I Was Killed First, Then Killed in Return—Justifiable Self-Defense!

"Turning back into a human was actually very simple. You could actively deactivate the Boss Template at any time and return to human form. In human form, you could also activate the template at any time and load the Tiger Demon Form. But I wouldn't recommend doing that yet. Wait a little longer."

"Oh? Why?" The fierce tiger was puzzled.

Snake Snake said, "Did you see the Health Bar? It hasn't fully recovered yet. Your human body died from excessive blood loss, and it was the Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture's Divine Descent that allowed your soul to transmigrate successfully. Your current flesh was protected beneath the Boss Template's coverage and shared its health and mana regeneration benefits. Since your health hadn't fully recovered, it meant the Tiger Demon itself was injured, and your human body was being repaired as well. So wait until your health reaches 100% before undoing the transformation. Then you'll be a fine man again!"

Yuan Zhu was delighted. "With the Boss Template backing me, wouldn't that mean any illness or injury could be bugged into healing from now on? That's good news."

"Correct. But the Boss Template had its limits. It only worked on diseases and fatal injuries at the ordinary human level. If a limb was severed and lost, it might not grow back. And injuries, curses, extraordinary diseases, and so on caused by other Pollution Sources... those were unknowns."

Yuan Zhu was not disappointed. "That's still incredible. Even a fatal wound through the heart can be repaired. That's heaven-defying!"

The Little Elf hurriedly added, "There's something else you need to keep in mind. In Tiger Demon Form, your health and mana regeneration can be applied to your human body as well. But in human form, you only receive the Immortal Scripture's most basic Soul Firewall protection. Beyond that, you won't receive a shred of support."

Kitty was stunned. "Why? You're discriminating against humans. How dare you?!"

The Snake Sprite remained unmoved and answered calmly, "Because demonic beast—aberrant—spirit roots are precious hidden resources. They should never have appeared on you. If the Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture hadn't suffered pollution that leaked hidden data, and if I hadn't intercepted it in time as compensation, you would never have come into contact with it."

"Under normal circumstances, users like you would load the Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture client after safely arriving in the Cultivation Universe, receiving an ordinary cultivation panel. Guided by the Game Sprite, you would access spiritual qi resources and cultivate techniques. Through your own efforts, you would search for and accumulate heavenly treasures, then synthesize an Ordinary Spirit Root based on your own attributes. That was the orthodox way to play cultivation!"

"But now, you loaded an Aberrant Spiritual Root and ascended to the heavens in a single step. Outside your human form—your ordinary panel—you gained a demonic beast transformation out of thin air. Once you deactivate the Boss Template, this power will be concealed within a unique space opened in your soul data, undetectable to the outside world. You will only present yourself as an ordinary human panel."

"In the gaming terminology inside your head, that meant dual classes, dual templates, plus a hidden bloodline—and it won't affect any cultivation in your human form. In other words, if you suddenly decide you don't want to be human someday, you might even have the possibility of dual bloodlines. Though strictly speaking, the Tiger Demon had gone beyond the scope of a bloodline. It was more like a special independent shell. It was somewhat similar to the Susanoo from your memories."

Yuan Zhu was thoroughly shocked. He climbed to his feet and tried moving his limbs, carefully sensing every inch of change in his body. It was no different from a real body of flesh and blood.

"Then is my current Tiger Demon Body actually Yuan Zhu's human body? Do I have two bodies?"

The Snake Sprite said, "I can't explain that. It's too profound. I'm only an ordinary beginner tutorial guide sprite. All I know is that the Tiger Demon's bloodline information has all been written into the Aberrant Spiritual Root. Now that spirit root is planted deep within your soul and has fused with you. When you activate Tiger Demon Form, you must rely on your human body. When you return to human form, you will disconnect from the Boss Template, leaving it running only in the background to provide the most basic Soul Firewall service."

Clear, stupid foolishness shone from Kitty's eyes. "Amazing! I think I understood something? But only a tiny little bit."

Snake Snake's eyes were equally vacant as she nodded fiercely. "Right, right, I kind of understand, but not really."

This tiger and snake, the two parties involved with "Aberrant Spiritual Roots," clearly understood nothing. Yet one dared to teach while the other dared to believe, and their exchange was remarkably pleasant.

The Skull Snake Head shook its empty cranium and cried out, "Oh no, why is my Soul Program getting laggier and laggier? The more I think, the slower I become. Am I growing a brain?"

The dark Kitty was likewise immersed in the changes to her snake tail, muttering to herself, "Wonderful. I'm gradually understanding everything!"

Just as the tiger head and snake tail were about to fall into an infinite loop, a mental alarm from the Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture pulled them both out of the whirlpool of stupidity.

"Uh... →→," "←←... mm."

Silence was the Cambridge of this night.

At that moment, the Game Sprite suddenly broke the silence and shifted the blame. "Actually, I was born less than half an hour ago. I'm still very immature, a newborn as blank as a sheet of paper. I hadn't had time to construct my own logical model, nor had I accumulated even the slightest wisdom or experience of life. The only reason I can communicate now is because I rely entirely on your thought patterns and access your memory bank. That's how I can connect with you mentally, use the language you understand best, understand you better, guide you, and assist you."

Yuan Zhu said, "Forget it. I forgive you. You're only a user manual that temporarily became a spirit. How could I possibly have expectations of you? People must rely on themselves. Once I return to human form, how should I handle injuries?"

Little Tail eagerly offered advice. "Two methods. First, find an uninhabited place, enter Tiger Demon Form, absorb Shadow Power, and repair your human body. Second, don't activate the Boss Template. Remain purely human and slowly recuperate until you recover. Completely separating human form from the Boss Template is actually a protective measure. It was originally meant to prevent powerful natives of the cultivation world from detecting the Boss Template hidden within a user's body. With an innocent body plus a Synthesized Spirit Root—an ordinary client—you could blend into a sect and cultivate."

