Due to the inherent nature of the Emperor Demon Seed knowledge transfer, Lei Dong mastered the Demon Emperor True Word Art almost instantaneously. All that was lacking was proficiency and control. In this, Lei Dong felt a profound sense of fortune that he had never once slackened in tempering his divine sense throughout his cultivation life. For the True Word Art specifically utilized the power of the divine sense, rather than the source power flowing through the body, the True Essence.

Naturally, the consequence of the backlash from the Laws fell upon the divine soul. If the divine soul was sufficiently powerful, a restrained and narrowly focused deployment of this formidable sorcery would result in minimal backlash.

It was slightly regrettable that the minimum divine soul strength required to barely wield the True Word Art needed to reach at least the level of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Lei Dong’s current level likely still fell short of utilizing the Demon Emperor True Word Art. When the Demon Emperor transmitted his cultivation method via the Emperor Demon Seed, specific activation conditions had been set. The condition for unlocking the second tier of the inheritance was precisely possessing a divine sense strength commensurate with a late-stage Nascent Soul entity. This was also a safeguard to prevent the inheritor from forcibly casting high-tier spells before their strength was sufficient, thereby risking obliteration by soul backlash.

Just as Lei Dong believed the current transmission was complete, the Demon Emperor reappeared with uncanny timing. After rambling through a long explanation, he proceeded to impart two more crucial inheritances in quick succession. The first was the Heavenly Demon Transformation’s second change, the one Lei Dong had long anticipated: Reigning Over the World. After learning the first transformation, Unrivaled Under Heaven, Lei Dong found it tremendously beneficial to his cultivation growth, repeatedly yielding unexpected results when unleashed during the most perilous moments.

Lei Dong had been yearning for this second transformation for a long time. However, the entry threshold for this second change was the initial stage of the Nascent Soul cultivation level.

The second transformation, Reigning Over the World, differed significantly from the aggressive and tyrannical nature of the first change, Unrivaled Under Heaven. Within Lei Dong’s memory, once Reigning Over the World was activated, the entire bearing of the individual would transform completely—an imposing grandeur gazing down upon all living things. The body would, to a certain degree, integrate seamlessly with the laws of heaven and earth. This not only offered a measure of protection from various Laws but also allowed the user to be more readily accepted by them.

Because one was, in a sense, merged with the Laws of the world, it indirectly positioned the user as a representative of heaven and earth, a manifestation of universal will. The perceived stature would rise immensely. Those whose will was not steadfast would often experience a primal sense of awe and fear, much like a commoner encountering an emperor. Representing the cosmos and merging with the Laws fundamentally meant mastering authority. It was akin to an ordinary company employee encountering the CEO: an innate psychological disadvantage arises because the CEO represents power, and within the domain they control, they can effortlessly strip the employee of their livelihood, regardless of who is right or wrong.

This subtle psychological shift was intensely potent, easily inducing feelings of insurmountable pressure and panicked apprehension. Of course, the stronger one’s willpower and actual strength, the less these effects would take hold.

When the underlying strength of the user is sufficient, and this transformation is cultivated to an extremely profound level, Reigning Over the World allows every movement to be imbued with immense celestial might. It might be held in reserve, yet, when the Son of Heaven is roused to anger, the corpses of millions follow.

From this, one could infer the unique nature of the Reigning Over the World transformation. Especially when combined with the Demon Emperor True Word Art, its power would multiply, becoming overwhelmingly dominant.

In addition to Reigning Over the World, Lei Dong received two ultimate Demon Emperor skills, one offensive and one defensive. The offense was the Immortal Slaying Finger: a single point sends forth a power capable of slaying immortals and exterminating demons, an extraordinary might. The kinetic force of this finger attack was not merely like ordinary spells that use internal True Essence to strike from afar. Instead, it carried a trace of the Annihilation Law, elevating the finger force’s power to supreme heights.

Theoretically, once the Immortal Slaying Finger is cultivated to its apex, everything within its range would be reduced to dust and ashes. Even immortals or demons, even the most resilient objects in the world, could not withstand the power of annihilation and would collapse.

The other defensive measure was the True Essence Armor. This technique seemed simple: utilizing the True Essence within the body to solidify into a set of armor worn to deflect enemy attacks. In the cultivation world, similar spells were countless. The Yin Fiend Sect’s Profound Yin Shield, or the Vajra Temple’s Indestructible Vajra Shield, were all techniques that used True Essence to form defensive barriers. The Indestructible Vajra Shield of the Vajra Temple was particularly famous in Kangzhou for its extraordinary defense; even cultivators of the same rank found it difficult to breach, earning it the moniker "The Ten Thousand Year Turtle Shield." However, when Lei Dong received the inheritance, his comprehension of True Essence Transformation Armor had already reached a level of fundamental clarity.

In reality, whether it was the Profound Yin Shield, the Indestructible Vajra Shield, or the defensive measures of other sects, from an essential perspective, the defensive shields produced by those spells existed in the form of energy.

