The Birth of a New King

The two Kings fought a great battle. Their massive rotting wings stirred up fierce gales, uprooting even the towering ancient trees and scattering leaves in turmoil.

They wielded crude great swords, colliding in fierce exchanges, while heavy stone shields hung from their left arms to block otherwise fatal strikes.

Bang!

One King was overpowered, a two-meter-long bone sword cleaving through its left arm at the shoulder. It let out a sky-shaking roar, black mist surging heavenward as it flapped its rotting wings and fled through the dark forest.

Xiao Chen watched all this in silence. He had awakened four years ago and longed to see the outside world. Something beneath the distant starry sky seemed to call to him.

He often yearned for sunlight, wishing to live beneath its radiance. But once, when he climbed to the treetops under daylight and was severely burned by the sunlight filtering through the forest mist, he never dared again. He resolved to grow stronger—strong enough to defy the sun, to cross the territories of the Kings, and to reach the world beyond.

For the next month, carrying his bone blade, he prowled the edges of danger, striking at powerful beings. He slew two Earth Dragons, and his soul fire grew day by day.

Three months later, feeling his soul fire strong enough, he returned to the swamp and prepared to challenge the colossal creature in the pond.

It was a vicious evil jiao—not comparable to the King of this region, but still immensely powerful, one of the strongest beings within miles. Its soul fire burned bright; if he could absorb it, Xiao Chen believed he would ascend to another level.

The jiao emerged every four or five days. Xiao Chen had observed it for four years and knew its habits intimately.

The evil jiao was shaped like a giant serpent, seven or eight meters long, with four sharp claws—though far thicker than a serpent of the same length, as broad as a pair of doors, its body covered in rotting flesh and scales, hideous and ferocious.

With a splash, it came ashore as usual, its massive head emerging first, pressing deep into the muddy bank as it warily scanned the surroundings before crawling onto land.

Just as it relaxed and advanced a few meters along its usual path, a cold light suddenly burst from under the mud. A hard bone blade stabbed upward, embedding itself deep into the jiao's massive head.

The bone blade trembled violently, shaking a portion of the soul fire within its skull out through its eyes. The force from the blade was enormous, and it even split the head, shearing off a quarter of it.

Terrified and enraged, the jiao recoiled. Xiao Chen charged out of the mud, clutching the quarter of skull to his chest, rapidly absorbing the soul fire within. In his own skull, the soul fire brightened considerably.

When the jiao saw its attacker, it flew into a rage. This puny creature, whose soul fire was far weaker than its own, dared to ambush it—unforgivable!

Though enormous, the jiao was not clumsy. It lunged forward quickly. Xiao Chen had no desire to meet it head-on; he retreated nimbly while tauntingly hurling the piece of skull at the jiao.

The great dragon was indeed enraged. The soul fire within its skull blazed, twin beams of terrifying light shooting from its eyes as it charged like a steamroller, snapping trees and scattering leaves wherever it passed.

Away from the pond, they entered a region of towering ancient trees. Here, the great jiao could no longer easily break through the dense timber. The narrow spaces between the ancient trunks severely limited its movement, forcing it to slow down, sometimes even becoming wedged between trees.

Only then did its fury-clouded mind begin to clear. But it was too late. Xiao Chen had already launched his counterattack. The hard bone blade in his hand struck like lightning, and in a brief moment, he had severed over twenty segments of bone from the jiao's massive tail.

The jiao thrashed desperately, trying to crush its attacker with the great tail bones beneath its rotting flesh. But its hopes were dashed. This enemy was more agile than any it had ever faced—moving like the wind, striking like lightning. It seemed not a skeleton but a flesh-and-blood falcon diving to the kill.

In the brief moments it was trapped, its tail and one hind claw were cleaved off by the bone blade. Its mobility was critically impaired.

When the jiao finally broke free into a narrow space, it was dismayed to find the situation had not improved. With only three limbs remaining, its movements were severely hampered, while its opponent darted like the wind and struck with greater ferocity.

