The Black Skin Demon King was both shocked and furious.
This new Demon King was simply too unreasonable.
‘You freaking come to my territory, and you don’t even bother to send someone ahead with a formal greeting? We’ve clearly never met before, so why the hell are you charging at me the moment we cross paths? When did I, Black Skin, ever offend you?’
He thought for a long time but could not remember ever provoking such a person.
He wanted to ask what was going on and why the other was attacking him, but Zhang Zongnian’s assault was too fierce.
Handled and flustered, he could only scramble to defend himself, unable to spare a moment to speak.
Zhang Zongnian attacked Black Skin with a flurry of punches and kicks, his heart growing slightly anxious.
After taking action, he suddenly felt his power showing signs of decline.
He suspected it was because he had forcibly increased his cultivation to the Condensed Core Early Stage.
His power was extremely unstable to begin with, and his frantic rush to Erlong Mountain—flying at such high speeds—had consumed too much of his energy.
Consequently, the power in his body was beginning to fade sooner than expected.
He could not help but quicken his movements, wanting to subdue the Black Skin Demon King as quickly as possible to save Lin Xue and the others.
However, although the Black Skin Demon King had been caught off guard by the initial onslaught, he had lived for several hundred years after all.
He had experienced many battles of all sizes and possessed extremely rich fighting experience.
He soon stabilized his footing and began to trade blows evenly with Zhang Zongnian.
Lin Xue felt the pressure on her heart lighten significantly when she saw the new Demon King attack Black Skin without a word.
She wondered what kind of grievance this young Demon King had with Black Skin.
Seeing how every move was a ruthless strike aimed at the Black Skin Demon King’s vital points, it seemed he harbored a deep-seated hatred.
Lin Xue secretly cheered for him in her heart, intensely hoping that the young Demon King could kill Black Skin.
Red Yan Zhi stood beside Lin Xue, her hands clenched into fists, her face full of tension and excitement.
Hua Yingying, Xiao Mili, and the others, as well as Li Tianyu, were also surprised and delighted.
Every one of them hoped the new young Demon King could defeat Black Skin.
Only Guo Shan Feng, who was kneeling to the side, had complex feelings.
He did not know whether he should hope for Black Skin’s victory.
After all, Black Skin had ruthlessly stripped him of his title as Chief, kicked him hard, and even said he would be punished for his incompetence earlier.
If Black Skin won and drove away the young Demon King, his punishment would still be unavoidable.
Remembering the methods Black Skin used to punish his subordinates made Guo Shan Feng shiver.
If the young Demon King won, perhaps he could escape this ordeal.
Guo Shan Feng actually began to faintly hope that Zhang Zongnian would defeat Black Skin.
However, the battle did not tilt according to the hopes of the crowd.
The Black Skin Demon King was, after all, holding a weapon.
Compared to the bare-handed Zhang Zongnian, he held a significant advantage.
He brandished Lieyun, several times putting Zhang Zongnian in perilous situations where he was nearly pierced by the blade.
Zhang Zongnian secretly regretted not borrowing a good weapon from Lang Buping before coming here.
He excelled in Swordsmanship; his hand-to-hand combat skills were only mediocre.
Currently, he was merely relying on the power of a Demon King.
Although his martial arts were lackluster, his punches carried staggering power, and Black Skin did not dare to take them head-on.
Although the Black Skin Demon King’s Swordsmanship was average and he was old and frail, he managed to fight to a draw by relying on the advantage of his weapon.
‘If I had brought a sharp sword with me, I probably would have already cut this old wild boar down.’
The two sides traded blows, locked in a stalemate for the time being.
Zhang Zongnian felt the speed of his power loss becoming more and more obvious.
He grew even more anxious.
The Black Skin Demon King could afford to stall, but he could not.
If he could not subdue this old wild boar now, it would be even more impossible to kill him once his power faded.
His only chance to save Lin Xue would be missed.
He had to hurry.
Zhang Zongnian thought that to save Lin Xue, he would have to use his last resort.
This method was the one Mouse One had instilled in him: Burning Demon Core to obtain explosive, powerful strength.
Zhang Zongnian knew very well that since his cultivation was already forcibly boosted, he would face a severe backlash afterward.
His realm would drop significantly, potentially even back to being a common mouse.
If he used the technique of Burning Demon Core on top of that, he would surely die, without even the chance to be a common mouse again.
‘Should I really do this? Trade my life to save Lin Xue?’
There was a hint of hesitation in Zhang Zongnian’s heart.
He knew how rare it was to have seized the body of a common little mouse and still find his way back onto the path of Cultivation.
