The transformation was complete.

Shen Yu’s tattered white robes, once the symbol of a refined savior, finally gave way, shredding completely under the explosive expansion of his new physique. He stood naked in the silver moonlight, a mountain of bronze, corded muscle that gleamed with a predatory sheen.

Meng Yan and Xu Yi instinctively took a half-step back, the raw, suffocating pressure of his new Qi signature hitting them like a physical blow. Yet, as their eyes drifted downward to the heavy, pulsing weight between his legs, their fear was quickly eclipsed by a sharp, rhythmic throb of desire.

"Honey," Meng Yan whispered, her voice trembling slightly as she fought the oppressive weight in the air. "This... this Qi. It feels wrong. It’s cold, violent... like a demon’s."

Shen Yu stepped toward her, each footfall leaving a shallow mark in the earth.

"It is a technique from the inheritance I got," he growled, the vibration of his new vocal cords rattling the girls’ chests.

"In this world, the path to the peak is paved with blood and shadows. If a demon’s power is what is required to climb, then I will be the king of demons. Do you fear me now?"

Meng Yan shook her head, her nostrils flaring as she caught the scent. His passive Heaven’s Charm had mutated under the influence of the violent Qi; the pheromones were no longer soothing, but aggressive and intoxicating, a scent of musk, ozone, and impending conquest.

Xu Yi’s face was a deep crimson, her knees shaking as she whispered, "Master... please... when this is over... I want you to take me in this form."

Shen Yu’s red eyes narrowed, a freezing light dancing in their depths. "Oh? And why is that?"

"You just... you look so much more manly like this," she stammered.

The air suddenly turned to ice. Shen Yu looked down at her, his face a mask of brutal, unblinking stone. Beside him, Meng Yan followed his lead, her expression turning into a cold, judging stare. "So," Shen Yu’s voice was a low, dangerous rumble. "Am I to understand I was not ’manly’ enough for you before?"

"I... I didn’t... no, Master, I—" Tears began to prick at Xu Yi’s eyes as she shrank under their combined weight. Just as she was about to crumble, the two of them broke into a dark, low chuckle.

Seeing the teasing glints in their eyes, Xu Yi’s fear vanished, replaced by an embarrassed pout. She turned her back on them, her ears burning red.

"Xu Yi," Shen Yu rumbled.

"Hmph."

He moved behind her, his massive frame towering over her like a mountain. He pressed himself against her, the heat of his body and the heavy weight of his desire settling into the curve of her backside.

"Don’t worry," he whispered into her ear, his breath hot.

"I’ll fuck you in this form until you forget your own name. You, and your two sisters, side by side. But first..."

He stepped away, the playful shadow vanishing from his face as he reached into his storage ring. In a flash of light, he pulled out a set of barbaric robes crafted from the scorched hide of a Flaming Tiger, a Peak Tier 2(Peak Foundation Establishment). He draped the heavy pelt over his shoulders, the orange and black fur contrasting sharply with his bronzed, bulging muscles.

With a heavy thud, he hung a massive, jagged saber at his hip, its edge notched and stained as if it had chewed through a thousand bones. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Then, he pulled a weathered wine gourd from his ring. He didn’t just drink; he gulped the spirit down like a starving beast, the pungent liquid splashing over his chin, soaking into the fur and glistening on his corded chest. He didn’t wipe it away, a perfect disguise wasn’t worn; it was lived. He smelled of cheap wine, raw sweat, and violence.

Using the Crimson Fox Veil, he completely suppressed his true cultivation, allowing only a chaotic, unidentifiable pressure to radiate from his form.

"Let’s see our new slave," he rumbled, his voice a gravelly bark that seemed to rattle the very fog.

He paused, casting a sharp, sidelong glance at the two women. "You two stay here."

With that, he began his descent into the ravine. Each step was a deliberate, heavy thud, his boots crushing stone and moss into the earth with the indifferent weight of a predator. The trek was long and winding, draped in a thick, spectral fog that swallowed the light and muffled the world, leaving only the sound of his rhythmic breathing.

But after thirty minutes of oppressive silence, the air was suddenly pierced by a frantic, high-pitched shriek. It was a jagged sound, raw with desperation, echoing off the jagged stone walls like the cry of a trapped animal.

"Work! You useless pile of rubble, work! Burn, you cursed stones! BURN!"

The voice was thin, reeking of desperation and the onset of madness. Shen Yu slowed his pace, a predatory grin spreading across his scarred, tan face. The rat was cornered, and the cat had finally arrived.

Shen Yu rounded the final bend. Peng Kai, the once-mighty Patriarch of the Peng Clan, was a wretched sight. His disheveled hair hung in greasy mats over robes stained with the blood of his own son and brother. His hands, raw and bleeding, slammed repeatedly against a stone pedestal carved with flickering, dead runes.

The teleportation array sputtered one last time before dying into a cold, silent gray. Peng Kai collapsed to his knees, his fingers digging into the lid of a massive chest filled with gold, spirit stones, and ancestral artifacts, the blood-price of his family’s souls.

"Who’s there?" Peng Kai gasped, spinning around as the heavy, rhythmic thud of Shen Yu’s boots reached him.

The heavy thud of boots stopped as a raucous, booming laughter tore through the cavern, echoing off the damp walls with the force of a physical blow.

"Hahahahaha! Look at you!" the voice roared, dripping with thick, drunken mockery. "Do you really think those Syndicate cowards would come back after their little ’accident’? Those rats know when a ship is sinking, Peng Kai!"

Peng Kai’s eyes darted frantically toward the tunnel entrance.

Out of the shadows stepped a mountain of a man. He stood at six feet tall, his chest broad enough to block out the light, wrapped in the savage, sun-kissed hide of a Flaming Tiger. He walked with a loose, rolling gait, the stride of a man who owned the ground beneath him and likely a tavern or two besides.

Peng Kai reached out with his spiritual sense, trying to pierce the man’s level, but his Qi just slid off the stranger like water off an oily stone. A cold sweat broke out across his brow. There were only two possibilities: either this beast outranked a Golden Core expert, or he wore an artifact so powerful that he was not able to pierce it.

Both thoughts were a death sentence.