Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

Ito Sai was awakened by a piercing pain.

It wasn't the headache of a hangover, nor the dull ache from being kicked on a stool by the section chief; it was more like... someone had stomped on his face with spiked shoes. He tried to raise his hand to rub it, but felt dizzy, and his nose was filled with the fishy smell of mud and grass.

"Hiss..." He gasped, only to be met with damp, cold air that slid down a long, soft tunnel, startling him so much that he sneezed—no, it wasn't a sneeze, but a muffled "humph".

He opened his eyes abruptly, his vision filled with green. Not the pitiful potted plants outside the office window, but a dense, imposing thicket of grass. Dew still clung to the blades, clinging to his…nose? He instinctively twitched, and the thing deftly shook itself, splashing water droplets onto the grass beside it.

"What's going on?" Itō Sai's mind went blank. He tried to sit up, but found his body wouldn't obey him. He looked down—or rather, he stretched his neck forward—and what he saw almost made him faint again.

Two short, thick legs covered in stiff, dark brown mane, like wearing cheap fur trousers. The toes were spread wide apart, ending in hard, shiny, yellowish-black hooves that were sinking into the damp mud.

"This...this is a pig's trotter?" he screamed, but only managed two pig-like squeals, "Oink! Oink!"

He panicked and desperately tried to lift his "hand," but all he managed to lift was another hairy hoof. He tried to stand up, but his four legs felt like they were filled with lead, or like a baby learning to walk; he wobbled and staggered, almost falling headfirst into the mud puddle beside him.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" he roared inwardly, each word a desperate scream. But only low, stifled groans escaped his throat.

He was now a pig. A wild boar of considerable size, covered in black fur, with two curved tusks on its head. No, looking closely at the system panel (if there was one), this should be the kind commonly seen in cultivation novels—a first-tier demonic beast, the Iron-backed Porcupine. He remembered reading in a comic that this kind of pig could be ten feet long, weigh over a thousand pounds, with its back covered in hard quills and its tusks like daggers.

Right now, he was standing in this eerie place. Towering trees blocked out the sun, and sunlight struggled to squeeze through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground, like scenes from horror movies he had watched as a child. The air was thick with the smell of decaying leaves, moss, and an indescribable stench of wild animals.

"I've transmigrated? I actually transmigrated?" Ito Sai's mind went blank, as if he'd been dumbfounded by his section chief's scolding. He remembered his name was Ito Sai, an ordinary name, belonging to a low-level member of a collateral branch of the Ito family. He was thirty-five years old, working as a low-level employee in a small company in Tokyo. His daily work consisted of serving tea and water to his section chief, organizing documents, and being bossed around by his ten-year-younger, arrogant boss who relied on being a direct descendant.

Yesterday... no, it seems like the day before yesterday? He was too busy in the morning and forgot to make coffee for that "honorable" section chief—the kind of hand-drip coffee that requires precise water temperature of 85 degrees and milk foam thickness of 3 millimeters—and as a result, that guy slapped him hard twice, left and right.

Those two slaps were really hard; he saw stars, his ears were ringing, and his mouth tasted rusty. He felt dizzy and the world was spinning, and then... then he knew nothing more.

When I woke up again, I looked like this monstrous thing: a pig.

"Why? Why?!" Ito Sai cried, on the verge of tears. "Other people who transmigrate become princes or generals, or at the very least, cultivation geniuses with extraordinary skills! And me? I transmigrated into a pig? A pig...?"

He suddenly lowered his head and clumsily scratched his abdomen with his hooves. There was no flat stomach, let alone eight-pack abs, only a row of pink, bulging nipples, neatly arranged like buttons on a cheap children's toy.

"Female..." His heart sank, as if struck by a boulder. He had actually transmigrated into a female demonic pig! In modern society, although he was treated like a dog, bossed around, at least he was a real man! Now, not only had his species changed, but his gender had been altered too!

"Hmph hmph hmph..." He let out a series of mournful cries, his voice hoarse and filled with despair.

Just then, a sharp "whoosh" came from overhead.

Ito Sai froze, his pig instincts kicking him into raising his head. A blinding streak of light shot rapidly from the distant sky, as fast as a bullet. The light stopped abruptly a short distance away, the glow fading to reveal a young man in a blue Taoist robe.

The young man stood on a flying sword that gleamed with a cold light, his long hair flowing, his face stern, and his eyes sharp as knives, looking down at him.

"A first-tier demonic beast, an Ironback Porcupine." The young man's voice was calm and even, as if he were talking about an item. "It has thick skin and flesh, and the sharp quills on its back can be used to forge a few low-level magic artifacts."

As soon as he finished speaking, he flicked his finger lightly.

"Whoosh!"

The flying sword beneath his feet transformed into a streak of azure light, accompanied by a sharp whooshing sound, and pierced straight towards Ito Sai's face!

"Holy crap!" Ito Sai was terrified, his survival instincts, honed over thirty years in his previous life, erupted at their peak. He had no time to think; his four short, thick legs kicked the ground with a speed disproportionate to his size, propelling his massive body like a runaway mini-truck, violently lurching to the side!

"Sizzle!"

The flying sword grazed past his buttocks, kicking up a tuft of black fur and a few drops of blood. A burning pain shot through his backside, but he didn't even have the courage to look back, only knowing to bury his head and burrow deeper into the jungle.

Branches whipped his face, leaving bloody scratches; thorns snagged his mane, pulling painfully. But he didn't care; only one thought occupied his mind: Run! Run! If he didn't run, he was doomed!

"Huff! Huff! Huff!" He was panting heavily, his heart pounding against his short, thick neck as if it were about to jump out of his throat.

A contemptuous laugh came from behind: "Run? A mere first-tier demon beast dares to run in front of me?"

"call out!"

The flying sword returned, faster and at a more unpredictable angle!

Ito Sai sensed an ominous wind behind her and almost instinctively rolled to the side.

"Boom!"

The flying sword pierced fiercely through a large tree next to where he had just been standing. The trunk, as thick as a bowl, snapped in two and crashed down, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Ito Sai scrambled to his feet and continued his desperate run. A stream appeared ahead, its water crystal clear. Without a second thought, he plunged in, splashing water everywhere. The icy water sobered him up slightly, but the flying sword behind him was hot on his heels.

He plunged into the water with a sudden lunge and swam desperately towards the opposite bank. Pigs can actually swim, and they're quite good swimmers. He clumsily paddled his limbs and finally managed to climb onto the other side before the flying sword struck again. He then disappeared into the denser bushes, hiding himself completely.

The young man behind him seemed impatient. He frowned, looked at the dense thicket of bushes, and muttered to himself, "It's just a first-tier demon beast. What a waste of time."

He seemed to think it wasn't worth wasting his magic power on such a "low-class thing," so he snorted, recalled his flying sword, and with a flash of light beneath his feet, he transformed into a streak of blue light and disappeared into the horizon.

Ito Sai lay prone in the bushes, too afraid to move, even trying to keep his breathing as still as possible. He could clearly hear his own heart pounding, and his legs were still trembling uncontrollably. After a long while, only when he was sure that the terrifying young man was really gone did he dare to gasp for breath, feeling as if all the strength had been drained from his body, and he collapsed to the ground.

He survived... Just a moment ago, he really thought he was going to die.

He closed his eyes, the young man's cold and arrogant face still lingering in his mind. The way the other man looked at him was as if he were looking at an insignificant ant. No, perhaps not even as much as an ant. In the eyes of those high and mighty cultivators, a first-tier demon beast like him was probably no different from pork for sale in a supermarket, just material for refining weapons and pills.

The humiliation of being slapped by his section chief in his past life, the resentment of being ostracized by his colleagues, were now intertwined with the despair of becoming a monster pig and the fear of almost being killed, like a tangled mess stuck in his chest.

Just as he was about to be swallowed by this immense despair, a cold, emotionless mechanical voice suddenly rang in his mind:

[Ding! Host's strong will to survive detected, meeting the binding conditions. The Myriad Realms Demon Ancestor System is now activated.]

Ito Sai was suddenly taken aback.

system?!

A must-have cheat code for time travelers?!

He could hardly believe his ears! Overwhelming joy instantly washed away all despair and fear! He knew it! He knew God wouldn't do this to him! Although he started as a pig, the system had arrived, and there was still hope!

[Host: Ito Sai.] [Race: Ironback Porcupine (Tier 1 Monster).] [Gender: Female.] [Current Status: Severely Injured (scratches on buttocks and face, mild concussion).] [System Function: The host can evolve her own bloodline by devouring the flesh and blood of other monsters, extracting their bloodline power. The more she devours, the purer her bloodline becomes, and the faster the evolution speed.] [Current Bloodline: Ordinary Ironback Porcupine Bloodline (Evolvable).] [Evolution Direction: Primordial Beast, Ancient Demon God, Ancestor of All Realms.]

Ito Sai's eyes lit up instantly! Devouring the flesh and blood of demonic beasts, extracting their bloodline power, and evolving! They could even evolve into primordial ferocious beasts, ancient demon gods, or even the ancestor of all demon realms! This was far more powerful than those cultivators!

He trembled with excitement, almost letting out another "grunt." He grinned, revealing two curved fangs, tears welling in his eyes. Even though he was still a sow, what did gender matter as long as he could become stronger, survive, and no longer be bullied at will!

"System, system! What can I devour now? I'll go right now!" he shouted impatiently in his mind.