Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Never Changes
Arc: The Great Guerrilla War
Scarlet King placed his hand over his chest.
He felt the steady rhythm of the girl's heartbeat.
His thoughts flowed calmly:
(I should have placed her somewhere safer.
She nearly died.
I had to divert the power of the two daggers to shield her.
That was why the centipede managed to swallow my intestines.)
His gaze darkened slightly.
(Such talent…
It will become a rare treasure when the time for harvest arrives.)
He spoke in a low, emotionless voice:
"Talent that is not exploited to its absolute limit…
is not talent."
"It is waste."
Hybrid and Shadow melted into the darkness beneath his feet—
Like ink dissolving into water—
And vanished completely.
The wind stirred.
The air ruptured behind him as he launched eastward like a black meteor,
heading in the opposite direction from Ikalath, who had gone west.
[Hours Later]
He found a herd of wild boars grazing across uneven terrain.
In the next instant—
He streaked toward them like a violet flash.
He landed before them.
The boars froze.
Their bodies trembled violently beneath the crushing aura radiating from him.
He did not move.
He did not raise a weapon.
His killing intent alone sufficed.
The next moment—
The entire herd collapsed lifelessly.
None of them understood what had happened.
(My killing intent… refined across countless lifetimes.
If fully unleashed, it could exterminate the inhabitants of an entire dimension.
But the stronger the opponent's spirit and cultivation…
The less effective it becomes at my current level.
And if I release it completely…
I will die as well.
The only way to strengthen killing intent…
Is through killing.)
(I should bring the girl to Liu Zai Hang…
Let him secretly examine her talent.)
He drew one of the Ming Hao daggers.
With surgical precision—
He sliced open the belly of the first boar.
He peeled back flesh and muscle,
Reached inside—
And withdrew a small golden core that gleamed like a pearl.
(A ninth-rank core…
Beasts are divided into nine ranks.
The final three ranks—First, Second, and Third—are each divided into three internal stages.
Third stage of Third Rank: comprehension of Primitive Essence.
Second stage of Second Rank: comprehension of False Essence.
First stage of First Rank: comprehension of True Essence.
When a beast reaches First Rank and fully comprehends its essence within its dimension…
The Will of the Dimension attempts to expel it to a higher realm.)
(This applies to all beings—
humans, demons, spirits, and others.
Upon reaching the eleventh level of the highest existing tier…
Ascension becomes compulsory.)
(In the Eleventh Dimension,
a beast may become a Sacred Beast or a Demonic Mythic—
depending on alignment with the Classical or Inverse Dimensions—
but only if a Void Seat is vacant.
The same principle applies to other beings:
one may become a Great Emperor or a Great Demonic Ancestor
upon entering the Higher Existential Furnace—
but only if a seat is available.)
He stored the core inside his coat—
Which functioned as a miniature void dimension.
He continued working.
Tusks severed.
Cores extracted.
Blood pooled silently beneath him.
(Ninth-rank tusks…
six to seven green primal stones each.
The core…
ten to fifteen green primal stones—
or sixty red primal stones.)
He stored everything within his coat.
He moved again.
(I need to confirm Titan King's recovery.)
He closed his eyes and looked inward.
Within the vast internal void—
The crystalline Evolution Stone floated silently.
Beside it—
A faint sphere of light hovered.
Titan King.
The glow was weak—
But stable.
(The brighter the light…
the closer the transformation is to full recovery.)
Suddenly—
He felt static crackling beneath the earth.
Before he could fully react—
Lightning erupted upward.
It coursed violently through his body.
He dropped to one knee.
Lightning Wolves emerged from the shadows.
Seven.
Perhaps eight.
Their yellow eyes glowed like burning coals.
He rose slowly.
Drew both Ming Hao daggers.
Pointed them toward the pack.
They did not retreat.
(Seventh rank… seven or eight of them.
Low probability of victory.
I am injured.
Direct confrontation is inefficient.)
He turned—
And launched forward, tearing through earth and air alike.
The Lightning Wolves pursued him like streaks of yellow lightning.
Scarlet King smiled faintly.
Suddenly—
From the shadow beneath one wolf—
A massive scythe erupted.
Three wolves were cleaved in half at the atomic level.
Their lower bodies continued forward for a few steps—
Before collapsing.
Shadow emerged fully and engaged another.
Hybrid burst from beneath the ground,
Seized one,
And began devouring it.
Scarlet King halted.
His eyes turned crimson.
A deep vibration resonated:
"Fwoooooom—"
A red beam erupted from his gaze.
The final wolves screamed.
Their eyes ruptured.
Blood streamed from their noses.
Internal organs shattered violently.
They died slowly.
Silence returned.
Scarlet King stepped forward.
He began dismantling the corpses.
Cores extracted.
Fangs removed.
"Seventh-rank cores…"
"Worth one hundred to two hundred green primal stones each."
"The teeth…"
"One red stone per piece."
He gathered eight cores.
Collected every usable fang.
Shadow and Hybrid dissolved back into his shadow—
Like sugar melting into water.
He stored the spoils within his coat.
Then resumed flying eastward.
[Hours Later]
He slaughtered numerous beasts.
Some seventh rank.
Some eighth.
Most ninth.
Cores.
Hides.
Tusks.
Teeth.
All collected.
Finally—
He decided to leave the Cosmic Cave.
(Fifteen ninth-rank cores.
Five eighth-rank.
Ten seventh-rank.
And a considerable number of tusks, hides, and fangs.)
A cold smile appeared across his face.
"Many treasures…"
"And a promising beginning… before returning."