—–

Wait, even when I was inside his Inner Realm, the Void Ruler could see me and send messages!

A train of thought like that just came to me as I was looking at the delicious Chinese food being served in front of me by the helpful little gray and black fox boy around here.

It looked slightly like Chinese food, yes, but it still had many things that made it look different; for example, all the meats were of different creatures I had not seen before.

Some meats were completely purple with spiky needles stuck to them, and the fish were monstrously big and had red horns on top of their heads.

And there was a huge, rainbow-shelled crab that had been just freshly boiled in front of me, all served by the young fox.

Naturally, I wasn’t eating all of this on my own. The crow-faced demon was here with us. No, I don’t mean Neberius; I meant the Heavenly Demon.

“…”

The stare of the Heavenly Demon was quite intense as he consumed his meals; he clearly didn’t want any disturbance aside from my presence. He also surprisingly ate very silently and without speaking a word, unlike the chatty Heavenly Empress.

“I think this is all. Please enjoy your meal, Young Master Anna.” He bowed to me and quickly tried to run away.

“Wait, don’t go yet. Come eat with us at least!” I stopped him before he sprinted away. I accidentally ended up grabbing his big and fluffy tail instead; it was so soft!

“Eek! Please don’t grab my tail!” He cried as he quickly wrapped his fluffy tail around his body. “I-I’m so sorry, but I can’t stay; I do not deserve to eat here with-”

“Yin Sheng, sit down and shut up.” The Heavenly Demon spoke. “Stop disrupting the silence of my meals!”

“Y-Yes, great demon!” He bowed and ended up sitting down by my left side. His small body was trembling constantly, and he looked very nervous as he stared at the food, swallowing saliva.

“You don’t have to be so mean with him, master.” I sighed. “He is your servant; treat him with a bit more gentleness. He’s the one who has made your meals and cleaned your palace.”

“Hmph.” He sighed. “And then what? Do I give him candy and tell him he can do whatever he wants? That’ll only bring betrayal and treason. What if he backstabs me? He might look unsuspecting to you right now. He has that type of face; look at his hands trembling. But that fox is actually a renowned young assassin in his clan.”

“He’s what?!” I looked at Yin Sheng.

“That’s… Yes, it is, as the great demon says.” He nodded. “I apologize for not introducing me beforehand; my name is Yin Sheng, Young Master Anna.”

“I-I see. Well, you know my name already, so we’re even.” I smiled. “I had no idea you were an assassin! But why is an assassin serving my master his meals?”

“It has been the duty of my clan for generations to serve the great demon after the offense that one of our clan members committed against him a thousand years ago.” Yin Sheng explained with a calm voice, yet he still seemed very nervous. “N-Naturally, that ancestor was… slain. And well, his descendants were spared, as long as we bowed to serve the great demon inside his Inner Realm for a hundred thousand years of generations.”

“So basically, slavery…?” I wondered, looking at the crow-faced man.

“It’s not slavery; they’re simply paying for what their ancestors did.” Sighed the crow. “I suppose this is where your morality clashes with this world’s customs. You see. It is thought to be very merciful for what I did. The norm between demonic cultivators would have been to just kill the entire clan. Yet not only I spared them, but I also gave them a new job, fed them, protected them, and let them prosper inside my Inner Realm. Think of that as slavery if you will, but there’s no safest place than my Inner Realm.”

I guess I spoke too soon there; he’s not wrong in many of the things he spoke about. I also don’t really see any hand cuffs or the like, nor any technique set in these people.

“Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to judge so fast…” I sighed. “Well, I apologize for my rudeness.”

“It’s fine.” The Heavenly Demon said, surprising the fox boy to my side. “I suppose it is normal for someone from another world to react like this. Was your world a world where soft people lived?”

“No, there were also a lot of bad people… but it wasn’t as extreme as this one.” I said. “W-Well, are you curious about it, master?”

“Quite so. You know, I often dislike talking while eating. I consider it a ritual of taking the life and energy of another living being into my body.” He said. “But maybe it’s not so bad to say something from now on… Well, I used to do that with my family.”

“O-Oh, you had a family?” I asked. “Like your mom and dad?”

“No, they were dead before I had any memories of them.” He said. “I was an orphan and fought with my teeth, nails, and beaks to survive… But that is not the topic right now.”

As we continued talking, I noticed Yan Sheng looking at the scene in utter disbelief, whispering to himself with words of shock.

“I-I can’t believe it… T-The Heavenly Demon is opening so much…?!”

It seems he had been such a tyrannical man his entire life that even his closest servant was flabbergasted after seeing him open up with me.

