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A child sat in a meditation position, draped in stolen golden silk clothes taken from a challenger who had dared cross him. Around him, a 20-meter radius was utterly barren, devoid of life or aura. His eyes were closed, and his face held a calm, contemplative expression. Unlike the others who buzzed with activity and emitted visible traces of mana or energy, he seemed utterly still, as though detached from the world.
"It's been a while since I've properly checked my body," thought Asmodeus as he redirected his focus inward.
The first discovery he made was about his energy veins. They were something he had been unable to observe before due to his body's prior inability to withstand the sheer intensity of his soul sense. Now, however, his body could just barely handle it, providing him with a clean, vivid view of his inner workings.
There were 101 energy veins in total. For any other human, this number would have been astonishing—a testament to their unmatched genius and compatibility with mana. Such a person would likely attract the attention of all of humanity, perhaps even weaker gods, who might fight over claiming them as a champion.
To Asmodeus, however, this was meaningless.
The number of veins didn't matter. If needed, he could carve more into his body. The current count of 101 was simply the maximum his body could handle at the moment. At the same time, it was the minimum number of veins for anyone possessing a mid-level purity dragon bloodline, as he did.
He then shifted his attention to other parts of his body that had undergone reinforcement or fusion with mana.
First were his bones. Each cell within them radiated vitality and mana. They were reservoirs of immense energy, so much so that Asmodeus had to exert semi-conscious effort to prevent them from bursting like overfilled balloons. Yet for him, this task was as effortless as breathing.
Next was his brain. It was entirely infused with mana, its structure so altered that if someone were to remove it from his body, it would appear as transparent as a flawless diamond. This transformation enabled his staggering thought process but only just barely.
Finally, he focused on his heart—or rather, where his heart used to be. Now, it had become something far beyond a simple organ. Its form was entirely invisible, undetectable to the naked eye. Even soul sense could perceive it only as a vague blob of energy resembling a heart. This transformation was caused by the core now situated just above his stomach.
All of his energy veins were connected to this core. The closer the veins were to it, the more invisible they became. The further they extended, however, the more golden they appeared, almost as though corrupted by external mana. But this was not corruption. Rather, it was an adaptive process within his body—a rapid evolution triggered by external stimuli.
His mana had undergone a profound transformation. It now allowed external mana to enter his body through his pores, guiding it into his veins, where it was condensed into a solid form. The pure mana produced by his core would then erode the less refined external mana, creating a balance between the two forces.
These discoveries, impressive as they were, paled in comparison to a revelation that struck him like a bolt of lightning.
"Interesting... so I was wrong?"
He had believed his core to be his soul core, but that was not the case. Instead, it was a generator—a mechanism that used a minuscule amount of his [Existence] to create exceptionally pure energy, enabling his body to withstand the overwhelming power of his soul.
This process was made possible by the dual influence of his dragon bloodline and human bloodline. The former granted him unparalleled adaptability and regeneration of [Existence], while the latter provided a unique capacity for evolution. Together, they created a perfect, harmonious system.
One might wonder how someone as brilliant as Asmodeus could have made such a basic mistake. The answer lay in his origins.
Demons, particularly high-ranking ones, are not born solely from hell's energy. Their creation is a convoluted process. A mortal soul, for instance, might die and reincarnate repeatedly in hell until it could no longer be reborn. Once discarded by the system, such a soul might remain dormant for thousands of years, accumulating energy and eroding into a fragment of [Existence]. Over time, this fragment would mix with the ambient energy, eventually giving birth to a demon.
If the soul was particularly strong, it might create a demon with the potential to become a high demon or even a half-step high demon. Such demons, unlike their counterparts born entirely of hell, retained traces of their mortal origins and were not wholly evil.
These demons also possessed unique souls, which did not take the shape of their physical bodies. Instead, their bodies acted as shields—a first line of defense for the vulnerable soul within.
However, this race of demons carried a singular flaw: they were undead. Not alive like mortal demons and not truly dead, they existed in a paradoxical state, often misunderstood as simply being "dead."
Asmodeus had previously belonged to this race. This background had made him accustomed to sensing a soul core within his body, leading him to misinterpret the nature of his current core. His mistake had been compounded by his reliance on energy mastery rather than direct observation of his inner workings.
Now, with his body fully examined, he turned his thoughts to higher matters. He contemplated the nature of his soul, the concept of [Existence], and the path that lay before him.
Unfortunately, his introspection was interrupted five hours later by a booming voice that shattered the silence.
"Enough rest, kids! The sixth trial is about to begin!"
Asmodeus slowly opened his eyes, the glow of mana dimming around him. His moment of peace was over, but his thoughts, sharpened and refined, lingered like embers in a dying fire.