Reincarnation

As far as the eye could see.

Darkness surrounded him, so thick he could not see his hand before his face.

An endless, vast, terrifying pressure surged in from every direction, as if it wanted to crush Zhou Hao into a pulp.

Zhou Hao frowned slightly, but there was not a trace of panic on his face.

He first stretched lazily, then snapped his fingers. No sound came out, but the friction between his muscles and skin felt exceptionally clear.

"Looks like this isn't a dream... One second ago, I was asleep in my own bed. The next, I suddenly appeared in this kind of environment. Such an absurd instantaneous change means I've probably encountered something beyond the logic of the real world!"

As he muttered to himself, Zhou Hao closed his eyes.

Then he abruptly opened them.

Wisdom and calmness gleamed in his eyes. "Since this doesn't conform to real-world logic, there are only two possibilities... Either I transmigrated, or I've been caught up in some kind of supernatural event!"

At that thought.

Zhou Hao narrowed his eyes slightly. As an old bookworm who had devoured countless libraries and held all worlds within his heart, he knew very well that a situation resembling the opening of countless novels would inevitably come with all sorts of protagonist templates.

And every person had a protagonist template, carrying all kinds of cheat abilities.

In fact, the more desperate the situation, the more absurdly overpowered the cheat ability became.

So he took a deep breath, looked into the surrounding darkness, and said solemnly, "Cheat ability, come out. In a desperate situation like this, my mortal wisdom alone can't resolve it."

The darkness remained silent.

There was no response whatsoever.

Zhou Hao's expression did not change. He had already cast himself into the role of a protagonist. Even if he died at the start, he was not afraid in the slightest. As long as his true spirit remained intact, he would definitely continue living.

He firmly believed that when facing supernatural desperate situations, everyone was a protagonist.

Because... supporting characters could not possibly have a continuation.

"Ding!"

A crisp, clear sound rang out in his mind.

"Very good. Just as I expected, it really is a protagonist's opening!" A faint smile appeared on Zhou Hao's face.

"The Sign-in System has been activated. Would the host like to begin signing in?"

Upon hearing that voice.

Zhou Hao looked as though he had expected it all along. "So it's a sign-in build. I didn't expect cheat abilities to follow trends too."

Without hesitation.

Nor did he need any instruction. He directly thought, Yes.

"Congratulations, Host, on activating sign-in. As the Host is a newcomer, a special reminder: signing in every day can earn rewards, and signing in at different locations will yield completely different rewards..."

Zhou Hao patiently listened to the system's introduction.

This was extremely important.

However, he did not quite agree with the system calling him a newcomer. Although he had never personally experienced the protagonist's journey, in theory, he had already traveled through countless worlds. He was a highly experienced transmigrator with a familiarity with all kinds of cheat abilities and the strongest mouth in the world.

His level was absurdly high.

It was not even an exaggeration to joke that Zhou Hao could name a million different cheat abilities in one breath without repeating a single one.

After all, the libraries he had read were not limited to just one website!

System, begin the sign-in! he thought.

"Congratulations, Host, on successfully signing in at the Dim Land of the Cosmic Sea. You have obtained..."

The system's voice stopped abruptly halfway through.

Zhou Hao frowned. "System, what did I obtain?"

The system did not respond.

For the first time, his brow furrowed tightly. A system freezing up was truly beyond his experience.

Just as he was about to urge it again, his expression suddenly froze. "Wait, why do terms like Cosmic Sea and Dim Land sound so familiar...?"

As he muttered.

His mind rapidly searched through all the books he had read, matching the terms Cosmic Sea and Dim Land as though a movie were playing. Very quickly, Zhou Hao's eyes widened, and his whole body went limp as if every bone had fallen apart. He collapsed. "Holy shit, th-this can't be the World Beast nest in the world of Swallowed Star, can it?!"

At that moment.

Zhou Hao panicked.

He panicked completely and utterly.

No matter how strong his mental fortitude was.

His legs could not stop trembling now.

One had to know that even Giant Axe, humanity's Universe's Strongest, had entered the Dim Land of the Cosmic Sea only to say a few words before dying!

Zhou Hao was just an ordinary person.

Yet he had transmigrated here right from the start.

It was practically no different from throwing himself to his death!

No wonder the system had frozen and gone silent.

Even the system had been scared stiff by such a certain-death situation!

"Quick, quick, System, hurry up and piss me awake! I don't want to dream anymore!" Distraught, his hands trembling uncontrollably, Zhou Hao looked as though he were about to cry. At this moment, he had completely lost his composure.

There was no helping it.

The World Beasts of the Dim Land were terrifying beyond reason.

The system still did not respond.

"System, d-don't abandon me! I can still be saved, I can still be saved!" Zhou Hao spun anxiously in circles. The cheat ability was his only reliance. If even it ran away, then perhaps not even his true spirit would make it out alive.

Yet there was deathly silence all around him and in his mind.

The fear in Zhou Hao's heart reached an indescribable extreme. He felt as though he could see the bloody single eyes of a billion World Beasts staring at him.

All alone, he was like a plate of meat not even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth.

"I must have had rotten luck for eight lifetimes!" After shouting for so long without hearing a word from the system, Zhou Hao despaired.

Time ticked away.

Within his despair, the fear in Zhou Hao's heart gradually spread.

He was only an ordinary person. No matter how abundant his theoretical knowledge was, he did not have the courage to face certain death.

If a World Beast had devoured him the moment he transmigrated, then he would not have felt much.

But the problem was.

He had not been devoured yet. He was still alive and kicking.

"World Beasts are huge. One bite and I'll be gone. It probably won't hurt." Zhou Hao kept comforting himself, all while muttering that he had to calm down and think.

At first, he could not calm down at all, nor did he have the time to think.

But as time passed.

Zhou Hao's frantic mind slowly settled.

It was like hanging from the edge of a cliff and staring down into a bottomless abyss. At first, one would definitely be terrified and panic, but after hanging there for half a day without falling, one's mind would instead clear up.

As Zhou Hao gradually calmed down, his mind became active again.

He soon noticed that something was wrong.

After all.

This was the Dim Land of the Cosmic Sea!

The environment was exceptionally complex and harsh, filled everywhere with Chaos Qi.

The Chaos Qi produced overwhelming, terrifying pressure that could easily tear Immortal Spirits apart. Even Universe Venerables found it difficult to survive here.

As an ordinary person, he should normally have been torn into fragments by the pressure the instant he entered.

But even now.

Nothing had happened to him at all.

"Could it be..." Zhou Hao's eyes lit up, and a crazed gleam of wisdom flashed deep within his pupils. "The reason I was fine after transmigrating here must be the system's protection. Then if I'm still fine now, there can only be one answer!"

At that thought.

He abruptly stood up.

"System, stop hiding and hurry up with the sign-in!!" He shouted with all his strength. His heartbeat thundered as anxiety surged to its peak.

"Ding!"

The sound ringing in his mind was like heavenly music at that moment.

"Congratulations, Host, on successfully signing in at the Dim Land of the Cosmic Sea. You have obtained the Zhou Tian Star Concealment Technique."

"Congratulations, Host... You have obtained the Chaos Divine Armor."

"Congratulations, Host... You have obtained Cosmic Origin Power."

"Congratulations, Host... You have obtained one Chaos Origin Crystal."

"Congratulations, Host... You have obtained Destruction Law Talent."

"..."

Zhou Hao was dumbfounded.

He had not expected the Sign-in System to reappear and frantically hand out sign-in rewards.

It did not stop for an entire minute!!

"Ding, warning, warning!"

"The sign-in rewards have been exhausted. There is insufficient energy to maintain operation. Please change locations and sign in as soon as possible!"

"One-minute countdown."

An urgent, piercing warning sounded in his mind, and the countdown began.

Zhou Hao could feel the pressing urgency bearing down on him.

He understood that the system was not joking.

There was no time to think.

He hurriedly checked the sign-in rewards.

Without another word, he first put on the Chaos Divine Armor. His ordinary jacket was instantly covered by a piece of ancient armor that radiated vast, primordial Chaos aura.

The endless pressure around him suddenly vanished.

He let out a breath of relief.

The system was still quite reliable. The reward it had given him allowed an ordinary person like him to adapt immediately.

Then he quickly learned all the cultivation techniques and secret arts among the rewards. These sign-in rewards had to be claimed personally.

Boom.

A massive amount of information flooded Zhou Hao's mind like a tidal wave, nearly making his head explode.

It could be said.

If not for the system's protection weakening the impact, he would definitely have been turned into an idiot by that immense torrent of information.

"The Zhou Tian Star Concealment Technique, comprehension of the Destruction Law, the Soul Severing Technique..." There were eighteen cultivation techniques and secret arts in total.

The remaining rewards were mostly rare and precious items like Chaos Origin Crystals.

"Countdown: 20, 19..."

Listening to the life-threatening countdown in his mind, Zhou Hao remained very calm.

"Change locations to sign in... The Dim Land is spherical and constantly moving. I don't even know where I am right now. Leaving the Dim Land is nothing more than a fool's dream!"

He closed his eyes.

Enduring the pain, his brain began operating at high speed.

The system's sign-in energy had been exhausted. If he did not change locations, the cheat ability would likely stop functioning. That much could be judged from the system's anxious urging.

So he had to find a way to leave this place!

"I can't possibly have a solution on my own. Then I can only search among the sign-in rewards!" With that thought, he closed his eyes and quickly reviewed the rewards.

Practical items like Chaos Origin Crystals were of no help to his current predicament.

That left only the cultivation techniques and secret arts.

The Zhou Tian Star Concealment Technique, comprehension of the Destruction Law, the Soul Severing Technique... the Reincarnation Technique. One technique after another flashed through his mind.

"Countdown: 10, 9..."

When the countdown reached 3.

Zhou Hao took a deep breath. "Soul Severing, Reincarnation!!!"