One pound of meat equals one attribute point.

Chapter 464: A ray of hope, the Devil's Engine
Looking at Ryan's face shrouded in shadow, Ji Xuance remained silent. His thick knuckles gently tapped on the armrests of the throne, and a rhythmic beeping sound came out. The fat excavated from the demon god crackled in the brazier, and a strange fragrance filled the air. Ji Xuance's eyes were empty, and the bright moonlight outside the door gradually brought him back to the past.

More than two hundred years ago, under the same moonlight.

At that time, Emperor Wu had just inherited the throne, and he had already demonstrated some invincible strength, as well as corresponding ambitions.

The royal city was stained with blood, and a huge courtyard could be seen burning in the distance, and the night was all red. From time to time, there were strong men at the level of earth immortals or even kings, and their spirits burst out, trying to take the opportunity to cause chaos or escape, but they were extinguished in the next moment, turning into dry bones on the ground that no one cared about.

It was stormy outside the high walls, but inside there was peace and harmony.

The three brothers and sisters gathered together, and their father, dressed in casual clothes, personally taught them martial arts.

In such an environment, the importance of this martial art, taught by Emperor Wu himself, is self-evident. That martial art is called Emperor Dragon Fist, and it only has three moves. One punch for the heaven and earth, one punch for the mountains, rivers, and seas, and the last punch for the thousand-year national destiny of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Whether one can successfully enter the martial arts is also related to whether one can contain the dragon energy, and it is also a test for whether one can inherit the throne in the future.

The prince made the fastest progress in this style of boxing, and it took him less than three days to master it.

Ji Xuance, on the other hand, was unable to grasp the secret. At that time, he was very young and impatient. He almost hurt himself in several attempts because of his greed for success. It was only after he had practiced with Ji Huaxi for many days that he gradually mastered the true meaning of this set of boxing techniques.

At that time, he was just excited.

It was only later that I gradually realized that, in terms of understanding alone.

Among the three, the eldest princess Ji Huaxi is actually the strongest.

But before her elder brother's death, she had always been unknown and had never shown her talent.

The reason why I was able to get started smoothly at that time was because Ji Huaxi first comprehended the true meaning of the boxing to a certain level, and then slowly broke it down and fed it to me through sparring.

To this day...

It has been more than two hundred years since this happened.

But Ji Xuance still remembered it clearly, and felt a warmth in his heart when he thought about it.

The stronger one is, the more difficult it is to give birth to an heir. Ji Xuance has no children so far, and after his father's death, Ji Huaxi is his only family. Although after taking this position, he calls himself a widower and should not have any private affairs. But Ji Xuance is still unwilling to kill his sister for power.

Ji Xuance's eyes fixed, and he said coldly to Ryan in the audience, "Don't mention this matter again in the future."

"Then, as you wish." Ryan put his hand on his chest and bowed gently to the Third Prince. His face was shrouded in shadows that could not be reached by the firelight, and the mocking smile on his face was barely concealed. However, Ryan knew that it was not yet time, so he did not say much, turned around and left the Hall of Supreme Harmony in a chic manner.

……

Zhongzhou.

A temporary hiding place.

This place looks like a hunter's hut built in the mountains, located in a naturally formed cave. Orange oil lamps hang on the walls, the floor is paved with thick logs, and you can see the drizzling rain through the window. Argus, wearing a shirt and vest, pushed a glass of iced wine in front of Ryan.

Ryan reached out to take the glass and nodded and smiled at Argus.

In the warm orange light, he gently shook the wine glass, waiting for the original brew and juice inside to be fully mixed, then he lowered his head and took a sip.

"what……"

Ryan sighed, and an expression of fascination and nostalgia suddenly appeared on his face.

"The taste of lime is a little sour. I haven't tasted it for more than two thousand years. It makes me miss it." Ryan's slender fingers stroked the edge of the wine glass, and a glimmer of crystal flashed across his emerald, forest-like deep pupils, "What a pity..."

"What's a pity?"

"We may not have many opportunities to taste this kind of flavor in the future," Ryan said with a smile.

Click!

Argus was clearing the glassware from the table.

He suddenly stopped moving, and with a crisp sound, fine cracks appeared on the mixing cup.

Looking at his king, Argus's expression was no longer respectful as usual, but was filled with rare questioning and anger. "We all believe that you can lead the tribe to victory and restore the glory of the former Karen Dynasty, but now you think this war is doomed to fail. What does this mean!?"

