Chapter 54: The Black Notebook: I Will Become the God of the New World

He wasn’t accustomed to the anime, novels, or films popular among today’s youth, nor did he understand the “Zhongli” template embodied by his old friend Zhong Lao.

But since the times had changed, even if he found it uncomfortable, he had to learn to accept it—especially since he had awakened the ability to foresee the future.

Though limited, beyond his control, and uncertain in accuracy, being able to see ahead and prepare was far better than knowing nothing at all.

Jiangcheng, No. 1 Senior High School.

In Classroom 4 of Grade 11, sunlight slanted through the glass windows and fell across the desks.

On the podium, the math teacher scribbled a complex equation on the blackboard; the squeaking of chalk against stone echoed clearly in the silent classroom.

By the window, a handsome boy propped his chin on one hand, idly spinning a pen in the other; his gaze appeared focused on the board, but his mind was elsewhere, only the faintest, almost imperceptible smile curling at his lips.

Last night, on his way home from school, he had picked up a black notebook beside a trash bin at the alley’s mouth; on its cover, English letters read “Notes of Destiny.”

In the past, he would have treated it as an ordinary notebook and walked past as if he hadn’t seen it—but at that moment, for no clear reason, he had picked it up, and on its first blank page, he had recognized familiar lore.

It was a name that could not be spoken, yet it was his greatest masterpiece: a story about a notebook capable of controlling life and death.

If this had been before the Qi Revival or the dimensional invasions, he would have assumed it was someone’s prank or a mere imitation notebook.

But there were no “ifs” in the world. Though no one around him had obtained heavenly artifacts, the existence of Zhong Lao and the names on the Great Xia Supernatural List—those who had acquired Devil Fruits, Sharingan, Zanpakutō, Eight Marvelous Techniques, and Divine Eyes—clearly proved this era’s uniqueness.

If those things could appear in reality, then this notebook could too.

He still remembered how he had trembled as he flipped open the blank page after the lore, visualized the face of that hated person in his mind, and wrote down the first name.

The result did not disappoint him; when he entered the school gate this morning, he had already heard the answer from his classmates.

A soulless demon who never belonged in this world had gone where he belonged.

“Chen Mo, please answer this question.”

The math teacher’s voice suddenly jolted him from his memories; he instinctively stood, scanned the problem on the board, and replied with calm, clear precision.

The teacher nodded in satisfaction and gestured for him to sit.

Chen Mo sat down slowly, his fingers unconsciously reaching into the inner pocket of his bag—the cold touch of the black notebook quickened his heartbeat.

“I, born in the age of the internet, have advantages you’ll never have.”

“You’ll be found out. I won’t.”

“I will make the damned pay the price they deserve.”

“I will become the god of the new world!”

Time flowed in the quiet rhythm of daily life.

At least for Ye Xuan, his life was extremely calm and disciplined.

Thanks to Doraemon’s Anywhere Door, he each morning teleported directly into the depths of Mount Kunlun, returning home precisely at dusk.

He had originally returned at noon too, but after Doraemon began delivering meals to him in advance, he stopped going back.

By day, he battled mutated creatures in the Kunlun Mountains, honing his combat skills and sword techniques; by night, he returned to his villa, washed up, and resumed cultivation, occasionally exchanging techniques with manifested anime characters, then using the Hōgyoku to continuously guide his accumulated experience toward breakthroughs.

Ye Xuan quite enjoyed this simple yet fulfilling life.

As for what else was happening in Great Xia beyond him—whether unknown holders of heavenly artifacts had emerged—he did not care.

Those matters were never his concern.

At this moment, he sat cross-legged on the snow, a vortex of Qi swirling around him; the dense Qi of the Kunlun Mountains flowed ceaselessly into his body, repairing the damage from battle.

Beside him lay the corpse of a mammoth whose size rivaled a three-story building—an impossible sight.

Logically, prehistoric creatures like mammoths should not exist in the Kunlun Mountains, let alone mutated ones—but there it was, and Ye Xuan could only wonder how bewildered he had been when he first spotted it.

Worse, this mutated mammoth wasn’t just larger than normal—it was also incredibly powerful. Though far weaker than Ye Xuan, it had still given him genuine combat pleasure without the use of sword techniques or divine flames.

When fully unleashed, Ye Xuan rivaled a Demon Emperor; even relying solely on Qi and physical strength, his power far surpassed ordinary mortals.

People like Gu Che and Lin Ruoxi couldn’t withstand a single strike from him.

Yet this mutated mammoth had given him nearly equal thrills.

Though it had ultimately been worn down and killed, it had thoroughly satisfied him.

But the moment the mammoth collapsed, its corpse began shifting—alternating between mammoth and an ordinary antelope, like an unstable projection.

Though it eventually stabilized in the mammoth form, it had planted doubt in Ye Xuan’s mind.

“Did it eat a Devil Fruit?”

If it had eaten a Devil Fruit, that could explain why a mammoth appeared in Kunlun—and why it shifted between mammoth and antelope forms after death.

Because it was originally an antelope; only after consuming the Devil Fruit did it transform into a mammoth.

Its persistent mammoth form could be attributed to low intelligence, preventing it from consciously controlling its transformation.

But why, after death, did it remain locked in mammoth form? Had the Devil Fruit’s rules changed under the reality of this world?

Had even the user’s original species been altered?

Then why hadn’t Gu Che, a user of the Azure Dragon Fruit, changed?

Or was it necessary for the user to truly believe themselves to be the form of the Devil Fruit they consumed?

“Whatever. It’s not important.”

Ye Xuan had little interest in Devil Fruits. Even if, due to different world rules, they no longer feared seawater in his world, he still didn’t care.

Although I wrote “Notes of Destiny,” everyone should know what I’m really referring to. I originally wanted to use its true name, but I wasn’t sure if it could be written, so I changed it temporarily. I’ve asked my editor, but I expect a reply only by Monday—if there’s no issue, I’ll revert it then.

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(End of Chapter)