The moment the crimson aura vanished, a wave of relief washed over Luo Zhen. He felt clean, light—as if he'd just shrugged off a mountain.
He flicked his forked tongue, his gaze dropping to the ground. Scattered across the dusty floor were a handful of stones, each about the size of a man's fist, glittering with a pale, golden light. A matching golden mist swirled lazily inside each one. Yang Gang Stones. And the mist? Pure Yang Gang Qi. It was the one thing he desperately needed.
His experience points were maxed out, sitting pretty at over half a million. He only needed a hundred thousand to break through to the mid-tier of the Heaven Xuan Realm. The XP was in the bank; it was the Yang Gang Qi that was holding him back.
Without a second thought, Luo Zhen crushed the stones, inhaling the golden mist that escaped. The entire haul netted him a meager 180 points of Yang Gang Qi.
He needed a thousand to level up. He wasn't even close.
System, he thought, a touch of frustration creeping in. You're telling me the store doesn't have any Yang Gang Stones? Not even the raw Qi?
The system's reply was blunt. Negative. Yang Gang Stones are a low-tier resource. Not stocked.
Low-tier... Luo Zhen sighed. Yeah, well, I'm in desperate need of your 'low-tier' resource right now.
The system was a dead end. He was on his own.
The next few weeks fell into a rhythm. Luo Zhen managed his new commercial street, methodically converting every bit of profit into Yang Gang Stones. The grind was slow, the days bleeding into one another.
Then, about two weeks into his new routine, Huang Mao showed up again. And he wasn't alone. With him was a female demon snake whose scales were the color of freshly spilled blood. She was a naga—half-woman, half-serpent—and the aura rolling off her screamed Demon General.
"Brother Luo, let me introduce you," Huang Mao said, gesturing to his companion. "This is my fiancée, Hong Yu. She's a mid-tier Demon Core General."
"A pleasure," Luo Zhen said, giving her a slight nod. On the outside, he was a placid lake. Inside, a storm was raging.
Huang Mao's fiancée was a Demon General?
Huang Mao was Heaven Xuan, the same as him. The chasm between Heaven Xuan and Demon Core was immense. They were practically different species. The gap in power and status was staggering. Sure, Luo Zhen had a knack for killing Demon Generals, but that didn't make them cheap. His Beast Fire was a trump card no one else held. In the grand scheme of things, he was a freak of nature.
Huang Mao was just… a guy. An ordinary demon snake. And he was engaged to her?
As if reading his mind, Huang Mao ducked his head, looking embarrassed. "It's, uh, a long story. Hong Yu was fatally wounded a while back, and my parents found her, took her in. She… she became my fiancée to repay the debt."
"I see," Luo Zhen said, nodding slowly. So, she was honorable. Honorable enough to trade her own life to settle a debt.
Huang Mao then turned to her. "Hong Yu, this is him. Brother Luo Zhen. The friend I told you about, the one with the Beast Fire."
"Hong Yu," she said, her voice smooth but cool. Her eyes appraised him. "Is it true you killed the Camel General?"
"This whole street is mine now," Luo Zhen countered. "You think he would have just handed it over?"
"Fair point," she conceded. "Huang Mao says you also command a Beast Fire."
"I do."
"Show me." It wasn't a question.
Luo Zhen's tongue flicked out, but he remained perfectly still. His Skeleton Ghost Fire was one of his strongest weapons. He didn't know this woman. He had no reason to show her his hand.
Sensing his hesitation, she said, "Don't misunderstand. I'm simply looking to connect with others who wield the flame."
Luo Zhen just offered a wry smile.
She could tell he wasn't buying it. She let out a breath, her shoulders slumping just a fraction. "Fine. I'll be direct. I need help. I'm assembling a team of Beast Fire wielders for a… project. The work is dangerous, but the reward for each member will be substantial."
She paused, her gaze locking onto his. "I was out of town for a while. The moment I got back, Huang Mao told me about you. A Beast Fire strong enough to take down a General? That's exactly what I need. So I came to you."
