The Rise of Humanity Begins with Me

In the command center cafeteria, a crowd of soldiers gathered around.

"One hundred ninety-nine, two hundred plates!"

"I've never seen anyone eat two hundred plates of Mutant Beast meat in one sitting."

"Sir, is that really a stomach you've got, or a bottomless pit?"

The soldiers, still reeling from their narrow escape, cried out as they stared at the table, where empty plates rose in a small mountain.

Jiang Li rubbed his round belly and smiled faintly.

Ever since he began practicing the Heaven-Stealing Divine Art, his body had changed. His digestion had become terrifyingly powerful.

A plate of Mutant Beast meat went down without him feeling a thing.

Suddenly, Jiang Li turned. The soldiers around him parted to make way for Huo Kai and Li Chaofan.

"Li Chaofan, Ninth Grade General Star of the Fifth Defense Line, pays his respects to our savior!"

Li Chaofan gave a crisp military salute. Though these were chaotic times, he cared for his soldiers like his own children. Without Jiang Li, the Fifth Defense Line would have suffered terrible losses.

He would never forget that debt.

Jiang Li looked taken aback, then smiled. "It was nothing worth mentioning."

Seeing how modest Jiang Li remained, Li Chaofan could not help warming to him.

"To think you're already a Seventh Grade martial artist at such a young age. Incredible."

"If you don't mind me asking, what's your Blood Qi Value?" Li Chaofan sat across from Jiang Li, and the nearby soldiers drifted away.

"I'm not sure. It's been a long time since I last tested it," Jiang Li said with a faint smile.

Li Chaofan had wanted to compare him with the prodigy he knew, but after hearing that answer, he let the matter drop.

"Here are five hundred military merit points. You can exchange them for items at the Donghai Battlefield."

"The Mutant Beasts you killed will also be counted from the satellite footage, and the points will be added to this Military Merit Card."

Li Chaofan took out a blue Military Merit Card engraved with a golden dragon and placed it before Jiang Li.

"I'll report your contributions as well, so they're recorded in your battlefield record."

Military merit points!?

Jiang Li's eyes lit up. He remembered that military merit points could be exchanged for Awakening Stones.

"Thank you, General Li!" Jiang Li was delighted. "One more question: how do I make an exchange?"

Li Chaofan paused, then smiled and helped Jiang Li download the Donghai Battlefield app and register his identity.

With Li Chaofan personally approving the application, it went through quickly.

"Brother Jiang Li, here's my number. Call me anytime if you have questions." Li Chaofan left his phone number before departing.

Jiang Li opened the Donghai Battlefield app and began browsing its items.

[Awakening Stone]: military merit points

[Seventh Grade A-Class Battle Armor]: 3,000 military merit points

[Sixth Grade A-Class Dragon Scale Blade]: 5,000 military merit points

Jiang Li's eyes gleamed as he looked over the items.

Then he opened the Yellow Book again.

[Name]: Jiang Li

[Age]: 18

[Cultivatable Lifespan]: 1,568

[Ability]: Martial Soul (C-Class Perfected Realm)

[Cultivation Art]: Heavenly River Crimson Blood Art (Eighth Grade Perfected Realm)

[Martial Arts]: Blade Wielding Technique (self-created), Swift Wind Thunderous Charge Saber (Perfected Realm), Phantom Shadow Maze Steps (Perfected Realm), Fire Spirit Breathing Technique (Perfected Realm)

In just one day, his Lifespan had climbed past a thousand again.

A man born into this world should fight the enemy and defend his home and country!

I wonder how high my Lifespan will climb before the training camp assessment?

Jiang Li felt a surge of excitement and put away the Yellow Book.

He did not practice the Heaven-Stealing Divine Art again. Instead, he exchanged military merit points for a private room at the command center and treated himself to a good night's sleep.

While Jiang Li slept soundly, Li Chaofan watched the satellite footage and kept drawing sharp breaths.

"Every single one went down in one strike. Jiang Li is probably stronger than an ordinary Seventh Grade martial artist."

"Even a Seventh Grade Fire Sea Demon Lizard died in one strike!"

"His movement technique and saber technique must both have reached the Perfected Realm."

Li Chaofan muttered to himself, his face full of shock.

The last time he had seen a talent like this was five years ago: that prodigy of the Li Family who had shaken the Eastern Sea.

"Boss, news just came in from the First Frontline."

Just then, Huo Kai rushed in, panic written all over his face.

"The First Frontline can't hold against the A-Class Beast Tide. Large numbers of Mutant Beasts have broken through and entered the Second Frontline and Third Frontline."

"According to the First Frontline's projections, at least ten thousand Mutant Beasts of unknown grades will reach the Fifth Frontline in three days."

Li Chaofan shot to his feet.

"What?"

"Ten thousand Mutant Beasts? They'll flatten the Fifth Frontline!" Li Chaofan's face darkened.

This time, a pack of only a hundred or so Eighth Grade Mutant Beasts would have inflicted terrible losses on the Fifth Frontline if not for Jiang Li.

"Word from the front says mobilization began a week ago. The Li Family and Rong Family are on their way, and reinforcements should arrive soon."

Huo Kai gave a bitter smile. "But no one knows how soon 'soon' will be."

Li Chaofan had no choice but to accept it.

"At least it's only an A-Class Beast Tide. If it were S-Class, neither of us would make it home."

"Pass the order: the entire Fifth Defense Line goes on high alert. Temporarily conscript every martial artist!"

Li Chaofan made the decision at once and began issuing orders.

The next day, Jiang Li woke to a strange tension in the air.

"What happened?"

Jiang Li ordered over a hundred plates of Mutant Beast meat in the cafeteria and asked as he ate.

"The A-Class Beast Tide is almost here. They say the entire Donghai Battlefield will be affected."

"Damn those Mutant Beasts. Who knows how many more people will die this time?"

A logistics soldier sighed heavily and walked away.

An A-Class Beast Tide meant a Third Grade Beast King could appear. Such a creature was on par with a Martial Venerable.

I was planning to head for the Fourth Defense Line, but it looks like the soldiers of the Fifth Defense Line need me more.

The grim atmosphere weighed on Jiang Li too. He remembered what he had seen on the battlefield yesterday: living people torn apart by Mutant Beasts, and soldiers pulling the pins on high-explosive grenades to take the beasts down with them.

For some reason, those scenes matched the apocalyptic images that had appeared in his mind when he first arrived in this world.

Mutant Beasts towering like mountains. Cities wiped away. Rubble and ruins everywhere he looked, without a single human in sight...

He did not know whether those images were a dream or something else, but he never wanted to see that day come.

Perhaps Principal Lin was right. In this era, humanity's fate may rest on one person whose talent has awakened.

Then perhaps I, with the Yellow Book, can try to end this age of rampaging Mutant Beasts and bring back the peace the world once knew.

A brilliant light flashed in Jiang Li's eyes.

If humanity dies out, what meaning is there in living ten thousand years alone? Perhaps this is why the Yellow Book brought me to this world. And that...

Is exactly what I want!

Jiang Li finished all the Mutant Beast meat and gripped the Black Horizontal Saber. A sharp Killing Intent radiated from him.

I'll end this era. The rise of humanity begins with me!