Liang Chen had opened the black book within his mind, his soulsea, twice before so he was already prepared for the soul-rending pain that would follow when he opened the book. But even when he was prepared for its arrival, the sheer intensity of the pain still left him reeling, his body lurching forward with his hands grasping his chest so hard that his fingers started to sink into his flesh.

This would be the final time that the book could be opened, it was now that he would learn the full extent of the Chaos King technique and become able to devour 75% of a living beings Qi, soul, or flesh. This was the apex of the technique, the best that the King-rank technique had to offer. As such, the pain following the final opening was on an entirely new level compared to the previous two times.

If Liang Chen had to compare the pain to anything then it would have to be the first time he bathed in the blood of Demonic beasts. Back then he was just a normal child with no cultivation to speak of and had jumped into a pool filled with blood from the weakest Demonic beasts. But the pain had still washed over his mind and drowned out everything else, it was a physical pain unlike any other, one where the mere act of existing felt like cruel torture. And right now he felt like had gone back to that day, he felt like he was that young and vengeful child once more.

But Liang Chen had resisted the pain back then, he had grit his teeth and resisted, and he had risen above the pain. His mind was stronger than back then, his determination firmer and wholly unshakeable, there was no pain in existence that could break him. He remained hunched over with bloodshot eyes, blood seeping out from where he grasped his chest, but not once did his expression waver, not once did he falter.

And after spending five days hunched over, the waves of pain washing over his body finally pulled back. The black book fully opened as golden words started to fill the pages, a seemingly endless sea of information flooding into Liang Chen's mind. Most of the information was about the three channels he had to carve to absorb his enemies soul, Qi, or flesh, but the information also contained the three skills that came with each opening of the book.

Each step of the technique brought with it three skills that the user could train in and use in battle, a defensive one, an offensive one, and one auxiliary one. He knew the six skills for the previous steps of the techniques, but each of them was less useful than just his own skills so he rarely if ever actually bothered to use them. But the three skills entering his mind were different, much simpler yet much stronger.

Chaos King's Armory, utilizing the devoured energy to craft a weapon for yourself, one that could grow as it continued to devour power in the future. Liang Chen already had a Bloodwind Weapon, but he felt that he could help improve that weapon even further if he managed to impart the principles of this technique into his spear.

Chaos King's Punch, instantly utilize a large amount of devoured energy to unleash a single devastating attack. The skill was similar to Liang Chen's Dragon King's Six Steps, but the fact that it relied on the law of devouring meant that Liang Chen couldn't use it normally. He had some fleeting thoughts and ideas about how he might be able to make it useable, but he would need to experiment with it to see if he was right.

Chaos King's Step, instantly utilize a large amount of devoured energy to tear open a small tunnel in space, allowing for short-range teleportation. It was another skill that relied on devouring force, which was expected since the very basis of the Chaos King technique was devouring. Liang Chen was once again not quite certain if he could make use of this skill, but he felt that if his experiments were successful that there was a chance that this skill too would work for him.

Liang Chen let out a long breath after he finished sifting through the sea of information, his body drenched in sweat after the ordeal. He got up and took a quick shower to clean himself, changing into a clean golden robe before he returned to his room and sat down on the bed again. He sucked in a deep breath and started to draw in the surrounding Qi, starting the process of carving the three new channels.

He already had experience with it so he finished that task after 10 days, opening his eyes again and letting out a breath. He swept his gaze around the dark and empty room, a flash of longing passing through his pupils before he shook his head and dispelled it. A thought passed through his mind and into his connection with the interspatial ring that he was currently inside of, the various skills and cultivation manuals that he had found within the governor's mansion arriving in front of him.

He took his time and went over the various manuals and skills, sorting out not just those of higher quality but also those that looked like they might fit Yi Xue and the others. He only knew the laws of the original 18 that chose to follow him before he arrived in this universe, he didn't know what sort of laws or skills the newest members had so he had no way of picking out anything for them and could only do his best to memorize the elements of as many manuals as possible.

And as he went through manual after manual, he also found a skill that caught his interest. The skill was one that didn't have the slightest attacking power, it was actually considered a skill designed for agricultural purposes, it was meant to help farmers during times of drought.

The name of the skill was Rain-caller's Dance and it worked by sending the user's own Qi high into the atmosphere and altering the Qi floating around there to moisture, much like someone using the law of water would. The moisture then quickly gathers together into a cloud that will turn into rain to prevent the farmer's crops from dying.

The reason this skill caught Liang Chen's attention was the small warning that followed it, pouring too much Qi into the skill, especially in an area where there isn't a drought, can create so much pressure that skill will run rampant and form a storm. Creating a storm wasn't the most useful thing to most people, but if Liang Chen could use this skill to form storms at will, then it would be a great boost to him.

With this skill, he could make the process of calling forth lightning much easier. And not only that, but he would also be surrounded by wind and water at the same time, it would be the perfect conditions for his physique, he could freely absorb as much wind, water, and lightning as he pleased to heal his wounds and restore his physical energy. Of course, all of this was under the condition that the skill worked as it was written.

Liang Chen put away the skill and got up from the bed, stretching his body as he listened to the distant sounds of the training that had started up again. He had spent quite a bit of time, at least within the orb, and had acquired four new skills he had to experiment with, he had also carved the three new channels so he would be ready whenever he acquired more corpses. His strength hadn't increased, but his room for growth had increased, which was good enough for him.

