Chapter 1: Chaotic World of Demon Martial Arts, Gluttonous Furnace

Darkness filled Adam Harper's vision, as if he had fallen into some kind of nightmare—he wanted to wake up, but couldn't.

Suddenly, a blurry light blossomed before his eyes.

What came into view was a dilapidated, abandoned temple. A Buddha statue with half its face missing lay toppled beside him, stained with traces of blood, looking rather eerie, as if it was staring at Adam Harper.

"Hiss! That hurts."

Adam Harper rubbed his head, only to find his hand covered in blood.

A flood of chaotic memories surged into his mind, forcing him to accept the fact that he had transmigrated.

In his previous life, Adam Harper was a game designer at a small company. After working overtime for a week straight, he collapsed on the subway and never got up again.

When he woke up, he had become this world's Adam Harper.

Sorting through the memories in his mind, Adam Harper frowned and clicked his tongue.

"What the hell kind of messed-up world is this?"

The Great Zhou had stood for three thousand years, but the dynasty was already riddled with holes.

Demons wreaked havoc, evil cults ran rampant, rebels rose everywhere, sects and noble families dominated their own territories, and the common people lived in misery.

In this life, Adam Harper was born in Heishi County, Jingzhou Prefecture, Southern Dao of the Great Zhou.

His mother died early, and his father was a county yamen clerk with no real power, only responsible for paperwork to earn a meager living.

Last year, Adam Harper's father saved up some money and had the just-turned-eighteen Adam Harper join the Zhenwei Martial Hall in Heishi County to train in martial arts.

In such chaotic times, scholars didn't live long—only strength could ensure survival.

But before Adam Harper could even finish his apprenticeship, his father fell ill and died not long ago.

To hold a funeral for his father, Adam Harper had to sell off almost all his family possessions—he was left with nothing.

But why was he in this ruined temple?

His memory of yesterday was extremely hazy; Adam Harper could only recall leaving the martial hall after class, and then everything went blank.

Could it be that he was hit on the head and lost his memory?

Adam Harper glanced at the eerie Buddha statue.

Before transmigrating, he must have been leaning against this long-neglected statue. The base had rotted, the statue collapsed, and his previous self was killed by the falling statue.

Forcing himself to stand, Adam Harper suddenly rubbed his eyes hard, staring ahead in disbelief.

Was he hallucinating from being hit?

[Gluttonous Furnace Activated]

[Host may sacrifice any materials to break through martial arts or enter the furnace to cultivate]

Adam Harper stared at the massive bronze furnace that appeared before him, its surface engraved with lifelike gluttonous dragon patterns.

The fierce and savage aura rushed at him, feeling incredibly real.

He rubbed his eyes again, but the gluttonous furnace remained crystal clear before him.

Wasn't this the final game update he made after working overtime in his previous life?

In his past life, Adam Harper managed a mini-program game—kill monsters, level up, simple and mindless.

Such games usually had a short lifespan, reaching their end within a few months or at most half a year.

This was the first game Adam Harper had independently led, so he was quite attached to it.

So, in the final update, Adam Harper designed the gluttonous furnace as a heartfelt feature.

You could sacrifice all the low-level materials, equipment, potions, and miscellaneous items in your inventory to the gluttonous furnace in exchange for skill breakthroughs.

You could also sacrifice these things to directly convert them into experience points and level up like crazy.

Now that he had transmigrated, the gluttonous furnace mechanic had come with him?

But he couldn't possibly walk around with such a huge furnace all the time, right?

As soon as this thought arose, the gluttonous furnace instantly vanished from sight.

But Adam Harper could feel it was still in his mind, ready to appear at a single thought.

Adam Harper narrowed his eyes in thought: a transmigration cheat? Is this for me to kill monsters and level up in this world?

But shouldn't there at least be a newbie gift pack?

The gluttonous furnace was a feature Adam Harper added at the end of the game's life cycle.

In the early stages, there weren't that many materials to sacrifice—he couldn't possibly throw his own life in there, right?

The moment this thought appeared, the gluttonous furnace surfaced again.

[No sacrificial materials detected. Host may use lifespan, one of the six senses, one of the five limbs, one of the three souls, one of the seven spirits, one of the seven emotions, one of the six desires, or any other aspect of your own existence for sacrifice.]

The lifelike gluttonous dragon pattern had crimson eyes and a gaping maw as if to devour the heavens and earth, exuding an indescribable greed.

Below was an explanation similar to a game status screen.

[Name: Adam Harper

Cultivation: Postnatal Meridian Opening Stage (forty-one acupoints opened)

Martial Arts Technique: Postnatal Stage "Iron Elephant Skill" (Proficiency 17%)

Current Status: Concussion]