Kael was certainly not afraid. Not only of cultivating three demonic arts—even cultivating more than ten vastly different arts wouldn't scare him. The reason he was unafraid was because he was now cultivating the Primordial Heavenly Demon Chapter.
He had said before that whether it was the Soul-Devouring Art, the Blood River Art, or the Heavenly Demon Canon of the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, all were supreme techniques pointing directly to ascension and immortality. But Kael understood more deeply: though these arts seemed different, if traced back, they all had one origin—
The Primordial Heavenly Demon Chapter.
This art was the end of all demonic techniques, the ancestor of them all. Every demonic art given to Kael by the cultivation system originated from this chapter. It was left behind by the Supreme Heavenly Demon, its content vast and unimaginable. Many who read it gained unique insights, leading to the creation of different demonic arts.
Some arts complemented each other, some were completely opposed, yet all came from the same source. The Primordial Heavenly Demon Chapter was not a technique to be practiced directly, but rather an exposition of the demonic path— a statement of the Supreme Heavenly Demon's cultivation philosophy. Everyone who studied it gained something, creating new arts.
Kael studied it too, and his insight was: all methods return to the source. His Primordial Heavenly Demon Chapter could contain all demonic arts. Under his guidance, the Soul-Devouring Art, the Blood River Art, and the Heavenly Demon Canon were merged into it. Their respective powers—Soul-Devouring mana, Blood River mana, and Emotional mana—were fused together.
Three distinct forces combined under Kael's control into a new power. He called it Heavenly Demon Mana, or simply mana. This force carried the abilities of the three arts, yet was purer.
Though his cultivation remained at Second Rank Upper, unchanged, his mana was far more refined. Even without a change in rank, he estimated he could easily defeat his former self. The difference was vast.
If nothing went wrong, Kael would continue cultivating more demonic arts, merging their powers into Heavenly Demon Mana. This would make it purer, surpassing any single art's power. In the end, he could become a demon lord greater than any in the cultivation world—if he could reach that step.
After finishing cultivation, Kael leapt up, checked his phone, and found several days had passed. That was the drawback of cultivation—what felt like a short while was actually days. He remembered entering the Metaverse on Sunday, but now it was Thursday.
Looking around, he saw Goro was gone, likely having left to eat. Though Kael had made him a blood puppet, Goro was still human, needing food and water. Kael, however, could sustain himself with mana alone.
Ignoring Goro, Kael ventured deeper into the Metaverse. He had stayed near the entrance, absorbing twisted desires to cultivate. Now, with the Primordial Heavenly Demon Chapter complete, it was time to explore the Palace of the Masses.
The Metaverse was much like in the game—vast passages, rail tracks, and shadows wandering. These shadows were humanity's negative selves, manifested here. Twisted, full of desire, they were perfect nourishment for Kael. His chapter, merged with the Heavenly Demon Canon, could devour desires to strengthen himself.
Seeing the shadows, Kael attacked without hesitation. His mana swept out, capturing one shadow, reducing it to a black pellet the size of a fingernail. He swallowed and refined it, feeling a faint increase in mana. Though small, it was real.
Refining one shadow equaled one to three days of hard cultivation. Though weak, Kael was pleased. The Metaverse held countless shadows—Tokyo's millions of people had created them. Too many to count.
So Kael unleashed himself, slaughtering shadows, capturing and refining them. His cultivation rose visibly.
Days passed, and by Sunday, Kael had devoured countless shadows, reaching the peak of Second Rank. He was one step from Third Rank. But then he was stuck.
He wasn't surprised—he wasn't born a demonic prodigy or with a special physique. Being blocked by a bottleneck was normal. He wasn't worried, knowing many ways to break through.
The first was to find a strong opponent, devour their soul, flesh, and emotions, turning them into nourishment. That way, he could break through to Third Rank. He had used this method before, devouring a god to advance from First to Second Rank.
But gods weren't easy to find. Using this method again wasn't realistic. Strong beings wouldn't submit to being devoured.