I Am a Demon

Finally receiving a response, Old Morgan raised his head in delight. The joy of having his long-cherished wish fulfilled had barely flashed across his face before he suddenly realized something was wrong.

The sacrifice was not enough?

As the initiator of the ritual, Old Morgan knew very well that although the Demon of Judgment sounded formidable, it was actually nothing more than a low-level, even insignificant demon attached to the scale. It had only one instinctive need: souls.

So once it said the sacrifice was insufficient, it truly meant the sacrifice was insufficient. Unlike other demons, it could not be communicated with or bargained with.

One delicious soul from a young man in his prime was still not enough?

This was completely different from what the notes recorded. Had something gone wrong?

Old Morgan's thoughts raced as his aged soul worked at full speed.

Unfortunately, at this critical moment, there was no way for him to find another soul to sacrifice to the Judgment Demon.

Eh, no, there was still a chance.

"Buzz."

Abruptly, Old Morgan seemed to realize something. He lowered his head and looked at himself. He was now in a soul state as well.

"Figured it out? So, are you willing to do it or not?"

Still hanging from the scale, Tang Qi maintained the Judgment Demon's outward appearance of painful wailing while carefully observing Old Morgan.

This aged black man was displaying a very interesting and complicated side of himself.

His face was covered in age spots, and even the racial gifts of a black man could not conceal its wrinkles and folds. His eyes were filled with a powerful desire to survive. When he looked at the unconscious youth's soul at the other end of the scale, he made no effort to hide his jealousy and greed. Yet when he looked at Tang Qi, there was only the longing of a man clutching at his last straw.

When he realized he had to pay a greater price, his eyes were filled with struggle and resentment.

All of it clearly entered Tang Qi's Eye. Even the unceasing waves of pain could not interrupt Tang Qi's perception. The strange feeling made Tang Qi mutter, "Is this the advantage of being a demon? An incredibly sharp perception of human emotions."

Tang Qi suddenly smiled. Although Old Morgan was still struggling and hesitating, his keen perception had already told Tang Qi the answer.

Old Morgan had no other choice.

Sure enough, the next moment, Tang Qi saw Old Morgan's expression turn ruthless. Then he abruptly stood and roared in an obscure language, "Come, I am willing to offer another half of my soul as payment for changing bodies. Great Judgment Demon, please enjoy it to your heart's content."

"Come, come on."

Tang Qi clearly heard the fear beneath Old Morgan's roar. At the same time, an incomparably powerful urge surged from within him.

At this moment, Tang Qi was like a traveler who had been starving and thirsting in the desert for days, so hungry that he was about to lose his mind. Almost the instant Old Morgan's voice fell silent, Tang Qi opened his mouth. His eyes glowed faintly as he murmured, "Humble believer, as you wish."

"Whoosh."

"Ahhh!"

When Tang Qi opened his mouth and inhaled toward Old Morgan, half of Old Morgan's already aged soul vanished in an instant. It drifted into Tang Qi's mouth thread by thread like hazy smoke. Boundless pain seemed to drown the pitiful old man, making him roll and scream madly at one end of the scale.

Tang Qi, meanwhile, felt better than ever before.

After devouring half a soul, Tang Qi felt as though he were about to fly. Everything was so wonderful, like the lingering aftermath of an orgasm, drifting and spiraling as though he would never come back down. If Tang Qi wished, he could maintain that sensation for at least a dozen breaths.

But at that moment, Tang Qi desperately suppressed all that bliss.

Because the scale moved!

The ritual had begun.

It was not voluntary on Tang Qi's part. Though he was the Judgment Demon, the Soul Exchange Scale clearly had its own operating rules.

Old Morgan had satisfied Tang Qi's demand, and the scale automatically judged the transaction successful.

What came next was the exchange of souls.

The two ends of the scale, which had previously only creaked and swayed, suddenly began spinning rapidly. Black smoke rose, accompanied by eerie red light. The rune arrays beneath the two bodies in the study lit up with dim white light, and both the youth's soul and Old Morgan's soul atop the scale began to change.

The youth's soul was suddenly pierced by blood-red thorns. The already unconscious youth immediately screamed, but it lasted less than a second before abruptly stopping. Then Tang Qi saw that the pitiful youth's soul seemed to have lost something, becoming muddled and no longer possessing its previous liveliness.

"He's dead."

Tang Qi said this because of the Special Interface he saw at that moment.

Soul: Human

Quality: Ordinary

State: A transparent soul that has lost itself. Can be devoured.

Upon seeing the interface, Tang Qi instinctively looked toward Old Morgan again.

Sure enough, the same change had appeared.

