# Chapter 127: Where Is the Beast
Five Trace Kings sleep eternally here, leaving one Trace King of unknown fate, and Trace King·Luximan.
Su Xiao exits the Trace King Hall and heads toward the Painting Tower. Crossing the towering stepped bridge, he enters a painting room. The high stools appear dilapidated, the painting boards covered in stains. The Painting Tower is empty, but on the wall hangs a portrait. It depicts a blind girl sitting on a high stool, around seventeen or eighteen years old, with freckles on her face.
To her left and right stand two figures. Standing on the girl's left is Brother Donkey, who was still human at that time. This was clearly painted in the Old World. In the painting, Brother Donkey crosses his arms, chin raised, with an expression of donkey-like arrogance.
On the girl's right is a man over five meters tall. Even sitting, he towers over the girl on the high stool beside him. He wears a bucket-shaped helmet, and even as a mere painting, his oppressive presence is palpable. Su Xiao doesn't need to guess—this must be God King·Os·Tobias.
It seems the Sun Church's bucket helmets are a tribute to God King·Os·Tobias.
"ROAR!!"
A beast-like roar comes from outside. Hearing this, Beini's fur bristles, and Bubu Wang instinctively merges into the environment.
Su Xiao rushes out first. The sound comes from the right. He charges over a mound of earth, the dust beneath his feet soft and loose. Kicking up dust, it's somewhat choking.
Following a forward slope, there's a crawling trail. Su Xiao follows this trail for a hundred meters. The surroundings become more open. A gust of wind sweeps through, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Half a corpse lies ahead, still some distance away. Su Xiao notices the dim golden crown on its head. Approaching to examine it, he finds this person isn't Luximan, but an unfamiliar Trace King.
The seven Trace Kings were once supreme powerhouses of their respective eras. Some came willingly, some under duress, and some were simply tricked into containing the Dark Blood—the Ink Stain.
Why must supreme powerhouses bear the Ink Stain? The reason is simple: those below a certain strength cannot withstand the Ink Stain, nor endure the madness it brings.
Using Reincarnation Paradise's standards: only those with over 1000 Sanity Points qualify to become Trace Kings.
No need for surprise. Trace Kings are this world's powerhouses. Born to endure this world's madness—the Beastification Plague—they've endured this to become supreme. Their sanity is naturally high.
"That beast... took... our Dark Blood... kill him... he's lost... his reason... he'll kill... the Young Miss."
The half-bodied Trace King speaks. He removes the crown from his head and, trembling slightly, extends it toward Su Xiao. With his remaining strength, he glimpses part of Su Xiao's past. He says:
"Will you become... the White King... or witness... destruction's arrival."
After speaking these words, the half-bodied Trace King's arm, still holding the crown, crashes to the ground.
"..."
Su Xiao says nothing. Talking to a Trace King—you might not even be on the same channel, perhaps even cross-server chatting. These beings can see past and future. Their words seem understandable at first, but upon reflection, their meaning can't be comprehended at the present stage.
Su Xiao looks around. Everything in the Royal City has color, yet the colors aren't vivid—a phenomenon caused by the painting's fading.
Footsteps crunch through the dust, the sound heavy. Amid the drifting dust haze stirred by the breeze, Su Xiao vaguely sees a figure approaching.
Though tall, this person hunches forward. His armor is not only pitted and scarred but covered in black rust. This gives the impression that while the armor is worn, its defensive power has somehow increased due to certain reasons—darkness, divine power.
As the figure draws closer, Su Xiao first notices his beard. Hanging to his chest, it's bound by a thin cord. The messy, graying beard bears traces of dried black blood.
A greatsword covered in black rust is slung across his back. Su Xiao has seen this greatsword before. Last time, it was clean and new. Now, it's become like this.
The newcomer is the Old Knight. He has devoured all the Dark Blood, including Luximan's. This is why Trace King·Luximan earlier said he was going to meet his fate.
Luximan was the only Trace King who once escaped the Royal City. Many jokingly called him Luximan the Fleeing.
Now, rather than letting the beast out of its cage, Luximan chose to walk into the cage himself. Because after devouring him, the beast would calm down and not break through the cage. He became a Trace King not merely because he was tricked—without corresponding resolve, he couldn't have lasted until now.
Earlier, the Old Knight visited the Ancient Castle. After seeing the Young Miss, he decided to find both the Dark Blood and the Painter's Blood, letting the Young Miss attempt to paint a new world. As for failure—does that matter?
