Volume One: "The Nature of the Devil Does Not Change"
Arc: "The Devil Finally Leaves Earth"
Scarlet King stared at Mo Sheng with dead, frozen eyes—cold as ice—then said:
"The favor is an Expanded Absorption Stone, and one black-and-white primordial stone from the Third Dimension."
The Expanded Absorption Stone was used in Qi Gathering arrays—an energy stone that permanently absorbed surrounding qi and increased qi density within a fixed area.
Mo Sheng's confident expression shattered. He shouted:
"What?! Your demand is enormous! The Expanded Absorption Stone is easy—I have plenty in the Demon King's treasury. But a black-and-white primordial stone from the Third Dimension? That's extremely difficult! I only have a few—you could count them on one hand…"
He exhaled sharply, then forced the words out anyway:
"But fine. Consider it delivered."
Mo Sheng felt scammed—like he'd paid a heavy price for a deal with no guarantee. He didn't know whether Scarlet King would honor the agreement or simply take the stones and vanish. But he had no choice now.
(If I refuse, I'll be the one breaking the alliance—giving him an excuse to withdraw. And in the future, I'll be forced into a direct confrontation with him.)
Mo Sheng stood to leave.
"I'll give you the stones tomorrow."
Scarlet King watched him walk away and exit the miniature universe, smiling faintly—coldly.
As Mo Sheng left, he thought:
(A black-and-white stone from the Third Dimension… that's the rarest type there. The higher the dimension, the purer and better the stones become compared to the lower ones. A red primordial stone from the Third Dimension is worth more than a black-and-white stone from the Second.)
After Mo Sheng was gone, Scarlet King rose and walked to the clear lake. Nothing disturbed its surface except his reflection: a young boy with black-and-white hair—one eye fully black, the other fully white.
Silence ruled the pocket world, broken only by night crickets.
Scarlet King spoke quietly.
"It seems this miniature universe has started producing living beings… good. Very good."
A blue spacetime gate opened behind him.
Power poured out, making his clothes flutter. He turned without expression and looked at the gate.
A man and a woman stepped through.
Both wore formal black uniforms: military-style caps, black gloves, black trousers, and polished shoes. The only difference was subtle—the woman's outfit carried white accents, while the man's was entirely black.
Scarlet King let out a cold laugh.
"Oh… welcome, Yin-Yang Guards. I summoned you here because this is my private world—and the Twenty-Two Great Concepts will find it difficult to trace you while you're inside it."
The Yin-Yang Guards knelt.
The woman's voice was soft and beautiful. The man's voice was rough and heavy.
"My great lord… do you intend to leave Earth?"
Scarlet King replied calmly, a devilish smile flickering as he turned his gaze back to the lake.
"Of course. And next week, there will be no reason left for me to remember this planet. But before we go, we have things to do… and the first is this: we must create the System."
The Yang Guard asked:
"And what is the System?"
Scarlet King answered, clasping his hands behind his back.
"A comprehensive intelligent system containing everything stored in my mind. It will manage the slaves, organize information according to circumstances, and report the physical, psychological, and mental condition of any person."
Scarlet King walked past the Yin-Yang Guards and entered the house—into the left room, simple and bare, containing only a single bed.
[The Next Day]
Mo Sheng stood in an isolated, distant place. A red gate opened, and a blood-aspected demon stepped out—pale-skinned, red-haired. It handed Mo Sheng the Expanded Absorption Stone, and a black-and-white primordial stone from the Third Dimension.
Mo Sheng inspected the stones, then asked:
"How are things in the Demon World?"
The blood demon answered simply:
"Chaos without you, my king."
Mo Sheng nodded, remembering what had happened last night.
[Yesterday]
Yao Yan screamed:
"What?! Scarlet King became Yu Ru Meng's fiancé?! Why wasn't he my fiancé?! Father, you always favor my little sister!"
Mo Sheng replied:
"Scarlet King is the one who chose Yu Ru Meng. He didn't choose you because of your temperament."
Scarlet King appeared behind Mo Sheng and said calmly:
"Because of your temperament… you won't get a husband in your life."
Those words cracked a piece of Yao Yan's pride—while Yu Ru Meng watched with open amusement.
[Present — One Hour Later]
Mo Sheng returned to the house and delivered the stones to Scarlet King.
Scarlet King went back to his room, sat in the center of the floor in a meditative posture, and held the black-and-white primordial stone in his hand.
From within, he began splitting off a portion of his soul.
In that familiar black void, he formed a spiritual knife—then cut away a fragment of his own soul. The pain was worse than death, yet Scarlet King's expression didn't twitch. His eyes remained dead and steady.
Then he began forging the System through the black-and-white primordial stone.
The stone started to rotate.
A fragment of Scarlet King's soul and consciousness spun around it. Nearby, a small array held many green stones as fuel.
The creation process began: the soul-fragment crumbled, dissolved, and merged into the black-and-white stone—
until, at last, it ended smoothly.
Scarlet King withdrew from the black void. The black-and-white primordial stone now glowed faintly in his palm.
"Finally… the System is ready. But this remains."
He took the Expanded Absorption Stone and swallowed it.
It began merging with the Evolution Stone.
That fusion would accelerate healing and the evolution of transformations—improving them, and allowing them to progress automatically without constant meditation. The Expanded Absorption Stone absorbed qi, while the Evolution Stone charged and fed the next stage of transformation.