Marvel: The other side of the double-passing door is Devouring the Stars

Chapter 503 The craftsmanship is indeed exquisite!

"puff!"

The Centipede Shadow Blade pierced the Shadow Giant Wolf's left eye, disappearing all the way into the hilt. Lightning energy surged from the blade, raging through the Shadow Giant Wolf's brain.

"Awooo!!!" The Shadow Giant Wolf let out a shrill scream.

Its body convulsed violently, and the shadow realm collapsed instantly. The darkness dissipated, and light returned.

Rowan drew his Centipede Shadow Blade, took a few steps back, and coldly stared at the Shadow Giant Wolf.

"You...you..." The Shadow Giant Wolf trembled all over, its left eye was a bloody mess, and it had completely lost its fighting ability.

"I told you, you're not qualified to take anything from me," Rowan said calmly. "Now, do you still want to take it?"

"No... I wouldn't dare again..." the shadow giant wolf stammered. "My lord, spare my life... I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness. I beg you for mercy..."

Rowan sneered as he watched the Shadow Giant Wolf wag its tail and beg for mercy.

“Get lost,” he said. “If you dare to mess with me again, you won’t be so lucky.”

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!" The Shadow Giant Wolf nodded repeatedly, then dragged its mangled body and fled in a sorry state.

Rowan looked in the direction where the Shadow Giant Wolf had disappeared and sheathed his Centipede Shadow Blade.

"The Centipede Shadow Blade is more powerful than I imagined," he thought. "Lightning attacks are incredibly effective against dark-attribute monsters. I made the right choice with this blade."

He stretched his limbs, preparing to venture deeper into the Shadow Wasteland in search of even stronger opponents.

However, at that moment, he suddenly sensed several auras rapidly approaching.

"Hmm?" Rowan frowned and turned to look.

Several figures flew in from a distance and quickly landed in front of him.

There were five people in total, four men and one woman. They were of different races; some had blue skin, some had pointed ears, and some were exceptionally tall. They all exuded a stellar-level aura, with strength ranging from the fifth to the eighth rank of the stellar level.

The leader was a burly man with dark red skin and two curved horns on his head, clearly a demon. His aura was the strongest, reaching the eighth level of the Stellar Realm.

"Haha, it really is here!" The demon man laughed heartily upon seeing Rowan. "Brothers, I knew that energy fluctuation was off; sure enough, someone was fighting here."

Rowan sized up the five people, his eyes cold: "Who are you? What do you want with me?"

"Who we are isn't important," the demon man said, sizing up Rowan with a greedy glint in his eyes. "What's important is, young man, your equipment is quite impressive. B-grade armor, B-grade weapons—the whole set must be worth at least a hundred million cosmic crystals, right?"

Rowan narrowed his eyes: "You want to steal my things?"

"Rob? That's too offensive a word," the demon man chuckled. "We're just... borrowing it for a bit. Young man, if you know what's good for you, hand over the equipment, and we might spare your life. Otherwise..."

A murderous glint flashed in his eyes, and his aura suddenly erupted.

"Otherwise, don't blame us for being ruthless."

The other four also released their auras, surrounding Luo Wen completely.

Rowan glanced around, a playful smile on his face.

“Interesting,” he said. “A monster tried to steal from me just now, and now five more have shown up. Do I look like someone you can easily bully?”

"Kid, you better not push your luck," a blue-skinned man sneered. "There are five of us, the weakest of whom is at the fifth level of the Stellar Realm. How do you think you, a mere seventh-level Stellar Realm brat, can fight us?"

“Exactly,” the tall man chimed in. “Kid, judging by your young age and being a standard human, you’re probably a young master from some powerful family, out here on a training mission, right? That set of equipment you have must have been given to you by your family. Young master, be sensible and hand over your equipment, and we won’t make things difficult for you. Go back and tell your family you encountered a powerful enemy and your equipment was stolen; they’ll definitely buy you new ones.”

“That’s right,” the woman with the pointed ears sneered, “Standard humans are the lowest race in the universe. You possess this equipment because of your family’s background. But in this Shadow Wasteland, nobody cares about your background. Hand it over obediently.”

Luo Wen listened to these people's words and laughed instead of getting angry.

"Standard humans are the lowest race?" He shook his head. "Your prejudice is truly deep-rooted."

