Exhaustion washed over Er Dongsheng in endless waves. He sat on the ground, gently lifted the Little Succubus from where she had fallen beside him, and settled her in his arms. Every part of him felt worn out.
Every cell, every bone and sinew creaked in protest. Though his body brimmed with energy and vitality, he felt strangely exhausted. Er Dongsheng knew it was probably mental fatigue. That battle with the Heavenly Dao Will deep in his soul had drained a great deal of his mental energy.
Yet despite his exhaustion, he was delighted. He had never expected the fourth step to pass so easily. All that worry had been for nothing!
In truth, the third plan had more than three steps. There should have been a fourth. When he seized that wisp of the Heavenly Dao Will for himself, he had already realized that the Abyssal Heavenly Dao outside would certainly investigate why a wisp of the Abyssal Will had vanished. Tiny as that wisp was compared with the Abyssal Heavenly Dao as a whole, it was still part of the Heavenly Dao. It would have been strange if its disappearance drew no response.
What was more, the Abyss Star at the center of his forehead had formed when he merged with that wisp of the Heavenly Dao Will. Whether it could ultimately fool the mighty Abyssal Will remained to be seen.
It was a gamble. If he slipped through undetected, all would be well. If he was discovered, he would almost certainly die, body and soul destroyed.
But he had not expected the Heavenly Dao to make only a cursory inspection before fading away, rendering all his preparations useless!
Perhaps it simply thought an ant like me couldn't possibly harm that wisp of the Abyssal Will?
That was probably the only explanation...
After sitting on the ground for a long while, Er Dongsheng finally recovered enough to gently lay the unconscious Little Succubus on her tiny bed. He sat on the edge of it and began taking stock of his gains.
"System, bring up my status!"
Demon True Name: Bakasa-Morag-Andrea-Fire-Er Dongsheng (locked, must not be revealed) Secondary True Name: Baal (for public use, an Abyssal name containing immense power) Rank: First-Level Demon, Imp Rank (independent evolution) Strength: 50 (every hundred jin of strength counts as 1) Agility: 30 (a composite of speed, nimbleness, and flexibility) Spirit: 88 (damaged, recovering slowly) Constitution: 15 (constitution before evolution: 1) Resistance: 7 (immunity to all abnormal conditions; a degree of immunity to fire) Amplification: 20 (possesses Flame Constitution; boosts all fire skills by twenty percent) Skills: Ink Spirit Flame, fire control, Chinese Martial Arts, Daoist arts (initially usable following the unsealing of spirit) Game planes: One, available. Special skill: Flame Transformation, stage one (draws on the power of the Abyss Star and combines it with the Laws of Daoist arts to form a unique flame transformation. After transforming, all attributes increase substantially; amplification of three hundred percent, dependent on mental strength) Database: Inherited knowledge, awaiting collection, available. Special item: A wisp of the Abyssal Will. Contains the secrets of the Heavenly Dao. Purpose unknown, abilities unknown. Under analysis.
Looking over his attributes, he saw that strength, agility, and constitution had each risen by roughly three to five points, while resistance had risen by two. Those physical gains were modest, but several new entries had appeared: spirit, a special skill, and that wisp of the Abyssal Will that had put him through heaven and hell.
Compared with the danger he had faced, Er Dongsheng had gained a great deal. Setting aside that mysterious wisp of the Abyssal Will, which he could not yet control, the fact that he had escaped the Abyssal Heavenly Dao's control and begun evolving independently was itself an extraordinary event worth celebrating.
Independent evolution meant exactly what it sounded like: breaking free of the Heavenly Dao's control and evolving in his own way. Er Dongsheng mulled it over. The appearance of the spirit attribute was likely a result of that independence. With his mental strength unsealed, the Daoist arts from his previous life had become usable again, at least to a limited extent. He had even developed a unique transformation. All of it was probably thanks to independent evolution.
After evolving independently, many abilities from his previous life had begun to unseal. Using them outside would still be suppressed by the Abyssal Heavenly Dao; the Laws were different here, after all. But that was better than having nothing.
Perhaps one day, by cultivating magic and the Dao side by side, he might even break through the Abyssal Heavenly Dao's suppression in one stroke. At the very least, creating his own dantian was no longer a dream!
"Not bad. Really not bad. That was a brush with death, all right. The ancients were right: the greater the risk, the greater the reward. I nearly lost my life, but I made it through!"
He stood and turned to look at the little one, who was still asleep. Her brows were tightly knit, and a fine sheen of sweat covered her forehead.
"Looks like she's having a nightmare?" Er Dongsheng stroked her head, his gaze full of tenderness.
"But what a reckless Little Succubus. Look at you—you're covered in wounds!"
As though she felt the warmth of Er Dongsheng's hand in her sleep, a faint smile crept onto the Little Succubus's face. Her furrowed brows relaxed, and she mumbled something.
Er Dongsheng leaned closer to listen.
"Mm... Brother, we have to stay together forever!"
His heart clenched. His eyes grew damp, and Er Dongsheng turned away, slowly walking toward the door...
"No one will ever separate us. Not even a god!"
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