Lu Zicheng opened his eyes to a vision of blood-red chaos.

A burly man stood imposing in front of him, towering at two meters tall. His muscles were like knotted iron, his rugged frame trembling with suppressed might. Turning his head, he grinned ferociously, "Brother, I saw the entire fight just now. I don't know why you had to go all out against him, but your sword skills are impressive—damn cool! Leave the rest to us!"

His eyes brimmed with murderous intent and madness on the verge of losing control.

With a resolute thumbs-up, he whirled around and charged headfirst into the expanding Qi Realm!

"Boss!"

The Butcher roared, stamping the ground with a force that sent him soaring skyward!

The Qi Realm of a Fifth-Order World King—nearly indestructible to low-level Ascenders.

However, the Ghost Slayer Path was an exception!

The core ability of the Ghost Slayer Path was the Power of Space-Time!

When enough temporal-spatial havoc was wrought upon this Void, the entire space would crumble and collapse. Everything within would shatter—no exceptions!

On a nearby shipping container, a girl wearing a cat-faced mask strummed her guzheng, her pale fingers plucking the strings. Waves of sound, cascading like an oncoming tide, blasted forth and shook the Void!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The Void fractured like a mirror, its crisscrossing fissures spreading wildly. Space itself shattered!

The rapidly expanding Qi Realm collapsed along with it!

The Butcher seized the fleeting opportunity, diving forward like a maddened beast. The Qi within him boiled like molten lava, blending seamlessly with his unbridled strength as he unleashed a cannonball of a punch!

At the same time, the Scholar from behind summoned a tempest of Elemental Turbulence—hail and firestorms intermingling amidst flying debris and howling winds, infused with an oppressive mental force!

The three joined forces, their focus locked on the mutated monstrosity among the ruins!

BOOM!

Yan Wu, midway through his grotesque transformation, was sent hurtling through the air by the combined assault of Elemental Turbulence and mental might. His hard carapace shattered, revealing charred flesh streaked with blood, and his internal organs spilled grotesquely from his abdomen.

At the threshold of Quasi-Divine Servant Transformation, the Scholar's combat prowess bordered on the Fourth Rank!

The guzheng's melodies suddenly accelerated, resembling the explosive burst of shattering silver vessels!

Under the storm's chaotic fissures, countless deep, jagged wounds appeared on Yan Wu's body. His throat was torn nearly open, falling just short of a complete beheading!

The Butcher delivered the final blow—a punch unleashed with earth-shattering might, reversing the rain as his force rippled through the damp air!

CRASH!

Yan Wu was sent flying by the Butcher's crushing strike. The terrifying Qi Force penetrated his body, caving in the massive shipping container behind him as blood burst outward like crimson mist, painting the rainstorm in gore!

"Finish him, now!"

The Moon Princess hesitated not an instant. She swiftly stowed away her guzheng, her petite frame becoming a fleeting phantom, darting through the rainstorm like a ghostly shadow. In the blink of an eye, she crossed a hundred meters distance.

Most who trod the Ghost Slayer Path were melee combatants. She, however, wielded her peculiar guzheng to perform ranged attacks, avoiding close encounters unless absolutely necessary—especially against a Fifth-Order World King.

But now that the guzheng's spirituality had been depleted, she had no choice but to gamble on closing the gap!

"Boss, I've got your back!"

The Butcher bellowed, "Stay behind me!"

Like a raging bull, he charged forward, smashing through countless containers on his way to the target!

At that moment, he caught sight of a monstrous figure—half-human, half-snake—racing alongside him.

"You?!"

He exclaimed in shock, "Scholar?!"

The Scholar rasped, "Orders from the Supreme. Now finish that thing!"

In mere moments, the three closed in on the collapsed container!

And yet, in that split second, the unexpected occurred!

A roar, inhuman and filled with fury, erupted from Yan Wu's throat. His spine, splitting skin and flesh, extended outward like a dragon's, as blood-soaked exoskeletons burst forth from his body. Crimson dragon horns sprouted grotesquely from his head!

Dragon Transformation!

Thunderous dragon roars drowned out the storm, his pupils morphing into eerie, scarlet slits!

"No!"

As a Quasi-Divine Servant, the Scholar could feel the magnitude of this power—but it was too late!

BOOM!

His Rank was simply too low. Even with his enhancements elevating him to the Fourth Rank, he was overwhelmed by a surging wave of wild Qi Force. Blasted into the tumultuous sea, he vanished amidst towering waves.

The Moon Princess skidded to a halt, her sparkling eyes trembling violently. She drew a dagger from her sleeve and slashed at the Void.

Fierce rifts flared briefly, tearing into the oncoming Qi Realm.

But it wasn't enough!

Though the rifts created small openings in the Qi Realm, it continued surging forward unimpeded.

Then, the Butcher, roaring, barreled into the fray, hurling the girl aside with brute force!

CRASH!

The Butcher bore the full brunt of the impenetrable Qi Realm. He crumpled under its crushing weight, the sound of his bones shattering echoing like thunder. His organs seemed to rupture as he spat a mouthful of thick, metallic blood.

With a wet thud, he crashed into a container and slumped like a battered ragdoll, his body drenched in blood.

"Well, looks like this is how it ends for me."

He muttered hoarsely, "Good thing I had insurance."

The Butcher's head lolled to the side, as if death had claimed him.

"Butcher!"

From afar, the Moon Princess clutched her guzheng, barely holding her ground, her eyes brimming with murderous intent.

Amidst the crashing waves, the Scholar watched in abject horror.

Even Lu Zicheng, kneeling in a blood-soaked daze, was stunned as he raised his gaze to witness the scene.

Because Yan Wu… was no longer Yan Wu.

Or rather, Yan Wu had ceased to exist entirely.

