Chapter 5: First Evolution

Junior Alien!

Even though Ji Xinghuo could confirm the success of the fusion on his own, seeing the words “Junior Alien” on the interface still filled his heart with unstoppable joy.

The 23rd century is the era of aliens.

A huge gap exists between ordinary people and aliens, deeply influencing all aspects of human society due to the disparity in individual power.

From culture, economy, politics to technology, sports, and entertainment, aliens hold advantages in almost all activities, dominating human affairs.

Despite some countries trying to minimize the disparity by emphasizing legal equality and restricting the rights of aliens favoring ordinary people, ordinary people remain at a disadvantage.

Aliens are not only supernaturally powered, they are stronger, smarter, and even live longer.

Ordinary people naturally feel inferior facing aliens.

Even aliens who have advanced far in the path of evolution are practically a different species from ordinary people.

In feudal times, “All trades are inferior; only scholarship is high” was said, now it’s “All trades are inferior; only aliens are high.”

Although exaggerated, this isn’t far from the truth.

Regardless of nationality or political system, the first life goal set by everyone from youth is to become an alien.

Ji Xinghuo is no exception.

Now, he finally made it, joining the ranks of aliens!

“Doctor!”

Suddenly in the observation room, a young man with a pale face shouted, “My head hurts terribly. What’s happening?” Blood streamed from his nostrils, his face twisted in pain and panic as he cried out, “Could my fusion have failed?”

A doctor, accompanied by two nurses, quickly arrived and after a brief examination shook his head, “Take him immediately to the medical room. His conflict is quite severe. He might need emergency care.”

“Did my fusion fail?” the young man picked up on the implication.

“Yes,” the doctor consoled, “There’s no life threat. You’ll recover in at most a year. You can try fusing with another species.”

Nurses helped the despairing young man stand as he mourned, “The species I fused with was ‘Beastspeaker’. Next time I’ll have to pay for the fusion myself. Over two million Asian yen. When will I ever save up that much money…”

Ji Xinghuo and the others in the observation room watched him go to the medical room with sympathy.

Citizens of the Asia-Pacific Community get only one free species fusion opportunity.

If the fusion fails, the next attempt must be self-funded.

The core abilities of nearly all professional templates, at least those of exceptional aliens, are worth no less than a million Asian yen. Without family support, young people simply can’t afford it, even with state-subsidized low-interest loans.

A failed fusion is a massive blow for most ordinary people, leading to significant losses both financially and in time, causing many to abandon their dream of becoming an alien.

Ji Xinghuo felt fortunate.

He continued to check his interface. Besides the rank changing to Junior Alien, the ability section now showed “Thousand Clever Hands” with additional info: Level 1/47.

“Level one.”

Ji Xinghuo stroked his chin. This was easy to understand. Abilities could be trained and upgraded. His newly fused Thousand Clever Hands started at level one.

But what did the “1/47” mean?

“Ability upgrade progress?”

Ji Xinghuo wondered. Was it like skill levels in virtual games that improve with proficiency, reaching 47/47 to upgrade Thousand Clever Hands to level two?

But what about upgrades in games that required skill points? What would he use?

His focus shifted to [Spiritual Source Energy], still represented by a zero.

He had spent the previous night pondering. He had never heard of Spiritual Source Energy, nor could he find any info online. The search results related to aliens always turned up with terms like psychic energy or mind power, but nothing about Spiritual Source Energy.

Ji Xinghuo didn’t dwell on it for long.

Even if it didn’t directly improve his level, just having a progress indicator was a significant help.

There are established methods for upgrading abilities. Countries have collected extensive data for different abilities. There are several training methods for Thousand Clever Hands available for download on the official Star Realm Department website.

However, training abilities is long, tedious, and difficult—often taking many years without leveling up, making it rather painful.

Therefore, many aliens give up, and their abilities remain at low levels, never fully realizing their potential.

But knowing his upgrade progress gave Ji Xinghuo a clear target.

Every training session provided feedback. Ineffective or incorrect methods could be promptly corrected. Knowing for certain he would level up, he could even calculate the exact date, planning his training so his abilities would upgrade much faster than other aliens.

Ji Xinghuo felt very confident about this.

Alongside the information on his interface, his virtual human model also changed.

The most noticeable change was the thin lines that appeared inside his arms, extending from his neck along his shoulders and arms to his palms and fingertips, resembling a detailed neural network.

When he focused on his virtual avatar’s arms, the neural network lit up, becoming quite prominent.

And accompanying details: Thousand Clever Hands, Level One.

Ji Xinghuo was a bit puzzled. Wasn’t the ability info already displayed next to him? Why repeat it on the human model? Maybe there was another use?

He observed closely and soon made a discovery.

The lines in the arms representing Thousand Clever Hands emitted faint light points, like free-floating energy, spreading throughout the body in the virtual model, expanding gradually to every part of his body. While still faint, they could no longer be ignored.

