[Jiang City · Old District · The Basement]
The air was thick with the smell of mildew, the acrid stench of cheap cigarette tar, and the stale odor of a room left unventilated for too long. A dim yellow bulb sizzled overhead, its tungsten filament flickering as if it might give out at any second.
For Su Xing, this was the squalid dwelling he had inhabited for six months—a testament to reality crushing his spine. But in the livestream lens connecting to the Myriad Heavens, this dim interplay of light and shadow was rendered as the "Primordial Spark at the dawn of Chaos,"and the peeling plaster on the walls became "Void Barriers bearing the scars of the Great Dao, washed by countless eons."
"Change my attitude?"
Standing before Su Xing, Brother Dao had no idea what image he currently projected to hundreds of thousands of cultivators. He only knew that his wrist was clamped by a debt-ridden student, and the kid's grip was absurdly strong—like cold hydraulic pliers—making his wrist bones ache.
This pain instantly ignited the ferocity of the "Tyrant of the Urban Village."
"Fine... you got guts, kid!"
The skin on Brother Dao's face twitched with rage, and a murderous glint erupted in his eyes. He wasn't some civilized man who listened to reason; he was a ruthless character in this chaotic district who had actually seen blood and wielded knives.
"I'll teach you what kind of attitude you should have when talking to people in your next life! LET GO!"
With a violent roar, Brother Dao moved with lightning speed. His left hand whipped a modified switchblade from his jacket pocket. It was no toy; it was a controlled weapon with blood grooves, and the blade even bore dark red rust stains—blood from previous brawls that hadn't been wiped clean.
"DIE!"
A cold light traced a shrieking arc through the dim basement. Brother Dao's strike was vicious; without hesitation, he stabbed straight toward Su Xing's left ribs. Had it been an ordinary person, this strike would have cost them half their life, if not killed them outright.
However, in Su Xing's current sensory world, time seemed to stretch.
It was the "0.1% Source Blood Qi" inside him, triggering a passive physical stress response in the face of a life-threatening danger. His pupils constricted slightly. Every sound—the buzzing of the current, the dripping from the sewer pipes, Brother Dao's heavy breathing—became crystal clear. That vicious stab moved as slowly as if it were traveling through viscous glue.
[Alert: Physical attack from low-dimensional carbon-based lifeform detected.] [System Judgment: Threat Level - Extremely Low.] [Passive Activation: Body Stress Defense Mode.]
Su Xing didn't even need to think; his muscle memory reacted before his brain did.

[Within the Void · The Livestream Perspective]
Meanwhile, in the livestream room connecting countless planes, the image seemed to freeze in this moment.
Under the insane rendering of the "God-Level Filter" provided by [Sandbag], the fleshy, floral-shirt-wearing Brother Dao in reality was not human at all! The filter used algorithms to materialize the violence, greed, and killing intent radiating from him into substantial "Demonic Mist."
In the eyes of the cultivators, standing before the "Senior" was a "Humanoid Monster"standing thirty feet tall, shrouded in black and crimson baleful energy. Its skin was etched with cursed runes, its eyes spewed crimson fire, and the rusty switchblade in its hand was rendered as a "Soul-Devouring Demon Blade emitting corrosive poison mist and the wails of unjust souls."
The bullet comments flooded the screen, almost obscuring the image:
[Master of Heaven's Secret Pavilion]: "This is... a 'Blood Fiend Puppet'! Heavens, I didn't expect such an ancient abomination that feeds on the flesh of living beings to be lurking in this seemingly peaceful Void Fissure! Look at the resentment on that Demon Blade; that dark red glow has devoured the lives of at least a hundred mortals!"
[Sword Sect Junior Sister]: "Ah! Senior, be careful! That is no ordinary weapon; that is the legendary 'Asura Spike' capable of defiling the Primordial Spirit and corroding Spiritual Roots! Once it touches the body, the protective aura of anyone below the Golden Core stage is like paper—death is certain!"
[Alchemy Grandmaster · Gu He]: "What thick aura of death! This Blood Fiend Puppet has clearly developed intelligence. Its strike has locked onto the Senior's Qi signature. The angle is extremely tricky; it clearly intends to destroy the Senior's Dao Foundation in one blow! Who released such a vicious creature?"
[Body Cultivator · Overlord Tyrant]: "Hmph, a mere Blood Fiend Puppet at the peak of the Qi Refining stage dares to bare its claws before the Senior? It is simply an ant trying to shake a tree—courting death! Look at the Senior's eyes—such indifference. It is as if in his eyes, this monster capable of slaughtering a city is nothing more than a speck of annoying dust!"

