The breakthrough light—that life-affirming, vibrant green cocoon—finally receded, leaving Zhu Hao fundamentally changed. Every golden hair on his body shimmered with a gem-like luster, appearing both sacred and slightly arrogant. The blood in his veins flowed with the power of a surging subterranean river, and his bones were laced with a faint, indelible golden glow, carrying an undeniable sense of eternity and latent strength.
He had ascended. The change was profound, the power exhilarating. Yet, the first thing any true cultivator does is check his balance sheet.
He immediately called up the Light of the Pig God.
Light of the Pig God
Name: Zhu Hao
Race: Pig Bear
Level: Level 4 (Energy 0/10000, Experience 0/10000)
Energy: 648.1053
Experience: 32.2021
World: None (Note: When the host reaches level 4, he will be rewarded with a random world shuttle. The next time will consume energy and experience)
Magical Powers: Heavenly Dragnet, Death Scythe, Law of Heaven and Earth, Flying Eight Wings, Vajra Indestructible, Phantom Clone, Soul-Locking Chain, Earth Escape, Heavenly Cruel Kick (Energy 0/100, Experience 0/100), Gale Bow, Ink Soul Spear, Venomous Fang (Energy 0/10, Experience 0/10)
Backpack: Four-Eyed Cat Pupil, Thorn, Black Chicken Beak, Venom (Energy 0/1, Experience 0/1)...
"It's like going back to the time before liberation!"
Zhu Hao slumped dramatically. Seeing that his hard-earned reserves—the precious Energy and Experience that had comfortably breached the $\text{1,000}$ mark—had been almost entirely consumed by the upgrade cost, a primal pang of miserly heartache hit him. $\text{10,000}$ was the new, terrifying ceiling. His comfortable days of passive cuddling were truly over.
"Hmm? A random world trip?"
However, the pain vanished the instant his eyes scanned the new World column. His eyes widened, and a wave of pure, greedy ecstasy washed over him. "From now on, Lord Pig will also be a divine pig that can travel through the heavens and myriad worlds!"
His tiny fat face twisted into an expression of unadulterated anticipation, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. "I wonder if I can see the legendary Chang'e, perhaps the majestic Nuwa, or even the divine Lady of the Nine Heavens?" He was almost drooling. The thought of cosmic conquest and celestial flirtation filled his new Level 4 soul.
"Little guy, prepare to die!"
The transformation light had acted as a brief, unwilling truce, but Er Ming's patience had vaporized. The Titan Ape roared, and the air around him grew heavy, swirling with an ominous, reddish light. This was no mere playful attack. Er Ming was using the full, terrifying might of his $\text{100,000}$-year cultivation.
A massive fist, radiating the raw destructive power of a falling moon, descended. Under this assault, the surrounding space didn't just solidify; it warped, the light bending around the incoming projectile. The gravitational pull increased not just hundreds but what felt like a thousandfold, instantly crushing the surrounding ground by dozens of meters.
The giant fist fell from the sky like a cataclysmic pillar, bringing with it unparalleled, focused destructive power.
"Is this the true strength of the Titan Ape? It's utterly terrifying!"
Zhu Hao's eyes narrowed, all traces of lechery replaced by solemnity. He immediately understood the gravity of the situation (literally). Magical Powers like his Flying Eight Wings and Earth Escape—his core evasive skills—were utterly nullified under this sheer, concentrated spatial suppression. He could only stand his ground and resist.
Even with his newly acquired Level 4 power, he knew that attempting to withstand the full, focused fury of Er Ming—who was clearly putting every ounce of his hatred and shame into this single blow—would leave him severely damaged, even with the Vajra Indestructibility active at its maximum strength. It was a loss he simply couldn't afford.
"Er Ming, don't!"
A desperate, high-pitched scream cut through the roaring wind, traveling faster than the air could move. Zhu Hao could vaguely make out a familiar pink shadow rushing toward the epicenter of the destruction.
"Xiao Wu!"
The panic was palpable even in the Titan Ape's lantern-sized eyes. He froze, looking exactly like a child caught destroying a sacred artifact. But the die was cast; the punch was an irreversible force of nature that had already left his shoulder.
Moreover, if I don't crush this hateful pig now, I will never get another chance! Er Ming's inner turmoil only added to the force of the final blow. He had no intention of stopping, only of reducing the little menace to dust.
"You great chimpanzee, you want to beat up Lord Pig? Today, I'll show you the power of superior logistics!"
Zhu Hao's eyes flashed with cunning. He was many things, but a fool who stood around to get punched by a planet was not one of them. He wasn't going to risk his beautiful new Level 4 body.
"System Command: SHUTTLE!"
The command was absolute. The next moment, as the shadow of Er Ming's fist consumed the world, Zhu Hao's figure was enveloped in a profound, deep purple light—a light that spanned the universe, the stars, and eternity, utterly invisible to the naked eye. He vanished an infinitesimal moment before the punch connected with the space where he had been standing.
