Chapter 1 The King Cobra

"Rattle..."

A giant king cobra slithered through the dilapidated city ruins, its blood-colored scales stirring up murky ripples in the stagnant water, flipping a white plastic bag floating on the surface into the distance.

Its scarlet vertical pupils stared at the Heavenly Stele, observing it from all angles as its serpentine body coiled.

"The Tiger Phase Heavenly Stele. In the future, perhaps there will be other Heavenly Steles of the twelve zodiac signs," Zhang Ji mused. "This time, those born in the year of the Tiger were drawn into the Heavenly Stele and disappeared, their fates unknown..."

Zhang Ji felt anxious.

"Next time, I wonder which zodiac sign's Heavenly Stele will appear. If it's the Snake Phase Heavenly Stele, all those born in the year of the Snake might be drawn in. I was born in the year of the Snake, so I'm afraid it's inevitable for me too..."

He was worried and agitated.

Xichuan Town was shrouded in eerie mist, isolated from the world. Those outside couldn't get in, and those inside couldn't get out. The future was uncertain, with no hope in sight. The bizarre red rain kept falling, turning everyone into bloodthirsty monsters.

Where was the future?

The mysterious sinkhole, the deep cave, the giant wolves on the prowl—if he hadn't been ferocious enough, he would have become bones long ago.

Now, the Heavenly Steles of the twelve zodiac signs had appeared, reaping lives wave after wave, yet there was no way to resist.

The feeling of having one's fate controlled by the mysterious unknown made Zhang Ji restless and angry. The emotions he had suppressed for days could no longer be contained. The beastly nature dormant within him awakened, and his scarlet vertical pupils gradually became tyrannical and vicious.

"Roar—!"

He let out a low roar, his voice like thunder, stirring up a gust of fishy wind as he charged out, slaughtering everything alive he saw in the dilapidated city ruins.

He vented his bestial nature.

A ewe and a tiger-tailed horse were hiding in a partially collapsed building ruin, huddled together. Zhang Ji arrived and swallowed the tiger-tailed horse in one gulp.

The process of snakes devouring prey wasn't bloody; there was no need to tear the prey's body apart. But Zhang Ji's pale white fangs opened and closed, chewing the horse from head to tail, inch by inch, into minced meat before slowly swallowing it.

Blood dripped down the scales at the corners of his mouth, and an eyeball was stuck between his fangs. A cruel smile appeared in his eyes as he looked down at the trembling ewe in the corner.

"Baa—, roar—"

The ewe bleated in terror, her voice trembling, incoherent.

Her husband, born in the year of the Tiger, had just been drawn into the Heavenly Stele. Now, her sister, born in the year of the Horse, who had been her only companion, had been brutally devoured by this ferocious king cobra.

Now, she was all alone.

Her eyes were red as she looked at the king cobra. Its ferocious and vicious appearance made her tremble with fear, while its tyrannical, bloodthirsty gaze, the same cold look it gave its prey, filled her with resentment. But she was no match for the king cobra.

She bleated despairingly, covering her head with her hooves and crying.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss~"

Zhang Ji laughed, flicking his tongue. He felt extremely pleased and comfortable seeing the ewe's hateful yet fearful and helpless gaze.

"The weak are angry and bare their fangs at the strong, while the cowardly are angry and bare their fangs at the weak... I, Zhang Ji, am a lowly, shameless weakling, roar—!"

The snake's mouth and the wolf's mouth roared simultaneously, the baleful aura swirling into a gale. His scarlet eyes were full of ferocity and savagery.

The ewe in the corner cowered in fear, shrouded in a huge shadow. She was desperate and terrified, hating herself for being born in Xichuan Town, for having to face such a terrifying and ferocious king cobra.

She had always been most afraid of snakes, and now she was even more afraid.

"Whoosh~"

Zhang Ji rushed out of the street with a gust of fishy wind.

Watching the people running away in terror and listening to the shrill cries and angry roars around him, Zhang Ji chewed on the blood and flesh in his mouth, a look of enjoyment appearing in his eyes.

This feeling of controlling other people's fates, of holding the power of life and death, was truly wonderful!

Finally.

After venting his volatile beastly emotions, Zhang Ji calmed down. He was no longer lost and regained his confidence.

