would depend on everyone¡¯s imagination. Niu Chang always sought the most effective ways to kill his enemies. So what if he is able to make the most powerful single-target skill? What is the use of it if it is unable to hit the enemy? Thus, as much as he spent his time creating and improving more destructive skills, he also created and improved the method to lock onto his enemies. The method to lock onto the enemy on the physics level would be easier to handle for those who no longer care about the rule of the world. Then, it needed higher-ranking skills, something beyond the logical boundary but still within mortal reach. Fate, luck, destiny, karma, causality, and providence. All those aspects were still within mortal reach to some extent but were also on a higher rank than the rest. One of Niu Chang¡¯s skills that had such an effect was the Plaguing Misfortune that affected the probability at the lowest level. He was still improving it to increase its profundity. As for other similar skills, it was hard to create since these things were more like ideology, beliefs, and theories. So the creation of such a skill depends on chance and luck. But Niu Chang always did what he was best at; that was to explore what he had and improve from there on. All of this preparation was enough to buy him some time until Da Jiu finally made up his mind. "Boy, I will give you another chance. If you do not wish to become my disciple, then so be it, but I need you to accompany me for some time." ¡®What a cute old man, now you want to make a new deal?¡¯ Niu Chang was amused. But his second brain gave the answer, ¡°Old man, you and I do not have any karma between us, so why bother? Excessive greed wouldn¡¯t bring you any fortune.¡± ¡°Hahaha,¡± the old man laughed. ¡°Well said, well said.¡± Then, within Niu Chang¡¯s perception under various investigation skills, Da Jiu¡¯s figure appeared. He was not that old, but enough for everyone to respect him for his appearance. He wore a mix of yellow and gray robes with long sleeves like a Daoist priest. He tied his hair with a jade pin to appear elegant. On his hand was a horsetail whisk. The air around him felt otherworldly, just like how immortals were beyond the mortal realm. ¡°How about now? If you agree, then I will help you reach a higher stage than what you know,¡± he casually said. ¡°A higher stage?¡± The second brain made a cooperative act. ¡°Yes,¡± but Da Jiu only cut the conversation on that topic short. ¡°It seems this old man¡¯s kindness was unable to reach you,¡± Da Jiu mused without any anger in his tone. ¡°I know you are young, but even so, there are still various things that are beyond your comprehension.¡± The second brain showed a surprised expression sincerely and asked, ¡°Is it also applied to what you can¡¯t comprehend as well?¡± Its meaning was clear: ¡®Old man, don¡¯t play big in front of me. What you know, I might not know, but what I know, you might not know. Just like my formation.¡¯ If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Da Jiu didn¡¯t take it into his heart as he kept his casual expression on display. ¡°You seem to have a lot of pride in your methods, but do you think this is enough to protect you?¡± He narrowed his eyes. ¡°Of course not. Just like you just said, there will always be heaven above heaven. So it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Once again, the second brain gave a perfect answer, neither submissive nor domineering. He still treated the greedy old man with respect. ¡°Your words are becoming sharper than before.¡± Da Jiu began to show his true feelings. Naturally, he knew from the beginning that Niu Chang didn¡¯t respect him that much but enough as a courtesy. The second brain shook his head in dismay. ¡°No matter where I go, human nature will always be the same. With enough power, they would begin to crown themselves as kings and treat others as slaves.¡± ¡°If you remain humble after having enough strength, then why cultivate in the first place?¡± Da Jiu sneered, but only in his tone. ¡°That¡­¡± the second brain looked at Da Jiu with a strange look as if saying ¡®Are you being serious right now?¡¯ Seeing how Da Jiu didn¡¯t respond, the second brain continued. ¡°If you asked me that, then your cultivation is lacking, and your whole life is wasted.¡± He didn¡¯t sugarcoat his words as they were discussing the dao right now. ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Da Jiu¡¯s eyes flashed with cold light. ¡°Then tell me, have you found your answer?¡± The second brain only smiled and didn¡¯t clarify Da Jiu¡¯s question. Inside the space of the mind, Niu Chang, who was sitting on a comfortable couch and holding a light snack bowl, suddenly dropped everything on his hand and slapped his knee. ¡°Emotional damage!¡± He, who has already read so many stories, naturally has seen this kind of scene various times and couldn¡¯t help but feel angry every time some powerful figure always acts mysterious in front of the main character. Now his second brain was doing the same to someone who was supposedly on the highest food chain in this whole continent, someone who reached the cultivation level many were not even aware of its existence. Da Jiu was stunned for a moment before he let out a short laugh. But the tone of his laugh betrayed his amiable character. ¡°After I successfully reached my current cultivation, I never once met someone who acted like you, at least not to the point they ignore my strength. Do you know how strong I am?¡± Since he lost the dao discussion, Da Jiu moved to the next talk about seniority and cultivation level. Niu Chang sighed. He would enjoy the dao discussion instead of this shitty conversation about how my fist is bigger than yours, so you should prostrate yourself. He shook his head and slumped back on the couch. The second brain chose the most neutral answer. ¡°I don¡¯t know; you tell me.¡± Hearing the same neutral answer with no dominating or submissive tone in it became more irritating for Da Jiu. He had never met someone who treated him like a complete stranger with respect but also intentionally asked him to treat the other party with the same respect. ¡°This is truly an eye-opening experience for me to talk with someone like you,¡± Da Jiu said openly about his thoughts. ¡°That only shows how your martial path is still incomplete,¡± The second brain gave very meaningful advice. If Da Jiu is able to grasp half of it, he would be able to overcome his current limitations in mentality and move to the next level in his cultivation. But alas. Being obsessed with something, he was only able to see the ant on the other mountain while oblivious to the dragon in front of his eyes. ¡®Tsk tsk, the lucky ones are always the ones that have the good encounters in their journey that they are no longer able to respect others who are weaker than them. At this point, he should just castrate himself from producing blind descendants.¡¯ Niu Chang shifted his gaze towards the data and parameters shown virtually and kept his multitasking. It was just a thought, but he couldn¡¯t help but raise his head towards the sky. He frowned, thinking of a ridiculous possibility in his mind. But just to make sure, it was only his imagination. He ran various checks on his body, on Da Jiu¡¯s, and the surroundings to check if the fate lines, luck variables, and the destiny surface were stirred by something. He waited and conducted the second and third tests, only to find nothing affecting the current development. He let out a half-relieved sigh. ¡®What am I thinking about? It is not entirely impossible for such an arrogant person to reach his current height. It actually makes more sense if someone at his level acts arrogant. Even the young masters are also logical in taking on how their family treats them since they were babies.¡¯ Throwing away the distracting thoughts, Niu Chang saw that his space of mind slightly trembled. He frowned and looked at the screen that connected to the outside world. Da Jiu was still silent and unmoving from his position, but the data and parameters kept showing weird fluctuations. Niu Chang could only sigh in defeat. ¡®As I am afraid of, the next stage after golden core allows cultivators to affect the Law of the world, or in some sense already entering the dao.¡¯ Chapter 79 - Meaningful Conflict Da Jiu had already made up his mind. However, the second brain still chose to mediate the conflict, which shouldn''t have existed in the first place. "Old man, why are you doing this?" The second brain continued without waiting for a reply. "Has your current level of cultivation made you forget where you come from? Does your entire cultivation journey mean nothing? I understand that on the path of cultivation, it''s inevitable to seize what belongs to others and disregard basic human decency." "Your greed can be justified, and your pride is understandable, but how could you do this?" "Are your eyes merely for decoration? Are your ears mere accessories?" "Enough!" Da Jiu rebuked coldly. His voice had the power to silence the entire world momentarily. The second brain succeeded in prolonging the communication since Da Jiu continued, "What do you want to say? Just say it directly." While his words remained courteous, his tone had already turned aggressive. The second brain stood unfazed and began to speak, "Was the cause of your actions your own strength? Or was it because you disregarded the risk I posed?" "You?" Da Jiu sneered upon hearing those questions. "What risk do you have in the face of my strength? You haven''t even built your foundation yet, and you dare to ask how I ignore the risk you posed? Isn''t this your own ignorance?" The second brain calmly responded, "Is that your answer? Simply because you find my cultivation base low?" "Then what about what you''re witnessing now? What about the reason you became interested in me in the first place? Did you think they are just fruits hanging on my body, waiting to be plucked?" Da Jiu gave Niu Chang a second glance, scrutinizing his body. However, he couldn''t find anything that would increase his opinion of the risk that Niu Chang could pose. He sneered, and a powerful aura began to emanate from his body. Inside the inner layer of the formation, Niu Chang felt a sense of pity. ''You''ve come this far, an achievement not many can claim, yet your greed blinds you.'' Standing up, Niu Chang gazed at the large virtual screen in front of him. He began to contemplate, as he looked back only to find that the three auxiliary thinking skills had grown even stronger and more substantial since his last check. The Celestial Astrolabe now had more than twenty rings endlessly spinning and rotating. Various engraving with different meanings shone with their own lights. The Lazy Tree increased in diameter, the crystal-like body now no longer had the crude crystal texture but changed into tree bark. The crown was big with many leaves made of aurora light dancing on its branches. The flowers were budding and the fruits began to ripe with time. The Chaotic Mind no longer had discernable color as with every time it would show different forms. But the width and depth are no longer the same as if it began to blur the wall of reality and imaginary, the end would seem far yet also close. His gaze then shifted to the expanse of his space of mind, where various information flashed before his eyes, revealing every skill and technique he had created and mastered. ''Honestly, I''m unsure of how powerful I can be if I unleashed everything I currently possess.'' He felt a mix of sadness and pride. His strength should suffice to let him walk proudly beneath the sky. However, this strength also brought him sadness, for being too potent meant that conflicts lost their significance. Having learned from the mistakes of countless main characters in stories, Niu Chang had devised skills capable of aiding him in any situation, even the most perilous and seemingly impossible ones. He longed for the tension and intensity of a true battle against someone who could stand up to all his methods. In his present circumstances, the question was no longer about Niu Chang''s strength but rather the bounds of his imagination. As long as inspiration flowed, he could create any kind of skill or technique. Thus, when faced with a formidable adversary who pushed him to his limits, his mind would become more agile, and insights would bloom like spring flowers. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Alas, Niu Chang could only view this as an unattainable dream, naturally impossible. Not now, not in the future. His life wasn''t a gripping tale, devoid of conflict, with an uninteresting protagonist. Who would read such a story? ''My life might lack entertainment value, but it''s a necessity, a response to the frustration and lament of witnessing characters'' stupidity and emotional immaturity. So I''ll be the first and last of this kind of story. Anyone who wishes to read my story is welcome, but if they find it bland and unexciting, I can''t help it. I''m well aware of how dull my life is, yet it must exist. For everything isn''t a plot ¨C I exist! I''m not a plot device, but a true person.'' Being a reader himself, Niu Chang naturally observed his life from a reader''s perspective. He couldn''t help but comment on it now. As the chosen one, he had decided not to succumb to the machinations of fate and blindly follow the predetermined path. He had just one dearest wish. ''Ah... how dearly I wish for it... but this is all I get ¨C a monotonous and uninspiring life where nothing is worth savoring anymore.'' Taking a step forward, he displaced the second brain''s control over his body. It was instantaneous, and the weight on his heart manifested in his aura. Subtle and unobtrusive, it wasn''t easily discernible to the naked eye. Yet, ordinary mortals devoid of cultivation could sense it ¨C a desolate feeling of being abandoned by hope. His gaze fixed directly on Da Jiu''s eyes, he asked, "Do you know how lonely it feels when you achieve your goal?" Niu Chang didn''t seek a reply; the one he asked was the present him not Da Jiu. Upon witnessing the changes in Niu Chang, Da Jiu furrowed his brow. ''He seems like a different person.'' Understanding and contemplating his current mental state, Niu Chang naturally allocated some of his focus to creating new techniques or skills. However, for the moment, he needed to clear the watchful eyes surrounding him. Energy fluctuations emanated from his body as imperceptible shadows detached from him. The system was not omnipotent, nor was Niu Chang. As long as he had not yet exceeded his limits, he would still have his shortcomings. Just like now, various spies were observing from the sidelines, but they didn''t emanate any negative feelings towards Niu Chang, so the system didn''t concern itself with them. "I will offer you a chance. Leave now and never speak of what transpired here, and I will consider you a mere passerby with no ill intentions towards me. However, if you choose to remain here, then it is inevitable for there to be karma between us." There were three tenets of the system, and Niu Chang naturally found a way to maximize its functionality: All living beings are equal. Respect is essential. Uninformed people are innocent. The system strongly advised him to adopt a righteous way of living ¡ª not underestimating anyone, including the demons that had transformed from animals or plants; refraining from using his strength to oppress the weak; and, finally, not succumbing to a short temper. Now, having declared his intention and clarified his situation, all three tenets of the system had already been fulfilled, allowing him to resolve the karma for those who had spied on him. Following the massacre in Shenyi City, various information channels belonging to different factions naturally initiated their investigations. Among those who were close, some attempted to uncover the true situation by directly spying on Tian Zi. As professionals, they carefully concealed their emotions towards their target to minimize their presence, considering the miraculous nature of this world where mere thoughts could bring about significant changes. Hence, even after hearing Niu Chang¡¯s kind reminder not to interfere in his affairs, those spies dismissed it as a joke. Since they could maintain their hidden positions while gathering information, none of them were below the golden core level. Some chuckled inwardly and remained composed as they observed the unfolding events, while others opted to relocate. None of them took Niu Chang¡¯s words into serious consideration. [Established karma with ¡­] [Established karma with ¡­] [Established karma with ¡­] [Established karma with ¡­] [Established karma with ¡­] x7 Observing the system''s acknowledgment of the karmic bonds, Niu Chang naturally commanded his clones to resolve the karma. He observed Da Jiu in front of him and realized, ''This old man never truly existed in the eyes of those who were watching, from the very beginning to the present. Even my ability to see him is due to his consent.'' Da Jiu, sensing the departure of the invisible clones from the formation, didn''t intervene, as he also intended to deal with the rats concealed in the shadows. However, he couldn''t help but furrowed his brows, as his Saint''s Dignity seemed to have no effect on the young boy before him. Similar to how individuals at the golden core level possess distinct traits and advantages, the subsequent cultivation levels also carry their own unique attributes. One such attribute is known as Saint''s Dignity. The inherent qi protection of the golden core level is nearly impervious to disruption from those beneath it, and the same applies to Saint''s Dignity. Those below the required level would experience suppression without exception. Da Jiu couldn''t help but recollect Niu Chang''s earlier words. Yet, as a dignified saint, he chose to place his faith in his own strength. ''In the presence of a saint, all else are mere ants!'' he sneered inwardly. Chapter 80 - Ant With its tiny body, the small creature worked tirelessly to accomplish its simple task. Even though it tried its best to succeed in its task, even if it managed to accomplish something, others might also be capable of doing it. Its lifelong efforts were worth nothing on the grand scale of its colonies. When facing humans, the simple-minded ant would react on instinct and attack a human if it had a chance. However, its attack could only cause minor discomfort, resulting in a futile attempt. Thus, for humans, the term "ant" would be an apt word to convey insignificance in the face of true power. Da Jiu, who had already advanced past the golden core level and become a saint, thoroughly enjoyed his newfound privilege and power. He reveled in it to the point where he no longer identified as human; rather, he saw himself as a saint. Those bipedal creatures that referred to themselves as humans were nothing but fools in his eyes. With his Saint¡¯s Dignity alone, he believed he could conquer the world. However, he was not the sole saint in this world. Yet, this was understandable, as those who managed to reach the golden core naturally would discover the path to advancement, even in the absence of a clear route before them. Precisely because of this, the existence of saints was on an entirely different level compared to achieving the golden core level. When faced with no apparent path, they broke free from their cognitive limitations, glimpsed the truth, forged their own path forward, and created their own futures. Niu Chang, who seemed somewhat different from his usual demeanor, regarded the overwhelming Saint¡¯s Dignity with less interest. It wasn''t that he was entirely immune to it; rather, it just didn''t affect him significantly. ¡®This pressure wasn''t as straightforward as physical pressure, qi pressure, or even soul pressure. It operated on its own level. If I were to describe it, it would resemble a natural order¡ªakin to how humans view insects or how gods perceive humans. Da Jiu¡¯s cultivation level enabled him to elevate his life''s order, resulting in these qualitative changes that gave rise to this unique phenomenon. This allowed him to easily subdue any living being that hadn''t attained his level.¡¯ With his usual carefree demeanor replaced by a dimmed gaze, Niu Chang resolved to bring an end to this uneventful battle. ¡°Fall,¡± he said succinctly. There were no energy fluctuations or anything of the sort; he had merely spoken a word. Yet, Da Jiu could feel an immense threat in his heart. His mind urged him to leave immediately. From his perspective as a saint, someone who existed on a higher level as a life form, he could perceive the Laws and see through the veil of this world. What he had heard was just a simple word, but what he saw was something beyond his senses. As a saint, what had he not seen before? As someone who stood at the pinnacle, what kind of thing could disturb his saintly heart? And yet, now he was facing one. Even after extending his perception to gain clarity, he was unable to react immediately. There was no explosion, light, sound, or anything of the sort. Niu Chang still stood where he was. It was only a fraction of a second after he uttered the word "fall" that Da Jiu disappeared. Using his karmic connection, Niu Chang accurately pinpointed Da Jiu¡¯s location. He was currently in motion, rapidly distancing himself from Niu Chang. ¡°Now you want to run?¡± Niu Chang said emotionlessly, ¡°Did I give you permission to leave?¡± Then his body blurred and left only an afterimage. The feeling of hot pursuit slowly welled up in his heart. Even after using his best movement skill, he still couldn''t easily catch up to Da Jiu. ¡®This feeling is not bad, it''s something I desire. But what''s the point if my enemy can only evoke this feeling when they''re trying to escape from me?¡¯ The world in Niu Chang¡¯s eyes was blurry, and he couldn''t discern what or where anything was. All he knew was that he was moving in the right direction according to his karmic bond. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Far from Niu Chang, Da Jiu, who was invisible to the rest of the world, was in a sorry state. His Taoist robe was tattered, with many wounds on his body. Blood covered his body in red, yet it didn''t fall to the ground. His facial expression displayed shock, hatred, and contempt. ¡®How? How? How?¡¯ He kept asking himself what had just happened. It remained vivid in his mind, having occurred less than a minute ago. Despite this, he found himself beaten into a near-death state within that short span of time. Not only was the attack intense, but even his saint-level body couldn''t immediately recover from its impact. He had tested this scenario before; regardless of the attacker''s identity, as long as they were below saint level, their strikes barely grazed his clothes, vanishing in less than a second. However, in this instance, he had been pummeled to the point where he began to doubt his invincibility. "Could that kid also be a saint?" he questioned. "No! It''s impossible!" he retorted. "No matter how well he concealed his true power, it''s highly unlikely for me to misjudge his cultivation level¡­ but how do I explain what transpired?" As a saint, his mental prowess allowed him to reconstruct every detail before and after the event. Niu Chang stood with apparent disinterest in his gaze before uttering a single word. This marked the point at which everything defied common sense. Energy¡ªcopious amounts of it¡ªpoured forth, extending beyond mere qi and vitality. Saint Da Jiu was left dumbfounded as he beheld such vast energy being not only contained but also controlled. If he were to liken this energy to something, it would be comparable to the sea. If he had to sum it up in one word, "impossible" would be his choice. If he dared to share this experience, his fellow saints would brand him as insane. However, the story doesn''t end here. Following the abrupt emergence of this immense energy, it detonated instantly, as if there was no concept of the "next" moment. The sequence unfolded seamlessly, without apparent steps or attachments. And if these two events weren''t sufficient to label him a lunatic among his peers, the subsequent occurrence would undoubtedly sever his ties and tell him to come up with a better lie next time. The substantial energy ignited in an instant, yet nothing ensued¡ªno explosion, no light, no sound. It was as if nothing had occurred. However, as a saint, his perception extended beyond that of mortals. Within a one-kilometer radius, everything was engulfed in a vast energy explosion, yet it caused no harm, nor did it affect the material plane. However, it could hurt him as if it were normal, precisely able to fully damage his body as if it were targeted at him. It wasn''t like a punch where someone needed to get close to him, nor was it like projectiles that arrived after traveling towards him. It struck him directly at his core. "It''s as if that boy could directly target my very existence. Not my body, not my soul, but something deeper and more profound," he thought. Recalling how absurd the attack was, Da Jiu couldn''t comprehend anything even after witnessing and experiencing it himself. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt the person he despised and abhorred the most on his tail. However, that boy''s speed was still lower than his own. Despite this, the boy, who was clearly far behind, managed to chase him in a straight line as if he could sense him. "What kind of freak is he? How is this even possible?" he wondered. He wanted to fight back and teach the boy a lesson, but his body, soul, and essence had suffered great damage, leaving him with less than five percent of his true strength. Even in his current state, he could easily kill any golden cores without a problem. However, facing a freak of nature like Niu Chang was a different story. Even if he advanced and improved his cultivation level to the next step, he would still choose to run away from that freak. Da Jiu tried his best to suppress and heal his injuries. The damage he had sustained was pure and had no subsequent effects, but it was so severe that he needed time to recuperate. He continued to flee while pondering his next move. After ten minutes passed and the distance between them slightly decreased, Da Jiu''s heart suddenly jumped as he noticed the freak behind him rapidly increasing his speed. "Impossible!" he exclaimed in shock, trying to deny the truth. His heart, already in a state of turmoil from the pursuit, began to crumble. Da Jiu attempted to assess Niu Chang''s condition, only to become more horrified by what he discovered. "That boy actually created a new technique just to increase his speed and chase me? What... What kind of monster is he?" At a glance, Da Jiu could discern the immense power behind the new movement technique Niu Chang was currently using. It was so potent that Da Jiu found himself doubting how Niu Chang could still survive in such a state. What was even more astonishing was Niu Chang''s rapid improvement in mastering the new movement technique, causing the distance between them to decrease in real time. An unfamiliar emotion began to creep into Da Jiu''s heart, causing his heart to race and drops of sweat to form on his face. Unbeknownst to him, the primal instinct inherent in every living being surfaced in his mind. For the first time in a long while, to the extent that he could no longer recognize or comprehend it, he was overwhelmed with fear. Chapter 81 - Scarecrow The person who was once dignified was now being chased like a dog, with nothing in his mind except the fear of death. Niu Chang, who had finally found something fun to do, was slightly happy, even though his mood was still low due to his ongoing efforts to comprehend new skills and techniques. ¡®The speed at which Da Jiu escaped from me was really fast. With that kind of speed, he could easily do whatever he wanted and escape from anyone who was below his level. Is this where his confidence comes from?¡¯ Although he couldn''t clearly see his surroundings and solely followed the direction of the karmic bond between himself and Da Jiu, Niu Chang was still able to tell that they were actually flying above the sea. With their speed, even a few minutes were enough for them to reach the deeper sea area. Even after he increased his speed, Niu Chang still needed more than four hours to actually close the gap between them. The sky was black, with no light from the sun above. The seemingly endless black clouds covered the heavens, while the dark blue sea water covered the earth. The deep sea area was completely different from what Niu Chang expected. He thought that since it was called the endless sea, it would be much sunnier. As he slowed down his speed, because his target was no longer moving at high speed, he instead was waiting for his arrival. Less than five minutes later, he completely stopped using his improved movement skill, flying above the roaring seawaves beneath his feet. The thick smell of salt water filled his nostrils. The wind was harsh, enough to blow an adult man without any problem. From the corner of his vision, he could see one or two maelstroms rampaging, showing a cataclysmic level of disaster. He shifted his gaze only to find the old man with a tattered daoist robe and a battered body watching him with a hateful gaze. Niu Chang just shrugged it off and asked, ¡°How is it? Have you accepted your death at my hands?¡± Even after trying his best, Da Jiu finally accepted the cruel truth that he was unable to shake Niu Chang from his tail. With Niu Chang''s ever-growing speed, it was just a matter of time before he reached him. So, he made up his mind. Da Jiu remained silent as his heated gaze shifted from Niu Chang. "Do me a favor," he said. His voice no longer carried that otherworldly tone, as if he were a deity in the mortal realm, but he didn''t show submission either. Niu Chang slightly narrowed his eyes and responded, "Is that how you ask someone for something?" "Did your parents never teach you how to behave properly?" Da Jiu''s heart stung at Niu Chang''s words, but he could only swallow his anger. ''If not for your strangeness, I wouldn''t even be talking with you!'' Recalling the horror of being beaten to a state of near-death in less than a fraction of a second, the proud saintly heart he had chosen to compromise. "How do you want me to act?" Da Jiu asked, not bothering to hide his displeasure. Niu Chang shook his head. "Do you even need me to teach you? If you don''t even know this basic courtesy, then I don''t see anything worthwhile from you for continuing to live." "For someone who doesn''t even know how to treat others with respect, what is their worth in this world except for bringing suffering to others?" "Have you ever shown kindness that was actually driven by compassion, or was it always self-serving?" "Do you even understand the true nature of humans at the most basic level?" As Niu Chang continued to speak about humility and kindness, Da Jiu''s face grew darker. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "I admit I was wrong," he gritted his teeth and continued. "I shouldn''t have been blinded by my greed for something I don''t possess. Can you give me a second chance to reform my life?" Niu Chang chose to remain silent. He floated there with no intention of answering, nor did he make any small actions. He was like a scarecrow on duty, meant to scare away crows. One minute passed, followed by another ten minutes. Da Jiu''s mind was in shambles as he waited for a response. But the more time that passed, the closer he was pushed to the brink of insanity. The firm mentality he possessed as a saint was unable to prevent him from progressing into the abyss. One hour passed, and his heated gaze was replaced by a doubtful one. There was still no change in the person he despised the most. Another two hours went by, and he could feel small worms wriggling beneath his skin, causing an itchy sensation all over his body. In the next thirty minutes, his eyelids began twitching uncontrollably from time to time. From then on, there were no new changes in his physical appearance. However, in the following five hours, his reasoning and sanity were depleted, much like a plant not watered for over a hundred years. It had withered completely, leaving only its shadow on the annals of history. From Niu Chang''s perspective, as he continued to gaze deep into Da Jiu''s eyes, he saw something entirely different. He saw someone who couldn''t overcome the fear of death, someone who couldn¡¯t embrace the true value of life, and clung to the delusion of power they held. It was a marvelous sight, and even someone with a transcendent mind like him began to learn new lessons from this sight alone. In the end, Da Jiu could no longer endure the endless torture of silence. "Why did you wait so long to kill me if that''s what you wanted?" His voice lacked emotion, and his gaze was hollow and empty, yet retained a basic level of intelligence. There was nothing to gain from waiting any longer, so Niu Chang answered, "I did intend to kill you initially, but I no longer do." Initially, Niu Chang indeed wanted to kill him. However, as he assessed his current power in comparison to Da Jiu''s, he arrived at a conclusion: he could kill Da Jiu. But that would be a great waste, as he desired information. He wanted to know everything about the continent where he resided: the levels of cultivation, the hidden power lurking in the shadows, the formidable individuals who used the world as their chessboard. He desired knowledge of all this. However, he couldn''t. With his present strength, he couldn''t imprison Da Jiu and was left with the only option of killing him. It was a big waste. After watching a compelling movie depicting the downfall of someone who once treated other humans as mere insects due to his pride, a profound sense of joy overwhelmed him that was hard to get. "Say only what you truly mean, don''t beat around the bush," Da Jiu advised. "I can release you, but only if you answer my questions," Niu Chang stated. Although Da Jiu frowned momentarily, he didn''t take much time to respond. "How can I trust your words?" "You can''t," Niu Chang replied flatly. ¡°Hahaha,¡± Da Jiu burst into laughter, though there was no genuine enjoyment. His laughter was laced with blatant sarcasm aimed at the enemy before him. "Then why should I answer?" Da Jiu questioned. "That''s for you to decide whether you believe in me or not. Ultimately, I don''t see much difference in your choices. Do you think surviving this ordeal will lead you to offer me something? All I perceive is that I''ve rid the world of trash masquerading in human skin." "Very well," Da Jiu didn''t trust Niu Chang''s words, but he also couldn''t discern a significant distinction in his options. Niu Chang had the capability to end Da Jiu''s life, if he so desired. Niu Chang also possessed the capacity to set Da Jiu free, if he wished. The true quandary was, ''What are this freak''s intentions?'' Da Jiu contemplated this question extensively, enough for the sun to take a brief respite before returning to its prior position. Yet, Niu Chang remained composed and refrained from interrupting his contemplation. The deep sea seemed contrary to the norms of the continent, with the sky in this place perpetually draped in black clouds that swirled ceaselessly without any source of light. The fierce wind waged ceaseless battles against the roaring sea waves, as if it were an ordinary occurrence. Fortunately, Niu Chang''s second brain enabled him to keep track of the passage of time. "Okay, I will answer your question," Da Jiu finally said, having made up his mind after a full day of contemplation. "That''s better," Niu Chang nodded, his previous low mood now lifted. He completed his previous task and simultaneously achieved his desired outcome, naturally resulting in an elevated mood. "What would you like to know?" Da Jiu inquired. "Everything," Niu Chang replied with a smile. Chapter 82 - Holy Power "Let''s begin with cultivation first," Niu Chang directed the conversation. Asking about everything would lead to a lengthy and directionless discussion, so he took charge to guide the conversation. "What would you like to know?" "I am aware of three major realms: the Qi Training Realm, Qi Polishing Realm, and finally the Qi Condensation Realm. Please summarize these realms based on your knowledge. After that, we can delve into the subsequent levels." Da Jiu paused, considering his response. "This is how cultivation is divided in the Southern Region." He glanced briefly at Niu Chang, recalling that he had encountered this extraordinary individual in the Southern Region, making his explanation relevant. "The Southern Region possesses fewer cultivation resources compared to other regions, including places with abundant spiritual qi, precious materials, and natural treasures. Consequently, its progress in cultivation lags behind other regions. Nevertheless, it has managed to withstand the influences of the Western, Central, and Eastern Regions, causing a variety of power structures instead." "For the most authentic cultivation realm division, we turn to the Central Region, considered a holy ground for cultivation." "The initial realm is the Qi Refinement Realm. Cultivators at this stage begin refining their internal energy into qi and store it within their dantian." "Next is the Foundation Establishment Realm, which serves as the foundation for the subsequent realm. Nonetheless, it brings about a qualitative transformation for the cultivator." "Lastly, the highest realm known to the majority is the Golden Core Realm. This is achieved after condensing the golden core upon completing the necessary preparations." Before Da Jiu could continue, Niu Chang interrupted him. "Is that all? Provide me with all the cultivation techniques you possess. It would be preferable for me to read them directly from the cultivation manual." "All of them?" Da Jiu frowned upon hearing this. "Why? Are you hesitant to share your primary cultivation technique with me?" Niu Chang inquired, a smile playing on his lips. Unable to discern any change in Niu Chang''s expression, Da Jiu found it difficult to determine whether Niu Chang was making a veiled threat or not. "Why are you being so cheap about something that is worthless? You can''t even win against me, who was in a lower realm than yours. So why hold onto it?" "If you don''t like it, then so be it. Just hand over the knowledge about it without your main cultivation technique." It was true that Niu Chang didn''t care about Da Jiu''s saint cultivation technique, as it would appear ordinary to him, except for the knowledge about the saint realm itself. After Niu Chang took a step back, Da Jiu reluctantly agreed to his request. He pondered for a moment; explaining every cultivation technique he had would take more than a week just to recite them alone. Thus, he controlled his power to gather a clump of light and infused his knowledge into it. Niu Chang merely watched from the sidelines. After more than a minute passed, the clump of light stopped shining brightly and became still. ¡®Is this something like a jade slip in xianxia stories?¡¯ Only after Da Jiu finished did Niu Chang react. Since the world he knew was a mix of the high wuxia world with the low xianxia world, he believed something like this would only be possible after he left his current world and headed to the next one. Da Jiu directed the clump of light to fly towards Niu Chang. Niu Chang caught it with his right hand and began scanning it silently, so as not to shatter his formidable image. However, for a saint like Da Jiu, all his slight movements could be easily captured. Despite this, Da Jiu chose to ignore it. ¡®Even if he isn''t invincible, facing him right now is impossible for me,¡¯ Da Jiu considered the possibility of fighting Niu Chang. The probing Niu Chang conducted only revealed how normal he was. If Niu Chang were truly invincible, he wouldn''t worry about the clump of light containing hidden traps. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Upon finishing his probing, Niu Chang made up his mind and accessed the information through an intermediary, instead of directly absorbing it with his mind. The clump of light flowed toward Niu Chang''s hand, and various information spread like a drop of ink entering a basin of water, coloring it completely. After undergoing several rounds of filtration outside his mind, the information finally reached his consciousness and underwent another rigorous test of his formidable skills. Da Jiu witnessed everything that had transpired and couldn''t help but question his own life. As a saint, he casually entered and exited secret locations of various organizations to pilfer their secret techniques, even directly stealing from the leaders of some golden cores. It marked the first time he had observed the kind of technique that Niu Chang wielded. Each technique resembled a specialized gear, functioning with singular precision, yet this did not imply individual weakness; quite the contrary, each technique exhibited comprehensive prowess. Subsequently, these distinct gears were harmoniously arranged and synchronized, forming an intricate set of techniques that Da Jiu couldn''t have fathomed if he hadn''t witnessed it firsthand. ¡®The same principle applies to his formations; though they appear immensely potent and intricate at first glance, they are essentially a collection of simple formations artfully stacked to create a qualitatively transformative effect on the overall construct.¡¯ Then, a thought surfaced in his mind: ¡®Is it possible that this freak can only employ this technique with the aid of formations?¡¯ Upon scrutinizing Niu Chang closely, Da Jiu abandoned his preceding speculation. ¡®Even if he needs formations for executing such a powerful technique, he should possess an assortment of techniques at a comparable level. Perhaps it would take him no more than one and a half seconds to replicate the same devastating destruction.¡¯ Using his second brain, Niu Chang effortlessly assimilated all the cultivation techniques Da Jiu had accumulated throughout his life. "Why are you still doing nothing?" Niu Chang inquired with a penetrating gaze. "Do you believe I am willing to remain here for an entire month merely for you to omit everything I desire? Make that thing once again encompassing every conceivable detail." Da Jiu could only comply silently with Niu Chang''s directive. He harnessed his power to condense another clump of light and imbued it with diverse forms of information that he deemed capable of satisfying Niu Chang. Following the established routine, Niu Chang diligently absorbed the clump of light without hesitation. ¡®This young man is genuinely peculiar; I never imparted instructions on absorbing the light pearl, yet he accomplishes it effortlessly. Could he have been tutored by a saint?¡¯ The first light pearl contained only a small amount of information, making it easily absorbable for anyone below the saint realm. However, the second light pearl held an excessive amount of information, requiring a specific technique for absorption. It took Niu Chang less than twenty minutes to fully assimilate the information within the light pearl. When he glanced at Da Jiu again, a hint of disdain appeared on his face. He discovered that the highest realm was, in fact, the saint realm, with nothing beyond it in existence. Therefore, he no longer needed to be excessively cautious; he simply had to exercise caution for the time being. Da Jiu comprehended the meaning behind Niu Chang¡¯s gaze, thinking, ¡®So, for him, does "saint" hold no significance?¡¯ The information provided by Da Jiu was comprehensive, encompassing everything Niu Chang desired to know. Yet, there were a few points Niu Chang sought clarification on. ¡°The saint realm possesses its own distinct energy known as holy power. Could you demonstrate this holy power to me?¡± Upon reaching the saint realm, individuals underwent a transformation in their life level. This transformation elevated saints above ordinary people, granting them the ability to manipulate the unique holy power of their level. The Saint¡¯s Dignity, in reality, emanated as a faint aura of holy power. This aura alone had the ability to subdue those below the saint level. ¡°I already did,¡± replied Da Jiu, his tone devoid of emotion. He once again harnessed his holy power, the same energy he used to condense the light pearls. Observing the luminous energy in Da Jiu¡¯s palm, Niu Chang found himself perplexed. He could perceive the energy but was incapable of sensing it. Da Jiu¡¯s expression grew stern as he regarded Niu Chang. Right from the outset, his interest in Niu Chang had been piqued due to the latter¡¯s abundant holy power. Yet, much like anyone beneath the saint realm, Niu Chang remained unable to sense it. Thus, Da Jiu meticulously probed Niu Chang using various methods, only to ascertain that Niu Chang truly lacked the ability to sense the holy power within him. It was as though the holy power was leaking¡ªno, more akin to a cascading waterfall due to the absence of any containment. "No matter what kind of saint you may be, ignoring such a matter is simply impossible," Da Jiu concluded, convinced that Niu Chang harbored a profound secret within him. No matter what level they were at, cultivators were always limited by their energy. Leaking out one¡¯s energy without taking any action to address it was equivalent to mortals suffering from blood loss. "Holy power is a unique energy that can only be sensed by those who are at the saint level. Even if I were to directly give you this energy, you wouldn''t be able to do anything with it," Da Jiu explained truthfully, manipulating his holy power to influence the surroundings. Niu Chang exerted all his effort to capture this elusive energy, but his attempts were in vain. It was only then that he recalled his first encounter with Da Jiu. "This man had only a few times more energy than the strongest golden core," he thought. This fact posed various problems, as it seemed inconceivable for someone who had withstood the most powerful strike from Niu Chang to possess such a small amount of energy. In the end, he could only sigh. He extended his finger in an attempt to capture the faint light dancing around him, but he couldn''t feel anything. Chapter 83 - A Small Goal for a Small Person Who Work Hard in His Life Niu Chang had already acquired all the information he wanted. The final piece he needed to confirm was beyond his reach. Naturally, he wouldn''t force Da Jiu to stay and become his experimental subject. Regardless of how dejected and mentally beaten Da Jiu was, his will would slowly begin to heal over time, leading to renewed conflicts. In Niu Chang''s opinion, there was no longer any benefit in engaging with Da Jiu. "As promised, you can leave now," Niu Chang said casually, making Da Jiu wait for a genuine confirmation. "Why are you not leaving? Do you want me to surprise you again so you''ll start running?" Niu Chang said with a hint of displeasure. Without replying, Da Jiu''s figure became invisible. Through their karmic bond, Niu Chang could sense Da Jiu leaving without hesitation, utilizing his gathered holy power to increase his speed even further. ¡°Now then," Niu Chang stretched his body, even though it was unnecessary as his physical body was always at its peak. He simply felt like doing it. After obtaining the latest knowledge, it was now Niu Chang''s task to wait for the second brain to finish its work and formulate a plan for the future. He sighed, ¡®Hah¡­ It feels empty¡­ This is good, but the excitement of the struggle has vanished.¡¯ ¡®Well, the act of contemplation itself is a kind of struggle. At least it''s better than being beaten up just for the sake of a spicy dramatic battle.¡¯ Three minutes later, the second brain completed its analysis and presented Niu Chang with a detailed plan for the future in a user-friendly PowerPoint. Reading it effortlessly, Niu Chang found that everything was so straightforward that he only needed to follow it like a mindless zombie, even though he had his own thoughts. The presence of numerous alternative solutions provided to him without the need for deep thought felt different. ¡®So, the best way for me to sense holy power wasn''t to create a specific skill for it. Instead, there''s a better approach.¡¯ Niu Chang''s method of cultivation had always been the same: simple and effective. If he couldn''t do something one way, he would do it another way. If he couldn¡¯t advance, he would walk around the obstacle. If he couldn¡¯t create something due to lack of materials, he would bypass it and develop a skill or technique to solve the problem. The first idea that came to his mind was to create a skill that would allow him to sense holy power. However, as he contemplated the unforeseen obstacles he had yet to face, his second brain offered various alternatives. One of them was to elevate his cultivation technique or skill to saint level. Since this was a saint-level method, it naturally required holy power. He began to consider which technique he should focus on. He reviewed them: ¡®Verdant Tree Under the Bright Sky, Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree, Unwanted Visitor, Song of Transcendence, White Rose of Desolation, Spider of Winter Cave¡­¡¯ There were many options, each unique in its own way. In the end, he chose the Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree. Seated cross-legged in mid-air, he collaborated with his second brain to enhance the Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree technique. With the natural sound of the roaring sea in the background, he found relaxation, and inspiration flowed as naturally as spring water. Two and a half hours later, he completed his work. Thanks to Da Jiu¡¯s contribution of true knowledge of martial arts, Niu Chang easily elevated the rank of his technique. He didn''t finish because it was fully complete, but because he had reached the limit of his ability. ¡®Just like the information that Da Jiu gave me, anyone would reach their limit after continuous study of the golden core technique.¡¯ Niu Chang could now sense a mental barrier, particularly when attempting to further enhance his technique. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. It was an elusive feeling that was difficult to describe. It was akin to a freshwater fish yearning to explore the world beyond and finally encountering the boundary between freshwater and seawater. Struggling with strong determination in the brackish waters, it ultimately could not fully transition into the saltwater area. The fish was aware that just ahead lay an entirely new world it had never seen or experienced. However, its inherent nature as a freshwater fish constrained its ability to progress further. This had been the limit for everyone on the continent. However, with the existence of saint-level individuals, a natural way to bypass this inherent restriction emerged. Much like how freshwater fish realized the presence of water salinity, those with golden cores who reached the pinnacle were naturally aware of what lay beyond their capabilities. These were not the laws of martial dao, but the true great dao itself ¨C a path to transcendence, laid out before their eyes. Just as freshwater constituted only a part of the larger body of water, martial dao was merely a component of the great dao. Having reached this stage, all of them were undoubtedly exceptional individuals possessing great talent and aptitude. Finally, they had discovered a method to break through. While the martial dao they cultivated remained confined within the boundaries of the continent, the great dao knew no such limitations, regardless of location or time. Their task was now to cultivate the great dao. However, this was far from easy, given that the prerequisites were more demanding than those of the martial dao. From this juncture, the practice of martial arts and the pursuit of immortal cultivation became independent endeavors. To commence cultivation, they needed spiritual roots. Though these were known by various names, every saint agreed that this requirement was akin to a dao seed. Innate in nature, this quality was present in those born with it. Many attempted to attain it through cultivation, but success had so far eluded all. In the end, it was a reflection of nature''s workings ¨C the strong preying upon the weak. Those who were already aware embarked on journeys across the world, seeking out these dao children and claiming them for their own progress in cultivation. Drawing from Mo Qi¡¯s memories, Niu Chang was aware of the existence of the Child of Divine Fire. This was another name for the dao child, particularly when it had an affinity for fire. His thoughts grew contemplative at this point. Recalling Gu Fa¡¯s avatar mentioned he wanted the "heads", Niu Chang couldn''t help but think, ¡®How potent is this beginner packet? Could it be that I''ve encountered not one, but two dao children in my starting village? Is this a foreshadowing for the future, implying that I must protect Shen Sanhua and Qin Qing to ensure a compelling storyline?¡¯ If Niu Chang followed the normal routine, he might become a plot device for the story, creating another classic xianxia-style cultivation journey. He would start from a small village, encounter fortuitous events, embark on his journey, and so on. Even though he would be guaranteed godhood by default as the main character, he would need to reduce his IQ and EQ by half and endure countless clich¨¦s thrust upon him by fate. Then he attempted to calculate the number of days since his system awakening and compared it to the time it would take to reach his current stage if he became a plot device with no intelligence at all. ¡®It hasn''t even been a month, and I''m already the strongest being in this small continent. If I followed the plot correctly, it would take at least five hundred chapters and over two years to achieve the same feat.¡¯ ¡®However, in exchange for all of that, my life would become monotonous, devoid of face slap, drama, tension, and even immersion. Everything is too logical, akin to reading a history book rather than an engaging xianxia story.¡¯ Niu Chang shook his head as he no longer wanted to pity his boring life. ¡®...if it''s dull due to a lack of tension, why not improve it in my own way? By having a good time with the top beauties on this small continent? Wasn''t this what I desired most as a reader? Teaching these high-profile females a lesson in karma? Beauty is a sin, no matter what you are, as long you have sinned naturally there should be a person to punish you for that sin¡­¡¯ Niu Chang prioritized his life goal of achieving immortality, omnipotence, and omniscience. However, if everything continued to unfold lacklusterly, where he employed his intelligence, information, and creativity to break the game''s rules, what joy would his journey bring? Similar to his initial attempt, the achievement of the goal itself did not match his lofty expectations. Just as one feels hunger or thirst, the journey took precedence over the goal, becoming the primary focus. ¡®As long as it doesn''t affect my grand plan, it should be acceptable.¡¯ ¡®After all, in my first life, I never encountered a story where the protagonist became too powerful and indulged in their desires. They either turned into a justice-believing yet magnanimity-lacking wretch, a true hypocritical, self-righteous scoundrel, or swung to the opposite end as an edgy lord from the deepest layer of hell, adorned with complicated of sad and miserable backstory to justified his coldness that caused my finger to bleed from scrolling to read further.¡¯ Finally, after a momentary bout of depression from his uneventful life, from his initial encounter with Da Jiu to the present, Niu Chang regained his happiness and energy. ¡®I set a small goal for myself, to fuc-... ahem, aiming to effectively channel the products of my diligent labor and prolonged contemplation. Day and night, I toiled tirelessly, fueled by an unwavering commitment to creativity and resourcefulness as a devoted reader. My mission? Simple yet profound ¨C to finally craft the story I yearned to read, one that had regrettably eluded my grasp among the vast literary offerings. With determination in my heart, I declare my intention to step up and become the storyteller I''ve been waiting for, bringing to life the narrative that has been absent from my literary explorations.¡¯ Chapter 84 - Jin Dan After receiving confirmation from Niu Chang, Da Jiu immediately left the place. Utilizing the holy power that he had gathered during the conversation, he was able to increase his speed faster than before. With that increased speed, it didn''t take Da Jiu long to reach the continent. However, before he could enter the aerial territory of the continent, he felt that something was amiss. He came to a halt where he was. "Show yourself!" Da Jiu shouted into the void. He could sense that something was watching him not too far away; he thought, ''There must be a saint observing me right now.'' Several seconds passed, but nothing changed. Da Jiu then attempted to probe this unknown saint. "Friend, we share no karma between us. Why attempt to create one?" As before, there was no response. Just as Da Jiu was about to make his move, a large shadow engulfed his body. A hand formed from air materialized and seized his body. Da Jiu was shocked to find that he couldn''t resist this grip. He was terrified to realize that all of his holy power had been sealed, and his body was instantly captured. After gripping Da Jiu, the hand began to fade, leaving only the sealed Da Jiu suspended in the air. Not far away, a figure revealed itself. He was a young man in his mid-twenties, exuding a blend of innocent youth and maturity. He wore a pristine, long-sleeved daoist robe without a speck of dust. His eyebrows were long, and his eyes possessed a sharpness that seemed to harbor endless stars. A mark of good fortune rested between his eyebrows. He waved his hand, drawing Da Jiu closer to him, before departing toward the continent. In the Central Region, Within the sacred ground of the Dao Clan, A dignified man was seated cross-legged on a cultivation mat woven from clouds and dew. His presence was ethereal, as if he were not truly there but a mere illusion. Suddenly, he opened his eyes. A clear voice blossomed directly inside his mind; the voice was gender-neutral and loud like thunder. ¡°The path of immortality is long; the dao is endless. If you wish to continue, you need someone to guide you. Come to this place if you want to proceed.