Chapter 1 The Metamorphosis

When Ruoyu sat up from the game pod, she immediately saw Jue-ge on the sofa.

At this moment, Feng Bujue's brows were slightly furrowed, his eyes deep and thoughtful… he looked every bit like a theoretical physicist at work.

"What are you doing?" Ruoyu asked before she had even stepped out of the game pod.

"Thinking…" Feng Bujue replied without turning his head.

"Thinking about what?" Ruoyu continued.

"About what happened just now… and what's happening now…" Feng Bujue's answer was a bit cryptic, "…those things that have already happened and are happening now."

"I was just about to ask you…" Ruoyu continued, "What exactly happened earlier? Even without using Ling Shi Ju Shen Shu (Spirit Consciousness Gathering Technique), you should have been able to dodge that kind of probing attack."

"I don't quite understand either…" Jue-ge pondered, "If I recall correctly… at the time, I seemed to faintly feel a surge of energy enter my body from behind. From that moment on, I couldn't move." He stroked his chin thoughtfully, "What's strange is that before the contact occurred… I didn't notice that energy approaching at all."

"Hmm…" Ruoyu muttered as she climbed out of the game pod, "Speaking of which… I didn't see any reactions around you that indicated a change in energy either…"

"Oh?" Feng Bujue's expression changed slightly, "In other words…" His mind instantly filtered out countless hypotheses, and from the remaining inferences, he selected a more likely conclusion, "Heh… I think I understand." He suddenly smiled, "No wonder…"

"No wonder what?" Ruoyu asked as she walked to Feng Bujue's side.

"No wonder I felt so terrible after leaving the game pod," Feng Bujue replied.

Ruoyu looked doubtful and continued, "Are you saying… that the energy you came into contact with in the game caused you discomfort in the real world?"

"That's right." Feng Bujue said earnestly, "In fact, after leaving the game pod, the influence of that energy became increasingly clear to me." He smiled, "Heh… at first, I thought I had developed psychic automatism syndrome due to reactive mental disorder, then I speculated that it was indigestion caused by eating too much breakfast… but after you said that, I understand… at the Yanwu (martial arts training) stage, I was probably ambushed by some creatures 'beyond the game dimension.' Therefore, the current me…"

When Jue-ge said this, he took a deep breath, revealing a happy expression before saying, "…is feeling so incredibly good…"

Ruoyu looked at the change in Jue-ge's expression and paused for two seconds, "Are you really sure you're not having a mental breakdown?"

"No." Before Jue-ge could answer, Asathoth, who was sleeping on the other end of the sofa, interjected, "What he's saying is true, meow." She yawned and said to Ruoyu, "Just observe him with your Ling Shi (spirit sight) and you'll understand."

After hearing this, Ruoyu did as she was told with some suspicion. As a result, she saw…

"How could this be…" After a few seconds, Ruoyu's face turned very ugly.

"What's wrong with me?" Feng Bujue read worry and surprise on the other's face, "It doesn't sound good…"

Ruoyu replied, "I heard Grand Aunt Gu (Gu Chen) say… that your roots are not right, even if your talent is outstanding, your cultivation speed won't be much faster than those with mediocre aptitude. Moreover, you are prone to Qi deviation…" As she spoke, she continued to scan Feng Bujue up and down with a monster-like gaze, "One of the reasons I moved here was to prevent that kind of situation from happening. But now…"

"You've already entered the demonic path, meow," Asathoth interjected, stealing her line.

"Huh?" Feng Bujue asked strangely, "I've successfully embarked on the demonic path?" He looked down at his hands, "Then my current skills and cultivation level should have improved by leaps and bounds, right?"

"Not at all…" Ruoyu immediately replied, "On the contrary… all of the spiritual energy you accumulated in the previous half month has disappeared without a trace. Although your Ling Shi (spirit consciousness) still exists, your cultivation has basically vanished."

"Hey, hey… isn't this a rip-off… are those theories about 'a thousand years of cultivation not being equal to one thought of becoming a demon' all fake!" Feng Bujue exclaimed in astonishment, using a deadpan tone.

"I also find it very strange…" Ruoyu said, "It shouldn't be like this in theory…" She subconsciously raised one hand and lightly stroked her lower lip with her index finger, "Falling back to the level of an ordinary person after becoming a demon… is indeed unheard of."

"No, no, no…" Feng Bujue shook his head, "I'm sure…" He raised his hands and made quotation marks, "I'm sure I haven't returned to the 'level of an ordinary person.'"

"Oh?" Ruoyu responded, "What's the basis for that?"

