Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Does Not Change
Arc: The Great Gang War
Scarlet King flew at an insane speed, his velocity increasing at a terrifying rate the farther he traveled, swimming through the void of space between galaxies and planets. This time, he began using qi to fly, allowing him to surpass the speed of light in an overwhelming manner.
Because of his speed, space-time around him began to tear apart—
cracking, fragmenting, and warping…
Yet Scarlet King did not care. Instead, he increased his speed even further with the support of the jetpack, until he became faster than the non-standard expansion of the universes themselves.
At that speed, he pierced through the barrier of a universe
and moved between universes with ease.
He spoke to himself as he gazed at stars that were nothing more than entire galaxies:
(Hah… the laws of the universe outside normal regions are far weaker,
which is why I can exceed the speed of light to this extent.
Every universe possesses different laws of power, speed, and evolution;
no universe resembles another—neither in laws, form, inhabitants, nor cultivators.)
(But the speed that frees me…
may also draw the attention of things that should not be awakened.)
From afar, someone was watching Scarlet King.
And Scarlet King knew he was being watched…
but he ignored it.
He continued charging forward at full speed,
passing through universe after universe.
They no longer felt like universes to him,
but merely transit points along a single path.
He could sense only three things now:
the gaze of the observer,
the gravitational pressure of entire universes,
and the black holes he passed—using their gravity to accelerate even further.
[Hours Later]
Scarlet King finally reached the universe where Earth existed—
a remote universe, far from the qi-rich core of the dimension.
[Minutes Later]
He arrived at the blue planet… Earth.
And the strange sensation of being watched vanished.
He descended precisely at the wooden house where he, Lin Yuan, and Ikalat had once lived. When he entered, he found Steven Gill waiting for him—a man with blond hair, blue eyes, a light blond beard, and a stocky build, dressed in formal attire.
Steven Gill spoke:
"Welcome, Sir Scarlet King.
I wish to discuss a deal with you."
A table and two chairs stood facing each other,
with three guards positioned behind Steven Gill.
Steven took a seat across from Scarlet King.
Scarlet King sat as well,
staring into Steven Gill's eyes without any expression or interest.
Scarlet King spoke first:
"Steven Gill… Michael Gill's brother."
Steven Gill replied as one of the guards placed a glass of wine on the table and he began drinking:
"I know you're the one who killed my brother.
But I don't care.
He was useless in the end,
and grief or revenge over him would be a waste of time."
Scarlet King nodded coldly and said:
"Do you remember that manuscript written in an unknown language?
I want it."
Steven Gill asked curiously:
"And why do you want it?"
Scarlet King answered calmly:
"There's no need to know things
that a small human mind cannot understand."
Steven Gill attempted to ingratiate himself and asked:
"Sir Scarlet King, why won't you drink the wine?"
Scarlet King erased the glass from existence before everyone's shocked eyes and replied:
"Alcohol harms the body
and corrupts even the purest minds, making them fragile and easy to break.
My mind is firmer than existence itself."
Steven Gill laughed loudly and hurled his glass to the floor:
"Hahaha! This power—this is exactly what I want to rule the world!
Here is the deal:
help me become a cultivator,
and I will give you the manuscript."
Scarlet King asked with detached curiosity:
"And how do you know about cultivation?"
Steven Gill answered confidently:
"We possess ancient manuscripts dating back to the year 1111,
about a man named Thomas Andre,
who became something called a cultivator and left the universe.
No one knows this information except the United States of America… which I lead."
Scarlet King's eyes widened slightly for the first time.
"Thomas Andre?"
A sudden dizziness struck him.
He clutched his head as a crushing headache surged through his mind.
And he saw a strange scene…
A devastated land.
Shattered mountains.
Scarlet King's body severed at the waist, kneeling on the ground.
Before him stood a gigantic man—nearly two meters and eighty centimeters tall—
with long, thick blond hair,
a blond beard,
bulging muscles, and an overwhelming physique.
His eyes radiated a brilliant white-gold light.
He spoke with a crazed smile,
and behind him stood another man with brown hair and a light beard, his clothes torn and body wounded—
along with a massive red western dragon bearing four enormous wings.
"I am Thomas Andre, O [Information Deleted],
the Golden Venerable, the Indestructible Body Refiner.
We met in Hell…
but the final victor…
was me."
Scarlet King snapped back to consciousness,
sweat pouring down his body,
while Steven Gill and his guards stared at him in shock.
He thought inwardly:
(Thomas Andre… the Golden Venerable.
These are memories from the future,
most likely caused by the River of Time.
And that place… it feels familiar…
It was Hell.)
Steven Gill interrupted his thoughts:
"So, what do you think?
Do you accept the deal?"
Scarlet King replied calmly:
"I need to rest first.
After that, we can discuss the deal."
Scarlet King rose from the chair.
Steven Gill did not object.
He stood before the staircase of the house—
and suddenly, its form shifted,
transforming into an elevator.
Scarlet King stepped inside.
The elevator doors closed,
and it began descending into the laboratory levels below.