It was a pitch-black night, and on the vast, boundless plains, a crescent-shaped village clung to the side of a tall mountain.
At this moment, if one were to look up at the sky, they would see a cluster of stars, entwined with faint light and shadows, trailing a long tail as it fell onto a farmhouse, the light flashing and then vanishing as if nothing had happened.
At the same time, the phenomenon of Xing Luo falling to the earth appeared all over the world, with meteors constantly streaking across the night sky.
There is an ancient legend in this world: every star is a powerful deity, and a star falling to the earth represents the demise of a god.
The Light Pope, looking at the meteor shower in the sky, his slightly ethereal voice seemed to come from the Light Main God, devoid of any human emotion: "The gears of fate have begun to turn again..."
The top powerhouses of the continent all raised their heads, looking at the starry sky, their eyes reflecting various emotions.
In the crescent-shaped Falling God Village, stood a woman in black, her eyes filled with deep reluctance as she affectionately stroked the face of the infant in her arms, then looked at the faint six-pointed star mark on his right shoulder.
With trembling hands, she placed the infant beside the bed of a sleeping Dashen in the farmhouse, then turned and left.
The newborn infant opened his eyes, his dark pupils shimmering with a strange light, and through those agile eyes, it was as if a crystal, clear and translucent, had appeared deep within them, with light bands like small snakes swimming inside, full of spiritual energy.
This crystal, which fell from the sky and merged into the infant's eyes, changed his destiny, possibly leading to dazzling glory or eternal slumber.
"Xing Luo, time to get up!!!" A shout loud enough to pierce walls rang out, scaring a chubby boy who immediately rolled onto the ground with a "thud," kicking up a cloud of dust.
This was Zhang Dashen urging Xing Luo to get up; although the surrounding neighbors were already accustomed to it, they couldn't help but smile broadly.
The people in this village all loved this adorable chubby boy, so he was raised plump and fair by his uncles and aunts from a young age, fed all the good things brought back from the mountains.
The chubby boy was happy every day, as if he never had any worries, but only in the dead of night would he drag his somewhat plump body up a tall hay bale, looking at the eastern night sky, a faint sadness in his eyes, and a bitter smile on his lips that didn't match his appearance.
As a young man from the 21st century who was hit by a car and died right after starting his first job, he passed away without even being able to give his parents his first pot of gold.
It was only in his dying moments that his consciousness merged into a fleeting crystal, following its trajectory into this body, allowing him to be reborn.
Zhang Dashen said that he suddenly appeared in this small village on a pitch-black night, just like the meteor that night, without any warning, so Zhang Dashen named the chubby boy Xing Luo.
However, he knew his real name was Xie Jun, but in this world, which was clearly different from the 21st century, all his past experiences could only be memories.
He found that the previous soul in this body had already disappeared before his intrusion; he didn't know who could be so cruel as to harm an infant.
Xing Luo had dark eyes and black hair, and his spiritual power fluctuated unusually frequently, far exceeding children of his age.
However, this appearance made him seem a bit out of place in this world.
Li Da Shu was the kindest person to him apart from Zhang Dashen, and also the only blacksmith in the village.
He remembered two years ago, Li Da Shu once told him: "Xing Luo, come, let's go hunting with Uncle Li."
"This is a world of swords and magic, with main professions being knights and mages, and of course, there are also fewer but indispensable professions like rogues and archers."
As he walked with Li Da Shu into the gloomy Monster Forest, a deep, hoarse voice instilled in him the common knowledge of this world.
Probably because of his strong spiritual power, he understood this knowledge as soon as he heard it and remembered it with a little effort.
Li Da Shu's blacksmithing skills were beyond reproach; although he was a bit dull, he was a man of great principle and doted on him, an orphan.
In this small village, he was the person Xing Luo admired most, even considering him his father.
To match the age of his body, he completely made up for his childhood, having done many mischievous things since he was little, and the only one who could control him was this Li Da Shu, who was over 40 years old.
In the first year, Li Da Shu taught him a lot of basic knight knowledge, and as Xing Luo practiced diligently, he made rapid progress, and by the second year, he could already deal with some non-magical beasts on the edge of the Monster Forest.
For a year, he ate and lived entirely in the Monster Forest, and Li Da Shu also instilled a lot of survival knowledge such as tracking, hunting, skinning, and cooking into Xing Luo's mind; he forcibly memorized it with his extraordinary spiritual power and continuously practiced, forming muscle memory.
At 13 years old, for those pampered noble scions, no one would bear to let a child train in the Monster Forest.
However, Xing Luo strongly insisted, because he knew he needed to grow; fate had given him one chance, and he didn't want to live a routine life as an ordinary person like before.
