Chapter 47: A Life Without Devour

’You might really come to hate me.’

Those words couldn’t have been more true.

Some time had passed since Neo began his training in this bleak world, under the supervision of the Ancient Supreme.

And he had really come to hate her.

Not hate the person herself.

But somehow, he had come to hate her.

The first thing she did before the training started was to seal Devour.

He could still feel the presence of the bloodline, and the two of them could communicate.

But the endless essence it provided to him had disappeared.

That in itself wasn’t bad enough.

He had since gotten used to this feeling, ever since he entered the Ancient Supreme’s Combat Legacy.

No.

The greatest grievance he had with her was the fact that he couldn’t sleep or rest.

For what was at least a week now.

Neo hadn’t had the time to shut his eye, nor was there a moment of rest for him.

Every moment was one where he was in a constant battle for his life.

This bleak world that once had nothing in it.

It now teemed with all sorts of strange creatures that appeared from everywhere.

Every corner he walked, there was a strange creature aiming to take his life.

The ground, the sky, the rocks, the air he breathed.

Even the trees that were rarely seen.

All of them looked to have a great hatred for his presence.

As he thought to take a breather, his eyes now bloody red from lack of sleep.

The air in front of him slowly swirled.

It took on a humanoid shape.

A strange creature appeared in front of him.

Formless like the air.

It attacked him without any hesitation.

Neo was devoid of any surprise.

Even the curses that were quick to the tip of his tongue had lost their vigor.

He swung his sword once.

Whether formless or not.

The damned thing disappeared.

He felt Devour consume it.

His essence recovered a bit, he also felt his cultivation improve marginally.

Kill!

And keep killing.

In this place, it was the only way for him to recover his essence, and improve his cultivation.

Even the little essence in this world had disappeared.

It was impossible for him to cultivate the normal way in this world.

The world was now truly dry and bleak.

It was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

Even though it was sealed, Devour seemed to be doing better than him.

Neo had a feeling that it had grown even more powerful since they entered this world.

"Young hero, save me!"

A shrill voice broke the stillness in the air.

Even the rare moment of peace and quiet he just afforded himself was stolen.

Stolen!

No doubt by this ancient monster who loved to wear the skin of a young woman.

Her coquettish actions were definitely unbecoming.

Maybe it was some sense of self-preservation he still held.

Neo wished he could curse her.

He looked in the direction the voice came from.

There she was.

Running towards him.

She wore a beautiful, bright dress.

One unfit for this dreary world.

A hat covered her hair which had been tied up.

One hand hiked up her skirt.

Her slender legs were a blessing to weary sights.

Her dainty feet moved with ease over the harsh ground.

In the other hand was a basket.

As she ran past him, the wondrous aroma of what was no doubt some sumptuous dishes assailed his nose.

Neo’s stomach rumbled.

This wondrous aroma made him crave the taste of food.

Something he had forgotten since he entered this hellish place.

But this wasn’t the most important thing right now.

The Ancient Supreme teasing him was nothing new.

It had become a daily ritual by now.

What came after her was the real deal.

Fifteen strange creatures of all kinds.

They ran towards Neo.

They had long abandoned their pursuit of the Ancient Supreme.

The ancient monster had no doubt disappeared from sight.

This was what happened every time he tried to take a break from this monotonous grind of killing.

But Neo couldn’t afford not to take a break.

He got into a simple stance.

Every action he made now, had become even more efficient.

The training was no doubt very effective.

Every one of his encounter with a strange creature served a purpose.

The flaws in his combat style were slowly ground away.

It was as the Ancient Supreme had said.

She would forge him into the greatest being existence had ever seen.

One swing after another, the sword in his hand cut down the strange creatures.

Sometimes, one strike was enough to cut two or even three of them down.

Neo improved with every battle.

It was a steady accumulation of insights.

One day, they would blossom into something magnificent.

And terrifying.

*

This day was a special one.

There was no doubt about that fact.

Neo had been allowed a rest from his monotonous grind.

He sat with the Ancient Supreme.

A feast had been laid bare on the mat before them.

The two people sat across from each other.

Neo dug into the food with abandon.

Stuffing every thing he could into his mouth.

The taste of food felt like the greatest thing he had ever experienced.

He never knew he loved food this much.

Those times he downed pills like candies.

He should have considered food too.

Even if there was no essence to be gained from the consumption.

After his endless grind, empty stomach, and lack of rest.

This was the greatest reprieve he could ask for.

The ancient supreme wasn’t any better than him.

Although, compared to him, she looked dignified.

The way she chewed the roasted leg as wide as a tree branch, her cheeks full to bursting.

That was in no way, how a proper lady should eat.

He felt his composure deteriorate, the more time he spent with this undignified supreme.

Where was the immortal that looked like no other, that he had met.

Where was the perfect woman who had held him spellbound.

The graceful young lady who, as much as Neo hated to admit it, had captured his heart.

Where was she?

Where was that perfect wonder of the heavens?

Neo’s heart cried out in grievance.

The Ancient Supreme didn’t seem to be too concerned about him today.

Her whole focus was on the roasted leg in her hand.

She bit into it like there was someone coming to snatch it from her.

She was soon done with it.

She got the last bit of meat off it.

And threw the bone to the side.

Then she did something that almost made Neo cringe.

She wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her dress.

Although, the fabric remained pristine.

Neo couldn’t get that sight out of his head.

At least, she was dignified enough not to belch.

Even, as she patted her stomach that was still as slim as earlier.

"Dragon meat is really the best."

She said this with the satisfaction of someone who just had a wonderful meal.

RUMBLE!

Devour also seemed to agree with this seemingly indisputable fact.

It growled, as if to show its supreme satisfaction with the meal.

Neo looked at the meat in his hand.

He turned it over, inspecting it all around.

What nonsense were these two saying?

Even if the Ancient Supreme was on a high from just finishing the meal.

Surely, Devour who had abstained from the meal should still retain some common sense.

Had it also been affected by whatever had gotten into the Ancient Supreme?

Although, Neo didn’t know exactly what type of meat he had been eating.

He could still taste flavors and textures he was familiar with.

There were a lot of assorted meats here.

And he had been stuffing himself since.

Come to think of it, with how much he had ate.

He should have been full to bursting.

But...

Devour!

It had been devouring everything.

Even the food.

Devour suddenly went silent.

Neo left his grievance with Devour for later.

But.

Surely, dragon meat was too far-fetched.

Even if he couldn’t tell exactly what animal the meat came from.

It surely couldn’t have come from something in a children’s storybook.

Dragons. Phoenixes.

These were the stuff of fables.

How could something not real suddenly produce meat?

"My chosen inheritor, what do you know about Worlds?"

The Ancient Supreme asked him.

Surely, she meant Worlds like the Immortal World and the Demon World.

Not something like this world, and other worlds created by immortals.

"There are far many Worlds than you can imagine."

The dignity of a supreme.

One that had been missing.

Radiated from her.

The feast before him disappeared.

The food.

The mat.

Even the Ancient Supreme herself left.

There was only one thing that remained.

The bone she had thrown to the side.

Neo looked at it well now.

He had thought it was a leg bone.

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

It was a finger bone.

One this large.

He wondered what creature it had come from.

He stared at it.

Then he felt his hackles rise.

Something stared back.

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This Chapter is dedicated to Blank_eyed.