That very night, the new Khan Chihuo welcomed Lanling into the inner city of the tribe.
Moreover, he personally served as Lanling’s mount.
That evening, within the newly renamed Chihuo Tribe, every centaur gathered in the Sea Demon Fire God Plaza to hold a grand bonfire celebration, marking the rebirth of the Chihuo Tribe, celebrating that all centaurs had finally found their common lord, found their common god, and answered the divine call to conquer the world.
Around midnight,
Inside the tribe’s largest pyramid stood an enormous stone coffin. The former Scarlet Loathing Khan knelt inside it.
The Death Warrior Gou Li knelt beside the coffin. She had come because she would soon help Lanling test his sword.
“Scarlet Loathing, I will drain every drop of blood from your body, then inject my demonic blood into you,” Lanling said. “After you are reborn, you will still retain your memories, and you will become even stronger. However, you will become an extension of my will and almost lose your own free will. Are you willing?”
“I am willing!” Scarlet Loathing replied passionately. “That way I will move one step closer to the pinnacle of this world, one step closer to the gods. Perhaps this has always been my destiny. My violent nature caused me to commit terrible sins and led me to death. Yet this death brings me closer to your world. I believe you created someone like me for this very day. Becoming your Death Warrior is my true rebirth, a far greater honour than ruling a tribe as Khan.”
“You’re right,” Gou Li said. “Once you become a Death Warrior, you’ll realise how laughable your former life was. You will look down upon all living beings because we already stand at the top of this world’s food chain.”
Scarlet Loathing kowtowed.
“Master, please perform the ritual.”
The fanaticism of the centaurs was truly astonishing.
Lanling stepped forward, opened his mouth, revealed his sharp fangs, and bit deeply into Scarlet Loathing Khan’s neck.
Then he began drinking his blood.
Scarlet Loathing Khan stood over five metres tall, nearly ten metres long, weighed well over ten thousand jin, and contained over a thousand jin of blood alone.
Lanling devoured it frantically. Streams of immense energy continuously poured into his body.
However, the moment the blood entered him, it was instantly broken down into pure energy and flowed into the depths of his heart. Otherwise, with a body weighing less than two hundred jin, swallowing over a thousand jin of blood would have caused him to burst apart.
Whenever a Death Warrior had their blood consumed, they were usually filled with terror.
Both Gou Li and Constantine had experienced this.
The feeling of blood draining away and life slipping from their bodies was unimaginably horrifying.
Yet Scarlet Loathing Khan felt nothing but overwhelming excitement.
He almost trembled with exhilaration.
The closer he came to death, the more he felt himself approaching the divine.
The sensation made his entire body shake.
Lanling drank for a full quarter of an hour.
The enormous centaur Khan was reduced to a dried corpse.
He died completely.
Even in death, Scarlet Loathing Khan’s face remained filled with expectation and longing.
Gou Li stepped forward and closed the massive stone coffin.
Lanling sat cross legged and closed his eyes to refine the energy he had absorbed.
Wave after wave of powerful energy surged from the depths of his heart, crashing through every part of his body, his meridians and bones.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The familiar tempering process began.
The immense energy tempered every part of Lanling’s body.
Now Lanling understood even more clearly.
Every time he drank blood, it was actually an exchange of energy.
He absorbed part of the Death Warrior’s energy while granting them his demonic blood, allowing their bloodline talents to become many times stronger than before.
Thus, after becoming Death Warriors, their cultivation and combat strength almost doubled.
Lanling’s own cultivation also increased.
Ten minutes later, Lanling opened his eyes.
The tempering of his body had ended.
He raised his greatsword and slashed fiercely at Gou Li.
“Clang!”
The sound was not loud.
Gou Li’s graceful body trembled slightly.
“Master, after absorbing Scarlet Loathing Khan’s bloodline, your strength has increased by one thousand jin. Your cultivation has reached Seven Star Demon Martial Grandmaster.”
Lanling was astonished.
Scarlet Loathing Khan’s cultivation had truly been extraordinary.
After absorbing his bloodline, his strength had increased by a full thousand jin.
Previously, after absorbing twenty five Demon Martial Grandmasters, his strength had increased by only three thousand jin.
Moreover, the stronger one became, the less improvement each new bloodline provided.
That meant Scarlet Loathing Khan’s bloodline alone was equivalent to roughly fifteen Demon Martial Grandmasters.
It was truly astonishing.
However, although centaurs were incredibly powerful, they also had limitations.