Crack!

Another hind claw was severed. The jiao went mad, but could do nothing.

Its foe was too skilled in combat, always staying at a distance, never closing in, methodically removing the key parts of its body, aiming to render it completely helpless.

Though it now understood the strategy, it was powerless to change it. With only two foreclaws left, its speed was infuriatingly slow. It could only watch as its opponent slowly dismembered it, until at last only a massive, mangled skull lay among the trees.

The jiao was furious to the extreme. Its opponent was clearly far weaker, yet the outcome was what it was—a bitter pill to swallow. Still, it was not entirely without hope. If the enemy struck its skull directly with the bone blade, it would unleash its full soul fire and devour him.

But the hateful skeleton surprised it again. Xiao Chen found a boulder weighing several tens of jin, nimbly climbed a great tree, and then hurled it down with force.

Bang!

The jiao's cracked skull did not shatter, but a fine fissure appeared. If it could roar, it would have bellowed in fury and cursed—what kind of skeleton was this?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Once, twice, dozens of times... At last, the jiao's skull was smashed to pieces, its soul fire split apart. Only then did Xiao Chen begin to absorb the powerful soul fire.

Brilliant light filled Xiao Chen's skull, leaping and dancing. His body was also strengthened, becoming harder, especially his own original skull, which gleamed with luster.

The flourishing soul fire, like a bright lamp, marked Xiao Chen as a powerful existence in this region—ranking just below the King among the top fighters. From now on, he could openly battle strong foes without constant fear.

As his soul fire grew ever brighter, making him a powerhouse of the region, his behavior became increasingly unlike that of his kind.

Xiao Chen often climbed to the treetops on moonlit nights, gazing up at the moon as its silvery light fell upon him. He would fall into long silence, sometimes staring until dawn.

Were there song-like memories? A glorious past? How could he recall them?

Sometimes lost, sometimes confused, and at times anguished—as if memories that should have faded still lingered at the bottom of his heart.

Days and nights, joys and sorrows, partings and reunions—how to remember the past?

He grew ever more resolute, never giving up, striving to become stronger. Even though this dark forest was fraught with danger, he managed to grow and thrive.

Several months had passed since he killed the evil jiao. In that time, Xiao Chen had slain a few more beings of equal strength, but experienced no qualitative transformation. His soul fire grew slowly. He gradually realized that killing a being with a more powerful soul fire and absorbing it would make him stronger, but absorbing the soul fires of those at the same level required accumulated quantity.

Thus another half year passed. Xiao Chen pushed his extraordinary combat talent to its limits, using every method to kill nearly thirty beings of the same rank. Only then did his soul fire break through once more, becoming even more vigorous, like a leaping divine flame burning within his skull.

From the time of his awakening until now, he had always avoided the King of this region, never being discovered. Xiao Chen felt that in another three to five years, he might have the strength to challenge the King. But he desperately wanted that chance now. To that end, he began to closely observe the King's habits from afar.

The King often went out to collect soul fires. All beings in this region were weaker than it, unable to meet its advancement needs. To advance to a higher rank, it would need to harvest thirty soul fires of the same level, just barely enough to ascend. But if it happened to defeat a being of a higher rank, a single soul fire would be enough for a lower-rank to advance.

Few beings in the dark forest dared to challenge a higher rank—that would be suicide. Most battles were between those of the same rank: killing thirty peers to advance was relatively safe.

Relatively, of course. Who could safely kill thirty enemies nearly as strong as themselves?

In the boundless dark forest, survival was hard, and growth even more brutal.

Another two years passed. Xiao Chen no longer confined himself to this region. He began to appear in the neighboring territories, using every means at his disposal to kill another thirty same-level beings, struggling to advance.

The soul fire within his skull blazed like a divine torch, burning vigorously. The entire skull became translucent and bright, growing even harder.

