“Zhu Tiangang!” Dao Ancestor Hongjun sat on the praying mat. He slowly opened his eyes and spoke Fatty’s full name.

　　Fatty sat upright and listened with attention.

　　Dao Ancestor Hongjun slowly spoke, “Although before this you were mocked by countless people as trash, in truth, your talent in cultivation is extremely outstanding. Ordinary mythological paths are not suited to you; this is why you remained an ordinary human for so many years. Once you embarked on the right path, you would be able to soar into the sky with a single step. Your future and potential shall be boundless…”

　　Fatty had a look of contemplation on his face. He understood that the boundless future Dao Ancestor Hongjun was speaking about was that of paragon god and devil that was suitable for him. He grew even more serious and nodded.

　　At this moment, Dao Ancestor Hongjun’s tone suddenly changed. He then continued, “However, how can someone receive knowledge about the great dao for no cause or reason? Given how incomparably valuable knowledge of a paragon god and devil’s mythological path is, its price is incomparably astronomical as well. Have you thought things through clearly?”

　　“Dao Ancestor, I understand.” As long as I can embark on this paragon god and devil’s mythological path, I am willing to pay any price.” Fatty spoke with no hesitation.

　　Seeing how excited the fatty was, Feng Lin silently smiled in his heart.

　　As for the clone, Dao Ancestor Hongjun, his expression remained as calm as ever, exuding an aura of profoundness. He calmly continued, “Since you can understand this, very well, I shall transmit to you the knowledge of a paragon god and devil’s path. Listen well.”

　　The kindness of someone transmitting the dao to you wasn’t in any way inferior compared to the kindness of your parents giving birth to you.

　　Fatty’s expression turned serious. “Zhu Tiangang respectfully listens!”

　　“Now, what you’ve awakened is a mid-grade primeval gene, the Big Belly Gene. Also, the special ability of the Big Belly Gene is that it allows you to devour everything and would rapidly enable you to digest them to strengthen yourself. Your skin will be extremely tough; the thick layers of fat can form a natural defensive layer to dissipate large amounts of blunt force. Next, what you have to do is to combine the Big Belly Gene with the Demonic Aura Gene and Pig Fetus Gene to evolve to the Pig Demon Gene.”

　　“What? Pig Demon Gene?!” Fatty shouted in shock. The flesh of his face scrunched together, even his eyes disappeared as a look of difficulty appeared on his face.

　　Where was the promised paragon god and devil’s path? Why did it become the Pig Demon Gene?

　　This name didn’t sound like a paragon at all. It didn’t sound like a mythical legendary being at all!

　　Upon awakening such a gene, wouldn’t he become a monster that looked like half-pig and half-human?

　　Although fatty was often called a pig due to his size and fatness, he didn’t really want to become a real pig!

　　Dao Ancestor Hongjun’s expression turned solemn. “Why? You look down on this gene?”

　　Fatty had a struggling expression. He postured like a little girl with his body that was over 1,000 kg in weight. Truly, the sight of this was extremely eye-piercing and disgusting indeed.

　　“I thought it was supposed to be a paragon god and devil’s mythological path? Why did it become a pig demon?” Fatty had no way to accept this.

　　Greed would always be present in the hearts of humans.

　　Before this when fatty didn’t know if he could become a cultivator, he could even accept the most common Big Belly Gene and was filled with wild joy by using it to become an interstellar cultivator.

　　Now, after he learned about the existence of paragon god and devil’s pathways, he naturally yearned for them.

　　The more things one obtained, the more he would fear losing everything.

　　Now that there was a paragon god and devil’s path before his eyes, he was afraid he might truly miss it.

　　Dao Ancestor Hongjun slowly continued, “Don’t belittle this Pig Demon Gene. This is a high-grade transcendent gene and can be extremely rare among genes of the same tier and grade. Also, as a human that can transform into a pig demon, you would have boundless strength, endless capacity in your belly and capable of devouring the heaven and earth. You would also be able to control high-quality demonic qi from the universe, manifesting gusts of black winds, flying up into the sky and tunneling in the ground. You would be able to do anything! Ordinary people would never be able to awaken such a gene. This is something one could only hope for but couldn’t actively seek after. If you are not willing to, just forget about everything then.”

　　“Don’t!” Fatty hurriedly spoke, feeling extremely anxious. “Dao Ancestor, I was wrong. I’m willing to evolve my genes into this Demon Pig Gene!”

　　Seeing that the fatty was so scared that he submitted, Dao Ancestor Hongjun had a faint smile on his face. “There’s no need for you to feel so miserable. If you continue to evolve the Pig Demon Gene by adding the Heavenly Dipper Gene and Banished Immortal Gene, it would evolve into the Zhu Ganglie Gene. Then you would officially step onto a paragon god and devil’s mythological path!”

