Although fighting was interesting, my hunger needed to be satisfied.
The group of immortals I had sensed approaching the cave earlier hadn’t arrived yet. Maybe they were still some distance away.
Good.
I needed to take care of my stomach first.
Having made up my mind, I sat down cross-legged on the ground.
The cold stone beneath me carried a faint trace of demonic energy, making the cave feel strangely familiar despite the thousands of years that had passed.
With a flick of my finger, I summoned a strand of demonic flame and blasted it into the ground.
The earth trembled.
A large pit opened beneath me as shattered rocks scattered in every direction. I waved my hand again, and crimson flames erupted from the pit, roaring like hungry beasts.
Once the fire had grown strong enough, I tossed the python into it.
The enormous serpent landed with a heavy thud before the flames quickly engulfed its body.
I covered part of the pit with large slabs of broken rock, leaving enough space for the heat to circulate.
There.
Now all I had to do was wait.
Soon enough, a delicious meal would be waiting for me once the flames died down.
I sat cross-legged once more and quietly meditated while waiting for the meat to roast.
Not long after, I sensed the familiar auras of those immortals again.
Their spiritual energy wasn’t particularly strong.
From what I could tell, they still hadn’t reached the cave.
What exactly were they doing?
Were these immortals truly that stupid?
Couldn’t they sense the overwhelming demonic aura pouring out of this place and realize they should stay away?
Because I, the Demon King, had no time for them.
I wanted nothing more than to enjoy my meal and satisfy the hunger gnawing at my stomach.
If they insisted on disturbing my peace...
They might very well become my next meal.
If they possessed even a shred of intelligence, they would turn around and leave while they still had the chance.
As I silently considered all this, the answer soon became obvious.
Cultivators truly were idiots.
They proved it the moment one of them stepped into the cave without the slightest hint of fear.
There were five of them in total.
All wore white-and-blue robes embroidered with the insignia of an Immortal Sect.
Their robes were spotless, their swords polished to a shine, carrying the arrogance that only sheltered disciples possessed.
Judging from their cultivation, they had already passed the beginner stage and entered the second realm.
Not particularly impressive.
One of the young men stepped forward, raised his sword, and pointed it directly at me.
"Demon!"
"We’re here to destroy you!"
I glanced at their robes, trying to remember where I had seen that emblem before.
Hmm...
Which sect was this?
Did they also participate in the campaign to execute me three thousand years ago?
Ah...
The Fallen Bloom Sect.
What a ridiculous name.
Fallen Bloom.
How fitting.
Because these disciples were about to become exactly that.
My eyes darkened as a chuckle escaped my lips.
"What demon?" I asked innocently.
"I’m just a poor mortal sitting here, roasting food."
I gestured toward the fire pit.
"Tell me, which demon cooks his own meals?"
"If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave this place."
The disciple sneered.
"We’re not leaving."
"You’re a demon, and we’re going to execute you."
"We’ll take your head back to our master."
"Maybe he’ll reward us with cultivation pills."
"Or a powerful sword."
The others immediately began discussing the rewards they expected to receive after killing me.
Kill me?
After I had finally been resurrected?
How laughable.
No one had the right to speak of killing me.
Not after everything I had endured.
Their words stirred the hatred sleeping inside my heart, like someone pouring oil onto a volcano that had waited three thousand years to erupt.
I slowly rose to my feet.
"You want to kill me?"
A grin spread across my face.
"Then come."
I opened my arms.
"Come and kill me."
"Hahaha..."
My laughter echoed throughout the cave.
The five disciples exchanged glances before charging at me simultaneously, their swords flashing with spiritual energy. **The narrow cave instantly filled with killing intent, yet to me it felt no more threatening than children waving sticks.**
....
The first disciple rushed toward me, his sword aimed straight at my chest.
Just as the blade was about to reach me, I disappeared.
With the speed of someone at his insignificant cultivation level, there was no way he could follow my movements.
His sword missed me completely.
Instead, it plunged into the stone wall of the cave.
Clang!
The blade lodged itself deep inside the rock.
The disciple widened his eyes and hurriedly grabbed the hilt, trying with all his strength to pull it free.
How laughable.
While he struggled, I casually raised a finger.
With a simple thought, I controlled the sword with my demonic energy.
