After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

The demon general endured the intense pain of his divine consciousness being torn apart, and that last thought of probing was completely extinguished.

He slammed his fist into his chest, forcing out a jet-black domino stained with his heart's blood from his body, along with a storage magic ring, and respectfully held it above his head.

"Your subordinate was blind and offended Your Majesty!"

"I offer up the garrison token and all the high-grade magic crystals confiscated this month, begging for Your Majesty's forgiveness!"

Zhou Ran did not respond, nor did he look down at the storage ring.

He stood upright, his energy contained within, not leaking outwards in the slightest.

Gu Li limped forward, snatched the token and ring, and kicked the demon general in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

"roll."

The demon general scrambled to his feet. His single eye was fixed on the ground as he led fourteen trembling Nascent Soul stage demon cultivators, fleeing into the distant wilderness without looking back. In a few breaths, they disappeared into the heavy demonic energy.

The crisis is temporarily over.

Zhou Ran's tense body did not relax in the slightest.

He put away the illusory image of the White Bone Pen and picked up the Primordial Black Blade from the ground.

"Go to the city ahead."

There was no room for negotiation in his tone.

The five people dragged their weary bodies along the edge of the wilderness toward the massive city built of black stones at the horizon.

The gravity of the sixth level of the Demon Realm, a hundred times stronger than normal, made every step extremely difficult.

Xiao Rou's mortal body simply could not withstand it, and even with the protection of the Gu worms, she was already in a semi-comatose state.

Qin San carried her on his shoulder, his steps still steady, but with each step, his tactical boots would leave shallow dents in the rocks.

The city walls soared into the clouds, their massive stones covered with deep marks left by knives and axes, as well as dried, blackened bloodstains.

The city gate was tall and wide, guarded by no living creatures, but by two statues made of giant monster skulls, exuding a menacing aura that intimidated lower-level creatures.

The moment the procession passed through the city gate and stepped into the city.

Qin San slowed his pace, moved closer to Zhou Ran, and lowered his voice so that only the two of them could hear:

"Demon Emperor, that one-eyed creature left a very faint tracking mark in the cracks of the rocks on the ground when it left."

Zhou Ran did not stop walking.

His gaze swept over the various demonic creatures on both sides of the street.

There were merchants who were half-human and half-beast, mercenaries covered in scales, and menacing eyes lurking in the dark alleys, watching them intently.

"I saw it," Zhou Ran said calmly.

He was confirming whether we really dared to enter the city, or were just running away out of fear.

"Should we wipe it off?"

Qin San gripped the hilt of the knife tightly.

"No. Erasing it would be tantamount to telling him we've noticed, and would only expose our weakness."

Zhou Ran locked his gaze on the tallest building in the center of the street ahead, its exterior walls inlaid with glowing magic crystals.

"Keep it."

"I want his master to see this game unfold with his own eyes."

The city's architecture is rugged and aggressive.

The streets were paved with dark red lava rocks, radiating underground heat.

Along the street, the high-ranking demons looked at Zhou Ran and his group with the kind of eyes that assess prey.

Several severely injured bodies, plus a mortal with unstable breathing, are equivalent to mobile resources here.

But when Xuan Ying openly hung the token bearing the mark of the Demon General's blood on his waist, the greedy gazes from the shadows quickly subsided.

Zhou Ran led his team straight to the building whose outer walls were inlaid with glowing magic crystals.

Above the door hangs a plaque carved from an unknown animal bone: [Magic Crystal Inn].

Upon entering the hall, a surge of pure demonic energy immediately greets you.

Behind the counter, a shopkeeper with four arms was trimming his nails with a poisoned knife.

Sensing the presence of Zhou Ran and the others, the shopkeeper did not get up, but lazily raised his eyelids.

"Standard room, three mid-tier magic crystals per day."

No credit allowed; if you die in your room, you must collect your own body.

Gu Li stepped forward and slammed the storage magic ring he had snatched from the demon general onto the counter.

The ring made a crisp sound, spun half a circle on the counter, and then stopped.

The shopkeeper scanned the inside of the ring with his divine sense, and all four arms retracted simultaneously. He bent over and forced a fawning smile onto his face.

"Distinguished guests, please come upstairs. The top floor will be cleared immediately!"

The top floor is a separate, spacious area, with a demon-gathering array inside, where the demonic energy is so dense that it is almost tangible.

As soon as the door closed, Zhou Ran staggered, only managing to stay upright thanks to the support of the Taihuang Black Blade.

He sat cross-legged on the obsidian array eye in the center of the hall.

"Bone separation, mysterious shadow."

Zhou Ran gave the order in a deep voice.

"Your subordinate is here."

The two demon princes knelt on one knee, enduring the pain.

"Go and guard the entrance, and set up a three-layered sky-covering formation."

From this moment forward, I will not leave this room.

All external affairs will be handled by the two of you.

Zhou Ran made arrangements quickly.

"Be arrogant and haughty, don't explain, and don't back down."

Anyone who dares to test the waters will be immediately suppressed with that Demon General Token.

Qin San paused for a moment.

He glanced at Gu Li, then at Zhou Ran, who was sitting cross-legged.

This word, "朕" (zhen), was spoken for the first time by that person, falling smoothly and naturally, as if it were always meant to be this way.

"Yes, ma'am."

The two men obeyed and retreated towards the door.

"Qin San".

"exist."

"Take Xiaorou to the inner room."

You remain hidden in the shadows. No matter what happens outside, you are not allowed to act without my order.

"clear."

Qin San picked up Xiao Rou and quickly disappeared behind the screen.

With everything arranged, Zhou Ran closed his eyes and began to circulate the remaining Nascent Soul demonic energy within his body.

Meanwhile, in the wilderness outside the city.

The demon general, who had fled for dozens of miles, stopped to make sure no one was chasing him.

The fear in his eyes faded, leaving only malice and suspicion. He took out a communication bone fragment and crushed it forcefully.

"Report to the Grand Duke of Bone Swallowing... a person carrying the essence of the Demon Emperor has been discovered in the border region."

The subordinates left a tracking mark, and the target entered Blackwind City.

The opponent's strength is unpredictable, and your subordinates dare not act rashly. We request Your Highness's instructions.

The top floor of the inn.

While absorbing the pure demonic energy overflowing from the array's core to heal his chest injury, Zhou Ran summoned the phantom of the White Bone Brush.

He sketched rapidly in the void, the tip of his pen flicking invisible lines of cause and effect.

The subtle mark that Qin San mentioned did not adhere to their bodies, but rather cunningly clung to the mud on the bottom of the Bone-Separating Boots.

Zhou Ran did not forcibly erase it.

With a sudden shift in tone, he wrote down the phrase "transplanting flowers and grafting trees".

With the slight adjustment of the rules, that mark was silently peeled away from the soil.

Zhou Ran's divine sense spread outside the inn, locking onto a ferocious demonic rhinoceros pulling a heavy truck past a street corner. The mark landed in the gaps of the rhinoceros's thick scales.

The news spread at an astonishing speed.

The news that the Demon Emperor had allegedly appeared in Blackwind City spread through various underground channels.

In less than half an hour, dozens of subtle yet powerful auras had gathered outside the Magic Crystal Inn.

They came from various warlord factions, large and small, in the city, including some terrifying beings at the Integration Stage.