Chapter 2 – Divine Nest
Ka-cha! Ka-cha!
As night fell, in the small courtyard in front of a thatched hut, Zhang Yuan sharpened his blade under the moonlight.
The knife was a wood-chopping blade, one foot and three inches long, as wide as a palm. Forged from tenfold-refined iron, it was the most valuable weapon he owned.
Zhang Yuan was sharpening it with great care and patience, gradually honing the edge to razor sharpness—along with grinding away the anger and frustration in his heart.
"In times of crisis, one must maintain composure. Only with calm can there be clarity, with clarity comes deliberation, and with deliberation comes success."
Having lived two lifetimes, Zhang Yuan understood this deeply: anger alone could solve nothing in the face of hardship and danger.
What happened today had its roots.
And those roots lay with a man named Chen Deping, a local gentry lord.
Chen Family Village was the ancestral home of the Chen Clan of Linhe. Most villagers bore the Chen surname, but years ago, the main Chen branch had moved to the county town, with only an ancestral shrine remaining here as a symbolic tie.
In fact, the Chen Clan had already built a new shrine in the county town.
Chen Deping was from a collateral branch and, for reasons unknown, had suddenly relocated back to the village.
His family—dozens strong—came with ten armed guards. In a place like Chen Family Village, that was an overwhelming force. Coupled with a formal appointment from the county office, it was inevitable that he would gain control of the village.
There was no way to resist.
Rumor had it that Chen Deping even intended to pursue the post of village chief.
These details had been shared by an elderly neighbor who had dropped by earlier. Most likely, they were messages deliberately leaked by the Chen family to establish their presence.
Zhang Yuan knew very well: with his current strength, he was no match for the Chens. If he didn't want to flee and leave his mother behind, he had only one option—to somehow earn five taels of silver and get through this crisis first.
But earning five taels was no easy feat!
To put it into perspective: a family of five in the county town might spend just ten taels in an entire year.
In Chen Family Village, five taels could buy one or two mu of farmland!
Though village farmland wasn't as expensive as land near the county town, the Zhang family didn't even own half a mu now. In the past, Zhang Yuan's mother would weave straw shoes day and night and sell them in town just to raise him.
Now that Zhang Yuan could support the family, a gentry lord had suddenly come to bleed them dry!
Clang!
Zhang Yuan raised the wood-cutting blade. Its sharpened edge gleamed coldly under the moonlight—reflecting the killing intent in his eyes.
Taking a deep breath, he looked off into the distance.
Under the darkness of night, the mountain ranges rolled like a slumbering dragon—vast, mighty, and dangerous.
"Cough, cough!"
His mother's voice came from inside the house: "Yuan, it's late. Get some rest."
"I know, Mother," Zhang Yuan replied.
He returned to his room, closed the door, and lay on the wooden bed, falling asleep with his eyes shut.
The long night passed quietly.
---
Early the next morning, before dawn had broken, Zhang Yuan woke, washed briefly, strapped the wood-cutting blade to his waist, slung a hunting bow over his shoulder, and, carrying a water pouch and dry rations, set off toward the mountains.
Though he had never won over the iron-hearted senior hunter in the past three years, Zhang Yuan had still learned a fair bit about hunting and managed to gather a few weapons.
He'd gone into the mountains to hunt many times, gaining considerable experience.
In fact, Zhang Yuan's body had talent. He had a huge appetite and great strength, but constant hunger had kept that talent suppressed.
Only in recent years, after learning to hunt, had things started to improve.
Thanks to that physical strength, Zhang Yuan had the confidence to venture deeper into the mountains to see if he could harvest rare herbs or hunt large prey.
This path he now followed—he had never taken before.
As he walked deeper, the trail slowly disappeared beneath his feet.
This mountain range was called Thousand Peaks Mountain, stretching hundreds of miles, with towering peaks and dense forests. Most of it was covered in primeval wilderness.
Other than a few extremely skilled and daring people, no one dared venture into the mountain's heart.
Because in the mountains—aside from wild beasts—there were also strange and eerie things!
Zhang Yuan had come to hunt, not to die. So once he noticed the terrain becoming unfamiliar and dangerous, he stopped going deeper and began to search the area for signs of prey.
Relying on experience, he soon found a beast trail nearby.
Following it for about half a mile, he came upon a clear, flowing stream.
His eyes lit up with delight!
He hid near a large rock beside the stream.
Then he pulled a handful of dry grass powder from his pouch, rubbed it evenly over his body to mask his scent, and waited patiently with bow in hand.
This kind of powder was a staple for hunters to avoid detection by animals.
Today, luck was on Zhang Yuan's side. In less than half an hour, a young deer emerged from the nearby forest.
It perked its ears and cautiously scanned the surroundings before lowering its head to drink from the stream.
Unbeknownst to the deer, just thirty paces away, a sharp arrow was silently aimed right at its heart!
Whoosh!
In the next instant, the arrow shot forth like lightning, piercing the deer's heart.
It let out a sharp cry, tried to flee, but collapsed after just a few steps.
Blood gushed from the wound!
Ha!
Zhang Yuan clenched his fist in triumph, barely resisting the urge to cheer.
The deer was small, but it could fetch at least a tael of silver in the county town—a solid start!
If his luck held, earning five taels today was entirely possible!
He quickly put away his bow and ran toward the fallen deer.
But just as he reached the body—suddenly, two lines of text popped up in his vision!
> [Detected: Containable Genetic Entity!]
[Divine Nest Activated!]
The messages were blinding and appeared without warning—causing Zhang Yuan to stumble and almost fall face-first!
He barely steadied himself, stunned and speechless.
"Hiss…"
Just as he wondered if he was hallucinating, a burning pain surged through the back of his left hand, making him drop his bow instinctively.
Looking down, he saw a strange mark had appeared there.
Formed from three dark-gold hexagons arranged around a hollow triangle, it looked like a brand burned beneath his skin—mysterious and understated.
"This is…"
Just as the thought surfaced in his mind, the two lines of text vanished, replaced by a new data panel:
---
[Host: Zhang Yuan]
[Divine Nest: Level 1 (3%)]
[Hosts: None]
[Vitality: 75/75]
[Essence: 0]
---
These symbols, this panel, these stats—
Zhang Yuan was completely stunned.
This was the Divine Nest Hunter interface from his favorite game in his previous life—Illusory Trace!
Though simplified (missing attributes, talents, gear, etc.), Zhang Yuan had played as a Divine Nest Hunter for ten years—he knew this better than anyone.
Since awakening his past-life memories, he had often thought about the game.
It had been a joyful, carefree time.
He knew he could never return to that world—but he had never dreamed of seeing this familiar mark and interface again.
Could it be… what you yearn for will eventually answer?
Zhang Yuan couldn't help but laugh, unrestrained and tearful.
It took him a while to calm down, but the excitement in his heart only grew stronger.
After years of struggle in this harsh world—Zhang Yuan had finally found his path to defy fate!
Why didn't it come sooner?
He gently touched the Divine Nest mark on his left hand and began searching the area as quickly as he could.
He needed to locate the genetic entity that had activated the Divine Nest.
In the game, the Divine Nest was the source of power for Divine Nest Hunters—akin to a mage's mana core, a warrior's qi sea, or a knight's holy heart.
It could house specific lifeforms, granting their powers to the host.
The more entities it housed, and the higher their genetic quality, the stronger the hunter became.
But this was reality, not a game—no single-click operations here.
For Zhang Yuan, the first priority was to find that containable genetic entity that had awakened his Divine Nest!
(End of Chapter)
---
Want more exclusive chapters and early updates? Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/_Dyxin.