Luo Zhen moved toward the periphery of the gathering, his footsteps silent against the rocky terrain. As he walked, his gaze swept over the crowd, analyzing the competition. A flicker of surprise crossed his mind. The cultivators gathered here—whether Demon Generals or human martial artists—were almost exclusively at the late stage or peak of the Demon Core Realm.
Someone at the mid-stage, like himself, was a rarity—an anomaly in a sea of elites.
After a moment of reflection, the reason became obvious. The scramble for the jade tokens required to enter this place had likely been a bloodbath. The weak had been culled, filtered out by the brutal violence of the prelims. Only the apex predators remained.
It was a gathering of tigers and wolves.
Of course, terminology varied between the species. The demons referred to this level of power as the Demon Core Realm, while humans called it the Yuan Dan—or Origin Core—Realm. The distinction was merely semantic, a difference in the fuel that burned within their veins: Demonic Qi for the beasts, Yuan Power for the humans. But the lethality was the same.
As Luo Zhen continued his surveillance, a sudden, oppressive weight settled on his shoulders. It was a gaze so intense it felt physical, like a heavy hand gripping the back of his neck.
He turned. In the distance, a red-faced elderly man was staring at him with a look of pure, unadulterated malice.
Luo Zhen's heart skipped a beat, though his face remained a mask of indifference. He didn't panic. Instead, he engaged the powerful muscles of his flood dragon tail, propelling himself away with a sudden burst of speed, intending to lose himself in the crowd.
"Stop! You—the Demon General! Freeze!"
The shout was thunderous, cutting through the ambient noise of the gathering. The red-faced elder didn't just yell; he launched himself forward, a blur of motion streaking toward Luo Zhen.
The sudden outburst drew every eye in the vicinity. Dozens of high-level cultivators turned to watch the drama unfold. In the blink of an eye, the elder had closed the distance, planting himself firmly in Luo Zhen's path, blocking any avenue of escape.
Luo Zhen sighed internally. There was no avoiding this. He came to a halt, his posture relaxed but ready.
"You are a strange one," the red-faced elder hissed, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized Luo Zhen. "Why do I sense such a familiar stench clinging to your soul?"
Luo Zhen met the old man's gaze with cold, reptilian detachment. "You have the wrong person."
He didn't wait for a response. With a dismissive flick of his tail, he attempted to maneuver around the old man.
"Halt! Did I say you could leave?"
The elder roared, his patience evaporating. He didn't bother with further interrogation; he went straight for violence. Yuan Power coalesced around his right hand, glowing with threatening luminosity as he clawed at Luo Zhen.
The air hummed with the density of the energy. This wasn't a testing probe; the elder was not holding back. If an ordinary Demon General were caught in that grip, they would be flayed alive, if not crushed outright.
Luo Zhen possessed the Green Jade Spirit Body, a defensive constitution that made him tougher than refined steel, but he had no intention of standing there like a training dummy.
With a cold snort, Luo Zhen twisted his torso. His movement was unnatural, a fluid distortion of space and biology. In a split second, he vanished, reappearing five meters to the left.
The elder grabbed nothing but empty air.
He slowly retracted his hand, turning to face Luo Zhen with a renewed, obsessive intensity. "Just now... You used Demonic Power. Your aura leaked out."
Luo Zhen frowned, saying nothing.
"My cultivation technique grants me a specific gift," the elder continued, his voice rising in triumph. "I can track the scent of a soul. It doesn't matter how much time passes, or how your physical form twists and changes. The scent never lies."
The elder took a step forward, his killing intent spiking. "Your aura is identical to the demon snake that slaughtered my disciple! There are no two identical auras under the heavens. You are the killer!"
The accusations ended there. The verdict had been passed, and the sentence was death.
The red-faced elder clenched his fist. The atmospheric pressure in the immediate area plummeted as he channeled a terrifying amount of Yuan Power.
"Die!"
He punched.
A phantom fist, pale red and translucent, materialized in the air. It was massive, composed of pure, condensed energy, roaring toward Luo Zhen like a tsunami. The sheer pressure of the fist wind cracked the ground before the attack even landed.
Luo Zhen's eyes narrowed to slits. The pressure was immense, like the weight of a deep ocean crushing down on him. He flicked his wrist, and a surge of biting frost erupted from his palm.
Crack! Crack!
Five thick, reinforced walls of ice instantly materialized, layering themselves between him and the incoming devastation.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
It was futile. The red-faced elder's attack was tyrannical. The first phantom smashed through the ice walls as if they were made of paper, shattering them into millions of glittering shards. The momentum didn't even slow. The red light engulfed Luo Zhen, slamming into his chest with the force of a meteor.
KBROOM!
