Ethan was sitting at the edge of the room, his elbows resting on his knees, as his gaze remained fixed on the unconscious subject. Beside him, AION projected real-time readings.
The effect of the D-Serum had ended. The subject was now in a state of deep weakness, just as anticipated. All the post-exposure parameters matched the simulations.
Everything... except that anomaly.
"AION, compare the D Compound samples from the Giant Lizard and the Black Giant Wolf," Ethan ordered without averting his gaze.
The interface displayed two crystalline structures, with graphs that seemed almost identical.
At a microscopic level, the composition was identical. Similar concentrations, stable molecular structure, same energy absorption capacity. And yet, the results in the field told a different story.
Ethan squinted.
What if there's something else? he whispered to himself.
A hidden factor. Something that even AION's analytical power couldn't capture. A spiritual signature? A genetic trace linked to the species? Some kind of resonance that only activated under specific conditions?
What troubled him most was the howl.
The subject had emitted a howl like a wolf. It wasn't a coincidence. It wasn't a random reaction.
And the most alarming thing: among all those present, Eclipse was the one most affected. The only one who curled up as if he had received a direct order to surrender. As if his own bloodline forced him to submit.
The D Compound used in the D-Serum had been extracted directly from the Black Giant Wolf.
Perhaps not all D Compounds were the same. Perhaps the origin was everything.
"We'll make a new sample," Ethan murmured in a low but firm voice. "I want a complete test using the D Compound extracted from the lizard. We'll compare reactions."
AION didn't respond. But the graph was still there, blinking. And although everything seemed stable,
At that moment, a voice rose from the other corner of the room. Dry. Tomb-like. Like a rock sliding down a deep throat.
"I recommend you stop using demonic energy... if you don't want to die."
Ethan was jolted out of his thoughts and looked up. In the shadows, his eyes met those of Gao Renli.
One of the Vespers was already moving to silence him, but Ethan raised his hand.
"Stop."
His tone was enough. The Vesper stepped back.
"Bring him here," Ethan ordered.
Two men stepped forward and brought Gao Renli to stand before him. The Ex-Commander didn't look away for a moment.
"What do you mean by demonic energy?" Ethan asked, narrowing his eyes.
Gao Renli didn't answer immediately. Instead, he shifted his gaze to the now unconscious subject on the other side of the room.
"I don't know what you did to him... or what you gave him," he murmured. "But I've fought enough demonic beasts to recognize that energy when I feel it."
Ethan frowned. He had little information about demonic energy. He knew that demonic beasts possessed it, but so far, the D Compound he had identified seemed somewhat different from what he had heard about demonic energy.
But if both concepts were the same... then that changed everything.
"What do you mean by 'if you don't want to die'?" Ethan questioned, his tone cold.
Gao Renli looked at him seriously and continued:
"Only cultivators of the demonic path, the evil path, use demonic energy in their techniques. Aside from the beasts, that is. But all of them, without exception, abandon their humanity. Mood swings, loss of sanity... they become bloodthirsty creatures. Beasts with human form who end up being hunted or destroyed because they can't control themselves."
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"That's different from what I've heard. Many cultivators from the so-called righteous path use the blood, spiritual cores, and other parts of demonic beasts to cultivate," he objected with an inquisitive tone.
Gao Renli slowly shook his head.
"The materials can be utilized, yes, but not directly."
He paused, searching for a clear example.
"It's like extracting poison from a snake. You can use it to create medicine… but if you take it without processing it, it kills you. The same with demonic cores: it requires spiritual energy to purify them. For things like blood and organs, they're mixed with spiritual herbs and other ingredients. Only then is the demonic energy neutralized and can be used for alchemy."
"Demonic cultivators are different," Gao Renli continued.
"Some of their techniques directly use the blood of demonic beasts. They consume it to extract all its demonic energy... they even devour their spiritual cores. But that inevitably contaminates the user."
His gaze turned more severe.
