Chapter 2: Atavistic Phenomenon—The Sudden Appearance of a Ferocious Beast

In the examination hall, not a sound could be heard. Every student had entered a state of deep meditation. The celestial phenomenon of nine stars aligned would last for half an hour, and within this span, over a hundred martial artists of the national arts would be born here.

The guiding teacher, Sun Hai, could not help but feel tense as well.

“I hope this batch will produce a few true masters of the martial arts!”

Literature carries the Way; martial strength rejuvenates the nation. In this era of advanced technology and dazzling civilization, only the martial path had been severed from human evolution. Reversion to ancestral traits had dragged the world back to an age where strength was paramount.

Martial artists were humanity’s true bulwark against the invading monstrous beasts and alien races. The hope for the future lay in generation after generation of young students.

Time ticked by. Soon, students began finishing their ancestral reversion.

Sun Hai’s gaze sharpened, focusing on a slender, fair-skinned boy seated below.

“Zhang Han! Who is your ancestral reversion?”

The boy’s eyes, still a little dazed, lifted. “Scholar Ning Caichen.”

Sun Hai’s mouth twitched, disappointment flashing across his face.

Then, one after another, more students opened their eyes.

“Weaving merchant Cao Ying.”

“Canal worker Du Dahai.”

“Famed opera actor Shang Xirui.”

“Ninth-rank official Li Debao.”

As each reverted student recited their ancestral identity, Sun Hai’s expression grew ever more bleak.

“This year’s students are hopeless!” he muttered, forcing himself to perk up as he looked toward the next awakened student.

“Butcher Liu Dabiao!”

Sun Hai mustered a strained smile. “Well, at least you can wield a blade. Train hard!”

“Anyone who’s reverted to a martial ancestor, come forward for your test!”

At last, a few students happily stepped onto the podium.

“I reverted to Escort Master Song Dachui.”

“I reverted to the Green Forest Hero Yang Li.”

“I reverted to the swordswoman Shi Jianqiao.”

And so it went, names pouring forth as if a floodgate had been opened. Yet all were unimpressive—run-of-the-mill martial practitioners.

Sun Hai craned his neck, surveying the room, but could not conceal his disappointment.

Half an hour had nearly passed; the starlight was waning. Of the three hundred students present, only a handful remained seated.

“The celestial event is ending. Those left are likely not going to awaken. Not a single true master among them!”

Sun Hai sighed heavily.

But then—

A thunderous rumble shook the ground violently.

Sun Hai staggered, barely keeping his feet. “An earthquake?!”

Teachers and students alike exchanged bewildered glances. Songjiang was flat country; earthquakes had never occurred before.

The next instant—

A louder explosion. The ground split open, gravel and dust spraying into the air. A gaping fissure, over five meters wide and seemingly bottomless, tore across the center of the examination hall!

Panic erupted. Students scattered in terror, many stumbling, some even left dangling over the chasm’s edges, perilously close to falling.

Several teachers quickly organized a rescue, pulling everyone to safety.

No sooner had they caught their breath than a persistent rumbling sounded from deep within the fissure.

Sun Hai listened, his face turning grim.

“This is bad! Something is about to break through the earth!”

Even as the words left his lips—

A monstrous, three-meter-tall soft-bodied worm burst skyward from the chasm’s heart, bellowing silently up at the starry moon.

Its entire form was an eerie blood-red, marked with dark spots. Its head and tail looked much the same, each bearing cone-shaped organs. From its writhing maw, filled with backward-curved fangs, it exuded a chilling menace under the moonlight.

As they watched, its body swelled visibly, growing larger still.

“What is that!” shrieked a student fleeing near the fissure.

“It looks like… a Death Worm? Is it still mutating?”

“No—it’s reverting to its ancestral form!”

“A Death Worm is terrifying enough. If it reverts again, we’re all doomed!”

Sun Hai’s face was clouded with anxiety. Judging by its size, this beast had undergone ancestral reversion more than once. But this was the city center—how could such a monster appear here?

It must have been drawn by the astral energy at the examination site, seeking a second reversion. If it succeeded, its power would increase exponentially!

The teachers and assistants here were only first-rank, their martial strength limited. The students had just undergone their first reversion—no match at all.

Sun Hai hurriedly took charge, restoring order.

“Do not panic! Do not provoke it! Withdraw carefully and quietly!”

The worm was absorbing lunar and stellar energy; as long as it wasn’t disturbed, the students might escape safely.

The gravity of the situation dawned on everyone. No one dared speak loudly, all moving silently toward the exits.

At that critical moment—

A blaring siren cut through the night—someone had triggered the beast alarm!

The sudden noise enraged the Death Worm. Its soft, fleshy body twisted violently, its blood-red jaws shooting out.

A fleeing student nearby was snatched up, half his body sucked into the creature’s maw, blood spraying everywhere.

Screams erupted. “Help! Save us!”

Utter chaos descended as terror gripped the crowd.

Sun Hai and several teachers drew their weapons and charged forward.

But—

Again the ground split apart with a deafening roar, tossing many students to the ground. The fissure widened, dividing the hall completely in two.

Now, nearly half the teachers and students were trapped on the inner side of the chasm.

The dreadful rumbling from below grew louder, unceasing.

One after another, savage beasts leapt from the depths—

“Yellow-tailed poison scorpion!”

“Giant centipede!”

“Thornblossom mantis!”

“All second-rank aberrations!”

“There are too many—we can’t defeat them!”

“Cover the students, get them out!”

Sun Hai’s eyes flashed coldly. He drew his longsword, charging straight for the nearest Death Worm.

The other teachers gripped their spears and blades, determined to buy precious time for the students.

But in the blink of an eye, the four newly emerged second-rank beasts, empowered by lunar astral energy, grew even stronger.

The Death Worm itself had already expanded greatly since its initial appearance. Though limbless, its soft body was preternaturally agile, and its fang-lined jaws stretched and contracted, spewing dark green fluid.

With a sickening splat, a jet of venom shot toward Sun Hai’s face. He had been gathering strength for a sword strike, but now twisted midair, planting his sword’s tip and spinning a full two rotations to narrowly dodge the lethal spray.

Even so, his left shoulder brushed against the venom, his clothing dissolving instantly. Where the venom struck the ground, a wide, smoldering hole formed.

The students, already panic-stricken, were now beside themselves with terror.

“This is insane! We’re going to die here… sob, sob…”

“Someone save us…”