The whispers slithered through the Bright Moon Mountains faster than any beast could run. Within a day, every creature knew: Luo Zhen, the Black Snake, had slaughtered the Baboon Overlord and seized his throne.
A tremor of fear and awe shook the demonic legions.
The Bright Moon range, a sprawling territory of seventy-some peaks, had long been ruled by a council of chieftains, each a master of their own domain. Now, they had a new, undisputed king. One by one, they made the pilgrimage to the heart of the mountains, to the shores of Bright Moon Lake, to pay fealty to their new ruler.
The normally serene lake was now a chaotic assembly of fur, scales, and claws. Creatures of immense size and power covered the ground, their anxious grunts and growls creating a low, thrumming hum.
Then, he appeared.
With a powerful beat of his great wings, Luo Zhen ascended into the sky, a dark silhouette against the sun. An overwhelming pressure, the raw power of the Spirit Demon Realm, washed over the crowd. It was an invisible, crushing weight that buckled the knees of the strongest chieftains and sent shivers of primal fear down their spines.
A lone voice, trembling, broke the silence. "We greet the Overlord, the Black Snake!"
It was like a dam breaking. The cry was taken up by dozens, then hundreds of voices, a roaring chorus of submission.
"All hail the Black Snake!"
"The Overlord is mighty!"
"May your reign be long and prosperous!"
The massive beasts bowed their heads as one, a vast, dark wave of deference.
Luo Zhen hovered above them, his gaze cold and sharp. "As of today, I am the ruler of the Bright Moon Mountains," his voice boomed, echoing across the lake. "Who agrees? And who objects?"
Silence. Utter, terrified silence.
"No one… no one would dare object," a chieftain stammered from the crowd.
Who would be stupid enough to challenge this serpent? The corpse of the former overlord was still hanging from a massive tree by the lakeside, a gruesome warning for all to see. The baboon had been strong, but the Black Snake was death itself.
"Good," Luo Zhen said, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. "Your attitude pleases me." The bloodlust in his heart began to recede. He had come prepared to make an example of a few dissenters, but it seemed the baboon's corpse had done the work for him.
A tiger chieftain, bold but cautious, stepped forward. "My lord, if I may ask… what of the monthly tribute?"
"The old rules stand," Luo Zhen declared. "What you paid the baboon, you will pay me. I have no intention of squeezing you dry."
A wave of relief washed through the crowd.
"Thank you, Overlord, for your mercy!" the tiger said, quickly producing five fist-sized, shimmering essence stones. "This is the tribute from Tiger Mountain."
This prompted a rush of offerings. A fox demon presented a handful of milky-white stones. Monkey Mountain offered theirs, and so on, until a small hill of essence stones and rare herbs stood before Luo Zhen.
He looked upon his new treasury with satisfaction. Once the collection was complete, he spoke again, this time with a softer, more reassuring tone, praising their loyalty and promising a new era of stability.
The gesture caught them completely off guard. After years of the baboon's cruel and arbitrary rule, this simple act of consideration was overwhelming. To his surprise, many of the hardened beasts began to weep, moved by a kindness they had long forgotten. They departed from Bright Moon Lake with tears in their eyes, filled with a newfound, fervent loyalty.
As he watched them go, a smile played on Luo Zhen's lips. So naive.
With the soul of a human, he understood the art of management. True loyalty wasn't won with fear alone. You needed to balance the stick with the carrot. The baboon's corpse was the stick, a stark reminder of his power. His kind words were the carrot, a promise of a better future. It was a simple, brutally effective strategy.
He turned his attention to the pile of tribute. The mound of stones and herbs glowed with latent energy.
"It's good to be the king," he mused, before opening his massive jaws and beginning to feast.
A familiar, dispassionate voice echoed in his mind.
Essence Stone consumed. 30 experience points gained.
Essence Stone consumed. 28 experience points gained.
Essence Stone consumed. 33 experience points gained.
One stone alone was a drop in the bucket. But there were nearly four hundred of them. The influx of power was immense, a torrent of pure energy. He felt his power swelling, pushing against its limits. The system pinged him, asking if he wished to level up, but he ignored it, continuing to devour the entire pile. Only when the last herb was gone did he pause.
Experience points at maximum. Evolve?
"Yes," he thought, without hesitation.
A wave of dark energy washed over him, and he felt his body stretch and thicken.
