In a vast desert in the Middle East, dunes stretched as far as the eye could see. The sun blazed like a furnace, scorching the sands while a gentle breeze carried dust into ever-shifting peaks.
Out of nowhere, a streak of Qi descended. It wasn't pure white, but laced with dark purple, giving it a sinister glow. It slipped through the grains of sand until it found a tiny scorpion hidden in the shade.
The energy entered the creature's body without the slightest resistance, and the scorpion drank it greedily.
As the energy bathed the arthropod's body, it began to undergo mutations visible to the naked eye. Its cultivation base soared, drawing the surrounding Qi into a wild spiral that blasted the sand away from its hiding spot.
Breakthrough after breakthrough came in rapid succession, until, in the blink of an eye, the once-small scorpion towered three meters tall. Its claws grew massive and razor-sharp, its exoskeleton hardening into a shell stronger than tank armor, and its tail gleamed with lethal venom
But the transformation wasn't just external.
Deep within its chest, a walnut-sized core formed—gold with purple veins. This was a Beast Core, a demonic version of a human Dantian.This was no ordinary change. That was a testament of its strength, the main reason for its growth.
That was called a Beast Core, or a Demonic Core. It was a unique thing for the beast, similar to a human dantian, it was responsible for storing huge amounts of Qi for the beast's use.
Every beast in the end of Foundation Establishment Realm would have to form a Beast Core to evolve to the next level. It was slow work and many would never succeed. Yet Leo had simply forced the process, skipping every step.
Though it seemed like a gift, it was also a curse. It would never progress to the Nascent Soul Realm unless Leo willed it. It was locked at the Golden Core Realm for its entire life.
Yet, the simple animal that was once at the bottom of the chain food, was now transformed into an unstoppable killing machine. Probably the strongest creature on Earth.
Its massive claws snapped in the air as it turned, each step shaking the sand. Without hesitation, it began marching toward the nearest city.
********
In the middle of a large and dense forest, an ancient tribe took shelter. The cloudy and rainy weather was constant in the place, but their huts made of vine withstood the rain well.
The constant rain drummed against their vine-huts, but the weather couldn't dampen the sound of their celebration. The warriors had returned from the hunt with food.
They lived inside the Amazon rainforest, a name they came to know after contact with other humans that used strange clothes and equipment. Still, most of the tribe preferred to live in isolation, only from time to time having contact with the outside world.
The fire crackled brightly inside the tribe's common hall, searing the flesh of an unrecognizable quadruped. The delicious smell filled everyone with joy.
Or almost everyone.
In a reserved corner of the hall, the Chief of the tribe was talking to one of the expedition's warriors. Both had long black hair, neither fair nor dark skin, and broad faces characteristic of the Indians of that region.
"...it's getting worse, Abaeté." whispered the warrior with a pleading voice. "The beasts are becoming wilder, stronger... we've lost three men this week.The tribe needs your wisdom."
"I know, we must do our ritual when the flower of the moon blooms. Until then, we must hold on." Abaeté said firmly, though fear flickered in his eyes as he watched the children by the fire. "Only then can we—"
*CRASH!*
The chief was interrupted the moment the hut walls were destroyed.
A multitude of debris flew across the hall. Children cried and women screamed, the men immediately grabbed their weapons, which were never far away, and faced whatever was attacking them.
Amidst that chaos, from within the hole on the wall two golden eyes with thin black irises stared back at the Indians.
An immense snake's head greeted the tribe.
Silence. Everyone stared at each other without even moving a muscle. They had never seen such a monstrous animal, it would be able to swallow a whole man in the blink of an eye.
Whoosh~
The snake's tongue flickered out, tasting the air. For a terrifying second, it looked as if the animal was smiling at them.
********
China,
Near a beautiful lake an old man with long white hair was fishing peacefully, admiring the scenery with a smile on his face. He was on the bank of the river, with his bare feet in the icy water,the ripples swaying gently around them.
He held a worn fishing rod in his hands, waiting for some fish to bite his bait.
It was dawn, and a thin mist still floated above the water. The lake lay at the edge of the city, where the road curved past its shore. At that time, many people left to do their chores and passers-by were already used to the old man.
He had been fishing there for so many years that some joked he was part of the scenery itself.
Every so often, he would hum an old tune under his breath, pausing only to swat away the occasional fly.
Then, the fishing rod twitched.
At first, it was just a light tug, the kind he'd felt countless times before. He grinned, his missing teeth showing as he tightened his grip. But the tug suddenly became a violent pull, the rod bending in a sharp arc.
"Oh-ho! Today I'll have a big one for lunch! Hehehe!" With surprising strength for a man of his age, he braced his legs and began reeling in.
But something was wrong.
Weirdly, the river was churning more and more.The ripples turned into small waves, and then into a swirling whirlpool.
Passers-by stopped in their tracks, drawn by the commotion. Several people leaned over the guardrail, watching the water twist and boil. The rod in the old man's hands jerked harder, as though whatever was on the other end was trying to pull him into the lake.
"Come here, you little—!" he muttered through clenched teeth, pulling back with all his might.
The whirlpool deepened. The air filled with a strange humming sound, low and resonant, like the tremor of a drum.
