Forge a path to success.

Chapter 1 Tentacle Killer

Chu Hengkong opened his eyes and found himself in a strange summoning ritual.

Dim candlelight flickered in the secret chamber. Blood and ink seeped into the floor along the carved lines, forming a triple-ringed magic circle. White-robed figures stood around the circle, their thin, pale forms resembling humanoid worms. The worms' leader wore a purple pendant and held a large silver book; his voice was exceptionally loud, his chanting like thunder:
"Hear my call. Compiler of the Primal Spirit Scrolls! Master of the Abyss's Wisdom! Great Demonic Eye, Touch of Inquiry..."

The titles that followed grew increasingly longer, like a challenge to recite the names of dishes in some otherworldly realm. Chu Hengkong silently memorized them while idly observing his surroundings. There was nothing else to do at the moment, because he seemed not to have "appeared" yet—he could only perceive but could not move, and even his perspective was fixed at the center of the triple circle, as if he had been compressed into a sheet of paper with no thickness.

There were 13 people in total, dressed in white robes that offered no protection, and most of them carried daggers, clubs, spears, and other melee weapons. Their formation was very unprofessional, resembling a private army from a local religious sect. The surrounding space was small, with only one door ten meters in front of them as an entrance, leaving them nowhere to escape.

Not a threat.

As Chu Hengkong drew his conclusion, the Summoner's challenge of reciting a menu in one breath finally came to an end. His face had turned a deep purplish-red, but he still managed to hold his breath, forcing out the last breath from his lungs with sheer willpower: "...Sovereign, mysterious, omniscient God! Grant us wisdom with your sacred runes, and redeem this despairing world!"

The long chanting ended, and the summoning ritual was complete. The great silver book flew into the air, its blank pages rapidly turning. Though it was merely turning the pages, it unleashed a deafening roar of wind. A true storm swept through the chamber, not only blowing away the heavy iron candlesticks but also lifting all thirteen believers into the air. They saw the magic circle in the storm turn into a twilight-like yellow, and an indescribable being emerged from the twilight, emitting the first ray of light of a great being descending upon the turbulent realm!
"They've...they've descended!" the great wizard Alex roared excitedly. "The gods have descended!!"

Despite being tossed about by the storm, the fanatics strained their eyes, welcoming the divine majesty with devout hearts. They meticulously pieced together the indescribable, magnificent form: the left arm shimmering with a mysterious silver light, the unsettlingly flesh-colored skin, the maddeningly monotonous green coat, the hair as deep as night, and the face as serene as a mirror…

The appearance of the deity truly surpassed human imagination, and a fanatical believer couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment:
"...How come it doesn't look like a human being?"

Then the twilight within the magic circle receded, and the gale abruptly stopped. The fanatics, who had been flying wildly around the room, crashed to the ground with a series of screams of pain. Alex, who had flown the highest, also crashed the hardest. Upon landing, he immediately caught the silver book and was about to roar at the intruder when he suddenly stopped: "Wait! Look!"

The fanatics' eyes all focused on a certain spot, their expressions becoming astonished and uncertain as the great wizard's. Chu Hengkong ignored the fanatics' reactions and let out a long sigh of relief. His body and five senses, which had once disappeared, had returned, and he could move freely again. The difference between him and before was like a paper doll returning to a three-dimensional person with flesh and blood; the contrast was like being reborn.

Being able to move around is always a good thing, but the current problem is...

He slowly shifted his gaze, meeting the staring, dumbfounded fanatics in the same spot. Their eyes converged on the area below Chu Hengkong's left sleeve cuff, where a slender, silvery-white section covered in slime was visible—

tentacle.

Chu Hengkong quickly rolled up his left sleeve and saw that the silver had traveled from his limbs all the way to his shoulder. The part below his shoulder, which had previously been called his "left arm," was now a thin strip of material. This unexpected and wondrous change shocked him for a full second.

What the hell?! How did my arm get like this?!

It was a tentacle, clearly a tentacle from any angle. No fingers, no bones, let alone joints, yet it could move. All I could perceive was a flexible, boneless "muscle" moving, not a normal contraction but a wriggling motion—the kind of wriggling an insect makes when it stretches its body and lunges forward a long distance… and the tip of this thing had a sticky secretion! With a bigger movement, the mucus swished around like snot!

