Lin Feng distributed the three attribute points from the Newbie Pack without hesitation. Two into Strength, one into Mana. A faint, warm current spread through his small reptilian frame. His claws felt noticeably heavier, their edges keener. His breathing steadied—deeper, more controlled. After consuming the six-meter snake, something had shifted inside him. Fear no longer owned every moment; in its place grew a quiet, hard-edged confidence.
He began hunting smaller prey—insects, beetles, the occasional scurrying forest mouse. Each devour was modest but consistent:
[Scale Points +0.5]
[XP +1]
Slow. Steady. Growth.
Then, he saw it—a flash of pale white between tangled tree roots. It was a slender serpent, barely one meter long, with scales as smooth and luminous as polished jade under the dappled sunlight. Lin Feng's pupils narrowed to thin vertical slits. "Spirit Eye.
[Name: White Wu Snake]
[Rank: Wild]
[Level: 2]
[Skill: Poison Bite]
[Description: Its venom sacs and scales are prized by humans for crafting jewelry and deadly toxins.]
"A skill…" His tongue flicked once, tasting the air. "If I kill it, I get more Scale Points than these insects. But that poison…"
He dropped low, his scales blending with the moss and shifting shadows. The White Wu Snake sensed the disturbance. It struck—white fangs slicing forward in a blinding, ivory arc. Lin Feng twisted aside just in time. The venom hissed as it hit a tree root; the wood blackened and smoked instantly. Deadly.
He circled, patient and low to the ground. The snake coiled tighter, hissing a sharp warning. Then Lin Feng moved—not for the head, but the tail. He clamped down hard and yanked backward with all his newly infused Strength. The snake's body twisted in confusion, its head unable to reach him properly. Lin Feng's claws ripped into its midsection. It thrashed in wild panic until a single, sharp crunch echoed through the roots. The spine broke. Silence.
[Congratulations! You have killed: White Wu Snake]
[Scale Points +5]
He devoured it whole—flesh, scales, venom sacs, and all. Warmth flooded him again, but this time it carried something else. Not mere energy. Not fullness. It was a deeper, almost alien satisfaction, as though something ancient inside him had finally tasted what it truly craved. For half a heartbeat, the edges of his vision darkened, as though the world itself had thinned. Then, it passed.
[Devour Successful. XP +15]
Lin Feng exhaled slowly, his scales prickling. "What is this… rank? Wild?"
The system answered without delay:
[Monsters are ranked by Spiritual Power: Wild -> Feral -> Spirit -> Tyrant -> King -> Emperor -> Overlord -> Abyss. Lowest Wild are ordinary beasts. Highest Abyss entities can destroy nations effortlessly.]
"What rank am I?" Lin Feng asked.
[Host Rank: Wild.]
His tail drooped for a moment. "…Still trash."
Another panel unfolded, detailing the Human Cultivation Realms:
[Qi Gathering -> Bone Hardening -> Core Forming -> Golden Core -> Nascent Soul -> Spirit Transformation -> Emperor Realm -> Saint Realm. Each realm contains 10 stages.]
His eyes brightened. "So humans can cultivate… Can I transform into a human?"
[After reaching the required level and bloodline threshold, Host will unlock Human Transformation.]
Excitement surged through him like wildfire. He darted through the undergrowth, lighter and faster, dreaming of an upright posture, hands instead of claws, and a voice that could speak instead of hiss—
Then the light died.
A vast shadow swallowed the forest floor. Wind slammed down like an invisible hammer, and Lin Feng froze mid-step. Slowly—very slowly—he tilted his head upward. High above, a colossal black bird circled. Its wingspan was wider than the canopy itself—nearly fifteen meters. Feathers gleamed like overlapping obsidian blades, streaked with deep crimson veins that pulsed faintly. Its eyes were not bright; they were thick, dense red. Cold. Predatory.
A long, hooked beak curved like a scythe forged from dark iron. One flap of those wings and the air did not stir—it compressed. This was no scavenger. This was a sky tyrant. Lin Feng
activated Spirit Eye. Nothing. The panel refused to form. His heart plummeted. "I can't see its stats…"
Which meant it was at least five levels above him.
The bird released a piercing cry—not merely loud, but authoritative. It folded its wings and dove. Lin Feng bolted. The ground felt suddenly vast and exposed. The shadow grew larger, darker. Claws descended like falling guillotines. In that frozen instant, a memory flashed: cold concrete, a knife plunging, darkness. "Am I going to die… again?"
Desperation ignited. He dumped every remaining Scale Point into his bloodline.
[Primordial Dragon God Bloodline increased: 0.0001% -> 0.0004%]
Claws were inches from his spine when the Hidden Bloodline Protection activated. Golden light erupted. A colossal dragon phantom materialized—ancient, silent, and vast beyond comprehension. Its eyes opened once. The air itself cracked like glass.
The black bird's crimson pupils shrank to pinpricks. It wrenched itself backward mid-dive, wings beating frantically, shrieking as it fled into the clouds. The phantom lingered a heartbeat longer… then dissolved into motes of fading gold.
Lin Feng collapsed onto the grass, his body trembling uncontrollably. Far away, at the peak of Heavenly Thunder Mountain, a single chain trembled inside a sealed chamber. Darkness stirred. A single golden pupil opened slowly.
"…Found you."