Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Does Not Change"
Arc: The Great Gang War"
Liu Zai Hang followed the direction Scarlet King had pointed toward and saw Xue Hua and Feng Jian watching from above. He raised his voice and called out:
"Xue Hua, Feng Jian—come here."
Xue Hua and Feng Jian moved at astonishing speed, appearing before Elder Liu Zai Hang within seconds. They bowed calmly, their movements disciplined and restrained.
Xue Hua spoke first:
"I saw Lin Yuan attack Long Wei first. This is my testimony—Lin Yuan is at fault."
Feng Jian then spoke, his eyes shifting toward Long Wei with barely concealed anger:
"My testimony is that Long Wei attacked Lin Yuan first after demanding that he join the Dragon Gang. Lin Yuan refused. Long Wei is the guilty one, Elder Liu Zai Hang."
Long Wei's smile tightened—not in anger, but in cold caution, like a venomous snake realizing the grass was no longer safe and its poison had lost its effect.
From afar, Scarlet King felt a violent disturbance surge within him. The flow of qi inside his body went completely berserk. In an instant, he moved at a speed approaching blue light itself and returned to Liu Zai Hang's palace. He sat atop the mountain and began cultivating, sweat pouring from his body.
Liu Zai Hang noticed Scarlet King's sudden return to the palace, but at first, he did not pay it much attention.
Almost immediately, Scarlet King broke through to the fifth level of the Qi Refinement Realm. His skin cracked like shattered glass.
Then he broke through to the sixth level of the Qi Refinement Realm, causing the cells of his body to be reforged and renewed—his appearance becoming even younger.
After that, an enormous surge of black energy erupted from his body, and he transformed into the Titan King. Fog surrounded him, announcing the beginning of his evolution, and he thought to himself:
(After this evolution and breakthrough, I will be far stronger. But I still need to stabilize my level. A tree without strong roots falls easily.)
Scarlet King felt the Evolution Stone begin merging with his soul—a process extremely dangerous, with an exceptionally high chance of failure.
Liu Zai Hang sensed the energy erupting from the mountaintop and spoke in a low voice:
"What is happening up there on the mountain?"
He then turned back and said calmly, his anger completely gone:
"We will discuss this matter tomorrow in the sect's punishment hall."
Liu Zai Hang moved at high speed, and Lin Yuan immediately followed him toward the mountain, now crowned by a black cloud visible from the farthest edges of the sect. Purple lightning struck the mountain peak again and again.
The clouds and lightning drew the attention of many elders, including the First Elder, the Third Elder, and Elder Da Fu.
Within seconds, the elders stood together before the fog surrounding the Titan King. Elder Da Fu formed a protective qi barrier against the lightning and asked the First Elder—who had black hair, a white beard, violet eyes, a calm aura, and wore a yellow robe:
"What is this? Does any elder know what is happening?"
Liu Zai Hang replied with a laugh:
"This little brat destroyed my palace—but witnessing his breakthrough makes it worth it."
A heavy, powerful voice echoed from within the fog:
"!dḥāw ḥūmṭw w hrbāṯm ,!hdḥāw ḥūr ,!dḥāw dsj ,!dḥāw ṣḫṣ ġnyk tnyātltā w ġnyk tylrāksḏ anā !nʾlā w ywqā ynʿlǧny ǧdydl rwtṭl"
Lin Yuan finally arrived and stood beside the First Elder. A system screen appeared before him alone, displaying both the translation and an explanation of what was happening.
System:
Translation:
"The new evolution makes me stronger. And now—
I am Scarlet King and the Titan King as one being!
One body!
One soul!
One perseverance and one ambition!"
"The Master and the Titan King have fused. This will greatly increase their compatibility and coordination compared to the past, when the Master issued commands and the Titan King merely executed them. Now, the Master and the Titan King control the body as a single entity, with one soul and one body. If one dies, the other dies as well."
"However, the power of the transformation will become even greater, and the chances of evolving to higher tiers will increase. According to system calculations, there are eleven tiers to the Titan King transformation. It is currently at Tier Three."
Lightning began striking the Titan King's body relentlessly. After several minutes, the fog and black clouds dissipated, revealing the Titan King's new form—now standing five kilometers tall.
He wore a black shirt, black pants, black boots, and a long black coat draped over his shoulders. A new, flat primary screen appeared, with two internal side screens embedded within it that activated when red beams were fired.
His left sword had grown stronger and sharper. Three grappling hooks now extended from his back instead of two. His jetpack was larger and more powerful, and he now possessed two cannons:
one on his left arm beside the sword,
and one on his right arm.
He showed no expression, yet a terrifying purple energy radiated from him. At the center of his chest was an energy core resembling a heart—a black-hole-like nucleus that absorbed surrounding qi and pumped it throughout the giant's body to amplify his power.
The elders stood stunned.
Liu Zai Hang, however, began laughing wildly with excitement and shouted:
"Damn it! This is unbelievably interesting!!"
Meanwhile, Lin Yuan thought to himself in shock:
(Damn… what a true monster. It will be incredibly difficult for me to surpass him—but I will never stop persevering.)
He clenched his fist tightly and shouted within his heart, filled with pure determination:
"I will carve my own path, separate from everyone else.
I will obtain power, women, and wealth,
and I will build my own empire!"