Rise Of The Worm Sovereign

"Hey kid, want some powers?"

The words that were spoken just now were unexpected for the servant boy. He had imagined a lot of things, but this was certainly not one of them.

"Huh?" The servant boy didn't know how to react at all.

In the first place, he couldn't comprehend the words. He could of course, understand the meaning of the words themselves, but when they were put together, the context was confusing for him.

"I asked you if you want powers, kid? Don't you wanna be strong?" The Strange Being repeated.

The Servant boy could help but take a breath as he saw the mouth in the sewer grate moving. He was now sure that the voice had truly come from it. The gaze of the yellow eyes felt like needles on his skin and was highly uncomfortable.

'Just what is that thing?' The servant boy wondered.

'Is this guy slow in the head?' Lin Wu wondered.

He had acted on a whim and killed the Tea House owner. Lin Wu had witnessed everything that had happened and was watching it all like a drama. The suitable target that the system had pointed out for him was none other than the Servant boy.

Before, the Servant Boy was still in the Tea House, and it wasn't really suitable for Lin Wu to kill and consume him right then and there; even if he could possibly consume the entire Tea House and leave no witness.

All that would be too high profile and wouldn't go according to his plan.

Thus he waited and watched everything that unfolded next. Lin Wu felt like he was watching a cultivation novel like a live show. It was the classic start of a weak boy being oppressed and then getting his revenge in the future.

But things didn't turn out like Lin Wu had imagined. Which reminded him that while he was in a cultivation world, things wouldn't always play out the same.

It was then that Lin Wu thought of something: Why not make it take that route with his interference?

'It felt really exciting when I thought of it, but now… this guy is too slow. Doesn't seem like he has the protagonist template.' Lin Wu thought to himself as he saw the confusion on the Servant boy's face.

~Sigh~

"At least tell me your name, boy." Lin Wu said, this time in a firmer voice.

"I… I… I'm Feng." The servant boy finally spoke, this time finding the question to be a bit normal.

"Feng? Just Feng?" Lin Wu repeated.

"Y-yes…" Feng weakly replied.

"You don't have a full name?" Lin Wu questioned as he stared into the boy's eyes, making him shudder a bit.

"Yeah… I don't. I was an orphan and was never given a name. Even the name if have was just given to me randomly by the other people of the slums." Feng answered.

Lin Wu continued to stare into his eyes, having glanced the truth.

'He isn't lying. Even the system confirmed it.' Lin Wu was a bit surprised.

"Well, it doesn't matter much, anyway. You can take any name you want in the future." Lin Wu spoke casually.

Feng felt a little calmer by now, and the fear that was filling him was reduced by half. He could at least tell that the thing in front of him didn't want to kill him.

"W-who… no… what are you?" Feng asked, mustering a little more courage.

"Well, can you guess?" Lin Wu replied, wondering what the child would say.

"Are you an assassin sent to kill the Tea House owner?" Feng asked.

"Huh?" Now it was Lin Wu's turn to be astounded.

Lin Wu had a few terms in his mind already that the boy might call him; beast, monster, devil, demon, these were just a few of the terms that might make sense. But assassin was not one of them at all.

"Why do you think that I'm an assassin?" Lin Wu questioned curiously.

"You're not?" Feng was surprised. "I thought that you were an assassin sent by the Pink Lotus Theater." He added.

'Pink Lotus Theater? What's that system?' Lin Wu questioned in his mind.

~DING~

——

ANSWER: The Pink Lotus Theater is an entertainment establishment located a kilometer away from here. It was popular among the citizens of this area and is one of the many other such businesses.

——

This was the general information that the system had gathered from its scan. This was actually not in the memories of any of the slum dwellers that he had eaten till now. Which showed that if he wanted more information, he needed to consume everyone equally.

Still, it was enough to give him a general idea about the place. Just by knowing what kind of establishment it was, Lin Wu speculated why it would send someone to possibly assassinate the tea house owner.

"And why do you think the Pink Louts Theater would want to kill the Tea House Owner?" Lin Wu questioned, wanting to understand Feng's guess.

"Isn't it because the Tea House Owner and the owner of the Pink Lotus Theater had a big argument? I heard it with my own two ears." Feng answered.

"I see…" Lin Wu replied and thought, 'at least the kid's got enough of a sense to pay attention to information like this. His guess could very well have been true too. A reasonable one.'

Lin Wu turned his focus back to Feng and saw him staring at him with a different look. It wasn't fully calm, but there wasn't the unsettled feeling on his face either.

"Well then, I guess I should tell you at least a little about myself." Lin Wu said, catching the boy's interest.

"I am someone who can make your dreams come true. Have you wanted to be strong? Have you wanted to take revenge on those that wronged you? Do you want to become a peerless expert? A King perhaps? Maybe the patriarch of a sect, if that's more your thing?

I can allow you to do all that. Think of me as the wish granter." Lin Wu spoke, wondering if the kid would believe it.

"What? Are you one of those spirits from the tales that can grant wishes?" The boy was certainly excited to hear it.

'Fuck… he really believed it.' Lin Wu didn't know what to expect now.

"Yes… well, not exactly, but I have the powers to do most of it." Lin Wu replied.

"Then… what you were saying earlier… you can do that?" Feng asked nervously.

"So you were hearing me." Lin Wu said.

"Y-yes." Feng said, in an embarrassed tone.

"I did indeed. So then… do you want them?" Lin Wu questioned.

"W-what will I need to do for you?" Feng asked in turn.

He knew very well that nothing in this world came for free. Especially having lived in a place such as Tieba city, where the worst of the humans could be found, one learned it all very explicitly.

If one could offer such powers, then the cost of it must also be great. And one wouldn't pay a cost like that unless they were getting some benefits.

"So you do have some critical thinking… good." Lin Wu nodded his head. "And to answer your question, you will have to work for me."

"Work for you? You want me as a servant?" Feng asked.

He was a servant before, so becoming a servant for another much more powerful person didn't seem like a losing situation.

"You could say that. Though you will be free to do as you want when you have no task assigned to you. And when I give you tasks, you WILL have to do them." Lin Wu replied, his tone straight.

"I… understand." Feng could feel the oppression in Lin Wu's voice and didn't want to imagine the repercussion of failing a task.

And it wasn't like he could just reject this and turn away either. Feng could understand it very well that now that he had seen this being, there was no way other than going forward with it.

Besides, the temptation was far too great for him to resist too.

Just like Lin Wu had said, he too wanted everything that had been spoken. He wanted to be strong; he wanted to take revenge against many that harmed him, cheated him and humiliate him.

He wanted to become great, like the legendary heroes, the tales of whom he had heard so many times. He wanted to be like the peerless experts that lived in the cultivation sects.

He wanted to be immortal!

"Well then… You have to say it yourself. Do you want to become powerful?" Lin Wu asked again.

"I DO!" This time Feng answered with determination.

"Excellent." Lin Wu smiled, his sharp spiky teeth making Feng shudder again. "Then we should find a better place first."

"I know a place." Feng spoke hurriedly.

"Go on then, I'll be just behind you." Lin Wu replied.

Feng nodded his head and started to run out of the alley.

'Since he's letting me run like this freely, doesn't seem like he was intending to kill me.' Feng now confirmed it in his heart.

Back in the sewer grate, the head that was talking to Feng retracted. The teeth and eyes on it disappeared, and it turned into a tentacle. It continued to shrink until it reached the body to which it was attached to.

Tens of eyes opened and glowed in the darkness, outlining the massive body that was hiding in the depths.

"Seems like this will be interesting… won't deviate much from my plans, anyway."