Chapter 10: Qi

  “Hahaha. I see you’re feeling bold around me just because I’m weakened,” he said jokingly.

  “Of course,” Lokie replied with a grin.

  “But what are you talking about? I always feel bold—whether you’re strong or not.”

  The two continued their conversation for quite some time.

  Eventually, when everything that needed to be said had been said, Lucifer was pulled back out of the throne.

  Back in the throne room, Lucifer called out,

  “Kane.”

  A violent tornado of fire erupted before the throne, and Kane stepped out from within it.

  Lucifer raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the entrance.

  “Looks like you’re already showing off with the Overlord’s grimoire, aren’t you, Kane?” he said.

  Kane placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly.

  “Hah, my lord. I would never dream of showing off in front of you,” he replied.

  Lucifer laughed briefly before his expression hardened.

  “Hahaha… enough.”

  His voice turned cold and authoritative.

  “Go. Tell the Demon Lords to gather here immediately.”

  Kane straightened.

  “By your order, my lord,” he said before turning and leaving the throne room.

  Thirty minutes later, the Demon Lords entered the throne room, Kane leading them forward.

  They stopped before Lucifer, bowed their heads in unison, and then moved to sit upon their respective seats.

  The throne room fell silent once more.

  Kane stepped forward and took his place beside Lucifer.

  “My lord,” Kane announced, “the Demon Lords have arrived.”

  Lucifer, seated in his Demon kingly posture upon the throne, slowly opened his eyes and gazed upon the assembled Demon Lords.

  “As you can all see,” Lucifer began, his voice heavy with authority, “my body is in a terrible state.”

  He paused, allowing the weight of his words to settle.

  “Therefore, the attack on the human world will be halted until I have fully recovered.”

  Murmurs stirred briefly, but Lucifer continued.

  “I will be entering isolated training for the next few years. Until I return, all of you are to oversee and maintain Hell.”

  His gaze shifted slightly.

  “Kane—your duty remains unchanged. You are to look after this castle in my absence.”

  His voice hardened, carrying grave seriousness.

  “Do not fail me.”

  “By your command, my lord,” all the Demon Lords replied in unison.

  Mephistopheles leaned forward slightly.

  “My lord… how exactly will you be training?” he asked.

  Lucifer’s eyes narrowed as memories resurfaced.

  “When we first attacked the human world, you fought against martial artists,” he said.

  “And while I was in the process of rescuing you, I had my hands on one of those martial artists—one from another world.”

  Lucifer’s lips curled faintly.

  “I broke into his mind. There, I discovered a method of gaining power.”

  He let the name linger.

  “It was called Cultivation.”

  The Demon Lords listened intently.

  “The method is unique,” Lucifer continued.

  “That fool of a martial artist only partially understood its true value. And if what I saw in his mind was correct, most beings from his world failed to grasp its real worth—even after reaching high levels within it.”

  Lucifer leaned back slightly upon his throne.

  “They possessed power…”

  A faint smile formed.

  “…but never true understanding.”

  Mephistopheles fell silent. Apollyn, Astarte, and Ammit let out quiet laughs at what they had just heard regarding Mephistopheles.

  “Well, that concludes this meeting. You may all go,” Lucifer said calmly.

  The Demon Lords each had their own affairs to attend to. They rose from their seats, bowed their heads respectfully, and departed the throne room one by one.

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  Lucifer then turned to Kane.

  “Help me to the sixth floor,” he said.

  Kane immediately complied, supporting Lucifer as they made their way upward. Once they reached the sixth floor, they headed straight for the sixth door. It looked entirely ordinary—except for one detail. It was the only black door on the floor.

  Lucifer stopped in front of it and spoke without turning back.

  “You may return now, Kane.”

  Kane hesitated. Leaving his lord to enter an unknown room—especially while he was in such a weakened state—did not sit well with him. Lucifer noticed the hesitation immediately.

  “That is an order,” Lucifer said firmly.

  Kane clenched his fist briefly, then bowed his head.

  “As you command, my lord.”

  With that, Kane turned and left.

  Lucifer stood alone before the black door, his thoughts drifting.

  I wonder why they care so much, he thought. All I did was get thrown into Hell, become its Qing, and do as I pleased—including leading them against the humans in a war they had already lost decades ago.

  He paused.

  The only difference between then and now…

  A faint smirk formed on his lips.

  …is that this time, they were given a chance at revenge—and they succeeded, at least to a certain extent.

  “Hmmm, I suppose humans and demons aren’t that different after all,” Lucifer muttered as he opened the black door and stepped inside.

  The door closed behind him, sealing the room in darkness. Normally, such darkness would have been suffocating—but to Lucifer’s demonic eyes, it posed no problem at all.

  Strange marking’s covered the walls, twisting and overlapping in patterns that felt ancient and unnatural. Yet none of them held his attention for long.

  What truly drew his gaze lay at the centre of the room.

  Two massive stalactites stood opposite each other—one rising from the floor, the other descending from the ceiling. As Lucifer approached, he noticed something hovering above the lower stalactite: a transparent, floating platform, barely visible unless viewed from the right angle.

  He moved closer.

  The moment he stepped within range, glowing runes began to form around the stalactites, one after another, until they completely enveloped them. Before Lucifer could take another step, space itself twisted.

  In an instant, he was teleported onto the platform. His body settled into a cross-legged position, his hands resting naturally upon his knees.

  Lucifer closed his eyes.

  He inhaled.

  Then exhaled.

  “BEGIN!” he declared aloud.

