...
...
...
The last thing I remember is the eyelid sliding open...
The next thing I know, I am here.
...
Complete darkness surrounds me, I don't even know if I am floating or standing on solid ground, I feel nothing at all.
Yet despite the dark, I can see my body very clearly. I realise I am back in my original old body, the wrinkles, bruises, everything a disgusting person have is back.
"This...is interesting... A vessel that has taken millions of lives by simply releasing a parasite cell. The parasite cell will do all the work for you while you sit back and relax, truly a very relaxing and easy way to massacre people." An entity says from the dark, its voice is rough, like the rumbling of a mountain avalanche. "However, your journey will only get harder as time goes by. Viruses can only work on mortals or small cultivators... Among all the outworlders I met, your fragment is the weakest yet the most vicious."
I want to ask what is happening but no voice comes out, I can't speak.
"Ah... sorry. What I'm referring to as a 'Fragment' is what you humans called a cheat system, which is the current virus system you possess."
...
A gargantuan grin appears in the darkness, something very big is there.
"However, I struck gold this time. Finally, a sadistic soul with not a shred of kindness and ambition except dominating the odds. Let me serve you, my name is Azrim. All you have to do is feed me blood and I will become stronger, I won't take no as an answer."
What-
---------------
...!!!!!!
In an instant, I am back at the cavern. But instead, all the human tissues disappeared and this space became a normal cavern.
...
That sword is suddenly in my hand with a crimson blade. The pommel's eyeball is not there anymore.
----------------
A subordinate contract with "Azrim" has been initiated, "Azrim" now serves you. Added [Contracts] Menu.
Contract status:
Indefinite.
Contract details:
'Feed' Azrim blood by slaying people with the sword, he becomes stronger the more blood he consumes.
In return, he grants you strength. Occasionally, the host may seek advice from Azrim
------------------
The door leading to the cavern has collapsed. Li Xing has freed herself and is in the process of helping other females.
She froze when she sees me. Biting her lips, she walks to me and attempts to slap me.
I catch her hand just in time.
"Y-You... Why didn't you help Yi Kai and Ru Bao... They were my-"
"You are blaming their death on me? How ironic. Why haven't you considered the fact that you are too weak, thus unable to protect them? Besides, this is the Murim, people die every day and this is nothing special." I say.
"I..."
Li Xing grits her teeth as she clenches her fist.
I ignore her and walk to the array now present at the entrance of the ballroom.
It seems to be an incomplete teleportation array being set up from the outside.
"Wang Ji!" Li Xing shouts. "Come to the Junior Cultivation Tournament in Tianwu 1 month later. Xie Mo and I will prove that your skills are nothing special."
Xie Mo?
...Wait, I've forgotten. That's right, Li Xing is Xie Mo's lover, I didn't pay much attention to that information and that caused me a grave mistake. Should I just kill her now?
The array lights up.
Several cultivators burst out of the array at the entrance. "Ah! Survivors! We found them!"
...
The elder YuLing, the host of this event, appears from the array and rushes into the ballroom. "T-This cannot be, this is the only remaining survivors?! This competition has never had this amount of casualties before..."
He looks at me and gestures to a cultivator to escort me. I was ushered out of the domain and back into XianFei before informing me to return to my inn room for the time being.
"My apologies, we have some compensation to send as well as some questions, so please do not your inn room. Thank you." The cultivators say before they close the door to my room.
I sigh as I sit on the bed.
What Azrim said about my system bothered me.
(If anything is bothering you, you can ask right away.)
?!
This... Azrim?
(Yes it is I. I am now your subordinate and am at your disposal so ask away.)
...
What do you want? There's no way you will grant strength without something in return.
(Hehe...all I want is blood once in a while. That is all. Even if you don't feed me human blood, I will still accept it but human blood tastes the best.)
You are a god of some sort, aren't you? You are being obedient to a mere human like me.
(I am not a God... Immortals in the Murim are considered gods but even a thousand of them are unable to defeat me in my true form. So you can say I am one existence above God. Now let's get back to the point, what is bothering you?)
...
Elaborate more on what you mentioned about my system.
(Your system consists of creating viruses and spreading them. Your main goal here is to infect or kill as much as possible to gain evolution points. However, let me tell you this: there is no such thing as a pandemic outbreak among the higher realms. Why is this? Because of the immune system. Just like you are aware, the higher the cultivation base, the stronger their immune system. Your original world does not have the concept of cultivation so what I said might seem underwhelming but... The immune system of a strong cultivator is not a joke. That's why high cultivators do not get sick even if they try to infect themselves. You may have exponential growth now but I'm not so sure about the latter.)
I raise my brow in suspicion.
If so, why did you choose to be my subordinate?
Azrim sighs.
?
It refuses to answer that.
...
...
...
(That's... I didn't have any choice. All the other outworlders who found me are either too kind or too weird. I've been waiting for 1 million years so I cannot take my chances anymore. For example, the one who sealed me inside this sword is sadistic just like you and an outworlder, he enjoys seeing others suffer for his sake. But... He is not right in the head. 80% of the time, that guy is either trying to steal jade beauties from engaged couples or committing duel cultivation. I really cannot take it anymore!!)
...
I... Okay.
It becomes awkward.
...
I should focus on my system.
Now then... I need to use my evolution points extra carefully now before I figure out a solution.
Let's go back to the basics, how does a virus infect its host? By killing and feeding off the host cells. It can then use components of the cells to replicate itself, causing diseases along the way.
As for why a virus mutates, it is to adapt to different hosts and better avoid the immune system. To do so, they need to change their genetics in a way that benefits them.
The virus isn't a living thing yet is as brilliant as one; a reason why I chose it over the other kinds.
The white blood cells, a crucial cell that alerts other immune cells to attack the virus, is the main problem. I see...the reason why cultivators have such a strong immune system might be because of the refined bone marrow which produces that white blood cell...
--------------
Warning:
Special infected "Xie Mo" has recovered.
Reason for recovery:
Bone marrow enhancement pill.
---------------
I click my tongue.
(Soon, everyone will be taking that pill and recover once they figured out that it is a virus.)
I know...
Back on Earth, there isn't any miracle drug or techniques that can refine the bone marrow since Qi probably does not exist. That's why an infectious virus can easily become a pandemic.
Bone marrow... There aren't any unlocked traits of evolution that can resist...
"Argh..."
I scratch my head in frustration. I can force the virus to manually mutate by infecting a beast but I will need a special beast that specifically has cells that target humans' white blood cells, which wouldn't make sense will it?
(Actually, there is a beast like that.)
!
There is?! What beast?
(Yes, it's called a sarpin. It lives in the north and feeds mostly on the bone marrow of prey because bone marrows have a specific type of Qi that nourishes the sarpins body. For example, that Qi Condensation blood sect disciple cultivates using blood qi-)
Wait, what did you say?"
(Huh? Qi Condensation blood sect disciple cultivated-)
...
(??)
I didn't realise his cultivation stage since I was too focused on fighting...
The Blood sect expected the operation to fail in the first place so they sent a disposable decoy. Azrim, you have a choice to reject someone, so finding you does not necessarily mean they can get your approval. If they could, they would have done so long ago.
This whole event was a trap...
(Trap? Did they use me as a trap? For what?)
When you are planning for world domination, you first need to know who might stand in your way... This is their method of finding the extraordinary. The patriarch of the Majestic Array Sect probably has his eyes on me now...