War Horror Archduke treated Chu Kuangren as the vessel of the Devil King. Hence, Chu Kuangren was invited to the archduke's residence and was treated like a VIP. However, the more hospitality he received, the more suspicious he got. The Devil Tribe worshiped the strong, and it was much more obvious than in other places.
Along the way to the archduke's residence, many fights broke out between the devils. Some were beaten to death as well, but no one stopped them. It was all because the winner was the stronger one. Chu Kuangren was a lot weaker than the War Horror Archduke, yet the man treated him with respect and hospitality as if he were a loyal subject.
It raised suspicion in Chu Kuangren.
"Interesting."
Chu Kuangren stayed at the archduke's residence for a few days.
On that particular day, Chu Kuangren was channeling his Devil's Pupil energy.
In order to use the power of the Devil's Pupil, he has to resist the corruption of the wicked thoughts.
Chu Kuangren was training himself with that method in hopes of increasing his resistance toward the Devil's Pupil. Then, it would be easier for him to master it in the future.
A while later, he opened his eyes.
He opened the Fantasy Roulette and did a gacha draw.
"Congratulations, Host! You've won a Transcendent-tier prize, the Soul Barrier."
'Soul Barrier?'
Chu Kuangren looked at it for a while before his eyes glimmered with interest.
It was a Hongmeng-level technique.
The technique would allow its user to form a barrier around the soul for protection. One layer of barrier was nothing stellar in terms of defense, but that particular technique allowed the user to create and overlap multiple layers of barriers.
Theoretically, as long as Chu Kuangren could increase his mastery of the soul energy and be more precise, he could add infinite layers of barrier around his soul.
"This technique is interesting."
He was happy with the prize.
That would be his second Hongmeng-level technique.
The first one would be the Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique that he mastered a while back.
As a matter of fact, with his current power, only Hongmeng-level techniques could provide him with an obvious increment of strength.
Common Grand Dao-level techniques could only help him in battle but not in reaching the transcendent level.
With a thought, he contacted Lil Ai and shared with her the Soul Barrier technique. He wanted Lil Ai to help him to form the Soul Barrier.
In terms of mastery of the soul, Lil Ai was much better.
The best proof was that she single-handedly sealed the Devil King.
Then, Chu Kuangren's consciousness entered his mind realm and started to build his Soul Barrier.
At the same time, he saw the sealed Devil King.
Even though she was sealed away, she looked casual and relaxed behind the restriction seals.
When she saw Chu Kuangren, she chuckled and teased him, "Hey, boy! Long time no see. How are you?"
Chu Kuangren ignored her and started to build his Soul Barrier with Lil Ai.
As layer after layer of Soul Barrier that was as thin as paper was built around Chu Kuangren's mind realm, he felt a strong sense of security. "Is this your precaution for your soul?"
The Devil King knew what Chu Kuangren was doing at first glance. She scoffed and said, "You really do know a lot of things. Let me guess, you're within the Devil Territory right now, am I right?"
"What if I am?"
"Don't tell me they treated you as my vessel."
"They did."
"Huh? Well, if it's the common devils, they might; but if it's the archdukes, those three have been serving me for a long time. They're not that stupid and easy to fool. God knows what they're planning. You should be careful."
Chu Kuangren's eyes widened with realization. "You're the Devil King. If the archdukes saw through me and know I'm not your vessel, they can kill me, take the Devil's Pupil, and release you."
"First of all, you're interesting, and I don't want you to die so fast. Second, this is my current state, and I can't overpower the three archdukes now. If they find out where I am, I might just need to switch cells."
The Devil King knew her subordinates well.
When she was in her prime, she could easily overpower them, commanding them like the most loyal dogs.
Now, she should be grateful that they did not erase her from existence.
"I guess it's right to call you and your men devils," Chu Kuangren said.
Then, he left the mind realm. In a room somewhere in the archduke's residence, War Horror Archduke was talking to someone else.
"Chu Kuangren is at my place, and he does indeed have the power of the Devil King. I just don't know how he used it."
"Is he the King's vessel?"
"No. I would've noticed it if he was."
"Just let him be and bring him over during the Tri-Archduke Banquet. You and I have planned this for so long, and we're one step shy from succeeding. Even if Chu Kuangren has the power of the King, he won't be able to do anything to change the plan." "Alright…"
After that, the War Horror Archduke packed and headed out to meet Chu Kuangren.
He still had to serve the nominal Devil King for now.
In another dark room, an elderly with black wings opened his eyes.
"I have prepared for the Tri-Archduke Banquet for so long. With War Horror Archduke and Succubus Archduke as my pawns, I will be able to control the entire Darkness Tribe. The Devil King's power will be mine!" He was one of the archdukes — Black Feather Archduke.
He was also the friend that Yu Yan mentioned.
Then, a figure appeared behind the archduke.
"Archduke, Yu Yan has completed the Devil Baptism."
"Oh? How did it go?"
"He's strong. The Devil energy and the Darkness energy fused into something amazing. Even I might not be his match anymore."
"That makes him valuable," the Black Feather Archduke said.
He was more confident in his plan than ever. …
After Chu Kuangren left the archduke's residence, two young and beautiful succubus followed him.
War Horror Archduke had sent them to serve him, or in other words, watch him.
"My King."
"My King, you're finally back."
"Great. Now that you're back, the Devil Tribe regains its support. The archdukes don't need to fight anymore."
The devils surrounded him when he came out.
It seemed like the Devil King had a reputation among the common devils.
Chu Kuangren headed to an inn.
Suddenly, he noticed something and looked into the void.
He then said to the succubus, "You two can leave. I want to drink alone."
"Uh… The Archduke has told us to serve you, my King."
"What now? My orders aren't as important as his?" Chu Kuangren's left eye glowed in violet and released a powerful aura.
Frightened, the succubuses shook their heads immediately and said, "We will leave at once."
After they left, Chu Kuangren set multiple restriction seals around the inn.
"It's alright now. Come out."
A figure in a black mantle came out from the void.
When the figure removed his mantle, a familiar face appeared.
It was Heavenly Shadow.
"Master."
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