[A/N: Well, I also have a life, so some unexpected things happen. I haven't been able to write every day, and my creativity is down to the ground these days. I was only able to write this one through sheer hate and with the help of apps. Happy reading! I hope I can be releasing one or more chapters every day again.]
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Capítulo N° ??
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The outside world, with all its noise and rumors, had completely vanished for Xiang Yun.
Locked inside his inn room, he was the eye of his own storm, a force of nature twisting into being. The air didn't just vibrate—it hummed, heavy with a tangible pressure, like the atmosphere before lightning tears through the sky.
The last trace of the Bronze Rank, the final barrier before five stars, had shattered moments ago. With the effects of special pills, his breakthrough was not a smooth transition, but a violent rupture.
Xiang Yun felt the bottleneck in his Soul Realm crack and dissolve under the relentless assault of his soul force. The cyan energy, once gaseous and ethereal, condensed, spinning upon itself until it liquefied into a turbulent river of liquid silver. It was the mark of the Silver Rank—a qualitative leap that separated novices from true Demon Spiritualists.
An unstable silver aura now wrapped around his body, making his white hair float as if he were submerged in an ocean of energy.
His silver eyes remained closed, but his mind was sharper than ever. The newly acquired power flowed through his veins, a call to the next step in his plan.
In his hand, the Demon Spirit Stone of the Winged Dragon Tiger began to heat up. It wasn't a gentle warmth, but a growing burn, like holding live coal. The golden crystal sphere, which held the dormant image of the majestic beast, began to glow from the inside out.
'Now!' Xiang Yun thought, his resolve cold as ice.
He knew the abyss that separated mediocre strength from true power. To protect those he loved, to crush the arrogance of the Sacred Family and exterminate the Dark Guild once and for all—he needed power. Overwhelming and absolute power. This Gold-Rank spirit was the first and crucial step. It wasn't a perfect spirit, but it would raise his strength to a whole new level.
"Let's begin!"
The stone levitated from his palm, spinning slowly in the air. The image of the white tiger with black armor and dragon wings inside it became sharp, almost alive. Its eyes, previously closed, opened, revealing molten gold orbs that burned with wild intelligence.
Crack! Snap!
Cracks spread across the sphere's surface not like glass, but like ice under extreme pressure. The golden light that escaped was not gentle; it was caustic, violent. With one final explosive sound, the stone completely shattered, releasing a shockwave of pure energy that made the room's windows tremble in their frames.
ROOOOOOOOOAR!
The roar was not merely sound—it was a blast of primal will that struck directly into Xiang Yun's mind. The spectral form of the Winged Dragon Tiger, now freed, hovered in the air, its size nearly filling the room. Its aura was a tidal wave of fury and pride, the essence of a creature that had ruled both sky and land.
With a growl that promised annihilation, the demon spirit charged. No longer a comet of light, it was a soul predator, a torpedo of golden energy that crashed into Xiang Yun's forehead.
The impact flung him into the plane of his consciousness, into his Soul Realm. It was a vast and chaotic space, a vortex of five colors representing the elements that formed his unique soul. The moment the tiger spirit invaded, the space turned into a battlefield.
The beast didn't wait. It tried to devour, dominate, erase Xiang Yun's consciousness and take his body as a vessel. Spectral energy claws, each meters long, tore through the void of his Soul Realm, aiming to shred his will. A second roar echoed, a sonic wave meant to shatter his resolve.
In the physical world, Xiang Yun's body convulsed. A trickle of blood flowed from his nose and the corner of his lips. His teeth clenched so hard the grinding was audible in the silent room, and his face twisted in a mask of pain and extreme effort. Any other Silver-Rank Demon Spiritualist would've had their soul obliterated in an instant.
But Xiang Yun was not just anyone.
'Insolent!' His will exploded within his Soul Realm—not as a scream, but as the declaration of a fundamental law. The [Chaotic Spatial Soul of the Five Elements] spun furiously. The space around the invading tiger distorted. Time itself seemed to slow for the beast as chains formed from the five elements—fire, water, earth, wood, and metal—emerged from the chaos and wrapped around its limbs.
The tiger fought with desperate fury, its dragon wings beating storms of energy across the Soul Realm. But it was useless. Against Xiang Yun's soul—a presence that seemed to touch the very laws of the universe—the Gold-Rank tiger's power was wild, but fundamentally inferior.
"Be a good obedient kitty!"
Xiang Yun wasn't just defending; he was subjugating completely. He seized the tiger's will with his own and crushed it.
The pain in Xiang Yun's body intensified a thousandfold as the forced fusion began. He felt the tiger's essence dragged to the center of his soul, not as a partner, but as a conquered servant. The physical transformation began, and it was brutal.
CRACK! SNAP!
The sound of bones stretching and breaking echoed through his own body. His legs and arms elongated with searing pain, his muscles tearing and rebuilding themselves instantly—denser, stronger. His spine stretched, pushing his height upwards, from his original stature to nearly two meters in seconds.
His skin burned like fire. From the shadows of his own aura, a black, viscous substance began oozing from his pores, solidifying over his chest, arms, and legs. It was cold and heavy. The black armor didn't just appear—it was born from him, fusing with his flesh. On his shoulders, the substance twisted and hardened into snarling tiger heads, a macabre and intimidating detail.
He opened his mouth in a silent scream as sharp pain shot through his gums. Two fangs, dagger-like, pierced his flesh and grew long and deadly. At the same time, the tips of his fingers burned. His nails shattered and were replaced by black, curved claws that jutted out, hard as obsidian.
The most excruciating pain, however, came from his back. Immense pressure built beneath his shoulder blades, as if two spears were being driven from the inside out. With a wet, horrible sound of ripping skin and muscle, two bony protrusions burst from his back, covered in blood. They grew at an alarming rate, unfolding and covering themselves with dragon scales, black as night.
In seconds, the wings were fully formed. They opened with a powerful WHOOSH, creating a gale inside the room that toppled the table, chair, and snuffed out the candles—plunging the space into darkness, except for the overwhelming glow of his silver and golden aura.
Within his Soul Realm, the now completely subdued tiger spirit let out one final roar. This time, it wasn't a sound of defiance, but of absolute loyalty—a complete fusion with its new master.
Silence fell. The pain receded, replaced by an overwhelming sense of power.
Xiang Yun opened his eyes.
He took a step, and the wooden floor creaked under his new weight. He raised a hand, observing the black claws that were now part of him. He flexed them, and they sliced the air with a deadly whistle. He felt the wings on his back, not as foreign limbs, but as something he had always possessed. With a single thought, he contracted them, feeling every scale, every muscle.
His senses were on fire. He could see every dust particle floating in the dark air. He could hear the city's noise—whispers, even, about the pills entering the market.
He turned and faced what remained of a broken mirror on the wall. The reflection staring back at him was him, yet not him. It was a primordial version, a demonic one. The cold beauty of his face was now framed by a lethal presence. The black armor, subtle fangs, sharp claws, and imposing dragon wings transformed him into a creature of the night—a demon god.
"Not exactly the look I was expecting," he said, smiling as his fangs began to retract and vanish again, "but it'll do for now." He turned. "Time to see what's been happening while I've been away."