Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 421 The Fallen

"He's not Lee Eun-suk, at least, he doesn't seem like him."

As night fell, in the palace of dreams, Rean met "Li Ensu," who gave him a completely new feeling.

He seemed preoccupied with his own affairs, completely oblivious to the outsider. Even though this dream world was supposed to be a place where wishes could come true, all his busyness was ultimately meaningless.

The circumstances surrounding the meeting far exceeded Rean's expectations.

Dreams are the fields of the heart, Sur is the wasteland of the battlefield, and the god of drama is the grassland of song. Even Kuku squats beside his potion cauldron.

Even without considering the projection of one's state of mind, being alone in a vast wilderness will subconsciously make one feel more comfortable. Previously, Rean could understand the existence of this heroic spirit through dream scenes.

But this time, it was completely incomprehensible.

Golden halls, overly dramatic statues of various beauties (living things cannot appear in dreams), half-eaten food scattered all over the ground—most ridiculously, Rean even saw most of the casino's facilities, from slot machines to dominoes, from classical to modern, all sorts of deceptive and exploitative things.

On the contrary, these things are not just for show; they represent a situation where the game is already halfway through.

Even when I first saw the spirit Wu, he was playing roulette by himself and having a great time.

"Is this a martial monk?"

Shouldn't monks be the most disciplined people, the ones who restrain their desires the most?

They only pursue physical balance and mental tranquility. Many high-ranking monks even begin to fast after reaching a certain level of cultivation. Gambling is out of the question; it's a killer of mental peace, and monks have no reason to touch it.

"No, is this Lee Eun-suk?"

The feeling of first meeting was once again amplified; this devilish monk with bloodshot eyes and red skin didn't look like "himself" at all.

This is not as simple as changing races. Regardless of which heroic spirit he was before, his eyes always faintly contained "humanity". Even without talking, just by meeting, Rean could feel that it was himself, only he had experienced different fates and experiences.

The person in front of me, with bloodshot eyes and clenching his teeth as he stared at the spinning wheel, looked like a demon consumed by desire.

Uh, literally a demon.

It has a devilish form with two curved horns, radiates an evil aura, and drags a devilish triangular head and tail.

The standard form of a demon from purgatory has been suppressed into a body resembling that of a mortal.

But anyone who sees him for the first time will know that he is definitely not an ordinary person. His diamond-like muscles and physique, his skin with a pale golden metallic sheen, and his red and black poisonous claws are not something a normal human could possess.

"It really is a fallen demon."

Among the fragments of memory that Rean saw were his journey of cultivation and battles as a mortal. At that time, he may have been short-tempered, but he seemed like a "normal person" no matter how you looked at it.

Rean sensed something was wrong; how could the Thousand-Faced Dragon have lived twice?
"You don't need to guess anymore. I lost my soul in a gamble, which is why I fell into purgatory after death."

Indeed, the demons of this world are divided into the original and the "fallen." The latter are often the souls of the dead who have fallen into the abyss, but under normal circumstances, the Thousand-Faced Dragon will be reincarnated after death.

In another scenario, some fall into the abyss while still alive, or make a promise that their soul will return to them after death. This happens quite often; many Tieflins are dragged into the abyss by their blood relatives.

These are the unlucky ones who were passively caught in the crossfire. There are also some who are truly corrupt. Those who make contracts with the devil rarely have a good ending. Most of the sorcerers who make contracts with lower planes also meet the same fate.

The monk before me has actually lost his own soul?

Wu, seeing Rean arrive, opened his blood-red eyes, filled with bloodshot veins and longing.

"Come on, let's make a bet!"

Rean sighed and walked over as well.

There was no need for a wager. To be precise, Wu had nothing left; all he craved was to satisfy his own desires.

He simply wanted someone to gamble with him. "Boring."

After gambling for half an hour, with both sides winning and losing, Yinghun said something and then went to play his own game.

Rean breathed a sigh of relief; this person gave him a very bad feeling. If he still had the Paladin class, he would probably have been warned that this was an "evil" that he couldn't handle at all.

Through the resonance of their souls, Rean also knew what the other person meant by "boring". Rean was indeed playing, and seriously trying to win, but he didn't put his "competitive spirit" on it. He had no desire to win, nor any anger at losing.

The other person craved excitement, desired to risk everything, and longed for that unknown loss of control.
"A complete depravity, out of control to this extent, can only destroy itself."

Rean couldn't understand why such a being, even if very powerful, deserved to be called a Heroic Spirit.

"Because I killed a demon lord who possessed an independent dimension," the other party said directly.

"Oh," Rean nodded subconsciously, but still seemed somewhat unconvinced.

"Do you think a mortal who kills a god can be called a hero?"

"of course."

"Then how am I not a hero?"

Wu munched on a chicken leg while pressing buttons on the slot machine.

Top-tier demon lords are no weaker than gods, and several are even considered enemies of the world.

If it's a mid-to-high-level demon lord, then it's truly a god-slaying achievement.

With such a feat, even a complete scoundrel would be considered a hero by the world.

"Heroes should have strong desires and be self-reliant. Could it be that those people you summoned before were the abnormal outcasts?"

"How could that be?" Rean was about to deny it, but stopped halfway through his sentence.

The environment shapes the people; it's possible for those "sleeping Li Ensu" to turn out in any way they want.

Perhaps it was the mechanism of the Heroic Spirit Compendium that caused me to summon those benevolent heroic spirits.
"No, no! I don't believe you."

Just as Rean was about to be persuaded, he realized what was happening and directly expressed his doubts.

Wu, however, was still smiling, completely unconcerned about the other person's opinion. Being able to resist his "persuasion" meant he might not be as useless as he had been expected.

"Snapped!"

Having satisfied his appetite, Wu stood up again. He looked at Li En, and an even more dangerous desire resurfaced within him.

"According to the rules, I should teach you something. But I'm not very good at teaching people, and besides, I can't help myself."

The demon laughed, its mouth splitting open to reveal its blood-stained fangs.

"So let's fight, let's fight with everything we have."

And so, Rean died.

Once, twice, three times. Before dawn broke and before this meeting ended, Rean didn't know how many times he had died.

But surprisingly, for Wu, this seems to be the only teaching method.

"Hey, I've already suppressed half of your strength and speed, at least touch me once."

"Next time, next time for sure!"

(End of this chapter)