Chapter 4: The Fifth Ability

THREE MONTHS AFTER the array formation was fixed, Yang Lujia heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he wasn't exposed. Otherwise, it'd be really embarrassing to know that he was the one who accidentally destroyed the array formation.

Ever since the system abilities were awakened, the rewards were not very promising to him anymore, compared to when he was still weak.

"System, will you awaken another ability?" Yang Lujia asked as he drank 'wine' again. "It's getting boring here. Well, I don't mind as well. It should be fine living peacefully. I don't want trouble, after all."

[Ding! The system has discovered an S-Class Genius! System's Fifth Ability Unlocked: Disciple Acknowledgment!]

[New Mission: Recruit and acknowledge the Holy Flood Empire's S-Class Genius. The reward will be issued upon acknowledgment from both parties.]

[Target's Information: The S-Class Genius is the former crown prince of the Holy Flood Empire. His name, Lin Diyu, is etched in everyone's hearts as an otherworldly genius of the century. However, after a decade of glory, he was dethroned, sent to the frontlines as cannon fodder, and abandoned when Lin Fan, the third prince, plotted in favor of his demise and abolished his cultivation, rendering him mortal. The third prince had long formed a grudge against Lin Diyu after killing the former's beloved in front of him after the latter revealed the evil deeds of that beloved.]

[New Mission Triggered: Kill the Child of Pan Gu, Lin Fan! Reward: System Upgrade, Ten Lottery Draws from the System's Wheel of Fate!]

[Main Mission Triggered: Insufficient System Level! Needs Upgrade!]

Yang Lujia was taken aback and sat up after lying down on the ground within his courtyard. "There was actually such an ability of the system?" he asked, doubtful. "This is great! This would be convenient! Plus, there's also this lottery draw. I wonder what kind of drawing I could make from this. Wheel of Fate, huh?" Shaking his head, he floated up off the ground and stared in the direction of the Holy Flood Empire. His eyes penetrated space and he saw several people.

He couldn't imagine that there was still such a scene in this world. The empire's palace looked like the palaces of the modern world on Earth. Other than that, people were also busy with their day-to-day lives.

Although there was no technology here, it was more advanced than the towns he had been to. In addition, although he had already seen several empires with his grandpa before, he still couldn't help but wonder how this world would fare if cultivation and technology were to together flourish.

Without further ado, he tore a spatial gate with his sharp gaze and entered it, arriving directly near the vicinity of the Holy Flood Empire. He didn't know anything about the empire at all. If he were to rashly deliver himself in the middle of the city, the empire's experts might appear and obstruct him from entering.

He could have been rude, but he just chose not to.

Certain empires, like the Holy Flood Empire, for certain, had deep heritages and backgrounds. He didn't dare to be careless.

His motto in his current life was: "Everyone is strong. No one is weak, only him. Conservatism is a requirement. That's how he can survive in this world."

That was because, in his previous life on Earth, he was unexpectedly plotted against by his own friends and got involved in a plane bombing—well, not really actually involved because he was the main target. If he could go back to Earth, he would certainly kill them. After all, Earthlings are weak to sneak attacks, unlike in this world where almost everything around most people can be easily perceived with cultivation.

He walked toward the large gate of the Holy Flood Empire. With his face clouded with fog, no one could vividly see his real face (which could render most of the women weak). His skin is as light as a feather, his eyes bluish and deep, as sharp as a sword, his nose towering like a hawk's beak, and his body shape resembling a strong fortress.

Seeing him approaching the gate, the two empire guards were alarmed, thinking this might be a guest from another empire who wanted to request an audience from the higher-ups.

"May we know his majesty's name?" One of the guards asked, dressed in green chest-plated armor.

Yang Lujia glanced at this guard. The latter felt chills running down his spine. "This guest's name is Thanos, the reincarnation of the vanished Thanos."

"Huh?" the other guard reacted. "I've never heard such a strange name before," he whispered to himself.

"Oh, you've never heard of Thanos? Have you heard of Iron Man? Captain America? Thor? Those are my other names, actually, and my real name is Eternal—" Yang Lujia suddenly cut off his speech, and mental power surged out of his eyes, rendering the two guards dazed.

However, when they looked in front, they saw nothing. But it felt like something was missing from them. The reason is that, technically, Yang Lujia erased their memories and got inside the Holy Flood Empire fast. He then changed his appearance to an ordinary young man and strolled around the streets.

"I shouldn't have used such a flashy appearance," he said, sighing. "I would be recognized if I used that method by hiding my real face using of some sort of fog."

This Holy Flood Empire was quite large and it almost amounted to a country like China on Earth in terms of size, only considering the walls that engulfed the whole empire alone.

Of course, although there were several people here, to Yang Lujia's perception, China was still more populated than this empire. Perhaps the empire's people were less interested in creating small creatures (babies) because they were more focused on cultivating.

