Supreme Overlord System: Godhood Begins

Prey vs Predator

The rushing stream masked Ye Chen’s breathing. He stood perfectly still, eyes locked onto the dense canopy. The Myriad Beast Forest was dark and alive with ancient malice.

​"System, confirm the target," Ye Chen whispered.

​A translucent blue screen flickered in his periphery. The mechanical voice echoed directly into his soul.

​[Target identified: Grade 2 Wind Blade Wolf.]

[Cultivation Equivalent: Body Tempering Stage 5.]

[Warning: Target agility surpasses Host by thirty percent. Probability of evasion low. Direct physical confrontation highly unadvised. Utilize environmental advantages.]

​"Thirty percent faster," Ye Chen breathed out slowly. "Then I cannot outrun it. Or punch what my eyes cannot catch."

​High in the branches, two glowing yellow eyes blinked. A guttural growl shook the damp air.

​"You rely on sheer speed," Ye Chen spoke aloud, stepping backward toward the muddy riverbank. "You think I am prey."

​The wolf snarled. It launched from the tree, a terrifying blur of silver fur and razor claws.

​Ye Chen dropped to his knees. He plunged his hands into the saturated earth, scooping massive handfuls of wet clay. As the beast opened its jaws, Ye Chen hurled the thick mud directly upward into its glowing eyes.

​The wolf yelped. Blinded mid flight, its trajectory shifted. It crashed heavily into the dirt beside him, massive claws carving a deep gash through his servant sleeve.

​Ye Chen ignored the burning pain. "Now!" he shouted.

​He spun, funneling all twenty points of his newly acquired strength into his right fist. He struck the disoriented beast directly at the base of its skull. Bone shattered. The massive wolf twitched once and went completely still.

​"System," Ye Chen panted, collapsing onto his back. "Extract."

​[Extraction protocol initiated. Experience gained: 250 Points. Congratulations. Host has reached Body Tempering Stage 4. Reward: Ten System Points.]

​"Just one beast pushed me to Stage four?" Ye Chen sat up, inspecting his arm. The wound was already scabbing over. "System, put all ten points into Defense. Make my skin like iron."

​[Allocating points. Defense parameter is now 20.]

​He ran a thumb over the gash. The skin felt like cured leather. He was adapting.

​For two days, Ye Chen did not sleep. He turned the lethal forest into his personal cultivation chamber, hunting relentlessly. On the second evening, he sat by a smokeless fire, turning roasted meat over the flames.

​"System, I have a question," Ye Chen said to the empty woods. "The glowing mushrooms near the tree roots emit the exact same energy signature as the spirit horse manure I shoveled for three years. Why?"

​[Alert: Environmental anomaly detected. The Azure Cloud Sect sits above a fractured subterranean Spirit Vein. Inner Sect elders forcefully siphon pure energy for cultivation matrices. The toxic byproduct drains directly into this forest root system. Result: Flora and fauna are artificially mutating. Beasts experience increased aggression due to Qi poisoning.]

​Ye Chen stopped turning the meat. His eyes narrowed.

​"So the righteous sect poisons the land just to maintain their monopoly on power," Ye Chen sneered. "Su Rou fits right in. They are parasites."

​[Corrupted energy creates a hostile environment, deterring outsiders from investigating sect borders.]

​"They made a massive mistake throwing me in here," Ye Chen took a vicious bite of the tough meat. "They thought it was a death sentence. Instead, they gave me a hunting ground packed with experience points. I will shatter that Spirit Vein one day. I will watch their pavilions crumble."

​[Host reached Body Tempering Stage 5. Total System Points: 40. Skill Acquired: Cloud Step. User can channel Qi to feet, creating temporary platforms of compressed air.]

​"Cloud Step," Ye Chen whispered, feeling the intricate Qi pathways imprint into his mind. "Perfect. I need vertical mobility. System, put all forty points into Defense. I need to be a walking fortress."

​[Points allocated. Defense parameter is 60. Host can withstand strikes from low tier iron weapons.]

​"Do you really think a fortress of flesh can stop forged steel?"

​A cold voice drifted through the trees, shattering the peaceful crackle of the fire.

​Ye Chen froze. He kept his breathing even, gently placing the meat down.