"Prejudice?" The demon man laughed loudly. "It's the truth! Standard humans have mediocre talent and inferior bloodlines, ranking at the bottom among all races in the universe. Reaching the Stellar level is already your limit; advancing further is almost impossible. Someone like you, reaching the seventh level of the Stellar level at such a young age, either consumed some rare and precious treasure, or your family used vast resources to propel you to this level. Either way, it proves you lack ability."

"Is that so?" Rowan said calmly.

“Of course,” the demon man said smugly, “we demons are naturally stronger than humans. Even at the same Stellar-level eighth rank, I can easily crush any human warrior. You, a mere Stellar-level seventh rank human brat, are nothing but an ant before me.”

Rowan looked at the demon man, a cold glint in his eyes.

"Are you done?" he asked.

“That’s all,” the demon man said, extending his hand. “Hand over the equipment.”

“Very well,” Rowan slowly drew his Centipede Shadow Blade, “Since you’re so eager to die, I’ll grant your wish.”

"You're courting death!" The demon man's expression changed. "Brothers, attack!"

The five people attacked simultaneously from five directions.

The demon man's fist, wreathed in black and red flames, aimed straight for Rowan's chest. The blue-skinned man unleashed a barrage of ice spikes, blocking Rowan's escape route. The tall man swung a giant axe, aiming for Rowan's head. The woman with pointed ears fired several arrows, targeting Rowan's vitals. The last one unleashed a mental attack, attempting to disrupt Rowan's judgment.

The five worked together seamlessly, clearly not their first time fighting side-by-side. Their attacks came from all directions, seemingly flawless, leaving no room for escape.

"Is that all you've got?" Rowan sneered.

He moved swiftly, advancing instead of retreating, and charged directly at the demon man.

The demon man was overjoyed: "Boy, you're asking for death!"

He increased the force of his punch, and the black and red flames burned even more fiercely, determined to smash Rowan into pieces with one blow.

However, his smile froze the next moment.

Just as Rowan's fist was about to strike, he vanished from his spot in a flash. When he reappeared, he was already beside the demon man.

“Too slow.”

Luo Wen said calmly, and the Centipede Shadow Blade had already been unleashed.

The demon man had no time to react; a flash of light, and his right arm was severed at the shoulder, blood gushing out. "Ah!!!" the demon man screamed in agony.

"Big brother!" The other four were shocked.

They hadn't expected this seemingly young human to possess such terrifying strength. He severed their elder brother's arm with a single strike—this…this was simply not the power expected of a seventh-tier Stellar-level cultivator!

"It's your turn."

Rowan turned around and looked coldly at the other four.

"Retreat! Retreat now!" the blue-skinned man shouted.

The four of them turned to run away at the same time. But why would Rowan give them the chance to escape?
"Blood Luo Eight Forms, Third Form: Blood Prison!"

Rowan unleashed a flurry of sword strikes, each one imbued with crimson light and lightning, slashing towards the four men.

"Puff puff puff puff!"

Four streaks of blood flashed, and four people screamed simultaneously as they plummeted from the sky. Deep, bone-revealing wounds appeared on their bodies, and blood flowed everywhere.

"This...this is impossible..." The tall man lay prostrate on the ground, his face filled with disbelief. "You...how could you be so strong? You're only...only a seventh-tier Stellar level..."

"Who told you that a seventh-tier stellar-level being is necessarily weak?" Rowan walked up to him, looking down at him. "You think standard humans are easy to bully? Ridiculous."

"Who...who exactly are you?" the demon man asked in a trembling voice, clutching his severed arm.

"My name is Rowan," Rowan said calmly, "a student of the Blood King."

"Blood... Blood King Luo?!" The five people stared wide-eyed at the same time, their faces showing fear.

The name Blood King is renowned throughout the entire universe. He is a being who stands at the pinnacle of the universe, and legend has it that he has reached the level of immortality!
"You...you're Blood King's student?!" The demon man's voice trembled. "Why didn't you say so sooner?!"

"Did you even ask?" Rowan sneered. "You only see that I'm a standard human, and you conclude that I'm just an easy-to-bully rich kid. Have you ever considered that I, a seventh-tier Stellar-level martial artist, dared to venture alone into the Shadow Wasteland, really just because of my family background?"

The five people were speechless.

Indeed, they were far too careless. Seeing that Rowan was young and a typical human, they naturally assumed he was a pushover backed by his family. Little did they expect that this seemingly easy target was actually a tough nut to crack—no, a sharp knife.

