Redemption of a Born Demon

He stepped forward, and the space around him seemed to collapse in on his palm, forming a massive, black hole-like vortex.

The tide of energy and the vortex collided!

Everyone watching through the cameras saw this scene, and their spirits trembled.

The East King didn’t just take the hit; he launched his own attack. This was a significant change, a sign that Yi Beidou’s assault could now truly threaten him.

If you could breach their defenses, even Immortal Gods could be brought down from their pedestals.

BOOM!!

The two clashed palm against palm. Terrifying power erupted and collided, causing the earth to sink and dust to explode outward.

In his Perfect State, Yi Beidou’s physical prowess was enhanced to a terrifying degree. He was finally able to meet the East King in a direct clash without being overpowered.

But he quickly sensed that something was wrong.

An unusual power was spreading from his arm into his body, giving him a peculiar yet familiar sensation.

It was like the Five Thieves Technique he had encountered during his duel with the Alchemist, and...

Yi Beidou instantly felt the golden Penglai Flame burning within every one of his cells flicker like a candle in the wind, its light wavering violently.

He even felt his very flesh and blood being whittled away, withering, though the restorative power of the Penglai Flame was canceling out this negative effect.

The Penglai Flame was the source of Yi Beidou’s powerful regenerative abilities. If it weakened, his recovery would be severely hampered. Even in his Perfect State, he could barely sustain the Penglai Flame he now commanded. If it were weakened any further, he wouldn’t be able to maintain this state for long.

He could have originally lasted for half an hour, but now, he would be lucky to last twenty minutes—or even less.

’This power?!’

Yi Beidou remembered. On Penglai Immortal Mountain, he had seen the murals and entered the Void Immortal Mountain Illusion Realm. He had experienced this same power there.

It was that same power that withered flesh and blood.

If left unchecked, this power could cause a human body to break down at a fundamental level and dissolve into a pool of sludge!

Back then, it was precisely because he had forced his way into the Immortal Mountain’s mural and used this power to train himself that he had mastered how to wield the Penglai Flame.

He never expected that the East King would have also mastered how to use this withering power.

"Since you’ve been to the Immortal Mountain, you should know how potent this ’Power of Disaster and Filth’ is. How many strikes of my ’Calamity Filth Fate Thief’ do you think you can take?" the East King said with a smile.

He had created this technique by combining the Power of Disaster and Filth with his own Five Thieves Technique.

The Five Thieves steal life, and Disaster and Filth melt the body. The two effects were complementary. Even a Saint Realm expert, if struck repeatedly, would likely have large chunks of their flesh reduced to pus.

His body possessed the unending Penglai Power, while his attacks could unleash the Power of Disaster and Filth to wear down his opponents. He could take on any foe.

BOOM!!

Before Yi Beidou could react, the East King struck again. With a collapsing Magnetic Force, his Five Thieves Technique twisted the Heaven and Earth True Qi.

This was the first time since his awakening that the East King had taken the initiative to attack an opponent with one of his techniques.

It was because Yi Beidou, by using his Perfect State, had displayed the power of Reverse Immortal Slaying and earned the East King’s recognition as a true opponent.

And for an opponent, the greatest respect one could show was to kill them.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

The two exchanged a flurry of attacks, their movements a dizzying blur as shockwaves radiated outward one after another.

With every clash of palms, the Power of Disaster and Filth inside Yi Beidou’s body grew stronger, accumulating steadily.

Normally, in his Perfect State, he had the protection of the Bloodfire Throne. Its searing Demon Flame was said to be impervious to all techniques. But it could not block or purge this Power of Disaster and Filth; at most, he could only suppress its intensity to some degree.

But a few more strikes from the East King would be enough to negate that suppression.

Yi Beidou understood. This power didn’t come from the East King himself, but from the Earth Immortal Cells within his body, which possessed a terrifyingly potent life essence.

A significant portion of the Earth Immortal Cells this man had devoured must have come from ancient remnants on Penglai Immortal Mountain—perhaps even from Penglai Immortal Mountain’s creator. And they certainly made up a large proportion of his being.

Penglai Immortal Mountain was an Earth Immortal Ruin. Its creator was most likely an Earth Immortal.

In other words, the East King possessed the true legacy of an Earth Immortal.

