You... don't count as the Human Race

The next morning.

Yu Sheng's gaze did not linger on the tidy living room or the medicines put back in their places. He kept to his daily routine.

Cooking, eating.

He ate every mouthful slowly, chewing it over and over, his expression solemn, as though this were something sacred.

He did not need to go to school for the next few days.

As usual, the newly awakened needed to absorb Demon Crystals to improve their overall physical condition, including the eggs they were incubating.

All of this could be done at home.

Of course, those with the means could also attend training classes specifically designed to help the newly awakened absorb crystals.

Most of them, however, were just a tax on stupidity.

After washing his bowl and chopsticks, Yu Sheng put on his jacket, pushed open the door, and went out.

Remote cities like this generally had mostly elderly residents. The young, carrying their dreams and lofty ambitions, shouldered their bags and set out alone, only to die far from home in the end.

The city was not very large. Yu Sheng walked about two streets before turning into a corner.

A general store stood there.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man. Perhaps because business was slow, he sat in a chair, bored out of his mind, yawning from time to time.

Seeing Yu Sheng enter, the man merely glanced at him. "The stuff's on the table."

Yu Sheng did not answer. He walked straight to a small, shabby table and picked up a cloth bag from it.

"Hey, I've paid back the favor I owed you."

The man switched off the television. When he looked at Yu Sheng again, his expression had turned serious, and he revealed the left side of his face.

A hideous knife scar marked his left cheek.

It ran from his forehead to his chin.

Like a centipede clinging to his face, it sent chills down one's spine.

"Mm."

Yu Sheng answered softly, looking at the man. "See you."

With that, he left, carrying the bag still covered in grease stains.

Watching Yu Sheng's retreating figure, the man grinned. Though he was smiling, there was no flicker of emotion in his eyes. "Won't be seeing you for a while."

He rose, straightened his clothes, and simply walked out of the general store, gradually disappearing into the distance.

In the store's back room lay a fat, balding man, clearly unconscious.

"Several demon beasts suddenly appeared in downtown Xinhai City. Heavy casualties!"

Outside a shop on the street, the owner was idly basking in the sun and scrolling through his phone when a news report suddenly popped up. He leaped to his feet and cried out.

A crowd quickly gathered around him, discussing it incessantly.

"Xinhai City might be remote, but it still has a Demon-Slaughtering Pavilion, doesn't it?"

"How could something like this happen?"

Someone asked.

The shopkeeper shook his head as he scrolled through the report. "The news says there was unrest outside the city that day, with suspected Demon Clan activity. Most of the Demon-Slaughtering Pavilion's people weren't in the city at the time."

"Ah..."

"Things are getting more and more unstable. Nothing's going to happen here, is it?"

"Let's hope not."

"More and more of the Demon Clan have been slipping in lately. Is Demon-Suppressing Pass starting to give way?"

The group discussed it in fits and starts. Everything their words conveyed pointed to the same thing.

Pessimism.

Ever since spiritual energy had returned a hundred years ago, the Demon Clan had risen alongside it, and survival had grown increasingly difficult for the Human Race.

Fortunately, the first group of awakened had stepped forward back then, building four passes at the cost of their flesh and blood.

Demon-Suppressing Pass, Dawn Pass, Dome Pass, Ghost Gate.

Like insurmountable natural barriers, the four passes held the Demon Clan at bay. Human Race experts were also stationed at intervals, striving to keep even a single member of the Demon Clan from slipping through and invading Human Race territory.

The Ink Pavilion was the Human Race's highest organization.

Back home, Yu Sheng opened the cloth bag. Inside were three translucent crystals, with faint red threads visible within them.

This was the energy contained in the crystals.

It was also the essence the Demon Clan condensed after devouring the Human Race's vital blood.

After locking the door and drawing the curtains tight, Yu Sheng carefully stretched a thin wire across the doorway. The other end was attached to a small hand crossbow.

If anyone opened the door and came in, the crossbow would fire immediately.

He left similar traps at the windows as well.

Once everything was ready, Yu Sheng sat down in a blind spot in the room, ensuring that anyone entering would not immediately spot him. Only then did he hold a crystal and slowly close his eyes.

At that moment, the red threads inside the crystal seemed to come alive, swaying ceaselessly within it before streaming into Yu Sheng's palm.

The phantom image of the egg appeared above Yu Sheng's head again, its nine golden markings making it look all the more mysterious.

Faintly, the nine markings began to spread at an exceedingly slow pace, as though they were going to cover the egg completely.

Deep in the mountains, not far from Demon-Suppressing Pass.

An old man in a loose white robe sat cross-legged on a mountaintop. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them.

"This road is closed."

After speaking calmly, the old man turned his gaze to the foot of the mountain.

Several figures in red robes abruptly halted. Their leader was a handsome young man. He raised his head to look at the old man on the summit and gave a sunny, harmless smile. "Senior, we're merely passing through."

"We're all part of the Human Race. We should help one another."

The old man slowly shook his head and repeated, "This road is closed."

"What if I insist on taking this road today?"

The smile gradually faded from the young man's face as he looked at the old man with amusement.

"Death."

His voice remained calm, as though stating a fact. As his words fell, the phantom image of a scepter suddenly appeared behind him, set with seven dazzling crystals of different shapes.

In the mountain forest, the flowers and grasses swayed gently without any wind, as though they had come alive at that moment.

"I was only joking, Senior."

"Our Divine Cult has always poured its heart and soul into the Human Race's cause. We have no ulterior loyalties."

"As fellow members of the Human Race, how could we quarrel with you, Senior?"

"I'll take my leave."

The young man bent respectfully at the waist and bowed to the old man. Only then did he lead the others slowly away, walking backward.

"Did I say you could leave?"

The old man spoke again, and the scepter solidified from its phantom form, planting itself in the earth beside him.

The seven crystals shone ever more brilliantly.

"Senior... what further guidance do you have?"

The young man lowered his head, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes, but his tone remained as respectful as before.

"I merely wanted to tell you to go back and tell your Divine Seat to change the name."

"Evil Cult would suit you just fine."

"People like you don't count as the Human Race."

"If I didn't have to guard this place, making it inadvisable to act, you would already be dead."

The old man watched the young man calmly as he spoke in an even tone.