Demon Lord, Candle Dragon

Everyone entered the first floor, where many people had already arrived.

"Looks like most people have stopped here. Should we go up to the next floor, or..." Before Nie Li could finish, black flames ignited around Duan Jian.

"This is bad!"

"Don't worry. I can feel that Duan Jian is getting stronger. These black flames are beneficial to him," Shangguan Ye reassured everyone.

"That's right. The more my Sea of Soul is burned, the faster I grow stronger." Duan Jian smiled.

"That's good, then. Everyone, let's keep going up." Nie Li was the first to step onto the stairs.

"Be careful. With every step on these stairs, the black flames get stronger," Nie Li reminded them.

"No problem. We can still endure it," everyone replied.

When they reached the second floor, only a few hundred people remained there, resisting the black flames. Shangguan Ye also spotted several familiar figures. Mu Ye and Cang Ming sensed someone watching them. When they turned around and saw Shangguan Ye's amiable smile, they immediately turned away and pretended not to know him.

Shangguan Ye smiled and ignored them, turning to exchange a glance with a young man in red robes.

"Demon Lord..."

The two seemed to have a tacit understanding and paid no further attention to each other.

"Master, you all cultivate. I'll stand guard. I can grow stronger here even without cultivating," Duan Jian suggested.

"Thanks." Nie Li and the others sat down to cultivate, while Shangguan Ye headed up to the third floor.

"Who is that young man? The black flames aren't affecting him at all!"

"No idea. He's probably not from the Nether Realm."

Shangguan Ye reached the third floor. There were no black flames here, only a chained Sky Qilin Demonic Beast.

"Ding. Master, mission issued: Help Du Ze successfully obtain the Sky Qilin Demonic Beast. Reward: Demon Spirit Stone—Purple Thunder Divine Phoenix."

"A phoenix? Perfect. Ning'er's demon spirit should be replaced too." Shangguan Ye continued upward. It would not be too late to come back down later.

Shangguan Ye arrived on the fourth floor. The black flames here finally had some effect on him. He sat down where he was and began cultivating. Not long after, Shangguan Ye reached the fifth floor. Then, a young man in red robes slowly climbed up. Shangguan Ye opened his eyes just as the Demon Lord's fist reached his face, but it passed straight through him.

"You actually cultivate the Space Law?" The Demon Lord was somewhat surprised.

"So what? Are you admitting defeat now, or do I have to beat you until you submit?" Shangguan Ye spread his hands.

"Arrogance requires strength to back it up!" The Demon Lord waved his hand, and the Black Prison Law turned into chains that shot toward Shangguan Ye. Shangguan Ye no longer used the Space Law to phase through attacks. Instead, he formed it into energy bullets and fired them, neutralizing every attack from the Demon Lord.

"Hmph." Seeing this, the Demon Lord directly merged with his demon spirit. His body began turning crimson, two horns grew from his head, and six arms sprouted from his back.

"Hmph. Eight-Armed Black Prison Demon Monster—is this your trump card?" Shangguan Ye sneered.

"Though I'm not entirely satisfied with it, it's enough to get through this period!"

The Demon Lord rushed forward, all eight arms striking at once in a dazzling blur. Shangguan Ye blocked left and right. Even with the Rinnegan's enhancement, he could not accurately predict every attack. As the Demon Lord's main arms attacked, Shangguan Ye raised his hand to block, only for the Demon Lord to seize his ankle and slam him down. Shangguan Ye flipped through the air, shedding the force in time and pulling away.

"Not bad. You remind me of Killer B," Shangguan Ye remarked.

"Still not merging with your demon spirit?" The Demon Lord pressed forward step by step, his fists carrying the power of laws and forcing Shangguan Ye to retreat continuously.

"Since you want to play so badly, I'll play with you using a demon spirit." Golden light burst from Shangguan Ye's body. Golden dragon scales covered him, dragon horns grew from his head, and the dragon tail behind him was poised to strike. Shangguan Ye's golden light instantly suppressed the Demon Lord.

"How is this possible... How can his demon spirit be so powerful?" The Demon Lord could feel his Eight-Armed Black Prison Demon Monster trembling in fear before Shangguan Ye.

"My turn!" Shangguan Ye used the Body Flicker Technique to instantly appear before the Demon Lord. A straight punch struck the Demon Lord's abdomen, and the tremendous force sent him flying into the wall.

"Argh!" The Demon Lord spat out a mouthful of blood, and Shangguan Ye's Heavenly Guardian Kick followed immediately.

The Demon Lord raised all eight arms to block it.

Crack! Crack!

The sound of bones breaking rang out. The Demon Lord gritted his teeth and suddenly exerted force, using the power of laws to drive Shangguan Ye back. He transformed the power of laws into more than a dozen attacks that came at Shangguan Ye from different directions. Shangguan Ye raised his hand to block, but the attacks flew past him.

