True Insight

“The true power of a giant dragon, unbelievable.”

Samuel, who had been closely observing the battlefield from the rear, put away his staff. This archmage, normally known for his composure, felt a confusion inside him that matched Nolan’s.

What he had just seen—a slime wielding dragon power—directly challenged fifty years of arcane knowledge he had built.

Samuel fell into deep thought, his mind rapidly flipping through memories of magical lore and rumors.

Although he had left the south for twenty years, his understanding of changes in the Dawnlands was no less thorough than that of local mages.

He had heard that the Holy Silver Kingdom in the Dawnlands harbored a secretive school of mages who probed the bloodlines of magical creatures, reportedly able to grant humans monster power or alter monster bloodlines.

Could it be...

A tremor ran through him as he considered a possibility.

Might this slime be the magical pet of some legendary mage? Its presence here—was it part of an experiment?

The more Samuel thought, the more plausible it seemed.

So that was it.

Suddenly everything clicked, and he connected all the clues in his head.

The rapid rise of that monster nation and their conquest of the swamp and the Dark Realm likely relied on the backing of a legendary mage.

Those monsters moved too orderly to be a naturally formed horde; someone must be guiding and observing them.

In other words, their assault on the Slime Kingdom was essentially an act against that legendary mage.

At the thought, even usually calm Samuel felt a chill down his spine.

But as someone capable of bargaining with Merchant Alliance councilors, Samuel quickly realized this was an opportunity to return to the Dawnlands.

If his experiment caught the favor of that mysterious legendary mage, not only could he return to the Dawnlands, he might even gain membership in some high-tier assemblies.

An invitation to the mage conclave.

What would that mean?

Access to the private notes of those who had studied magic for millennia, the chance to use magic workshops and fissure channels reserved for insiders, and the opportunity to write his name into true magical history—rather than being a mercenary for a band of merchants.

Samuel’s heart fluttered; his fingertips trembled slightly, just like the first time he had touched a staff as a youth.

An invitation to the conclave was less an exchange and more a ticket into a new magical world.

No one knew how much knowledge and wisdom those legendary mages hoarded.

Samuel’s resolve to leave the Merchant Alliance hardened, though how to leave required careful planning. At minimum, he had to deliver a result that would satisfy that legendary mage.

......

As for the architect of all this, Chen Yu crouched on Yano’s shoulder, half his body already restored to the slime’s round, rolling shape.

Outwardly he kept a calm, noble demeanor, preserving the dignity expected of a king, but inside his heart he was quietly bleeding.

That was pure gold! Solid gold!

A golden arrow worth tens of thousands of gold coins had been crushed by him—maybe even more—and could feed Big Brother Slime for months.

Is this the price of showing off?

Chen Yu fretted.

He tried to maintain an air of dignity, but couldn’t help releasing a bubble that popped with a “pfft,” as if inscribed with complaints of “what a loss, what a loss.”

“Boss, you were amazing just now.”

Yano’s voice pulled him out of his self-pity.

Chen Yu immediately readjusted his posture, puffing his body back into a perfect round. He nodded modestly with his gel head, a small, stylish movement.

“Mm, it was just a small display.”

“Stand here and hold position. I’ll deal with that archer.”

Having said that, Chen Yu calmly puffed out his belly. The flying sword bore his round body and slowly rose, leaving Yano with a solitary silhouette.

From behind it looked like a floating sphere, but Yano clearly saw more.

“As expected of the boss,” Yano said with admiration.

Chen Yu rode the flying sword forward and met Nolan’s gaze across the distance. The captain of the Blood Oath Legion immediately realized the danger.

Oh no, he’s been marked by the Demon King!

Nolan yanked on the reins; his warhorse neighed and spun about.

He no longer cared for the two Extraordinary warriors trapped in the blizzard ahead. Nolan dug his heels into the horse and tore open a magic scroll at his waist.

The scroll’s magic surged into the warhorse. Its hooves burst with dazzling light as its speed instantly doubled.

But it still wasn’t enough.

Nolan pulled out another scroll—the Wind’s Wing—which granted brief gliding to the horse.

He ripped the scroll and translucent wind-element wings formed on either side of the mount. As it ran, it began to lift, and speed rose again.

Still, Nolan felt it wasn’t sufficient.

To stop that terrifying slime Demon King, Nolan braced on his saddle, turned, drew his bow, and loosed an arrow that split into many, instantly forming a golden rain over the canyon.

Summoning Arrow Array

But such a skill was no match for Chen Yu.

Kunyuan Foundation Establishment Chapter

Chen Yu merely raised his little gel hand and the canyon floor trembled violently.

Rocks rumbled like a slumbering beast waking. Cracks spread across the ground, stones rolled and leapt, then...

The earth surged up.

The golden arrows struck a wall and erupted into showers of golden sparks. Debris flew, dust filled the air.

When the dust slowly cleared, Nolan turned and saw a towering wall standing in the canyon, completely blocking the once-wide gorge. It merged with the surrounding cliff faces as if the canyon had never existed.

Nolan’s heart nearly stopped.

What kind of magic was this?

A dirt-wall technique? No.

An earthquake spell? Also no—earthquake spells didn’t work like this.

He had never seen such a casting method, nor could he imagine how a slime could master a spell of this caliber.

But there was no time to ponder, because the slime had already passed through the wall.

Not climbing over, but passing through.

It simply merged into the wall like a droplet merging with a water surface.

This form of earth-phase tunneling exceeded Nolan’s understanding—no gestures, no incantation, just a seamless transition.

Unbelievable.

Nolan drew his bow again. Another golden arrow streaked out, its shaft burning with golden magical flames, leaving a dazzling trail.

