Marrow Cleansing! Initial Evolution

Chen Rui glanced at one of the light screens. As his thoughts shifted, the screen suddenly expanded, then shattered with a "pop" into points of light that rapidly condensed into a three-dimensional, translucent human figure. It looked exactly like Chen Rui in both appearance and attire, and could be rotated at will. Beside it floated text descriptions—in Chinese, of all things, which he hadn't seen in a long time.

Title: None

Evolution Level: None

Experience Points: 0%

Aura Value: 0

Overall Strength Rating: Value too low, ignored.

This must be the status bar, right? Aura? Title? Why is there even an experience bar? Is this a game? Chen Rui felt a sense of familiarity. Could the Super System really be some game created by a Main God? Where was the infinite ammo? The side quests? The Super Saiyan bloodline?

He immediately flew into a rage: What do you mean "value too low, ignored"! After struggling so hard for so long, this was the only reward—a status screen that hurt his self-esteem?

The system prompt sounded again: Do you wish to enable the automatic Aura absorption function?

Chen Rui eagerly confirmed, but there was still no special reaction. The Aura value simply jumped from 0 to 1, and after waiting for a long time, it didn't change again. It was a scam after all!

Chen Rui shifted his focus, and the "Status" screen returned to its original state. He looked at the other screen; this one... seemed to be a skill tree. It was a tree-shaped graphic where everything except the glowing roots was gray. There were two icons on the glowing roots, and when his focus rested on them, they turned into corresponding dynamic images.

The first showed light shifting within a human body:

Breath Concealment (Passive Trait) — Displays one's own strength at the lowest level, preventing others from seeing through it. Can be toggled off.

The second showed a hand placed on a stone, turning the stone into a pile of powder:

Aura Conversion (Active Skill) — Can convert various special energy substances into Aura and absorb them. Each use requires an additional cost of 1 Aura point. Duration: 30 minutes.

If he were powerful, this might be fine, but Chen Rui was currently at the lowest level in the Demon Realm. The "Breath Concealment" skill had no practical meaning. As for "Aura Conversion," it was even more useless; the Aura couldn't be eaten or used to fly, so what was the point!

Chen Rui's dream of reaching the top in one step was completely shattered. His mood plummeted to the bottom, and he couldn't have been more depressed.

This is the Super System? The playability is terrible! What's the point of the graphics being gorgeous and realistic?

At this moment, the detestable prompt sounded again: High-purity life energy detected in the body. Do you wish to convert it into Aura?

Chen Rui had a deep grudge against this "Aura," so he replied indignantly: "Yes!"

At the same time, a man sleeping on a hilltop by Blue Wave Lake suddenly opened his eyes, his face filled with disbelief. The Symbiotic Contract within his body had suddenly mutated, as if a bottomless abyss were rapidly devouring his power and even his life force, and it was completely unstoppable.

After a long while, this terrifying devouring force finally faded away. Pagliu's face had turned deathly pale. He felt that both his life force and power had been significantly weakened, but more than that, he was horrified. He had never heard of a Symbiotic Contract exhibiting such an anomaly!

"How could this happen?" Pagliu gasped, still shaken. "Could something have happened to that human? If only I could go and see. Damn this accursed seal!"

The culprit, Chen Rui, was completely unaware of Pagliu's terror. He watched as the Aura value rose rapidly and the experience points continued to increase. Meanwhile, on the translucent human image, a certain critical area below the waist began to flicker, emitting a white light.

Chen Rui was speechless. Which perverted guy designed this Super System? Why was "that" area glowing? Could the so-called "high-purity life energy" be some kind of... essence? If that were the case, there would be plenty—at least hundreds of millions, no problem...

Before he could continue his wild thoughts, the prompt sounded: Aura conversion successful! Aura value +100, experience progress 100%! Initial evolution requirements met. Do you wish to begin marrow cleansing and complete the evolution?

"Start!" This prompt reignited his hope, and he immediately agreed.

The moment the words left his mouth, he felt an incredibly dazzling light erupt from the space outside the hall, as if a massive explosion had occurred. The explosion was so intense that Chen Rui's head felt like it was booming, the world spun, and he instantly lost consciousness.

The next morning, Alice, determined to solve the mystery of Sandru's death, excitedly dragged Athena to the laboratory, only to be told by the Lesser Devil that Chen Rui was still in his room and hadn't woken up.

"I'm already up, and this guy is still sleeping in?" Alice pouted in dissatisfaction. "Go and wake him up for me!"

Sli dared not disobey and led Alice and Athena to the door of Chen Rui's room. By now, Chen Rui had been moved out of the dungeon and was staying in a "standard room" within the laboratory.

"Master, Princess Alice is here, please wake up!" The Lesser Devil knocked on the door, shouting loudly on purpose, appearing very diligent.

However, there was no movement in the room. The Lesser Devil knocked harder, but there was still no response.

"Chen Rui, I, the Princess, have come personally to wake you up, and you dare to pretend you don't hear me?" Alice patted the door. "If you don't open the door, I'm coming in to molest you!"

This sentence made the Lesser Devil break out in a cold sweat. Athena sniffed the air, sensing something was wrong. She stopped the little princess from patting the door and pushed it with her palm. The poor wooden door shattered into pieces under the female warrior's abnormal strength.

