Birth!

On a spacious rooftop of the enormous spaceship-shaped building.

"Luo Feng, judging from your experience, how difficult do you think the trial at Civilization Ruins No. 9 was?"

Hong asked after a moment of thought.

"Difficult?"

Luo Feng fell silent. He had spent a year and three months there, cultivating desperately to complete the trial so he could get out and see his family sooner.

"Very difficult!"

"If you can't finish within the allotted time, you die!" Luo Feng shook his head without revealing much more.

"Luo Feng, there's only one Spirit Reader on Earth who has reached Councilor Level: Fourth Speaker Ister. But he isn't as talented as you, and he's far too ambitious. I don't like him."

Hong shook his head. Over the years, with Ister and Fifth Speaker Atkin backing it, the HR Alliance had steadily increased its influence over the world's economy, politics, and other spheres.

Had Hong and Thunder God not been there to keep it in check, the HR Alliance would probably have cast aside all restraint long ago.

"Keep working hard!"

Hong offered him encouragement. "Once you and Yang Zheng have grown stronger, having you two around will make things easier for Thunder God and me!"

The two of them had always feared that Earth would one day be discovered by some interstellar nation or faction. If that happened, Earth's humans would face either annihilation or enslavement, sold off as slaves.

Their chances of surviving by sheer luck were minuscule.

No one dared take that gamble.

In the vast universe, Earth was utterly insignificant. Humanity was merely the native population of this planet, and any threat from the cosmos could decide the fate of Earth's humans.

To gain the power to protect Earth, they had to reach Star Level as soon as possible. Otherwise, a worthy successor would have to rise and reach Star Level before they could protect Earth's humans.

And these two exceptionally gifted young men, Yang Zheng and Luo Feng, would surely surpass them in the future, given their talent and potential-as long as they did not die along the way.

They were humanity's hope!

Canglan Residential Area, Northwest City.

Although Wang Jiu had resigned as president of the Limit Martial Hall and taken full control of the Wang Family, his family had not immediately moved to Kyoto City, mainly because of Yang Yi and his older sister Yang Jing's schooling.

The siblings were now in their final year of high school. Moving after their college entrance exams would be soon enough.

That evening, the family sat down to dinner.

"Dad, Mom, I won't be coming home for the next few days. I'll probably need five or six days." Holding his rice bowl, Yang Zheng picked up a piece of braised pork.

"Five or six days?"

His father, Wang Jiu, could not help asking from beside the table, "Are you about to make a breakthrough in your cultivation?"

"Yes!"

Yang Zheng nodded. "If nothing goes wrong, I should have broken through to Planetary Level by the time I come out of seclusion."

"Planetary Level!!!"

Wang Jiu's chopsticks fell with a clatter. His mother, Yang Rong, and the two siblings shoveling down their rice were stunned as well.

As the family of a war god-and of a senior executive of the Limit Martial Hall-how could they not know what Planetary Level meant? Those were the exalted Councilors, beings whom even nations had to treat with respect.

But now...

Their own family was about to have a Councilor Level expert.

Yang Zheng usually kept a very low profile. Or rather, his cultivation advanced so quickly that he had never really shown his strength to the outside world. Yet the recognition he had received from the Limit Martial Hall's senior leadership was beyond question.

And it was precisely that low profile that made his words so easy to believe.

"Brother, wait!"

After dinner, Yang Zheng headed for the Limit Hall. But just as he entered the elevator, a small figure squeezed in after him.

"Jing, what are you doing?"

Seeing his younger sister tilt up her slightly baby-faced cheeks, Yang Zheng instinctively stepped back, wary.

"Brother, there's something I'd like your help with." Yang Jing tugged on his arm and raised her fair little face, her shining eyes carrying a hint of sweet innocence.

"Brother~"

She drew the word out in lilting tones, its ending as honeyed as if it had been dipped in syrup.

Yang Zheng remained unmoved. He would not be fooled by this girl. Beneath that seemingly quiet exterior lay a thoroughly violent nature.

"What is it?"

In the end, having his arm shaken became too uncomfortable. Yang Zheng certainly had not been swayed by her sweet plea. He was simply worn down by the pestering.

"Brother, I want to become a martial artist!"

Yang Jing's eyes filled with hope. The pleading look she gave him made it hard to refuse.

"So that's what this is about!"

Yang Zheng could not help sighing inwardly. Their parents had always shared the same stance regarding these twins.

When it came to their son Yang Yi, Wang Jiu approved of him practicing martial arts. Although Yang Rong was reluctant, she had not stopped him.

But when it came to their daughter Yang Jing...

Both parents held exactly the same position.

Absolutely not!

Yang Jing was actually quite doted on at home. Their mother, Yang Rong, treated all three children equally, of course. Yang Zheng was good to both his younger siblings, but he still favored Yang Jing.

Their father, Wang Jiu, was something of a doting father himself. After all, he had two sons but only one daughter.

As for Yang Yi, he prided himself on his high intelligence and disdained stooping to quarrel with Yang Jing.

"Your college entrance exams are next year, right...?"

Yang Zheng pondered for a moment. The Golden Horned Beast crisis would erupt in a year, and afterward, Earth's humans would begin venturing into the universe.

"I won't stop you. But if you really want to become a martial artist, you need to think carefully about the dangers of that path."

In the end, strength was what counted in this world. In fact, Yang Zheng had already decided that even if his family disliked cultivation, he would raise their cultivation levels through resources, no matter how much it cost.

As for cultivating on their own?

That would probably be slower than having him supply them with resources.

"If you're not against it, that means you agree!"

Yang Jing automatically filtered out everything he had said afterward. With Yang Zheng's support, she could speak a little more confidently in front of their parents.

"Then I'm off, Brother. Good luck with your breakthrough!"

As soon as the two stepped out onto the Thirtieth Floor, Yang Jing returned to the elevator and rode back down.

Yang Jing was excited the whole way.

Since she could not overpower her younger brother Yang Yi with intelligence, she would have to work on beating him with strength. Otherwise, her standing as his older sister might be in jeopardy.

Yang Zheng was preparing to consume the plant spirit, Seven-Leaf Grass. The Councilors who had received Hong's warning were all behaving themselves, while countless ordinary people across Huaxia Country were preparing for the approaching New Year's Day.

That night...

The entire Earth was peaceful.

Yet in Earth's Pacific Ocean, several hundred kilometers from the Hawaiian

Islands, deep beneath the sea...

"Bzz!"

An oval Black Giant Egg, roughly twelve meters in diameter, which had remained there for over a year, suddenly trembled slightly. A series of faint vibrations followed.

Crack!

The weeds and muck piled on its surface slid away, revealing the strange golden markings on the egg's shell.

"Crack, crack, crack..."

As the vibrations grew stronger, crisp cracking sounds began to come from the egg's surface. A fissure appeared, and then the shell split open along it.

On this unknown seabed...

A mysterious giant beast was quietly born.