The air in the courtyard still seemed to hold the aftershocks of the burst of Spiritual Force. The plants around him bowed slightly, as if paying tribute to their newly born king.
Lin Yuan lay back down in the wicker chair, but this time, the lazy, carefree look he'd worn before was gone.
The complaints and grumbling from a moment ago had already vanished without a trace.
As a "native" who had struggled through life in this world for twenty-two years, he knew better than anyone what that transformation in a single second meant.
It was synonymous with invincibility among those of the same rank.
"A peak High-level War God Spirit Reader..."
Lin Yuan raised his hand and studied the fine lines on his palm. The corners of his mouth involuntarily curled upward, and he let out a meaningful "tsk, tsk."
As a pure martial artist, he'd already possessed the physical strength of a High-level War God. But when facing a Lord-level Monster of the same rank, he still had to proceed with caution. And against a King-level Monster, he could only flee in a sorry state.
But things were different now.
The bizarre abilities of a Spirit Reader, combined with his powerful martial artist's physique, made this far more than a simple "one plus one equals two."
Even without wearing the Black God Suit, he now had the confidence to do as he pleased on Earth.
Apart from the two freaks, Hong and Thunder God, and the few Emperor-level Monsters hiding in the deep sea, who could possibly stand against him?
"I thought I'd spend my whole life as nothing but a martial brute. Who would've thought..."
Lin Yuan smiled and shook his head, a trace of self-mockery flashing in his eyes.
A moment ago, he'd still been wondering how to cozy up to Luo Feng and find a comfortable way to slack off. Then, in the very next moment, the system had served him a feast he couldn't refuse.
With strength like this, if he was still willing to be a good-for-nothing who did nothing but eat and wait to die, he'd be doing a serious disservice to his transmigrator status.
At that thought, Lin Yuan's mind stirred.
Buzz!
A silver-blue streak of light appeared out of thin air, hovering before him.
It was a strangely shaped psychic weapon—
[Arc Wheel].
Unlike Luo Feng's Sky-Escaping Shuttle, it wasn't bulky. Instead, it consisted of nine silver blades, each shaped like a crescent moon and as thin as a cicada's wing.
They floated apart, yet an invisible magnetic field held them together. As they slowly spun in the air, they sliced through it with a heart-pounding hum.
Complex, mysterious runes were carved into each blade, faintly emanating a cold killing intent from the depths of the universe.
A Tier 3 Telekinetic Weapon!
On Earth, where even Tier 2 Origin Force weapons were regarded as priceless treasures, this Arc Wheel would be enough to make the global councilors fight tooth and nail over it.
Lin Yuan reached out and gently touched the icy edge of a blade, his eyes gleaming.
With the system and his newfound strength, the fire in his heart seemed to have been rekindled.
But...
His sudden surge in power left him feeling a little lost.
After getting used to playing it safe and keeping a low profile, what should he do next?
Just as his thoughts raced and he struggled to find a clear goal—
Buzz!
A familiar hum rang out from deep within his mind.
The pale blue crystal screen reappeared before his eyes. Lines of scarlet text spilled across it like fresh blood, instantly seizing Lin Yuan's full attention.
[Mission: Kill the High-level Lord-level Monster—Black Scale Beast!]
[Mission Reward: Origin Force Weapon: Shadow Devourer, Secret Technique: Shadow Kill Blade.]
[System Evaluation: Your enemy from when you were still weak remains at large. Now, you're finally strong enough. It's time—to settle everything!]
At the words "Black Scale Beast," the smile froze on Lin Yuan's face.
The air around him seemed to drop several degrees.
"Black Scale... Beast?"
Lin Yuan murmured, his voice hoarse, as if forced out through clenched teeth. His gaze grew distant as his thoughts were pulled back several years.
Back then, he'd been only a Junior War General, full of youthful confidence, and had joined an elite martial artist squad called Hunting Wind.
The captain was outgoing, the teammates were kind, and they had fought side by side in the Wilderness Zone, sharing life and death.
Until that day, deep in the Black Rock Mountain Range.
The Black Scale Beast appeared without warning, its entire body covered in pitch-black scales, like a demon from hell.
It was a massacre.
A massacre without the slightest chance of resistance.
The captain had covered their retreat and been bitten in half by the beast. The deputy captain, who'd always looked after Lin Yuan, was smashed into a pulp by one swipe of its claw...
In the end, only Lin Yuan had survived, crawling out of the pile of corpses covered in blood, thanks to his extraordinary reflexes and a little luck.
It was the darkest nightmare he'd endured since transmigrating into this world!
It was also the obsession that had driven him to break through to the War God level.
Even after he'd become a War God, and later a High-level War God, he'd never considered taking revenge.
He'd looked into it. The Black Scale Beast wasn't an ordinary High-level Lord-level Monster. It had a mutated bloodline, defenses comparable to a quasi-King-level Monster, and a horde of thousands of beasts under its command.