“Star power!”

Ji Xinghuo suddenly understood. These light points represented star power.

At the same time, the interface added a new line of text on the left, below [Rank].

[Star Power: 1]

“It’s indeed star power!” Ji Xinghuo was pleased his guess was right.

All aliens must train star power, which has higher importance and priority than abilities because star power is the primal force of life evolution!

Star power originates from the transformation of ether energy. The human body absorbs ether and converts it into star power, which strengthens the body’s strength, speed, and endurance, promoting life evolution and extending lifespan.

Possessing star power truly signifies stepping onto the path of evolution!

An alien’s abilities might be mediocre or even worthless, but their star power must not be weak since it’s the source of an alien’s power.

Moreover, using abilities also consumes star power.

To use a virtual game analogy, while abilities are skills, star power is like character attributes—it’s both the health and mana.

Acquiring star power isn’t difficult, at least not for aliens.

Simply fusing with any species grants control over star power. Species born in the Star Realm inherently contain ether energy. Successful fusion produces star power in the body.

Training star power is a compulsory course for all aliens.

There are no shortcuts or special techniques. Training star power involves only one method—exhausting the body’s star power through continuous physical exercise and then waiting for recovery.

Through repeated cycles of exhaustion and recovery, star power gradually increases.

From the stage of Junior Alien to Senior Alien, star power circulates in the body in an undetectable energy form, relatively weak.

On the surface, star power isn’t visible; only the aliens themselves can feel it.

Therefore, star power has a somewhat idealistic nature.

But star power is real. Once accumulated to a certain level, it enables aliens to evolve, and after leveling up, they can fuse with another ability.

Earth’s technology can’t detect the existence of star power, let alone measure it accurately.

However, the Myriad Forms Device can display it directly.

But the value of [Star Power] in the interface is just a number without a unit, so Ji Xinghuo can’t compare it with other aliens’ star power; he can only use it as a reference for now.

Several minutes later, the star power value increased to 2.

Ji Xinghuo quickly felt the effects of star power.

His body seemed infused with invisible energy, making his limbs stronger, enhancing every organ from inside out, and slightly improving his senses of hearing, touch, and smell.

Each breath became more profound, each heartbeat more powerful.

He felt an unlimited surge of strength, his spirits lifted immensely!

“This is the power of an alien!”

Ji Xinghuo was still feeling his enhancement when a staff member approached and asked, “Mr. Ji, have you successfully fused?” He had been in the observation room for over half an hour.

“Yes,” Ji Xinghuo stood up and nodded.

“Congratulations.”

The staff member offered a formal congratulations and reminded, “Mr. Ji, you can go home now. In the next few days, your body will be undergoing its first evolution, which involves significant changes. Avoid strenuous exercise and excessive fatigue during this period to quickly adapt to the power of an alien and avoid causing harm to others.”

Ji Xinghuo nodded; this was all common knowledge.

Transitioning from an ordinary person to an alien, the first life evolution is the most significant and lasts the longest, varying from person to person.

The speed of evolution does not affect the degree of enhancement.

Ji Xinghuo glanced at the Myriad Forms Device interface. The light points in the virtual human model were still increasing, and the [Star Power] value had grown to 3. He estimated his first evolution would last more than a day.

Leaving the Alien Service Center, Ji Xinghuo received a notification from the Star Realm Department. He was now officially a registered alien of the Asia-Pacific Community.

Because he used a free species, he enjoyed citizen benefits. In the future, when summoned by the state, he must comply unconditionally once as part of his civic duty.

“I hope they don’t issue the summons when I’m still too weak.”

Ji Xinghuo muttered to himself.

He wasn’t opposed to the summons; it was his duty, after all.

In fact, the vast majority of aliens in the Asia-Pacific Community will never receive a state summons in their lifetime because over 90% of aliens remain at the junior level all their lives, lacking sufficient strength to be called to battle.

If ever a day comes that even junior aliens are summoned, it would mean that both the Asia-Pacific Community and the entire Earth are in a dire situation.

That wouldn’t be good news.

Ji Xinghuo wasn’t afraid of serving his country; he just feared that his strength wouldn’t be enough, potentially costing him his life.

He left the Tian Qin Stadium and from afar heard a loud, enthusiastic chant: “Sword Immortal! Sword Immortal! The matchless Sword Immortal of Guanghan!”

The chants rose wave upon wave, growing more intense.

Ji Xinghuo turned to look and saw on the opposite side of Tian Qin Stadium, outside the great gates, a plaza filled with hundreds of people, mostly young, dressed in clothes bearing a golden pentagram, holding shiny placards, and shouting slogans in unison, their faces bright with excitement and fervor.

Looking up at the stadium’s outer wall, they gazed at a giant screen several stories high, displaying a tall, stunning woman.

