There was a shadowy palace in the Ten-thousand Great Mountains.

The fortress was badly lit, and two silhouettes could faintly be seen. One of them was sitting on the throne, looking loftily at the other person who was lying on the floor.

“Demon Sovereign. Hahaha. Your wishful plans were foiled! The Heavenly Wolf Sect is still standing strong, while your undercover agents are all dead. Hahahaha! Cough, cough!” said the person on the floor with a hoarse voice.

But the Demon Sovereign laughed indifferently. “My plan to destroy the Heavenly Wolf sect...” The Demon Sovereign sat on his throne and looked down at the other. “ You think it failed? I don’t think so!”

“No matter how powerful evil becomes, the righteous will become more powerful! Evil will never overcome the righteous! Your failure is just the beginning. Soon, the righteous factions will eradicate all the demons in the Ten-thousand Great Mountains,” the person on the floor restated.

It was difficult to distinguish that person’s gender from the hoarse voice; it sounded as though the person’s vocal cords were severely injured.

The Demon Sovereign tapped his throne with his fingers. “Those demon underlings?” he said, “Let them die! The most important thing is that I caught you. That’s the key to the demons’ flourishing. And you actually turned into a demon? Then the Heavenly Wolf Sect will soon be destroyed. Ha! Once the sect is eradicated, the other immortal sects will become negligible!”

The person on the ground said with an icy tone, “I? Demonized? Cough cough. Demon Sovereign, don’t even think about making me submit to you!” 

“Once you become a demon, there’s no turning back! The change is irreversible. From now on, you are part of our Great Yin Demon Sect. Hahahaha!” The Demon Sovereign cackled.

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Heavenly Wolf Sect! Sword-study Peak!

Wang Ke tallied all the plundered spirit stones, medicines, enchanted artifacts and flying swords. While his eyes looked ecstatic, Zhang Zhengdao envied him greatly; despite believing that Zhang Shenxu’s storage bangle contained great treasures, he was still unable to open it.

“Thank you, Princess Youyue, for helping me open the seals of those storage items. Let’s do this… The eight thousand pounds of spirit stones you owe me from detonating my flying sword when we killed She Tianba will become your remuneration; you don’t have to return it to me anymore!” Wang Ke offered generously.

“Eight thousand pounds of spirit stones? Wang Ke, aren’t you desperate for money? How could you cancel the princess’ debt? This is impossible! This is not like you! Eight thousand pounds of spirit stones! You should have told me, I could have helped you!” Zhang Zhengdao was bewildered.

Wang Ke rolled his eyes. You think I’d get you to unlock those password locks?You think I’m crazy?Look at how desperate you are for money! I can’t even imagine how much else you’ve stolen from me.

“Wang Ke. I understand now. I knew there was something between you two. You must have become attracted to the princess, so you chose her intentionally. You want to pursue her?” Zhang Zhengdao asked with glowing eyes.

“What are you talking about!” Princess Youyue was annoyed, but her face blushed a little.

“Don’t expo... Don’t talk rubbish! The princess and I are innocent. She is pure and clean, how dare you slander her!” Wang Ke glared at him.

“Am I wrong? You would normally go to great lengths just to bargain for just one pound of spirit stones. Now, you’ve just let go of eight thousand pounds of spirit stones! Eight thousand pounds! You are really chasing the princess at a great cost!” Zhang Zhengdao was determined to expose him.

“Get lost. If you continue to slander the princess, I will go ahead and inform my revered teacher to remove your Guest Elder status!” Wang Ke shot back with a glare.

“Humph! I’m not afraid!” Zhang Zhengdao looked back and forth between the two of them.

“I will head out first and find a room to settle down.” Princess Youyue could no longer stand their conversations; she stomped out of the great hall.

Wang Ke attempted to chase Zhang Zhengdao out. “Okay, Zhang Zhengdao, you should also leave. My revered teacher gave me virtue merits to dispel my bad luck curse. I’m going to absorb them now.” 

“Wang Ke, why don’t you give me eight thousand pounds of spirit stones? I promise not to leak a thing about your affairs with the princess!” Zhang Zhengdao said as he laughed.

“Do you think I’m worried about you telling others? I, Wang Ke, am a crooked foot unafraid of a straight shoe! Ptooey! I mean, a straight foot unafraid of a crooked shoe! It doesn’t matter if you spill the beans!” Wang Ke rolled his eyes.

“This is the Petty King that I know! Damn you for not giving me even one pound of spirit stones! Ptooey!” Zhang Zhengdao harrumphed angrily as he stomped out of the hall.

“Remember to give me back Zhang Shenxu’s storage bangle after you extract the stuff inside!” Wang Ke shouted as Zhang Zhengdao left.

Zhang Zhengdao shot a stare back at Wang Ke—the iron rooster—before finding himself a place to settle down.

“Bang!”

The gate was shut loudly. Wang Ke found a cultivation mat and sat down; he crossed his legs before he took out the ball of merits Chen Tianyuan had given him just then.

The outer layer of the merit ball was a protective seal made by the Immobilizing Radiance Mirror. Still, Wang Ke was able to sense the merit’s affinity toward him, as though it belonged to him.

“My revered teacher said to just allow the merits to enter my body…” Wang Ke talked to himself while he pondered.

With a light effort, he popped the bubble seal and the merits in his palm seemed like they knew him; they suddenly turned into a stream of golden light which buried itself into Wang Ke’s body.

“Ahhh!”

Wang Ke’s body gave a sudden start, followed by an immense sense of comfort. His mind became multiple times clearer, as though all the fading memories were brought back to their former clarity in an instant. At the same time, he felt he had uncovered some mysteries; he was about to break through and advance his cultivation after being stuck at a bottleneck for a long time. Such a feeling was indescribably wonderful. Wang Ke was deeply immersed in it.