Chapter 2: Another World

The tone of Yao Xing was very mild, but the words he spoke were utterly horrifying.

Destroy this world? Insane, his previous host must have been mad.

"Get lost, you maniac," Lanling raged.

He had always been clear about love and hate, kind and just. He planned to kill that rich second generation because he deserved to die. Now someone was actually telling him his mission in this world was to destroy it. It would have been odd if Lanling didn't spit in his face with contempt.

Yao Xing did not argue but remained quietly silent.

A moment later, Lanling asked, "Can you help me return to Earth? My sister really needs me."

Yao Xing said, "I do not know."

Lanling said, "What do you mean you don't know; it's either you can or you can't."

Yao Xing said, "I have only one instinct, which is to devour all energy. I can make you very, very powerful."

"You make me powerful? How would you make me powerful?" Lanling asked.

Yao Xing said, "As long as you kill a person, I can devour his energy and then it becomes your strength. The more you kill, the more I devour, the more powerful you become."

Lanling shivered violently; although Yao Xing spoke evenly, he heard an immensely evil implication in his words.

What kinds of things would directly devour energy? Black holes devour everything.

In the novels he had read, Ren Wo Xing in "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" possessed an extremely evil martial arts technique, the Star Absorption Skill, which directly devoured other people's internal power.

Yet this Demon Star before him would take a person's life before devouring his energy, which was a hundred times more evil than the Star Absorption Skill.

"I don't need it. I just want to return to my sister's side," Lanling said. "I don't want to be your host. Get away from me."

"You will need it soon," Yao Xing said. "My energy is already very weak, so I must go into hibernation now. Goodbye."

Then, the light went out, and the entire dream plunged into complete darkness.

...

Soon, Lanling woke up and began to recall that strange dream. For a while, he didn't know whether it was real or just a dream, and he couldn't help but shout in his heart: "Demon Star, Demon Star, come out."

However, there was no response. Was it just a dream?

After waking up, Lanling could no longer sleep. His mind gradually calmed down.

He had disappeared. What about his sister on Earth? Her face was already disfigured, and she was afraid to interact with anyone. He was her only family. If he was gone, how would she survive?

Thinking of this, Lanling's heart ached as if it were being wrung.

No, I can't fall into despair. I must pull myself together.

I have to return, I have to find any way to go back, I have already sworn upon the meteor shower to take care of and protect you for a lifetime.

Even though I have crossed into another world now, I must keep my promise. Even though I don't know how to return, no matter what, I must find a way back, I must take care of you for a lifetime.

Kneeling on the ground and facing the moon above, Lanling declared word by word, "Sister, I swear by the twin moons, by any means necessary, I will return to your side and take care of you for a lifetime. If I break this vow, let me be destroyed by heaven and earth."

After making his vow, Lanling got up, deciding to leave the deep mountains and head to the human society of this world, to search for the reason behind his crossing over, to find a way back to his sister.

At the same time, at the top level of the Dragon Temple of the Flame Empire.

The dome of the Holy Temple, like a canopy of heaven, was inlaid with countless gems, resembling real stars.

At that moment, suddenly a star shone brightly with a golden light, then fell from the dome, turning into a strange flame.

Instantly, the Grand Priest who was in meditation opened his eyes and said in horror, "Bad news, Demon Star has appeared, a great calamity is coming."

Then he rushed out of the meditation room and hoarsely shouted outside, "Eighteen Envoys, take the Temple Army, and immediately go search for any suspicious persons in the southeast of Central Earth. This person does not belong to our world. Once found, kill on sight."

"Yes!" Immediately, a dozen shadows burst out from the Holy Temple.

The Grand Priest looked at the mortals outside and trembled, "Demon Star has descended, the end is coming, I hope this prophecy is not true!"

...

Lanling wandered in the mountains for several days and nights, yet he never left the vast expanse of the mountains. When hungry, he ate wild fruits which appeared relatively safe, and when thirsty, he drank from the mountain springs.

During these days, he discovered something strange—his body had undergone a significant transformation.

Originally, although his body was not weak, it was definitely not very strong either. But after crossing into this world, deep within him seemed to reside a very mysterious and powerful force.

Whenever he walked for tens of miles and felt exhausted, energy from deep within his heart would emerge, flowing into his limbs and bones, instantly making all fatigue vanish clean away, leaving him full of strength. Moreover, he didn't feel very weak even after a long time without food.

And this energy was incredibly mysterious; whenever he tried to feel it, to locate it, it seemed completely elusive.

Now, Lanling was certain it was not a dream, but reality—there was indeed an extremely evil Demon Star within him.

