After grilling the demon monkey for every last detail about the Bright Moon Mountain Range, Luo Zhen finally went his own way. He watched the monkey rejoin the fox for another patrol before finding a secluded cave to call his own.
Tucked away in the darkness, he replayed the situation in his head. Joining Bull Mountain was the right call. For now. The beasts here were dangerously tribal; going it alone without the protection of a faction was a death sentence.
Of course, he mused, that's only because I'm still weak. The second I hit the Demon Yuan Realm, I'm starting my own damn crew.
The monkey's words echoed in his mind. Bull Mountain and the neighboring Leopard Mountain were locked in a bloody feud over territory. Worse, Leopard Mountain was stronger—by a long shot. It was a problem without an easy solution. With that cheerful thought, Luo Zhen drifted into an uneasy sleep.
He was jolted awake by a frantic, bellowing roar. It was Old Bull.
"They're here! The bastards from Leopard Mountain are launching a sneak attack! To arms!"
Luo Zhen shot out of his cave. Below, a tide of muscular, spotted leopards was surging up the mountainside. Each one was as large as a young bull, their coats a blur of vibrant patterns. They were all in the Demon Qi Realm, with a handful of veterans clearly in the middle and late stages.
Old Bull was already at the front, leading the charge. The demon monkey spotted Luo Zhen and jabbed a claw in his direction. "Snake! What are you waiting for? Get in the fight!" With that, the monkey dove into the fray, its claws flashing like streaks of yellow lightning.
Luo Zhen flicked his tongue and slithered forward, but he was no fool. He skirted the edges of the main brawl, staying clear of the real chaos.
There were levels to this. At the center of the storm, Old Bull and the Leopard Boss—both titans of the Demon Yuan Realm—clashed in a battle no lesser beast dared approach. For everyone else, it was a pure, chaotic free-for-all.
Circling the perimeter, Luo Zhen's eyes locked onto a heavily wounded leopard. This was his chance. He surged forward, opened his jaws, and spat.
Thwip!
A black, venomous dart shot through the air and slammed into the leopard's face, punching clean through its skull. The beast let out a single, gurgling cry before collapsing in a heap.
A notification chimed in his mind.
[You have slain a Patterned Demon Leopard. +61 Experience Points!]
Sixty-one points? First came the shock, then pure elation. A single Demon Qi beast was worth that much? He was currently in the mid-tier of the realm and needed only 600 points to advance. He just had to kill ten of them.
And there were far more than ten on this mountain.
He stopped hesitating. He plunged into the battle.
With a powerful whip of his tail, he ensnared an early-stage leopard, his massive coils tightening with bone-shattering force. A sickening crunch echoed as the creature's skeleton turned to dust. It died instantly, blood pouring from its mouth.
[You have slain a Patterned Demon Leopard. +63 Experience Points!]
He ignored the notification, already turning to his next target. He opened his mouth again.
Swish! Swish!
Two blades of fire, each half a meter long, sliced through the air. The first shattered the leopard's defensive aura; the second bisected the creature on the spot.
[You have slain a Patterned Demon Leopard. +62 Experience Points!]
The experience was flooding in. Luo Zhen flicked his tongue, a predator in his element, and dove back into the chaos. He was methodical, picking off the weaker, early-stage leopards. Between his raw strength and his dual water-and-fire magic, they stood no chance. If he caught one off guard, it was an instant kill.
The notifications became a steady drumbeat in his head.
[+60 Experience Points!]
[+61 Experience Points!]
[+65 Experience Points!]
…
[+62 Experience Points!]
[Experience threshold reached. Level up?]
Yes!
[Experience points deducted. Upgrading...]
[Upgrade complete! Current Level: Demon Qi Realm, Late Stage!]
A wave of power, pure and revitalizing, washed through him. His scales hardened, his muscles tightened, and the stump of his tail regrew in a flash of light. His depleted energy reserves were instantly full.
"Roar!" An early-stage leopard, oblivious to his transformation, lunged at him.
Luo Zhen's gaze was ice cold. He didn't even bother with magic. He simply swung his newly restored tail.
WHUMP!
The impact was absolute. The calf-sized leopard exploded in mid-air, reduced to a shower of gore and viscera.
"That… is one hell of a snake."
