Demonic Era, Gluttonous Crucible

Han Zheng's vision was pitch-black, as though he had fallen into some nightmare. He wanted to wake up, yet could not.

Suddenly, a hazy light blossomed before his eyes.

What entered his sight was a dilapidated, abandoned temple. A Buddha statue missing half its face lay beside him, streaked with traces of blood. It looked somewhat eerie, as though it were staring at Han Zheng.

"Hiss! It hurts!"

Han Zheng rubbed his head, only to find his hand covered in blood.

A torrent of chaotic memories surged into his mind, forcing him to accept the fact that he had transmigrated.

In his previous life, Han Zheng had been a game designer at a small company. After working overtime for a week straight, he fell on the subway and never got back up.

When he woke again, he had become Han Zheng of this world.

After sorting through the memories in his head, Han Zheng furrowed his brow and clicked his tongue.

"What kind of fucking world is this?"

Great Zhou had stood for three thousand years, and the entire dynasty had long since become riddled with holes and scars.

Demons ravaged the land, evil cults ran rampant, rebels rose everywhere, sects and aristocratic families dominated their own territories, and the common people could barely survive.

In this life, Han Zheng had been born in Black Stone County, Jingzhou Prefecture, Shannan Dao, Great Zhou.

His mother had died early. His father had been a clerk at the County Yamen, with no real authority, responsible only for drafting documents and earning a little hard money.

Last year, Han Zheng's father had saved up some money and sent the newly eighteen-year-old Han Zheng into Black Stone County's Zhenwei Martial Arts School to train in martial arts.

In such troubled times, scholars did not live long. Only strength was the foundation for protecting oneself.

But before Han Zheng could complete his training, his father had fallen ill and died not long ago.

To hold a funeral for his father, Han Zheng had sold off nearly all the family property. His home could now truly be called bare walls on every side.

But why was he in this Broken Temple?

His memories of yesterday were incredibly vague. Han Zheng could only trace them back to leaving the Martial Arts Academy after class. After that, there was nothing but blankness.

Could he have been knocked senseless and lost his memory?

Han Zheng glanced at the somewhat eerie Buddha statue.

Before transmigrating, he must have been leaning against this poorly maintained Buddha statue. Its base had rotted away, the statue had collapsed, and his previous self had been crushed to death.

He forced himself to his feet, then abruptly rubbed his eyes and stared ahead in disbelief.

Had being struck given him hallucinations?

Gluttonous Crucible activated

The host may sacrifice any materials to make breakthroughs in martial arts or enter the crucible to cultivate

Han Zheng looked at the enormous bronze crucible that had appeared before him. Lifelike Gluttonous Dragon Patterns were engraved upon it.

Its savage, ferocious aura rushed straight at him, utterly real.

He rubbed his eyes again, but the Gluttonous Crucible before him remained incomparably clear.

Wasn't this the final game update he had worked on after overtime in his previous life?

The game Han Zheng had operated in his previous life had been a small app game: kill monsters, level up, simple and brainless.

Such games generally had short lifespans. Within a few months, or at most half a year, they reached their final days.

This had been the first game Han Zheng had independently led, and he had been rather attached to it.

Thus, in its final update, Han Zheng had designed the Gluttonous Crucible as such a player-friendly feature.

Players could sacrifice all sorts of useless low-level materials, equipment, potions, and miscellaneous junk from their inventories to the Gluttonous Crucible in exchange for breakthroughs and upgrades to their skills.

They could also sacrifice those things to directly convert them into experience points and level up like mad.

Now that he had transmigrated, had the Gluttonous Crucible's feature transmigrated with him as well?

Still, he could not go around with such a huge crucible hanging over his head forever, could he?

The moment that thought surfaced, the Gluttonous Crucible before him vanished instantly.

Yet Han Zheng could sense that it was within his mind. With a thought, it would appear.

Han Zheng narrowed his eyes in thought. A transmigrator's golden finger? Was this supposed to let him kill monsters and level up in this world?

But at the very least, shouldn't it give him a beginner's gift pack?

The Gluttonous Crucible had been a feature Han Zheng created after the game reached its late stage.

