Swallowing the Stars: Reboot, The Eternal Serpent!

Chapter 1 Proto-nucleus! Pronucleus!

The sky was clear, and the red sun was rising.

Inside a nine-story alloy tower, all the direct descendants of the Jiang family gathered together.

Today is the sixteenth birthday of Jiang Zhe, the youngest member of the three generations of the Jiang family, and also the day he can formally begin learning martial arts according to family rules.

The term "martial arts practice" here refers to being allowed to learn various martial arts techniques.

Prior to this, the focus was on nourishing the body and gradually improving physical fitness, supplemented by reading boxing manuals to cultivate the mind and broaden knowledge.

The cultivation system on Earth in this world requires physical fitness to meet certain standards before one can become a quasi-martial artist, rather than allowing one part of one's strength to be exerted to the fullest extent.

Punching power: 790kg!

……

Speed: 22.4m/s

……

"Neural reaction speed: Medium!"

……

"Congratulations, Young Master Zhe!"

"His martial arts journey has just begun, yet he's already only a hair's breadth away from becoming an advanced student. Young Master Zhe will undoubtedly have a place among the God of War in the future!"

After announcing the results, Mr. Wu, the housekeeper in charge of the evaluation, sincerely praised the results.

Only a behemoth like the Jiang family, one of the top families in the Hanxia Kingdom of the HR Alliance, would have a steward who would have the confidence to say such a certain thing.

The protagonist on the field, Jiang Zhe, even though he was mentally prepared, couldn't help but clench his fists tightly after hearing the results, unable to suppress his excitement.

Sixteen years have passed since I transmigrated here.

I was born in 2030, and it is now July 26, 2046, ten years before the curtain rises.

Nirvana, warrior, 2056...

That's right, this is "Swallowed Star," a high-quality world in the eyes of many transmigrators.

Here, martial arts is the path to heaven. You can achieve almost anything you want with overwhelming force. Understanding the laws is the backbone of martial arts. Those with poor comprehension have no future in this world.

"At sixteen, with one foot already in advanced training, this is a great start. How far can I go from here?"

Jiang Zhe was filled with ambition and hesitation.

He thought of the vast universe described in the book, and the imposing presence of those realm lords, immortals, and venerable beings, and his heart couldn't help but race—

My pulse is rising rapidly!

120...130...140...155...

180!

200!

……

The numbers are skyrocketing!

A communication watch with health monitoring functions emits a piercing alarm sound.

His heart was pounding, his vision was blurring, and it all happened so fast that Jiang Zhe didn't even have time to react.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

My heart felt like it was being pounded, as if it was about to jump out of my chest.

As the body's power source, the "heart," continuously expands and contracts, a large amount of blood surges, and a barely perceptible energy rushes into the depths of Jiang Zhe's mind.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my mind—

"Ah! Ah!"

Jiang Zhe roared in pain.

He staggered a couple of steps, trying to find something to hold onto, but fell to the ground, curling up into a ball, writhing in pain and clutching his head.

"Xiao Zhe? What's wrong?"

"Brother Zhe? Brother Zhe!"

"A headache? Is Xiao Zhe about to awaken?"

"Doctor! Go get a doctor!"

……

It takes only a few breaths from the onset of the headache.

Jiang Zhe's eyelids grew heavy, his vision went black, and the panicked shouts of his relatives gradually faded from his ears.

Before falling into a coma, Jiang Zhe's only thought was—

Spiritual power...

Is it the beginning of an awakening? Or is it just a temporary fluctuation?

Jiang Zhe was very certain that he possessed mental power, and the unexplained headaches he had experienced over the years, along with the unscientific increase in his physical fitness afterward, were the best proof of this.

Luo Feng joined the Limit Martial Arts Academy at the age of sixteen, becoming an intermediate student, thanks to the gradual awakening of his spiritual master talent.

I was stronger than Luo Feng in the early stages.

The stimulation of the body by mental power is one aspect, but more importantly, it is the influence of the bloodline of the previous generation and the support of a good growth environment that makes one only a step away from becoming an advanced student.

Jiang Zhe was unaware of the original owner's talent in the original timeline.

He only knew that he was special; his soul, which had transmigrated from another world, was naturally robust, and after being nurtured and transformed by Earth, his talent as a spiritual master was definitely not lacking.

