Chapter 4

"Why did I forget to try the wall-penetrating technique after experimenting with so many strange abilities?"

Xu Le discovered the secret of the black light and was so delighted that he danced around, almost jumping to the ceiling.

Xu Le's mother sensed a sound behind her and turned around. He quickly retracted the black light into his body, not wanting to scare her with the image of Black Lord. Xu Le's mother looked at her flustered son and asked reproachfully, "Why are you so happy today?"

Xu Le chuckled and said, "Nothing special! Just something from school."

Xu Le's mother didn't pay much attention and continued with her housework. Xu Le, feeling light and cheerful, quickly joined the dining table, finished his breakfast at top speed, and ran out of the house with his schoolbag. Usually, Xu Le rushed to school, but today, because he woke up earlier and was in good spirits, his journey was more leisurely.

Xu Le was eager to try out his new abilities, but the thought of cameras on the street made him abandon the idea. Being caught on camera with special abilities would surely lead to being dissected by the government. He decided to find a secluded place after school to test the black light's wall-penetrating technique.

Xu Le had walked this route to school almost a thousand times, so he knew it well. But after walking down one street, he suddenly realized he had taken a wrong turn. He clearly remembered that there were only two crossroads on the way to school: Wanshou Road and Cuiwei Road. After Wanshou Road came Cuiwei Road. Neither of these crossroads were commercial streets; although they were busy with traffic, they had few shops. He had just passed Wanshou Road and now found himself on a bustling commercial street. This street was definitely not Cuiwei Road, and there was no such street on his way to school. Realizing the unfamiliarity of the street, Xu Le initially thought he had taken a wrong turn, but he soon felt something was off.

The architectural style of this street was ancient and peculiar. No matter which direction he looked from the roadside, he couldn't see the skyscrapers of a big city. Most of the buildings on both sides of the street were small houses and courtyards, with only a few two- or three-story buildings. The tallest and most impressive building on the street was only five stories high, completely unlike the style of a big city.

Xu Le had never heard of such a street in the city where he had lived for over a decade.

The architecture was one thing, but the people on the street were even more peculiar. Most of the pedestrians were dressed in ordinary urban attire, and there were even students around Xu Le's age. However, a small number of pedestrians and shopkeepers were dressed in ancient costumes that couldn't be identified as belonging to any specific dynasty or country. They looked so natural, clearly accustomed to it, and were definitely not like the cosplay that Qu Lei and others played.

The architecture and attire were secondary; the most important thing was... In just a minute or two, Xu Le saw several living monsters! A burly man with a pig's head was drinking beer wildly, a beautiful woman with a tail that playfully curled around her buttocks, and a monster with an elephant's head, over three meters tall, wearing a moving company's vest and carrying a huge cargo box... Even someone riding a monster down the street, as if it were a motorbike, looking completely at ease. These monsters looked so "genuine" that they couldn't be faked with masks or makeup.

"Am I hallucinating?"

Xu Le completely forgot about going to school and stared at everything in a daze. He rubbed his eyes several times, still unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Xu Le, it's time for school! What are you standing here for?"

Someone patted his shoulder, and Xu Le instinctively responded, "Oh, okay!" The person gently pushed him, and he walked down the street without realizing it. When he crossed the road, the scenery suddenly changed, and the modern skyscrapers reappeared. The strange atmosphere was gone. Xu Le turned back to look, but the street behind him was normal, and he could even see the Wanshou Road intersection, with no sign of the peculiar street he had just seen.

"Xu Le, Xu Le! Why are you spacing out again?"

Xu Le turned around and saw a girl behind him, feeling very surprised. He called out, "Zhao Yanqin? Why is it you?"

This girl was his classmate, neither particularly pretty nor ugly, with average grades. She was usually very quiet and unremarkable and rarely interacted with classmates. They had been classmates for over two years, and Xu Le couldn't remember ever speaking to her.

"Why can't it be me? How long have you been awakened? I've never seen you on Yaohuai Street before."

"Awakened? What the heck is that? What's Yaohuai Street?"

Zhao Yanqin adjusted her forehead, looking somewhat exasperated. "Didn't your parents tell you?"

Xu Le couldn't help but exclaim, "My parents are normal people, okay?"

Zhao Yanqin was slightly surprised and said, "Your parents don't know? Oh, I see! So it's a generational inheritance! There should still be some elders in your family who told you about this, right? You can't possibly not know that you have awakened the bloodline of a monster, can you?"

Xu Le couldn't help but shout, "No one in my family is a monster!"

Zhao Yanqin quickly covered his mouth and warned, "Don't shout on the street!"

Xu Le struggled to free himself from Zhao Yanqin's small hand. Although it was just a momentary touch, the sensation was incredibly clear. He felt that her hand was extremely soft and carried a sweet fragrance, which he found quite pleasant. However, he wasn't used to such intimacy and his face turned red.

Zhao Yanqin noticed Xu Le's blushing and chuckled, withdrawing her hand. She looked Xu Le up and down, even more surprised, and exclaimed, "So it's not just a generational inheritance; you're a major generational inheritance!"

Xu Le's forehead was almost showing "black lines," and his face turned red as he said, "Generational inheritance my head! My whole family is normal, and all our ancestors were human."

Zhao Yanqin sighed and said, "Since there are no awakened elders in your family, I'll have to explain it to you."

Zhao Yanqin raised a finger, almost transparent, and explained confidently, "There are two schools of thought in the monster world and the human cultivation world. The monster world believes that since ancient times, monsters have lived alongside humans and intermarried, so some humans carry the genetic inheritance of monsters. Scientific surveys have shown that at least one in four humans has monster genes. The human cultivation world believes that humans originated from ancient monster races, and there are no pure-blooded humans. Most humans' alien genes are deeply hidden, and current magical and scientific methods cannot detect them. There are also various examples supporting this theory. In short, regardless of which theory, both believe that many ordinary humans carry monster genes, which can be awakened under certain circumstances, turning them into monsters!"