¡± The man frowned for a moment before he disappeared. Still in the Central Region, on a beautiful mountain where the air is rich with spiritual energy and various creatures live happily. A man was taking a stroll in his backyard, accompanied by the loud sound of a waterfall. He suddenly halted his steps. ¡°What is wrong with my husband?¡± Behind him stood a group of women, each unique in her own right. If Niu Chang were here, he would approve of this man''s taste. From small to big, from young to mature, from gentle to strong, he had every kind of woman in his backyard. And each of them was looking at the man with endless love; some were pure, while others were filled with lust. He too suddenly heard that thunderous voice blossoming inside his mind. Then he followed suit, and his figure disappeared from the spot. ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Where is my husband?¡± ¡°Sister Ying! Our husband is leaving again!¡± ¡°Is he going to bring another sister here?¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Is he some kind of collector? Aren''t we enough for him?¡± Various women were chirping in confusion about their husband''s sudden disappearance. The so-called Sister Ying, the woman with the highest cultivation level, remained cool-headed and didn''t say anything as she entered her house and began to meditate. In the Western Region, In the grand temple of monks, The head monk, who had already retreated from the world, experienced the same event. This was followed by another hidden monk in a smaller temple. Located in the North Region, Within the building of a grand tutor, A handsome man was engrossed in his task of reading and addressing various issues presented to him. At that moment, he heard the same thunderous voice and left his place. He arrived in front of a grand gate and announced his arrival. ¡°Your Majesty, your loyal servant Tu Nong, requests an audience with you.¡± It didn''t take long before a soft voice responded, "Go." Having received the answer he sought, Tu Nong no longer lingered around the grand gate and immediately departed. In the Eastern Region, Which was the harshest place to live due to its mostly desert terrain, Within the sacred ground of the Green Sun Sect, An old man with white hair and a long beard opened his eyes. Without uttering a single word, he promptly left his sect. In another sacred ground belonging to the Blue Star Sect, A woman was busy studying her celestial board, which was filled with diagrams and intricate lines. She heard the same thunderous voice but ignored it, as she was engrossed in her calculations. Three seconds later, the same thunderous voice echoed in her mind once again. However, this time, its tone had changed, saying: "Come, or let your dao dissipate." The woman possessed an enchanting figure, with hair that was navy blue but reaching the ends, it shone like the star in the night sky. She wore a long dress that enhanced her attractiveness, as it tightly hugged her body. She let out a soft yet audible groan to express her dissatisfaction before leaving her room. Her celestial board, which she had been working with, also disappeared with her. In the southeast direction of the continent, A small island floated not far away, but no one could find it as it remained concealed from the world. This small island was known as Flower Fruit Island. Seven individuals who had received an invitation or a threat arrived shortly after, finally discovering the small island they had only heard rumors of. "Tsk," an old man adorned in monk attire grumbled, his clothing consisting of a simple piece of cloth across his chest and another covering his bottom. As the sea wind blew strongly, his lower cloth swayed, inadvertently revealing more than intended. "Wow," the second man from the Central Region exclaimed, capturing this in his perception. "As expected from the monk from the west." "What unsightly behavior," remarked the man from the north, his attire being the most proper and mortal friendly among them. "Shut your nonsense. I won''t take criticism from a dog who does nothing but bark and lick its owner''s feet," the old monk retorted without hesitation. "I won''t argue with you," the man from the north replied shortly, no longer engaging with the old monk. "Oh, to meet Miss Lan Xin here. This trip is indeed worth it," the old monk said, shifting his gaze toward the last person to arrive. Lan Xin, the ancestor of the Blue Star Sect, had been the last to arrive due to her single-minded focus on her work. Upon hearing her name, Lan Xin raised her head to look, she could use her saintly perception, but due to her concentration, she relied on her own eyes. Observing the old monk''s attire and his unintentional exposure, Lan Xin lost interest and returned her focus to her celestial board. The elderly representative from the Green Sun Sect cleared his throat. "Friend from the west, you are a saint. The sea breeze shouldn''t affect your clothes. Why do it intentionally?" The old monk was momentarily stunned before rubbing his bald head and laughing. "Ah, you''re right! With old age comes forgetfulness. Hahaha." However, the perverted blush on his face betrayed his words. The first man from the Central Region, who had been silent, turned his gaze to the other monk from the west. This monk was younger, but still advanced in years. He wore the proper monk attire, covering most of his body, and had pants instead of a single cloth. Additionally, he had not shaved his head. The monk smiled at the man and said, "Long time no see, Dao Jin Dan." Upon hearing the name, everyone instinctively turned to observe Dao Jin Dan, including the elderly representative from the Green Sun Sect. "You really exist? Pah! I mean, you are still alive?" the man from the Central Region with multiple wives bluntly inquired. The age of martial artists was lengthy, yet the Golden Core era remained youthful when tracing back through history. The first individual to achieve the Golden Core did so merely seven hundred years ago, hailing from the Central Continent. Numerous theories existed regarding the nomenclature of the Golden Core Realm; one such theory speculated that it earned its name due to the initial golden core that condensed, bearing the yellow hue of gold. Additionally, a rumor circulated that the inaugural person who accomplished this feat was named "Golden Core." Dao Jin Dan observed the second man from the Central Region, choosing not to respond. "Why are you all still waiting here?" the busy Lan Xin interjected, taking the lead by flying toward Flower Fruit Island. The others followed suit, trailing behind her. Chapter 85 - The Seven Saints Upon entering Flower Fruit Island, the seven saints could sense qualitative changes in the world around them. The air on this small island was rich with pure spiritual energy, but more importantly, the breath of dao was so dense that the saints could faintly feel it without the need for meditation. The island teemed with vegetation, yet it hadn''t devolved into a messy jungle; instead, it resembled a well-maintained garden. Wherever their saintly perception wandered, all they could see were exotic and rare treasures they had never encountered in their lives. Beyond the plants, the saints also discovered legendary animals and demons that had embarked on cultivation, deriving from both plant and beast. The old monk, who wore only two pieces of cloth, salivated upon seeing everything here; the light of greed shone brightly in his eyes. To the extent that his thoughts materialized, causing all native beings on Flower Fruit Island to deliberately avoid his gaze. Before long, they reached their destination at the heart of the island. A small mountain, visible from the continent, stood before them. A gentle stream flowed, eventually cascading down as a small waterfall. Behind the mountain, a small cottage crafted from natural materials stood, accompanied by a nearby pavilion. A figure sat in wait, the seven saints landed, fixing their attention on the young man who anticipated their arrival. Despite being visible to their eyes, they couldn''t detect any presence from this young man. However, none of them felt fear, as they sensed that his dao breath resonated with theirs. ¡®He is still a saint,¡¯ the old monk remarked with interest. ¡°He is actually in the perfection stage?¡± In the realm of saints, there existed four minor stages: the early stage, middle stage, advanced stage, and, finally, the perfection stage. Each minor stage had its distinct limits. To become a saint, it signifies the opening of a small world within their own body. In the early stage, they could virtually project their inner world into reality. As they progressed to the middle stage, they could blend the virtual and reality, thereby melding with their surroundings. In the advanced stage, saints could fully manifest their small world in the larger reality, where they reigned as rulers. The final stage represented the perfection of this small world. It no longer existed solely as a means to enhance a saint''s attack power, but rather became a self-contained realm with its own rules, capable of housing living beings and evolving independently. Naturally, the increase in actual power surpassed that of merely summoning the inner world to the outside world. "Welcome, everyone. Please take a seat wherever you prefer," the young man said, lifting his face to address them. Even the busy Lan Xin was momentarily stunned as she felt her emotions unsettled by simply gazing upon the young man''s visage. "He possesses a heavenly appearance," remarked the man with multiple wives, his words tinged with both envy and admiration. He, among the seven, was the most pleasing in appearance, as his obsession with looks was evident. "Hahaha," chuckled the old monk as he conjured something with his holy power to sit upon. He chose a spot beside the pavilion and added, "Young friend, are you the one who has summoned us here?" Despite his friendly demeanor, he didn¡¯t even try to conceal his greed. He displayed a willingness to indulge in any form of pleasure, regardless of gender, a desire to experience them all. The Western monks had a unique approach to cultivation. While they upheld the notion of great enlightenment, their practice revolved around indulgence in worldly desires. Lust and violence were commonplace in the Western Region, almost as if they were the norm. Due to their unrestrained behavior, the other regions quietly concurred to eliminate any monk venturing beyond the Western Region. They were akin to beasts in human guise. At times, they would greet you with smiles and discuss harmonious relationships. However, when your guard was down, they would betray you in various treacherous ways. They would cripple your cultivation, rape your family members, dismember them, and cook them for you to eat. If this were not enough to convince any newbie who has just started their journey on the martial path, they would be convinced when their teacher said there were no good monks. A good monk is one who no longer breathes. This made the young one ask the crucial question. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "Then, teacher, do you mean all the monks practiced the same method of cultivation?" The teacher only gave a short reply, "Yes." While there were various approaches in the monks'' attempts for great enlightenment, most of them were done in a distorted way. Great compassion would make them kill all living beings in an attempt to free them from suffering, but deep in their hearts, they just wanted to kill anything and do whatever they wanted. The same applied to great love... Nothing could escape their mighty rod. The rest of the saints took their seats. The two from the east chose to sit closely. Followed by the man from the north not far away. Dao Jin Dan chose to take an empty place away from the rest. The first monk chose to take a place not far from the eastern duo. Lastly, the second man from the Central Region sat inside the pavilion. The young man with the heavenly appearance no longer smiled as he opened the conversation. "I will talk directly to the point. The seven of you are the strongest on the continent. There are indeed more saints, but you are the strongest nonetheless. The continent that gave birth to and sheltered you in the past is now facing a great disaster that will decide the future." He paused for a moment to give the saints time to digest what he had just said. The old monk just smiled, but he didn¡¯t give much thought to listening seriously. He had heard the information, but he thought it wasn''t that important to him. The old man from the Green Sun Sect was listening attentively, while Lan Xin was only paying half attention, the other half on her celestial board. Dao Jin Dan and the younger monk remained silent. "Could you please provide us with more specific details about this great disaster you are talking?" The distinguished tutor from the north was the one displaying the utmost seriousness. The north was governed by a single empire, and everything fell under the control of the emperor. However, this centralized control over the vast expanse of the Northern Region also led to greater peace compared to other regions, thanks to the wisdom of the ruler and the virtue of his ministers. As the grand tutor, it was Tu Nong''s natural duty to ensure the safety of everyone. While his focus was understandably on the people of the north, he still cared about the well-being of the entire world. "Our time is limited, and with each passing second, the threat grows stronger. Therefore, I will illustrate everything about him with this demonstration." The young man opened his palm, and holy power danced in the air, transforming into seven colored lights that eventually converged into seven distinct points of light. The seven sages apprehended the seven points of light and examined them closely, each displaying various reactions in a short span of time. The old monk burst into hearty laughter. "I never imagined the existence of something like this. Someone who can create and refine cultivation techniques effortlessly, as if breathing..." Lan Xin was astounded as she perused every technique and skill that Niu Chang had unveiled to the world. "He possesses remarkable comprehension," the elder from the Green Sun Sect responded to Lan Xin. His words appeared to address both Lan Xin and Niu Chang. Initially puzzled, Tu Nong gradually pieced together the information. "Young man, I fail to identify any issues with this boy. Although he displays peculiarity in various aspects and exhibits exceptional cultivation talent, I find no fault in him. It''s evident that those he eliminated were individuals who held malevolent intentions toward him." The young man did not respond directly but instead scanned the surroundings, seeking someone to address Tu Nong''s inquiry. "Ambatukam," the other monk intoned the distinctive chant of their teaching. "The boy indeed refrained from harming the innocent, yet he proactively created karma with his innocence. Despite the world''s lack of mercy, the boy chose to enter the tiger''s den, knowing that the tiger would attempt to strike first." If Niu Chang were here, he would be laughing uncontrollably. However, this world had no relation to his previous world. It was a natural phenomenon; in the realm of endless possibilities, some aspects might be similar, but the details could be different, just like in this world. According to the teachings of the monk, that word held a very positive meaning. Thus, it was unjust for Niu Chang to judge it based on his standards as a reincarnator. It was akin to deeming a fish unintelligent for its inability to climb a tree, an irrelevant topic for its background. "Grand Tutor Tu Nong, I recognize your caring nature. Yet, do not judge him solely by his actions. You must also consider that with each conflict he faced, he remarkably augmented his power according to his adversary," spoke the man with many wives. "Furthermore, if you scrutinize his actions, you''ll find he has made few, if any, commendable decisions in his life. He forsook his parents, sacrificed his sister when he could have saved her, not to mention the numerous reprehensible deeds he committed merely to amass more strength!" "I have encountered individuals like this young man before," the man cast a fleeting glance at the two monks before resuming. "Given his peculiar ability, what do you anticipate upon his arrival on the continent?" "Considering his past conduct, it is evident that he places great emphasis on his own safety. However, this will likely change upon his discovery that the mightiest individual on the continent is a saint. How do you suppose he will react?" "No speculation is necessary; his cunning nature speaks for itself. He will likely seek out early or middle stage saints to bolster his foundation, thereby transforming the entire world into his playground. How great a threat does this boy pose? He put no one in his eyes, as everything is expendable for his great cause." While the man delivered an extensive and meticulous speech, Tu Nong remained plagued by lingering doubt. He, a man brimming with compassion and concern for others, discerned that Niu Chang was not truly malevolent. He surveyed his surroundings and noticed that the others were silently concurring with the discourse. His shoulders slumped, for he found himself incapable of championing justice. His words would effect no change. ¡®These individuals are saints, both in cultivation and character. For them, status and power reign supreme. When faced with a potential threat to their status and power, they will inevitably oppose the menace, even if it is just an infant in its mother''s womb.¡¯ ¡®Oh, if only this world forbade cultivation. Would people therein prioritize the greater good over personal gain?¡¯ Tu Nong pondered. As much as he longed to advocate for justice, Tu Nong acknowledged the prevailing reality. The assembly revealed that he alone was an advanced stage saint in the Northern region. Resistance would yield consequences not solely borne by him, but by the innocent populace as well. ¡®There is no justice in this world. People perpetually crave more than what they possess. Even I, as a saint, am unable to just speak up for it.¡¯ Chapter 86 - Niu Chang Evaluation There were many questions that required answers. However, observing how quickly Niu Chang grew and adapted to his situation, the seven saints felt the weight of time pressing upon them. Even the nonchalant old monk began to take Niu Chang seriously; he might not care about the world, but he did care about his own well-being. If they were to release Niu Chang for a month, what would naturally await him? Naturally there will be someone who is stronger than him come knocking on his door, ready to put a leash around his neck. "I understand that many of you have your own confusion and doubts. I will address all of them using this simple method," the young man declared as he stood up from his seat. "I swear on my dao heart that I will assist all seven of you in breaking through to the perfection stage once we eliminate the danger. I will not prolong my help beyond the completion of this mission. If I fail to uphold this vow, I am willing to be consumed by my inner demon''s fire and let my dao dissipate." With this statement, the young man provided the seven saints with an offer they could not refuse when it came to confronting Niu Chang. Their current world was insufficient to support their next stage of cultivation, which resulted in their constant stagnation at the advanced stage of the saint realm. Continuing his explanation, the young man added, "As you are aware, the threat tend to become stronger when facing adversaries. It''s a form of karma¡ªwhenever he forms negative karma with someone, he gains their power level. However, there is no need to worry, as I can prevent this from happening." This explanation cleared the last remaining doubt in the saints'' hearts. They now understood the peculiarity of Niu Chang''s ability¡ªto naturally gain the same power as his enemies, a concept beyond their previous knowledge. However, many of them were still puzzled as to why Niu Chang hadn''t increased his cultivation level by absorbing that energy. Lan Xin voiced this question, asking, "What if the boy is actually concealing his true cultivation level? Given his understanding, it wouldn''t be too difficult for him to create a skill that hides his true strength." "Do not concern yourselves with this matter. I assure you that the threat is indeed not concealing his true cultivation level or anything else, except for a technique he has yet to reveal," the young man reassured them. The other saints followed, each asking their own question for the young man to answer, reassuring them again and again. It reached the point where the other monk asked the real question, "Why are you gathering seven of us if you are stronger than the seven of us to face the boy?" The saints were naturally aware of how grandiose their lineup was, but they didn¡¯t want to be the ones who pointed this problem out. ¡°I know what you are trying to say, but you already knew how powerful this threat was. It is not something that can be solely judged by his cultivation level alone. When facing the threat was fighting Da Jiu, an early stage saint, he could easily defeat him with one simple move.¡± ¡°Now let me ask you this, if I had not shown the real footage of that battle, would you believe me if I said someone who is not even at the foundation establishment realm is able to defeat a saint in one move?¡± The young man looked at Lan Xin, ¡°Miss Lan, what do you think the biggest danger of this threat actually is?¡± Lan Xin put down her celestial board and said seriously, ¡°Although the boy had unlimited energy resources, that was actually not a problem. We can just seal off the world and disperse his energy. The method he used to defeat Da Jiu was the only application of energy when facing a saint while not being a saint. By combusting the energy at an instantaneous rate to cause a massive explosion, even the saint was unable to defend himself properly since it was pure destruction, not any fancy trick or anything.¡± ¡°The biggest danger he possesses is his great comprehension and limitless creativity in solving problems in the most efficient way.¡± ¡°If I had to put it in simpler terms, I believe I don¡¯t have any chance of winning if I face him alone. He might adapt and counter everything I do after each move and ultimately defeat me without leaving any escape.¡± ¡°He is someone who is not limited by his realm, for his mind has already transcended the nature of cultivation itself.¡± ¡°What a great evaluation,¡± the old monk said while clapping, but the sarcastic remarks were evident. ¡°So what if he is able to defeat that puny early stage with one move? Isn''t it because he does it sneakily?¡± ¡°Now that we know his method, naturally we are better than that guy.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Everyone was looking at the old monk with the same gaze. Lan Xin had just stated that the biggest threat of Niu Chang was his unfathomable method, but he was suggesting that they only need to counter it. The man with many wives, Tu Nong, and the elderly from the Green Sun Sect turned their attention to look at the other monk. They remained silent, as everything was very clear. Aware that the old man was a monk, they chose to ignore it. Talking with a monk would lead to no accomplishment; this was a universally acknowledged fact. Perhaps he spoke bluntly out of ignorance, but that didn''t imply he was foolish. Maybe he intended to keep the boy''s secret for himself. This was why the three men fixed their gaze upon the other monk, a younger man who still retained his hair. The younger monk let out a sigh and chanted, "amabatukam." "I understand you harbor prejudices, but your judgment should be based on the present reality. Please leave room for an unbiased perspective." The younger monk refrained from retorting or defending himself, as he simply desired an opportunity for understanding from the others. However, this proved to be an unattainable wish. Between a devil and a monk, the three individuals would readily trust the devil. With a devil, at least, the evil nature was evident. Yet, for a monk... no further thinking was needed... Nevertheless, given their gathering here, the young man hosting the assembly had undoubtedly considered each member thoroughly. Therefore, he chose to step forward. "Rest assured, I guarantee there will be no backstabbing or betrayal during this mission." Though he avoided looking at the monks, his words carried a distinct clarity. Upon hearing this, the old monk sneered, while the other monk remained silent. Lan Xin''s assessment had persuaded everyone, so further inquiries were unnecessary. During a brief intermission, everyone took a moment to rest. The remaining individuals were the young man with the heavenly appearance, Dao Jin Dan, and the monk who retained his hair. ¡°I know what the two of you wanted to ask. But I can¡¯t fulfill it even if you ask. But that person promised to meet you if we succeed in eradicating the threat.¡± "Since you have already given your word, I can be assured," the younger monk said. Dao Jin Dan simply nodded in affirmation. "Now, shall we leave?" the young man''s voice echoed throughout the entire Flower Fruit Island. He didn''t ask; rather, he provided a notification to depart immediately. ... In the deep part of the sea, The sky remained as gloomy as ever, with harsh winds and endless giant seawaves. Niu had just finished setting up his small goal when he suddenly felt that something was amiss. But just as he was about to capture this fleeting feeling, it suddenly disappeared. He immediately entered his space of mind and looked at the gigantic celestial astrolabe, which was working independently. There, he discovered what he had just forgotten. He extended his hand to grasp something from the celestial astrolabe. It was a weightless gray light with the texture of water. Niu Chang played with it while pondering what this thing was. ''Something is actually interfering with me without triggering the system?'' Niu Chang thought. The gray light remained stable in his hand, but his thoughts were continuously interrupted, as if an invisible force was trying to erase them. ¡®There is actually something that is able to influence my thoughts inside my own space of mind? What powerful enemy do I have now?'' Niu Chang didn''t need to activate any countermeasures, as everything he had was on standby all the time. Even now, he was already utilizing every countermeasure he possessed. ''Tsk tsk, nothing works against this invisible force.'' ''You don''t want me to think about you, but that is a mistake in itself.'' ''The way of karma is intricate and elusive; causality is prominent but fragile. For every effect, there will be a cause. Now the cause is being erased, leaving only the shadow of the effect.'' ''But in the end, it''s always about two sides. If the other side wanted to erase it, why bother chasing after its trail if I can just use my side.'' Even if his thoughts could be influenced, it was different for the celestial astrolabe, which stood on its own using only binary. Even so, it still affected it, but that was not really a problem for it. It could just use various methods to address the "***" with other named variables and run deductions based on that. Nothing was unbreakable; for something to rise, something also needed to fall. Not long after, the second brain presented Niu Chang with its deductions naturally, using various methods to re-route everything that was banned with something else, so he could understand what was actually happening. ''Hah!'' Niu Chang let out a short laugh. ''This is going to be exciting.'' He exited his state of mind and abandoned his plan to resurrect his two followers. Instead, he prepared himself for what was coming at him. Chapter 87 - The Lord of The Continent To the extent the second brain can deduce, it merely listed various possibilities and arranged them based on probability, from top to bottom. Niu Chang, although unsure of what was impending, was an experienced reader who always prioritized preparing for the worst-case scenario. He didn''t hold back. "Hum hum hum," he happily hummed and playfully snapped his fingers to express his emotions. Invisible waves of energy permeated from his body as different shapes of glass emanated. Rectangular, circular, triangular, and many more shapes began constructing a massive formation. It didn''t take too much time for the formation to lay its foundation. A massive wall of prismatic glass adorned with subtle colors covered its surface but remained pristine at its core. This extensive wall extended deep into the ocean below and pierced the black cloud above, connecting the world with a single construct that defied human expectations. It resembled a masterpiece of art and construction, akin to the work of a god. Subsequently, the second step commenced. The prismatic glass wall emitted a soft hum and began absorbing the materials around it. At its summit, it greedily consumed the dark clouds; on its surface, the wind flowed into it like a swarm of locusts; and at its base, the roaring gigantic sea waves were disrupted, creating a substantial circular gap around the wall. Niu Chang could transform his qi into material; naturally, the reverse process worked as well. Transforming material into energy remained within his abilities, given that the focus of his qi cultivation involved the transformation of all things. As he accumulated an extensive amount of energy from the free resources in his surroundings, he couldn''t help but feel slightly lost. ''If possible, I''d prefer not to do this.'' As an experienced reader, he naturally assumed that the world he currently inhabited, the continent, should merely be the setting for him to explore for about five to six hundred chapters before venturing into the broader world. By consuming the materials in this boundless sea, there was a potential for this endless sea¡ªcapable of even confusing the senses of saints¡ªto play a significant role in sealing the continent off from the rest of the world. But he was currently facing something unknown. Even if he was just being too paranoid, he could still store this massive energy and use it later on. All in all, he was preparing for the worst-case scenario. If he found himself beaten up to a pulp because he was being careless, it would naturally leave a bad taste in his mouth. The majestic prismatic wall of glass then moved to the third step. On its body, the prismatic glass began to extend outward to create a base for something large. From that base, the prismatic glass kept moving outward before finally revealing its true form. A massive cannon with a large base, but it becomes narrower at the end. Learning from his mistake on how Da Jiu could survive one of his ultimate moves, Niu Chang made various adjustments on how to kill a saint with one hit. ¡®Although saints have a higher quality of energy, the holy power, that was not the main reason why Da Jiu could survive my energy detonation. It was mainly due to the nature of the saint realm; they had a small world inside their body.¡¯ Niu Chang had a belief that everything was about energy. As long as he had enough energy and detonated it to cause an explosion, everything could be solved. When facing Da Jiu for the first time, he was clueless about what realm Da Jiu was in and what characteristics he had. It was like being given a task on how to solve mathematical problems but not having enough knowledge about the terms and symbols used in it. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. So the only way to solve it was to kill the task giver ¨C taking the problem right at its root. But now that he had knowledge about the saint realm and more, he made adjustments to his method of killing saints. ¡®Targeting their physical body wouldn¡¯t be the most effective way, just like in many cultivation novels. As long as they are cultivators, they tend to create a core as their base of power and lifeline. As long as I destroy this core, even if they didn''t die immediately, their threat would be neutralized.¡¯ Thus, Niu Chang came up with the idea of this World End Fortress together with its Star Cannon. The Star Cannon wouldn''t create a spectacular view upon its usage, but it embodies Niu Chang''s obsession with simplicity and efficiency. It shoots out highly compressed energy that shouldn''t be possible by the continent standards. ¡®How do you kill a whale with a needle?¡¯ That was the question Niu Chang liked to ask himself when creating any destructive skill. The focus wasn''t on the plain question, but rather the idea behind it: how to solve a significant problem with the least effort. If Niu Chang were given the chance to destroy the entire continent, he would do so without hesitation¡ªsimply by creating a black hole. There were over a hundred ways to destroy the continent without resorting to the barbaric methods of physical violence, which did not align with his artistic taste. However, the system restrains his wild creativity, not fully utilized but not completely restricted either, since he still has many catastrophic methods in mind. At this moment, Niu Chang received a notification from the system: [Established karma with Lu Sang] Yet, that wasn''t his focus. When he formed karmic bonds with Lu Sang, he sensed an additional nine dots appearing on his radar. Simultaneously, an invisible force attempting to influence his mind also strives to make him ignore these additional nine dots. But how could that be? How long had Niu Chang been experiencing short-term dementia-like episodes like this? Naturally, he had already devised a tailored skill to counteract this phenomenon. It was a derivative of his Authority skill, intertwined with another technique called the Blind Judge, producing a new skill. Due to Niu Chang''s lack of naming sensibility, he either opted for directness or played with words. He named the new skill "Forget Me Not" without any specific reason; he just felt like it. The Blind Judge provided protection for the innocent and upheld justice for any crime, while the Authority ensured sovereignty over himself. Together, they formed a formidable defense against the unknown entity. No matter how high they were, as long as they chose to remain invisible from Niu Chang''s perception, the Forget Me Not skill should be able to protect him. The weightless gray light in his mind had also been deciphered. It contained limited but crucial information. First and foremost, someone was intercepting Da Jiu''s karma beyond predetermined limits. Secondly, an attempt had been made to conceal the karmic bond with those staying on the continent. Lastly, and most importantly, the world seemed to be undergoing various changes rapidly. This change was cleverly executed, working for everyone, but gradually narrowing its focus until it could specifically target Niu Chang without triggering the system. However, when Niu Chang attempted to deduce the mastermind behind all of this, he was stunned. He felt as though he was facing an impenetrable wall made of steel, stretching endlessly, leaving him no room to bypass this restriction. ¡®Any further attempts will be futile,¡¯ Niu Chang concluded. ¡®By trying to keep your identity shrouded in secrecy, you have only made it easier for me to discover your true identity ¨C the Lord of the Continent.¡¯ Someone capable of influencing the entire world without detection, specifically targeting Niu Chang ¨C it could only mean one thing. The enigmatic entity orchestrating these events was afraid of Niu Chang! No matter who this entity was, as long as they possessed the intelligence of an average person, they wouldn''t want someone to rule over their freedom. As the Lord of the Continent, this mysterious entity naturally possessed the ability to track down anyone. After considering everything up to this point, it must have judged that Niu Chang would be of no use and only posed a threat. Sensing its methods being countered, the invisible force attempting to manipulate Niu Chang''s mind grew restless. It desired to exert more power, but it was restrained, as doing so would trigger Niu Chang''s system. "Hehehe," Niu Chang laughed in a seemingly normal manner, then burst into louder laughter. "Hahahaha." "Welcome, my dear friend. Henceforth, I solemnly declare my unwavering stance. In this domain, I shall confront all adversaries, sparing none of innocence''s veil. This place is henceforth decreed a battleground; all who tread within my dominion shall be regarded as foes without exception. Any attempt to bend my course amidst these times of strife shall be deemed a transgression, subject to rightful retribution. Likewise, any endeavor to tamper with the very fabric of this environment shall be met with the stern hand of justice. This declaration of conflict shall endure as long as I deem it so, for I hold true to these guiding principles." Chapter 88 - Explosion Is Not an Art There was no immediate reaction from the surroundings. The ever-roaring sea waves kept undulating in the background. ¡®Well, I thought they would take the bait and prevent me from completing my declaration of war, but it seems they are more tactful... more cowardly than I thought.¡¯ Shaking his head in dejection, Niu Chang controlled the World End Fortress, adding additional cannons to match the number of people approaching him. However, after calculating their movement speed on his mental map, he realized that he wouldn''t have enough time to gather sufficient energy and shoot them if he used nine star cannons. This would be the case even if he used nine star cannons. Thus, the solution was to reduce the number of star cannons to maximize energy gathering and eliminate a few of them before the battle truly began. Following Niu Chang¡¯s command, the prismatic glass added only four more cannons to the wall, resulting in a total of five star cannons proudly pointing their long barrels outward. Made of pure prismatic glass, the construct was a sight to behold, standing alone amidst the rampaging sea. It connected heaven and the sea, appearing as a miracle in the mortal realm. The star cannons themselves did not resemble typical cannons or weapons; instead, they appeared more like extensions of the wall''s exterior. They lacked a round and circular shape, instead following the contour of the protruding glass. Occasionally, the World End Fortress would pulse with colorful light across its massive body, originating from both the top and bottom and converging in the middle where the cannons were located. However, Niu Chang realized that his plan wasn''t as effective as he had initially thought, as the nine dots on his mental map suddenly increased their speed. In the end, he had no choice but to reduce the number of his star cannons to three to match the enemy''s change. The prismatic body of the World End Fortress continued to increase its pulsating colorful light, much like a heart racing due to strenuous activity. Subsequently, the second brain initiated the firing procedure. The mechanical voice continued to ring in Niu Chang¡¯s mind, as he sensed a trace of powerful energy surrounding him, moving with delicate flow. "Running preliminary preparations." "Initializing power." "Acquiring and tracking target." "Loading projectiles." "Charging the energy." "Calibrating on targets." "Waiting for final confirmation." Time was tight, as the speed of the saint was beyond human reach. ¡®Fire,¡¯ Niu Chang confirmed, completing the last step using his second brain. The pulsating colorful light on the prismatic wall behind him ceased to escalate as they reached a crucial juncture. The entire body of the prismatic wall fell silent, initiating safety protocols due to the recoil. There was no explosive sound or blinding light; the sharp and straight portion of the cannon only emitted a light too fast to be captured by naked eyes. The cannon''s foundation was instantly shattered into countless pieces before turning into fine dust. This outcome was inevitable, given that the entire construct was still in development by the second brain. Moreover, attempting to shoot such condensed energy, beyond the current world''s knowledge and ability, only heightened the challenge. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Even for Niu Chang, compressing and sustaining that form of condensed energy in a stable state, and then detonating it as desired, proved to be a daunting task. Much like his desire for the most efficient way to eliminate his enemies, Niu Chang aimed for every launched attack to hit its target without fail, as they were inherently intertwined. Guided by the power of karmic bonds from his system, the second brain harnessed its potent computing capabilities and inhuman control over minute details when it came to destruction and violence, courtesy of the Massacre skill. The three projectiles rapidly approached their target, initially without specificity, before adjusting their paths based on reactions. No matter how powerful someone is at a certain stage, there will naturally be vast differences between each and every saint. Thus, Niu Chang, unable to perceive his enemy''s power, could only do so on the way. As Niu Chang had expected, there were eyes watching around him that rendered all of his methods in hiding and concealing his presence and actions useless, giving the nine approaching enemies a head start and allowing them time to react. However, it was too late, as the precise second brain and bloodthirsty Massacre intuition had already found their target and correspondingly controlled the three projectiles. Less than a fraction of a second after the cannon was fired, and even less for the second brain and Massacre intuition to find their target, Niu Chang could only feel his head becoming heavier and his entire body growing hotter in compensation for the rapid usage of computational power from the second brain, along with an itchy sensation creeping into his mind, craving blood and chaos. The three auxiliary thinking skills¡ªthe Celestial Astrolabe, the Lazy Tree, and the Chaotic Mind¡ªwere able to show their utmost potency because Niu Chang continued to be supplied with endless qi, mental power, and vitality from the system. If not, he wouldn''t be as carefree as he currently was, as he needed to ensure the energy consumption while utilizing all three of them as his second brain. Otherwise, he would be a dried corpse right now. Once again, Niu Chang was not a fan of big spectacular explosions, as they contradicted his artistic value of violence. Out of the nine dots on his mental map, only one had actually completely disappeared, one had stopped on the spot, and the last one was still moving, albeit at a very low speed. ¡®Only one casualty? That is the most expected outcome of this attack. However, this only demonstrates how weak a saint is in front of my capabilities. I wonder on what stage they are¡ªadvanced or perfected,¡¯ Niu Chang mused as he switched the World End Fortress mode into a pure energy-gathering construct. On the other hand, the nine dots on Niu Chang''s mental map represented the seven saints from the continent, plus two advanced stage saints living on the Flower Fruit Island¡ªa flower demon and a bear demon. Naturally, the young man with the heavenly appearance also accompanied this group, but he wasn''t among the nine dots. He continued to provide the nine advanced stage saints with information about Niu Chang''s movements, but it proved to be rather ineffective. The one who perished was the bear demon. He attempted to evade the projectile, but with a reminder from the handsome young man, he could only face it head-on, mustering all his strength to destroy it before it reached him. Due to his attempt to counter the projectile, a peculiar phenomenon occurred. The projectile seemed to leap from its original location and directly enter the bear demon''s body, accomplishing its objective. The other saints who also wanted to assist were left stunned, ceasing their efforts to attack the projectiles. However, it was already too late for the other two who were targeted. In a panic, they also attempted to defend against the projectile. These two were the man with multiple wives and Lan Xin. The man with multiple wives produced various treasures to shield his inner world, yet he barely survived the explosion, which ultimately only crippled his foundation as a saint. His face displayed horror, pain, confusion, hatred, and helplessness. As for Lan Xin, she temporarily put aside her primary task and devised various methods to counter Niu Chang''s different abilities, which had demonstrated her ability to survive. Leveraging her focus on divination and calculation in cultivation, she devised a means to counter the only way Niu Chang could harm a saint: a pure energy detonation. Consequently, she managed to mitigate much of the destructive power of the Star Cannon. However, her complexion turned pale, and she was no longer detached from the external world, fully absorbed in her own thoughts. For the first time in a while, she could observe the real world without any burdens weighing on her mind. She gritted her teeth as she confronted a new challenge. "What a sinister man!" This was the strongest curse she could muster, targeting Niu Chang''s lineage for eighteen generations¡ªnine for his ancestors and nine for his descendants. The young, handsome man assessed the situation and determined that the man with multiple wives was beyond immediate salvation. Consequently, he promptly moved to heal Lan Xin''s injuries. . . . Niu Chang, who continued to gather more energy from the World End Fortress, found it rather amusing that someone had managed to survive without interference. His strategy did not end with a single strike; if his target survived the initial assault, they would only face prolonged suffering. "Hah," he sighed with deep emotion. ¡®The world is harsh, and so are its inhabitants. Living another day only brings more misery. Why bother to endure if only death awaits?¡¯ As he concluded his words, the energy fluctuations around his body stirred, responding as if summoned by their respective names. Chapter 89 - My Day is Ruined Niu Chang despised indulging in dramatic monologues; every word he uttered served the purpose of garnering inspiration and honing his skill, the Great Compassion technique. This pursuit arose from his profound kindness and an overwhelming sense of compassion; he was driven to alleviate the world''s problems. He drew inspiration from a phrase he had encountered in his previous life, "If I don''t enter hell, who will?" In his situation, it transformed into, "If I don''t kill them, who will?" The world remained harsh, populated by unjust people. Birth itself burdened mothers with suffering, followed by fathers toiling to provide. In the end, it was an endless cycle of suffering and hardships. He couldn''t help but wonder, why was this fate not equally shared? Why did those favored by the lottery of life end up born into opulent families? What set them apart from himself? Where lay justice? Where was equality? Driven by these questions and a yearning for justice, Niu Chang, with his benevolent heart, stepped onto a metaphorical stage, grasping a butcher knife, determined to bring equality through death. "Should they all perish by my hand, wouldn''t it signify justice and deliverance?" With each strike, his intentions were laced with goodwill and boundless compassion. If they succumbed, it was well; if not, it meant they sought more suffering to fathom the world''s cruelty. Yet, his perception shifted upon learning about Western monks. A disdain for this group burgeoned within him, though he''d never encountered one. His sense of righteousness couldn''t abide their pursuit of personal gain, harming the innocent to attain immortality¡ªtruly audacious. Regarding the aftermath of his lethal blows, he remained oblivious, for none survived his assault. Even Da Jiu, who endured a mental collapse amid crippling fear, suffered comparatively less due to his extensive damage. Meanwhile, Lan Xin, who emerged unscathed from the star cannon, faced a fate worse than mere mental turmoil. Her anguish surpassed Da Jiu''s, shrouded in a shadow of fear. Engrossed in contemplation over his technique, Niu Chang shook his head. "I''m here to alleviate your suffering, so why must you resist?" The sophisticated second brain operated logically, limited in its ability to birth novelty or enhance existing concepts. Only the mercurial human mind, easily swayed by its surroundings, could birth inspiration and foster creation. Before long, the remaining saints entered his field of vision. Notably absent were the departed bull demon and the man with numerous wives. Lan Xin relied on her celestial board for support, countering the aftermath of Niu Chang''s Great Compassion technique. ¡®I aspire to expand the repertoire of skills for this technique, but inspiration proves elusive. Passive skills that apply universally to all my attacks remain.¡¯ The sole skill within the Great Compassion technique was "Benevolence." Its nomenclature was justified, as Niu Chang''s intervention stemmed from benevolent motives ¨C why else would he engage in alleviating others'' suffering? The imposing World End Fortress behind Niu Chang quivered intensely, eventually shattering into fragments. Radiant flecks of light emanated, converging upon Niu Chang and assimilating into his form. ¡®Could this be the intervention of world saints?¡¯ Though he still could not directly perceive holy power and his technique and skills remained at the golden core level, Niu Chang deduced from his knowledge. Saints had transitioned to a higher life form, their holy power undergoing qualitative transformations that enabled them to influence the very fabric of the world. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. For them, sealing external spiritual qi and dispersing independent qi were elementary tasks, bereft of the need to draw upon their inner worlds. Yet, spotting an unfamiliar figure from the opposing side, Niu Chang couldn''t suppress a frown. He had already declared his intentions; how could another entity breach his battlefield, bypassing the karmic bond without triggering the system? ¡®System fault? Impossible,¡¯ Niu Chang mused. The lone plausible explanation rested in the robust background of this handsome young man before him. ¡®Someone hailing from the upper realm?¡¯ Niu Chang spat disdainfully to his side. The seven saints, excluding the young man, maintained a watchful gaze on Niu Chang. Despite their perceptive abilities, no irregularities registered within his form. No energy leaked; he seemed as vacant as an empty vessel. Yet, none dared belittle him. In a single move, he dispatched one advanced-stage saint, incapacitated another, and engaged the last in a struggle to quell her injuries. This underscored the realization that Niu Chang''s techniques, even without harnessing holy power or reaching the saint realm, retained potency against them. Direct energy manifestations like fire, water, wind, and lightning posed minimal threat to saints, easily quashed by their holy power. However, when a technique traversed the boundaries beyond physical manifestation, vigilance waned. Difficulty emerged because the saints lacked a precise methodology to counter such an approach. Who would devise such a technique when a mere snort could vanquish any golden core opponent? ¡®No trash talk?¡¯ Niu Chang''s disappointment was palpable as an air of solemnity enveloped the saints. A noteworthy fact emerged: Da Jiu had fallen. [Acquired karma point¡­] Though the count was substantial, it scarcely perturbed Niu Chang. The prospect of accruing additional karma points held scant purpose, for fear that system adjustments would impede his major realm progress. Niu Chang''s energy reservoir underwent minimal alteration since he was incapable of sensing holy power. The ancillary benefits paled in significance compared to his formidable energy cache. However, individuals like Gu Fa and those bearing the Shen surname on the continent failed to transmute into karma points. This stirred speculation regarding the Continent''s Lord, prompting Niu Chang to ponder an alternative agenda. The silence persisted, and Niu Chang voiced his discontent. ¡®Why the silence? Are you only proud when facing those weaker than you?¡¯ A sigh escaped, punctuating his words. ¡®So, all of you are just third-rate villains, no different from common mobs.¡¯ The thrilling battle he had anticipated lay shattered and trampled upon. "My day is ruined, and my disappointment is beyond measure," Niu Chang finally vocalized his frustration for their ears. "Now, how do you intend to compensate me for this mental distress?" Niu Chang inquired, seeking an amicable resolution. No one responded; the saints maintained a poised composure, displaying the demeanor of experts. Niu Chang''s brow furrowed, and he pressed on. "How about each of you lend me your heads to quell my mental turmoil?" Still met with silence, he covertly probed for any hidden actions, yet his endeavors yielded naught. While unable to perceive holy power, Niu Chang refused to remain idle. Ultimately, all matters could be distilled into interactions between two points. If the first point eluded him, he''d employ the second to gauge the situation. Accordingly, Niu Chang actively scrutinized his condition. "Are you all mute or something?" he erupted suddenly, kindling his fervor. Even Niu Chang refrained from mocking their mother''s alleged trysts with animals. He likened his situation to a high schooler seeking a college brawl only to be met with kindergarten children. "What saint? What holy power? You''re naught but clowns clad in ostentation and feigned sanctity." His gaze singled out the handsome young man. "And you! What kind of animal dung fills your skull? Why bring these mutts and swine if they lack the courage to utter a word?" "Bringing dogs might have been a wiser choice ¨C at least they know how to bark!" Uninformed spectators, much like those frequently portrayed in xianxia tales during confrontations with illustrious figures, would invariably interject. "Is he blind? Unaware that XX is a saint capable of obliterating him with but a thought?" "From whence does this country bumpkin hail?" "I''ve witnessed much folly, yet this... this surpasses them all. Was he born of a pig?" These voices were genuine, products of Niu Chang''s own second brain. The desire to orchestrate a face slapping turning point surged within him. However, cruel reality denied him such satisfaction. Maintaining his uninhibited demeanor, Niu Chang persisted in his soliloquy while simultaneously tuning into the cheering cacophony within his own mind. Chapter 90 - War (1) No matter how much he taunted the group of saints, there was no response until the end. The only change was that Niu Chang found that his connection with his Benevolence skill had been cut off. ¡®She could resolve my skill so quickly? It seems she is more inclined towards the thinking type in her cultivation path.¡¯ ¡®I have resolved my problem,¡¯ Lan Xin shared her progress. She communicated through telepathy with the other saints. ¡®There is a problem here,¡¯ she added while adjusting the celestial board with her hand directly, to ensure that nothing went wrong. ¡®Based on his past actions, he shouldn''t play around like this. If possible, he would end any conflict before it could happen or end it directly right after it started.¡¯ The rest of the saints were not that dull in perceptiveness, but why would they make the remark if someone could do it for them? In their lofty lives, why bother to do something if others could do it for them? Naturally, they would participate if something was wrong. ¡®We don¡¯t know how many tricks he has or what kind of tricks he has. Based on his previous attack, it is clear he is not limited to any cultivation technique or method. Probing him would be a waste of our time and would reveal ourselves. So I suggest we proceed just as we had planned before.¡¯ With that, the celestial board in Lan Xin¡¯s hand emitted a soft hue of blue before finally calming down. The far-stretching sky above, accompanied by the thick and black clouds, suddenly parted like curtains, revealing a night sky adorned with various celestial phenomena. Various stars displayed their radiance. Niu Chang raised one of his eyebrows in astonishment, but he quickly sensed that something was amiss. The qi in his body was instantly depleted, as if it had magically suffered mass extinction. However, that was still within the limit of what he had, not including the new qi that was provided by the system. But it was still useless, as the spiritual qi kept being erased at a rapid speed, disturbing his flying ability. He changed his energy source into vitality before securing his position once again. ¡®Cutting the root?