The Beginning of Disaster

Fan An was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the Taihe Year Six. Jinshi was well-versed in poetry and literature from a young age and had the ambition to govern the country and bring peace to the people. After becoming an official, he worked diligently and achieved remarkable political achievements, eventually rising to the position of Governor of East Province.

Fan An cared deeply for the country and its people. During his tenure as an official, he was diligent in his duties and loved the people. Under his rule, the people lived in peace and prosperity. However, one thing always weighed on Fan An's mind.

That's the Greenwood Bandits!

In the world of Martial World, Jianghu sects are rampant. Relying on their overwhelming martial prowess, they completely disregard the law, even unilaterally defining their spheres of influence, seizing land, and plundering the people's wealth.

In many places, ordinary people don't even know the emperor; they only know the local sect Sect Leader. Even the smooth functioning of government offices depends on the whims of these local sects.

The imperial court had been troubled by this for many years and had even organized campaigns to suppress bandits. However, these Martial World sects had been operating in the local areas for many years, with deep roots and controlling a large amount of resources. For generations, the ambition of young people was not to pass the imperial examinations and serve the country, but to join the local sects, learn unparalleled martial arts, and become great heroes. Especially those famous sects, with tens of thousands of disciples, whose martial arts were extremely Gao Qiang, were practically no different from warlords who controlled their own territories.

Facing these powerful sects that have been passed down for hundreds of years, eradicating them is no easy task. The repeated bandit suppressions have only depleted the national treasury and brought nothing but turmoil and famine. Over time, the imperial court has come to accept their existence, and a tacit understanding has been reached between local officials and sects, allowing them to coexist peacefully in a delicate balance.

However, Fan An disagreed with this situation... In his view, national governance must be based on the law. These martial arts sects operate outside the law, acting according to so-called loyalty and martial arts rules, placing themselves above the common people and even local officials. Whether the people of a region can live in peace depends entirely on the conscience of the local sects. This is a huge destabilizing factor for the country and its people!

And in the East Province under his rule, there was such a powerful sect— the Dragon Palace.

This sect is located in the Eastern Sea, and its Sect Leader is none other than the Dragon Mother Ao Zhen, one of the Four Sages and Three Wonders Masters in the Martial World!

This sect's main area of activity was in the towns and fishing villages of the Eastern Sea Islands and the mainland coast. Whether fishermen went out to sea to fish or merchant caravans went out to trade, the Dragon Palace would take a cut. Over time, the people became accustomed to the existence of the Dragon Palace and even voluntarily handed over their taxes, more so than when paying taxes to the imperial court.

These places are the most prosperous regions in the East Province. The residents here only recognize the Dragon Palace and not the imperial court, which not only seriously affects local fiscal revenue but also threatens the prestige of the imperial court. For this reason, Fan An has submitted several memorials to the court, requesting that the imperial court send troops to conquer the Dragon Palace.

At that time, the previous emperor had just passed away and a new emperor had ascended the throne. The new emperor was young and impetuous, and he was still full of anger because of the Sword Saint Sect. When he saw Fan An's memorial, he immediately felt that these Martial World sects should be taught a lesson. So he overruled the objections of others and issued an imperial edict to mobilize troops to attack the Dragon Palace!

Fan An reached out and groped around, quickly touching something cold; he was locked in an iron cage...

The imperial court wasn't stupid. Dragon Mother Ao Zhen was a powerful figure in the Eastern Sea, with tens of thousands of disciples and dozens of warships under her command. Not to mention that her Dragon Palace was isolated overseas, she was a force to be reckoned with even on land. Therefore, they had never adopted Fan An's memorial.

That wasn't the end of it. Later, Fan An suffered retaliation from the Dragon Palace. An Assassin broke into his house under cover of darkness and killed his entire family of fifteen. In the end, only Fan An survived because of a birth defect in which his heart was located on the right side.

The Dragon Palace seemed to have known about the imperial court's bandit suppression plan for a long time. They had a clear understanding of everything from the number of troops and their marching routes to even the ambushes secretly deployed. The navy had just set sail when the hull of the ship was breached, the commander was assassinated inside the flagship, and a large number of soldiers perished in the fish. Those who survived could only surrender and were incorporated into the Dragon Palace, which greatly strengthened its power!

Where am I? Who captured him? Why did they capture me? Did the Dragon Palace discover I was still alive and come for revenge?

In that instant, countless possibilities flashed through his mind, but he was already utterly despondent. Whatever his fate held, he didn't care anymore. This worthless life of his was—take it if you want...

However, the army's warships were ambushed shortly after setting sail...

Upon receiving the news, Fan An was so excited that he didn't sleep all night, doing everything he could to provide convenience and support to the army that came to suppress the bandits.

Having lost his official career and his family, Fan An completely lost hope in life. He mingled with the refugees, left East Province, and begged for a living along the way. After many years of wandering and living in a daze, he finally arrived at Shannan Town...

However, Fan An did not give up. He not only requested troops, but also personally went to sea to investigate and study the layout of the Dragon Palace Islands. Based on the actual situation, he specially formulated a practical plan to suppress the bandits and submitted it to the imperial court.

