Chapter 152 – The Codex of Life!
Become stronger!
This single word stirred something deep within Chiying's heart.
As a demon driven by chaotic will, this had always been their ultimate pursuit — a desire etched into their very bloodline.
But…
The scene that replayed in her mind refused to fade, almost forming a psychological shadow.
It wasn't the "Mad Marquis."
A mere inferior lowborn blood descendant like him didn't deserve it.
It was Zhe!
His figure grew infinitely large in her heart, standing tall like an insurmountable divine mountain.
Chiying couldn't help but let out a mocking laugh.
"Ha! Become stronger? Could I ever be as strong as you?"
"You can," Jiang Zhe replied confidently.
Chiying gave another short, disbelieving laugh and didn't reply further, but her attitude clearly showed skepticism.
Jiang Zhe maintained his faint smile. After doing a quick mental calculation, he truly didn't think it was that difficult.
So he continued,
"As a Domain Lord — a second-tier earl — you possess a 140-fold life gene level, equivalent to the peak of a normal Domain Lord in the outside universe.
If you also had my level of law comprehension and secret techniques, you might not handle things as effortlessly as I do, but it would still be enough to kill that 'Mad Marquis,' even with his roughly tenfold life gene level."
"You said it yourself: you're only eight days old… just over 150 hours. There's still a lot you need to learn. Inherited memories can't make you into a proper student."
"But I can."
"Chiying, think carefully about my proposal and give me your answer later."
Law comprehension?
Secret techniques?
Chiying licked her red lips, eyes flashing with excitement.
"No need to wait. I can give you my answer right now. But you'll have to answer a few questions first."
Jiang Zhe nodded, signaling for her to go ahead.
Chiying asked,
"Once again, you're willing to help me grow stronger — to help me hunt a Marquis's heart?"
"Yes. But you must acknowledge me as your teacher and share with me the important secrets of the demon race," Jiang Zhe said.
"Teacher?" Chiying looked both surprised and suspicious. "Is this just a formal title… or do you have some special way of binding me?"
"No."
Jiang Zhe's straightforward answer only deepened Chiying's confusion.
Among demons, who routinely treated each other as mere blood food, the weight of a master-disciple bond was completely alien.
Why would anyone cultivate an excellent disciple only to open up their heart to them?
Seeing her reaction, Jiang Zhe chuckled.
"You probably don't understand. In the original universe outside, the master-disciple bond is one of the strongest ties, even stronger than blood relationships.
Because if either party betrays the other, they'd face condemnation — scorn, distrust, rejection, even social death from everyone they know."
"With your talent, do you plan to stay in the Abyss forever? Remain forever capped at Duke? Don't you want to see what lies beyond — the domain of Venerables and Universe Masters?"
"If you have ambition, if you're planning for the long term and don't want to be trapped in your demon homeland forever, then you'll need a teacher from outside, someone who can hold you to the standards of the greater universe. Then, you wait for the opportunity to change your fate."
Just like that local boy Nak from the Bloodfall World, who seized the opportunity given by Luo Feng.
At that moment, another thought crossed Jiang Zhe's mind.
Then he continued,
"I truly wish to take you as my disciple because I believe in your potential. Once I acknowledge this relationship, I will never harm you."
Staring into Jiang Zhe's gentle eyes, Chiying's pupils contracted.
She again recalled that towering figure who had stood before her, effortlessly piercing the Marquis's chest with a single hand.
Slowly, her mindset began to shift — from guardedness to cautious cooperation.
Chiying nodded slightly, her expression growing solemn.
"I may not fully understand, but I'm willing to accept this relationship.
However, for now, let's keep it as a partnership: you take the Golden Hollow Marquis's heart, and I'll give you the secrets from my inherited memory."
"Of course, I'll hold nothing back, even if those secrets concern myself."
Jiang Zhe nodded.
"A sensible decision. We'll proceed like this for now."
"Teacher."
Chiying addressed him formally, bowing with respect, then asked,
"I still have some questions. May I continue asking?"
"Go ahead."
"Teacher, what exactly is your purpose for descending into the Abyss?"
"For now, two purposes."
Jiang Zhe raised two fingers.
