The smell of moldy drywall and instant noodles was the first thing to assault Ye Feng's senses.
Then came the headache—a splitting, searing pain that felt like someone was trying to inflate a balloon inside his skull.
"Hhh..." Ye Feng groaned, clutching his head as he sat up on the rickety metal cot. His eyes darted around the room. Ten square meters. No windows. Damp stains on the ceiling that looked like grotesque faces.
"Where... is this?"
He remembered working overtime at the tech company on Earth, the chest pain, the collapsing monitor... and then darkness.
Suddenly, a torrent of foreign memories flooded his brain, merging with his own.
Blue Star. River City. The year 2024 of the Martial Calendar.
The Cataclysm.
Beasts.
Cultivators.
Ye Feng gasped, his chest heaving as the two lives fused into one. He had crossed over. He was no longer the exhausted programmer from Earth. He was now Ye Feng, a dropout student from the River City Martial Academy, an orphan, and a bottom-tier courier for 'Flash Delivery.'
He looked at his hands. Calloused, scarred, and trembling.
"Body Refining Stage 1..." Ye Feng muttered, sensing the pitifully weak stream of energy—'Qi'—in his body. "And a debt of 80,000 Federal Credits to the Blood Shark Loan Sharks."
In this world, strength was absolute. Fifty years ago, dimensional rifts tore the sky apart. Spiritual Qi flooded the planet, animals mutated into horrific beasts, and humanity unlocked the shackles of genetics to cultivate.
The rich became gods, controlling resources, pills, and techniques. The poor became ants, serving the gods in hopes of scraping together enough money for a single Spirit Stone.
Ye Feng was less than an ant. He was the dirt ants walked on.
BZZZT!
His wrist-comm vibrated violently against the bone.
[Order #4492: Urgent. 15 minutes remaining.]
[Customer: Young Master Zhao, Dragon Lake Villa.]
[Penalty for late delivery: 500 Credits.]
"Shit!" Ye Feng cursed, the instinct of the body's original owner taking over. 500 Credits was his food budget for two weeks.
He grabbed his faded blue Flash Delivery jacket and scrambled out the door.
The Dragon Lake Villa district was a paradise compared to the rat-hole Ye Feng lived in. Here, the air was sweet, filtered by massive Spirit Arrays that kept the pollution and the stench of the commoner districts at bay.
Ye Feng pushed his battered electric scooter to its limit, the engine whining in protest as he sped toward Villa No. 8.
He screeched to a halt in front of the massive iron gates just as the timer on his wrist ticked to [00:01].
Safe.
He grabbed the insulated box containing "Braised Spirit-Boar Knuckles" and ran to the door, pressing the intercom.
"Delivery for Young Master Zhao!"
The door swung open instantly. But it wasn't a servant who greeted him.
It was a young man wearing a white martial arts uniform, his hair styled perfectly, holding a wooden practice sword. Sweat glistened on his forehead—he had clearly just finished training. This was Zhao Ming, a known genius of the Zhao Family, currently at Body Refining Stage 4.
"You're cutting it close, trash," Zhao Ming sneered, looking at his Rolex. "One second later and I would have broken your legs."
Ye Feng lowered his head, suppressing the surge of anger. "Traffic in the lower district was bad, Young Master Zhao. Here is your meal."
He held out the box with both hands.
Zhao Ming didn't take it. Instead, he narrowed his eyes. "It's cold."
"Impossible," Ye Feng stammered. "It's in a thermal containment box. I checked it—"
"I said," Zhao Ming interrupted, his voice dropping an octave, "It. Is. Cold."
Zhao Ming raised a finger. A flicker of red Qi sparked at the tip—a basic Fire Art.
"Let me heat it up for you."
Before Ye Feng could react, Zhao Ming flicked his finger. A small fireball, no larger than a marble, shot forward. But he didn't aim at the box. He aimed at Ye Feng's hands.
Pop!
The fireball exploded against the plastic handle of the box and Ye Feng's fingers.
"Argh!" Ye Feng cried out, instinctively dropping the box as searing pain lashed his skin.
The box hit the ground. The lid popped off. The expensive Braised Spirit-Boar Knuckles rolled into the dirt.
Ye Feng clutched his burned hand, gritting his teeth to stop from screaming. The skin was red and blistering.
Zhao Ming looked at the ruined food, then at Ye Feng, and laughed. A cruel, bored laugh.
"Look what you did," Zhao Ming sighed, shaking his head. "Clumsy. My dog eats better than you, and even he wouldn't drop his dinner."