The remaining leopards stared in horror, scrambling to get away from him. On the other side, the beasts of Bull Mountain roared, their morale surging.
Luo Zhen ignored them all, staring at his latest notification in frustration.
[You have slain a Patterned Demon Leopard. +30 Experience Points!]
Only thirty? He hissed in annoyance. Now that he was stronger, the weaker beasts were worth less. It was time to hunt bigger game. His gaze settled on a small cluster of much larger leopards. Middle-stage. And one of them… late-stage, just like him.
He shot toward them.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
A volley of fire blades erupted from his mouth. The leopards were ready, spitting back a desperate mix of wind blades, ice shards, and earthen walls. It was useless. His fire tore through their defenses like paper.
Exposed and helpless, they were engulfed by the flames. The sound of sizzling flesh filled the air as the fire blades carved deep into their bodies. They collapsed into bloody, twitching heaps. Luo Zhen slithered over and constricted, finishing the job.
[You have slain a Sharp-Toothed Demon Leopard. +80 Experience Points!]
[You have slain a Sharp-Toothed Demon Leopard. +81 Experience Points!]
[You have slain a Sharp-Toothed Demon Leopard. +83 Experience Points!]
[You have slain a Sharp-Toothed Demon Leopard. +170 Experience Points!]
One hundred and seventy points for the one at his level. A grin spread across Luo Zhen's serpentine face. Invincible. Even teamed up, they couldn't touch me.
He had single-handedly crippled Leopard Mountain's forces. The tide of the battle had turned.
From across the battlefield, the Leopard Boss saw it happen. With a furious shriek, he disengaged from Old Bull and charged over.
"What is going on?!" he bellowed, his face a mask of rage.
"B-Boss… it was the snake," one of the surviving leopards stammered, pointing a trembling claw at Luo Zhen.
"The snake?!" The Leopard Boss's eyes, burning with fury, locked onto Luo Zhen.
Luo Zhen immediately backed away, putting some distance between them as he scanned the beast.
Name: Golden Coin Demon Leopard
Race: Leopard
Strength: Demon Yuan Realm, Middle Stage
Skills: Unknown (Realm too low to view)
Affiliation: Minor Chieftain, Leopard Mountain
Middle-stage? He's even stronger than Old Bull. No wonder the old bull was getting his hide tanned. Luo Zhen's guard went up.
Just then, Old Bull limped over, panting and covered in wounds. The Leopard Boss, by contrast, was completely unscathed.
"Old Bull," the Leopard Boss said suddenly, his voice dangerously calm. "Let's make a deal."
"What kind of deal?" Old Bull grumbled.
The Leopard Boss's golden eyes flicked to Luo Zhen. "Give me the snake," he said, his voice dripping with venom. "Let me do whatever I want to him, and I promise, Leopard Mountain will never trouble you again."
"You swear it?" Old Bull's eyes lit up.
"I swear," the Leopard Boss hissed through gritted teeth. "That snake has killed too many of my kin. I will grind his bones to dust to soothe the hatred in my heart."
Old Bull turned to Luo Zhen. His gaze hardened, the friendly warmth gone, replaced by cold calculation.
Luo Zhen didn't need to hear another word. He was being sold out.
He turned and bolted.
"Run?" the Leopard Boss shrieked. "You think you can run?! My sons, after him! The one who brings me his head gets twenty yuan qi stones!"
The promise of twenty yuan qi stones sent the leopards into a frenzy. They howled, their eyes wild with greed, and gave chase.
Luo Zhen fled, a string of curses echoing in his mind. No honor among beasts! That damn bull had sold him out without a second thought to save his own skin.
Suddenly, a high-pitched scream tore through the air behind him. Instinct took over. Luo Zhen violently twisted his body, throwing himself to the side just as a colossal fireball detonated right where he'd been.
BOOM!
The blast carved a crater into the mountainside, the air thick with the smell of ozone and burnt earth. A cold dread washed over him. If that had hit, he'd be nothing more than a scorch mark. He glanced back. The Leopard Boss stood there, smoke still curling from his jaws. Only a Demon Yuan beast could conjure that kind of power.
Realizing he couldn't outrun that, Luo Zhen changed tactics. With a flex of his will, two crystalline, fleshy wings sprouted from his back. He beat them furiously, lifting himself into the night sky. Fine. You're strong. But I can fly. What now?
