Castle of Black Iron

Zhang Tie felt that he had made a long, sweet dream and became a fetus in his mom’s womb once again. Being soaked in warm water, Zhang Tie didn’t know how long had he slept. When he started to recover his consciousness, he twisted his body for a short while before opening his eyes.

It was dark in front of his eyes. After a short while, Zhang Tie realized that it was not because he lost his visual ability, but because he was wrapped in a thick, hard and dark cocoon-like mucous shell.

”I’ve not been suffocated to death?”

A whim flashed across Zhang Tie’s mind. He then started to move his limbs. With a crashing sound, he tore off that mucous shell and walked out of it.

When he walked out of there, Zhang Tie was not adapted to the tender light in the outside. Therefore, he slightly narrowed his eyes. After a few seconds, Zhang Tie started to glance over this place.

Abyan was also wrapped in a 2m-high bloody cocoon. However, Abyan had become a completely dried corpse. He almost shrunk by half of his original body. Like a weathered lizard flesh, he looked very frightened. The sharp horn was still there in his chest.

After glancing at Abyan, Zhang Tie moved his eyes away.

He caught sight of the Manjusaka Karma Fruit Tree, which made him reassured at once. As long as he was in Blackhot City, he would be safe. However, the small tree in front of him looked a bit different than that before. Concretely, it grew taller with more dense leaves. ”The surrounding houses didn’t change too much; but why this space became a bit different than before?”

Zhang Tie remembered that when he came here last time, the length and the width of the space of Castle of Black Iron was less than 1 km. However, at this moment, both the length and the width of the space of Castle of Black Iron reached about 10 km, which was almost one hundreds times greater than the former figures. Zhang Tie saw a lush plain in front of him which was covered with various crops and woods. What a prosperous scene! There was even a 100-m high hill miles away. The hill was covered with undulant woods. Plus an over 20 square km of glittering lake. All this shocked Zhang Tie.

If not that small tree and the rolling colorful clouds in Castle of Black Iron, Zhang Tie almost thought that he had come to the wrong place.

”But, it really feels great to gain a new birth.”

At this moment, based on the angle of the light in Castle of Black Iron, Zhang Tie knew that it was noon. Some diligent bees were circling around Zhang Tie while being attracted by the special smell of Zhang Tie.

Zhang Tie could sense the pleasant mood of those bees.

Standing still for a few seconds out of amazement, Zhang Tie found Heller was not here. Therefore, he came to the riverside which was not far from him and prepared to cleanse up himself. Because he found that his clothes had been ragged and rotten, which looked poorer than beggars. Besides, he felt glutinous which made him more uncomfortable.

Zhang Tie came to the riverside. The moment he put off that dark tore gloves, he caught sight of his hands.

This pair of hands were completely different from that before as they were covered with black scaled skin while each fingernail looked as sharp as a blade, shining cold light.

”Ah...” Zhang Tie was too scared that he started to exclaim. At the same time, he faltered back. However, before he fell down, he felt that another foot appeared on his back which supported on the ground to maintain his balance. Zhang Tie looked back and wanted to see what was that. Unexpectedly, that thing moved in front of him in a very agile way. He could see it clearly...

It was a tail like that of Abyan, which was similar to his third finger or third foot...

Zhang Tie was too frightened that his face turned blue at once. He became completely flurried. Right then, his clothes were broken while a pair of wings stretched from his shoulder. Each wing was about 3 m in length. The wings flapped forcefully, dragging Zhang Tie away from the ground.

After his clothes were torn off, Zhang Tie saw a layer of black scales over his body. In the reflection on the stream, he even saw a horn on his forehead.

Raising his head, Zhang Tie shrilled miserably, ”What’s happening? Ah...how can I become this?”

At this time, he found that his voice also became muffled due to the weird change of his vocal cords. His words had a hoarse effect.

Heller darted towards Zhang Tie from afar and stopped several meters in front of Zhang Tie. Watching Heller’s calm look, Zhang Tie slightly recovered his composure.