The explosion shook the ground. A massive crater was instantly gouged into the earth where Luo Zhen had been standing. A cloud of thick, choking dust billowed upward, obscuring everything.
The spectators shook their heads, the show already over in their minds.
"Foolish," one onlooker muttered. "That elder is a Nascent Soul powerhouse. That Demon General was only mid-stage Core Realm. The gap is insurmountable."
"Whatever he did to offend a Nascent Soul expert, he's paid for it now. Turned to paste with a single punch."
"Shame," another added. "That green demon was unique. Did you see the jade horn on his forehead? I've never seen a snake-type demon with a horn like that."
The consensus was absolute: Luo Zhen was dead. Vaporized.
A short distance away, a young woman named Hong Yu stared at the dust cloud, her hands trembling. She couldn't believe it. Luo Zhen, the enigmatic powerhouse she had met, was gone?
Beside her, her older cousin let out a breath of relief. "Thank the heavens we didn't recruit him into our team. The guy was a walking disaster. Offending a Nascent Soul expert? He was courting death."
"No," Hong Yu whispered, shaking her head. "I don't believe it. I've seen him fight. He's... he's different."
"Strength is irrelevant when the gap in cultivation is this wide," the cousin scoffed. "That old man is in the Nascent Soul Realm—the human equivalent of a Demon King! Under a full-force strike, no General survives. Face it, Hong Yu. He's gone."
He looked at her with a mix of pity and annoyance. "And honestly, you need to pick better friends. He's weak, yet arrogant enough to anger the big shots. Now he's been blown to pieces. Are you satisfied?"
Hong Yu bit her lip, silence falling over her. Logic dictated her cousin was right. A minor realm difference was a hill; a major realm difference was a mountain. And this was a mountain crushing an ant.
But then, the dust cloud shifted.
From the center of the chaotic gray haze, a soft, green light began to pulse. It was gentle, yet it carried a vibrant, undeniable life force.
The dust settled.
Luo Zhen stood there. He was not past. He was not bleeding. He was not even breathing hard.
"You... you're alive?!" The red-faced elder's jaw dropped.
His punch had been a kill shot. He hadn't held back a single ounce of strength. A mid-stage Demon Core junior should have been obliterated.
Yet, there Luo Zhen stood, dusting off his shoulder. His hair wasn't even out of place. It was insultingly casual.
The crowd erupted.
"My god! He tanked it?"
"Did you see that? He took a Nascent Soul strike head-on and didn't even flinch!"
"Maybe there was something special about those ice walls? That cold energy felt ancient."
Luo Zhen ignored the chatter. He calmly brushed a speck of dirt from his sleeve, his expression bored.
In truth, the ice walls had been pure theater. His Green Jade Spirit Body was tough enough to withstand the elder's attack without any external shielding. But Luo Zhen lived by a code of caution. Standing still and tanking an ultimate move with his bare skin would be too shocking, too monstrous. It would paint a target on his back larger than the one already there.
By casting the ice walls and letting the dust obscure the impact, he created ambiguity. The spectators would be impressed, yes, but they would assume he used some secret technique or artifact to survive, rather than realizing his body itself was an indestructible weapon.
Hide three parts, reveal seven. The more cards he kept hidden, the longer he would survive.
Suddenly, movement rippled through the upper echelon of the crowd.
Five Demon Kings and several human Nascent Soul experts, who had previously been ignoring the commotion, were now striding toward the crater. Luo Zhen's survival had piqued their interest.
The Wolf and the Pact
Leading the group was the Green Wolf King. He walked with an easy, predatory grace, his eyes locking onto Luo Zhen.
The Wolf King was observant. He noted the flood dragon features, but his gaze lingered on the single jade horn protruding from Luo Zhen's forehead. In the hierarchy of serpents, only the Flood Dragons—the Jiao—grew horns.
This was no garden snake. This was a high-tier bloodline.
The Green Wolf King realized immediately that letting this talent die would be a waste for the Demon Race.
"Old Freak Red-Face," the Green Wolf King rumbled, stepping between the elder and Luo Zhen. "What is the meaning of this? Bullying a junior of my race?"
The red-faced elder narrowed his eyes. He wasn't stupid; he saw the protection forming. "Green Wolf, this doesn't concern you. Step aside."
"Oh?" The Green Wolf King smiled, revealing sharp canines. "You wish to slaughter my kin in front of me, and you ask why I intervene? Furthermore, a Nascent Soul elder attacking a Core Realm junior... have you no shame? It reflects poorly on the dignity of the human race."
"To hell with dignity!" the elder spat, pointing a shaking finger at Luo Zhen. "This brat killed three of my disciples! He drew blood first. I am merely balancing the scales!"