¡¯ He felt that it was similar to his method of handling a problem. No matter how strong someone was, in the end, they still depended on their energy. Without energy, they were no different from slightly stronger beasts. However, Lan Xin¡¯s starry sky only worked for qi, as Niu Chang could still feel various energies within his grasp. ¡®So, this method only targets the qi. It is not like the user is as creative as me, to entirely burn the whole root. It seems the user has limitations of their own.¡¯ Among all kinds of energy, naturally, spiritual qi was the easiest to control, both by oneself and the enemy, since it was the most fundamental energy out there. Mental power and vitality were different because they originated from oneself, not from the outside. As the master of transformation, Niu Chang casually activated his transformation technique to turn all of his qi into vitality without any problem. The technique that used to protect his body, conceal his secrets, and perform many more functions quickly changed their fuel into that of vitality. The rest of the saints no longer waited as they quickly made their moves. Dao Jin Dan pulled a bright golden sword from the void, the sword was long and thin, without much exaggeration in its appearance. The continent was a poor place for cultivation. As cultivators reached higher stages, they realized that the materials found on the continent were too low for them to use. That''s why the saints present here didn''t bring any weapons because they would be useless even if they brought them. The elder from the Green Sun Sect summoned a green sun on his back. It kept radiating heat but was also accompanied by strong vitality at the same time. The star in the night sky suddenly shone on its own, and Niu Chang could feel his body being crushed from all directions. But it was still within the endurance of his fourth-level Impossible Idea. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡®As long as the starry sky exists, the person who uses it is able to attack me as much as they want,¡¯ he made a judgment on the spot. However, he wasn''t concerned about it since the attack was unable to cause any damage or disturbance to him. The second brain gave him a notification, ''What the hell. Has this pressure actually been increasing over time?'' The saint who possessed an inner world and, at an advanced stage, could manifest that inner world. Naturally, when this happened, they could freely utilize the world''s spiritual energy. Tu Nong took out a brush as he wrote something in the air. The ink was made from his holy power, and the words were shimmering with sacred light. The old monk let out a heavy breath, and his skin turned red as a phantom of a devil appeared behind him. The devil had three heads and six arms. Each head had a ferocious expression, differing from the others. However, the six hands held no weapons or anything else. To mirror the old monk¡¯s personality, the devil didn¡¯t wear anything, and the large object just below its stomach hung like a spear. The devil let out a loud roar that disrupted the calm atmosphere of the endless ocean. He was the first one to attack Niu Chang head-on. On the other hand, the other monk summoned an avatar on his back. It was a bald monk with closed eyes and a muscular body. The entire avatar was of pristine white color, inducing a calming effect on the mind and heart. Just as Niu Chang was about to relish this exhilarating fight, he sensed something bothering him. Not something physical or mental, but something that was affecting his variables. Fate and luck were something beyond human grasp, but through learning and understanding, it was not impossible to influence these two concepts. Even Niu Chang possessed a skill capable of doing so. However, now his enemies were using this elusive attack to alter his fate and luck. It was as if a pair of hands were disrupting the fabric of fate, weaving a new future for Niu Chang. His eyes scanned his surroundings and he quickly deduced. Dao Jin Dan, wielding a sword. The elderly man with the green sun. Lan Xin with her celestial board. Tu Nong with his brush. The old monk with the red devil. And the other monk with the white avatar. The last one was the flower demon, an enchanting figure with a human form but still retaining some of her plant characteristics for aesthetic value. She was the only one who didn¡¯t create any commotion, but according to Niu Chang¡¯s Massacre instinct, the threat of fate originated from her. The Massacre skill, the penultimate mortal skill. Anything below the dao could be easily defeated with the help of this skill. Monstrous control over everything ¨C body, mind, and even various battle variables ¨C was processed at rapid speed without any latency, thus creating the most perfect response to any attacks and interruptions. Due to the violent nature of the Massacre skill, a desire to destroy flashed in Niu Chang''s eyes when he caught a glimpse of the flower demon. The flower demon flinched, her shoulder trembling greatly before she forced herself to calm down. It was as if an abyssal beast had opened its maw, attempting to devour her in one bite. ¡®Cover me,¡¯ she telepathically said to the other saints. On their way, they had naturally made simple introductions of their abilities and methods. However, these descriptions were too vague, as no one wanted to explain their own limitations and strengths. The others also felt the intense bloodlust from Niu Chang, and couldn''t help but wonder what kind of method the flower demon had used to provoke such an explosive response. Just as Niu Chang was about to face the old monk head-on once more, he felt another disturbance. He sensed that the entire world was rejecting his presence; the air around him suddenly turned into mud, making it difficult to move. This was what he felt, but for Tu Nong, who used his Condemnation of Heaven and Earth, the sensation was initially shocking but he soon calmed down. He then continued to write another verdict. Niu Chang shook off the heaviness around his body using his physical strength alone, and he intended to jump and slap the old monk''s face as he closed in. However, just before he stomped his feet, another disturbance occurred. An ethereal and distant voice resonated in his mind like a spring breeze. ¡°Life is a gift; using it to gain more than intended will not bring any good. Put down your obsession and embrace modesty, for true enlightenment only exists in peace.¡± Being disturbed not once, but twice, and now for the third time, was already too much. What was more, this person dared to speak of peace and enlightenment to Niu Chang, which was simply outrageous. The calm and playful expression on his face twisted into anger and hatred; he gritted his teeth in defiance before opening his mouth. ¡°I want to help you open your dog''s eyes, but you keep interrupting me.¡± From his Massacre intuition, he could feel the old monk already arriving in front of him. The devil behind the old monk thrust its left-side arms toward Niu Chang. The old monk also thrust his left fist forward. ¡°Do you courting death that much?¡± he roared, an eruption of vitality surging in his body before combusting on the spot, increasing Niu Chang''s overall physical prowess by a hundredfold and causing all discomfort around his body to vanish. His body flashed, and ten images appeared in his place, as if Niu Chang had split into ten people within one body. The old monk didn¡¯t retreat; he continued his attack. But before his strike could reach Niu Chang, his body was propelled backward like a cannonball. The blow was devastating, leaving him feeling as though his insides were in disarray. He regained his footing and looked toward Niu Chang. There, he saw ten Niu Changs making hand signs, and a vast amount of vitality combusting at rapid speed. ¡°Crazy,¡± the old monk muttered in astonishment, unable to contain his surprise. Chapter 91 - War (2) The aura of the ten Niu Changs oscillated briefly before finally converging into a single aura. Two of them enlarged their bodies, reaching dozens of meters before coming to a stop. The other eight also increased in size, but only by around three meters. In a fight, size wasn''t everything, but a slightly larger size should provide an advantage when coupled with great mobility. As for the last one, the eighth Niu Chang blurred its existence before ultimately disappearing from the rest. Without any delay, the seven three-meter-tall Niu Changs launched themselves at the enemies accordingly, and the two giants also followed suit, although their role wasn''t that of the main attackers. They existed to harness materials from the outside world with their large surface area and to shoulder the damage suffered by other Niu Chang through their formation. It didn''t take too long before the entire battle escalated into a full-blown conflict. Each saint faced a three-meter-tall Niu Chang and was occupied throughout the entire battle. The old monk was content as he faced Niu Chang head-on, but the battle did not unfold as he had expected, devoid of mere physical violence. It was a one-sided attack, with Niu Chang, powered by his penultimate Massacre skill, moving perfectly to launch attacks and evade incoming assaults. He was so sick to the point that he no longer cared. In his first life, when reading texts or viewing images depicting various action stories and battles, he only found orderly fights with characters exchanging blows and whatnot. This wasn''t what he desired; he craved the pinnacle of action. A scenario where the character utilized the most efficient methods to eliminate enemies, even if they were no longer living beings but mere killing machines. This concept was behind the Massacre skill: to discard all those futile attacks and defensive maneuvers and to truly exhibit the perfection of violence. Armed with a powerful physique and various enhancements, the seven Niu Changs effortlessly overwhelmed the seven saints whose perspective on combat revolved around using one skill to attack, another to evade, and yet another to defend. When confronted with a true killing machine like Niu Chang, their impressive ability to cleave mountains and part the sea amounted to nothing, as they couldn''t land a blow on the target. Niu Chang''s form was no longer confined to that of a humanoid; he utilized everything at his disposal to eliminate the target with the most perfect actions. If some mortals were to witness this fight, they would only perceive fleeting shadows besieging the saints from various angles and sides. "What is this? I came here to witness spectacular fireworks and explosions, but all I see are these fleeting shadow flashes. Where are the breathtaking battle scenes I expected?" In essence, a battle born from conflict always signifies one thing: the defeat of the opponent. Mortal martial artists toil relentlessly, endeavoring to unearth their potential by training both body and mind. Their aim is to act efficiently in self-defense while also inflicting harm upon their adversaries. However, in the realm of fantasy, martial artists often fixate on whose sword is larger or whose spear is swifter. Such a method of training proves utterly futile. As time went on, the seven saints noticed that Niu Chang, whom they confronted, was becoming increasingly unorthodox in his approach, relentlessly bypassing their defenses. How potent is a saint''s strength? Niu Chang remained uncertain, as he had never engaged them in a proper battle. The notion of engaging them properly held no significance; instead, he simply ambushed them to ensure their demise. In his encounters with Da Jiu, he had failed to perceive the grandeur of a saint''s prowess. Even now, confronting the seven saints, he remained unable to truly fathom their might. Numerous attempts were made to disrupt the saints'' actions: mental intervention, energy disturbance, and physical interference rendered the saints passive at times. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Yet, this hardly posed a true challenge for them, as they could unleash powerful attacks in their vicinity to gain a moment''s respite, right? Not quite. From the void, the eighth Niu Chang would unexpectedly emerge, launching potent energy explosions, mental assaults, soul techniques, or straightforward physical onslaughts. It was a pitiable sight; occasionally, the two giants seized an opportunity, attacking with their formidable fists and kicks. The ten Niu Changs operated in perfect harmony, guided by the mightiest mortal skill. Continuously suppressed, the saint ultimately decided to cast aside all restraint and unleash their full power, withholding nothing. They summoned forth their inner world, enveloping a small area around them, thereby establishing their domain. Facing Dao Jin Dan, Niu Chang experienced the space around him shifting, leading him to find himself in an entirely different realm. This place emanated a hue of golden yellow. The sky, not towering, was adorned with yellow clouds that danced upon the wind. Beneath, the earth gleamed with a golden hue, featuring mountains wrought from pure gold. Yet, just before being sealed within Dao Jin Dan''s domain, the eighth Niu Chang materialized beside Niu Chang, initiating their most iconic maneuvers. One Niu Chang radiated a white glow, while the other emitted a black radiance, employing contrasting energies that culminated in a devastating explosion. Dao Jin Dan exerted his will to suppress all within his domain, only to realize that the vexing attack was nothing more than a ruse. The genuine method lay in the intangible aura that Niu Chang emanated from his body. Niu Chang, bored in the underground cave, had resorted to concocting a variety of poisons. Among them was a world-altering concoction designed to induce decay, rendering a place desolate. However, this approach wouldn''t prove effective against a saint, as they could effortlessly neutralize it with their holy power¡ªa chasm between life levels that proved challenging to bridge. The world poison employed by Niu Chang was, in truth, another feint, as he was fully immersed in the state of a flawless killing machine at that moment. He meticulously collected diverse data to anticipate future actions. In reality, Niu Chang was comfortably seated within the recesses of his space of mind, observing the unfolding events in real time, all the while leisurely savoring a variety of victuals and beverages. "See, even battle fails to stir my enthusiasm any longer. What is the purpose of fighting at this point? If the wielder of that starry sky is no longer capable of sustaining it, I shall simply obliterate everything." Even Niu Chang himself concurred that this battle lacked luster and excitement. The adversaries proved inadequate against his clones wielding the Massacre skill. It was akin to witnessing an amateur contend against a bot in a game of chess. For the saints in the outside world, however, they were overwhelmed, their worldview shattered with each blow and strike they endured. "Relying solely on physical attacks without utilizing energy-based strikes makes it indeed difficult to eliminate these saints." Niu Chang said. Had it not been for the energy level suppression from the influence of holy power, Niu Changs could have more easily dispatched these saints. Presently, however, his clones¡¯ capabilities were constrained only to physical means. Consequently, the clones needed to overcome three challenges: narrowing the gap between them, circumventing the saints¡¯ defensive techniques, and ultimately inflicting harm upon the saints. The remaining saints followed suit, invoking their domains to ensnare Niu Chang. This precautionary measure aimed to prevent another Niu Chang from inadvertently drawing their ongoing skirmish into their vicinity, exacerbating an already complex situation. Despite the limitation of suppressed energy levels, Niu Chang''s resourcefulness and his second brain allowed him to discern a strategy for breaching the saints'' domains. As for the inevitable injuries sustained by his clones, they were mitigated by his innate power. This inherent power had resided within him since the initial stages of the Impossible Idea, though its true function only now manifested. Just as qi cultivators underwent a qualitative transformation in their energy levels¡ªthe holy power¡ªbody cultivators, too, experienced a similar evolution in the form of innate power. Thus, when Dao Jin Dan''s Heavenly Supreme Slash cleaved Niu Chang''s form into disparate fragments, his innate power intervened, facilitating reassembly. Just as Niu Chang was unable to sense and manipulate holy power, control over the innate power within him remained beyond his grasp. Yet, it was not dormant but rather engaged in some manner. However, its utilization exacted a substantial toll on his vitality. Were it not for the two massive Niu Changs drawing upon external materials to aid his recovery, the considerable energy drain required to mend his form could eventually tip his energy equilibrium into a deficit. "These saints are not to be underestimated, though that concludes my assessment." "It seems the time for the second round has come," Niu Chang mused, deeming this a suitable point to probe further. Thus, he issued commands for his clones to proceed with the subsequent phases. Atop the clones'' head, a vortex materialized at a rapid pace before stabilizing. It commenced a process of absorption, drawing in everything within its vicinity, akin to a voracious black hole. Material, energy, and even holy power fell prey to its inexorable pull. While assimilating holy power did engender slight disruption within the vortex, such concerns were to be addressed by another skill to resolve. Chapter 92 - War (3) Flower Fruit Island. Lush green vegetation adorned the entire land. Near the cottage constructed from natural materials, a solitary pavilion stood. It was the same pavilion once frequented by the handsome youth. However, now, the young man sat there with the silhouette of an old man wearing a daoist robe. The silhouette lacked distinct physical traits, as if the shadow of the past lingered into the present. "I see no chance of victory for those saints you invited. They were like fish on a chopping table, manipulated by that boy," he commented. Having been present on the battlefield in the endless sea, he spoke truthfully from his observations. No water mirror or light projection surrounded them, yet both were aware of the live events occurring on the battlefield. The silhouette remained silent for a moment before replying, "I am well aware of these facts. There is no need to remind me of what will inevitably unfold. Just fulfill the task I''ve assigned to you." Acknowledging the situation, the silhouette returned to its silence. "Why not divulge the peculiarities of that boy so that I may directly address this issue?" The young man had posed this question before, but the silhouette had refused to disclose the reason. "It''s not that I am unwilling to tell you. If it were possible, I would certainly share the information. Yet, it is something beyond my grasp." Maintaining an unchanged tone, the silhouette remained steady. "Beyond your grasp?" The handsome young man contemplated these words, pondering slowly over something. "Is it beyond this land? Does it hail from the skies?" Having insight into undisclosed matters, he swiftly proposed his conjecture. The silhouette shook its head, offering a succinct response. "No." Upon receiving this answer, a gleam sparkled in the handsome young man''s eyes, as if he had stumbled upon something earth-shattering. His excitement momentarily overwhelmed him. Several breaths later, he managed to calm his restless heart. "Are you certain?" he asked, seeking confirmation. His ambition had momentarily blinded him, and now he sought a second assurance. "I wouldn''t deceive you about this," the silhouette replied, emotionless in its speech. The handsome young man nodded, though a burst of joy blossomed in his heart. However, he quickly suppressed those feelings with a single thought. "Even if it lies beyond this realm, it will be another matter if that boy is still alive." With his own thoughts racing, the young man couldn''t help but voice his query. "I understand that the boy didn''t possess the most favorable personality, but he was driven by a grander purpose. So why do you harbor such animosity towards him? If you were to wait just one more week from today, I''m confident he would grow strong enough to overpower you. And even if he did subdue you, he would merely place a leash around your neck and depart for the skies. So why this fixation on your own freedom?" Aware of Niu Chang''s lust for power, the handsome young man wasn''t overtly hostile toward him. In the end, he had lost their confrontation and come to terms with it. Even in defeat, as long as he avoided putting on airs in front of Niu Chang, he would remain one of the energy sources for Niu Chang. After Niu Chang departed from this continent, the young man could resume his former way of life. "I simply can''t comprehend your overwhelming obsession with pride," he concluded, his thoughts extending not only to the silhouette but also to those advanced-stage saints. Observing how the handsome young man had grown within the Flower Fruit Island, guided by his influence, the silhouette recognized a significant flaw in the young man''s worldview. While the young man''s broad-mindedness and indifference towards trivial matters like pride were commendable, his nonchalant attitude was so pronounced that, as long as he could continue his cultivation and achieve immortality, he appeared indifferent to all else. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. The silhouette attributed this problem in the young man''s perspective to its own failure of foresight and chose to respond. "Even if I were to explain, you wouldn''t grasp it," the silhouette''s gaze deepened. "You''ve witnessed how the monks from the West treat those weaker than them ¨C as little more than two-legged beasts at their mercy. Do you feel any sympathy for the mortals residing in the Western region?" "Those monks recognize no boundaries in their pursuit of immortality. In their eyes, everything is equal under their blade. Whether it''s their former mentors or their own families, all are mere playthings to them." "Do you take issue with their way of life?" Without waiting for the young man''s response, the silhouette continued. "Those who choose the path of a monk do so because they''ve experienced hardship, not those who have known a life of ease. Older monks show no concern for their partners or descendants. Becoming a monk is a result of personal realization, often after being battered by fate. One either becomes a ''monk'' or remains a mere cattle." "In a place devoid of kindness, do you believe anyone would willingly choose to be cattle, subjected to the trampling of others? No, naturally humans seek comfort when faced with pain and suffering." "The same holds for you and those cattle, who know naught of freedom, kindness, and humanity. They consider these ideals as foolish dreams reserved for those in distant regions to care about." "Your entire life has been spent on this island, sheltered from life''s bitterness and the suffering monks speak of. Birth, aging, illness, death, separation, encounters, and failures ¨C you remain untouched by these experiences. You, who have not felt them, cannot comprehend the sweetness of a midnight meal, the heartwarming expression of loved ones, or the gratitude for what you possess, having never lacked anything to be ungrateful for." "Only those who''ve endured pain can truly grasp happiness." The handsome young man listened intently, yet struggled to fully grasp the silhouette''s words. He recognized his lack of ordinary life experience, resulting in a significant gap in his worldview. But this awareness didn''t lead him to find fault in his current way of thinking. "So, what are you trying to convey? Do you suggest I abandon my cultivation and live as cattle in the Western Region?" Shaking his head, the handsome young man continued, "My ability to comprehend your words indicates I''m not entirely flawed. But it would be foolish to cripple myself just to conform to others'' expectations." The enigmatic silhouette allowed a faint smile to surface, its true nature remaining elusive. "You see, you''re no different from other living beings. You reject the idea of being wronged for who you are not, choosing instead to shield yourself from suffering." . . . In the boundless sea, The domain of advanced-stage saints differed from the two preceding minor stages. At the advanced stage, when the saints employed their domains, they opened an entirely new dimension and drew their targets into their inner worlds, leaving no traces in the external realm. Within the domain of the monk who retained his hair, This realm differed from any preconceived notions about Western monks. The air bore a pleasing fragrance, capable of soothing even the most restless minds. The sky, though similar for all advanced-stage saints, did not stretch as high as the outside world, and the natural landscape was composed of a singular substance. It was made of pristine white diamonds. Rivers flowed sluggishly due to this, and mountains resembled colossal diamond chunks. Niu Chang, with a swirling vortex above his head, endured intense assaults from all directions. Within the domain, the saint held dominion. They could manipulate everything in this microcosm to assail their foes. Furthermore, the world''s inherent suppression allowed them to easily subdue mid-stage saints. Yet Niu Chang stood his ground. His body was not entirely shattered; instead, it gradually adapted to the overwhelming damage of his surroundings. The monk found no respite, even as he managed to immobilize Niu Chang, as the vortex above his head began to devour all. For a saint, their inner world formed the foundation of their cultivation. If it sustained damage, their progress would stall or require decades to mend. In some cases, it could even prevent further advancement. Niu Chang''s body was covered in open wounds, his skin repeatedly torn, and his bones cracked as if hammered. "What manner of cultivation technique is this?" The monk struggled to comprehend Niu Chang''s peculiarities. He sensed a faint energy akin to his holy power, only activated when Niu Chang suffered a fatal wound, enough to guide him to the underworld. Attack again? The monk pondered, his confidence waning. He had exerted his utmost to eliminate this aberration of nature, yet despite his efforts, he could not succeed. Even direct engagement would prove less effective than employing the inner world to pressure cooking Niu Chang, as he was presently doing. As the monk grappled with the quandary of whether to expel Niu Chang from his inner world to prevent him from absorbing its foundational essence, In the external world, the two colossal Niu Changs bore the brunt of the assaults on behalf of the eight others. Stripped of flesh, they remained skeletal, their sizes expanded to further augment their absorption capacity. Amidst them, intricate lines of blood danced, weaving a grand formation that harnessed energy and matter. Chapter 93 - War (4) Among the seven saints, the elderly perverted monk was the first to expel Niu Chang from his inner world. Niu Chang, who had undergone various challenges from the old monk, had already altered his body to combat him. His skin was black, with no distinguishing features except for its polished metal appearance. At times, it would liquefy like mercury before solidifying once again. To confront a purely physical force like the old monk, he would alternate his approach from soft to hard and then back to soft, confusing the old monk. The old monk shot a gaze colored in blood as he glared hatefully at Niu Chang. His inner world''s foundation had been slightly damaged. If he waited a few more seconds, the damage would necessitate repairs lasting at least fifty years. However, even after he had ejected Niu Chang from his inner world, he still encountered various small tricks that Niu Chang had left for him. For advanced stage saints, their inner world consisted of only one aspect of their main cultivation technique. Thus, it was easier for Niu Chang to tailor-make a special poison for their inner world in a short amount of time. Within the old monk''s inner world, a world dominated by red hues due to fire spread everywhere. Occasionally, small fireflies could be seen before they turned to dust. After a while, another firefly would flicker into existence and roam freely before meeting swift death. If these fireflies managed to survive longer than two seconds, they would absorb enough energy to fulfill their life''s goal of spreading their poison, which targeted the singular type of energy in this small world. As for the origin of these fiery fireflies, even the old monk was unable to locate them, despite scanning his inner world every now and then. He had attempted to converse with Niu Chang, but this expressionless killing machine would respond only with fists and kicks, like a madman. Feeling anguish as he watched his inner world''s condition deteriorate even after killing the fireflies, the old monk realized that Niu Chang no longer waited as he initiated a new round of combat. On another part of the battlefield, various spatial fluctuations occurred, and pairs of saints and Niu Chang would emerge. The different Niu Changs would possess distinct physical appearances, while the saints would display pained expressions and undisguised hatred when facing Niu Chang. They needed to take a short respite to thoroughly scan their inner worlds and identify the source of the problems. However, Niu Chang didn''t give them any chance, as he relentlessly harassed them with his flawless fighting methods. The flower demon, facing the fire elemental Niu Chang, found herself cornered in a passive position, repeatedly enduring slaps from the flickering shadow. Among the seven saints, some were proficient in close combat while others were not so skilled at it. Those who struggled included the flower demon and Lan Xin. These two were truly unable to mount any resistance in the face of Niu Chang¡¯s Massacre skill. Lan Xin excelled at making on-the-spot deductions and devising perfect counters for her enemies. However, when confronted with the ever-changing methods of the Massacre skill, she fell into a loop of perpetual searching. This led her to resort to a barbaric approach in attempting to solve her problem, which ultimately proved futile. On her side, Niu Chang found no discernible weakness in Lan Xin¡¯s approach, only the seamless flow of unrelenting violence. Lan Xin held her celestial board in her left hand and a clump of starlight in her right, ready to shape it into any form she wished. She whipped her right hand, transforming the starlight into a whip, only to see Niu Chang charging at her with full force. Using her celestial board as a shield, she suddenly noticed the eighth Niu Chang materializing behind her, emanating black radiance, followed by a white glow from the Niu Chang in front of her. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Gritting her teeth, she forcefully employed an area-of-effect skill to clear her surroundings, preventing the Niu Changs from triggering another energy explosion. Named the Starburst Dissipation Wave, the starlight appeared on her body before pulsating outward, unleashing holy power that dissipated any energy below its rank. This was a new technique she had devised specifically to counter the combined assault of the two Niu Changs. The hierarchy of energy proved difficult to overcome, and even with Niu Chang¡¯s abundant vitality, it paled in comparison to holy power. Drawing from her experience, Lan Xin knew this technique would only dismiss the Yin Yang Explosion of the Niu Chang in front of her or the eighth Niu Chang. However, they continued to adapt their methods of motion, causing further damage to her. The aura of the eighth Niu Chang suddenly vanished from Lan Xin¡¯s proximity, only to reappear next to the flower demon before he delivered a slap to her face. Niu Chang had been overpowering the flower demon the entire time, yet he was unable to kill her¡ªat least not until she had depleted her entire reserve of holy power. This prompted him to amplify her emotional state in order to hasten her demise. Inflicting physical damage on saints was not very effective, as their natural regeneration fueled by the mere presence of holy power was exceptional. Only attacks with a high energy density or supplied by energy of the same rank as holy power could truly harm them. Because of this, Niu Chang, while facing the flower demon, was actually being directed by the real Niu Chang''s main consciousness to torment her. Suppressing his laughter, he relished using this alluring flower demon as his sparring partner. Her red hair interwoven with the green of leaves cascaded down her back. Her long, slender eyebrows complemented her deep reddish-brown eyes. Her ample bosom and lower region only heightened Niu Chang''s excitement to harass her further, seeking that intoxicating feeling of happiness. Amid his enjoyment, a surge of insights and inspirations flooded his mind, urging him to refine and create new techniques. However, since his joy was derived from harassing a powerful and beautiful woman, his train of thought focused on techniques for managing women. Nonetheless, occasionally, he would stumble upon random inspiration about other matters, a delightful bonus to his happiness. These dual sources of inspiration only elevated his delight, resulting in an escalation of the quality and quantity of his onslaught. The initial slap to her face evolved into various forms of domestic aggression. ¡®What kind of sick, perverted bastard is this guy? Not only did he slap my face, but now he''s escalating to even more perverted actions?¡¯ thought the flower demon incredulously. As she felt her womanly parts brutally attacked, she was on the verge of tears, desperate for aid. ¡®He''s assaulting not just my inner world but my body as well. And now he aims to invade my mind?¡¯ Gritting her teeth, she finally gathered her resolve. From her inner world, she harnessed her holy power and transformed it into a misty pink fog. ¡®I''ll curse you to death!¡¯ she wanted to shout, but the words remained locked within her. Being proficient in matters of fate and divination, her primary method naturally targeted her enemies¡¯ destinies. No matter how hurtful or embarrassing the attacks she suffered were, they would heal in a matter of seconds at most. She summoned vines to shield her body from physical assaults while she focused on her art. Within the coiled vines, she should have been safe, but she heard maddening heartbeats and crazed ravings echoing in her head. Her hands, engaged in intricate movements, trembled as her mind teetered on the edge of collapse. Plunging into a deep abyss to preserve her fraying sanity, the protective vines were breached, and a solid punch landed on her stomach. Time seemed to slow down as she recalled her entire life¡ªfrom being a simple plant to a demon, and finally, to becoming a saint. Nurtured in the sheltered haven of the Flower Fruit Island, this marked the first instance she faced true adversity in her life. Her inner world was encroached upon by an invisible force, her body humiliated in the most degrading manner, resembling a cheap bag of meat, and her mind raped by indescribable sounds from untold origin. Another frontal kick followed from the breach in her defense, striking her directly in the private part between her legs. While thoroughly enjoying his villainous role, Niu Chang still maintained some awareness of the overall battlefield situation. The other six saints gradually began to retreat, inching closer to their downfall, trapped in various predicaments. ¡®The time for the real battle seems to be approaching.¡¯ he calmly contemplated as he derived further satisfaction from tormenting the flower demon. If not for the holy power that comprised their clothing, Niu Chang would have delighted in rendering every saint on the battlefield naked, intensifying their discomfort. He continued his assault when suddenly lights manifested. On the battlefield. In the space of his mind. In the unreachable fabric of reality. Chapter 94 - The War Reaper The Unwanted Visitor hosted the skill Plaguing Misfortune, along with three other skills that were no less esoteric than the first one. These three skills were Death¡¯s Ignorance, Bountiful Famine, and, lastly, the War Reaper. Originally named the Conflict Harvester, Niu Chang made some adjustments to the name to suit his taste. Whether it was the original name or the made-up one, both carried the same meaning, but the second name carried more weight. Conflict could be as minor as two people arguing about their favorite foods, and at its largest scale, it could escalate into war. Regarding how this skill worked, Niu Chang was initially confused, but he deduced that he needed to initiate a new conflict or join an ongoing one. This motivated him to assume the role of Tian Zhi and spectacularly destroy the Shen clan''s secondary city. However, things took an unexpected turn when a big shot wrongly identified him as a dao seed to be kidnapped. Events unfolded, leading him to face seven advanced-stage saints. He remained perplexed about how someone could avoid triggering the system, which was naturally flawless. It was an intriguing method of cheating karma itself. His moment of small entertainment bore fruit as his War Reaper skill was triggered, bringing him wonderful benefits. While he digested these benefits alongside his second brain, time continued to move. There were three distinct lights suddenly illuminated simultaneously. The seven saints, cornered and pressured towards their demise, found their bodies affected by something, causing crimson bright lines to appear on their skin. This eerie phenomenon gave a sense that it should be avoided, as long as one possessed enough sentience. In the span of a breath, the crimson lines covered the entire bodies of the saints before they succumbed to the light source. The handsome young man who had been observing from the sidelines finally took action, becoming a beacon of light in this boundless sea. In the special place for karmic connection, the third light appeared. The point representing Niu Chang flickered, and the lines connecting to it burst into flames, with various karma points ablaze. These fiery currents of karma directed their intensity towards Niu Chang''s karmic point to influence it. The Massacre intuition was on high alert, displaying restlessness towards an unknown something. Despite Niu Chang''s extensive array of skills, it proved futile in finding a solution to the real-time events, leading it to fall into a broken loop while seeking an escape. As for the second brain, it was less effective in dealing with immediate threats, lagging behind until darkness ultimately enveloped everything. Naturally, Niu Chang sensed the agitated Massacre intuition wreaking havoc within his mind. The swiftness of the events rendered him unable to convey the sequence of occurrences accurately through expression. With his composed and relaxed demeanor, Niu Chang found himself within the void. This void lacked any existence, including the concept of space; direction itself was absent. "What just happened?" Niu Chang asked in confusion, sensing that his thoughts were being hindered when trying to grasp the situation. ... If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. On the battlefield, the seven saints were sacrificed to power the grand ritual aimed at eliminating the resilient Niu Chang. Likewise, those on the continent who held karmic bonds faced a similar fate. Regarding the handsome young man, he was the one who managed to sever the head of the calamitous hydra. Returning to the Flower Fruit Island, within the pavilion, the silhouette displayed no reactions, as his plan unfolded seamlessly. "Everything proceeded smoothly," the handsome young man remarked calmly. "Now that it''s concluded, could you provide me with a comprehensive information of everything?" While the silhouette had provided him with a specific set of instructions on how to eliminate Niu Chang, he remained oblivious of the plan''s finer details. The silhouette shook his head. "Why do you wish to know about something that exists no longer?" His voice carried an ethereal quality, as if time itself was erasing the words he spoke, leaving no trace once he finished. The handsome young man sensed a disturbance affecting his mind. Frowning, he regarded the fading silhouette, his confusion mixed with a touch of wariness. "What no longer exists?" he questioned with peak cultivation on this continent, managing to grasp the last remnants of the conversation. The silhouette gradually faded away, leaving the young man''s question unanswered. Amidst the boundless sea on the battlefield, the silhouette reappeared, yet the handsome young man had vanished. His keen eyes scanned everything until they locked onto a discovery. Undisturbed by external factors, he glided leisurely, and within a single breath, he reached his destination. This location hosted the true consciousness of Niu Chang, where his physical body was anchored¡ªa place that had once witnessed Niu Chang''s playful interactions with the flower demon. With a gentle gesture, the silhouette''s hand moved as space distorted, and time spiraled into chaos. The specific spot unveiled vague images of the past, present, and future. Upon releasing his clenched fist, the chaotic scenes dissolved, as if nothing had transpired. Slowly uncurling his fingers, he beheld nothing through naked eyes, yet a trace of existence lingered for him¡ªan elusive concept. Niu Chang often pondered, "What is life?" However, he found no definitive answer. Was it solely the biological functionality of the physical body? And what of the soul entities? Could life be solely dependent on the soul? Then what of the remnants of consciousness? Those memories reside within people''s minds, serving as proof of something''s existence. But what is the correct answer? With his innate disposition, he opted not to be swayed by bias, instead taking everything at face value. "If life means having self-consciousness, doesn''t that imply self-awareness?" "As long as an entity can perceive itself from within, it can be deemed a living being." Unconfined by matters of the physical body and soul, as long as consciousness endures, death remains nothing more than a phase. "Death''s Ignorance," the silhouette voiced with a hint of tumult in his tone, the distinction between anger and disappointment blurred. "What an unusual skill¡ªto reject all notions of life''s meaning and self-proclaim the purpose of existence, thereby thwarting any attempt to end the user''s life. Who could conceive such nonsense? As long as ''Death'' remains oblivious to my existence, I shall be immortal!" The Unwanted Visitor technique brimmed with a myriad of unhinged, unorthodox, esoteric, and bizarre skills. Each skill possessed a unique essence due to the philosophical underpinnings that challenged established norms. Thus, the creator of this technique was either a transcendent being or a deranged soul with no hope for redemption. The War Reaper, which could only activate autonomously, and Death''s Ignorance, which defied any attempt on its user''s life, as long as a core cause persisted. Plaguing Misfortune, which manipulated variables, and Bountiful Famine, a harbinger of destruction. Clutching the barely tangible remnants of Niu Chang, whose state existed beyond ordinary comprehension, the Silhouette employed various methods to prevent this state of non-existence from reasserting itself in reality. However, when he attempted to deploy the first seal, the sky ignited with red and black lines crisscrossing the fabric of reality. While the rampaging endless sea became still, avoid any motion. The eerie silence of the sea and the roaring anger of the skies herald the incoming disaster. "So, I already reached the limit of what I can do without affecting the karma," the silhouette sighed helplessly, abandoning the notion of directly sealing the state of non-existence. Instead, he chose to rupture the spatial barrier within this world, venturing to the deepest reaches of the space layer. There, he established an indomitable seal to confine this state of non-existence, preventing any residual tricks from being triggered. "Though he hasn''t met complete demise, this should grant me sufficient time until the union of heaven and earth is completed." Methodically, he restored the fractured layers of space, each reinforced by diverse seals. Chapter 95 - The End? In the Emptiness of the Void Bewildered echoes kept repeating similar phrases over and over again in short intervals. "Huh?" "What is happening?" "Ah! I remember!" "Huh? Who am I?" "Where am I?" "Wait! Something is wrong¡­?" "Huh?" "Heh?" "What?" In this place, nothing exists¡ªnot even the concept itself. There is no direction to describe the existence of space or the concept of time. Everything happened all at once, the convoluted jumble of timelines compressed into a single singularity, causing this phenomenon. The past, present, and future occurred instantaneously, for nothing could change and remain the same forever. Due to this nature, processes that should take ages or even eons of untold time passed and resolved easily, causing mutations in this stagnant place that were immune to any disturbance. While exploring the fantasy within a fictional story, it was difficult to discern which version was correct. In a state of nonexistence, what proof does someone have that something existed before? Thus, in this void of emptiness, since nothing exists, nothing could survive. It was like a flashback before dying in those movies that tells the viewer, but the uniqueness was in how Niu Chang died. This caused him to enter the uncharted territory from the human mind¡ªthe limbo. In this place, only consciousness could enter. He shouldn¡¯t be able to survive, just like how his thoughts fleetingly slipped away from his grasp. He watched slowly as his rationality faded away in the surrounding emptiness, where ultimately he truly died. But the end was still far from his journey, for he still had the most powerful backer of all: his system. In this void of emptiness, nothing could or would change, as the concept of time didn¡¯t exist. Thus, only outside interference could create ripples in this place. The formless consciousness regained its former self and observed the expanding emptiness with something it had never experienced before. The consciousness itself presented itself naked in this void. As far as the void extended, the consciousness could also reach that point. However, the overwhelming state of nonexistence proved to be an unconquerable force. The corroding emptiness tried to dissolve this enigmatic state of existence from its territory. Gathering himself, Niu Chang controlled his consciousness to converge at a single point, guarding against the hostile nature of this place. The numerous attempts he made to restore himself flooded his consciousness with a vast amount of data, enough to overload his fragile state of existence. Yet, he composed himself, letting go of various parts of his memories into the emptiness around him to fortify his core mind. Before long, he was finally able to think clearly about his situation. "Huh?" He still remembered the benefits of conflict he harvested from the war he had waged with the seven saints, as if it had happened just a moment ago. However, the numerous memories of him attempting to restore his existence and being dissolved by the void told him he was no longer a mortal. In terms of time, he should be a living being as old as time itself. In this void of emptiness, the concept of time was absent. Thus, when Niu Chang tried to restore himself, everything happened at once. But even so, he found no achievements unlocked, remaining oblivious to everything he had done. ¡®In the beginning, the concept of time only worked for the mortal mind that had yet to grasp the nature of the truth. Even if I passed through numerous ''times,'' it wouldn''t change anything, as time itself didn''t exist in the first place.¡¯ Engaging in a conversation with himself regarding his own conjecture, he found his current situation to be without issue. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡®So, Death¡¯s Ignorance actually works like this.¡¯ He observed his condition before commencing to visualize his escape from this place. ¡®Death¡¯s Ignorance, originally named Lifeline. For Death ignores my existence, I shall become immortal.¡¯ ¡®It sounds grand, but the skill is actually quite simple. I possess a system that can supply me with energy based on those who have formed karmic bonds with me. Essentially, I am a boundless energy container. As long as energy continues to flow into me, I shall be immortal.¡¯ Reviewing the benefits of the war, Niu Chang learned various things that caused him to furrow his brow. The War Reaper skill was said to grant the user benefits from conflict, but the nature of these benefits remained uncertain. For now, he could only acquire information benefits from the battles he engaged in with the saints and the enigmatic Lord of the Continent. ¡®Not the Lord of the Continent, but the Land Dao Spirit.¡¯ From the war''s benefits, Niu Chang uncovered the truth behind his true enemies. The continent, or more accurately, the Land, constituted one of two sections of this small world, secluded within the endless sea. The endless sea itself functioned as a protective bubble, nurturing the Land and the Sky to develop safely, fulfilling its purpose before culminating. ¡®So, the endless sea was meant to shield the newborn small world,¡¯ Niu Chang muttered with pursed lips. As for what lay beyond the endless sea, the war''s benefits remained silent on the matter, though it presumably indicated a larger world¡ªthe true world. The martial dao on the continent was restricted to the golden core due to the martial dao''s inherent incomplete nature. The Land Dao Spirit constituted only half of the complete entity, with the other half being the Sky Dao Spirit. Only when the barrier between heaven and earth dissipated would the Land and the Sky commence their merging. However, a dilemma emerged¡ªWho would become the true Dao Spirit of this small world? Possessing independent spirituality, neither Dao Spirit wished to be consumed by the other. They both aspired to become part of the great dao and continue their respective paths. ¡®Tsk tsk, the nature of living beings. Whether they''re born with a golden spoon or a wooden ladle, both never cease desiring more and always seek something better,¡¯ Niu Chang mused. He observed that the so-called Land and Sky Dao Spirits were no different from ordinary mortals, each harboring their own selfish desires. As the spiritual representation of the continent, the Land Dao Spirit was naturally aware of everything unfolding within the Land. Thus, it detected the presence of the reincarnator, Niu Chang, yet it remained helpless due to the novice protection bestowed upon reincarnators. The system agency had indeed performed well in this aspect. Hence, the Land Dao Spirit merely kept a watchful eye on him. Primarily, it did so because this otherworldly soul bore a heavy restriction as an unwelcome intruder. As time passed, Niu Chang''s luck and fortune exhibited a peculiar surge. This could either benefit the Land or bring it to irreversible harm. Therefore, the Land Dao Spirit observed intently as this madman threaded his path towards immortality. With every decision he made, the Land Dao Spirit''s favorability toward him dwindled. Eventually, Niu Chang crossed a boundary he shouldn''t have. Being the proprietor of the Land and a Dao Spirit, it possessed acute sensitivity toward any threat to its existence within its domain. Thus, when Niu Chang completed his information of the saints¡ªthe highest power on the continent¡ªa mere spark sufficed to set events into motion. He mentally declared his intention to conquer the continent to be his personal property, as an energy source. All these events converged, leading to his downfall and his entrapment within this void of emptiness. ¡®What a cheapskate. You originated from the dao. How could you resist your fate of being subjugated by someone stronger?¡¯ Niu Chang complained about the egoistic mindset of the Land Dao Spirit. He could perceive an alternate perspective: if he were the conventional main character in this tale, he would have teamed up with the Land Dao Spirit to oppose the Sky Dao Spirit''s invasion. Ultimately, through a ''friendly'' pact, he would have contracted with the Land Dao Spirit to become its master before vanquishing the Sky Dao Spirit. ¡®What a splendid story,¡¯ Niu Chang snorted, despite lacking a physical nose to do so. ¡®The plot is impressive,¡¯ Niu Chang nodded as he absorbed the comprehensive information about the continent in the most intimate manner. He could envision himself embarking on the journey of a mundane man who cared for others and resisted the grip of fate. From Yellow Soil Village to Yellow Village, then onward to Heichen City, and finally to the Gray Bamboo Province. Encountering the original Child of Divine Fire, who had already been captured by the Supreme Heaven Sect, and joining forces with the Heavenly Demon Cult to thwart their domination of the entire Southern Region. Delving deeper into other regions only to amass more fateful encounters: powerful cultivation techniques, encounters with new women to be added to his harem, acquisition of mystical artifacts, and numerous other thrilling narratives that lacked the true essence of real life. A monotonous expedition existing solely to amuse readers, downplaying everyone and everything merely to serve the story''s purpose¡ªan insignificant conflict designed to engage the reader''s mind. ¡®What a load of bullshit!¡¯ Niu Chang spat out. ¡®Is it all just for dramatic effect and mental gratification? Do they regard everyone as fools as long as they are chosen as the ones to transmigrate and reincarnate?!¡¯ An anger surged within him, images of endless low-quality novels flashing in his mind. Those lengthy and uneventful story resolutions that left no sense of fulfillment at the conclusion, only fostering resentment and disdain. However, as he recollected how many praised and even romanticized such thought-provoking tales, Niu Chang''s anger gradually subsided. He gleaned something from his own journey. Offering a self-deprecating chuckle at his own expense, he recognized that the story he genuinely desired to read was even more subpar than the stories he despised. A protagonist devoid of empathy and resourceful, check. A plotless journey devoid of substance, check. A rational supporting character and conflict, check. Ultimately, what remained was this solitary consciousness within the depths of nonexistence. ¡®Even after becoming the main character in my own tale, the path I chose wasn''t conducive to effective storytelling, for nothing proved worth following and staying around.¡¯ A laughter reverberated within the void of emptiness, devoid of joy, sorrow, or any emotions. The true intention remained concealed within this emptiness. Chapter 96 - Eternity It wasn''t that he didn¡¯t know the fact, but the act of complaining itself provided its own entertainment. Similar to how he despised those main characters who cried about their own inferiority and begged their comrades to punish them for their mistakes. ¡°Oh, no. I am a bad person, please accept me for what I am.¡± ¡°You do not need to forgive me because I also didn¡¯t forgive myself.