After a year of training, Xing Luo had made astonishing progress in all aspects.
However, for some reason, his body was still plump with excess fat; while others who transmigrated brought heaven-defying treasures and magic that crushed everyone, he transmigrated with a lump of fat that he couldn't get rid of no matter how much he exercised.
Every time he thought of this, he would get furious.
At Xing Luo's strong insistence, Li Da Shu finally agreed to let him survive alone in the Monster Forest for a year, repeatedly telling him not to leave the edge area and go deeper into the woods.
However, Li Da Shu was always worried about him, silently following him not far away, just in case.
But Xing Luo's extraordinary spiritual power discovered him on the very first day, and in such a strange world, he gradually gained a sense of belonging.
Six months passed, and Xing Luo's movements became increasingly agile; he could dart past a long-eared rabbit without being noticed, showing no signs of his body fat hindering him.
From the shadows under a distant tree came a "rustling" sound; a fierce Clawed Leopard lurked in the blind spot of vision, slowly moving with Xing Luo.
As an assassin in the edge zone of the Monster Forest, the Clawed Leopard was clearly quite confident in itself; even stronger beasts would die under its assassination, a confidence gained from countless kills.
Even Li Da Shu, who had been protecting him, did not detect this born jungle assassin.
As Xing Luo approached the long-eared rabbit, took out his dagger, and was about to capture this dinner rabbit, his heart suddenly tightened—this was an intuition honed over a long time in the Monster Forest.
Without thinking further, the dagger instantly moved sideways, his body tilted slightly, and with a "clang," the Clawed Leopard's claws and the dagger sparked, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow to the back of his head.
Xing Luo's heart pounded; if it weren't for his keen intuition just now, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
The Clawed Leopard also seemed surprised that its long-planned attack was actually blocked.
Gathering a little strength, the Clawed Leopard pounced again.
Li Da Shu gripped the dagger in his hand, ready to rush over and help.
Over the past year, he had watched Xing Luo face life and death, and it pained him deeply.
Xing Luo's lips curved slightly; the Clawed Leopard was only dangerous in the shadows.
He moved left and right among the dry leaves, transforming into a flash of lightning, attacking the Clawed Leopard like a comet, and the two began to fight fiercely.
Li Da Shu's heart also tensed up; with such a rapid collision, he feared he wouldn't be able to provide timely rescue.
Relying on his strong spiritual power and 20 extra years of experience compared to others, Xing Luo had grown rapidly over the past year.
Although he was only 13 years old, his attacks were ruthless and without any unnecessary movements, a skill honed through countless escapes from death.
Xing Luo, like a blade storm, repeatedly left large and small wounds on the Clawed Leopard, and he himself inevitably got injured.
As time passed, the dry leaves on the ground turned red, and the leopard's movements gradually slowed down.
Xing Luo seized the opportunity, ducked down, and plunged his dagger into the Clawed Leopard's throat; coupled with a dozen other wounds on its body, the Clawed Leopard was as dead as could be.
Then Xing Luo leaned against the tree trunk, panting heavily.
Li Da Shu saw this scene, and his eyes revealed undisguised surprise, "The Clawed Leopard can be considered the king of this edge area."
Then his breathing also became rapid; it turned out he had been so nervous just now that he forgot to breathe.
He nodded in satisfaction; he had watched Xing Luo grow up little by little, and he was very fond of Xing Luo, having long regarded this chubby boy as his own son.
"In another half a year, Xing Luo will be 14, and then it will be time to send him to Luo Shen Academy, which was decided by the village council when Xing Luo was 12," Li Da Shu thought silently.
In a blink of an eye, two years of training had passed; Xing Luo had grown much taller, but his body fat had not decreased at all.
He simply packed up and left the Monster Forest that had accompanied him for two years.
In a pitch-black space, a suffocatingly oppressive voice came: "I heard there's a village called Falling God Village, and such a small village actually gets one guaranteed spot for Luo Shen Academy every 12 years, why?!"
The person's face was indistinct, but their voice poured out like a flood, as if they had suppressed this matter for a long time.
"I heard the name Falling God Village can be traced back to the War of Ancient Gods, as for its authenticity, it has been lost in the long river of history and cannot be verified," an unknown voice replied from the corner of the dark room.
"Under Luoshen City, there are more than a dozen towns, and Loshen Country has four great cities, but besides Falling God Village having one guaranteed spot, other cities need to go through layers of screening to have a chance to enter the Four Great Academies, the top academies on the continent.
How can a small village have such a privilege, why!!!" The oppressive voice, as if sucking the air out of the room, rang out again.
"This time, we must get this guaranteed spot, by any means necessary, the child... time is running out..."