A flash of cyan light sliced through the murky depths, its speed finally bleeding away as it reached a sprawling, opulent mansion fit for a demon general. The light faded, revealing General Salamander.
To say he was in sorry shape would be an understatement. He was a wreck. Not only was his life-bound weapon gone, but his body was mangled. A full quarter of the flesh from his torso had been ripped away. Only the raw, tenacious life force of a mid-stage Demon Core kept him from dissolving into nothingness right then and there.
Stumbling into his mansion, he dug out his stash of priceless healing elixirs. After downing several, the raw wounds began to knit themselves back together, the pain dulling to a bearable throb.
"Damn it all," he seethed, the memory still fresh. "That goddamn snake… how could it be so unnatural? Not only did it have Beast Fire—something you only hear about in legends—but it summoned that… that phantom. That nine-headed horror."
Even in the safety of his own home, the image of the colossal, nine-headed serpent looming behind Luo Zhen made him shudder. It wasn't cowardice. That thing was just plain terrifying.
"The phantom had to be at least half-step Demon King level," he reasoned, his voice trembling slightly. "Otherwise, that fire it breathed… it couldn't have been that powerful." He swallowed hard. "Good thing it only lasted a moment. Any longer, and I'd be dead. No question."
He paced his chamber, mind racing. "Beast Fire and a nine-headed phantom… this dark-gold snake is no common beast. He has to be a descendant of some ancient, monstrous serpent."
He scoffed, a bitter taste in his mouth. "And here I was, so proud of my Azure Profound bloodline. Compared to him, it's a joke."
Then, a new, colder fear gripped him. "Wait a minute," he whispered, his eyes widening. "We're mortal enemies now. If he's this strong in the Heaven Profound realm—strong enough to nearly kill me, a Demon Core General—what happens when he reaches the Core himself? What then? Will I just have to wait for him to come and kill me?"
Panic set in. He spun in circles, frantic. "No. No, I have to kill him now, while he's still weak." He stopped, fists clenched. "I can't do it alone. I need help. It's going to cost me a fortune, but I have to hire the other two generals."
Meanwhile, Luo Zhen had spent days slithering through the chaotic waterways, searching for a way to regrow his tail. No luck.
Of course, a missing tail didn't exactly cramp his style in a fight. Thanks to his powerful bloodline, the wound had already sealed over into a clean stump. It didn't hinder him, but damn, it looked weird. Everywhere he went, he was met with strange looks from the local demons. A snake with a blunt end was, apparently, quite the spectacle.
One day, he found himself on a main street bustling with demon beasts. Something was off. Plastered everywhere—on walls, on posts, on buildings—were wanted posters made of cured beast hide. And on every single one was a detailed drawing of a large, dark-gold snake.
Demons were crowded around them, murmuring. One of them read the notice aloud for the others:
"WANTED: BY ORDER OF BLACKWATER LAKE!"
"Let it be known to all residents of Blackwater Lake that the three Demon Generals—Salamander, Green Frog, and Squid—have joined forces. They have issued a lake-wide warrant for the capture of a large, dark-gold snake!"
"DESCRIPTION: The snake is entirely dark-gold. It bears a lotus mark on its forehead, formed from flame and blue lightning. Additionally, it is missing its tail. It should be easy to identify!"
"REWARD: Anyone providing information leading to the snake's location will be granted five hundred miles of territory by the three generals! Anyone who captures or kills this snake will be granted two thousand miles of territory!"
"This warrant will remain in effect across all of Blackwater Lake until the snake is dead!"
A wave of manic energy swept through the crowd.
"Holy crap, all three generals working together? That's never happened before! What did this snake do to piss them off so badly?" a fish demon gasped.
"Two thousand miles… can you imagine?" another one whispered, eyes wide with greed. "They're not messing around. The entire lake is going to be hunting for this guy."
"Haha, just let me find him," a burly toad demon boasted. "That territory is as good as mine!"
"Hey!" someone shouted, pointing a fin directly at Luo Zhen. "Look! That snake over there… he looks exactly like the one on the poster!"
Every head on the street snapped in his direction. A hush fell, followed by a rising tide of whispers.
"Whoa, he's dark gold, all right," one beast confirmed.
"And look! The lotus mark on his forehead! Fire and lightning! And… he has no tail!"
"That's him! It has to be him! Get him, boys! The reward is ours!"
The street erupted. A tidal wave of snarling, screaming demons surged toward Luo Zhen, their eyes glowing red with greed. Spells of every shape and color began to fly through the water.
Luo Zhen wasn't scared of these low-level grunts, but the sheer number of them was staggering. He didn't hesitate. Unleashing his full Heaven Profound power, he became a golden blur, rocketing away from the mob and leaving their frantic spells to splash harmlessly against the cobblestones behind him.
For the next three days, it was the same story. He'd enter a town, be instantly recognized, and have to flee a fresh wave of reward-hungry demons.
Finally, they cornered him.
Word had spread. They knew his general area and had organized. Calling on their allies and families, they had formed a massive, tightening net, cutting off his escape routes and shrinking his world until there was nowhere left to run.
He was surrounded.
"Die, demon snake!"
The roar came from all sides as the massive army of beasts unleashed a coordinated attack. A storm of countless spells converged on him. Luo Zhen reacted instantly, spitting a shield of Beast Fire to protect himself while coiling his body tight to guard his vital core.
BOOM!
The world exploded in a cataclysm of sound and light. The spells hammered into his shield, shattering it in an instant. The force of the impact slammed into his Demon Core-level body, cracking his scales and splitting his flesh.
Blood sprayed from his mouth. He was injured.
