Luo Zhen had burned through every last spirit stone and herb in the cellar, funneling their essence into himself. His power surged, his experience cresting half a million points, but he was stuck. To break through to the next stage of the Heaven Profound Realm, he needed more than raw power. He needed Yang Gang Qi, a pure, masculine energy he completely lacked. For now, leveling up was off the table.
He didn't let the other treasures go to waste. Talismans, rare metals for crafting artifacts, ancient martial arts manuals—he fed them all to the system for a handsome sum of store credit. Finally done with the cellar, he emerged into the light, feeling refreshed and dangerously ambitious.
"So, what's the plan?" the system's voice echoed in his mind.
Luo Zhen mulled it over. "The Wu family's Yuan Dan masters were the strongest fighters in this kingdom. Now that they're gone, I'm the top predator." A wicked grin spread across his face. "It's time I made the entire State of Wu my personal resource farm."
With a powerful thrust of his massive, dark-gold wings, he launched himself into the sky. His shadow fell over the capital city below, a winged serpent blotting out the sun. The crowds in the streets froze, their upturned faces a mixture of terror and awe.
He hovered above the palace, his voice booming like thunder.
"HEAR ME!" he roared, the sound rattling windows and shaking the very stones of the city. "The royal line of Wu is finished. I have wiped them from this earth. As of this moment, I am your new king!"
He circled lower, his golden eyes scanning the terrified masses. "Spread the word to every corner of this kingdom. Every cultivation sect, every clan of martial artists—they will bring me tributes of spirit stones and herbs. And don't forget the demon beasts! Tell their chieftains they serve a new master now. Anyone who defies me, human or demon, will be utterly destroyed."
Panic erupted. But chaos soon gave way to a grim reality. Within the hour, confirmation spread: the royal family was truly gone, slaughtered to the last member. The people of the capital, from the lowliest commoner to the proudest warrior, began to accept the terrifying truth. A great winged serpent was their king.
The news traveled on wings of its own. In less than a day, every power player in the State of Wu knew what had happened. Faced with the threat of annihilation, they bowed. Convoys of carriages began to arrive at the palace, laden with the treasures Luo Zhen demanded. He coiled in the imperial gardens, sipping on the former king's finest wine as he lazily absorbed the essence of the incoming tributes.
This idyllic reign lasted exactly five days.
The whispers came first, then a full-blown report. While the local sects had bent the knee, they'd done so with their fingers crossed. Secretly, they had sent envoys to the neighboring State of Lu, begging for intervention.
And Lu was furious. They were the dominant human power on Silver Jiao Island, a nation so vast that the states of Wu and Dongyue combined wouldn't even make up a third of its territory. Lu boasted more than a dozen Yuan Dan masters and, most terrifying of all, an ancient grandmaster who had reached the legendary Soul Formation Realm. With Luo Zhen having toppled the other two human nations, it was no surprise Lu was finally making a move. They vowed to send their finest warriors to execute the "serpent demon."
"System," Luo Zhen said, swirling the wine in his goblet. "How much trouble are we in for? Give me a threat assessment. If they're sending chumps, we can take them. If they're sending in the big guns, it's time for a strategic retreat."
"Scanning the map," the system replied. A moment passed. "Analysis complete. Three late-stage Yuan Dan warriors are en route. ETA is thirty minutes."
"Just three of them?" Luo Zhen flicked his forked tongue. "Are they a real threat?"
"Individually, manageable. Collectively, dangerous," the system stated. "They are trained in a joint-attack formation that allows them to temporarily merge their power, hitting with the force of an early-stage Soul Formation master—the equivalent of a Demon King. However, if you can take one of them out of the fight, the formation will break, and the other two will be no match for you."
"A technique that mimics a Demon King? Well, I'm flattered they're taking me so seriously," Luo Zhen chuckled.
"It's a logical precaution," the system noted. "You single-handedly wiped out the three Yuan Dan masters of Wu. They don't know the ceiling of your power, so they're sending a team that can handle the worst-case scenario."
"Fair enough." Luo Zhen drained his cup. "Well, if guests are coming, it's only polite to prepare a welcome party."
With a flick of his tail, he vanished from the garden.
Thirty minutes later, three figures blurred into existence inside the royal palace. They had barely materialized when three sabers of incandescent white fire descended from the heavens, one aimed at each of them.
"Look out!" one of the warriors yelled, throwing up a defensive artifact just in time. The other two reacted instantly, their own enchanted weapons deflecting the fiery blades.
But the attack wasn't over. The fire sabers morphed, shifting into roaring waves of flame that latched onto their artifacts, smothering them.
"This fire is unnatural! We have to break free!" another shouted. They struggled, but the white-hot flames were strangely insidious, clinging to their weapons and burning with an impossible heat. Only the high quality of their artifacts prevented them from melting into slag on the spot.
As they wrestled with the flames, one of the warriors stiffened. "Does anyone else feel like... there's someone right behind me?"
