1: Chapter 1 Reborn as an Ape

Great Qi, Liyuan Commandery, Tianli Mountain Range, Wangyue Cliff.

A sturdy, large tree was rooted there, its trunk thick and its bark black-brown, reaching over twenty zhang high. Its emerald crown resembled a cyan cloud canopy, sheltering the surroundings.

It was early morning; the rising sun gradually dispersed the frost, presenting a scene full of vitality.

A gray-Black Ape was sitting cross-legged on the large tree, facing east. Its chest rose and fell, and its mouth opened and closed like a Daoist practicing breathing exercises. Faint lights appeared around it, vanishing in an instant.

As the breathing continued, the ape's fur moved without wind, and specks of bright light flowed through it, as if an enlightened Yao creature was Cultivating, subsisting on wind and dew, and absorbing the essence of the sun and rosy light.

This sight was truly miraculous. If ordinary mortals were to see this, they would certainly cry out in alarm, calling it a monster.

Whoosh!

The Black Ape exhaled a mouthful of foul Qi and slowly opened its eyes. The flowing light on its gray-black fur gradually faded, and with the end of the breathing exercise, everything returned to normal.

“It's another new day, and it's the forty-ninth year plus the hundred and twenty-third day since I Rebirth-ed into this world and became a Demon Ape!”

Yuan Feng sat cross-legged on a thick branch, looking down at the endless expanse of lush greenery, his heart filled with emotion.

“Panel.”

He softly called out in his mind. A faint ding seemed to ring in his ear, and a translucent panel appeared within his consciousness, invisible to the outside world.

[Name: Yuan Feng

Lifespan: 49/200 years

Bloodline: Ordinary Yao Beast

Species: Long-Armed Demon Ape

Realm: Qi Refining Middle Stage

Talent: Frenzy

Spells: Through-Arm Mountain Shattering Fist, Breath Concealment Art

The clan protecting system has not yet been activated. Please activate it as soon as possible!

]

Yuan Feng looked at the panel, his thoughts running wild for a moment. Rebirth as an ape was one thing, but this damned System required conditions to be met before it could be triggered. This was truly bullying humans... or rather, apes, too much.

In his previous life, he was just an ordinary person on Blue Star, living a monotonous routine. Later, he was struck by an out-of-control dump truck while crossing the road and died instantly.

When he opened his eyes again, he had Transmigrated to this world, not in a human body, but as a Long-Armed Demon Ape with Yao Beast Bloodline, carrying a clan protecting system.

As for Transmigration, being a veteran bookworm who frequently read novels, he was naturally extremely familiar with the concept, having fantasized about it countless times.

Transmigrating to another Realm, possessing supreme talent, having an unbeatable background, coming with a System, bringing Saintesses, Fairies, Demonesses, and Sorceresses under his command, then defeating all enemies, dominating the Myriad Realms, ascending to the absolute Peak, and reigning supreme.

However, reality is often cruel. He Rebirth-ed as an ape, not a human, and the broken System he brought couldn't be used directly. Other than displaying a panel, it was useless.

After accepting the facts, Yuan Feng embraced everything that happened to him. He took the surname Yuan, a homophone, and the given name Feng, thus beginning his life as a Yao Beast in this lifetime.

Clearing his cluttered thoughts, Yuan Feng's gaze moved down from the name section, stopping at the Bloodline and Species columns.

As if sensing Yuan Feng's attention, the two columns on the panel shimmered, and several lines of text appeared.

Bloodline: Ordinary Yao Beast (Can grow up to Peak Qi Refining)

Long-Armed Demon Ape: The Tongbi (Long-Armed) possess long arms, excel at boxing techniques, and have the capability of a Great Master.

After glancing at the introduction of the Long-Armed Demon Ape species, Yuan Feng stopped paying attention. There was nothing special; they just had long arms and excelled at using boxing techniques.

He stared intently at the Bloodline column. The four characters “Peak Qi Refining” felt like four sharp spikes stabbing fiercely into his heart, and an indescribable emotion surged within him.

Having been in this world for forty-nine years, he already knew that it was not an ordinary world, but a boundless Xianxia world where Cultivators existed.

