3: The Devouring Fiend

After a brief exchange of small talk, Hua Xiong got to the point. “Compared to An Zhongyuan and Ji Yao, the one I have the highest hopes for is you. Don’t be fooled by the prestige of the Xuanyuan Military Academy—though it’s filled with the Emperor’s protégés, how many can truly catch his eye?

You possess a lotus constellation fate chart with the potential of one hundred and eight stars, and were born with an accompanying star treasure.

Chen Longshi, when you first enrolled, you set the academy’s all-time record for innate talent. That kind of natural aptitude stands shoulder to shoulder with the super-geniuses from the Forbidden City Military Academy. I know you haven’t given your all in previous end-of-term exams. So, how about it—do you feel confident about this trial?”

Chen Longshi didn’t answer immediately. After a few moments of contemplation, he said, “Teacher, I heard that Madam has a ninefold-restricted sword scabbard star artifact. If you could borrow it for me, I can guarantee a spot in the top fifty.”

Hua Xiong was surprised. “The scabbard is only a first-tier star artifact—she hasn’t used it in ages. With how much your teacher’s wife appreciates your talent, if you perform well, she might even gift it to you as a graduation present. But you’re only confident about the top fifty?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Chen Longshi replied, “Then… the top ten?”

Hua Xiong strode over and clapped him heavily on the shoulder. “Top three. If you can’t guarantee a top-three finish, don’t even think about it.”

Chen Longshi could only manage a wry smile. “I’ll do my best.” Though his words were habitually modest, he felt a warmth in his heart—he could sense Hua Xiong’s genuine care and support, something he’d rarely experienced in his previous life.

Back at the dormitory, Chen Longshi shared information about the Sword Mound Secret Realm with Daxiong, extorting three days’ worth of gourmet food in the process, then retired to his own room. Once his mind had settled, he prepared for his routine meditation cultivation when a swarm of text, like floaters in his vision, suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Thinking it was a hallucination, he shook his head vigorously, but the “floaters” only grew clearer.

A faint virtual panel materialized in his vision, leaving him stunned. “System? Is that you?”

There was no reply, but his heart burned with excitement.

“So, in this life, my identity really is extraordinary!”

He forced himself to calm down, checked the doors and windows, then sat back on his bed and summoned the “system” again.

[Name]: Chen Longshi
[Age]: 20/30
[Life Level]: Bronze
Strength: 12.6, Agility: 14.6, Constitution: 16.5, Spirit: 49.9
(Note: For ordinary people, the limit for strength, agility, and constitution is 2. Breaking this is Iron rank; Iron rank attributes are 2~10, Bronze rank is 10~30.)
[Constellation Fate Chart]: Ninth-grade Reincarnation Purple Lotus (108 stars)
[Soul Scripture] (Supreme Level): First Layer, Dao Thought Born (99%)
Inheritance supreme soul cultivation method from the Reincarnation Purple Lotus; [Accompanying Star Treasure]: Ninth-grade Reincarnation Purple Lotus (Low-grade Soul Treasure)
[Martial Cultivation]: Star-forging Realm, Ninth Grade
[Basic Martial Skills]: Basic Footwork, Basic Swordsmanship, Basic Blade Technique, Basic Spear Technique, Basic Parry, Meditation and Breathing…
[Star Techniques]:
Iron: Star-forging Nine Movements, Star Power Sensitivity, Prelude to Stellar Guidance
Bronze: Star-forging Eighteen Movements Third Layer (63%)/Sixth Layer (max)
Turtle-Serpent Body Tempering Third Layer (12%)/Sixth Layer (max)
Intermediate Stellar Guidance Sixth Layer (max)
[Star Skills]:
Iron Rank: Instant Step, Chain Thrust, Shield Block, Moonlight Slash
Bronze Rank: Swift Step (max), Meteor Spear (86%), Counter Shield (max), Nine Extremes Swordplay (82%), Star-Moon Chain Slash (94%)

…

[Symbiotic Monster]: Devourer Fiend (Iron Rank), Juvenile, Awakening Rate 95%
Talent 1: Devour Evolution
Talent 2: Monster Belly Space
Talent 3: Monsterification

…

He had no idea whence this system had come, but this string of simple data was a brief summary of his twenty years in this life.

Until now, Chen Longshi had always found it strange: with such outstanding talent, the academy’s full support, friendly peers, and the nation’s expectations—by all accounts, he was the model of an upstanding youth. Why would he ever need to become a traitor to humanity?

Only now, after seeing the system panel, did he realize he’d been ensnared from the beginning.

Unwittingly, he’d become a lab rat for some clandestine experiment, all without his knowledge.

The “Symbiotic Monster”—how could he not recognize that name? Wasn’t it the ultimate weapon of the first arc’s major antagonist?

Monsters were the common enemy of humanity; after a decade of hatred and bloodshed, this had become an unbreakable law.

Yet so few humans possessed the aptitude for cultivation. Thus, a group of idealists, secretly funded, devoted themselves to using science to grant non-cultivators the ability to cultivate by harnessing monster power.

The experimental methods were myriad: organ transplants, gene splicing, monster egg parasitism, and so on.

But this experiment had long since been branded top forbidden by the world government. One hidden base after another had been wiped out.

