I've become the emperor of humanity, and only now is spiritual energy reviving?

[Gate of Babylon activated! You have received an extra reward—Purity Leaf x1!]

Ding-a-ling~

A faint, crisp sound, like gold coins falling to the ground, reached An Sheng's ears. His smile widened as he saw the medicinal herbs that had appeared in his backpack.

【Cleansing Leaf (Grade D, Medium): Increases spirit by 0.2 after the first use; the effect gradually weakens with repeated uses.】

[—A relatively rare medicinal herb in the Great Jing Dynasty, suitable for ordinary people to solidify their martial arts foundation.]

Tiger blood grass is common... but it is "relatively rare" here, and its grade has been raised by a small level.

However, it was still mistaken for a "similar reward" by King's Treasure and put into his backpack.

The power of this legacy begins to emerge.

An Sheng reached out and grasped the emerald green leaf, then put it into his mouth.

You have taken "Cleansing Leaf".

[Spirit 0.6 → Spirit 0.8]

"hiss……"

Unlike the burning sensation throughout the body caused by consuming tiger blood grass.

The moment An Sheng put the Qingjing leaf into her mouth, she felt as if she had recklessly swallowed hundreds of mints.

The intensely refreshing coolness and cold air exploded through his five senses, causing him to tremble involuntarily.

My spirit, which had become sluggish and tired after walking for a long time, was suddenly excited, and long-forgotten childhood memories slowly resurfaced.

It was as if the invisible and intangible fog that had been shrouding my thoughts had been suddenly dispelled.

An Sheng rubbed and moved his five fingers, feeling that his control over his entire body had greatly increased compared to before.

If it was just right before, now it's more than enough.

Now, he can even hold his hand steadily in the air without it shaking at all!

"Ah, that feels so good..."

Listening to the soft rustling of the wind passing by her ears, An Sheng opened her personal panel again, wanting to see if there were any changes in her evaluation.

【quiet】

[Realm: None]

[Physical Fitness: 0.6 (A well-trained average person; in modern society, the vast majority of students and office workers are not as fit as you)]

[Mental Strength: 0.8 (Genius in the conventional sense; exam-oriented education will no longer pose any challenge for you)]

[Spiritual Power: 0]

[Legacy: Gate of Babylon]

[Skills: None]

She only encountered a single event in the Lostbelt, which resulted in giving the seemingly dying boy a bite to eat, but the change it brought about allowed her to live a very comfortable life in the real world.

This is also...

That's so awesome!

An Sheng pressed down hard on the corners of her mouth, trying her best not to laugh too exaggeratedly.

he knows.

From this moment on, my life has begun to race down an unknown path, one that is completely different from the past.

And that is precisely why.

Those unrealistic memories, wishes, and dreams that An Sheng had buried long ago, from childhood to her teenage years, all resurfaced.

—I want to become stronger.

It's not like ordinary people building muscle or long-distance running training, where no matter how arduous the training, you can only be killed by a single 9mm bullet; it's not a qualitative leap in becoming stronger.

Instead, he wanted to become someone who could smash a building with a single punch, face an entire army alone, speak on equal terms with the five villains of Terra, and even walk out of the epicenter of a nuclear explosion unscathed.

I want to become like the protagonist of an online novel, making the whole world revolve according to my will, and being powerful enough to dominate the ages with my own hands.

To understand the ultimate meaning of life, we need the answers from the universe.

—I want to live forever.

It started the year An Sheng witnessed her grandparents pass away one after another due to illness.

When he saw the once kind and vigorous old man lying on a hospital bed, his body covered in tubes, growing thinner day by day, struggling to survive like a dead skeleton, vaguely murmuring his name before he died.

Finally, it was put into a small box and buried in the ground.

This is the end of life.

Young An Sheng was terrified by this.

From that moment on, An Sheng thought it would be great if people could live longer, much longer.

But the older An Sheng got, the more she realized how unrealistic and illusory this idea was.

But now, things are different.

—A desire for [fun and exhilarating experiences].

This ordinary world is too boring, and most people are too boring.

That's why An Sheng gets so engrossed in the game, constantly searching for fun and interesting things that would never exist in reality within the world of fantasy.

Just like how he would choose the latter without hesitation between "becoming a male protagonist in a visual novel with countless harems" and "possessing top-tier strength to participate in the Death & Annihilation Replay".

It doesn't matter if I die.

It's a hundred times more satisfying and exciting to die in obscurity than to be turned into memes and emojis by countless netizens and live on forever.

That would be so interesting.

At that moment, new text appeared, instantly drawing An Sheng's attention back.

