Justin Ankar

Chapter 18 - Tragedy

The two men were surprised. Their prey had fallen over the cliff. That wasn’t the satisfying kill they were going for. The burned man walked up to the edge cautious of trickery and peeked over. The other one went to Chou’s body and confirmed his death, taking his possessions as the burned man spoke, “I can’t see him, but I heard a splat.”

The other harrumphed, “Good enough, we’ll tell the boss what happened. Come here and help me with Chou, we gotta bring his body back.”

...

Chapter 17 - Ambushed

Sage was a coward. 

He hadn’t realized it before, but at this time, running through the woods fearing for his life… all thoughts of resistance had completely left him. All he could think about was escaping. Just finding somewhere safe and calm. Living a life of luxury with no worries about any danger whatsoever. He almost felt like he’d left his body, dreaming of an easy life as more knives flashed past him. 

Stumbling into a rocky area, Sage had to suddenly halt. Skiddin...

Chapter 16 - Black Dog Company

Joining the Black Dog Company was far easier than Sage thought it would be. The first step was some simple paperwork that consisted of a name and a place of origin, which Sage gave as Ling Sheng from Flying Wind Province. Ling was pretty close to Lang in sound, which would help him from being confused and Flying Wind Province was simply something he saw on a map of the provinces. The next step was a set of testing with some magical objects. Sage was surprised that such things existed. He just ha...

Chapter 15 - Lionheart Town

Sage stayed in the tomb for three months. He would have stayed even longer, but the solitude was wearing on him. He’d already been trapped in the mines for half a year against his will, and adding on another three months was already too much. The only reason he had was simply because the true Insect Immortal Index was just too engrossing. Partly because it was so powerful, but mainly because he already knew the basic technique. This advanced version felt like his eyes were being opened, a fog ...

Chapter 14 - Inheritance

Don’t I already know this? What is the ancestor thinking?

As if the Ancestor could sense his confusion that voice spoke again to explain, “That is the true Insect Immortal Index of the Chong Clan. It is far more powerful than the one passed down in our Lang Clan. Only the core members of the Chong Clan and the current head of a Branch Family are allowed to learn it. Since you’re the only one left in the Lang Clan, you qualify. The other two items are a storage ring and a beast b...

Chapter 13 - Secrets

Rock grinding on rock was not the most pleasant of sounds.

Sage didn’t mind it too much, since at the moment he was suddenly elated. Was this the legendary tomb of treasures? What sort of gaming nerd wouldn’t know about dungeon raiding. Some powerful old guy dies and leaves all his treasures in his burial tomb, then generations later the hero goes in and retrieves them. Usually it’s some evil guys house and you have to defeat all the monsters he left behind to guard the treasure. He’s ...

Chapter 12 - Destruction

Jiang Hua. 

It was a name that Sage was going to have trouble forgetting. The source of the whole clan being destroyed. Even if he wasn’t very close with anyone but his Uncle, he still felt a sense of kinship. Like distant cousins he’d never met before, he wasn’t wracked with grief over them… but he still felt a sense of loss and pity. It was different with Uncle Zhang. He actually felt like a real uncle he’d only just met. Being taken care of for six years by him and treated as...

Chapter 11 - Daylight

Sage took one last trip back through the mines, heading to the office and gathering up his belongings. There really wasn’t much, but he wasn’t sure how far away from home he was and needed food and water. The other, and main, reason he returned was to collect his insects. The Fire Weaver Mantis was not an insect that worked in hives or colonies so he could only keep his linked mantis within his body. The rest were kept in small cages he’d made using the storage lockers along with ...

Chapter 10 - Getting Out

The plan he’d come up with wasn’t really foolproof like the others, but it was the best he could cobble together so far. The ceiling was quite low, Sage had guessed this path had been clogged with rocks and mud from the cave in long ago which then let these flatworms in, yet it was still more than tall enough. Sending the Mantis ahead, Sage had her attach a line of silk to a rocky outcropping on the ceiling and then fly it back to the entrance, having the Mantis secure the other end to anoth...