The skeletal body that was not originally his also grew stronger, but it clearly did not have the flowing luster of his own skull.

Now, Xiao Chen was only one level below the King of this region. He had killed almost all same-level beings nearby. The King had obviously noticed the anomaly and often swept through this area, hoping to eliminate the hidden threat within its domain.

But Xiao Chen had already hidden in the territory of a neighboring King. Only when the storm had passed did he return, beginning to closely monitor every move of the King.

Seven years had passed since Xiao Chen's awakening. Using his innate talent, he had survived countless deadly trials and was now the strongest being in this region below the King himself.

In the seventh year, he finally got his chance.

Over the years, whenever the King went out, it returned wounded—after all, it was challenging opponents of the same level. It must be said that the King of this region was an extraordinarily talented being. In the past few years, it had harvested eleven soul fires, but each time it paid a heavy price.

Today, it had clearly encountered a formidable enemy and gained nothing. Its arm was broken, its rotting flesh had all fallen away, its decayed wings were torn, and several terrible cracks ran through its spine; its skeletal body might collapse at any moment.

Just as the King returned to its territory and began searching for a suitable skeleton to replace its failing body, a massive boulder of a thousand jin suddenly flew at it.

It was a highly talented fighter. Despite its grievous wounds, it sensed the danger instantly and nimbly dodged aside. With a thunderous crash, the boulder smashed a towering tree.

More boulders came hurtling through the air. The King's body was in dire straits; unable to dodge them all, it had no choice but to brace itself and swing its remaining arm, shattering a boulder it could not avoid.

But the impact proved too much for its damaged body. Its cracked spine shattered with a crack, and it crashed to the ground, losing connection with its lower half.

Then more boulders rained down. Its already fractured skull could shatter at any moment. Finally, its head was cracked open, suffering devastating damage.

At that moment, Xiao Chen charged forward with his bone blade. He did not dare approach the King directly. Instead, with blinding speed, he used the blade to sever every towering tree nearby, letting the morning sunlight stream into the forest.

At the King's level, it no longer feared sunlight. But today was special. Gravely wounded, though the sun could not harm it quickly, it still had some effect, making it feel constrained. Its single movable arm grew sluggish.

Xiao Chen had smeared himself all over with mud to avoid the sunlight. He closed in, striking with boulders, and occasionally, when an opportunity arose, he would dash in with his bone blade and land a swift cut.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The King's body was completely dismembered by Xiao Chen. Eventually, its skull was shattered, and its blazing soul fire split apart, cowering in the sunlight. Xiao Chen rushed over, grabbed a piece of the broken skull, and retreated to the shadows to absorb the soul fire clinging to it.

It was a feast of soul fire. It took Xiao Chen several hours to fully absorb the King's powerful soul fire.

Fortunately, he had already killed all the same-level beings in this region, or many would have come to contend for it. Even so, many weaker soul-fire creatures gathered nearby, watching everything unfold.

A great roar came from the distance. Trees shook, and all the soul-fire creatures prostrated in fear. The King of the neighboring territory seemed to sense something and charged over swiftly.

But it was too late. It arrived just in time to see Xiao Chen complete his advancement. Xiao Chen's skull shone crystal clear, the soul fire within leaping and dancing like blazing sunlight, dazzlingly bright. When it finally calmed, the soul fire was as pure and powerful as a radiant moon.

All the soul-fire creatures in this region witnessed the birth of a new King, trembling with awe. The King of the neighboring territory let out an unwilling roar and retreated, judging that today was not a good day for battle.

Xiao Chen stood in the sunlight, feeling a warmth he had never known. He had finally become a new King, no longer fearing the sun. The soul-fire creatures nearby all knelt in submission.

His soul fire blazed fiercely—an undying divine flame. He possessed over twenty times the strength he had before. His bones also transformed dramatically. His skull became translucent and lustrous like fine jade, and it even grew seven crystalline cervical vertebrae downward.

