Chapter 26: The Beast King's Secret
Recap: Fang Yuan acquired the second fragment from the capital vault. Now, with two fragments in his possession, he travels north to the Beast King's camp, where the third fragment is buried.
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The Northern Plains had not changed.
Fang Yuan walked across the gray grassland, the wind cold against his face, the sky low and heavy. The same ash-choked earth. The same distant mountains. The same silence that pressed against his ears like water.
But he had changed.
His steps were lighter, his senses sharper, his presence heavier. Rank 6 Immortal. The power of time flowed through his veins, and the Spring Autumn Cicada pulsed in its sphere, waiting. The Moonlight Dragon hovered at his shoulder, its silver light steady, its eyes watching the horizon.
The third fragment is beneath the Beast King's camp. Buried there for centuries, hidden by the system, guarded by the clan.
He reached into his pocket and touched the two fragments—the cracked stone and the dark crystal. They pulsed together, a slow rhythm, as if they were communicating.
The First One's power is returning. The more fragments I collect, the stronger it becomes. And the stronger it becomes, the more it can help me.
But also the more dangerous. He had seen what the First One could do—the void, the chains, the hunger. If it regained all its fragments, it would be unstoppable.
Unless I control it.
He quickened his pace.
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The Beast King's camp was smaller than he remembered.
The tents were fewer, the warriors thinner, the herds scattered. A plague had swept through the plains, the innkeeper had said. Half the clan had died. The Beast King himself was old now, his strength failing, his Sand Serpent crippled.
Fang Yuan walked through the camp gates. The guards recognized him immediately—the boy in grey robes, the demon who had faced their king and won. They stepped aside, their heads bowed, their hands trembling.
The Beast King's tent was at the center of the camp. It was torn, faded, its banners frayed. Inside, the old man sat on his bone throne, his Sand Serpent coiled at his feet, its scales dull, its eyes clouded.
"You came back," the Beast King said. His voice was weak, his hands shaking.
"I came for something buried beneath your camp."
The Beast King's eyes widened. "The fragment. You know about it."
"I know everything."
The old man was silent for a long moment. Then he sighed, his shoulders slumping.
"It's been there for as long as my clan has existed. The system told us to guard it, to keep it hidden, to never speak of it. We've kept that secret for a thousand years." He looked at Fang Yuan. "But you're not here to ask permission, are you?"
Fang Yuan shook his head. "I'm here to take it."
The Beast King smiled—a tired, bitter smile. "Then take it. I'm too old to stop you. My clan is too weak to fight."
He pointed to a patch of earth at the center of the tent. "It's buried there. Ten feet down. You'll need to dig."
Fang Yuan released his Magma Tortoise Gu.
The creature materialized, its shell glowing, its eyes burning. The Sand Serpent hissed, recoiling, but the Beast King raised a trembling hand to calm it.
"Melt the ground," Fang Yuan said.
The Magma Tortoise opened its mouth, and a stream of molten rock struck the earth. The ground hissed, cracked, and parted, revealing a shaft of black stone leading down into darkness.
Fang Yuan stepped to the edge and looked down. The fragment was there—he could feel it, pulsing, calling.
He released his Moonlight Dragon. "Light the way."
The dragon descended into the shaft, its silver light pushing back the shadows. Fang Yuan followed, his feet finding footholds in the melted rock.
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The chamber at the bottom was small, round, its walls carved with the same shifting symbols he had seen on the doors. At its center, on a pedestal of black stone, lay a shard of crystal—red as blood, pulsing with heat, alive.
[Fragment of the First One acquired]
3/7 fragments collected
Fang Yuan picked it up. The crystal was hot, burning against his palm, and when he held it, he could feel the First One's hunger—not for power, but for freedom.
More, it whispered. Find more. Set me free.
Fang Yuan tucked the crystal into his pocket beside the others. The three fragments pulsed together, their rhythm faster now, stronger.
Three fragments. Four to go.
He climbed out of the shaft and walked past the Beast King without a word.
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The Eastern Sea was rough, its waves high, its winds fierce.
Fang Yuan stood on the deck of a merchant ship, his grey robes soaked with spray, his face turned toward the horizon. The second fragment was somewhere beneath the waves, in the ruins of a sunken city, guarded by creatures older than the Gu.
The captain of the ship was a old woman named Shi Fang, her skin weathered, her eyes sharp. She had sailed these waters for fifty years, and she knew every reef, every current, every danger.
"The sunken city is called Luan," she said, pointing to a spot on her map. "It was swallowed by the sea a thousand years ago, during the Great War. They say the emperor who ruled it tried to open a door. They say he failed. They say his city was cursed."
Fang Yuan studied the map. "How deep?"
"Too deep for normal diving. You'll need a water-type Gu. Something that can breathe underwater."
He released his Frost Serpent Gu. The creature materialized, its scales gleaming with ice, its breath misting in the salt air.
"This one can swim. But it can't breathe underwater."
Shi Fang shrugged. "Then you'll need to find another way."
Fang Yuan looked at the sea. The waves crashed against the ship, their foam white, their depths dark. Somewhere down there, the third fragment waited.
I need a Water type that can breathe underwater. Or I need to evolve one that can.
He opened his Status screen. His Subjects included the Frost Serpent (Water/Ice, Rank 3), three Water Flea Gu (dead), and a few other water types he had captured but not used. None could breathe underwater.
I need to capture something new. Something that lives in the deep.
He turned to Shi Fang. "Are there any creatures in these waters that can breathe underwater and carry a human?"
She laughed. "You want a mount? A sea beast? They're rare, but they exist. The Deep Turtles live in the trench beyond the sunken city. They're massive—big enough to carry ten men. But they're also dangerous. They've sunk more ships than pirates."
Fang Yuan smiled. "Perfect."