I also wonder why he’s opening so much already.

Maybe my high amount of Charm Stat? Also, maybe the Favorability I gained.

Or perhaps he respects me as someone who is strong and his disciple.

Or a combination of everything.

Whatever’s the case, I told him a bit about my world to entertain him.

“Hahaha! How strange! So you “humans” ride weird metallic carriages that are fueled by no energy at all?” He laughed. “Instead of just using your internal energies to step into the air? You sure are unfortunate! Your world is indeed very weak.”

“Y-Yeah…” I sighed, feeling rather offended, but that’s how he talks anyways. “But we do our best to survive; even in the apocalypse, we’re doing everything we can to fight back against the invasions and protect our planet!”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I can tell that.” He smiled. “Behind you, I can see them.”

“You can see… them?” I asked. “There’s nobody there…”

“No, I can clearly see them, their spirits, their echoes.” He said this after sipping some soup. “The companions you have, the friends you’ve made, the family you have… They’re with you at all times, within your heart.”

“…” I felt slightly surprised that the Heavenly Demon would say that. “How do you see them?”

“I can see all things. A tall man with black hair is right next to you; his eyes shine with bright red light. He is similar to me in many ways, yet also fragile and soft on the inside. He’s your closest relative, is it not?” He asked.

“H-How did you figure that out?!” I gasped. “Yes, that’s my brother… Jack.”

“My eyes can see the shadows, echoes, and spirits left behind by people. You see, this is not something most mortals know. But every person’s Spiritual Body exudes their energy. The more time you spend with those you care about, the more your Spirit Bodies will create small bonds. Such bonds come in the form of what I am describing. It is as if they are with you, despite not being present physically. Their will, their ideals, their emotions, even their strength, might manifest within you with certain techniques.”

This was never explored in the novel at all…

“I-I didn’t know…” I said.

Wait, so the Egos, could they be something similar to that? Echoes of people I’ve slain, absorbed, or created within me have permanently fused into my Spiritual Body.

“Well, you know now.” He said. “There’s also another girl, someone around your age? She has long black hair, blue eyes, and an icy aura… I can see deep darkness within her, she was someone destined to become an enemy of yours and of your world. Yet you changed her fate.”

“Baihe… Yes, she’s my best friend.” I smiled. “I miss her a bit now… And my brother too.”

“And then I can see…”

He kept explaining as he saw Annabelle, Kevin, Henrietta, Hilda, Sara, Scarlet, and even the chairman! I was slightly shocked by all the people that were with me. Or well, their residual “Emotional Energy” as the Heavenly Demon called it, is the residual essence left behind by their powerful Spiritual Bodies.

“Master, do you have echoes of the people you cared behind?” I wondered.

“…” He suddenly fell silent. “Let’s not discuss this matter anymore.”

He seemed to have looked behind for a second, his face clearly showing a slight sense of… pain.

“A-Ah, yeah.” I nodded, as I felt very full after eating that delicious meal.

Ding!

[You have consumed a large quantity of the meat of a powerful Divine Martial Beast prepared through delicious Dishes using the power of the Gourmet Dao.]

[You have gained an enormously tremendous quantity of Ki Essence of the highest quality! Your Physique and your Inner Martial Core are overflowing with it!]

[You’ve used this Essence to rapidly cultivate your Physique and Inner Martial Core!]

[Your [Physique]: [Nine Colored Nova Physique (Tier 3: Rank 3)] has Ranked Up to Tier 3: Rank 4!]

[Your [Martial Core]: [Umbral Black Star Core (Tier 1: Rank 8)] has Ranked Up to Tier 1: Rank 9!]

[You gained +250 Physical Stats.]

[You gained +1.250 Ki.]

[You gained +100 Cosmic Energy.]

[The Heavenly Threads that connect your Spiritual Body together have been further reinforced.]

[Your Physique, Martial Core, Meridians, and Pathways have been strengthened. Their foundations have been enhanced. And their abilities have been boosted.]

[You gained +200 All Stats.]

That was a lot more than I thought for such a simple dish!

But once more, these dishes are amazing.

If I eat this every day while also training and cultivating, how strong can I get?

And also, they’re called Heavenly Threads? Pretty interesting.

“Anyways.” The crow spoke. “Today we’ll start with something simple. First, we’ll have a match together.” He smiled.

“I see- Eh?!”

“What?!”

Even Yin Sheng was shocked!

“B-But great demon, your condition is…!” The fox tried to stop him.

