Chapter 145
The First Demon Scholar
The Shadow Demon was truly satisfied this time.
As Eivass’s Path of Devotion leveled up, the flesh and blood he voluntarily sacrificed also increased in potency.
Perhaps it was truly stuffed, perhaps it was expressing gratitude, or perhaps it was due to the appearance of the Butterfly, which made it somewhat wary and eager to improve its standing in Eivass’s heart.
The Shadow Demon took the initiative to offer, willing to try the other aspect of the Shepherd’s Method and bestow part of its power source to Lily.
As a demon, the Shadow Demon did not believe in “love that grows over time.” Only profit and fear were absolute connections. Therefore, it tried its best to become more useful.
—Despite being an Upper Demon, the Shadow Demon felt like it was currently the weaker party.
If it were any other Demon Scholar, they would have to revere the Shadow Demon. This is how the concept of “Upper Demon” came to be.
Because demons were inherently stronger than them, the contract’s constraint on demons was insufficient. These demons would listen when they were in a good mood, and ignore them when they were not. It wasn’t even difficult for demons to break free from them, kill their masters, or return to their own territory in the Dream Realm.
But that was fine as well.
Compared to Demon Scholars who couldn’t motivate the Shadow Demon, it preferred the type like Eivass, who had a bright future and made it feel danger and excitement.
“Speaking of which,” Eivass casually asked while preparing the Shepherd’s Ritual, “you said you were reborn a few decades ago? Have you been summoned by other Demon Scholars before?”
“Yes, I have.”
The Shadow Demon let out a light chuckle in Chloe’s sweet voice, “But I casually killed them all.
“They were too weak. They had no power, no talent; no desire to ascend higher, and not even much foresight. It was rare for them to summon me, only to hope I could take away their political rivals or protect them from the shadows.”
It was clearly impatient with those Demon Scholars. “Killing is such a small matter; couldn’t you just hire an assassin or a bodyguard?”
“Huh?”
Lily, who was nearby, asked curiously, “Do demons dislike killing?”
“This is common knowledge that many Demon Scholars are unaware of—most demons don’t actually enjoy bullying the weak. Demons enjoy consuming humans, or rather, all Phantom Demons are interested in souls, because souls, thoughts, and wills are the food for Phantom Demons. The Shadow Demon is also tasting my ‘transcendence’.”
Eivass replied, “Demons are simply cruel by nature and violent in temperament, so they act without mercy and choose the quickest, most utilitarian means to obtain their sustenance. But they don’t derive pleasure from tormenting their victims… Humans, judging demons by their own morality and preferences, have concluded that demons enjoy killing.”
Lower Demons like to attack humans because Lower Demons are the weakest of the Phantom Demons themselves. Just like the Hooked Demon Jack, they were not demons transformed by the Mark of Sin, but nascent Phantom Demons spontaneously born from concepts of pain, sin, evil, and desire.
These Phantom Demons had little intelligence and no memories of their past lives. They only had instincts, and could barely even speak coherently.
Other than residing in the Dream Realm, they did not leave complete corpses when they died in the Material Realm. In fact, they were not much different from ordinary beasts. Many beasts were even smarter than them—like Gryphons.
“The characteristics that Demon Scholars have deduced by observing the habits of these Lower Demons do not align with Upper Demons. This is also the reason why they face strong resistance when controlling Upper Demons.”
Eivass said with a smile, “For these Upper Demons, who possess normal human intelligence, or even greater intelligence, Demon Scholars are accustomed to controlling those lesser demons and treating them as children or imbeciles. This is an action that can easily infuriate demons.”
“So we don’t mind human Demon Scholars classifying ‘Upper Demons’ and ‘Lower Demons’,”
The Shadow Demon added from beneath Eivass, letting them summon those brainless demons. I’d rather rest in the Shadow Domain.”
“What is the Shadow Domain like?” Lily asked curiously.
“You’ll see it soon,”
The Shadow Demon replied, “Although the Shadow Domain is in the Dream Realm, it also overlaps with reality in part. It is also called the Shadow Realm, the Shadow Plane… Although mortals consider the ‘Shadow Realm,’ ‘Heavenly Realm,’ and ‘Underworld’ to be different ‘planes,’ they are actually all in the Dream Realm. They are just different regions of the Dream Realm.”
In the Shadow Domain, the Shadow Demon was actually a minority. There were other Phantom Demons who possessed shadow powers.
The vast majority of them originated from the Path of Love, with a few from the Transcendent Path and Path Adaptation. This was because the Heavenly Envoy who controlled the Shadow Domain was not a Fallen Heavenly Envoy, but a Shadow Heavenly Envoy.
“Isn’t the Dream Realm the place where we participated in the Ascension Ritual?” Lily pressed.
“All Extraordinary individuals who participate in the Ascension Ritual actually enter the same area. The area they enter during the ritual is called the ‘Trial Grounds’.”
Eivass replied, “I heard that in the past, the Trial Grounds did not have Apostles as Hosts. There would be some Phantom Demons lurking nearby, crashing into the Ascension Ritual and devouring the souls of the Extraordinary individuals participating in the ascension… It was like a candidate being snatched away by a passing wolf.
“There were also some Phantom Demons who particularly disliked a certain Path. So they would specifically target the Extraordinary individuals of that Path, causing their ascension to fail. Some Extraordinary individuals even took advantage of this habit, summoning Phantom Demons and informing them in advance to seek cooperation outside the arena.
“This was undoubtedly a form of cheating.
“The Host was there to prevent this from happening and to guard the ritual grounds from outside intrusion. Although Apostles may not be particularly strong, they are the representatives of the Nine Pillar Gods. Attacking an Apostle is equivalent to attacking the Nine Pillar Gods… Am I right?”
“Completely correct, my wise and learned Master. Your understanding of demons and the Dream Realm already surpasses over ninety percent of the Demon Scholars in this World.”
“Ninety percent? One hundred percent!”
Eivass said shamelessly, “Even the progenitor of the Demon Scholar profession, Fontanelle, who has now become a Great Demon and an Apostle of a Fallen Heavenly Envoy, has taken the wrong path.”
Only in this field did he have the confidence and assurance to surpass everyone in his era.
Although the Demon Scholar profession was currently the most popular among the Transcendent Path, it was a relatively young profession.
The first Demon Scholar was born in the early fifteenth century, less than five hundred years ago. His name was Jean de Fontanelle, the first person in the world to develop demonic contracts.
He was once an Alchemist, attempting to create a Potion ‘that could bring the dead back to life’.
He clearly failed, but he only half-failed, because he summoned his former friend… who had transformed into a Shadow Demon. To keep his friend in the mortal world, he developed demonic contracts.
“The first Demon Scholar in the world contracted a Shadow Demon. Legend has it that he could summon demons from his own shadow to tear others apart… that was undoubtedly the Shadow Demon.
“He himself was not famous, but he had a student named François Prelati. He did not inherit his teacher’s alchemy legacy, but became interested in demonology. Eventually, by studying his teacher’s theories, he established the legacy of Demon Scholars.
“He later became the Snarer Demon, and his friend Gilles de Rais, who was originally interested in alchemy, also became a Blood Demon under his deliberate guidance. These were the first three individuals to advance to Demon Avatar through a Demon Scholar’s tutelage. In the end, all three of them became Apostles of Fallen Heavenly Envoys.”
For humans with short lifespans, the ability to sublimate into immortal and immensely powerful demons was extremely alluring.
As a result, all Demon Scholars took the wrong path.
However, this “wrong path” also depended on the era. Before the invention of the Ouroboros Ring ritual, becoming a demon was the only Ascension route for the Transcendent Path.
But they clearly did not have enough understanding of demons. They didn’t know how to summon Upper Demons, didn’t understand Upper Demons well, and their research on demons themselves was not deep enough… Although they had analyzed the reasons for the birth and abilities of some lower-level demons, they were basically ignorant of demons at the Fifth Tier and above.
“Fallen Heavenly Envoy?”
Lily realized a point, “Why not the Serpent Father?”
“This is where the problem lies.”
Eivass just smiled, but did not elaborate, “Alright, preparations are almost complete. Let’s try the Shepherd’s Method… channeling the Shadow Demon’s power into your body.”
This was actually why Eivass was certain that those Demon Scholars had taken the wrong path.
Because Demon Avatars could only ascend to become Apostles of Fallen Heavenly Envoys.
Contrary to what demons implied, the Serpent Father was a relatively merciful Pillar God, or at least a more detached one.
He abhorred blood sacrifices and live sacrifices, and therefore disliked cruel Demon Avatars. The Transcendent Path always carried the concept of cruelty and evil, which was actually due to demons having louder voices and stronger presences.
Therefore, as long as one became a Demon Avatar, they would be rejected by the Serpent Father.
This was why, after transforming into a Demon Avatar, they could no longer advance further on the Extraordinary Path.
—This was a secret that one hundred percent of Demon Scholars did not know, and perhaps even the vast majority of demons did not know. Because although demons worship the Serpent Father, they could not reach Him at all.
So Eivass chose to remain silent.
Because this was information he should not have known under any circumstances, nor did he have any legitimate channel to obtain it!
Chapter Two, updated!
Asking for votes at the end of the month and beginning of the month, and then I’ll recommend a friend’s book~
“This Fox Spirit is Too Unhuman”
The male lead is a scumbag fox, his tail can be inserted and removed, joyful and unrestrained, life is too bitter, just watch and be happy.
…”Ren Yidao! For goodness sake, be a human!”
“Eh? Be human? But I’m a Fox Immortal.”
“Also, please call me Godfather.”