Why? The death rate was too high. The rare survivors mutated into neither man nor monster—their fates were tragic. Even those lucky enough to live often lost their minds, going berserk and unleashing havoc. In the end, they no longer knew if they were human or fiend. Worse yet, unlike monsters, these hybrids were indistinguishable from regular people until, at any moment, disaster struck.

Such abominations were living time bombs in human society. The ban came as no surprise.

This much he’d learned from academy archives and some film clips, but clearly the experiments hadn’t been eradicated—indeed, they’d already infiltrated the very halls of power.

Though Chen Longshi kept a low profile, his reputation at the Nine-headed Bird Military Academy was real. For someone to make him an unwitting subject of a secret experiment suggested the involvement of truly formidable forces.

His predecessor had been careless indeed. How could a top student at the academy fall into such a trap so easily?

But then, if not for that accident, he wouldn’t have been reborn.

Antagonist? Half-monster lord? Was there truly no escape?

His fists clenched involuntarily at the thought.

Fortunately, the symbiotic monster had not yet awakened; even with current technology it would be impossible to find. Perhaps a master might sense its presence, but he dared not seek one out—he couldn’t exactly cut out his own heart.

What shocked Chen Longshi most—his life expectancy was only thirty years!

He’d already broken through the Iron rank barrier; even the weakest should live to a hundred. How could he be so short-lived? It had to be the symbiotic monster experiment’s fault, and he refused to accept it.

Thankfully, lifespan wasn’t fixed—improving one’s life level would naturally extend it.

But there was another issue. The conspirators who’d selected him for the experiment—why had they arranged his death? Now that he’d been resurrected, if they discovered it, they would not sit idly by.

At present, he was clueless about their intentions.

If the plot followed the script, the “Dragon” as the ultimate villain would surely be unscathed.

It was all terribly unsettling.

He wracked his brains but could find no solution.

A sense of urgency surged within him, as if someone were forever chasing him with a blade. Since his rebirth, he’d been calm and unhurried—now, at last, it was time for a change.

His strength, ultimately, was far from enough. If he wanted to seize control of his fate, he had a long road ahead.

Of course, Chen Longshi was not without cards to play. “I don’t believe it—a mere symbiotic monster can outmatch a soul treasure?”

The supreme scripture, Soul Scripture, inherited from the Reincarnation Purple Lotus, was at a critical juncture. He was only a day or two from breaking through the first realm, “Dao Thought Born.”

…

This was no film world.

In his previous life, the popcorn movies he’d seen were all fast-paced, with quick cuts—never would they show a villain slowly training and growing stronger. But now, he had to strengthen himself day by day, and this process felt all the more real. For instance, the Soul Scripture—there was no mention of it in any memory from his past life.

It seemed that everything from his former world—films, comics, games—could only serve as reference. This was a real world, filled with unknowns awaiting his exploration.

That, perhaps, was more exciting. If he were truly omniscient and omnipotent, what would be the point of crossing worlds?

The Chen Longshi of this world had already broken through the physical limits of ordinary men and ascended to Iron rank before enrolling at the academy.

In three years at military school, his progress had been meteoric; he’d reached the Bronze rank.

But Bronze was merely the backbone of the martial world.

Every martial artist was limited in the grade of techniques they could cultivate. To recklessly attempt higher star techniques beyond one’s life level was dangerous—at best, it would cripple you; at worst, your body would explode.

This was Martial Arts 101—common knowledge.

Still, there were always exceptions—those who could “cheat.” In the original film universe, there were a handful of lucky ones who, even at the lowest levels, gained access to profound techniques.

The Soul Scripture was just such a rule-breaker; it allowed him to cultivate his soul without any foundation.

What was a supreme-grade scripture? In two lifetimes, Chen Longshi had never even heard of such a thing.

The highest-level star techniques known to humanity were legendary grade. The Supreme Commander of the Huaxia Empire’s military, King Zhoufo, possessed such power.

But as for the might of a supreme scripture—he could only imagine.

Its difficulty, however, he had personally experienced.

Chen Longshi was in the Star-forging Realm. His graduation thesis was “The Stellar Power Cultivation Pyramid and the Star Skill/Star Art Skill Tree System,” fundamentally a study of “How important is talent in cultivation?”

For example, his 108-star potential fate chart didn’t show its full advantage early on. But whatever star technique or skill he tried, he could learn with ease—the rest was a matter of time and practice. Real potential would burst forth after condensing his star cores.

Others could form 27, 36, 45, or 54 star cores—he could reach 108. The difficulty rose with potential, but so did his star power capacity, essential for using star skills.

Most crucially, it vastly increased his foundation for breaking through to higher realms. Many spent their lives striving for martial mastery, only to be thwarted by limited talent.

Such was the advantage of the truly gifted.

Yet the difficulty of a supreme star scripture was even more staggering.

Just to complete the first layer required fusing three million six hundred fifty thousand threads of vitality into one fundamental Dao thought, tempered and refined countless times.

His predecessor, with all his diligence and 108-star talent, had been ceaselessly cultivating ever since awakening his fate chart—eight years in all.

In those eight years, he’d reached just 70% progress. When Chen Longshi crossed over and the two souls merged, only then did Soul Scripture break through to the threshold of the first realm, “Dao Thought Born,” soaring straight to 99%.

Three million six hundred fifty thousand streams of vitality surged and roiled in his sea of consciousness.

Breaking through the first layer—Dao Thought Born—would happen today.