At some parts of the Flood Empire, there were also other mansions. From what Yang Lujia heard from the people, there were also dukes in this place—which was actually strange, having adapted the designations used on Earth. Do all beings in the universe use the same titles?

Pacing toward nowhere, he continued walking. Alongside the streets, some stalls sell some pills and relics that didn't catch his attention at all. There were even some shameless pricks who sell techniques or skills at a high price, although they were all fake. What was worse was: certain people would still buy them regardless.

Temporarily stopping in the middle of the street, he thought about the mission of recruiting and acknowledging a disciple. Somehow, it made him thrilled. It had to be known that in his previous life, he liked to teach students as a professor. Although he was quite strict with them, he'd still help them understand the lessons if they misunderstood them at some points.

"By the way, system, what would I teach this genius after I recruited him?" he asked casually. "Wouldn't it be useless for him to follow and worship me as his master without bestowing some sort of scripture or something?"

As expected, the system didn't respond to his thoughts. However, this time, the system made a weird sound. And that male computerized sound rang in his ears again.

[Ding! The S-Class Genius, Lin Diyu, is in danger!]

"Why?" Yang Lujia inquired suspiciously.

[Ding! Lin Fan, the third prince, wanted him dead. Thus, as one of the cannon fodders of the defense team of the Holy Flood Empire against the Flaming Dragon Empire, he was pushed by the other cannon fodders to serve as bait for the Flaming Dragon Empire people.]

"Huh? He wasn't just a cannon fodder, but a cannon fodder among cannon fodders? It's the same as saying: the most stupid of all stupid people." Yang Lujia slapped his forehead in annoyance. "System, is there something wrong with you?"

[Ding! Host must hurry. Otherwise, he might miss the chance to have his first disciple!]

Gritting his teeth, he muttered: "Fine! Give me the coordinates!"

With the given coordinates, he only took one step and immediately arrived in the middle of the place, next to Lin Diyu, the ex-crown prince. His appearance made the latter's eyes bulge out.

Yang Lujia appeared like a ghost beside him.

Who would not be frightened?

"Kid, do you want to be my disciple?" Yang Lujia straightforwardly asked. "If you become my disciple, I can teach you something that can make you stronger than your peak as a former crown prince. Why not become my disciple since you are abandoned by the royal family? You will have a leisurely life, you know? And I, as your master, would protect you at all cost. I can kill everyone here on this battlefield, you know?"

"What... what the hell are you talking about?" Lin Diyu was at a loss. Then, he realized something after finally letting what Yang Lujia said sync in. "You know me? Wait—what?!"

When he saw the scene around him, he became petrified. "What the hell is happening? Why can't the others touch me? Am I already dead? Are you from the underworld? Are you here to fetch me?"

Yang Lujia's forehead turned black all of a sudden. "How low is your IQ?"

"IQ?"

"Oh, right, you're not from there," Yang Lujia said, sighing as though helpless.

"There?"

Seeing Lin Diyu's bewildered expression, Yang Lujia immediately said: "I came from another world."

"What?" Lin Diyu's eyes constricted. Then, he thought: "If this person came from another world or realm, then wouldn't that make him as strong as gods? Some time ago, I read a book that was about gods freely wandering around from one realm to another! Then..."

This time, Lin Diyu's eyes turned wide.

"Yes, now. Do you want me to take over as your master? Also, I'm not from the underworld. I just came here because I saw you. Although you have a low IQ, you have a good aptitude to cultivate, so I might as well recruit you."

"Disciple Lin Diyu pays respect to the master!" Lin Diyu knelt on the ground, expressing his respect toward his new master.

"Don't worry, I won't disappoint you. If you want revenge, I can help you get stronger and do the revenge by yourself," he said. "Anyway..." He stretched his right hand, his palm facing the ground. All of a sudden, the entire battleground fell silent.

Lin Diyu was shocked to the extreme. "What just happened?"

"I froze space," Yang Lujia casually said. "It'll be trouble if these people will report it to the royal palace about me taking you along with m. Even they didn't see me, I'd be damned if the third prince wouldn't make a fuss and find your body whether you are really dead or not. If the third prince knows about this matter, you will only be troubled before you even get stronger."

"Froze... space...?" Lin Diyu's eyes shrank, ignoring what Yang Lujia said. "It is said that Mahayana Emperors can only freeze space at a limited time and area, but master... he actually froze all the people. Even the surrounding air was frozen!"

GASP!

In Lin Diyu's shocked eyes, all the people around him, whether from the other side or from the Holy Flood Empire, exploded into blood mists in a second.

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining your first disciple, Lin Diyu! Rewards: Asura Blood Scripture, Underworld Scythe (Heaven-Ranked Divine Artifact), and 10,000 Bottles of Heaven-Ranked Elixir!]