Upgrade complete. Current Level: Mid-Stage Spirit Demon Realm.
The accumulated energy was so vast that the prompt immediately reappeared.
Experience points at maximum. Evolve?
"Yes."
Another, even more powerful surge of energy coursed through him. His scales hardened, and his length grew to an astonishing forty meters. He was now as thick as a castle gate.
Upgrade complete. Current Level: Late-Stage Spirit Demon Realm.
Luo Zhen marveled at his new form. Generally, the stronger you get, the bigger you get. So why was that baboon so small? He shook his head. Doesn't matter. He's dead.
He pulled up his internal status panel.
Name: Luo Zhen
Race: Soaring Serpent (Mutated Spirit Species)
Abilities: Flight; Water, Fire, & Ice Magic
Skills: Poison Arrow, Constriction
Realm: Late-Stage Spirit Demon
Experience: 1782/7000
He was on the cusp of the next major realm: the Earth Profound Realm. The thought was intoxicating. He already had a plan. The greatest concentration of wealth and power in the region was in the human stronghold, Bright Moon City. The merchant guilds there held stockpiles of pills and herbs that made his current haul look like pocket change.
Should I risk it? He wondered. A raid would be easy. The city's guards were no match for him now. But the guilds are just branches of massive, kingdom-wide organizations. Attacking one would be like kicking a hornet's nest. The retaliation would be swift and overwhelming.
He weighed the risk and reward, and for now, chose caution.
"No," he decided. "I'll stay here. My new subjects will bring me a steady supply of tribute. At this rate, I'll reach the Earth Profound Realm next month anyway."
With a flick of his powerful tail, he dove into the cool, deep waters of Bright Moon Lake, the undisputed king of his domain.
Life as a king was good.
Luo Zhen spent his days in blissful leisure. When he felt like it, he'd dig for the raw essence stones that littered the lakeshore. When he grew tired, he'd swim in the cool water or bask in the warm sun, attended by a small troop of monkey demons he'd recruited as personal servants. They massaged his massive coils and kept him comfortable. It was an idyllic existence.
One afternoon, as he was enjoying a sunbath and a massage, a monkey demon came scrambling through the trees, screaming in panic.
"Overlord, there's trouble! Big trouble!"
Luo Zhen opened one eye, annoyed at the interruption. "What is it now?" he grumbled. "Did you find a lost monk on a holy quest?"
The monkey skidded to a halt, confused. "A... a monk, my lord? I don't understand."
"Never mind. Spit it out, Wukong One," Luo Zhen said, having named all his servants after the legendary monkey king.
"An envoy from Ghost Fiend Mountain is here!" Wukong One blurted out, his voice trembling.
"Ghost Fiend Mountain?" The name sounded vaguely familiar. "Why does that ring a bell?"
Wukong One looked at him in sheer terror. "My lord! How could you forget Ghost Fiend Mountain?!"
"Just refresh my memory," Luo Zhen said with a flick of his tongue.
"My lord," the monkey said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "There isn't a beast—or a human—in the entire Eastern Yue Kingdom who doesn't fear that name. Ghost Fiend Mountain is ruled by the most ferocious demon in the land: the Ghost-Headed Tiger."
"And all the demons in the kingdom, including us, are his subjects," another monkey added nervously.
Luo Zhen's good mood soured. He had a boss? "So this Ghost-Headed Tiger has ruled for how long?"
"A hundred years, my lord," Wukong One replied. "Anyone who defied him is long dead."
"Fine," Luo Zhen grumbled, suppressing his irritation. "So why is his envoy here?"
"To collect the monthly tribute, my lord. The baboon always handled it. Now… It's your responsibility."
The king of the Bright Moon Mountains had to pay tribute. The irony was not lost on him.
"It is the way of the world, my lord," Wukong One said, as if reading his mind. "The weak pay the strong for protection. It's the same even for humans. The strong rule."
Luo Zhen sighed. The monkey had a point. As powerful as he was, he was no match for a beast who had ruled a kingdom for a century.
"Alright, roll out the red carpet!" Luo Zhen commanded. "Prepare a feast! Let's go meet this envoy."
The monkeys scrambled to set up tables and bring out food and wine. A few of them even pulled out suonas—Chinese horns Luo Zhen had stolen from a funeral procession and taught them to play.
