The worse you are, the stronger you become: My summoned beast is a photographer.

The moves were so dazzling that only at close range did Orian realize how ingenious Aura's attacks were. The combinations of punches, elbows, knees, and kicks came like a storm, each move concealing a follow-up, making it impossible to defend against. If their strength were equal, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand more than a few blows, only managing to maintain his composure thanks to his overwhelming level of forty-five and high defense. He took a deep breath, his golden mane trembling slightly: "What's the name of your attack pattern?"

Aura used a variety of techniques—the power and ferocity of Bajiquan, the knees and elbows of Muay Thai, and the sharpness of Tan Tui. She used whatever could hit her, and they didn't have any proper names. They were all practical breakdowns of the martial arts techniques that Ming Luochen remembered learning. Sensing Ming Luochen's thoughts, she casually replied, "I call this Mixed Martial Arts."

"Could you teach me? It's quite useful," Orion said shyly, his eyes filled with anticipation. If he were to use this attack method, given his strength and size, its power would be immeasurable. He scratched the back of his head, a rare look of embarrassment on his face.

"Okay." Aura didn't hold back and generously demonstrated the martial arts moves to Orion, breaking them down clearly and explaining even the key points of force exertion and breathing rhythm.

Ming Luochen stood to the side, watching his 1.6-meter frame leap around in front of Orian's 2.2-meter-tall physique, and shook his head slightly in disdain. Compared to Orian's broad shoulders, thick arms, and steel-like muscles, his body had absolutely no advantage—both in strength and defense, he was significantly inferior to the naturally combat-oriented, tall orcs, and was only comparable to those weak, gnatous orcs. He could even imagine that if he faced Orian head-on, the other could lift him up with one hand.

Isn't it said that the human body contains the Dao of Heaven and is the most perfect thing? Ming Luochen stared at the so-called "perfect body," which was white, plump, and soft. Apart from its slightly nimble fingers, he couldn't see anything perfect about it. Unless he relied on cultivation or magic, perhaps he could correct the physical differences—but are cultivation methods really useful?

Recalling the novels he had read before, Jin Yong's works, such as *The Storm Riders*, were fundamental knowledge for cinematographers and essential lessons for directors; he had read them all. The internal energy cultivation in *Ode to Gallantry*, the sword flight in *Chinese Paladin*, the Golden Core and Nascent Soul in *A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality*… the key question was, could they really be cultivated? He hadn't even felt the presence of qi. In his favorite *The Storm Riders*, powerful abilities had only two paths—talent and the inner energy of divine beasts. But it seemed that dragons and phoenixes really existed in this world; if he ate them, would he achieve the same surge in power and immortality as in *The Storm Riders*?

However, my wife can create sonic booms with her fist techniques, so if she adds magic, she should be able to unleash martial arts like the Heavenly Frost Fist, right? An ice-attribute fist technique, one punch and the air is filled with chilling energy…

Ming Luochen, who was deep in thought, hadn't even finished thinking when Huo Lun grabbed her arm and dragged her to the study.

When Ming Luochen pushed open the study door, he was stunned.

A massive number of books were piled up on the long table, bookshelves, and even the floor, almost forming a small mountain. The yellowed spines of the books were densely packed together, like silent walls. His exclamation went off-key, his voice rising several octaves: "I'm afraid I'll never finish reading all these books in my lifetime."

"You have to watch it, even if you can't finish. You were the one who boasted that you'd win first place in the humanities competition." Hollen slammed the door shut with a click, locking it to prevent Ming Luochen from running away. His trunk curled slightly, his gaze as firm as iron.

"Then I won't compete anymore, I admit defeat." Ming Luochen was terrified at the sight of those books, his scalp tingling—this was even more exaggerated than seeing summer homework in elementary school. At least summer homework had something to look forward to, but this stuff was endless.

"If you dare admit defeat, I'll expel Aura and have the entire school alliance blacklist her." Hollen was truly angry, his voice as deep as muffled thunder. He had swallowed his pride to go to Benuna for his sake, making such confident promises in front of the alliance leader, and now he was backing out? The elephant-headed man thrashed about in anger.

"Are you threatening me?" Ming Luochen's face darkened, his eyes narrowed, and his fists clenched unconsciously.

"You mock your teachers and damage the school's reputation, is that a threat?" Hollen glared at Ming Luochen, his aged eyes flashing with a terrifying light, like an enraged old elephant. "You don't even try, it's utterly lawless. Who gave you permission to speak to me like that? Did Valerius give you the courage to provoke me!"

His voice echoed in the study, shaking the dust off the bookshelves.

Ming Luochen was intimidated by Huo Lun's fierce aura and lowered his head, not daring to resist. The overwhelming pressure felt like a mountain pressing down on his shoulders, making it hard for him to breathe. If he continued to fight back, his father-in-law's family would probably suffer. He swallowed hard and swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

"Carry him on your back!" Hollen roared, his trunk nearly poking Ming Luochen's face.

"Okay." Ming Luochen muttered softly, picked up a book, and glanced at it—the content was very childish, telling stories like a primary school student's diary, such as "I went to the river to catch a fish today. The fish was very big, and I was very happy."

