The emerald light slowly faded, and Xuan Ye opened his eyes.
The information on the panel made the corners of his tightly drawn lips lift slightly.
Not bad.
In just over two months, he had gone from a newly advanced Third Tier Knight to the Mid Fourth Tier, with over a thousand points of Inner Spiritual Power. He had even mastered several techniques that only Fourth Tier Knights could wield at Mastery Level.
If he had cultivated steadily, he might only just have stabilized himself at the threshold of the Fourth Tier by now.
Not to mention, Revenge's evolution progress was already nearing completion.
But the glimmer in his eyes quickly faded.
Not enough.
Still far from enough!
With strength like this, he was no different from an ant in that man's eyes.
Long Xingyu!
At the thought of that name, the fire in his chest burned all the hotter. His desire for revenge threatened to overwhelm his reason.
It was because the system had given him hope, had given him a shortcut, that he had grown ever more impatient, dancing madly on the edge of a blade.
Over the past two months, he had nearly gotten himself killed several times.
Sometimes, he felt that the "Long Xuanye" of old had completely died.
Now, he had nothing left but revenge.
The monster dwelling in this body had nothing in common with the ordinary, mild-mannered person he had been in his previous life.
Xuan Ye took a deep breath, tamped down his surging emotions, and slipped out of the tree hollow.
He needed to grow stronger, faster.
Over the past two months, Xuan Ye had also given the matter some thought.
Elacris's inheritance!
It would be an enormous boon.
If Long Haochen could stumble upon such an opportunity, why couldn't he, with his superior talent?
If he could find Elacris, everything would change.
But where should he look?
The Demon Race Territory was vast, and he had no leads.
The hope of finding him was so slim it was almost nonexistent.
Meanwhile, deep in the heart of the Demon Race Territory, inside an Undead Tower,
a gray Soul Fire flickered restlessly.
"I sensed it... right on the border... but it's too far away..."
Elacris was consumed with anxiety.
That aura, in which light and darkness coexisted in perfect harmony, belonged to a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius!
But the child seemed to be active only along the border. There was no way he could venture into the hinterlands anytime soon.
How could Elacris get in touch with him?
The hope was just as slim.
Elacris was frantic with worry.
Xuan Ye had no idea that the one he was desperately searching for was also fretting over being unable to find him.
Nor had he spent the past two months doing nothing but fighting recklessly. He had made some plans, too.
To move freely through Devil Race Territory—and even find clues about Elacris—he needed information.
And the best intelligence network was in the hands of the Moon Demon Race.
Disguising himself as a Moon Demon was a move he had made after careful consideration.
The Moon Demon Race had established itself through commerce, and its people could be found throughout the Demon Race's lands.
If he could get in touch with their higher-ups, then with the business and marketing knowledge from his previous life...
It might not exactly be a Dimensional Reduction Strike, but broadening their perspective on business models and earning their trust and help shouldn't be difficult.
Besides, Xuan Ye was a Moon Demon himself. He was one of them.
A sudden rustling came from the forest.
Xuan Ye's train of thought was interrupted.
He looked up in the direction of the sound.
They were here.
Soon, two figures burst out from behind the dense trees, one right after the other.
One was clad in thick bone armor, with a stocky build like a boulder.
The other had membranous wings and moved with the speed of a specter.
Two Fifth Tier Devils—the Bone Armor Rock Demon and the Wind Wing Shadow Demon.
The Bone Armor Rock Demon fixed its murky eyes on Xuan Ye and jeered in a deep, rumbling voice.
"You Moon Demon traitor! You're just like the rest of your kind. You never stand with the other devil races!"
"I'll kill you today, then take your head to Lord Valen for the reward!"
The Wind Wing Shadow Demon circled overhead, letting out a shrill, mocking laugh.
"The Moon Demon Race is full of ungrateful scum. Killing you will be doing the Demon Race a favor!"
Xuan Ye's gaze darkened.
Valen.
He knew that name. Valen was a powerful devil leader in the borderlands.
At first, while disguised as a Moon Demon, he had only killed a few low-tier devils no one cared about. It had never caused a stir.
Now, a devil leader had actually ordered his men to hunt him down. It seemed the matter had grown serious.
And... it likely had something to do with targeting the Moon Demon Race.
He suppressed the turmoil in his heart.
"You useless braggarts, hiding behind your tier. You think you're fit to talk about 'cleaning house'?"
The Bone Armor Rock Demon and the Wind Wing Shadow Demon flew into a rage.
To them, the Moon Demon before them was covered in wounds, his spiritual energy in disarray. He was clearly at the end of his rope.
A Fourth Tier devil dared to run his mouth at two Fifth Tier devils?
The two exchanged glances, silently reaching an understanding before attacking at the same time.
"You're asking for death!"
The Bone Armor Rock Demon roared and swung its stone-covered fist at Xuan Ye's face with crushing force.
The Wind Wing Shadow Demon dived from above, its membranous wings shrieking as it beat the air. Its hooked claws aimed straight for the vital point between his shoulder blades.
Faced with this deadly pincer attack, Xuan Ye showed not the slightest sign of panic.
He tightened his grip on Revenge.
Vmmm—
The Chaos Spirit Furnace within him spun into rapid motion.
The Knight Technique, which should have released Light Spiritual Power, was instantly stained with deep darkness as the furnace transformed it.
His usual thrusting technique, Shadow Thrust—transformed from Pure White Blade—had taken on a new form!
Mastery Level proficiency brought a qualitative change to the skill!
The blade glowed with a dense black radiance, more concentrated and more destructive than ordinary dark spiritual energy.
"Netherworld Thrust!"
Xuan Ye shifted his footing and twisted aside, narrowly dodging the Bone Armor Rock Demon's punch.
At the same time, he swept his sword backhanded toward the diving Wind Wing Shadow Demon!
The deep black radiance struck the membranous wing that the Wind Wing Shadow Demon had always prided itself on.
"Zzzzt—"
Where the black light touched, flesh seemed to dissolve under strong acid, leaving a gaping hole in an instant!
"Aaagh!"
The Wind Wing Shadow Demon let out a piercing scream, lost its balance, and tumbled awkwardly from the sky.
The Bone Armor Rock Demon missed its strike. Seeing its companion wounded, it flew into an even greater rage and swung again, its rocky fist tearing through the air.
Xuan Ye took a deep breath.
This time, he didn't dodge.
He activated the Chaos Spirit Furnace's core ability.
"Chaos Begins!"
In an instant, a black-and-purple vortex of spiritual energy burst into existence before him.
The vortex was small, yet seemed to contain the power to devour everything.
The Bone Armor Rock Demon's punch crashed into it and vanished like a stone sinking into the sea, without raising even a ripple.
The next moment, a force even more violent than before rebounded from the vortex!
Caught off guard, the Bone Armor Rock Demon was sent staggering backward by its own power.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
It staggered back several steps, each one leaving a deep footprint in the ground. Spiderweb cracks appeared across the supposedly indestructible stone armor covering its body.
Now!
Before you continue