---
Then it happened.
The same ethereal and ancient voice that had welcomed him into the Ancestral Spiritual World echoed directly in his consciousness, so suddenly that he almost screamed.
[Detected that the Host has successfully assimilated a Residual Demon Soul.]
Long Chen's expression froze for a moment. Residual Demon Soul?
The voice continued, indifferent to his shock.
[The beast's will was strong. A fragment of its essence was preserved in the core.]
[New function unlocked: Beast Soul Assimilation.]
"What the!?"
Long Chen's world stopped. His eyes widened. He felt his blood freeze in his veins and then boil with an euphoria so intense it made him dizzy.
[Beast Soul Assimilation]: Upon defeating a demon beast with an exceptionally strong will, there is a chance that a fragment of its soul remains in its core. By absorbing it, the Host can assimilate this fragment, inheriting one or more of its innate techniques.
[Warning: Assimilation carries risks. Stronger souls may attempt to influence or overwhelm the Host's consciousness. Proceed with caution.]
Long Chen's jaw dropped. He looked at the glory staff in his hands, then into the void, his mind spinning at full speed. A low, slightly unhinged laugh full of disbelief escaped his lips.
"Hahaha... ha... holy shit!"
It wasn't just about leveling up. It wasn't just getting stronger. It was literally looting abilities. A cheat within his supreme cheat! The hellish fight, the searing pain, the crushed arm... all of it had been worth it a thousand times over.
His mind automatically ignored the "warning" that had rung in his mind, blinded by the magnitude of the opportunity.
His thoughts were already racing, a whirlwind of possibilities. He no longer had to limit himself to human cultivation techniques. He could hunt, kill, and steal for himself the greatest gifts of demon beasts!
The defense of the Demon Bear. The speed of that Crocodile-Serpent. The flight of that Golden Eagle that killed him...
Just thinking about it sent a chill down his spine—but this time, it wasn't fear. It was pure, wild ambition.
He stood and walked to the window, pushing it open a bit more, gazing at the dense mountain range that protected this city. The cool night air filled his lungs. He then looked at the sleeping city outside, at the distant lights of the walls that kept the beast hordes at bay. Before, he saw a place that needed protection, a place where they could only passively defend against demon beasts.
Now, with a predatory smile that didn't reach his eyes, he saw something else. A flock of sheep waiting to be slaughtered. Today they were still the predators, greater in number and strength. Tomorrow, they would be mere sheep... and he would be the hunter!
---
The next morning, Long Chen woke before even the first rays of sun touched his window. His body felt no fatigue, no usual drowsiness. Instead, a vibrant energy coursed through him.
Looking at himself in the room's small bronze mirror, he noticed: his eyes seemed clearer, brighter, with a depth that hadn't been there before.
He washed and dressed normally before heading down for breakfast. His mother, Feng Wu, was already at the table, setting down a bowl of warm porridge for him.
"Good morning, Chen'er. Did you sleep well?" she asked with a gentle smile.
"Aside from the 'nightmare', I slept great, mom," he replied, with half-truths and lies.
As he ate, his gaze fell upon his mother's hands. Hands of a woman who worked hard, who clearly hadn't had an easy life.
Feng Wu was a Three-Star Bronze Rank Spiritualist whose advancement had stalled long ago. Resources were too expensive, and after her husband's death and Long Chen's birth, she didn't have much time to cultivate. That's why she was so weak.
Long Chen sighed. Even though the person she had cared for all these years was the previous "Long Chen", made him feel a sense of duty. A feeling that she deserved a better life.
In his makeshift pouch, stored in his room, were cores from the Demon Rabbits. He felt a strong impulse to just grab them and give them to her. The soul energy within would certainly help her a lot.
But then he hesitated.
'And what would be the excuse?' He thought, already imagining the scene in his mind:
— 'Son, where did you get these demon cores?' 'Oh, I hunted them in a secret training world inside my soul where time flows faster and I can't really die.' —
He nearly scoffed at the thought. No, he needed a plausible excuse, something that wouldn't raise impossible-to-answer suspicions. At least for now, he'd have to wait.
"Son?" Feng Wu's voice pulled him from his thoughts. She was staring at him, head slightly tilted, a wrinkle of curiosity on her brow. She leaned in and looked closely at her son, sensing that something was different.
"You... look different today. Taller, maybe?" She looked him up and down, dismissing the idea. "There's a... special aura around you. And your eyes are so bright."
Long Chen felt a cold bead of sweat trail down his back but kept his face calm. "It's the training, mom," he said, using the half-truth he'd prepared. "We received an improved cultivation technique at the Institute. It's more efficient, so maybe the effects are starting to show."
She studied him for another moment, then her face softened and she returned to her seat with a proud smile. "That's wonderful, my son! Keep working hard."
The rest of breakfast went by without issues. He said goodbye and headed for the Institute.
The morning was clear, and the entrance time to the Ancestral Spiritual World — dawn — had already passed. He had consciously decided not to try to enter.
The voice had said "at dusk and at dawn". But how fixed were those rules? Could he force his way in at another time? Better to experiment when he had spare time, like now, than when he was busy in the future.
Besides, there was another goal for today. He wanted to try and get a superior cultivation technique from Nie Li before diving back into his brutal training field.
"Nie Li, you can't let me down." He smiled, as if already imagining the supreme technique he would receive.
On the way, as he crossed a busy plaza, he saw her.
Xiao Ning'er.
She walked alone, her beauty as cold as ice, but with an underlying fragility that only someone who knew her story could perceive.
She wore her standard clothes. A deep blue dress, tight to her body, accentuating the curves of her bust and waist with subtle precision, without being overly vulgar. The cut was short, ending well above the knees, allowing her long, well-shaped legs to be fully visible from thigh to ankle.
Long Chen's mind raced at the sight of her, remembering her illness that Nie Li would cure. But this time, Long Chen wanted to be the only one to heal her.
To him, the meat and cores of the Demon Rabbits had healed many of his injuries at miraculous speeds several times. Their vital energy was potent. Her Arctic Disease was a torment of cold energy. Could the warm, vital energy of the cores neutralize it? Or should he bring her some beast meat...
"No matter what, I must be the first person to heal her, before Nie Li."
The desire to have her, which before having his inner world was a meaningless fantasy, now became a tangible and urgent goal, fueled by his new power. But for now, Long Chen held back his impulses. Acting rashly would only scare her. So he simply passed by her, his gaze lingering a second longer, and headed straight to the library.
The air in the library was heavy with the scent of old, dusty scrolls. Nie Li and his group were already there, gathered around a table, whispering about ways to make money and how they had spent the entire night hunting Horned Rams to sell.
Lu Piao was the first to notice him. "Hey, Long Chen! I thought you weren't coming today!"
"Late, but I made it," Long Chen smiled, greeting him with a quick fist bump. Du Ze, more serious, nodded in acknowledgment, a restrained smile on his face. Long Chen greeted the other three before his gaze finally landed on Nie Li.
He was about to say something when Nie Li, who was examining a book he couldn't understand, looked up.
His eyes passed over Long Chen, then stopped. Nie Li's casual expression vanished. His eyes, which held the wisdom of a lifetime, narrowed slightly, and his brows furrowed in deep confusion and suspicion.
"You..."