As I closed the holographic interface of my attribute panel, a quiet sense of ambition settled in my chest, heavy and warm. I had finally breached the mid-stage of the Demon King Realm. In the brutal, unforgiving ecosystem of the Red Desert, this was the great equalizer. Most of the players in this wasteland—the lords, the marauders, the ancient terrors—lingered here, in the middle of the pack. For the first time since my arrival, I wasn't just a fluke or a fast-riser; I was part of the mainstream. I was a peer.
But power without a tool to wield it is just potential energy waiting to dissipate. With my cultivation hitting a temporary ceiling, my mind turned toward the one thing every warrior in this world obsesses over: a Life-bound Magic Treasure.
I dove back into the System Mall, my eyes scanning for a blueprint. I had a vision—a blade. It had to be a saber, aggressive and refined, and it had to be of the highest possible grade. I wasn't interested in "good enough." I wanted something that would scream when it drew blood.
Yet, as I scrolled through the digital aisles, a frown etched itself onto my face. Everything stopped at High-Grade. The Peak-Grade blueprints—the stuff of legends—were nowhere to be found. Even the finished products were capped. It was like looking for a supercar in a dealership that only sold reliable sedans.
"System," I muttered, my voice echoing in the quiet of my chamber. "Where's the good stuff? Why is your inventory so... mediocre?"
There was a pause, a digital hesitation that felt almost human. "My power recovery is limited, Host," the System replied, its voice tinged with a faint, weary bitterness. "The mall was calibrated when you were a speck of dust in the wind. You've spent this time cultivating, growing, devouring resources. Your realm has skyrocketed, but I? I've been standing still."
I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Right. My bad for asking."
I could hear the unspoken grievance in its tone. It was a zero-sum game: every scrap of spiritual energy I consumed for my own evolution was a scrap the System didn't get. It was a parasite that had become a partner, but it was a partner I was outgrowing. I'd have to find my legendary blade the old-fashioned way—by scouring the real world and forging it from the bones of the earth. If the Green Phoenix Saber was any indication, the world still held secrets that the System couldn't track.
"Host," the System broke the silence, its voice shifting to something more inquisitive. "The City Ranking Tournament is coming. You have a window of time. What's the move?"
"Rest," I said, yawning as I stretched out on the divan. "Relax. Prepare. It's been a long road."
"You could use this time better," the System countered. "You could find Bai Susu."
The name hit the room like a physical weight.
"With your current strength," the System continued, "you could sweep the Red Desert in a fortnight. Her current state is... unusual. Most Demon Kings would fly right over her, but with my sensors? I can guarantee a hit. We'd be back before the first horn of the tournament sounds."
I didn't answer. I sat there for a full minute, watching the dust motes dance in a stray beam of desert sunlight.
"And why," I asked finally, my voice low, "would I do that?"
"Why?" The System sounded genuinely perplexed. "You had a physical connection. You've crossed that line. Isn't there an emotional resonance? Isn't that how your species—and the ones you inhabit—work?"
"Emotional resonance?" I let out a dry, short laugh. "Is that what we're calling it? Look, I'm not going to lie and say I felt nothing. That would be a facade. But 'deeply in love'? That's a stretch. Right now, in this moment, Bai Susu isn't the center of my world. And honestly, I don't know what I am to her. Am I a partner? A lover? Or just a convenient battery for her own cultivation? I'm in the dark."
"I don't get it," the System sighed. "You monsters are becoming more like humans every day—overcomplicating the biological. You shared a bond; the logical progression is to solidify it."
"Spoken like a machine," I said, leaning back. "We're adults. Or at least, we're entities with adult minds. In the world I came from, we learned early on that the physical and the emotional are two very different maps. I'm a slow-burn person, System. And I've always believed in a certain truth about the heart."
"What truth?"
"The faster a flame burns, the quicker it turns to ash. The people who fall in love at first sight, who dive headfirst into the 'destiny' narrative—they're usually the ones who burn out and break up by the next season. It's the slow-to-warm-up types, the ones who are skeptical and guarded, who actually make it to the end. If I could fall for Bai Susu in a heartbeat, I could fall for any beautiful woman with a pulse and a smile. If I'm picky, if I'm hesitant, it means that when I finally do choose someone, I'm not letting go."
I looked at my hands, the hands of a Demon King, capable of crushing stone. "I'm still figuring out where she fits. Do I like her, or do I just like the way she looks? There's a massive difference."
"Isn't the attraction the point?" the System asked.
"No. If I only like her because of the long legs, the curve of her waist, or the way she moves, then she's replaceable. Any woman with those traits would suffice. And what happens if she loses them? What happens when age or battle scars take their toll, or when I just get bored? If that's all there is, I'd eventually leave.
"But if I like her as a person—her mind, her laugh, the way she thinks, the specific way she carries herself—that's different. Then the beauty is just a bonus. Then, I'm staying because of the way it feels to be in her orbit. That's the part I haven't solved yet."
