Demonic Seed

The man in the black cloak looked at the demonic bear respectfully, bowing his body very low.

The demonic bear exuded the aura of a peak Tier Seven. Hard stone armor grew on its limbs, and an irregular patch of dark brown rock rose high on its back.

Standing eight meters tall, its massive body exerted an immense pressure just by existing, not to mention the deep scar slicing through the flesh over its right eye, which only added to its terrifying appearance.

It stared down at the cloaked man. Its face twitched, and a blast of scorching air snorted from its nostrils as its fierce eyes locked onto him.

“Human, tell me your purpose. If you can please me, I will swallow you whole without chewing later to spare you some pain.”

Despite the violent pressure of the savage aura bearing down on him, the man in black did not show the slightest hint of fear.

He spoke calmly:

“Great Bear King, I am not your enemy. On the contrary, I have come to help you seek revenge.”

His voice was incredibly composed and steady, yet it carried a subtle, enticing charm.

The Bear King froze for a moment upon hearing this, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. Then, he burst into a booming laughter that seemed to make the very earth tremble.

Staring at the man in black with his crimson eyes, his voice dripped with disdain:

“With just you? A filthy rat who doesn't even dare to show his true face and can only hide in the gutters?”

Ignoring the Bear King's mockery, the man in black reached out. In the next second, a pitch-black, rock-like seed about the size of a fist appeared in his palm.

“Great Bear King, this is the Demonic Seed, newly developed by our Demon God Cult. It can help you break through to Tier Eight.”

“Oh?!”

The Bear King stared at the tiny Demonic Seed, his tone filled with doubt and surprise.

“With just this little thing?”

“Yes. The Demonic Seed contains a trace of the Lord Demon King's power, which can help you quickly comprehend the Laws.

“You have been stuck at peak Tier Seven for over a decade, with only a tiny shred of comprehension keeping you from Tier Eight.

“Meanwhile, I hear that your old rival, Hank, has recently entered seclusion to break through to Tier Eight.

“Given the bad blood between you two, once he emerges, he will likely seek you out immediately to settle the score.”

The cloaked man's words seemed to strike a sore spot for the Crack-Rock Bear King. His expression instantly turned hideous, twisted with intense hatred.

He raised a claw to touch the scar over his right eye and growled savagely:

“Damn that Hank! If not for him, how could this shameful scar have been left on my face, making me the laughingstock of the other Beast Kings!”

“Human, hand that thing over to me, and I might spare your life.”

The man in black bowed and gently placed the black seed in front of the Bear King. Then, his enticing voice rang out again:

“As you wish, great Crack-Rock Bear King.”

The moment he finished speaking, several blocks of earth erupted from the ground, forming a cage that firmly imprisoned the man in black.

“Human, you are of no use to me anymore. Quietly become my food.”

Unfazed, the man in black watched as the pitch-black mark on his forehead flashed. His body gradually turned into a faint afterimage and dissolved, leaving behind a playful parting word:

“Bear King, I look forward to your revenge!”

The Bear King stared at the disappearing afterimage, a look of annoyance crossing his face.

“Tch, spatial power.”

He then ignored the man in black. The attack just now had merely been a test for the Demon God Cult, to see if they had the strength to cooperate with him.

He only cooperated with the strong!

As a Beast King at peak Tier Seven who was on the verge of breaking through to Tier Eight, he was by no means stupid.

The Demon God Cult couldn't possibly be helping him seek revenge out of the goodness of their hearts; they definitely had their own agenda.

But the Bear King did not care. As long as he broke through to Tier Eight, he would have more than enough power to handle whatever schemes they had.

Suddenly, two relatively smaller crack-rock bears ran to his side. Whining with low growls and looks of deep sorrow on their faces, they seemed to be weeping and complaining to the Bear King about something.

Upon hearing their cries, the Bear King's fury erupted. The rocks covering his body cracked with countless dense fissures as his rage flared.

“Damn humans, how dare they kill my wife!”

He had mated with many magical beasts, but that Tier Four crack-rock bear was the only one that had ever borne him offspring, which was why he valued her so highly.

This time, he had sent her out with the cubs to teach them how to hunt humans. He never expected those damn humans to take her life.

Reaching out a claw to pick up the pitch-black Demonic Seed from the ground, the Bear King's hideous scar twitched. He cast a gaze filled with burning hatred toward the direction of Toka City.

“Hank, humans... once I break through to Tier Eight, I will settle both my old and new grudges at once!”

The figure of the man in black re-emerged from the dark shadows not far from the Crack-Rock Bear King, staring back in his direction.

He nodded in satisfaction at first, but then, as if remembering something, he gritted his teeth in anger.

“Those useless fools... they actually failed at such a simple task as releasing Lord Plutosas.

“The intelligence showed that the area was a barren wasteland where a Tier Four cultivation was enough to reign supreme. Yet, those fools still managed to fail!”

“If it weren't for the fact that the others have such low cultivation levels and could easily be captured by those magical beasts—which would make the Demon God Cult look weak—forcing me to personally oversee the progress of the Demonic Seed plan,

“I would have personally gone to welcome Lord Plutosas's return!”

“What a bunch of useless trash!”

After fiercely cursing his subordinates, he turned his gaze back to the Crack-Rock Bear King.

The calm and anger in his voice vanished, replaced by an boundless fanaticism as he muttered:

“Hate! Rage! All for the Lord Demon King!”

With that, his body turned into a faint silhouette and slowly dissolved into the darkness.

Early the next morning, Xia De entered the dungeon once again. This time, nothing like yesterday's incident of luring rookies happened to him.

The moment he stepped into the dungeon, he released his Perception Domain and found that the magical beasts from Tiers One to Thirty-Six had mostly regenerated, while Tiers Thirty-Seven to Fifty-Four were about sixty percent restored.

The Tier Seven domain had not recovered, with only one or two new magical beasts having spawned, and there was absolutely no movement from Tier Eight.

But Xia De didn't care. Resting his chin in his hand, he began to ponder.

“Let me think. Yesterday, I did a speedrun and cleared the labyrinth...”

Clapping his fist into his palm with a sharp smack, Xia De smiled with excitement:

“Since the quality has caught up, today's goal will be quantity!”

“Although my shadows and black flames are quite convenient, it's nice to move my body and get some exercise once in a while.”

He patted Starfall on his back and said:

“I've had you for so long, yet I've only used your gravity manipulation and mana interference abilities for training. I haven't let you taste blood even once.

“Today, I'll let you slaughter to your heart's content. I'll kill as many as there are, and if they respawn, I'll just keep killing. I'll turn this labyrinth upside down and slaughter them until these magical beasts are extinct!”