"What?!" the white wolf shouted in his distorted voice. Ritz and the black cat looked at him coldly, but said nothing.
The wolf quickly realized he had taken the wrong approach. "I am sorry, but surely my art is better than that of this useless cat," the wolf said, lowering his voice into a more subdued tone.
Ritz looked as though he were on the very edge of killing the wolf for his impudence. Surprisingly, the ancient master managed to restrain his intent and decided to explain his decision. "Yes, your art is better in many ways, but you are far too self-centered. Otherwise, you would have noticed that the cat cultivated the human art exactly as it was written, without suffering a single side effect. Surely a genius like you must know what this implies."
The wolf was shocked. How could a true beast cultivate human arts without dying? He had tried to do exactly that and had ended up on the brink of death. He glared at the cat, who was smiling smugly in absolute victory.
"I see," the wolf muttered after carefully inspecting the cat's spiritual flow.
"I know that you are just as talented as the cat, since you managed to create a brand new transformation art in less than six months, and your art is undeniably superior to the Faceless Transformations," Ritz explained to both of them. "However, the reason I have chosen the cat as the primary heir is because it can cultivate human arts natively, meaning human cultivation techniques will not pose a problem for it either. The cat will be able to cultivate my personal techniques directly, while you would simply use them for inspiration to try and create your own from scratch."
"I understand your decision," said the wolf, his vocal cords adjusting until his voice became clearer with each passing second. "Can you at least spare my life, since I have clearly not failed the parameters of the trial?" he asked, bowing his head slightly.
The cat watched with excitement, hoping to see its long-time oppressor executed on the spot. Both beasts locked eyes, waiting for Ritz's final decree.
"I will not be killing you today," Ritz announced, disappointing the cat's dark desires. "I am taking the cat as my first disciple, and you as my second disciple. You are both far too talented to waste; I shall bring you both to my side."
The wolf felt a stab of disappointment, realizing he was now the second disciple—a junior to the "useless" cat he had once dominated. Nevertheless, the wolf and the cat underwent the formal discipleship ceremony and began cultivating diligently under their new master, Ritz.
Meanwhile, in a hidden basement within the Tinding Kingdom, Huang Biren stood at the center of an ancient teleportation formation that was gradually lighting up with dense runes. Her father, Huang Yuanjia—now the official king of the Tinding Kingdom—stood outside the boundary looking at his youngest daughter. The fearsome king was crying like a helpless baby, forcing the nearby guards and elders to look away to avoid laughing. Huang Biren wasn't dying; she was simply leaving for the central continent to join her older sister, Huang Shengyi, in a powerful cultivation sect. In a grand sect, she would have access to far better resources and techniques. Although the Huang family possessed a core technique that was not inferior to those of the great sects, their legacy arts carried specific ancestral conditions that had to be fulfilled first.
"Father, do not worry. We will be back before you know it," Huang Biren said gently, which only caused her father to wail even louder. She sighed deeply just before the blinding light consumed her, and she disappeared entirely from the basement.
Once his daughter vanished, the king's tearful demeanor instantly vanished, replaced by a terrifying aura of absolute fury. He turned around and caught a few of his subordinates giggling. They quickly choked back their laughter and stood at rigid attention.
"Prepare to launch the war of conquest in two years," King Huang commanded, his serious face instilling absolute dread. "The ultimate dignity of the Huang family must be restored immediately, or we must die trying." The elders and generals in the basement flashed excited, bloodthirsty looks as they accepted the royal command.
Far away in a desolate wasteland, a scrawny young man walked toward a solitary, ominous mountain range. At the valley entrance stood two one-hundred-foot-tall, demonic statues holding black spears, their jagged goat-like horns piercing the heavens. The mountains themselves were completely barren and pitch-black, yet atop their peaks stood magnificent palaces of endless grandeur, constructed from pure gold, silver, and precious spiritual materials.
The peaks were connected by massive black chains that formed terrifying hanging bridges. Mighty spiritual beasts like cranes, golden eagles, and black flood dragons soared through the air above the palaces, carrying cultivators upon their backs. Some powerful experts flew entirely on their own, while others stood balanced on giant flying swords.
Suspended between the giant demons at the gate, a massive sign read: NINE DEMON SECT. The writing was not in the common human tongue, yet whoever locked eyes with the dark characters instantly understood their profound meaning.
The scrawny man approaching the gate was Tinding Mu, the former first prince of the Tinding Kingdom. He looked up at the monolithic sect in absolute awe. It had taken him years of brutal travel to reach this place, and through his master's guidance, he had already reached the absolute peak of the Origin Realm.
As he neared the perimeter, two elite guards materialized before him, their black spears pointed directly at his chest. Tinding Mu felt a sudden chill run down his spine, but he had survived far worse horrors to reach this destination.
"I have come to join the mighty Nine Demon Sect," Tinding Mu declared.
The guards looked over his scrawny frame before bursting into mocking laughter. "You think any stray fool can just walk up to our mountain and join our ranks?" one mocked.
Tinding Mu quietly reached into his tattered pocket and pulled out a heavy black medallion engraved with a twisted demonic face. He handed it to the head guard, whose laughter cut off instantly. Recognizing the token of an elder, the guards went completely silent, and Tinding Mu was quickly escorted deep into the sect to meet with the grand elders.