“Silence! My condition is what? Even as weakened as I am, I could easily kill everyone with a thought!” The Heavenly Demon roared. “I can easily suppress anybody, no matter my state! I am the supreme demon! Now, Anna, you’re going to spar against this old monster and show me what you got.”

“But master…” I felt slightly worried about his health as well.

“Enough with worrying about me! It’s wrong! I am the supreme demon; your concern only offends me.” He roared. “This fight is not a normal one either. It is one that will stimulate your Meridians, Pathways, Spiritual Body, and your Physique together with your Heavenly Threads, their connectors. That’ll help you awaken that power that has been swirling within your interior.”

“Is a fight necessary for that, though?” I asked.

“What? Are you afraid of fighting me?” He smiled. “Are you?”

“…”

Honestly, yes, I am afraid! He’s super strong; he’s going to whop my ass no matter what.

It’s going to hurt a lot too, but…

Aahh, I have to take it.

He’s a ruthless master after all; the moment I asked him to become my master, I should have guessed I would get beaten all the time.

To become the disciple of the most ruthless, selfish, and tyrannical man alive is to expect such things.

“…Very well.”

“Then come; we have no time to waste. Yin Shen, you come along and watch.”

As we stepped out of the palace, I finally saw my Familiars. They were all fine, being mostly taken care of by other servants. Violet, Snow, and Shiro had been eating just recently; Bael and Agares were talking with one another as they admired the view; and Fang Shuan’s gold eyes lit up when he saw me.

“Master! She’s out! Are you okay, young master Anna?!”

His screams alerted everyone else, as they all ran towards me. Even the two Death Apostles seemed rather happy and relieved to see me alright. Although they tried not to show that in their faces,.

“I’m fine, guys. Sorry for making you wait outside…” I sighed, patting Violet’s head, followed by Snow and Shiro. “Are you alright yourselves?”

“Krieeh!”

“Woof!”

“Kyuh!”

My three pets seemed to be completely fine, which was a relief. They also seemed to have grown stronger even when their levels reached max, and they had yet to evolve. Their internal Ki energies were increasing a lot. Their Physiques were progressing too, which was amazing.

“I am naturally alright, young master.” Fang Shuan said. “This body of mine is mighty after all!”

“We’re ok.” Bael said.

“What are you going to do now?” Agares asked me.

“Well… The Heavenly Demon already taken me as a disciple. And he said he wasn’t going to let me go for at least two weeks.” I sighed. “And now, right after eating, he wants to spar with me.”

“EH?!”

They were naturally upset.

“Is he insane?! You just recovered from having fallen unconscious!” Fang Shuan complained. “I will go and demand he let you rest!”

“Stop, let him be.” I said. “I’ll do as he said. It’ll be fine. I need to do this anyway, and even more. If I want to surpass my limits and become even stronger, it is only natural.”

“I agree. Let her do as she said.” Agares nodded.

“She needs to temper both her mind and body.” Bael said. “A ruthless master is what she needs the most.”

“As they said.” I nodded. “Anyways, you guys just stay here.”

I walked towards the Heavenly Demon.

The outside of the palace had a large garden of colorful flowers, attended by the servants.

In the middle of such a garden of yellow, blue, and purple flowers, there was a large opening, a rectangular paved area completely empty.

It was where we were going to spar.

“My disciple, let me be clear with you.” He spoke as he showed me his open hands, covered in thin black scales and with each finger ending in sharp claws. “I won’t go easy on you. Although I will not use special techniques, I will go all out on my physical strength. All-out, do you understand what that means? Prepare to have almost every bone in your body broken. If you still want to quit, you’re free to do so. But bear in mind, you’ll stop being my disciple.”

“…Okay, got it.” I nodded, gripping my fists. “Let’s do this. I’ll show you the might of humans, master!”

I unsheathed Gram and summoned the Nameless Axe-Sword.

He smiled at that, and without minding any weapon or skill I used, he told me to use anything I had after all.

“Then let’s begin.”

A blur of blackness suddenly appeared in front of me as I noticed he was gone.

A split second later, he appeared by my left side; his hand descended towards my head.

A simple karate chop carried all his physical strength.

BAAAM!

I was slammed into the floor, shattering the ground and feeling like my skull had a few cracks.

My consciousness drifted in and out.

My nose started bleeding, and so did my eyes.

My body started convulsing.

“What’s wrong? Are you dying already?”

Fuck.

“Stand up and fight!”

Fuck.

“FIGHT, I SAY!”

“FUCK!”

Despite all the throbbing pain all over my body, I stood up and fought back.

[A New {Optional Challenge Quest} has been generated: {Fight The Heavenly Demon And Win}!]

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep