Wei Wen mulled it over for a moment. Crossing over to another world wasn't much of a problem for him—he could adapt. The real question now was, who should he bind to?
He didn't overthink it. Even a fool would know that binding the protagonist brings the biggest rewards. And let's be real—at his current level, it wasn't like he could just walk up to the top-tier figures of this world. That left one good option.
Across from him, the Water Rhino King, a peak-stage demon beast of the Innate level, licked his lips with his massive tongue.
"Just ate one," he muttered, voice like rolling thunder. "But I'm still hungry. Who's next?"
The beast's massive eyes scanned the terrified prisoners. They'd already seen him devour one of their own alive. They weren't strangers to death, but being eaten? That was another kind of horror.
And then... his gaze locked onto Wei Wen.
"Oho?" The Water Rhino King's eyes brightened. "A human at the early Innate stage? Skin's clean. Looks young. Must be tender."
He let out a low rumble of anticipation. "Seize him. I want him for my next meal."
Drool started to drip from his jaws.
Wei Wen didn't even flinch. He turned casually to a mid-tier Innate-level demon beast nearby, then raised his right hand and struck out with the edge of his palm.
BOOM.
The demon beast was hurled into the sky like a broken doll. Its chest caved in. Mouth agape, eyes wide, blood and pulverized organs burst out as it smashed down over a hundred meters away—dead before it even hit the ground.
Just one palm.
The crowd froze.
Even the Water Rhino King paused, then let out a gleeful snort. "Heh. A genius! Genius meat tastes the best."
Suddenly—whoosh!
Dozens of crimson lights erupted from thin air around Wei Wen. Demon beasts collapsed like wheat in a storm—every one of them struck through a vital point: throat, heart, brain.
In mere seconds, the battlefield was quiet. The only sound left was blood dripping onto dirt.
The Water Rhino King bolted upright. That sword array—its speed and lethality—shook him to his core.
He had judged Wei Wen based on his aura: early-stage Innate. He had never expected this.
Still, he wasn't panicked. A low-tier Innate shouldn't be able to threaten him, a peak-stage body-refinement demon.
He burst forward. His giant fist swept out like a falling glacier, sheathed in solid ice. A strike like that could shatter mountains.
Wei Wen met him head-on.
CLANG.
His Bloodshadow Battle Blade—SS-grade—flashed crimson, colliding directly with the icy fist.
BOOM!
The shockwave leveled trees and sent dust exploding outward. The Water Rhino King flew backward over a hundred meters, crashing down hard. His icy gauntlet shattered. Half his arm was mangled and useless.
One strike—crippled.
The onlookers gasped. The bound tribespeople started to hope.
Wei Wen narrowed his eyes. Yeah, just as I guessed. His strength matches mine, roughly. That fits.
He shook his head. The raw, explosive power I'm used to from the Swallowed Star world doesn't translate cleanly here. This world—the Desolate Era—follows different rules.
The Water Rhino King let out a snarl.
"Impressive, human," he growled. "You're worthy of seeing my true form."
His massive body dissolved into a flood of mist—water element demon energy. It condensed rapidly, reforming into a towering, ten-zhang-tall demon ox. The Water Rhino True Body.
His physical strength now rivaled that of Zifu-stage cultivators—a realm where body and energy cultivation begin to merge.
Wei Wen chuckled. "A proper Water Rhino Demon, huh? I wonder how you'll taste."
Slash—
A fragment of crimson copper, as sharp as divine steel, cut clean through the beast's armored hide. A long wound tore open, exposing writhing organs. Blood gushed like a broken dam.
The Water Rhino let out a furious scream, his hooves skidding to a halt as pain rocked his body.
"I've cultivated the Divine Demon Body to refine my flesh," he howled, "and even among demons at my level, few can wound me. What the hell are you?"
Muscle tissue squirmed unnaturally, demonic body-refinement energy surging to heal the damage. But the wound was deep, and though it started to close, blood still flowed.
Then—the copper fragment struck again.
CRACK!
It drilled through the base of his skull and burst out the top of his head like a volcanic eruption.
The Water Rhino King's eyes went wide.
He died standing, disbelieving to the end.
A Body Refinement Demon like him could survive a destroyed heart. But the brain? The Divine Demon Body couldn't regenerate from that. His life force collapsed in an instant.
Wei Wen exhaled, blade in hand.
Given my performance, I'm probably operating at the early Zifu level in this world's system, he thought.
The cultivation methods here—especially Qi Refining—are behind. In the Desolate Era, even "True Immortals" might be weaker than a top-tier Divine Body cultivator from my world. The lack of Chaos Immortals caps their potential.
He nodded to himself. My dual cultivation—Qi and Body—gives me an edge. In pure combat power, I'm not inferior to early-stage Zifu cultivators at all.
A cheer erupted from the prisoners.
"He killed the demon!"
"Young Master Wei killed the Great Demon!"
Wei Wen smiled slightly. "Now... where exactly am I?"
A few questions later, he had the answer: this was the Northern Yan Region, specifically the Ji Clan Territory.
And Ji Ning... was nearby.
Ji Clan West Prefecture — Xifu City
A bustling hub with hundreds of thousands of citizens. Cultivators walked among merchants and nobles. Wei Wen moved through the crowd in silence, eyes fixed ahead.
He walked down the main road—the liveliest stretch of the city—heading straight for Ji Clan territory.
[You have chosen to bind Ji Ning as a friend. Strength synchronization will begin shortly.]
Ji Clan West Compound
In a giant battle cage, Ji Ning faced off alone against a massive demonic beast.
This was the Trial Cage—a test Ji Clan heirs were required to survive. Many didn't.
The Scarlet Serpent, his opponent, had figured it out by now: this human boy wasn't just fighting. He was training.
Ji Ning's body was bloodied, but the wounds vanished almost as fast as they appeared.
His swordsmanship was improving mid-fight. His eyes—cold, unshakable—pierced into the beast's soul.
The serpent trembled.
This wasn't a match.
It was a death sentence.