Going after it alone? That would be suicide.
Asking someone for help? Getting Hong or Thunder God to intervene? He didn't have the connections.
Asking other councilors would leave him deeply indebted, and they might not even agree.
So he'd chosen to temporarily forget about it. The monsters would all die eventually, anyway.
"Settle everything..."
Lin Yuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the confusion had completely vanished, replaced by a chillingly cold killing intent.
"That's right. I'm much stronger now."
He would swing his blade and wipe away, once and for all, the shadow of his former weakness.
Besides, the reward was tempting. Why not go for it?
Lin Yuan slowly rose to his feet. As he moved, a layer of flowing black material instantly covered his whole body.
Only his icy eyes remained visible—his Black God Suit!
"Even if it's a King-level Monster, I can break its teeth now!"
Whoosh!
The nine silver blades instantly gathered beneath his feet, forming a perfect disc.
Lin Yuan stepped onto it, and in an instant, his whole body became a black bolt of lightning, shooting into the sky!
Boom!!!
His terrifying speed tore through the air, and a white sonic boom cloud burst above Jiangnan Base City.
Under the astonished gazes of countless passersby...
The shooting star didn't stop in the city. With unstoppable momentum, it headed straight for the depths of the Wilderness Zone—to the forbidden land known as the Black Rock Mountain Range.
The Black Rock Mountain Range lay thousands of miles from Jiangnan Base City.
The mountains were steep and rugged, shrouded year-round in a layer of gray mist.
By then, dusk was drawing near.
The setting sun was red as blood, staining the rolling mountain range a dark crimson and lending it an indescribably oppressive, eerie air.
"Roar—"
"Awoo—"
As night drew close, the mountains, silent all day, began to stir. The roars of beasts echoed through the valleys, a chorus heralding their revelry.
Skeletal remains were scattered among the pitch-black crevices in the rocks.
Some belonged to humans, others to monsters. Shattered Alloy Battle Blades and rusted combat vests lay half-buried in the dirt, silently bearing witness to the cruelty of this place.
This was a forbidden zone for humanity and a paradise for monsters.
Rumble—
The already gloomy sky suddenly filled with rolling black clouds. Thunder boomed deep within them, as if even the heavens sensed the slaughter about to unfold.
Crack!
A blinding bolt of lightning tore across the sky, briefly illuminating the dim mountaintop.
At the very instant the lightning flashed, a figure clad in black battle armor appeared soundlessly atop a solitary peak, like a ghost.
Lin Yuan held a long blade wrapped in crackling arcs of electricity, his imposing aura surging.
Before him lay the Black Scale Beast's outer defenses: thousands of Iron-Haired Boars and One-Horned Boars, along with dozens of Beast General-level Monsters mixed among them.
"Roar!"
A Junior Lord-level Bloodthirsty Tank spotted the human in the sky and let out an angry roar, trying to rally its underlings to attack.
But its roar had barely begun—
Pfft!
A streak of silver light flashed by, almost too fast for the naked eye to catch.
The gigantic Lord-level Monster, as large as a tank, had its head explode like a watermelon. Blood and brain matter sprayed across the ground.
No scream. No struggle.
A single blow had killed it!
The beast horde, which had been stirring moments before, fell briefly silent.
Then came destruction.
Lin Yuan's expressionless right hand clenched in the air.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Arc Wheel hovering beside him instantly broke apart into nine streaks of death. With a shrill whistle, they plunged into the beast horde below.
It was a one-sided slaughter.
The Beast General-level Monsters that normally terrified martial artist squads were as fragile as tofu before the Arc Wheel.
Wherever the silver light passed, limbs flew and clouds of blood filled the air.
Lin Yuan didn't even use the long blade in his hand. Controlling his weapon with Spiritual Force alone, he carved a bloody path through the beast horde as easily as reaping wheat.
He advanced step by step through the air, heading deeper into the mountains.
With every step, dozens of monsters fell into pools of blood.
As time passed, the dark brown rock beneath him had been stained a glaring crimson. The thick stench of blood rose into the air, nauseating anyone who caught it.
At last, Lin Yuan stopped.
A hundred meters ahead stood a gigantic pitch-black cave. No grass grew around its entrance, where countless enormous bones lay scattered.
A suffocating, savage aura slowly seeped out from the depths of the cave.
Two enormous crimson eyes, as large as lanterns, lit up in the darkness and fixed on Lin Yuan outside.
It was the fury of a king whose authority had been challenged.
Lin Yuan stood amid the pool of blood, letting the fierce wind toss his black hair.
A long blade gleaming with brilliant blue light appeared in his hand, its tip angled toward the ground as blood slowly dripped along its length.
Looking into those familiar crimson eyes, he curled his lips into a smile colder than ice.
"Old friend, long time no see."
"Today...I'm here to kill your whole family."
Before you continue