The One King

Chapter Two: The Heavenly Serpent Princess

Several hours had passed since Azrael left the massacre behind.

He had no idea where he was going.

But he was not worried.

In one of his previous lives, he had lived in an age older than anything this world could possibly imagine.

In another, he had ruled a vast demonic empire.

Now, he had returned to the beginning.

And it did not bother him.

He entered a vast forest.

Towering trees rose into the sky, their trunks so massive that several people would have needed to join hands to encircle them.

He continued walking.

Then he stopped.

He sensed a powerful aura approaching at tremendous speed.

Two seconds later—

A massive beast burst through the trees.

It was a strange hybrid between a lion and an elephant.

Ten meters tall, with enormous tusks and a muscular body that caused the earth to tremble beneath its steps.

Second Level of the Spiritual Lord Realm.

The beast stared at Azrael.

Then roared and charged.

Azrael's eyes narrowed.

A beast from the Spiritual Lord Realm...

Had actually dared to regard him as prey?

A chilling coldness appeared in his eyes.

In his current state, perhaps this beast would have been considered terrifying.

But to someone carrying memories and experiences that transcended the limits of this world...

It was nothing more than a beast.

The instant the creature came within one meter of him—

Azrael disappeared.

The next moment, he appeared beside its head.

He raised his fist.

"Divine Fist."

BOOM!

The beast's head vanished completely.

The force of the attack continued behind it, reducing several towering trees to dust.

The enormous body crashed to the ground.

Azrael approached the corpse.

He plunged his arm into the beast's chest.

Moments later, he withdrew a glowing beast core.

A system notification appeared.

[Spiritual Lord Realm Beast Core detected.]

[Convert into System Coins?]

"Yes."

[Conversion complete.]

[Obtained 10,000 System Coins.]

Azrael paid no attention to the coins.

He suddenly turned toward a dense cluster of plants.

A faint aura was hiding among the trees.

"Come out."

Nothing happened.

His eyes narrowed.

"By your own will..."

He paused.

"...or should I drag you out myself?"

A few seconds passed.

Then the vegetation began to move.

A woman emerged from among the plants.

She had long blood-red hair, milky-white skin, and pure golden eyes with vertical pupils resembling those of a serpent.

She was tall, with a graceful yet athletic figure, and wore noble-looking clothes that were dirty and torn in several places.

Azrael studied her for several moments.

From her appearance, she seemed to belong to a powerful clan or an influential noble family.

Her unusual golden eyes confirmed that she was not human.

Yet her aura was extremely weak.

Perhaps she could not cultivate.

Or perhaps something else was wrong with her.

He wanted answers.

In the next instant, he disappeared.

He reappeared directly in front of her.

Before she could react, his hand closed around her neck and lifted her from the ground.

Her eyes widened.

"Who are you?"

She did not answer.

"And why were you spying on me?"

He waited several seconds.

There was still no response.

His grip tightened.

"You won't answer?"

His expression became colder.

"Then die."

The woman finally snapped out of her shock.

Panic filled her eyes.

She struggled to speak.

"I'll answer!"

Azrael released her.

She fell onto the grass and immediately began gasping for breath.

After a few moments, she managed to sit upright.

"Who are you?"

She answered with difficulty.

"I... am Gaia Ashbourne."

She paused to catch her breath.

"The Princess of the Heavenly Serpent Empire."

She deliberately mentioned the empire's name.

She expected him to fear her status.

But Azrael's expression did not change.

Not even slightly.

Her fear only grew.

Either he did not care about the empire...

Or he simply knew nothing about it.

Azrael stared at her.

"Why did you stop? Continue."

Gaia took a deep breath.

"I was being pursued by a group of beasts at the Spiritual Warrior Realm."

She then explained what had happened.

When she approached the area, the beasts sensed the auras of both Azrael and the beast he had killed, and fled in fear.

But she could not turn back.

If she left the area, the beasts would pursue her again.

So she moved closer.

That was when she witnessed Azrael killing the beast.

He listened until she finished.

Then his expression softened slightly.

Based on his extensive experience, he could tell that she was not lying.

"Where is the nearest human settlement?"

Gaia stared at him in surprise.

How could a cultivator this powerful not know the way to the nearest city?

She pointed north.

"There is a city twenty-two kilometers in that direction."

She hesitated.

"But it is almost completely destroyed."

"Why?"

"The kingdom was invaded by the Rain Empire several weeks ago."

She then added:

"The kingdom surrendered a few days ago."

Azrael thought for a moment.

Then said:

"Lead the way."

Gaia immediately stood.

She had no desire to anger him.

The image of the beast's head being obliterated by a single punch was still burned into her mind.

They continued walking.

As the hours passed, night descended.

The roars of beasts echoed through the darkness.

But none dared approach.

Azrael's aura alone was enough to frighten them away.

Along the journey, he killed several powerful beasts and obtained tens of thousands of System Coins.

He spent them.

[Beginning cultivation enhancement.]

[Third Level of the Spiritual Lord Realm.]

[Fourth Level of the Spiritual Lord Realm.]

He stopped.

His eyes opened.

He had reached the Fourth Level of the Spiritual Lord Realm.

Gaia walked beside him in silence.

She wanted to know everything about him.

His name.

His origins.

How he could increase his cultivation so quickly.

But Azrael was a man of few words.

Sometimes, he could go for hours without saying a single word.

Two days passed.

Eventually, Gaia could no longer contain her curiosity.

She gathered her courage.

Then turned toward him.

"Do you... not think I'm beautiful?"

Azrael paused.

A trace of surprise appeared in his eyes.

He gave her a thorough look from head to toe.

Then answered simply:

"No."

Gaia froze.

Then he added:

"You're beautiful. Even by my standards."

Her golden eyes widened.

She had not expected him to answer at all.

"Then why have you been ignoring me for the past two days?"

Azrael answered with complete sincerity:

"Because I didn't want to talk."

Gaia stared at him for several seconds.

Then finally said in disbelief:

"You're really mean."

Azrael continued walking as though nothing had happened.

Gaia followed behind him, unable to decide whether she should be angry...

Or laugh.

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