She took another breath. "To prove I'm serious, I'll show you mine."
Hong Yu opened her mouth, and a stream of pale red fire poured out, pooling in the air before her. The temperature in the street spiked, and the air filled with an acrid, poisonous stench.
"My Beast Fire," she announced. "Red Poison Fire. Second-tier."
"Well, since you went first, I suppose it would be rude not to reciprocate," Luo Zhen said lightly. He opened his mouth and let a sliver of incandescent, white flame escape—the Skeleton Ghost Fire.
It was barely a twentieth of his full reserves, but even that small wisp was larger than her entire flame. The moment it appeared, Hong Yu's Red Poison Fire seemed to shrink back, cowering under a pressure it couldn't withstand.
"Incredible!" Hong Yu breathed, her eyes wide with shock. "What tier is that?!"
"Fifth-tier," Luo Zhen said, casually recalling the flame.
"Fifth-tier…" she whispered, the reality of it sinking in. "No wonder you could kill the Camel General from the Heaven Xuan Realm."
A moment later, she snuffed out her own flame and turned to him, her eyes blazing with a new, fervent intensity. "Yours is the strongest I've ever seen. You have to help me. Please."
"I'm busy," Luo Zhen said, his tongue flicking. "I just took this territory; my footing is still unstable. And besides, I need to focus on my own training." It was a lie, of course. The simple truth was he didn't want to get involved. He didn't know her, owed her nothing. Why should he stick his neck out?
"I'll make it worth your while!" she pressed, unwilling to give up. "You're in the early stages of Heaven Xuan. You must be desperate for Yang Gang Qi to advance!"
Her eyes gleamed. "Help me, and I'll give you all the Yang Gang Qi you could ever need. What do you say?"
"How much are we talking about?" Luo Zhen asked, his voice low.
Everyone in the Red Desert knew how critical Yang Gang Qi was for anyone in the Heaven Xuan Realm. It was the key to advancement, which was why every last vein and quarry producing the stuff was locked down by the major powers. Buying it on the open market was possible, but the prices were astronomical. At this rate, it would take him ages to gather what he needed.
But for a Demon General like Hong Yu? It was a different story.
First, she had the territory and wealth to acquire it easily. Second, as a Demon Core General, she had no use for it herself. It was a resource she could afford to part with.
A smile touched her lips. "Help me, and I promise you this: I'll give you enough Yang Gang Stones to push you all the way to the late stage of the Heaven Xuan Realm."
"Late stage, huh?" Luo Zhen mused. "Alright. You've got a deal." He added, "But I'll need half of it up front. As a deposit."
"Done."
True to her word, it wasn't long after she and Huang Mao left that one of her subordinates arrived, hauling a small cart piled high with the gleaming golden stones.
"Lord Golden Snake," the subordinate said with a respectful bow, "my General asked me to pass on a message. Meet her on the west side of the city in ten days."
"I'll be there," Luo Zhen nodded.
Once he was alone, he got to work. He crushed every last stone, absorbing the precious qi within. When the dust settled, he had a staggering 3,500 points of Gang Qi.
Finally, he thought, a wave of satisfaction washed over him. Time for an upgrade. He willed it, and the system consumed 100,000 XP and 1,000 Gang Qi.
A blinding golden light erupted from his body, wrapping him in a cocoon of raw power. It lasted only five seconds, but when it faded, he felt fundamentally changed. He had reached the middle stage of the Heaven Xuan Realm.
And with the surge of power came regeneration. The phantom ache in his tail vanished as the stump began to knit and stretch, reforming into the sharp, powerful appendage he had lost in his fight with the Salamander General. It was good to be whole again.
He mentally pulled up his status.