To prevent his own beastification, the Old Knight once sealed his power within his heart, then removed his own heart and entrusted it to the Young Miss. Due to later unforeseen events, the Young Miss stored the Beast Heart in a safer place, preventing the Royal Descendants from seizing it.
Having lost his heart, the Old Knight didn't lose his direction. Those in the Ancient City who trusted him filled the void in his chest. But one day, that filling vanished, leaving only a faint flicker of flame.
The Old Knight was someone who should have died. So he made a bold attempt.
He knew everything, including the origin of beastification. As the only Stage Seven Beastifier, an idea occurred to him: could he bear all the Dark Blood, then absorb the madness within it?
Impossible for anyone else. But the Old Knight was a Stage Seven Beastifier. His resistance and absorption of madness far exceeded what outsiders could imagine.
The Old Knight's previous thought was: sufficiently pure Dark Blood might paint a new world, or might give more people a place to call home.
Even birds and beasts long for their nests, let alone people.
The Old Knight understood the pain of having no home. He was already destined for this, so he didn't want to see others suffer the same.
The Old Knight once tore out his own Beast Heart. Now, he has a new heart—the Dark Heart.
"So it's you, Bai Ye. Have you seen the Trace Kings?"
The Old Knight's hoarse voice comes. He hunches forward, making it hard to see his eyes.
"No."
"Is that so. Be careful. It's dangerous here."
The Old Knight raises his head. His left pupil is brown-yellow. His right eye has no pupil at all—just pitch black. Blackness spreads from the corner of his left eye, gradually darkening both eyes.
The Old Knight looks around and asks, "Bai Ye, there's a beast in the Royal City. I'm searching for it. Have you seen that beast?"
"Yes."
As Su Xiao speaks, he crushes a small glass vial in his hand. [Pure White Blood] is consumed.
"You've seen that beast? Which direction? You go first. I'll deal with it. It'll be quick. Once I kill that beast, you can come to the Royal City."
As the Old Knight speaks, most of his left eye turns pitch black, leaving only half a pupil and the white at the corner.
"That beast... is across from me."
Su Xiao speaks while slowly drawing the long blade at his waist. The blade points diagonally at the ground as dust haze drifts past.
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the Old Knight raises his hand. Looking at the black bloodstains on his gauntlet, he falls silent for a moment, then says:
"So that beast... is me."
The Old Knight's eyes become completely black. His consciousness is consumed by madness. His hand, clad in worn gauntlets, grips the sword hilt behind his back. His aura changes.
The Old Knight's last vestiges of reason, after this brief exchange with Su Xiao, scatter like mist. What remains is only the mad beast. He has carried too much Dark Blood—an amount that would horrify all previous Trace Kings.
In truth, the Old Knight had already lost his reason. In this state, he wandered the desolate, lonely Royal City for several days. Suddenly encountering an acquaintance restored his consciousness briefly, like a dying person's final lucidity.
Boom!
An oppressive force so powerful it instinctively makes one hold their breath and want to flee spreads outward, as if a heavy weight presses down on their shoulders.
Dust flies up. Su Xiao shields his face with one hand. Where he and the Old Knight stand is the Royal City's central area—a vast depression. The flat ground inside has a diameter of about one kilometer. The ground is covered in soft, fine dust. Even a gentle breeze stirs up a haze.
Su Xiao and the Old Knight face off. In the distance around them, a ring of earthen slopes surrounds the battlefield. The sky is overcast with dark clouds. The sun hides behind them, painting the gaps between clouds a hazy yellow.
The Apostle's Eye floats behind Su Xiao, scanning the formidable enemy ahead and feeding information back to him at maximum speed.
[Comparing intelligence attributes between both parties... Due to interference from the World Ink Stain, only 59.8% of the enemy's data has been detected.]
Name: Old Knight·Azde
Category: Stage Seven Beastifier/Dark Blood Knight
Health: 100%
Dark Force: 99000/99000 points (Granted by Dark Blood, continuously increasing...)
Battle Soul Force: 32400/32400 points (This body energy is the Old Knight's original.)
Strength: 245 (True Attribute)
Agility: 229 (True Attribute)
Stamina: 243 (True Attribute)
Intelligence: 106 (True Attribute)
Charm: -5 points (Originally 26 points. Beast/Dark transformation caused Charm attribute to drop.)