"At this moment…" A look of constipation-like seriousness appeared on Feng Bujue's face, "I can feel… the Earth is rotating."

"What the f***?" Even Asathoth was shocked by this, "Are you really sure you're not having indigestion?"

Actually, Asathoth didn't quite understand Jue-ge's situation either, but she could roughly tell… that some "extremely high-level existence" had exerted some kind of influence on Feng Bujue.

The problem was… the specific effect of this influence was probably only known to the one who exerted it.

"Is this what you mean by 'feeling so incredibly good'?" Ruoyu squinted and looked at Jue-ge with a strange gaze.

Feng Bujue continued, "I can also clearly feel the operation of all my organs… the flow of bodily fluids, the circulation of gases, and even some semi-solid…"

"Okay, I know what you're going to say, can you skip this part…" Ruoyu interrupted.

"Also…" Feng Bujue skipped the part about the digestive system, "If I concentrate intensely and stare at a certain area, I can see through the 'operational laws of physical things' in that area."

"Can you give an example?" Ruoyu didn't fully understand the other party's symptoms.

"It's like I can see the flow of data in the game world…" Feng Bujue replied, "But there are no such binary images in the real world, what I see is something more specific…" As he spoke, he stood up and walked towards the television. Thirty seconds later, he brought over his home's TV box (in 2055, the TV box was a streaming media hub with various functions, and its mechanical structure was very complicated). "Let's take this thing as an example…" Before he finished speaking, he picked up the TV box and smashed it hard on the ground. With a few pops, it fell apart, and the parts inside were scattered all over the floor (most high-tech gadgets have a fragile side), "…Although I've never studied any high-end knowledge in science or engineering, the current me… can fix it."

"Hmm… I believe you," Ruoyu replied almost without thinking.

"Eh?" Feng Bujue said, "I haven't even started repairing it yet…"

"The repair cost for this kind of damage, which is obviously outside the warranty, is very expensive, and it's even more expensive to buy a new one…" Ruoyu continued, "Judging from your financial situation and consistent style, you must be 100% sure that you can fix it before you smash it…"

"Uh…" Feng Bujue was speechless.

"Anyway… you can fix it here first…" Ruoyu said, turning and walking towards her room, "I'm going to call Grand Aunt Gu to ask… what's the best way to deal with your situation."

"Oh…" Feng Bujue responded, then thought of something else, "Eh~ By the way, what happened to the Slaughter Game? Who won?"

"I won," Ruoyu replied, "I went to Gu Zhi City not long after you died. At that time… the two forces in the city had already reached an agreement with Qitian Di (Abandoned Heaven Emperor). The former handed over the Hougyoku (Breakdown Orb), stopped resisting, and the latter let them live and used the power of the Hougyoku (Breakdown Orb) to return all time and space to their original positions." She turned her head and said, "This development was undoubtedly very unfavorable for Qin Qin… After the NPCs left, she had no power to rely on. Therefore, she launched a siege against me with several NPCs when she was not fully prepared. Relying on my strength advantage, I directly took her head in the chaos and ended the game."

"Hmm…" Feng Bujue nodded, "You're really ruthless… just like that, you treated your girlfriend…"

Bang—

Before his trash talk could be fully uttered, Ruoyu had entered the bedroom and closed the door.

"Teasing failed, meow~" Asathoth meowed with a smile the next second.

"Besides mocking and complaining about me, do you have nothing else to do every day?" Feng Bujue turned his head and glared at her.

"Then I'll say something else…" Asathoth changed the subject, and her tone became solemn, "Although I don't know exactly what happened to you, from my point of view, I think this is a good thing."

"Ha… my cultivation is gone, and it's still a good thing?" Feng Bujue asked.

"Do you know what 'breaking to establish' means, meow?" Asathoth said.

Feng Bujue's heart skipped a beat, "Hoh~ You mean…"

"If you compare the previous you to a bowl, then the current you is like a lake," Asathoth continued, "The spiritual energy you accumulated in the previous half month is at most a few drops of water at the bottom of the bowl. When the bowl becomes a lake, that little bit of water… naturally can't be found."

"Sounds very powerful…" Feng Bujue continued, "Then these changes in my body are also the result of breaking to establish?"

"It should be…" Asathoth replied, "I don't know what kind of power you've gained, anyway… from the perspective of this demon, although I don't want to admit it, the current you, in terms of realm alone… is already a higher existence than me."

"Then shouldn't you show your true form, kneel in front of me, and call me Lord Feng Bujue?" Feng Bujue said with a smile.

Then, their conversation ended with a man being slapped to the ground with a paw…