C1 – The Cliff Fell!
“Ow, that hurts!”
Upon awakening, Chen Wu was wracked with spasms of pain, his muscles aching and swollen as though he had endured a day of grueling labor.
His right arm throbbed excruciatingly. He hadn’t felt much before, but now that he was awake, the pain was almost unbearable!
For a brief moment, Chen Wu was disoriented. Then, seeing the scraped layer of skin on his arm, caked with dirt, and taking in the dim surroundings and the swiftly flowing river before him, he abruptly recalled his predicament. His face contorted with distress.
He remembered being pushed off a cliff!
With great difficulty, he had managed to swim to shore. Near the cliff, there was a small cave, just wide enough for a person to lie on their side, sheltered from the water’s reach. Beyond his outstretched hand lay the depths of the vast river.
Chen Wu struggled to maneuver within the cramped space, less than seventy centimeters across. Finding a somewhat comfortable position was a challenge, and the pain made him wince and snarl.
“Curse you, Hu Wang and your son. If I, Chen Wu, survive this ordeal, I swear I’ll chop off your heads and use them for a game of soccer!”
Chen Wu’s gaze burned with loathing and fury.
Chen Wu was an Everyman from Green-mount Town.
He was also a Traverser, like many who had come before him. A tragic accident on his way to school had abruptly ended his life as a vibrant young man of the twenty-first century, propelling him into this strange new world.
He had come to know this place as the Ten Thousand World.
This world was filled with Heaven-earth Energy, known as vitality. While humans struggled to harness this energy, beasts could readily absorb it to fortify their bodies and even manifest innate attributes, granting them incredible powers. These beings were known as Demons.
Over millennia, this world had seen the evolution of many ancient creatures to their ultimate forms.
Humans were not the dominant species here; they were merely one among countless others.
Legend had it that tens of thousands of years ago, an Almighty human sought to avert the extinction of their kind by pioneering a new path of spiritual cultivation. This led to the birth of the primary discipline for human cultivators — the Spirit Cultivator.
Spiritual Cultivators harnessed their Spiritual Energy and emulated the Myriad Beast, forging unique Divine Skills that sparked a human resurgence. The true rise of humanity, however, came during the Great Explosion Era. Amidst global turmoil and relentless demon onslaughts, the human race faced extinction. Yet in times of chaos, exceptional individuals emerged. The advent of magic, strategic arrays, and the Heaven-demon Body Refining Sect brought forth a surge of mighty figures, granting humans independence and a legacy of their own.
The most prominent among them were the Demonic Pet Masters!
By gradually absorbing Heaven-earth Energy, humans enhanced their Spiritual Energy, evolving into Spirit Cultivators. Upon reaching a certain threshold, they would forge bonds with Demonic Pets, ascending to the rank of Demonic Pet Master.
Inherently fragile, humans were transformed by their Demonic Pets. With formidable physical prowess and a plethora of extraordinary abilities, these Demonic Pets led the charge, solidifying the human stature in the world.
Yet the path of cultivation was not open to all. To become a Demonic Pet Master, one needed substantial innate Spiritual Energy and access to cultivation methods. Above all, the possession of a “Contract Spiritual Talisman” was crucial for establishing a pact with a Demonic Pet.
Even the most basic Contract Spiritual Talisman was beyond the means of many. The Talisman Master stood as one of the most exalted professions, revered by all. This scarcity of Talisman Masters naturally limited the number of Demonic Pet Masters.
Chen Wu encountered Hu Wang and his son, infamous bullies of Green-mount Town. Hu Wang was a fortunate soul who had become a Demonic Pet Master, his companion being a Blood Wolf of Bronze Grade 3.
Chen Wu’s own story was that of an orphaned wild child in Green-mount Town, taken in by the Elder Village Head of a nearby hamlet. He recalled an annual visit from a Servant, claiming to hail from Mo City, who delivered a generous sum of money for his upkeep, courtesy of his late parents. The funds were substantial enough to ensure his well-being under the care of the Elder Village Head.
Three days prior marked Chen Wu’s coming of age. True to tradition, the Servant appeared once more, but this time, in addition to money, he presented Chen Wu with a Contract Spiritual Talisman, a legacy left by his father.
Chen Wu had no recollection of his father, yet it appeared that his father was once a Demonic Pet Master in his youth and had connections with an influential figure in Flame City. This connection was likely why he could count on that individual to keep an eye on him annually.
This very connection had shielded Chen Wu from trouble, as no one dared to target him. But this time was different.
Somehow, word got out that Chen Wu possessed a Contract Spiritual Talisman, and Hu Wang set his sights on him. Lacking the funds to acquire a Contract Spiritual Talisman for his son, Lee Wang, Hu Wang seized the opportunity to ambush Chen Wu while he was gathering herbs in the mountains.
Over the past decade in the otherworld, Chen Wu had clung to dreams of the kind of fortune that had befallen many before him, like stumbling upon a Golden Finger. But after years of living a mundane life, he had sunk into despair.
While others wielded unbeatable powers in their new worlds, Chen Wu was just a downtrodden soul, powerless and insignificant. Was he doomed to live an unremarkable life forever?
Chen Wu couldn’t bear the thought.
So, he clung to the chance of becoming a Demonic Pet Master with everything he had. Pursued by a Blood Wolf and wounded, he found himself at a cliff’s edge and made the desperate leap, plunging into the churning waters below.
The river was the Gold-sand River, known for its swift currents and home to a fearsome Demonic Beast Clan, the Armour Crocodile. Most of these creatures were between Bronze Level and Level 3, but the king of the Armour Crocodiles was a formidable Bronze Level 8. With strength and bite force that could rival the terrifying three thousand kilograms, it was a match for many Silver Level creatures. Even the renowned Demonic Pet Masters of Green-mount Town wouldn’t dare to venture here, and Hu Wang certainly wouldn’t follow.
Chen Wu had grown up hunting with Uncle Hu, the village Hunter, and had developed considerable strength and swimming skills. He fought his way to the cliff, groping for handholds until he finally squeezed into a narrow crevice.
Huddled in that cramped space, Chen Wu peered out at the tumultuous Gold-sand River, his face etched with worry. With sheer cliffs rising over ten meters on either side, finding a safe place to land seemed impossible, and scaling the steep rock face was out of the question.
Chen Wu was covered in wounds that he couldn’t even bandage, with the risk of them festering—particularly his right arm, which had started to turn to pus after merely being grazed by the Blood Wolf.
Without food, his wounds wouldn’t heal, and he would still face death.
Damn it! Have I really just crossed over to this world to play tourist for over a decade?
The crucial question now was, if he bit the dust this time, could he return to Earth, or would that be the end for him? Chen Wu didn’t know and wasn’t willing to gamble on it.
Is this all my life amounts to?
“Ding! The Super God Evolution System has been activated!”
“Name: Chen Wu, Current Psychokinesis Level: None, Current Demonic Pets: 0…”
“Hello, host. I apologize for the delay. Please don’t hold it against me…”
A slightly apologetic electronic voice rang out.
At that moment, Chen Wu’s mind was thundering, and he couldn’t even form a thought!
It’s here, it’s really here! The Golden Finger!