As a result, he gained a basic understanding of this world.

This world was slightly different from Earth Star World. While its civilization was modern, it was smaller, more backward, and had no concept of outer space compared to Earth Star.

The entire world was shaped like a giant disc, with its edges surrounded by a wall of ice and a ring of magma.

The sun, moon, and stars existed, but they weren’t celestial bodies. Instead, they were special natural phenomena, all contained within this world.

Hu Qi had noticed this as soon as he entered this world.

Other than that, there were no known Transcendents in this world. Everything seemed normal, with nothing out of the ordinary.

Hu Qi wasn’t disappointed by this; after all, he hadn’t held much hope in the first place.

To put it bluntly, this Fang Xi was just an ordinary person. It was just like on Earth Star World, where ordinary people could never access the deepest layers of reality and naturally wouldn’t know about the existence of Secret Martial Artists.

Although they lived in the same world, it was as if they were people from two different worlds.

’For now, I can only take it one step at a time. But the most important thing is to first gain some ability to protect myself.’

As the thought crossed his mind, he recalled that while he was searching the other’s memories, he had also examined the structure of this body.

Although he was only a sliver of his essential Divine Soul and not his main body, his Spiritual Power was still far superior to that of an ordinary person. He couldn’t project it outward, but performing Introspection on himself was not a problem.

The humans of this world, while still human, had slight differences due to their world being different.

However, the most fundamental Qi Blood Power still existed.

It wouldn’t be a big problem to increase his strength.

However, some of the finer points of the training methods would need to be modified.

With this in mind, he dried himself off with a towel and walked out.

However, as he passed the sink, Hu Qi paused and glanced to the side.

Due to the large temperature difference caused by the hot water, the round mirror in front of the sink was fogged up and blurry.

Standing in front of the mirror, he could only vaguely make out a hazy silhouette.

After a moment’s thought, he reached out and wiped the fog from the mirror’s surface, revealing a somewhat young and delicate face.

The young man’s body was thin, but his appearance wasn’t bad. He had fine eyebrows, a high nose, and delicate features.

However, due to illness and the pressures of life, his body was somewhat malnourished. His cheeks were sunken, his eye sockets were dark, and he looked so weak it seemed a gust of wind could knock him over.

Now, this body had become perfectly healthy. His current appearance was merely due to some malnutrition.

Averting his gaze, he walked over to the wardrobe, pulled out a clean set of clothes, and threw them on.

Then he picked up a broom and did a quick sweep of the messy trash in the room.

For now, he definitely couldn’t move out anytime soon, so naturally, he needed to clean the place up a bit.

However, Hu Qi didn’t notice.

After he left.

The mirror that had been wiped clean was once again covered in a thin layer of fog.

Faintly, a blurry face seemed to appear in the empty mirror.

It lingered for two or three seconds before vanishing, as if it were just an illusion.

...

Before long, all the messy trash in the room was cleaned up and thrown into a garbage bag.

In the process, he opened the master bedroom, which had belonged to Fang Xi’s parents.

The rest of the apartment was cluttered, but this room alone was clean and tidy.

According to the memories, Fang Xi had always kept this room preserved. It was, in a way, the conviction that kept him going.

Hu Qi also found a photo of Fang Xi’s parents on the wall by the door. They were an honest-looking couple who bore a slight resemblance to Fang Xi himself.

Looking at the two of them, Hu Qi’s expression flickered slightly.

As it turned out, the two had not died of natural causes.

Fang Xi’s mother had been walking down the street when someone carelessly threw something from a high-rise, hitting her on the head and killing her on the spot.

After much difficulty, the culprit was found, but it was unfortunately a child around ten years old. Being a minor, according to this world’s laws, they bore no criminal responsibility.

Therefore, they were just given a verbal warning, and their guardian was ordered to pay compensation.

However, the guardian, and indeed their entire family, were deadbeats who naturally had no intention of paying, so they just kept delaying.

They were even incredibly arrogant about it, claiming Fang Xi’s mother had done it on purpose to extort money from their family.

These words sent Fang Xi’s father into a rage-induced heart attack, and he was rushed to the hospital.

Not long after, he passed away, following his wife and leaving Fang Xi all alone.

Thinking of this, Hu Qi couldn’t help but recall Fang Xi’s final wish: to avenge his parents.