The Green Wolf King frowned, glancing back at Luo Zhen. "Is this true? Did you kill his people?"
Luo Zhen looked the Wolf King in the eye and lied with the smoothness of polished glass. "I have no idea what this senile old man is talking about."
Admitting guilt here was suicide. Even if it was self-defense, acknowledging the act would validate the elder's vendetta and tie the Wolf King's hands. Denial was the only path.
"Hehe. You heard him, Old Freak," the Wolf King chuckled, turning back to the human. "Our clansman knows nothing of this."
"He is lying!" The elder screamed, veins pulsing on his forehead. "My nose does not lie! I can smell the distinct aura of the killer on him. It is him!"
"You have a nose that sharp?" The Wolf King raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. He turned to the burly, dark-skinned man beside him. "Black Dog King, can you do what this human claims?"
The Black Dog King, a hulking man with a perpetually grumpy expression, shook his head. "No."
"Even you?" The Wolf King exclaimed. "But you're a dog!"
The Black Dog King sighed, clearly tired of the stereotype. "I may be a dog, and my nose is excellent, but I can only track the scent of mortals. Once a cultivator mixes Demonic Qi or Yuan Power into their aura, it becomes muddy. I cannot distinguish it with certainty."
He paused, then smirked. "I suppose this Old Freak's nose is better than a dog's."
The red-faced elder's face turned a shade of purple. It sounded like a compliment, but being compared favorably to a dog was... complicated.
"Enough games!" The elder sniffed loudly. "You Demon Kings stay out of this. Today, the boy dies."
He raised his hand to strike again, but the Green Wolf King didn't budge.
"What are you doing, Wolf?" The elder growled. "Are you declaring war?"
"I am not starting a war; I am enforcing the law," the Green Wolf King said, his voice dropping an octave, becoming dangerous. "When we arrived at this mountain, we signed a pact. No conflict within the gathering grounds. Or have you forgotten?"
The red-faced elder froze.
"That's right," the Black Dog King added, crossing his massive arms. "The pact is absolute."
"If you break the rules and attack a demon junior," another Demon King piped up, "then we shall feel free to slaughter the human juniors gathered here."
The atmosphere grew razor-thin. The threat of mutual destruction hung in the air.
Four other human Nascent Soul experts stepped forward, placing hands on the red-faced elder's shoulders.
"Let it go, Old Fire," one whispered. "The pact holds. Don't ruin the exploration for everyone."
"But my disciples..."
"He's not escaping," the human expert leaned in, his voice a sinister whisper barely audible to others. "We can't kill him here. But the Secret Realm opens soon. Send our disciples in. If they fail, we catch him when he exits the mountain. He is a dead man walking."
The red-faced elder took a deep breath, the logic piercing through his rage. He glared at Luo Zhen, a look promising a thousand tortures.
"Fine. You got lucky today, boy. Enjoy your extra few hours of life."
With a final huff, he turned and stormed off, his entourage of human experts trailing behind.
Immediately, the human martial artists—those at the Yuan Dan Realm preparing to enter the portal—flocked to the elder. They began whispering urgently, casting dark glances toward Luo Zhen. It didn't take a genius to figure out the topic of conversation.
The Green Wolf King watched them go, then turned to Luo Zhen. "What is your name, kid?"
"Luo Zhen."
"Luo Zhen. Decent name." The Wolf King nodded. "You see what is happening over there? They are planning your execution inside the realm."
"I figured as much," Luo Zhen said, his eyes narrowing.
"Good. As long as you aren't naive." The Wolf King sighed. "The humans of the State of Lu are troublesome. We demons are solitary creatures, scattered and independent. Humans... they cling to their sects and alliances. They are organized. Once inside, they will hunt you as a pack."
He looked at the barrier to the Secret Realm. "Because of the pact, we Kings cannot enter. Inside that realm, you are on your own."
"I understand," Luo Zhen bowed slightly, a gesture of genuine respect. "I am grateful for your help, Wolf King. Without you, I would have been forced into a desperate battle."
Luo Zhen meant it. He had no connection to this Wolf King, yet the man had stepped in front of a Nascent Soul strike for him. That was a debt.
"Don't mention it. We demons need to stick together when we can," the Wolf King said, patting Luo Zhen on the shoulder. "Survive. That is all that matters."
The Demon Kings departed, leaving Luo Zhen alone in the clearing.
The crowd dispersed, though the stares lingered. The other Demon Generals looked at him with pity. In their eyes, he was a walking corpse, marked for death by the strongest human sect in the region.
Luo Zhen ignored the pity. He walked over to a large, flat stone and sat down cross-legged.
He closed his eyes, regulating his breathing. Let them plot. Let them scheme.
He sat in the silence, waiting for the gates of hell to open.