“Hal...Half-demon? There is such a thing?” Alistair asked.

“Yes. It will allow you to cultivate your physical strength. The power you will acquire will be greater than those of the same realm. Of course, if you keep cultivating your inner world, you will become even stronger.” Arkul said.

“I'm in.” Alistair said followed by the rest of the hunters.

No one could refuse power when it was offered to them.

“Good. We still have to ask Cain and Edwin.” Allan said.

They returned to Gold sword city.

Cain was the first to accept. His father, Edwin, was filled with skepticism as he asked: “Is it safe?”

Allan sighed then said: “I’m a half demon as well. There is nothing dangerous about it.”

“Yes, there is. If you do not hide the fact that you are half-demons, it might attract some unwanted attention. We do not know what the humans will think of it yet. Just don’t go around saying things.” Arkul said.

Edwin then said: “I only have this son of mine in this life. His mother left us too soon. If I can accompany him in an immortal life, so be it.”

Arkul nodded and went to find an empty cup. He took his dragon form but two meters long. He opened a wound and poured blood in the cup, drop by drop. Twelve drops.

“One drop each will suffice for the transformation.” Arkul said as twelve little cups made of fire appeared out of nowhere and took a drop of blood each from the cup.

The little cups of fire then disappeared inside the foreheads of the ten hunters, Cain and Edwin.

“No pain?” Cain dubiously asked.

Arkul just shook his head and said: “No. There is no pain. Close your eyes and feel if something has changed.”

The twelve then closed their eyes.

They could see a fiery little core in their head.

“This...it looks just like a demonic core.” One of the hunters said.

“My body keeps growing stronger by the second.” Another hunter said.

Arkul nodded and said: “Give it a few days for the cores to adapt to your bodies. Your bodies will slowly strengthen themselves to reach the Immortal Realm. It is not the Immortal realm of the humans but of a demonic beast. You’ll be much stronger than humans of the same realm. When it is time to cultivate, just direct all the primordial energy you absorb to the core, it will take care of the rest.”

Allan tapped his storage pouch and thousands of demonic cores appeared on the floor. He said: “These are all the cores I have. Cultivate with them.”

They did not argue as they understood it was their chance to become stronger.

The twelve then sat cross-legged and started furiously absorbing the pure primordial energy contained inside the demonic cores.

Allan asked Arkul: “What do we call them?”

“Dragon warriors.” Arkul said with a smile. He took the previous appearance of a blue bird and continued: “With all those core you just gave them, they will undoubtedly reach the 6th tier of the Immortal Realm. Some will even reach the 7th tier.”

Allan then said: “Isn’t that a bit too easy? It basically means that they will become Gods just as easily. How do we control them then?”

“Relax. It’s impossible for a sired bloodline to become stronger than the sire unless I become lazy and stop cultivating. Besides, reaching the God realm is difficult enough for everybody but since they have the bloodline of a legendary demonic beast like me, it will be easier for them. Who knows, they might even gain some of my abilities.” Arkul said.

“If my parents hadn’t sealed my demonic core, I might be a God right now.” Allan said.

“They did it because they had no choice...” Arkul said before he stopped.

Thunder struck Allan as his hands almost strangled the blue bird saying: “Do you know something?”

“Well, your parents sealed both our memories about that day. My seal is weakening because I am God now but I can only tell you that they had no choice but to seal you. You also can only break the seal once you are stronger than them and if you cultivate as a human it might take forever and there is a possibility that they become even stronger while you desperately try to catch up to them.” Arkul said.

“They had no choice huh...I wonder what possessed them to do such a thing...” Allan said but he could not see Arkul heavily sweating in the background.

Arkul was thinking: “You’re a monster that should not be allowed to live...If only you knew, Allan...”

The twelve dragon warriors finished cultivating in the morning the next day.

Eleven of them had reached the 6th tier of the Immortal Realm. Cain was the only one who had reached the 8th tier.

“This is good. An unknown variable. I like it.” Arkul flew around Cain, examining him.

“What’s so weird about it? He could’ve just absorbed more primordial energy than us.” Edwin said. He was proud that his son showed more talent than everyone.

Arkul cleared his throat and said: “ Some individuals have an incredible affinity with primordial energy and Cain happens to be one of them. That is why he left you all in the dust. The God realm is going to be a smooth sail for him. The God realm is about attuning oneself with primordial energy, leading to becoming one with the world at the Primordial god realm.” he then looked at everyone, Allan included. He said: “He has more chances of reaching the Primordial God realm than all of us combined.”

They all looked at Cain with more respect than before.

Edwin was happy that a bright future awaited his son.

Allan woke everyone from their reveries saying: “I will soon enter the Demonic sword sect. Your job will be to take care of the store. You are to hunt demonic beasts without us for a while. Twenty-five percent of the store’s earnings will be divided among you, so work hard.”

A few hours later.

Allan, Arkul and the ten hunters were hunting again in the Thousand beast mountains.

With an 8th tier of the Immortal realm like Cain watching over the store, there was no need to worry about the merchandise’s safety.

With ten capable hunters at the 6th tier of the Immortal realm, Allan who was riding on Arkul’s back found it easy to hunt.

In one single hour, hundreds of demonic beasts in the Immortal realm had been slain.

“We should head back.” Allan said.

Arkul then turned around to face the hunters: “You should go back without us.”

The hunters then left.