Taken one-on-one, none of them was a threat. Most were in the Earth Profound realm, a whole level below him. Some were even weaker. But there were just so many of them. Their individual attacks were weak, but together, they formed a torrent of destructive power so immense that not even his Beast Fire or his golden scales could withstand it.
"Hahaha! Look at you now!"
A triumphant, jeering laugh cut through the chaos. Luo Zhen looked up. General Salamander, in his half-human form, strode out from the ranks of the demon army, a vicious sneer twisting his face.
"You miserable snake! Didn't see this coming, did you? This is what you get for crossing me. Today, you become soup!"
"Salamander," Luo Zhen spat, his voice a low growl. "I'll remember this. I swear on my life, I will have my revenge."
"Revenge?" The general laughed, a dismissive, ugly sound. "You think you're getting out of here alive?" He turned to the frenzied army. "Listen up! I'm adding a bonus! A thousand low-grade spirit stones to whoever lands the killing blow!"
The crowd went ballistic.
"A thousand spirit stones?"
"What are we waiting for?! Kill him!"
"Get him!"
The demons roared, their massive jaws opening to unleash another volley. The air crackled with gathering energy. Luo Zhen felt a primal sense of danger. This can't continue. He could take a few more hits like that, but not forever. If he stayed here, they'd grind him down, killing him through sheer exhaustion in less than thirty minutes.
I have to get out of here.
He focused his will and unleashed his ultimate skill.
Advent of the Demon Shadow!
In the blink of an eye, the space behind him warped, twisting into a vortex of pure darkness. From it emerged the phantom of the nine-headed serpent, a creature so vast it seemed to blot out the world. A crushing, ancient demonic aura washed over the battlefield, causing the demon army to falter, their spells dying on their lips as they trembled in pure, instinctual terror.
Under Luo Zhen's command, one of the phantom's nine heads opened its maw and belched forth a river of golden fire, hot as the core of a star. The molten stream tore through the ranks of the demon army, incinerating everything in its path. The beasts unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast vanished into ash. The fire was so intense it boiled the lake water around it, creating a massive, hissing cloud of steam.
Chaos erupted as demons shrieked and scrambled to get away. Even General Salamander, who knew the fire's power better than anyone, backed away, his face pale with a familiar terror. The memory of how that fire had effortlessly obliterated his Blood Sword and Azure Barrier was seared into his mind.
As the phantom wreaked havoc, Luo Zhen made his move. He activated Stealth.
His body shimmered, went transparent, and then vanished.
He wasn't gone, of course—just invisible.
With the army in disarray and a gaping hole in their formation, he slipped through their lines undetected and shot away from the battlefield. The moment he was clear, the phantom's time was up. The nine-headed specter and its river of fire faded away.
The immediate threat gone, General Salamander's bravado returned.
"Wait a second," he said, sensing something was wrong. "Where did he go?" His bloodline mark was still on Luo Zhen; he could feel it. "He's heading for the surface!"
He immediately gave chase, following the faint pull of his bloodline connection.
Luo Zhen raced toward the surface, having already made up his mind. He was done with Blackwater Lake, at least for now. With a tri-general warrant on his head, every greedy demon in the region was out for his blood. He wasn't strong enough to fight them all, so retreat was the only option.
But it was a temporary retreat. He vowed that once he cultivated his Demon Core and became a general himself, he would be back. He had a score to settle with General Salamander, and he still needed to absorb the Silver Flood Dragon's bloodline. That could wait. Revenge couldn't.
He broke through the surface of the lake, and with a flex of his will, two enormous, dark-gold wings erupted from his back. With a powerful downstroke, he launched himself into the sky, soaring. He let his stealth drop.
He had barely cleared the water when General Salamander burst from the lake below.
"You… you can fly?!" the general bellowed, his face a mask of disbelief as he stared up at Luo Zhen circling in the air.
"That's right," Luo Zhen called down, lazily beating his wings. "I can fly. Got a problem with that?"
"Damn it! What in the hell are you?!" General Salamander screamed, practically tearing at his own scales in frustration.
He was a general, a lord of his domain. He'd seen things. He knew of every major serpent species in the world, but he had never seen or heard of anything like Luo Zhen. Beast Fire as a Heaven Profound. Lightning magic. Dark-gold scales. And now wings? This thing was an impossibility.
Luo Zhen leveled a sharp, piercing gaze at the demon in the water below. "Salamander, this isn't over. I won't forget what you did today."
His voice was cold and clear. "You just wait. The next time we meet, I'll be a Demon General. And I'll be coming for your head."
With a final, powerful beat of his wings, he turned and flew toward the horizon, disappearing into the clouds in a matter of seconds.
General Salamander just floated there, stunned. He wanted to chase, to finish this, but he couldn't. He was a creature of the water. He couldn't fly, and his power diminished drastically on land or in the air.
Luo Zhen's parting words echoed in his mind, sparking a genuine, chilling fear. The snake was right. If he was this much of a monster now, what would he be like as a Demon General? He would be unstoppable. He would kill him effortlessly.
That fear was why he had gone to such lengths—why he'd spent a fortune to unite the generals and turn the entire lake against one foe. And still, after all that, Luo Zhen had escaped.
And now he had wings. He could go anywhere.
General Salamander was well and truly screwed.
"Ah, well," he sighed, a desperate attempt to comfort himself. "Maybe he'll be slow to cultivate. The Demon Core isn't easy to form. Plenty of beasts get stuck at the Heaven Profound realm their whole lives." He nodded, trying to convince himself. "Yeah, maybe it will take him thirty, maybe fifty years to break through. If that's the case," he muttered, "I won't have to worry too much."