"Qin Yang, want to get dinner together after work?"
At the entrance of the Jiangcheng Martial Arts Library, a pretty girl invited Qin Yang out.
"No, thanks. I have something to do at home."
Qin Yang shook his head, flatly rejecting the girl's invitation before turning to leave.
"That guy is so boring. What a waste of such a handsome face."
Watching Qin Yang's retreating back, the girl stomped her foot in annoyance, then rolled her eyes and left.
After work, Qin Yang walked down the street and looked up at the ten black hole-like rifts that had appeared in the sky, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
He was a transmigrator from Earth. He had kicked the bucket after eating seafood contaminated by nuclear wastewater, only to cross over into this parallel world that was remarkably similar to his own.
This world's civilization had originally been much like Earth's.
But a thousand years ago, ten rifts suddenly appeared in the sky, and a mysterious power flooded into the world from within them.
After absorbing this mysterious power, all living beings would find their bodies strengthened, gaining extraordinary abilities.
Humans named this power the Power of Stars, and those who absorbed it to become stronger were known as Star Martial Artists.
The speed at which one could absorb the Power of Stars was related to a Star Martial Artist's own aptitude.
And the body Qin Yang now inhabited was that of a good-for-nothing with low aptitude, who could only be part of the working class at the very bottom of society.
Sigh!
Qin Yang sighed internally. 'To think I was a wage slave in my past life, and I'm still fated to be one after transmigrating. And the cheat I brought with me is completely useless.'
That's right.
Qin Yang did have a cheat.
A system, to be precise.
However, after he transmigrated, Brother Tongzi had only given him a single reminder:
"This has been identified as a Fantasy World. Danger level: extremely high. Host, please maintain a low profile and be careful to preserve your life."
After that, the system simply vanished.
No matter how Qin Yang called for it, there was no response.
This left Qin Yang feeling disheartened, so he resigned himself to being an obedient wage slave.
Fortunately, his current job wasn't too bad. He was an administrator at the Jianghai Library.
The Jianghai Library was the largest library in all of Jianghai City, housing a vast collection of Cultivation Technique manuals left behind by Martial Arts predecessors for future generations to study.
As an administrator at the Jianghai Library, Qin Yang earned a monthly salary of three thousand, with room and board included. He even got to enjoy the air conditioning in the library.
Qin Yang was already quite satisfied with these conditions.
After all, in this dangerous Fantasy World, it was already a blessing for someone with his low aptitude to be able to live a stable life.
For him, staying alive was the most important thing.
After a leisurely walk of about twenty minutes, Qin Yang finally returned to his small, shabby rented room.
Since the library only provided a five-hundred housing subsidy, Qin Yang could only afford to rent a cheap, old place with rather dated decor.
After pouring himself a glass of water, Qin Yang went to his bed, preparing to scroll through some videos and relax for a bit.
RUSTLE!
Just then, his brow furrowed as he suddenly heard a strange noise coming from under the bed.
'A mouse?'
Qin Yang immediately got out of bed, took out his phone to turn on the flashlight, and squatted down to look under the bed. He saw a dark shadow crawling on the floor.
Thinking it was just a mouse, Qin Yang grabbed a broom and swept the dark shadow out.
"Huh? Is this a cockroach?"
Qin Yang was stunned when he got a clear look at the dark shadow's true form.
The shadow was actually a large cockroach, about the size of a mouse, covered in a crimson carapace. It looked very different from an ordinary cockroach.
"As expected of a Fantasy World. Even the cockroaches are extraordinary."
Qin Yang muttered in amazement, immediately wanting to stomp the giant cockroach to death.
Although the cockroach was big, it was still just a cockroach. He wasn't afraid of it.
Just then, the long-silent system prompt suddenly rang in his mind.
"Ding! King Level Star Beast detected: Undying Cockroach."
"Warning! Danger!"
"The power gap between the Host and the King Level Star Beast is too great. Please escape immediately!"
"Please escape immediately!"
The system's prompts were tinged with a hint of panic, as if it had encountered some kind of danger itself.
'Undying Cockroach?'
'A King Level Star Beast?'
As the realization dawned on him, Qin Yang stared at the giant cockroach, his mind going completely blank.
In this world, the Levels of Star Martial Artists were divided into Postnatal and Innate.
The Postnatal Realm was divided into nine layers, and breaking through to the Innate Realm was a feat only a one-in-ten-thousand genius could achieve.
Humans absorbed the Power of Stars to become Star Martial Artists.
Non-human creatures could also absorb the Power of Stars to grow stronger, transforming into fearsome Star Beasts.
They could even gain special abilities.
Humans could hunt Star Beasts and take their Star Cores to advance their Cultivation.
Likewise, Star Beasts could devour humans to increase their own strength.
Therefore, humans and Star Beasts were natural adversaries.
A King Level Star Beast's strength was equivalent to that of a human Innate Martial Artist.
But now the system was telling him that this giant cockroach was a Beast King, capable of contending with an Innate Powerhouse?
He was just an ordinary person unable to absorb the Power of Stars. Against a King Level Star Beast, he would be completely defenseless.
"Ding! Host, please escape immediately, or your life will be forfeit!"
The system's prompts echoed continuously in his mind.
But Qin Yang just stared blankly at the giant cockroach by his feet, utterly dumbfounded.
'Brother Tongzi, did you make a mistake?'
'This is just a big cockroach.'
'It's a little big, sure.'
'But...'
'...to say it's a Beast King is a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?'
Just as Qin Yang's gaze lingered on the giant cockroach, a screen of light suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Race: Undying Cockroach (Contains bloodline of an Ancient Demon Insect)
Level: King Level
Talent Ability: Undying Body
Trait: Violent temperament
'It really is an Undying Cockroach?'
Looking at the information before him, Qin Yang was rather surprised.
'I can see hidden information?'
'Could it be that this giant cockroach really is a Beast King?'
"Alert! Alert!"
"The Undying Cockroach has a violent temperament and is extremely dangerous. Host, please flee for your life immediately!"
Qin Yang's heart tightened, and he subconsciously took a step back.
However, he saw the giant cockroach was just spinning in circles on the floor, as if it couldn't find its way home.
'This dumb-looking thing is a Beast King?'
Seeing the cockroach's harmless appearance, Qin Yang immediately relaxed.
'There's definitely something wrong with this system.'
Then, he remembered its Talent Ability: Undying Body. An idea suddenly formed in his mind.
The next moment, Qin Yang violently stomped on the giant cockroach.
CRUNCH!
With the sound of its carapace shattering, the giant cockroach burst open, its guts splattering everywhere.
Looking at the giant cockroach on the floor, which couldn't possibly be any deader, Qin Yang let out a sneer.
'This is what they call a Beast King?'
'Some Undying Body. One stomp and it's a puddle of guts.'
'This system is seriously messed up!'