[The Real World · Dimensional Suppression]
Su Xing had no idea he was fighting a "City-Destroying Monster" in the audience's eyes. He simply instinctively released his right hand from Dao's wrist, then pressed the index and middle fingers of his left hand together. In that instant, heat rushed to his fingertips, and his pale, slender fingers took on a texture as smooth as jade yet as indestructible as diamond.
He didn't dodge. Instead, he met the blade, flicking his fingers precisely against the flat side of the incoming tip.
The movement was as light and gentle as flicking dew from a flower petal.
"CLANG—!!!"
A metallic explosion, crisp enough to pierce eardrums, detonated in the narrow basement.
A terrifying scene unfolded.
The high-hardness steel switchblade did not bend or deflect upon contact with Su Xing's fingertips. Instead, it—disintegrated.
As if some higher-dimensional force had forcibly denied its material structure, the steel blade shattered inch by inch from the tip down! Countless tiny metal fragments sprayed out like buckshot, whistling through the air, grazing Brother Dao's cheek before embedding themselves into the adjacent concrete wall with a series of dull thuds, sinking three centimeters deep!
In the livestream, this scene was absolutely mind-blowing.
The audience saw the "Asura Demon Blade," swirling with terrifying black energy and seemingly capable of swallowing light, touch the dot of "Pure White Holy Light" on Su Xing's fingertip. Like snow meeting a blazing sun, it was instantly pulverized into dust by a domineering power!
The basement fell into a deathly silence.
Brother Dao remained frozen in his stabbing posture. He stared blankly at the plastic handle remaining in his hand, the break point still showing twisted metal scars. Then, he turned his head mechanically to look at Su Xing's left hand, which hung by his side, not even a patch of skin broken.
A chill named "Fear" instantly exploded from his tailbone, shooting straight to his skull and freezing his soul.
Is... is this magic? Or Qigong? No, this is a fucking monster!
"Let's see if your bones are harder than this iron."
Su Xing's voice was soft, but it echoed in the enclosed space. He didn't stop. He instantly lashed out with his right hand again, clamping onto Brother Dao's left wrist before the man could retract it. His fingers applied pressure, closing slightly.
"CRACK!"
The tooth-aching sound of bone shattering rang out clearly.
"AAAAAAAAAGH!!!"
A blood-curdling scream pierced the ceiling, even startling the tenants upstairs. Brother Dao's thick wrist was like a crisp biscuit stick in Su Xing's hand, flattened and snapped without resistance, finally twisting at a grotesque right angle.

[Within the Void · Bullet Comment Frenzy]
The livestream completely boiled over.
[Alchemy Grandmaster · Gu He]: "Shattering a Demon Weapon with bare hands! What kind of terrifying physique is this? That was Blood Fiend Steel capable of corroding Spiritual Qi, yet in the Senior's hands, it was like rotten wood! Is... is this the realm of 'Sanctification of the Flesh'?"
[He Huan Sect · Enchantress]: "And that grip! Look at the expression on that Blood Fiend Puppet; it is terrified! It is trembling! The violent demonic energy inside it is being forcibly suppressed and reversed by the Senior's Blood Qi! This isn't just breaking a wrist; this is the long-lost 'Soul-Seizing Grip'! The Senior is directly interrogating its soul!"
[Body Cultivator · Overlord Tyrant]: "Satisfying! This is how one should treat such filthy abominations! The Senior didn't blast it into scum directly but crushed its Demon Bone instead. This is inflicting the ultimate pain, and also a warning to the master behind it—No Gods Allowed Here!"

[The Real World · Settlement and Upgrade]
Su Xing didn't hear this praise. He just felt his current state was strange. His heart was beating like crazy, but his brain was as calm as ice.
He swung his arm casually, tossing the two-hundred-pound Brother Dao aside like a piece of trash. Dao's massive body flew two meters like a broken sack, crashing heavily into his two lackeys who had long since been scared witless. The three of them rolled into a wretched pile.
The look they gave Su Xing now was no longer one used for a human, but for a monster wearing human skin.
"Get out."
Su Xing fought to suppress the adrenaline exploding in his chest, struggling to control his facial muscles. He spoke in a tone of utter disgust, as if shooing away a few flies.
This single word, amplified by the breath control of a 3x physique, exploded like muffled thunder in the small space.
Brother Dao and his men trembled violently. Who dared stay a second longer? Debt collection? Face? All of it went to hell in that moment. They scrambled to their feet and sprinted out the door, tripping over each other in their panic, not even bothering to pick up the shoes they lost in the puddle at the entrance, disappearing barefoot into the dark alley.
