Mao Lei Forest was where even the most trained outer disciple might die if they ventured too far.
Su Lang was sitting on a large stone on the outer ring, his body naked apart from his loincloth, all his things hanging from the branch above him to avoid a mess like his first breakthrough.
'It seems that girl took my Pure Yang Essence that night...' He felt slightly strained when trying to breach the walls into the second Layer.
*Crack*
His bones began to creak and sounded close to breaking when he tried to force his impure Qi into the second Layer, the Outer Core.
"Damn... Haa....ha...."
This was his third failed attempt, and he was getting impatient before closing his eyes and remembering memories.
'Take my time... watch the rat's memories... use the novels even if they were made up, there is wisdom in those pages...'
"What does cultivating mean... Why is the first cycle the Earth, Second the Sea and third the Moon and fifth the Sun...."
Su Lang closed his eyes, ignoring the sounds of the forest, the dark leaves and tree's swaying around his body as a small whirlpool began to form around his body—he could feel it...
The essence of what he was doing.
"Without the Earth, there can be no Sea—without the Moon, there is no Waves but chaos on the Earth... and without the sun, there will be no life..."
A moment of clarity... thanks to some strange information titled "Scield Exam 204" helping Su Lang to realise there was more to the world than what he saw and knew.
His breathing became shallow as the inner core began to leak a small amount of the impure Qi swirling around his core to form the slightly soft outer Layer...
After one rotation, the Layer grew thicker.
Su Lang's nose began to bleed while dirt and pus seeped from his body's pores.
After two rotations, the Layer became more robust and solid.
Small amounts of black blood and tar started to follow the pus and red blood while his muscles tightened and relaxed, convulsing with random spasms, causing his face to scrunch in pain.
"Ugh... focus... Su Lang!"
31 rotations, and the Layer formed a large sphere that enveloped the inner core as his Qi freely cycled between the two.
However, the cores began to change colour from the light blue he saw in the lessons from all the teachers to a dark... demonic Raven black that even the light couldn't penetrate before a strange technique entered his mind as a sharp spike rammed into his brain.
Su Langs's head snapped back as he chanted the words and instructions but in reverse.
While in that state, his body began to flow with a black Qi like a fireplace crackling as the embers danced in the chimney's draft.
Su Lang's eyes were closed, his lips chanting the words in reverse while a dark, demonic fire danced around his arms, forming a strange ethereal gauntlet.
This was the first Layer of the Demon Emperor Battle Body.
[The Emperor's Fists of Demonic Rage]
While in this wonderful state, as this black flaming Qi completely burned away the impure Qi in his body, the amount was less, but it was swirling inside his Earth Core like a river making it condense but retain the same power.
It would likely take slightly longer to reach the Third Layer, but with the devouring properties of his flaming Qi, that was no worry.
*Crack!*
The entire stone below him cracked from where he was sitting, Su Langs's eyes snapping open as his flames burst out, torching around him.
Even his loincloth was mercilessly burnt.
Proving his leaving his clothes above him was smart!
However, Su Lang didn't look at that.
Instead, his eyes fixed on a beautiful woman, her black hair shimmering under the moonlight... a sense of deja vu as her sharp eastern blade sliced through the air.
She was under attack!
Thus he moved to help!
Su Lang wasn't in love with her, rather indebted... But The fire of her Pure Yin essence awakened his technique and allowed his body to reach such great levels!
He owed her this much for a night of pleasure!
Little did he know, his Pure Demonic Yang cleansed the bone, eating poison in her marrow...
And she was the one who initiated their evening of passion.
***
[??? POV]
A woman was darting through the woods, her blade covered in dark blood as she flipped off the branch and dodged an incoming blade light from the darkness.
"Haa... fucking two-faced bastards... Because I've lost my purity, he wants to kill me."
She had been approached by an inner Disciple several times during her 3 years as one of the top 10.
At first, she treated the man as a joke, but over the 3 years, he used vile tricks to kill more than 6 of the top 10...
"Hong Mei! You have shamed me, you slut!" The male chasing her shouted, his sword slicing through the air aggressively.
Now he was ranked just 2 below her and bought one of her friends to poison her body with a poison that would slowly weaken her.
'Shit... that little handyman... and his huge...!' Hong Mei thought to herself as she felt a sense of frailty, her demon fire not fully recovered from the night with him.
*Tap-Tap*
Her body wasn't fully recovered and managed to reach the First Layer of the Sea Cycle thanks to the other evening when she used a male disciple she presumed would die soon after...
'That poison was supposed to kill him... Yet his Pure Yang Essence was too strong... making me break through... It's hard to hate him.'
She hopped back, lifting her sword as a bloody flame surrounded her body, the beautiful crimson light forming a mantle around her legs and arms, crushing the ground with each step as her movements became like the raging wind vanishing and appearing metres away the next moment.
'But he took my precious flame... Mother said no human can learn of our demon heritage.... demon cultivation is different from being a demon!'
Hong Mei lost her focus momentarily, a huge lightning bolt striking where she would land before sending her flying.
Blood spurted from her mouth as burns formed around her body, burning her robes as she feared the worst of falling from more than 30 feet in the air...
'Shit...'
Closing her eyes, she focused her Qi around her organs to avoid fatal damage from crashing against the rocks below.
*Rustle, Catch!*
When suddenly, the impact never came... Warm, muscular arms caught her.
Hong Mei opened her eyes, still feeling pain from the lightning—however, the handsome boy who entered her eyes... It was him...
The boy that she slept with...
His arms and eyes glowed with a demonic flame... but it was the same as her blood flame... the two merged, dancing happily as if long separated lovers or spouses...
Before she could say anything, his black eyes looked at her with a calm but meaningful glare.
"Can you fight? I am only in the Second Layer of the Earth Cycle; I can only block his blows. You must attack him... My Qi cannot break through his Third Layer Mantle defence."
Her eyes opened wide; the lovely red orbs took back at this boy...
'What? Second Layer... in 3 days!? How!'
"You.... that flame..." Hong Mei said weakly before his finger closed her soft red lips.
"Thank you, I would have died without your precious fire. That is why I will fight to the death here to repay you."
"!!!"
'What is this boy!?' He let her down, but her chest was shaken... the memories of that night and her unbearable bliss... turning away, she grabbed her sword tight.
"Okay, let's fight together."