Devouring Myself, About to Transmigrate

Yangzhou City, Yi'an District No. 3 High School.

Three figures walked out through the gates of No. 3 High School with the crowd, chatting and laughing.

"Ah Feng, you've improved so quickly. We entered the dojo together, and I haven't slacked off either, but now you've left me so far behind I can't even see your taillights. From now on, Wen and I will have to count on you to look after us..."

The handsome young man who stood out most among the three spoke with a hint of melancholy.

"Brother Ren, don't say that. No matter what I achieve in the future, you and Wen will always be my best brothers!"

"That's right, that's right. Brother Ren, don't praise Ah Feng too much. We can't let him get too cocky."

The two were none other than Luo Feng and Wei Wen.

"Alright, I'm off. See you tomorrow..."

After leaving the school gates, the handsome young man seemed to be headed in a different direction from the two of them. He waved, then turned and left.

"Honestly, I don't even know whether I count as a transmigrator or a native..."

After returning to his somewhat deserted home, Ren Ze sighed inwardly.

The reason for this thought was that, ever since his birth, Ren Ze had remembered that in his previous life, he had been an utterly ordinary middle-aged man from Blue Star. His life and work had been decent enough. Yet he had neither gotten into a drunk-driving accident nor been struck by lightning while showing off. Still, after falling asleep, he woke up to find that he had become a baby!

Back then, when Ren Ze saw his surroundings, he had secretly rejoiced, thinking he had been reborn. His family seemed fairly well-off in this life too. But after looking into things, he discovered something absurd—it was actually the world of the novel he had read, Swallowed Star!

After learning what world this was, Ren Ze had focused on only two things from childhood onward, aside from studying all kinds of monster-related and cultivation-related knowledge: training his body and befriending Luo Feng.

Unfortunately, no matter how solid his basic training had been, his talent now seemed merely average. They had both trained at the dojo for two and a half years, yet Luo Feng was already an advanced dojo student, while Ren Ze was still just a little short.

As for the latter matter, Ren Ze had handled it effortlessly with his abundant life experience and social skills. Not long after entering high school, he had become the leader of their trio.

"I still can't accept it. This world is so brilliant and colorful. I finally got another life in Swallowed Star—all I had to do was focus on training! I wouldn't have to worry about mortgages or car loans, suck up to my boss, or argue with my wife over every little household expense. But my talent is so ordinary. I have memories from my past life, yet they're of little use... I can't even protect my family... I wonder whether the cheat ability that's about to arrive will be any good..."

Ren Ze's parents had always treated him well in this life. Though they were not warriors, they worked on purchasing low-level monster materials near the edge of the Wilderness Zone, buying cheap monster flesh and blood that warriors found inconvenient to carry. Thus, they were considered somewhat well-off among ordinary people.

Unfortunately, when Ren Ze had just turned sixteen and was still dreaming of becoming a warrior, he received news that both of them had gone missing during a small monster tide. There had been no word of them since.

As for the cheat ability, Ren Ze had discovered that from the age of ten onward, a vast Star Map had appeared in his mind, along with an energy progress bar in its lower-left corner. He had been thrilled when he first discovered it, but the bar only grew by around one percent each month. Only recently had it seemed close to filling up.

Thinking of the cheat ability, Ren Ze calmed his mind and observed the vast starry sky within his head once more. To his delight, he found that after the energy bar had filled, one of the dim planets in the starry sky had begun to emit a faint glow. When he curiously focused his attention on that planet, a burst of silvery-white light suddenly lit up around him...

After a moment of dizziness, Ren Ze landed on his backside in the grass. Looking around, he found himself in a beautiful valley. On the cliff to his left, a great waterfall hung in the air like a jade dragon, roaring down into the crystal-clear lake before him. The lake churned where the waterfall entered it, yet only a dozen or so meters away, its surface was smooth as a mirror. Silvery-white moonlight spilled down, and a bright full moon was reflected in the center of the lake.

Faced with such a beautiful sight, Ren Ze was dumbstruck.

"I just transmigrated that casually? Is this cheat ability really that sloppy? There aren't even any instructions... How could it suddenly throw me into some wild mountain valley in the middle of nowhere?!"