"You..." Ye Feng glared up, fury burning in his chest. "You did that on purpose!"
"Oh?" Zhao Ming stepped forward. The pressure of a Stage 4 Cultivator slammed down on Ye Feng like a wet mattress. It was suffocating. "Are you accusing a Noble Clan member of assaulting a courier? Who will the police believe? Me, the future of River City... or you, a orphan rat?"
Ye Feng froze. He knew the answer. In this world, the law had a price tag.
"Pick it up," Zhao Ming ordered, pointing at the dirt-covered pork.
"What?"
"I said pick it up. Take it with you. I'm filing a complaint. You ruined my meal. Expect a fine from your company. Now get out of my sight before I decide to test my new sword technique on your ribs."
Bang.
The villa door slammed shut.
Ye Feng stood there for a long minute. The pain in his hand throbbed in rhythm with his heartbeat. He looked at the ruined food, then at the closed door.
Humiliation.
Pure, unadulterated humiliation.
"Zhao Ming..." Ye Feng whispered, his voice trembling not with fear, but with a cold, hard rage. "I will remember this."
He turned around and walked back to his scooter. He didn't pick up the food.
He drove aimlessly for ten minutes, eventually stopping at a small, run-down park near the border of the slum district. He sat on a rusted bench, staring at his burned hand.
"Great start," he muttered bitterly. "Reincarnated into a world of magic and gods, and I'm getting bullied by a rich kid within the first hour. Where is the justice? Where is the cheat code?"
He sighed, leaning back.
Across the path, near a leaking water fountain, a scruffy, black stray dog was sniffing around a trash can. It looked pathetic—matted fur, skinny ribs, and a limp tail.
"We're a matching set, buddy," Ye Feng said to the dog.
As he stared at the dog, a strange sensation washed over him. His eyes began to itch. Not a surface itch, but deep inside the sockets, right behind the optic nerve. It felt like electricity was arcing through his brain.
"Ah!" Ye Feng rubbed his eyes furiously. The pain spiked, blinding white, and then—
Ding!
A mechanical, emotionless voice echoed in his skull.
[System Booting...]
[Soul Binding: 100% Complete.]
[The 'Omniscient Truth System' has been successfully installed.]
[Passive Skill: 'Eye of Truth' activated.]
Ye Feng blinked. The pain vanished instantly, replaced by a cooling sensation, like menthol drops in his eyes.
"System?" Ye Feng's heart skipped a beat. He had read enough web novels in his past life to know what this meant. "My Goldfinger?"
He looked around. The world looked... different. Sharper. High definition.
He looked at the rusted bench he was sitting on. A translucent blue window popped up next to it.
[Target: Rusted Park Bench]
[Status: Near Collapse]
[Secret (White): The rear left leg is rusted through. If anyone over 80kg sits here, it will snap instantly.]
Ye Feng jumped up. He looked at the leg. It looked fine on the outside, but when he kicked it lightly, a chunk of rust fell off, revealing the hollow metal.
"It's real..." Ye Feng breathed. "I can see the hidden truth of things."
He spun around, looking for a better target. His eyes landed on the scruffy black dog again.
The blue window appeared instantly.
[Target: Black Stray Dog]
[Status: Mild Indigestion / Anxious]
[Secret (Blue): This dog just escaped from a thief's hideout. Five minutes ago, it swallowed a 'Spirit Gathering Pill' (Middle Grade) wrapped in wax paper that the thief dropped. The pill hasn't dissolved yet.]
Ye Feng's eyes widened until they were saucer-sized.
A Middle-Grade Spirit Gathering Pill?!
In the market, a Low-Grade pill cost 10,000 Credits. A Middle-Grade pill? That was at least 100,000 Credits! Enough to pay off his debt instantly!
But the window had more text.
[System Mission Triggered: "Fortune Favors the Bold"]
[Task: Retrieve the pill before it dissolves (Time limit: 10 minutes).]
[Reward: Perfect Body Cleansing (removes all impurities) + Basic Boxing Technique (Mastery Level).]
"Holy shit."
Ye Feng didn't hesitate. 100,000 Credits and a System reward?
"Sorry, doggy," Ye Feng muttered, a crazed grin spreading across his face. "I need you to vomit."
He sprinted toward the fountain.
The black dog saw the human charging at it with eyes full of greed. It yelped and tried to scramble away, its claws skittering on the pavement.
"Don't run! I'm trying to help you with your indigestion!" Ye Feng shouted.
