The God of Qi Consumption

Zhu Zhengwei was relaxing, unaware of this matter, because in the afternoon when it happened, he had gone out to do odd jobs with his two roommates.

"Hey, move that cargo over there! Yeah!"

"Oh, you're a student here for part-time work, right? Hurry up and put on this Bag Bear costume, go relieve the person out front—they're about to die of heat."

The three of them were running errands at a mall holding a grand opening event.

For no other reason, Zhu Zhengwei just wanted to unwind his shaken nerves from before.

Because he had personally witnessed that terrifying yandere chop off her own head, attach it to an octopus, and then revert to a youthful, young woman's head—swaying, seductive, eerie.

It was straight-up R-rated content!

Even now, thinking about it made his scalp crawl.

"I'm afraid she'd been coveting that young, fresh 'body' for a long time, secretly experimenting in the harbor all along, pouring vast financial resources into research, until she finally pulled it off."

Sigh.

Zhu Zhengwei found his heart truly weary.

"Maybe human history is essentially a history of chasing continuity!"

"For the sake of longevity, people are willing to stop being human! The ancient monarchs and emperors who sought the Elixir of Immortality weren't lying to me."

To be honest, he'd only been out for a little over a month, busy constructing a Four-dimensional world, searching for Servers, and perfecting various ecosystems. He'd indeed made huge gains—the whole world had truly become vast and majestic, setting sail—but he was also starting to feel something was off.

The era had advanced, the era was glorious!

And then?

An Eternal Emperor who had achieved the first unification under heaven built a magnificent temple on the continent, representing the human race, demanding to see the god!

In the coast, an utterly insane, super-yandere fanatic had chopped off her head and swapped bodies, becoming the Lord of the Ocean, yearning to serve the deity!

Zhu Zhengwei could only exclaim, "Holy crap!"

In the whole world—sea, land, and air—only the air was safe now.

Good thing he hadn't started raising birds, or else completing that avian ecosystem would've been a disaster.

If these two matters weren't handled properly, the problems would likely be no small thing.

At the same time, running away wasn't a solution; unresolved problems only piled up.

This was an issue of world management.

Zhu Zhengwei fell into distress.

Although he had created this world, in a sense he was indeed its Creation God, the being who conceived and nurtured all life, plants, beasts, and humans within it.

But in reality, he was still just a mortal at heart.

He was a candid person—not arrogant, not conceited, not thinking himself special because of his acquired abilities. He was facing his current capabilities head-on. Faced with a truly vast world, did he really have the ability to be responsible for it now??

Greater responsibility meant greater pressure.

To be honest, a month ago he'd still been a Freshman. He had no seasoned experience or coping methods as a god. Faced with a hegemon emperor who had unified the human race, and a deranged fanatic who wanted to marry a god?

It felt like things were spiraling out of control.

"The pressure of being a god is huge!"

For now, he could only slow down his nerves, enjoy the part-time student life of his college youth—of course, making money was the top priority—and think about how to handle these matters along the way.

Just like his two roommates.

He was still a poor student, still needing to find work to improve his life.

Though he now had many ways to get money—like trying his hand at being a Brothel Madam, or even bolder, using hypnosis or the like to do some dirty, shady things.

But his need for money wasn't that strong right now, and using certain methods might cause big problems.

"Most importantly, I should just work and earn money plainly, keeping some ritual of life."

Right now, Zhu Zhengwei was running errands with his two Idiot Roommates, and he genuinely felt good. The mundane scent of daily life—fuel, rice, oil, salt—had enveloped him again.

To be honest, he'd also noticed Zhang Zhi's abnormality. That younger brother who once followed behind him had, with the passage of time, grown far too lonely. He seemed like a mortal walking through history, witnessing too much birth, aging, sickness, and death, slowly transforming into a deity from myth.

He himself was also afraid of becoming cold, of looking down from on high.

It was better to keep some humanity.

"I don't want the god's eternal, cold mentality—I just want the Power of God and Lifespan!"

Zhu Zhengwei's thoughts wandered. "Wait, isn't that the kind of scumbag who only wants rights, not responsibilities?"

But Zhu Zhengwei knew that what mattered was facing fear with a brave heart and being true to oneself. He quickly made up his mind. "I'm going to work hard at being a scumbag!"

"Ha!"

"Hmph!"

"Mm-hmm!"

Soon, Zhu Zhengwei, wearing the Bag Bear costume at the mall entrance, was twisting his body seductively, making all kinds of cute sounds.

