Inside the training field, a relentless shower of iron arrows rained down from every direction.
A shirtless figure stood directly in the center of the barrage. As the iron arrows violently struck his body, they produced a sharp, metallic clang, uselessly deflecting off his skin and falling limply to the floor.
The ground was entirely littered with scattered, bent arrows, yet the figure in the center remained standing, completely unyielding.
His muscular definition was as flawless as a classical Greek sculpture. Coated entirely in a dark, grayish-black metallic sheen, he looked exactly like a solid iron statue anchored to the floorboards.
Once the final volley of arrows ceased, the "statue" finally moved. As he rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck, the dark metallic luster rapidly receded, revealing his natural skin tone.
"Phew—"
Lu Li exhaled a long breath of turbid air. Today's Armament Haki training was officially complete.
It was his twenty-fifth day in the Terminus Space. During this downtime, aside from aggressively grinding his stats in the gravity training room, he spent most of his rest periods binge-watching anime.
He had meticulously consumed all the media related to the Derivative Worlds that low-tier Explorers typically encountered, deeply marveling at the prosperous entertainment culture of the old era.
His attributes and core skills had seen measurable improvements. Through sheer, brutal physical conditioning, he had manually leveled his Armament Haki to Level 4. All of his physical attributes had increased by 1 point naturally, while his Spirit attribute had increased by 2 points.
What genuinely surprised Lu Li was that the Reiatsu meditation technique he had acquired at the Shin'o Academy still functioned perfectly outside of the Bleach universe. He discovered that the Terminus Space itself was absolutely saturated with Reishi.
Lu Li theorized that "Reishi" was merely a localized term. This ambient, free-flowing energy likely existed in the atmosphere of countless universes. In a cultivation world, it would be called "Qi" or "Spiritual Energy"; in the Naruto universe, it might be classified as "Nature Energy."
Broadly speaking, he deduced that the most direct benefit of absorbing this ambient energy was the massive enhancement of his Spirit attribute, which consequently expanded his Soul Source capacity. He strongly suspected that the Spirit stat was intrinsically linked to the actual structural density of one's soul.
[Notice: Origin Seed detected. In accordance with Terminus Regulations, Pioneers will be granted Priority Deployment to the target world for extraction. Pioneer, please prepare for immediate deployment!]
Lu Li had just stepped out of the shower when the system prompt echoed in his mind. He froze for a second, then broke into a wide, feral grin.
He had been idling in the Hub for almost a month. Qiu Mo was already starving for a fight. He hadn't expected the Terminus Space to hand him a contract this quickly.
Furthermore, this seemed to be a highly irregular deployment. It sounded incredibly fun. His 1 point in Luck really was ridiculously high!
[Based on Pioneer 008's Authority Level, you are granted 24-hour advance notice of the target world.]
[Target World (Derivative): Kengan Ashura]
Hearing the follow-up prompt, Lu Li's excitement spiked even higher. In his previous life, he had always been a massive fan of martial arts manga, with Baki and Kengan Ashura being his absolute favorites. He never imagined he would actually get the chance to step into that bloody arena and trade blows with those legendary martial artists.
But after the initial thrill faded, he felt a bit confused. Based on his knowledge of Kengan Ashura, while it featured plenty of logic-defying, hyper-muscular freaks, in terms of raw numerical stats, he felt his current attributes were likely already higher than the world's natural ceiling.
Given his understanding of the Terminus Space's brutal balancing system, it would absolutely never deploy a Pioneer to a world they could effortlessly steamroll. So, the anomaly had to stem from this "Origin Seed," right?
"Terminus. What exactly is an Origin Seed?"
[Verifying Authority Level... Pioneer Authority Verified... Retrieving accessible data archives.]
[There are nine absolute, unique Spiritual Seeds scattered across the multiverse. The Origin Seed is one of them. These Seeds randomly descend upon a specific world. During their stay, they inflict profound mutations upon the host reality.]
[Upon successful extraction and assimilation of a Spiritual Seed, the host shall acquire an Absolute Unique Ability.]
The system's response was brief and offered no further elaboration. It was likely a hard restriction based on his current authority level.
But even those few sentences were enough for Lu Li's straightforward, martial-arts-wired brain to comprehend the staggering significance of the Origin Seed. This thing... was completely unique and sounded insanely powerful.
"Terminus, what specific ability does the Origin Seed grant?" Lu Li asked, intensely curious.
[Pioneer Authority Level Insufficient. Detailed specifications will be unlocked only upon successful extraction of the Origin Seed.]
