Keke hadn't yet recovered when the fierce power from the White Tiger surged into his body, rampaging through his meridians and erupting uncontrollably.
The endless darkness shattered like broken glass, and Keke's consciousness returned to his body.
Pain.
It was the only thing Keke could feel at that moment.
His bones crackled, an unbearable itch spreading through him, as if countless ants were burrowing into his marrow and gnawing at it.
The sensation made Keke want to tear his body apart just to relieve the agony.
"Ah!"
With the last bit of sanity he could muster, Keke let out a low growl, clenching his teeth to keep from screaming too loudly.
He didn't want his cries to wake up Qi Han, who was sleeping in the next room.
Keke collapsed heavily onto the carpet and began to roll around wildly, hoping the motion might provide some relief.
But his efforts proved futile.
The itching in his bones only intensified.
Keke stopped writhing, curling up in agony.
His body twitched occasionally, and a trace of blood slowly dripped from the corner of his mouth — the result of biting down too hard on his gums.
Time passed, though how long he didn't know.
Just as Keke thought he could bear no more, the itching began to fade.
But before he could catch his breath, a new, entirely different wave of pain surged through him.
It felt as though his body was being mercilessly stretched and twisted by a massive, unseen hand.
Every muscle in his body was pulled to the breaking point, leaving him powerless, collapsed on the floor.
At this moment, he couldn't even roll over.
Every muscle in his body was being strained so severely that he was utterly immobilized, like a patient paralyzed by illness.
Only the tightly shut eyes and the twisted, pained expression on his face hinted at the excruciating torment he was enduring.
This time, the pain lasted even longer.
The intense soreness and weakness, the feeling of being helplessly ravaged, pushed Keke's mind to the brink of collapse.
Eventually, both the unbearable itching and the overwhelming pulling sensation vanished.
Keke lay motionless on the floor, barely showing any signs of life, save for the faint rise and fall of his chest.
Slowly, he sat up, feeling a suffocating pressure in his chest.
He exhaled forcefully, expelling the pent-up air, which emerged as a roar resembling that of a fierce tiger.
"Roar!"
The sound was like a caged tiger suddenly breaking free, wild and untamed.
Crack
His entire body trembled, and all the discomfort and frustration dissipated, replaced by a sense of unprecedented strength and comfort.
What... just happened?
Keke raised his hands, staring at them in astonishment.
His hands were now much larger than before, and when he clenched them, he felt as if he could punch through a wall.
The cotton pants he had worn, which used to be loose, were now stretched to their limits, finally tearing apart as the muscles in Keke's legs flexed.
He sat there, staring at the torn fragments of his pants in silence for a while before suddenly standing up and rushing into the bathroom.
Standing in front of the two-meter-tall mirror, Keke tentatively reached out and touched the glass.
Seeing the reflection do the same, he withdrew his hand awkwardly.
Is this really me?
Keke's body had grown nearly two heads taller.
From a height of around 170 centimeters, he now stood close to 190 centimeters.
Such a drastic change overnight was almost unbelievable.
If it weren't for the fact that his face, though now more rugged and mature, still bore a resemblance to his previous appearance, and that everything in the bathroom was familiar to him, Keke might have thought he had somehow traveled through time.
What? He doesn't know what time travel is?
Oh, never mind then.
Though his facial features hadn't changed much, when Keke stared into the mirror, he was struck by his own reflection.
Those heterochromatic eyes—one blue, one red—stood out starkly.
Such eyes were a well-known mark in the Star Luo Empire.
Only those with royal blood and the inherited martial spirit of the Evil-Eyed White Tiger would have eyes like this after their martial spirit awakened.
"Who... am I, really?"
Keke stood still, quietly reflecting on his past.
He had always believed he was just an ordinary beggar, eating whatever food he could find, begging on the streets once he was old enough.
Even though he had learned to read and write, he still couldn't live a decent life like a regular civilian.
He had no proof of his origins and couldn't even obtain official status as a commoner.
People like him had no chance of finding stable work in Star Luo City.
Employers would look down on him, fearing he might steal from them and disappear, so they'd rather pay extra to hire actual citizens.
At six, his best chance to change his fate had been during the martial spirit awakening ceremony.
As long as he had even the smallest amount of spirit power, he could gain commoner status, and everything would improve.
But even that small opportunity, a chance to participate in a fair awakening ceremony like other children, had been denied to him.
And now...
Feeling the warm flow of energy within him, Keke focused, and his body started making crackling sounds again.
In that moment, his body grew even taller, almost reaching two meters.
His short black hair grew rapidly, turning into a long mane of black and white.
His fingernails extended, sharp like tiger claws, and his canine teeth grew longer.
The pupils of his heterochromatic eyes narrowed into slits.
This was just the most basic form of martial spirit possession, but it unmistakably revealed the nature of Keke's martial spirit.
It was the Evil-Eyed White Tiger, the inherited martial spirit of the Star Luo royal family.
However, none of Keke's memories had anything to do with the royal family.
Even his name offered no clues to his origins.
His name had been given to him by the elderly man who had taught him to read.
And he had no birthmarks or objects that could identify him.
As he dispersed his spirit power, his hair returned to its original short black form, but his heterochromatic eyes remained unchanged.
Keke smiled bitterly.
Oh well, I'd better wash off all this grime first.
The unpleasant stench pulled him from his complicated thoughts.
Stripping down to his underwear, Keke stepped into the shower.
After cleaning off the dirt, Keke planned to change into fresh pajamas, but seeing how none of them fit anymore, he sighed and settled for just his underwear before slipping under the covers.
He had intended to think more about his connection to the royal family and why his martial spirit was the Evil-Eyed White Tiger, but sleep overtook him almost instantly.
<+>
if you want to see more chapters of this story and don't mind playing $5 per month to see my latest update, please go to my Patreon [1]
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Avicebron[2]
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 313: This Kind Of Man[3]
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/becoming-food-in-121763175[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/Avicebron
[2] https://www.patreon.com/Avicebron
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/becoming-food-in-121763175
[4] https://www.patreon.com/posts/becoming-food-in-121763175