When I woke up, what I saw was a dim room that seemed to be lit with candles.
Waking up from the slightly hard bed, I realized the surrounding room was completely unfamiliar. Falling into a sudden panic, I instinctively muttered to myself, trying to gain some comfort. “Where am I? Was I kidnapped?”
Seeing a vanity with a huge bronze mirror on top, I stood up from the bed and slowly walked to it, trying to check my current condition. What comes into view is a completely different face from the one i remember.
The bronze mirror reflected a bruised boy with a swollen eye, presumably from crying or getting punched in the eye. The boy looked around fifteen or sixteen years old with shoulder-length hair and wearing an ancient Chinese costume seemingly from a historical drama. “Did I transmigrate?”
Has my glorious time come?
I have always been an ordinary worker without any grand ambition. Working, resting, playing games, rinse and repeat until I die.
Although my Chuunibyou tendencies have faded with time, I couldn’t help but beexcited.
Imagine becoming a magician or a cultivator. Gaining supernatural abilities beyond ordinary human capabilities. Just the thought of it makes me shake in excitement.
That is when I noticed I didn’t even know what kind of world I was currently in. Is it a western world of magic? A Xianxia world with cultivators? A Wuxia world with martial artists? A beast taming world where one could nurture many companion beasts? Or perhaps a historical world without any supernatural power at all!
As I started to think more about my current situation, I slowly panicked because I realized I didn’t know how to act like the original body before I transmigrated into it.
That is until a huge amount of memories that caused me a slight headache flooded out of nowhere. Those memories seem to come from this body’s original owner, as I could see the younger figure of the body I am in among those memories.
This body is part of the Ren family, the overlord of Burning Sky City. A first-rate city located in the hinterland of the Great Azure Empire. Being one of the core members of the Ren family’s younger generation, called Ren Qingquan. This body’s father is the only son of the second elder of the Ren family. He works as the person in charge of several businesses that the Ren family owns.
As for this body’s mother, she went missing mysteriously not long after giving birth to Ren Qingquan. Leaving only the father and son alone. Which seriously sounds like some cliche plot.
As an only child, his father spent many resources to nurture the martial arts abilities of his current body. And it seems the resources don’t go to waste, as Ren Qingquan is currently in the ninth stage of martial apprentice at fifteen years old. Which is considered a genius even compared to the whole great azure empire.
After watching the memory for this long, I finally found out that this world is actually a martial arts world where a human could train their body until they could smash boulders with their bare hands.
Just like in those novels, the martial arts real in this world are separated into several levels. From a martial apprentice, martial master, martial grandmaster, martial saint, and martial lord, to a martial emperor who has power far beyond ordinary humans.
Finally, I arrived at an extremely important part. The cause of my transmigration.
One day, I could see Ren Qingquan fighting in a martial arts arena surrounded by many important elders of the family against someone called Ren Qingchen, a child from the side branch of the Ren family.
During the fight, although Ren Qingchen is only in the sixth martial apprentice realm, his ingenious usage of martial arts and extremely high combat awareness actually make him suppress Ren Qingquan, who is in the ninth stage of martial apprentice, pretty easily.
After losing the fight and losing consciousness right in front of many important elders, the family’s physician cured Ren Qingquan’s wound and left him to rest in his room. But, thinking about the disappointment his father and grandfather might have, and having the illusion of a genius broken right in front of him. He died from stress and shock while overthinking when trying to sleep.
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(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
Looking at the last part of the memories. I couldn’t help being speechless. Slowly digesting the information I had just gained, I tried to adjust my mental state by repeatedly the phrase “I am Ren Qingquan” several times.
After all, I don’t want to be suspected as some kind of body stealing demon.
Even that's the truth~
And so my new life as Ren Qingquan, a core member of the Ren family, has begun.
Almost immediately, I saw something glowing right in front of me.
[Ding! Host detected. Do you wish to bind the World Devouring System?]