"It's just what you understand." Ryan shrugged, put down his wine glass, and then forcefully pried open Argus's fingers that were grabbing his collar.

"We have all seen what that guy looked like when he fought with the Overlord, and his strength is far from reaching its peak. Even when our ancestors were at their peak, just expelling the Overlord would have directly destroyed the foundation accumulated over thousands of years, not to mention us now. We are just a group of lonely ghosts. We are like an egg hitting a rock, and we will definitely die." Ryan said calmly. Argus's face was painful, and he fell silent.

Wow!
The rain outside was falling faster and faster, hitting the window and forming transparent ripples.

With a loud bang, a blazing white lightning fell. Several huge birds were frightened and flapped their wings, disappearing into the gray sky.

Turning his gaze away from the window, Argus's tense breath suddenly relaxed, and a look of despair surged on his face. After a moment of silence, Argus picked up the glass fragments scattered on the table. With a bit of confusion on his face, he couldn't help but ask, "Since you think we can't be the opponent of that monster, why do you choose to stay and even take the initiative to attack him?"

"Didn't we talk about this before?"

Ryan smiled bitterly and said, "What has supported our race to this day is hatred. Everyone is longing for a war, hoping to kill all enemies and wash away their shame with their blood. If we say we want to turn around and leave at this time, what will happen..."

"Division, war, and even fratricide," Argus replied.

"Yes."

Ryan nodded. "Extreme hatred must be dispelled by even more extreme fear. War is inevitable. The only choice is to let those people participate in this war, save them, and leave with the last hope."

Recalling what Ryan had just said, Argus looked at him with some concern.

"I have shouldered the responsibility of reviving the demon race since I was born, and everyone has placed their hopes on me. Although I am indeed gifted, this kind of life is too tiring. Moreover, no matter what the reason is, I have actually betrayed my people by making such a choice."

"Let me stay here, and I have found a suitable successor." Ryan supported his hands on the bar and looked at the four-armed demon opposite with burning eyes.

Argus was surprised and pointed at himself in disbelief, "Me!?"

"Yes, it's you, brother!" Ryan reached out and patted Argus's shoulder, then took off a ring with a crown on his thumb and put it in Argus's hand. The guy smiled with an 'I'm optimistic about you' look on his face and said, "Think about it, after all, you fought that monster three times and survived."

"No matter it's luck or strength, you have survived in such a dangerous situation. I believe you can lead the rest of the tribe to move on." Ryan said with encouragement on his face.

Looking at the sincere face in front of him, Argus was speechless.

"Now that you've thought it through, what are you going to do?"

"I just talked to Ji Xuance. He is a useful chess piece." Ryan stuffed a piece of fruit from the plate into his mouth and said vaguely.

"But he has already rejected your request."

"No, that's not a rejection," Ryan said. "After all, if he really thought I had crossed the line, it would have been a very ugly scene. But in reality, although that guy kept saying no, he was actually hesitating. He had actually been shaken in his heart for a long time, but he just needed some opportunities."

"I think I understand. What we need to do next is to add fuel to the fire." Argus nodded.

"Not bad!"

Ryan snapped his fingers. "He has already made a mistake. We just need to expose ourselves a little. When Ji Xuance senses the threat, he will naturally take the initiative. By then, we will have a very crucial card in our hands."

"Maybe... maybe we can really find some ways to fight monsters from this card." Ryan looked at the rain outside the window and said slowly.

……

……

……

Blood Realm, in the lava lake under the volcano.

boom!
Following this there was a loud explosion from below.

The originally calm lake suddenly rippled, bubbles gurgled on the surface of the lake, the temperature rose rapidly, and then pillars of fire exploded one after another. Each explosion brought tens of thousands of tons of magma into the air, like a huge wave, hitting the wall next to it. The originally smooth wall was covered with a thick and rugged layer of volcanic rock, and the fire demon lantern on it also shook violently.

"What's going on?" Inside the lava lake, Su Heng hummed twice, opened his eyes, and regained some consciousness from his deep seclusion.

He felt waves of pain all over his body, and blood gushed out.

This is because after absorbing a large amount of nutrients, the body enters a stage of super-fast growth, so that the original scales cannot adapt to the current body, just like a python shedding its skin. However, the process is much more cruel. These scales are torn apart by the swollen muscles, bleeding, and then grow again on the wound, becoming more and more tough.

(End of this chapter)