Where would there be so many materials to sacrifice in the early stages? He could not possibly toss his own life into it right from the start, could he?

The instant that thought appeared, the Gluttonous Crucible surfaced again.

No sacrificial materials have currently been detected. The host may sacrifice lifespan, one of the six senses, one of the five limbs, one of the three souls, one of the seven spirits, one of the seven emotions, one of the six desires, or any other existence possessed by the host

The eyes on the lifelike Gluttonous Dragon Pattern glowed scarlet. Its great maw gaped open as though it wanted to swallow heaven and devour earth, carrying an indescribable greed.

Below was a description resembling a game's Attribute Panel.

Name: Han Zheng

Cultivation: Houtian Meridian Opening Realm (forty-one Acupoints opened)

Martial arts cultivation method: Houtian Realm "Iron Elephant Skill" (proficiency 17%)

Current condition: concussion

"So I really have to put my own life into it? Then what exactly can count as sacrificial material?"

The Gluttonous Crucible devours all things and rejects none. The host will be alerted upon detection of sacrificial materials.

Han Zheng was beginning to regret this.

If he had known transmigration would happen, he should have made the Gluttonous Crucible's mechanics simpler.

With a wave of his hand, he made the crucible before him disappear.

Han Zheng walked out of the Broken Temple. The east was turning fish-belly white; it should be dawn.

In the distance, he could vaguely see a sizable city built entirely from black stone bricks. That was Black Stone County.

He had somehow ended up outside the county seat?

In times like these, the area outside the county seat was extremely dangerous.

Demons ate people, bandits robbed travelers, and going out of the city alone was the most dangerous thing of all.

Though daybreak was near, it was still unsafe. Han Zheng hurried toward Black Stone County at a run.

After running some distance, Han Zheng looked back at the Broken Temple and suddenly realized that it was strange as well.

The tiny temple housed only one Buddha statue. Round at the top and square at the bottom, its entire body was mottled dark red, like a gaping blood-filled maw.

A mountain may look near, but it could run a horse to death.

Han Zheng ran for nearly an hour before reaching the city gate. By then, the soldiers guarding the city had only just opened it.

Following the memories in his mind, Han Zheng wound through shabby little alleys before finally finding his home.

It was a small blue-brick house with a tiny courtyard.

Though it was still fairly clean and neat, he had sold nearly every valuable item in the house not long ago to hold his father's funeral.

Han Zheng's home could therefore be said to have bare walls on every side, with only a single bed left.

He drew a bucket of water and washed the wound at the back of his head. Then Han Zheng looked at his reflection in the well water.

He was rather handsome in this life. Not so beautiful as to defy description, but at least he had swordlike brows, starry eyes, and a strikingly refined face.

Checking the time, he saw that the Martial Arts Academy's morning class was about to begin.

Zhenwei Martial Arts School had two kinds of classes: morning classes and major classes.

Morning classes lasted only half a day, while major classes were held once every ten days and lasted the entire day.

According to his memories, Han Zheng had been exceptionally diligent. In the half year since joining the Martial Arts Academy, he had never missed a single day.

After all, the chance to enter Zhenwei Martial Arts School had been bought with nearly all of his father's savings.

Three hundred taels of silver, along with a strong and healthy physique, were required to qualify for entry.

If you were a sickly weakling, the Martial Arts Academy would not take you even if you brought a thousand taels.

Still, while Han Zheng had been diligent, his natural physique could only be called average.

After joining the Martial Arts Academy, Li Jingzhong had taught the disciples the beginner internal cultivation method, the "Iron Elephant Skill." Han Zheng had trained for half a year, yet had only opened forty-one Acupoints through the Iron Elephant Skill.

Those disciples who were further ahead had already opened more than fifty Acupoints.

Just as he was about to leave, Han Zheng's stomach began to rumble.

But after searching through the house, Han Zheng found only half a cold steamed bun. He swallowed it with cold water and hurried out.

Black Stone County was divided into four districts: east, west, south, and north.

Han Zheng's home was in North City, where poor commoners mostly lived. The houses were packed tightly together, not much different from a slum.