“What?” Is this perhaps the most famous cheat of transmigrators? A system?
[Detected, the host has responded. The World Devouring System has been bound.]
“System?” Darn, this thing seems pretty rogue. It doesn’t even wait for me to answer before binding itself to me.
[The World Devouring System allows the host to collect points by devouring something in the world. Host may use points to upgrade system functions or purchase items in shops. The World Devouring System also contains auxiliary functions that will help the host in your attempt to devour everything.]
No matter how he looks at it, the system’s name and its additional information definitely scream evil. What the heck is the world devouring system as a name and its goal to devour anything?
[The host could access the system panel by thinking about the system mentally.]
Looking at the new word written on the screen, Ren Qingquan tried to follow the guide and spoke in an internal monologue. System panel.
With that word, a new panel opened in front of him.
[Name: Ren Qingquan
Realm: Ninth-stage martial apprentice
Point: 0
Technique: Dragon dance (martial grandmaster)
Skills: Tiger Subduing Palm (middle), Feather Step (low), Iron Cloth (low).
System function: devour, shop (locked), scan, calculate, system storage (1 cubic meter).]
Looking at the panel, I could still understand the technique and skills part. The technique written is exactly the same as the technique Ren Qingquan practiced in memory, with the limit of said technique being in the martial grandmaster realm.
I could also understand the skills section. Tiger Subduing Palm is a martial arts skill that utilizes palm strike to deal significant damage to a target. It is also the skill the original Ren Qingquan used most often. As for the feather step and iron cloth, one is a movement skill, and the other is a defense skill. Then, the middle and low written inside brackets probably mean my proficiency.
But for the system function, Ren Qingquan has no idea at all. So, rather than wasting time guessing about it, he just asked the system.
“System, what are those system functions written in the panel?” Saying that mentally, he waited for the system to reply.
[The system functions list several functions the host may use on your journey to devour the world.
First, the ‘Devour’ function allows the host to absorb anything you wish to by touching it. The target of devour must not have a strong will to resist. After consuming things worth a certain amount of points, the host may unlock the shop function.
‘Scan’ is used to detect an area, item, or person and understand its information. The results from the scan come from the system database. So please study more to increase the amount of information gained from ‘Scan’.
‘Calculate’ is used to calculate data during battle and to create or strengthen techniques and skills.
‘Storage’ is used to store inanimate objects. Also, time doesn’t pass for the objects stored inside.]
***
Consciousness space
As I see the transmigrator Ren Qingquan adapt quickly, I feel relieved, as it seems we could work together for a long time to survive in this new world.
The devouring system is something I just created based on my currently available skills. I used those system novels from my previous world as a template.
As for why I don’t use the martial arts system or something as its name. It is because I will be embarrassed if somehow, like in those novels, cultivators actually exist but are just hidden from the world. Changing the system name multiple times will make me seems low-level.
Anyway, it will be impossible for Ren Qingquan to devour the world just by relying on martial arts, right? As I fell into thought, I also tried to open a panel I created for myself.
[Name: System
Skill: [Storage], [Transfer], [Calculate], [Absorb], [Scan], [Create], [Anchor]
Energy:17600]
I used the amount of energy required to transfer the panels to Ren Qingquan, which is the cheapest thing I have spent as 1 energy.
It cost me more than 20000 to add the soul reading function to the scan. Around 250 to create the space, and it cost 10 energy to create the panel for the World Devouring System and this panel I am using. Although changing the word in the panel doesn’t cost anything after it's created.
Looking at my current energy balance, I somehow feel a bit anxious. After all, I still don’t understand how much energy there is and how difficult it is to collect it.
Seriously, I want to urge him to use the devour function so I could collect sufficient information to understand whether the points i currently have are a lot or only a little.
By the way, the [Devour] function on his panel is only a renamed [Absorb]. Devour sounds much more domineering than [Absorb], after all.