She wore a fitted combat suit, a long sword held behind her back, her expression solemn, her beautiful eyes looking straight ahead as if locking onto a combat opponent. Several other aliens in combat suits surrounded her, all eyes on her.

“So it’s her.”

Ji Xinghuo realized.

The woman on the screen was Zhao Manying, a globally famous alien prodigy. Those gathered outside the stadium were her fans.

It was odd to see so many people suddenly appear.

Ji Xinghuo checked the news on his phone, and his expression froze: “Zhao Manying has been promoted to a super alien. No wonder…”

The event had occurred just half an hour ago and had already topped the national trending searches.

It was a sensation worldwide.

“Promoted to super alien at 22, that’s outrageous!”

Ji Xinghuo couldn’t help but feel a mix of admiration and a hint of jealousy. At 22, just slightly older, he was proud of advancing to a junior alien, while she had already become a super alien and broken several records.

“Truly worthy of the title Sword Immortal.” Ji Xinghuo quietly commended, “Undeniable.”

He followed Zhao Manying on social media and often watched her matches when he had time, knowing her well.

Zhao Manying fused with a species at 16, evolved to a middle alien at 17, and at 18 was recognized by the Martial Arts Association as the youngest ever “Master of Swordsmanship.”

After being promoted to a high-level alien at the age of 20, Zhao Manying signed a sky-high contract with the “Emperor Star” club, entered the Super League, became a competition alien, and was cultivated as the core of the team.

Most of the members of the Super League team are super aliens, one rank higher than Zhao Manying.

Despite this, Zhao Manying is still a tough opponent on the field.

Her professional template is “Swordsman”, and with her unmatched global swordsmanship, few opponents can withstand her in a one-on-one duel.

However, the competitive league’s battles lean more towards team cooperation. The other members of the Emperor Star team aren’t prominent enough to provide sufficient support, so in the two years Zhao Manying has been with the club, her team hasn’t achieved standout results, always placing in the middle to upper tiers.

But this doesn’t affect Zhao Manying’s popularity at all.

The reason is simple: apart from her unmatched swordsmanship talent, Zhao Manying possesses a stunning beauty that dazzles the age!

There are many beauties in this era, but few can match Zhao Manying’s level of appearance, physique, and demeanor.

Genius is plentiful in this era too, but few reach the level of star power, alien ability, and martial arts that Zhao Manying has achieved.

Beauty is always in short supply, and talent even more so.

Both are top-tier globally, concentrated in one person, which creates an explosive effect!

Zhao Manying’s popularity is unimaginably high, surpassing all cultural and entertainment stars, even though she is just a high-level alien; her fame rivals that of a “Heavenly King”, or perhaps even surpasses it.

Her billion-plus fans are spread across the globe, from the Asia-Pacific Community to the New Roman Empire, from the Southern Kingdom to the Latin Revolutionary Army—almost everyone knows her; each of her matches is a focal point watched by at least a billion people, making other teams pale in comparison, and the Emperor Star club has made a fortune in the last two years.

Zhao Manying is a true global idol!

She has many nicknames, the most famous being “Sword Fairy”.

Others include “Century’s Pride”, “Current Top Genius”, “Second Global Goddess”, “Cold Moon Sword Fairy”, among others—some are well-deserved, others perhaps too exaggerated, but all are words of praise.

Now that Zhao Manying has ascended to a super alien in less than two years, her strength will surely soar considerably.

Even though the Super League prioritizes team battles, the overall strength of the Emperor Star Club is bound to rise.

In the coming years, the Emperor Star Club is inevitably a hot favorite for the championship.

That’s why these fans and team die-hards are so excited. As soon as the news broke, they gathered at Emperor Star team’s home venue, chatting excitedly and filled with hope for the team’s future.

Ji Xinghuo stopped to watch for a few minutes.

The square outside Tian Qin Stadium was bustling; security promptly came out to maintain order, but more and more fans were arriving, and the scene was somewhat chaotic.

Ji Xinghuo hurriedly got into his car and left.

He turned on the built-in projection screen in his car; almost every platform, live streaming channel, and social media were discussing Zhao Manying’s ascent to super alien.

Hosts and commentators were talking a mile a minute in front of cameras.

Sports programs were doing data analysis, predicting the Emperor Star team’s performance;

Alien bloggers speculated how much Zhao Manying’s global ladder ranking would advance;

Entertainment channels gossiped about Zhao Manying’s personal life;

Economic news focused on the stock prices of the Emperor Star Club;

And fans either praised Zhao Manying’s talents or simply drooled over her looks, venting their emotions online.

This day, the whole world’s attention was on Zhao Manying.

Nobody cared that another person in Changan named Ji Xinghuo also became an alien.

Even Ji Xinghuo himself wasn’t particularly excited as he knew he would eventually become an alien and didn’t expect this event to cause any stir.