Chapter 2

"Master, I will go ahead. The grace of the lady is something I cannot repay in this life. In the next life, I will repay my wish to serve you and the lady again."

At the far left of the execution platform, the emaciated old man said with a bitter smile, looking at Xiang Chen without any regret or resentment for being implicated.

His name was Uncle Ming, the old servant who had served Xiang Chen since he was a child, always loyal. Xiang Chen treated him like a close elder.

"Ha ha ha ha, Great Consort, Lin Lian, I will not let you off even if I become a ghost."

Uncle Ming looked up to the sky and laughed bitterly and fiercely.

"Uncle Ming, no..."

Xiang Chen screamed.

"Poof..."

Under the blade, a head fell.

"Uncle Ming!"

Xiang Chen's eyes were bloodshot with rage.

"Uncle Ming... Ah..."

The girl beside Xiang Chen cried out in terror.

The girl was extremely delicate and lovely, and would surely grow up to be a beauty. She was Xiang Chen's personal maid, Hongxiu.

"Master, I'm scared, I'm scared, I don't want to die. Hongxiu still wants to serve you..."

Hongxiu trembled and wept.

However, another blade fell mercilessly, and the pure girl splattered blood, like a blood-red rose falling on the execution platform.

"Hongxiu... Ah..."

Xiang Chen's throat was raw from shouting, tears streaming down his face, his voice hoarse and choked.

"What did they do wrong? What crime did they commit? If you want to kill, kill me. What crime did they commit? Hongxiu, Hongxiu, she was born a human, what crime did I commit? What crime did they commit?"

The young man's head hit the ground with a thud, and he roared to the sky, his eyes bloodshot.

"Boy, being born a human is not your fault, but unfortunately, you were born into the wrong family."

Xiang Quan sneered, "What a pity for Hongxiu, tsk tsk."

"When you were critically injured by a demonic beast, my mother saved you with a spirit pill. Why, why didn't you say a word to clear my name? Why did you follow and harm me?"

Xiang Chen shouted at Xiang Quan, his words mixed with blood. Was it from his raw throat or his broken heart?

"Because I also want to live. I am grateful to the Second Consort for saving my life, but the Great Consort can take my life. If I don't rely on her, I will die. Young Master, your death will allow many to live because of you. Consider it a good deed, so you should die."

Xiang Quan whispered fiercely in his ear.

"Ah..."

Suddenly, he let out a scream as Xiang Chen bit his ear.

"You little beast!" Xiang Quan screamed in pain, kicking Xiang Chen to the ground and clutching his bitten ear.

"Kill him, execute him, kill him!" Xiang Quan roared.

The executioner raised his blade.

"Brother Eight, I was wrong. I underestimated the evil of human hearts. You were right. In this world, the most vicious are not demons, but human hearts. If I get another chance, even if I become a demon, I will not be such a weak human."

At this moment, Xiang Chen suddenly said with a sad voice.

In that instant, space and time seemed to freeze. The executioner's raised blade was suspended in mid-air, not falling.

Xiang Quan's cold expression, and everyone's expressions of hatred and disgust, were all frozen in time. The wind, time, and space all seemed to stop.

"Do you finally understand?"

A voice sounded indifferently, and a figure slowly appeared from the frozen crowd.

It was a pig! Its fur was shiny, black and white, and its body was strong. Its eyes shone with a profound light, as if it could see through everything in the world, including human hearts.

"Four years ago, I told you that you were a natural demon. I asked you to cultivate with me, but you refused because you despised the demon path. Now do you understand? In this world, without power and strength, you are just meat for others to carve. Family will be lost because of your weakness, and dignity will be trampled. Do you still want to be such a weak human, or a powerful demon?"

The black and white pig spoke, looking at the young man.

"I finally understand. I want power, Brother Eight, give me power. I don't want to be weak anymore, I don't want to be manipulated by others' plots, I don't want my family to be bullied, and I don't want my dignity to be trampled. I don't want to be a weak human who can't protect anything, even if it means becoming a demon, I want power!"

The young man roared, the timidity and fear in his eyes instantly vanished, replaced by a desire for power, dignity, and the protection of his family, and the ferocity in his bones.

He did not belong to this world. His soul came from a civilized world that respected life. In his previous life, he was an ordinary young man who had never killed a chicken, but he died unexpectedly and came to this world. Heaven did not give him the peak of life or a noble identity, but the body of a demon that everyone despised in this world.

