Chapter 1211: Capable

The Earth Pig’s expression darkened as he stared at Earth Rooster, noticing the numerous “Human-Level” figures trailing behind him.

“Traitor!!” Earth Rooster bellowed. “Are you a traitor?!”

“Shut up…” Earth Pig retorted. “Which eye of yours sees me as a traitor?”

“You’ve gotten taller!!” Earth Rooster screeched again. “You’re taller than before! You’ve changed!!”

Earth Pig lowered his head to glance at Luo Shiyi’s borrowed body and frowned slightly. Indeed… How was he supposed to hide this?

He had many enemies, but he never expected the most troublesome one to be the first to notice.

“Don’t mess with me,” Earth Pig growled. “If you block me again, I won’t hold back.”

He thought his threat would make the other back off, but Earth Rooster didn’t seem to care at all.

“Don’t hold back!!” Earth Rooster yelled. “Let’s play! Here’s a rope, here’s a knife—kill me!”

Earth Pig felt something being shoved into his hand. Looking down, he saw nothing but two worn-out playing cards.

“Hahahaha! Stupid pig!” Earth Rooster’s voice pierced his eardrums, making his skin crawl.

He knew the odds were against him this time.

Not only had he lost his “brute strength” and his allies, but he had also never treated his students well.

How could he possibly escape now? Who would come to his rescue at a time like this?

Only one thought consumed him.

He could die, but he absolutely refused to leave the world in such a humiliating way.

Otherwise, all his years of effort would become nothing but a joke.

“Earth Rooster… you can’t beat me,” Earth Pig attempted to reason again. “If we really fight, I’ll go all out—you’ve never won against me before.”

“I heard everything!!” Earth Rooster shrieked. “Your body’s been swapped!! You’re useless now!! Hahahaha!”

Those words sent a chill down Earth Pig’s spine. It seemed today would truly be his end at the hands of this damned rooster.

A sense of impending death crept over him. What a ridiculous situation. What a pathetic life.

After struggling against Zhuque, he had only ended up injured and useless. Now, he was about to die senselessly right outside his own door.

Even if someone investigated later… who would understand why he died like this?

By the time Earth Pig snapped back to reality, instinct had already driven his legs to flee. He didn’t want to die.

At that moment, the boy’s mind held only one simple thought.

If he had to die, he wanted others to see him fall in battle.

Earth Rooster lunged forward, shoving Earth Pig with a single push that sent him flying.

Earth Pig crashed to the ground, rolling several times before finally coming to a stop, unable to get up.

He truly didn’t want to die, but he had no choice but to surrender.

Though he bore the appearance of an “Earth-Level,” his strength was only “Human-Level.” How could Earth Rooster possibly spare him?

Bitterly, Earth Pig lay on the ground, waiting for death—until the rhythmic sound of hoofbeats echoed in the distance.

…

Chen Jun’nan and Qiao Jiajin finally pried the strange notebook free from beneath the table.

Expecting something significant, they were disappointed to find it was merely a neatly written journal.

Turning to Qi Xia, they saw he had no interest in it, so they began reading on their own.

It turned out to be Golden Monkey’s notes—more of a work log, really.

The first half detailed how she helped the “Zodiacs” refine their games and petitioned Qinglong to incorporate “Immortal Arts” into them.

These included techniques like “Causality,” “Ingenuity,” “Original Form,” “Transformation,” “Soul Shift,” and “Soul Snatch,” among others.

For example, using “Transformation” to turn humans into black bears, then stripping away enough of their reason to make them behave like animals.

Golden Monkey proposed that with more people, they could even craft them into venomous snakes or locusts—after all, there was an endless supply of “participants” here.

This wouldn’t just improve game design but also distort the participants’ understanding of the space they were in.

Midway through, the notes took a sharp turn, delving into a story about her and Zhuque.

Since Zhuque had just acquired “Soul Shift” and hadn’t mastered it yet, Golden Monkey, with permission, accompanied him to an empty street where he practiced on countless people.

Turning them all into street decorations.

The more they read, the more their scalps prickled. Thank goodness Golden Monkey was an ally—her methods would’ve sent every participant fleeing in terror otherwise.

But the latter half of the notebook grew increasingly bizarre.

Golden Monkey’s focus seemed to shift away from others, centering instead on one particular student—a very tall female centaur.

Perhaps seeing herself in the centaur, Golden Monkey taught her everything she knew. Yet, from her words, it was clear the centaur wasn’t the brightest, never fully grasping Golden Monkey’s teachings.

“A very tall horse…” Qiao Jiajin scratched his head. “I feel like… huh…?”

“You know her?”

“Maybe.” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “Let’s keep reading.”

They flipped a few more pages and read in silence until Chen Jun’nan suddenly exclaimed, “Holy shit!” startling everyone.

The notes explicitly stated that to ensure the centaur’s survival, Golden Monkey had invoked a “Forbidden Art.”

Though not spelled out, it was clear that for the “Zodiacs,” the “Forbidden Art” was an “Immortal Art.”

The following passages were vague, likely to avoid severe consequences if discovered.

Golden Monkey only mentioned applying the “Forbidden Art” to the centaur.

Then, she crafted various tools, allowing the centaur to draw from the “Forbidden Art” at will.

These so-called “tools” were bizarre.

According to the notes, they included game items, deadly weapons, and even “Energy.”

As long as the “Forbidden Art” remained with the centaur, she would theoretically never face danger and could live peacefully here.

“What the hell is this ‘Energy’?” Chen Jun’nan muttered, baffled. “Can you just pull ‘Energy’ out of thin air?”

“It’s ‘Power,'” Qi Xia interjected. “A ‘resonance’ that temporarily stores various forms of energy.”