Now that he had the Wan Shu Chao Yuan and had learned the Beast Refinement Codex, his future could be said to be limitless.
His future could have been a steady climb—Lesser Beast, Grand Demon, eventually becoming a true Demon King, or even a Demon Venerable or Demon Emperor.
But if he used this move today, everything would turn into a fleeting dream.
‘Is it worth it?’
Zhang Zongnian turned his head to look at Lin Xue, who was standing not far away, watching his battle with the old wild boar with a face full of anticipation.
She was still so beautiful, so moving. Every time he saw her, his mood became exceptionally wonderful.
Over the past few days, he had been longing to return to Lin Xue’s side, longing to see her again.
Now that he had seen her, this wish was finally fulfilled.
Seeing the expectant look in Lin Xue’s eyes, Zhang Zongnian made his decision immediately.
He directly chose the path of Burning Demon Core.
He felt it was worth it.
If he did not save Lin Xue today and allowed her to be used for Yin-Yang Harvesting and ruined by that old wild boar, he would never forgive himself.
He would live in regret for the rest of his life.
Even if he became a Demon King or Demon Emperor in the future, the memory of what happened to Lin Xue today would plunge him into deep self-reproach and pain.
To avoid such pain and regret, he resolutely made his choice.
Lin Xue saw the young Demon King suddenly turn his head to look at her just as the battle with Black Skin reached a stalemate.
This glance was filled with deep emotion and a hint of reluctance, feeling like a final farewell.
Lin Xue was stunned. She vaguely felt that this young Demon King seemed to know her.
But she had never seen him before.
It had been less than two months since she traveled to this world, and she could count the people she knew on her fingers.
She was absolutely certain that among the people she had dealt with, there was no such young and handsome Demon King.
‘Could it be that this young Demon King has mistaken me for someone else?’
Lin Xue thought that must be the case.
Red Yan Zhi leaned in and whispered, “Do you know that Demon King?”
Lin Xue shook her head and said, “I don’t. Perhaps I just look like a girl he knows.”
She continued to watch the battle between the two Demon Kings.
Suddenly, she noticed that after the young Demon King looked at her, his aura surged violently, and a terrifying power erupted from his body.
His attack power instantly skyrocketed, making him look like a completely different person.
The Black Skin Demon King immediately felt the immense pressure and began to lose his footing.
He was greatly shocked.
However, having lived for several hundred years, he was experienced and understood that using such a method usually came at the cost of damaging one’s own body, and such a berserk state would not last long.
The Black Skin Demon King made a feint, turned his rear, transformed into a gust of black wind, and shot into the sky, intending to flee back to Erlong Mountain.
There was a Protective Array in the mountain.
As long as he escaped back inside, this Demon King who had appeared out of nowhere would have no way to deal with him under the cover of the array.
He only needed to wait for the duration of the other party’s secret technique to end and for his body to become weak.
Then, he could counterattack and turn defeat into victory.
At that time, he would capture the Demon King and find out exactly who he was and why he was biting onto him like a mad dog.
As Black Skin flew into the sky and was about to dive toward Erlong Mountain, Zhang Zongnian naturally would not let him leave like that.
He transformed into a streak of green light and gave chase.
Due to the explosive power generated by Burning Demon Core, his speed was several times faster, and he easily caught up with Black Skin.
He made a wide circle in the air and then accelerated to slam violently into the Black Skin Demon King.
The two streaks of light collided heavily.
Boom!
A shockwave swept through the surroundings.
A strong wind blew against them, causing Lin Xue’s long hair to fly wildly in all directions.
Following a scream like a pig being slaughtered, the black light dissipated.
The Black Skin Demon King’s form was revealed as he fell from the sky, crashing heavily toward the ground.
As he fell, Lin Xue felt the ground tremble slightly.
Zhang Zongnian followed closely behind, extending his fist like a sharp spike, smashing down toward the Black Skin Demon King on the ground.
His speed was incredibly fast; almost as soon as the Black Skin Demon King hit the ground, the attack had reached his face.
The Black Skin Demon King widened his pig-like eyes, watching Zhang Zongnian approach at high speed as a punch slammed heavily into his neck.
Crack!
The Black Skin Demon King’s throat bone shattered.
He clutched his throat as the sensation of suffocation immediately overwhelmed him.
Terror appeared in his eyes.
‘No! No! No! I am a dignified Demon King, and I’m going to die like this? How is that possible? I want to live! I still want to harvest more demonesses! I want to live for 500 more years!’
The Black Skin Demon King struggled, his face full of resentment.
He kicked his legs, and his breathing gradually ceased.
Afterward, he reverted to his original form—an extremely fat, black-skinned wild boar.
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