Four years ago, he experienced the coldness of the world because he could not cultivate spiritual energy. In this world of martial arts, where the strong prey on the weak and strength is paramount, being unable to cultivate spiritual energy made him a waste.

The world has spirits, and humans refine spiritual energy into their own power, known as true qi. Those who master true qi are called martial cultivators or cultivators.

Based on their strength, martial cultivators are divided into several realms: the Body Realm, the Spirit Treasury Realm, the Innate Realm, and the Primordial Yang Realm.

The higher the realm, the better the status in this world. Powerful martial arts can control the life and death of others, earning respect and power.

He was gentle and kind to everyone around him, but the result was that after learning he was a waste who could not cultivate, he was ridiculed and belittled by those around him. However, even so, he still had a loving mother, sister, Uncle Ming, and he did not want to become a devouring demon.

Now, his mother was confined to the cold palace, his sister was forced to marry a man she did not love, and his adoptive sister betrayed him to join the enemy. His gentle and timid heart finally died at this moment.

"Ha ha ha ha, well said. If being a weak person who cannot protect loved ones is better than being a cruel demon who can protect what you love, fairness and justice, the balance of the world, should not be controlled by others but by yourself!"

The big pig laughed, its eyes filled with madness.

A golden bead the size of a thumb emerged from its mouth, emitting a golden light and a fierce energy that could move mountains and fill seas, destroy the sky and the earth. This power could make people fear and respect.

"Swallow it!"

The big pig said indifferently.

Xiang Chen did not hesitate and swallowed the bead.

Boom...

As soon as the bead entered Xiang Chen's body, a terrifying force surged into his spirit meridians, as if boiling oil had entered his spirit meridians and poured into his body.

"Ah..."

Xiang Chen roared, feeling excruciating pain from within. The energy surged like a thousand horses galloping, almost shattering his spirit meridians. Blood seeped from his pores, and a violent energy erupted, shattering the iron chains that bound him.

His body could not withstand this energy and began to swell, like a balloon about to burst.

"Brother Eight, I am in so much pain, ah..."

Xiang Chen screamed, the endless pain almost overwhelming his reason, driving him mad.

"Endure it. If you can't bear this pain, how can you change your fate? Do you still want to be a worm that others trample on?"

The big pig shouted, its eyes fixed on Xiang Chen's dantian.

However, Xiang Chen's body continued to swell, almost bursting from the terrifying force.

At this moment, a nine-colored light suddenly emitted from Xiang Chen's dantian. Inside his dantian, a small black tripod cauldron emitted a nine-colored light.

The cauldron was ancient and simple, with ancient patterns of insects, fish, birds, and beasts carved on it. One of the beast patterns suddenly brightened, absorbing the terrifying energy from the golden bead and refining it into a force that Xiang Chen's body could accept.

"Ancient cauldron, I knew you wouldn't abandon him!"

The big pig sighed in relief, then looked at the young man with envy and jealousy. The thing it had fought hard to obtain had benefited this young man.

The violent energy in Xiang Chen's body finally calmed down. Xiang Chen returned to normal, his hands on the ground, panting heavily, sweat pouring down his face.

A terrifying force flowed within him.

"Next, it's up to you, Xiang Chen. Break through the encirclement. Remember, you are no longer that powerless, weak person, but a powerful demon!"

The big pig's voice sounded indifferently. It put away a silver mirror and turned to leave, walking out of the frozen crowd.

Whoosh...

In that instant, the world returned to normal. The wind continued to blow, time continued to flow, and the crowd continued to curse and shout for his execution.

"Boy, in your next life, be a good person."

The executioner sneered, raising his blade, which contained immense power, capable of decapitating a bull, let alone a human like Xiang Chen.

"Kill him!"

The crowd roared madly, their eyes filled with ferocity, eager to see the young man's head fall.

Is this world full of evil human hearts, or are demons more vicious?

Swish...

However, when the blade was about to strike Xiang Chen's neck, he caught the blade with one hand, stopping it from falling.

A self-mocking voice sounded: "Be a good person? No, I've had enough of that!

If no one is willing to stand up for justice, then I will become a demon to clear the world.

If this heart in my left chest is tainted or manipulated, then before everything happens, I will not keep this dirty, wavering soul. In this life, I will be a demon!"