"They missed?" Before Shangguan Ye could think further, those dozen attacks suddenly changed direction and struck his back squarely.

"Hmph!"

Shangguan Ye landed and steadied himself, then brushed the dust from his back.

"Was that supposed to tickle?"

After merging with his demon spirit, Shangguan Ye's hard dragon scales granted him extremely powerful defense.

"Damn it!" The Demon Lord wanted to attack again, but Shangguan Ye had already exited his demon spirit state.

"That's enough. I thought someone who had entered Spirit Dwelling would be much stronger, but you're only this much. Still, you're not a bad opponent. There should be another power in your body that hasn't awakened yet. We'll meet again in the Dragon Void Realm." Shangguan Ye started walking down.

"..." The Demon Lord gnashed his teeth, but there was nothing he could do.

Shangguan Ye returned to the third floor, where Nie Li and the others were negotiating with the Sky Qilin Demonic Beast.

"How's it going?" Shangguan Ye asked as he walked to Nie Li's side.

"We're still haggling," Nie Li said helplessly.

"Leave it to me." Shangguan Ye walked straight toward the Sky Qilin Demonic Beast. A half-complete Susanoo appeared, instantly becoming larger than the Sky Qilin Demonic Beast.

"Hmph, crafty human! You just said we would discuss this, and now you're planning to seize my demon spirit by force? Come on, I'm not—"

Slap!

Shangguan Ye stepped forward and gave it a vicious slap.

"You hit me?" The dazed Sky Qilin Demonic Beast asked in confusion.

Slap!

Another vicious slap.

Shangguan Ye grabbed the Sky Qilin Demonic Beast by the neck with one hand while the other swung wildly, the sounds of slap! slap! ringing out without end.

Half an hour later, the Sky Qilin Demonic Beast's face had swollen into a pig's head.

"Burp... Fine, I'll sign a contract with him, okay?" the Sky Qilin Demonic Beast said unclearly.

"It's up to you now, Nie Li." Shangguan Ye withdrew the Susanoo.

Nie Li swiftly drew a Soul Law Seal, linking the Sky Qilin Demonic Beast with Du Ze.

Boom!

The moment the Sky Qilin Demonic Beast entered his body, Du Ze instantly broke through to the peak of the Legend rank.

At that moment, inside a courtyard, several people were gathered around a Crystal Ball, observing everyone's every move.

"I rather like that young man who formed a contract with the Sky Qilin Demonic Beast," an old man said.

"Oh? Then congratulations." A woman cupped her hands with a smile.

"Not at all, not at all."

"That young man who fused with a dragon-type demon spirit is also very strong. Whether in talent or demon spirit, he is the strongest among them all. That gray-haired young man is not weak either, and he even possesses the Supreme Body." The group discussed the trial-takers.

As they spoke, the Nether Realm Controller sensed an aura, and his expression instantly turned solemn.

"It seems my Nether Realm has received a guest. I'll go meet him." The Nether Realm Controller flew out. A white-haired man in white robes, with a black feathered cape draped over his shoulders, had his path blocked by the Nether Realm Controller.

"Long time no see, Candle Dragon," the Nether Realm Controller said.

"Ming, hand over Yu Yan. My demon clan will let this matter go. Otherwise..."

"This is my world. If you want to negotiate, show me some strength first." Behind the Nether Realm Controller, dark green power of the Law of Nether appeared, transforming into sharp arrows that shot toward Candle Dragon. Candle Dragon countered with the Law of Ice. The collision of their law powers produced enormous shockwaves, plunging the entire Black Prison World into a storm.

The Law of Ice erupted continuously from Candle Dragon's body, freezing two-thirds of the entire Nether Realm.

"My Law of Nether can only occupy one-third of the realm. His strength far exceeds my expectations." The Nether Realm Controller was greatly shocked.

"You condensed the Seventh Lotus?" the Nether Realm Controller asked.

"That's right. You're no longer my opponent." A smug smile appeared on Candle Dragon's face.

"Looks like the Nether Realm Controller can't handle him." Through his Rinnegan and Reincarnation Eye, Shangguan Ye could see everything clearly from inside the tower.

"Looks like I'll have to help him." Shangguan Ye mobilized Dragon Might. In an instant, the pressure on Candle Dragon greatly increased.

"What's going on?!" Suppressed by Dragon Might, Candle Dragon's strength weakened continuously. The Nether Realm Controller seized the chance to press his attack, forcing Candle Dragon to retreat.

"Ming, I didn't expect you to have a powerful ally. I'll definitely avenge this grudge next time!" Candle Dragon fled into the distance.

"Whew... whew..." The Nether Realm Controller adjusted his breathing, then turned to look in Shangguan Ye's direction. No one could tell what expression lay beneath the shadows on his face.

"With such strength, his future potential will surely be limitless."