¡± Such talks were present in that kind of setting. Niu Chang wasn''t a fan of that kind of drama; he was well aware of the overall situation. His expectation of having a great tale wasn''t unfounded. He was just too overpowered for anything to truly create any meaningful conflict. Moreover, if he encountered a genuine problem, he would simply take a detour. Life was too precious to be wasted on shallow obsessions. In this world, longevity was easily attainable, so why risk that longevity for a life-threatening problem? ... The situation Niu Chang found himself in was quite peculiar. He was alive, yet he did not exist. His life was sustained by the effect of Death''s Ignorance skill. As long as the system continued to supply him with an endless stream of energy, this ominous void wouldn''t be able to kill him. But how could his system provide energy to him? Would the Land Dao Spirit be so foolish as to not eliminate every single person who formed karmic bonds with Niu Chang? Each of them had already died, yet strangely, this act of killing didn''t trigger the system. So how did the Land Dao Spirit manage to accomplish this? In the account of the war''s aftermath, it was explained precisely how the Land Dao Spirit erased Niu Chang from existence. By annihilating everyone on the continent, while sacrificing the seven saints and the last one who was crippled before arriving on the battlefield. All of this was a minor sleight of hand compared to the method of evading karma itself. Karma could be linked to causality ¨C it was simple, two sides interacting. One cause and one effect. Nothing was truly independent in this world; there had to be a connection in some way. ''The Land Dao Spirit''s method of evading karma was truly commendable. Working much like causality¡ªcause and effect¡ªit only required a flip,'' Niu Chang acknowledged. If karma functioned by causing something to lead to an effect, then the trick was to cheat it in order to delay the process. By interchanging both sides, effect became cause and cause became effect. The damage would occur before the action was even taken. Following this logic, everything the Land Dao Spirit had done to try to kill Niu Chang was justifiable from a systemic standpoint. Safe! However, everything must have its limit. Even the most potent technique would ultimately be restricted by the energy it consumed. The boundary of this karma inversion method was that it could only persist if and when Niu Chang survived, as the cause would follow the effect. Thus, after his death and subsequent revival, the cycle would complete, forging a karmic bond with the Land Dao Spirit. Though it sounded simple, the intricate details were so convoluted that Niu Chang found himself with a headache, struggling to grasp everything without the aid of his second brain. Similar to how his system presented him with choices: face karmic retribution or resolve it independently. The Land Dao Spirit mimicked Niu Chang''s approach precisely, employing every individual connected by karmic bonds to settle the karma by self-sacrifice, killing the other person. Using this method, Niu Chang would be defenseless against such an attack, destined to die even after death. Ultimately erasing his existence. A complete annihilation with no apparent alternative for survival. Yet, the system indeed acted as a stroke of luck. Or more accurately, it was his ingenious conception of Death''s Ignorance skill. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. After all was said and done, who remained to withstand the schemes of the mightiest being on the continent while still furnishing Niu Chang with energy? It was his two followers who were no longer alive. Contemplating the term "alive" caused a slight tremor in Niu Chang''s mind, as he found himself in a situation where conventional logic only led to confusion. Being recipients of the Seed of Loyalty, they had willingly relinquished their existence to the donor. Consequently, as long as Niu Chang remained alive, they would never experience death. In this manner, since they hadn''t died and the karmic entanglement between them had been resolved, the system naturally fulfilled its primary function by providing Niu Chang with an unending supply of energy from both of them. However, they were deceased¡­ they simply didn''t exist... The situation was so intricate that Niu Chang decided to forgo any further contemplation of this matter. ¡®As long as it works, I''ll let it be,¡¯ he muttered, shaking his head. The energy they contributed to Niu Chang was nearly negligible, much weaker than a tiny single-celled microorganism. Hence, they were incapable of resurrecting Niu Chang''s consciousness from the abyss of nonexistence. Herein lay the bizarre anomaly of the fantasy realm. Within the void of emptiness, nothing possessed existence, not even the concept itself. As the system persisted in attempting to channel energy to "Niu Chang," it created minor disturbances, insufficient to effect any change. Even a microorganism consisting of a single cell was mightier than what the system endeavored to achieve. In this dimension devoid of time, everything occurred simultaneously and did not occur at all. Past, present, and future lacked existence¡ªthey neither transpired nor would they transpire, for everything remained constant. Hence, it was as if time itself toiled tirelessly to accompany the system''s effort to resurrect Niu Chang. Time no longer bore significance within this prolonged sequence of events. Thus, the term "eternity" was apt, though the more precise description would be "infinity." Without a beginning or an end, if a singular system attempt amidst the extensive span of infinity failed to produce change, then naturally a qualitative leap occurred when this attempt was executed an infinite number of times. Due to this, Niu Chang managed to restore himself to his current state. ¡®But I can''t understand one thing,¡¯ Niu Chang mused as his awareness meandered like a child in a park. He playfully kicked and reached out to various spots within the emptiness, posing a crucial question. ¡®If I''m alive, then I exist. Since I exist, this place should also exist. I mean, how can nonexistence contain an existence?¡¯ His gaze swept across the boundless void, finding nothing. ¡®So, what is this place, actually?¡¯ Drawing from his role as a reader, someone who readily absorbed intriguing ideas and concepts proposed by great minds in various authors'' works, he formulated two conjectures. Firstly, considering that everything had its opposite, the counterpart of everything would naturally be nothing. And in this moment, Niu Chang found himself in that very state of nothingness. ¡®It''s hard for me to put into words, since this delves into high-level concepts. Only by partaking in good medicine or sharing intimate moments with a woman in bed could my state of mind be sufficiently elevated to comprehend this realm of existence and nonexistence.¡¯ ¡®Ah¡­ I truly miss my second brain right now.¡¯ Niu Chang metaphorically shook his head and endeavored to articulate his first theory. Ultimately, he concluded, ¡®The first theory might be dubbed the coin theory¡ªakin to the two sides of a coin. Ah¡­ I''d rather not delve further into this; I''ve grasped the concept, but articulating it eludes me.¡¯ ¡®Next, the second theory. This one is simpler than the first. It''s referred to as the state theory. If everything were nothing, then simultaneously, everything was contained within nothing. It all makes sense.¡¯ The second theory proposed that nothingness was the fundamental state of anything. For every event that occurred, it was a part of nothingness, destined to return to nothing at some point. ¡®Ugh¡­ my head,¡¯ Niu Chang groaned about this intricate topic of high dimensions. As someone inherently inclined toward laziness, he casually shifted his mental focus, redirecting the subject to his desired topic. ¡®That was one matter; now, onto my revival.¡¯ As this place ceased to be the original realm of non-existence, various concepts began to emerge, each brought forth by Niu Chang''s presence. The first of these concepts was naturally that of time. But how would time function within this realm? ¡®Well, isn''t it quite simple?¡¯ Niu Chang responded to himself with a hint of confidence. ¡®The so-called past, present, and future resemble a line extending from one side to the other. However, since only I exist in this place, shouldn''t time operate in accordance with my perspective?¡¯ Niu Chang mimicked the gesture of pinching something with his imaginary hand. Although he found nothing tangible, his thoughts were sufficient to stir contemplation. ¡®Indeed,¡¯ Niu Chang concluded, though he had no evidence to substantiate his claim; he was assuming without substantiation. He was bullshitting his way thoroughly without batting an eye! ¡®Time doesn''t flow within this place.¡¯ ¡®But, how could that be? The system''s interference remains constant at the moment... right. Where does the system itself exist? Does it adhere to the local time of the continent or does it also exist here with me, within this state of nonexistence?¡¯ ¡®The two followers should occupy a state lower than mine; thus, they shouldn''t transcend the bounds of nonexistence. Therefore, the system should be present with me, right?¡¯ ¡®Given that the three variables in this realm, does this imply that the events here are detached from the realm of existence?¡¯ ¡®So, regardless of how much ''time'' elapses in this place, no alterations should occur once I depart.¡¯ ¡®Yet, how long will it take for the system to accumulate adequate energy to trigger a qualitative transformation in my state?¡¯ ¡®Hah!¡¯ Niu Chang exclaimed. ¡®At this juncture, eternity doesn''t appear quite as lengthy.¡¯ Niu Chang foresaw that he would ''spend'' an exceptionally protracted period¡ªan eternity¡ªwithin this void, just prior to reviving himself. ¡®Time doesn''t flow, and yet it does. Eternity doesn''t denote a measure of time but rather signifies accumulation. Although my mind would naturally crumble even if I experienced only a single day in this forsaken place, simultaneously, that same duration might be required for the system to achieve its purpose.¡¯ ¡®Look, the ''time'' is here,¡¯ Niu Chang smiled, as ''eternity'' passed by without fanfare. Chapter 97 - The "Truth" The exit was already within his reach, but Niu Chang wasn''t in a hurry to use it. In his extensive experience as a reader, he found one thing that he hated the most¡ªdon¡¯t ask how many ¡®mosts¡¯ he had. ¡®In those stories, the main characters or side characters, when they encounter something similar or beyond comprehension, they hastily leave it. But as a reader, I don¡¯t care about their lives or safety; I want to know what was there, what that place was, what secret it held.¡¯ So, Niu Chang planned to stay a bit longer in this place to satisfy his insatiable curiosity. His perception spread slowly as he pondered where to start. ¡®This place is a good one. Only in the contradiction of white and black can the difference be easily perceived.¡¯ Just like white and black, existence and nonexistence were counterparts of each other. If someone only lived their life in the white area, it would be hard to imagine what black is, and vice versa. Time passed, and Niu Chang found himself drowned in countless attempts to prove something he didn''t even know. ¡®Is it the truth? The truth?¡¯ Niu Chang believed there was only one truth; everything else was just a derivation of that truth. ¡®Following this logic, whether it is existence or nonexistence, they were below the truth in the hierarchy. Using the top-down approach made it easier to understand, but using the bottom-up approach to reach the truth¡­ aaaagggghhhh.¡¯ Niu Chang groaned in frustration as he tried to comprehend the truth based on his unique situation right now. The more he tried, the more he lost himself. It wasn''t the truth that was harmful or forbidden, but the attempt to reach it, filled with precarious danger that lurked in every direction. Falling into doubt about everything and thus losing the sense of self, which is the definition of death itself. Losing control, losing sanity, no longer having the ability to discern the self, becoming nothing. ¡®So,¡¯ Niu Chang muttered, a minor headache forming as he changed his approach. ¡®The good old way?¡¯ ¡®Ignorance to the boot!¡¯ Taking everything at face value and defining everything on whims. He didn''t focus on anything in particular, which was his goal. Just like plucking stars from the sky with his wandering mind alone, ''time'' passed unbeknownst to him. Perhaps another eternity passed, but he truly didn''t know. One thing always bothered him when he read stories about someone''s journey to attain the highest power in their reality. Becoming the ruler and using other fancy words to describe their ascent. In that position of power, naturally, they could control everything, right? So, was it the future self who actually safeguarded the past self during their journey, seeking death left and right? The plot armor was not a mere device for the author to protect their main characters, but instead it was deus ex machina in the first place. The reasoning was simple to follow. As long as magic existed, mortal limits could be breached, and eventually, someone would ascend to the highest throne of power. Because of this, Niu Chang always asked himself, ¡®What about me?¡¯ This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡®If I succeed in the future, will everything become meaningless? By that point, my future self would have detached from everything, becoming a self-defined concept that no longer had a connection with me¡ªeven if I somehow fail. He wouldn''t suffer anything.¡¯ A notion of failure existed, but even for Niu Chang, failure would mean his journey was simply short. Nothing to care about; after all, he would be dead. What else could he do? ¡®The other possibility would be that I''ve already succeeded before, thus having eternity in boredom. Naturally, I''d seek joy, right?¡¯ ¡®For instance, creating various incarnations to experience new lives.¡¯ Whether it was in the future or the past, where he had succeeded in attaining immortality, there would be no real impact on his current self. This kind of thinking was common in his attempt to unravel the truth. While Niu Chang was engrossed in his thoughts, he suddenly moved, extending his hand to reach for something. In this void of emptiness, something finally changed. The plain consciousness, which Niu Chang only had, now had a hand! Frowning at his success, Niu Chang once again performed the same trick, and now he had a body. The body wasn''t made of flesh and blood or anything tangible. It resembled a glimmering light, taking the shape of his previous body. ¡®What an odd realization,¡¯ Niu Chang mused as he finally grasped something about the truth. ¡®I possessed knowledge about it, yet I am unable to construct any words or descriptions for it. It''s not something that can be explained; it requires self-realization to understand.¡¯ Existence, nonexistence, truth. It was actually very different from his earlier thoughts. Even his two theories about the nature of existence and nonexistence were no longer valid. He had elevated his state of mind to that of a higher level. Although he couldn''t directly convey this knowledge, he would still be able to guide someone to catch a glimpse of the true nature of truth. Of course, the other person would need a deep comprehension and a fair amount of luck to be truly enlightened by it. ¡®I can describe it to others in countless ways, answering their questions. But ultimately, whether they understand it or not depends on them¡­.¡¯ ¡®Wait¡­ wait¡­ hold on,¡¯ Niu Chang suddenly realized something. ¡®Isn''t this¡­ this kind of thing!¡¯ ¡®Isn''t this the vague discourse that is usually found in xianxia novels?¡¯ ¡®Explaining something in the most ambiguous way, lacking any real substance, like "the great dao is endless and so on." "The dao is everywhere and so on."¡¯ ¡®Oh no, I''m actually becoming something that I truly despise the most.¡¯ ¡®The truth, the dao, or any word for it. I couldn¡¯t fathom them before, but now that I''ve gained a foothold in this realm, I''ll call it nonsense!¡¯ The reason was simple: although Niu Chang had realized something and achieved enlightenment, he discovered that this was not what he desired. This kind of knowledge he possessed was wrong! ¡®This isn''t the truth! This is incorrect! Everything is wrong!¡¯ However, he wasn''t angry; instead, he found it oddly enjoyable to make such a mistake. ¡®If not for the low-quality literature I read in my first life, I might have been condemned to follow the wrong path. The path of ignorance, the path of heresy¡ªmany words could be used, but none of them would ever lead to the path of truth.¡¯ ¡®I comprehend something and can influence the void? I can present it to you in countless ways and offer explanations full of empty words. And if you fail to grasp its only mean you lack talent¡¯ ¡®Heh,¡¯ Niu Chang playfully snorted. ¡®How can the grand truth be treated like the ramblings of an old man on one occasion and profound speech when uttered by a person of high status on another?¡¯ If the truth was different from person to person, having more than one standard, what is the difference between that and an opinion? My ¡®opinion¡¯ of the truth is this, your ¡®opinion¡¯ is wrong. How could someone discuss the truth like that? ¡®How can my grand aspiration for the truth be interpreted in various manners? If it has more than one definition, how can it truly be called truth?¡¯ Niu Chang''s eyes flashed with a madness he wasn''t conscious of. He gazed into a place beyond his dimension¡ªa place where time and everything else were mere playthings. Beings resided there, capable of observing every reality. Not only him, but also his previous world and even the various worlds depicted in the stories he had read. Every single thing and nothing. A higher realm of those who had advanced a step beyond him in understanding the truth. ¡®I know you exist, and I''ll be there, no matter how long it takes.¡¯ Niu Chang declared. But the sound that arose from his thoughts materialized through his elevated state of being¡ªa wrong truth, a low-level concept that had been learned in a higher life form. It was an incoherent growl, a screech akin to metal grating against metal, an explosive roar reminiscent of a volcanic eruption. It defied explanation, for everyone would interpret it differently. Yet, they would all agree that they had heard something they shouldn''t have. For those who uttered these words were no longer human. Chapter 98 - Restoration The truth, defined as the counterpart of falsehood. However, that''s not the truth¡­ Words exist in various languages to describe concepts, each carrying a nuanced meaning. The truth - the dao - could also be translated as truth, but not that particular kind of truth. But what was the true name of that thing? Various words in different languages might allude to it, but they were merely placeholders, shadows of something greater. Therefore, at this moment, as Niu Chang contemplated the truth, he no longer relied on the languages from his previous and current lives. He didn''t label it as the truth; instead, he employed an indescribable abstraction more potent than any linguistic representation of truth. He invoked the direct derivation of truth, yet not truth itself. Thus, if he were to articulate it aloud, reality would suffice to mend and reshape itself according to that utterance. For it existed on a higher plane than the constructs of this reality. The concealed madness in his thoughts subsided subsequently, and he noticed this seemingly empty void felt distinct from before. "It has become unsettling somehow," Niu Chang commented as his eyes darted around, seeking the crux of his uncertainty. As the sole existence within this non-existent place, he could perceive a presence that eluded him previously. ¡®It wasn''t within this place, but rather beyond. It''s as if a veil exists both in existence and nonexistence, and from beyond that veil¡­¡¯ He halted his train of thought deliberately, resisting the urge to delve deeper. His luminous form trembled slightly, as though a cold wind grazed his skin. ¡®I know I want to learn more about the truth, but not now. My level is too low to confront these end-game entities.¡¯ Strategically, Niu Chang withdrew from the mental battlefield, deliberately ignoring his disdain for the fact the characters in stories paled in danger unknown to them. Just as he intended to leave this place using the ''exit'' he had encountered earlier, he realized it was no longer in its usual position. ¡®Hey, where did that ''eternity'' go?¡¯ he jested. He scanned left and right, unable to locate it. ¡®Should I wait for another ''eternity'' to come around?¡¯ he mused, considering the idea as he began to fly around in search of the exit. Before long, he frowned. ¡®As I suspected, in this expanse of emptiness, Their presence is more easily perceived.¡¯ Beyond the range of his perception that could encompass the entire void, an unsettling gaze was fixed upon him. However, this gaze didn''t exhibit much interest. It was akin to a giant opening its eyes and gazing across a vast landscape, indifferent to anything smaller than a strand of its hair. The previous Niu Chang had been like a blank canvas, devoid of color awareness. But now, after being imbued with the direct derivation of the truth, he possessed his own hue. Thus, amid everything, he naturally became aware of the presence of other colors too. In the expansive ocean of colors, his own shade was smaller than a drop of ink. As his thoughts raced to find the exit, the tension in his mind heightened, setting off a chain reaction in the void. Being the sole existence, the weight of his thoughts and perceptions was remarkably heavy. Consequently, if he harbored fear or grappled with incomprehensible doubts, dire consequences would indeed unfold. ¡®Damn boy! I truly miss my ''calm'' button right now!¡¯ he exclaimed internally. The convenience granted by his second brain had been paramount throughout his life, facilitating his actions and decisions. He could have simply drifted through life like an untroubled fish, unaffected by the passage of time. Yet, now stripped of that convenience, he was no different from a delicate creature burdened with the turbulence within its own mind. The void grew more oppressive, though this escalation wasn''t gradual or linear. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Due to the unique nature of ''time'' in this realm, something could spontaneously manifest as if it had existed since time immemorial, patiently awaiting Niu Chang''s arrival. Taking a sharp, deep breath, Niu Chang halted his movement and forcefully suppressed all emotions in his mind. The nerve-wracking atmosphere that had been building up instantly dissipated. ¡®Come here,¡¯ he bellowed into the void. Then, something indiscernible came into his perception, though it seemed to be nothing. He reached out for this void, and his body surged with the energy he had once possessed. Preventing his mind from straying into the realm of sanity and doubt, he vigorously restored his existence. The boundary between nonexistence and existence proved to be fragile and feeble. However, when these two boundaries converged, the rules took on a peculiar turn. As his right leg transitioned into a state of existence, he encountered an obstruction. Two obstructions, to be precise. The first was the karmic assault from those who held karmic bonds with him; they had been sacrificed to erase Niu Chang from existence. Despite the fact that the target remained somehow ''alive,'' they persisted in their unrelenting onslaught. The second was the seal left by the Land Dao Spirit. Neither of these obstacles wielded substantial power in comparison to the present might of Niu Chang. However, due to his current unnatural state, they posed significant challenges to his quest for restoration. ¡®Since I haven''t been fully revived, the karmic bond with the Land Dao Spirit won''t be initiated, given that the karmic assault hasn''t concluded,¡¯ he deduced. With one foot in the realm of existence, he was no longer confined within his own ''time,'' thus events transpired in real time according to the local time of the continent. As a result, in order to breach the barrier before him and reclaim his existence, he needed to amass sufficient energy. ¡®But the predicament lies in the gradual passage of time in this place, and my energy source comes from two followers who don''t even draw breath.¡¯ ¡®Ages and eons might elapse, and they wouldn''t provide me with a fraction of a second''s worth of energy, not even a thousandth of an amoeba.¡¯ With his other part naked in the realm of void, he felt as if he were bound to an unpredictable presence that could emerge at any given moment, ready to tease his cheeks. The mere thought of it made him profoundly uncomfortable, almost to the point where he wished he could trade this state for death, rather than enduring prolonged unease. ¡®Even if I were to attempt a return now, it seems impossible,¡¯ he conceded. Resigned to his fate as a captive of time''s whims, he opted to find a more comfortable position in an attempt to alleviate his mounting anxiety, positioning himself slightly sideways. Exhaling a sigh, Niu Chang tried to console himself. ¡®At least in this circumstance, I no longer sense Their presence.¡¯ ¡®If only this endless sea weren''t devoid of any form of life. At the very least, I could create some new karma¡­¡¯ he mused, his imagination drifting. Shifting his focus to his "minuscule" existence, Niu Chang ruminated, ¡®Regardless of the situation, since I have reverted to an existence of 0.000000000000¡­1, this also implies that my array of techniques and skills are applicable once again.¡¯ In the void of emptiness, Niu Chang was unable to do anything since the rule in that place was different from anything he knew and thus the preparation was incomplete. Only Death''s Ignorance, a skill tethered to the system, could influence him. However, with his energy depleted and his body in a notably¡ªahem¡ªincomplete state, numerous skills would remain beyond reach. Yet, some skills would operate in the background, akin to bloatware. The second brain was naturally one of these, as it remained intricately linked to Niu Chang''s mental activity. As long as he could think or retain a sliver of consciousness, it would remain operational. Following suit was the Impossible Idea, a body-tempering technique that indeed lived up to its name. It existed primarily as a concept. This very nature, however, granted it extensive coverage, extending into the realm of possibilities alone. ¡®If my memory serves me right, one among the numerous functions¡­ one of the numerous skills integrated within the Impossible Idea was the ability to autonomously adapt and evolve.¡¯ Separated from the direct link with the second brain, Niu Chang''s capacity to recuperate and access his memories remained severely limited. Nonetheless, he retained a general grasp of information regarding his diverse techniques and skills. The skill he referred to wasn''t exactly a skill, but rather, another body-tempering technique that could be cultivated independently of the Impossible Idea. On a more advanced level, it practically defied death, only threatened to instantaneous termination, as the fleshly body would endlessly adapt and evolve. This technique bore the name "Nature Abomination Scourge." While its title lacked pleasantness, it served one purpose: it had been crafted by Niu Chang¡ªor rather, by the second brain. It had somehow emerged from the fusion of several body-tempering techniques employed during the initial creation. The second brain detected and archived it, while Niu Chang, though he had read about it, filed it away as information he couldn''t utilize. Given its potential for perpetual adaptation and evolution, its end result wouldn''t manifest as a handsome man or a celestial beauty. Instead, it would exhibit characteristics developed through the harsh testaments of long existence, adapting to various dangers from both the living and the environment. However, this was not the current focal point. What truly mattered was its adaptability and its capacity to extricate the practitioner from predicaments where direct action was unfeasible¡ªmuch like Niu Chang''s present circumstance. Niu Chang found himself existing on an infinitesimally minute scale, bombarded by karmic fire catalyzed by the principle of equivalent exchange¡ªone life for another life. Despite facing multiple instances of it, he also contended with being sealed within the deepest layers of space, followed by a series of potent seals. ¡®Well, at least with my arsenal, the wait shouldn''t be too protracted. Perhaps the second brain will evolve first, or adaptation and evolution will proceed faster than I anticipated.¡¯ ¡®Hehehe. See that?¡¯ Niu Chang called out to himself. ¡®This is how one should engage in the game of reincarnation: perpetually prepared, drawing from the knowledge of the first life, and not being fished by others on the nose.¡¯ Although the second piece of advice had led to his current predicament, he deliberately chose to remain blind to this fact. Chapter 99 - Unification Sealed in the deepest layer of space, there was nothing to watch here. The ever-stretching darkness, with different shades, would oscillate and flow erratically before changing into different hues once again. In this situation, the only entertainment that Niu Chang could have was his mind and creativity alone. ¡®Although I can''t access my second brain, it should run in the background so that every idea I create will be stored in it. Even if that''s not the case, it should still be good fertilizer for both the Chaotic Mind and the Lazy Tree.¡¯ Niu Chang''s second mind consisted of three auxiliary thinking skills: the Celestial Astrolabe, the Lazy Tree, and the Chaotic Mind. The Celestial Astrolabe was like a typical machine; it needed human touch to work. But for the other two, one worked based on accumulation while the other one worked on probability. With low energy, the Lazy Tree and the Chaotic Mind should benefit from Niu Chang''s attempts at creating various ideas in his boredom. ¡®This place also has some time adjustment,¡¯ Niu Chang commented after realizing the time flow was different to his perception. ¡®Maybe the Land Dao Spirit uses some time-based seal to dilate the time in this place to buy him more time.¡¯ It was a rational choice for someone who wanted to accomplish something while unable to eliminate a threat like Niu Chang. And the reason why Niu Chang said the time was wrong was that, with his false truth attainment, he could glimpse the natural laws of this world more easily. Everything has its natural path, so when someone changes it, it becomes more apparent to the discerning eye. Niu Chang didn''t bother counting every single second that passed to keep up with the time flow. In fact, he found it rather wasteful of his resources. Why bother counting the time if he already knew it would take a very long time and his mind, like that of other creatures, was unable to handle complicated tasks like that? It was better for him to dream and speculate on various ideas to feed his second brain. He didn''t know how long it had been, but the progress he had made was negligible in terms of his overall recovery. But he soon realized that the world was changing rapidly. ¡®What is this?¡¯ Niu Chang observed tiny lines, like worms squirming in the very fabric of reality itself, manifesting themselves from nothing. He couldn''t capture them directly, but he was able to perceive them in their newly born state. There were various shapes and colors among them, and Niu Chang could even discern other qualities from them, like their taste, sounds, and even their smell. Another period of time passed as Niu Chang played with those tiny worms from his secret chamber. He watched them grow and become more difficult to observe in his current situation. However, some of those tiny worms became aware of his existence. Niu Chang felt ecstatic when he discovered this, but somehow they actively avoided him. It was as if a group of toddlers were being reprimanded by their teacher not to approach a mysterious man. He felt heartbroken about this, but he couldn''t help it. He had watched all of those tiny worms from their birth to their youth, and now they no longer cared about him. Niu Chang shook his head, realizing his plan to hasten his escape was wasted. ¡®But it''s not a complete waste of thought. After all, what else could I do in this state?¡¯ he mused, watching those tiny worms grow into something more intangible, becoming incorporated into the very fabric of reality. He knew what those tiny worms were. ¡®Their first appearance should mark the unification of Land and Sky, creating a more complete path for those walking the path of immortal cultivation, and those worms were the dao.¡¯ Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. The saints born before the unification of heaven and earth were walking the only path that had existed since time immemorial. They didn''t depend on things called the dao of the world; they were the true ascenders in the logical sense. As for those who followed the cultivation method of the new heaven and earth, after reaching the golden core stage, they would take different paths according to their world dao. ¡®They would endure that long cultivation journey, seemingly endless.¡¯ Niu Chang could see how ridiculous it was, with more than twenty levels or more just to reach the same level as the saints from the old world. ¡®The reason was simple. Not only was this path easier and simpler, but it also helped the world to grow and mature, thus increasing the world''s foundation.¡¯ ¡®Heh,¡¯ Niu Chang scoffed when he found this rather similar to something. ¡®Isn''t this basically a farm or a form of slavery? The world opens up the cultivation path, and the cultivator diligently cultivates only for the world to take their progress and creativity to fatten itself up.¡¯ ¡®But this shouldn''t be the case. How can the world be the main character? There will be a time when the destined person will be born to lead the revolution of dao.¡¯ Niu Chang yawned as he found this story rather boring. ¡®He''s the destined person, what else is there to follow? He will succeed no matter what. It''s all according to the will of living beings versus the will of the world.¡¯ ¡®Although it sounds grand, it''s basically the generic xianxia story.¡¯ . . . The benefit Niu Chang gained from observing the dao from their birth to their present state was that he learned everything he could. With his false truth attainment, he was also able to create his own tiny worms. Not just one, but several. He instilled some seed of loyalty in them since he was the one who created them and released them into the world to grow and assimilate. Naturally, one of them was the dao of the protagonist! What else could it be if not that kind of dao? It was the strongest dao in existence. However, his small plan went awry when the second change of the world occurred. All the tiny worms were captured by something, and that something devoured them all. Niu Chang made a prediction that this something must be the true Heavenly Dao, the fusion of the Land Dao Spirit and the Sky Dao Spirit. Since it was the Heavenly Dao, how could it let go of those small daos to be free? So it devoured all of them. Only three tiny worms that Niu Chang kept to himself survived this Dao Calamity. ¡®Don''t be afraid,¡¯ Niu Chang gently said, trying to calm down his tiny worms. They were trembling in fear, feeling as though a great disaster could befall them at any given moment. Niu Chang didn''t attempt to hide them. In fact, he couldn''t even do so, as his level of existence was too minuscule. Thus, the Heavenly Dao was naturally aware of these three pets of Niu Chang. However, it didn''t take any action against them. Regardless of which side emerged victorious, whether it be the Land or the Sky, the new Heavenly Dao naturally learned about the unconventional and unnatural Niu Chang, who grew stronger in the face of people showing animosity towards him. This was especially true for those who deliberately took actions to affect him, such as disturbing his possessions. "Futile." A booming sound, reminiscent of calamitous lightning streaking from the highest heavens, reverberated in the deepest layers of space. The noise was so intense that Niu Chang felt as though his eardrums were about to burst. He grew annoyed by this pretentious display, but he merely huffed and continued to carefully caress his three tiny worms. ¡®Don''t be afraid. That dog wouldn''t dare to set foot in this place. He''s just a coward, no different from a third-rate mob.¡¯ Since Niu Chang possessed his own dao that lay outside the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Dao naturally needed to prevent it from growing. Thus, the Heavenly Dao sealed off the entire sea area where Niu Chang was confined and severed all connections to it, creating a dead zone devoid of energy and living beings. But the Heavenly Dao''s actions didn''t stop there. In its bid to maintain control over the world, it chose to dump all the negative karma accumulated by living beings in order to prevent Dao Usurpation. As time passed, the seawater and clouds within this dead zone would become infused with various forms of bad karma, which could potentially transform into something sinister. And so, another quiet day filled Niu Chang''s time. But now, he has three friends with him. Due to the nature of the dead zone where he was sealed, the three tiny worms were unable to grow since there was nothing for them to absorb. The only thing that could nourish their growth was Niu Chang himself. His thoughts, carrying traces of the false truth, barely provided sustenance for these tiny worms. As for their names, their intrinsic dao had been stripped away by the Heavenly Dao, leaving them as empty shells of their former selves, carrying nothing. Even if Niu Chang wanted to, he couldn''t call them by their true names. Instead, he referred to them based on their characteristics. The first worm was short and had an unstable outer layer, lacking any clear differentiation between its head and tail. Niu Chang called it Spiky. The second worm was big and soft, moving in a wriggling manner like jelly. Thus, Niu Chang referred to it as Jelly. Lastly, the third worm was more active than the rest, displaying higher spirituality and possessing a body different from the others. It didn''t conform to the typical worm shape, instead resembling an ever-changing fluid that consciously avoided adopting a worm-like form. Niu Chang dubbed it Reddy. Chapter 100 - Your Grandpa Is Here The three pets were not living beings; thus, they were unable to form any karma with Niu Chang. Without their true names, they would be unable to leave the infancy state and would remain the same forever. ... The passage of time brought no changes. However, the outside world underwent several shocks that were strong enough to reach the abandoned area where Niu Chang was sealed. He was like a social outcast who lived near a social butterfly, locking himself away, where he could occasionally hear the loud cheers and party music from his famous neighbor. ¡®Sigh, I wonder how long I must wait like this,¡¯ Niu Chang said the same line as if it were a natural instinct of his mind to ease his boredom. ¡®If only the system¡­¡¯ His speech slurred as he struggled to smoothly process his own thoughts. Like a supernova exploding in the depths of his mind, his entire worldview shattered in that instant. Various curses in different languages awoke, even Niu Chang unknowingly cursing with the false truth language he possessed. This caused the deepest layer of space to tremble under its weight; even his three pets trembled in great fear as they became rabid. ¡®Impossible,¡¯ Niu Chang tried his best to deny the fact he had just realized. ¡®It can''t be,¡¯ he assured himself once again. ¡®This can''t be!¡¯ He engaged in the most intense mental activity since entering this minuscule level of existence, just to come up with better excuses. The system had two functions: active and passive. The passive one allowed Niu Chang to harness unlimited energy from those who formed karmic bonds with him. The active function allowed him to do three things: increase cultivation level, enhance proficiency, and fuse skills and techniques. ¡®Yes, that must be it!¡¯ Niu Chang''s eyes lit up as he finally came up with better excuses. ¡®The ''time'' I spent in the void of nothingness... it should have affected my mind!¡¯ ¡®The same goes for when I was searching for the truth; it must have left some hidden impact on my mind as well.¡¯ ¡®Then in this place, the Land Dao Spirit must have placed some seal that affects my mind and changes my thought trajectory, causing me to forget about something!¡¯ ¡®And lastly, it was because I didn''t depend on the system very much, except for its passive usage. Look, everything that I have right now is a result of my own hard work.¡¯ The thing that Niu Chang had forgotten was the fact that he could gain an energy boost from the system when he used it to increase his cultivation level. But since he was adamant that he hadn''t forgotten such a function existed, naturally, it was the fault of an external force. With a calm mind, he called out to the system. ¡®System,¡¯ he said in an unnatural way. The first ''s'' was high-pitched, followed by a low tone before prolonging the second ''s'' and ending with an inaudible sound. [Host: Niu Chang] [Karma points: 7,549,922] [Cultivation: Qi - Qi Refinement, Body - Fourth level, Soul - White level] Stolen story; please report. [Skill: More.] Seeing that he had already accumulated seven-digit karma points, Niu Chang clicked his tongue in acknowledgment. ¡®It is impossible for me to make a major improvement in my cultivation realm.¡¯ Niu Chang, who still believed that his system would be nerfed to fit the story''s development for better drama, causing the readers to feel the tension. Thus he chose to enhance his cultivation in another aspect; with his current level, he could come up with some unorthodox cultivation methods easily. ¡®It''s not that I can''t cultivate some qi or body techniques; rather, they don''t have any restrictions. Since my Transformation Energy would just incorporate this new technique, the same goes for the Impossible Idea.¡¯ ¡®System, increase the level of the White Breathing technique.¡¯ [Increasing White Breathing technique to the peak of the Qi Refinement level. Requires 2875 karma points.] ¡®Proceed.¡¯ In his minuscule level of existence, where he solely depended on two followers that were in a hard-to-explain state, Niu Chang suddenly felt the dry pipe that connected with the system filled with rich energy. ¡®This is it!¡¯ Niu Chang exclaimed in excitement. But he didn''t stop there; he told the system to upgrade more techniques to supply the energy needed to restore himself. [Congratulations for ¡­] [Congratulations for ¡­] [Congratulations for ¡­] [Congratulations for ¡­] [Congratulations for ¡­] [Congratulations for ¡­] [Congratulations for ¡­] x 10000 With his seven-digit karma points, he could easily increase the level of his techniques to the limit of the Qi Refinement realm with ease. However, his movements were not hidden at all, and the Heavenly Dao was aware of his restoration. "Hah," Niu Chang audibly snorted as he activated one of his skills. In The End Nothing Remains. This skill was also a peculiar one; it stated that everything would end up in nothingness. Every job, attempt, and journey would result in empty achievement. For those who seek revenge, they would only end up killing their enemy. After that, what? For those who seek great adventure and become the king of a country once they reach their goal. After that, what? And for those who seek immortality and become omniscient and omnipotent. After that, what? Thus, this skill was created in an attempt for Niu Chang to justify his boring life of being overpowered. Whether it was the present or the future, nothing would excite him anymore. The skill had only one effect, which was to solve everything at once. You want to be a king? Solved. You want to be a protagonist? Solved. You want to be immortal? Solved. However, it was not that kind of positive resolution; instead, it stemmed from oneself. For example, if someone wanted to be a harem king with every beauty in the world to be his woman, this skill would either kill his lust for women or castrate him for good. See, it solved the problem, right? Without lust for women or having a small brother, how could he continue his journey to become a harem king? Because whether he succeeded or not, it would be meaningless for nothing to be achieved. So when Niu Chang activated this skill, it cut all karma he had with this world. Therefore, any attempt that the Heavenly Dao made, whether it was mystical and intricate in ways better than what the Land Dao Spirit was capable of, didn''t matter. A mere thought was enough to form karma since Niu Chang had now become a clean slate that could easily be tainted. He had planned to use this skill right after he obtained the benefits of war while fighting the seven saints, but who knew the Land Dao Spirit was more powerful than he thought and sent him into the shadow realm. However, Niu Chang couldn''t relax yet, as his newly formed body was sealed in the deepest layer of space. So if he wanted to stretch his body, it would be impossible. "Tsk," he clicked his tongue in displeasure as he willed his thoughts to utilize the false truth he knew. The whole space trembled as if something big and hard was expanding rapidly in its confines. The layers of space and their seals shattered like glass, and various runes and energy crumbled along the way, paving a path to the outside world. Niu Chang walked slowly, feeling the intense gaze from the void fixed upon him. The corner of his mouth curved in response. "Old dog, old dog. This is what you get for meddling in something you shouldn''t," Niu Chang said casually. Chapter 101 - Energy Source Tasting the air of freedom after a prolonged period of confinement, Niu Chang couldn''t help but feel somewhat suffocated. It wasn''t as though the air of freedom he inhaled was tainted with an oily stance; in fact, it was filled with so many harmful substances that they corroded his being ¨C his flesh, spirit, and mind. ¡®So much time has passed, and this dead zone has already transformed into a truly deadly zone unsuitable for any living being,¡¯ he mused. The action taken by the Heavenly Dao to prolong its reign by dumping the negative karma accumulated by living beings had irreversibly turned this dead zone into an unsalvageable wasteland. ¡®With more time, this vast amount of waste could develop into something spiritual enough to threaten the very throne of the Heavenly Dao itself.¡¯ With his complete resurrection, the second brain was once again connected, allowing Niu Chang to deduce some hidden plot orchestrated by the Heavenly Dao through all of these events. ¡®But all of this no longer has anything to do with me,¡¯ Niu Chang declared as he walked forward. "You can''t harm me, and I can''t harm you," he softly spoke. Following his resurrection, he didn''t discover the karmic bond with the Land Dao Spirit as he had expected. This led him to firmly employ his "In The End Nothing Remains" skill to prevent any mistakes. There was no need to ponder the how and why; the reason was simple. The Heavenly Dao, the convergence between the Land Dao Spirit and the Sky Dao Spirit, wouldn''t let such an ominous time bomb go unattended. Hence, it had to take action to eliminate this subsequent event from its karma inversion method. Simultaneously, Niu Chang was prohibited from taking any action against the Heavenly Dao. Or, to be precise, he no longer had any connection with this world. His wish for a secure time to cultivate in peace resulted in all his previous karma being pruned. Without karma, naturally, nothing could harm him. Receiving no response from the Heavenly Dao, Niu Chang leisurely extended his hand. Three tiny worms appeared and wriggled in fear, coiling between his fingers. ¡®It''s not your turn yet. Just observe for now,¡¯ he commanded his pets to enter his sleeve. Two specks of light flew out from his index finger, gradually growing larger and brighter. His current deficiency was in energy, prompting the need to revive his two followers to their living state. He aimed to feed them the energy he had obtained from them in a closed-loop of positivity, ultimately returning to his former standing. Behind him, a scale crafted from pure ideas materialized. It appeared uneven, with the right side lower than the left. Niu Chang shook his head as the scale began to function, eventually balancing both sides. "You can''t do that," Niu Chang stated, fully aware that even now, the Heavenly Dao was attempting various methods to eliminate him. The Blind Judge ¨C a noble technique that upheld justice without room for error. However, a persistent issue lingered: justice was subjective. Depending on the timing and circumstances, the same case could yield differing verdicts. This was precisely why the scale that manifested behind Niu Chang was a construct of pure idea, devoid of any material substance. Justice couldn''t and wouldn''t exist in the past, present, or future. This was also due to Niu Chang''s attainment no longer resembling his previous state when he confronted the seven saints. Back then, he had been confined to the pinnacle of the golden core, where he comprehended the Laws but couldn''t interact with them. Now, he had transcended those worldly Laws and directly grasped the direct derivation of truth ¨C the false truth. This elevation enhanced all of his previously acquired techniques and skills. The time spent in confinement enabled him to manipulate this manually, given the absence of the second brain in his mind. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Operating without mistakes or errors, the scale functioned as the hands on both sides rose and fell. It applied a fair rule to determine various arising problems. It deliberated the right for Niu Chang to reside within the territory of the Heavenly Dao''s world, the right for Niu Chang to linger in the territory of Heavenly Dai ¨C a play on words. Similar to a court of law, skilled lawyers employ their eloquence and linguistic mastery to secure their cases. Turning the worst into the bad, and converting the bad into the barely acceptable, and so on. However, the core essence of the Blind Judge was justice, not equivalence, equalization, or any similar concept. The main distinction between those seemingly fitting concepts and justice was that justice inherently carried traces of kindness and compassion. If a case were solely judged based on the concept of equivalence, then the adage "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" would prevail. Naturally, this would leave no room for repentance or opportunity for salvation on either side. This inherent flaw constituted the most significant loophole within justice itself. Yet, it was this very loophole that existed to be exploited, rendering justice incapable of ever achieving true fairness and impartiality. The scale, however, wouldn''t err. It engaged in direct comparisons within its judgment process, thereby yielding verdicts immune to semantic manipulation. Before long, the verdict was reached, evident as both sides of the scale were balanced. In truth, Niu Chang didn''t need to await the result, for his second brain had already foreseen it. The sole discrepancy between his calculation and the scale''s judgment was the authority it wielded. With a derisive snort, Niu Chang proceeded with the resurrection of his two followers. And the final verdict? In line with Niu Chang''s stance of non-aggression, he was restrained by the system and declared his disinclination for any hostility directed at the Heavenly Dao. The scale''s assessment factored in humanity, allowing him to remain, at least until he could survive beyond the boundaries of the Heavenly Dao''s domain. Yes, humanity was a component considered by the scale in its judgment. As for his non-aggressive stance, it was a manifestation of his skill, "In The End Nothing Remains." The potency of the scale? Not defined by any singular attribute, it provided clear and rational solutions to every issue, all while accounting for humanity. Considering the matter of Niu Chang remaining within the Heavenly Dao''s domain, it became unequivocally apparent that the Heavenly Dao had no further recourse, and no exploitable loopholes remained. Niu Chang was currently experiencing the safest moment of his entire life. As time passed, the resurrection procedure proceeded without interruption. Xia Yue, possessing celestial beauty, slowly opened her eyelids. Niu Chang, finding himself bored, injected more charm into Xia Yue''s design, enhancing her appearance universally. Following her was the newly revamped Qiu Yue. Both of them were exemplars of beauty, their looks alone enough to fill an entire book with descriptions. As for his rationale behind these actions, it naturally stemmed from his preference as a male. He found it more appealing to embody a female character in his interactions rather than observing another male on his computer screen. "Master," both women respectfully bowed upon seeing Niu Chang. The scene offered Niu Chang a satisfying respite after an extended period of emptiness. Additionally, after reconnecting with his second brain, he had significantly rewired his mentality to avert any erroneous paths. Consequently, his current disposition didn''t differ substantially from his state before entering the void of emptiness. This continuity wasn''t negative in the grand scheme; rather, it was a measure to ensure Niu Chang wouldn''t tread an incorrect course, as he had done in the past. For his present mindset remained untainted, and his intentions were readily perceptible. Yet, to avoid squandering his alternate ego, he stored it in his database for potential future use. ¡®Whether it''s the present me or the future me, nothing should or would alter. Ultimately, everything will be a manifestation of me,¡¯ he justified while contentedly observing his followers'' rejuvenation. A sigh escaped Niu Chang''s lips, sensing that his actions might upset some people in the hardcore side. ¡®If I lose myself in the pursuit of immortality, then what''s the purpose once I attain it? Well, it''s true that I can revert to my former self upon reaching that point, but I don''t see the necessity for it currently. At least, not for the time being.¡¯ The quest for immortality was undoubtedly arduous, but who bestowed upon Niu Chang a system to exploit? Moreover, possessing a character unburdened by constraints could potentially hinder his journey. Whether it was his two followers or anything else, they could be readily sacrificed, knowing he would ultimately restore them. "Engage in cultivation," Niu Chang commanded, establishing a connection with his two followers to supply them with the energy required for elevating their cultivation levels beyond that of normal humans. He manifested in their minds to guide them directly, ensuring they wouldn''t make any mistakes in the process. With their cultivation levels ascending, the energy feedback from the system surged correspondingly. In a short span, both of them had already ascended to the pinnacle of the golden core stage, poised to evolve into saints from the old world rather than adhering to the cultivation path in this world. Chapter 102 - Justice Speaking of power-ups and cultivation levels, it wasn''t actually as difficult or numerous as it might appear. Having delved into the direct derivation of the truth and gained knowledge about it, Niu Chang surmised that there were only four major realms in all of existence. The Mortal level was the lowest tier of lifeforms, reserved for the descendants of many ancients who had already lost their ancestors'' powers and traits. They were constrained by their lifespans and their inability to access supernatural abilities. The Unaging level was a common characteristic of those ancients who had once lived in this world. They weren''t bound by lifespans since their concept of aging differed. Time would only amplify their power, not diminish it. The World level, also known as the Saint level or what Niu Chang referred to as the Arrogance level, marked a point where a living being would manifest a new world within their body. This world bore the imprint of their existence and functioned solely according to their desires. This was akin to a testament of their resilience in confronting the reality they inhabited, striving to become the masters of their personal realm. In this realm, their words dictated the rules, and their actions governed all. Lastly, the highest tier was the God level or the Lord level. At this pinnacle, those possessing their complete world would integrate their own truth. Not the truth Niu Chang sought, but their understanding of the fundamental nature of this world. This was why they were termed Gods and Lords, for they held authority over a specific Law in its purest manifestation. At the Saint level, they could only harness extensions of Laws ¨C such as infusing their energy with the profundity of fire, making any rational attempt to counter their ''fire'' ineffective. However, at the Lord level, they wielded the authority of a certain Law in its most fundamental state. In contrast to the cultivation stages designed by the Heavenly Dao, these various levels complicated matters that were originally simple. Despite the golden core in this world no longer being unaging, the Heavenly Dao prohibited them from traversing the rightful path of transcendence. . . . Niu Chang continued to infuse his energy into his two followers, aiding them in laying the foundation before their breakthrough into sainthood. This advancement marked a leap in their lifeform level, causing everything they had amassed thus far to undergo a qualitative transformation, forming the bedrock of their future. Various cultivation methods were employed in a short span, bolstering their foundation. Body refinement, qi refinement, and soul refinement constituted the fundamental trio. Yet, from these three, numerous derivatives could be cultivated, including aspects like bone, flesh, blood, hair, and more. Qi cultivation primarily dealt with energy. Creating multiple energy reserves stood as one among many techniques. Concerning the soul, the simplest method to augment cultivation in this realm was to divide and independently nurture it. A single soul could accommodate over hundreds of distinct soul cultivation methods. Beyond all this, cultivation of the shadow and the mind also yielded results. Treating the shadow as a second body, akin to flesh and soul, allowed it to undergo its unique cultivation, thus augmenting the total cultivation potential. Likewise, the mind could be developed similarly, constructing a virtual world within and materializing the virtual into reality. Outside these realms, which were restricted by the original body, came the external facets. These encompassed weapons, artifacts, beast companions, plants, and even other individuals. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The path of cultivation stretched limitlessly due to the boundless scope of imagination. Casually, Niu Chang conjured a pair of monsters before the Heavenly Dao. He relished both aspects: crafting distinctive and potent characters, akin to fashioning game avatars, as well as the tension, thrill, excitement, and satisfaction that emanated from the Heavenly Dao while observing him forge another aberration of nature. As Niu Chang''s two followers grew stronger, the Heavenly Dao''s anxiety heightened. The rationale was simple: the so-called justice and Niu Chang¡¯s Blind Judge technique were never intended for benevolent applications. Much like in his previous life, the concept of law and justice was crafted for the feeble to seek solace and for the mighty to assert dominance over the weak. This constituted the genuine essence of justice, irrespective of the world or reality one inhabited. It was manipulated for personal gain. Who ever said Niu Chang lacked alternative methods to subdue and vanquish the Heavenly Dao once he amassed ample energy reserves? He possessed numerous techniques for this purpose, and his secondary brain had already concluded the deduction of all viable approaches. Hence, the present state of the Heavenly Dao resembled nothing more than a death row inmate, intently watching the seconds tick away on the clock, awaiting the fateful hour. Or akin to a pig observing the butcher honing his blade. A sense of helplessness and escalating anxiety¡ªundoubtedly the most excruciating torment for any rational mind. To stand on the precipice of death, drawing nearer with each passing moment, yet incapable of altering the course¡ªsuch torment was a fate nobody wished to confront. Yet, even a cornered mouse would bite, as the adage goes. Just as Niu Chang whimsically conjured the mightiest character, a sensation tugged at his heartstrings. Yet, he harbored no concern or restlessness, as everything had reached its endgame. Analogous to a chessboard with fewer than five pieces, a machine could simulate all potential outcomes. Niu Chang couldn''t discern when or how, but he found himself in a place that seemed detached from all else. ''It oddly resembles the void of emptiness.'' "Heheh," Niu Chang let forth a derisive chuckle. It wasn''t resounding, but it sufficed for him to derive amusement from amplifying psychological pressure upon his adversary. Adjacent to Niu Chang, the same imaginary scale existed. One hand was perceptibly higher, initiating its sole function. The predicament Niu Chang presently confronted arose because the Heavenly Dao co-opted his concept of ''justice'' for its own advantage. The Heavenly Dao contended that Niu Chang would spell its downfall, hence it sought an equitable and just resolution to forestall potential conflict. It was a mere manipulation of words; in the face of justice, anything was conceivable¡ªshifting the worst into the realm of bad, and bad into the territory of barely acceptable. However, the Heavenly Dao was currently treading on thin ice. It possessed its own scale, intending to eradicate any obstruction that prevented Niu Chang from employing his cheat, the system. While the Heavenly Dao could perceive its presence, it remained incapable of fully deciphering it, as Niu Chang had already woven various layers of concealment. This place resembled a grand arena. A circular floor, meticulously paved with pristine rock, stretched beneath one''s feet. Surrounding this stage, a wall seemingly detached from the floor stood resplendently in the background. It bore a resemblance to a colosseum, yet devoid of any spectator seats. Confronting Niu Chang from the opposing side was a silhouette crafted from pure light. It exuded an ethereal and sanctified aura. This figure refrained from assuming a human form to evade easy perception. Behind this silhouette rested another scale, constructed from unadulterated ideology but distinct from Niu Chang¡¯s scale. A faint trace of material clung to this scale, evidencing its predisposition towards imbalance. ¡°How preposterous,¡± Niu Chang scoffed upon beholding this biased scale. ¡°You desired an equitable and just fight, yet you rejected a fair judge. Haha.¡± It bordered on the comical. ¡°It is laughable!¡± ¡°The mighty, the haughty, the lofty¡ªall of your loftiness in this world condenses into a cowardly tactic like this. Truly a grand jest for me to savor. Is there no shred of dignity left in your pitiable existence?¡± ¡°Are you truly so terror-stricken by death? Even your exalted lineage as the spiritual wisdom of a pure law holds no significance in your eyes?¡± ¡°What a ludicrous entity you''ve become.¡± ¡°The once immaculate spirit now resembles nothing more than a humble cur scavenging for scraps behind a small shop. Hungry for survival, trembling at the antics of mischievous children.¡± ¡°I am baffled, genuinely. Why do you consistently follow this pattern? Your lofty ideals have reduced you to a low level villain, refusing to acknowledge your own downfall.¡± Niu Chang shook his head. ¡°At the very least, not like this. Not in this shameful spectacle of battling for a fleeting glimmer of survival.¡± Oddly enough, he found himself experiencing a sense of sorrow and disappointment on behalf of the Heavenly Dao, witnessing it resort to this plan and subsequently carry it out. According to the deductions of his second brain, there existed more than three potential methods for the Heavenly Dao to seize an opportunity for survival. Regrettably, it failed to perceive any of them. Chapter 103 - Compensation Even if the Heavenly Dao did something that suited Niu Chang''s preferences better, he would still feel the same way. This was the price for those who had expectations; they would be disappointed when they discovered that what they had hoped for was far from what they wanted. "Will you ever cease your childish rambling?" The Heavenly Dao spoke for the first time. Its voice was genderless and carried traces of the greatest strength. It didn''t attempt to appear superior, but that was a characteristic of those on the God level. They had already condensed their truths into their beings, elevating their lifeform level. Only cases like Niu Chang''s, who deliberately suppressed his traits as an achiever. It was not without reason; he was indeed not actively suppressing his true level, but the ban on increasing his strength independently kept him from doing so. Speaking of his ban from cultivation, he found it a bit exaggerated. Somehow, he was still unable to lift this ban. There was speculation that this was the price he paid for having such an overbearing system. "Oh, you can actually speak?" Niu Chang teased. The battle had already begun from the moment both of them stepped into this arena. They were waiting for their scales to render their verdict, which would, in turn, decide what kind of powers and disadvantages they would have. This indirect method was to evade the profound domain of karma by the Heavenly Dao. Learning from his mistakes, Niu Chang employed various new and improved skills and techniques to enhance his karma protection, making any alteration of his karma nearly impossible. "What you seek will never be within your reach. You can dream and hope for it, but you will still be unable to attain it," the Heavenly Dao spoke in a neutral tone, avoiding any exaggeration within its control. "Hah," Niu Chang scoffed with a nasal sound. He understood that the Heavenly Dao''s words referred to two things. However, its speech remained ambiguous. "Why are they so mysterious to me? Just speak plainly like a normal human." "I am, but you interpret it in your way, leading to such misunderstandings," the Heavenly Dao replied truthfully. Only then did Niu Chang pay attention to his second thoughts. He didn''t want to admit his mistake, so he brushed it off by giving his shoulder a little shake. "So what? What are you going to do now?" "There''s nothing left to do. Haven''t the conclusions already been reached?" "You talk as if you already know the outcome of this fight." "It''s not difficult to predict the outcome when we are in this place. No outsider can influence the battle''s result." The battle between the two scales intensified, and their hands began to tremble under the weight of their desired outcomes. "The battle of words and reasoning for the scales has reached a level of human cognition. This will result in a partial judgment," Niu Chang said as he saw his scale leaning towards the losing side. The reason was simple: this space was not balanced, and his lower power and level compared to the Heavenly Dao were evident. He shook his head and spoke. "Do you know when the law and order fail to arrive at a fair judgment, only then do you realize that even in the domain of justice, you will never find peace." "Once I felt that way, I created this technique to establish a fair and impartial judgment on everything. I truly don''t see any meaningful justification for the conflicts that exist out there. Don''t you think the world would be a better place if everyone followed the law and minded their own business?" Niu Chang, who had read many books, believed that a slow-life fantasy story where the main character focused on increasing their strength while avoiding meaningless conflicts would be enough for him. Though it sounded simple, he hadn''t found one to read even before his reincarnation. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Your idea is indeed not bad, or rather, it''s too good to be true. Don''t humans always say that if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is just a story?" "Such a world wouldn''t be as perfect as you want it to be. With a powerful law enforcement capable of upholding every law, its peace would be only partial. The other half would consist of people being too afraid to commit crimes." "Isn''t that good? Strong punishment wasn''t meant to be used often, but rather as a stern warning to others, a test of the law." The Heavenly Dao shook its head; the conversation was within the realm of theoretical approaches. It was believed that Niu Chang should already understand everything. "I don''t understand why you''ve chosen to play the role of a clown, acting like a fool?" "Are you insulting me now?" Niu Chang raised his voice. "If I were insulting you, then why are you smiling?" It was true that the corner of Niu Chang''s mouth was slightly curved. "Hahaha," Niu Chang brushed it off with light laughter. "I thought you would be a boring person." "You''re no different from ordinary people. Although your aspirations are grand, they were borrowed, right? What you wanted to do is to prove your existence." "Whether borrowed or not, what does it matter? If I can achieve the end goal, would it still matter?" "No," the Heavenly Dao agreed. "Exactly because it was borrowed, you''re unable to fully invest your heart and mind in it. That''s why you''re behaving this way¡ªa comical character torn and worn by short-term joy." "If you truly wish to prove your dao, then all your actions are betraying the goal you wanted to achieve." "Get straight to the point. I don''t like this critique of yours targeting me." "This is what you wanted, isn''t it?" The Heavenly Dao pointed with its finger. The curve of Niu Chang''s lips deepened. "What you desire in your life isn''t immortality, at least not yet. You want to lead a fulfilling life before you actually embark on your path to immortality. Right now, you just want to have fun, searching for something that will be difficult to find because you''re looking in the wrong place." "Don''t you like using lighter comparisons? Your actions and thoughts are akin to a fisherman who hopes for a bountiful harvest, yet he never ventures into the sea or any body of water. Instead, he wanders in the most desolate desert in pursuit of such a goal. If this isn''t a clown acting like a fool, then what is?" The comparison the Heavenly Dao made wasn''t entirely wrong. Niu Chang did indeed desire a fulfilling second life fantasy. However, his distaste and aversion to ridiculous story developments pull him away from what he truly desires. Leaving him on a silent path of loneliness, where he could only hope but couldn''t hear any sound. "So what? Isn''t this the nature of humans? Hoping for something but acting in the opposite way," he tried to defend his stance. "Human?" The Heavenly Dao, for the first time, revealed some fluctuation in its intonation, like a curious person asking about a strange question they had received. "I''ve already examined all of your traces in this world, and I still find the contradiction between your thoughts and actions to be inherent in humans. It persists regardless of their position." "The accurate term for it should be compensation, right?" "The more you do something to prove something, the more it reveals what you lack. It''s an intrinsic design for mortal beings like humans. They crave things they don''t have." "The ever-burning desire you possess is to compensate for your lack of love, the playfulness is to compensate for the lack of care, the pursuit of immortality itself is to compensate for your lack of self." Finally, the Heavenly Dao concluded its words with a smile that was easy to perceive. "The more you act like a human, the more it shows that you are not truly one of them." "Your obsession with behaving as a human, the flaws that someone might have, the logical reasoning someone might possess¡ªyou''ve displayed them in your journey, haven''t you?" "But if you look back at what you wanted to prove, wasn''t it to show that you are human and not merely imitating one?" "Otherworldly soul from the beyond, were you a human before this life?" The concept of xianxia and fantasy stories shouldn''t be unfamiliar to the Heavenly Dao, but due to its profound background as a spiritual wisdom derived from pure Law, it was challenging to understand Niu Chang''s fixation. It wasn''t entirely wrong, but it wasn''t completely true either. What Niu Chang sought to achieve was to live out the story he had been searching for his entire life. Perhaps such stories existed in his previous life, but he had been unable to find them, leading to his current journey. "What an intriguing argument you present. The concept of compensating for one''s lacks is indeed accurate. However, you''re mistaken about one thing. In my previous life, I was indeed human, but the experiences I underwent reshaped my understanding of life, or rather, the narrative. Are you familiar with the narrative? The overarching force that wields supreme authority over everything, making someone as lowly as a sow live the life of an emperor and vice versa." "I no longer perceive this life as being under my control. The hidden narrative always exists somewhere. It''s just that most people have rather mundane narratives that render them unable to foresee their future development. I wanted to craft a more fulfilling narrative for myself to witness, but as you can see, I have found nothing that matches what I''m seeking." "So, is everything driven by your desire to take control after observing countless errors made by others?" The Heavenly Dao finally identified the last piece of Niu Chang''s inner workings that it lacked. "You could say it''s more like a perfectionist wanting to rectify certain mistakes but ending up making a mistake in the process," Niu Chang added. "I understand," The Heavenly Dao acknowledged. "But this small wish of yours is truly remarkable in its ability to create something that elicits such repulsion from me towards you." The Heavenly Dao''s gaze penetrated deep into Niu Chang¡¯s body, fixating on the false truth he held. Chapter 104 - Skip Battle Button As a pure being made of Law, the Heavenly Dao was naturally more sensitive towards Law than ordinary humans. It could easily perceive the type of Law that Niu Chang had comprehended. However, it found that it detested this Law due to its inherent nature as a pure Law being. Although the Heavenly Dao''s opinion was quite interesting, it didn''t carry much weight with Niu Chang. Why should he follow random advice from someone he didn''t even know? There might be both truth and lies within it to confuse him. "Why do you hate my truth? Isn''t this the truth?" Niu Chang asked, firmly believing in his pursuit of the truth. "The truth?" Heavenly Dao paused for a moment and finally understood why Niu Chang''s distorted truth felt so tainted. "You are a madman," it commented simply to Niu Chang. "Naturally, those who seek the truth are often considered mad by the ordinary. I don''t expect anyone to understand my goal, especially not someone like you," Niu Chang shook his head, as this was something he had anticipated. The truth he sought was the truth¡ªneither the original truth, nor the supreme truth, nor the true truth. The truth was simply the truth. The pinnacle of everything, a singular concept from which everything derived. If it had any other word before or after it, would it still be the truth? The scale behind Niu Chang was already on the brink of collapse, its surface full of cracks. Yet, it still bore the weight of numerous arguments against Heavenly Dao''s scale. "Never trust in justice done by others," Niu Chang had learned this lesson from his experience reading many books. The laws and legal systems portrayed within them were merely tools to create more drama for the main character and to justify their vigilante acts. "Even in the end, justice will never truly bring peace." Niu Chang could hear the sound of his scale cracking and teetering on the edge of destruction. "For this reason, justice that embodies humanity no longer protects me. It''s time to revert to the truest form of law and order. Equality." With his will, an illusory, colorless light materialized behind the scale, and a hand grabbed its handle. Following the hand, the arm appeared, and later, the full humanoid body emerged¡ªan androgynous and gender-neutral avatar. It lacked hair and the texture of skin; it resembled a statue carved from the finest, delicate stone. A blindfold covered its eyes, shielding them from the world. Unadorned by any clothing, it had nothing to conceal. This was the true form of the Blind Judge technique. "I demand equality in all things," Niu Chang stated solemnly, and the Blind Judge behind him raised its scale, presenting it toward the Heavenly Dao. Should the scale behind the Heavenly Dao attempt any argument to alter the verdict, it would demonstrate that it no longer adhered to the essence of justice. Whether it was justice or order, their existence was to ensure equality, granting everyone the ability to live their lives in tranquility. So, when one party remained dissatisfied with a judge''s final decision, it was natural to resort to the fundamental essence of law and order¡ªretribution in kind. Should this plea be rebuffed, would justice retain any meaning? "In the end, your approach to upholding justice and fairness was never intended to achieve these goals. It was all for your own advantage," the Heavenly Dao claimed as it dismissed the scale. If it rejected true equality, the Blind Judge would deem it an offender, an attempt to obstruct legal authority. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "With such a grasp of law and justice, why not choose the Law of Equality and Kindness?" It confronted Niu Chang''s adherence to his false truth. "Justice and law were never destined to be venerated. Without an all-encompassing being to oversee all, they become a farce that everyone exploits." As the scale representing the Heavenly Dao relinquished its role as judge, the final verdict was delivered¡ªequality in all things. This signified that both the Heavenly Dao and Niu Chang stood on the same plane. "Wait," Niu Chang interjected swiftly. The Heavenly Dao didn''t pause to listen to his remaining words; however, it ceased its actions when it observed something floating in front of Niu Chang. "This thing called... Honestly, I still haven''t decided on a good name for it. Do you realize that battles and fights are futile? Why do we engage in conflict only to determine losers and winners? Wouldn''t it be better if the entire concept of fighting itself condenses into a single action that produces immediate results?" As much as Niu Chang yearned to experience an epic battle scene himself, he couldn''t help but despise the absurd and meaningless fights he encountered in the stories he had read. Why didn''t they do this or that? This entire arc could be resolved in three chapters if they were even slightly more prepared. Thus, he crafted the most potent mortal skill¡ªan ability known as the Massacre skill, capable of countering anything still bound by the constraints of normal reality. Attacking, defending, counterattacking, parrying¡ªall of these maneuvers could be executed flawlessly through the Massacre skill. However, when confrontations ascended to the realm of Law itself, circumstances took a bewildering twist. Fire devoid of physical attributes that could ignite something, ice capable of instantaneously freezing all without the need to traverse any distance, and countless other manifestations of the Law. In this realm, the physical maneuvers of the Massacre skill naturally waned in effectiveness. This prompted Niu Chang''s aspiration to elevate its level to that of a Law. Hence, he conceived the floating ball before him¡ªa ball without any trace of physical texture, existing as a mirage. It emanated a bright red light and adorned itself with pure black hues. The effect of this skill was simple; it didn''t execute the enemy, instead, it harnessed the fundamental Law of Killing. Its purpose was to bypass all battle sequences and yield the outcome directly. Thus, it wouldn''t encounter any resistance from the enemy''s power, for it merely accelerated the inevitable. "In other words, farewell," Niu Chang uttered kindly as he pressed the skip button. ... In the external world. Within the dead zone saturated with diverse negative karma. Niu Chang, who was casually assisting his two followers in leveling up, blinked before refocusing on his task. ¡®Not even a fraction of a second has passed,¡¯ Niu Chang thought. ¡®Death in that place truly erases one''s existence from this world. That''s why it oddly felt familiar, like the void of emptiness.¡¯ Then he sighed. ¡®With this skip battle button, when will I have my spectacular fight? Like a fisherman seeking fish in a desert, huh?¡¯ The battle he engaged in with the Heavenly Dao didn''t prove as fulfilling as he had anticipated. He could only blame himself; he had devised the skip battle button to avoid witnessing pointless fights. Even the Blind Judge technique nullified his adversaries'' level advantage over him, rendering it futile. ¡®At least I gained something from this brief confrontation.¡¯ Niu Chang peered into his mental space, where he discovered a trove of knowledge seemingly innately his. It constituted the authority of the world he currently inhabited. He found no interest in it. To him, it seemed preferable for someone else to possess this world, whom he could then subjugate to serve as his energy source. Thus, he slightly altered the world''s authority, allowing it to fragment. He retained genuine control, yet allocated fragments to others, assisting them in enhancing their cultivation levels. His primary motive was to enable some subsequent humiliation once his preparations concluded. He would don ordinary attire and stride toward the grand palace of heaven. There, he would orchestrate a scene and humiliate everyone present. ¡®It''s a solid plan. Hopefully, I can derive some enjoyment from this staged spectacle.¡¯ Unable to stumble upon such a scene by chance, Niu Chang resolved to craft one himself. Simultaneously aiding his two followers in surmounting their final obstacle toward becoming saints, Niu Chang elected to aggregate all the negative karma in this dead zone for personal use. The repugnant miasma, engendered through negative karma''s condensation, converged into a single point and underwent refinement, eventually materializing into an artifact. This silent, deadly miasma sensed its refinement and began to react. A chorus of cries and curses reverberated through the vicinity, enough to drive anyone to the brink of madness. Yet, Niu Chang found exhilaration in this. [Establish karma with evil spirit of demonic dao] As the antithesis to the Heavenly Dao, its strength remained below par, still in the throes of growth. By his volition, a scale materialized behind Niu Chang. "Why the howling?" As the world''s proprietor, everything was rightfully his. What entitlement did this miasma possess to contest the landlord? Chapter 105 - Freedom The authority of the Heavenly Dao world wasn''t granted freely by the Heavenly Dao; rather, it was a benefit of the War Reaper skill obtained through battle. Even as the ruler of this world, Niu Chang had limits on what he could do to counter the evil miasma. Once he contained all the evil miasma within a small jade pendant, he found himself unable to personally affect it in any way. The limitations of the system persisted. Without any disturbances, his two followers successfully underwent their breakthroughs to sainthood. There was no display of seven-colored light or grand phenomena, as the owner of this world prohibited such visions from appearing. "Master," Xia Yur leaped forward, momentarily flickering before arriving at Niu Chang directly. With her adult body, she easily embraced Niu Chang''s child form. Not in the mood, Niu Chang pushed her away with his palm. "Go, go somewhere else. Your master has something to attend to." He quickly dismissed his followers. Without a second order directed at her, Qiu Yue didn''t bother Niu Chang, feeling uncertain about what to do. ¡®I just woke up, and my savior told me to cultivate, and now I''m already a saint. When will I be able to do something to aid my savior?¡¯ Meanwhile, on the other side, Xia Yue played with the three tiny worms, her curiosity piqued by these strange creatures. Recognizing one''s own limitations and devising countermeasures against them seemed like a simple task. However, this seemingly simple task repeatedly failed in practice, especially in every single story that Niu Chang had read in his previous life. As for Niu Chang himself, he had only one weakness, or rather, a limitation. The system forbade him from forming karmic bonds with others, essentially confining him within a boundless prison that prevented him from pursuing any desires he had. Numerous methods existed to circumvent this limitation, but the time wasn''t right for Niu Chang. Now, being the strongest being in this world, it was the perfect time to put the plan into action. A subtle rhythm emanated from his body¡ªdifficult to perceive by ears, but discernible to a sentient mind, like a heartbeat. Niu Chang''s form then blurred, as though transformed into ethereal elements, before ultimately splitting into two identical bodies. The body on the left remained unchanged, just as it was before the mitosis occurred. Meanwhile, the body on the right began maturing at an astonishing pace. Clothes were torn apart due to the rapid increase in body volume, creating a visually impactful scene. No transformative light concealed the process; everything was a feast for the eyes. Shortly after, the fully matured man opened his eyes. His black hair, long and clean, framed a physique that epitomized masculinity. Muscles were toned to perfection, forming a sculpted shape rather than an excessive bulge. His face was indescribably handsome¡ªa countenance of unearthly allure found only in the realm of dreams. In tandem with his thought, an ethereal energy emanated from his body, coalescing into a simple white robe. Simultaneously, both bodies gazed at each other. The smaller body was entranced by the perfection of the adult form. He expressed his amazement with a click of his tongue. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Without the need for communication, the small body transformed into a stream of light and entered the adult form. "Now, I am free," the adult body said casually, though a sense of longing lingered. "Free from what, master?" Xia Yue stood to the side, observing Niu Chang''s mitosis and couldn''t help her curiosity. "What else?" The adult body turned his head toward Xia Yue, feeling a surge of passion emanating from a certain part of his body as he looked at her. With her long, bright crimson hair, captivating face, and enchanting figure, she epitomized beauty by any standard. The idea of indulging in desires for this follower crossed the adult body''s mind, yet he managed to contain it. The thought of acquiring freedom slightly changed his perspective. "I''m free from my immature body," he concluded. The adult body was Niu Chang, yet simultaneously not Niu Chang. The situation was complex since Niu Chang believed in nothing but himself. To circumvent the system''s constraints, this adult body constituted an entirely new existence, distinct from Niu Chang. Given this, a name needed to be established to differentiate him from Niu Chang. However, assigning a name would diminish his standing. Hence, both he and Niu Chang refrained from labeling him. For narrative purposes, he would be referred to as Nameless. It wasn''t his true name, title, or nickname; instead, it served as a placeholder devoid of significance, leaving him unaffected. Regarding Niu Chang, not the authentic one, as both embodied the true Niu Chang. He transformed into an authentic energy core for Nameless to harness. Through this approach, Niu Chang would persist in the initial realm of cultivation, intentionally avoiding advancement to a higher realm to preserve his system''s potent support. Simultaneously, Nameless could pursue his desires without fear of consequences, thereby increasing his level and attracting attention. ¡®First goal: attaining God level!¡¯ Despite drawing on the support of two supreme saints as energy sources, one''s innate strength remained the primary focus. Since Nameless was a distinct entity, he could form a karmic bond with Niu Chang. As his level ascended, the feedback he received from Niu Chang would intensify. Empowered by the system''s boundless energy, Nameless effortlessly elevated his level across every cultivation technique he knew. Even though he aimed to avoid drawing attention, his unprecedented cultivation speed and the multitude of techniques he absorbed inevitably stirred the world. A potent gust of wind surged around him, an intangible force that embodied the essence of Law. Observing this awe-inspiring display of empowerment, Xia Yue couldn''t help but yearn to comprehend it. For the first time, a sense of arousal surged within her. While Qiu Yue stared blankly, a thought crossed her mind, ''Will I ever be able to assist my savior?'' She could sense the potent aura emanating from Nameless. However, in comparison to herself, her aura was indeed stronger¡ªowing to her status as a saint¡ªthough Nameless was still distant from that level. In the end, all she could do was sigh. Benefiting from a direct link with the second brain, Nameless was able to smoothly raise his level. It wasn''t that he couldn''t acquire his own second brain; rather, the second brain within Niu Chang had already reached an immense level. Without the direct supply line of the Death''s Ignorance skill, Nameless would have perished within a second. It was something a single being couldn''t handle, at least not for all three of them simultaneously. By channeling feedback directly through the karmic bond, then through the system, then to Niu Chang, and back to himself once more, he ensured a continuous supply of energy for his level-up. After forty minutes, he successfully stepped into sainthood. Then, over the course of a day, he ascended to the ultimate level of existence: Godhood. To be precise, he attained a semblance of godhood, as he hadn''t fully mastered his Law. His current state represented a false truth, as he still struggled to grasp the essence he sought. Thus, with his second brain''s aid and his own resourcefulness, he managed to ingeniously cheat his way to godhood. He didn''t neglect the evil miasma pendant, casually refining it into an artifact. Its form transformed into that of a small accessory: two interconnected half circles forming the main body, accompanied by an intricate red centerpiece. Thus, the Red Fate came into existence. Its function was simple: to draw individuals in Nameless''s vicinity into forming karmic bonds with him, which would then be redirected towards Niu Chang. He hung the Red Fate at his waist. "Let''s go," Nameless beckoned his two followers. "We have a stage to set." With that, they teleported away from the dead zone. Chapter 106 - Heaven Above Heaven The Heavenly Dao World. It resembled any typical xianxia realm: floating continents, abundant spiritual qi, and landscapes reminiscent of fantasy. Depending on the location, different natural phenomena would manifest. The sole similarity among these places was the presence of organizations that controlled specific areas. These could be clans, sects, merit-based organizations, or even groups of demons. Nameless took his time to relish the exhilarating life of a protagonist, an experience he had never had before. There was no rush, given that this world was sealed. As his gaze swept across the entirety of the Heavenly Dao World, he charted a path for himself. He had no intention of revisiting places he had already been to; he simply aimed to fulfill his wish list and alleviate his boredom. Upon leaving the dead zone, they arrived at the southernmost region of the Heavenly Dao World. This place was a sea, but it was known as the Southern Sea instead of the Endless Sea. Contrary to expectation, the ruler of the Southern Sea wasn''t of the dragon race; instead, it was governed by the jellyfish race. Leading the domain was a Zenith Heaven Immortal¡ªthe pinnacle of cultivation in this world. The Jellyfish Empress herself was at the seventh zenith, yet her strength alone was sufficient for her clan to dominate the entire southern sea. The sea''s beauty lay in its crystal-clear water surface that offered a view of the underwater scenery. Various demons with partly human bodies could be seen swimming around, preoccupied with their own affairs. The majority of these beings were naturally jellyfish demons¡ªpossessing human upper bodies while their lower halves remained as jellyfish tentacles. The females retained their umbrella-like shape as elegant skirts, while the males bunched their tentacles together to form pairs of legs. There were also crab demons, shrimp demons, and various types of fish demons. "Conceal your aura," Nameless commanded his two followers, urging them to hide their auras. He sought to create a scenario where others would overlook the true extent of their abilities¡ªa situation that could be avoided if the main character employed a fraction of their intellect to manage their appearance. As for Nameless himself, he saw no need to alter his appearance. With his celestial countenance, even in simple robes, he would stand above the rest. Thus, it depended on whether anyone would be naive enough to accept that he possessed no cultivation level, given that he only displayed a mortal aura. With this in mind, he led his two companions to glide above the sea at a normal pace. Since the inhabitants of the Heavenly Dao world followed a circumstantial path of cultivation, they remained unfamiliar with the auras of old-world cultivation. As the trio didn''t see fit to mask themselves beyond their auras, it didn''t take long before they attracted attention. A surge of water cascaded upward as five demons emerged into view. Three were jellyfish demons¡ªthe one in the lead a handsome young man. He was followed by two beautiful women, each radiating a unique aura. The other two demons were an octopus demon and a shark demon. The octopus demon possessed an octopus head atop a human male body, while the shark demon resembled a humanoid shark. Without engaging in dialogue, the shark demon advanced and bellowed, "Halt!" Amusement welled within Nameless, though he maintained a passive demeanor, keenly observing their actions. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. In response to the command, Nameless ceased his flight, his two followers trailing behind him. The handsome young jellyfish demon didn''t spare Nameless a glance; instead, he appraised Nameless''s companions with an air of superiority. Meanwhile, the other two jellyfish demons found themselves entranced by Nameless''s appearance. However, recognizing their roles as mere attendants to their young master, they restrained their impulses. On the contrary, the octopus demon, known for his eccentric tastes, breathed heavily, his gaze fixed upon Nameless''s celestial beauty. He sent a voice transmission to the leading jellyfish demon. "Young master, you don¡¯t interested in that human male, right? Would you consider granting him to me?" Naturally, Nameless could hear this voice transmission, and a sense of disgust washed over him. Yet, he chose silence, merely observing the unfolding spectacle. Upon hearing his subordinate''s request for the male human, the young master jellyfish finally shifted his gaze slightly towards Nameless. He nodded before responding. "He''s not bad. My fifth aunt fancies attractive pets, so I cannot relinquish him to you. However, I will give you a reward later," he declared openly, disregarding any secrecy in his tone. Suppressing the urge to investigate this ''fifth aunt'' through his authority, Nameless at last had the chance to truly assess the young master''s character. ¡®Not bothering to inquire about others'' backgrounds, nor taking precautions. A genuine young master, indeed. Having been indulged throughout his life, he''s oblivious to the perils of this world. It''s fortunate for him to have crossed paths with me,¡¯ Nameless contemplated. "Human, do you not heed my young master''s words?" the shark demon, acting as the barking dog, repeated once more. Nameless smiled, abstaining from delving deeply into the young master''s background. He desired to unravel the layers of this enigmatic figure. ¡®These individuals are still in the Void Amalgamation realm. Despite the young master concealing his true cultivation level of Tribulation Ascension, there''s no need to intimidate him, right?¡¯ Nameless pondered. Hence, Nameless adjusted his aura to resemble the Soul Formation realm. It was but one significant level beneath the Void Amalgamation realm. "And who might you be?" he inquired, maintaining basic decency. ¡®You two, alter your auras to match the Tribulation Ascension realm,¡¯ Nameless commanded his two companions to adjust their auras. In response, a trove of information flowed into their consciousness, elucidating the cultivation path of this Heavenly Dao world. Unaware of their master''s intentions, the two followers complied with his directive. Subsequently, a fresh wave of information flooded their minds, detailing the renowned play of pig eating tiger and the invisible Mount Tai. Xia Yue, unflinching outwardly, couldn''t help but chuckle inwardly. As for Qiu Yue, she wished to aid her savior, only to feel more powerless upon realizing that there was no one who posed a threat to him. Consequently, she found herself relegated to playing her role. ¡®At the very least, in this play, I can assist my savior.¡¯ "How dare a mere Void Amalgamation demon stand before me?" Xia Yue, with her overbearing demeanor, found no need to feign her attitude. For her, aside from her master and her fellow disciples, everything else was beneath consideration. With no restraint, she launched an immediate attack. Conjuring fire upon her palm, she propelled it forward. The fire metamorphosed into a graceful flower, homing in on the group of five. In doing so, she exhibited the might of a formidable expert within the Tribulation Transcendent realm. The shark demon experienced astonishment upon sensing the Tribulation Transcendent aura emanating from the red-haired woman. Bracing himself, he assumed the role of protector for his young master. The two jellyfish maids trembled in fear, struck by shock. However, the young master exhibited no discernible reaction; instead, he extracted an item from his spatial ring. It proved to be a pearl with a polished surface, encapsulating a spectrum of five colors. Infusing his qi into the pearl, he summoned water to counter Xia Yue''s attack. It barely held its ground against the assault. Excitement gleamed within the young master''s eyes as he gauged Xia Yue''s formidable power. His aspiration to conquer her swelled. Discreetly, he requested reinforcements. Then, with a casual wave of his hand, he declared, "How dare you attack members of my Jellyfish race within the Southern Sea! With this transgression you can forget about leaving this place alive." His proclamation resounded with righteousness as he withdrew further artifacts from his spatial rings, distributing them among his subordinates. "Seize them all!" he commanded, attributing a renewed sense of courage to his underlings. These artifacts were of the Tribulation Transcendent tier¡ªfive apiece. Furthermore, they harbored the belief that their young master possessed even more potent immortal artifacts. Internally sighing, Qiu Yue embraced her moment to shine. She projected an icy countenance while orchestrating a wave of pale white qi. Unswayed by her attack, the resolute octopus demon and shark demon retaliated with their newfound strength. Yet, as their assault encountered the pale white qi, fear petrified their expressions, and life slipped from their bodies. Now, it was Nameless''s turn. "Young man, do you not know that there is heaven above heaven? Now I will show you what its mean" He retained the benevolence befitting his lofty status. Chapter 107 - This Is Why You Shouldnt Engage in Communication As the sea breeze smoothly washed over, there was no change in the expression of the young jellyfish master. ¡®Although she instantly killed them, she is still in the Tribulation Transcendence realm. With the help of my immortal artifact, I don''t need to worry. Instead, I should waste their time until reinforcements arrive,¡¯ he thought, formulating his plan calmly. Then specifically, the young master''s expression began to show signs of change. He appeared somewhat shocked, hinting at a slight nervousness as he questioned, "Who are you?" Nonetheless, he retained his bravery. "Do you know what you just did? You just killed members of my great Southern Sea!" Nameless, who usually didn''t like prolonging battles, would have already killed the young master before he could comprehend what had just happened. However, since he now wanted to enjoy the spectacle, he allowed it to develop in a foolish manner. ¡®There are so many mistakes here, both on my side and yours. How can someone survive in this world with such a careless attitude?¡¯ Nameless thought, shaking his head inwardly, as he played along to waste time with the young master. "I don''t know you, but do you know who I am?" Nameless stated calmly, his confidence apparent. The young master sneered inwardly, thinking, ¡®Hmph, do you think I care about your background? In my Southern Sea, no one is able to walk freely after offending this young master.¡¯ However, he couldn''t say it out loud, fearing a more violent outcome, at least not until his reinforcements arrived. "Tell me then, who are you? Let''s see if your background can compare to my Southern Sea Jellyfish clan!" In this Heavenly Dao World, there were no layers; everything was connected. There was no immortal world accessible only to those who had already passed their tribulation. Although some clans and sects chose the heavens above as their domain, it didn''t necessarily make them stronger than those on land. With that in mind, the young master didn''t believe there would be consequences for targeting Nameless. "Open your dog eyes and ears," Nameless acted pretentiously, but he didn''t continue afterwards. "Forget it, your level and status are too low to know about this Lord." Xia Yue and Qiu Yue weren''t interested in whatever play Nameless wanted to experience, so there was no immediate response from either of them. "Haha," the young master laughed as he pointed his finger at Nameless. "What? Are you too afraid to tell me about your background?" "Did you just realize that you can''t offend my Southern Sea?" "Southern Sea, Northern Sea, or whatever sea. They don''t hold much worth in front of me. Even heaven would bow down to me if I told them to." Nameless wasn''t being too boastful here since he was stating facts. "Beat him up," Nameless commanded his followers to attack. The two maids beside the young master were terrified of what might happen to them. "Young master," both of them pleaded for safety. "Humph, mere Tribulation Transcendence," the young master sneered as he took out his treasure. A small bell made of leaves, brown in color, and the size of an adult''s palm. This didn''t divert Xia Yue and Qiu Yue''s attention from attacking him. They continued to focus their techniques on apprehending the jellyfish demon. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. On Qiu Yue''s side, she simply waved her hand to create a group of pale white skulls that launched forward. The young master poured his qi into the immortal treasure leaf bell. It didn''t produce any sound but instead produced layer upon layer of protection for him and his two maids. The maids let out a sigh of relief, grateful that they hadn''t been abandoned by their young master. "Thank you, young master," the maids showed their gratitude but didn''t dare to take any substantial action. Since Nameless had ordered his two followers to show only Tribulation Transcendence strength, they were naturally unable to cause immediate harm with their casual attack on the immortal treasure. The transition from the Tribulation Transcendence realm to the immortal realm marked a qualitative leap for the residents of the Heavenly Dao world. It was when they finally embarked on the path of comprehending the dao. Thus, this immortal bell contained traces of dao that, by its nature, were stronger than those of any Tribulation Transcendence cultivators. Just as the two followers were about to make their second move, they ¡°suddenly¡± realized that others were approaching them. It wasn''t that difficult for their senses to cover a large area, but since Nameless had told them to behave, they acted in accordance with their characters. As they turned their heads, they saw that the sea surface was calm, but underneath the clean and clear water, a group of jellyfish demons and several other demons were approaching very fast. Being attendants in their setting, they backed up towards Nameless to provide him with protection from these unknown guests. Breaking the water surface with great fanfare, causing a big water spout and slight rain, a group of elite demon cultivators arrived to aid the young master. "Halt!" one of the jellyfish demons shouted loudly. The one at the front was presumably the leader, a beautiful jellyfish demon with green turquoise hair that flowed like a waterfall, a delicate face, and beautiful eyes. Her upper body, which was human, displayed great allure from a human perspective, with a full and round bosom, a slender neck, and exposed cleavage. The lower part, which belonged to the jellyfish, didn''t seem that repulsive, as it was more of a unique feature. Instead of tentacles, she retained her jellyfish hood, but underneath that, she had human legs. ¡®It seems that since the leader is female, this jellyfish clan is dominated by its female members,¡¯ Nameless analyzed the design of this female jellyfish from the perspective of a reader. ¡®Not bad, not bad. At least seven or eight points.¡¯ ¡®Based on her character, she might even be a nine, but if it''s too bad, then she could drop to a six.¡¯ The female leader scanned Nameless and the young master, then made her decision directly. "State your identity!" she commanded Nameless, not asking. Nameless squinted his eyes slightly, trying to gauge whether this female jellyfish commander was a hardened soldier or just naturally arrogant. "If you state your identity first," Nameless replied calmly. "You!" one of the soldiers behind the leader, another female jellyfish demon, exclaimed. There were a handful of female jellyfish demons in this group, but the one who spoke was the vice leader, as her design was more prominent. She had blue, wavy, medium-length hair, and her body was as refined as a sword, with well-proportioned muscles visible to the naked eye. ¡®Not bad, a solid seven based on appearance alone.¡¯ The leader pondered for a moment, running several investigative methods to check Nameless and his followers. However, she couldn''t find anything suspicious about them. ¡®Two Tribulation Transcendences and one Soul Formation. There is no significant treasure on them, no. They didn''t even bring anything with them.¡¯ She couldn''t bypass the concealment of the true saints of the old world and could only see what Nameless and his two followers wanted her to see. As someone at the Grand Unity Immortal realm, she was confident in her strength in this world. Except for geniuses and the blessed ones, this realm should be the final destination for the mediocre, even though it took a lot of resources and effort to reach this realm alone. As she tried to unravel every secret that Nameless might have, her attention was drawn to one item: a small accessory made of some kind of metal hanging from Nameless''s waist. She couldn''t tell what it was, but her intuition told her that it wasn''t something ordinary. Various thoughts raced through her mind as she tried to deduce what kind of treasure it might be. ¡®Since he has that item, his background wouldn''t be that low, right? Maybe he is a direct descendant of some powerful clan.¡¯ ¡®But this is the Southern Sea, and I don''t know where he comes from. No one is able to do as they please in this sea area unless they are immortal.¡¯ She concluded her pondering and ordered, "Arrest them." Chapter 108 - This Is Why You Need to Deescalate the Tension In the Heavenly Dao world, if Nameless were just an ordinary resident with some background, the most logical course of action at this moment would be to de-escalate the tension and clear up the misunderstandings on both sides. Remaining silent and not cooperating would only escalate the conflict further, possibly leading to a great war just because someone refused to use their brain to solve a simple problem. The soldier behind the jellyfish commander heeded her order without hesitation. They were soldiers who followed their superior''s orders. Whether they offended this unknown human, it was for their superior to handle. The vice commander, the lady who had shouted at Nameless, was the first one to move. She swiftly dashed forward, leaving an afterimage at her previous spot before reappearing in front of Nameless. Without any hesitation on her face, she harshly tried to apprehend Nameless, not caring about his two followers. ¡®Although appearance counts for only seven points, based on how militarily strict she is, she is a perfect subject to be subjugated. Make it eight points then.¡¯ Without any problem, Nameless leisurely took his time to think about an irrelevant topic. Just as the vice commander tried to grab Nameless, Xia Yue directly made her move to prevent it from happening. Following her script, she bellowed angrily, "How dare you!" Pale, ghostly qi exploded from her body, directly attacking the vice commander. It transformed into numerous deathly pale arms, attempting to grab the vice commander. The others followed suit to execute the order from their commander. As for the commander herself, she shifted her gaze toward the source of the problem: the third-generation royalty of the jellyfish clan. With his high background, this young master was well-known to the public for his glamorous life and extravagant indulgence. But even so, no one had truly been able to teach him a proper way of living. As someone who hailed from a humble background and had reached her current status, she couldn''t do anything about this trouble-seeking young master. ¡®It is only a matter of time before he starts a great disaster for the Southern Sea.¡¯ Meddling with a royal member of the jellyfish clan was a dangerous and difficult problem to face. That''s why those without equal footing would try to avoid them as much as they could. In this dog-eat-dog world, strength and background were everything. However, something seemed strange when counting the time. It shouldn''t have taken this long for her soldiers to arrest the trio who were not immortals. So, shifting her vision once again, she found that Nameless'' two followers were able to hold their ground. More soldiers entering the fight only increased the intensity of the battle. Fire and ghostly qi danced in the air, parrying various attacks. The young master himself was pleased to see his soon-to-be plaything performing so well. Just as he wanted to communicate with the commander, a change occurred in the battle. The weakling of the Soul Formation realm, Nameless, suddenly spoke. "I don''t want to cause a scene, but you guys are forcing me." He said with slight anger and reluctance. He extended his hand toward the young master, who was sheltered inside the immortal bell protection, and with a blooming light from his palm, he made grasping motions. The young master and his two attendants could feel heavy pressure crushing them from various directions. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Not long after, the two attendants exploded into a pulp of blood and flesh, while the young master was struggling to stay alive. Various treasure lights ignited on his person as a form of his last defense. The commander was surprised; she hadn''t seen anything that posed a threat from Nameless, yet somehow, he could do something like this. "Stop!" both she and the young master shouted. "It''s too late," Nameless said with slight contempt. As he pulled his palm backward, the young master and his immortal bell protection were drawn toward Nameless. The young master was barely clinging to life under the great pressure, but that was because Nameless thought it would be too easy for him to stay alive. Of course, this was another mistake. Even if he were to directly kill him, it would still be just another mistake. Even all of this development was a big mistake. It was just ridiculous how such development occurred, whether it was the pampered and overly indulged young master, the character that Nameless played, or even the militarily strict commander. Everything was like a soap drama that could only happen in cheap television programs with bad writers. But even so, there was still a small chance of this really happening in real life. As a soldier belonging to the jellyfish clan, it was her duty to save the young master no matter the situation. She flipped her hand, and a spear appeared. The spear was made of metallic coral with a natural inscription on its surface. It was her life-bound treasure, a genuine immortal treasure. Although many immortals had life-bound treasures with them since it was just a perk from a cultivation stage before reaching immortality, not many were able to turn their life-bound treasures into immortal-level ones. The requirement was too high, and the price was too steep. Without any delay, she slashed forward, trying to save the young master. But it was futile as she couldn''t feel anything being slashed through her senses. There was no connection that linked the young master with Nameless. It had escaped her senses! She took a quick glance at Nameless once again, trying to find the source of his power, but she was unable to see through it. ''There were two possibilities. Either he hid his actual cultivation stage to play around, or he had some power left by his backer.'' ''No matter which one it was, the situation is very bad.'' ''Although that bastard is only a third-rate royalty, his parents are too powerful, which caused him to be a bastard in the first place. If he died on my watch, my life wouldn''t be spared easily.'' Gritting her teeth and cursing the stupid bastard for getting entangled with some unknown group of people without checking their background, the commander could only throw away everything she had learned about the dangers of the real world and face Nameless. If she didn''t make any move, then the royal family would hold her accountable. But if she made a move now, she would face an unknown force. With death looming on both ends, she could only fight to her fullest while charging directly at Nameless, who was unprotected. Xia Yue and Qiu Yue were busy with the rest of the soldiers. Everything happened very quickly. When the young master, still within his immortal bell protection barrier, arrived in front of Nameless, the commander also arrived behind him, ready to slash forward with her spear. Nameless didn''t react at the emergence of the commander, as another "treasure" protected his body. He wanted to play the famous pig eating tiger scenario, so he couldn''t rely solely on his own strength to face his enemy. He needed to utilize something that was his but not innately his strength, such as artifacts and treasures. A translucent barrier blocked the spear''s tip from harming Nameless. It was so powerful that the spear suffered a complete rebound, transferring the shock back to the commander. "Puff," the commander staggered backward, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Her face turned pale as blood drained from it. Her body couldn''t stop involuntarily shaking, followed by profuse sweating. As the vice commander, she naturally needed to observe the overall situation on the battlefield. When she witnessed everything that had just happened, she was shocked. "Leader!" she shouted and tried to help her commander, but she was blocked by another pale ghost conjured by Xia Yue. "Get lost!" she roared as she brought out her own life-bound treasure, an elaborately designed short dagger, more for its aesthetic value. But her rampage was futile when facing Xia Yue''s strange technique. "How can this be? You''re only at the Tribulation Transcendence level. How can you block my attacks?" She was bewildered, as she clearly had a cultivation realm two stages higher than Xia Yue, but she couldn''t do anything against her. Meanwhile, on Nameless'' side, he casually pinched his finger, causing the young master inside the bell protection barrier to be distorted in gruesome ways. Whether it was a human or a jellyfish, they would undoubtedly be in great pain when distorted in such a manner. His head was dented inwardly, and his limbs twisted beyond recognition before finally turning into an unrecognizable mass of meat with eyes, ears, lips, teeth, fingers, and other characteristics he once had. Chapter 109 - That is Why It is Addictive Yet Meaningless Watching, the commander resolutely stared at Nameless with an unwavering will to kill him. He couldn''t help but sigh. "Miss, why are you so adamant about harming me? If you are afraid of receiving punishment, then lead the way. I will speak to your superior." Killing all the soldiers here wouldn''t bring any more joy to Nameless, so he wanted to bring this conflict to a better stage. Many would underestimate him before ultimately getting slapped in the face by him. After stabilizing her injury from the shock, the commander clenched her spear tightly and stabbed it forward at Nameless. "Miss, don''t force me to hurt unrelated people..." he said with slight hesitation as his hand tried to pull something from his robe. Without anything to lose, the commander continued her spear towards Nameless. As her spear tip reached Nameless, it was once again obstructed by invisible barriers, and at the same time, Nameless seemingly found what he wanted to find. However, "somehow," due to the spear being close enough to him, his hand shook slightly, and something else came up instead of what he intended. He showed slight confusion. There was no rebound shock from her second attack, and the commander regained her confidence and wanted to attack once again. But seeing how Nameless showed confusion, albeit only touching his robe, she had a bad premonition. "See, what have you done!" Nameless stared at the commander while complaining. She wanted to ignore Nameless''s careless action, but suddenly her fragile body, due to the previous shock, shuddered. Her heart, heavy and stable just moments ago, suddenly jumped up and started to beat faster. The blood in her body was boiling and causing her pale skin to regain its previous color, but the effect continued to paint her face red. Feeling something was amiss in her body, the commander halted her spear from thrusting forward and asked with a trembling voice, "What did you do? Did you poison me?" She tried her best to calm down her restless body. But because her current state was far too weak compared to her peak performance, she was unable to contain the poison''s effect and began to lose her balance. Before she could fall into the sea, a hand grabbed her to prevent her from plummeting. It was Nameless, his brows knitted with a slight stern expression on his face. "See, what did I tell you? Now look at what you''ve done." Feeling her body embraced by Nameless to prevent her fall, the commander''s heartbeat raced uncontrollably, as if oil had been poured onto a fire. She wanted to say something, but suddenly her thigh tensed and clenched tightly as her body spasmed slightly. Seeing this strange development, Nameless finally realized what had been wrong earlier. "Ah..." "It''s not my fault; it''s your fault for attacking me while I was trying to stop you. Now you''re affected by... umm... a very sinister poison." Being a gentleman, he chose not to specify that the poison was an aphrodisiac. What kind of man would carry an aphrodisiac with them? "Let go of me..." the commander said weakly, as the previous orgasm had drained the last bit of energy she had. "What are you talking about?" Nameless said righteously as he held her properly in his embrace. "Now that you''ve been affected by my poison, naturally, I need to take care of you." Understanding the nature of the poison she had been exposed to, the commander no longer harbored any eagerness to kill Nameless. Now, she only wanted to find a quiet place to calm down her mind and body. "No neeDDD!" she said softly when suddenly her thigh once again clenched tightly, and she let out a high-pitched, suppressed moan. The vice commander, who had been blocked by Xia Yue, watched as the commander was captured by Nameless and found her situation to be strange. She wanted to help but was still unable to bypass Xia Yue''s obstruction. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Get out of my way!" she roared fiercely and didn''t hold back her attacks. "How about this: I will help you resolve this poison, but I don''t have the antidote for it. So, I will help you relieve the pressure you''re suffering." Nameless, with the intention to help, began to adjust his position. "Miss, do you still maintain your purity?" he asked cautiously. The commander wanted to deny it at first, but considering her current state and the peculiar nature of Nameless''s group, she could only be honest. "I see. In that case, I will use the backdoor," he said, having finished his adjustment and now holding the commander from behind. "This poison wasn''t mine; it''s a high-grade one that can only be healed by certain actions. I hope you understand my intentions." Her mind was clouded by distracting thoughts, and she missed the first part of his statement, but she caught the second. "Wait¡ª" She tried to say something, but her body spasmed again, and she accidentally bit her tongue. The intense surge of pleasure overwhelmed her body and mind, but her strong will prevented her from succumbing to it as she bit her tongue until it bled. "Don''t worry, miss. You''re an immortal, so you no longer expel waste from your body. This area is clean, and besides, you''ll still retain your purity this way," Nameless explained as he continued his actions, feeling the commander''s euphoria due to the drug. "Just leave it to me. Once I''m done, you won''t be poisoned anymore," he said with righteousness as he continued his efforts. The commander was helpless due to the effects of the drug, only able to emit muffled sounds while doing her best not to moan. On the rest of the battlefield, the soldiers were preoccupied with their own activities, but some began to notice something was amiss with their commander. "Is she...?" someone whispered. Even though they were positioned strategically, the commander''s peculiar expression and Nameless''s monotonous movements down below were enough to raise suspicions. "You bastard!" the vice commander exclaimed, her anger reaching its peak. She glared hatefully at Nameless but found herself powerless to take any action. Her loud curse drew the attention of many soldiers, first toward her and then toward the commander. The male soldiers were perplexed and confused, but their confusion was short-lived as they realized they were in a difficult situation. As for the female soldiers, their eyes burned with hatred, and their attacks intensified. . . . In a spacious, dark place, another Nameless stood quietly, staring at a large screen in front of him. It displayed the events unfolding around Nameless like a movie. He shook his head. "I do find some amusement in this, but it''s ultimately meaningless in the long run." "In the end, the enjoyment I derive from it is simply indulgence." "Though I can continue this abuse of power, it holds no meaning for me as I didn''t directly participate in the action. Even if I did, it would only provide fleeting joy in that moment." Nameless contemplated his next course of action, whether to continue pursuing his desires or continue his path. It didn''t take him long to decide, as he finally fulfilled his desires. "I always told myself that my indulgence stemmed from my lack of experience, and the grand journey to immortality would be filled with loneliness. That''s why I needed to gather enough experience to remain undistracted." "But now, with everything within my grasp, there''s no longer a sense of accomplishment in it." He spent a few more minutes reflecting on his thoughts, fortified by his resolve to pursue the path of transcendence. In the outside world, emotions were running high. Nameless managed to last long enough before sensing his limit. "Miss, I''m going to finish the first phase. Brace yourself," he warned. He tightened his grip on the commander''s body, and the dam was opened. The commander''s body stretched to its limits to accommodate the intense pleasure coursing through her before she began to convulse violently. The ecstasy lasted a few seconds before the dam was emptied. While her mind remained chaotic, her will stayed clear, and she gave up on life. Just as she was about to release her burdens and embrace the quiet completion of life, her mind and body were rejuvenated in an instant. Not only that, but new knowledge was imparted to her, and her cultivation base rapidly increased, stopping at the eighth zenith of the Zenith Heaven Immortal realm. Her pupils dilated as she regained control of her body and turned her head, only to find Nameless and his two followers gone. The life-bound spear that had been pressed against her body in Nameless''s embrace had also been upgraded according to her new level. A cold glint flashed in her eyes. With a swift movement, she grabbed the spear and pressed it heavily against the air beneath her feet, obliterating the beings her senses detected, leaving nothing, not even ashes. Only a few female jellyfish demons who were close to her survived, and she stared at them coldly. "Open your minds and let me erase your memories of before, or death!" Everyone was still confused, but upon hearing the commander''s authoritative voice and feeling the pressure from her newfound power, they quickly understood what had happened. Some swiftly opened their minds, while those who remained confused soon found their vision darkening as death reclaim them. Chapter 110 - The Real World On the periphery of the Heavenly Dao world, Nameless stood in the air, gazing at the distant horizon. As the owner of this world, he understood that this was its outermost edge, where the stretching sea and sky before him were nothing more than a manipulation of space. Due to an inherent issue within the martial dao that every cultivator practiced, it was nearly impossible for them to perceive this phenomenon. To them, the Heavenly Dao world represented everything, an endless expanse. Without hesitation, Nameless took a step forward, leaving the Heavenly Dao world behind. Entering the real world, his vision remained unchanged, the same sea and sky stretching endlessly. The only difference was the presence of various life forms beneath the sea''s surface. Various sea creatures, unfamiliar to him, went about their daily activities. Nameless wasn''t one to engage in meaningless actions; thus, he immediately employed his technique to extract information directly from the world itself. The energy in his body quickly depleted but was replenished by the constant flow from his energy core, Niu Chang. His eyes lost their light as they absorbed the chaotic flow of information contained within this world. Five minutes later, Nameless ceased his technique, and light returned to his eyes. His breathing grew heavier momentarily before returning to normal. During that time, he had traced everything along the linear timeline of this world, far into the past. Yet, at a certain point in time, it was shrouded in endless darkness and the mist of the abyss. ''There was a power lingering within the timeline itself, so potent that not even time could erase it.'' But those five minutes had been sufficient for him to acquire nearly all the knowledge he needed about this world. With the assistance of his second brain, assimilating such a vast amount of information and digesting it into coherent knowledge was a straightforward task. ''The world, in a peculiar way, is spherical, much like a ball. If I continue to walk north or west without stopping, I will eventually return to my original position.'' ¡®The only problem was that time in every place in this world was the same; there were no time zones or time differences. Moreover, anyone taking a vertical axis approach, whether soaring high into the sky or delving deep into the earth, would never reach anything.¡¯ As a reader, Nameless naturally wondered what lay at the end of the world. Many fantasy worlds were either flat planes or had peculiar shapes. So, shouldn''t something miraculous exist at the world''s end? That''s why he paid attention to these facts. ¡®Besides the world''s shape and its peculiar unity, there exists other continents.¡¯ ¡®If the Heavenly Dao world existed in its hidden state, it would merge only with this real world and become one of its many continents, albeit with its own set of rules.¡¯ In the north, there was the Wild continent, inhabited by barbaric humans with enhanced physiques. Their bodies were already modified according to the unique laws of their continent. Facing west, there was the Magic continent, home to a scientifically and technologically advanced civilization. For them, magic was a science. With complex calculations and magic circles, they deciphered their continent''s laws into systematic knowledge. To the south, there was the Faith continent. With its distinct continent law, the only feasible method to increase one''s life level was through faith gathering. This was why many "gods" existed there. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Lastly, there was the east side¡ªan archipelago gathering many medium and small-sized islands collectively called the Mystic land by Nameless. Unlike the magic in the Magic continent, the supernatural abilities in the east were true magic, lacking any coherent rules. Magic, by its very definition, should be a rule-breaking phenomenon, thus having no governing system. If an item worked "magically" on a specific target, then it was magic with no apparent reason. Even if someone managed to find some reasoning behind it, it would be useless on the grand scale of mysticism in the east. Apart from these continents and the archipelago, the sea was not devoid of sentient creatures. Therefore, kingdoms existed beneath the sea''s surface. Since this was the real world, it also meant it was the center of all creation. That was why various dimensions were interconnected, including hell and the elemental dimension. The world-building was both complex and simple, but Nameless didn''t find anything worth his attention since he only wanted to know one thing. ¡®Is there a higher plane than this real world?¡¯ That''s when his focus shifted to the last continent. If we consider the Heavenly Dao world on the front surface of this world sphere, then directly on the backside, still in the same spot, was the Dark continent. Unlike the rest of the world, the Dark continent was absent from the timeline, haunted by a strange power from the past. Nameless wanted to visit that place, but he needed to attend to something very important first. With his time-scrying abilities, he was able to amass various knowledge, including dimensional magic or spells, or anything else that suited his purpose. He waved his hand, and various magic circles were engraved into the air around him. Then, he made slight adjustments according to his second brain. The grand magic circle was intricate, with various ingenious designs that didn''t match, much like someone mixing English, Spanish, and other languages on one page. The magic circle then brimmed with colorful light, absorbing energy from its surroundings like a black hole before finally stabilizing itself. Nameless cleared his throat for a moment and loosened his nonexistent collar to prepare his voice. The magic circle finally finished its preparations, and just like Nameless, various dimensional rifts were intricately connected, with small actions enough to trigger a chain reaction that could bring disaster. "Fuck you," Nameless said without reservation as his voice reached every strong and powerful creature in this real world. The demon in hell, within its layered world governed by various demon lords, was connected to Nameless''s magic circles, enabling them to hear Nameless''s provocation. In the real world itself, across various parts of the continents, various figures could hear Nameless''s message conveyed in the most direct way, bypassing the barrier of language. In many dimensions connected to the real world, the rulers of said dimensions also received the same treatment. Since they were creatures of enough power to provoke Nameless, they naturally understood that some causality was being woven around their existence, leading toward someone in the real world. All of them followed the thread of causality and arrived at Nameless, who hadn''t ceased his magic circle. He gazed down at all the eyes fixed on him and, with a disdainful tone, said, "What are you all looking at? Do you want me to kick your sorry asses?" Without waiting for a reply, Nameless abruptly severed the magic circle. He didn''t mind if any of these creatures presented themselves; he had already gained what he wanted, and at most, he could enslave whoever came forward. Closing his eyes to sense the increase in his energy flow, Nameless nodded in satisfaction. ''This real world is indeed the real world. After establishing a karmic bond with their top powerhouses, I am now confident in obliterating this entire world with enough preparation.'' With his newfound energy supply, Nameless manipulated time for himself, intending to make thorough preparations before heading to the Dark continent to uncover its past secrets. Inside the time dilation bubble, Nameless worked diligently, instructing his second brain on what to do and what to achieve. As time continued to flow in the outside world, various reactions followed Nameless''s provocation. However, as the strongest beings in this world, they were not as reckless as arrogant young masters. Nonetheless, there were some who were curious enough, while others were naturally foolish. The inhabitants of hell faced significant restrictions when entering the real world, and they could only do so by instructing their human underlings to carry out the task. The same applied to creatures from other dimensions, as the dimensional barrier was simply too formidable for those not native to the real world. Chapter 111- The Dark Continent Above the tranquil sea of the real world, various sea creatures could be seen swimming freely without any worries, like sentient beings. As wonderful as the world was, a heart filled with thoughts could not fully appreciate it. Inside the time dilation bubble, Nameless appeared as a motionless stone statue from an outsider''s perspective. Not long after, he opened his eyes, the light within them dimming. With the assistance of the second brain, all Nameless needed to do was submit input for them to transform his ideas into real solutions. Dismantling the time dilation around him, Nameless'' figure flickered and blurred before finally disappearing from this world. With an increase in his energy capacity, his methods also improved in quality. To him, whether a self-proclaimed god arrived in front of him with an army equal to his, they had nothing to hold against Nameless. A conflict only held meaning when there was something to be gained from having it in the first place. So, as long as they didn''t pique Nameless'' interest too much, they were free to live in their own delusion. In the absence of a true king, even dogs and pigs called themselves kings and emperors. Without any hindrance, Nameless arrived not far from the Dark Continent. A place abstaining from moving forward in time due to the strange energy lingering from the distant past. With his methods, Nameless could perceive the continent entirely without any problem. The emerald green sea, a mere tale of fantasy, stretched far and wide around the Dark Continent. When it reached a certain distance from the outermost land surface, the discrepancy between good and bad became clear. On one side was the calm and lively emerald sea, and on the other side was the gloomy, lifeless atmosphere. The sky was black, as if a volcano had endlessly spewed dark smog into the air, and not even the strange "sun" could pierce its thick veil of dark clouds. Below the oppressive black sky, the air remained unmoving and still, yet the sound of the wind could still be heard somehow. Carrying desolate, unerasable memories that were tied to this land. The sea water moved in a rhythmic way, creating a peculiar sight. As orderly as they were, it resembled a group of panicked people trapped inside a building, desperately trying to escape. At the same time, they feared causing mass hysteria, so they silently hastened their steps. Approaching the land, the sand near the sea was as black as obsidian dust. Nothing could be seen except for the vast expanse of pure black sand on the beach. Moving deeper into the heart of the continent, the sand turned into soil, and this shift was evident. The soil was blackish-brown, soft, and appeared neatly distributed. However, when one tried to touch it, it clung to the ground as if unwilling to separate. Its hardness surpassed that of steel, requiring formidable power to induce even slight changes. There was no vegetation; only the remains of plants stood still, their shriveled, charred trunks occasionally appearing at great distances from each other. The terrain only slightly varied in elevation before reaching the next zone. The next zone was where natural features like rivers and mountains existed, deep in the heart of the continent, as if someone had deliberately relocated all these natural constructs to the center. Mountains of various sizes were piled on top of each other, as if the one who moved them had realized they weren''t paid enough and botched the subsequent procedure. There were upside-down mountains, mountains lying on their sides, and other unnatural formations that defied the typical mountain structure. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The river, on the other hand, was a continuous line that encircled these mountains in a closed loop manner. One particular thing to note was the absence of any signs of sentient construction in this land; only the handiwork of nature could be observed. As for the rest of the area, it was simply too chaotic to be adequately described with words. Having finished his observation, Nameless found no clear purpose for visiting the Dark Land. ¡®Everything here is equally unnatural,¡¯ he thought. However, seeing and touching would likely yield different results. Without any hesitation, he moved forward, entering the new world of the Dark Continent. Despite the contrast in the drawing style of nature, he entered the territory of the Dark Continent. Silence. There was no sound, not even the slightest noise could be detected here. Even his own body seemed to be forcefully silenced. His heart continued to beat, but no sound accompanied it. Even when Nameless was thinking, he couldn''t hear his own thoughts! Running various methods of investigation from his arsenal, he set out to gather data here before proceeding further. There was a heavy drain on energy usage in this place, as if the ethereal energy that could create various miracles had encountered its enemy and was no longer freely altering the world but instead was shackled by a more powerful force. The second brain employed various methods to adjust energy usage in this place before finally managing to adapt. However, this adaptation wasn''t equivalent to ignoring the restriction and gaining freedom but rather finding a better way to move without causing self-harm. Naturally, the best way to learn about what had happened here would be to directly inquire about the world, just as Nameless had done when he exited the Heavenly Dao world. But when he attempted the same trick, making adjustments to suit this place''s restrictions, he found only a blank page. He could still access information about the world, but there was nothing to be found here. Thus, he continued forward and entered the timeline, rewinding time in this place to witness with his own eyes what was happening here. As before, when he touched time itself, he noticed that the trace of the strange energy became even more pronounced. ¡®It is something that has proven to be everlasting, to the extent that not even time can bring about any change in it. Instead, time only serves to preserve its most authentic form.¡¯ Nameless made his own deduction and ceased peeking at the timeline. Numerous questions arose in his mind. ¡®Why is it only in this area that the energy escapes the timeline and manifests in the physical world?¡¯ ¡®What was that strange energy?¡¯ ¡®Could this be a result of being above the god level?¡¯ ¡®What lies above the god level?¡¯ ¡®What transpired in this place to concentrate the energy to such an extent?¡¯ As his thoughts continued to generate questions, Nameless gazed at the vast land before him. His eyes began to change, and his mind played out scenarios, attempting to imagine what might have transpired in this Dark Continent. The first conclusion Nameless arrived at was that a great battle had taken place here, causing such a conspicuous phenomenon that had endured for eternity, impervious to the passage of time. However, this fact could imply one of two possibilities. Either one of the participants in this battle possessed god-like time-controlling abilities, or the situation was so extraordinary that even time itself was powerless against it. As questions multiplied, and with his speculations in tow, Nameless was presented with a new scene. The Dark Continent had transformed into a fiery battlefield, with shadows of beings engaged in combat. However, due to his uncertainty regarding the scale of the battle and the identities of the combatants, the shadows constantly shifted in form and number. While lost in thought, his second brain concluded its investigation. Reviewing the data displayed in his mind, Nameless then turned his attention to the list of possible answers concerning the events of the past. Ultimately, the most plausible deduction offered by the second brain was that a battle had indeed occurred. ¡®A battle, huh?¡¯ Nameless muttered absently, entertaining a somewhat audacious and absurd idea that even he found somewhat jarring. ¡®No,¡¯ he shook his head, ¡®though the likelihood may be low, there is indeed a possibility that it truly happened.¡¯ His mental activity slowed, and a new scene unfolded in his imaginative vision. The world turned upside down, and various shadows were engaged in combat. Unlike before, the fight did not appear as chaotic. He silently observed his imagination running wild before abruptly stopping it. "Haha," he laughed silently. He attempted to laugh out loud, but due to the strange restrictions, no sound escaped his lips. Returning to the vibrant world, Nameless could finally expand his senses and reclaim some fleeting semblance of sanity from his thoughts. His eyes returned to their normal state as his mind initiated its preprogrammed self-help process, reconstructing Nameless''s concept of self. Then his eyes gleamed with a fierce light. ¡®If I can''t learn through scholarly means, then I want to see if it can withstand my strength.¡¯ With no hope for a peaceful resolution, he was left with no choice but to resort to the most fundamental method to solve a problem. Chapter 112 - Fish Nameless was prepared to gather his energy to decimate the Dark continent in front of him. However, one second later, his mind, filled with countless gears, began to backtrack, nullifying his intention. Then, he sobered up and realized that an external influence was affecting his state of mind, pushing him towards extremism. He frowned upon realizing the severity of this situation. Even he, the strongest being in this world, was being influenced. No matter how proud and arrogant Nameless was, he never placed his confidence in something as unreliable as feelings. His confidence stemmed from thorough investigations of the world itself, and he had found no one stronger than himself. Even if he encountered someone stronger, his system would naturally make him one point stronger than them. Discarding the unnecessary thoughts, Nameless took his time to review the report from his second brain. Before his mind had been influenced, leading to wrong judgments, he now realized that the data presented to him was more comprehensive than before. But that was all. He still couldn''t find any clear answers except for what he already knew. Setting aside the report and surveying the world, he noticed that his vision had expanded. ¡®After leaving the Heavenly Dao world, my mortal mind was influenced, causing instability in my decision-making,¡¯ he thought to himself. ¡®The impact of entering a larger world made me forget the right course of action. The old me wouldn''t have cared about this Dark continent; instead, I would have sought a secluded place to steadily improve my strength.¡¯ ¡®But this mortal mind needs preservation. Without its instability, I would become a rational machine, no different from a lifeless entity. Without change, there can be no progress. Only by making mistakes can I learn something new.¡¯ Having found his right path, Nameless chose to ignore the real world. If he were still the boy from Yellow Soul Village, he might have made excuses to explore the world to satisfy his immature curiosity. But he was no longer that same boy. His heart no longer held affection for mundane things; all he desired now was to complete his journey and witness its conclusion with his own eyes. Erasing his presence from the world, he lived in a small space that belonged only to him. But there was no sense of loneliness in his heart; it felt like a fish returning to water. ¡®Everything is nothing but an illusion. If I don''t achieve transcendence, then everything will return to dust. But how do I transcend everything?¡¯ Nameless raised his right hand and opened his palm, staring at it for a few seconds before conjuring water in his palm. A small dot sat silently without moving. ¡®If I compare my situation to this dot, then to escape everything, I need to jump out of this water. But how?¡¯ Instead of comparing it to a fish unaware of what happened above the surface of the water, it was more accurate to compare it to a 2D character unaware of the reader. No matter what, they were unable to notice the presence of 3D creatures watching their lives for entertainment. But if it''s only about a story character jumping out from its own story and entering the reader''s world, what about the world of the reader? What if that world is also a story for a higher-dimensional creature? Following this logic, where would the end be? Who could tell how many jumps the fish needed to take before finally arriving at the final destination? ¡®Who can tell?¡¯ Nameless asked himself, feeling a bit minuscule in the grand scale of everything. Then his gaze heated up. ¡®No, this is wrong. What''s the point of jumping to a higher dimension? What I need to do is to jump out of that seemingly endless ladder of dimensions and exit the concept of dimension... something beyond my knowledge, something new and novel.¡¯ Thinking like this, he couldn''t help but find that his thinking sounded similar to the knowledge from his first life. ¡®Wait, isn''t this basically jumping out of samsara and entering nirvana? The endless stairs of dimensions are similar to samsara, and that place beyond the stairs is nirvana¡­¡¯ Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. After a brief silence, he made a joke for himself. ¡®Maybe Buddha did exist, and he successfully became a transcendent being.¡¯ ¡®But even so, everyone who seeks the truth and walks the path of transcendence would eventually think about this. So maybe Buddha was just someone who was more popular than the rest of the truth-seekers.¡¯ Nameless looked down at the small dot under the water on his palm, at the same time he looked up and found he was looking at himself, both from his physical eye perspective and his mental perspective in the small dot. ¡®How do I jump?¡¯ The crucial question remained the same. But without waiting for the second brain to bring a list of answers, he already had an idea that he had considered. ¡®If I destroy this world¡­¡¯ The idea was simple: if he destroyed everything, the contrast would become more apparent¡ªthe boundary of dimension, the connection with the nearest dimension, and also the place beyond the boundary¡ªgiving him the trail he wanted to follow. ¡®Not a bad idea,¡¯ Nameless nodded at himself and began to ponder how to destroy the world just to see if this would work. Time passed, and finally, Nameless finished his preparations. To destroy the world and find the path he desired, he couldn''t use a simple method. He needed to destroy it in a specific way so that the contrast would appear, and he could finally extricate himself from the constraint. With a thought, he reappeared where he was before, near the border of the Dark continent and the rest of the world. The striking contrast in painting styles between the two sides was easy to perceive. To satisfy his curiosity, Nameless looked at his second brain to see how much time had passed since he had begun his journey to transcendence. Twenty-seven hours, ten minutes, and three seconds. ¡®That was rather short,¡¯ Nameless mused on his findings. ¡®If you truly put your own thought into it, the matter of seeking the truth wouldn''t take that long, as it is not a matter of cultivation but rather fundamental perception itself. So those xianxia stories are just bullshitting.¡¯ His gaze swept the horizon as he observed various powerful creatures in this world, but he lost interest afterward because he no longer needed them. As someone who had truly put in all his efforts, Nameless wouldn''t be so idle as to gather those endless supplies of energy from the system without increasing their value. Now, not much time had passed, and he had already created various energy sources in his inner world that could sustain him without the need for those powerful creatures. ¡®Now, let''s begin.¡¯ No matter how discreetly Nameless hid his existence and presence, in the end, since he had already made his move to destroy the world, some creatures were able to notice his actions, and many of them were shocked, stunned, and scared to death. "Who is it?" "What kind of lunatic is this?" Various roars and shouts resonated in multiple dimensions connected to the real world, but they were unable to find any other clues except for a lunatic already on his way to destroying the world beyond salvation. It was the kind of destruction that would leave nothing in its wake. The real world, as the anchor for numerous dimensions that might be equal or lower, began to shake. Not because of Nameless, but because countless ancient beings that only existed in myth had broken through the dimensional barrier and entered the real world. If someone wanted to destroy this world, naturally, the location should be the real world, as it served as the anchor for the rest of the dimensions. The grand wizards from the Magic continent exited their wizard towers and cast powerful spells to conduct an investigation. The ancestral spirits of the barbarians from the Wild continent returned to the real world from the spirit world and howled like beasts. The "gods" from the Faith continent paved their way back to the real world from their pantheon. The mystical deities from the Mystic land emerged from their sealed lands and flew toward the sky to investigate the source of the calamity. Hell, in mortal parlance, was known as the underworld dimension and was equal to the real world. However, it still remained anchored to the real world. The world no longer had intact control over the souls of the dead, but the underworld dimension had managed to seize this vacant function and grow itself. Even its many layers were not akin to layers of a cake, but rather constituted a vast expanse of a flat plane. Yet each of these layers (regions) could move, resulting in the constant reconfiguration of the entire underworld dimension, even in terms of time. Below the underworld dimension lay the abyss dimension, positioned literally beneath the underworld without any dimensional barrier. Once you fell from hell, only the endless abyss remained. Within this very abyss, many creatures, forgotten by endless beings in the living world, began to awaken one after another. Nameless had only sought to pursue the truth, but ultimately, it was impossible for him to remain hidden from the world. The grand festival of ascension began, but no one was happy about it. The small step towards transcendence that many had sought was to be enjoyed by only one person, while the rest would return to nothingness without a trace of their existence. The path of transcendence was never meant for everyone to enjoy; it was reserved for those who always moved forward and embraced change. Meanwhile, those who clung to stability in their control would only become antiquated artifacts, forever devoid of the hope of advancement and filled with frustration when someone else took the step they could never achieve in their entire lives. Chapter 113 - Leap It was still daylight, with the sun shining brightly above the sky. The universal time zone somehow affected the entire real world. No matter who stood in this world, the time would be the same for the rest of the world. Beyond the horizon, the clear sky with a few clouds was distorted, like a glitch in reality. Various tears appeared one after another, followed by a glimpse of a different world beyond those tears. Be it humanoid creatures, beast-shaped beings, or other-shaped visitors arriving in the real world, all of them had one thing in common. All of them were in a hurry, searching for something. Some with bad tempers directly blew away everything in their path, like kindergarten children on a rampage after eating too much sugar. But they were not clueless. They fixed their gaze towards the Dark Continent area. Near the border, they saw a man standing in the air with a calm expression, stretching his hand forward. The appearance was top-notch, and the temperament was clean, just like someone sightseeing in the vast sea. Those beings who mastered the power of space or time instantly utilized their power to stop the man from doing anything he wanted to do. But just as their bodies flashed through the mirage of time and the spatial layer, they encountered a chasm. A gap that distanced them from moving forward in both the time and space axes. "Stop it!" "Why are you doing this?!" Various roars filled with anger resounded like thunderstrikes on rainy days. No matter how many attempts they made, those strong visitors were unable to do anything while watching everything happen naturally. There was no fluctuation of any sort of energy, and the world seemingly worked normally. ''There,'' Nameless chanted slowly in his heart as his extended hand grasped something from the void. How to kill a whale with a needle? A simple question, but it carries deep philosophy for Nameless. Instead of creating any spectacular and gorgeous visual effects, he focuses on practicality. How to destroy the world and escape the endless stairs of dimension? Naturally, the method needed to be peculiar so that the destruction was not a blank annihilation of matter and energy, but rather the whole fabric of reality itself. Destroying the cup that holds the water and not the water itself. Nameless felt something in his grasp and pulled it leisurely, like plucking a handful of air. But when his arm retracted back to his body, the world began its ending sequence. An indefinite sound that was hardly perceivable by anyone but existed started to spread. The sound was like a crack spreading all over a plain glass. There was no explosion nor any world-shattering effect; it was just the place where Nameless¡¯s hand grasped something, and a small crack began to spread. From a small dot, smaller than an ant, it began to expand like unnatural spider webs. One second, one breath. It spread like a spring waterfall on the stack of rocks slowly toward the ground without any hurry, when suddenly the cracking sound approached like there was no tomorrow, and the entire beings in this world could hear the same sound cracking deep inside their hearts. The cracks spread at a rapid speed, reaching deep into the ocean floor and the far-reaching horizon. It was not in space but on the boundary that holds the world within it. If this world were being animated, then the viewer would only see their computer screen filled with various cracks spread all over their screen. But it was not that their screen was faulty, but the file was corrupted, resulting in such development. After the crack expanded and enveloped more than 80% of the boundary, the source of the crack began to fall apart, just like how glass turned into dust and washed away by winds. Chaos. Something incomprehensible to every mind that had yet reached transcendent status greeted the eyes. Nameless was standing in his place, but he could feel a strong force spreading from the small gap in the boundary. But he was already prepared and chose to watch from the side. The collapse spread following the cracks, and in another breath of time, the whole world no longer existed. A profound void remained in its wake. ¡®It was different from the void of emptiness that I visited before.¡¯ Nameless observed his surroundings, and finally, he got the answer to the question he asked before. How can he, as an ¡°existence,¡± exist within non-existence? Now, when there was nothing remaining, not even the previous void of emptiness. This only meant one thing. ¡®So it was the coin approach. One side is existence, and the other side is non-existence.¡¯ But that was just a small surprise for him, as he used various methods to find the wall for the next dimensions and also the wall that was next to the higher place. The place of transcendence. One minute. One hour. One day. Nothing came into fruition; the chaos remained the same. Nameless was already prepared for failure. With his mortal mind, he couldn¡¯t help but be shaken by this failure, but his second brain helped him by turning on the rational system that made him resistant to any unnecessary mental activity. It was not that he couldn''t handle the failure, but the natural charm of the chaos itself was not very friendly to low-level minds, such as the human mind. After various attempts, Nameless really couldn¡¯t get anything from his probings. Just before he wanted to do something extreme, there was a change. From ¡°afar,¡± the chaos was disturbed, giving way to something. In this place, the concept was in chaos, unlike the previous world. Space and time were distorted beyond recognition, becoming something different. Also, the so-called chaos existed because there was no word for Nameless to explain the place he was in right now. If it is called empty, then it is empty. If it is called void, then it is a void. To make it more understandable, Nameless refused to admit he lacked the word for this kind of place, thus he opted to call it chaos. At the source of the change that was happening, Nameless could vaguely feel presences. Not one but several of them. He raised one of his eyebrows and prepared his methods. The chaos parted ways like someone split the sea, and there a group of four appeared. Their appearance was similar to that of a human, but their visual effect was more impactful, just like game characters. ¡®Why do people always act in a pretentious way even though they are just ants?¡¯ Nameless shook his head. Three of them were masculine, and the last one was more feminine, so it is safe to say three males and one female. Their appearance was nothing of Nameless¡¯s concern, but when they spotted Nameless standing idly, minding his own business, the four of them erupted with bloodlust. The kind of lunatic fanaticism when encountering a blasphemer of their belief. But they were able to hold their minds and regain control over their fanatic thoughts. ¡°Heretic!¡± the man who looked like the leader of the group said in a language that Nameless was unaware of. It was something novel since Nameless had already touched the direct derivative of the truth, so naturally, he should be aware of any language, and yet there was actually a language that he was unaware of. Then the four of them became brighter with divine light and launched various attacks at Nameless. ¡®Heh,¡¯ Nameless sneered in his heart, and he was prepared. But one thing escaped his preparation: the system was nowhere to be found. There was no new source of energy even after the four strangers bombarded Nameless with their attacks. ¡®Did the system finally reach its limit?¡¯ Nameless couldn¡¯t help but ask himself; naturally, there should be a limit for everything. ¡®Maybe this is the last checkpoint, so the system is unable to cover it.¡¯ So he discarded other thoughts and focused on the four strangers; he was confident in his method. He released various methods to protect himself: a backup plan for his escape, another backup plan for a counter-attack, and another backup plan for another backup plan. Naturally, he wanted to use the skip battle button, but all of his methods were rather restrained due to the nature of chaos in the surrounding area. So he could only fight manually. As the attacks finally closed their distance and appeared in front of him, Nameless still didn''t feel intimidated by them. Then, as far as he knew, everything turned black. ¡°Humph, those heretics are really disgusting and don''t know their place at all,¡± the leader of the group said in disgust as he led the other three to leave this dead chaos. As for Nameless, not even scum was left after the attacks reached him. . . . ¡°Well, that was an unsatisfactory ending,¡± a soothing and casual voice said. ¡°Hehe¡­ those dogs were always like this; they always bite anything that is not in line with their liking. Not even dogs would be happy to be compared to them,¡± another voice could be heard, different from before, which obviously belongs to a woman. This voice belongs to a man with a slight taint of old age but still remains youthful. ¡°Anyway, look, he is awake now,¡± the same person enthusiastically said. Nameless was still confused when he saw the attacks bypass all of his methods, and he was still unable to cope with his loss. When he opened his eyes, it was still black, and he could hear people talking near him. But even after opening his eyelids, there was still black until the darkness faded away, and his opened eyes welcomed the world. He saw a high and big throne made of metallic material but also looked like it was made of stone; a figure sat there looking down at him. It was a skeleton, humanoid to be sure, but his armor was integrated into his skeleton, making him a notable character with high visual impact. The skeleton''s color was monotonous black. On top of his head were a crown; only this crown was not fused into his being. Then moving his gaze to the right, he saw a large couch that looked very comfortable to lay on. He was sure this couch was comfy because he saw a tall woman more than three meters long lay down there. Her expression was like someone who was doing nothing the entire day, tired in the afternoon, and found the familiar couch and just lay there waiting to fall asleep even without any intention. The couch was not important, but what was more important was the tall woman''s appearance. It was the first time that Nameless was actually amazed by a woman¡¯s beauty, not because of her sexual allure. Everyone had their own idea and concept of beauty, the same for Nameless. He had his own ideal woman both in appearance and mentality. And when he saw the tall woman, he knew this woman was exactly what his ideal woman was. With six fox ears on top of her head, with another pair of long and slender elf ears. Her golden, silvery white and long hair fell down behind her body like a natural scarf. Heterochromia eyes, with each of them enough to make anyone gouge them and turn them into accessories for their own use. Her figure was beyond any words to describe them, as every part of her body contained the definition of beauty itself. On her back were various kinds of wings, a pristine white wing of an angel, dark crow wings, and other kinds were carefully placed for aesthetic value. Moving forward were nine types of tails, waving on their own like grass on a windy day. When she noticed that Nameless was captivated by her appearance, the tall woman let out a slight giggle that brought Nameless to the ninth heaven. An ideal woman at best could only be envisioned; their appearance was easier to perceive, but other characteristics were hard to determine since humans mainly relied on their eyes. So when Nameless heard her giggle, he was convinced that this tall woman was his truest ideal woman. But then he quickly gathered his scattered mind and found two other people¡ªa person and a round ball. On the left of his view, he found a round ball giving metallic luster but somehow bouncing like water levitated silently. Then next to him, just a few steps to his right was a skinny and regular man. He looked young and old at the same time. To be precise, he was old but still chose to retain his youthfulness to some degree. ¡°Welcome,¡± the old man said while opening his hands. ¡°Haha,¡± the old man laughed when he saw Nameless was still choosing to remain silent and observe his surroundings coldly. The old man nodded and then said, ¡°no need to be that vigilant here. You already reached the final stop. There is no path forward, so you can be relaxed here.¡± Nameless still gave no response. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Old man, why are you talking in a roundabout way? You know that will only increase his vigilance,¡± the tall woman on her couch rolled her body, giving a feast for the eye. She supported her upper body with very minimum clothes on her body, her heterochromia eyes locked onto Nameless. Seeing that Nameless lost his focus for a moment due to her movement, she couldn¡¯t help but feel proud and smug. Following her heart to get more appreciation from Nameless, she moved her body a few more times. Her movements were not very conventional, as the few clothes attached to her body easily fell off and revealed her secret. But she seemed unconcerned about it and kept moving. The two mountains shook slightly, helped by the hands to knead them in a beautiful way. No one was talking, so Nameless kept watching her performance. After she finished, Nameless couldn¡¯t help but nod his head in approval. Then, an aged voice, not the aged voice of a man but the aged voice of a being that lived for a very long time, opened its mouth. The skeleton sat on the high throne, opened his mouth, and let out that aged voice. ¡°That should be enough.¡± He was not commanding anyone; he only spoke because he felt it was his turn. The soul fire that was dim brightened in his eyes and stared at Nameless. ¡°Welcome, another me,¡± the skeleton said with a slight tremble in his soul fire. Nameless frowned when he heard the skeleton¡¯s words. But before he could ponder on his own, the skeleton continued. ¡°I know you might start to ponder about it, so I will just make it short.¡± ¡°Ask away your question.¡± Nameless looked at his surroundings and found that the other three were not that repulsive towards him. So he had a vague guess in his heart. ¡°Why do you call me another you?¡± ¡°Because it is the fact.¡± ¡°Then, do you have the proof?¡± ¡°I can give you everything you need to know, but it would be tasteless. This place was too desolate to give up this precious chance.¡± ¡°The proof that you wanted to know is in front of you right now.¡± The skeleton raised his right hand; since he had been sitting on his throne for so long, his bone had already fused with the throne. When he made a move, the throne cracked, and he successfully raised his bony hand. The long and black finger bone curled up, leaving only the index finger bone. He pointed towards the tall woman on his left. ¡°She is you.¡± Then he moved his index finger towards the floating ball on the right. ¡°He is you.¡± And lastly, towards the old man next to Nameless. ¡°He is you.¡± Then he pulled his hand back to its previous place. He seemed to have finished his goal and was waiting for Nameless. ¡°Khhk.. kuahahaaha.'''' The tall woman on the side couldn¡¯t help but laugh wholeheartedly when she saw this. Her shoulders trembled slightly, her hair swayed followed by the excited wings and tails behind her. What was more important, her assets were jiggling like puddings. ¡°Old bone, it seems the time got your mind; just let the Old man do the answering task.¡± The old man, on the side, nodded towards the skeleton. ¡°Sigh.¡± The skeleton let out a sigh that was somewhat comical compared to his character design. ¡°Okay, you do it,¡± the skeleton opened his jaws, moving up and down. ¡°Alright,¡± the old man shifted his focus towards Nameless. His eyes were full of joy at this moment. ¡°Although asking and answering questions would bring more time for us, it wouldn¡¯t be so tasteful. So let me help you understand everything.¡± ¡°Because of that, I will tell you the story of the First.¡± ¡°In the past, this universe was controlled by the gods, the real gods in a literal meaning. But different from our previous universe, this universe allows its inhabitants to grow stronger. So it is possible for mortals to become a god.¡± ¡°Without background, naturally, we sought immortality just like that person. After reading his story, we are no longer greenhorns when it comes to literature, albeit only reading one book. We thirst for a great adventure for a great cause. The end didn¡¯t mean anything as long as the journey itself was worth it.¡± ¡°So the First, when he arrived in this world, slowly and steadily increased his strength in the most efficient way. As you know, with our knowledge, it wouldn¡¯t take too long for the First to reach the end of the road.¡± ¡°Whether it is secret knowledge or ancient knowledge, he didn¡¯t care about all of that. He only needed to dig some underground cave and rely on his own knowledge to rise into godhood.¡± ¡°But there are already gods in this universe, so when they find a new god who has no limit to his growth, they become wary of him. Even far before he started his journey, the powerful gods already set their eyes on him. The god of fate, the god of time, the god of whatsoever, you name it.¡± ¡°This is not a story for the First to enjoy; the gods were not stupid people. So because they found that the First has the possibility to step further in his journey, they decided to nip the problem in the bud.¡± ¡°But how can that be possible for us, right? So the First, or rather the future of the First, made various arrangements that allowed him to grow stronger even when facing the entire pantheon of the gods.¡± ¡°In the end, the First fights the gods in a great war that becomes the end of his story and the start of our story.¡± ¡°We are the First, the same person from the previous world but walked a different kind of life before finally reaching the end of the road.¡± ¡°As you have found out, there are only four levels in this universe. With the last level of being a god, that is to accommodate the truth into their world. The reason why the gods are afraid of the First was the truth he accommodated.¡± ¡°If it was the truth of time, then just counter it with space. If it was the truth of knowledge, then it can still be countered. The only problem was that the First¡¯s truth was not something that the gods of this universe could understand, causing them to be unable to fully kill the First.¡± ¡°This is the beginning of our stories; there are various gods in the universe, but they can¡¯t kill the First. So they can only seal him. Seal him so he can¡¯t make any improvement in his strength, so as to not allow him to truly transcend this universe.¡± ¡°The gods use themselves as the foundation for the seal; you can imagine how powerful that seal will be. But sealing will only give them more time, so they use various methods to kill the First. Since they can¡¯t kill him, they tried to kill the First using himself. That is us.¡± ¡°This universe where we currently live was actually a fake universe, contained and created by the Old Gods. Their goal was to let all of us succumb to mediocrity and accept our fate as mortals.¡± ¡°But because of our personality, when we came into being in this fake universe. It would take tremendous luck for any of us to give up chasing immortality. Thus the Old Gods seal part of our memories.¡± ¡°Have you truly remembered everything in your first life? What is your previous name? What does the previous world was called? Who is that person that inspired you to chase for immortality? We can remember the general information, but when we delve deeper into our minds, we find that we don¡¯t actually know anything. We are just clones of the First.