In Lei Dong’s understanding, it was converting internal True Essence into energy, then arranging it in a densely packed formation outside the body to create a protective layer capable of resisting various assaults. Different sects merely had their unique subtleties.

But the True Essence Armor fundamentally altered this configuration. It was equivalent to materializing energy. The resulting armor existed in a state between energy and matter, capable of containing a trace of the Indestructible Law. This materialized armor achieved an astonishing level of defense. In practical effect, its defensive capability far surpassed that of the Indestructible Vajra Shield.

At this point, the inheritance concluded.

Although the transmission only included a few techniques, every single one was an unsurpassed legacy. The Demon Emperor’s own power—his ability to single-handedly contend with the strongest entities across the Three Realms—indirectly proved the might of the methods he had passed down.

Simultaneously, just before the transfer ended, the Old Demon Emperor spoke again, stating that the seal on the Emperor Demon Seed’s inheritance would next unlock when Lei Dong’s divine sense strength reached the pinnacle of the Spirit Transformation level.

This left Lei Dong sighing with a sense of wistfulness. He hadn't even reached the Nascent Soul stage, yet the Demon Emperor had already set his sights on the peak of Spirit Transformation for him. This current transmission contained vastly more information than the previous one, which had offered nothing. Yet, this influx of knowledge only served to make Lei Dong more bewildered. Although he learned that his Soul Devouring Pagoda was actually named the Chaos Pagoda, its true origin and whether it possessed other functions remained a complete mystery to him.

He could not comprehend why the supreme powerhouses of the Three Realms were so desperate for the Chaos Origin, nor what the Chaos Origin actually was. Furthermore, what was this 'Calamity' spoken of by those paramount figures? At Lei Dong’s current level, none of this could be understood.

Even less comprehensible was why he had been reborn into this Nine Provinces World.

Previously, Lei Dong viewed his transmigration as a stroke of fortuitous luck born from chance. Now, however, he suspected the reality was far more complex. Within that chance seemed to lurk a certain inevitability, suggesting, dimly, the presence of invisible, massive hands guiding his rebirth and passage.

After an unknowable period of deep contemplation, many questions remained unanswered. However, at this very moment, having been suppressed into a huddled mass by the immense pressure of the vast information within the Emperor Demon Seed, the consciousness of the Black Winged Demon King, which had been affected by the transfer, began to lash out with renewed ferocity.

Startled awake, Lei Dong instinctively commanded his divine sense to defend himself, yet a sudden clarity struck him: why bother pondering those unknown matters? Grasping the present moment and striving to survive was the proper path.

Everything else was mere talk. Only by staying alive, by protecting the lives he wished to safeguard, was his ultimate goal achieved. Along this path, be it gods or devils, even that so-called Will of the Universe mentioned by the Demon Emperor—anything that stood in the way of his objective—would be considered an enemy. The Old Demon Emperor had his chosen path, but Lei Dong possessed his own unwavering ideals.

At that instant, Lei Dong’s will became exceptionally firm and steady; his heart-mind grew exceptionally pure and natural. The surging tide of the Black Winged Demon King’s consciousness attack immediately faltered and slowed.

“Black Winged Demon King, I shall start with you,” Lei Dong projected an intensely resolute belief through his divine sense toward the Demon King’s consciousness: “You wish to seize my body, to steal my hope of survival—then let us test whose conviction is stronger, whose power prevails.”

Simultaneously, Lei Dong mobilized his divine sense to counterattack, manifesting it as a monstrous, sky-high beast. It opened its earth-devouring maw and lunged fiercely at the Demon King’s consciousness.

A ripping scream pierced Lei Dong’s awareness. All manner of illusions arose—the unique human spectrum of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure—each swirling through Lei Dong’s consciousness, attempting to interfere with his actions through these phantoms.

Lei Dong let out a cold laugh, transmitting an unshakeable message back: “Noble Pure-blooded Demon race, are you not famed as the strongest race in the cosmos? Must your only recourse be such base tricks?”

Lei Dong ceaselessly reshaped his divine sense forms—sometimes a monstrous gluttonous beast, sometimes a sharp blade. Intent preceded action; in the sea of consciousness, where the mind pointed, there was truth. This was the power of Will.

The Demon King’s consciousness body, seemingly unwilling to yield, also roared and launched a ferocious assault.

As they traded blows, Lei Dong, through this battle within the sea of consciousness combined with the Demon Emperor's inheritance, gradually gained a thread of enlightenment. Previously, he had overlooked a profound power inherent within his own body: the power of Will. The generation of Will power was the manifestation of faith combined with divine sense.

And when the power of Will reaches a certain intensity, it is capable of altering anything one wishes to change, even the Laws of the universe. The True Word Art—yes, the True Word Art utilized the power of Will. So that’s how it is, I finally understand, I truly understand.

“I say, stop,” Lei Dong’s divine sense reverberated with words brimming with absolute authority.