　　Zhu Ganglie Gene…

　　Fatty’s expression changed after he heard that.

　　Why is it a pig (zhu)?

　　Could it be that he had to really embark on this path of becoming a pig? A path of no return.

　　“Zhu Ganglie Gene is a Heaven Gene that is above the transcendent gene tier. It is also a variation-grade Heaven Gene, it has boundless potential. Zhu Ganglie is a famous character in Ancient Huaxia Mythology. He was a great deity from the heavenly courts. Although he was reincarnated as a pig demon, he soon regained his memories and was proficient in the thirty-six transformations of the heavenly dipper. His combat prowess isn’t weak at all when compared to the various gods and deities!”

　　Dao Ancestor Hongjun revealed a little of Zhu Ganglie Gene’s origins. Fatty had his mouth wide open. The resentment he felt at having to become a pig was now completely dissipated.

　　Zhu Ganglie?

　　What deity is this? Why have I never heard of him before?

　　Dao Ancestor Hongjun said that this was a powerful deity in Huaxia Mythology which had reincarnated as a pig demon. However, Fatty had never heard any story like this before.

　　…

　　When Fatty thought about the scenes of Ancient Earth Era that he had seen on the planet earlier, he had a look of deep contemplation on his face.

　　My speculation was right. This Mythological Genes Association is in possession of many mythology secrets of different civilizations that have long vanished.

　　If Dao Ancestor Hongjun wasn’t lying, this Zhu Ganglie must be a deity from Huaxia Mythology whose information hasn’t been uncovered yet. Also, this should be a unique mythology path.

　　Fatty started to get excited, and he felt that the association was even more wondrous.

　　He discovered that he was very fated with this paragon god and devil path.

　　His own name even had the words ‘Tiangang’ (heavenly dipper). And if he continued on this mythology path, he would end up possessing the thirty-six transformations ability of the heavenly dipper.

　　Everything seemed destined.

　　When he thought of this, Fatty no longer hesitated. He tossed aside all his earlier reluctance and resentment.

　　Even if he really had to become a pig, he would become one willingly!

　　“Dao Ancestor Hongjun, I sincerely wish to cultivate this paragon god and devil path. Please enlighten me.” Fatty prostrated himself once more and spoke with incomparable sincerity. “As long as you grant me my wish, I will accomplish any test you want to set for me. I’m also willing to pay any price.”

　　Each of his words rang out with the force of his conviction.

　　This fatty felt more and more anxious. As for Dao Ancestor Hongjun, it was clear that he was no longer going to divulge anything easily.

　　Since Feng Lin had what the fatty desired the most in his hands, next, what he needed to do was to set up more tests and trials while making the fatty invest a lot before he granted him a slot to join the Mythological Genes Association.

　　If not, if the fatty joined too easily, he wouldn’t cherish it and wouldn’t feel any sense of loyalty or belonging to the association.

　　In order to prevent the secrets of the association from being leaked, Feng Lin naturally had to be cautious.

　　In addition, in Feng Lin’s eyes, this fatty was a fat lamb waiting to be slaughtered. He was so rich that he had unending amounts of star coins to be spent. How could Feng Lin give up the secrets of the mythological path to him if Feng Lin didn’t want to dip his hands into his wealth?

　　But in order to maintain the majestic presence of Dao Ancestor Hongjun, Hongjun naturally wasn’t suited to talk about secular stuff like money. It would only undermine his presence.

　　The Dao Ancestor Hongjun’s clone which Feng Lin controlled naturally wouldn’t do such a stupid thing. He merely smiled faintly. “The complete set of knowledge of a paragon god and devil path isn’t something you can receive just by paying a price. The prerequisite is to see if you are worthy enough or not. You have to undertake the tests and see if you can become an association’s member before we talk further.”

　　“Dao Ancestor, I got it.” Fatty didn’t hesitate. “No matter what tests there are, I, Zhu Tiangang, will definitely put in all my efforts to pass them!”

　　This fatty was so nice to deceive!

　　Clone Hongjun exchanged glances with Feng Lin as they both shared a smile, knowing that this fatty had been completely deceived by the acts both of them put up.

　　“I have a dao song to pass on to everyone.”

　　Dao Ancestor Hongjun calmly smiled. His voice was filled with a sense of etherealism as though it drifted through countless distance. It was like the sound of a bell chime, so loud that even the dead could hear, baptizing the hearts of people.

　　“Laying high amidst the clouds, comprehending the true Dao, and assuming the role of a teacher beyond the universe, Pan Gu created Taichi with the existence of two dualities and the extension of the four phases. The one path of Dao was passed down to three, and the three split into two branches. All three were disciples of Hongjun, leading all in the path of Dao!!”