¡± Then the old man no longer spoke; he let Nameless digest everything he told. Just like the old man said, Nameless tried to dive into his memories and found that he indeed knew nothing about his previous self. ¡®Why did I subconsciously ignore this fact?¡¯ He tried his best to recall his first life memories, but to no avail, he couldn¡¯t remember anything except for what was normal for him. Isn¡¯t it normal for me to start the journey to achieve immortality? Isn¡¯t it normal to let go of everything just to achieve immortality? But why is there no reason and explanation for this? Even so, Nameless is still wary of the four people in front of him. ¡°This is still not enough,¡± Nameless said coldly. Then the old man accompanied him to understand everything as the other three watched from the side. Time passed. According to Nameless¡¯s internal clock, three days had passed since his resurrection. Naturally, Nameless was still wary of everything that was told to him, but he couldn¡¯t help but accept parts of it. It was mainly because the other four were similar in personality. They didn¡¯t want to go on an adventure to try to escape this fake universe; instead, they found a small place and practiced there. They didn¡¯t put any duty on Nameless because they also hoped that Nameless might find a way for them to escape this fake universe. The only problem was that it was near impossible to move forward. Nameless was sitting on a cliff. The sky was dark with stars, and below the cliff was a forest. ¡°Even if I accept the story or not, it doesn''t matter. As long as I''m trapped in this fake universe, nothing matters.¡± If this fake universe was just a small universe opened by the Old Gods and run simulation to cause self-destruction for the First, then it will be just about destructing the small universe. But the problem was that this fake universe was a dream of the Old Gods; it didn¡¯t exist, and the real universe was beyond Nameless''s reach. ¡°How can a dream creature enter reality?¡± Nameless already ran various attempts, telling his second brain to analyze methods to escape from this boundless cage. But he found it was difficult. Not in matters of effort, but rather, it was a matter of luck. The other four were like Nameless; they had the same personality and at the start of the story, they also built their own second brain. So, after a long period of time, they had already done various things that Nameless¡¯s second brain suggested. ¡°As created by the simulated dream, it is impossible for me to fight the Old Gods; only power outside this fake universe can cause some change, and that change already exists in this fake universe.¡± The four clones of the First had already made their move, but their attempt needed luck and time before finally bringing qualitative change. ¡°According to Bone, self-destruction was just one of many methods of the Old Gods to kill the First. The root of the problem of the First¡¯s undying quality was that he accommodated the truth that was unknown to the Old Gods, so as the clones, we play as their lab rat. If we also successfully grasp that same truth in this fake universe, then it is game over.¡± Nameless couldn¡¯t help but remember how Bone sneered when he talked about this; at the same time, Nameless also sneered. ¡°Since the First already accommodates truth that is incomprehensible for the Old Gods, naturally it is also impossible for us to grasp the same truth because different us will arrive at different conclusions. None of us will grasp the same truth as the First one.¡± That was one of the problems why the Old Gods would never decipher what kind of truth the First accommodated, since Nameless and the other four, and even the other clones, live in a fake universe. It was impossible for anyone to truly grasp the truth since they were just dream creatures. It was the same for anyone in Nameless¡¯s previous life wanting to learn magic from the fantasy book they read. Simply impossible. Even if the Old Gods made some arrangement, it would only result in the appearance of the Second. The clone who would accommodate another unknown truth that will break the delicate balance of the Old Gods and the First. Bone didn¡¯t hide anything from Nameless about his research on how to break free from the fake universe. Thinking about the method to break the fake universe, Nameless sighed at it. To explain everything on this, it would only be a mind-wandering for him; even if he wanted to do something about it, he couldn¡¯t. . . . The fake universe had three fundamental forces that control it. The first one was naturally the group of clones that successfully reached the end of the road, but so far, there were only five of them, including Nameless. It shows how ruthless this fake universe was towards the clones. But since everything still runs according to the Old Gods¡¯s arrangement, it also meant the original self of Nameless was truly formidable, that they would rather die while trying instead of giving up in the process. There was no fancy name for this group, since no one came up with a good name. So everyone agrees to call themselves the Chat group. The second force was the remnant of the Old Gods, or rather their will. It was the Templar Temple. For a better result, the Old Gods didn¡¯t intervene in how things developed due to the nature of the First¡¯s unknown truth. If they directly intervened, then the destruction of the clones wouldn¡¯t do anything towards him. So the Templar Temple only had the teaching of the Old Gods but not their presence. Basically, they were just a group of abandoned dogs. In their early days, Bone, Farmer, Nine-tails, and Ball were visiting the Templar Temple and running amok there to entertain themselves. Killing, massacring, rape and various violence were like daily task for them to abuse the stupid group of abandoned dogs to vent their anger. The followers of the Old Gods weigh nothing when facing the clones, as they are the clones that successfully reach the end of the road. Therefore, when facing anyone on the same level, they pose no threat to the clones. As for the reason why Nameless was killed by the knight, it is simply because the knight also grew over time and taught the new knight methods to kill new clones that successfully reach the end of the road. But that also did nothing in front of Bone and the other three; they already walked further even though there was no road ahead of them. That was why Nameless could be easily resurrected by them. The third force was the Union. The fake universe didn¡¯t run a single run for the clone at one time, but rather multiple runs at the same time. So in the face of ¡°infinity,¡± naturally anomalies occurred. And those anomalies were the irregular, the natives of a fake universe except Nameless and the clones that reached the end of the road but chose not to become the abandoned dogs of the Old Gods. They gathered together and made a group of their own called the Union. As for their strength, Bone and others didn¡¯t care about them. Just like Nameless, he only cared about increasing his strength and so did the other clones. As long as the Union didn¡¯t actively provoke them, then Chat group members would just ignore them. In fact, the Union could exist because the Chat group hoped those irregulars could break the fake universe. But for that to happen, the chance was minuscule compared to the effort brought by the four members of the Chat group. As for the method to break the fake universe, Bone and others mainly relied on the chaos creature. The so-called chaos creature was a creature that entered the fake universe from the real universe. Since Bone compared this fake universe akin to that Dream of the Old Gods, he also called them Nightmares. But so far, Bone only found one Nightmare that successfully entered the fake universe from the real universe. As the strongest being in this fake universe long before the second member of the Chat group arrived, the Farmer. Bone extensively researched that Nightmare day and night to uncover the truth about the universe he currently lives in. Just like Nameless, he also had his own second brain. From that Nightmare, Bone realized the truth about the real universe, the Old Gods, and the First. Honestly, the chaos creature was truly a chaos creature; they were beings that live in chaos. Chaos also exists in the real universe, and even when the Old Gods seal the development, chaos remains active. Because of this, they were able to truly damage the fake universe and disrupt the delicate balance of the seal. The only problem was that there was only one Nightmare. So Bone started his project to artificially create Nightmares inside the fake world. It was a long research since he got no useful knowledge because of some knowledge being sealed by the Old Gods; the fact that none were able to grasp the truth in this fake universe was a result from Bone¡¯s attempt to artificially create Nightmares. Nightmares have two types: one was natural, popping out in the chaos, and the second one was the transformation of a creature within a universe that somewhat degenerated into a chaos creature. Because of Bone¡¯s long project and also with the help of the other three, now the fake universe already had its own Nightmares paradise. Except for the original chaos creature that Bone captured, the rest were artificially bred by the Chat group members. The presences that caused Nameless to become restless in the void of emptiness were actually those Nightmares. Since the second type of Nightmares results from the transformation of living beings, it was important to learn the cause of the transformation. From Bone and others'' research, the primary cause was madness. Not the madness caused when you encounter chaos, but rather when the mind collapses on its own. Remember the endless stairs of dimension that are akin to samsara? Now imagine many more people trying to escape these stairs of dimension but unable to extricate themselves, finally turning into a blind cat that keeps repeating everything, losing their sanity, and degenerating into chaos creatures. Yes, the chaos creature was a truth seeker in the literal sense, but they were so obsessed that they were no longer different from the chaos. Since that was the case, Bone and others created a new sub-fake universe on their own and changed that universe''s rules and order so that Nightmares could be produced more. Because they can¡¯t force it, they mainly laze around in the Chat group base. Nameless had seen the sub-fake universe that they built, and he found those sub-fake universes rather fun. One of them was actually a universe similar to his previous life, on a certain planet, but on that planet, humans could become stronger by slowly turning themselves into gods through potions. But the catch was that they would slowly be polluted by the poison that Bone purposely left behind in the potions. As they grew stronger by taking a higher-level potion, the closer they got to godhood but at the same time closer to chaos. This kind of universe and power-up was actually one of the best arrangements to produce Nightmares. . . . Nameless also incorporated into the Chat group and built his sub-fake universe to breed more Nightmares. He had thought, why not gather the other clones and directly nurture them. But he discarded that idea after learning about Bone¡¯s and others¡¯ attempts. Since they were clones created by the Old Gods to cause origin damage to the First, the stronger the clones'' power was, the more impact it brought to the First if they gave up on their journey. So, it was better to let nature take its course and produce real mature clones that wouldn¡¯t give up in the middle way to avoid harming the First. . . . Time passed. Nameless no longer took a glance at how much time had passed since it no longer had any meaning for him. Whether it was a year or a century, nothing made any difference. Since he was still trapped in the fake universe, he also began to accept the mundaneness of the other members. Now he understands why the clones except for himself appeared a bit different from him. Bone, as the oldest member of the Chat group, already lost his touch of humanity; he usually slept. Farmer, the second member, chose to be a farmer to fill his daily life. Nine-tails, the third member, was originally a male, but after indulging himself with various types and kinds of women, in the end, he found no woman able to truly match his ideal woman. Thus, he chose to be that ideal woman himself. He took the term "go fuck yourself" to a whole new level. Ball, the fourth member, was obsessed with the perfection of the circle. He believed that a circle was the pinnacle of creation since nothing in this world is actually a perfect circle, and only our theoretical approach suggests that a perfect circle exists. So, he turned himself into a bouncy metallic ball. Nameless also started to lose his sternness towards unnecessary things; he didn¡¯t remember how long it took for him before he finally was full of boredom. One day, he left the Chat group base and headed towards the Templar Temple and did whatever he wanted there. When he found that those Templar Knights shouted at him angrily like lunatics, he found his world suddenly filled with colors. Then he ecstatically waved his hand and lashed his legs to kill anyone he met there. Then another unknown amount of time passed. . . . The idea of using clones to cause damage to the First''s origin was a joke. What were the chances for the clones to give up their ambition without any arrangement except for some memory blockage? The fact that the fake universe was still running only meant this method was ineffective. But the Old Gods were truly gods in mentality; they no longer age, and time lost meaning for them. What they wanted was only the result. Even if the chance was very small, at least it was better for them than waiting for the First to bypass them. This was also another problem. The First, just like Nameless, actually didn¡¯t care about those gods, but those gods were too accustomed to their norm. They were afraid if the First successfully bypassed them and transcended, there would be nothing good for them. Nameless let out a mouthful of breath. "If you guys didn¡¯t make any stupid moves towards the young First, then why would he care about you?" It was the same as the myth and legend about prophecy; the prophecy fulfilled itself because there was someone who was aware of the prophecy. Since they found they were killed by the First, they panicked and tried to change the future by killing the young First. Chapter 114 - Routine Activities of the Chat Group The Boundary. The place where everything beyond the fake universe resides. It was the same for the Chat group headquarters, the Union, and the Templar Temple. The fake universe is not a singular entity but rather a collection of the entire run just for the clones of the First to live. The Old Gods wouldn''t be patient enough to run the simulation one by one, so they ran the simulation simultaneously and kept adding new simulations into the fake universe. After visiting the other two places, the Union and the Templar Temple, Nameless finished exploring this fake universe. There was nothing more beyond this, even the collection of simulations running in the fake universe; the content was redundant. From his own findings, Nameless discovered that every fake universe would always start from the moment the great war ended. That was when the Old Gods sacrificed themselves to seal the First. The location was nonetheless the Dark continent that Nameless encountered before. The battle between gods, even more so when it was the entire pantheon of gods fighting one person. The scale and destruction it brought were naturally enough to decimate every living being. As for unique individuals that had not yet achieved godhood or those who chose to walk alone and not on the same side as the Old Gods might still be alive in the real universe. But their precise condition was still a matter for discussion. . . . Life at the end of the road was uneventful. No enemies worth taking care of, no challenges to be overcome; it was just nothing. The only thing that could bring meaning to this plain life was to research how to break the great dream of this fake universe. One of its methods was the Nightmares, which were unrestricted by the nature of this fake universe. Since the chaos in the real universe and the fake universe would retain its essence as ''chaos.'' In conclusion, it took external means to break the limit and attain freedom. The others might not have it, but Nameless had it. His system was naturally not from this fake universe, nor from the real universe. Or rather, it was a special case, a unique existence born by chance. Nameless still had his vigilance and didn''t ask the other Chat group members to experiment on his system, so he was busy studying his own system, trying to extract its otherworldly essence to harness and farm it for his own use. At first, he wasn''t sure if his system was from beyond the fake universe, but after experimenting on it, he finally confirmed his guess. The system that only showed its tail but hid its head was easily captured by Nameless and pulled out from his being. Not his body nor his soul, but it was bound to his existence. Maybe it was due to the error of things developing and progressing, thus Nameless''s authority over it was insufficient. After being separated from him, the system''s real appearance was actually just a weightless blob of light. It didn''t have the fluctuation of a living being, which was the spiritual process of thinking. If something could think, then at some degree, it was a living being, but when there was no fluctuation of thinking, even if it could move and speak, it was not a living being. Nameless kept experimenting on it but to no avail; he could gain something from the nature of the system but couldn''t get into the mystery contained within it. On how it bypassed the seal of the Old Gods. He shook his head and threw this blob of light back to his body, a special space he created for convenience to test the system. There was someone approaching his house. Because he lived in the Chat group headquarters, he naturally needed to build his own house. Not long after, there were knocks on his front door. Knock, knock... At their level, even if they didn''t make any noise or movement, each member was able to tell anyone who approached them. But due to the plain and monotone nature of the Boundary, they kept these simple actions of mortals to fill up their colorless world. "Come in," Nameless answered. The doorknob moved as the door slowly opened. The Farmer, with his old appearance, appeared. With the same friendly smile on his face, he walked inside. "Oh, Edge. I have something good to share with you." The farmer ignored the surroundings and walked directly to Nameless. Edge was the nickname given to Nameless by the other chat members, naturally due to his edginess. Nameless, not hoping for anything from this visit, suddenly became interested. Whether it was him or other chat members, all of them were the same in many aspects. Their pursuit of immortality and their effectiveness in utilizing their resources to gain more power. Because of this, they reached the endpoint faster than anyone else, and because they justified their sacrifice on the way. In the end, they were left with nothing. Not even feelings for themselves. Thus, every Chat group member only had one thing¡­ two things that could be considered as good news. The first one was the breakthrough in research on how to destroy the fake universe, and the second one naturally was how to rekindle the long-lost feelings they had in the past. In simple terms, a way for them to enjoy themselves. Nameless stood up from his chair and looked at the Farmer. "Sit down first." As he said that, a chair suddenly conjured out of thin air for the Farmer to sit down. The farmer didn''t bother to thank him and sat down immediately. His eyes were wandering left and right before stopping at Nameless. "Nothing else?" Nameless was confused at first, as he also followed the Farmer''s gaze, looking at his surroundings. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. An empty space that only had the floor and the roof. "Ah. Right, how could I forget." Nameless finally realized what was missing and waved his right hand. As his right hand stopped, the room changed instantly. The floor, which was okay to have, and the ceiling that was high enough like a dark sky suddenly changed. The floor turned into white marble stone, various pillars rose from the ground, the ceiling lowered and transformed into a gorgeous design. Then between him and the Farmer, a table appeared with many delicacies on it. Seeing this more living room, the Farmer nodded as he took the tea cup and poured tea for himself. "I know you are new here and couldn''t wait to do research on your own. Even with the help of the mechanical mind that can withstand even the formidable force of time, you can''t ignore the danger of oblivion." "The second brain might be able to keep your brain fresh until the end of time, but we are human after all. If we don''t take good care of our mental health, it will lead to the death of silence, where the mind no longer finds any reason to move, and the fluctuation of spirit is gone." As originally the same person, the Farmer had some similarity in thinking with Nameless on their perspective of life. The physical body might decay, the blood evaporate, the flesh decayed, and the bone turned into dust. This is the death on a low level. Then there was the soul body, the astral version of the physical body that exists yet doesn''t exist. When it is destroyed, then it is the death on a middle level. Then there was the miracle of life, the core that differentiates the dead thing and the living thing, the mind. As long as the mind could fluctuate, life will never wither. But how strong was the mind ? As time passed, even the strongest mind would collapse, even if it is replaced with the mechanical mind that only knows one and zero. A machine, in the end, was a machine, not capable of inventing something new. The death of the high level or the death of silence was when the mind no longer fluctuated. This was why the Chat group members had their own unique hobby that kept their interest in check. Bone¡­ Nameless still didn''t know what this old man was doing in his spare time. The Farmer was farming, Nine-tails was busy collecting various skirts, and Ball was pursuing the perfection of roundness. Only Nameless, who was a new member, didn''t have a peculiar hobby yet, and his nickname was still not fixed. "I understand; I will pay extra attention to this in the future," Nameless accepted the advice and put it in his mental note. "Then, what good news do you have?" The Farmer took down his tea in one motion and savored the taste for a moment. "Not bad." Since everything was conjured by Nameless out of thin air, the taste of delicacies naturally came up from Nameless''s thoughts and ideas. For them who walked to the end of the road, nothing could attract their attention except for the uniqueness of individuals. "As you know, we are trapped in the fake universe, and the Old Gods were guarding the gate. They were consisted of various kinds of gods from different domains. Thus their methods were varied and many. Bone, as the oldest member, had much research on this and found many plans of the Old Gods." "The good news I''m talking about right now is one of those hidden plans. The seal was just a seal; it is simply impossible for the Old Gods to keep the First forever in it. They don''t even know the truth that the First has, so how could it be possible for them to keep him in the seal forever? Even if they knew what kind of truth it was, naturally, they wouldn''t be stupid enough to seal him; they would kill him on the spot!" "So, because of this, the Old Gods had many plans. One of them was to add more manpower into the seal. Which was to groom a new god from the fake universe to prolong the seal''s lifespan and wait for the promised time to arrive. Ptuih." The Farmer spat at the end of his words. "How could we, the First, fail against those Old Gods? Prolonging the match? They were nothing but delaying their defeat!" As the clone from the original self, naturally, the Farmer had a high evaluation of himself. This also happened for the member of the Chat group. They believed the Old Gods were just delaying their inevitable defeat. Although no one had spoken of it, all of them knew in their hearts that the First should have left many hidden plans and also bided his time for the promised time. "This could be said to be one of our routine agendas as the Chat group member. That was to hunt down the seed of god!" The Farmer said matter-of-factly. Before Nameless could state his opinion, the Farmer continued. "Yes, I know that there was a supreme rule that prevents intervention from outside simulation. But why would we need to do it that way? Just stand at the gate and block the way; the moment the seed of god exits their simulation, we can kill them right away." There were various supreme rules in the fake universe; this was to prevent the collapse of the system once the seal started. Inside the seal, the Old Gods were no different than living dead. Their energy was consumed to prevent the First from escaping, and they, the Old Gods, were falling into a deep slumber. They couldn''t do anything to affect the fake universe for various reasons, thus they created the supreme rules to prevent any problems from arising. The successful clones that walked to the end of the road, the Chat group. The irregulars that defied all odds with their stupid and ridiculous luck, the Union. They were natives of the fake universe that somehow escaped from the predetermined fate of NPCs and became players on their own. If those irregulars were set loose without any rules governing them, they would just destroy the arrangement of the Old Gods and eventually let the First escape. They were called irregulars because they were destined to be NPCs for the rest of their lives, different from the seed of god. They were not heroes that walked on adversities, difficulties, and the restraints of fate. Not at all; in fact, they were the protagonists. They might appear to be weak and so on, but actually, they were the protagonists. All variables in the world were favoring them, even though their lives were miserable, like fish stranded in the desert. They would always luckily escape mortal dangers and grow stronger. They would say all righteous speeches as if fate is nothing but shackles and only they could define their fate, but actually, they were just that lucky. Nameless didn''t ask any more questions and followed the Farmer to the gathering place of the Chat members. Bone, with his lich body, was always the same, sitting on the throne that overlooked everything. Nine-tails on the right lazily leaned on her side. She never stopped admiring her own body, as her eyes filled with pride and lust. Ball, on the other side, was just being a metallic ball that floated in the air. After the Farmer and Nameless arrived, Bone, who had no soul fire in his eye sockets, woke up. The empty eye sockets suddenly filled with eerie soul fire. "The origin power of the fake universe has converged, heralding the birth of the chosen one. Luck, fate, and destiny were ever present. Even if this universe is fake, the life in it was real. Nothing is more magical than the consciousness of living creatures. Given enough time, this invisible trace would gather and give birth to the origin power." Bone''s voice was filled with solemnity as he described the ins and outs of the event. When suddenly a voice interrupted him. "Old man, why are you narrating this?" Nine-tails yawned on the side and moved her body in an alluring way. She had reached the point where she became excited from observing her own body. Thus, she kept making explosive movements, be it small as blinking or breathing or big. ''Nine-tails is indeed one of a kind; this kind of self-appreciation is enough to keep the mind alive till the end of time.'' Nameless commented in his heart, he also appreciated the graceful movement of Nine-tails. Bone, who wanted to continue, suddenly stopped; his soul fire flickered slowly and dimmed. It was not that he became angry, but instead retreated in shyness. "Ah? Is that so? Since we have a new member, I thought it would be better to explain this thing to him." His voice was no longer as deep as before, but like an ordinary man casually talking to his friend. "I don''t find any problem about this," Ball suddenly jumped in. "Then, how about the person himself? Edge, what do you think?" Nine-tails took over the conversation directly and directed the focus at Nameless. "Since the atmosphere is already like this, wouldn''t it be better to let it go?" Nameless said vaguely. Then he added, "how long will it take for the seed of god to transcend his world?" ¡°Five¡­¡± Bone answered, his gaze penetrating the void in front of him. The hall became silent. ¡°Four, three, two, one.¡± In succession, Bone said with his other casual personality. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Ball was the first one to react and opened a big portal in the middle of the hall. Bone rose from his throne as dust and debris fell from his body; he didn¡¯t enter the portal opened by Ball but teleported directly. ¡°See you there,¡± Nine-tails didn¡¯t bother to leave her soft couch and teleported directly. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± The Farmer didn¡¯t follow the previous two and walked to the portal. While on the other side, Ball followed as he jumped up and down approaching the portal. Nameless was the last one to follow; he saw the Farmer and Ball enter the portal before finally his turn. Chapter 115 - Fooling Around Boundary. The Holy Sanctuary, the core place for the Templar Knights. Various white buildings made of perfectly cut stone were arranged in harmony, in accordance with their teachings to serve the gods. The place was kept simple yet holy and peaceful. In the main and largest church, the spacious hall was bathed in the glory of divinity. The air was calm and peaceful. Standing on the pulpit was a middle-aged man adorned in religious robes combined with the armor of a knight. With the overflowing presence of light, his shiny, clean-shaven head was like a morning sun rising from the far west. Under the platform was another member but different from before. He wore full knight armor without the mix of servitude robe of the messenger of gods. ¡°Your grace, what is the revelation from the gods?¡± one of the few commanders of the knight order asked the man above the pulpit. With his eyes closed, the Pope was not in a hurry to answer. As if time were not moving and was on his side, he slowly turned around. His eyes slightly opened, containing rich light that leaked out like a waterfall. Not long after, the Pope opened his eyes, and the previous overflowing light was like non-existence. ¡°The time hath come,¡± the Pope said with confidence, but he did not explain more about the revelation. . . . Exiting the portal, Nameless found himself in a white space. There seemed to be no end to this space. Looking around, he found a shocking view. With Ball and Farmer on his sides, he saw not far to the right, Nine-tails was busy extending her delicate hand. As her jade finger made a grasping movement, she immediately pulled it back. Like a professional magician, a bunny suddenly appeared. But that was not the case; a woman in her prime with a beautiful and graceful appearance appeared in Nine-tails'' hand. Without batting an eye, she casually put a restriction on the woman who was still processing that she was kidnapped from somewhere. Maybe because Nine-tails was too excited and ignored precautions in her actions, the woman immediately came back to her senses and wanted to struggle. But she couldn¡¯t do anything, as if the concept of ¡°strength¡± was absent from her reality. Ignoring the puzzled and confused woman, Nine-tails tossed her to the side while making another magic trick. The woman was hanging in the air like a wet cloth after being cleaned and waiting to dry under the sun. One glance was enough for Nameless to know she was not simple, regardless of the woman¡¯s background. Her appearance alone was enough to be proof of her significance. Dazzling long golden hair seemed like a flowing gold waterfall with slight curves of a water body. A pair of blue eyes radiated gleam like jewels, rosy lips, and enchanting eyebrows. A perfectly trained body yet retained the sense of femininity of high-class royalties. ¡°No doubt, she must be the main heroine of the tale if not the second-best girl,¡± Farmer spoke out his thoughts, which coincided with what Nameless was thinking. ¡°Tsk tsk tsk.¡± Then another sound of tongue clicking came from the other side, Ball, which was only a floating blob of a metallic ball, couldn¡¯t help but do so. ¡°Look at those perfectly round shapes!¡± He was captivated by the same thing but with a different approach. Nameless shifted his peripheral gaze slightly, feeling funny inside. ¡®Have you really reached a transcendent state of mind that ignores the shape and form, thus directly seeing the essence?¡¯ The woman who was hanging in the air indeed had many curvy aspects on her body. The front was physically too huge for a human to carry around, talking in terms of how biologically possible that was. Now talking about how someone could live with such a heavy burden was another question to ponder. Her waist must be crying all day from supporting those mountains. While the back was round and smooth, even under her satin skirt, the protrusion was clear like moonlight in a starless night. ¡°Indeed, good rounds,¡± Farmer couldn¡¯t help but agree with Ball¡¯s mesmerizing. Nameless also wanted to say something, but when watching this unknown woman with Nine-tails side by side, he lost his ability to speak. ¡®What is this?¡¯ he couldn¡¯t help but curse. ¡®Comparing both of them is simply an act of blasphemy! Even if that woman could be said to be a legendary and mystical beauty, compared to Nine-tails on her side, she was like a firefly under the moonlight!¡¯ But Nameless knew this was his fault; he was just a new member in the Chat group and had not accustomed his paradigm to his new level, so he still had some fascination with Nine-tails'' style of painting. While Ball and Farmer were old members, they should be resistant towards Nine-tails. As if realizing someone was complimenting her, Nine-tails stopped her action after pulling the second magic trick, and now it was another woman with navy blue straight hair with another matchless beauty and dynamic figure. Nine-tail was confused at first, ¡®who? Who was talking about me?.... Who is complimenting me?¡¯ Her eyes squinted slightly and began to wander to the trio. She immediately filtered out Farmer subconsciously and then actively crossed out Ball from her list. Then her gaze fixed on calm Nameless. She smirked at him and moved her body like a boneless snake to attenuate her perfect pursuit of beauty. Then she hung the second woman next to the previous woman. ¡°Did you just compliment her?¡± Farmer asked without shifting his gaze. Nameless, who nicknamed Edge, thickened his face and replied without fluctuation in his facial expression. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You are new after all; it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Farmer nodded his head and kept watching how the women were hanging like wet cloth. Ignoring this peculiar behavior of Nine-tails, Nameless moved his vision to the other area. The corner of his eye couldn¡¯t help but twitch when he saw this scene. On the white expanse, a handsome man. With the brilliant light of existence blinding Nameless¡¯ eyes for a moment. He was young yet mature, handsome and very masculine yet had gentleness at the same time. With radiant white hair and gold eyes, he stood alone like the true protagonist. But his perfect quality was lowered by another figure not far from him. A lich, with a skeleton body; his bones were giving off a metallic luster but not that much, as if dust had accumulated enough to cover its brilliance. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Bone was wearing a ring robe that is usually worn by professional boxing athletes before entering the ring. It was big and loose compared to the already big body of Bone. On both of his hands, Bone was wearing boxing gloves that were bigger than his opponent¡¯s head. He was swaying left and right just like a professional boxer and threw some jabs. But his movement was like an amateur who only knew that punching is equivalent to attacking. It was shallow and slow, without any proper foundation of martial art at all. ¡°Is this appropriate?¡± Nameless asked himself in a low breath. ¡°I see,¡± it was Farmer who said this. ¡°So it was this game they were playing.¡± ¡°Game?¡± Nameless switched his eyes between the man fighting Bone with the hanging women near Nine-tails. He had a vague answer in his heart but chose to be silent. The protagonist man was overwhelmed, not because of the sudden change in his reality, but because his comrades and friends were being held by another person. He saw a beautiful woman that defied all of his prejudices against beauty and found that his vision was too when seeing Nine-tails. But that was not the focus; his love candidates. Yes, that was how it was. Even after becoming the strongest, the protagonist man still unable to face himself and accept the feelings of his love candidates. They were being pulled one by one from the void by the nine-tailed woman and hung on her side. The love candidates, unable to speak, found the man they love and have affection for was fighting someone in a ridiculous manner. ¡°Jab!¡± Seeing his opponent was ignoring him, Bone expressed his intention while delivering a jab at the protagonist man. ¡°Enough!¡± The protagonist man was angered and slashed down his holy sword at Bone¡¯s jab. Golden light filled the air, and turbulent air flow caused by the golden light crashed at Bone directly, sending him flying. But due to his physique, the attack was not enough to injure him. In fact, his being pushed back was because he suppressed his strength to the lowest to have heartfelt entertainment. ¡°Ka kakaka.¡± Bone¡¯s bony jaws opened and closed while letting out the strange sound that was supposedly his laughter. ¡°What kakakaka? Didn¡¯t you laugh normally before?¡± Nameless questioned Bone¡¯s ridiculous showdown. But soon, he kept watching from the sidelines. Nine-tails no longer pulled beautiful women; instead, she began to pull various kinds of people which clearly were not some love candidates. Old people, adults, young people, and even animals. The protagonist man realized something was wrong, but he was unable to stop Bone from confronting him. So as powerful as he was, he showed various skillful movements to fend off Bone. Time passed, and Nine-tails was no longer able to pull something from the void; on her sides were filled with many people hanging in the air looking confused. ¡°I¡¯m done,¡± she shouted at Bone. Then she pulled her soft couch from the void and began to lay down on her side. Bone was having the best time in a while facing the protagonist man; he didn¡¯t use any fancy moves. Just threw a jab and let out the weird laugh. ¡°Jab!¡± Bone said while throwing a flawed jab. Then he was sent back by the counter-attack. After bouncing Bone back numerous times, the protagonist man was able to close the distance between him and the people hanging around Nine-tails. Just as he wanted to make another move, he suddenly felt the distance between him and his goal was fixed. ¡°Break!¡± He shouted while releasing a full display of his power as the protagonist. The space around him cracked like being pressured. But even after gritting his teeth and maximizing his effort, no change happened in the space. ¡°Kakakaka.¡± While on his back, another weird laugh could be heard. He stopped wasting his energy and surveyed his surroundings. He found the trio; a floating metallic ball that looked like it was made of water, an ordinary man with a calm expression, and an old man with a haggard appearance that was busy watching the struggling love candidates. ¡°Who are you people?¡± He used his power to empower his voice. No responses were received; Bone was approaching him slowly like a disgusting stalker, Nine-tails was busy laying down on her side, Ball was being a floating metallic ball, Nameless was being a spectator, and Farmer was appreciating the beauty. ¡°Jab!¡± Before the protagonist man could say anything else, Bone came up at him and threw another jab while declaring it. Time passed. The protagonist was able to keep Bone from touching him; while in his free time, he would try to communicate. Knowing where this play was going, Nameless asked. ¡°Will this be enough?¡± For him, this kind of play indeed could relieve some accumulated stress, but that was it; it was unable to cure the root cause. ¡°This will be enough,¡± Farmer answered with certainty in his voice. He already shifted his gaze toward Bone, who was fighting. ¡°But¡­ this kind of thing, it just¡­ is it meaningless? Although he is indeed the seed of god that will become our enemy in the future, doing this will only relieve some anger at best.¡± ¡°Then what do you think we should do?¡± Farmer asked. He didn¡¯t put any thought into his words. Nameless thought for a moment; he imagined various scenarios on how to torture his future enemy, but even after extensively deducing various kinds of tortures, he found a wall. No matter what kind of plays or tortures it will be, in the end, it will only satisfy his dissatisfaction with this seed of god. At best, the Old Gods wouldn¡¯t gain additional manpower, while at worst, it could entertain him for a pitiful amount of time. Compared to the long process to break the seal of the fake universe, the amount of his interest alive to torture the seed of god was too minuscule in comparison. In the end, he couldn¡¯t answer the question and shook his head. ¡°Precisely, there was no other way to do it, so we just came up with what we wanted,¡± Farmer said without any changes in his emotion. There was a brief silence. ¡°Then what do you want to do?¡± Farmer asked Nameless. Nameless ran some mental calculations in his head, then answered. ¡°I want to play with those love candidates?¡± He asked tentatively. ¡°Do whatever you want. Don¡¯t limit yourself,¡± Farmer answered back. Nameless walked towards the group of hanging people. Some of them were wary of him, while some were afraid. He looked at the first woman who was pulled by Nine-tails; she had a heroic aura around her. Her temperament was that of a noble, and her pride was higher than the stars. There was a slight turmoil in Nameless¡¯ still heart. Some long-lost feelings of excitement were floating, but just like bubbles, they exploded and were gone. Nameless looked down and found he wasn¡¯t excited at all. ¡®Am I impotent now?¡¯ He jokingly asked himself. His thoughts were pondering his lack of touch of having fun and turned his head to look at Bone. There he watched Bone happily jumping and fooling around in a ridiculous manner; his soul fire was fluctuating, showing his inner enjoyment. His bony jaws kept banging at each other to produce a weird laugh. Then suddenly Nameless realized something crucial; he quickly shifted his eyes toward Nine-tails near him and found this enchanting beauty had a bored expression on her face. Then he looked at Ball and Farmer, only to find there was no change on their faces. ¡°We laugh because we are happy¡­¡± Nameless finally got the answer he wanted. The scene where Nine-tails was enthusiastically pulling people from the void flashed in his mind; Nine-tails was obviously happy doing so. There were Ball who commented on the roundness and Farmer who appreciated the beauty. All of them were engaged nonetheless. But now they were back to their original selves. "To laugh to become happy..." Nameless felt depressed when he said this. He realized none of the chat members were happy; all of their actions and behaviors were like those of schizophrenic patients pitying themselves. "How pathetic," a low voice echoed Nameless'' thoughts. It was Nine-tails who was bored, lying on her side without bothering to shift her gaze at Nameless. "To laugh because of happiness and to be happy by laughing. How empty it needs to be?" Her voice didn''t contain the coquettishness like before but sounded more like an old person who had had enough in this life. "Reaching this point, nothing can remain the same. Instead, everything becomes still, and various meanings lose their value. Emotions, desires, hope, dreams, fear, and even the sense of existence." "In front of the absolute, who can remain the same? Time flows, but no change occurs. Chaos comes, and only emptiness remains." "At the summit of power, we lose more than we gain." Nine-tails stopped talking, letting her words be processed by Nameless. The tails on her back swayed gently. Chapter 116 - Old God Nameless didn''t believe in the weakness of self-harming tendencies. To be weak in the mind was to die by one''s own hand. The inaction and lack of proactiveness were the root causes for someone to sink into the sea of depression. Only fools would pity themselves while doing nothing about it. His current state was mainly due to his strong determination to move forward without caring about his surroundings. As long as he succeeded, everything would be pardoned. But the problem arose from this determination alone; he wanted to reach the peak but now found himself stuck on the highest place on the mountain. Above him was the high sky that was out of his reach. The contradictory feelings he had against the strength he now possessed and the inability to directly surpass the sky. He was already the strongest, yet it didn''t bring any satisfaction because he knew this was nothing but a forced circumstance. "So, can I be relaxed at least for now?" Nameless asked himself. Looking down from the peak of the fake universe, there was really nothing that could attract his attention. But the long process to break the limit was still far from his reach. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and began to reorganize his thoughts. In the mental space, sitting on his throne, he saw the second brain consisted of three skills working tirelessly. The previously simple Celestial Astrolabe that was composed of various rings now had evolved into a starry sky. It covered the sky like a galaxy spinning around. The Lazy Tree now transformed into an ancient towering tree. It was like a mirage that existed within the mind domain, exuding radiance from its body, with leaves like old scripture used for replacement of paper. Different from before, it no longer bore any fruit; instead, various progress it made was marked directly on the trunk. The last of the three was the Chaos Sea. It wasn''t visible like the previous two. Instead, it expanded to cover the entire mental space that existed within the secondary layer of reality. With just a thought, Nameless commanded his second brain to do calculations for him. A convenience system prompt appeared in front of him. It listed various information that he wanted. What were his choices from now on? After reading them, Nameless finally made up his mind. The time Nameless spent in his ponder was not that long, but his entire person underwent a significant change. "Well, I will do what I want then," Nameless said to the noncommittal Nine-tail. He turned his gaze and flicked his finger. The hanging woman, the first person that Nine-tails pulled from the void, fell to the ground. She readily stood on her foot without losing her balance. She stared at Nameless with wary eyes, then looked at the lying-down Nine-tails who occasionally yawned. After watching the protagonist man being humiliated and ignored for the whole time, as the top love candidate, she wouldn''t be that stupid to ask Nameless questions. Who are you people? What do you want? Why are you doing this? She was not blind nor deaf; at least, Nine-tails didn''t seal up their senses. So, if she asked those boring questions right now, it would be a disgrace for her intelligence. At least for now, she needed to stand on equal ground first before trying to communicate. That was the plan in the beginning. But after listening to Nine-tails'' monologue, she had a bad premonition in her heart. It would be better if it were only a premonition, but with her intelligence, at least with a properly educated brain, she now knew that her fate was set in stone. A mere plaything. Even after knowing all of this, she didn''t lose hope. At least not becoming a useless person who just breaks down in tears and begins a low-level drama scene. Querty Radnon, she held her head high and faced Nameless without any discomfort. "Let''s fight," Nameless said to her. "If you win, you can go." Nine-tails on the side didn''t bother with them, and one of her tails flicked at Querty. Suddenly the void rippled, and a precious rapier popped up out of nowhere. With a length of seventy-eight centimeters, a fine round guard on the handle, and a straight blade body. Left with no choice, Querty extended her left hand, and a force pulled the precious rapier from the ground. It was her main weapon that had accompanied her most in her life. A powerful artifact that even "gods" back in her world would meet their demise at its blade. Containing the essence of "ignore" and "sever," there was nothing that the precious rapier couldn''t cut through. But in the end, it didn''t contain the essence of "cutting" itself. So, comparing it with the artifact of "cutting," the precious rapier fell short in terms of rank, but it compensated by having an additional essence. Nameless casually conjured a flat, slim long blade and waved it for a few times. He adjusted his strength to match Querty''s strength in the process. While Querty only saw Nameless remain unmoving, suddenly his posture changed into swaying a blade from fast to slow. There was a missing process in between his previous posture with the sudden waving action. Querty was unable to tell the strength of Nine-tails, Nameless, and the other chat group members. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. But from her observation, she knew these people were not your average "gods." ''The missing motion from his action should be that his movement was too fast that it escaped my perception,'' Querty noted this in her mind. While she was preparing for the battle, her surroundings changed. It distanced herself and Nameless from Nine-tails'' vicinity. Nameless was ready to make a move but hesitated to either play like Bone who shouts his intention or not. But he dismissed this funny idea and directly attacked. At least for now, he wanted a wholehearted battle that he never had a chance before. His figure dashed like an arrow, leaving an afterimage on his previous spot. Querty was ready for this and launched a counterattack. Their weapons clashed for a brief moment before Querty''s rapier "ignored" Nameless'' blade and went through, targeting his chest. Nameless took a step back and lashed his left leg to gain some space. Querty was being vigilant the whole time; she knew her enemy was lowering his strength to have a good fight with her. But that doesn''t mean his enemy''s strength would be on her level. After all, watching how Bone played with the protagonist man for this time being, no harm was caused to Bone. He was still as energetic as he was. But Querty saw that Nameless was being dissatisfied; she thought this man would ignore the rule and increase his level because he lost just now. Only suddenly the void near her rippled once again, throwing out another weapon. A sword made of black stone, crude and ugly. "Pick it," Nameless said with some dissatisfaction lingering in his voice. For the sake of having a good battle, Nameless didn''t dig up Querty''s past so he could get some surprise. But after seeing how the precious rapier had the effect of "ignore," Nameless, with his enhanced battle instinct, knew Querty was lacking something. So, without any need for communication, Nine-tails stopped her prank and sent another weapon for Qu erty. Picking up the black stone sword with a pulling force, Querty''s momentum suddenly rose to a new level. Nameless could tell this was what Querty''s peak performance looked like. A burning sensation lit up in his heart, the long-lost feeling of excitement ran through Nameless'' body. He switched his weapon from a blade to a staff. Without having a sharp blade on either end, nor was it pointy on its tip. This weapon was purely for strength-based methods. It was not to cut or penetrate but to break. Nameless always wanted to test his breaking abilities. When he saw various fights and battles in his previous lives, he always wanted to see that instead of cutting a regenerative monster or stabbing the enemy. It was not that effective when killing the enemy. When a person cuts someone, then at best they will only cause some scratches to intensify the battle. Like some scratches on the shoulder or legs, to show how powerful the enemy was. Or stabbing the enemy in the stomach only for the enemy to fight for another ten thousand rounds. What a load of nonsense. It was a matter of preference and obsession; Nameless wanted to show that his method was way more effective. With a blunt weapon, he would break his enemy''s body in one attack. In his early days, he created the Impact skill. That was to deliver an aftershock with each attack so his enemy would not only suffer external damage but also internal damage. But that was not the main focus; the main focus was that in a battle with a weapon, the enemy would always parry and defend their body with their weapon. And this Impact skill was to stop this prolonged battle tactic by having each attack destroy the enemy''s weapon and body. Then there was also the Massacre skill, turning the user into a cold killing machine inhuman disguise, every move was calculated to achieve the most efficiency in killing. No matter how Nameless convinced himself of how his method was the most effective one, only battle could prove it. Soon, both Nameless and Querty resumed their battle. Querty as a pure warrior with no magical power satisfied Nameless'' thirst for a thrilling battle. With a gorgeous visual dynamic, their battle became the focus for Ball and Farmer. They already lost the touch of high adrenaline sport, so watching it right now, especially how Nameless applied their old method of killing, really gave them the entertainment they wanted. The floor cracked and destroyed over and over again. Shockwaves and air pressure were released from their basic attacks. Even the bored Nine-tails began to be curious about their little match. This battle continued for a period of time before finally the equilibrium started to tilt. Nameless, who limited himself to Querty''s level, didn''t use any magic. But that didn''t mean he abstained from using various enhancements on his body. From this alone, he already won against Querty, who only practiced the way of a warrior. As the battle continued, Querty started to become slower due to her energy being consumed faster than her regeneration. Even so, Nameless still faced formidable resistance against Querty. Finally, the battle concluded. Querty, who was on her knees, was exhausted beyond relief. Even if her spirit was inexhaustible, there was a limit to her physical body. Her once dazzling long golden hair stained with dried blood, her once smooth skin now full of cracks as blood oozed from it, her once graceful figure now turned into a ghostly statue. Her body was no longer able to sustain her life, but her honed spirit kept her alive for a moment. She stared at Nameless who didn''t have any change in his appearances. Both of them were equal in everything, but the only differences were their foundation. Nameless was too perverted even for the regular person''s standard. His body was stacked with various kinds of body refining techniques that made him an incarnation of strength. As her death approached, Querty didn''t resent Nameless too much. She lost in a rightful battle, so it was normal for her not to have hatred for her opponent. On the other side of the battlefield, the protagonist man was watching their destructive battle and was desperate. He was unable to fight Bone, who was clearly cheating, so he could only watch how his love candidate was beaten to the point her life hung on a single thread. Amidst the fight, he roared and screamed. But unable to shake off Bone, who was like a clich¨¦ in xianxia novels. Face-slapping, auctions, and occurrences of secret realms. Only then he regretted his indecisiveness for not being able to face himself to accept those who showed their affection to him. On the ground, Querty''s cloudy and tired eyes slowly lost their light. Even until the end, she didn''t close her eyes in the battle. Seeing the devastated woman kneeling with her back forced to straight up, and the unbending will to fight against her enemy. Nameless felt it was a pity to let her go for good, it would be better to pick her up and give her a position of a servant. ''What am I thinking? If I want it, just do it!'' Recalling his previous contemplation, he ignored his logic and followed his desire. He extended his right hand, wanting to resurrect Querty. A prolonged silence swept the entire white space. It was just a fraction of a second, but for the Chat group members, it was like a thousand years. At some point in time, all of the chat group members turned their heads like an arm of a clock, mechanical and straight. On the corner of the white space, a figure was standing there looking at them. Supported with a second brain, each member naturally had powerful brain capacity to know everything in their surroundings, even more so to things like fate, destiny, and causality. But somehow, they were unable to notice how this enigmatic figure appeared inside the white space. Bone, who had a comical expression once before, the soul fire in his eye sockets flickered, and other people except the chat group member disappeared instantly. When the chat group members finally perceived the uninvited figure closely, a realization hit their consciousness. "Origin of Wisdom." A name, a title, a description. They didn''t need to know about language to understand what those words meant. "The Old God," Bone said softly. Chapter 117 - God The Old God. A term used by a chat group member to refer to the gods from the real universe, the culprits for their shallow existence. A creature that wasn¡¯t real, just a fleeting thought in a long dream. However, at first glance, the chat group found the term intriguing. In reality, they used this term to mock those gods from the real universe, as "old" in the term referred to muddle-headedness, slow thinking, and a lack of initiative to innovate and explore new knowledge. That was one thing; the other thing was the word "god" itself. For the chat group members, they had their own dictionary. They set their vision beyond the realm they currently lived in and thus had a different paradigm from others. Just like how immortals in the immortal realm despised the top powerhouse in the lower realm in xianxia as a comparison. Those who lived in a vaster and more advanced civilization couldn¡¯t help but mock those backward people who were born and lived in a lower realm. But seeing how the enigmatic figure suddenly appeared without any warning caused great internal alarm for every chat group member. For them, those Old Gods were no different from the Gods in this fake universe; they were rulers of certain truths. Some might be born innately with the truth, while some might acquire them through a difficult journey. But nonetheless, they were not worthy of the title of God. If they were only capable of dominating certain truths in the world, what was their difference from a high-ranking administrator? A king in their respective five acres of land? A pig wearing a jeweled crown and calling themselves the king of the world while living inside a pigsty, worshiped by fellow pigs. For the chat group members, a God should match their high vision. Omnipotent and omniscient. Not just a mere ruler of a singular truth. Thus, for them, for something to truly be worthy of the title of the high-sounding word "God," they needed to prove it instead of self-claiming it. But there were some difficulties, how omnipotent and omniscient should a God be? Let''s say we have two universes with different rules and laws. How do we compare which one is stronger and which one is weaker? In the endless stairs of dimensions, where there are lower and higher dimensions, a God in the truest sense in a lower dimension doesn¡¯t meet the requirements of a God in a higher dimension. Then it came into the problem of who is stronger. Can they beat Goku though? A rambling between children who believe their favorite character is stronger than their friends¡¯ character. It was clear they were from different stories, with each story having its own internal rules. So how could they compare those characters with flawed conditions? Thus, for something to be a God, there were simply three requirements. The first one would be omnipotent and omniscient in their respective universe. Nothing could harm them in their respective universe; even if the universe itself fought them, the Gods would be invincible against it. The second, referring to being omnipotent and omniscient, had the ability to do anything they wanted even though their actions seemed paradoxical. As an example, being a God, they were invincible and indestructible. So if they wanted to create something that could kill them, a god-killing weapon, then they could create it. But this god-killing weapon couldn¡¯t harm them even more so kill them, although it had the ability to do so. This paradoxical approach was not that difficult to understand. As beings with omniscience, they naturally wouldn¡¯t be that stupid to create a weapon that could kill them. In the extension of this second requirement, this also proved no existence below godhood had the capability to kill a God. Not even a mortal who wanted to play trickery by daring a god to create a god-killing weapon to test their omnipotence. So only a God could kill a God; those ancient legends and folktales back in the previous lives were the examples of a flawed interpretation of god. God of the sky? God of lightning? King of gods? God is God! The last one would be self-defining. God was not a title but a state of independence from everything. When the universe met its end, God could still survive. ... The tension filled the air in the white space as none of the chat group members showed a relaxed expression. All of them were running their internal calculations to counter this uninvited guest. ¡®What is this? A sudden event?