One-Eyed Monster

The Soul Devourer could clearly and unmistakably feel that this Energy Fluctuation was precisely the Devouring Power.

This familiar sensation was exactly the way they released their own Energy to invade and seize other people’s Energy!

This feeling, this method—couldn’t be more familiar.

Familiarity was one thing; the Soul Devourer also felt a vague sense of crisis.

These Soul Devourers would only bow their proud heads in front of their own kind, because only their own kind understood how wretched, how disgraceful the power they relied on to survive really was.

The same kind, who know the secrets on their bodies, know their techniques, know their goals…

In front of their own kind, they have no advantage, no mystique, none of that terror born of the unknown.

So this familiar taste made him feel that this was a fellow Soul Devourer competing with him.

This feeling made him sense danger; he released his own Energy, determined to suppress this Energy Fluctuation no matter what.

Could this be an Energy Fluctuation triggered by that king’s will?

No, this kind of Energy Fluctuation had never appeared before. The king’s resisting will, though intense, couldn’t break his shackles, so it was impossible for this Energy Fluctuation to be formed by the king’s will.

The Soul Devourer was very certain of this; he felt this was absolutely impossible. No one in this world yet understood Energy Fluctuations, so all the humans who had been Devoured couldn’t possibly show this kind of reaction.

And going a level deeper, if this Energy Fluctuation was triggered by the king’s will, then that would mean this Energy Fluctuation was a Devouring formed by the king’s will in resistance—that would be a true counter‑Devouring in the strictest sense.

How could such a situation be possible?

Even if there was such a theoretical possibility, it could never happen to him.

Who was he? He was the ace Devourer among the Soul Devourers. All these years he’d crossed hands with so many people and had never once lost.

He was a king; he would not fail easily.

That kind of backlash that only existed in theory was impossible to occur on him.

His Energy gushed out, unending, surging outward. He wanted to completely suppress this Energy, then see which aspect had gone wrong, who was causing trouble inside this body.

Counter‑Devouring—the thought kept flashing through his mind.

This was the effect of the fear Kuyi Tulan had planted in him; now he was startled by every shadow.

Could this be Kuyi Tulan’s doing?

He couldn’t help starting to think in that direction.

Was there something wrong with the Spirit Core Kuyi Tulan had given him? Was this Spirit Core what had triggered this change?

Was this Energy Fluctuation also related to that Spirit Core?

What was Kuyi Tulan trying to do? Was he declaring war on the Soul Devourers?

Did that brat really think that just because he’d defeated Willem, he was invincible under heaven?

Although that counter‑Devouring incident did look a bit abnormal.

Kuyi Tulan!

The Soul Devourer was now convinced this was Kuyi Tulan’s handiwork.

That made him even more desperate to crush this entire Energy Fluctuation.

However, things were not as simple as he imagined. His Energy suppression was fast, but the other side was no slower.

The other side also seemed unending, and was constantly strengthening.

This was evenly matched!

Now he was starting to regret why he’d been so eager to swallow that Spirit Core just now.

Why hadn’t he taken a good, long look at that Spirit Core at the time? Had Kuyi Tulan tampered with it? Was it a tool Kuyi Tulan had prepared specifically to deal with him?

Had this been a conspiracy right from the start?

What exactly did Kuyi Tulan stand to gain by doing this!

The more the Soul Devourer thought, the more chaotic his mind became; he felt this was simply a nightmare.

If back when he accepted that Spirit Core he had carefully observed it, would this situation not have occurred? Why had he been so impatient to swallow it…

The more he thought, the more skewed his thinking became, completely forgetting that at the time the original will in his body had been constantly resisting, to the point that even he had been close to not being able to withstand it.

That was the king’s Resistance Force; that resistance was extremely intense, as tenacious as ever.

Now, he could feel the king’s Resistance Force surging up again.

Truly, misfortune never comes alone: before he could suppress the Energy Fluctuation, the king’s resisting will rose up again.

This two‑front assault left him somewhat helpless, but he still had to suppress it; otherwise he would be forced out of this body. If that happened, then all the time and effort he’d invested would be completely wasted.

He still couldn’t figure out what exactly Kuyi Tulan was trying to do—what benefit was there to opposing them, to forcing him onto such a desperate precipice.

The king’s will made him extremely irritable; his own Devouring Power was still not strong enough! In the future he absolutely had to strengthen his power in this aspect, to crush the other side in one go, leaving them no chance at all.

Otherwise he would end up like he was now, having to care for both sides, utterly exhausted.

Wait!

The Soul Devourer suddenly noticed something different: the king’s entire Resistance Force was fusing with that Energy Fluctuation, and at an incredibly fast speed, so fast it was about to form a complete, entity‑like existence.

What exactly was going on, how could this happen!

The Soul Devourer couldn’t believe it; he simply could not accept that things had developed into this.

If these two combined, they would become one of them, a Soul Devourer.

Will controlling Energy Fluctuations, then occupying another’s will to control that person—that’s what they were!

Could it be that this king’s will was about to come alive!

Was this king about to become an existence like them!

This was far too horrifying. He had never encountered such a thing before—why was it all happening today?

Was this Kuyi Tulan’s plan?

He wanted to manufacture Soul Devourers?

No!

No!

This feeling was telling him it wasn’t that simple!

This feeling… it was like counter‑Devouring!

The impossible had finally happened to him, a situation so bizarre no one could make sense of it.

Things that only existed in theory had appeared, and not just once.

More crucially, this kind of impossible event, this tiny‑probability incident, had actually happened to him!

Why would something like this happen!

The king’s resisting will was tough, hard to shake off, and now this tenacious will was fusing toward that Devouring Power…

This was a very peculiar phenomenon: this was King Kayne’s will controlling this Energy, this was him having grasped the method of using Energy!

It had to be said, King Kayne’s power of understanding truly surpassed ordinary people. Now he was constantly releasing Energy, launching a frenzied counterattack; it wouldn’t be long before this will of the king could confront him, the Soul Devourer, head‑on.

This was counter‑Devouring, something that was only supposed to appear in theory.

Why had it become reality!

Could it be that King Kayne was different from the rest?

Although the Soul Devourer felt a trace of despair, he could not give up just like that. When they came here they had been brimming with confidence; he couldn’t lose himself over a small setback—he still had to exact revenge on Kuyi Tulan, he couldn’t just fall here.

Wasn’t the one who had come here precisely Kayne’s king, the king’s will? Don’t forget, he was a king too!

Within the ranks of the Soul Devourers, he was the Devouring King!