The blade suddenly shot out of the wall.
Before the disciple could react, it pierced straight through his chest.
"Pfft!"
Blood sprayed across the cave floor as his body stiffened before collapsing to the ground.
The remaining four disciples showed no hesitation.
Instead of retreating, they all charged at me together.
One of them—a young woman—swung a long violet chain blade toward me.
The weapon spun through the air like a living serpent, circling around my body before suddenly changing direction.
Slash!
The sharp edge grazed across my chest, leaving behind a shallow cut.
I lowered my eyes to look at the wound.
A thin line of blood slowly trickled down my skin.
Then I looked at the young woman.
"Wow."
"Ouch."
"That hurt so much."
My tone was completely flat.
The young woman’s confident smile instantly froze.
For someone who had once survived having his body torn apart and his soul sealed for three thousand years, such a tiny wound wasn’t even worth calling an injury. It felt no different from a child poking me with a needle.
I released a trace of my demonic aura.
The chain blade immediately stopped moving.
Its violent momentum vanished as though something had seized it by the throat.
The young woman’s expression changed.
She tried to pull the weapon back.
It wouldn’t move.
"What—"
Before she could finish speaking, I disappeared.
The next instant, I appeared directly in front of her.
Her pupils shrank.
She hadn’t even seen me move.
My hand wrapped around her neck.
Crunch.
A crisp snapping sound echoed throughout the cave.
Her neck twisted unnaturally before her lifeless body fell heavily onto the ground.
The remaining disciples cried out in alarm.
"Damn it!"
"Kill him!"
One of them attacked from behind, hoping to catch me off guard.
The moment his sword swung down...
I vanished again.
His blade struck nothing but empty air.
Before he realized what had happened, I was already standing behind him.
I casually kicked him in the back.
Bang!
The disciple stumbled forward and crashed face-first onto the rocky ground.
The remaining disciples continued attacking one after another, throwing everything they had at me.
Swords.
Techniques.
Spiritual energy.
Every attack they possessed.
Yet none of it could even touch me.
The cave echoed with the sounds of clashing weapons and frightened shouts, but to me the entire battle moved unbearably slowly, as though time itself had decided to crawl.
I sighed.
I had tolerated this long enough.
Originally, I hadn’t planned to kill them.
I merely wanted to use them to test my current strength after being resurrected.
I wanted to see how much of my combat instincts remained after sleeping for three thousand years.
Unfortunately...
They had mistaken my patience for weakness.
That was their greatest mistake.
...
With all of them lying on the ground, bruised and breathing heavily, I simply looked at them.
None of them seemed eager to attack again.
I had already tested enough.
I sat back down cross-legged beside the fire pit and turned my attention to the roasting python.
The rich aroma of roasted meat slowly drifted through the cave, mixing with the scent of smoke and scorched stone. My stomach growled even louder in response.
The flames continued to dance beneath the python.
I waited patiently.
Less than fifteen minutes later, the fire finally died down.
I reached into the pit without hesitation and pulled out the roasted python.
The meat was still steaming hot.
Its skin had turned a beautiful golden brown, while the rich fragrance alone was enough to satisfy half of my hunger.
The heat didn’t burn my palm in the slightest.
I tore off a huge piece of meat with my hand and took a massive bite.
Juices filled my mouth.
At last...
My hunger began to fade.
After spending three thousand years sealed away with nothing but endless darkness, even a simple roasted python tasted like a feast prepared by the heavens themselves.
Satisfied, I leaned against the cave wall and closed my eyes to rest.
I completely ignored the surviving disciples lying around the cave.
Whether they lived or died had nothing to do with me.
I quietly entered meditation.
...
Some time later...
Voices echoed through the cave.
"That’s the Legendary Panther!"
"We have to take it!"
"It’ll be worth far more than bringing back that demon’s head!"
My eyes remained closed.
The voices continued.
"Hurry! Capture the panther!"
"The sect will reward us greatly!"
The System suddenly shouted inside my head.
"Host!"
"These are bad people!"
"They’re trying to steal your companion!"
"You have to save it!"
"If you rescue your companion, its Companion Level will increase. As your companion grows stronger, you’ll also receive additional benefits through your companion bond!"
I ignored nearly everything the System said.
There was only one sentence that mattered.
"They’re trying to steal your companion."