"My lord...my lord, spare our lives..." the pointy-eared woman pleaded, "We were blind and didn't recognize your greatness, we offended you. Please, my lord, have mercy and spare our lives..."

"Yes, sir, we know we were wrong..." the blue-skinned man pleaded, "We're willing to compensate, willing to serve you like slaves, we just beg you to spare our lives..."

Rowan looked coldly at the five people, without any pity in his eyes.

"Weren't you all very arrogant just now?" he said calmly, "saying things like 'standard humans are the lowest race,' and 'human warriors are all ants.' Why are you silent now?"

The five people lowered their heads, not daring to speak.

"What I hate most are people like you who judge others by their appearance and bloodline," Rowan said. "In your eyes, race determines everything, and bloodline determines strength. But have you ever considered that true powerhouses never rely on bloodline, but on their own hard work and talent?"

He paused, then continued, "Do you know what race the Blood King is? He's a standard human. But through his own efforts, he climbed step by step to the pinnacle of the universe. Compared to him, your so-called 'superior bloodlines' are nothing but a joke."

The five people looked ashamed upon hearing this.

“You’re right, sir…” the demon man said in a low voice, “We were too narrow-minded…”

"Good to know," Rowan said, sheathing his Centipede Shadow Blade. "I'm in a good mood today, so I won't kill you. But you must remember this lesson: don't judge a book by its cover, and don't base your worth on bloodlines. If you do it again, you won't be so lucky."

"Yes! Yes! We understand!" The five people nodded repeatedly.

"Get out."

The five men were overjoyed and fled in a panic.

Rowan looked in the direction they had disappeared and shook his head.

"This prejudice of judging people by their bloodline is truly deeply ingrained in the universe," he thought. "But it's good, it gives me a chance to teach them a lesson. Hopefully, they'll learn from it and not repeat the same mistake."

He turned and continued walking deeper into the Shadow Wasteland.

This little incident gave him a deeper understanding of the complexity of the universe. In this vast sea of ​​stars, there are not only all sorts of dangerous monsters, but also all sorts of malicious people. To survive in the universe, one needs not only immense strength, but also sufficient vigilance and wisdom.

"However, this is precisely the meaning of cultivation," Rowan thought. "Only by constantly becoming stronger can one gain a foothold in this dog-eat-dog universe."

He quickened his pace and disappeared into the darkness.

On the other side, the five escapees huddled together, supporting each other, looking utterly disheveled.

"Damn it...damn it..." The demon man clutched his severed arm, his face filled with pain and regret. "How could I be so unlucky as to have offended Blood King's student..."

“Brother, let’s not do this kind of thing again,” the blue-skinned man said. “If Rowan hadn’t been in a good mood today, all five of us would be dead here.”

“Yes,” the tall man nodded, “we can’t underestimate human warriors anymore. Who knows if they might be another student of the Blood King.”

“Remember this lesson,” the pointy-eared woman sighed. “We were too arrogant, thinking that our noble blood would allow us to crush everything. And what was the result? We were utterly humiliated by a ‘lower race.’”

Rowan stayed in the Shadow Wasteland for another two hours.

In the past two hours, he hunted down several seventh and eighth-tier stellar-level monsters, thoroughly testing the performance of his new equipment. The results were very satisfying—the Dark Abyss Armor's defense was even stronger than he had anticipated; several times, when monster attacks struck him, he barely felt the impact. The Centipede Shadow Blade's sharpness was astonishing; combined with lightning attacks, dealing with dark-attribute monsters was like cutting through butter.

"This equipment is excellent value for money," Rowan thought to himself. "Master Karl's craftsmanship is truly superb."

After the test was completed, Rowan prepared to return to the spaceship.

He'd been away from the spaceship for too long. Although the spaceship was in a relatively safe location, nowhere in this dangerous wasteland could be considered absolutely safe. It would be better to go back sooner rather than later.

Rowan determined the direction and then flew towards the spaceship's location.

The Shadow Wasteland remained a harsh environment, darkness shrouding the land and a chilling atmosphere pervasive. But protected by the Dark Abyss Armor, Rowan felt almost no effect from the external environment. He flew through the darkness at incredible speed, quickly approaching the edge of the wasteland.

However, at that moment, a strong smell of blood suddenly wafted into his nose.

(End of this chapter)