Chapter One: Settlement

In the haze between consciousness and unconsciousness, Mu Rongxun vaguely felt himself wrapped within a layer of transparent film, as if being propelled at great speed, moving far away from the bright or dim stars around him.

By the time he regained his senses, he was already in a room.

The room was exceedingly peculiar: its walls were completely sealed, with not a single door or window. Soft light emanated from the ceiling, rendering the space bright without any sense of suffocation.

[Transmission complete. Return to personal chamber. Congratulations, player, on completing the Inheritance Trial!]

[Your personal chamber is an absolute safe zone; unless granted permission by the player, no one else may enter.]

[Player has returned to the Arcane Tower Amusement Park. Commencing settlement of mission rewards.]

Trial World: Tianhai City (Inheritance)
World Exploration Progress: 8.8%
Missions Completed: Main Quests 2, Side Quests 2
Overall Evaluation: S- (Ratings range from E- to S+; the comprehensive score is calculated based on exploration progress and missions completed.)

Due to this being the player's first entry into the Amusement Park and the task difficulty being excessive, all rewards are doubled.

Commencing settlement of exploration progress rewards.

Rewards calculation complete. Disbursing now.

Rewards obtained: 1 attribute point, 1,000 Park Coins.

Overall evaluation S-; the player is now an official member of the Park and automatically promoted to LV1.

…

Reward after reward appeared, tallying up everything Mu Rongxun had experienced in the bizarrely awakened Tianhai City.

[Would you like to sell the Chef of the Uncanny’s parchment notes? Sale price: 10,000 Park Coins.]

A prompt sounded, causing Mu Rongxun to frown.

He honestly couldn’t recall ever acquiring this parchment, but he had to admit—it had saved his life twice.

Especially at the final moment: if not for the appearance of the parchment blocking the way, he would have been obliterated by Tang Ao.

And even now, he had no idea where exactly the parchment was. As this thought surfaced, a piece of parchment emitting a gentle white glow floated before him.

“I’m not selling!”

Mu Rongxun chose to refuse outright.

The Park offered no further response.

[The player is injured. You may spend Park Coins to recover. Proceed with restoration?]

“Activate!”

Only then did Mu Rongxun recall the injuries on his body, previously overlooked—perhaps because the Park had stabilized his condition and was now restoring everything after the settlement.

He had not only been wounded by Zhao Jun, but later, Tang Ao’s attack had pierced the parchment’s defense and landed partially on him.

As soon as he spoke, a milky white light enveloped him, and at the same time, his already meager Park Coins began to dwindle.

In just a few seconds, several hundred Park Coins were spent.

When the light faded, Mu Rongxun stood there unharmed—not only were his recent battle wounds healed, even the hidden injuries accumulated since childhood had vanished.

Impatient, Mu Rongxun opened his attribute panel.

Name: Mu Rongxun (Inheritor)
Level: LV1 (First Tier; ten levels per tier; level advancement is unrelated to personal attributes, but rather to player permissions within the Park. Also corresponds to world level and mission difficulty.)
Life: 100% (170/170; this is a virtual value—fatal areas struck will still result in instant death.)
Energy: 150/150 (One hundred times the Qi attribute; current recovery rate is 3 points per hour, or 2%.)
Spirit: 160/160 (One hundred times the Divine attribute.)
Essence: 1.7
Qi: 1.5
Divine: 1.6
Skills: Basic Swordsmanship LV3, Basic Archery LV1, Devour, Enhancement (equipment bonus)
Equipment: Ordinary Short Sword, Powerful Golden Bow, Glove of the Primordial Spirit.
Special Item: Chef of the Uncanny’s parchment notes.
Remaining Park Coins: 525.

Staring at the pitiful number of Park Coins, Mu Rongxun’s expression didn’t change, but inside he was quite frustrated.

At first, he thought the amount he had gained was decent and his harvest not bad.

But only just now did he realize that, in truth, his actual rewards were only one percent of the normal amount—because he was an inheritor and needed to undergo a special trial to become a full-fledged player.

[Basic rewards have been distributed. Please prepare to receive inheritance.]

Inheritance?

Before Mu Rongxun could think further, his standing form suddenly lost focus in his eyes, a blood-red glow flickering within.

At that moment, Mu Rongxun’s consciousness had already arrived at a vast plaza.

The plaza was extraordinarily expansive, its boundaries unseen.

Mu Rongxun saw here countless statues—some of people, some of other beings—innumerable beyond counting.

“Inheritor, step forward.”

A voice of authority sounded nearby, startling Mu Rongxun so much that his body tensed; the voice came from a statue at his side.

“No matter who the unlucky one is, there’s not much I can give you now.”

The statue spoke, its tone laced with schadenfreude.

Mu Rongxun stared at this familiar statue, his scalp tingling. Of course he recognized it—this was the very reason he had come here.

Yet in reality, he had personally witnessed this figure’s death.

At that time, the figure had seemed so weak and cowardly, but now, even as a mere statue, it exuded a terrifying presence. Just standing before it, Mu Rongxun felt immense oppression.

…

“Huff! Huff! Huff!”

Mu Rongxun awoke in the room, drenched in sweat, gasping for breath.

He was still within his personal chamber, as if all that had happened earlier was nothing more than a dream.

[Inheritance complete. Personal chamber is now open.]

After the Arcane Tower Amusement Park’s notification, a door finally appeared in the previously walled room.

Yet Mu Rongxun paid no attention to it, focusing instead on the surge of immense power coursing through his body.

Suppressing his excitement, he first checked his Essence, Qi, and Divine attributes, discovering all had reached two points—twice that of an ordinary person. Though an improvement, it wasn’t a dramatic one; what truly caught his attention were the new skills displayed on his panel.

Exclusive Talent: Gluttony! After slaying a target, you may devour their flesh and blood to permanently gain life and energy. Up to fifty points may be taken per world.

Skill One: Mastery of Blades LV10—enhances melee effectiveness and proficiency with bladed weapons and skills.
[Levels: Novice, Adept, Master, Grandmaster, Saint.]

Skill Two: Shadow-Sealing Demon-Slayer Slash (Novice, LV5).

One talent, two skills.

But seeing these alone was enough to fill Mu Rongxun with joy.