Zhenwei Martial Arts School, meanwhile, was located in the prosperous East City. Three large courtyards had been opened up and joined together to serve as the Martial Arts Academy's training grounds.

By the time Han Zheng arrived, nearly all the Martial Arts Academy's disciples had gathered and were waiting for class to begin.

Zhenwei Martial Arts School had around a hundred people. A small number were children of wealthy families, while most came from comfortably well-off households.

After all, the poor pursued literature and the rich pursued martial arts. The Martial Arts Academy's tuition alone cost three hundred taels, something ordinary families simply could not afford.

A moment later, a middle-aged man in his fifties emerged from the Martial Arts Academy. He wore a black martial outfit, with a square, stern, and imposing face.

This man was Li Jingzhong, master of Zhenwei Martial Arts School. Nicknamed the "Through-Arm White Ape," he was an expert of the Xiantian Mortal Transformation Realm.

His White Ape Through-Arm Fist could split steles and shatter stone, withstand blades and spears head-on, and made him a well-known figure in Black Stone County.

Sweeping his gaze around, Li Jingzhong said in a deep voice, "You disciples have been in the Martial Arts Academy for at least half a year and at most seven or eight months. You should all have entered the gate of the 'Iron Elephant Skill,' so it is time for your first major examination.

"The path of martial arts allows no advance without retreat. After the major examination, any disciple who fails will be dismissed from the Martial Arts Academy.

"It is not that I am heartless. The path of martial arts is simply this cruel. Without talent and perseverance, remaining in the Martial Arts Academy would only be wasting your days."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Martial Arts Academy's disciples erupted into an uproar. Most of them were seized by panic.

Being dismissed from the Martial Arts Academy meant not only that their money had been wasted, but also that they were mediocre trash, utterly unsuited to martial arts.

"Silence!"

Li Jingzhong stepped down the stairs and walked to a stone pillar used for training in the practice yard.

"What is martial arts? Martial arts is forged through time and perseverance!

"Houtian Meridian Opening means condensing internal force within the body's Acupoints.

"The human body has three hundred and sixty-five Acupoints, corresponding to the number of stars in the Greater Celestial Circuit. Every Acupoint opened brings a tremendous increase in strength.

"There are also twelve meridians, which govern the direction of the body's strength. Each Meridian opened brings a tremendous increase in one's control over strength.

"Only by gathering the power of the Acupoints and breaking through the twelve meridians, making meridians and Acupoints flow together as one, can one qualify to step into the Xiantian Mortal Transformation Realm.

"Xiantian Mortal Transformation, as the name implies, returns from Houtian to Xiantian. Like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon, one sheds the mortal fleshly body.

"This step is even more difficult. One must use the internal force within the Acupoints and meridians to constantly scour every inch of bone and every shred of flesh in the body. The process is unbearably painful.

"In the initial stage, Bronze Skin Iron Bones; in the middle stage, Golden Muscles Jade Meridians; in the later stage, Mercury Blood Silver Marrow.

"After reaching great completion and perfection, the fleshly body becomes like flawless white jade, pure and unblemished. This is called the Water-Fire Immortal Robe, and it possesses the power to fear neither ordinary water nor fire.

"But do you know that ninety-nine percent of martial artists will never reach Mortal Transformation perfection, never attain the completed Water-Fire Immortal Robe?

"Houtian and Xiantian are merely the first step into martial arts, yet they are already so difficult—difficult as ascending to heaven!"

As his words fell, Li Jingzhong swung his arm and smashed it fiercely toward the stone pillar beside him.

Like a white ape shaking its arm, the force of his punch howled and exploded through the air.

With a thunderous blast, the stone pillar was not merely broken—it was smashed into four pieces and eight fragments, ground to powder!

"This punch is the fruit of thirty years on the martial path!"

Li Jingzhong glanced at the countless stunned disciples and said in a deep voice, "Today, I will teach you your first martial art: the 'Vajra Fist.'

"Three days from now, the major examination will begin. Those who have opened fifty Acupoints, one Meridian, and entered the gate of the 'Vajra Fist' will be deemed qualified!"

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