Host: Luo Zhen
Realm: Heaven Xuan (Mid-Tier)
Race: Serpent (Supreme-Grade Mutated Spirit Species)
Species: Thunder Lotus Serpent
Bloodline: Thunder Lotus
Abilities: Elemental Magic (Water, Fire, Ice, Lightning), Flight
Skills: Blue Light Thunder Drill, Skeleton Ghost Fire (5th-Tier Beast Fire), [Demon Shadow Advent]
Defense: Dark Gold Serpent Body (Demon Core Grade)
Support: Stealth
Other: Poison Arrow, Constriction
XP: 460,000 / 300,000
Gang Qi: 2,291 / 3,000
He closed the panel. Okay, so I need 300k XP and 3k Gang Qi for the next level. The experience is already there. It all comes down to the qi.
He sighed. Gang Qi, Gang Qi, Gang Qi…
If the stones weren't so damn hard to find, he never would have taken this deal. A job that gave even a Demon General pause couldn't be anything but trouble.
Ten days later, Luo Zhen made his way to the west side of the city. He wasn't the first to arrive.
A tense, oppressive air hung over the area, emanating from four figures. Hong Yu was there, along with three other Demon Generals: a hulking Sand Scorpion, a wiry Earth Mouse, and a silent, watchful Lizard. All of them stood in their half-human forms, clutching powerful magical artifacts. The Sand Scorpion was clearly the strongest of the group, his power radiating at the late stage of the Demon Core Realm.
Passing demons gave them a wide berth, heads bowed, terrified of drawing their attention.
Luo Zhen glided towards Hong Yu, but as he drew near, the Sand Scorpion General's head snapped in his direction.
"Get lost, worm!" he roared, his voice like grinding rock. "Another step and you're dead!"
A flash of anger sparked in Luo Zhen, but before he could retort, Hong Yu stepped in. "Brother Scorpion, it's alright. He's with me. The Golden Snake is the help I told you about."
"This is your help?" the Sand Scorpion scoffed, looking Luo Zhen up and down with utter contempt. "He's just Heaven Xuan. He wouldn't even be a decent appetizer. You've got to be kidding me."
"He has Beast Fire," Hong Yu insisted. "Don't be so quick to judge."
That gave them pause. "Beast Fire?" the Sand Scorpion repeated, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. The Earth Mouse and Lizard Generals also turned to stare, their expressions a mixture of disbelief and curiosity.
Beast Fire was the one requirement for this job, but it was an incredibly rare power. Most Demon Generals didn't have it. For a mere Heaven Xuan beast to possess it was almost unheard of.
The Sand Scorpion grunted, recovering his composure. "So what? Beast Fire has tiers. And his realm is pathetic. This mission is dangerous. I'm not about to get killed because we're dragging dead weight along."
"I'm with Scorpion on this," the Earth Mouse General squeaked. "Taking a Heaven Xuan into that place is suicide."
"I'm not interested in being a babysitter, either," the Lizard General added flatly.
"Then what do you propose?" Hong Yu asked, exasperated.
The Sand Scorpion thought for a moment, his gaze fixed on Luo Zhen. "You say he has Beast Fire. Fine. He can prove it. Let him face mine. If his flame is worth a damn, maybe we'll consider bringing him along."
"That sounds fair," Hong Yu agreed instantly. She knew what Luo Zhen was capable of.
She turned to him. "Brother Luo…?"
"If he wants a demonstration, I'm happy to oblige," Luo Zhen said, his voice calm. The system couldn't give him a detailed reading on a Demon General, but it had already flagged the Sand Scorpion with a low-threat assessment. That could only mean one thing: his Beast Fire was nothing special.
Certainly no match for the Skeleton Ghost Fire.
"Cocky little snake, aren't you?" the Sand Scorpion sneered. "Alright, get ready. Try not to get incinerated."
"Whenever you're ready," Luo Zhen replied coolly.
"Here it comes!" the Scorpion bellowed, spitting a glob of viscous, pale-yellow fire.
The system was already on it. The moment the flame appeared, a notification flashed in Luo Zhen's mind.
Target's Beast Fire is confirmed. Tier: Two.
A faint smile touched Luo Zhen's lips. This just got a lot easier. He opened his mouth, and a brilliant, incandescent wisp of white fire shot forth to meet the attack.