Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Never Changes
Arc: The Great Guerrilla War
Scarlet King moved toward one of the restaurants inside the Heaven's Grip Sect.
He walked slowly, carrying a large amount of food and juice in his hands.
He lifted his coat slightly
and slipped the food and drinks beneath it.
Suddenly—
A ripple formed inside the coat, like a small blue portal.
The food and drinks slid into the ripple and disappeared instantly,
as if swallowed by a tiny gateway into the void.
Scarlet King lowered his coat
and continued walking.
He entered another tavern.
The wooden door creaked softly as he pushed it open.
This tavern was larger than the previous one
and far more crowded.
Sunlight streamed through the windows,
spreading warm light across the room.
Square tables were filled with cultivators and merchants.
The clinking of cups echoed constantly.
The smell of roasted meat and chicken drifted through the air,
while quiet conversations blended beneath the noise.
Above them was a raised second level,
accessible by a spiral staircase.
Scarlet King entered calmly
and took a seat facing the main counter where juices were served.
The counter stretched across the room
from the entrance to the far window.
Scarlet King raised three fingers.
"Three cups of purple-grade qi juice."
The waiter, who had been polishing glasses quietly, smiled politely.
"As you wish, sir. But may I ask… are you a cultivator?"
As he studied Scarlet King, he thought:
(No one orders refined qi juice except cultivators—
especially purple-grade juice.)
(Yet… I cannot sense any aura from him.)
Scarlet King did not answer with words.
Instead, he did what was necessary.
A faint aura emerged around him—
a purple aura.
His eyes glowed with a blue light.
The waiter immediately stiffened.
He clasped his hands together and bowed.
"Oh… a Qi Refinement cultivator."
"I will prepare your drinks immediately."
Several people in the tavern turned their heads when Scarlet King released his aura.
But he ignored them.
He heard murmurs among the tables.
"Hm… I've never seen that cultivator in the sect before."
Another whispered:
"I saw him speaking with Ikalath earlier—
one of the top hundred disciples in the sect."
Scarlet King waited calmly.
In his view, patience and composure were essential virtues.
Haste and arrogance
were nothing more than invitations to an early death.
That was the difference between him
and the rest of existence.
The waiter soon returned, carrying the drinks on a polished metal tray.
He placed them down with theatrical flair.
One drink was yellow.
The second pink.
The third a deep purple.
"These are the juices you requested, sir."
"We have also included one green primal stone in each cup as a courtesy from the tavern."
Scarlet King picked up the first cup
and drank it in a single motion.
The cold liquid flowed down his throat.
A faint tingling sensation spread through his neck,
his stomach,
his mouth.
The chill of the drink and the qi within it circulated through his body.
A faint smile appeared on Scarlet King's lips.
He picked up the primal stone between his teeth
and crushed it.
Qi dust scattered into the air before him—
But he inhaled it all.
Then he looked at the waiter.
"I want to know where you obtain this juice."
Scarlet King thought quietly:
(I already know how these drinks are made.)
(Water mixed with sugar and fruit—
with a crushed primal stone added inside.)
(The grades are divided into
red, green, blue, purple, and black or white—
depending on the color of the primal stone used.)
(But what I truly want to know…
is the source of those stones.)
The waiter wiped the empty cup with a yellow cloth.
"Oh… the gentleman wishes to know a trade secret?"
He leaned closer and whispered near Scarlet King's ear.
"Return tonight."
"And I will tell you where the taverns obtain their qi-refined food and drinks."
He glanced around cautiously.
"Not now… there are too many ears."
Scarlet King understood immediately.
He nodded.
"Very well. I will return tonight."
The waiter whispered softly:
"The password is… extermination."
Scarlet King continued drinking the remaining juices calmly.
Hours Later — Midnight
While the sect slept in silence,
Scarlet King moved through the streets like a shadow beneath the pale blue moonlight.
The entire sect was quiet.
He thought:
(If I obtain the source of qi-refined food and drinks,
I can destroy the Dragon Gang's monopoly over taverns and restaurants.)
(That would deal them a devastating economic blow.)
He reached the tavern's back door
and knocked.
The door opened slightly.
A rough voice spoke from inside.
"Who is it?"
Scarlet King released a faint trace of his aura.
"I wish to enter."
The old voice replied:
"The password."
Moonlight illuminated the cloth covering Scarlet King's face.
"Extermination."
The door opened.
An old man stood there.
White beard.
Brown eyes.
White hair tied into a bun.
"Come inside"
Scarlet King stepped into the kitchen.
Pots, trays, and cups were stacked everywhere.
Several stoves and sinks filled the room.
But the most striking sight—
Was the piles of primal stones.
Scarlet King thought with quiet surprise:
(This quantity of primal stones
would allow me to break through to Qi Condensation with ease.)
The waiter from earlier appeared again.
But now he wore flowing black robes
instead of servant clothing.
His demeanor had changed completely.
"Follow me."
Scarlet King walked behind him.
They reached a small table.
Two chairs stood facing one another.
They sat.
The waiter folded his hands and spoke calmly.
"Very well."
"I will reveal the true source of qi-refined food and drinks."