"What the hell? It can fly?!" the Leopard Boss snarled in surprise. But then he registered Luo Zhen's aura—still firmly in the Demon Qi Realm—and his shock turned to contempt.
He opened his mouth and inhaled deeply. Another fireball, this one the size of a millstone, shot into the sky. But just before it reached Luo Zhen, it exploded.
BOOM!
The sky rained fire. Luo Zhen was caught in the middle of the inferno, searing pain lashing across his body.
[WARNING: You have been attacked!]
[Burn damage sustained from Golden Coin Demon Leopard's Demon Fire!]
[Damage Level: Moderate!]
Ignoring the agony, he pumped his wings, flying desperately until he was finally out of the Leopard Boss's range.
On the ground, the remaining leopards watched him disappear. "Boss, he got away…"
"He's not getting away," the Leopard Boss growled. "My demon fire is no ordinary flame. He's hurt. Badly. Spread out. I want him found!"
Luo Zhen flew until he found a deserted, ordinary mountain—the kind with no spiritual energy, and therefore, no interest to other demon beasts. He found a hiding spot and finally allowed himself to inspect the damage.
His body was a ruin of blistering burns. In several places, the fire had seared through his scales and flesh, exposing the bone beneath.
He gritted his fangs, a low hiss escaping his throat. Leopard Boss. I'll make you pay for this. I swear it.
It took him a full week. A week of hiding, of painstakingly using his own energy to knit his flesh back together. Once the wounds were stable, he began to plot his revenge.
The target: Leopard Mountain.
The plan was simple. He would become a ghost. A silent hunter in the night, picking off their low-level beasts one by one. If the boss showed up, he would take to the skies and vanish. He was a snake. The darkness was his ally.
He waited until the dead of night, when the moon was hidden and the shadows were deep. Then, he slithered toward Leopard Mountain.
The truce with Bull Mountain had made them soft. Complacent.
Halfway up the slope, a lone leopard snored, completely oblivious. A massive shadow fell over it, silent as the grave. The shadow coiled. A brief, muffled snap of bone, and it was over.
[You have slain a Patterned Demon Leopard. +31 Experience Points!]
Luo Zhen was a natural-born assassin. He moved without a sound, his late-stage power masking his presence from the weaker beasts. He was dead in the dark. One by one, the leopards of the mountain died in their sleep, in their dens, on their patrols. The few that sensed something amiss were silenced with a swift, venomous dart before they could raise an alarm.
The system notifications became a quiet, satisfying rhythm.
[+30 Experience Points!]
[+33 Experience Points!]
[+29 Experience Points!]
Within a few hours, he had systematically exterminated every single Demon Qi beast on the mountain. All that remained were the non-sentient animals and, at the peak, the Leopard Boss himself.
There was no point in killing the lesser creatures, and he was still no match for the boss. For now, the hunt was over.
But he wasn't done yet.
Spreading his wings, he flew low, circling the peak until he found it: a massive cave. The Leopard Boss's den. From the entrance, he could hear the beast's thunderous snores.
A vicious grin stretched across Luo Zhen's face. He took a deep breath and unleashed a torrent of fire directly into the cave mouth.
The den erupted in an inferno.
"FIRE! I'M ON FIRE! HELP!" The Leopard Boss scrambled out, his magnificent golden coat scorched and blackened in patches, making him look like a mangy dog.
High above, Luo Zhen let out a booming laugh. "Having a bad night, Leopard Boss?"
The boss squinted into the darkness, his eyes finally locking onto the silhouette in the sky. He roared with pure, unadulterated rage. "YOU! It was you!"
He tried to retaliate, but in the pitch-black night, he couldn't get a lock.
"Oh, by the way," Luo Zhen called down, his voice dripping with mock sympathy. "Your entire faction is dead. I killed them all. And this? This is just the beginning."
"Get down here and fight, you coward!" the Leopard Boss roared, his voice cracking with rage.
"Only an idiot would do that," Luo Zhen scoffed. He turned to leave, but offered one last parting shot over his shoulder.
"Get ready, Leopard Boss. The next time we meet, I'll be in the Demon Yuan Realm. And it'll be your last day."
With that, he vanished into the night, leaving the Leopard Boss alone, screaming his fury at the burning ruins of his home.