Before he could finish the thought, a spear made of the same ghostly fire materialized in the air behind him and punched clean through his chest. He let out a single, strangled cry and collapsed, dead.
Luo Zhen shimmered into view behind the fallen warrior, a faint smile on his lips. "Stealth and a Ghost Fire spear. Works every time."
"Fifth Brother!" the remaining two warriors screamed in unison. One of them, his face contorted with rage, locked eyes with Luo Zhen. "You monstrous snake! I'll rip you to shreds for that!"
"You'll have to find me first," Luo Zhen said calmly. He reabsorbed the ghost fire, and his body dissolved into thin air. He was gone.
The two warriors stared at the space, a cold dread seeping into their hearts.
"He can turn invisible? No wonder Fifth Brother never saw it coming!"
"Back to back! Now! Don't give him an opening!"
They pressed their backs together, weapons at the ready, eyes darting nervously around the courtyard. All the while, the skeletal white flames continued to consume their artifacts, the metal groaning under the intense heat.
Hiding in the folds of space, Luo Zhen conferred with the system. "Why haven't their weapons melted yet?"
"They're high-grade artifacts," the system explained. "Resilient. But they can't last forever. Give it another minute."
Luo Zhen waited.
A minute later, two blood-curdling screams echoed at once. The warriors doubled over, spitting up mouthfuls of blood as the spiritual connection to their weapons shattered. At the same instant, their artifacts finally gave out, collapsing into pools of molten iron.
"Our bonded weapons... they're destroyed!" one of them cried in despair.
"We have to get out of here!" the other urged, his voice trembling. "Without our artifacts, our strength is crippled. And with him hiding, waiting to strike... if we stay, we're dead."
"Third Brother is right, let's go!"
As they turned to flee, Luo Zhen's voice drifted through the air, cool and mocking. "Leaving so soon? I don't recall dismissing you."
"Who's there?"
"It's the serpent! Show yourself, you coward!" the lead warrior yelled, spinning around to face the empty air. "Stop hiding in the shadows and fight us like a man!"
"You want an open fight? Fine." Luo Zhen's form solidified before them. "You can have it."
The two warriors stumbled back, their faces pale with terror. This creature's power was beyond anything they had ever encountered. It wasn't just his strength; it was his bizarre, unpredictable abilities.
Luo Zhen gave them a final, predatory smile and unleashed a torrent of Skeletal Ghost Fire.
The fight was over in thirty seconds.
Miles away, in a grand temple in the State of Lu, a young disciple scrambled from a ceremonial hall, his face ashen. He sprinted up a mountainside path toward a lone thatched hut.
"Master!" he screamed, skidding to a halt before the door. "Master, it's a disaster! The life tablets for Third, Fourth, and Fifth Brother... they've all shattered!"
"What?!" A powerful voice boomed from within. The door flew open, and a stern, red-faced old man emerged. "They just left for the State of Wu to deal with a serpent demon. How could this happen?"
"The serpent... it must have been stronger than we imagined," the disciple stammered. "By now, they would have already arrived and engaged it. And then the tablets..."
The old master fell silent, his expression grim. After a long moment, he spoke, his voice low and dangerous. "Those three, when fighting together, could channel the power of an early Soul Formation master. For all three to have fallen... this demon of Wu is no simple beast."
His eyes hardened. "It seems I must handle this myself."
With a flick of his wrist, he summoned a crimson light from his hut. It was a magnificent red longsword, which hovered in the air before him. The old man leaped onto the blade as if stepping onto solid ground.
"Sword, rise!" he commanded. The blade shot into the sky, carrying him eastward.
"Master, wait!" the disciple called out. "You don't even know where to find it!"
The old master's voice drifted back on the wind, cold and absolute. "I placed a blood curse on each of your brothers. Whoever killed them, the curse will lead me straight to them. There is nowhere for them to hide."
Back in the Wu palace, Luo Zhen was already planning his next move.
"Host, you just killed the prized disciples of a Soul Formation grandmaster," the system warned. "He will not let this go. Expect him to arrive within a day or two, and he will be coming for blood."
"It's fine," Luo Zhen said, unconcerned. "We'll just have to speed up the timeline. It's time we paid a visit to the western desert."
His long-term plan was already in place. To evolve further, he needed Yang Gang Qi, and there were only three known sources on the island. The first, an earth vein under the sea, was claimed by the Silver Jiao dragon clan. The second sat near the capital of Lu, jealously guarded by the very same grandmaster now hunting him.
That left the third: the Red Desert. It was a chaotic, lawless wasteland, but it was rich in the energy he needed. Most cultivators had to grovel and trade for scraps of Yang Gang Qi from the factions that controlled the desert.
Luo Zhen had no intention of trading. He was going to take it. The Red Desert was the next stage of his evolution, and a brewing conflict with an old master was the perfect excuse to begin his journey.