The reason he had asked about the other’s final wish was partly as compensation for occupying his body. On the other hand, according to the records of the Spirit Seed Technique, gaining the original owner’s approval would allow him to better integrate with Fang Xi’s identity.

The Spirit Seed Technique, simply put, was a process where he would separate a sliver of his essential Divine Soul to perform a possession or reincarnation, becoming a new life to re-accumulate his essence.

This separated essence was like a seed that needed compatible soil to sprout and grow successfully.

The soil, naturally, was the physical body that housed this sliver of Divine Soul.

This body belonged to Fang Xi. Only by gaining his approval could Hu Qi achieve a more perfect, seamless integration.

This concept was also recorded in the Buddhist Dao, though under a different name: settling karma.

’Avenge them?’

Hu Qi’s eyes flickered.

He glanced around the room, didn’t touch anything, then backed out and locked the door behind him.

Just then, a faint pang of hunger came from his stomach.

Seeing this, he threw on a black down jacket, grabbed an umbrella, and headed out the door with the trash, planning to get something to eat.

This place was called Qishan City, a small third- or fourth-tier city with no food delivery services, so his only option was to eat out.

As for cooking at home, the original owner had never done it. There wasn’t even any rice in the apartment, and the pot was rusted.

Outside, the sound of rain continued.

Combined with the fact that it was an old residential complex, the streetlights were dim, and the road was uneven and full of puddles. It was easy to step into one if you weren’t careful.

Cars were parked haphazardly along the road.

At this time of night, there weren’t many people around.

After tossing the trash into the dumpster, Hu Qi left the complex and walked towards a local-style restaurant across the street.

It was a two-story building with a single storefront.

The ground floor had eight or nine tables.

The kitchen was upstairs.

Usually, only the owner, his wife, and their son worked at the restaurant.

Because of the rain today, there weren’t many customers.

Before long, all the dishes were served.

Because it was local homestyle cooking, the portions were huge—enough to feed seven or eight people.

Hu Qi didn’t hesitate. He picked up his bowl and started eating.

This body was too weak. Even if he wanted to practice the Pile Skill to increase his strength, he first needed to build up his physique.

For anyone else, even if they were trying to nourish themselves, eating so much at once would cause indigestion. They would be too weak to absorb the nutrients.

But for Hu Qi, this wasn’t a problem at all.

With his Spirit Devouring Talent, any food he chewed and swallowed would be instantly broken down into nutrients and absorbed by his body.

Under the shocked gaze of the restaurant owner, Hu Qi devoured bowl after bowl.

He only stopped after he had single-handedly finished five large bowls of rice and wiped the table clean of all the dishes.

After the conversion by his Spirit Devouring Talent, he could feel a visible improvement in his body’s condition, and some color had returned to his previously pale face.

When he went to pay, the bill was over five hundred, but the owner rounded it down and even gave Hu Qi three free drinks.

Watching Hu Qi’s departing figure, the owner’s wife, who was wearing an apron, sidled up to him.

"Old Yu, that young man looks so skinny, but he can eat so much. You don’t think he’ll make himself sick, do you?"

The owner, named Old Yu, glanced at the plates, which were so clean they looked like they’d been licked by a dog, and shook his head.

"Probably not. When he came in, he looked completely drained and weak. But when he left, his face was ruddy. He was probably just starving and has a big appetite.

"I’ve heard about competitive eaters who can eat a ton, but I never expected to actually meet one. The world is full of surprises.

"An appetite like that... a normal family couldn’t afford to feed him..."

Hu Qi, having left the restaurant, was unaware of their conversation.

Instead of heading back, he turned into an alley where there was an internet cafe with a lit-up sign.

As soon as he entered, Hu Qi smelled the faint scent of smoke lingering in the air.

His brow furrowed slightly.

He looked around.

The lighting was dim. Rows of old-fashioned computers were neatly arranged in the slightly cramped space.

The monitors were bulky CRTs, their flickering screens giving off a retro vibe.

The surrounding walls were covered with various game posters.

The internet cafe was quite full, with most people playing games. Occasionally, someone would cheer out after a victory.

After looking around,

he spent ten yuan,

paid for a computer,

and then found a spot near a window and sat down.