Awakening

"Lord of Devourment? That's a domineering name."

Lin Dong murmured in admiration. For a little fellow from a remote backwater like him, he truly didn't know much about such things—besides, Lin Dong himself wasn't fond of reading.

Little Marten couldn't help but curl his lip, speaking indignantly at Lin Dong's ignorant demeanor.

"What the hell do you know, kid? 'Domineering name'? This is the Lord of Devourment! Do you even know what the Eight Ancient Lords are? Even in the ancient era, they were the absolute pinnacle of power under heaven and earth!"

Seeing Little Marten hold this oddly named Lord of Devourment in such high esteem, Lin Dong grew a bit more curious and pressed on.

"These so-called Eight Ancient Lords, are they really that strong? Stronger than Nirvana Realm experts?"

"Huh? Nirvana Realm?"

Little Marten's voice was sharp and piercing, making Lin Dong's eardrums ache.

Once his ears stopped hurting, Lin Dong felt a sting on his head—Little Marten, still fuming, had hopped onto his scalp and stomped a few times.

"Kid, do you know that Cultivation Verse?"

Little Marten glared at Lin Dong, looking like a wronged little wife.

Lin Dong scratched his head and nodded. As it happened, he'd heard it not long ago, so he softly recited it.

"Of course I've heard it. As the saying goes, the path of cultivation is to steal Yin and Yang, seize creation, turn Nirvana, grasp Life and Death, and master Reincarnation."

"At least you've got some basic common sense."

Little Marten snorted and rolled his eyes. Faced with that glare, Lin Dong could only offer an awkward smile.

Though Lin Dong was a Lin Family member and the family had a Family Academy where the younger generation could study, because of his father, Lin Dong had never attended a single day. In fact, he'd never even touched a book growing up—how could he know such things?

"Lord Marten here was a Life and Death Profound Realm expert in his past life. You really think I was bragging when I said I could blow away ten thousand of you with one fart?"

Little Marten gave a proud snort, standing on Lin Dong's shoulder with his little paws on his hips, his tiny head held high in self-satisfaction.

Lin Dong's mouth fell open. He'd honestly thought Little Marten, with his unreliable attitude, was just making wild claims because Lin Dong was uneducated.

But now, could it be that Little Marten was telling the truth?

"Were you really that strong?"

Lin Dong stared at Little Marten in disbelief, reaching out to poke him, only to have his hand swatted away by a claw.

Seeing Lin Dong's clueless expression, Little Marten rolled his eyes again, feeling that there was no sense of accomplishment in front of a poor, ignorant kid like Lin Dong.

Alright, maybe just a tiny bit—heh!

"Then, this Lord of Devourment, how strong is he?"

Lin Dong scratched his head awkwardly, turning his gaze from Little Marten to the black vortex ahead, and asked softly.

"That great one is even more extraordinary. In his past life, his strength was at the peak of the Reincarnation Realm."

Little Marten took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement, and spoke solemnly.

"But that's not even his most remarkable trait."

"Not his most remarkable?"

Lin Dong's mouth hung slightly open as he turned to Little Marten in shock. The peak of the Reincarnation Realm wasn't enough?

Little Marten let out a strange chuckle, pointed a claw at the black vortex, and asked softly.

"What do you think this is?"

"Didn't you say it before? The Devouring Ancestral Talisman."

Lin Dong replied without thinking, but Little Marten collapsed onto his shoulder, clutching his belly with laughter.

After a while, when the laughter died down, Little Marten finally enlightened him.

"If there were a Devouring Ancestral Talisman in this Stone Talisman Space, would it still be here now? It would've been refined long ago."

"Then what is this? With such overbearing Devouring Power, it can't be a copied spirit talisman, can it?"

Lin Dong scratched his head awkwardly, feeling like he really was a bit slow for not thinking of that.

But Little Marten shook his head and spoke in an awestruck tone.

"No, in fact, there's no talisman imprint here at all. Do you know why I'm certain he's the Lord of Devourment?"

This time, Lin Dong had learned his lesson and kept quiet, simply waiting for Little Marten to continue.

"Because only the Eight Ancient Lords—those earth-shattering, peerless powerhouses—could reach such a terrifying realm. They don't even need divine objects like Ancestral Talismans to control the corresponding power."

Little Marten's tiny chest heaved violently, clearly stirred and shaken.

"This is exactly that. This overbearing Devouring Power comes entirely from the Lord of Devourment's soul force, not from the talisman's divine power."

"Tsk, that strong? So he himself is basically equivalent to an Ancestral Talisman?"

Lin Dong seemed to catch on and exclaimed in surprise. But after he spoke, he found Little Marten staring at him with a very odd look, making him swallow nervously and stammer.

"Wh-what? Did I say something wrong?"

"Heh, not wrong, but anyone who's had that thought has already been scattered to the winds."

Little Marten let out another strange chuckle, pointed a claw at the figure that had emerged from the black vortex at some point, and turned to look at Lin Dong.

"Do you know, in the ancient times, our Demon Race produced a top-tier powerhouse known as the Six-Fingered Saint Dragon Emperor. He single-handedly subdued all the Overlord Clans of the Demon Domain and unified the entire Continent of Demons. Even our Heavenly Demon Sable Clan obeyed his commands."

"And then?"

Lin Dong, completely unaware, asked curiously in pursuit. Little Marten let out a strange chuckle before replying.

"And then, the Six-Fingered Saint Dragon Emperor got beaten up by him. You, kid, still dare to set your sights on him? You probably don't even know how to write the word 'death.'"

"No, no, I just suddenly thought of that. How would I dare to set my sights on anyone else?"

Lin Dong scratched his head and gave a dry laugh. He had merely happened upon this question and casually mentioned it.

Still, from Little Marten's words, Lin Dong could finally glimpse a fraction of how terrifying this ancient top-tier powerhouse truly was.

Even a peerless expert who could conquer an entire continent had been taken down by this ancient powerhouse called the Lord of Devourment—just how strong was he?

"Heh heh, who would have thought that after This Seat has slept for so long, I could still be remembered by someone."

Just then, a soft laugh suddenly echoed through this space, causing Lin Dong and Little Marten to freeze stiff.

Lin Dong and the Little Marten on his shoulder, who had been turning to look at each other, held their breath. Their eyes met, and they both swallowed lightly, frozen in place, not daring to move an inch.