The System went silent for a moment. "You're making my processors run hot. It seems so much simpler to just... be together."
"That's because you haven't lived it," I replied, my voice drifting into a more nostalgic, somber place. "Back on Earth, when I was seventeen, I thought sex was the grand finale. I thought once you crossed that bridge, the rest was easy. But by the time I was twenty-seven, I realized that a three-hour conversation at 2 AM or a simple, quiet hug when the world is falling apart does more to keep a relationship alive than anything that happens in the bedroom.
"Passion is a firework. Connection is the heart. There are twenty-four hours in a day. The 'passion' takes up what? An hour? Maybe less? What do you do with the other twenty-three? If you can't stand the person during those twenty-three hours, you have nothing. I've seen so many people who would rather be alone with a screen than be with their partner, or who feel a crushing sense of emptiness and even a flicker of resentment after the act is over. Sometimes, a single, genuine hug can make a person weep because it touches a place that sex can't reach."
I stopped. The room was silent. I had said too much, perhaps, revealing the lingering human core inside this monstrous shell.
"Let's drop it," I said, my voice returning to its usual cool cadence. "I need to meditate. I need to get my head right for this tournament."
The System didn't argue. It faded into the background, leaving me alone with my thoughts and the vast, silent expanse of the Red Desert outside my window.
The next ten days were a blur of quiet preparation. The air in Red Rock City grew tense, a palpable electricity signaling the change in the seasons of power.
A day before the tournament, the messengers arrived.
They were a trio of Demon Generals, led by a wild dog demon in the mid-stage of the Demon Core realm. They weren't high-ranking, but they carried the authority of the organizers. When they entered my reception hall, they stopped short, their hackles rising as they felt the sheer weight of my mid-stage Demon King aura. It was like a physical pressure in the room.
"Senior... you must be the new Lord of Red Rock City, Lord Luo Zhen," the wild dog demon said, his voice trembling with a mixture of respect and fear.
"I am," I said, sitting atop my throne, my eyes fixed on them. "State your business."
"We are here to announce the location of the City Ranking Tournament," he said, producing a scroll that contained a map of the Red Desert. "Tomorrow afternoon, at the shores of Thunder Lake, in the heart of the desert. The ten great lords will gather there. We hope you will join us."
I took the map. Thunder Lake was marked in a brilliant, blood-red ink. It was the geographic center of this wasteland, a place of myth and legend.
"I'll be there," I said.
They bowed low and retreated as quickly as their legs could carry them. I studied the map. Thunder Lake wasn't just a location; it was a statement.
The next morning, I didn't waste time. I transformed into a streak of emerald light, a bolt of pure energy cutting through the hazy desert sky. I flew for four hours, the Red Spirit Restoration Flame within me burning like a miniature sun, replenishing the massive amounts of energy I was expending.
Slowly, the horizon changed. The endless, shifting dunes gave way to something impossible. A vast, shimmering body of water appeared, surrounded by ancient, towering trees and vibrant flora that had no business surviving in this heat. It was an oasis on a grand scale, a miracle of geography.
At the edge of the lake stood a sprawling complex of bluestone buildings, architectural relics of a more prosperous era. In the center of it all was a massive square where several figures were already gathered. Even from miles away, their auras were like beacons—pulsing, heavy, and dangerous.
I descended, the wind whistling past my ears, and landed at the edge of the square.
The figures turned to look at me. They were the other lords, the rulers of the Nine Cities. One of them, a man with a sharp gaze named Xie Jun from Yellow Maple City, stepped forward.
"A new face," he said, his voice carrying across the square. "You must be the one they're talking about. Luo Zhen, the man who took Red Rock City."
"I am," I said, my voice steady.
"Wait," Xie Jun said, his eyes narrowing as he scanned me. "You came alone?"
"Is there a problem with that?"
A murmur went through the group. "No problem," Xie Jun said, a wry smile playing on his lips. "It's just that the Xiong brothers held that city for a century. They were a nightmare to deal with. To kill them both and hold the city solo... that's usually a feat reserved for the Peak Demon Kings. You're mid-stage, like us, yet you're playing a single-player game in a multiplayer world. That's impressive."
The air was filled with the standard political posturing. Lords from Blazing Light City, Silver Ring City, and Cloud Fire City all offered their veiled compliments and subtle threats. They were sizing me up, trying to find the crack in my armor. They saw me as an anomaly—a mid-stage king who had the lethality of a peak-stage titan.
"We're early," Xie Jun remarked, looking at the sky. "The heavy hitters, the lords of the top cities, they like to make an entrance. They'll be late. It's only we 'lower' ranks who show up on time."
As if on cue, the sky began to darken with approaching shadows. Over a dozen more Demon Kings descended, their auras significantly.