Chapter 9 - Exploration

The map had marked a place where the mines had caved in previously that was quite far to the east side of the mountain above. Sage knew that there was a canyon to the east side of the mountain, and he was hoping that the recent quake may have shifted the old cave in. If this was a bust, then he was going to start digging!

The constant combat with the spiders, living a solitary life with only insects and lizards for company, had quite a drastic effect on his cultivation. Sage feare...

Chapter 8 - Trapped

It had been six months.

Sage had turned the office area into his own personal home. He lived mainly in the outer office, and had turned the private boss’ office into an insect nursery. Things had been very rough at the start, adjusting to the unappetizing cuisine and having to brave many dangers in order to secure a good source of water. Now that he was at the peak of the ‘Ki Building’ rank, things were relatively safe down here for him and he was almost strong enough to mak...

Chapter 7 - Darkness

If the shaking had gone on for more than a few seconds, Sage would probably have dropped to his knees and started praying. He wasn’t really religious, but being a mild mannered programmer meant the only real pressure he’d faced was that of crunch time before deadlines. The threat of imminent death was something he’d only imagined and never really felt before. To his benefit, the shaking stopped and a giant boulder landed right beside him and not on top of him. 

I’m alive!...

Chapter 6 - Beetles

Moving closer to investigate, Sage realized there was far too many of these beetles for him to go undiscovered by them. Best to see how hostile they were before moving into the more densely packed area. Walking closer some of the beatles twisted towards him, their antenna twitching as he neared. Standing in the center of the path he appeared to be quite safe, some of the beetles even walking right past his feet. Curious about the glowing moss he stepped off the center of the path and mo...

Chapter 5 - Danger

The mine that caused the death of Lang Sheng!

This new body of his was only mediocre (basically like his old body), and he didn’t have any great status in the clan. That meant the only way he was going to get ahead was by having more resources. Uncle Zhang had already spent most of his favors years ago to allow Sage to be a cultivator, and his Uncle could only earn so much pull with the clan. That meant if he wanted resources, he was going to have to earn resources. 

A week later,...

Chapter 4 - Mantis

Sage smiled as he looked down at his Iron Mantis. He was quite sure those that were afraid of bugs would be downright terrified at the sight of it. It had a dark grey, nearly black, carapace the same shade as cast iron. It’s forelimbs were like serrated knives, flashing about in the air as he had the little guy perform some strikes to see how fast it moved. He’d already nurtured it with his meager qi to reach an adult state, the cat sized mantis struck like lightning and with its wings it wa...

Chapter 3 - No Luck

His talent was mediocre.

Uncle Zhang told him that taking a week to first sense qi meant he was only a middling talent. Really, it wasn’t too bad… at least he could still cultivate, and he didn’t have low talent! 

Seems I don’t get to have a hack to start out. Not only no class, not even awesome stats. Don’t I get anything for starting over here?

Now that he sensed qi inside his body, Uncle Zhang said it was proven he was a Cultivator and so now he’d be go...

Chapter 2 - Cultivation

“Cultivation is the process by which we build the mind, body, and spirit. With special techniques we gather the energy of the heavens and earth, using it to transform ourselves into higher beings!”

A few weeks had passed, and all of Sage’s wounds had healed. He was in a different world with an eastern culture and currently Uncle Zhang was giving him a lecture. Lang Sheng, formerly Sage, had accepted his situation. If he wasn’t truly in this new body, then it didn’t really matter as t...

Chapter 1 - New Life

There was a gun barrel against his head. Sage was thrust into what he could only describe as his worst nightmare. A cold sweat formed on his back as he blinked his eyes, staring up into the darkness of his bedroom. His eyes crossed as he tried to stare at the object pressed between his eyes. As hard as he tried, nothing came forth from his lips, and the look of utter terror was pasted on his face. 

“Sorry Kid. You saw something you weren’t supposed to see.”

That voice seemed t...