Previously in the Ice-Fire cave, as instructed by his Spiritual Sense, Xinzi's Klesha Heart settled on a rank three Mysterious Beast to demonize: a Snow Direwolf. The remaining Evil Qi in the True Devil's power orb was enough to turn a rank-three mysterious beast into a rank-six Ordained Demon Beast bound to Xinzi's Klesha Heart. But while our monk could have invested it in higher ranked beasts to produce a stronger demon, he had to keep the demonic creature at a level that wouldn't turn the whole Yanzhou upside down. Rank-six was the perfect mark.
Most rank-three beasts couldn't use human language, but this didn't prevent their intelligence and cunning to match—or in some cases outmatch—their human enemies. So when the scrawny direwolf saw a dark-purple skeletal hand wielding a pink heart, its first reflex was to run.
"Ahooo!" The fact that the skeletal hand seemed dead-set on hunting it down didn't help, making the direwolf tap in its deepest energy reserves to run faster than it ever did before. Alas, the Klesha Heart's speed wouldn't lose to a rank-three beast, and in a flash, it caught up to the wolf—hovering above it.
'Be not afraid. The master of this land has noticed your struggles. This is your opportunity to transcend destiny and lord over myriad lives. Embrace the master's creed. Embrace his will, and you will be reborn as an Ordained Beast of the Infernal Paradise.' Following the spiritual sense's instructions, the Klesha Heart said.
The demon hearts that Xinzi cultivated through the Reincarnation of Mahasura didn't just provide him with extra miscellaneous abilities. The hearts had lives of their own and could, whenever necessary, become avatars of the monk's will. Pink mist oozed out of the Klesha Heart, quieting the direwolf's nerves.
As scrawny as direwolves could be, though its overall status in the Ice-Fire cave awed lesser beasts, among its peers, this direwolf struggled to establish itself. An injury suffered during its breakthrough to rank three crippled half of its offensive abilities, making it so that it couldn't compete with the average rank-three beast in terms of battle-power.
If cultivators valued strength, then mysterious beasts made it their law. Power and bloodlines were the only ways to keep beasts in line. In such an environment, the scrawny direwolf not only struggled to compete for resources, but as it couldn't offer the protection that its male peers could, it also failed to find a rank-three mate. Despair had long overtaken it, but never did it expect that as it considered its options, a Demon Heart would appear out of nowhere, and like an emissary of the Infernal Lords, offer it a road towards ascension.
In that instant, the direwolf believed that all the indignities it'd suffered until now where but nature's way to make it cultivate good fortune. Now the seed of good fortune had blossomed. Its time to rise had come!
"Ahooo!" The direwolf agreed without delay, waving its ears, head and tail in excitement. The Klesha Heart didn't need its permission, but it did make things simpler. Still, as Heart and wolf focused on one another, they failed to notice an armored lion that grumbled as it walked by.
"Humph! That dastardly pair of master and mistress have made me lose all face among the troops. That damned Gorilla General's rebellion also didn't help. Now my prestige sweeps the floor, and I can only keep the peons in line with my cultivation base! What a tragedy!
I want to regain my glory!
I want my subjects to fawn over me!" As it trotted through the Ice-Fire cave, the Armored Lion King sobbed uncontrollably. But then, a brilliant idea flashed in its mind, and confidence returned to its sanguine eyes. "Moves! I have to make moves to regain my subjects' love and adoration! Yes, I will patrol the streets, defend the oppressed, and uphold the Lion King's law!" The Armored Lion King raised its metallic paw at the ceiling, making a solemn pledge. Its cobra tail seemed to disagree, but dared not utter a word.
Sweeping the cave like a majestic monarch gazing upon its myriad subjects, the Lion King noticed the snow direwolf facing the extended skeletal claw and beating demon heart. By now, the Klesha Heart was aiming the orb of Evil Qi at the tail-wagging wolf, ready to pour it all into it. "Bold skeletal arm! How dare you assault This King's subject in broad daylight?! Little wolf, be not afraid, This King will save you!" The Armored Lion King roared and leaped towards the snow direwolf.
The orb of Evil Qi had barely reached the eager direwolf that the Armored Lion King slammed into it, sending poor scrawny flying towards a cave wall, and heroically take its place.
"Ahooo!"
To the direwolf and Klesha Heart's horror, the orb of Evil Qi poured into the Armored Lion King, bringing alongside it tidal waves of foul transformative powers and the instructions left in Xinzi's Spiritual Sense.
"Euh? Dastardly skeletal arm, what have you done to This King?! Wait, you look…familiar. Where has This King seen…oh! New boss' extra heart. My bad. My Humble Self misunderstood the situation. Please carry on…" The words had barely crossed the Lion King's maw that the foul transformative powers kicked in, making it balloon to staggering heights while its limbs morphed and its body adapted to make it fall into a bipedal posture. The Armored Lion King's wings spread out, bringing alongside them an eruption of Evil Qi.
The Evil Qi seeped its organs and blood, making its insides undergo a complete makeover. Dazzling red light flashed in its eyes, and as it clenched its clawed fists, its muscles expanded as well. "Rank-six Ordained Demon Beast…rank-seven Infernal Shadow Beast! Hahahaha! This King has risen to rank seven! Odious nun! See how This King takes you…huh?" Overwhelmed by its surging demonic powers, the Armored Lion King almost lost sight of its condition. Xinzi's commands flooded its mind, not only ending the celebration, but reminding it that, as before, it was no more than the monk's free goon.
"Ah, orders, so many of them. The infernal master's will cannot be opposed. Hahaha! This King will do the job and get more rewards!" Before the Klesha Heart could put one word in, the Armored Lion King vanished, soaring across the Dongli state to land above the Thousand Roads mountain.
'This…the script has gone rogue.' The Klesha Heart couldn't believe what it saw. Although via the True Devil's Evil Qi, it managed to turn the Armored Lion King into a demonic beast bound to its will. According to Xinzi's plan, the demon dispatched had to be an entity that they could afford to lose, should the need arise. On top of that, it shouldn't be able to establish any connection to Xinzi, or strong enough to overturn Yanzhou.
This was why the Klesha Heart selected the direwolf. But now the Armored Lion King not only hijacked the plan, but fulfilled all the requirements that Xinzi didn't want his new demon to. Aware that it'd botched the job, the Klesha Heart beat faster. Xinzi could see everything through the Heart, and so didn't need a report.
"Ahoooo!" Meanwhile, poor scrawny wolf wailed incessantly. That bastard king was too shameless, and didn't even hesitate to rob a junior's once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
On this day, scrawny wolf swore that if it could catch up to the Armored Lion King, it'd make it pay back this slight with one-hundred times the interests! But that….will be a matter for another time.