……

The facts were as Jiang Zhe thought, yet also not as he expected.

What he faces is far more dangerous than the awakening of his spiritual mastery; a "war of plunder" is underway in his sea of ​​consciousness.

In this boundless, mysterious place, a vast amount of mist surges ceaselessly, and in the center of the mist is a golden sphere that slowly rotates like a star.

At the same time, the golden sphere continuously emitted wisps of mist, causing the mist surrounding this mysterious place to increase constantly.

If Jiang Zhe were to use his inner vision at this moment, he would definitely recognize that the golden sphere is solid mental energy, representing his powerful mental energy master talent.

If he were to introspect for a little longer, he would find that the gaseous spiritual energy he emitted had not increased, but instead had become thinner, making his sea of ​​consciousness gradually appear empty.

This revealed the "stone sphere" that had been lurking in the mist, constantly devouring everything in its path.

The stone sphere, with its mottled surface and ancient aura, was about the same size as the golden sphere and moved around in the sea of ​​consciousness.

Wherever it passed, the fog cleared.

After absorbing the dissipated mist, it set its sights on the golden sphere suspended in the center of its consciousness and rammed into it—

The imagined clash between two titans did not materialize.

The golden sphere actually became ethereal, and Jiang Zhe's soul was directly merged into the stone sphere!

This absurd situation, when viewed in the context of the cultivation path, actually makes a lot of sense, because it is remarkably similar to the state of a martial artist breaking through to the Domain Lord level!

The most important organ of a cultivator in the Devouring System—the Life Core—appears, incorporating the Soul Crystal into it, forming the "Immortal Body" that is extremely famous among Domain Lord-level powerhouses.

The ancient stone sphere that suddenly appeared, if it wasn't a materialized cheat, was most likely the life core that carried the soul crystal.

Or, more accurately, the "pronucleus".

……

When Jiang Zhe regained consciousness, he found himself in a strange world.

The area was shrouded in chaotic mist, leaving only a clearing about ten meters wide and long. In the center of the clearing grew an ancient tree with a diameter of more than one meter. Its vigorous branches stretched into the mist, preventing him from seeing the full view of its massive canopy.

There was a stone table and benches under the tree, and a thick-backed wood-chopping axe on the table.

"The only thing that came to my senses was... where am I?"

Jiang Zhe quickly understood his own situation.

Scanning his surroundings, Jiang Zhe's consciousness suddenly stopped as he received a message from the space around him, which covered an area of ​​over a hundred square meters.

"Cut down trees?"

I'm currently reading the error-free version! This is the first time I've published this novel.

"Me? Pick up the axe on the table and chop down the tree?"

After a slight shock, memories buried for sixteen years were gradually awakened, and Jiang Zhe roughly guessed what was going on.

"The cheat program has arrived..."

This all started with his reckless habits before he time-traveled.

That night, after getting off work late, I was soaking my feet at my computer desk, my phone connected to the power strip, trying out a mini-game recommended by the browser. When I bent over to add hot water, I pulled the charging cable, causing the power strip to fall off the desk and into the foot bath...

The past is too painful to recall; if it weren't for the key phrase "cutting down trees," Jiang Zhe wouldn't have been able to make that connection.

"Chopping down trees" – that's the gameplay of that mini-game.

Before transmigrating, if you surfed the internet, you couldn't possibly have missed that mini-game, GG—a game about reincarnation where you start as a monster, chopping down trees for treasure, cultivating immortality and undergoing tribulations, and boasting "one axe cuts down a thousand-year-old tree, one step to the top of the cultivation path"...

Jiang Zhe's vision went black: "Even after transmigrating, I couldn't escape the control of this damn game. It followed me here and will attack in the form of a cheat code."

"Well, at least it's a cheat code. As long as it works, I'll give it a try."

Jiang Zhe has no physical body; his consciousness is wandering in this space. So he tries to use his mind to control an axe to chop down a tree.

It failed.

"Do I have to find a way to bring my body here? But how do I get back now?"

The moment the thought arose, Jiang Zhe felt his consciousness become heavy and plummet rapidly, as if he were falling off a cliff.

My senses returned in a flash.

A flood of information from the outside world came in.