Skill 1, Dark Beast (Passive, X): After devouring all Dark Blood, the Old Knight should have lost power like the Trace Kings. However, as the only Stage Seven Beastifier in history, his resistance to madness and Dark Blood far exceeds that of Trace Kings. Though the Old Knight hasn't lost power—instead gaining even greater strength—he has lost his reason.
Tip: This ability grants the Old Knight immunity to mental control and allows him to instantly break free from all same-rank physical control effects.
Skill 2, Beast King (Passive, X): Health +71600 points, Body Defense +62 points. For every 1% Health lost, Body Defense increases incrementally.
Tip: Due to this ability's characteristics, the Old Knight's Body Defense has high priority, preventing defense reduction effects from same-rank abilities or Immortal-rank equipment.
Skill 3, ???
Skill 4, Knight Swordsmanship (Technique-type ability, Lv.62): Sword-type weapon attack power increased by 835%. Attacks have an uninterruptible characteristic. During attacks, Super Armor body state, reducing damage taken by 29.56%...
Tip: This ability is of the same rank as Blade Grandmaster.
Tip: This ability has derived 19 self-developed abilities (12 active, 7 X-rank passives).
Tip: Due to the Old Knight's current state of reason, active swordsmanship techniques have only a low probability of use (not impossible—under Dark Madness, the Old Knight has a low chance of using swordsmanship techniques).
Skill 5: ???
Skill 6, Continuous Slash (Passive, Lv.72): The Old Knight excels at continuous crushing slashes. Each slash's attack intensity increases by 12% (stackable), with a chance to shatter the enemy's weapon or break their guard.
Tip: Maximum slash attack intensity increase: 62% (buff lasts 60 seconds. Any slash against an enemy that isn't dodged—even if blocked—refreshes this ability's duration to 60 seconds.)
Tip: If a slash breaks the enemy's guard, it causes a minimum of 0.78 seconds of body paralysis (duration determined by Stamina attribute. If enemy Stamina is below 200 points, paralysis lasts at least 60 seconds, possibly causing fractures, organ damage, etc.)
Skill 7: ???
Skill 8, Dark Greatsword (Passive, X): When the Old Knight attacks with his greatsword, it additionally inflicts Strength attribute × 2.7 Slashing Pressure damage (Physical damage) + 1276 points True Dark damage + 1900~3200 points Impact damage (this damage ignores external defense, intensity determined by the strength difference between both parties).
Skill 9, Indestructible Body (Passive, Lv.72): The many trials endured did not destroy the Old Knight's body; instead, they gave it powerful resistance. Physical damage reduction 21.5%, Energy damage reduction 23.4%.
???
Skill 11, World Force (Passive, Lv.70): Because the Old Knight's body contains all the World Ink Stain, he has gained a degree of World Force empowerment. He can slash and capture enemies in alternate space, energy transparency states, etc.
Tip: Shockwaves from the Old Knight's normal attacks have a high probability of blasting enemies out of alternate space, energy transparency states, etc.
???
Skill 13, Dark Blood Knight (Ultimate·Passive, Lv.53): Entering Dark Blood Knight state enhances all abilities, restoring Health to 80%.
???
Skill 15, Blade of Judgment (Oath·Passive, Lv.39): When attacking targets with Health below 35%, there is a chance to execute the target.
Tip: This is a judgment-free execution.
...
Seeing the Old Knight's data, Su Xiao's heart gradually sinks. Confirmed—they're the same type of person. Normal attacks are ultimate moves.
The Old Knight has virtually no large-scale abilities. But he has a mountain of passives—either boosting greatsword slash damage, enhancing body defense, or granting immunity to all control effects. Undoubtedly, the Old Knight is the physically toughest enemy Su Xiao has ever faced, and one who grows stronger as the fight progresses.
Or rather, the Old Knight doesn't need large-scale abilities. He only needs that rust-covered greatsword to kill all enemies.
His Oath-level ability is even simpler and more brutal: once life force fluctuations weaken past a certain point, being injured by the Old Knight risks execution. Su Xiao has execution abilities himself—he knows exactly how broken this ability is.
PS: (Continuing the ten-thousand-word update. Originally planned to keep writing today, produce an extra-long chapter, and finish this battle. That was the plan. But I overestimated myself. Going to sleep. Tomorrow, I'll write this battle with full energy—Su Xiao vs. the Old Knight.)