"First, to find materials for creating a clone. You've heard of the secret art of cloning in your inherited memory, haven't you?
Second, after meeting you, a new idea came to me: obtaining gene amplification."
Chiying nodded thoughtfully. Then suddenly, her eyes widened.
"Teacher… are you planning to use 'Source Blood' to nurture your clone?"
Jiang Zhe smiled.
"That's right. What do you think?"
Because of her own special nature, Chiying had considered this possibility before and knew well its benefits.
"Without a doubt, the 'Source Blood' that gave rise to us pure-blood demons is the best material for nurturing a clone. You would gain a perfect pure-blood demon clone."
Then she hesitated and added,
"But teacher, all existing 'Source Blood' is locked within the hearts of the major Dukes. You'd have to kill one, let the 'Source Blood' return to the ancestral pool, and then break into that heavily guarded pool to seize just a single drop."
"Forgive my boldness, but no matter how much faith I have in you, I can't believe you could kill a Duke (Immortal) with just the power of a Viscount (Universe level)."
Jiang Zhe only smiled without replying, and instead asked,
"Chiying, what exactly does a perfect pure-blood demon mean?"
"It means possessing a life gene level of 1260 times — the ultimate growth limit of all pure-blood demons among our eight lineages."
"Teacher, if you successfully nurture a clone with 'Source Blood,' it would directly be at 1260-fold life genes and come with three innate secret techniques."
Jiang Zhe's eyes sparkled.
"All eight lineages' 'Source Blood' are like this?"
"They are," Chiying answered with certainty.
Seeing her assured expression, Jiang Zhe guessed her inherited memory probably even recorded details of nurturing a clone with 'Source Blood.'
Could it be that one of the innate secret techniques their kind can awaken is actually 'Clone' itself?
Meanwhile, Orianna speculated in his mind,
"Master, 1260 times 8 equals 10,080 — just a hair's breadth from that sensitive threshold. Maybe… maybe with just eight drops of Source Blood, you could have a nearly perfect life gene clone?"
Jiang Zhe nodded inwardly and made a mental note to test it someday.
"Chiying, speaking of your Ghost lineage, do each of you demons awaken different innate secret techniques?"
"Yes, teacher.
Common Ghost demons awaken the innate secret technique Edge at a threefold life gene level.
Later, upon reaching tenfold or a hundredfold, their consciousness is drawn into a mystical realm. A codex opens before them, and the page it stops on records the next innate secret technique they'll awaken."
"In my inherited memory, there are records of 23 secret techniques unique to the Ghost lineage;
for all eight demon lineages combined, there are over a thousand shared ones.
And beyond that, many not yet recorded in inherited memories are still written in that 'Demon Codex of Life,' never yet drawn by any demon."
The Demon Codex of Life?
It was strikingly similar to the scene when Jiang Zhe had received his own ultimate secret technique.
Wait a minute…
These are innate secret techniques — not arbitrary inherited memories that can be easily altered!
Is the flexibility to select innate techniques really something allowed by the Original Universe's will?
Who knew what world-shaking techniques might be hidden in that Codex, never yet revealed?
The Demon Codex of Life…
Jiang Zhe repeated it silently in his heart, determined to explore it thoroughly one day.
—Any deviation from the norm might conceal an immense opportunity!
Curious, Jiang Zhe asked,
"Chiying, does that Codex contain the innate secret technique for Cloning?"
"Yes, teacher. It's one of the secret techniques shared by all eight lineages, though very hard to draw — it requires immense luck."
Then she suddenly smiled brightly.
"Like me."
Jiang Zhe raised an eyebrow.
So his little disciple's three major innate techniques were — a personal weapon? Spatial shifting? Cloning?
Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!
Ah, so that's how it is?
Jiang Zhe also broke into a smile — partly for Chiying's sake, but even more for his own.
Little disciple, your master has decided to bestow upon you a fortune of overwhelming magnitude. You'd better be ready to receive it!
Before fully understanding the depths of the demon race, Jiang Zhe hadn't dared recklessly create clones of Wrath.
But now things were different. With Chiying's innate Cloning ability, he could start some bold experiments and give himself a safety net.
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