[Year 2036 – Age 40]

Samuel Barlow opened his eyes.

The battle with the Sea Dragon had left him broken, his body barely holding together. Yet, against all odds, he had survived.

But where was he?

The sky was gone. There was no sun, no stars—only an eerie luminescence radiating from strange minerals embedded in the cavernous ceiling above. The air was thick with rich Natural Energy, and the land stretched endlessly before him, teeming with bizarre vegetation and creatures unlike anything he had ever seen.

It took him days to fully grasp the truth.

This was not the surface world.

He had fallen into the Underworld—the Hollow Earth hidden beneath the planet's crust.

At first, he sought a way back. But there was none. The cavern ceiling was impossibly vast, an unbreakable barrier between this world and the surface. He could have used his power to force his way through—but the sheer force could trigger a catastrophe above. Millions could die.

That was a risk he refused to take.

So instead, he chose to explore.

The Hollow Earth was unlike anything he had ever encountered. The Natural Energy here was denser—stronger than anything on the surface. Strange plants thrived on glowing minerals, radiating power. Beasts roamed with abilities far beyond those of surface creatures. Even the air itself pulsed with life.

It was a land of untapped potential.

Samuel had already ascended beyond Megahuman, becoming Superhuman. But he knew he was not invincible. There would be another, like a sea dragon, emerging in the future. He needed to evolve further. And this place… this place was an opportunity.

Then, he made a discovery that changed everything.

Ancient Ruins.

Scattered remnants of an ancient civilization, their structures long abandoned yet filled with traces of intelligence. At first, he believed he was alone. That this was an uninhabited realm.

But the ruins told a different story.

Carvings, relics, and forgotten texts revealed a shocking truth—

Earth was never meant to be a planet.

Long ago, it was part of a cultivation realm connected to a vast cultivation world where people pursued eternal life. But then, a powerful cultivator—one so strong he could cut entire worlds apart—severed this land from the realm. He reshaped it into a planet and hid himself deep within its core.

And for what?

To hide and guard a treasure of unimaginable value.

Samuel followed the remnants of this lost civilization deeper into the Hollow Earth, piecing together its history. Eventually, he uncovered the full truth—

An ancient cultivator, the true owner of this planet, failed to advance to the next level of the cultivation realm… and died here.

But before he perished, he left behind his life’s work—a legacy of knowledge, techniques, and artifacts.

And Samuel had inherited it all.

For the next four years, he studied, trained, and decoded the ancient texts.

He learned the ways of cultivation—but quickly realized something disturbing.

His path was completely different.

Cultivators refined their mind, body, and soul, preparing to ascend toward the Dao and attain immortality. But Samuel…

He wasn’t even sure a soul was real.

His power didn’t stem from mystical forces or spiritual enlightenment. It came from the evolution of his human DNA—his very existence breaking through the limits of humanity itself.

His progress was instinctive, biological, and scientific, rather than mystical or spiritual.

By the time he fully grasped the cultivation system, it was already too late to change.

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He had already reached the realm that cultivators called Stage 4 mortal—the fourth stage out of The Nine Mortal Realms, the First Great Realms of Dao Path before a mortal could become immortal.

If he wanted to advance further…

He could no longer rely on traditional cultivation methods.

There was only one path left.

His own.

[Year 2040 – Age 44]

It had been eight years since Samuel Barlow fell into the Hollow Earth. He had spent his time cultivating Natural Energy or as the cultivators of other places called it—Spiritual Qi.

During the Fourth year, he had tried to strengthen his mind and soul, just as traditional cultivators did. But he failed. It was impossible without a proper foundation.

Yet, he refused to be discouraged.

Instead of following the ancient methods, he forged his own path, creating a foundation that was uniquely his. Though it was far later than normal for a cultivator, it was possible.

Years passed.

More years followed.

After two more years, he succeeded in creating his own cultivation system to advance to the next realm.

After another two years, he broke through.

The limits of Superhuman were shattered.

He had evolved into something beyond human comprehension—Hyperhuman.

His power was no longer what people of Earth could imagine. Even nuclear weapons paled in comparison. Given enough time, he could erase the entire planet in a week.

With his newfound power, there was nothing left for him to take in the Hollow Earth. The only resource of value was the high density of Spiritual Qi.

It was time to return.

