Chapter 513: Autobiography of the Monarch of Stars

The monarch of stars' research on souls and spiritual matter was invaluable.

He had even managed to create life from spiritual matter alone. According to his notes, Shicang was such a creation. He was an alter ego of the monarch of stars' [Thousand Beasts], which the monarch of stars tried to separate from his main body.

In some sense, the experiment was a success—the monarch of stars had succeeded in extracting that soul and giving it a new vessel—but it was simultaneously a failure, because the separated soul wasn't a clone of the monarch of stars. Instead, it was an independent entity, a true son of the monarch of stars derived from asexual reproduction.

Zhang Lie decided to hand these results to the research laboratories of Renhuang in hopes that they would be able to derive something from it. The research materials of the empire of stars would save close to three hundred years' worth of research time and an astronomical investment besides.

Sun Mengmeng pulled out a thick tome from among the bookshelves. "Captain, this is an autobiography written by the monarch of stars himself!"

Li Feng glanced at it curiously. "That self-absorbed fellow even wrote an autobiography?"

Fang Yi likewise looked at it with interest. "Anyone successful would want to do something similar, I should think."

"Read it, please!" Zhou Ying strode closer to Sun Mengmeng.

Everyone was interested in this depraved monarch, after all.

Zhang Lie smiled as he shook his head, then continued to look for useful materials among the monarch of stars' study. It was as large as a library, and Zhang Lie was searching for information on genetic lifeforms. This would be useful to all hunters, including himself.

The empire of stars had existed for centuries, and there was surely information about disaster-grade lifeforms recorded somewhere.

In his past life, he had heard that there were a few pseudo-disaster-grade lifeforms in the second realm, but he only knew of their approximate locations. He had no information of their abilities or of their natures at all. If he were able to find this information in the monarch of stars' treasury, he would be able to amass disaster gene fragments much more easily.

Of course, just pseudo-disaster-grade lifeforms wouldn't be enough—it would be ideal if there were cataloged information about true disaster-grade lifeforms as well.

As Sun Mengmeng began to read aloud, Zhang Lie listened in.

Zhang Lie hadn't paid the monarch of stars much attention while the monarch told him his life story because he had had to keep an eye on what the monarch of stars was doing, and whether or not he was simply trying to distract Zhang Lie.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The basic story was simple. In his youth, the monarch of stars very much enjoyed copulating with genetic lifeforms and members of alien races.

Some of these lifeforms were so strong that the monarch of stars was unsuccessful in his attempted rape; they beat him up instead. It was truly a miracle that the monarch of stars had stayed alive all this time—an ordinary sura would have been killed by these lifeforms instead.

In order to continue his deplorable acts, the monarch of stars had no choice but to grow stronger. As he continued cultivating and subduing more and more genetic lifeforms, the monarch of stars grew into his strength.

Subsequently, because of his powerful physique, he accidentally killed a genetic lifeform while having sex with it. The spiritual essence of the lifeform, filled with horror, anger, and malice, exploded into the air. The monarch of stars absorbed it and instantly felt as though its soul had merged with his.

The monarch of stars remarked in some detail on the inimitable sensation of this cohabitation.

The rest was history. As the monarch of stars absorbed more and more such souls, he turned mad due to the influence of subsuming all these foreign souls, but he also grew stronger and stronger.

"Almost as though he's grinding up his level by killing mobs," Li Feng murmured.

As the monarch of stars developed, he began to challenge stronger genetic lifeforms all over the realm. In the end, he began hunting down peak-grade lifeforms. What changed his life forever was his chance encounter with a certain genetic lifeform.

Perhaps if he hadn't met that lifeform, the monarch of stars would still be roaming the second realm.

That lifeform was a gigantic, beautiful serpent, whose body was sparkling and translucent, covered in speckled, refracting scales. The monarch of stars' heart thumped.

Everything else the monarch of stars had raped paled in comparison with this serpent. "In others' eyes, this might be a frightening lifeform, but to mine, she's a beautiful girl, just waiting for my grasp..."

The members of Team Zenith shuddered as they listened to Sun Mengmeng read the monarch of stars' words.

However, the monarch of stars failed miserably. He was beaten to within an inch of his life, and he barely got away.

"What?!" All the hunters present were shocked. According to his narrative, the monarch of stars had been able to defeat even peak-grade lifeforms. At that point, he was a top-tier sura king, almost on par with a sura monarch. How had he still lost to a genetic lifeform?

Among them, Zhang Lie was the most excited.

If that lifeform were able to defeat the monarch of stars, it had to be a disaster-grade lifeform—and one that Zhang Lie didn't know about!

Zhang Lie urged, "Quick, find out where this lifeform's at!"

"Let me see. I think there's a record!"

Through his autobiography, Zhang Lie and the others confirmed the location of one disaster-grade lifeform. Zhang Lie listened eagerly to Sun Mengmeng's words, expectant that the monarch of stars would leave more such records.

He challenged the serpent a few more times, but barely escaped with his life each time. It was then that he learned how to temporarily augment his strength by burning his blood.

As he continued to cultivate and challenge this lifeform, the monarch of stars unknowingly advanced to the level of a sura monarch.

Afterwards, the disaster-grade lifeform, annoyed by how frequently the monarch of stars was pestering it, suddenly vanished without a trace. The monarch of stars tramped through half the second realm in search of it, to no avail.

As he continued searching for the serpent, he continued his old habits until he developed such a reputation that the lifeforms around him began to cower and hide the moment they caught wind of his presence.

Tiring of his travels, one day, the monarch of stars decided that he would establish a sura empire, then use the resources and manpower such an empire would have to search for this mysterious disaster-grade lifeform.

Thus he embarked on a path of conquest. Because his fists embodied those of a thousand beasts, because he manifested those beasts as he fought, the sura crowned him the beast king.

Slaughtering any enemy that got in his way, the monarch of stars quickly managed to establish a kingdom in his own right.

His scouts were unable to find any information about this serpent. The monarch of stars, displeased by their inefficiency, began to conquer more and more kingdoms in order to obtain more manpower.

As he continued his expansion, the monarch of stars' holdings grew into a sura empire, the empire of stars. When that occurred, the monarch of stars who was once the beast king gave himself his eponymous title, intended to represent his dominion over the entire realm.

Nevertheless, he continued searching for the mysterious serpent that had eluded him for so long. With countless scouts, his search finally bore fruit. That disaster-grade lifeform had returned to where he had initially found it.

Tempered by war, the monarch of stars believed that he was strong enough to challenge the serpent, that he could match the serpent's strength. He left to challenge the serpent, full of confidence, only to return to his empire barely clinging to life...