2: Chapter 2: Good News: My Brother Wore It Too

Just as Xiao Ran was about to cry out that his life was over, a figure suddenly blocked his path.

Yin Duzi's expression instantly darkened at the sight; someone actually dared to ruin his plans?

He looked up, about to snap, but when he saw the person's face, he nearly pissed himself.

"Sect... Sect Master."

The next second, Yin Duzi fell to his knees and began kowtowing.

Standing before him was a tall, majestic middle-aged man surrounded by black demonic flames.

Sect Master Li Jiuyou, the Sect Master of the Eternal Night Demon Sect and a powerhouse at the Body Integration Stage.

He was a figure at the very top of the cultivation world's pyramid.

Sect Master Li Jiuyou didn't give Yin Duzi a second glance, only looking up silently at Xiao Ran.

With just that one look.

Xiao Ran felt as if he were being seen through completely, from inside out.

"Myriad Dao Guixu Body... a natural-born genius of the Demonic Path."

"Three thousand years... Hahaha, this eternal Physique has finally reappeared in the world."

Sect Master Li Jiuyou suddenly laughed toward the sky, his voice trembling with extreme excitement.

After a long while, he turned to look around, his eerie eyes scanning the area, and his voice suddenly rose with unquestionable authority.

"From this day forth, this boy shall be the Demon Saint of my Eternal Night Demon Sect!"

The sound of gasping echoed through the cave.

Xiao Ran lay on the ground, his mind still in a daze.

Demon Saint? What the hell is that?

Xiao Ran didn't understand, but he reacted quickly.

It didn't matter what a Demon Saint was; what mattered was that he seemed... safe for now?

"Your Highness Demon Saint, please change your clothes."

A black-robed man suddenly appeared and respectfully handed over a set of black robes.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran scrambled up, his limbs still a bit weak.

He took the clothes; they were cold to the touch, the material neither silk nor linen, with hidden patterns flowing on the surface—clearly extraordinary.

He simply threw them on haphazardly.

Sure enough, the next second, the clothes automatically conformed to his body, fitting surprisingly well.

"Follow me."

Sect Master Li Jiuyou turned and walked toward the depths of the cave.

Xiao Ran followed silently.

As he passed the kneeling black-robed men, he could clearly sense various emotions: envy, jealousy, awe...

Great, a classic start.

Extraordinary talent, favored by the higher-ups, and hated by his peers.

Was some blind fool supposed to come and provoke him next, so he could slap their face?

Xiao Ran complained internally as he walked.

But despite the complaining, his alertness was at its peak.

After all, this wasn't a novel; this was the real world.

Though this reality was a bit surreal, it was dangerous!

The warmth of the blood mist from the boy who had exploded in the pool earlier hadn't even fully dissipated from his face.

...

Before long!

Sect Master Li Jiuyou led Xiao Ran to a palace built on the mountain peak.

The palace was entirely pitch-black, with hideous demonic statues perched on the eaves, and a plaque hanging above the gates with three blood-red characters.

Eternal Night Palace.

"This place shall be your Immortal Cave from now on."

Sect Master Li Jiuyou waved his hand and cast a Spell, and the palace gates swung open with a boom.

"All the resources you need will be delivered shortly. The Investiture Ceremony will be held in three days, at which time all the Demonic Path Sects in the Northern Territory will come to pay homage."

"Do you have any other requests?"

Xiao Ran paused for three seconds, then looked up and said, "Can you kill that old bastard who just tried to kill me?"

Sect Master Li Jiuyou was stunned for a moment, took a deep look at Xiao Ran, and then grinned.

"He is already dead."

Before his voice had even faded, Sect Master Li Jiuyou had already disappeared into the Void Realm.

Xiao Ran breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the bottomless darkness inside the palace gates, thought for a moment, and stepped inside.

The palace gates closed behind him.

The darkness swallowed all light, but strangely, Xiao Ran found he could see everything around him clearly.

The twelve Coiled Dragon Pillars standing in the hall, the Black Jade Throne on the high platform at the end, and the Devilish Qi floating in the air, ten times denser than outside.

The Guixu Body began to operate automatically, greedily absorbing the Devilish Qi.

Xiao Ran walked slowly to the throne, but instead of sitting on it, he sat down cross-legged in front of it.

He needed time to digest everything that had happened today.

He had transmigrated.

From a twenty-first-century Foot Massage Parlor to this hellhole of a demon Sect.

He didn't die from the jump; instead, he awakened a powerful-sounding Physique and was named some Demon Saint by a powerful Sect Master.

So here was the question...

Where was the most important Golden Finger for a transmigrator?

"System?"

Xiao Ran tried calling out in his mind.

