Chapter One: A Grim Situation

“This world is no longer ruled by humans, and you no longer enjoy the comfortable life people had a hundred years ago. Wake up, students. If not for the efforts of the Three Kings back then, we wouldn’t even have these last three pieces of land to survive on.”

On the podium, a man turned around and placed the green teaching rod in his hand onto the desk, his gaze sharp as he looked at the students before him.

“Now, with mutated beasts rampant, our living space can only shrink further. I hope some of you will be able to enter Zixing Academy and become Star Core Warriors.”

More than fifty students sat below, most of them listening with solemn expressions—not so much to the speech as to the dazzling green rod on the desk.

These fifty students were the “top students” selected from an original three hundred. They knew that the refined man before them was the city’s only Foundation-level Star Core Warrior.

They also knew that the teaching rod in his hand was made from the main trunk of a Death Willow. Once infused with his attribute power, it could change size at will. But what they didn’t know was how fierce the competition outside truly was—just entering Zixing Academy, or obtaining such a weapon, was a matter of life and death.

“That’s all for today. For the final month, you don’t have to come to school. Review, and familiarize yourselves with your bodies. Try to awaken your attribute power before the exams.”

With a crisp sound, the refined man left the classroom.

“Wow, Teacher Lu is so handsome,” sighed a girl with a ponytail, her face cradled in her hands, eyes sparkling like stars.

With the first girl’s words, the classroom gradually came back to life.

A boy, spinning a pen rapidly in his hand and tapping his foot on the bench, stared and smiled at the spot Teacher Lu had just stood, lost in thought.

“Hey, Ye Bai! What are you planning to do later?” someone called.

Ye Bai’s smile vanished abruptly as he was pulled from his reverie, his eyebrows arching upward. He stood up and turned to face his bear-like best friend, Li Fei.

“Fatty Li, how many times have I told you—stop slapping my shoulder! Are you trying to push me into the ground?” Ye Bai grumbled as he gathered his things from the desk and glanced at the battered bench with a pang—he’d lost count of how many benches he’d broken this semester.

Li Fei scratched his head awkwardly. “Sorry, Yezi, it’s just a habit. Can’t seem to change it.” The two of them left the classroom together.

“Wow, it’s Goddess Xiao!” someone suddenly shouted.

Half the boys in the school rushed over, surrounding her in a tight circle, leaving just enough space for three people to pass. The entire school was in an uproar, more excited than if a Master-level Star Core Warrior had arrived.

Of course, at their age, hormones were running high. Even Ye Bai couldn’t help glancing over, though he wasn’t as crazed as the others and simply watched from a distance with Fatty. For some reason, since childhood, Fatty had always been indifferent to these things.

But Ye Bai was still stunned by her beauty, even though it wasn’t his first time seeing her. Xiao Mo: dressed in a flowing purple gown, a yellow sash accentuating her slender waist, her jet-black hair cascading to her waist—paired with her features, she was a rare beauty in this world.

Yet Ye Bai was more astonished by her background than her appearance. She was the granddaughter of the King—more precisely, the granddaughter of King Tianmu, one of the world’s Three Kings. Even if she wasn’t a direct descendant, her status was intimidating enough.

King Tianmu was a world-class powerhouse, the highest force among humans in this world. If only I could be like him, Ye Bai mused… but then he chuckled self-deprecatingly. He wasn’t even an Initiate-level Star Core Warrior yet; how could he dream of reaching the rank of King?

“Fatty, I’m heading home in a bit. What about you?” Ye Bai turned to Li Fei.

“Me? I’m going to the martial hall to check my stats,” Li Fei replied, scratching his head and revealing the muscles under his loose clothes. Fatty wasn’t really fat—he was built like a bear, all muscle. In this world, those who didn’t work hard couldn’t even survive.

At six in the evening, Ye Bai finally arrived home. Although there were public hover cars, he had insisted on running home from school throughout high school to maintain his physical fitness.

After a cold shower, Ye Bai checked the clock on the wall and figured his sister would be home soon. He took some food from the fridge, planning to heat it up and eat with his sister. As for their mother, she always came home late.

After preparing everything, Ye Bai sat at the table reviewing the only two subjects left: Human Anatomy and A Century of History. The two books were nearly fifty centimeters thick, but Ye Bai knew them by heart.

Soon, a small head poked in from outside the door.

“Big brother, you’re home early today?” his sister asked, stepping in and changing into slippers.