Seeing you standing still for so long, the child assumed that the potent medicinal herbs had damaged your heart. He felt incredibly guilty and remorseful; if he hadn't been so dehydrated, he probably would have shed a few tears.

He looked down again and saw the thin little boy sipping water while circling around him anxiously.

"I'm not dead, so stop cursing me in your heart."

An Sheng chuckled, cracking his joints, which made the boy who was circling around immediately stop and bowed to him frantically in apology.

"This little guy is quite interesting."

I wonder if he has any other good things hidden away.

That won't do.

We must harvest them all!

An Sheng thought for a moment and said to the boy, "You stay here and don't move. I'll go make you something to eat."

The next moment, An Sheng disappeared right in front of the boy, startling him so much that he screamed and fell to the ground.

"A god... a divine being! This is a god descended from heaven!"

The boy cried out in his mind.

Less than two minutes later, An Sheng suddenly reappeared, startling him again.

But soon, the boy's nose involuntarily began to sniff, and he swallowed hard.

The child had never smelled such a sweet and tempting aroma in his life. He was shocked and wondered what it was and whether he, a lowly commoner, was worthy of eating it.

"This was made especially for you, please eat."

An Sheng handed over the steaming hot instant noodles.

He saw the boy stuff the unfinished naan into his clothes, then kneel down and kowtow three times before carefully picking up the instant noodles and eating them with a serious and solemn expression.

Soon, An Sheng saw the boy's body change as if it were being inflated, transforming from skinny and bony to having slightly more flesh.

This scene stunned him.

Has the doll-making technology from neighboring Japan spread to another world?

Seeing An Sheng's curious expression, before the latter could even ask, the boy cleverly puffed out his cheeks and replied,

"My lord, this is the 'Houtu Nourishing Qi Method' which is widely circulated in the Great Jing Dynasty. I have cultivated a 'Primordial Qi' within my body, and I can quickly restore my strength with enough food."

The method of cultivating Qi, the primordial Qi?

Yes!

This is it!

A look of surprise flashed across An Sheng's eyes.

Hey little thing, hurry up and reveal all your secrets and hidden CGs!

The boy finished the instant noodles without leaving a drop, then asked with some confusion, "Sir, since you don't even know the method of cultivating inner energy, what are you doing traveling alone?"

"Is it really necessary to ask such an obvious question?"

An Sheng scratched his head in confusion, then answered matter-of-factly, "Of course we head north, cut off that guy called Demon Emperor's head, and use it as a football!"

—It has nothing to do with the reward, nor with whether he is an emperor.

Since such a massive amount of "evil" is wreaking havoc on the world, of course he has to take strong action.

When you're an ordinary person, you have no choice but to rationally choose to protect yourself when faced with all sorts of evil deeds in reality.

But I already have cheat codes, so am I supposed to just watch these annoying things continue to happen and keep putting up with it?

Are you kidding me? Would I have gotten this cheat for nothing?

An Sheng didn't consider himself a champion of justice; he just wanted to have his own fun first.

That damn thing, aside from getting stronger.

What could be more satisfying than crushing all the evil you see and slaughtering every damned villain without leaving a trace?

The child trembled slightly, yet felt a deep sense of admiration. He couldn't believe that in this day and age, anyone would dare utter such rebellious words. Luckily, there was no one in the drought-stricken area; otherwise, their heads would probably be hanging there to dry like cured meat tomorrow.

An Sheng smiled and decided that this was how he would dispose of the Demon Emperor's head.

He asked, "Hey kid, what's your name?"

"Koharu."

"Xiaochun, remember this well."

An Sheng said,

"My name is An Sheng. I will travel north to slay the Demon Emperor and bring peace to the world. You only need to survive to witness the end of this chaotic era."

The boy remained silent.

After a moment, he knelt down and pleaded, "In that case, please allow me to teach you the method of cultivating your inner energy."

"That's excellent."

An Sheng nodded in satisfaction, and then heard obscure classical Chinese phrases coming from the boy's mouth.

He was completely bewildered and couldn't understand what the boy was saying at all.

No problem, a long progress bar suddenly appeared at the very bottom of the edge of my vision.

[Xiaochun is teaching you the skill: Houtu Qi Cultivation Method...]

[Hou Tu Nourishing Qi Method: 1%...2%...]

A dozen minutes later.

"It's alright if you don't remember much, sir. I'll explain it to you a few more times..."

Seeing that the progress bar was still slowly advancing even after the boy stopped speaking, An Sheng said to him,

"I've memorized it all."

The boy remained silent for a long while before bowing deeply: "Perhaps only someone with your extraordinary talent, descended from heaven, could possibly slay that tyrannical demon emperor!"

After saying that, the boy walked south.

[Under your influence, Xiaochun left with unprecedented hope.]