After ten consecutive strikes, the Penglai Flame inside Yi Beidou had been reduced to a flickering candle in the wind. His own terrifying bursts of power, needed to counter the East King’s fierce offensive, had also dramatically increased the strain on his body.

His Perfect State was finally on the verge of collapsing.

SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT!!

Patches of skin and flesh all over Yi Beidou’s body suddenly burst open, erupting into gruesome clouds of blood mist.

Celestial Demon Dissolution, in its complete form. If he lost control, his body would instantly explode, leaving behind nothing but scraps.

"This is bad!"

Seeing this, Zhou Qingchen and the others were horrified, their expressions turning grim.

They could already tell that the East King had used some sort of method and was about to shatter Yi Beidou’s Secret Technique.

They didn’t dare to imagine the backlash that would follow once that state was broken.

Was Yi Beidou—a man who could suppress an entire city with his fists in his strongest state—truly going to fall here?

The cameras positioned throughout the sky naturally captured this moment as well. The viewers didn’t know the specific details, but the erupting blood mist and the stains spreading across Yi Beidou’s body told them everything they needed to know.

At the Special Security Bureau, Zhao Ping’s body trembled slightly, his eyes turning bloodshot.

A dead silence fell over the room. They felt as if they were already witnessing Yi Beidou’s imminent defeat and death.

「Starry Sky Country, Special Affairs Bureau.」

"What a pity."

Director Kathy sighed and shook her head. Although they were rivals, she didn’t want to see Yi Beidou defeated.

Yi Beidou’s defeat would mean that their own country’s Devi was likely no match for the Sleepers either, which would put them in an extremely difficult position.

Only the avatar of Dr. Beretta, who was present at the scene, remained impassive. He gazed into the distance at the sky, where the manifestation of the Bloodfire Throne was entangled with the Three-legged Golden Crow.

Unbeknownst to anyone, slender, tentacle-like tails of flame had extended from the Bloodfire Throne, pierced through the crimson-gold light, and were now silently coiling around the Golden Crow.

’I’m collecting data, and so is he. Interesting,’ Dr. Beretta mused with a smile.

「The Battlefield.」

"Looks like you can’t hold on anymore."

A mocking smile touched the corners of the East King’s lips.

"Is that so?"

A smile touched Yi Beidou’s lips as well.

The next moment,

SCREECH!!

The Golden Crow in the sky suddenly let out a piercing cry. The flame tendrils that had crept up unnoticed launched their attack, some binding the Golden Crow’s body, others attempting to pierce it.

’What is this?!’

The East King’s expression changed, and he snapped his attention toward the sky.

’What is this guy trying to do? Is he trying to steal my Penglai Power?!’

"You’re dreaming!" the East King growled.

"Do you know what method I used the first time I used Penglai Power?" Yi Beidou asked with a smile.

The East King understood at once. Back when Yi Beidou defeated the Alchemist on Penglai Immortal Mountain, he must have used this exact method to forcibly borrow the Immortal Mountain’s Magnetic Force.

"The Immortal Mountain’s Power is masterless, but *I* am the master of this power!" the East King said with a sneer.

"Are you? Are you really its master? I’ve told you before, you’re nothing but a fat rat who stole the power of your predecessors," Yi Beidou said coolly.

The next moment,

WHOOSH!!

The Penglai Flame within Yi Beidou’s body, which had been like a flickering candle, flared brightly once more, burning even more intensely than it had before.

Under the searing heat of the Penglai Flame, the gruesome wounds on his body healed at a rate visible to the naked eye.

In the sky, the tendrils of flame bound the Golden Crow tightly and pierced into its body.

This Golden Crow was, in essence, a mass of Penglai’s magnetic field, just with a personal imprint on it.

But while this personal imprint seemingly belonged to the East King, it actually originated from the Earth Immortal Cells inside his body.

The true master of this power was an Immortal from Penglai Immortal Mountain. The only reason the East King could wield it was because he had devoured that Immortal’s flesh and blood!

If that stolen flesh and blood were removed, the Penglai Power he could command would still be greater than the Alchemist’s, but likely not stronger than Yi Beidou’s now!

All this time, throughout their clash, Yi Beidou had been analyzing this power.

He had been able to forcibly borrow the Immortal Mountain’s Power before. Now that he was stronger and his understanding of Penglai Power was deeper, he could naturally borrow the power of the Golden Crow in the sky as well!

Now, the gap between them was rapidly closing!!