Sigh.

Just having fun, just playing around!

Just letting himself go completely.

After all, he was wearing a costume—nobody would recognize him.

Those foolish humans, who could possibly know that inside this suit was a god who had created an entire four-dimensional world?

He finally understood the feeling Zhang Zhi had described—abandoning the identity of a sage, working as a slave laborer under the scorching sun alongside others, hauling bricks, getting whipped by the foreman, enduring the lash, fire, and dripping wax.

This was probably what it meant to enter the mortal world.

He got it. He got it now.

His Dao heart was instantly elevated.

"Wow, a bear! So cute! Hug!"

"That Bag Bear is so hyped!"

"No, I think his wild dancing looks like a heartbroken Bar DJ."

Passersby turned their heads one after another.

Even the supervisor nearby was impressed, pointing at Zhu Zhengwei and saying, "Look, that's passion for the job! Working up a sweat in this heat!"

Wang Jun and Li Xiang, however, exchanged glances and silently gave him a thumbs-up.

Wasn't he afraid of heatstroke in this temperature?

How did he have that much stamina?

They shook their heads and sighed. "We thought Brother Zhu had changed, but behind the scenes, he's still the same old Roll King. Respect! Respect!"

Dusk.

The group left the mall.

"Ah, today was pretty fun," Wang Jun said.

"I agree. I hope we get gigs like this more often," Li Xiang said with a lecherous grin. "It's also a great way to meet other part-time girls—this is our best shot at finding someone in our single-dog department!"

"Yeah, it was fun!"

Zhu Zhengwei felt that a man still needed to let loose sometimes. His mood had calmed down considerably, and it was time to put on a proper, dignified face as a god in front of others.

It was time to face that Yandere Sea Monster and that Eternal Emperor.

He thought about it, but still felt some hesitation. The weight of it pressed heavily on him—it was already a living world filled with countless lives.

"But that girl kept staring at Zhu Zhengwei!"

"She's into his stamina, man. That waist looks strong."

"Makes me want to start working out too."

The three of them took the bus back, each took a shower, counted the hard-earned cash they'd made, and started chatting about what to do before bed.

"Honestly, this Beta Game is amazing. It fixed my insomnia and dream problems. I wake up the next day feeling way clearer-headed."

"Lately, this beta game seems to have a bug. Everyone's mostly stuck in one dynamic scene, and it's gotten pretty boring. Guess the other scenes are broken and under maintenance."

"But there are still some players wandering around the seabed, scattered here and there."

That was normal.

Out of the 1,000 Immortal Herbs, Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng had seized over six hundred in that battle. The rest had been scattered by the shockwaves of the fight, leaving about three hundred still in a "wild" state.

"Ah, it's tough. I wish I could be like them, drifting around the seabed at least. Being stuck in that pool getting farmed is so boring."

"But some guys say it's not a bug—it's a scene pause. Maybe it's the start of a story, and the Development Team is cooking up something big."

"Yeah, that Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng is clearly about to meet the god. All of us Immortal Herbs piled up nearby—that's gotta be a huge scene, right?"

"The first time God Descends to the Mortal World, a conversation with the first Eternal Emperor in human history. Just thinking about it gets me hyped. I wonder how the Development Team will pull it off."

"I can't wait!"

Zhu Zhengwei eavesdropped.

After all, from his own perspective, he couldn't see everything clearly. Having two "Chives" as traitors nearby was a big help—he could keep tabs on the enemy's movements.

After hearing all this, he entered the four-dimensional world to take a look and was shocked to discover what Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng had done in the end.

The situation seemed to be spiraling further out of control.

"Last time, it was a deathbed scene. This time, he's really about to die." He smiled bitterly, pacing back and forth in the dormitory, then suddenly said, "In the 21st century, humanity had giants like Einstein, Tesla, and Hawking, who paved the way forward and laid the foundations for future generations. And now, this man is also a giant—how is he any different?"

"They all face the same final fate."

"In this Mortal World, who can live long? Who can achieve immortality?"

"Forget it, forget it. This is a dying wish. They've used every means to see me. Then, I'll go and meet them." Zhu Zhengwei shook his head.

In the four-dimensional world.

Before the Royal Capital Temple in the City of a Hundred Stones.

A radiant figure descended slowly from the sky, riding the wind, swallowing air, Cloud Riding and Mist Driving as he landed.

Everyone was stunned, because they saw a god.