When system cheat becomes rampant!

This way of existence greatly broadened Xiang Beifei's horizons.

"Who created this world of Shepherd City?" Xiang Beifei asked.

"We respectfully call him the Fire Ancestor, this way please,"

the White Flame Skeleton even courteously gestured with a hand, appearing very thorough in etiquette.

Xiang Beifei pondered for a moment, then stepped into the circle.

Familiar system fluctuations were almost entirely under his control; he could completely take over this place if he wished.

Beyond the red circle emerged a scene resembling a quaint little mountain village, with blue skies and white clouds, and leisurely sunshine.

There were many odd houses arranged here, all made from skeletal bones; however, these houses had no roofs, and each seemed to emit a faint smoke, as if they were on fire.

Xiang Beifei glanced at the house nearest to him and discovered numerous pits within, all flickering with flames at the bottom.

In the village, lots of little skeletons ran about as if playing. The bones on these skeletons were made from polished desolate beast bones, multicolored and awkward-looking. Yet no matter how colorful the bones, every skeleton strove to make themselves look human.

In the distance, some skeletons were practicing, making "humph" and "hah" sounds. Upon closer inspection, these skeletons were clearly learning various human martial arts.

"That is the benefactor who saved our Si Fire Tribe, and the Fire Ancestor whom we have always worshipped,"

the White Flame Skeleton turned his gaze toward a massive statue at the center of the village. When he mentioned the Fire Ancestor, his voice, though he had no expressions, became extremely solemn.

Xiang Beifei followed his gaze and saw the statue that stood over ten meters tall.

It depicted an elder with flowing long whiskers, serene in demeanor, with a gaze wise and modest, standing with his hands behind his back, looking in Xiang Beifei's direction.

Xiang Beifei was suddenly taken aback!

This statue—it was actually his grandfather!

Xiang Qingde!

"How can this be?"

Xiang Beifei was very surprised. To get a clearer view, he stepped forward, already arriving at the base of the statue, and looked up at the towering figure, reconfirming over again, utterly shocked!

It was truly his grandfather!

Every building in the entire village was rather crudely constructed, only this statue was remarkably refined, detailed down to every single whisker visible, even the direction of a few strands of hair curling at his grandfather's temples was exactly the same.

"This is our Fire Ancestor,"

the White Flame Skeleton approached, respectfully bowed to the statue, showing profound reverence for the man.

Xiang Beifei suppressed the shock in his heart and asked, "Why do you call him the Fire Ancestor?"

"Because he saved our Si Fire Tribe," explained the White Flame Skeleton. "Many years ago, we faced a crisis that nearly wiped us out. This predecessor created this world, utilizing lava to protect us, allowing us to survive here. He gave our Si Fire Tribe a new life, so we all revere him as the Fire Ancestor, and after he left, we found a stone to erect this statue of him."

The White Flame Skeleton looked up at the towering statue and continued, "Before the Fire Ancestor came here, we didn't live as bones; we were bundles of fire, born from the flames. Yet that formless state, other than emanating high heat, couldn't effectively counter various desolate beasts, because our form could be easily dispersed."

There are many powerful desolate beasts in the alien wilderness beyond our domain, many of which possess formidable defenses, almost all unafraid of flames. Existing purely as flames, we were easily destroyed by desolate beasts.

"So was it also the Fire Ancestor who taught you how to use formations to defend against enemies?" Xiang Beifei asked.

"Yes, the Fire Ancestor taught us how to parasitize bones and use their durability to protect ourselves. He also taught us how humans defend against desolate beasts. Those formations were engraved on stone by him and have been passed down to this day; we are still training in them," the skeleton replied.

The White Flame Skeleton pointed out a stele to Xiang Beifei.

Xiang Beifei looked at the stele, which was inscribed with dense text and diagrams. They were all principles of various defensive formations, and there were modifications to adapt to the abilities of these skeletons, making them more conducive to the skeletons' use of fire power.

This stele was composed of powerful systemic abilities; a single tap could turn the page, much like an encyclopedia, containing many human texts, an introduction to the characteristics of the desolate beasts in this region, the topography, with special emphasis on the Ghost Mustache of Remnant Visage race, even pinpointing the origins of this race.

[Demon Tentacle Race: A species from the Lost Abyss, with extremely tenacious vitality, can parasitize any desolate beast corpse, and uses the body as a vehicle for movement. Since the human form is the most balanced and perfect existence in this world, they typically use human corpses for parasitism. According to the Si Fire Tribe's identification method, their body temperature after parasitism is below 10 degrees Celsius. Human body temperature is between 35 to 50 degrees Celsius (powerful martial artists can reach thousands of degrees under the influence of Spiritual Power, to correctly identify humans, one must measure from the temperature of their heart, which is unaffected).]

"No wonder you tested my heartbeat," Xiang Beifei said thoughtfully.

"We are very sensitive to temperature and rely on it to identify people. Every part of your body has a different temperature, and even the smallest difference is perceptible to us," the White Flame Skeleton explained.

"So your eyes are like thermal imagers?" Xiang Beifei asked.

"What is that?" The White Flame Skeleton didn't quite understand.

"It's a type of temperature detection device we have."

"Really? Is it an invention of your humans? How does it work?" The White Flame Skeleton was very interested in human things.

"It's hard to explain, but it's probably not as refined as your flame perception."

Xiang Beifei finally understood why Brain Deficient and the other Ghost Whiskers of Remnant Visage were cooperating with the Meat-Winged Monster; even if they could parasitize, their inherent body temperature was still a problem. Clearly, no matter how Brain Deficient tried to disguise himself, he would be exposed by these skeletons, as his grandfather's information had described the characteristics of the Demon Tentacle Race in detail.

He continued to read the introduction to the origins of the Demon Tentacle Race; most of the knowledge was already familiar to him, but there was also information he hadn't uncovered before:

[In addition to the fear of the mound spirits here (which the Demon Tentacle Race calls "holy relic of Fubei"), their Perception is greatly limited in deep water. At a depth of 400 meters under high pressure, their Perception and combat abilities weaken by sevenfold. So, if the mound spirit's defenses are breached by the Demon Tentacle Race, one must hide in the hot springs to the north; the hot spring is the second barrier protecting your species.]

"The Fire Ancestor taught us many things, so we all strive to emulate humans. Today, you have helped us, which strengthens my belief that humans are the most perfect, benevolent, and trustworthy species in this world!" The voice of the White Flame Skeleton conveyed great respect for Xiang Beifei.

Was that so?

As the White Flame Skeleton spoke these words, Xiang Beifei even felt a touch of embarrassment.

The White Flame Skeleton held an adoration for humans. Since they were unable to leave this area and had not seen many humans, they did not understand humanity. They simply believed in the goodness and perfection of humans because the Fire Ancestor, who was a human, had helped them.

But not all humans were like that, especially those from the Jiuzhou Alliance, a place steeped in noxious fumes. There, people were concerned only with self-interest and system rankings; power was highly concentrated in the hands of high-level Awakeners, who could manipulate outcomes to their liking. People like Lady Qiu and He Caiwei could engage in treachery and even murder for personal gain, and such things were trivial to them.

If those humans ever had the chance to come here, they could easily destroy this place.

"Not all humans are benevolent. You should understand that even in the most outstanding species, there are some dark individuals. Humans are like that too. So, if you see humans or species akin to humans, don't blindly trust them. At least learn to distinguish them first, then decide whether they are worthy of trust," Xiang Beifei cautioned.