Arkul said: “Before you enter the sect, I’d like to train you first.”

“What kind of training?”Allan asked.

“It’s to temper your body. As you are now, you’re too weak and it’s the best moment to train your body. You will gain tremendously when you reach the Immortal realm and God realm. When you acquire a stronger body while you’re still in the Human realm, the body will become even stronger as it reaches the next realms. It’s the same kind of training humans do to gain stronger bodies that rival demonic beasts.”Arkul said.

“Okay, I’m interested. Once my seal is broken and can cultivate like a demon, my physical strength will be upgraded even more.” Allan said.

Allan watched as Arkul spit fire and created a pool of a scarlet fire that burned the very earth underneath it.

Allan was shocked as a revelation appeared in his head. He said: “You’re expecting me to enter the pool of fire? What will my frail body become if you can melt everything under the God realm?”

“I diminished the intensity to the human realm. The regenerative abilities of the human realm should allow you to stay in the fire for fifteen minutes or so. You must stay as long as you can in the fire and then come outside to regenerate and then go back in. It must go on until you do not need to regenerate anymore. If that happens, I will slowly increase the intensity of the fire until we reach the fire that I normally use at the God realm.” Arkul said.

Allan expressed his doubts: “This can’t be just a normal tempering exercise.”

“Of course not. You are using a dragon’s fire to temper yourself. Eventually, you will gain a Fire attribute divine body impervious to any fire even above your level.”

Allan entered the pool of fire.

In the next moments that followed, horrifying screams could be heard coming from Allan.

Ten minutes later, Allan came out of the fire with a charred body. He was slowly regenerating as he gasped for breath.

He returned to the fire as his body returned to normal.

Several days later.

Allan’s avatar was in the golden palace in his inner world.

He was cultivating inside his inner world while his real body was in the fire, outside.

He had discovered that absorbing primordial energy while regenerating helped his body heal faster. It allowed him to stay in the fire for a longer time.

He was still in the 7th tier of the Human realm as Arkul did not allow him to reach the Immortal realm before he gained the fire attribute divine body.

“My fire will do more than giving him a powerful body. It will give him a body that can absorb any fire. A body that can use fire as easy as breathing. Just like a dragon. This is an ability that only I can give, but I have to fuse my soul energy inside the fire to help him absorb it. It’s tiring.” Arkul said.

Arkul observed the charred Allan inside the fire and thought: “When it’s about gaining more power, he never backs down...It’s a good thing his parents sealed him though...A good thing for everybody...”

“Once he obtains that divine body, I will not have to worry about him. He will be safe from even Gods. Basically, he is about to gain a body as strong as a weak God realm Godbeast while he is still in the Human realm. When he reaches the Immortal realm, It will be a body as strong as middle stage God realm Godbeast. If he ever reaches the God realm, he will be comparable in might with a weak Primordial god.”

“Time to increase the intensity of the fire to the God realm.” Said Arkul as he exhaled a scarlet fire that ate and replaced the fire that was around Allan.

Allan was having difficulties withstanding the new fire but he persevered nonetheless.

Three days later, Allan had completely regenerated. He was completely safe inside the scarlet fire.

He opened his mouth and breathed all the fire inside his body as if it was the most normal thing he could do.

He opened his eyes saying: “You lied to me. This power...It looks a lot like yours...and my body...I feel that it is as strong as yours...” He then started wearing a new set of lavish clothes that he took out of his storage pouch.

“Well, look at you complaining. I did this for your own good. You are still too immature. In pursuit of power, you went as far as cultivating an unknown magical art that literally fell out of the sky. Just treat that new God realm divine body of yours as my birthday present for when you turn twenty in a few days.” Arkul said as he transformed into the usual blue bird. He looked completely spent as he perched himself on Allan’s shoulder

Allan ignored him and instead looked at his palms. He concentrated and a scarlet fireball appeared above each palm.

He injected even more fire into the fireballs until they were as big as his head.

He then targeted two boulders not far from him and threw the fireballs one after the other.

The boulders of five meters long disappeared in rubble after a deafening explosion.

Allan closed his eyes and scoured his body.

“This...”He said in shock. He could see that his body was just basically a container of fire. It was even using primordial energy from his inner world to replenish the fire he had just used.

Arkul then said: “I used my soul energy to force your body to absorb the fire as well as my soul energy. Your body is now of the fire attribute. It can replenish the fire you use by eating primordial energy just like my dragon body does. You also gained the strength of a god realm Godbeast...”

“Why do you look like that?” Allan asked the blue bird that looked like it might collapse at any moment.

“You absorbed too much of my soul energy so you’ll have to carry me for a while as I recuperate.” Arkul said.

Allan took the bird in his left hand then summoned the white wings from his inner world as he flew in the sky.

On the way to Gold sword city, they were stopped by three masked individuals.

Two of them were in the 4th tier of the Immortal realm, while one was in the 5th tier of the Immortal Realm.

“You must be that rich Mr. Kreel.” One of them said.

“Hand over your storage pouch.” Another said.

“You’re so well protected these days that we waited for this moment when you were alone to ambush you.” The leader said.

All they could feel from Allan was his 7th tier Human realm cultivation.

Allan just breathed a torrential fire that incinerated the three masked men before resuming his flight.

There was nothing left of them. Not even ashes.

The many spies lurking around shit themselves at the sight of such a scene.

Arkul thought: “Was I wrong to transfer my strength to him?”