"If you can't control it, you'll fall into beastly instincts. The more you consume, the worse the situation becomes. It's a spiral with no return."
Ethan frowned.
Something didn't add up. Some things differed from what Gao Renli was describing.
"You speak of demonic energy and demonic cores..." he asked seriously.
"Does that mean all demonic beasts are capable of using that energy and forming cores?"
Gao Renli shook his head again.
"Not exactly. Demonic beasts are divided into stages: Rank One, Two, and Three — low, intermediate, and high — equivalent to the levels of a cultivator."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"But not all reach that rank. Some beasts, although powerful, haven't crossed the threshold into the demonic. Those creatures cannot control demonic energy, nor do they possess cores. They are considered simple beasts."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"They're stronger than average humans. Even first-level Qi cultivators could have trouble facing them... but they're not classified as demonic beasts."
Ethan nodded slowly. He then turned to his desk and grabbed a small box. When he opened it, a fang was revealed.
"Can you identify if this belongs to a demonic beast?" he asked, extending it to him.
Gao Renli examined it with a quick, almost instinctive glance and shook his head.
"I've hunted many Black Giant Wolves. This fang seems to belong to one of them, yes... but they rarely reach the level of demonic beasts. And if they do, they don't exceed Rank One."
Ethan understood.
The Black Giant Wolf could be considered a ferocious beast… but not a demonic beast. That made sense because after Ethan dissected its parts, he hadn't found any demonic cores.
So, if that animal didn't have a core, nor controlled demonic energy...
That meant the D Compound and demonic energy were not the same. But they did seem to resonate.
He recalled the initial analyses. AION had detected that the D Compound responded to the presence of external energy. What if that energy was spiritual... and the reaction between both generated what Gao Renli called demonic energy?
Ethan's mind suddenly lit up.
"Yes... maybe it's like a chemical reaction," he thought intensely.
The D Compound was present in the bodies of demonic beasts. When certain conditions were met, it resonated with spiritual energy... and transformed it.
That was demonic energy: the product of that reaction. A catalyst.
That's why the serum caused disturbances in the environment. That's why Gao Renli thought it was demonic energy.
The D Compound in the serum, upon finding no spiritual energy within the mortal body, tried to react with the energy in the environment. And it succeeded.
"But that doesn't explain why it only reacted with the energy of the environment upon contact with the body," Ethan murmured, frowning.
"Why didn't it do so earlier? Why didn't it react while it was in the jar, or during the preparation of the serum?"
He closed his eyes for a moment, processing everything. There were too many variables.
What is needed for the D Compound to react?
Was it the body temperature? The blood flow? A spark of latent spiritual energy, even in a mortal body?
Or perhaps… a specific condition in the host's state? An intense emotion. Some kind of internal resonance. Something not present in an inert container, but in a living body.
Ethan clenched his fists in excitement, feeling his mind move away from known rules and into an uncharted territory.
For now, everything was still theory. Unconfirmed hypotheses. But it fit. It made sense.
And if he was right… then the D Compound could be just what he had imagined from the very beginning:
The catalyst for human evolution.
Ethan's eyes were alight with excitement.
The pieces were beginning to fall into place. His mind was spinning at full speed as he mentally gave orders to AION, instructing it to record every detail of what he had just discovered. Every hypothesis. Every reaction. Every inference.
Gao Renli watched him in silence.
He shook his head in resignation. He had tried to warn him, steer him away from the risk, prevent him from falling down the demonic path. But seeing that look… he knew it was already too late.
In his eyes, Ethan wasn't just investigating.
He must have obtained some technique from the evil path.
After all, not every man could accept the harsh reality of being unable to cultivate. And when frustration grew... the world offered many dark paths as comfort.
History was full of them.
Talentless peasants. Disrespected princes. Defeated generals. Leaders afraid of losing their power.
All with one thing in common: The desire to walk the path of cultivation... and failure.
As far as Gao Renli knew, not a single one had succeeded.
At least, not in the entire history of the Yun Dynasty.