¡¯ Nameless couldn¡¯t help but complain in his heart. The figure on the edge of the white space clearly was not self-proclaimed as a god but was a real God. Their existence itself spoke of their divine nature, the Origin of Wisdom. Not a name, not a title, not a description; they were what they were. A self-defining concept, even when language lost its meaning, and their godhood would shine through the ages. ¡®But how could this be possible? How could there be a God in the real universe?¡¯ Nameless couldn¡¯t help but ask. If there was truly a God in the real universe, it was impossible for The First to survive in the first place; a God is a God. What could he, The First, do to fight a God? Even more so a pantheon of them. ¡®Something is wrong,¡¯ Nameless came to this conclusion. His second brain ran its logical calculation, finally coming up with many possible answers. ¡®The fake universe?¡¯ Nameless''s thoughts were floating as he read the list provided by his second brain. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The Old Gods were not stupid; they knew they couldn¡¯t win, so they sealed The First and created the fake universe to find a way to kill The First. But who would have thought, with the entire pantheon of gods cooperating. One of their plans was to take one step further, becoming a God. Not a real god, or true god, or supreme god. But God itself. Nameless became solemn when he learned about this another hidden agenda of the Old Gods for the fake universe. There was no need to stick to one plan, or run one plan after another for each failure, just run all of them and reap the one that works. As the silence continued, the white space underwent a dramatic change. The seemingly endless white space began to dissolve. Just like a painting submerged in water, the white space began to blur and disappear. The environment transformed into something they couldn¡¯t comprehend. It was not the Boundary nor was it chaos. But no one was in the mood to conduct an experiment with it right now, since the enigmatic figure began to act. There was a loud silent explosion that reverberated through space and time, as something tried to make a connection with the fake universe. Then a chant, full of the spirit of living beings. Filled with the charm of mortal worlds spread. ¡°There is a concept, and it¡¯s called life.¡± ¡°There is life, and it¡¯s called human.¡± ¡°The heart is empty, and the mind is thoughtless.¡± The three lines were chanted in quick succession, halting the unstoppable transformation of the surrounding environment. As if there was a chunk of metal stuck between the gears that were changing the environment. The enigmatic figure, Origin of Wisdom, made some ripples as they reacted to this sudden counter-attack. ¡°Equality,¡± in the most primal language that every living being understands, they chanted in a low tone. The momentum that Bone created by chanting the first three lines was directly disturbed, by one word of equality. The running gears seemingly gained a lubricant and continued to spin. To stop the impending doom, it was Farmer''s turn to continue the incantation. ¡°There is existence, that''s called Gods.¡± ¡°The power is endless and so with its reach.¡± ¡°The rules bend and stretch at will, and justice is missing.¡± The next chant gave a new power as black chains ran through the space connecting the new environment with something. The chains were thick and strong, forcefully halting the transformation. ¡°Equality,¡± Origin of Wisdom once again responded with their primal language. The thick chains that reached the horizon of the environment began to shake and let out cracking sounds as cracks began to spread on their bodies. ¡°Ridiculous!¡± Nine-tails couldn''t hold her dissatisfaction and spoke out. There was no need to elaborate more as time was of the essence here, but Nameless understood why Nine-tails was angry. A God, or something that reached that position, was competing with mortals in terms of legal jurisdiction. The chat group members wanted to bring out the justice of all living beings, but Origin of Wisdom denied this compliance by asserting equality in all things. Justice doesn¡¯t mean equality, but equality means justice. Equality was just a concept of everything being equal, but justice was a system created to protect the rights of living beings in accordance with humanity. Thus when Origin of Wisdom spoke of equality, it was like a college student asking for a trial of force with a group of five-year-old babies. Even if both parties were held in the most impartial situation, the fight itself was a big fraud. How could the chat group members fight a God? Even if they were at the pinnacle of this fake universe, they weren¡¯t the strongest. But seeing how Origin of Wisdom responded in this way, gave Nameless a new understanding of the real universe. ¡®In the great battle of The First and the entire pantheon of gods, he must also use justice. So when we used the same move, God already tasted it before and came up with a countermeasure.¡¯ As for the reason why Origin of Wisdom didn¡¯t directly break the bind of justice, it was because the power it drew was coming from the nightmares. The chaos creatures that the chat group members bred in their free time. The goal was simple; once the Old Gods descended into the fake universe, the chat group members would use this to hold them down. If they broke it by force, then the power of chaos would break the seal of the fake universe. Releasing The First. Even if they were killed in the process, at least they didn¡¯t die completely. No one was born as a slave; everyone longs for freedom. Instead of being trapped in this fake universe, the chat group members would rather sacrifice themselves to release The First. Then it was Ball''s turn to continue the chant. ¡°We stand above the myriad.¡± ¡°The judge is blind.¡± ¡°The trial shall begin.¡± The cracking chains suddenly became alive, turning into a snake-like entity and began to create a closed loop. The power of justice was not that powerful; at least, a boundary needed to be set first before enforcing its power. ¡°Equality,¡± Origin of Wisdom said for the third time. The snake-like entity that almost reached its own tail suddenly stopped and couldn''t move forward to close the loop. ¡°What kind of bullshit God are you?!¡± Nine-tails was shouting angrily; she then drew the power within her body to support the snake-like entity to bite its own tail. A God, the divine realm, omnipotent and omniscient. This was the chat group members'' definition of godhood. It was to separate the mortal realm and the divine. No matter how strong and smart one was, no mortal could fight against a God. If they could, then their enemies naturally were not a God but just a pig wearing a jeweled crown that proclaimed as a divine being. So instead, Nine-tails was not merely supporting the snake-like entity but ritually sacrificing herself in the name of justice. She would rather die in trying instead of being ridiculed by a God who wanted to bully mortals. A gap in thinking, a prolonged silence that compressed time occurred once again. Somehow, at some time a new figure appeared near Origin of Wisdom. A blinding light swept the surrounding, filled with warmth and positivity. Nine-tails'' sacrificial act was halted at that moment. Seeing the second God arrive in the fake universe, and more importantly stopped Nine-tails from sacrificing herself. The second brain that ran for the entire time in each of the chat group members'' heads came to a direct conclusion. ¡°Kakaka,¡± a crisp sound of bone hitting bone, resounded loudly as Bone laughed without holding himself. He looked like a comical lich instead. ¡°What a conspiracy, what a plan.¡± Farmer shook his head in realization. The chat group was the same in their hearts; thus, they had some common understanding about the nature of power. A God, who was omnipotent and omniscient, independent of everything, and a self-defining existence needed to come down into the fake universe to challenge them. What kind of joke is this? Don¡¯t they understand the implication of being omnipotent and omniscient? Don¡¯t they understand the implication of being a self-defining existence? They already achieved true freedom; time couldn¡¯t restrict them, and space couldn¡¯t confine them. One thought was enough to revert the future into the past, one thought enough to turn fantasy into reality. No limit. This is a God! So why bother to come up in person? Why bother to stop Nine-tails from sacrificing herself? Why not just use omnipotence and omniscience to deal with them? The reason was simple; the chat group members were their target. Emerging as the victorious clones of The First, they were the best mortals below the divine throne. In other words, it was the same. Never run the plan one by one; instead, spread the seed and watch which one would ripen first, then pick it up. The seed now already ripened; it was time to harvest it. Chapter 118 When the blinding light dissipated, the world changed. Nameless found himself in an unfamiliar place. It was like being inside an abstract painting with no form or shape, only colors blending on top of each other. With his sharp perception, he knew that space was distorted here; even the flow of time was weird. Although using the mathematical approach of existing the vector of space, there were indeed three dimensions. But the problem was, his intuition told him that there were only two directions. No, there was only one. Stopping his observation, Nameless focused his attention on the other existence in this place. Floating not far from him was an ordinary worm. An earthworm, with a length less than ten centimeters and a diameter less than the size of a nail. It was inconspicuous compared to the weird surroundings. Maybe it was the innate nature of every living creature to be wary of potential danger by ranking them from the most dangerous to least dangerous. Naturally, an ordinary earthworm wouldn¡¯t get any good rank in the danger priority. Or that should be the case. Abyssal Worm. A concept that defined itself; in the absence of language, everyone would understand what it meant. The proof of the divinity of a God. The corner of Nameless¡¯s eye couldn¡¯t help but twitch. He knew that his situation was not good, but seeing how Gods appeared one after another was not surprising anymore. But when a new one appeared, he couldn¡¯t help but curse. ¡°Oh, I always wanted to have a chat with you,¡± a terrifying and maddening raving exploded instantly. Nameless could understand what Abyssal Worm wanted to say, but the way it delivered it was inhumanely possible for Nameless to listen normally. A language that Gods used naturally contained profound truth in them; on top of that, each God was unique on their own. Abyssal Worm, as its divinity said, had a bad connotation. Every action and thought were enough to disrupt the fabric of reality, let alone a mortal like Nameless. Nameless began to mutate in a distorted way, each cell in his body suddenly gaining will on their own and trying to evolve on their own. The young man now turned into an inflated ball of unrecognizable lifeform. Flesh, teeth, tree bark, feathers, eyes, and various biological parts emerged. Even elemental and non-organic forms filled some vacancies. It only took a fraction of a second for Nameless to transform into an unspoken horror. Realizing its mistake, Abyssal Worm immediately canceled the transformation, and everything returned to normal. Nameless regained his human form, but there were no changes in his expression. His eyes were calm like water in the ancient well, undisturbed by wind and thunder. Fear, one of the most important emotions of humans, or rather all living beings. It was due to this emotion that living beings are able to sustain their fragile life amidst a dangerous world. But in the end, fear was just one of many emotions. When the living being no longer felt emotion, they turned into dead things. Unknown to fear, ignorant of death. Nameless, who was obsessed with self-control, naturally already immune to emotional changes. His mind was logical, only knowing ones and zeros; there was no such thing as the unknown. Even more so, he became even more obsessed with his ¡°humanity¡±; thus, he was like an addict that still retained his touch of emotion to keep his mind fluctuating. ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± Nameless asked casually; he already ran many calculations and found there was no escape. So, when everything was fixed, there were no variables left. Why bother to struggle? ¡°As expected of you,¡± Abyssal Worm nodded its head. ¡°From all kinds of lives, only you could stand in front of gods and remain unchanged. Unpretentious to the point of being pretentious itself.¡± ¡°Even as a clone, this quality of yours remains the same.¡± ¡°As you can see, I have already reached the level that you talked about before. The step that the native of this universe was unable to take. But there is something that I don¡¯t understand.¡± The earthworm wriggles slightly as if being frustrated. ¡°After sacrificing ourselves to seal you and putting up many plans, in the end, in that cramped space, someone finally was unable to contain themselves and started to devour the other gods. In an attempt to become the level that you are clamoring about.¡± ¡°In the end, that cramped space became another battlefield, with only a few survivors as the winner stood among the corpses of other gods.¡± ¡°You see, you see. This actually brought no change, although our power and strength reached a new level beyond our previous selves, it was actually slightly behind what we envisioned. So in the end, we can only find you, the clones, to resolve this final step of becoming a God.¡± Nameless calmly listened to the earthworm''s speech, but he wasn''t interested at all. It was not because he hated Abyssal Worm or anything; he already reached the state of no-self, no emotion. The reason was simple; he was being devoured right now. Abyssal Worm, as its divinity says, was the abyss of endlessness. The last step that the earthworm talked about was the characteristic of low-level creatures. The winners of the great cannibalistic war of Old Gods that Abyssal Worm talked about, nonetheless, were the powerful Old Gods. In other words, they were gods that were born from nature itself, an embodiment of a concept. Such as light, darkness, war, death, life, and more. Even after they reached the state of half-God where they are right now. They are unable to ¡°transcend¡± themselves due to their innate quality as an embodiment of nature. They had no self to speak of; they didn¡¯t have the quality of a living being. No matter how solid a shadow, it is still a shadow. When the light is gone, the shadow is also gone. ¡°So is this all predetermined? Was everything predestined before everything even started? Was fate really that whimsical?¡± Nameless talked to himself; he rarely spoke out his thoughts. But in this place, even if he didn¡¯t speak it out, the earthworm in front of him would know about it. ¡°Yes, yes, that¡¯s it!¡± the earthworm became ecstatic. It finally found the answer. Its small body squirmed and transformed into a human; the first appearance was very ugly. With asymmetric eyes, a wide nose, round ears, a small mouth, uncharacteristic teeth, and dissolved hair. Then it changed its appearance once again, replicating the image of Nameless. It was like looking in the mirror. Abyssal Worm didn¡¯t take any action as he just stood in his place, waiting and waiting. ¡°Abyssal Worm, the ¡°Abyss¡± means that it is a bottomless pit that knows no end. It is not that there is no end; the problem lies in the entrance itself. When there is no entrance naturally there is no end, but for those who found themselves inside the abyss naturally know that there is up and down.¡± ¡°But in fact, there is only a downward direction; the up was just an illusion of the abyss itself.¡± ¡°While the ¡°Worm¡± here means that creature that was looked down upon by others, squirming and living in a place that no one wanted to live on.¡± ¡°So when the two terms merged and became the proof of divinity, it means you.¡± Nameless stared at his copy with lifeless eyes that resembled a machine. ¡°To escape the restraints of this world, to become ¡°one,¡± not an embodiment. You need to distance yourself from the concept that created you. The best choice naturally is to transform into a real entity of the abyss.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ what a lame divinity you have. The abyss knows no end. The abyss is formless and shapeless; the abyss didn¡¯t exist; it is only a concept just like other concepts born throughout the evolution of civilization.¡± ¡°So what kind of abyss exists in this world yet doesn''t exist at the same time?¡± ¡°Something that is endless, something that knows no bound, something that seemingly has a beginning but doesn''t have it, something that has no beginning but has an end.¡± ¡°The more I think about it, the clearer the answer becomes. The abyss never meant to confine existence; it knows no limit, no bound; it exists everywhere, for it''s worth its name as the divinity of God.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you see? It was always there.¡± Nameless, who was like a machinal live, slowly became animated with life, the touch of living creatures. His eyes that didn¡¯t show any light started to gain their luster. ¡°Don¡¯t you see? It exists, and you are already there.¡± As if he were being controlled, Nameless mechanically started to talk to himself but in a different position from his original self. ¡°Don¡¯t you see? The abyss is here.¡± As the luster in his eyes intensified, his voice became more energetic. ¡°Don¡¯t you see? We are the abyss, and the abyss is us.¡± ¡°The thought of living beings only knows that it is thinking and never knows when it starts. They are already inside the abyss, and there is no escape.¡± ¡°Don¡¯¡­¡± As Nameless reached his peak of performance resembling that of a living human, his voice abruptly stopped as his figure blurred and merged with his surroundings. The abyss was devouring him, the process of thinking and pondering have no bounds. It, in itself, is the abyss that digests its owner. On another place. The sky was dark, and the ground was black. It was like a world of the end. Where death rests, and life becomes the memories of the past. Bone, with his lich body, was running while holding a greatsword. But Bone didn¡¯t move forward, as if being petrified while in motion. His body, the only thing that is different from the world, the soul fire in his eyes, no longer exists. On another place. Where the light becomes the only word in this world. Nine-tails was standing proudly with her hands both on her waist with a sneer on her face facing the radiant sun above. On another place. Color stacked, and chaos was present. A metallic ball that looked like it was made of water was standing quietly. On another place. A place that is full of plants and animals like an ancient paradise of life. Farmer was not found. . . . The real universe. The universe should suffice since the fake universe no longer exists. In the Dark Continent. A place where a great battle occurred long ago. Floating in the air were thick chains made of unknown materials; it began from the void and entangled in one place. In the center of the tangled chain was a man. But contradicting the eerie and desolate surrounding, the man actually looks like he was sleeping. His breaths were low, just like how someone was sleeping. The chain that was made of unknown materials trembled as the man¡¯s eyelids trembled slightly. One by one, the chain vibrated before starting to crack, and pieces of it fell down. Before reaching the ground, the chain fragments dissolved into the void, and not even dust was left. The man opened his eyes and found the scenery was exactly the same before he fell asleep. The sky was destroyed, the high roofs of the world were torn apart revealing a chaotic stream of chaos. The time was sluggish like a river water solidified. The boundless sea that connected various continents was missing. Far and close, various spatial rifts opened and closed revealing various dimensions that anchored to this world. When the man landed on the ground, the Dark Continent vibrated before finally turning into dust. Just like ancient relics that were hidden for eons, everything returns to dust and disappears into nothingness. ¡°Hey,¡± the man called as he stabilized himself by floating. He saw his previous landing caused a chain reaction that disturbed the fragile state of the world. Everything that was left began to dissolve one by one. Leaving only an empty world with many spatial rifts and chaos looming above the sky. He scanned his surroundings and found five figures. ¡°Origin of Wisdom, Everything That Is Known.¡± The man said as if reading something. ¡°Highest Light, Everything That Is Positive. Abyssal Worm, Everything That Is Left. Conclusion, Everything That Is Negative. Novelty of Life, Everything That Is Changed.¡± Each figure had their title read one by one by the man. ¡°Can you not be a show-off? I just woke up, and my eyes are rather sensitive.¡± The man squinted his eyes slightly as if being blinded by an eye-catching title floating above the five figures. The five Gods that successfully transcended the limit of the universe watched how the man talked casually with them. The man, naturally The First. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you guys talking?¡± The First asked with some dissatisfaction. He knew the temperament of those gods, but not these five who reached a higher level still want to continue this act? The First sneered. He had no respect at all, because he didn¡¯t know what fear meant. Origin of Wisdom, a clump of light that looks like various colors stacked together, the God that proved to be all-knowing and omniscient, unable to exert its authority over The First. ¡°It is still the trick from before.¡± A voice that had no sound could be heard spreading from the direction of the clump of lights. ¡°Tsk,¡± The First clicked his tongue, ¡°how long do you guys want to be in that form? It is unpleasant to the eyes.¡± Highest Light, a ball of immeasurable light being held by two metallic capes. Abyssal Worm in the shape of a limitless shadow of the abyss that stretches beyond the horizon. Conclusion, a mysterious figure that resembled nothing, having their body covered with a large robe with the position of the head was a triangle hood. The faces were covered with two black curtains that announced the show already ended. Novelty of Life, an amalgamation of various lives, all kinds of plants and animals. It''s hard to tell what kind of life they are. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, then no need to talk to me.¡± The First waved his hand to dismiss those hard to discern creatures. Calling them creatures itself was actually wrong. With their level, they knew that The First was still the same as before. They couldn¡¯t see his true strength. it was not that he was too strong, but rather the opposite. His condition was hard to define. Even Abyssal Worm, the one who rules over the ¡°abyss,¡± was unable to tell the depth of The First. ¡°Is this even possible?¡± Abyssal Worm asked in doubt. ¡°Are you the abyss or me?¡± When his thought came into being, the world trembled, and the whole universe was shaken by this simple question. Even the Abyssal Worm itself suffered some backlash from the universe, but it was unable to hurt it. The First ignored the question; he really couldn¡¯t withstand those abstract forms to talk to. ¡°It is still better for me to talk to a stone instead of you guys.¡± The First looked down trying to find a stone. But in this ruined world, where nothing was left, The First was unable to find a stone. So he could only kick his leg to show his distress. But there was no ground beneath his feet, so no dust was being kicked. Helpless in this empty world, The First could only sigh. Seeing The First had no intention to talk to them, the five Gods finally chose to transform. They all took the shape of a human. When The First looked at them, he couldn¡¯t help but frown. ¡°Hey, I seem to have seen this form before!¡± He pointed his finger at each figure. ¡°What do you mean you had seen this before? This is new!¡± Abyssal Worm tried to defend himself; he took the form of a male human. To be precise, it resembled Nameless by 76%. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The other four were the same; they had more than 50% resemblance to the chat group members. The First shook his head, not wanting to talk with Abyssal Worm; he knew this guy was like an abyss. There will be no end to having contact with him. With a wave of his hand, the empty world changed. A grand palace appeared. The First took the seat without any reservation and gestured to the five Gods to sit down. The tables were rectangular so on one side was The First alone while on the other side were the five Gods. The five Gods sat down, each of them conjured their own chair. But then The First and the other four Gods were dumbfounded when they saw Abyssal Worm choose to sit next to The First. ¡°What the heck are you doing here? Your place is on the other side.¡± The First cursed and kicked the chair next to him, but the chair didn¡¯t move at all. Abyssal Worm, which resembled Nameless, naturally had some ¡°edgy¡± characteristics on him. But when he acts or talks, the ¡°edge¡± turns into comedy. ¡°Why can¡¯t I sit?¡± Abyssal Worm put his hand on the table to hold his position even though it was unnecessary. ¡°Why!?¡± The First raised his voice. ¡°Because¡­ fuck you!¡± The First wanted to talk logically and then chose to give up and show his veteran side of being an internet user. Then he kept kicking the Abyssal Worm¡¯s chair. But no matter how strong he kicked it, it won¡¯t budge. But that didn¡¯t affect The First the slightest. While kicking the chair, his mouth kept shouting various kinds of insults. After five minutes passed and seeing how Abyssal Worm was unable to understand the meaning behind his curses, The First chose to give up and noted this in his mind. ¡°You never change,¡± Novelty of Life said to The First; her eyes were like butterfly wing patterns that were beautiful and enchanting. Her voice was like the warm sunlight in winter and cold breeze in summer. ¡°Rich coming from someone known as Everything That Changes.¡± The First didn¡¯t respond in kind and let out a sneer at the end of his words. ¡°I won¡¯t talk not until this little troublesome worm sits on the opposite side.¡± The First let out his ultimatum. The other four Gods looked at Abyssal Worm who was seemingly edgy but also honest at the same time. Highest Light, a woman with unparalleled beauty. With bright long hair, eyes carved from the most precious gems, the figure was like a mirror that reflected the most perfect ideal of those who saw her. In The First''s eyes, she looked like a beautiful goddess with great sexual attractiveness; it was a complete package of being mature and innocent at the same time. ¡°Why are you acting like a kid? You are no longer bound by your innate nature as the ¡°abyss.¡± Highest Light said kindly to the Abyssal Worm. ¡°Humph,¡± Abyssal Worm snorted in an innocent way. ¡°Although we are no longer bound by our innate nature, it doesn''t mean we are different from before. Don¡¯t you know that humans have a thing called personality? This is my personality as a living ¡°abyss.¡±¡± ¡°Whether it is the innate nature or personality, it is just the variable of living creatures, as long as you want to change it, there is nothing that can stop you.¡± Origin of Wisdom reminded. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to.¡± Abyssal Worm dropped his bomb, like a child refusing to back down. ¡°Then, so be it.¡± Conclusion said in a flat tone. Except for Abyssal Worm, the three Gods looked at him with different gazes. As Gods, their words were not merely extensions of their thought but also embodiments of their existence. So when a God known as Conclusion said something that was similar to a conclusion, then the thread of fate, river of destiny naturally followed suit. If he said so, then naturally the end is coming. As for what kind of ending, no one will know until the time arrives, but at least they know the time is close! Abyssal Worm, who chose to be the ¡°abyss,¡± resigned and stood up and dragged his chair to the other side. While doing so, the sound of him dragging his chair was like a melody of the abyss that was enough to distort everything. In the very end, he refused not to be the ¡°abyss¡±! Abyssal Worm chose to sit next to Highest Light on his left and Conclusion on his right. ¡°So, what do you want to ask?¡± The First no longer irritated as before and casually asked the five Gods. But he didn¡¯t wait for any quick response as he continued. ¡°You guys suppressed and tried to kill me in the past. Disregarding your status as gods, why?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t it because you guys are afraid of me? Afraid of me transcending this universe?¡± ¡°Although you guys were gods, you were no different than kings in the mortal world. Your power was granted by this universe. So when someone breaks the limit of this universe, whether they are hostile to you or not, the ending will be the same. You will die!¡± There was no conflict between the gods and The First, the only reason why they hunted him down was basically that his ascension in this universe would kill them. No personal feelings, just the business of life and death. ¡°But look now, you slandered me before with various derogatory terms and words. Calling me a heretic, traitor, or whatnot. Forcing the entire world to kill me.¡± ¡°Fucking bastard, now you are sitting in front of me achieving the level that I want to achieve and yet at the same time the thing you despise the most!¡± ¡°Fucking hypocrite!¡± The First couldn¡¯t help but curse and let out his hatred. As a mortal who transmigrated into this world, he suffered all kinds of misery and pains. It was simply because the gods were afraid of him taking a step that they were unable to take. He didn¡¯t care about the kingdoms, empires, and other worldly things in this world. He just wanted to grow stronger and achieve immortality like he always wanted to. But the world was not so kind, even if he dug up an underground cave, he was still being hunted down by the followers and believers of the gods. He didn''t even know the name of the gods at that time! If not for his experience of reading many stories and drawing wisdom from them, he might have died without knowing how he died. Naturally, if he didn¡¯t have that wisdom of various stories and didn¡¯t have the grand aspiration of achieving immortality, he wouldn¡¯t be hunted by the gods. Just like how a stupid dog wouldn¡¯t be killed by humans; instead, a rabid dog would. But who could be blamed for this problem? One only wanted to chase after his dream while the other only wanted to survive. No one was wrong, but both parties could have a discussion on how to resolve this problem. For example, helping the gods to free themselves from the rule of this universe so when The First ascended, the gods wouldn''t die. He indeed conveyed this idea. But he got slapped hard. Even if the gods didn¡¯t die, a new problem arose. Once The First ascended, he would be stronger than the gods. At that time, they would be at the mercy of The First. ¡°If you think about it clearly, the so-called god of wisdom, god of war, god of fate, god of shithead. If you didn¡¯t suppress and bully me back then, would I bother to wipe your poor asses?¡± The First didn¡¯t control himself as his saliva flew towards the five Gods. ¡°Stupid fucking retard, your mother gave birth to a mutt and sow!¡± Then The First continued to curse the five Gods. After expressing his buried hatred to the gods, The First calmed and chose to be silent. None of the Gods were talking, not even Abyssal Worm. Then it continued to be like this for a long time. Because the world was destroyed beyond recognition, it was hard to tell the time. Finally, The First spoke first. ¡°Then, what do you want to ask me?¡± He was indifferent and casual. ¡°Since you can think and open a path beyond this universe, which is the transcendent state, then you must know the next step, right?¡± Origin of Wisdom asked; he took the appearance of an old man. ¡°Why? You still want to be stronger?¡± The First asked tentatively with no interest. ¡°Why not?¡± Novelty of Life answered. ¡°Ha! Hahahaaha.¡± The First laughed when he heard this. He kept laughing until his stomach hurt and tried to calm himself, but seeing how the five Gods didn¡¯t find it funny and kept a serious or calm demeanor only made him laugh harder. It took him exactly four minutes and sixteen seconds before finally he could gather himself. If he hadn¡¯t read many self-fulfilling power trip fantasies in his previous life, he might also have wanted to be stronger. What else could be enjoyable than watching yourself getting stronger? Wasn¡¯t this the main attraction of many stories? To self-insert as the main character who gets stronger every five chapters? But after consuming so much of this trash, naturally, The First built up resistance, and he began to contemplate his taste in reading. If the goal was to get stronger, then nothing will remain at the end of the story. Even the so-called plot was nothing but a medium for the author to give the main character power-ups. The First shook his head at the five Gods. Maybe it was because they consumed the clones, so their personalities were affected or maybe because they were being reborn into a ¡°human¡± that made them desire something. As for the real reason, that doesn¡¯t matter. ¡°I do have an idea for the next step. Do you want to hear?¡± The First said with a smile; he wasn''t obsessed with power. He only wanted to live the way he wanted. For that, power was needed but not as the goal. The First pointed upward with his index finger, ¡°What do you think exists above us?¡± ¡°Higher dimension,¡± Abyssal Worm said confidently. It was not an assumption but a fact, as a transcendent being of this universe, naturally, he is aware of what exists beyond this universe. Then The First moved his index finger to the side. From right to left. ¡°What do you think exists on our side?¡± ¡°Another universe,¡± Abyssal Worm answered once again. ¡°Then congratulations! You have found your answer.¡± The First clapped and praised the five Gods mockingly. ¡°If you want to be stronger, then go to the higher dimension and become a god there. Then after that go to a higher-higher dimension and become a god there. Repeat and rinse.¡± Naturally, the five Gods were aware of this, but when they heard it from The First who had not ascended yet, they found it repulsive. ¡°There is no end to this stupidity. The only end that awaits you is when your power consumes you, and you are no longer yourself.¡± The First stated the fact. Even if he hadn¡¯t seen it with his own eyes, his own experience was enough to testify. ¡°Then even if you successfully reached the pinnacle of strength at some point for a period of time, what are you gonna do?¡± Everyone wanted to be stronger; they dreamed of picking the sun, the moon, and the stars. But when they become the strongest, they find themselves no longer able to enjoy anything. ¡°You don¡¯t seem confused; you must find a way, right?¡± Novelty of Life asked. ¡°Me? Why would I want to step on the endless stairs of dimension? Isn''t it better for me to build a new universe and become the sole ruler of that universe?¡± ¡°I can get whatever I want, doing whatever I want.¡± The First said with a mysterious smile. ¡°That''s too superficial of you.¡± Conclusion denied The First¡¯s plan. ¡°For someone who fought through the hell created by gods, your idea didn¡¯t have enough motivation.¡± Highest Light chimed in. The First smiled as he looked at the Highest Light. ¡°Then how about this? Let me have a good time with you, then I will tell you what my plan is.¡± Although they regain ¡°self,¡± the Gods are still not as conservative as true humans. Because of this, they didn¡¯t have a change of expression when they heard The First¡¯s vulgar request. Highest Light had nothing to lose, agreed. ¡°Okay.¡± Although she knew the meaning of ¡°having a good time,¡± she didn¡¯t find any problem with it.. The First laughed and stood up; then he picked Highest Light on his arm and began to do the deed on the table in front of the other four Gods. Only Abyssal Worm made some remarks on the progress as he learned something new. Maybe because Highest Light devoured Nine-tails, The First found her to be to his liking and couldn¡¯t help but extend the good time he had. The rectangular table couldn¡¯t help but tremble every once in a while. The air was full of a fishy smell as some suspicious liquid splattered around the table. ¡°Okay, that was a good time indeed.¡± The First slumped back to his chair like an ice cube melting under the sun. The smile on his face kept hanging unknown to him. While having some after taste, The First lazily forced his back to straight up and pinched the air with his right hand. A small light appeared between his middle finger and thumb. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡± "Another product from beyond this universe," Origin of Wisdom answered. "Correct, this thing is called the system." The First let go of his finger, and the light expanded, turning into an illusory panel. On the panel were emoticons of the system. "Who are you guys!?" The childish voice asked warily. The system could feel the terrifying power from the five Gods, but it was unable to discern The First. "Ah, you!" When the system recognized The First¡¯s face, it immediately thought of him as Niu Chang. "What did you do? Where is this?" With that, The First put away the system. "Do you see this shit?" He was energetic, just like when he rode Highest Light, his eyes brimming with light and ecstasy. "Isn¡¯t it just a system?" Abyssal Worm said. "Just a system? Do you have worms in your brain? Don¡¯t you realize what the existence of this system means?" Abyssal Worm felt offended and pouted. "Do you mean that there is a ''story'' ongoing?" Origin of Wisdom offered his idea. "Not bad, it is indeed like what you said. There is a ''story'' ongoing right now." When receiving confirmation from The First, the five Gods were immediately shocked. They vaguely understood what The First¡¯s next plan was. "Since we are within a ''story'' right now, and the main character already died, the ''story'' should have ended long ago, and the ''plot'' disappeared on its own." "But that is not the case right now." The corner of The First¡¯s mouth raised. He raised his head and his eyes penetrated into the distance barrier and saw a figure sitting down on a chair typing on their computer. But this feeling was vague. "The author had not finished yet," The First said seriously. "What kind of bullshit are you talking about?" Abyssal Worm was unable to tolerate this bullshit and copied The First¡¯s art of cursing. "Do you mean we are nothing but characters within a story? You mean I am only a fragment of thought from someone else somewhere unknown to me? This is ridiculous!" Abyssal Worm, who was acting casually just now, became enraged as the abyss descended from the void and extended to the horizon. "It''s up to you to believe it or not." The First just shook his shoulder and ignored the enraged Abyssal Worm. "Come to think of it," The First drew something in the air with his finger. A meticulous river of dimensions and universes appeared. Each had its own uniqueness, as The First¡¯s finger kept moving, the river expanded infinitely. "What do you think of infinity?" "Don¡¯t look at how it means very big, but focus on the chance of it. Tell me, in the span of infinity, what is the difference between 0.01% and 10%? In front of infinity, what is the difference between possible and impossible?" "This river, composed of various dimensions and universes, can you tell me which one is the first and which will be the end?" "I can¡¯t tell, I really don¡¯t know. But one thing is for sure, if I assume that a ''story'' means a new dimension and a new universe, then this might make sense." "One world might produce endless ''stories,'' resulting in an endless dimension and universe. At the same time, the order became chaotic, with no difference between the older and newer realities. Then you might ask, what about the natural dimension or universe? Naturally, it is also possible. There might be a dimension or universe that came into being by chance and not due to the effect of a ''story,'' but can you be sure in that dimension or universe for a long period of time there will be no ''story'' to happen?" "Just because the beginning of the dimension or universe is not the direct cause of a ''story'' doesn¡¯t mean it is independent from a ''story,'' just like our universe! We are not within the ''story'' at first, but we became one due to chance. Now can you see the path ahead?" The First was high-spirited and stood up from his chair. "Everything is a ''story,'' whether you agree or not, this is an irrefutable truth in front of you. So even if the stairs of dimension are endless, the ''story'' is not! To reach the end of this endless sea of ''stories,'' you need your own ''story,'' or at least use the ''story'' of others." "Ridiculous!" Abyssal Worm, unable to contain himself, stood up, pointing his index finger while shouting. "I thought that you had something in your mind, but in the end, you are still angry at us and utter this nonsensical bullshit!" Abyssal Worm turned his head left and right, looking at his fellow Gods. None of them had the similar outrage like him. Seeing this, his already thin patience reached its limit and started cursing. "Story this, story that, do you think you are special just because your previous idea was correct? What you have is nothing but a fluke; you depend on your unique insight from a different world and apply that idea here. You are a mere mortal, dare to speculate against the divine and yet unable to discern yourself." As Abyssal Worm continued his speech, The First was nonchalant. What he saw was an endless pit, the long tunnels squirming, letting in unrecognizable echoes that resounded beyond and further. Maybe it was his ''personality'' or maybe it is the abyss itself. Know no end, thinking itself has no end. Thus creating conflict and endlessly pursuing meaningless confrontation was in line with Abyssal Worm¡¯s divinity. For them, time no longer had meaning. As time passed, Abyssal Worm continued to talk to himself. Although he always pointed his actions and words directly at The First, no one cared about it. If you saw a worm squirming on the ground, would you care? It was until a clap stopped the echoing sound of the abyssal tunnel. Origin of Wisdom clapped his hands and stopped Abyssal Worm from continuing. Although they no longer cared about time, they still didn¡¯t want to continue to let it be wasted for something useless. At least not until they get everything they wanted from The First. "You said that everything is a ''story.'' Then I assume you are implying that in the boundless scope of everything and nothing, all of it was within a ''story.'' Now tell me, what is this big ''story'' about?" The First¡¯s expression changed when he heard this question; he had his own reasons as to why he is willing to talk, one of them was because it was more fun to discuss his idea with others. "Indeed, a good question. Even I overlooked this aspect to a certain point. But that is not important, isn¡¯t it?" The First smiled and continued. "The big ''story'' that contains every story. As I know, a story only has one reason to exist, which is to tell the event or experience within. If it didn¡¯t have this core concept, then it is not a story but just a book of general knowledge." "Maybe there is a big thing happening on a grand scale that we don¡¯t know right now. It might have already passed or it might be far in the future. Again, why does this matter? Does a cluster of ''stories'' mean that a big ''story'' needs to contain them?" "Who will be the author? Eh, that is another good question. But why do we care about it? Look, don¡¯t we all just want to get stronger forever and ever? Reaching the penultimate of everything and nothing? So, why bother with the big ''story''? Also, this big ''story'' doesn¡¯t mean it will end in the way you wanted." The First shifted his focus towards Conclusion, this man who grasped everything that was negative didn¡¯t choose the word of death or other similar term. But instead chose a conclusion, thus by nature, his ¡°personality¡± should match with the current topic. ¡°A story ended as soon as it started,¡± Conclusion said. ¡°To write a story means to tell something to the reader, which is the ending, the journey inside the story. Because of this, even if the big ¡°story¡± really exists, it wouldn''t matter because once it ends, another story will replace its place.¡± Conclusion already had an idea in his mind, as he looked at The First to confirm his guess. ¡°In everything and nothing, it is always in the state of existence. Meaning that a ¡°story¡± is always present to keep everything existing. There is no need for a big ¡°story¡±; even a single ¡°story¡± should suffice.¡± ¡°The past tells the ¡°story¡± of the future while the present tells the ¡°story¡± of the past, and the future will be the same. One turning into the other, and infinity was created.¡± ¡°There is no need to think about the big picture because the fundamentals of this concept itself is unreliable and not certain.¡± ¡°So the focus needed to be set on the goal in the first place; the goal was to go further in search of greatness.¡± ¡°The story ended as soon as it started.¡± Conclusion repeated this sentence with deep meaning. ¡°It means, even if there is no big ¡°story¡± enveloping every other ¡°stories¡±, we are all trapped within its boundary, forever existing in a state of non-existence since it is trapped in the circle of mutual destruction.¡± ¡°When the meaning of positive exists, then it also defines the meaning of negative. But the stories are different; they only exist within the book and never present in any form.¡± A sneer escaped from Abyssal Worm¡¯s mouth, but no one cared about him. Highest Light, in correspondence to being ¡°positive,¡± presented her thoughts. ¡°So you are saying that we are not real? That is not necessarily the truth.¡± ¡°Since we ¡°exist,¡± then there must be hope.¡± Her eyes gleaming with brilliant light. Novelty of Life nodded. ¡°When there is life, then there are changes. Since we already know about this. It is only a matter of working hard to achieve it.¡± Then her mouth curved in a meaningful way. ¡°And everything is based on the premise of what he said about the concept of "story".¡± In the end, everything was indeed only The First¡¯s speculation about how to reach the penultimate strength. Deep inside, The First already abandoned other paths because he found that the endless stairs of dimensions were really endless. No end to it, just like a story; it only ended because the author said so. But for the reader, they still had their real life and can continue to read other stories. ¡°So, tell us. The goal of your idea,¡± Origin of Wisdom said. The First shook his head honestly, ¡°I¡¯m thinking of a place that escapes the ¡°story¡±. Yes, it is not a level or a state, but a place. A place where everyone was no longer controlled by any stories, and instead, they could observe this whole bundle of messed up balls of stories from that place.¡± ¡°A place? Destination?¡± Origin of Wisdom echoed his thoughts in a low voice. ¡°What do you call that place?¡± Abyssal Worm asked impatiently. ¡°The True Ending?¡± Conclusion answered the question and at the same time hinted The First to confirm his guess. ¡°The True Ending?¡± The First repeated it in his mouth as if he was chewing bubble gum. ¡°No,¡± The First shook his head to deny this answer. Conclusion thought for a while and then stopped midway. ¡°I can¡¯t think of another answer. The story ended as soon as it started. A place beyond it, naturally a conclusion of everything, where no story exists. If it is not the true ending, what will it be?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be too trapped on the ¡°conclusion¡± itself. As you know, a story needs the author and the author needs the reader. If it was called the True Ending, are you sure that there is really no continuation? What about the possible outcome from different choices that the readers thought of? Even if the story is already finished, some readers might think of the continuation inside their head.¡± The First spoke from his own experience; it was like an aftertaste after finishing a story. One couldn¡¯t help but think about what will happen if this happens and what will happen afterward. ¡°There is no ending to a story. There will only be the beginning but not the ending. This is why the infinity exists; once a ¡°story¡± sprouts, countless ¡°stories¡± emerge, creating what exists right now.¡± Seeing that the five Gods were waiting for his answer, The First said it without any suspense. ¡°I call it Hiatus. Or rather, Indefinite Hiatus.¡± ¡°The author might label their stories as completed or finished, but in reality, the world where the stories took place will continue to advance even if there are no longer continuation works from the author. Only by acknowledging it as hiatus would it be acceptable as completed and ongoing at the same time.¡± ¡°Only in Indefinite Hiatus will I escape the current ¡°story¡± I¡¯m in and rightfully escape from its grasp.¡± As soon as The First finished talking, the universe was shaken. The universes on the same level as the current universe level started to resonate with the universe; the invisible endless stairs of dimensions slowly emerged, revealing its steps in the voids as the higher-dimensional universe tried to open a passage to the current universe. Even those from lower-level dimensions higher beings tried to climb up to this current universe. Beyond the universes and the endless stairs of dimension, the unknown and the chaos, the creatures of that place set their sight on the current universe and swarmed. Just like how sharks swarm when they smell blood. The dimensional barriers of the current universe were like a paper in front of the emerging creature that was coming in. It had no power to stop them. While the five Gods stared at The First with peculiar expressions, there was shock, disbelief, envy and more. They thought The First would need more time to achieve his goal, but all he needed was actually a single thought to reach his goal. Only Conclusion could see the truth behind this. Maybe it was because of his divinity as ¡°conclusion¡± that he was aware of this, another reason was that The First was within the scope of this universe thus making him as a God have authority over him. The First was looking ahead, as his eyes penetrated the infinity. Conclusion followed this gaze and saw various visions; he looked through many windows of various sizes that unfamiliar phantoms looked at him and the whole universe from a restricted-omniscient perspective. Then he looked at the most conspicuous vision among the many, one rectangular window. Behind it, he saw a figure sitting on a chair with their finger dancing on something while watching the universe develop according to their will. With every push of their finger, the future was shaped. Retracting his gaze, Conclusion looked at The First who was nonchalant at the breaking of the universe. A formidable and terrifying aura pressed down from the future that blocked every change of the present. But this terrifying power is unable to change the future of The First. The First slowly stands up from his chair while being undisturbed by the power beyond the universe. He stared at the five Gods one by one, he gave a kind smile to them and bade farewell. ¡°This is the end of this story. Thank you for helping me to let this develop in this way, if it is possible let''s meet again in another place at another time and in another ¡°story.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª The End ¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª¡ª To Be Continued in Indefinite Hiatus ¡ª¡ª¡ª