Chapter Ten: Unlucky Fate

"Dead, just like that!"

"I am the reincarnation of the Demon Lord; how can there be such a massive gap between me and this guy?"

"Could it be that the path of the demonic is not the righteous way?"

The scene before him left the Demon Lord utterly bewildered. They had hatched from the same nest, and he could accept that the big, fat bird was a bit stronger—after all, luck ebbs and flows, and the next round would surely be his time to shine. But now, Jiang Xuan’s strength was clearly several tiers above his own, and the Demon Lord’s Dao heart began to waver. Even in his previous life, spanning tens of thousands of years, he had never once doubted his own path...

But he quickly dismissed the thought. He wasn't the only one in the nest; there was that little white bird, too!

Just as he was struggling to make sense of it, a massive carcass crashed down before him, kicking up a cloud of dust. The Demon Lord, already plucked bare from the fight, was pelted by sand and stones, squawking and cursing Jiang Xuan incessantly.

"Give it a rest, will you? If your big brother here hadn't shown up, you’d have died a hundred times over by now!"

Listening to the Demon Lord’s inner thoughts, Jiang Xuan was left speechless. He wasn't asking for gratitude, and he didn't expect the little black bird to say "thank you," but he could at least refrain from cursing so foully!

"But why hasn't the system reward arrived yet? Haven't I already saved this wretch?"

"The host must bring the younger brother home to receive the reward!" The system promptly resolved Jiang Xuan's confusion.

"So much trouble?"

"Ah! Damn it! You fat bird, how dare you treat me like this! Ouch, ouch, ouch!"

After a moment of grumbling, Jiang Xuan raised his wing in a sliding motion and tossed the Demon Lord onto his back. Below, Jiang Xuan gripped the massive fifth-order Golden-Armored Snake demon with both talons and took to the sky. Ignoring the Demon Lord’s constant stream of curses, Jiang Xuan flew on.

...

A short while later, Jiang Xuan returned to the nest with his spoils and the Demon Lord.

"Pfft! I have never seen such an ugly bird in all my life!"

"It seems this Monster Forest is truly fraught with danger! If I hadn't been calm enough, I might have ended up like that black bird... disgusting!"

Back at the nest, Jiang Xuan dropped the Demon Lord unceremoniously. After rolling a few times, the Demon Lord landed right in front of the Empress. Seeing his bedraggled state, the Empress couldn't hold back and let out a burst of mocking laughter.

"Ah! You dare laugh at me? You're courting death!"

"Hiss! Ouch! It hurts, it hurts so much!"

Seeing the little white bird mocking him, the Demon Lord’s rage flared, and he raised his wing to strike. But before he could reach the Empress, the movement pulled at his wounds, causing him to howl in pain.

"Ding!"

"The host has successfully brought the younger brother home. Reward granted: Physical talent 'Steel-Reinforced Bones'!"

"Does the host wish to fuse now?"

"Yes! Fuse!"

Without hesitation, Jiang Xuan chose to fuse the physical talent. He knew clearly that while such talents offered no help to his cultivation base, they provided a massive boost to combat effectiveness. Following his command, the talent 'Steel-Reinforced Bones' began to fuse rapidly. Jiang Xuan stood by the nest, awaiting some sort of baptism or cleansing. However, after waiting for a long time, he felt absolutely nothing happening inside his body.

"Wait, System, are you playing with me?"

"Host, the talent has been successfully fused!"

"Successfully fused? Does it only manifest during combat?"

"Whatever, I'll think about it later."

Dismissing the matter, Jiang Xuan turned his gaze to the fifth-order Golden-Armored Snake demon lying by the nest. To reach the sixth-order, he needed at least a million points of spiritual energy. He currently had about six hundred thousand; after devouring this snake, he would surely be on the verge of a breakthrough.

"That big fat bird seems to have had a slight change in aura. Am I imagining it?"

"Regardless, his strength is now beyond our reach. It seems that my plans to escape must be reconsidered!"

Watching Jiang Xuan by the side of the nest, the Empress felt a complex turmoil in her heart. Fellow travelers in misfortune, and she was even a reincarnated Empress, yet she had been left in the dust by this lazy, gluttonous bird—and the gap was only growing! Unresigned, the Empress knew that if things continued this way, she would never be able to dominate this Monster Forest! Only by leaving could she find more resources and a chance to defy her fate!

"Damnable thing! Once my wings are full-grown, I shall surely make my escape!"

"I will never swallow this insult so easily!"

"It seems my luck in this life is indeed poor. If I hadn't encountered that fifth-order snake, I might have already reached the fourth-order!" The Demon Lord, having quieted down, was filled with resentment, yet he had drawn a conclusion from the experience.

In this life, his luck was clearly waning—this was the decree of reincarnation! To break this fate, he must be more ruthless in his plundering! He must absorb the luck of other monsters! Only then could he walk the path of the Dao with stability!

"Truly a Demon Lord; those are some dangerous thoughts."

"Fine, I can't eat this whole snake by myself anyway. I'll share half with you two."

Jiang Xuan heard the thoughts of the Empress and the Demon Lord clearly. He didn't take them to heart; after all, with his cheat, even if these two little ones pulled out all the stops, they could never surpass him.

Just as the Empress was plotting her escape and the Demon Lord was preparing to cultivate, two large chunks of snake meat were tossed in front of them!

"This... Fifth-order Golden-Armored Snake meat, just given to us like that???"

"Is this fat bird serious? Giving away such resources just like that?"

"Hmph, this is your own choice. This piece of meat shall be the stepping stone for me to surpass you!"

Seeing the snake meat, which was nearly as large as her own body, the Empress’s eyes gleamed! Fifth-order snake meat was far superior to the third-order kind; eating this would directly boost her cultivation. If she ate it all, she might even reach the fifth-order herself!

The Demon Lord nearby was equally stunned.

"He actually didn't keep this fifth-order meat! How can there be such a foolish bird in this world?"

"Hmph! Although I am grateful, the moment I surpass you, I will still tear you into pieces!"

"By then, you will regret giving me this piece of meat!"

After letting out a few arrogant squawks, the Demon Lord buried his bald head into the snake meat. The taste of fresh blood made him moan in delight.

"Damn it, if I had known, I wouldn't have given it to you lot! Is this what you call human speech? To hell with it!"

Listening to their thoughts, Jiang Xuan already regretted it. But he didn't take the meat back; instead, he began to eat as well. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could sleep and boost his cultivation.

Meanwhile, in a swamp within the Monster Forest, dozens of snake demons stood tall, their spirits high.

"Comrades, today in the territory of the hawk demons, a family of our kin was slaughtered! Tell me, should we not take revenge and uphold the honor of our clan?"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"