Chapter 2

Xu Leo suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, feeling a chill run from his coccyx all the way to his skull, making all the hairs on his body stand on end.

"Am I witnessing some strange astronomical phenomenon, or did my genes suddenly mutate, giving me a huge boost in vision? Normally, I can only see seven or eight stars, even on a clear night. How could I suddenly see so many stars?"

Xu Leo glanced around, not noticing any improvement in his vision; he still couldn't see the distant billboard clearly. He ruled out the possibility of a gene mutation. As for what kind of astronomical phenomenon could make the heavily polluted city night sky so clear and star-studded, Xu Leo had no idea. He wasn't an astronomy expert, and he had a vague feeling that this wasn't an astronomical phenomenon at all.

Xu Leo's heart trembled, and a bad premonition suddenly arose. Soon, his premonition was confirmed. On the rooftops of nearby residential areas, clusters of light appeared. Each cluster contained a vague shadow, some human, some beasts, some birds, and some trees and objects.

Xu Leo took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to scream for help and run away. Despite the cold sweat drenching his clothes, his legs were too weak to move.

"I must be hallucinating. I need to calm down, just a little more..."

As Xu Leo was muttering to himself, something in the sky seemed to brighten, and then countless "meteors" fell. These meteors didn't disappear instantly but transformed into milky white beams of light that descended from the night sky.

The beings on the rooftops of the residential areas became active, their light intensifying and releasing strange beams to intercept the milky white beams of light.

A large "meteor" streaked across the night sky, about to hit the ground, but suddenly changed direction and flew toward Xu Leo. Xu Leo instinctively raised his hands to protect his face, but it was useless. He felt a chill all over his body as a cold, icy aura merged with him.

It didn't stop there...

The cold, icy aura from the meteors seemed to possess some mysterious power, activating a mysterious organ in Xu Leo's body, generating a powerful gravitational force that attracted any "meteor" passing overhead. The meteors would change direction and fly toward him.

In just over ten minutes, Xu Leo was hit by at least a dozen "meteors."

Each additional meteor merging with his body increased the devouring power within him. Eventually, it formed a black light that seemed to devour even light, completely enveloping him. The cold, icy aura grew stronger, and something inside Xu Leo became increasingly active, eventually breaking out of his body and transforming into eight streams of black gas, writhing like eight monstrous pythons.

The moment the eight streams of black gas broke out, Xu Leo felt an indescribable sense of relief and pleasure. He let out a roar that he hadn't even expected, deep and resonant, like an ancient beast suddenly awakening and reappearing in the world.

Just as Xu Leo was fully expressing himself, a voice with a hint of anger rang in his ear: "Shut up! Do you want to wake up the entire city?"

Instantly, Xu Leo felt at least thirty to forty hostile auras lock onto him. He quickly suppressed the remaining half of his roar and retracted the eight streams of black gas, which slowly circled around the black light enveloping his body. The hostile auras then withdrew, and no one paid attention to him anymore, allowing Xu Leo to breathe a sigh of relief. The voice seemed to belong to a girl, but Xu Leo couldn't determine the direction it came from.

On the rooftops of nearby residential areas, the beings were using various abilities to intercept the falling "meteors." Some released strange beams of light, sweeping through the sky; others manipulated what seemed to be magical artifacts, flying and intercepting; some used mysterious secret techniques to release huge monster illusions, swallowing the sky; and others released countless mystical runes to form arrays, attracting the "meteors" to them. Each person's method was different, and they were all focused on this task. Clearly, it was very important, and no one paid attention to Xu Leo after he suppressed his roar.

"Are these guys not human? What are they using these meteors for?"

The black light outside Xu Leo's body continued to devour the "meteors" uncontrollably. The devouring power of this black light was extremely strong, and even the beings on the rooftops of nearby residential areas couldn't match it. Only two or three could compare to him.

As the sky began to lighten, the "meteors" in the sky gradually became sparse. Xu Leo didn't know how long it had been or how many "meteors" he had devoured. With the last "meteor" being intercepted by someone, the figures on the rooftops of nearby residential areas gradually disappeared.

The cold, icy aura inside Xu Leo's body had coalesced into a flowing force, which he could now control to some extent. By focusing on a specific part of his body, the cold, icy aura would move there and swirl. This cold, icy aura was very unique and had the added benefit of refreshing his mind and body. Despite not sleeping all night, he felt incredibly refreshed, and the fatigue from walking back from the exhibition had vanished. His entire body was brimming with energy, ready to burst.

"Those guys just left. I wanted to ask someone what exactly happened!" Xu Leo muttered to himself as he walked toward his home. The events of the night were too strange, and he was still a bit dazed.

As Xu Leo disappeared around the corner of the street, a mist appeared in the place where he had been, slowly expanding. A girl in a white moon gown appeared, frowning.

She looked at Xu Leo's back and muttered to herself, "Why haven't I seen this guy in the city before? His ability to absorb the imperial fluid is quite strong. The imperial fluid I intercepted is less than a tenth of his."

An old but gentle voice sounded, "He wasn't originally a monster from this city."

An old woman, who looked very ugly but had a kind face, emerged from a cloud of black gas. She leaned on a cane, hunched over, but was full of energy, radiating a strong aura.

The girl in the white moon gown bowed slightly and said softly, "Grandma Huai! You haven't seen him either? Could this guy be an outsider? Outsiders competing with the monsters of Beidu City for the imperial fluid violate the rules of the Monster Association."

Grandma Huai smiled and said, "He's not an outsider!"