Suddenly, before the old man could react a huge goldfish jumped out of the water and with its mouth open. It was bigger than a shark, its mouth wide enough to swallow a man whole.
The old man barely had time to widen his eyes.
"Oh… Shit!" That was the last thing he said before he was eaten by the fish.
**********
High in a mountain cliff, an eagle had just returned to its nest. She dropped a hare before her hungry hatchlings, who chirped and pecked at the meat happily.
The mother eagle watched with calm satisfaction, her sharp eyes scanning the skies above for danger. The wind howled faintly outside the nest, carrying the scent of pine and stone.
Then, something strange happened. A strange streak of bright Qi came from the sky. It was a mixture of white and purple, and it sank into the eagle's body without resistance.
As if injected with steroids, the eagle transformed.
Her muscles swelled. Her feathers turned into metallic, glossy blades. Her wingspan stretched to four meters, and her talons grew sharp enough to slice through solid stone.
The wind itself seemed to bow to her, swirling around her.
With a piercing cry, she launched into the air. The screech echoed across the mountain, bouncing between cliffs and valleys, a sound that struck both awe and fear into every creature that heard it.
A new king of the skies had been born.
These phenomena were happening everywhere. Humanity was no longer at the top of the food chain; they were falling behind at a staggering speed.
*******
Tokyo City.
Inside a luxurious apartment, Hei Niyanyu slowly opened his eyes. The shadows that perpetually clung to his form stirred like a nest of disturbed vipers, shifting in a slow, deliberate dance. Two glowing red orbs ignited within that darkness—his eyes, cold and sharp, shining like a lighthouse warning of a coming storm.
The sight alone made the old man and the maids in the room freeze.
"L-Lord Niyanyu… may I be of service?"
The old man, once one of the most feared and ruthless leaders of the Yakuza, dropped to his knees. He bowed so low his forehead brushed the expensive carpet. In his black silk robe, with his long white beard swaying, he even older. He had seen Niyanyu erase men from existence with a flick of a finger; he had no desire to be next.
That memory still gave him goosebumps. Fortunately he chose to bow down.
Niyanyu's gaze drifted to the horizon, his voice low. "Hmm… a Peak Foundation Establishment being? No… a Golden Core Beast. Interesting…"
He was using his Divine Sense. Even though his original cultivation had been shattered and he was currently a shadow of his former self, his mental prowess was still monstrous.
He could feel more than one golden core beasts appearing around Asia. Even though he could not cover the entire world with his Divine Sense now, he could imagine that it wouldn't be any different in any continent.
Against humans who were struggling to even reach the Second or Third Stage of Body Tempering, a Golden Core beast was effectively a god.
Niyanyu's lips curled into a thin, dangerous smile. He understood Leo's game. The "Boss" wanted to stress-test humanity, to force them to stop playing around with their little governments and start cultivating for real.
[If you want a tragedy, I'll give you a masterpiece.] Niyanyu thought.
"Call everyone back," Niyanyu ordered. His crimson eyes flared like dying stars, and the shadows around him twisted violently in response to his mood. "Stop all operations except those related to the books. From now on, everything is about cultivation. If they don't grow, they are useless to me."
His tone deepened, dripping with a hidden threat. "Also… select a small group of the most loyal, those with the highest aptitude for Qi. Bring them to me personally.".
"Yes, my Lord…" The old man bowed again, but before he could leave, the shadows swirled once more.
A small book appeared in midair, floating toward him.
The old man caught it, nearly dropping it from the sudden chill that seeped through the cover. It was pitch black, with a texture like dried skin. The title looked as if it had been scratched into the leather with a jagged claw, the letters a deep, crusty red like old blood.
[Blood Qi Demonic Cultivation Technique]
The old man felt a shiver run down his spine as the meaning behind the deep red words came to mind.
"Upload this online," Niyanyu said, his voice as cold as the void. "Distribute it to every corner of the digital world. But hear me well—no one in our organization is allowed to learn a single word from those pages. If I find even a trace of this Qi in my subordinates, I will make their deaths last a century."
"Yes, my Lord."
Niyanyu stood up. His body didn't move like a human's; it seemed to dissolve at the edges, turning into a cloud of ink that drifted toward the open balcony.
As the shadow figure disappeared before their eyes, the maids and the old man both let out quiet sighs of relief. The pressure he emitted was suffocating.
Unknown to them, far above, Niyanyu did the same as he flew in the sky.
Flying was no longer the effortless act it had been in his home realm. In this weakened body, he had to constantly channel Qi and manipulate the remnants of his shattered Domain just to stay airborne. It was taxing, but he did it with a grace that no technology on Earth could replicate.
Fortunately, he was once an experienced god and even in this weakened body, his control was precise.
As the clouds drifted beneath his feet, Niyanyu lifted a hand. He lifted a hand, and with a series of precise mental flickers, he manifested hundreds of Demonic Cultivation Books.
He didn't drop them at random. His Divine Sense sought out the darkest corners of the planet: the hearts of war zones, the dens of the most corrupt syndicates, and the minds of those filled with unquenchable hatred.
"If the world is to be a stage for cultivation…" Niyanyu muttered to the wind, his silhouette a jagged scar against the moon. "then it needs its villains. Let the slaughter begin."