Upon seeing that his Ordinary Yao Beast Bloodline could only progress to Peak Qi Refining, Yuan Feng felt unwilling. He was a Rebirther and a Transmigrator; how could he be trapped in the Qi Refining Realm and spend his whole life at the bottom of the cultivation world?

At the very least, he needed the power of a Primordial Spirit, like those in the Xianxia novels of his previous life, to travel the Great Void and roam the universe—only then would he not have wasted this lifetime.

Yuan Feng certainly didn't want his end to be miserable—to be killed by a sword, skinned, tendons pulled, blood drained, and marrow extracted.

After all, a Yao Beast's entire body is a treasure; after being killed, various parts of its body are useful.

Therefore, over the years, he had been extremely cautious. Whenever there was any movement, he would hide and circulate the Breath Concealment Art, terrified of encountering powerful figures.

In the cultivation world, the weak are prey to the strong. Perhaps just a single thought from an Advanced Cultivator could cause ripples that would kill countless beings.

To such existences, crushing one ant or crushing ten million ants made no difference, nor did it require a reason.

“Forty-nine years of time, Qi Refining Middle Stage. I still have over a hundred years of Lifespan left, which is enough for me to grow to Peak Qi Refining.”

Yuan Feng's eyes were bright. Yao Beasts generally have long Lifespans, but their intelligence is low, and they Cultivate purely by instinct. Only Advanced Yao Beasts can possess human-like intelligence, which is why their cultivation speed is slow.

But he was different. He was a Transmigrator, a human in his previous life, and not mentally impaired. His intelligence was far higher than that of ordinary Yao Beasts.

Life is precious. Having lived a second life, Yuan Feng would rather be cautious and “Gou” (Stay Hidden) until his cultivation could advance no further before taking risks.

As for Talents and Spells, they are Divine Might innate to the Yao Beast Bloodline, imprinted within the Bloodline. They are known from birth, and their power increases as the Realm advances.

Yuan Feng extended his furry right hand and rubbed his head. His gaze fell upon the Talent column; the panel changed, and a line of text materialized.

Frenzy Talent: Upon activation, one enters the Frenzy state. Their yao power will surge by 30%, and their Demon Body quality will also increase by 30%. This is the fundamental Talent used by the Tongbi Demon Ape Clan for life-and-death combat.

This Talent was his trump card. Using it suddenly would surely catch an enemy off guard.

In the Spells column, the Through-Arm Mountain Shattering Fist is the Legacy Spell of the Tongbi Demon Ape Clan. When Cultivated to a profound Realm, it possesses the Divine Might to shatter mountains and break cliffs.

The origin of the Breath Concealment Art was somewhat intriguing. It was gifted to him the first time the panel appeared, seemingly as an extra layer of protection, perhaps fearing he might die before activating the System.

Speaking of the System, what made Yuan Feng speechless was that the clan protecting system had remained inactive. He had summoned the panel countless times over the years, but there was no change, as if it had crashed.

“If this broken Golden Finger had even a sliver of use, I wouldn't have to hide in this mountain forest, Cultivating nervously every day,” Yuan Feng sighed inwardly.

Yuan Feng had thought a lot about this clan protecting system. Since it was called “clan-guarding,” it must be related to humans.

However, no humans had directly intruded into this mountain forest over the years, and he deeply understood the Dao of Gou (Stay Hidden); he absolutely would not leave this forest until he possessed the power to protect himself.

“Cultivators are too dangerous. I'll stick to Peak Qi Refining for now.”

Yuan Feng completely finished his morning breathing practice. This was an instinct imprinted deep within the Yao Beast Bloodline; sunrise and moonrise were the best times for Yao creatures to Cultivate.

In this life, he only possessed Ordinary Yao Beast Bloodline and mediocre talent. To have Cultivated to the Qi Refining Middle Stage in forty-nine years was already considered fast, earning him the title of Genius compared to ordinary Yao Beasts.

Dismissing the panel, Yuan Feng stood up. His nearly one zhang tall Demon Body was immensely imposing, resembling a gray-black iron tower that made one's heart tremble.

