I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

【Kunlun Martial Arts Arena】

If the Preaching Palace is a greenhouse for ideas, then the Martial Arts Arena is a millstone of flesh and blood.

Before the morning mist had even dissipated, more than 600 students who had chosen the "sword cultivation" path had already assembled. Most of them were elites from the special forces system, with a few civilian martial artists of exceptional physical abilities.

They stood on the huge bluestone square, the stone slabs beneath their feet faintly revealing dark red patterns—a formation, or perhaps some kind of ominous premonition.

The person in charge of this department is the elder, Tieshan, who is a sword puppet.

He didn't make any mysterious arrival like Gu Qing. He just stood there, two and a half meters tall, his muscles bulging like granite, his skin a metallic bronze color. He wasn't wearing a Taoist robe, only a pair of coarse cloth trousers, his bare upper body covered with crisscrossing scars.

He doesn't seem like a cultivator; he's more like a human killing machine.

"Report the numbers."

Tieshan's voice was like two pieces of raw iron rubbing together, harsh and cold.

"one two three……"

Tieshan listened to the numbers without expression, a stiff, mocking smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"The sound is quite loud."

Tieshan took a step forward.

boom!

It's just one step.

The gravity array beneath the training ground activated instantly. An invisible, terrifying gravity field crashed down like a giant hammer.

"Hmm!"

The knees of the several folk martial artists in the back row buckled instantly, and they fell to their knees. Their kneecaps made a sickening cracking sound, and even their screams were suppressed in their throats.

Even the special forces soldiers felt their bodies suddenly sink, their spines creaking under the strain, veins bulging all over their bodies, and cold sweat instantly soaking through their backs.

Only Chu Tian.

The moment gravity struck, Chu Tian's body reacted instinctively.

It's sizzling!

A faint but piercing electrical hum sounded.

A fine layer of dark blue electric arcs suddenly appeared on Chu Tian's skin!

The intense pressure stimulated his nervous system, and for someone with the "Thunder Spirit Body," the extreme pressure directly activated the bioelectricity deep within his cells.

His hair stood on end, and lightning seemed to dance in his eyes. The violent current traveled up his spine, forcefully counteracting some of the gravity and keeping him from bending over.

"Oh?"

Tie Shan's lifeless eyes finally flickered. He stopped in front of Chu Tian, ​​looking at the young man whose body was wrapped in blue arcs of electricity.

"Thunder Spirit Body...no wonder it's so tough."

Tieshan's voice remained cold, but with a hint of scrutiny. "In the mortal world, your physique is called 'The Chosen One.' Your nerve reaction speed is ten times that of an ordinary person, and your explosive power allows you to tear apart an armored vehicle with your bare hands."

Hearing this, Chu Tian gritted his teeth and squeezed out a sentence amidst the crackling of electricity: "Re...Report! I can...hold on!"

He took this as approval.

Those kneeling around him cast envious and shocked glances—is this what genius is? Able to even defy gravity?

However, Tieshan's next words were like a bucket of ice water poured over him.

"Persist? Who told you to persist?"

The scrutinizing look in Tieshan's eyes disappeared, replaced by a gaze as if he were looking at scrap.

"You think this is a superpower demonstration?"

"The lightning you're using is chaotic and unstable; it not only fails to protect you, but it's also accelerating the depletion of your body."

"It's like a broken barrel full of gunpowder; it'll explode if you press it down even slightly."

Chu Tian's pupils contracted: "What...?"

"Here, talent is not a get-out-of-jail-free card."

"All living beings are like ants. And you are nothing more than an electrified ant."

Tieshan extended a finger, ignoring the crackling electric currents on Chu Tian's body. The high-voltage arc, powerful enough to stun an elephant, struck Tieshan's finger without leaving a single black mark.

She gently tapped Chu Tian's shoulder with her finger.

"Get out of here."

Click!

That wasn't the sound of bones breaking; it was the sound of something shattering.

Tieshan's finger strike, combined with the gravity of the formation, instantly shattered all of Chu Tian's defenses.

"ah!!"

Chu Tian's prized lightning instantly dissipated, and he was crushed like a soda can by a hydraulic press, his knees slamming heavily onto the stone slab, causing it to crack instantly. The excruciating pain nearly made him faint, but his nerves, strengthened by the lightning, kept him conscious—which also meant he would have to endure ten times the pain.

The entire room fell silent.

The strongest "genius," Chu Tian, ​​who was covered in lightning, was pressed into the ground with just one finger.

"Did you see it clearly?"

Tieshan withdrew his hand, his cold gaze sweeping over the humans sprawled on the ground:

"In the face of higher life forms, your genetic mutations and fighting skills are like ants showing off their dance moves."

"Whether you're electrified or poisonous, if your body isn't strong enough, one stomp and you're nothing but mud."

Chu Tian lay on the ground, convulsing, his mouth filled with the taste of blood. His dignity was shattered, but the ruthlessness in his eyes grew ever brighter.

It wasn't out of hatred, but because I saw the gap between us.

A difference as vast as the ocean.

