The Star Dou Forest was a land where chaos reigned.
Spirit beasts hunted for survival, territory, or simply the thrill of violence. Rarely was there a moment of peace, and when one came, it never lasted long.
Today, though, the noise tearing through the forest was louder than usual.
The cause?
That would be me—surrounded by over twenty century-year-old spirit beasts, with a thousand-year-old pack leader looming at the center.
It had started as a simple job posted by Spirit Hall. All I needed was the hide of a Shining Crystal Wolf—a gem-type spirit beast prized for its radiant fur, often used in noble robes. They're normally docile, lacking any notable offensive capabilities beyond their bite strength.
But the one I'd targeted had other plans. Turns out, it wasn't alone. One howl—and suddenly, the entire pack was on me.
Now here I stood, fists clenched, back straight, as dozens of glowing eyes stared me down from all directions.
I usually avoided using my spirit ring skills unless absolutely necessary—most of mine would make the fight boring and end it quickly. But this... definitely qualified as a special case.
The wolves had already tested me once, charging in a coordinated wave. I repelled them, barely (without using my spirit skills). Now they were circling, waiting on their leader's next command.
I knew what I had to do: kill the leader. The moment I did, the pack would scatter. And frankly, its hide was worth far more than the one I'd come for.
My mind worked fast, forming a plan. Then I moved—before they could strike first.
Three spirit rings appeared below my feet, spinning slowly as I released my full thirty-fourth level aura.
First spirit skill: Dragon Might.
Second spirit skill: Dragon Core.
Both were enhancements—exactly the type of abilities I'd focused on acquiring.
Dragon Might doubled my defense and endurance while boosting my strength and speed by fifty percent for an hour.
Dragon Core went further, halving my spirit skill consumption and increasing my mental power by twenty-five percent. It also granted a faint danger sense—an instinctive edge in deadly situations.
With both active, I charged forward. My boosted speed caught the beasts off guard.
My right arm drew back, spirit power coiling around it until it formed a large, translucent dragon claw—obsidian in color, pulsing with corruption.
Self-created skill: Evil Dragon Corruption Claw.
I slashed through two wolves in front, not even checking if they fell—I knew they wouldn't be standing after that.
The Evil Dragon Corruption Claw wasn't just a powerful physical strike. It infused the enemy with my evil attribute, sending their spirit power into disarray and potentially making them go berserk unless they were strong enough to resist it.
I heard snarls and scuffling behind me as the corruption spread through the wounded wolves. Good—less to deal with.
My target was still ahead: the pack leader. It met my eyes without fear.
I saw my reflection in its gaze—golden eyes with reptilian slits, black scales running across my limbs, and the glowing Yggdrasil mark on my chest shining a golden-amber hue.
It lunged first. I met its claws head-on, and the impact sent it skidding backward mid-air. I didn't stop—my momentum never faltered. As it twisted to bite, my danger sense flared.
I slid beneath it, planted a kick in its gut, and launched it upward into the air.
Still crouched low, I inhaled—and unleashed a breath of condensed black light from my mouth.
The beam tore straight through its chest.
The rest of the wolves, startled by the sound of the roar, turned toward us—only to see their leader's corpse crash lifelessly from the sky.
They scattered in panic, their morale shattered.
I gathered the corpse and stored it within my Violet Sun Necklace, then turned and began the walk back to the border town where I'd picked up the job.
The reward would be decent, but the fight had left me unsatisfied.
If I'd gone deeper into the forest, maybe I'd have found a real challenge—but that would've been a risk I couldn't afford.
I want a challenging fight but I don't want to risk my life for it which is really annoying since the two are kind of contradictory.
I couldn't help but sigh and shaking off the frustration, I continued on my way.
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As I entered my little hideout, I couldn't help but exhale in relief at the familiar sights.
This cave had been my home for the last three years. And despite being much smaller than my rooms in the sect or the Moon Pavilion, I still felt far more at ease here than I ever did there.
Maybe it was the sense of freedom it gave me—or perhaps the fact that it was a reflection of who I truly was—but this place had become my sanctuary.
My little home was a perfect example of the phrase: don't judge a book by its cover.
The outside was dusty and blended into the atmosphere of the forest, but the inside?
It was elegant in its own way.
I had painted the walls a warm oak brown and smoothed them with tools I bought from markets in nearby towns. There wasn't much furniture beyond the bed, bookshelf, and a desk with a chair. I didn't need a chest, thanks to my storage necklace, so even a wardrobe was unnecessary.
I spent most of my time reading and learning—about spirit beasts, cooking, building, butchering, sewing, and more.
The bookshelf was packed with texts Grandpa Wudi had left in my storage tool. They'd helped me understand the many uses of spirit power, the importance of attributes and bloodlines, medicinal herbs, and other knowledge critical to survival.