  The room was completely dark, then the symbols etched into the walls began to glow a deep, blood-red. One by one, they ignited, pulsing like living veins. A heavy mist seeped from the floor, crawled up the walls, and swallowed the chamber whole.

  The mist twisted.

  It condensed, sharpened, and formed twelve translucent daggers, their edges vibrating as if screaming silently. Without warning, they shot forward.

  They pierced Lucifer’s body in twelve separate places.

  “Argh—” Lucifer groaned, his body jerking as the daggers embedded themselves deep within him. Agony tore through his nerves, raw and invasive, far more brutal than any wound he had endured on the battlefield. It felt as though something fundamental inside him was being ripped open and rearranged by force.

  So this is it… forcefully opening my twelve meridians, he thought, his jaw clenched.

  I didn’t think it would hurt this much.

  The misty daggers dissolved, evaporating into nothing as quickly as they had formed. The red symbols dimmed slightly, their glow now steady and watchful, as if waiting.

  Lucifer exhaled slowly, steadying his breathing despite the lingering pain that burned through his body.

  Now then… let’s remember how cultivation from that other world actually works, he thought.

  The cultivation realms are as follows: Mortal Body, Spirit Ocean, Transcendent Realm, Saint Realm, Lord Realm, Qing Realm, Demi-God Realm, True God Realm, Heavenly Realm, Heavenly God Realm, Heavenly Emperor… and finally, Overlord.

  From the Mortal Body to the Spirit Ocean, it is only a single step.

  But once you enter the Saint Realm—that is where cultivation truly begins.

  From the Saint Realm to the Lord Realm, there are three stages: Novice, Intermediate, and Peak, and each of those stages is divided into ten lesser stages, Lucifer thought.

  Those cultivators… they removed the impurities from their bodies instead of recycling them. No wonder they were never able to go beyond the True God Realm, he realized. I’ll be using the impurities in my body to strengthen my cultivation instead.

  Lucifer steadied his breathing and began to cultivate.

  The moment he did, the entire room reacted.

  Red mist exploded outward from his body, flooding the chamber in violent waves. The symbols on the walls flared brighter, and a thick, oppressive barrier formed around him, sealing him in completely.

  Pain surged through his body.

  His flesh began forcefully expelling impurities—dark, viscous substances pushed out through his skin like smoke mixed with blood. His body screamed in protest.

  But Lucifer didn’t let them leave.

  Through sheer will, he dragged the impurities back into himself, forcing them to circulate through his meridians again and again. Each cycle felt like molten iron being poured through his veins. His bones trembled, his muscles tore and reformed, and his vision threatened to go white.

  So this is the price… he thought grimly.

  The red mist grew denser, spinning faster around him as the recycled impurities were broken down, refined, and absorbed. The pain didn’t lessen—but his body hardened under it.

  Then—

  Something snapped into place.

  A deep, heavy sensation settled into his core, as if his body had finally acknowledged the path he was forcing upon it.

  Lucifer had stepped into the Mortal Body Realm.

  He continued cultivating, and as he did, he began absorbing the red mist that blanketed the entire room.

  The moment the mist touched his body, it surged toward him as if drawn by a starving beast. It poured into his skin, seeped into his meridians, and flowed straight toward his core. Fortunately—or perhaps by design—the mist proved to be the purest form of nourishment for cultivation, especially for demons. It was thick, violent, and heavy with power, and every breath Lucifer took dragged more of it into him.

  The pressure inside his body mounted rapidly.

  Only a few short minutes passed before something shifted.

  With a dull internal roar, his cultivation surged forward, and he broke into the Spirit Ocean Realm with almost insulting ease.

  Lucifer’s brow furrowed as he felt something new forming within him. Deep in his abdomen, an energy sphere condensed—small, dense, and spinning slowly. He instantly recognized it from the fragmented memories he had taken from the martial artist.

  So this is the Dantian…

  The Dantian was the core of a cultivator, the place where natural energy absorbed from the surroundings was stored. Each breakthrough happened when the Dantian reached its limit and violently expanded—shattering outward and reforming into a larger, stronger version of itself.

  As Lucifer observed it, a strange sensation welled up inside him.

  A subtle but unfamiliar power gathered within the Dantian, faint yet undeniable. It moved differently from demonic magic—smoother, calmer, yet carrying a sharp edge.

  “So this is Qi,” Lucifer muttered.

  Qi—the refined energy of cultivators.

  Although the amount within him was still minuscule, he could feel it clearly, coiling inside his Dantian like a new-born serpent. The sensation sent a thrill through him, sharp and intoxicating.

  Excitement flickered across his face… but it vanished just as quickly.

  This level was nowhere near enough. Not even close.

  Lucifer’s attention briefly drifted to the red mist still flooding the room. It had grown thicker, heavier, pressing against the barrier like a living tide. But since it was accelerating his progress rather than hindering it, he paid it no mind.

  He resumed cultivating.

  This time, filling his Dantian took longer. The energy resisted, demanding more mist, more pressure, more pain. In response, the red mist grew denser still, spiralling violently toward him. As he absorbed it, his cultivation speed surged once again, the power flooding into him at an almost frightening rate as his Dantian strained, expanded, and screamed for more.

  His Dantian filled at a terrifying pace.

  The swirling Qi inside it thickened and compressed until the pressure became unbearable. Fine cracks began to spread across its surface, glowing faintly as if molten light was trying to escape. Half of the Dantian was already webbed with fractures, yet Lucifer did not slow down. He dragged even more of the red mist into himself.

  The Qi surged violently.