The moon hung high in the night sky, its pale silver light pouring through the half-open window like a silent sentinel. The room was quiet, save for the rhythmic breathing of the figure sprawled across the bed.
Zhang Wei's eyelids fluttered, his consciousness slowly returning from the sea of darkness.
"Ugh…" He groaned as he sat up, his vision adjusting to the dim light. But the next second, his face contorted in disgust.
"What the hell is this smell?!"
He looked down and froze.
Dark, sticky, and tar-like liquid had seeped out of his skin, pooling around him in a circle. The pungent stench was overwhelming, like rotting corpses mixed with sulfur and mold. It clung to the walls, his bedsheet, his skin... everywhere.
Zhang Wei immediately scrambled back, eyes wide with shock.
"System! What the hell is this?! Don't tell me I'm dying! Am I turning into a zombie?!"
Ding!
[System Notification: Host, congratulations. The black substance is not a sign of death, but a sign of transformation.]
[This is the accumulation of toxins, impurities, and spiritual waste within your body, now purged due to the awakening of your Alchemy Body and the merging of the divine beast bloodlines with your hidden bloodline.]
Zhang Wei's jaw dropped.
"Alchemy Body? Divine beasts?"
He suddenly recalled the scene before he passed out the projections of celestial beasts rising from the cauldron, merging into him, embedding themselves into his very soul.
[Host, the four divine beasts- Qinglong (Azure Dragon), Zhuque (Vermillion Phoenix), Baihu (White Tiger), and Xuanwu (Black Tortoise) their essences have now fused with your hidden bloodline. This granted you an unprecedented breakthrough.]
"Wait... wait a second," Zhang Wei's heart was thumping. "You're saying that I've absorbed the essence of the Four Divine Beasts? The ones from legends?"
[Correct. But this is only the beginning.]
The room fell silent for a moment, only Zhang Wei's rapid breathing remained.
[But the fusion with these divine essences has unlocked a trace of its original form. To fully awaken your true bloodline, you must gather more.]
Zhang Wei's expression turned serious.
"How many bloodlines are we talking about?"
[Host, the known universe contains more than 10,000 bloodlines beast, human, celestial, draconic, ancient... even abyssal and void. To unlock your hidden bloodline, you only need to collect a few rare ones. But to unleash its full power... you must collect all of them.]
"All of them…" Zhang Wei muttered, his eyes dazed. "Over ten thousand..."
The number felt surreal. Impossible. But something in his heart stirred — a heat, a sense of obsession.
"System… is that even possible?"
[If anyone can do it, it's you, Host. After all… you are my host.]
Zhang Wei chuckled bitterly. "You're just pushing all the hard work on me again, aren't you?"
[Correction: I'm giving you the path to godhood. You should be grateful.]
"Hah… Grateful? You're like that shopkeeper who sells bottled water in a desert for a million bucks. You're always trying to empty my poor wallet!"
[Host, don't slander the System Store. It is the most generous shop in the multiverse.]
Zhang Wei smirked, wiping sweat and grime from his forehead.
"Tch. Generous my foot."
He laughed softly, then fell silent, looking down at the black goo around him.
"…But I'm really changing, aren't I?"
[Indeed. You're one step closer. Just imagine it, Host… the man who wields the blood of all creation. The only one in history.]
His heart skipped a beat.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
Knock knock.
"Zhang Wei! Dinner's ready!" his mother's gentle voice came from the other side of the door.
Zhang Wei froze. He looked at the mess around him.
"System, get rid of this filth. If my mom sees this, I'm going to be sent to a mental asylum."
[Cleaning… completed.]
In a blink, the black sludge vanished as if it never existed.
Zhang Wei changed into a clean shirt and opened the door.
Warm golden light spilled from the hallway. He walked toward the dining room, and the scent of stir-fried vegetables and soup filled the air.
At the table, his family sat.. his mother smiling, his father silently eating, and Yuna, alive and well, talking about her favorite drama.
Zhang Wei's chest tightened with a warmth that couldn't be described.
He smiled and sat down.
Sometimes, even amidst a storm of fate, these were the moments worth protecting.