A side branch. I never thought even a side branch could be this affluent, Wang Linchi couldn't help but sigh.

Wang Linchi didn't know the name of the young man from the Shi Family, but the guy knew when to advance and retreat. After losing, he didn't show any resentment or fleeting coldness. He also cooperated with Wang Linchi's oath and was proactive in giving up the goods, without any concealment.

After getting the resources, of course, he made a run for it.

Mainly, Wang Linchi wasn't confident that only that person was in this Secret Realm, and he couldn't withstand the Shi Family's retaliation afterward. He didn't need to put himself in danger for Crouching Tiger City. If he wanted to resolve this matter perfectly, the only way was to possess great strength, which he still lacked. So, he made a quick profit and promptly fled.

As for betraying Crouching Tiger City, what was there to feel guilty about? He had entered Crouching Tiger City through the power of money, never being stingy; it was purely a business relationship.

The destruction of Crouching Tiger City was just as Wang Linchi speculated: an order from the Xian State Provincial Government. It was supposedly to assist the Shi Family's collateral branch youth in cultivating The Heritage of the Sky Devil. But then what? Was Wang Linchi supposed to confront the Ningyang Mansion and the Shi Family for a group of strangers, strangers who were hostile to him? Even a hundred of him wouldn't stand a chance.

However, it's precisely because he's from a collateral branch that he was chosen to cultivate The Heritage of the Sky Devil, Wang Linchi guessed the Shi Family's intentions. If something goes wrong, he can be discarded. If he grows strong, he becomes a pillar.

After all, the matter of the Heavenly Demon is indeed taboo, so it's all developed clandestinely.

After distancing himself from the beast tide and Crouching Tiger City, Wang Linchi found a relatively safe place to start sorting out his gains.

I thought I'd have to grind for the Beast King Shadow Soul Kind myself, but I didn't expect to get it as compensation, he mused.

"[Beast/Shadow Series · Beast King Shadow (Epic Level)]"

"[Beast Shadow: Transforms one's consciousness and spiritual power into the visualized shadow of the Beast King. The image of the Beast King Shadow depends on the Soul Forging Method and Soul Resemblance Soul Kind]"

"[Bodyguard: Upon releasing the Beast King Shadow, Beast King Shadow defense +20%]"

"[Shadow Attack: Upon releasing the Beast King Shadow, Beast King Shadow attack +20%]"

"[Control: The Hundred Beast Series Soul Kind will grant the Beast King Domain]"

"[Beast King: The Hundred Beast Series Soul Forging Method will give the power of Beast Shadow]"

The Beast King Shadow Soul Kind was very straightforward. Its primary feature was its core ability, similar to a special effect enveloping the body. It was essentially an illusion. However, if one inlaid Hundred Beast Series Soul Kinds along with a Hundred Beast Series Soul Forging Method, this illusory shadow would solidify into a real entity.

With the "Dragon Wandering Soul-smithing Art" that Wang Linchi possessed, if he paired it with Soul Kinds of the Hundred Beast Series like Dragon Soul, Dragon Claw Attack, Dragon Scale Body, and so on, he could transform the Beast Shadow into a real dragon. If he added fire into the mix, it would become a fire dragon.

If he continued to pair it with Soul Kinds like Elephant Stabbing and Thick Skin, and also practiced the "Elephant Soul-smithing Art", then he could transform this Beast King Shadow into a Dragon Elephant.

There is a considerable difference between the two Soul Kinds, Beast Shadow and Beast King Shadow. Beast Shadow does not have properties that increase attack and defense, nor does it possess Domain capability. Beast Shadow corresponds to the Battle Beast Species, while Beast King Shadow corresponds to the Beast King Species. The latter has an additional Domain, granting it an extra ability. The Domain ability also depends on the combination of the Soul Forging Method and Soul Kind.

Unless you specialize in it and make it a core, it's useless on its own, Wang Linchi thought. It might be useful, though. What if I combined it with the local Beast Armor Technique?

Hey, it seems feasible, Wang Linchi estimated. Even if he didn't want to engage in close combat, encasing himself in an iron hide to increase survivability seemed viable.

The downside was that this Soul Kind only served a reference purpose and lacked a transformation function. After all, the core ability of a Soul Kind was not something he could change. Unless he changed his cultivation path, this Soul Kind would basically just gather dust.

Wang Linchi looked at the Saint Master. This thing becoming my equipment... seems a bit far-fetched. The main point is, after transforming it, who will engage in close combat and act as a tank? So, the best solution is to build a new one. I need a suitable Beast King Species to provide raw materials.

If the Soul Kind and Soul Forging Method weren't suitable, he could just modify the Beast Soul using the Beast Armor Technique.