Soul: Human

Quality: Inferior

State: A low-quality soul that has lost half its soul power. Cannot be devoured.

Information Fragment: The Soul-Swapping Ritual has begun. This soul will enter a new body in three seconds.

"Hiss."

The moment that sole Information Fragment entered his sight, Tang Qi sucked in a sharp breath. His expression then became crazier and more resolute than ever before. The next moment, he made a shocking move Without Hesitation.

"Ahhh!"

A wail more miserable than any before burst from Tang Qi's mouth. The source of that pain was that he suddenly exerted force and violently tore his hands free from the blood-soaked Nails of Pain. His feet came free as well.

Having done all that, Tang Qi was nearly driven mad by the endless agony. His already hazy soul became even more transparent. There was no need to look to know that he had to be severely weakened now, yet Tang Qi was incomparably delighted.

Success. It really worked.

He could deviate from that damned thing, though he only had three seconds.

There was not even a moment to struggle or scream. Tang Qi wailed madly as he suddenly turned around. Bracing himself against the cross covered in Demon Runes, he slowly pulled his torso free with all his strength. Blood formed from soul power nearly soaked the entire cross, creating a bloody and horrifying sight.

Old Morgan, who had been immersed in the joy of his imminent success in exchanging souls, finally detected Tang Qi's insane actions. The weakened Old Black Man roared in terror and fury, "Shameless, lowly demon, what are you trying to do? You cannot violate the contract between us! The Power of Rules will reduce you to nothingness!"

Old Morgan was completely beside himself with rage. As an evil soul, he almost immediately saw through Tang Qi's plan, but he was utterly unable to stop him. His soul was protected by the rules of the Soul Exchange Scale, but it was also bound by the scale.

He could only watch Tang Qi continue his madness while roaring curses with eyes wide enough to split. "Lowly demon, you will not succeed! Once you leave the scale, you will quickly dissipate! You vile thing, you disgusting thing!"

Tang Qi focused entirely on his movements. When a wet tearing sound rang out, his complete soul body had finally broken free from the five Nails of Pain. The cross was nearly dyed red with blood, while Tang Qi entered a state where he seemed about to dissipate at any moment.

Weakness. A weakness so profound he could barely think, much less respond to Old Morgan's curses.

Yet Tang Qi, once again feeling freedom, burst into wild laughter. His blood-covered face snapped toward one end of the scale, and he inhaled. With a whoosh, the masterless transparent soul on the bronze pan immediately turned into a ball of white light and flew into Tang Qi's mouth.

"Boom!"

A sensation even more wonderful than before threatened to drown Tang Qi like a tidal wave. At the same time, countless memory fragments surged in. In his panicked glimpse, Tang Qi seemed to see an entire youth's life. The complex memories and overwhelming pleasure nearly caused Tang Qi to become completely immersed in them.

Fortunately, Tang Qi's willpower gained the upper hand at that moment. Together with the help of Old Morgan's roaring curses, Tang Qi barely managed to stay conscious. His already pained face twisted even further.

Ignoring the countdown in his mind, which had already reached "two," Tang Qi turned his head and gave the Old Black Man cursing him a mocking smile. "Old bastard, I'm a demon. Contracts are made to be broken, idiot."

"Whoosh!"

The instant he spoke, Tang Qi had already shot into the air. His soul completely broke away from the scale and transformed into a streak of light flying toward one of the bodies outside the black bubble.

Without any surprise, Tang Qi chose the youth.

"No!"

Old Morgan, still within the "protection period," ignored the weakness of his soul and stood to roar madly. He also tried to break free from the scale and chase Tang Qi. But at that moment, the previously spinning scale suddenly stopped. The black mist and eerie red light all rushed toward Old Morgan.

Crimson thorns extended from beneath the bronze pan, instantly piercing Old Morgan's soul before dragging him toward the center of the scale—to the Demon Cross completely soaked in blood.

"No, this isn't real!"

"I'm the one who initiated the ritual! I should be the one changing bodies!"

"Ahhh!"

The screams abruptly stopped as well.

Amid the surging red light, another suffering soul appeared on the cross that had briefly lost its "master."

At that moment, Tang Qi looked back and saw several Flashed By Information Fragments.

The Soul-Swapping Ritual has been forcibly interrupted!

The scale has lost its Judgment Demon!

Soul capture in progress!

Target confirmed!

New Judgment Demon captured!

Integrating...

"I-I succeeded."

"Buzz."

As Tang Qi smiled and murmured those words, a living, peaceful youth's body Appeared In Front Of him. A Pulling Force swept over him from nowhere, drawing Tang Qi's completely unresisting soul inside.