At that moment, an emotionless voice exploded deep within his mind:

[Host's consciousness detected as awake]

[System binding program initiated: 1%... 100%]

[Binding complete]

[Welcome to the Ultimate Demon Lord Cultivation System]

Xiao Ran was completely stunned.

What the hell? A System?

This thing actually exists?

"Holy crap, a Saint Physique plus a System? I'm invincible!"

Xiao Ran instantly felt like he'd hit the jackpot, his face splitting into a wide grin.

"Good, good, good. A god-tier start, but I feel like I'm forgetting something?"

A hint of doubt flashed through Xiao Ran's mind, and then a figure suddenly crossed his thoughts.

"Holy crap, I transmigrated, but what about Changsheng?"

Where was that idiot who jumped down with him?

Did he fall to his death, or did he transmigrate too? If he did, where was he? Could he be in this demon Sect too?

He recalled the final moment before the jump: Li Changsheng's face, pale with fear, and the hint of... guilt in his eyes when Xiao Ran grabbed his wrist?

Guilt my ass. If we die, we die together.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran suddenly laughed.

As he laughed, his nose felt a bit stingy.

He and Li Changsheng had known each other since they were in diapers.

In elementary school, they skipped class to play games; in middle school, they both got rejected by the same class beauty; in high school, they got demerits for fighting together; and although they didn't go to the same university, they hung out every weekend.

After starting work, they rented an apartment together. Li Changsheng had his heart broken three times, and each time Xiao Ran was there to drink with him and listen to him cry like an idiot.

The last time the guy got dumped was at a barbecue stall, wiping away tears while eating skewers.

"Xiao Ran, do you think I'm a total failure?"

Xiao Ran handed him a skewer of kidneys.

"Failure my ass. Out with the old, in with the new. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the Foot Massage Parlor and we'll get the most expensive package."

And then they went.

And then... they jumped.

"Damn it."

Xiao Ran cursed under his breath, not sure who he was cursing at.

He shook his head, forcing himself to calm down.

Now wasn't the time for sentimentality. He had to figure out the rules of this world first, and then... find a way to find Changsheng.

If he's alive, I need to see him; if he's dead, I need to see his body.

He got up and walked around the palace.

Besides the throne, the side halls contained a Cultivation Room, an Alchemy Room, and a Study.

There were several Jade Slips on the shelves in the Study. Xiao Ran picked one up and pressed it to his forehead... just like they taught in novels.

Sure enough, a stream of information flooded into his mind.

The first three layers of the Mind-Cultivation Technique for the Eternal Night Demon Codex.

The text was obscure, but the Guixu Body seemed to come with its own translation function, and Xiao Ran could actually understand most of it.

Simply put, it taught how to absorb, refine, and utilize Devilish Qi.

It also included several Spells: Black Fiend Palm, Ghost Shadow Step, and the Soul-Snatching Curse.

Demonic Techniques, pure Demonic Techniques.

Xiao Ran put down the Jade Slip, his feelings complicated.

He was an upstanding youth of the twenty-first century.

Well, maybe not perfectly upstanding, but at least he'd never done anything truly wicked... Now he had to Cultivate Demonic Techniques; it felt somewhat ironic.

But if he didn't Cultivate, he would die.

If he didn't have enough strength in this demon Sect, he might not last three days.

"Stay alive first."

"Only by staying alive can I find him."

Xiao Ran told himself. He returned to the Cultivation Room, sat in the position described in the technique, and tried to channel the Devilish Qi in his body.

The Guixu Body began to spin faster.

This time, Xiao Ran actively controlled it, guiding the Devilish Qi along specific Meridians.

Wherever the Devilish Qi passed, the Meridians were widened and strengthened.

A cold and powerful sensation spread from his Dantian to his entire body.

This was power.

A real, tangible power belonging to a transcendent world.

Xiao Ran immersed himself in this feeling, losing track of time.

Until a certain moment, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind...

"Xiao Ran... where are you?"

Xiao Ran's whole body jolted, and his Devilish Qi almost went haywire.

The voice continued, filled with obvious terror and uncertainty.

"Xiao Ran, I think I've transmigrated. I'm on a mountaintop surrounded by white mist, and a bunch of old men are surrounding me, saying I'm some kind of Saint Physique and want to make me their Saint... and I f*cking awakened a Daoist Holy Lord Cultivation System."

"What the hell is this place?"

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Then, Xiao Ran laughed.

He laughed until his shoulders shook, until tears nearly came to his eyes.

He slowly looked up and spoke to the empty Cultivation Room in a voice only he could hear:

"Changsheng, you dumbass."

"I'm in a hellhole too."

"But the old men here... seem a bit more fierce than the ones you've got."