"Hmm... what's this?"
Shin muttered under his breath, rubbing the spot on his head where the book had smacked him. It stung, and for a second, he felt a dull throb.
As the pain subsided, the memories of the "original" Shin flooded his mind. It was a strange sensation, like his brain had been uploaded with someone else's life.
At this point, it really felt more like he'd been reincarnated rather than transmigrated, especially with all the new knowledge the system had shoved into him.
He now had a pretty clear grasp of the basics—who "Original Shin" was, what this weird system was, and enough context to avoid looking like a total fool.
But... no concrete info about some of the things like the Heavenly Demon's library or this so-called "Hell's Divine Tree."
{Open it and read. You'll find out yourself.}
The system, apparently overhearing his muttering, responded in a slightly more human-like voice than before, though it still sounded cold and robotic.
It wasn't a fully sentient AI, just a tool with a little personality sprinkled in. Enough to sound like it was vaguely trying to be helpful, but not enough to actually care.
"Hmm," Shin hummed. Shrugging, he decided to follow the system's suggestion. 'If it hasn't killed me yet, guess I'll give it a shot.'
The system had already dumped a ton of info on him, and surprisingly, Shin didn't feel overwhelmed.
That was probably because the system had done something to keep his emotions in check while he absorbed the memories and knowledge—like throwing a blanket over a fire to keep him from freaking out.
He clicked open the book.
[Origin: The Hell's Divine Tree was once the most peerless cultivation technique under the heavens, within the martial world where the Heavenly Demon was born.]
Shin's eyes narrowed as he started reading, his brain clicking into focus. The system hadn't lied—this was some next-level stuff. He let out a low whistle as the text began painting the picture of a world far beyond anything he'd ever imagined.
[Once upon a time, when the Heavenly Demon was just eight years old, he witnessed something extraordinary: Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life, burning down to its very last root and branch. The heavens themselves crumbled, and the world was falling apart before his eyes.]
'Yikes, talk about childhood trauma,' Shin thought, raising an eyebrow as he continued reading.
[The "Heavenly Demon" wasn't messing around. Seeing something like that would scar most kids for life, but not him—he apparently found it exciting and the most beautiful thing ever.]
'Not sure if I should admire him or worry about his mental health.'
[Even after waking up from that dream, the image of Yggdrasil engulfed in flames exited him, lingering in his mind for years.]
[Eventually, after years of contemplation, the Heavenly Demon came up with an idea. It was unrelated to the dream itself, but it was this concept that would later help him achieve immortality.]
Shin paused for a second, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. 'So, dude has a burning world stuck in his head and decides, "Hey, this might help me become immortal." Yep, definitely a red flag.'
[How to use the Hell's Divine Tree: Using this technique is quite simple (by the Heavenly Demon's standards, of course). In every world, a specific type of energy exists in every living being—whether it's the mana of Western mages, the chakra of those cum-skinned aliens, or qi of martial artists.]
Shin's eyes widened at the casual mention of "cum-skinned aliens." 'Wait… what? Is this guy talking about Otsutsukis? He really just lumped them in like that?' A small grin crept across his face.
He could already tell the Heavenly Demon didn't hold back on his opinions.
[The energy within every being follows a similar path—through meridians, veins, or other unique systems. But the Heavenly Demon, being a revolutionary, chose to forcefully manipulate this energy in a way that mimicked the structure of Yggdrasil.]
[Rather than flowing through just veins or meridians, the energy spread through every part of his body, following a carefully designed pattern.
[The resulting formation, which became known as the Hell's Divine Tree, allowed him to corrupt all types of energy and convert them into Heavenly Demonic Energy—something superior to everything else.]
Shin scratched his head. 'So, this guy basically re-engineered his body to mimic a freaking tree… and then used it to bend all energy to his will? What kind of mad genius does that?' He was both impressed and a little freaked out at the thought of trying it himself.
[Once someone reaches the peak mastery of this technique, absorbing energy from nature and the world becomes as easy as breathing or walking.]
[The most unique thing about the Hell's Divine Tree is that it can't be copied by anyone, unlike the other Heavenly Demon arts it's part of—though it's not the highest grade among them.
[No matter if someone uses a system or is practically invincible, they can't replicate the Hell's Divine Tree or any of the Heavenly Demonic arts.]
[However, when the Heavenly Demon eventually created a superior cultivation technique, he ended up discarding this version of the Hell's Divine Tree.]
[Blah, blah, blah...]
Shin groaned as the text began to drag on with technical details, the tone sounding like it was written by someone who was either incredibly smart or just really full of themselves.
{Second Mission Assigned: Please reach the first stage of the Hell's Divine Tree by changing your energy flow structure.}
{Time Limit: N/A}
"Ah, shit!" Shin muttered under his breath, his eyes widening at the mission that popped up in front of him. Great, just what he needed.
....
Meanwhile, in the grand hall of the Shonin Clan, a tense atmosphere hung in the air. Clan elders and the patriarch were gathered, their expressions a mix of irritation and disbelief.
"This is absolutely ridiculous! That brat Shin lost about 50 million worth of herbs, and you're not even going to punish him, Patriarch?" A very old elder with a bald head and a joker-like face yelled, his voice echoing off the high ceilings.
Shiren, the patriarch and Shin's father, sat calmly in his mid-forties, radiating authority. He turned his cold gaze toward the elder. "Are you saying you could have dealt with that giant tiger without suffering any losses?"
The elder gulped, suddenly feeling small under Shiren's piercing stare. It was one thing to complain, but challenging the patriarch was a whole different game.
To sum it up, ever since Shin had gotten all his Carvana massacred, he'd also lost all the herbs he was supposed to sell in the Land of Fire.
The elders, who acted like a bunch of petty schemers, thought it was the perfect opportunity to weaken Shiren's authority by pushing for Shin's punishment. But their plan had backfired spectacularly.
"Don't think I don't know that some of you are behind this incident," Shiren warned as he stood up from his seat, a hint of menace in his tone. He walked toward the door of the hall, his presence commanding and resolute.
At his words, the faces of some elders turned pale. Were they stupid enough to orchestrate something like that? trying to Kill a fellow clan member, let alone the son of the patriarch, was basically a death sentence for them and their entire families.
Yet, some of the elders maintained their cold expressions, unflinching and indifferent.
A/N: Well... I know there was a bit of an info dump in this chapter, but the Hell's Divine Tree is a technique that's essentially the foundation of all the demonic arts and Heavenly Demonic arts Shin will be using in the future.
So, I thought it'd be better to explain it in detail now to avoid any confusion later on. Sorry if the info dump annoyed you.
I promise the chapters from now on won't have this much info dump.
And hey, don't forget to drop some comments to motivate me, please!