A piece... of a phalanx.

Yesterday, when Huai Shi had a Husky moment and began habitually digging holes, he actually unearthed a piece of rib bone about a few dozen meters away and two meters deep.

According to the system's certification, these two black stones were simply two exposed parts of the same Relic Bone on the surface of the ground!

It was undoubtedly the remains of a Giant Beast.

Huai Shi could hardly imagine just how colossal this Relic Bone must have been when it was still alive...

When Huai Shi finally advanced to level ten and touched the Relic Bone again, this time there was no longer a prompt indicating insufficient conditions.

[Obsidian Relic Bone detected. Do you wish to initiate Metamorphosis?]

[Warning: Metamorphosis is an irreversible process, and the direction of evolution is even more uncontrollable. No matter how strategically designed, there is always the risk of failure.]

Risk of failure.

These words were not only a size larger than the rest but were also marked in blood red. The warning could not have been more serious.

But what did this have to do with Huai Shi the Husky? As if he'd be scared.

The dog's paw lifted and pressed down.

[Confirm]!

"Watch me work some magic..." He still had the leisure to turn around and smile at Fu Yi, who was floating in mid-air. Then he saw Fu Yi's shocked expression, her hair standing on end in terror.

A rumbling as if the earth itself was in motion.

The ground split open, like a monster from beneath the surface awakening, opening its eyes, and propelling its maimed limbs to crawl out from its grave, exposing itself to the air once more after thousands of years.

A skeletal frame arose, igniting blood-red flames.

The burning Giant Beast opened its mouth and instantly swallowed the stupefied Husky. The mountainous, hollow skeletal frame collapsed inward and, in an instant, formed a perfectly square, enormous black cube.

The black stone cube bore not a single seam, with numerous intricate and complex patterns emerging on its surface, intermittently sparking with electricity.

Huai Shi could no longer be seen.

The Metamorphosis had begun.

Such a terrifying spectacle completely dropped Fu Yi's jaw.

A new question popped into her little head—wait a minute, which of us is actually cheating?

.

.

[Sample Matching Completed.]

[Detection Complete - Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy: Road to Heaven (Omega Type).]

[Welcome, ■■. Your arrival is noted. Connecting to Utopia...]

[Matching Error... No signal response... Utopia Host silent...]

[Connecting to the Ivory Tower...]

[Matching Error... Supreme Terminal not detected...]

[Connecting to the Observatory... Connection failed...]

[Three Sages System Detected. Transitioning connection...]

[Creator DM has denied your Metamorphosis request.]

[Creator ST has denied your Metamorphosis request.]

[Creator KP has accepted your Metamorphosis request... Creator KP has denied your Metamorphosis request...]

[Creator Hela has accepted your Metamorphosis request.]

...

In a daze, Huai Shi felt vague voices continuously surfacing in his consciousness, but he couldn't make out a single word. It was as though he had fallen into a deep sleep, exhausted and drowsy. Struggling to open his eyes, he could only see white light, unable to discern anything clearly.

Faintly, a voice seemed to gasp in astonishment.

"Eh? Leave it to me? But..."

"What are you afraid of? Isn't it just a project on Evolutionary Theory?"

A cocky and irritating voice responded, "Super easy to handle. You used to work on this, right? Just fiddle with it a bit... Even if you accidentally kill it, can this little brat blame you?"

"But my original research was on the regeneration of cellular telomeres, which is a completely different field from Evolutionary Theory!" a flustered and familiar voice said. "Besides, my current specialty is record operations and management; it's not related at all..."

"Ah, it's a shame the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* and *Records of Strange Creatures* are nowhere to be found... Wait a moment, let me find something to bring over."

Shortly after, the irritating voice spoke up again, "Here, take all these records. As a records keeper for the Heavenly Kingdom, you don't need to understand too much. Just place the right books on the right shelves... You can relax; just follow these instructions, and you'll be fine."

"*Wonderful Nature*, *Monster Manual*, *Jaws*, *Godzilla*?"

A rustling sound followed, and that voice grew more bewildered. "Why is there also a *Sixth Edition COC Monster Manual*? Is it really okay to do it like this?"

"Of course it's okay! Boys love to cry when they receive this!" The infuriatingly cheerful voice grew even more gleeful. "Just start with this and then add that... How about it? Simple, right?"

SWOOSH! A display box suddenly popped out of Huai Shi's consciousness.

[Would you like to evolve into a Legendary Species: Shuggs?]

Huai Shi: ??? A hundred thousand question marks rose in his consciousness, one after another. What the hell?

Before he could react, he heard the scolding of an unfamiliar woman's voice, "KP, if you mess around again, you'll be in charge of sorting all the records this year!"

The display box suddenly disappeared, as if fleeing in a panic. It beat a hasty retreat.

As KP disappeared, the older woman's tone softened. "Go ahead, Lily. Treat it as a paper. You've seen quite a few records on Abyss Evolution Theory before, haven't you? The Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy is inherently highly adaptable to Hell Creatures, so there's no need to worry about rejection. Besides, with that scoundrel interrupting for so long, you must have some plans in mind, right?"

"Pretty much. There are still some details I'm not too sure about, and I'd like to consult with you and Mr. DM."

"Hmm? Are you starting with the bases and sequence chains?"

"Mr. KP told me I don't need to focus on the trivialities. So, I intend to first define the final axis and archetype…"

"Oho? A girl focused on her work is always the cutest. Do you have any ideas?"

"Hmm… what about 'the Evil Dragon that destroys everything'?"

"Not a bad concept. What about the core?"

"How about 'the overlord of bygone days' for this part?"

"And its inner nature?"

"The ancient blood of greed."

"Its manifestation?"

"Like Nidhogg destroying the World Tree, devouring everything until nothing remains…"

"Very good."

The older woman asked with approval, "So, have you thought of a name for this collection of works you've compiled?"

After a brief contemplation, slender fingers held a pen and wrote on the title page a story about an evil dragon, a story about an invincible monster.

—*Behemoth*.

In that instant, a deeper weariness engulfed Huai Shi.

He closed his eyes. Like a fetus curled in amniotic fluid, he felt an unprecedented drowsiness descend. His body seemed to slowly dissolve, yet a new one reconstructed itself from within.

Starting with the internal organs, then the nerves, then the muscles, and finally the massive skeleton that supported it all.

It was as if he were a spectator, quietly watching everything unfold, thoughtless and serene, until the heart in his chest suddenly pounded.

It beat once.

He lurched up as if shocked by electricity. He opened his eyes in the darkness, breathed, and then expelled amniotic fluid.

So dark. Where is this? The DC Universe?

Before he could entertain this now-clichéd joke in his mind, he felt a brutal animality surge from the depths of his consciousness—proud, majestic, and ferocious.

He roared, bellowing from the prolonged suffocation.

He struggled fiercely.

The newfound muscular strength stretched across his bones, unleashing terrifying power. He arched his back, violently breaking free.

With the rumble of splitting boulders, he broke out of his shell, standing under the bleak, pale moonlight.

He felt the wind blowing from afar.

Involuntarily, he howled at the sky. His screeching voice pierced the heavens, spreading with the hurricane in all directions. The earth itself seemed to tremble slightly, and countless creatures fled in panic.

Unrivaled.

When he finally calmed down, he saw Fu Yi floating in the air before him.

She was amusedly scrutinizing him.

She was relishing his misfortune.

"Oh dear, brother."

She pointed her claw at Huai Shi's body. "You're bald."