"Stand up," Tieshan said coldly.

Chu Tian trembled, enduring the excruciating pain, and used his other intact hand to support himself on the ground. He even forced out a faint electric current to stimulate his muscles, slowly pulling himself out of the gravity mire.

"Very good." Tieshan looked at the group of "ants" who, though disheveled, were gradually becoming more ferocious, and said, "Since you admit that you are ants, then learn how to be an iron-willed ant."

Lesson One: Shattered Bones Rebuilt

"I will crush your bones with gravity and then reshape them with medicine. Those who can't endure it will go to the logistics department to sweep the floors; only those who can endure it will be qualified to touch a sword."

……

【Kunlun·Dange】

Compared to the violent aesthetics of the martial arts arena, the atmosphere of Dan Pavilion seemed much more "civilized," but the madness that permeated its very bones was no less.

The instructor was Elder Dan Chenzi (a puppet) of the Medicine Pavilion.

On the long table in front of him lay a creature bound by runes.

That was a... mouse.

But it was cat-shaped, covered in scales, with blood-red eyes, and exuded a savage aura. This was a "prototype of a demonic beast" that had been forcibly mutated by spiritual energy.

Dan Chenzi smiled gently, the scalpel dancing between his fingers with an elegance akin to conducting a symphony. "In your science, life is made up of cells, genes, and proteins."

"But here, life is a vessel for the spirit."

puff.

Dan Chenzi's knife precisely sliced ​​open the demon rat's abdomen. No blood splattered; only a faint halo flowed at the cut.

"Look here." Dan Chenzi used tweezers to pick up a wriggling, glowing, dark red tissue. "In your eyes, this is a malignant tumor, a product of genetic breakdown."

"But in the cultivation system, this is the prototype of the 'demon core,' a highly aggregated form of energy."

A biologist in the audience stared wide-eyed. Unable to contain himself, he raised his hand, his voice trembling: "Elder, this violates the principles of rejection reactions! This high-energy reaction would instantly burn up the organism; it doesn't make thermodynamic sense..."

"So, your vision is locked in."

Dan Chenzi smiled, casually put the "malignant tumor" into his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.

Everyone: "!!!"

"Conservation of energy? Material cycle?" Dan Chenzi wiped his mouth, a strange light flashing in his eyes. "Cultivation is plunder. Plundering heaven and earth, plundering all things, to replenish oneself."

His gaze deepened:

"In the past, when you treated and saved lives, you were repairing broken machines."

"From today onwards, I will teach you how to evolve this machine into a god through 'feeding' and 'refining'."

"There is a 'Compendium of Herbs' and a pile of raw materials on the table."

"This afternoon's task: Refine the first bottle of 'Body Tempering Fluid' according to the recipe. Those who fail will not have dinner and will be responsible for dealing with the excrement of these monsters—it's excellent fertilizer, so don't waste it."

These scientists, who were hailed as gods by the outside world, looked at each other in bewilderment, staring at the strange herb still writhing in their hands, their worldviews shattered.

……

【Kunlun Mountain - Star-Picking Platform】

Gu Qing stood with his hands behind his back at the highest point of Kunlun.

The clouds churned beneath my feet, and the entire Kunlun Mountains stretched out before me.

He saw the boy with the Thunder Spirit Body on the training ground, coughing up blood while trying to control the electric current.

He saw in the Dan Pavilion that the biologists were dissecting the monsters while gagging.

He also saw inside the scripture tower, where mathematicians and programmers were frantically modeling the runes covering the walls, trying to find a universal "cultivation algorithm".

"Do you also think I'm being too hasty?" Gu Qing suddenly asked.

A ripple of air rose, and the system's mechanical voice echoed in his mind:

The current teaching intensity may cause some trainees to experience mental breakdowns or physical injuries during the first week. This is not in line with a sustainable development strategy.

"Sustainable?"

Gu Qing sneered and cast his gaze into the depths of the sky.

Only he can see it.

Beyond the azure atmosphere, in the deep vacuum of space, a faint, gray shadow is spreading.

Those are the tentacles of emptiness.

It is the universe's malice towards this nascent civilization.

"We don't have time for joyful education."

"System, did you know that ants huddle together before a flood? The outer ants will drown, but their corpses will pave a path for the inner ants to survive?"

Gu Qing pointed to the human elites struggling below.

"They now think I'm the devil, and they think this is too cruel."

"But when the void descends, when they see the true 'ineffable,' they will thank themselves for wallowing in the mire today."

Gu Qing turned around, her sleeves fluttering in the wind.

"Pass the word down."

"Once the time is right, we will open the first level of the 'Trial Tower'."

"Since everyone thinks they are elites, let's project a few real 'extraterrestrial demons' into it."

"Cultivating immortality without bloodshed is just child's play."

[Command confirmed. The Trial Tower is charging...]

The wind picked up.

The mist on Kunlun Mountain dissipated, revealing the swarm of "ants" below, frantically evolving. Little did they know that what they were about to face was no longer the discipline of their instructors, but a true struggle for life and death.