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Translator: Tamon
Su Junyu listened before coming to a decision: “Mid Awareness Stage demons, two of them. Per the rules, I can’t get involved. You’re on your own.”
Demons had a particularly contrasting cultivation than humans. With the presence of spiritual energy, the animals of Divine Province had the chance to adhere to the breath of the world and draw in spiritual energy, bit by bit. This negligible amount of spiritual energy triggered an animal’s mind and soul, awakening and taking them on their first step as demons. The process was purely up to the animal in question. If fortune favored it, it would walk the path of a demon. This was the case of the first generation of demons, of course. Concerning modern demons, the great majority had demon parents, as such they could trigger their innate demon talent and physique from birth.
Demons needed a certain amount of demon energy to awaken. The natural process of gathering this energy was dubbed the Awareness Stage. An Awareness demon’s demonic energy was the same as a Qi Refining cultivator’s spiritual power. However, the demons at this stage awakened their innate talent, making them harder to beat.
Going beyond the Awareness Stage was a period of accumulation, hence the name Accretion Stage. It was followed by the Demon Core Stage. The two stages were similar to humanity’s Foundation Establishment Realm and Golden Core Realm.
Going further, demons gained the ability to control their bodies and change their appearances. This was known in ancient times as the Shifting Stage and the Freak Stage in today’s age, though cultivators and demons were all united in sensibly forgetting this hiccup.
Humans had no special skill at the Qi Refining Realm, suffering greatly in a fight against an Awareness Stage demon. The two Awareness demons were a real threat to Wang Qi’s team.
Wang Qi took a deep breath. “How would you three fare in combat right now?”
Wu Shiqin showed regret: “The recent distraction made me discharge all spiritual power, and I can’t fight for the time being. Too bad…”
“Shut it! You’re saying it’s too bad you don’t get to fight some primates? You’re the reason we’re in this mess!” Wang Qi’s anger flared. “Zimiao, what about you?”
Mao Zimiao’s eye shone with eagerness. “I just advanced a stage in my cultivation method, nya! I can… I feel far stronger than before, nya!”
Wang Qi held his head. “I just knew dyscalculia couldn’t be quantified… Fine, you take one, and I take one.”
A certain meager and frail youth raised his hand and said, “Brother Wang, aren’t you forgetting someone?”
“Oh, I did.” Wang Qi gave Wu Fan a flat look and said, “Just… take care of yourself.”
Just as Wang Qi finished this rather inappropriate preparation, he noticed two black figures among the shaking branches up ahead.
“They’re here. Be careful!”
Wang Qi was the first to charge at the hidden Ghost Apes, just as he heard an excited shout, “Nya!” Mao Zimiao overtook him in moments.
[So fast!]
[Since when did the mentally slow cat have so much strength? You’re saying she can outrun me after such a short time since Reaching Heaven?]
[Or is it the work of the forest’s arts? They must be adjusting the slow cat’s Evolution Chart. Is it in tune with her demonic heritage?]
Wang Qi’s guess was right. Demonborns weren’t a good fit for human cultivation methods, but Evolution Chart could adjust at any given moment. Regardless of how exotic a constitution its user had, the cultivation method changed and adjusted. With the help of the Spirit Beast Mountain Unfettered’s energy from the forest, Mao Zimiao’s Evolution Chart went through great changes, inciting the strength hidden in her blood.
Mao Zimiao now had the strength of an Awareness Stage cat demon!
With the activation of the demonborn’s cat agility, the girl reached the Ghost Ape in moments. Wang Qi and the rest were given the first glimpse of this demon outside illustrations in books.
Ghost Ape was similar to a gibbon from Wang Qi’s past life, except far larger, reaching a human in height. The primate demon had white hair sticking out of its face, and its fangs outgrew the limits of its mouth, making it look savage. Its ghostly appearance was the reason ancient cultivators gave it such a name.
While its mind had yet to awaken, demons made up for it in strength. The charge of the girl made the Ghost Ape feel threatened, and it lashed out with a claw.
Such a simple attack could never hit the demonborn girl. She entered the Ghost Ape’s attack range and used her left hand to push into a tree and change directions.
Qi Refining humans didn’t have the innate skill of an Awareness Stage demon, but humans had their own advantages. A human’s mind was beyond that of a demon. Before the battle even started, it came up with tactics, traps, pragmatism, and resourcefulness, as well as learning many magical arts to contend with demons.
Some cultivators believed humanity’s innate skill was their mind. It was the reason behind their dominance over the Divine Province.
Mao Zimiao brushed past the sharp claw, drawing the attention of the other Ghost Ape, who came over to attack. It was then that a flash of light struck both primate demons.
The numbness made the primate demons recall their reason for coming here. They held utter hatred for that foul energy. The two demons howled with rage as they forgot about Mao Zimiao and threw themselves at Wang Qi.
“Oh shit, they want to screw me now, even leaving the girl alone. Then again, that musclebound woman only knows how to attract freaks.” Wang Qi glanced below a primate as he dodged, ending up cussing them.
Mao Zimiao turned around and delivered a swift palm to a Ghost Ape’s head.
Feeling danger, it gave up Wang Qi and focused on Mao Zimiao.
The Book of Geometry helped Wang Qi calculate the attack trajectories of the Ghost Ape. These simple attacks were easy to figure out. It now came down to Wang Qi’s movements to see if they were up to snuff and avoid them. This was the best opponent Wang Qi could hope for to test his martial skills—one that didn’t pull punches and was around his level.
The Ghost Ape swiped a claw at him, and he leaned out of the way. At the same time, he used Formless Random Hand to counter by striking Ghost Ape’s arm. Ripples flared at the point of contact, striking the demon’s arm with repeated blows. Ghost Ape squealed in misery and fled.
Wang Qi laughed, chasing after it.
“Come here, you monkey! This bookworm here will make mush out of you!”