Consumed wholly by the lust for slaughter, his consciousness was obliterated. Crimson slit eyes glinted atop a face marred with grotesque bone protrusions, his mouth split wide with razor-sharp teeth drenched in blood. His body was covered in crimson scales, and a spiked dragon tail lashed wildly behind him!

Divine Servant Transformation!

Dragon Transformation!

"See this? This is my ultimate masterpiece—the Ancient God Gu! By merging the shedded remains of an Ancient God with active bone and blood tissues, I've cultivated a new species. It serves as a substitute for the Ancient God's Blood, granting true evolution… while erasing the host's consciousness and implanting my will instead."

The Nightmare Master spoke softly, smiling. "Yan Wu was a fool. He never suspected my plan. By the time he realized, the Ancient God Gu had already devoured him entirely."

Silence.

The Moon Princess stared coldly at him, clutching her guzheng warily.

The Scholar crawled out from the sea, his eyes filled with terror yet unwilling to retreat.

Finally, Lu Zicheng, dragging his Tang Blade, staggered to his feet and rasped, "So this was your real goal? Nightmare Master, you want to mass-produce… your own Divine Servants?"

"Technically, not exactly Divine Servants," the Nightmare Master replied coolly. "After all, I'm already a Divine Servant. I merely shared my evolution with Yan Wu while eradicating his self-awareness. That's all. Yes, you could call it soul usurpation. The difference is, I can usurp anyone and become everyone!"

The Nightmare Master smiled faintly. "I never intended to use the Blood Demon Gu to ascend. Even reaching the Holy Land Level wouldn't make me stronger than the association or Dusk's Holy Land elites. But today, I'll implant the Ancient God Gu into all of you, and this is just the beginning. You'll all become my slaves, walking together on the Evolution Path."

"My body will continue to evolve, spawning more Ancient God Gu to assimilate everyone else."

"Your allies are intriguing—they caught me off-guard. If not for the Ancient God Gu perfectly merging with Yan Wu, you might've actually stopped me. And what's even more fascinating is that there's a Quasi-Divine Servant among you."

His slit pupils gleamed with greedy intent. "But alas, incomplete evolution. Moreover, a bonded Divine Servant and an unbonded one are worlds apart."

For an instant, dread gripped all their hearts.

"Because with that great being's power behind me…"

The Nightmare Master raised a finger to his lips. "What comes next is Ancient Divine Language!"

BOOM!

The world seemed to shatter.

The Moon Princess collapsed onto both knees, clutching her ears in agony as if her mind were unraveling.

Lu Zicheng's Tang Blade trembled violently in his grip as he propped himself up with great difficulty, blood seeping from his orifices while his consciousness spiraled downward.

The Scholar, in his Quasi-Divine Servant state, resisted slightly better due to his elevated lifeform tier.

But his entire body trembled uncontrollably, verging on collapse.

The world plunged into silence—a descent into Hell. All was fading into irreversible ruin.

No one noticed as the seemingly lifeless Butcher stirred amidst the carnage. With unimaginable effort, he forced his blood-red eyes open. His vision appeared fissured, as if the world itself was fracturing before him. Crimson light poured through the cracks.

From a distant realm, a voice of boundless authority echoed faintly.

"Butcher, rise."

On the edge of death, the Butcher seemed to fall into hallucination.

He envisioned kneeling within a pitch-black tomb, an abyss of shadows. A golden sarcophagus burned with apocalyptic flames, and a godly presence peered down upon him, its radiant golden slit pupils scorching like the Sun.

"—Welcome your rebirth."

With an earth-shattering roar, the world crumbled apart.

Yet the Butcher felt as though… he was being reborn!

·

·

As the Nightmare Master uttered that cataclysmic syllable, the entire port disintegrated into dust. The containers disintegrated into powder, the ground withered into dust, and the monstrous waves fragmented and dissipated.

Everything dissolved into nothingness.

The Scholar's body erupted in blood, his Quasi-Divine Servant power fading rapidly. The incomplete nature of his evolution meant he couldn't fully endure the Ancient God's Blood nor ascend into a higher lifeform.

Lu Zicheng was certain this was his end. His body emitted tortured wails under the immense strain, blood gushing from every pore as he collapsed backward in despair, supported only by his blade.

The Moon Princess, teetering on the brink of death, held no fear in her gaze. Her eyes seethed with murderous resolve fixed on the Dragon-Transformed figure, committing his appearance to memory.

But then, in the heart of silent destruction, a corpse stirred back to life.

For a brief moment, everyone froze.

Even the Nightmare Master's slit pupils flickered with apparent surprise.

It was a towering and hulking figure.

Yet, it could no longer be called human.

Crimson Qilin horns jutted from his head, and his dark golden slit pupils gleamed with savagery and bloodlust. His face was masked by a carapace of crimson bone, his body covered in scarlet dragon scales, with a spiked dragon tail swaying menacingly behind him.

Part Dragon, part something else!

This was... a Qilin!

This was the Butcher!

In a single moment, he had evolved!

What's more, under the ruinous command of the Ancient Divine Language, the Butcher endured unscathed—even standing!

"This… this is true evolution!"

The Butcher bared his fangs in a deranged grin, dripping with malevolence. "You're a Divine Servant? So am I. Your Rank may be higher than mine, but clearly… the being you serve is weaker than the one I serve!"

For an instant, an ethereal shadow of divine majesty reflected in his dark golden slit pupils.

It was an ancient and imposing Black Qilin, roaring toward the heavens, its kingly wrath surging forth!

The Butcher erupted into laughter, unbridled and manic: "Now it's my turn… Ancient Divine Language!"

BOOM!

[ps: This book is exclusively available on the Qidian app. Next chapter releases at 11:30 PM~]