---
The trench was a wound in the ocean floor.
Fang Yuan stood on the ship's bow, looking down into the darkness. The water here was black, cold, and the waves were still—as if the sea itself was holding its breath.
He released his Storm Phoenix Gu. "Circle above. Warn me if anything approaches."
The phoenix took flight, its wings crackling with lightning, its eyes scanning the horizon.
He released his Frost Serpent Gu. "Swim below. Find the Deep Turtle. Lead it to the surface."
The serpent slithered over the side and vanished into the darkness.
Fang Yuan waited.
The minutes passed. The ship creaked. The waves lapped against the hull. Shi Fang stood at the helm, her face pale, her hands gripping the wheel.
Then the water began to churn.
The Frost Serpent burst from the depths, its body coiled, its ice gleaming. Behind it, a shadow rose—massive, dark, its shell wider than the ship, its eyes glowing green.
The Deep Turtle surfaced.
It was ancient—its shell covered in barnacles, its skin wrinkled, its beak sharp as a blade. It looked at the ship, at Fang Yuan, at the Frost Serpent, and it roared—a sound that shook the waves, that sent birds fleeing, that made Shi Fang cross herself.
Fang Yuan released his Stone Dragon Gu.
The dragon materialized on the deck, its scales grey, its eyes gold. It roared back, and the Deep Turtle paused.
It understands dominance. It knows dragons are stronger.
"Stone Dragon. Dragon Breath."
Golden fire erupted from the dragon's mouth, striking the water near the turtle's head. Steam exploded, and the turtle recoiled, its eyes blinking.
"Now," Fang Yuan said. "Frost Serpent. Ice Beam."
The beam of ice struck the turtle's shell, freezing a section of it. The creature tried to dive, but the ice held it, anchored it to the surface.
Fang Yuan pulled out a Pokeball—an Ultra Ball, purchased before he left the capital, its surface gleaming.
He threw.
The sphere struck the turtle's head and opened. Red light swallowed the massive creature, and the ball wobbled—once, twice, three times, four times, five times, six—
Click.
[Capture Successful!]
Deep Turtle Gu added to Storage.
Type: Water
Rank: 4
Moves: Dive, Water Gun, Shell Smash
Reward: 100 Primeval Stones
Fang Yuan retrieved the sphere. It was warm, heavy, pulsing with life.
Now I can reach the sunken city.
He released the Deep Turtle. The creature materialized in the water, its shell massive, its eyes calm.
"Take me down," Fang Yuan said.
He climbed onto its back, and the turtle dove.
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The sunken city was beautiful in its ruin.
Towers of white coral rose from the seafloor, their windows dark, their doors open. Streets of crushed shell wound between collapsed buildings, and statues of ancient kings lay broken in the sand. Fish swam through the ruins, their scales gleaming in the faint light that filtered from above.
The Deep Turtle carried Fang Yuan through the streets, past the temples, past the palaces, past the graves of a thousand drowned souls. The fragment's pulse grew stronger, guiding him.
He found it in the throne room.
The room was intact—its walls carved with scenes of battle and triumph, its floor paved with gold. At its center, on a throne of black stone, sat a skeleton in rusted armor. In its hand, a shard of crystal—blue as the deep sea, pulsing with cold light.
[Fragment of the First One acquired]
4/7 fragments collected
Fang Yuan climbed off the turtle and walked to the throne. The skeleton's skull turned, its empty eye sockets fixed on him.
"You are not the first to come," a voice whispered—faint, old, echoing from the bones. "Others have tried. Others have failed. The fragment cannot be taken. It must be earned."
Fang Yuan's hand went to his Pokeballs. "Earned how?"
"A trial. A test of worth. The fragment will only yield to one who has faced death and returned."
Fang Yuan smiled. "I've done that. Five hundred times."
The skeleton's jaw creaked—a laugh, perhaps. "Then prove it."
The room dissolved.
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He stood in a void—the same void he had seen in the Dead Lands, the same darkness, the same absence. But this time, he was not alone.
Before him stood a figure—a man in grey robes, his face young, his eyes old. His own face. His own eyes.
"You," Fang Yuan said.
"I am you," the figure replied. "The you who died. The you who failed. The you who could not save anyone."
Fang Yuan reached for his Pokeballs. They were gone.
"No Subjects," the figure said. "No system. No fragments. Just you. And me."
The figure lunged.
They fought with fists, with feet, with teeth. No Gu. No magic. Just two bodies, two minds, two wills, crashing against each other in the void.
The figure was strong—stronger than Fang Yuan. It had his memories, his skills, his ruthlessness. But it did not have his hunger.
Fang Yuan fought for hours. Days. Years. Time had no meaning here. There was only the fight, the pain, the blood.
And then, finally, he won.
His hands around the figure's throat, squeezing, crushing. The figure's eyes went wide, then dim, then dark.
It crumbled to dust.
The void shattered.
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Fang Yuan stood in the throne room, his hands bloody, his breath ragged. The skeleton was gone. The fragment floated in the air, pulsing with blue light.
He took it.
[Fragment of the First One acquired]
4/7 fragments collected
He climbed onto the Deep Turtle and rode back to the surface.
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The ship was waiting. Shi Fang helped him aboard, her face pale.
"You were gone for three days," she said. "We thought you were dead."
Fang Yuan looked at the sky. The sun was setting, painting the water in shades of gold and red.
"I was," he said. "But I came back."
He walked to the bow and looked out at the sea.
Four fragments. Three to go. The Western Desert. The Southern Swamp. The Central Mountains.
He reached into his pocket and touched the four fragments. They pulsed together, a symphony of hunger and power.
Soon, he thought. Soon, I will have them all.
He turned to Shi Fang. "Set a course for the Western Desert."
The ship sailed west.
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End of Chapter 26