Sturdy, durable, and lightweight, Wang Linchi quickly decided on the parameters for the new plugin for the Book of Records.

Then he tossed the item into a new folder, intending to deal with it after capturing a suitable Beast King Species.

He then proceeded to examine the compensation he had extorted from the youth of the Shi Family's collateral branch. Natural Treasures, cultivation resources, Soul Devices, Soul Kinds, and more were all sorted into the Soul Seed Page · Storage Space.

With so many resources, I don't need to worry about whether to max out the Clean Spirit Yin God Training Body Skill first or to reach the First Revolution Golden Core, Wang Linchi estimated. With the resources at hand, it would take at most ten days to bring the Clean Spirit Yin God Training Body Skill to Fulfillment. As for boosting his spiritual power, that would require more time, approximately two months.

With these resources and the aid of cultivation-assisting Soul Devices, even if Wang Linchi were as dull as a pig, his progress would be incredibly rapid. After the First Revolution, he planned to see if he could attain the Second Revolution in another two months.

Although the Shi Family had played their cards well, they hadn't just made empty promises to the youth from their collateral branch; they were genuinely willing to invest in him.

I even suspect that if I had truly harmed him or taken everything, I might have triggered some life-saving items on him, and I would have ended up looking like a fool, Wang Linchi mused.

After tidying up, Wang Linchi prepared to find a suitable place for secluded cultivation and research. Having the Saint Master carry him was much faster than traveling on his own two feet.

Along the way, he could see devastation everywhere. Clearly, the youth from the Shi Family's collateral branch had caused it through a path of blood sacrifices. Basically, there were no intact cities; even some cities that had been assimilated were brutally destroyed.

The Awakeners of the Great View had little sympathy for the indigenous people in the Secret Realm.

The Awakeners of the Great View give me the feeling they're just playing a game, Wang Linchi commented to himself. Wait, in that case, don't the Demonic Inheritance Successors have an even better breeding ground? Apart from the Demonic Inheritance Successors lured to the Seven Realms of the South, other Demonic Inheritance Successors could just go from one Secret Realm to another, performing blood sacrifices. Their growth rate then...

He recalled how he had once easily killed a Secret Silver Level cultivator, yet after a period of growth, that type could actually withstand one of his attacks.

HISS... Terrifying... No, I, at the Black Iron Level, could crush a Secret Silver Level. It seems I'm even more terrifying, Wang Linchi mused. He had originally wanted to remark on how terrifying the situation was, but then he realized he himself was more 'unscientific' than the Demonic Inheritance Successors.

Should I also adopt the approach of the Demonic Inheritance Successors and find a way to accelerate my growth? Otherwise, this slow progress is really too slow. I need a total of 99,999 points of spiritual power just to get started, and right now I only have 3,000. Collecting resources naturally is difficult, but if I were to use people as resources, just like the Demonic Inheritance Successors, wouldn't resources be everywhere?

Forget it. Let's wait until I reach the Mountain Copper Level... Wang Linchi did not want to be hunted down.

Others could do it because they were members of the Shi Family. This kind of massacre was endorsed by the Xian State Provincial Government, and in the Great View, it was completely legal and compliant behavior, termed 'quelling rebels.' If he made such a move, it would truly be a massacre. People are different.

Ah, why wasn't I born into a Big Aristocratic Family? Wang Linchi complained inwardly. He also wanted to act recklessly, but unfortunately, he lacked the backing.

Wait, that's not right! Damn it! Wang Linchi realized something. If The Heritage of the Sky Devil grants the power of the Broken Mystical Land, then when these Demonic Inheritance Successors all mature, what will happen if they shatter the Secret Realms? Wouldn't that be even worse?

Besides, the Shadow Covenant and the Baylong Religion can't be the only ones possessing The Heritage of the Sky Devil; other Evil Cult Forces must have it too. Even Sects and Great Families might have it in their grasp. Take the Hundred Beast Sect, for instance. If it had been destroyed ten years later, when the Xian State Provincial Government moved against them, they might have shattered the Beast Garden Secret Realm. Those magnificent Beast King Species would have a level cap inside the Secret Realm, but once they left the Secret Realm and reached the Great View, that level cap would disappear. It's highly probable a Daylight Level Beast King Species could emerge, and its Domain could easily envelop an entire region!

I'm so tired. Let's find a place... But what is that place over there? Wang Linchi, flying high in the sky, noticed a structure in the wilderness. The building's exterior seemed to incorporate various forms of animal worship, looking somewhat out of place.

Let's go check it out, Wang Linchi decided, sensing a peculiar aura.

The Saint Master quickly carried Wang Linchi to the building. Its overall structure puzzled Wang Linchi; it looked like a temple.

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