In a small, dim, and shabby house that was as cramped as a mouse hole, Ji An's eyes were listless as he lay exhaustedly on a bed that reeked of mold.
Although he called it a bed, it was actually just a broken wooden board supported by two piles of bricks.
Ji An, who was now so thin that he was only skin and bones, vomited large mouthfuls of blood with dark red blood clots.
His face was deathly pale. It was without a trace of blood, leaving only the look of a man who looked like he was not far from death.
He was quite unwilling to accept his fate.
Ever since his parents passed away, he had been living like a zombie in the new era for more than ten years, yet death was still his ultimate end.
The reason for his death was somewhat laughable.
He was being poisoned to death because he had hit a poisonous mosquito.
Of course, in this era, even a poisonous mosquito was an out-and-out Extraordinary level creature.
It was so poisonous that it could easily take down an elephant from the old era.
"Just a little bit more, just a little more and I would have been able to save enough money for the awakening potion, thus obtaining the chance to awaken as a Transcendent. It's a pity that I won't have a chance."
He died in the darkness before dawn.
No one sent him off, and perhaps no one even knew that he had died in such a shabby house.
As someone born in the last year of the old era right before the new era arrived, without a doubt, Ji An's life had been extremely miserable.
Not only had he been unable to enjoy the heaven-like life of the old era that his father had told him about, but he had not been able to gain a foothold in the new era either.
His life stopped in the 27th year of the new era, in the autumn.
The last thing Ji An, who had just turned 28 years old, saw before he died was the bleak autumn wind howling outside.
"If I could seize the opportunity right before my eyes ten years ago, everything might have been different!" This was Ji An's last thought before he died, or rather, his last obsession.
...
On a messy construction site.
"I told you to let go! Are you deaf, you little bastard?" A vicious voice rang out in Ji An's ears.
Ji An was in a daze as he thought, "Didn't I die from the poison of a poisonous blood mosquito?"
It wasn't until a muscly and hairy hand tightly grabbed his slender arm did Ji An returned to his senses.
When he looked at the fiendish figure in front of him and the surrounding environment, his face immediately revealed an expression as if he had seen a ghost.
"This is?" The turbid memories surged up like a bottle of knocked-over old wine, becoming clearer.
Ji An finally understood why the scene before him seemed so familiar.
"What are you talking about? I told you to let go!" The owner of the muscly hand was a big man with a vicious face.
His two hairy hands were starting to pry Ji An's fingers apart one by one, trying to get a hold of the thing the latter was holding tightly in his right hand.
Ji An glanced at him, then silently compared the difference in strength between the other party and himself.
The other party's arms were probably as thick as his thighs, so he tactfully released his grip and allowed the other party to snatch the object in his hand.
The fierce-looking man spat at Ji An, his saliva landing on Ji An's shoes, "Hmph, suits you right for refusing to cooperate when I asked you nicely. You forced me to make a move!"
Ji An looked at the other party's swaggering expression and didn't say anything.
Seeing the boy's unconvinced expression, the burly man pushed Ji An again.
He stumbled and almost fell to the ground.
Seeing that Ji An still didn't have the courage to resist, the burly man revealed a look of disdain.
He then looked at the object in her hands and turned around to leave, not bothering to continue humiliating Ji An.
Before the other party could walk further after turning around, Ji An quickly picked up a rusty shovel stuck in a pile of cement at the site.
Then, he dashed toward the burly man.
Before the burly man could react, Ji An had already swung the shovel, which hit the back of the man's head with a loud bang.
The burly man turned his head with great difficulty and looked at Ji An in disbelief before falling heavily to the ground.
"Crazy! Do you have to be so ruthless?" That was the only thought the burly man had at the moment.
After making sure that the burly man had fainted, Ji An pried open the latter's fingers and regained the item that he had just lost.
"Since the heavens have allowed me to live again, I will definitely not let go of any chance!" Ji An's gripped the shovel tightly, his heart filled with determination.
He then threw the shovel away and ignored the unconscious man. After putting the object into the pocket of his jacket, he left the scene quickly.
"I'm reborn!" Ji An muttered to himself, his slightly trembling hands revealing the uneasiness in his heart.
The scene that had just taken place was deeply etched in his memory.
This should have happened ten years ago, in Year 17 of the new era.
The reason why Ji An could still remember this incident so clearly even after ten years was because of the item in his hands.
It was the egg of a crimson blade mantis!
It was something that was worth a city!
In his previous life, this egg that could change his fate had been forcefully snatched away from his hands. This was something that Ji An had been vexed about for almost his entire life.
This time, he would not let this happen again!
Ji An put the fist-sized, greenish-red egg, which was as small as a heart, into the pocket of his jacket. Then, he quickly made his way to the Management Council's building in the center of town.
It was called a building, but in fact, it was only seven floors.
Compared to the skyscrapers of the old era, which were tens of stories high, it was nothing.
However, it was one of the tallest buildings in town.
Walking to the entrance of the Management Council's building, Ji An saw a bounty posted on the noticeboard, and a stiff smile appeared on his face, "My memory has served me right! The Management Council is offering a huge reward for the eggs of the crimson blade mantis."
The crimson blade mantis was a rather powerful Transcendent creature.
Dozens of years ago, at the end of the old era, a mysterious supernatural force had suddenly befallen Earth.
Under the effects of the mysterious power, the creatures on Earth had undergone shocking changes.
Countless ordinary animals and plants in the natural world began to possess supernatural powers and became Transcendent creatures.
The crimson blade mantis was a Transcendent creature that evolved from an ordinary mantis during those times.
The human society of the old era had also changed in these drastic times.
A group of people that could subdue Transcendent creatures and grasp extraordinary power began to appear.
These people were called beastmasters!
As for the Transcendent creatures subdued by a beastmaster, they were called familiars.
A trend to subdue familiars raged in human society then.
Until the first year of the new era: The day of planet Earth's restart.
This day was also known as the end of the world!
The source of the world's catastrophe also came from a Transcendent creature.
It was a Transcendent creature that far exceeded human imagination.
It resided in the core of planet Earth, the earth-core fire dragon.
Unlike the creatures that had evolved to become Transcendent due to the mysterious energy, the earth-core fire dragon was a Transcendent creature that had long existed on Earth.
Supernatural powers had existed on Earth since ancient times.
However, in the old era, supernatural forces had dissipated and lay dormant under the influence of some external factors.
This also led to the fact that supernatural powers were once considered non-existent in the old era.
No one would have thought that the most terrifying supernatural force o Earth would be hidden under Earth's crust, in Earth's core.
The earth-core flame dragon was curled up in the core of Earth. Most of the time, it was in a state of deep sleep, which was why its existence had never been known by humans.
However, every time it turned, it would undoubtedly represent a catastrophe for Earth. It was a restart of the ecosystem.
This was especially true in an era where supernatural powers were dormant.
The earth-core fire dragon's action of turning in its sleep was enough to obliterate the ecosystem on the surface of Earth.
This natural disaster caused by the dragon changed the structure of Earth's crust.
Massive earthquakes and tsunamis that were higher than the clouds completely destroyed the surface's ecological environment. Even the continental structure had been changed.
The New Continent's Saint Saar Summit, which originally had the lowest average altitude, replaced the Eastern Continent's Divine Summit and became the new highest altitude point on Earth.
The north and south poles had also moved thousands of kilometers.
During the restart of Earth in the calamity, countless humans perished.
The history of mankind entered a new era.
Encircle Town was a gathering place built in the new era.