Shen Yu stood over the broken Patriarch, his gaze as indifferent as a god looking at an ant beneath his heel.

"So," Shen Yu’s voice boomed, the sound hitting the walls and vibrating back into Peng Kai’s chest like a physical punch. He leaned his massive, fur-clad shoulder against a jagged pillar, pulling a sliver of gristle from his teeth with a dirty, blunt fingernail. He spat it toward the dying teleportation array.

"How’s the view from the gutter, Patriarch? You lost the gold, you lost the name, and you lost your face to a bunch of ’upcoming’ nobodies. Hah! I’ve seen mangy curs in the slums with more backbone than the Head of the Peng Clan!"

"You... you dare!" Peng Kai hissed. The insult to his lineage acted like a spark in a powder keg. His pride, the only thing he had left, overrode his survival instinct. He leveled his trembling sword at Shen Yu’s throat, the steel chattering against his own armor in the dim light.

The giant didn’t even blink. He didn’t shift his stance. Instead, the boisterous, drunken warmth vanished from his face in a heartbeat, replaced by a mask of abyssal stillness.

"What? Did the little bird get its feathers ruffled?" the man growled, his voice dropping into a gravelly, predatory rasp that felt like sandpaper on raw skin.

"Do you feel it yet? That hollow, freezing weight in your gut? That’s called powerlessness, Kai. It’s the moment you realize your sword is just a toothpick to the man standing in front of you."

Suddenly, the air in the cave didn’t just grow cold, it turned putrid. A tidal wave of killing intent slammed into Peng Kai. It was an ancient, suffocating pressure, so thick that the Patriarch felt like he was drowning in a river of old, curdled blood. He looked up and saw not a man, but a demonic sovereign carved from obsidian, his red eyes burning with the light of a thousand pyres.

Then came the Qi, a jagged, violent pulse that felt like a violation of the natural order. It wasn’t the refined Qi of a sect; it was a chaotic storm of slaughter.

"You..." Peng Kai’s voice cracked, his knees finally buckling under the sheer spiritual weight. "A demonic cultivator? A monster from the dark paths?"

"Yes, I am a man who takes what he wants," the giant replied, the red glow in his eyes intensifying. "And right now, I’ve decided I want you."

Peng Kai’s sword clattered to the stone, the sound echoing mournfully. His spirit snapped like dry kindling. "W-who are you? Why are you here?"

The man took a slow, heavy step forward, the sheer mass of his presence filling the cavern until the air felt too thin to breathe. He let out a low, dark chuckle that sounded like grinding boulders.

"Names are for the living, little bird. But since you’re going to be around for a long, long time... you can call me Ni Tian."

"Ni Tian... Against Heaven..." Peng Kai repeated the name, a hysterical, broken laugh bubbling up from his throat. "Against the Heavens! Hahahaha! What a name! What a godless name for a godless world!"

He steadied himself, wiping blood and bitter spit from his chin with the back of a trembling hand. "So, Ni Tian... what do you want with a ghost like me? I have no clan. I have no sons."

"I see myself in you," Shen Yu said, his voice regaining that raucous, boisterous edge as he paced around the room, eyeing the chests of gold with indifference.

"You’ve lost it all. You want revenge, but you know as well as I do that you’ll never touch the Tangs. They have the Jin Clan’s backing, the commoners worship them like saints, and the City Lord is practically their lapdog. If you go after them now, you’ll be executed before you even reach the gates."

Peng Kai’s eyes darkened, his fingers twitching. He looked up, silently begging for a way out.

"So, let’s look at the bigger picture," Shen Yu grinned, leaning in close until Peng Kai could smell the cheap wine and the scent of wild beasts. "Who was the real spark? Who pushed you into this corner, promised you the world, and then pulled the rug out the moment things got bloody?"

"The Golden Cauldron Merchant Union," Peng Kai spat, the name coming out like a curse. His eyes burned with a sudden, renewed venom. "They used me. They fed me the poison to give to the Tangs, then vanished when the riot started."

"Heh, correct. And so, I, or rather, my Master, wants you to take your pound of flesh from them. They have far more gold than this little chest you’re clutching."

"Why me?" Peng Kai asked, his suspicion warring with his hunger for vengeance. "Why would a demonic master want a broken man?"

"My Master says you’re perfect because you have nothing left but hate. A man with a family is weak; a man with a clan is cautious. But you? You’ll give your last drop of marrow to see those merchants burn. That kind of desperation is... useful."

Peng Kai bit his lip, looking at his shaking hands. "But I am only at the 6th stage of the Golden Core. The Union has dozens of experts, guards, and wealth beyond measure. I’m a dead man if I show my face in Crimson Iron City."

Shen Yu threw his head back and laughed, the sound booming like thunder as he reached into his storage ring. He pulled out a weathered, black-bound manual that seemed to absorb the light around it. "Who said anything about attacking them today? You need the right teeth for this hunt, little bird."

Peng Kai stared at the book, his breath hitching. The title was written in characters that looked like dried blood. "Is that... a demonic technique?"

"The best," Shen Yu purred, the manual pulsing in his hand. "The Burning Blood Reversal. It’ll let you leap through stages by consuming the blood of others. Beasts, men, women, it doesn’t matter. The more you slaughter, the faster you rise. By the time you reach the Union’s gates, you won’t be a 6th-stage weakling. You’ll be their nightmare."

Without a second thought, Peng Kai reached out and snatched the manual, clutching it to his chest with the fervor of a starving man finding bread. His eyes were wide, the last traces of his humanity flickering out as he chose the dark path.

Shen Yu’s grin widened into something truly barbaric. He let out a roar of laughter and pulled Peng Kai into a crushing, bone-snapping hug.

"Welcome! Welcome to the fold! You are now a brother of the Black-Blooded Demons!"

Peng Kai gasped for air, his ribs groaning and popping under the giant’s overwhelming strength. It was like being crushed by a mountain of warm, wine-soaked muscle, an embrace that promised both protection and total annihilation.

As Shen Yu finally released him, Peng Kai stumbled back, clutching his chest and drawing in ragged, desperate breaths. He looked up at the scarred giant, his eyes wide with a mix of terror and fanaticism.

"This... this Master you spoke of," Peng Kai wheezed, his voice trembling. "Who is he? Who is the one who grants such power to the broken?"