As the footsteps faded completely, the breath Su Xing had been holding finally released. He felt his strength drain instantly, his legs giving way as he collapsed onto the broken-legged wooden stool, gasping for air. Sweat dripped from his forehead, soaking his cheap T-shirt.
Just then, a golden light screen popped up on his retina. It was no longer a cold system prompt, but a flashy settlement interface resembling a game upgrade:
[Combat Ended. Settlement in progress...] [Performance Evaluation: S-Rank (Perfect Suppression).] [Achievement Unlocked: Host has completed the first "Manifestation," successfully establishing the deterrence of a "Peerless Hidden Expert" in the Cultivation World.]
"Ding! Congratulations Host, System Level Up!" [Current Level: LV1 LV2]
As the upgrade chime sounded, an unprecedented warm current swept through his body. Su Xing clearly felt his muscle fibers reorganizing, his bone density increasing, and even the acuity of his five senses taking a qualitative leap.
Two flashing icons appeared on the screen:
[Passive Skill Acquired: Savage Physique]
• Description: Perfectly fused with the "Source Blood Qi" of the Overlord Tyrant. The Host's physical strength, recovery rate, and durability are permanently fixed at "3x Normal Human Standard." Even tearing down a wall with bare hands or sprinting at olympic speeds is now trivial for you.
[Active Skill Acquired: Eye of Truth (LV1)]
• Description: Can be activated manually. Detects all hidden "Spiritual" fluctuations and true forms within a 500-meter radius. In the eyes of cultivators, this is the "Divine Eye" that sees the origin of all things; in reality, this is your radar for identifying monsters.
Su Xing raised his hand, looking at his palm which was still trembling slightly. He clenched his fist, the sensation of power in his knuckles terrifyingly real.
"Leveled up... and got skills?"
Su Xing muttered to himself. He could feel that even in this moldy basement, the flow of air and the dancing dust motes had become clearly visible. This sense of control made him both excited and terrified.
"Let's try the new skill. Sandbag, activate [Eye of Truth]."
Su Xing took a deep breath and focused his will.
In the next second, his pupils constricted violently, and a faint, ghostly light flashed deep within his black eyes.
The world tore off its disguise before him.
The originally dim, enclosed basement walls became semi-transparent in his vision, stripped away like a torrent of data. His gaze pierced through thick concrete and steel, through layers of illegal construction, looking directly out at the late-night Jiang City of 2026.
At that moment, Su Xing's breath hitched.
Under the wide-angle lens of the [Eye of Truth], the familiar, bustling modern city revealed a bone-chilling truth:
Atop the "First Skyscraper" in the city center, there were no landscape lights. Instead, a "Qi Luck Dragon", transparent and hundreds of meters long, lay coiled there. It had its massive maw open, greedily devouring the sliver of vitality mixed within the city's neon lights. Every breath it took made the streets below a little colder.
And in the old park across the street, the one-legged beggar who was usually curled up on a bench and despised by everyone... in Su Xing's vision, he looked like a "Small Nuclear Reactor"! The golden spiritual light radiating from him was more than a hundred times stronger than Brother Dao's just now! That was clearly a true "Initiated" loose cultivator lurking in the mortal dust!
Further away at the subway entrance, a salaryman in a suit was moving with the crowd. But the shadow at his feet was writhing irregularly, splitting open to reveal a dozen crimson eyes, coldly peeping at the passersby...
"This..."
Su Xing felt his scalp go numb, a chill shooting from the soles of his feet to his brain.
He had always thought he was acting for fools in another world, conning a bunch of chuunibyou patients. But this cruel truth was now placed right before his eyes:
So, the monsters are really right beside me. So, there really are cultivators in this world.
Su Xing looked down at the unfinished piece of cured meat in his hand—which the audience saw as a Demon God's Heart—and then looked up at the hundreds of thousands of "Cultivator Eyes" in his vision, full of worship and awe.
His hand trembling, he fished out a flattened "Red Plum" cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag.
Amidst the swirling smoke, the look in his eyes gradually shifted from terror to a kind of desperation-fueled madness and calm.
He finally understood that he had no way out.
"Since you all think I am a God..."
Su Xing faced his reflection in the mirror—face covered in soot, but eyes electric—and revealed a profound smile worthy of a Best Actor award, though it looked uglier than crying.
"Then in this world full of monsters, I absolutely cannot be human."
"I will play this role until the very end."