This was precisely the reason for the fanatics' astonishment and uncertainty. Everyone suspected that this was some unfortunate soul who had intruded into the summoning ritual, yet he also possessed that incomparably beautiful and magnificent tentacle. Perhaps the omniscient god's aesthetic sense was different from that of foolish humans, and he deliberately shaped his own body in this way?

Hesitant and uncertain, no one dared to act rashly. At that moment, Chu Hengkong raised his tentacle, and the fanatical followers held their breath, thinking that if it truly was the deity's own descent, this would be its first divine pronouncement. "How ugly!" Chu Hengkong exclaimed.

This candid remark caused everyone's expressions to change drastically; their faces contorted with rage and their eyes filled with ferocity, as if they had been publicly insulted. The next moment, the great wizard Alex roared: "How dare you insult the divine! Kill this fool who has disrupted the ritual! Use his flesh and blood to sacrifice to the tentacles of the gods!!"

The fanatics drew their weapons in unison, their ferocity turning into murderous intent. Intrusions were common occurrences during summoning; they had prepared a contingency plan. If the god failed to fully descend, they would immediately kill the intruder and use a portion of the descended divine body for a second summoning.

At that moment, the three closest to Chu Hengkong launched a simultaneous attack. The one directly in front raised his crossbow to fire, the burly follower on his right thrust forward with a spear, and the one behind drew his dagger, aiming straight for Chu Hengkong's back. They deliberately avoided the tentacles, each strike aimed at vital organs, showing no hesitation whatsoever in killing him.

At the same time, a flash of silver light caught everyone's eye.

The silver light, like an unusual bolt of lightning, descended from the sky, spreading into a dazzling ring among the crowd. The three who struck first were instantly sent flying upon touching the ring, and the breaths of the fanatics stopped.

They saw the silver ring's true form. It was a tentacle raised high and then slashing down, as fast as lightning and as powerful as a tidal wave. Three adults were sent flying with a single touch, and the tentacle's spinning had not stopped; its range was even extending!
The silver tentacles were highly elastic, their length increasing dramatically with the force applied. This distance was enough to strike everyone in the secret chamber, and the fanatics hurriedly used their weapons to protect their heads and other vital organs. However, Chu Hengkong lowered his body, bent one leg in a crouch, and his second spinning attack aimed directly at the lower bodies of the crowd, the silver trajectory sweeping across the entire area.

This was probably the longest sweeping leg kick in history, with an astonishing radius of five meters. The fanatics were instantly sent flying; they never imagined that humans possessed such strength, enough to sweep away thirteen adult men with a single hand. This time, however, they didn't land easily, because the swirling of the tentacles continued.

Chu Hengkong straightened up, causing his swirling tentacles to rise even higher. He was like a madman throwing a hammer in a sealed room; the excessive acceleration turned his tentacles into incredibly sharp blunt weapons. The resounding impacts of flesh striking flesh filled the air, creating a silver whirlwind within the chamber!

When the whirlwind subsided, only one man survived. The great wizard Alex stood pressed against the wall of the chamber, a large silver book in one hand and an amethyst pendant in the other. The sturdy book served as a shield, protecting him from the tentacles' lashes, while the amethyst pendant enhanced his senses, allowing him to see his enemies' movements clearly.

Alex seized the moment the attack ceased and leaped from the enemy's right. He released the pendant and instead gripped a jet-black cane, crafted from Blackfire Stone from a distant volcano, renowned for its extraordinary hardness; even steel doors would groan at its blows. At this angle, the tentacles couldn't immediately provide support; he needed to seize the opportune moment to finish off his enemy.

His hand froze in mid-air as another powerful force intercepted and struck. It was Chu Hengkong's instep! His right leg shot up like a dragon taking flight, and the fierce kick sent the cane flying in an instant. The immense force caused the cane to crack and shatter into countless fragments.

Chu Hengkong followed up with a powerful kick, his heel striking Alex's shoulder. The great wizard was knocked to the ground by the blow. He looked up and saw the young man bathed in black dust, his eyes sharp as a dagger.

"Who exactly are you?" Alex's voice trembled.

The young man delivered the final blow with his tentacles and shrugged at the unconscious great wizard.

"My name is Chu Hengkong, and I'm an assassin."

(End of this chapter)