99: Chapter 99 Mutant Humans

Su Bai stood at the world core, preparing to withdraw his gaze from the Living World.

But at that very moment, his consciousness captured an unusual scene.

In the New Era Ruins, within the human settlements, lay a small city named Wangxiang.

A man was arguing with a neighbor in an alleyway.

The man looked to be about forty years old, with a rugged face and a burly build. He wore the standard grayish-white linen robe of the Netherworld Church, but the body beneath the robe was markedly different from that of an ordinary human.

His skin had an unnatural greenish-gray tint, as if it had been soaked in Yin Qi for too long. His fingers were twice as thick as a normal person's, with thick, hard nails that curved slightly like the sharp claws of some animal. In his mouth, his canines protruded, and the two fangs on his upper jaw were long enough to almost cover his lower lip.

The most striking feature was his eyes.

Those eyes were not the common grayish-white of humans, but a strange dark gold. The pupils were vertical slits, like a feline's or some kind of reptile.

Su Bai frowned slightly.

He clicked open the man's information panel.

[Name: Zhao Tiezhu]

[Race: Human (Mutating)]

[Rank: Tier 2]

[Traits: Keratinized skin, clawed hands, protruding canines, vertical pupils]

[Status: Evolving into an unknown species]

[Description: This individual has undergone irreversible mutations after prolonged exposure to high concentrations of Yin Qi. The direction of mutation is currently unknown, but it has already displayed clear carnivorous tendencies and increased aggression. Close monitoring is recommended.]

Su Bai's frown deepened.

Mutation.

Humans had lived in Yin Qi for a thousand years, and such mutations had never occurred before. Their eyes had simply turned grayish-white and their bodies adapted to the Yin Qi, but they remained human at their core.

Now, some people were starting to turn into something else.

His consciousness swept across the entire city of Wangxiang, then across other human settlements.

The results surprised him somewhat.

It wasn't an isolated case.

Out of the entire population of 4.5 million humans, approximately 3,000 had developed similar mutations. Their skin turned greenish-gray, their fingers grew sharp claws, their canines protruded, and their eyes became vertical slits. Their ranks were generally higher than ordinary humans, with the lowest being Tier 2 and the highest reaching the peak of Tier 3.

Furthermore, these mutants shared a common characteristic.

They had all been the most devout believers within the Netherworld Church.

Praying every day, kneeling every day, and immersing themselves in Power Of Faith every day.

Su Bai remained silent for a moment.

He swept his consciousness over the other four races.

Mushroom People, no mutations. Shadow Demons, no mutations. Ice Crystals, no mutations. Naga, no mutations.

Only humans.

Only that group of most devout humans.

Su Bai withdrew his consciousness and sat cross-legged at the world core.

He closed his eyes and began to think.

The influence of Yin Qi was the same for all races. Mushroom People had lived in it for centuries, Shadow Demons cultivated in liquid Yin Qi, Ice Crystals evolved in extreme cold Yin Qi, and Naga bred in the Yin Qi ocean. None of them had mutated.

Only humans had mutated.

And it wasn't all humans, just the most devout believers.

What did this mean?

Su Bai snapped his eyes open.

He thought of a possibility.

The Six Paths of Reincarnation.

That rule currently coalescing deep within his world core, the very first rule of the Netherworld World catalyzed by the seal of destiny.

The Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Reincarnation has six paths: the heavenly path, the human path, the Asura Path, the animal path, the hungry ghost path, and the hell path.

The heavenly path, where devas reside and enjoy good fortune.

The human path, where mortals reside and experience karma.

The Asura Path, where Asuras reside and love to fight.

The animal path, where beasts reside and are driven.

The hungry ghost path, where hungry ghosts reside, constantly hungry and thirsty.

The hell path, where sinful souls reside and suffer punishment.

The devout faith of the humans, under the influence of the embryonic Six Paths of Reincarnation, had produced a certain resonance.

That resonance caused their souls to begin gravitating toward a specific path.