My eyelids slowly opened.
Nobody...
Takes what belongs to me.
I may find that stupid panther annoying.
I may even think it’s an idiot.
But it is mine.
And what belongs to me...
Belongs to me alone.
Three thousand years ago, everyone coveted what was mine. They stole my throne, tore apart my body, scattered my power, and sealed my soul away. I would never allow history to repeat itself. Never again.
A cold killing intent spread throughout the cave.
"You all..."
"...should have stayed away."
I slowly rose to my feet.
The disciples instinctively stepped backward as my demonic aura filled the cave.
I raised my hand.
My aura condensed into a massive crescent slash.
With one casual swing...
A crimson wave of demonic energy tore across the cave.
Boom!
The five disciples froze.
A moment later...
Their bodies split apart before collapsing lifelessly onto the ground.
Dead.
Every last one of them.
I let out a quiet sigh.
Originally, I had intended to spare them.
I had only wanted to use them as practice while I adjusted to my restored body.
Perhaps I had been feeling unusually merciful.
But the moment they reached for something that belonged to me...
They had already chosen death.
The quickest way to solve a problem...
Was simply to erase it.
...
I sat back down and closed my eyes again.
The members of the Immortal Sect were nothing more than corpses now.
The System floated over excitedly.
"Congratulations, Host!"
"You’ve eliminated the villains who tried to harm your companion."
"As a reward, your companion’s cultivation has increased."
"It has advanced from the Cub Awakening Stage to the Early Spirit Beast Stage."
"Its strength has grown enough to fight beasts on the same level as that thousand-year-old python."
"I’ve heard enough."
"Now keep quiet and stop disturbing me."
Honestly, I would rather listen to a long lecture about how to regain my strength and take my revenge than hear the System ramble about that foolish little panther.
The System ignored my complaint.
"Young Hero, you shouldn’t stay here any longer."
"You need to leave this mountain."
"Go out into the world."
"Save people."
"Rescue spirit beasts."
"Build your fame as the Hero of this realm."
I snorted.
"I’m building no fame whatsoever."
Then the corner of my lips curled into a grin.
"What do you think about being infamous instead?"
The System immediately shook in panic.
"Ah... no! That’s not good!"
"It’s bad for your future."
"You shouldn’t become infamous."
"You should become famous!"
I ignored almost everything it said.
Still...
It was right about one thing.
I couldn’t remain on this mountain forever.
I needed to travel to the places where the fragments of my body had been hidden.
Only by reclaiming every piece of my former body could I recover my lost power.
And once I did...
I would visit every enemy who had betrayed me.
One.
By.
One.
Three thousand years had done nothing to dull my hatred. If anything, it had only sharpened it into something colder and far more terrifying.
I had no allies.
Only this irritating System.
It believed it was leading me.
How laughable.
In the end...
I was the one using it.
For now...
I’d simply play along.
"That’s the spirit, Young Hero!" the System exclaimed happily, completely misunderstanding my thoughts.
"There’s a village nearby facing a catastrophe."
"You should head there immediately."
"People are in danger."
"Save them and build your reputation."
I looked at it calmly.
"What exactly is threatening this village?"
I wasn’t asking because I wanted to save anyone.
I simply wanted to know whether there was anything worth gaining.
The System answered without hesitation.
"Demons."
"A large amount of demonic energy has gathered around the village, and demons are attacking it."
A smile slowly spread across my face.
"I’ll go."
"I’ll be the hero."
"Yes!" the System cheered.
"Go save them!"
Stupid System.
Did it really think I cared about saving mortals?
A village overflowing with demonic energy...
That was nothing more than a banquet waiting for me.
The denser the demonic energy, the more I could absorb to restore my strength. That was the only reason I had agreed to go.
Suddenly, the System screamed.
"Host!"
"What are you doing?"
"Get away from there!"
I frowned and turned toward the source of its panic.
The little panther had wandered over to the corpses of the dead Immortal Sect disciples.
It had lowered its head and was happily tearing into one of the bodies with its tiny fangs.
Blood stained its mouth as it chewed contentedly.
The System shrieked like a frightened maiden.
"Stop!"
"Heroes don’t let their companions eat people!"
I stared at the cub for a long moment.
Then a grin slowly spread across my face.
How wonderful..