When he visualized the Star Map in his mind again, he found that the energy bar had been completely drained. Yet he vaguely sensed that he would be able to return once the energy filled up again.

"Ah... ah!"

Before Ren Ze could figure out where he was, a startled cry came from above him. Just as he raised his head to look, a black shadow brushed against him. His body toppled backward, and he immediately passed out.

"Brother, wake up!"

In his daze, Ren Ze felt someone shaking him. He slowly came to.

Before him stood a young man whose looks were on par with his own. He wore a long green robe and had red lips, white teeth, and delicate yet handsome features. Ren Ze was a little stunned by the sight. He shook his still-dizzy head. What was going on?!

"You... who are you? Where is this?"

Ren Ze frowned as he asked.

The green-robed scholar sized up Ren Ze's strange clothing. Though surprised, he did not ask any questions. He cupped his hands and said, "I am Duan Yu. This is within Mount Wuliang. I deeply apologize for what happened earlier. I accidentally slipped and fell from the mountain, knocking you over. Are you hurt, brother?"

"Mount Wuliang? Duan Yu? Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils?"

Ren Ze had never expected such an answer. He froze, then felt himself all over before reflexively complaining, "You're Duan Yu, heir to the Prince of Zhennan of Dali? This is Mount Wuliang? Thank goodness, I'm not seriously hurt. If you'd landed a little more accurately, I'd be dead."

"Eh? Who are you, brother? You actually know me? Please accept my apologies."

Duan Yu stared at Ren Ze in astonishment while cupping his hands and bowing. He had secretly run away from Dali, and no one should have known his identity. Yet this young man, whom he had knocked down and then revived in this deep valley, had immediately revealed it?

"Why did my cheat ability throw me into Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils?"

Ren Ze was still utterly confused. This cheat ability was ridiculous. Forget having no instructions—it had nearly gotten him killed right at the start.

He looked at the mirror-like lake. Two handsome faces reflected upon its surface, shining against each other. Thankfully, he had arrived in his physical body, rather than through some bizarre soul transmigration or...

"Brother?"

Seeing Ren Ze fall silent, Duan Yu asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm Ren Ze. I merely stopped here to take in the sights because the scenery is so beautiful. As for how I knew your identity... well... you're the only prince in Dali. It wouldn't be strange for me to know, would it?"

Coming back to his senses, Ren Ze casually made something up.

"Oh... Brother Ren, do you know how to leave this valley? I still need to hurry and save Sister Zhong Ling."

Seeing that Ren Ze was truly unharmed, Duan Yu's thoughts immediately flew back to the girl.

"Huh? My head is still a little dizzy. I can't remember how I got in here. Let's search around nearby. There should be a way out."

Ren Ze answered perfunctorily. In truth, he was desperately searching through his memories from his previous life, trying to recall the plot of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.

"Northern Dark Divine Skill and Lingbo Micro-steps..."

Ren Ze murmured to himself. With these two martial arts, he would still be little more than cannon fodder in Devouring World, but at least he would be far stronger than an ordinary person.

The two of them immediately began searching the valley beneath the cliff. Looking up, they saw a stretch of rock wall to the right of the waterfall, smooth as jade—it was the Boundless Jade Wall.

Amid the vines opposite the Boundless Jade Wall stood a smaller stone wall. A massive boulder was suspended atop a small rock; that was the entrance to Langhuan Blessed Land.

Next, the two entered the cave dwelling. After some searching, they found a lifelike jade statue before them, the size of a real person. A faint radiance flowed through the pair of eyes carved from black gemstones, realistic enough to pass for the real thing. If Ren Ze had not known beforehand that it was merely a jade statue, he might truly have mistaken it for a living person.

As for Duan Yu, he had long since dropped to his knees, kowtowing while repeatedly crying out, "Fairy Sister!"

"Alright, Brother Duan. It's only a jade statue. Since someone once lived here, there must be a way out. Go search the surroundings again."

Ren Ze pulled Duan Yu to his feet.

After sending Duan Yu away, Ren Ze tore open the cushion and, sure enough, found a scroll of silk inside. Upon unfolding it, he saw that it contained the Northern Dark Divine Skill and Lingbo Micro-steps.