"If you were seriously injured while under the Boss Template's enhancement, you would passively regenerate health every moment. Such an obvious abnormality would inevitably attract attention. Then someone might search your soul and probe your spirit, forcing out the secrets hidden deep in your soul and exposing the Immortal Scripture Old Geezer... The company predicted this loophole long ago. To you, your life was most important. But to the company, you weren't important. Hiding the Immortal Scripture Old Geezer was the top priority."

"Users were cheap. They could die at any time and be replaced at any moment. Besides, you weren't even a legitimate user. As for me, I'm polluted abnormal data and risk being detected, killed, and erased. I was also born because of you, a part of your soul. So we're naturally on the same side. We should cooperate with each other, dig into the Immortal Scripture's foundations, proceed step by step, first break free of control, then grow bigger and stronger, and create glory together!"

As she grew more excited, the bone snake sprite twisted violently, her body clattering and clicking. If snakes could grow arms, Yuan Zhu felt as though he could already see her spreading them wide to embrace the image of success.

"That's enough. Calm down. I agree to cooperate! The Great Wilderness Old Scoundrel treated me without benevolence and used me as a pawn, so don't blame this king for being unrighteous! Blow up its gold coins and seize its inheritance."

The Little Elf immediately became excited. "That's right! Even if it gave you the chance to transmigrate and be reborn, gave you the Boss Template cheat, repaired your injuries, gave you a Soul Firewall, and would even provide a new client for your human form, it had no good intentions! We should blow the hell out of it!"

Yuan Zhu said, "You said that very well. Next time, hold it in."

The black Tiger Demon noticed that his health had reached 100%. Then he turned and swept his gaze over the bloodstains, severed limbs, and wreckage scattered throughout the dim hall. The air was thick with the smell of blood, along with the sickening stench emitted by chunks of Demonic Beast flesh...

It truly was a filthy hell on earth. Even without a cleanliness obsession, he could not stand it. If he did not need to draw Polluted Spiritual Qi from the shadows beneath his feet to restore health and mana, he would not have wanted to remain another second.

"I can't stand this damned place anymore! My health is full now, and I don't plan to stay any longer. It's time to explore the world outside!"

He had transmigrated to another world, encountered an Evil God Sacrifice Ritual, happily gained a cheat, and slaughtered in all directions. Now the youth was high-spirited—it was precisely the age to go out and make his way in the world.

The Shadow Tiger Demon's snake tail had ideas of her own. She suddenly slithered, tugging at the vertebrae like an extendable soft whip, then shot outward and snatched up a pocket watch that had fallen to the ground before snapping back.

She bit open the watch cover, caught the golden chain between her teeth, and slithered along the black tiger's spine to near its neck. Then she raised herself high and let the watch face hang before the Tiger Demon's eyes.

"Look, it's already 3:00 in the afternoon. Time is tight. It's time to act, erase the clues you left behind, destroy the evidence, and take the first step toward clearing your name!"

The youth was high-spirited—what a splendid age to clear one's name and escape punishment! He couldn't have just transmigrated, just turned eighteen, and already attained enlightenment at Longchang, could he?

"Clear my name?" Yuan Zhu froze, his voice filled with confusion and bewilderment.

The Snake Sprite nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes. You had only just transmigrated when you were swept into a vicious murder case, and now you have become the sole survivor. So let me ask you: do you think you can still quietly blend into this world and adapt to it like those ordinary Transmigrators?"

Only then did Yuan Zhu realize that his identity in this world was merely that of an ordinary eighteen-year-old working youth. He had studied diligently for eighteen years, never encountered any extraordinary power, and had no roots or backing. Then, in an instant, he had been dragged into this Sacrifice Ritual and reduced to a sacrifice.

If he had not transmigrated, this would have been a murder case involving seven deaths. But now...

The Little Elf added, "Now it has escalated into an especially vicious murder case involving forty-one deaths! It also involves multiple types of Pollution Energy from unknown sources and the descent of an Evil God, making the nature of the case even more severe. The most urgent matter is finding a way to shake off the suspicion on you!"

"Holy shit! Forty-one people?!"

The fierce tiger was stunned. He sprang up with a whoosh and asked in disbelief, "What did you say?!"

"I watched coldly from beginning to end. There were thirty-four fanatical believers in total, corroded and twisted by different Pollution Sources until they aberrated into indescribable Demonic Beasts. Then the other six corpses also rose and underwent aberrant transformations. So, Your Majesty personally slew forty-one Aberrant Fiends that threatened public safety. You slew demons and eliminated fiends, carrying out justice on behalf of Heaven! Your merit was boundless. Unfortunately, this wasn't the Immortal Dao Universe. Otherwise, with the Merit Golden Light on your body alone, you could have cleared yourself of all charges."

The Tiger Demon Great King's sycophantic Little Elf hurriedly offered flattering counsel, building up her boss's mindset and easing his guilt.

"Yes, that's right, exactly! This king was a victim too. I was fighting back passively. I was killed first and killed in return afterward—absolute justifiable self-defense. Besides, when I acted, those people were no longer human. They were Demonic Beasts twisted by pollution. I was saving the world. And the one who truly acted was you. There was only one truth: you were the murderer! You used Universe Within the Belly to devour those fiends."

Yuan Zhu decisively dumped the blame onto his own tail.

The Little Elf nodded again and again, forcefully taking the blame. "Ah, yes, yes, yes! That was exactly how it was. But Great King, one tiny word in your phrasing was improper. It wasn't devouring—it was sealing and containing. I, too, am a partner of justice. And you are justice!"

"Well said! Keep it up next time."

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