Xu Yuan did not hunt blindly anymore.
That was the first thing that changed.
The inner zone had taught him a lesson more valuable than strength itself—reckless slaughter attracted attention, and attention attracted rulers. Territory was not something to challenge without preparation, and survival depended not on how many enemies he killed, but which enemies he chose.
So he adapted.
The next hunt began at the edge of overlapping domains, where territorial pressure fluctuated and rulers hesitated to intervene directly. These areas were unstable—dangerous for the weak, yet imperfectly controlled by the strong.
Perfect for him.
Xu Yuan moved low and silent through a stretch of jagged basalt formations, his presence concealed completely by the ring on his finger and reinforced further by his own deliberate control of breath and movement. His steps were light, his posture relaxed yet ready, every sense tuned outward.
He felt them before he saw them.
Three presences.
Not monsters.
Demons.
They lingered near a cluster of fractured stone pillars, their forms still partially bestial but more refined than those he had fought earlier. Their movements were coordinated, eyes alert, communicating through low growls and subtle gestures.
A hunting pack.
Xu Yuan watched from the shadows without moving.
"Three demons," he murmured internally. "No territory mark strong enough to draw a ruler."
[Assessment: Correct.]
[Recommendation: Engage selectively.]
Xu Yuan's gaze sharpened.
"This is where method matters."
He waited.
Minutes passed.
The demons shifted positions, spreading out slightly, probing their surroundings. One moved farther from the others, drawn toward a patch of ground where monster remains lay half-buried beneath ash.
That was the opening.
Xu Yuan moved.
Not fast.
Not slow.
He slipped forward like a shadow, closing the distance without disturbing the ash beneath his feet. The demon never sensed him until it was too late.
Xu Yuan struck with his bare hand.
His palm slammed into the back of the demon's neck with brutal precision, reinforced flesh and bone delivering force far beyond what his slender frame suggested. There was a sharp crack.
The demon collapsed without a sound.
Xu Yuan caught the body before it hit the ground.
He did not let it die yet.
Instead, he dragged it silently into the shadows.
The other two demons reacted seconds later.
One turned sharply, sensing something wrong.
Too late.
Xu Yuan surged forward, broken sword flashing as it pierced through the second demon's throat. Blood sprayed outward, hot and thick, but Xu Yuan was already moving, twisting aside as the third demon lunged in fury.
The fight lasted only moments.
No wasted motion.
No drawn-out exchange.
When it ended, all three demons lay dead.
Xu Yuan stood among them, breathing steady.
[System Points acquired: 96.]
"Efficient," Xu Yuan murmured.
[Method efficiency: High.]
He knelt beside the corpses and began working immediately.
This time, he did not rush into tempering.
Instead, he examined the bodies carefully.
Demon muscle was denser than monster flesh. Their bones carried faint traces of refined energy—not Qi, but something adjacent, shaped by prolonged exposure to Hell World laws.
"This is useful," Xu Yuan said softly.
He consumed selectively, chewing slowly, letting his body absorb what it could without overload. Only after stabilizing his condition did he place his palm against one of the corpses.
"Temper."
The response was controlled.
Pain flared—but no longer overwhelmed him.
[Fifth Flesh Tempering complete.]
[Body refinement stabilizing.]
[Foundation integrity improved.]
Xu Yuan exhaled slowly.
"So this is the rhythm," he murmured. "Hunt. Stabilize. Temper."
Not desperate.
Not reckless.
Sustainable.
Hours turned into days.
Xu Yuan remained within the inner zone, but never stayed in one place too long. He hunted at the edges of territories, targeting demons and stronger monsters that roamed independently or in small packs.
Each kill strengthened him.
Each fight refined his understanding.
He learned how to read territorial pressure. How to distinguish between demon tracks and monster signs. How to predict when a ruler might intervene—and how to avoid it entirely.
Most importantly, he learned restraint.
His Killing Aura continued to accumulate quietly, sealed beneath the ring, growing heavier and more complex. It no longer felt like a single pressure, but layers—intent stacked upon intent, violence compressed into something waiting.
[Killing Aura status: Dormant (High).]
Xu Yuan noticed.
He did not fear it.
But he respected it.
"I won't let this define me," he said calmly. "It's a tool. Nothing more."
[Acknowledged.]
One day, during a hunt near a collapsed obsidian ridge, Xu Yuan encountered something different.
A demon.
But not hostile.
The creature was badly injured, its body torn by claw marks far larger than anything Xu Yuan had seen so far. Dark blood soaked into the ground beneath it, and its breathing was shallow, uneven.
It noticed Xu Yuan immediately.
Its eyes widened.
Fear.
Not aggression.
Xu Yuan stopped several steps away.
The demon did not attack.
It knelt.
Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.
"So you can think," he said quietly.
The demon struggled to speak, its voice raw and distorted. "Don't… kill…"
Xu Yuan observed it silently.
[Entity status: Demon – Severely injured.]
[Threat level: Low.]
He considered.
Killing it would be easy.
Useful.
But…
"Who did this to you?" Xu Yuan asked.
The demon hesitated, then spoke weakly. "Lord… of this territory…"
Xu Yuan's gaze sharpened.
The Territory Lord.
"So you crossed its line," he murmured.
The demon nodded faintly.
Xu Yuan studied it for a long moment.
He saw desperation.
But also intelligence.
Potential.
Killing it would give him points.
Saving it would give him something else.
He made his choice.
"Stay still," Xu Yuan said.
The demon stared at him in disbelief.
Xu Yuan placed his hand against its chest.
Not to temper.
But to stabilize.
[System function unlocked: Subordinate Preservation (Preliminary).]