​"Who is there?" Ye Chen asked. He stood up and kicked dirt over the fire, plunging the clearing into absolute darkness.

​Five men stepped from the foliage. The pale moonlight illuminated stained leather armor and notched weapons. Mercenaries. The leader held a massive executioner sword resting casually on his shoulder. His scarred face carried a chilling resemblance to the Enforcer Ye Chen had crippled days ago.

​"You must be Ye Chen," the scarred man said. His voice was flat. "I expected a demon possessed monster. Instead, I see a starving boy."

​"And you are?" Ye Chen asked, silently directing Qi to his feet.

​"Zhang Hu," the man replied smoothly. "You broke my little brother’s arms and shattered his knees. Zhang Lie was a fool, but he was still my blood."

​"He tried to kill me first to please a woman who treats him like a dog," Ye Chen stated plainly. "If you expect an apology, you walked into the wrong forest."

​"I do not care about apologies," Zhang Hu stepped forward, leaves crunching under his boots. "I care about the bounty they put on your head. My daughter is sick in the mortal capital. That money will buy the alchemy pills she needs to live. I am sorry, Ye Chen. I care about sending you to hell so my family can survive."

​"System," Ye Chen muttered. "Scan him."

​[Target: Zhang Hu. Cultivation: Body Tempering Stage 8. Warning: Target martial arts foundation is incredibly solid. Host Defense insufficient to block a direct strike from his heavy weapon. Evade immediately.]

​"Stage eight," Ye Chen spoke aloud, looking at the leader with grim respect. "Elder Wang hired outside blades because his own enforcers are weak. Does the Azure Cloud Sect have any pride left?"

​"Pride does not buy medicine," a flanking mercenary laughed, drawing curved daggers. "Your severed head does. Cut your own throat right now."

​"I understand your desperation, Zhang Hu," Ye Chen said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "But I have died once already. I am not eager to repeat it to fill your pockets."

​"Then we will skin you alive," Zhang Hu commanded, raising his sword. "Encircle him."

​The four mercenaries darted into the shadows. Ye Chen fell back, analyzing their footwork. He parried a sudden dagger thrust from his left. The mercenary aimed for his ribs.

​Instead, the steel scraped uselessly against Ye Chen’s fortified skin, producing a loud screech and bright sparks.

​The mercenary’s eyes widened in shock. "Boss! His skin is like solid stone!"

​"Then break his joints!" Zhang Hu roared, lunging forward with explosive speed.

​The executioner sword cleaved through the air. Ye Chen ducked, letting the giant blade shear through a tree trunk behind him. The shockwave threw Ye Chen backward. He stumbled through the thick brush, bursting out of the tree line entirely.

​He stopped dead in his tracks.

​His boots kicked loose gravel over a sharp edge. A sheer drop of several hundred feet met his gaze, ending in a raging white water river churning against jagged rocks. He had backed himself onto a treacherous precipice.

​Zhang Hu and his men emerged, fanning out in a semicircle, blocking the only path back into the forest.

​"You have nowhere left to run," Zhang Hu said, resting the heavy tip of his sword on the ground. He was breathing heavily. "Your defense is unnatural. I will give you respect for that. But the game is over."

​"Is it over?" Ye Chen asked, glancing calmly over his shoulder at the dizzying abyss.

​"The fall will break your bones, or my sword will sever your head," Zhang Hu said. "Pick your poison."

​The cold mountain wind whipped at Ye Chen’s torn robes. The suffocating fear from his years of servitude was utterly gone.

​"I choose neither," Ye Chen smiled, showing his teeth.

​He bent his knees. Instead of stepping backward into the void or charging forward, he channeled every ounce of his Qi into the soles of his boots.

​With a thunderous crack that shattered the stone ledge, Ye Chen launched himself straight upward. He stepped on the empty air, the Cloud Step creating a visible ripple of compressed force. He soared impossibly high into the thick canopy of the ancient trees towering near the cliff edge, completely disappearing into the dark leaves.

​"What in the heavens?" Zhang Hu gasped, his head snapping upward in disbelief.

​From the hidden branches high above, Ye Chen’s voice drifted down.

​"Welcome to my forest, Zhang Hu. Let the hunt begin.”