　　–

　　–

　　–

　　Note:

　　The last paragraph was an excerpt from the Investiture of Gods <封神演義> I did my best to translate the obscure terms. If there is anyone who has a better suggestion, feel free to bring it up and I will edit it.

　　The dao song filled the air with a sense of spiritualism.

　　The atmosphere was filled with an ethereal immortal sound which had drifted here from the boundless space, yet the words were extremely clear, containing the deep and profound meaning of the great dao.

　　Fatty immersed himself in and had yet to recover from this state.

　　The dao song only consisted of a few sentences and was roughly about fifty words. This seemed to be hinting that there was a total for forty-nine great daos, with a final layer of mystery covering them all, giving representation to the number ‘fifty’.

　　This was the song of dao verification by the Dao Ancestor. Ordinary mortals would find it impossible to understand.

　　It was just a mere fifty words, yet Fatty felt like his head was spinning. The concepts contained within the fifty words encompassed the vastness of the universe. He couldn’t even trace anything.

　　The message contained within was far too vast. Just the surface of those words was sufficient to make him sink into deep contemplation.

　　All representing Hongjun, how vast was this concept?

　　Could this Dao Ancestor Hongjun not be some supreme expert living in seclusion from the world but was a true supreme dao ancestor from the Huaxia legends?

　　This can’t be correct right?

　　The mythology civilization was destroyed long ago. If the dao ancestor that could split apart the heavens and earth in the legends still existed, humanity would have long since conquered the universe. How could they be dominated by those alien races and couldn’t even leave the Milky Way Galaxy?

　　This was illogical.

　　It seemed like this senior before his eyes must have been someone who walked on a paragon god and devil path, the mythological path of Dao Ancestor Hongjun.

　　Fatty came up with the most logical explanation he could think of.

　　Dao Ancestor Gene?

　　He panted as a fanatical expression appeared on his face.

　　What sort of power was this Mythological Genes Association exactly? How deep and vast were their stores of knowledge?

　　They could even awaken the Dao Ancestor Gene?

　　If news of this were to spread out, the entire interstellar space would probably be stunned.

　　Fatty’s heart pounded rapidly, soon to leap out of his chest. He shook his head, not daring to think so much.

　　The more he thought about it, the more terrifying he found it.

　　Right now, he only felt a sense of rejoice and agitation in his heart.

　　How lucky was he!

　　By a series of coincidences, he was actually given the chance to join such a prestigious association. Although he had not passed the tests yet, such an opportunity was something that countless people wouldn’t be able to receive.

　　After Dao Ancestor Hongjun finished speaking, he closed his eyes and no longer spoke.

　　“Dao Ancestor, what is the test?” Fatty was at a loss, he was still waiting for the test to come.

　　“The test is within the dao verification song. You need to comprehend it yourself. If you can comprehend it, it means you can. If you cannot, it simply means you cannot. Only by figuring out the true logic of the dao verification song would you have passed the test and be considered as a fated member of the Mythological Genes Association!” Dao Ancestor Hongjun’s words seemed to be covered by layers of immortal mist, not allowing anyone to see through any trace of his thoughts.

　　In summary, there were only four words—you take a guess?

　　Fatty frowned. He didn’t even know the exact content, but the test required him to comprehend the true logic? Why was it so difficult.

　　He furrowed his brows so tightly that even his eyes narrowed to splits.

　　“Time’s up. It’s time for you to leave.” Dao Ancestor Hongjun slowly spoke and waved his hand.

　　“Dao Ancestor, please give me some hints…” Fatty was shocked. He was prepared to say something more, but he felt his body being enveloped by a formless energy as he was transported away to outside the Purple Clouds Palace.

　　The door of the mysterious dao palace closed and slowly faded away from his vision, once again covered by a layer of clouds.

　　“I still don’t know what the entry test is.” Fatty helplessly mumbled and he could only sigh.

　　“Dao friend Zhu Tiangang, please leave. Dao Ancestor Hongjun asks me to send you off.” At this moment, Feng Lin’s real body appeared before Fatty and had an air of sending people away.

　　“No, I will not leave. I have to be clear on what the entry test is exactly. I will not be leaving today.” Fatty’s eyes swiveled around. He decided that he would refuse to leave no matter what.

　　No matter how Feng Lin tried to make him leave, this fatty wouldn’t leave. A teasing look appeared in Feng Lin’s eyes while helplessness was shown on his face. He had no choice then, he drew a deep breath. “Why must you be so troublesome? Dao Ancestor Hongjun is unfathomable and extremely profound, there is a deep layer of meaning behind everything he is doing. If he doesn’t want to tell you about it, he must have his own reasons for that. It’s useless even if you remain here. In addition, the Dao Ancestor has clearly hinted at what the test is supposed to be. It’s just you who still can’t catch it.”