This defeat not only cost the court tens of thousands of troops, but also caused the new emperor's prestige to plummet. In a fit of rage, the young emperor issued an edict to dismiss Fan An from his post, confiscate his property, and demote him to a commoner.

That day, he got a leftover meal from the oil mill. After eating it, he felt dizzy and fell asleep against the wall. When he woke up, he found himself in complete darkness, unable to see his own hand in front of his face...

Just then, accompanied by the sound of a mechanism turning, a beam of light pierced the darkness, and a person walked in from the light.

Fan An recognized the man; he was the owner of the oil mill, surnamed Xu. He was a kind man who often gave leftovers to beggars like them... Today, it was after eating Boss Xu's food that he fainted...

The Oil Mill Boss was carrying a person on his shoulder. He came in, opened a cage next to Fan An, threw the person inside, and locked the door.

Fan An then noticed that there were five cages lined up side by side in this Secret Chamber...

Fan An didn't know what Boss Xu was up to, and he didn't care. Boss Xu saw that he was awake, and seemed a little surprised that he wasn't speaking or crying. He glanced at him a few more times, then left.

In the following days, the Oil Mill Boss would bring in one person every day, along with food for the previous workers. Fan An recognized these newcomers; they were all beggars and vagrants from the streets. Each time, they would plead with the Oil Mill Boss to let them leave, unwilling to stay in this dark and gloomy place, but the owner remained unmoved, simply bringing them food at regular intervals each day.

Only Fan An was content with his lot, eating when there was food and sleeping when there wasn't, even somewhat hoping that one day he would eat his fill, fall asleep, and never wake up again...

However, such "peaceful" days did not last long. One day, the Oil Mill Boss came in, opened a cage, pulled out a person, and brought him back after about fifteen minutes. Then another person was taken away, and no one knew what he was doing.

When it was Fan An's turn, he obediently followed her out. The boss tied her to a pillar, stuffed a rag in her mouth, and then took out a strange transparent tube filled with black liquid, with a silver needle inserted at one end... The Oil Mill Boss inserted the silver needle into his arm, and then pushed the piston, injecting the black liquid into his body.

At first, he felt nothing, but as the black liquid circulated through his blood vessels, Fan An felt immense pain. He was covered in sweat, his jaw clenched so tightly that he almost bit through the tattered cloth. After about fifteen minutes, the pain finally subsided...

Afterwards, the Oil Mill Boss put him back in the cage, and Fan An, exhausted from the pain, fell into a deep sleep...

In the days that followed, they returned to their routine of eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating again. The only difference was that every day the Oil Mill Boss would take them out one by one to conduct some strange physical examinations and ask if they had been feeling anything lately.

At first, Fan An felt nothing. He didn't know what the Oil Mill Boss had done to him, but he didn't care about anything anymore. In fact, deep down, he had a sliver of hope that the black liquid was some kind of deadly poison that would suddenly take effect and send him to his death, thus ending everything...

But as time went on, Fan An soon discovered that not only did he not show any signs of being poisoned, but he also felt his body becoming lighter and stronger, and his previously dim eyesight was becoming clear again...

Having been a top Jinshi in two imperial examinations, Fan An immediately realized that the Oil Mill Boss was developing a drug that could enhance the human body!

Originally, he had no expectations for life after turning sixty, but this sudden gain of power changed his mind.

Back then, he thought that studying the classics would enlighten him and help him serve the country, but he never expected that his life would be ruined by a group of martial arts practitioners... What classics, what fame, in the end, none of them could withstand the most primitive Violence!

That setback completely shattered his worldview, negating all the efforts he had made in the first half of his life.

But now, by fortuitous opportunity chance, he has gained power! A power he once despised, yet which has ruined his life!

Fan An's eyes regained their light!

He felt the changes within his body; the power grew stronger day by day. Gradually, he even felt he could no longer be considered human. He not only possessed superhuman strength, but his body could also change at will, growing claws and sprouting tentacles... Of course, all of this was done secretly when the Secret Door was closed and it was pitch black. Whenever the Oil Mill Boss came for a physical examination, he would revert to human form and pretend that nothing had changed...

Gradually, not only his physical body changed, but his spirit also began to sublimate. Even in complete darkness, he could sense the four people in the other cages. Fan An could sense that they possessed the same power as him, only that that power lay dormant within them, unawakened...

What a waste!

If I could seize those four powers, I would surely undergo a transformative evolution...

Finally, when Fan An felt he had perfectly mastered that power, he released his tentacles under the cover of darkness, piercing into the other four cages and completely devouring the experimental subjects inside...

This time, he didn't experience pain; instead, the power felt like sweet juice, nourishing his body and making him feel incredibly comfortable. At the same time, he also felt an unprecedentedly powerful force!

This is a power unlike any other martial art—the purest, most primal, and most violent of all! Before this power, even those self-proclaimed masters of Martial World can only become my prey!

Just then, the Secret Door opened, and the Oil Mill Boss walked in.

This time, what he saw were four empty cages covered in blood, and an Old Beggar grinning greedily at him...

(End of this chapter)