Without a Heroic Spirit, I Can Only Hand-Craft a Mythical Version of Myself

Chu Mo transmigrated into a parallel world and found himself in a dilapidated classroom filled with rusty desks and decaying wooden tabletops. The last memory before his death was staying up late to play a game. He sorted out the information and realized that his predecessor, also named Chu Mo with an identical family background, had died during class after black mist seeped through the door and window gaps. Chu Mo witnessed the predecessor's body turn into a skeleton before flesh and blood grew back. Only about a third of the seats contained human skeletons, meaning that third of his classmates had died. These classmates all had cultivation aptitude and were qualified to enter the university's cultivation department. This world was peculiar: ancient heroic spirits descended and fused with humans who possessed cultivation aptitude, granting terrifying power. Those who died were people with cultivation aptitude who might obtain the inheritance of ancient heroic spirits, though the probability was extremely low. Most people cultivated methods created by heroic spirits, but only those with cultivation talent had a chance to awaken one. The closer to modern times, the weaker the heroic spirits became, with Demon Qing Dynasty heroic spirits being particularly weak.

A faint red light suddenly rose, and the scene changed. Desks and chairs returned to normal, sunlight streamed in, and a smiling teacher stood on the podium. Students who had been skeletons were now alive, whispering about awakening heroic spirits. A tall man spoke loudly about his excitement. A thin man noted that people in first-level districts could only awaken Demon Qing Dynasty heroic spirits. The class monitor lamented about moving to a second-level district for a Ming Dynasty heroic spirit. A short man in brand-name clothes boasted about moving to an eighth-level district where Qin Dynasty heroic spirits could be awakened but admitted the probability of awakening was frighteningly small. He discussed buying the Martial Ancestor Method created by Grandmaster Sun Hu. The art committee member worried about affording even a Blood Refinement Method from the Demon Qing Dynasty. The teacher Wang Han passionately lectured about awakening heroic spirits changing three generations of fate and stepping onto the battlefield. Suddenly, the teacher and all students spoke in unison, repeating the same words and turning their gazes toward Chu Mo. Dozens of people wore identical smiles, their faces tearing open at the corners of the mouth with fresh blood overflowing. Blood formed strange hands spreading toward Chu Mo. Black mist began seeping from the door and window gaps again, causing everything it touched to rot into dust. Chu Mo forced himself to calm down and recognized this as the work of an Illusionary Dream Demon, a high-level demon that could control hallucinations.

Just when Chu Mo was almost desperate, a virtual projection appeared in his eyes. It displayed his name, identity as Lord of the Doors of Time, realm as none, talent as none, no current martial arts, and indicated he had one time he could travel through history and one optional talent draw. Countless pieces of information emerged in his mind. He could project his consciousness through this door to travel to the past, reincarnating into a womb and awakening memories at a certain moment. Doing things in the past that overturned history would not create a butterfly effect in the current world but would have some impact. When he traveled back, he could use great achievements made in the past to condense his own heroic spirit. The fact that my heroic spirit is myself meant he could condense multiple heroic spirits. During the soul reincarnation process, time in the real world would stop. With no time to waste, Chu Mo traveled through history.

He arrived in the Demon Qing Era, Qianlong Calendar, at Zhao Family Fortress as an eight-year-old child. The courtyard walls and grounds were tragically damaged, bodies of uncles and aunts were torn apart, and blood spilled everywhere. A giant demon three meters tall with a ferocious tiger skin sat cross-legged gnawing on the head of a neighbor. A martial artist uncle, Zhao Ruchen, holding a steel knife, roared at Chu Mo to run while delaying the demon. Chu Mo accessed the portal interface again. His identity now included Young Master of the Zhao Family Fortress as a temporary identity. His realm was the first level of the Acquired, meaning he had already started cultivation at age eight. His talent was Lifespan Allocation. The talent description indicated lifespan could be injected into martial arts to gain progress, and when lifespan dropped below one day, it could not be continued. His current lifespan was 8/98 years. He had one optional talent draw but it was already used to obtain this talent. Chu Mo understood that his predecessor in this life had been trained by his family since age three with medicine and strange herbs. Learning a few moves from his parents had already borne fruit. He allocated eighty-nine years into Taizu Long Fist, leaving himself only one year of life.

The system simulated eighty-nine years of cultivation. In the first year, he practiced diligently and gradually gained insights. In the fifth year, the fist reached Minor Accomplishment, but his body became depleted due to lack of resources. In the tenth year, he recovered after relaxing, which gave him a strange feeling of comprehending the essence of the fist. In the thirtieth year, the fist reached Major Accomplishment, but he realized the technique was missing a very crucial part. In the fiftieth year, the fist reached Perfection and he could be called a generation grandmaster. He determined that the Taizu Long Fist he practiced had been castrated, lacking a body nourishing and life nourishing technique as well as a Qi refining method. He suspected the imperial court was behind this castration. In the seventieth year, he reached a point of no further progress. In the eighty-ninth year, at the end of his life, his life flashed before his eyes and he broke through some restriction, comprehending the true essence of the Taizu Long Fist. A fist intent was born from his brow, and he passed away peacefully.

Warm currents surged within Chu Mo. His body transformed rapidly. When the tiger demon attacked, he threw a punch that did not even touch the demon's paw but caused the entire arm to twist and tear off. The demon collapsed in agony. Chu Mo delivered another punch, and the tiger demon's head exploded, its massive body becoming still. Zhao Ruchen was utterly shocked, recognizing the Taizu Fist Intent, a legendary ultimate secret of the family that had not appeared in hundreds of years. Chu Mo paid no attention to him, instead worrying that his remaining lifespan was only one year. When this life ended, his soul would return to the main world. He was uncertain if the fist intent was enough to solve the crisis in the classroom. He pondered whether he could continue to become stronger in the remaining year or find longevity methods, but the Zhao family had no records of people living beyond a hundred years. He began to panic, knowing that if he failed, he might truly die.