The Wind Rises and Clouds Surge

Transformation, usually refers to changing from a weak form to a powerful one, often accompanied by changes in appearance, like Sailor Moon, Ultraman, Super Saiyan 1234, Kamen Rider, etc. Nowadays, it also commonly refers to a male transforming into a female, or vice versa, with the transformed individuals often possessing high "face value."

Once upon a time, transformation novels were one of my favorite genres.

The most exciting part was guessing whether the male protagonist would end up with a Yuri relationship or get married after transforming. I'd get incredibly excited whenever I saw the protagonist flirting with girls, and I'd chuckle creepily whenever the protagonist was harassed, groped, or even forced by men.

But now that it's my turn, I've realized this is really not funny at all.

Can I get used to a female body? How will I deal with male harassment? How will I choose my sexual orientation? Will my heart eventually become a woman's too? If I successfully return to Earth, will my parents still recognize me? Head-spinning questions piled up one after another, especially the last one. If my parents don't recognize me, what's the point of going back?

Ultimately, I gave up thinking. There's no use thinking too much now; I can only take it one step at a time…

Adjusting my mindset, I began to consider my future plans. My ultimate goal is to go back, and that is unwavering. As for how to get back, I can only start by investigating that blood mist.

That blood mist is very likely a resident of this world, who somehow crossed over to Earth. I vaguely remember that after the blood mist's consciousness died in the spatial rift, the remaining part seemed to have merged into my body! The changes in my body are definitely related to this! Since my body can be modified, according to the common tropes in web novels I used to read, inheriting some of the blood mist's memories is entirely possible. What I need to do is find a way back from those memory fragments!

Memories… memories… right, I remember now. When I was unconscious, I seemed to have dreamed of something. There seemed to be a male voice speaking to me, or rather, to that blood mist… What was it saying?

"So, the materials needed to construct the World Crossing Gate have finally been figured out?"

"Boundary Breaking Armor, Crystal Realm Fruit, Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire, Truth Incantation, Rakshasa True Word, Gleaming Gold South-Pointing Compass… all troublesome things."

… That's it!

The "World Crossing Gate" the man in my dream mentioned must be some kind of item that can traverse space, and it's the key for me to return to Earth!

As for those materials… just by their names, they sound extraordinary. If I want to collect them, I'll have to wait until I have a deeper understanding of this world.

Regardless, getting such a major clue so quickly is beyond my expectations. What I need to do now is leave the forest and head to a human settlement. Ideally, I'd find a library or something to get to know this world better.

Feeling greatly encouraged, I patted my butt and stood up (the soft touch on my palm made me momentarily dazed). I took a step forward… and then, I heard screams coming from the distance.

"Haa… haa… Damn it, why is there a Bone Armor Lion in the outer area of the forest! And an adult one at that!" one of the two men in white clothes from before cried out as he ran.

"Instead of complaining, let's figure out how to defeat it!" the other said, raising his right hand. A surge of powerful airflow immediately condensed in his palm.

"Take this, Wind Blade!"

The man forcefully swung his right hand down. The mass of airflow in his hand instantly formed into a blade and flew out, cutting a vacuum through the air and hitting the Bone Armor Lion directly in the head!

"Roar—" The Bone Armor Lion roared, its speed increasing instead of decreasing. The massive Wind Blade only left a shallow gash on its forehead, failing to cause any effective damage and instead enraging it!

"This guy's shell is too tough! I can't hurt it!"

"Then what should we do? Just focus on escaping?"

"I can manipulate the wind to speed up our movement! You focus on using your detection ability to scout ahead!"

"Okay!"

The man who could manipulate wind ran while spreading his arms wide, his movements looking quite comical. Large gusts of air condensed around their legs, propelling them forward. The other man placed a hand on a compass, and from his body, an invisible detection field emanated. Within the field's coverage, everything from giant trees to scattered stones became incredibly clear.

"There's a river ahead! Bone Armor Lions dislike water, so we might be able to shake it off by the riverbank!"

"You're finally useful, kid!"

"Hey— Huh?"

"What is it?"

"There seems to be someone by the river!"

"Who? Is it someone from the clan?"

"I don't know! Let's just run!"

With a rushing sound, the two burst out of the bushes with tremendous momentum, and then—they were both stunned.

Standing by the quietly flowing river was a woman. Her black hair was like silk, her skin like jade, and her flawless face was adorned with exquisite features. Her partially exposed body reflected the moonlight, resembling the goddess of the Luo River emerging from the water, or a seductive enchantress. Two completely different styles, sacred and alluring, coexisted on her delicate form, causing the minds of the two men to short-circuit.

I was hesitating whether to go and check the situation when two men suddenly rushed out from the forest opposite me. They were the same two I had seen before. When they first appeared, they both looked disheveled, but upon seeing me, they stopped in their tracks and stared at me, dumbfounded… It was then that I realized I hadn't finished getting dressed! As I stood there, unsure of what to do—

"Roar—"

A monster suddenly leaped out from behind the two men, roaring as it lunged at them. They snapped back to reality. One of them waved his hand, and a fierce gust of wind suddenly swept up from the ground, pushing the two men away, narrowly dodging the monster's pounce.

The beast resembled a lion, but it was several times larger than an ordinary one. Its entire body was covered in bone-white bone plates, layered densely like armor, completely encasing it.

Seeing its attack fail, the Bone Armor Lion suddenly stopped moving and stood still. The layers of bone plates on its body opened and closed with its breathing.

One man exclaimed in shock, "Damn it, this beast has evolved Bone Darts! We're finished!"

As soon as he spoke, several bone plates on the Bone Armor Lion's body buzzed and shot out towards them with lightning speed!

One man couldn't dodge in time and was hit in the chest, dying on the spot. The other roared and swung his arm, releasing a Wind Blade that scattered the Bone Darts. Just as he was about to catch his breath, a Bone Dart with an extremely tricky trajectory pierced his head, splattering his brains!

Seeing that both men were now corpses, the Bone Armor Lion let out a long roar to the sky, as if to flaunt its victory.

However, its roar abruptly stopped because it discovered that there was still one person present—me.

I was completely stunned at this moment. Having lived eighteen peaceful years on Earth, I had never witnessed such a scene. Two living lives had just vanished so easily. The strong smell of blood stimulated my nostrils, making me feel nauseous. The yellow-white brain matter assaulted my retinas, pressing down on my nerves; what was even more terrifying was the ferocious beast that caused all this. It merely looked at me, and my legs went weak, leaving me unable to move.

The Bone Armor Lion seemed to sense its prey's fear, letting out a low growl as if mocking my weakness. The bone plates on its body began to slowly open and close again, brewing its next attack.

What should I do? What should I do? On one side, a terrifying ferocious beast; on the other, a weak man (or woman). The difference in strength is obvious, and I don't have the slightest chance of winning!

I have to run! If I can get into the dense forest, the trees will help me block the Bone Dart attacks!

Having made up my mind, I took off running. At the same time, several Bone Darts shot towards me!

I can't dodge them--

At the last moment, I instinctively closed my eyes. I barely managed to keep my life from the blood mist, and now I'm going to die in a lion's jaws... I had just decided on my future course of action... My journey home hasn't even begun... An ending like this...

I refuse!!!!!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

My arm suddenly felt a strange tingling sensation, followed by a crashing sound from extremely close by. The death I expected didn't come.

I slowly opened my eyes.

What greeted my sight were bone fragments scattered all over the ground.

And, floating before me, a blood-red shield.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.