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Jiangnan City, District D slums.
Su Chen stepped off the dilapidated light rail station and into a puddle of murky water.
Above his head, several malfunctioning holographic neon signs flickered wildly, emitting a buzzing electrical sound and casting red and green patches of light onto the muddy street.
By the roadside, several drunken vagrants were retching beside a sewer grate.
Deep in the nearby alley, the angry shouts of Gang members brandishing machetes could be heard, along with the dying screams of someone.
The air was filled with the smell of low-quality synthetic nutrient paste mixed with the stench of the sewer, drilling straight into one's nose.
This place and the towering martial arts academies in the city center, along with the spotless wealthy districts, were completely different worlds.
Su Chen didn't even turn his head at the screams coming from the alley.
"Help... help..." A man covered in blood crawled out of the alley and grabbed Su Chen's pant leg.
Su Chen expressionlessly pulled his leg back, stepped over the man, and continued walking forward.
In the slums, those who meddle in other people's business die the fastest.
He had neither the time nor the charitable heart to save all sentient beings right now.
Jiang Feng was still lying in the intensive care unit; three days, one million.
Passing through three chaotic blocks, Su Chen walked into a musty, dilapidated apartment building.
He climbed to the sixth floor in one breath, stopped in front of a rusty security door, and fumbled with his key for a long time before finally unlocking it.
"Bang."
The rickety iron door was locked from the inside.
A ten-square-meter rental room, a single bed, and a sink with a broken faucet—this was all of Su Chen's worldly possessions.
He walked to the bed, crouched down, and pried up a loose floorboard, revealing a palm-sized iron box hidden inside.
Su Chen opened the iron box, inside of which lay a pitch-black ring, neither metal nor wood. It was the only heirloom left by the original owner's parents before they died.
To enter the Underground Black Market, one needed a calling card. This ring of unknown Origin was the bargaining chip he planned to use as collateral to gain entry.
Su Chen pocketed the ring, stood up, and took off his martial arts jacket, which was stained with Jiang Feng's blood.
He turned on the sink faucet, cupped the cold tap water in his hands, and splashed it on his face, trying to calm himself down to plan his next steps for the black market.
Just as the water droplets dripped down his chin.
The progress bar in his mind that had tormented him for eighteen whole years finally ticked forward one last time.
The residual energy injected into his body by the Awakening instrument on the playground earlier that day had become the final straw.
"Ding!"
A crisp, mechanical sound exploded deep within Su Chen's mind.
Immediately afterward, a series of cold notification sounds arrived like a fierce storm.
"Host's current plane coordinates detected... Great Xia, Jiangnan Base City."
"Adapting to underlying Laws..."
"Loading progress: 100%!"
"[Myriad Worlds Origin Extraction System] officially activated!"
Su Chen jerked his head up and looked at the cracked mirror in front of him.
Without warning, a holographic red-and-black panel with a dark, mechanical aesthetic was projected onto his retina.
"Finally... I've waited for this."
Su Chen looked at the panel without much overwhelming joy.
The eighteen-year wait had long since worn away his impatience; all that remained now was absolute calm.
"What exactly can you do?" Su Chen asked directly in his mind.
The System's cold, mechanical voice immediately responded.
"This System was born from the core of the 'Endless Abyss,' which has devoured countless dimensional Universes. Before this, the Abyss had consumed countless brilliant civilizations, including the 'Naruto World' and 'One Piece World' from your past life's memories."
"The System has stripped away the highest Law fragments of those destroyed worlds. The Host can extract [origin points] by killing exotic beasts carrying Abyssal aura or by collecting treasures containing high-dimensional energy."
"Using [origin points], the Host can exchange for, unlock, and upgrade the Supreme abilities of those devoured worlds in the System store."
After listening to the System's explanation, Su Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.
Kill monsters or absorb high-energy treasures to exchange for origin points? And then exchange them for those world-destroying abilities from his past life?
Before Su Chen could browse the store panel, the System's notification sound rang out again.
"Beginning deep genetic scan of the Host's body..."
"Scan complete. Unactivated Bloodlines and potential detected within the Host's body."
"Comparing with the detection results of this world's Awakening instrument..."
The System panel suddenly flashed with blinding red light, and the mechanical voice even carried a hint of anthropomorphic mockery.
"Warning! Serious logical fallacies detected in this world's low-dimensional technology!"
"Correction notice:"
"The Host was judged by this world as having an F-Grade mental mutation—[Red Eye]. This is actually a System-associated reward: the unawakened Supreme Yin Release pupil technique: [Sharingan]. (Currently in the incubation period, lacking [origin points] to stimulate Awakening)."
"The Host was judged by this world as having an F-Grade physical mutation—[localized skin hardening]. This is actually a System-associated reward: the unawakened ultimate defense and manifestation of extreme will: [Armament Haki]. (Currently in seed form)."
Dead silence.
Only the sound of the dripping faucet remained in the rental room.
"Drip."
Su Chen stood frozen in place. He looked down at his bony hands, then raised his head to look at the eyes in the mirror, which were bloodshot from exhaustion.
Sharingan?
Armament Haki?
Su Chen's brain raced, and within just a few seconds, he had sorted out the logic.
"So that's how it is."
He muttered to himself.
"In this high-martial world, regardless of the talent, the underlying driving force is 'spiritual energy' and 'blood vitality.' The school's Starfall Awakening instrument only scans for spiritual energy affinity."
"But the essence of the Sharingan is Chakra Yin Release and a mutation of Mental Energy; Armament Haki is even more so a combination of pure mental will and Life Return!"
"These two things don't need any spiritual energy at all! That broken machine couldn't detect any spiritual energy fluctuations, so it logically assumed I had no talent, mistaking the unawakened Sharingan for Red Eye and the hardening property of Haki for a defective mutation!"
Having figured this out, Su Chen suddenly laughed.
From a low chuckle, it gradually turned into an unbridled cold laugh.
"F-Grade talent? What a huge joke."
Those high-and-mighty scions of noble families and those mentors who thought they held the truth had no idea what they were actually mocking.
They called the Sharingan, which could see through the flaws of any Martial Skill and unleash the black flames of Amaterasu, Red Eye?
They called Armament Haki, which could cause internal destruction with a single punch and withstand high-level exotic beasts, skin hardening?
"Liu Ruyan, Zhao Kuang. Do you think S-Grade Talent is the pinnacle of this world?"
Su Chen gripped the edge of the sink, staring at the face in the mirror. At this moment, there was not a shred of the immaturity expected of a high school student in his eyes, only boiling killing intent, like a Shura crawling out of Hell.
"Next, it's time to let you frogs in the well witness what a true dimensional strike is."
"Ding!"
A holographic treasure chest shimmering with dazzling golden light popped up on the panel.
"Host's first binding detected. Distributing one [Newbie Supreme Gift Package]. Open immediately?"
Su Chen straightened his body, his gaze becoming incredibly sharp.
The one million star coins for medical expenses, and his best friend Jiang Feng's life, were all in this blind box.
"Open." Su Chen gave the order without hesitation.
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