Yao Beasts follow the Dao of Bloodline. The stronger the Bloodline, the higher the ceiling. Furthermore, their Physical Bodies are naturally robust, difficult for swords and blades to harm, and impervious to water and fire.

As a Long-Armed Demon Ape, Yuan Feng's arms were thick and long. He was a natural Great Master of boxing, skilled in close combat, essentially possessing Copper Skin and Iron Bones.

For a Yao Beast, its most powerful weapon is itself, which is the foundation of its life.

Swish!

With a single leap, Yuan Feng jumped down from the tree over ten zhang high. With yao power circulating, he landed as lightly as a feather, making almost no sound.

This Wangyue Cliff was named by him and contained some miraculous properties. The rock was incredibly hard, like steel, far surpassing ordinary mountain rock.

Previously, this place had been occupied by a wolf-type Yao Beast at the Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivation level.

After he reached the Qi Refining Middle Stage, he killed it, using it as resources for his own advancement, and simultaneously marked the surrounding tens of li of forest as his territory.

This was due to the nature of Yao Beasts; they typically delineate their territory and occupy a single location, rarely intruding into the domains of other Yao Beasts.

Because once they intruded, it was extremely easy to cause conflict, and regardless of winning or losing, it was never a good thing.

If injured, it meant a reduction in strength, which would attract the attention of other Yao Beasts, possibly even leading to a siege by multiple Yao Beasts.

After all, a Yao Beast's entire body is a treasure. Devouring one of a similar Realm is highly beneficial to one's own cultivation, potentially leading to a direct breakthrough and even purifying one's own Bloodline.

Yuan Feng walked to the edge of Wangyue Cliff, his back straight and his eyes spirited. He allowed the golden sunlight to bathe his body, making it seem as if he were clad in golden armor.

His gaze swept over the forest below, seemingly searching for something.

“I wonder where it hid,” Yuan Feng sighed internally.

A while ago, a Spiritual Item suddenly appeared in his territory. It was entirely crimson, looked like an open umbrella, and had glossy, ring-shaped patterns on its surface, resembling an awakened Spirit Ganoderma.

At that time, he was practicing breathing exercises on the cliff. He was startled by the crimson light the moment he opened his eyes and saw the Spiritual Item.

Unfortunately, the Spiritual Item possessed sentience and vanished by Earth Evasion the moment he discovered it.

He searched for it several times every day during this period and caught sight of it a few times, but unfortunately, he still hadn't managed to pocket the Spiritual Item.

“What is destined to be yours will be yours eventually; do not force what is not.”

Yuan Feng shook his head, descended from Wangyue Cliff, and leaped among the tall trees, soon arriving beneath a fruit tree.

This was a banana tree, over ten zhang tall, bearing many fruits. Spiritual Qi circulated on its trunk, making it extraordinary.

Yuan Feng quickly plucked a bunch of bananas from the tree, then skillfully followed the path he came from, returning to Wangyue Cliff shortly after.

“Hmm, as expected of bananas imbued with Spiritual Qi, the taste is truly different.”

He didn't peel it. He tore off a banana and threw it into his mouth. It melted instantly, which was very comfortable.

After finishing all the bananas in his hand, Yuan Feng found a hidden spot and began practicing the Through-Arm Mountain Shattering Fist.

The Yao Beast's Legacy Spell is imprinted in its Bloodline and known from birth, but Acquired effort is still needed for continuous refinement.

The same Spell, when executed by different Yao Beasts, will have varying power.

Not until the great sun set and the sky grew dim did Yuan Feng stop. He walked out of the clearing and began patrolling his territory.

This was his daily life as a Yao Beast. In these deep mountains and old forests, there was nothing interesting besides daily breathing practice and boxing.

After a round of patrolling and finding nothing unusual, Yuan Feng returned to Wangyue Cliff, sat in the tree, and began his nighttime Cultivation.

Once his Cultivation was complete, he lay down on a thick branch, gazed at the bright moon, waved his hand, and then fell into a deep sleep.

“If only... the clan protecting system could activate.”