The core content is minimal, with only one or two key points per page. Ming Luochen quickly flipped through the pages, the pages rustling between his fingers, gradually becoming fascinated by the history of this world through the rough text.

As expected of Western mythology. The divine scriptures record that orcs are the product of the union of gods and animals. In these scriptures, gods are almost universally portrayed as lustful—especially the god-king Kudira, who has procreated with countless animals, including swans, buffalo, wild horses, and other men's wives… His offspring even transformed into stars in the sky. Ming Luochen's eyelids twitched as he read, thinking that this god-king was indeed quite capable.

According to records, there have been five generations of deities in this world.

The first generation consisted of two primordial deities born from nothingness, representing "appearance" and "destruction." From the union of appearance and destruction, the second generation of elemental spirits was born, constructing the sky, earth, ocean, light, and darkness—pure energy life forms condensed from rules.

The second generation of elemental spirits gave rise to a third generation of more concrete deities: the sky and light gained temperature, and temperature and darkness gave birth to wind. The divine scriptures record this in a rather chaotic manner—the second-generation deities led unrestrained private lives, lacked any concept of marriage, and reproduced entirely according to their whims. The soul goddess who blessed Aura is the third-generation deity, and her parents are light and darkness.

The fourth generation of gods began to take physical form, and the world became vibrant with life. There were gods in human form and gods in animal form, living together on this land and creating all sorts of civilizations. Ultimately, the fourth generation of gods formed four powerful forces: the sky, the earth, the sea, and the underworld.

The Fifth Generation Gods were the product of the fusion of the Fourth Generation Gods and the origin of the orcs. In this era, civilization reached its zenith, and biodiversity reached its peak, rendering ethics meaningless. Relying on their individual talents, the Fifth Generation Gods invented various new methods, a feat often referred to as the final, glorious miracle. Many of these Fifth Generation Gods were later revered as gods of craftsmanship, wine, agriculture, music, and more…

After the fifth generation, there was no longer any talk of gods. The power of the gods' descendants grew weaker and weaker with each generation, but their numbers increased exponentially.

As descendants of gods, orcs pray to their progenitors in order to receive divine blessings and awaken their talents.

Ming Luochen closed the book, his fingers tapping lightly on the cover. His first thought was—where do the powers of the gods come from? If we know where the origin lies, why can't humans become gods?

If I'm not mistaken, the primordial energy is likely fixed, and it's the crystallized energy within the orcs' brains. Ming Luochen flipped through the ancient texts; during the era of the Fourth God, many large-scale wars occurred. At that time, divine beasts were much larger, and their bodies contained crystals—a single divine beast's crystal could be a meter wide, resembling a luminous boulder. The gems or crystals dropped by S-class alien beasts now are at most ten centimeters in diameter, a huge difference, like a small pebble.

Did the fourth-generation gods really wage war because of territory and faith? Ming Luochen, who grew up on Earth, didn't believe such an absurd reason—it was probably because of crystallization. In those myths and legends, the power of a god-king would increase dramatically with each victory.

Hunting alien beasts now yields crystals, which, when absorbed, grant abilities or provide buffs when worn. It's likely that the God-King became God-King by absorbing the essence within these crystals.

The reason why there are no powerful gods after the fifth generation is likely because the origin has been greatly diluted and dispersed, and the total amount of this origin is finite. It's like a cake; the more people share it, the less each person gets.

Ming Luochen fell into deep thought, his fingers unconsciously tracing circles on the table. He subconsciously reached for a cigarette, his fingertips fumbling in his pocket before remembering that he had transmigrated to another world—there were no cigarettes or lighters here, only a table full of books and silent air.

He tried hard to think about the contents of the book, flipping through the divine tome repeatedly, his fingertips moving back and forth between the pages, looking at the numbers inside: Why could the fourth generation of gods reproduce with animals to produce half-human, half-human beings, and why could the fifth generation of gods also interbreed with different races, but now, reproductive isolation has appeared between species?

Could it also be related to the origin of energy?

Ming Luochen frowned, a small knot forming between his brows. The divine scriptures didn't record much, but in the records of the fourth generation of gods, even though the god-king was licentious, he didn't have as many offspring as the fifth generation of gods. Moreover, the lifespan of the fifth generation of gods was no longer immortal, but only tens of thousands of years.

A flash of inspiration seemed to strike, like lightning ripped through the dark night sky. A bold idea needed to be verified. Ming Luochen quickly searched for books in the Fifth Divine Era, his fingers gliding rapidly along the spines, pulling out one after another. After quickly reading through them, he was constantly shaken, as if someone were beating a drum in his chest.

The more children a fifth-generation deity has, the shorter their lifespan.

All the clues have come together, like scattered beads strung together by a thread. The reason the fourth-generation deities had few offspring is that having children consumes their primordial crystals. It's likely that the fourth-generation deities discovered the uses of these crystals long ago, which is why they waged wars to harvest them, enhance their power, and establish their divine realms. At the same time, they dared not consume too many crystals, hence their reluctance to have too many children.

If I collect a lot of crystals to improve myself, will I be able to have a child with Aura?