I sat down at the desk and pulled out a small notebook from the drawer.
This book was my diary. I used it to record all my progress over the years—expenses, income, cultivation insights, and my research into the mysteries of spirit power.
I had learned a lot.
For instance, it turns out the Spirit Hall is beloved by civilians—spirit masters and ordinary people alike—not just for awakening martial spirits.
They also post jobs in their halls, helping civilian spirit masters find work and facilitating interactions with nobles. On top of that, they listen to the concerns of commoners and intervene when spirit masters overstep.
Once, I might've naively believed that the Spirit Hall was a purely righteous faction—that people like Salas and Bibi Dong were the exceptions, corrupt figures in an otherwise pure system. But after becoming a god's heir, and after several small meetings with the God of Evil (using Byakko as a proxy), I came to understand the true value of faith. And with that, I better understood the purpose behind many of Spirit Hall's actions.
That revelation gave me ideas. Ideas inspired by anime and games from my previous life. But those were for the future.
For now, I earned money through the Spirit Hall's posted jobs.
I had to register with them to do that, of course. Thankfully, I looked older than my age, so they only invited me to join once before leaving me alone.
Aside from finances, the biggest area where I made progress was in control—a skill I had no choice but to improve.
It turns out the evil attribute comes with some nasty side effects I hadn't known about.
The worst is that I'm affected by evil thoughts during cultivation, similar to Bibi Dong's condition. I manage it by meditating, writing, or—what I do most often—playing music.
Music became a core part of my training. I practiced using spirit power to alter the sound of my zither's strings, enhancing the tones, refining the vibrations, pushing the limits of control.
It also helps me reject the evil thoughts that try to corrupt me. Over time, I've even become… something of a musician.
I still remember how excited I was the first time I managed to simulate an amplifier and play rock and metal music. Violent music, it turns out, is great for venting violent urges.
Using music, I've developed several self-created spirit skills. For example:
Enhancing soundwaves, like Tatsuya Shiba.
Propelling myself mid-air, like Soru from One Piece.
Vibrating my body to amplify the impact of my attacks.
And when it comes to self-created martial spirit skills, I've made a lot of progress there too.
For my Fafnir martial spirit, I designed five techniques modeled after the dragon slayers from Fairy Tail. I call it the Dragon Slayer Series:
-A claw attack
-A roar-based technique
-A powerful kick resembling a dragon's tail
-Ascent, which injects spirit power into my wings to let me fly without needing a spirit ring
-And Fafnir's Armor, a defensive technique that's still incomplete
As for my halberd martial spirit, I haven't focused on it as much, but I've still created three skills:
-Flash: A burst of speed using its lightning attribute
-Disrupt: A strike that scatters spirit power to cancel enemy spirit skills (if timed correctly)
-Split: A move that injects lightning into the blade's edge to mimic a laser cutter
Regarding my official spirit skills, they've all been enhancement-type, as planned. Even the third one mixes enhancement and suppression. All of them came from spirit beasts with draconic bloodlines and either darkness or death attributes—since evil doesn't exist in any beast except Byakko.
Under the God of Evil's guidance, I've absorbed rings beyond the normal limits. My spirit rings are:
-617 years
-980 years
-And 2,626 years (which was very difficult, but I managed)
With that last thought, I closed my notebook and headed to bed.
Tomorrow would be a new day.
And I have to keep going.
Because I will rise.
I will become the strongest.
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Author's Note:
Yo! I'm back with a new chapter, and to be honest, this one was tough to write.
I wasn't sure how to show everything the MC had learned and discovered without it feeling like a list… which it kind of turned into near the end. 😅 Still, I tried to make the fight and the diary sections interesting enough that it wouldn't come off as a drag. There won't be many chapters like this one, but I felt it was necessary. I didn't want to explain every single move in the middle of a fight like I did in the first half of this chapter.
So yeah—please be lenient with me, I really did try my best. 🙏
Now, as for the MC's level: I think this rate of progression makes sense. He's not just cultivating—he's constantly developing new techniques too. He should hit Spirit King around age 12, the same age Tang San was during the early Shrek arc, but he'll be two whole major ranks ahead. That gap feels right considering his god inheritance and training intensity.
Also, the rock music part? That was kind of a spontaneous idea, but one I really want to build on—especially when it comes to how the MC will gather faith in the future. I've always loved when fanfics bring something from Earth into the new world, adding a bit of culture and flavor. It just feels cool, you know?
Oh, and please give me some feedback on the fight scene! It was short, but I feel like I did pretty well for my first time writing a fight—especially from a first-person POV. And don't worry, the fights against humans later on will be way better than this. So yeah, let me know what you think!
Anyway, tomorrow I'll be posting a short chapter to announce the winner of the fanfic idea race thing, so stay tuned!
Thanks again for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter!