"Ding!"

"Welcome, Player Long Hao, to the Martial God Continent!"

Inside a quaint thatched cottage, Long Hao stood utterly bewildered.

"Holy crap, did aliens just abduct me?" He sucked in a sharp breath.

Early that morning, he'd heard the familiar "ding" from his computer and assumed his 12GB action movie had finally finished downloading. Still groggy, he grabbed the Qingfeng tissues by his pillow, heart pounding at 120 beats per minute, and shuffled over to his desk.

But when he opened Thunder Downloader, the movie was nowhere in sight. Instead, some random game called "Godslayer" had inexplicably installed itself.

Furious, he hurled the tissues aside. "What kind of scam is this? Bundled downloads are bad enough, but now you’ve hijacked my movie?!"

Grumbling under his breath, Long Hao glared at the game’s cover—a glamorous model posing seductively. "Games these days are so tacky. Think slapping a pretty face on the cover will reel players in? How childish. How lame."

His words dripped with righteous indignation, yet his fingers betrayed him, clicking open "Godslayer" without hesitation.

And just like that, he was inexplicably transported...

Now, he had a brand-new identity—

Long Hao, a martial arts student at the Baturian Academy in the ancient city of Guyue!

Same name, same person—eerily mirroring the plot of those web novels he used to binge-read on Zhangyue.

The original owner of this body had been a diligent, filial young man. Born into poverty, he never gave up, training relentlessly for eight hours a day. After 1,250 grueling days, he finally earned admission to the finest martial academy in Guyue City.

With all his hard work, he only aspired to secure a position as a constable in the local government office someday, so he could support his mother, who had endured countless hardships to raise him.

As these memories flooded Long Hao's mind, his eyes grew moist.

Wasn't he just the same? Outwardly, he always wore a carefree grin, but deep down, he knew the loneliness and struggle of returning to an empty home.

While others graduated from university and landed jobs at top-tier companies like Tencent or Alibaba, he—a kid from the mountains—had to scrape by in the big city, delivering takeout while teaching himself coding in his spare time. It took him seven grueling years just to barely land a temporary gig at a small cybersecurity firm. He worked overtime deep into the night, sending two-thirds of his meager paycheck back home every month.

"Now that I've been transported to this damn place, who's gonna take care of my parents? They must be worried sick. I gotta find a way back!" Long Hao clenched his fists.

Just then—

*Ding!*

"Congratulations, Host Long Hao, for officially activating the *Supreme God-Slaying System*!"

"During your journey in this alternate world, the system designer will provide your parents with a monthly pension of 1,000 yuan. As your cultivation level increases, the amount will also rise."

*Seriously? That measly sum is supposed to support my folks?*

Even a million wouldn’t compare to being there with them on New Year’s Eve, sharing dumplings together!

Before Long Hao could fully process this, the system interface materialized in his mind.

**Player:** Long Hao

**Level:** 0

The cultivation realms of the Martial God Continent are as follows: Martial Disciple, Martial Warrior, Martial Master, Martial Spirit, Martial General, Martial Marquis, Martial King, Martial Emperor, Martial Ancestor, Martial Venerable, Saint, Martial Sovereign. Each realm is divided into nine tiers. Realms beyond Martial Sovereign are currently inaccessible to the player.

**Skill:** Breeze Sword Technique

Basic training for low-ranking students of the Sky-Dominating Martial Academy

Physical Condition: Devastating Damage to Martial Soul

"Can the Martial Soul not be repaired?"

Long Hao couldn't help but frown. In the Martial God Continent, cultivation revolved around the Martial Soul—no wonder he was now stuck at Level 0.

*Creak—*

The wooden door swung open, and a frail woman with red-rimmed eyes stepped inside, carrying a bowl of chicken soup.

"Hao'er, your body hasn’t fully recovered yet. Drink some soup to warm yourself up."

Her eyes brimmed with motherly tenderness, though a flicker of sorrow passed through them before she forced a brave smile.

Long Hao froze, only snapping back to reality when she lifted a spoonful of soup to his lips.

"Hao'er, I know you’ve suffered, but your mother... I’m powerless to avenge you." Her lips twisted into a bitter smile as she lowered her head, voice heavy with resignation. "I’m just a useless seamstress, good for nothing but lowly needlework..."

She was Long Hao’s birth mother, Meng Xirou—once the esteemed young lady of the Meng Clan in Ancient Moon City.

A pang of heartache surged through Long Hao, sharp and undeniable.

Perhaps it was the lingering will of his original body’s soul merging with his own, or perhaps it was simply the unbreakable bond of blood. Either way, the connection between them felt deeper than ever.

*If I can’t return for now, then from this day forward, she is my true mother—my one and only weakness.*

Wiping her tears with his sleeve, Long Hao forced a reassuring grin. "Mom, I’m fine."

"Fine? Your damn Martial Soul is crippled, and you call that *fine*?"

Suddenly, a shrill and mocking voice rang out from outside the house, followed by a burly man walking in with a twitching smirk on his face.

The man was Wang Danian, an obscure blacksmith from Guyue City who had long coveted Meng Xirou's beauty and had harassed her multiple times.

"Long Hao, you actually dared to have a crush on Qin Xuan'er, the most beautiful girl in the Batiean Martial Academy? A toad lusting after a swan's flesh, aren't you?"

"No wonder you got beaten up by Zhao Zichu, her so-called 'flower protector,' and ended up with your martial arts crippled and your future ruined!"

At this, Wang Danian burst into raucous laughter.

By now, Long Hao had fully absorbed all the memories of this body. His martial soul had indeed been destroyed by Zhao Zichu using a Soul-Devouring Worm.

Long Hao had admired Qin Xuan'er, the academy's belle, though he knew his lowly status made him unworthy of her.

To ease his longing, he had carved her likeness into small wooden figurines.

Through the changing seasons, three hundred of these carvings had accumulated beneath his bed.

Someone, seeking favor, had delivered these carvings to Zhao Zichu, sending the overprotective "flower guardian" into a towering rage. Zhao Zichu had then strung Long Hao up on the rockery in the academy's rear garden, stripped him to the waist, and lashed him with chili-oil-soaked whips.

That day happened to be the Great Snow solar term, cold enough to freeze a man solid like a green dumpling.

Snowflakes settling into his wounds brought excruciating pain!

Still unsatisfied after tiring himself out with the beating, Zhao Zichu sent a servant to fetch a Soul-Devouring Worm from his family estate, which then burrowed into Long Hao's forehead.

The Soul-Devouring Worm was a venomous creature capable of destroying martial souls—one of the top three most feared tortures in Guyue City's penal history.

For a commoner, having one's martial soul destroyed meant a lifetime's prospects severed, rendering all the blood and sweat shed for cultivation utterly meaningless.

"Forgot to tell you, I was the one who stole those wood carvings from your house. Young Master Zichu even rewarded me with a hundred taels of silver. Hahahaha!"

Wang Danian laughed maniacally, his face twisted with smug triumph.

"Why would you do this?"

Long Hao's jaw clenched so tight his teeth nearly cracked. He couldn't believe such malice existed in the world.

Beside him, Meng Xirou bit her lip, her red-rimmed, exhausted eyes flashing with grief and fury.

"Why? That's a damn good question!"

"Because you kept getting in my way!"

"Last year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, I followed your mother home for the first time, itching to satisfy the fire in my loins. But you caught me red-handed and beat me for a full half-hour—broke my damn leg!"

"Then, during the Great Cold last year, just as my leg finally healed, I thought I'd have some fun with your mother while you were away at the martial academy. But you came home early and beat me half to death again!"

"This year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, I was peacefully recovering at home, planning to visit your mother soon. But you showed up at my place first, crippled me, and said you were just 'getting ahead of me' in case I got any ideas while you were away at the academy..."

At this point, Wang Danian's eyes bulged with rage, veins throbbing at his temples.

No wonder the old bastard had given Long Hao's carvings to Zhao Zichu—it was all for revenge.

"Now that you're crippled, I can finally have my way with your mother in broad daylight. Hehehehe..."

Wang Danian's leer was obscene, his grin grotesque.

"You wouldn't dare!"

Long Hao gritted his teeth and stepped forward, ignoring the searing pain from his wounds that threatened to tear him apart.

"Ding!"

"Congratulations, Player Long Hao! You've crushed seventy ants and earned 7 experience points!"

The sudden announcement from the Godslayer System in his mind startled him, making him jerk his left foot back in reflex.

But that reflexive retreat led to another unexpected outcome—

"Ding!"

"Congratulations, Player Long Hao! You've crushed the First Ant Queen of Ancient Moon City and earned 300 experience points!"

"Ding!"

"Congratulations, Player Long Hao! You've advanced to Level 1 Warrior!"

"Congratulations, Player Long Hao! You've advanced to Level 2 Warrior!"

"Congratulations, Player Long Hao! You've advanced to Level 3 Warrior!"