Warmth flowed—not violent, not painful, but controlled. Xu Yuan guided the energy carefully, reinforcing damaged flesh without refining it for himself.
The demon gasped as its breathing steadied slightly.
"You live," Xu Yuan said calmly. "For now."
The demon lowered its head.
"Why?" it whispered.
Xu Yuan's answer was simple.
"Because one day," he said, "I'll need beings who understand hell better than I do."
The demon's eyes trembled.
Something changed.
[Bond formed: Conditional loyalty established.]
Xu Yuan stood.
"Recover," he said. "When you can move, follow."
He turned and walked away, not waiting to see if the demon obeyed.
He already knew the answer.
The Hell World watched.
And for the first time since he arrived, it did not see only a survivor.
It saw a builder.
Xu Yuan did not look back.
He did not need to.
The Hell World was not kind, but it was honest. A being on the verge of death who was offered survival would not betray that chance lightly—especially not a demon who had already tasted what it meant to be discarded by a territory ruler.
He continued his hunt.
But now, there was a subtle difference.
Xu Yuan was no longer hunting alone.
At first, the demon followed from a distance, its movements slow and uneven due to its injuries. It kept to the shadows, careful not to draw attention, mimicking Xu Yuan's route through safer paths and fractured terrain.
Xu Yuan did not slow for it.
That, too, was intentional.
Survival in Hell was not granted freely. If it could not keep up, it would die—and that would be the end of it.
Hours later, as Xu Yuan paused near a region where territorial pressure weakened, he sensed movement behind him.
The demon emerged cautiously, bowing its head.
"I can still move," it said hoarsely. "I won't slow you down."
Xu Yuan glanced at it briefly.
"Good," he replied.
Nothing more.
No reassurance.
No promise.
The demon hesitated, then followed again.
That was enough.
From that moment on, Xu Yuan's hunts became more structured.
He began to observe not just enemies—but routes, cycles, and patterns. Where demons traveled. When monster packs migrated. Which territories overlapped just enough to allow conflict without immediate retaliation from a ruler.
The Hell World was chaotic—but not random.
And chaos, when understood, became a resource.
Xu Yuan used the demon as a scout.
Not by command.
By example.
When Xu Yuan slowed, the demon slowed. When Xu Yuan stopped, it waited. Gradually, it began to anticipate his movements, pointing out dangers with subtle gestures, warning him of distant presences before they became immediate threats.
It learned quickly.
So did Xu Yuan.
They hunted together—not as equals, but as aligned existences.
A pack of lesser demons fell first.
Then a wandering Grade-Two monster, isolated from its territory.
Then another.
And another.
Each kill was cleaner than the last.
Each fight shorter.
Xu Yuan refined his approach meticulously.
He stopped using Sword Law entirely unless absolutely necessary. Instead, he focused on his body—ing his strength, movement, and endurance to their limits. He tested angles, timing, and leverage—learning how to bring down enemies stronger than him without relying on unstable power.
The results were immediate.
[Sixth Flesh Tempering complete.]
[Body refinement: Early Phase nearing Mid Phase.]
Xu Yuan felt it clearly.
His bones were no longer merely dense—they were resilient. His muscles no longer tore under stress; they compressed, rebounded, adapted. Pain still existed, but it no longer disrupted his focus.
He was becoming efficient.
Not powerful.
Efficient.
The demon watched him with growing awe.
"You don't fight like any human I've seen," it said quietly during a brief pause.
Xu Yuan wiped blood from his hands.
"I'm not fighting," he replied. "I'm surviving."
The demon hesitated, then spoke again. "What… should I call you?"
Xu Yuan paused.
Names had weight.
They implied connection.
He did not give one.
"Follow," he said instead.
The demon lowered its head.
"As you wish."
Days passed.
Xu Yuan's System Points accumulated steadily.
[System Points: 1,024.]
A threshold.
Xu Yuan stopped atop a fractured ridge and looked out across the Hell World. The inner zone stretched endlessly ahead, layers of danger stacked upon one another.
"This is enough for now," he said calmly.
[Shop access condition met.]
The system interface unfolded fully for the first time.
Not flashy.
Not overwhelming.
Clean.
Direct.
Xu Yuan scanned it silently.
Weapons.
Techniques.
Subspaces.
Consumables.
Knowledge fragments.
Everything had a cost.
Everything demanded points.
He did not buy immediately.
Instead, he looked at the demon beside him.
"You're injured," he said. "And unrefined."
The demon stiffened. "I can still fight."
"I know," Xu Yuan replied. "But you're wasting potential."
The demon swallowed.
Xu Yuan opened the system again and selected a single option.
[Purchase confirmed: Minor Demon Purification Stabilization.]
[Cost: 300 SP.]
Warmth flowed through the demon's body—not violent, not painful. Corruption that had seeped into its flesh from prolonged exposure to the Hell World's distorted laws was drawn out and dispersed.
The demon gasped, falling to one knee.
"I… feel lighter," it whispered.
"You're still weak," Xu Yuan said. "But now you can grow."
The demon bowed deeply.
"I will not betray this."
Xu Yuan did not respond.
Trust was not given.
It was tested.
He turned his gaze back toward the inner zone.
"The hunt continues," he said.
And with that, they moved on—one human, one demon—cutting a quiet path through a world built on slaughter.
Somewhere far above, unseen laws shifted once more.
Not in alarm.
But in interest.
________________________
Author Note
Chapter 6 marks a turning point—survival becomes structure, and chaos begins to turn into method.
From here on, growth is no longer accidental. Every step, every kill, every choice carries intent.
Thank you for reading and supporting the journey.