In the jungles of the Barren Mountain, where trees and grass grew dense, the calls of insects and birds filled the air.
Atop the branch of an ancient tree...
Lu Qing stared blankly at his raptorial forelegs, which looked like a pair of small Scythes.
What was going on?
He clearly remembered the global revival of spiritual energy that had driven the world into an era of advanced martial arts!
With his extraordinary talent and the aid of a jade pendant, he had risen to prominence as a peerless genius.
Yet the world was ruled by powerful factions that heavily monopolized resources. To gain access to them, one had to become a dog for the great aristocratic families.
Unwilling to be a running dog for those factions, he had tried to shake that decaying, massive tree all on his own.
Betrayed by friends and family, and facing an apathetic public, he found himself hopelessly isolated.
His most trusted girlfriend had invited him to watch the sunrise on Tiannan Mountain.He hadn't expected it to be a deadly trap—an ambush laid by three hundred top-tier experts.
He fought until the sky went dark, staining the mountain peak with blood.
In the end, he was vastly outnumbered.
"Did you really think a little bit of strength would make me follow you to the ends of the earth? Naive!" his girlfriend mocked with a sneer. "That head of yours is worth a fortune—enough for me to live in luxury for the rest of my life! Since you love me so much, just die for me."
A sword pierced his heart, draining his life away.
He watched as she nestled into the arms of the Qin Family Young Master.
It turned out his understanding of human nature had been far too shallow!
Human nature. Humanity.
Heh...
...
'Don't just space out, hurry up and eat! It's not every day we find a big, fat caterpillar.'
A voice suddenly echoed in his mind, interrupting his thoughts.
Turning his head, he saw a relatively robust Mantis feasting on a dead, milky-white caterpillar.
Lu Qing instantly understood: this was a unique form of conscious communication.
Then, this was no longer his previous world!
He had transmigrated into a wondrous, unknown foreign world!
The hunger in his stomach made the large caterpillar look incredibly tempting.
Mimicking the other's actions, he used his Scythe to carve out a piece of meat and bit down.
'Flesh Value +0.1'
Huh?
A notification?
He took another bite.
'Flesh Value +0.1'
A System!
Thrilled, Lu Qing quickly located the interface hidden in his field of vision.
'Species: Ordinary Mantis. Level: Low Tier First Grade (0.2/10). Skills: Swipe (Evolvable), Spread Wings (Evolvable).'
He could level up?
The more flesh and blood he ate, the faster he would level up!
This big caterpillar in front of him wasn't just a bug; it was a packet of Experience!
Just by farming this Experience, he could grow bigger and stronger!
Shedding all psychological burdens, Lu Qing began to gorge himself on the massive caterpillar!
He ate so fast and so fiercely that the Mantis beside him froze in shock for a few seconds.
'Qing Yi, are you crazy? Aren't you afraid of bursting your stomach?'
His wings were a bit greener than the other's, so that was his... name?
The other Mantis was a full size larger and looked quite a bit sturdier—its name was Dazhuang!
Lu Qing didn't have the time to pay him any mind; he just kept his head down and ground for Experience.
'Flesh Value +0.1'
'Flesh Value +0.1'
...
A large caterpillar was more than three times the size of a Mantis. Logically, eating even a tenth of it would mean one had an excellent appetite, and eating any more would rupture one's stomach.
Yet Lu Qing hadn't stopped since his first bite, and now less than half of the caterpillar remained.
He felt no fullness whatsoever. The moment the flesh entered his mouth, it instantly transformed into energy and was stored away.
Dazhuang had long since eaten his fill and was now resting beneath a leaf, staring blankly as Lu Qing devoured the meal.
"I planned to eat this over three to five days, but you're polishing it off in a single meal!"
"Qing Yi, why isn't your stomach getting bigger?"
Despite being capable of high-level conscious communication, Dazhuang clearly didn't have much intellect. The biggest anomaly he could perceive was Lu Qing's stomach.
Lu Qing offered a casual excuse. "Maybe it's because I'm in a good mood today, so I'm digesting it faster."
Surprisingly, Dazhuang found this perfectly reasonable.
'Makes sense. I eat more when I'm in a good mood, too.'
Lu Qing ignored him, returning to his frantic gorging.
Finally, when only a tiny morsel of the caterpillar was left, the System's prompt chimed in.
'Energy accumulation complete. Initiate evolution?'
'Evolve!'
Energy instantly surged through his entire body, followed by a sensation of ultimate comfort.
At that moment, the chirping of bugs and the calls of birds seemed to become much clearer.
When he snapped out of it, he found that the color of his body had lightened somewhat, and he had grown by about a third, now measuring roughly ten centimeters long.
Before, Dazhuang had been a full size larger than him, but now the situation was completely reversed.
His once plain and unremarkable raptorial forelegs were now covered in jagged spikes and even possessed a subtle gleam, making them look incredibly sharp.
He pulled up his attribute panel.
'Species: Swift Blade Mantis. Level: Low Tier Second Grade (0/20). Skills: Heavy Swipe (Evolvable), Spread Wings (Evolvable).'
His grade had increased, and the Swipe skill had become Heavy Swipe, while Spread Wings remained unchanged.
It seemed that for every grade he ascended, his skills would grow stronger, and his overall power would improve.
Right then, Dazhuang started hollering in astonishment.
"Qing Yi, how did you get so big? You were definitely smaller than me just a moment ago. How did you grow all of a sudden?"
Lu Qing collected himself and replied, "I ate a lot, so of course I grew strong."
"Reasonable!" Dazhuang waved his Scythe and fluttered the wings on his back. "Now that you're so strong, the Lord will definitely favor you!"
"Once you catch the Lord's eye, you'll get the chance to mate and pass on your bloodline. I'm so jealous!"
He was genuinely envious.
Being rewarded by the Lord just once was Dazhuang's ultimate lifelong dream.
Among Mantises, the females were strong and the males were weak.
Even though the reward meant being eaten right afterward, it was still a dream etched deep into Dazhuang's bones.
Lu Qing couldn't care less about it.
Now that his arms had become sharp Blade Legs, why would he need any Lord's reward?
"You die after being rewarded once. I'm not that stupid."
In this world, male Mantises only had one chance to reproduce in their entire lives. Afterward, they would be eaten to nourish the female.
Dazhuang blanked for a moment. "We die, sure, but then we have our own offspring, ensuring the cycle of life continues... We eat our fill and grow so big just to be rewarded by the Lord once. How is that stupid?"
Within a territory, there was only one powerful female Mantis serving as the Lord, and every year she would pick the strongest male Mantis to mate with.
Which meant that every year, some idiot would get eaten for a few seconds of pleasure.
"Isn't it better to stay alive? Why do you have to be so suicidal and seek out the Lord? Take my advice: cherish your life and stay away from female Mantises..."
Dazhuang's wings buzzed frantically. "For glory! For our descendants!"
Forget it, there was no reasoning with him.
His grand endeavor of leveling up was much more important.
The most pressing matter was finding prey, which would also give him a chance to test the power of his Scythes.
Lu Qing began to scan the surroundings with his triangular eyes.
He quickly locked onto a target.
It was a cluster of green worms chewing on leaves.
The green worms in this world weren't ordinary either. Each was the size of a finger, boasting standard Low Tier First Grade strength. Most importantly, they lived in swarms.
There were over thirty of them in that cluster; their combined combat power wasn't to be underestimated.
However, their weaknesses were equally obvious: they had no wings, and their crawling speed was quite mediocre.
He could use his ability to fly, grabbing them one at a time. That way, all these green worms would become his meal tickets.
With his plan set, Lu Qing spread his wings.
"Where are you going?"
"To eat!"
Dazhuang was completely dumbfounded, his brain struggling to process this. "Huh? Didn't you just finish eating?"
Lu Qing beat his wings and took off, his body wobbling awkwardly in the air. "I'm still hungry."
Dazhuang was left in total bewilderment on the branch.
A plump, giant caterpillar is enough for me to eat for ten days to half a month, yet you finished it in a single meal, and you're still hungry?
...
After all, it was his first time flying. Though his instincts kept him from falling, his flight was far from graceful.
Misjudging his trajectory, he crashed straight into the ancient tree.
Fortunately, his reflexes were sharp, and his Scythes accurately hooked into the trunk.
He looked back to see the distant green worms still enjoying the delicious tender leaves.
Two green worms huddled together saw his crash and mocked him mercilessly.
"What the hell was that thing that flew by just now? That flying was garbage; he actually crashed into a tree."
"Hiss, it looked like a little mosquito."
"Hehehe~"
Lu Qing was furious.
He was actually being mocked by two green worms?
Just wait!
...
Flying required technique.
After practicing a few times, he managed to grasp it proficiently.
This time, he locked his eyes on the target and flew straight toward those two green worms.