The scene inside shocked the three of them. Chen Rui was lying on the bed, life or death unknown, and the entire bed was soaked in black liquid that emitted a foul odor.

"Chen Rui (Master)!" the three exclaimed in unison.

In the outer courtyard of the palace, at Aldas's laboratory.

Princess Shea frowned and asked Aldas: "Why did this happen?"

"I'm not sure," Aldas said, looking thoughtful. "It is highly likely due to yesterday's challenge. The title of the number one genius of the Sandru Empire is certainly not earned by luck. The toxicity of that final potion he used likely far exceeded the ordinary range. Even with the protection of a Grandmaster's divine sense, Chen Rui could not be completely immune, which is why he has fallen into this comatose state."

Gauss, standing to the side, nodded as well. Judging by the black fluid oozing from the human's body, this explanation seemed the most reasonable.

After Chen Rui left last night, Shea had been secretly annoyed by some of the things he had expressed. Now, seeing him poisoned and comatose, with his life hanging in the balance, she reflected that this human had risked his life to make a great contribution to the Dark Moon, yet had almost been killed by her own hand. It was indeed unfair to him.

Shea sighed softly and asked: "Master, when will he wake up?"

Aldas replied: "The most dangerous moment should have been last night, but even I didn't notice it. Fortunately, he made it through. His condition is currently stable; other than a fever, there are no abnormalities. It is possible that the Grandmaster's divine sense is slowly controlling and neutralizing the toxins. I estimate he will regain consciousness after some time. Since the specific ingredients of Sandru's Soul-Eater Potion are unknown, it is not suitable for him to take any other potions."

Shea nodded and stood up: "I have government affairs to attend to. Report to me the moment he wakes up."

Aldas nodded, and Gauss showed a hint of surprise, seemingly taken aback by how much the Princess valued a human apprentice.

Alice and Athena were by Chen Rui's bedside. Even the face of that black-hearted little girl showed rare anxiety. By now, the filth on the human had been cleaned away by Sli, and his breathing was steady, though his face remained flushed with a persistent low fever.

Finally, the abnormal flush on Chen Rui's face gradually faded, and his breathing deepened. Athena, who had been watching him closely, was the first to notice the change, and Alice and Sli hurried over.

Chen Rui opened his eyes, looked at Alice and Athena's faces in surprise, and asked: "Why are you here?"

Athena said: "When we arrived, you were unconscious on the bed. You've been asleep for almost a whole day..."

"I was worried to death," Alice said with teary eyes, though it was hard to tell how much of it was genuine. "You were leaking so much black sludge, and when I was wiping you down, I saw everything. You have to take responsibility for me..."

Even the corner of Athena's eye couldn't help but twitch at that sentence. Standing to the side, Sli felt nothing but absolute reverence for his master's girl-chasing skills, which had reached the level of a Demon God. After Lady Athena, he had actually managed to win over the little princess too...

Although the complex-minded Lesser Devil was dying to hear more of this gossip, he was simultaneously terrified that knowing too much would lead to the little princess silencing him permanently. After thinking it over, he decided it was best to head outside and notify Master Aldas first.

Aldas hurried over, and upon seeing Chen Rui awake, he asked urgently, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine now," Chen Rui replied. He could feel massive changes occurring within his body, but since it was inconvenient to test them in front of everyone, he could only brush it off. "I don't know why, but it just happened suddenly."

The pitch-black fluid that Alice and the others mentioned must have been caused by that "marrow cleansing."

"It seems Sandru's Soul-Eater Poison is indeed formidable to have caused such an effect. It was my negligence yesterday, but it is fortunate that you are already out of danger." Aldas became even more certain of his own hypothesis. As he explained, Chen Rui saw the master so loyally helping him cover his tracks that he was naturally happy to go along with it, putting on an expression of sudden realization.

Chen Rui was eager to understand the details of his initial evolution, so he feigned exhaustion. "I still feel a bit tired; I want to sleep a little longer."

"You just woke up and you want to sleep again?" Alice pouted in dissatisfaction.

Chen Rui then remembered that he still owed Alice a story, so he quickly said, "I'm sorry, little princess. I really don't feel well today. Can we do it tomorrow?"

Athena spoke up, "It's fine. It's almost dark anyway; it's better to wait until you've fully recovered."

"I've been fairly satisfied with you during this time, so just focus on getting your health back," the little loli said, showing a rare moment of consideration before waving her small fist. "But remember, it has to be a wonderful story when you do!"

Aldas offered Chen Rui a few words of encouragement, and then the group left the room.

As soon as the door closed, Chen Rui couldn't wait to enter the Super System within his consciousness. He saw that the space which had exploded in his memory had undergone a slight change.

In the gray, hazy void, there was now a cloud-like mass of gas, with tiny specks of dust drifting slowly around it. Beyond this object, Chen Rui instinctively felt that there was an even deeper change.

That's right, it must be time. In this space that had originally been lifeless and devoid of beginning or end, there was finally a concept of "time."

(Seeking recommendation votes, seeking favorites, seeking to let the story grow...)