A faint smell of disinfectant; the sensation of blood flowing through the veins on the back of a hand; anxious pacing; a deliberately lowered voice, filled with worry and muttering…

Jiang Zhe opened his eyes to a familiar ceiling. He was lying on his bed in his bedroom, with an IV drip in his right hand. The bedroom was crowded with people.

The most eye-catching figure was a young man who looked like a black bear, pacing anxiously back and forth in the room. His massive frame, over two meters tall, made Jiang Zhe dizzy.

"I woke up abruptly and saw the Black Bear Spirit come into the house to steal the cassock. I'll go back to sleep."

While verbally criticizing his second brother Jiang Wu, Jiang Zhe didn't actually lie down to sleep any longer. Instead, he sat up in bed and pulled out the needle from the back of his hand.

Upon hearing the sound, Jiang Wu turned his head sharply and saw Jiang Zhe on the bed removing needles. His voice, as loud as a drumbeat, rang out excitedly.

"He's awake! He's awake! Xiao Zhe is awake!"

My aunt and cousin quickly gathered around the bed.

Jiang Wu tried to squeeze in, but his sister pushed him away in disgust. He scratched his head sheepishly and stood against the wall with a refined-looking young man wearing glasses.

Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu are the eldest and second eldest sons in three generations of the Jiang family.

Jiang Wen is very cultured; he's a refined young man with glasses, and his focus is on business. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will be the future head of the Jiang family.

Jiang Wu is very skilled in martial arts. At only 23 years old, he is a mid-level warrior and has already secured a spot in the Thunder Martial Arts Academy's elite training camp.

Jiang Sisi, Jiang Zhe's cousin, is a short-haired woman with a dashing demeanor and the strength of a high-level warrior. She is quietly inquiring about Jiang Zhe's physical condition.

Wenwu Sizhe refers to all three generations of the Jiang family, and their names are very characteristic of the clan.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. This has happened twice before, and we both know it's a good thing, not a bad thing."

Jiang Zhe patiently responded to his aunt and cousin's concerns.

As a child, he suffered from a dull headache almost every day. After ruling out medical conditions, he was determined to have an extraordinary talent for mental cultivation.

The special group of mentalists, who are different from martial artists, are not mysterious in the eyes of a top family like the Jiang family.

His aunt, Jiang Chengcheng, rolled her eyes at him, somewhat resentfully saying, "How can I not worry? If you fail to awaken, you might become an idiot, a vegetable, or even die bleeding from all seven orifices!"

"We're not as carefree as your mom. She just came to take a look and then went out to play mahjong. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were her stepson."

Jiang Zhe smiled helplessly and didn't respond.

My mom is indeed a bit clueless and unreliable.

It's a fact that her aunt Jiang Chengcheng and she don't get along; Jiang Chengcheng tries to sow discord between them whenever she has a spare moment, so it's really not appropriate for Jiang Chengcheng to get involved.

Jiang Sisi, who was standing nearby, quickly gave her brother a wink.

Jiang Wu, with his bear-like appearance and inner wisdom, understood the implication and changed the subject, asking, "Xiao Zhe, is this a complete awakening?"

Jiang Zhe paused for a moment, then turned to stare at the ornaments on the desk, trying to sense them with his mental power, trying to control objects, trying to look into his inner consciousness...

As a result, even though he was sweating profusely, there was still no response.

There is no awakening, no spiritual power.

Moreover, he has not yet cultivated genetic energy and lacks the guidance of cosmic energy, so he cannot perform introspection.

But Jiang Zhe was stunned; he had made a surprising new discovery.

Is there a rock stuck in my head?

It was an ancient stone sphere that resided in his mind and would travel throughout his body according to his thoughts, between his eyebrows, in his ear canals, in his throat, in his navel, on the soles of his feet... finally settling in the position of the Crimson Palace on his chest, and it looked to be only millimeters in size.

This looks like a pronucleus?

Is this the body structure I could have?

Wait a minute, the life structure of the Golden Horned Beast isn't actually that unique. It just possesses the life characteristics of a Domain Lord and a Realm Lord ahead of time, characteristics that every martial artist will eventually acquire as their life level increases.

It's not entirely unbelievable that someone could be one of the lucky ones to have a "life core" ahead of time.

"So... the space I just went to was the inner world inside the primordial core?"

(End of this chapter)