Transformation

It hurt, hurt, hurt!

At the razor's edge between life and death, every scale on the handle of the Copper Anchor Gao Jing wore stood erect.

Their sharp edges easily sliced through his skin and pierced into his flesh.

The intense pain jolted Gao Jing's heart and spread throughout his entire body in the blink of an eye.

His eyes bulged as if they were splitting apart, and every strand of hair stood on end!

Yet it was precisely this searing pain that freed Gao Jing from the Crimson Giant Serpent's suppression and allowed him to regain control of his body!

"Ah~"

Gao Jing threw back his head and roared, violently raising the hunting crossbow clenched in both hands.

There was no time to aim carefully. The instant the bolt's tip pointed at the Crimson Giant Serpent, he pulled the trigger.

He put every ounce of his strength into it!

Bang!

The taut composite-fiber string released tremendous kinetic energy in an instant, propelling the metal bolt forward like a streak of lightning.

At that very moment, the Crimson Giant Serpent, already less than ten meters from Gao Jing, coiled its body and contracted the muscles in its tail. Like a compressed spring, it suddenly launched high into the air.

Its grotesque, blood-filled maw opened wide as it bit toward Gao Jing's head!

It liked to seize its prey by the head, inject venom through its razor-sharp fangs, then swallow the prey after its flesh and bones had dissolved.

Splat!

The Crimson Giant Serpent had only just leaped into the air when the silver-white bolt struck its body like lightning.

The conical alloy arrowhead pierced through its scales and burrowed deep into its body!

As if struck by lightning, the Crimson Giant Serpent convulsed violently from head to tail, and a spray of scarlet blood burst from its throat.

That snake blood happened to spray directly across Gao Jing's face!

Caught off guard, Gao Jing was instantly blinded and could no longer see anything.

The thick stench of blood poured into his nostrils, smearing his entire face and even splashing into his mouth.

Bang!

The next moment, a snake tail swept over and slammed viciously into him.

Gao Jing flew backward like a kite with its string cut, with no telling how many ribs broken.

"Go back!"

Before losing consciousness, the gravely injured Gao Jing conveyed his intent with the last of his awareness.

He instantly returned to the main world.

Back to his rented apartment.

But Gao Jing had been unconscious for only a few seconds before savage pain forcibly woke him.

His face felt as though it had been drenched in boiling oil. He could not open his eyes at all. It felt as though his skin no longer existed, as scorching pain seeped through every inch of muscle and bone.

Deep into his brain!

It was as though he had a red-hot lump of charcoal in his mouth, which then slid down his esophagus into his stomach and set his internal organs ablaze.

This agony was difficult to describe with words. It was like being kicked into boiling water, or stuffed into a blazing furnace.

He really was going to die.

Compared to this, the pain from his broken ribs was nothing at all.

Lying on the floor, Gao Jing struggled out of his backpack and jacket, crawled into the bathroom by memory, and used his last shred of strength to turn on the shower.

As countless droplets of water fell over Gao Jing's body, he lost consciousness once more.

The tap water flowed without end as Gao Jing lay sprawled across the tiles, twisting unconsciously.

The skin on his body, and even his muscles, continuously turned to black charcoal and flaked away. Not even his scalp was spared.

He looked like a scorched prawn, steaming all over.

The sight was unbearable!

At that moment, the Copper Anchor lying beneath Gao Jing silently emitted a bright white glow.

The ball of light gradually spread, completely enveloping him.

Beneath the white radiance, Gao Jing's muscles and skin continuously regenerated and healed!

Yet Gao Jing had no idea what was happening to his body. He had fallen into a hazy dream.

He dreamed that he was curled up inside an egg, everything dim and dreamlike, neither real nor unreal.

After an unknown length of time, Gao Jing felt that he had become strong enough.

He smashed through the eggshell with all his might.

Scorching magma immediately surged inside!

But Gao Jing did not feel the slightest fear. Instead, he gulped down the magma mouthful after mouthful.

As though drinking nectar and jade liquor.

His body began to grow, quickly bursting through the eggshell.

Gao Jing discovered that he was in a lake of magma, surrounded by churning currents of molten rock and thick sulfurous fumes.

As far as the eye could see, blazing flames erupted.

After living in the magma lake for some time, Gao Jing grew a little tired of it.

He wanted to leave this place and see a wider world.

Memories inherited through his bloodline told Gao Jing that the world outside was dangerous, and that he needed to become stronger.