At this moment, the pair of huge wings had already lifted him 8 m in the air and suspended him there.

”Ah, Heller, what’s happening to me? How can I look like Abyan...”

”Don’t worry, Castle Lord. Come down first. I will explain to you slowly!” Heller raised his head and told Zhang Tie.

”Ah...erm..erm...how can I come down. I cannot control myself!”

”You can. This is your instinct in this state like walking and breathing. As long as you are not nervous. You will know how to come down!”

After hearing Heller’s suggestion, Zhang Tie tried to calm himself down. After that, when he intended to come down, he had already landed steadily on the ground while flapping his wings.

The pair of powerful wings with a layer of flesh film were folded at once.

Before Zhang Tie opened his mouth, Heller had already displayed a three-dimensional image in front of Zhang Tie by drawing in the air...

...

After ten more minutes, hearing Heller’s explanation and watching Heller displaying how the two groups of spiral DNAs engulfed with each other, Zhang Tie became dumbfounded.

”You mean he didn’t engulf me in that case but I engulfed him? What’s that horn? How could it be so powerful? How could it break Abyan’s protective battle Qi and transfer Abyan’s vital energy to me constantly?” Zhang Tie touched that sharp horn in his hand as he asked.

”Do you remember that legend about the Wild Wolf Valley when you attended survival training there?”

”You mean that gold-eating boa which shocked the entire Blackson Humans Corridor?”

”Right. This sharp object is a teeth which exfoliated from an adult gold-eating boa. It’s the most special object on gold-eating boa. This thing has the exotic ability to engulf and pierce through everything. After injecting your battle Qi into it, you activated it. Therefore, you had pierced through Abyan’s protective battle Qi with it. Meanwhile, at that moment, Abyan was experiencing the evolution of his second form, which indicated that his DNA was highly active. You three then formed a mysterious circulation, under the effect of which, Abyan’s second evolution process was reversed to you, making you look like this.”

”Can I recover my former look?” Zhang Tie asked.

”Yes, you can. Your former look was your first form while your current look is your second from. With the ability of shadow demon, you’re able to convert between two forms at your will!”

”Whether I am a human or a demon now?”

”It depends on your definition about humans and demons!” Heller watched Zhang Tie with a deep and savvy look.

”What do you mean?”

”If you differentiate demons from humans in terms of look, you are now a demon; if you differentiate it in terms of DNA, you’re neither a demon nor a human. Because your DNA combines the common features of both species. You’re now a mutated species. If you want to differentiate humans from demons in terms of ability, you’re purely a demon as you can do everything that a shadow demon could do. If you differentiate it in terms of soul and awareness, you’re yourself, namely human! Of course, it depends on your recognition about yourself. If it was people, at the sight of you, they would treat you as a demon for sure. However, any demon would treat you as their same species. Your first form would be considered as a transformation of a shadow demon. Nobody would believe that you’re Zhang Tie!”

After hearing Heller’s answer, Zhang Tie became stunned as he became very painful inside. None of normal men would like to look like this.

”Therefore...”

”Therefore, after you leave Castle of Black Iron, as long as you expose your second form or special ability of demon, you would be treated as a demon, a shadow demon, which was the top enemy of humans. According to the ’Great Brilliance Charter’, anyone who kills a shadow demon could be promoted to be a Lord. Do you know what does this mean?”

Of course Zhang Tie clearly knew that once he was exposed, he was doomed to be killed.

”Oh. What’s the time now? How long have I stayed in the bloody cocoon? I have to go meet my friends!”

Heller then watched Zhang Tie silently for over 10 seconds before opening his mouth, ”It’s March 1st, 894th year of Black Iron Calendar...”

”What?” gazing at Heller’s solemn look, Zhang Tie felt humming in his head as his face completely turned pale. He had not imagined that he had slept in the bloody cocoon for 3 years!