Yes, his own skull had grown those equally crystal-clear neck bones, replacing the original skeleton's vertebrae. They were many times harder than the bones below.

Clearly, as he continued to grow stronger, he could fully grow a skeleton that truly belonged to him.

Xiao Chen decided to leave this boundless, gloomy forest and see the outside world.

The forest was truly vast. It took him an entire year, undergoing many life-and-death trials, to cross the territories of the Kings and emerge from this immense woodland. Along the way, he encountered even more powerful beings, but he did not challenge them—that would have been suicide.

Beyond the forest lay a mountain several thousand meters high, barren and lifeless, like a dead peak. On a moonlit night, Xiao Chen climbed to the summit.

The moonlight fell like water, soft and gentle. Xiao Chen gazed at the moon, and something deep within his soul fire seemed to ignite. With a roar, his soul fire burst out of his skull, soaring like an undying phoenix.

Lunar essence gathered, merging into the soul fire, driving the phoenix into an even wilder frenzy. Then it exploded with brilliant radiance, rushing back into his skull, as if unlocking a long-sealed mysterious gate.

Xiao Chen stared dumbly at the moon. Scenes welled up in his mind. Everything from the past resurfaced from his origins. He murmured, a spiritual fluctuation issuing forth: "I am Xiao Chen... I did not die... I am alive!"

Xiao Chen rose to his feet and let out a long cry to the heavens. Though not a true sound, the spiritual fluctuation carried farther, shaking the sky.

From afar came terrifying spiritual fluctuations, as if answering his cry—even more vast and fierce.

In that instant, as if enlightened, returning to the origin, his spiritual perception was extraordinarily acute. In a flash, he "saw" that within a hundred li ahead, several great demonic halls stood, each containing terrifyingly powerful beings—clearly far stronger than the King in the forest.

And further in the distance loomed even more magnificent ancient castles. He even glimpsed a demonic city. Most startling of all, from the deepest part of this continent came an unimaginable fluctuation, beckoning irresistibly—this was the same faint call he had sensed before, as if summoning the powerful of all directions.

The flash of insight faded. Xiao Chen withdrew from that wondrous state and could no longer perceive the distant scene.

"I did not die... No, I have already died," he said, standing like a stone statue on the mountaintop for a long time.

After a long while, Xiao Chen extended a bony arm, touching the white skeleton. There was no flesh and blood—he was now a skeleton.

"I want to live on. I want to be truly reborn..." Xiao Chen clenched his bony fist.

How many years had passed since he fell into the Demon Well?

Were his old friends still well?

Had his enemies grown even stronger? Did they still remember the opponent who once silenced the world's strongest?

Xiao Chen gazed at the sky, lost in silence. What he had lost was not only flesh and blood, but also soul power. Only his complete divine consciousness had been preserved. But that was enough! As long as he was alive, by continuously absorbing soul fire, his soul power could quickly recover.

His level of divine consciousness remained. Now he only needed to pour power into the vessel.

"Is this the world beneath the Demon Well?" Xiao Chen gazed into the distance. What lay ahead?

Unbidden, he thought of King Qin Guang, King Yan Luo, and King Reincarnation. Now he was just like them. Those three Kings had vanished on the Demon Plain. Would he ever meet them again?

Perhaps fate had long decreed that he would use this chance to explore this world beneath the Demon Well.

Finally, Xiao Chen fell silent. Since he had fully awakened and remembered everything, the image of Qingqing never left his mind. Before she vanished, she was always smiling, a scene frozen forever in that moment.

"A girl named Qingqing, pure and ethereal..." Xiao Chen gazed at the distant moon, sending out a ripple of spirit: "Jade bones beneath the skin, rosy beauty turned to yellow earth. Today I bid you farewell, dear Qingqing. May we meet again in the next life..."

Then he stood up abruptly. Forward—he needed to move forward!