That was simple. He only needed to sleep.

So Gao Jing coiled his body atop a rock by the magma lake and fell into slumber.

Until he woke again.

Gao Jing abruptly opened his eyes!

Streams of water struck his face, bringing coolness while blurring his vision.

Hm?

Gao Jing climbed up in surprise.

The shower in the bathroom was still running, and the floor was covered in a thick layer of water.

The drain had been blocked by something—a large clump of black, sticky sludge.

Oh no!

Gao Jing hurriedly turned off the shower. Ignoring his disgust, he grabbed the garbage clogging the drain and tossed it into the trash can.

The standing water quickly drained away.

His memories gradually returned.

Gao Jing's expression changed.

He remembered encountering a terrifying giant snake in the Great World, attacking it with a crossbow bolt, getting snake blood sprayed over his face, then being struck until his bones broke and tendons snapped before being forced to return...

The searing agony of near death remained fresh in his mind!

Gao Jing could not help touching his face, then his chest.

He let out a huge sigh of relief.

His body was completely intact, as though all that suffering had been nothing but an illusion.

What had happened this time?

Unfortunately, his memories after returning were blank.

Frowning, Gao Jing switched on the bathroom light, then reached out and wiped away the condensation on the wall-mounted mirror.

He froze.

The Gao Jing in the mirror still had the same nose and the same eyes. His appearance had not changed much.

But his features had gained far more depth, and the lines of his face had become sharply defined, revealing a man's toughness.

His eyes had become profound, his black pupils unfathomably deep.

The most obvious change was his skin.

The acne scars left from puberty had vanished completely, and the scar on his forehead from crashing into something as a child was gone.

All the weathered traces left by years of struggling outside had disappeared without a shadow!

He had become a little fairer.

But not overly pale. It was a healthy, natural complexion.

Finally, there was his hair.

It had somehow become a neat crew cut, jet-black, straight, and thick.

Though it clearly needed a trim.

That was not a problem.

The problem was what exactly had happened to give his looks such a qualitative leap?

The old Gao Jing had been around a 6.5 in looks.

Slightly above the average passerby, but nowhere near handsome-guy territory.

It was only because his physique, character, and temperament added points that he had won the favor of quite a few girls.

But the current Gao Jing was at least a 7.5!

And if his physique was included...

He could fully live up to the two words "tall and handsome."

Tall, burdened, and handsome—the burden as in debt.

At that moment, Gao Jing noticed that he seemed to have grown taller?

Excitedly, he left the bathroom, ran into the bedroom to dig out and put on a pair of shorts, then found a measuring tape in a drawer.

He also checked the time.

It was already four in the afternoon.

Barefoot, Gao Jing measured his height.

1.83 meters!

Gao Jing's original barefoot height had been 1.78 meters. With shoes on, he had barely reached 1.8 meters.

Now he had grown a full five centimeters!

Yes!!

Gao Jing truly had not expected that at his "advanced age," he could still grow this much taller.

He had solidly reached the standard of a male idol.

In his excitement, he squeezed the measuring tape in his hand.

Crack!

The measuring tape's hard plastic casing shattered at once!

Such poor quality?

Gao Jing was stunned.

But he quickly realized that the measuring tape was not poorly made.

His own strength had increased.

It was not merely his height and strength that had increased, either. His eyesight, hearing, sense of smell, and even his perception had improved!

Gao Jing had previously had mild pseudomyopia of fifty degrees, and his eyesight had not been very good.

But now, in the dim room, he could make out the code printed on the label of the desk lamp several meters away!

The sounds around him entered Gao Jing's ears with crystal clarity.

Some came from the nearby streets and roads, while others were movements made by his neighbors.

He could even hear indescribable sounds coming from the apartment above the apartment upstairs.

Ptooey!

It was not even dark yet. Were they really that impatient?

But as Gao Jing continued listening, an indescribable heat unexpectedly rose within him.

Emmmm.

A single dog aged for two years really could not take it!

Fortunately, the rumbling from his stomach saved Gao Jing. An overwhelming hunger drowned out all his other thoughts.

He quickly picked up the backpack on the floor, opened it, and took out all the food and drinks inside.

He tore open the packaging and began feasting greedily.

While wolfing everything down, Gao Jing vaguely realized...

That brush with death in the Great World had brought him a transformation.

A transformation of life itself!

The image of the Crimson Giant Serpent quietly surfaced in his mind.

Lifelike!

.