Led by Wukong One, Luo Zhen went to greet his guest. The envoy was a massive rooster, the size of a small house, with brilliant crimson feathers.
A chicken? Luo Zhen thought, amused. He quickly scanned the creature's stats: a Mid-Stage Spirit Demon. Weaker than himself.
"Welcome, esteemed envoy from Ghost Fiend Mountain," Luo Zhen said, forcing a welcoming smile. "I have heard much about you."
"Hmph!" the rooster sneered, his voice a piercing squawk. "So you finally decided to show up! You people of the Bright Moon Mountains have some nerve, making me wait!"
Luo Zhen's smile tightened. "My apologies, we did not mean to—"
"You made me wait a full two minutes!" the rooster shrieked. "Two minutes! Who do you think you are? Now, where is that baboon? Tell him to get his hairy hide out here!"
"The baboon is dead, honored envoy," Wukong One piped up timidly. "Lord Black Snake is our new ruler."
The rooster shot the monkey a look of pure contempt. He spat a ball of demonic energy that struck Wukong One head-on. The little monkey exploded in a shower of gore.
"You!" Raw fury surged through Luo Zhen. His killing intent flared, hot and sharp. His other monkey servants threw themselves in front of him, begging him to stay calm.
He took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing the rage back down. "Envoy," he said, his voice dangerously low. "You just killed one of my men. On my land. In front of me. Explain yourself."
"Explain?" the rooster scoffed. "When the masters are talking, a slave doesn't get to interrupt." He turned and strutted arrogantly toward the feast that had been prepared for him.
Luo Zhen watched him go, cold fury turning his vision red. This pompous bird was weaker than him, yet he acted with such impunity. It was all because of the Tiger looming behind him.
"My lord, please, calm down," Wukong Two whispered, tugging on his scales. "We're under his roof, we have to bow our heads."
Luo Zhen let out a humorless laugh. "He is under my roof. This is my mountain."
"But the Ghost-Headed Tiger… if this envoy goes back with a bad report, we're all doomed," Wukong Three pleaded. "A great leader knows when to bend."
"Enough," Luo Zhen hissed, shaking them off. He followed the rooster to the lakeside banquet, where the remaining monkeys were nervously playing "Happy Birthday" on their suonas—the only song he'd taught them so far.
The rooster ate his fill, complaining about the quality of the food the entire time. Finally, he wiped his beak and looked at Luo Zhen. "Alright, Black Snake. Where's this month's tribute?"
"What does the envoy require?" Luo Zhen asked, his face a mask of indifference.
"The usual. Twenty bottles of monkey wine."
Luo Zhen froze. He had found the baboon's massive stash of monkey wine—a potent brew infused with rare herbs that granted him hundreds of experience points per bottle. It had been far too valuable to leave sitting around. He had drunk every last drop.
The rooster noticed his hesitation. "What? Is there a problem?"
"…Yes," Luo Zhen admitted.
"I suppose there would be," the rooster said with a nasty chuckle. "Only the finest monkey demons can brew it, and you, well, you're a snake."
"Can we offer something else in its place?" Luo Zhen asked, his voice tight.
"Absolutely not," the rooster chirped. "The Mountain Lord loves his monkey wine. The baboon was the only demon in this backwater kingdom who could make it properly. The Lord gets… irritable… if he misses his daily drink."
"There must be another way," Luo Zhen pressed.
The rooster leaned in close, its beady eyes glinting. A foul, conspiratorial smile spread across its beak. "Well," it whispered, "it's not entirely hopeless."
"What do you mean?" Luo Zhen said, instinctively recoiling from the creature's closeness.
"Let's just say I have the Mountain Lord's ear," the rooster boasted. "The wine issue is tricky, but not impossible to solve. I could, for example, persuade him to source it from another kingdom. Of course… I'd have to speak on your behalf. And the Lord doesn't grant favors easily."
"I would be in your debt," Luo Zhen said cautiously.
"Oh, I'm not doing it for free," the rooster cackled. "I have a condition."
"Name it," Luo Zhen said. "If it's within my power, I will do it."
The rooster leaned in so close its feathers brushed against Luo Zhen's scales. It looked him up and down, its gaze lingering in a way that made his skin crawl.
"Oh, it's very easy for you," it purred, its voice dropping to a low, suggestive tone. "My condition is… You have to spend the night with me."