As soon as everyone stepped into the portal, Qing Yan turned back.

[ Wh–? ] Qing Yan muttered, eyes wide.

A boy, looking around 13 or 14 years old, stood silently behind him. His clothes were worn and torn, his face thin and grimy. Just by looking at him, it was obvious—he was one of the slaves.

[ How–? I’m sure I sensed all sixty slaves entering the portal. How is one still here?! This guy... Even when I focus all my Qi, I can’t sense him at all! But… I can feel something. Somehow, he’s the same as me. I don’t know what it is... ]
Qing Yan’s thoughts raced as he instinctively shifted into a guarded stance, alert.

[ Who are you–? ]

He asked, keeping his eyes locked on the boy, fully on guard.

[ I want to ask the same… But you just saved my life, so I’ll answer first. I am Azrien Vaelor, a demon from the Netherworld. And I thank you for saving me. I’ll make sure to repay this kindness. ]

He said it with calm composure, lowering his head in gratitude.

Qing Yan didn’t move. His expression remained still, but his eyes widened even further.

[ A true demon from the Netherworld… If word of your existence spreads, every single dark knight or sorcerer would start hailing you as a deity. But… if you’re really a demon from the Netherworld, how did you get captured by those worthless bastards? ]

Qing Yan’s tone relaxed slightly, though he stayed alert.

[ That’s quite a long story. Where should I begin? My family, known as the “House of Vaelor,” was one of the Five Great Duke Families. And I, Azrien Vaelor, was one of the five dukes– ]

His words were cut off.

[ WHAAAAAAAAAAT?! ]
Qing Yan shouted, jaw dropping.

[ THE MEMB–NO–THE PATRIARCH OF ONE OF THE FIVE GREAT DUKE FAMILIES?!?! Man, I really wonder what kind of people are in this Black Lotus group to reduce a Great Duke to this state... ]
Qing Yan muttered, visibly shocked.

[ No. This wasn’t done by someone from Black Lotus. It was done by the other four Great Families. ]
Azrien’s voice darkened, his expression clouded with rage. A chilling killing intent radiated from him.

[ Hey hey, calm down. This ain’t the Netherworld. Is there some kind of war going on there or something? ]
Qing Yan asked, waving his hand casually in the air to lighten the mood.

[ There was. ]
Azrien’s voice was low and heavy.

[ My house—our land—had the most potent demonic Qi in the entire Netherworld. Because of that, the resources there were the best of the best. Our territory alone held more value than the entire rest of the Netherworld combined. The other four families had always been eyeing it. But one day… a “Demonroot Embrya” appeared. ]

[ A Demonroot… what? ]
Qing Yan asked, raising an eyebrow.

[ A Demonroot Embrya. An exiler. A twisted, evolving root that takes hundreds of centuries to mature. Consuming it fuses the user’s soul with Nether Essence. As a result, the user’s control over demonic Qi increases severalfold, and cultivation multiplies many times over. ]

[ That’s insane… ]
Qing Yan muttered under his breath.

[ It is, ] Azrien continued. [ The moment it bloomed on our land, I and the elders of my family rushed to retrieve it. But we were ambushed by the leaders and elders of all four Great Families. We fought back, but we couldn’t hold them off for long. I was severely weakened, and with no other option, I sacrificed part of my life force to open a temporary path to the Mortal Realm and escaped through it. ]

[ After opening the path, my condition worsened to the point where even a normal human could have killed me without much effort. I couldn’t hide my presence, and one of the Black Lotus members found me lying on the ground. They captured me. I was too weak to resist, so I ended up here. It took time to recover some of my strength… Right now, I’m at about 40%. ]

Azrien finished, the killing intent still lingering around him, and his crimson eyes glowing with restrained fury.

Author Note

Hey everyone! I've changed the writing style a bit in this chapter—tried something new with the pacing and format. Let me know in the comments which version you prefer: the new style or the old one? Your feedback really helps me improve, so don’t hold back!