The Asura Path.

Rakshasas.

War-loving, violent, powerful, and combative.

As Su Bai watched the mutating man, images from his past life's memories surfaced in his mind.

Asuras: the males were extremely ugly, while the females were extremely beautiful.

The males were burly with ferocious faces, greenish-black skin, exposed fangs, and immense strength.

The females were gorgeous and seductive, but equally bloodthirsty, warlike, and fierce.

They were natural-born warriors.

The most battle-hungry race among the six paths.

The corners of Su Bai's mouth curled up slightly.

If an Asura race could truly evolve from humans, would that be a good or bad thing for the Netherworld World?

He raised his hand, linking his consciousness with the world core.

[Time Flow Adjustment]

[Target: Living World · New Era Ruins · Wangxiang City and surrounding mutant settlements]

[Power Of Faith Consumed: 3,000 points]

[Duration: One thousand years]

[Confirm?]

Su Bai clicked confirm.

Grayish-white Yin Qi descended like a curtain, enveloping Wangxiang City and several surrounding towns where the mutants lived.

Time began to accelerate.

Su Bai sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and sank his consciousness into the area undergoing accelerated evolution.

...

The first year of accelerated time.

Zhao Tiezhu was the first to realize he was mutating.

Waking up that morning, he found his nails had become thick and hard, gleaming with a greenish-gray luster in the morning light. He tried scraping his nails against the wall, and five deep furrows appeared on the stone wall, the cuts as clean as if made by a knife.

He was stunned.

"Good grief, these are sharper than those laser knives we used to have."

His wife, however, did not smile. She looked at her husband's greenish-gray skin, protruding fangs, and vertical pupils, her eyes filled with terror.

"Tiezhu... what's happening to you? Have you been cursed?"

"Cursed?" Zhao Tiezhu looked down at his sharp claws, his mouth splitting into a ferocious grin. "No, this is a gift. A gift given to us by the Netherworld."

He walked out of his house and came to the central square of Wangxiang City.

Hundreds of people like him, who were also mutating, had already gathered in the square.

Their appearances varied. Some only had slightly greenish skin, while others had turned completely greenish-gray. Some had protruding canines, while others' entire jawbones had deformed. Some had fingers that had become claws, while others' entire arms were covered in keratinous scales.

But they shared one common feature.

Their eyes were all dark gold vertical pupils.

Zhao Tiezhu stood in the center of the square, looking at these fellow sufferers, his voice as rough as thunder:

"Brothers, sisters, are you afraid?"

Silence.

"I am afraid," Zhao Tiezhu said. "I'm not afraid of turning into a monster. I'm afraid that the Netherworld thinks we aren't worthy."

His voice turned low.

"Have you ever wondered, why us? Out of 4.5 million humans, why are only 3,000 of us mutating?"

No one answered.

"Because our faith is the purest," Zhao Tiezhu said. "Because we spend the longest time praying every day, because we kneel the most devoutly, because we shed the most tears."

He raised his hands, which had already turned into sharp claws.

"This is the reward the Netherworld has given us. It's not a curse, it's a gift."

In the crowd, people began to nod.

In the first year of mutation, these mutants began to gather together and form their own community.

They called themselves the 'the Gifted'.

Meaning those who had received gifts from the Netherworld.

But their relationship with ordinary humans began to become delicate.

The way ordinary humans looked at them was filled with fear, exclusion, and disgust.

"Monsters." Children would cry and run away when they saw them on the street.

"Stay away from me." Adults would take detours when they saw them.

"You are no longer human," some priests in the church said. "You are outsiders."

Zhao Tiezhu didn't care.

He led the the Gifted to move to the outskirts of Wangxiang City, settling in an abandoned factory.

There, the Yin Qi was thickest, closest to the Ghost Gate Pass, and closest to the Netherworld.

On the factory wall, he used his claws to carve a line of words:

[Home of the the Gifted. The subjects of the Netherworld do not need the approval of mortals.]