Chapter 1: Invasion of the Other Races

"I never expected the highest‑level cultivator in this world to be only at the Golden Core Stage. How laughable! All those three thousand Heavenly Demons came to scout for nothing!"

In the sky, an alien with a human face but twin horns on its head spoke in a language Su Chen couldn't understand, mocking as it said.

Beside Su Chen were several Golden Core cultivators like him, and behind them hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators. Su Chen had just entered the early Golden Core Stage; the others were similar, three of them already at the mid Golden Core Stage, and the most conspicuous person ahead was at the late Golden Core Stage.

They were men and women, old and young, but they all shared one thing: every body was wounded—some with broken legs, some with broken arms, some with a great sword lodged in their chests, drenched in blood, looking as if they could collapse at any moment.

The homeland behind them was already shattered beyond repair, corpses strewn everywhere.

At this moment, a dozen people in the sky stared at the thousands of aliens before them, eyes bulging, trembling with fear.

Just now, hundreds of thousands of aliens surged through a Spiritual Qi‑revival portal onto Blue Star, launching an unambiguous massacre of humans. Although the human army quickly organized an effective counterattack, using nuclear weapons to kill tens of thousands of aliens, tens of thousands of humans also perished alongside them.

However, even the human leaders were helpless; although many cultivators had revived after the Spiritual Qi resurgence, their cultivation was woefully low—over eighty percent had only just entered the Qi Condensation Phase, only a dozen cultivators had reached the Golden Core Stage, and a few hundred were at Foundation Establishment, appearing feeble and powerless before these aliens.

When cultivators and ordinary humans had already suffered nearly eighty percent casualties, the remaining humans finally had no choice but to employ nuclear weapons.

But the good times were short; soon the demon race discovered the anomaly and managed to withdraw the entire hundreds‑thousands‑strong army through that strange portal, leaving only three thousand aliens behind.

Nuclear weapons were fired again at the remaining three thousand aliens, but astonishingly, all three thousand possessed teleportation techniques. According to ancient human hermit texts, this divine skill can only be wielded at the Nascent Soul Stage, indicating that these aliens' cultivation is at least above the Nascent Soul Stage.

And thus the opening scene unfolded: in the sky, several cultivators standing aloft on the strongest side, all the strongest human Golden Core cultivators, while the other Golden Core cultivators had already fallen in battle.

"You lot of beasts from another world, daring to destroy my homeland and harm my kin, I, Su Chen, swear today that if there is a next life, I will see your race exterminated!!!"

As Su Chen spoke, he moved to the front of the crowd, his eyes blood‑red, radiating boundless hatred. In this war, his family, brothers, lover, and compatriots fell one after another. He knew the enemy was strong, yet for some reason he felt no fear at all, only a deep, seething hatred.

He rose into the air, wielding a blood‑stained broken long sword. He pointed at the crowd ahead, and the broken sword shot out at high speed, slicing the air, producing a series of sonic booms, slashing toward the foremost person.

Before the attack ended, he performed a hand seal, and two water‑jar‑sized fireballs materialized in his hand, hurling toward the crowd ahead.

The alien at the front of the crowd burst into a loud laugh, his eyes openly mocking. With a swift grab, he seized the long sword firmly in his hand, rendering it immobile.

And the two fireballs, under his palm, flew hundreds of zhang away and vanished.

But just as he was about to say something, he suddenly felt someone hug him, his face turning pale with shock. He had only been toying with this group of humans, yet he hadn't expected a human whose cultivation equated to an early Earth Demon to dare such a thing.

He didn't know what the reptile intended, but instinctively tried to teleport away. However, it was too late; a earth‑shaking explosion rang in his ears,

In an instant, he felt excruciating pain all over, blood gushing from his body.

"Su Chen!"

"Brother Chen!"

"Little Su!"

"Little Chen!"

"Ah Chen!"

……

Immediately, several onlookers let out grief‑filled roars. Among the crowd, a beautiful woman with fair skin and flowing hair, tears streaming like rain at Su Chen's self‑destruction, was at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

Usually gentle and approachable, she now displayed a frenzy, as if ready to charge recklessly and devour the alien before her.

Fortunately, she was being tightly held back by a short‑haired, rather handsome boy and a moderately attractive girl of decent figure standing beside her.

The short‑haired boy, though only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, seemed barely able to restrain the girl.

The hatred in his eyes was no less than the beautiful girl's; he trembled all over, his other hand clenched so hard his fingernails cut his palm without him noticing, clearly forcing himself.

At the front of the crowd, a young man with an eagle‑hooked nose and thin lips stared at Su Chen's self‑destruction, frozen in place. He had once despised Su Chen the most, yet now felt no joy at all.

To his right stood an elderly man with white hair, an ethereal aura, at the peak of the mid Golden Core Stage. Watching Su Chen's self‑destruction, his eyes first showed sorrow, then pride, and he roared, "Now that's my disciple!"

Even as he spoke, he charged forward without hesitation.

"Cough cough"

The alien at the front of the crowd coughed a few strained times, a strand of blood seeping from his mouth corner, and slowly said, "I never expected humans to have such blood‑thirsty people. A Golden Core self‑detonation is one thing, but the spirit also dares to self‑detonate—aren't you afraid you can't enter reincarnation?" He spoke with anger and a barely perceptible hint of admiration.

But his feelings quickly turned to shameful anger; these petty Golden Core cultivators, such lowly humans, had managed to wound a full‑blown Heavenly Demon. Though the wound was minor, it was utterly intolerable to him.

A chilling awe flashed in his eyes; he swung his massive hand and declared, "Kill them all, leave none!"

……

Ten years ago, in China, Clearwater City, in a senior‑year classroom, a female teacher in her thirties wearing black‑rimmed glasses scribbled on the blackboard, while the students below listened attentively; the only sounds in the room were the rustle of paper and the swish of writing.

Suddenly, the teacher's hand paused; she turned her head, glanced at a student lying face‑down asleep, and slightly furrowed her brows.

In an instant, the previously noisy classroom fell into hushed silence.

"Ah Chen, Ah Chen, wake up!" A handsome boy, about 1.85 m tall and rather good‑looking, gently nudged the still‑sleeping Su Chen beside him.

"I, Su Chen, swear today that if there is a next life, I will see your race exterminated!"

Su Chen jolted awake, the words spilling out uncontrollably. He felt as if he had just endured a terrifying nightmare—dreaming of aliens, his homeland's destruction, and everyone dead…

Su Chen wore a blue‑and‑white school uniform, his features delicate, skin a typical light‑yellow hue, height about 1.75 m, making him a passable handsome guy.

At that moment, Su Chen first rubbed his sleepy eyes, then surprisingly stood up and stretched as if no one were there.

In an instant, the previously quiet classroom grew even quieter, but the silence lasted only three seconds.

Three seconds later, the quiet classroom erupted into uproarious laughter; some burly classmates beside him helplessly covered their faces.

The female teacher now stood in front of Su Chen, glaring at him, and said, "Su Chen, is my class that boring? In science and math you can score near perfect, yet in English you only got twenty last time; those four questions were just guessed, right? You're so one‑sided—how will you…"

The teacher immediately lectured the still‑dazed Su Chen, looking as if she hated iron that wouldn't become steel.

Su Chen stared at the teacher, about to speak, when a mechanical female voice rang in his mind, and his body abruptly froze.

"Ding"

System binding…