They specialised purely in physical strength, which had an upper limit.
In the Savage World, the truly supreme experts relied upon energy based attacks.
“Master, forget about your cultivation level,” Gou Li said. “You have never studied the Path of Qi. So even if you surpass the peak of Demon Martial Grandmaster, you still won’t be Naishu’s opponent. If you fought him now, he could kill you instantly. But once you comprehend Hell Lightning, killing him will be effortless.”
“I know,” Lanling replied.
Then Gou Li crawled towards him.
Her icy jade hands gently held Lanling’s face as she extended her crimson tongue, licking his face before softly kissing his lips.
At this moment, Gou Li was far more beautiful than before.
Her figure had also become much more alluring.
However, her skin was far too pale, resembling a ghostly beauty, and even her lips had little colour.
She wrapped herself around Lanling and kissed him deeply.
“As a Death Warrior, you still have desires?” Lanling asked.
“Of course,” Gou Li replied. “Don’t forget that you once placed poison inside my body. We are indeed extensions of your will, but as time passes we continue to grow stronger and evolve. When the demonic blood completely merges with our souls, we gradually regain our own will and become free energy beings. Of course, our loyalty to you also reaches its absolute peak.”
“Loyalty exchanged for freedom?” Lanling asked in surprise.
“Exactly. The demonic blood gradually evolves us. It grants us freedom according to the amount of loyalty it senses within us,” Gou Li explained. “That is why every Hell Knight possesses a free, noble, and powerful soul. Their loyalty comes entirely from their hearts. They are not merely walking corpses. Puppets may be formidable, but they can never become truly powerful. Among the twenty six Death Warriors, I have evolved the fastest.”
This explanation delighted Lanling.
He had never liked the idea of commanding a group of powerful puppets.
Provided they remained absolutely loyal, he hoped the Death Warriors would possess intelligence so they could command armies and lead troops into battle.
“Master, my lips are too pale. Could you make them red for me?” Gou Li asked.
Lanling nodded.
Gou Li gently bit Lanling’s chest, drawing a tiny bead of blood.
She licked the drop with her tongue and spread it across her lips.
Immediately, her petal like lips became vividly crimson.
Her breathtaking beauty became even more enchanting.
Then Gou Li rested quietly against Lanling’s chest, gently kissing his chest without doing anything further.
“Gou Li, where did Sisi go? Ever since the battle ended, I haven’t seen her,” Lanling asked.
Gou Li replied, “Naishu demanded that Constantine hand Sisi over, but he refused. He struggled greatly inside. From that moment onwards, Sisi disappeared. However, I believe she will appear before you again before long.”
Lanling asked, “Then how do you Death Warriors increase your cultivation?”
“By devouring,” Gou Li answered. “Drinking blood and devouring it is currently our only way to become stronger. Once we evolve further, we will gain new methods of devouring. My Master, in the future, please do not casually grant your demonic blood. Perhaps you don’t realise how noble and powerful your bloodline truly is. Once you bestow your demonic blood, it is equivalent to placing someone at the very peak of this world’s pyramid.”
Lanling already understood.
In the northern Demon Tuo Empire, Emperor Demon Tuo had single handedly created a perfect hierarchical race of demons, establishing a mighty empire and unifying the entire northern Savage World.
Those whom he had personally embraced all became vampire royalty standing at the very top of that pyramid.
Lanling disliked that idea.
He did not want to become another Emperor Demon Tuo.
He wanted to remain unique.
“You certainly are unique,” Gou Li said. “You and Emperor Demon Tuo may share certain origins, but you are absolutely different from him.”
Then Gou Li gently climbed onto Lanling’s waist and softly kissed him.
“My Master, for the sake of my evolution, please accept my service.”
…
Three shichen later, dawn arrived and the sun rose.
Gou Li had finished serving Lanling.
She had changed back into her alluring black python skin outfit and knelt beside him.
After serving Lanling, she had truly evolved.
Her skin remained snow white, but now it possessed a healthy glow instead of lifeless paleness.
Even the contours of her face had changed, gradually becoming less like a Rakshasa and somewhere between a witch and a human woman.
She had become even more beautiful.
Whether in figure or appearance, she now surpassed Second Madam Sisi.
No wonder the legendary Witch Clan were famed for their dreamlike and magical beauty.
Perhaps it had taken countless evolutions for them to achieve such astonishing beauty.
Boom!
A tremendous explosion rang out.
The enormous stone coffin suddenly shattered apart as Scarlet Loathing Khan stood up.