Ye Bai looked at the girl before him: bright-eyed, sporting two little pigtails, wearing a white shirt with red sleeves and a picture of an Imperial Willow on it. Her dark, sparkling eyes gazed at him.

“Mu’er, today was the last day of school for me, so I came home early. Go wash your hands—it’s time to eat.”

Reluctantly, Ye Mu walked to the bathroom, grumbling about how it had been a long time since they’d had their mother’s cooking. By the time she was out, Ye Bai was already waiting for her. After a quick meal, Ye Bai took his books and headed into the study, sitting down beside his sister.

Human Anatomy was divided into Human Structure and Mutant Beast Studies. Mutant Beast Studies was further divided into Mutated Animal and Plant Beasts and Paranormal Beasts. Among the animal and plant mutants, there were Beast Soldiers, Beast Generals (including Beast Soldier Generals and Beast Main Generals), Master Beasts, King Beasts, and Emperor Beasts.

Paranormal Beasts included Sand Spirits, Wood Spirits, and Water Spirits, ranging from One-Core to Six-Core Beasts. No matter the type, all mutant beasts considered humans their primary target.

Sand Spirits were mostly found around Desert Main City, Wood Spirits near Green Forest Main City, and Water Spirits around Furious Sea Main City. This book, however, only covered mutant beasts from Beast Soldier to Beast General (One-Core to Three-Core).

For example, Teacher Lu’s rod was made from the core trunk of a Ink Willow, a Beast General.

Ink Willow: Its growth cycle can range from Beast Soldier to Beast Main General. When fully mature, it can become a Master Beast, and in rare cases, a King Beast. The Imperial Willow, for instance, had already developed high intelligence, whereas Paranormal Beasts could be bizarre, with intelligence present at all levels.

A Century of History mainly recorded the pivotal events from the Age of Darkness to the present.

In the beginning of the Age of Darkness, there were only three types of spirit beasts, which emerged ceaselessly from the desert, forests, and the depths of the ocean.

At that time, the highest was a Four-Core Natural Beast, but because they appeared endlessly, nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction were eventually used. Not long after, mutated animals and plants began to attack humans frenziedly, human cities were destroyed on a massive scale, and humanity was forced to retreat to isolated enclaves.

But fate did not abandon humanity. One day, abnormal radiation emanated from the depths of the ocean, destroying all modern devices and leaving only a string of coordinates on paper in front of the scientists.

Humanity saw it as a hope for salvation, sending expedition after expedition, most of which perished. In the end, only three returned.

They were King Tiansha, master of the desert; King Tianmu, Xiao Mu; and King Tianhai, Xing Hai. No one knew their real names—perhaps they had even forgotten themselves. Ultimately, they led humanity in establishing three original settlements around the Unknown Land.

After emerging from the Unknown, the Three Kings named that sea region the Nether Sea, which remains the largest known forbidden zone. With the founding of the three settlements, human warriors were named Star Core Warriors, divided into six ranks: Initiate, Foundation, Growth, Master (Fusion), King, and Emperor.

No one knew how much time had passed. Ye Bai rubbed his forehead and set down his book, seeing his little sister asleep at his side. In his heart, he silently vowed he would get into Zixing Academy and become a Star Core Warrior.

Leaving his sister’s room, Ye Bai entered his own training room. Although called a training room, it was equipped with machines not much more advanced than those of the old era.

He’d heard that Furious Sea Main City was the most technologically advanced city, though he had no idea what it was really like. Taking off his T-shirt, he faced the machines for speed and strength training.

Currently, he was at the High Stage of Physique Tempering, but he had no special techniques. When he’d first been able to train, his mother had only given him a book called “Fusion Body Manual”—mostly rough hand-drawn diagrams, with sparse and cryptic text. With Ye Bai’s talent, had he been given a proper book on tempering, he would have reached the peak by now.

Bang, bang, bang.

Ye Bai punched the iron post before him repeatedly, recalling the techniques from the Fusion Body Manual: feet shoulder-width apart, pushing off with the heel, twisting the waist to drive the punching arm, channeling the body’s power upward into his fist.

The iron post screeched with an unpleasant, grating sound, as if it might break at any moment.

Exhaling deeply, Ye Bai stopped his relentless punching and looked at the battered iron post, thinking that he’d been breaking more and more of them lately. Yet his strength seemed to have reached a bottleneck. Perhaps it was time to go out and train at the edge of the Ghostwood Mountains—after all, the entrance exams were coming, and he hadn’t been out in months.

Creak—the sound of a door opening came from upstairs.