BOOOOM!
The earth screamed. A thunderous shockwave erupted, dwarfing the previous attacks. A colossal mushroom cloud of dust and pulverized earth rose thousands of feet into the sky. The sheer, horrific energy of the aftermath swept outward in all directions, vaporizing countless ancient trees and turning the surrounding forest floor into fine powder.
In the center, a gigantic, perfectly round pit—dozens of feet in radius and seemingly bottomless—was all that remained. It was a miniature geological catastrophe.
"Little Pig! No!"
A terrified, gut-wrenching scream tore through the sound of the receding blast. The pink blur of Xiao Wu skidded to a stop right at the edge of the smoking, steaming pit. She stared down into the vast, dark void created by the Titan Ape's fury. There was nothing left. No body, no golden hair, no trace of the arrogant, irritating, but deeply loved little pig.
Her ruby eyes instantly turned blood red, and hot, genuine tears streamed down her face. She collapsed onto the scorched edge of the pit, clutching the gritty soil.
"Little Pig, where are you?! Come out quickly!" she sobbed, shouting down into the chasm. "I promise, I'll never, ever bully you again! I won't call you little mouse anymore, I swear!"
"Come out quickly, I'll call you Lord Pig! I'll call you Grandpa Pig! I'll even let you sleep in my mother's arms every night! Just come back, please... Little mouse..." Her grief was raw, unfiltered, and utterly heartbreaking.
"That's not right... I don't think I hit him?" Er Ming stood confused, his massive form hovering over the carnage. He was genuinely puzzled. He clearly felt his punch miss its target, yet there was no evidence of an Earth Escape or a flash of the Flying Eight Wings. Zhu Hao had simply not been there.
The sound of Xiao Wu's heart-wrenching wails jerked Er Ming back to reality. He quickly moved behind her, attempting to offer comfort. "Xiao Wu, don't be sad. That pig... he should have run away. I can't kill him with just one punch, don't worry! He's tricky!"
Xiao Wu whirled around, her face streaked with tears and contorted with absolute fury. She stared at Er Ming, her eyes blazing with the focused, destructive rage of a soul beast who had just lost everything.
"You brute! You beat the little mouse to death, and you're still making cruel jokes! It's all your fault! Why did you kill him?!"
BUMP! BUMP! BUMP!
Xiao Wu pounced. She launched herself onto the Titan Ape's chest, raining down a furious, focused barrage of punches. Her fists, fueled by 100,000 years of cultivation and pure, righteous grief, were weapons of war.
Er Ming, paralyzed by guilt and shock, did not dare fight back. He endured the relentless, agonizing beating. While his hide was thick and durable, Xiao Wu's punches were designed to hurt. Soon, Er Ming's massive face was bruised, lumpy, and swelling rapidly—he was quickly developing a perfect "pig's head" of his own.
"Xiao Wu! I'm not being sarcastic! That little pig is genuinely strong! I truly didn't hit him! He must have used some incredible trick to escape!" Er Ming pleaded, weakly holding his hands up to shield his face from the constant pummeling.
"Get out of here! I never want to see you again!" Xiao Wu shrieked, finally collapsing back down in exhaustion and despair. She returned her gaze to the crater. "Little mouse, where are you? I'll call you Lord Pig! I promise, I'll be nice forever!"
Er Ming, bruised, battered, and heartbroken, slumped down nearby. He didn't leave, but he also didn't know how to repair the damage. He was certain Zhu Hao had escaped, and that the little menace was now hiding just to manipulate Xiao Wu.
"Curse you! Don't let me see you again, you golden menace, or I'll beat you into a genuinely flat pancake!" Er Ming roared internally, feeling utterly defeated. He hadn't taught the pig a lesson; he had been beaten by his own crush, lost face, and was now left as the villain.
It turns out that monkeys are definitely not as good as pigs! he concluded bitter.
Meanwhile, the culprit, Zhu Hao, was encased in a beautiful, silent, purple glow. He was no longer in the Star Dou Forest. He was traversing the universe, enveloped by a light that spanned stars, galaxies, and eternity itself.
Countless bizarre and magnificent scenes flashed before his eyes—worlds of magic, worlds of technology, worlds of ancient gods—a kaleidoscope of unimaginable wonder that overwhelmed his newly Level 4 mind.
"One day, Lord Pig will travel through the heavens and the myriad worlds on his own steam, journeying through eternity and time," Zhu Hao affirmed, his little fat face filled with absolute, unwavering determination. "I will personally experience the magnificence and unparalleled wonder of the infinite universe!"
He smiled contentedly, feeling his body decelerate. The random world shuttle was coming to an end. He had escaped death, gained a level, and successfully convinced Xiao Wu and Er Ming that he had been tragically pulverized.
Flawless. Absolutely flawless, he thought, before the purple light finally dissolved, depositing the newly minted Level 4 Pig God into a strange, new reality.