Floating above the ground, Samuel rose toward the cavern ceiling. With a thought, a thin golden beam shot from his eyes, piercing through rock and soil, cutting through layers of the planet with precision. The beam reached the surface in mere moments.

Then, his body dissolved into light particles, vanishing from the Hollow Earth.

In an instant, he reappeared above the ocean, not far from the West Coast. Without hesitation, he flew toward land, his heart pounding with anticipation.

Would his home still be there?

The moment he set foot on land, his excitement turned to horror.

The world was… empty.

There were no humans in sight.

At first, he assumed it was due to the Sea Dragon’s attack—perhaps humanity had simply moved inland, away from the coasts. But the deeper he traveled into the continent, the more his unease grew.

There were animals, insects, and even signs of nature reclaiming the cities.

But no people.

His frown deepened. This was unnatural.

Pushing forward, he eventually reached the capital city on the other side of the country, It was here that he finally found traces of human activity—hidden bunkers, underground tunnels, and signs of life lurking in the shadows.

Following these clues, he eventually discovered a group of survivors, hidden deep beneath the ruins.

He landed before them, his presence radiating overwhelming power. They were terrified. But he didn’t care.

"What happened to the world?" he demanded.

What he learned shattered him.

After he killed the Sea Dragon, the world returned to peace.

For three years, humanity thrived once more.

But then… they came.

A group of powerful dragons, descended from the stars, had arrived on Earth.

They were the Dragon Clan, the Primordial demon clan. They had come to retrieve the Sea Dragon, their kin.

But the Sea Dragon was dead.

And they were furious.

Their vengeance began immediately.

First, they hunted down every single evolved human, slaughtering them one by one. Then, they sank an entire continent—Australia—into the ocean, wiping out a hundred million lives in an instant.

In a desperate bid for survival, the world government attempted to negotiate.

Their proposal?

They offered up Samuel’s parents and friends as a sacrifice, hoping to appease the Dragon Clan.

Samuel wasn’t there.

So, the dragons accepted the offering instead.

Before the eyes of every human on Earth, they tortured and executed his loved ones in the most horrific way imaginable.

And then, they left.

With no evolved humans left to protect them, humanity crumbled not long after that, The world is overrun by mutants and civilization is collapsing.

Samuel stood in silence.

The truth weighed on him like a mountain.

Everything he had sacrificed—everything he had fought for—was for nothing.

He had given up everything to protect humanity…

And in return, they had betrayed him.

His body trembled—not from exhaustion, but from rage.

The humans who stood before him watched in fear as his golden eyes burned with hatred.

"You sold out my family. My friends. All for your own survival." His voice was calm but cold—colder than the void of space.

They begged for mercy.

But there was none left in him.

Without another word, his eyes glow with golden light—once a light of hope, but now a light of destruction—as he unleashes his power.

In a single moment, every survivor here was erased.

Not a scream. Not a body.

Just ashes in the wind.

That day, Samuel abandoned humanity.

[Year 2096 – Age 100]

Samuel Barlow, once a champion of Earth, now stood on the moon, looking down at the planet he had burned. The land was covered in blazing marks—his marks.

After learning the fate of his parents and friends, he was shattered. He was part of the reason they met such a horrible end. His tears still came when he thought about them, and then anger followed—anger at himself for how foolish he had been. Foolish to dedicate his entire life to protecting and wanting to be recognized by humanity. Foolish for not being there when it mattered. Foolish for thinking that leaving them with others' care could keep them safe.

Fate had been cruel.

If Spiritual Qi had never appeared, maybe things would have been different. But there was no "if." He couldn't change anything. Not even as an Omega Human, a Stage 8 mortal—someone whose power could shatter planets—could turn back time.

He had already destroyed Earth's surface. Now, he would erase it entirely.

His next goal was set: destroy the planet, take the Immortal’s treasure, find the cultivation realm, and get his revenge on the Dragon Clan.

Samuel took one last look at Earth before his eyes glowed with golden light. A beam as vast as a mountain shot forth, piercing the planet’s core. The surface cracked, and magma surging through the fractures. The core trembled, unable to withstand the force.

Then—

BOOM!

The Earth broke apart.

Samuel didn't care. His focus was on the treasure hidden within the core. As the planet crumbled, a brilliant Red Jadestone emerged—an Immortal treasure a high-rank one as that.

He floated forward into the space, reaching for it—

Ding!

[Simulation End]

His consciousness faded.