Su Xing stared fixedly at the solid iron hook twisted into a pretzel in his palm, his brain falling into a prolonged state of total system failure.
The sensation at his fingertips was cold, rough, and unyielding—this was genuine, high-grade steel.
Clang.
He instinctively let go, and the scrap metal hit the water-logged floor. In the deathly silent, shadowy basement, the dull thud sounded deafening.
This was no hallucination.
Just as Su Xing tried to make sense of the situation, a sharp, sudden pain shot through his left eye without warning—as if a red-hot needle had been driven directly through his pupil!
"Hiss—!"
Su Xing let out a muffled cry, instinctively clutching his eyes as he stumbled backward. However, closing his eyes did not bring darkness. Instead, a shimmering blue interface aggressively tore through the void, projecting itself directly onto his retina.
[Ding! System core logic restructuring complete.]
The words floated in the center of his vision, moving in perfect sync with his gaze.
"Sandbag?" Su Xing held his breath, calling out tentatively in his mind.
[Present.]
The once-mechanical voice now possessed a strange, sharp precision, almost edge-like:
[Detected: Host has absorbed ultra-high purity "Source Blood Qi." The system has automatically intercepted 99.99% of the energy for hardware upgrades. The remaining 0.1% has been integrated into the Host's anatomy.]
[Current vessel evolution complete: Retinal Projection System is now online.]
Before Su Xing could digest this, the right side of his vision began to scroll frantically, like a golden waterfall of text. These weren't ordinary subtitles; every line of characters carried an invisible weight, a force that seemed to suppress the soul.
One line, the most prominent of them all, hovered in the center, flashing with a blinding golden light:
[Body Cultivator · Overlord Tyrant]: "Fellow Daoist, you are a paragon of our kind! This mouthful of Source Blood Qi is a tribute to your courage! TAKE IT!"
Su Xing looked at the text, then at his hands, which felt as though they were brimming with explosive power even in the dim light. His heart hammered against his ribs.
The mystery was solved.
That surge of "lava" that had nearly made him self-destruct—the very force that had fundamentally rebuilt his body—had actually come from these "netizens" watching his livestream from across the dimensions. A single "donation," unheard of in his world, had landed in this ordinary reality like a precision-guided nuclear warhead.
"Sandbag... who exactly are these people?"
[Answering Host: The access point is the "Vast Universe Spiritual Energy Network." The system is utilizing "Causality Translation" to convert high-dimensional information into text understandable by the Host.]
Before Su Xing could even react to the shock, the tone of the bullet comments shifted abruptly. A new wave of messages began to flood the screen:
[Alchemy Grandmaster · Gu He]: "(Disappointed sigh) Alas, Fellow Daoist Tyrant, your gift was too hasty... and too meager."
[Master of Heaven's Secret Pavilion]: "Indeed. Look at the Senior—after receiving the Blood Qi, his movements merely slowed for a fraction of a second before he utterly suppressed the energy. His expression didn't even flicker; he's simply staring at that scrap of mundane iron in his hand, lost in thought."
[Body Cultivator · Overlord Tyrant]: "(Utterly terrified) I admit my sin! I was reckless! A drop of Blood Qi of that grade is likely... tasteless as wax to a Senior of his stature. I have surely offended the Senior's eyes."
Watching the text drift by, Su Xing felt completely numb.
Tasteless as wax? Meager?
Bullsht! I was in so much pain I nearly left my physical body!*
Staring at the iron hook in thought? I was scared shtless by my own mutated hands!*
Yet, in the eyes of these so-called "Powerhouses," his "near-death paralysis caused by terror" was interpreted as "the disdainful indifference of a supreme master."
"Since they think I'm unimpressed..."
Su Xing swallowed hard. Though his heart was still racing, the instincts of a former businessman and opportunist kicked in. In this moment, he caught the scent of a business opportunity that could rewrite his destiny.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to stand tall. Using the residual heat of the Blood Qi still circulating in his veins, he deliberately narrowed his eyes, adopting a cold, profound expression.
He even managed a faint, almost imperceptible "Hmph" from the back of his throat.
That specific brand of "contempt for weak energy" was performed to perfection.
As expected, the comments on his retina became even more subservient. The screen was instantly filled with "Senior, please appease your anger."
Just as Su Xing prepared to reply with a mental "Barely acceptable" to solidify his persona—
"BANG!!!"
The silence of the real world was violently shattered.
The warped wooden door of the basement was kicked open, slamming heavily against the wall and shaking dust from the ceiling.
"Su Xing! Where the hell are you? Hiding in here and eating alone, are you?!"
Three men with tattooed sleeves and rugged faces stormed in. Leading them was the debt collector, "Brother Dao." He flicked a switchblade open and shut, coughing as he hit the cloud of white steam and the smell of ancient meat.
"Where's the money? If you don't cough up those 300,000 today, I'll dismantle this basement first, then I'll start dismantling your bones!"
Brother Dao cursed, lunging forward to grab Su Xing by the collar.
But in Su Xing's current vision, the world had changed.
Thanks to the system upgrade, Brother Dao's aggressive, rapid movements appeared as slow as a snail. He could see the murky red veins in Dao's pupils and every inch of the grimy hand's trajectory as it reached for him.
Deep within his consciousness, the livestream chat exploded:
"Eh? Those creatures with crude runes carved on their skin and such vulgar demeanors... could they be the Senior's battle-slaves?"
"No! That ant is emitting killing intent toward the Senior! He seeks death!"
"Fellow Daoists, look! The Senior hasn't even bothered to strike; he's just looking at him calmly... That indifferent gaze, looking down upon an ant... Truly, his realm is beyond our comprehension!"
Su Xing looked at Brother Dao, who was inches away, and felt the power of the "0.1% Source Blood Qi" roaring in his veins.
He didn't dodge. Instead, he slowly raised his hand, as if plucking a falling leaf, and accurately clamped onto Brother Dao's wrist.
"Brother Dao," Su Xing's voice was low and resonant, carrying an oppressive weight born of his transformation. "I suggest you... change your attitude when speaking to me."