He wasn't fast—only Stage 1—but the dog was full of trash and a wax-covered pill. Ye Feng dove, tackling the dog onto the grass.
"Grrr!" The dog snapped, biting Ye Feng's sleeve.
"Spit it out!" Ye Feng ignored the tearing fabric. He wrestled the dog, trying to pry its jaws open. "Come on! Think of the calories! You don't want that!"
Passersby stopped to watch.
"Is that courier attacking a stray dog?"
"Disgusting. The poor are getting desperate for meat."
"Someone call animal control!"
Ye Feng ignored them. He maneuvered behind the dog, wrapped his arms around its stomach, and squeezed. The Heimlich maneuver for canines—something he saw on YouTube once.
Squeeze.
Squeeze.
"H-HCK!" The dog gagged.
"Almost there! Papa needs a new pair of cultivation levels!"
HUUUU-ACK!
With a convulsing heave, the dog retched. A pile of slimy, half-digested garbage landed on the concrete. Sitting right in the center, gleaming slightly through a layer of chewed wax paper, was a round, azure pill.
The dog immediately tried to eat it again.
"Oh no you don't!" Ye Feng snatched the pill away with lightning speed.
The dog barked indignantly, realized it had lost its snack, and bolted toward the bushes.
Ye Feng sat on the grass, panting heavily, holding the slimy wax ball like it was the Holy Grail. He wiped the slime off on the grass and peeled back the paper.
A rich, medicinal aroma exploded into the air. Just smelling it made his pores open up. It was genuine.
Ding!
[Mission Complete: Pill Retrieved.]
[Reward Issued: Perfect Body Cleansing + Basic Boxing Technique (Mastery).]
BOOM.
Ye Feng didn't even have time to swallow the pill. The System's reward hit him first.
A golden light erupted from within his body. He felt like he had been thrown into a furnace. Black, tar-like substance began to ooze out of his pores—the impurities accumulated from years of eating trash food and breathing smog.
At the same time, information flooded his mind. Stances. Footwork. Punching angles. Breathing rhythms.
Basic Boxing Technique. It sounded simple, but in his mind, he saw a grandmaster practicing it a million times. Straight punch. Hook. Uppercut. Every move became instinct.
The heat subsided after a minute. Ye Feng felt sticky, disgusting, but... incredible.
He stood up. His bones popped like firecrackers. The world felt lighter. The constant ache in his joints was gone.
He looked at his Status Window.
[Host: Ye Feng]
[Cultivation: Body Refining Stage 1 (Peak) -> Impurities Removed. Ready for breakthrough.]
[Physique: Pure Spirit Body (Low Tier)]
[Skills: Basic Boxing (Perfection)]
[Inventory: Spirit Gathering Pill (Middle Grade)]
"I haven't even taken the pill yet," Ye Feng laughed, clutching the blue pill in his hand. "And I already feel stronger than before."
He looked at the pill. Selling it would clear his debt. But...
"If I sell it, I pay the debt, but I'm still weak. Zhao Ming can still burn me. The Loan Sharks can still extort me later."
Ye Feng's eyes hardened.
"Strength is the only currency that matters."
He opened his mouth and swallowed the Middle-Grade Spirit Gathering Pill.
It was like swallowing lava.
The energy exploded in his stomach, rushing through his newly cleansed meridians without any resistance.
Crack.
[Body Refining Stage 2!]
The energy didn't stop. It roared like a dragon.
Crack.
[Body Refining Stage 3!]
It slowed down but kept pushing. Ye Feng gritted his teeth, assuming the horse stance from his new Boxing memory to guide the energy.
CRACK.
[Body Refining Stage 4!]
The energy finally settled.
Ye Feng exhaled a long breath of white steam. He clenched his fist. The air whistled between his fingers. He punched the air casually.
Whump.
A distinct sonic boom echoed.
"Stage 4," Ye Feng whispered. "In ten minutes, I went from trash to the same level as that genius Zhao Ming."
He looked at his burned hand. The dead skin was peeling off, revealing fresh, pink skin underneath. The healing properties of the breakthrough had fixed him.
He looked toward the direction of the Golden Dragon Villa. Then he looked toward the direction of the slums where the Loan Sharks were waiting.
A cold, confident smile appeared on Ye Feng's face.
"Young Master Zhao. Blood Shark Gang. I hope you're ready."
"Because I can see all your secrets now."
Ye Feng grabbed his scooter. Even though he was covered in black goo and smelled terrible, he felt like a king. He kicked the scooter to life and sped off into the night.
The hunt was on.