His serpentine body coiled in a hidden ruin as he sorted through the gains from the emergence of the Heavenly Stele.

He had obtained too many inheritances.

"《Ancient Snake Breathing Method》, 《Heavenly Dog Breathing Method》, 《Breast Cultivation Secret Technique》, 《Tiger Pounce Eight Styles》..."

Zhang Ji filtered through the inheritances in his mind. There were thousands of them, including breathing methods, assassination techniques, and some strange secret techniques.

There were only about a hundred related to snakes.

He tried the breathing methods, rhythmically inhaling and exhaling the eerie mist, but it had no effect. Instead, his body felt uncomfortable. He hurriedly switched to other breathing methods to try.

The result was the same. He felt like his flesh was about to crack.

He was startled and quickly stopped cultivating.

"It seems that relying on breathing methods to evolve and improve isn't suitable for me. I still have to continue eating meat and drinking blood!"

Zhang Ji sighed inwardly, but he wasn't surprised.

He had already discovered that his evolution was different from others. Every time he shed his skin, he had to expel the eerie mist from his body. The eerie mist was like a toxin to him.

The evolution of others, however, relied on the eerie mist to stimulate the return of their bloodlines to their ancestral forms. The eerie mist was very beneficial to them. The evolutionary potion that Zhu Tiandao refined from obsidian material was based on this principle.

Zhang Ji's attention turned to those assassination techniques and secret techniques.

He carefully selected the techniques that suited him, and suddenly his eyes lit up.

"《Gun-Draw Technique》"

This technique seemed extraordinary. Zhang Ji hurriedly continued reading.

"Snakes have no limbs and cannot pounce on prey like tigers, leopards, or cats. This is a disadvantage for snakes, but it is also their greatest advantage."

"Snakes have no limbs and move silently, making them natural assassins... The Gun-Draw Technique is created specifically for snake-like creatures. When this technique is used, the front of the body stands up, the rear coils up, aiming at the prey and waiting to strike. It strives to unleash the fastest speed in an instant. The body is like a gun being drawn, and the shot is like a dragon, killing the prey with lightning speed."

"In the martial world, speed is the only thing that matters. That's what the Gun-Draw Technique is all about..."

Zhang Ji was pleasantly surprised after reading the 《Gun-Draw Technique》.

This technique was very suitable for him. He usually attacked in this way, but his movements were crude, and all he knew was to charge wildly and bite.

However, the 《Gun-Draw Technique》explained in detail the tricks of snake body coiling and muscle compression, allowing him to make fuller use of his advantages to hunt prey.

It was like drawing a gun with a spring, launching himself out and killing the prey with the fastest and most agile speed.

Zhang Ji carefully studied, comprehended, and then came to the misty forest on the outskirts of Xichuan Town to practice.

Still as a coiled rope, breath restrained, moving like a gun drawn, lightning strike and kill!

Coil, launch, spray venom, open mouth, swallow!

These were the keys to the movements, and "spray venom" was a special skill of the king cobra that Zhang Ji had added himself.

Zhang Ji practiced hard and discovered that he actually had quite a talent for it. In just a few hours, he had learned it and used it skillfully.

He looked at another assassination technique in his mind.

"《Speculation on the Lightning Five-Flail Whip》"

Zhang Ji was surprised that this assassination technique was just a speculation and had not yet taken shape.

But the name was very domineering, so Zhang Ji continued reading with interest.

"Snakes are very special creatures. Their bodies are scaled but flexible like a whip, both hard and soft, in harmony with the art of Yin and Yang. Ordinary snakes can only sweep their tails back and forth 180 degrees, with little force, a small range, and low lethality."

"However, if the physical body is strong enough to control the strength of the entire body's muscles, allowing oneself to strike like a whip, launching a lightning attack of the Lightning Five-Flail Whip in 360 degrees, one can sweep away enemies in all directions and wreak havoc in group battles..."

There were many more detailed descriptions later.

But at the end, there was a note:

"I am Ba Snake, an ancient beast, naturally ferocious. However, I twisted my snake waist while practicing this technique, resulting in disability and serious injury. I hope future snake-like Daoists will be careful. Although this technique is powerful, it is too dangerous. Remember, remember!"