Lanling shivered suddenly. Then he called out again, but there was no response.

However, even with the Demon Star Energy within him, he was nearly exhausted. No matter how far he walked, endless forests and mountains loomed ahead. Lanling was going insane—it was as if he were in a prehistoric age, where he was the only person in the whole world.

Ten days, half a month, twenty days…

Lanling seriously began to wonder if he had transmigrated to a world devoid of people, for he could not see any houses or traces of human existence.

He kept walking, kept walking, kept walking…

Lanling had become a wild man, with long hair and beard, his clothes turned into strips.

He didn't know how long he had walked when one day, he emerged from a dense forest and suddenly, the view opened up before him. There was a wide road cutting through the mountains, stretching from east to west not far below.

Lanling was ecstatic. He had finally come out of the mountains, finally left the mountains behind. And where there was a road, there were people, which meant that human society existed.

The utterly weary Lanling suddenly felt a surge of boundless strength and dashed desperately towards the road.

...

About two hours later, Lanling finally came down from the mountains and stepped onto the road which bore wagon tracks, so he followed this road eastward.

As he walked, he kept his ears up, ready to shout for help as soon as he heard any passerby.

After walking for almost half an hour, his ears twitched—he heard a fierce clatter of horse hooves coming from behind.

He quickly turned around and was instantly shocked to see, a few hundred meters back, a troop of riders galloping towards him rapidly.

Over a hundred fully armed knights were guarding a carriage, kicking up clouds of dust as they charged forward. These people, dressed in fine clothes and riding impressive horses, were clearly rich or noble.

Lanling waved his hands frantically, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"My lord, there is a barbarian blocking the road and shouting," a knight approached the carriage and reported respectfully.

After spending over two months in the deep mountains, Lanling's clothes were all torn, his face covered in a wild beard, his hair unkempt—he indeed looked like a barbarian.

"Plow through, crush him," came a young man's chilly voice from inside, "All barbarians of the Wilderness deserve to die."

Then, the troop charged straight at Lanling, intent on running him over at great speed.

Lanling noticed that the stallions of this world were much taller and more impressive than those on Earth, and also much faster—they were upon him in the blink of an eye.

All these warhorses were clad in armor, standing over two meters tall. Being hit by them meant certain death or crippling injury. Why were these people so ruthless, aiming to crush a man blocking their path to death?

Lanling quickly dodged to the side, avoiding the charging horses.

"He dares to dodge, whip him to death," the young noble inside the carriage ordered cruelly.

"Yes," immediately a samurai drew his whip and lashed fiercely at Lanling.

The whip cracked towards him like lightning. Lanling tried frantically to dodge, but he couldn't escape it.

"Snap…" His body was struck by the whip, and he felt as if hit by a force of a thousand pounds. He was sent flying like a straw puppet, blood spurting wildly, before he collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

Then, the lavish procession roared past. The young noble inside the carriage laughed heartily.

If this had been Lanling before his transmigration, that whip would have shattered his bones and mushed his organs, killing him instantly.

But now, only two of Lanling's bones were broken, his internal organs damaged, and although he was on his last breath, he was not dead yet. The Bloodline Energy in the depths of his heart continued to well up, protecting his heart and life force.

Time passed relentlessly, and Lanling remained lying in the middle of the road, unconscious.

Even though that mysterious energy constantly protected him, it was not endless. It grew weaker and weaker, and Lanling's breathing and heartbeat became fainter and fainter, as death slowly crept over him.

Night fell quickly, and fortunately, no carriages passed the entire night, or they might have truly crushed him to death.

The next day, as the sun rose, Lanling still lay on the road, his fate between life and death unknown, the blood from his mouth and nose dried and turned purple-black.

Another entire day went by, and the darkness gradually deepened again.

...

Three days had passed since Lanling lost consciousness, this road was indeed desolate, with not a soul passing by in those three days.

Lanling's breathing and heartbeat were faint to the extreme, barely perceptible, and without medical aid, he was certain to die.

Just then, the sound of horse hooves came from afar, growing closer and closer. Two samurais were guarding a carriage, galloping at full speed.

As they drew closer, it became apparent that both samurais were women.

Both were dressed in tight leather armors, one red and one black. Their figures were extraordinarily fit. Mounted on their horses, their curves were breathtaking, making it difficult to look away.

Most importantly, these two women looked exactly alike, with equally beautiful features and profoundness, resembling mixed-race individuals from Earth.

Such beauties, coupled with devilish figures—one was rare enough, but here were two identical twins, truly a rare sight.