　　BOOM!

　　The clouds churned as thunder fell from the sky.

　　Feng Lin had a look of panic on his face. He bowed to the sky. “Dao Ancestor, please pardon me. Wukong shouldn’t have revealed heavenly secrets.”

　　After that, he had a fearful look on his face as though he had just created a huge trouble by speaking things he shouldn’t be speaking about. Feng Lin then closed his mouth, not willing to say another word.

　　The endless clouds enveloped them and propped the two of them up, sending them away from this virtual minor-thousand Mythology Planet.

　　“Dao friend Zhu Tiangang, leave quickly. I’m in dire straits now because of you. It’s useless even if you continue to remain here.” Feng Lin acted like he was angered by the Fatty and coldly issued an expulsion order.

　　Fatty’s eyes turned around rapidly. He no longer looked like a fat pig but a cunning fox instead. He hurriedly pulled Feng Lin to the side and spoke in a mysterious tone of voice, “Dao friend Wukong, seems like you know about the hidden meaning behind Dao Ancestor’s hint. Can you reveal a little to me? Just a little will do!”

　　Staring at the sneaky look on his face, Feng Lin coldly laughed.

　　As expected of a cultivator on Pigsy Mythological Path. His heart was truly as scheming as the pig demon in the legends.

　　As expected, you would awaken the mythology gene that reflected the sort of person you were. What a work of nature!

　　But wasn’t this something Feng Lin wanted?

　　Even if your path was the Pigsy Mythology Path and you are extremely cunning, you must know that my path is the mythology path of Sun Wukong. I can counter you in all aspects.

　　Feng Lin pretended to be angered. “Dao friend Zhu Tiangang, what do you mean by this? Earlier when I revealed some secrets, I already suffered the anger of Dao Ancestor Hongjun. If there isn’t a sufficient price, don’t even imagine I will reveal anything. It’s impossible!”

　　Although Feng Lin said it was impossible, given how cunning this fatty was, he instantly discerned the deeper meaning behind Feng Lin’s words. It wasn’t that Feng Lin wouldn’t reveal any secrets, but it depended on whether he wanted to pay a price or not.

　　Was Feng Lin trying to earn some money from him?

　　A confident smile appeared on Fatty’s face as his wealthy aura towered up to the sky.

　　In this world, there was nothing that couldn’t be settled by star coins. If 1,000 star coins couldn’t work, a 100 million star coins would surely be effective!

　　“Dao friend Wukong, we have already left the area of the Mythological Genes Association’s world. If you tell me now, nothing will happen to you. Dao Ancestor Hongjun wouldn’t be able to sense anything.” Fatty persuaded.

　　Feng Lin coldly smiled and glanced at the fatty. “You might not know this as you are just a frog in the well. You have no idea how powerful the Dao Ancestor is. He can already calculate fate and know of everything that would happen in the world. How could he have no idea about this?”

　　Seeing that Feng Lin refused to take the bait, Fatty gritted his teeth. He no longer wasted words and immediately took out his ultimate technique. “Dao friend Wukong, real men state their intentions clearly. As long as you tell me what the mission of the test is, I can give you any amount of star coins. How about 100,000 star coins?”

　　Feng Lin coldly smiled. He wasn’t moved at all.

　　“200,000 star coins!”

　　“300,000 star coins!”

　　“500,000 star coins!”

　　…

　　Fatty kept increasing the stakes, having an expression on his face as though money meant nothing to him.

　　The smile on Feng Lin’s face was still as cold as ever. “Each of Dao Ancestor Hongjun’s words is as valuable as pearls, worth a thousand gold per character. How can I easily tell them to others?”

　　Feng Lin still wasn’t hooked yet? Fatty felt that he was in a difficult situation.

　　Could he have read Feng Lin’s intention wrongly? This dao friend Wukong didn’t want to gain some money from him by withholding information?

　　Wait, he was not incorrect.

　　Given his judgment, as long as someone was the slightest bit keen toward making star coins, he wouldn’t miss them.

　　All of a sudden, this Fatty thought of the words spoken by Feng Lin. He gradually saw through the layers of meaning. A character worth a thousand gold? Things were as clear as day then.

　　A smile finally appeared on Fatty’s face.

　　He decisively continued, “Let’s do things this way then. A character for a thousand gold. Dao friend Wukong, as long as you tell me the secret, I will pay you 1,000 star coins per character. There is no upper limit!”

　　Deal!

　　Feng Lin didn’t hesitate and agreed straightaway for fear of Fatty changing his mind. He immediately reached out to shake Fatty’s hand, to express that he was willing to deal.

　　Mhm…yummy!