A moment later, staring at terms like Yunmen, Lieque, and the Hand Shaoyang Triple Burner meridians, Ren Ze was utterly lost. The divine skills were in hand, but he knew absolutely nothing about these meridians, acupoints, or the Eight Trigrams palace positions in the footwork.

Fairy tales were all lies! In movies and novels, protagonists usually picked up a martial arts manual, shut themselves away to train diligently for a year or two, and emerged as peerless masters.

But when it came to Ren Ze, he realized it was nowhere near that simple. With only a manual and no one else around, mastering it alone was practically impossible. It felt even more incomprehensible than the advanced calculus classes from his previous life...

Luckily, there was a ready-made teacher here. He had originally planned to learn it himself before giving it to Duan Yu and earning a favor, but now he could only take it out early.

"Brother Ren! Brother Ren! There really is a path out over here!"

Duan Yu came running over from a small path beside the stone chamber, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Brother Duan, there's no rush to leave. I found a stroke of fortune. Since the two of us were fated to meet in this valley, this opportunity ought to belong to both of us. Brother Duan, how about we study it together?"

Just because he could not understand it did not mean Duan Yu could not.

Such an excellent tool—he would be a fool not to use him.

Duan Yu had originally been rather resistant to learning martial arts and had no interest whatsoever in martial arts manuals. But when he accepted the silk scroll and unfolded it, seeing the Fairy Sister depicted on it, he immediately stopped mentioning whether he wanted to learn martial arts. Blushing furiously, he began studying it and even moved aside, afraid Ren Ze might see.

"Brother Ren, I'm not trying to keep the manual for myself. Let me study it first, then I'll teach you."

Duan Yu took the manual to one side to study it alone. Ren Ze knew exactly what was going on, merely smiling without a word as he patiently waited for Duan Yu to learn it and then teach him.

Duan Yu held the scroll and studied it carefully before coming over to explain it to Ren Ze. It took a full two hours or so before Ren Ze completely memorized the essential movements of Lingbo Micro-steps.

As for the Northern Dark Divine Skill, Duan Yu really was a useless cheat. He only taught Ren Ze the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian and the Ren Meridian, and even those were things he only half understood himself...

So be it. If he mastered Lingbo Micro-steps first, at least he would be able to keep himself undefeated.

"Brother Ren, um... we've both learned the manual now. Could you give this silk scroll to me?"

Duan Yu shamelessly asked Ren Ze.

"Of course."

Ren Ze shook his head with a smile. What sort of sights had he not seen? Wasn't he better than this fragrant thing?

Although he had only learned an incomplete version of the Northern Dark Divine Skill, keeping the manual would not help him understand it anyway. Since he had chosen to let Duan Yu teach him, he might as well see the good deed through to the end.

"Oh, right, Brother Duan, are you well supplied with money? I lost my travel funds..."

Having arrived in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils with not a coin to his name, Ren Ze would be a fool not to fleece this rich bastard before him.

"Huh? Alright, alright. I still have some banknotes on me."

Duan Yu smiled. For a moment, he felt that his relationship with Ren Ze had grown much closer. As he spoke, he took out several banknotes and handed them to Ren Ze.

Ren Ze looked them over. Each banknote was worth a hundred taels. He really was a rich bastard.

"Brother Ren, if fate allows us to meet again, I'll definitely share a few drinks with you."

After following the small path out of the cave and reaching the banks of the Lancang River, Duan Yu still had to rescue Zhong Ling, so he bade Ren Ze farewell.

Ren Ze had no intention whatsoever of going with him. Missing out on a girl like Mu Wanqing was somewhat regrettable, but Duan Yu was the protagonist. This trip would be dangerous but ultimately safe for him, whereas Ren Ze had only just learned Lingbo Micro-steps and possessed no inner strength at all. Wouldn't going along just be throwing his life away?

Right now, Ren Ze only wanted to grow stronger.

When he suddenly encountered a powerful enemy, he could use it to protect himself; accumulate inner strength, then take his enemy's life...

Ren Ze practiced Lingbo Micro-steps as he made his way down the mountain. Though he did not feel any inner strength being generated, his speed was remarkably fast.

After walking for a while, Ren Ze not only felt no fatigue, but was instead full of energy. Having just begun to learn Lingbo Micro-steps gave him a bit of security. At the very least, no random bandit or robber would be able to push him around so easily anymore.