He took another shower and switched into another robe, leaving his house and heading over to the plaza that Yi Xue and the others had transformed into a martial field where they could train. When he reached the improvised martial field, the blue-haired and green-eyed Yi Xue was busy running around and doing her best to teach not just the 17 other people that had joined at the same time as her but also the 150 new arrivals that they picked up in Sand's Journey City.

The training came to an abrupt halt when the people saw Liang Chen walking over, all of them quickly dropping to their knees while respectfully greeting Liang Chen.

"Welcome, Wolf Lord!"

"Welcome, Storm Lord!"

Yi Xue and the others had clearly spread out the name they had chosen for Liang Chen, but it didn't seem like they were able to settle on which of the two that they should use. Liang Chen waved his hand in an annoyed manner at their kneeling, tossing the manuals and skills he had picked out.

"Stop that, it's just annoying. Here, you should have better progress if you use these, but don't rely on them too much, you'll never be able to go beyond them if you just rely on them. Yi Xue, your laws are a bit peculiar so I have none for you, but I found one that uses the law of death and one that uses the law of wind, they are used quite uniquely in the manuals so you might learn a thing or two."

Yi Xue and the 17 others hastily accepted the things that Liang Chen casually threw at them, quickly sinking their minds into the jade slips and jade scrolls. None of them had any great background that could provide them with skills or manuals so they were very emotional when they finished going through what they had been given. These were all definitely very valuable, but Liang Chen hadn't asked for anything from them in return, he simply handed it to them without any care.

It had been the same ever since the start, he had never asked anything from them, he just brought them along, protected them, and helped them get stronger without asking for anything in return. Others might consider him cruel and monstrous, but they felt that only they knew the truth about Liang Chen, only they saw his justice. Liang Chen would definitely laugh if he knew that they thought of him as justice, but he didn't know their thoughts so he simply turned to look at the 150 other people.

"Those of you who have no interest in cultivation or training don't have to bother taking part in it, you also won't have to fight, you can just stay here and live your lives as you please. If you want me to drop you off at any point in time then you can just tell me, I'm not going to hold you here if you don't want to be here. But those who want to get stronger, those who want to fight for something they believe in or hold dear, line up and show me your abilities, I'll give you a manual or skill that should suit you."

The bodies of the 150 people tensed up when Liang Chen's gaze landed on them, his golden pupils seemingly bringing with them an intense weight that pushed down on them. But none of them backed down and an orderly line was quickly formed in front of Liang Chen, even the young child and his parents that Liang Chen had saved were lined up.

They had all been slaves before, they had all been mistreated. But now they were done being slaves, they were done with being forced to follow someone else's order. The people started to show off everything they knew one by one, even the 17 others who had just received manuals and skills lined up. Yi Xue was the strongest one present, other than Liang Chen, so she didn't line up and instead chose to stand next to Liang Chen, looking at him somewhat curiously.

"You know, I don't think I ever asked you why you're doing this, did I? Don't get me wrong, I think what you're doing is great, these people really needed someone to save them. But I'm just curious, why are you saving them?"

People didn't do good or evil for nothing, every action had a cause behind it. But despite being among the first to follow Liang Chen, Yi Xue had no idea what cause fueled Liang Chen's actions. Of course, she hadn't followed him for long, she'd probably learn if she just stayed with him a bit longer. But she was impatient, so she didn't want to wait and decided to simply ask straight away. Liang Chen glanced at Yi Xue, most of his attention still focused on the person displaying his laws in front of him.

"Because I wasn't saved. I cried and I begged, but no one saved my parents, they watched and they cheered. Innocent people died for a dumb reason, yet the heavens remained quiet and indifferent. I learned that day that the heavens don't care about people like us, they don't have the wrath to punish evildoers. So I'll do it, I'll kill anyone who I consider evil, even if that is just a very selfish form of justice no different from evil. You should also think for yourself, once you've taken revenge on those who killed your family, what is there left for you to do, what will push you forward?"

Yi Xue fell into a short silence as Liang Chen moved his gaze back onto the person showing off his laws. Yi Xue's eyes looked Liang Chen up and down for a bit before a simple and child-like smile appeared on her face.

"You know, you remind me a lot of my dad! I don't have too many memories of him since I was just a child when I was forced to flee and ended up in an area where the flow of time was drastically increased, but I do remember that he was a very just person. Aunty also couldn't stay quiet about how good of a person he was and how he would constantly do his best to help people. She also said that he was a very humble person, just like you. She said that he was so humble that he even managed to ignore his own grand status to fall in love with the maid of a small Bai clan."

Yi Xue pat Liang Chen on the back as she spoke, but her words turned Liang Chen completely rigid. His attention immediately shift from the person in front of him and onto Yi Xue, his eyes wide open as the veins inside them resembled tiny snakes. His voice faltered a little as he spoke, leaving Yi Xue somewhat confused as she responded.

"You... What is your mother's name?"

"My mom? She was killed shortly after I was born since the man she fell in love with was from an enemy clan, but aunty told me that her name was Yi Xinyi. Her death is the reason I got the Yi last name rather than dad's Qing last name."