Chen Yu didn’t speak. He simply lifted his little gel hand a finger’s breadth.

Three more towering walls rose. They grew directly from the canyon walls on both sides, intersecting to form layer after layer of barriers.

Golden arrows struck, piercing through two walls before lodging deep into a third.

Chen Yu continued tunneling through the earth and steadily closed the distance to Nolan.

At that moment Nolan’s reinforcements arrived.

“Captain Nolan, I guess this is your first time facing something like this, huh?”

Lucas realized the horror of the slime Demon King and mounted a flying construct to assist.

He drew five long spears from his back, kicked off, vaulted high from the construct, and hurled the spears toward Chen Yu.

To Lucas, this Demon King’s ability to withstand golden arrows must stem from some dragon magic he hadn’t seen before.

Usually, monsters with strong magical power lacked high physical defense and resistance—besides, this was just a slime.

A slime is nothing but gel, with almost zero defense.

Its defense was likely its biggest weakness.

After throwing five spears, Lucas adjusted in midair, reached for a spare short spear at his waist, ready to land and start a second volley.

But Chen Yu barely glanced at him.

Primordial Chaos Qi Absorption True Explanation

Water Arrow Technique

Reinforced by Primordial Chaos Qi Absorption True Explanation, Chen Yu gathered the surrounding vapor into a water column over three meters in diameter in the blink of an eye, like a dragon’s breath roaring toward Lucas.

The five spears were struck head-on by the water column and blasted away. Lucas narrowly avoided being struck by the column’s edge.

He slammed into the rock face, rebounded, kicked off, and leapt again. Drawing his short spear, aided by a levitation scroll, he soared and hurled another spear.

Piercing

The spear seemed poised to puncture the seemingly soft slime.

At the same moment, Nolan completed his counterattack preparations.

He braked his horse, planted his feet, forming a stable triangle with the mount, and notched a plain-looking black arrow.

Drawing his longbow to full, his eyes locked on Chen Yu.

Focus

Precision

Extra Attack

Full Power Infusion

In that instant, he felt his muscles swell, his veins burn, his soul poured into the arrow.

A ranger’s arrow had never been this keen.

He felt like he was back in the days of hunting monsters in the forest—when a petrifying lizard charged him and, at the brink of life or death, he was just as focused.

The bowstring released.

Two arrows flew almost simultaneously, simple and silent as they cut through air, one after the other, aimed at Chen Yu’s location.

At that moment Chen Yu seemed unable to react, yet his shadow flickered and his body reappeared several meters away.

Both arrows missed and embedded into the cliff face. There was no dramatic explosion, but the shafts slid into the rock with a hiss, penetrating deeply and leaving two finger-thick holes.

Looking up, one could see the arrowheads reflecting a faint glow where they pierced out the rock.

Lucas’s spear also fell into empty air. Before he could adjust in midair, the slime had already revealed its most terrifying demon form.

Primordial Chaos Qi Absorption True Explanation

Mana Siphon

Magic Muscle

Chen Yu’s gel belly formed a miniature black hole that siphoned surrounding mana. His gel gradually shifted from jade green to deep purple.

His body visibly expanded, from half a meter to one meter, two meters, three meters—

Thud!

He slammed onto the ground with weighty force.

The impact sounded like a giant’s step, making the whole canyon tremble. Centered on him, the ground cracked outward, fissures spreading like a spiderweb for tens of meters.

The cliff faces shook violently, huge chunks of rock tumbled down. millennia-old strata began collapsing, dust billowing into the sky. Wailers’ Gorge truly wailed for the first time.

Seconds later, when the dust settled, Lucas could clearly see the sight before him.

A colossal figure stood in the canyon.

It shimmered a deep purple, the gel surface twisting like stormclouds. Merely standing there it triggered lightning and thunder, warped mana flows, and stirred primal fear in men’s hearts.

Worse, Lucas realized his once-proud power attributes were pitifully insignificant before this Demon King.

“Mm!”

The giant emitted a low snort.

Then a gel hand swept across.

The slime had grown larger than Lucas himself. Its motion seemed slow, but he found he could not evade.

Bang!

He tried to resist but felt as if struck by a full-speed dragon. He was flung, slammed into the rock face.

First his armor cracked, then his ribs, then pain, and finally blackness.

This was his last thought before losing consciousness.

Nolan witnessed it all.

He saw Lucas struck and watched the Demon King turn its gaze toward him.

Instinctively, he drew and fired a golden arrow.

The massive golden shaft struck Chen Yu and lodged in the gel.

Then the Demon King looked at the arrow embedded in its body with a puzzled expression. With a casual tug, the gel hand plucked out the arrow.

It was as nonchalant as removing a thorn.

The Demon King tossed the arrow aside and continued bounding toward Nolan.

Each bounding step shook the ground and left deep pits, yet its speed did not slow.

Magic muscle rippled across Chen Yu’s gel body. If the previous Demon King form had been an air-filled balloon, now he was a solid metal sphere. The bloated gel no longer felt like a burden but brimmed with power.

He moved like an agile gel orb.

With the aid of Primordial Chaos Qi Absorption True Explanation, he felt he could maintain this state indefinitely.

Another improvement, Chen Yu thought with satisfaction.

But...

He glanced at his massive body.

Purple to the point of blackness, debuting with special effects.

Why did he feel increasingly evil-looking?

Like a true Demon King.

At worst, at least a boss.

He decided to ignore it for now.

Demon King or not, the allegations against him were already plentiful.

He bounded again and landed just ten meters from Nolan.

Thud!

The ground violently shook. Nolan’s footing slipped and he tumbled from his horse.

The warhorse collapsed, frothing, unable to stand.

Chen Yu looked down from above at Nolan with an evil gaze, eyes full of ill intent.