Lu Li's curiosity was itching unbearably. He couldn't wait to dive into the Kengan world and hunt down this Origin Seed.
"Terminus. Upgrade my Armament Haki by one level."
Since he was about to deploy to an actively mutating warzone, he saw no point in hoarding resources. He decided to burn his Inheritance Crystal (Small) and Terminus Coins immediately.
As a side note, grinding the skill manually to Level 4 hadn't altered the systemic upgrade cost. Upgrading from Level 4 to Level 5 still required exactly 1 Inheritance Crystal (Small), though the coin fee had increased from 400 to 500.
Lu Li was basically broke now. He had gotten a bit too eager a few days ago and rented one of the premium, paid gravity-training rooms offered by the Hub, blowing another 500 Coins.
[Time window deemed sufficient. Initiating Pioneer Enhancement Sequence...]
A few hours later, the upgrade was complete. Lu Li double-checked his gear, then sat cross-legged on his bed to meditate.
In the Terminus Space, every deployment was a brand new adventure and a completely unknown crisis. He had to ensure he entered the world in absolute peak physical and mental condition to handle any sudden anomalies.
...
[Initiating Teleportation Sequence...]
Accompanied by the system prompt, Lu Li felt himself violently sucked back into that hazy, white-light tunnel. Everything was a blur; only the mechanical voice in his ear remained clear.
[Triangulating World Coordinates...]
[Coordinates locked. Target Derivative World: Kengan Ashura]
[Total Explorers deployed to this Mutated World: 19]
[The Pioneer has been granted complimentary fluency in the local dominant language for this Mutated World.]
[A logical, integrated starting identity has been fabricated for the Pioneer.]
[The localized World Public Chat Channel has been temporarily enabled for this Mutated World. Pioneer, please monitor the public frequencies.]
[Initiating Drop...]
[Drop successful. Pioneer, please review the World Data and your Main Mission.]
Following a violent sensation of weightlessness, Lu Li felt his feet hit solid ground.
He instinctively tried to stand up to assess his surroundings, only to realize his body was tightly bound in a heavy-duty, reinforced straitjacket. Furthermore, his hands were violently shackled behind his back with thick steel handcuffs.
The surrounding environment was pitch-black; he couldn't even see his own fingers. He was intimately familiar with this kind of setting.
Fuck! Terminus, this is the "logical, integrated starting identity" you arranged for me?!
This is the premium Pioneer treatment you promised?!
His urge to curse the system was reaching critical mass, but he forced himself to swallow it. He decided to review the World Data and his mission first. Fine, if I'm in prison, I'm in prison. The solitary confinement box is at least temporarily safe.
[Mission World: Kengan Ashura (Currently Mutating)]
[World Category: Special Derivative]
[World Difficulty Tier: Lv. 3 ~ 7+]
[WARNING: Due to the presence of the Origin Seed, this World is undergoing an active, aggressive mutation. The overall World Difficulty will exponentially and continuously scale upwards as time progresses!]
World Synopsis: Money and profit, power and desire, bloodthirsty violence, and lethal arenas!
The martial arts underground is churning. The Kengan Association seethes with hidden currents. Countless powerhouses rise to claim their glory on the deadly stage.
A mysterious Seed has descended upon this realm. The biological limiters of the martial artists... are slowly being shattered.
Kengan Matches: The "Kengan Matches" are brutal, unarmed combat tournaments where massive mega-corporations and wealthy merchants wager astronomical fortunes by hiring proxy gladiators to fight on their behalf. Originally devised as a method to peacefully resolve violent commercial disputes, this tradition began in the mid-Edo period and has secretly survived into the modern era.
[Current World Exploration Rate: 0%]
[Current Location: Saishu Prison (Maximum Security Solitary Confinement Facility for Death Row Inmates)]
[Current Identity: Death Row Inmate]
Seeing the 'Death Row Inmate' tag, Lu Li felt deeply disgusted. He scrolled down to the detailed background lore and found that his persona retained his real name: Lu Li.
The backstory fabricated by the Terminus Space stated that he was an illegal immigrant who had smuggled himself into Japan from a small nation. Upon making landfall, he entered a violent conflict with the human trafficking syndicate operated by the local Yakuza (Snakeheads). He had slaughtered twenty-eight of them barehanded.
After his conviction, he was sentenced to death. The state had attempted to execute him via hanging four separate times. Because his neck refused to snap and he simply wouldn't asphyxiate, they had transferred him to Saishu Prison to rot in maximum security confinement.
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