The first thing he did after awakening was search for Lanling.
Then he immediately knelt.
“Great Demon Emperor, Death Warrior Scarlet Loathing reports for duty!”
Lanling clearly noticed that Scarlet Loathing’s body had become even larger.
Originally he had stood only five metres tall.
Now he exceeded six metres.
Originally his body had measured ten metres in length.
Now it was over twelve.
Clearly, after transforming into a Death Warrior, his cultivation had become far stronger.
Within his eyes, two flames truly seemed to burn.
He differed greatly from Death Warriors such as Constantine.
Constantine and the others were cold and stiff, resembling puppet warriors.
Scarlet Loathing, however, had evolved much further.
Although he radiated cruelty, death, coldness, and killing intent, he was not stiff at all.
Instead, he burned with fanaticism.
Just as Gou Li had said, the demonic blood controlled Death Warriors by exchanging freedom for loyalty.
Scarlet Loathing’s loyalty towards Lanling had reached the absolute limit from the very beginning.
Therefore, the demonic blood granted him considerable freedom immediately, making him appear nothing like an emotionless puppet.
“My brother, do you feel it?” Gou Li asked. “That feeling of looking down upon all living beings, that feeling of drawing infinitely close to the universe?”
“I do,” Scarlet Loathing answered. “Although I know the road ahead remains unimaginably long, I have already sensed it. I can also see how laughable my former life truly was, like a prisoner staring at the sky from the bottom of a well. Now I can follow behind Master, crossing mountains and seas, travelling to the stars and the endless ocean beyond. My Master, wherever your sword points shall forever become the goal for which Scarlet Loathing devotes his life.”
Lanling nodded before pushing open the pyramid’s massive doors.
Outside, more than twenty thousand centaurs had already assembled in perfect formation.
They resembled an endless black ocean.
At that very moment, Lanling’s heart suddenly convulsed violently.
It was as though he sensed something had gone terribly wrong.
He immediately looked towards Gou Li.
“Master, something has happened to the Flame Demon Tribe,” Gou Li said.
As an extension of Lanling’s will, she had sensed it as well.
In truth, it was one of the Death Warriors stationed within the Flame Demon Tribe sending a signal to Lanling.
However, the distance was simply too great.
Only the faint sensation of pain reached him, making it impossible to transmit a clearer message.
Once those Death Warriors evolved further, they would be able to send much clearer messages regardless of distance.
“Chihuo, lead all the centaur warriors north to the Flame Demon Tribe. Escort all the elderly, women, and children to live within the Xieli Tribe,” Lanling ordered.
“Yes!”
The new Khan Chihuo accepted the command.
Lanling turned towards Xieli Khan’s wife.
“From now on, all the elderly, women, and children of every centaur tribe will live within the Xieli Tribe. Look after every elder and protect every child. I will assign two thousand centaur warriors to guard the Xieli Tribe.”
“Yes, my Master!”
Xieli Khan’s wife knelt respectfully.
Lanling let out a sharp whistle.
The golden griffin swooped down from the sky.
Lanling mounted it, while Gou Li sat before him.
“Chihuo, visit every centaur tribe. Make sure all the elderly, women, and children gather at the Xieli Tribe. Only after completing that task are you to lead all the centaur warriors north to the Flame Demon Tribe.”
“Yes, my Master!”
Khan Chihuo replied.
Lanling gently patted the griffin.
The golden griffin spread its wings and soared north towards the Flame Demon Tribe.
Meanwhile, Death Warrior Scarlet Loathing dashed across the ground like a bolt of lightning, never falling behind Lanling in the sky.
…
Three days and three nights later,
Lanling returned to the Flame Demon Tribe aboard the golden griffin.
Death Warrior Scarlet Loathing Khan arrived at almost the exact same moment.
From the air, Lanling clearly saw utter devastation.
The forests surrounding the Flame Demon Tribe had all been burned.
Scorched marks covered every corner of the settlement.
On the ground lay thousands of charred corpses arranged in neat rows.
Every wooden house within the tribe had been burned into ruins.
Fortunately, most buildings in the Flame Demon Tribe had been built from stone and brick.
Otherwise, the entire settlement would likely have been destroyed.
Lanling landed.
Suomo, Xieli Khan, and Death Warrior Constantine immediately stepped forward.
“Master, it was the three headed Chimera Beast,” Constantine said. “The very same three headed Chimera that my ancestors once cast into magma to burn to death has grown into an enormous monster. It attacked the Flame Demon Tribe!”