Wu Yuan realized that ever since he awakened his Demon Power, his personality had shifted. He had become irritable, arrogant, and recklessly aggressive, losing the caution that had kept him alive this long.

“It must be the biology,” Wu Yuan muttered, his claws twitching. “This rat body is influencing my mind. No wonder the idioms say ‘a rat’s courage can cover the sky’ and ‘timid as a mouse’—I’m swinging between manic confidence and primal fear.”

“If I keep getting this arrogant, even if I become a Demon, I’ll just be a high-calorie snack for someone else.”

“I thought I could control myself, but I underestimated the animal instincts.”

Wu Yuan’s eyes went bloodshot. Suddenly, he opened his jaws and bit down hard on his own forearm.

RIP.

He tore off a chunk of flesh. Blood splattered onto the dirt.

The sharp, stinging pain cleared the red haze in his mind. He gasped for air, circulating his Demon Power. The wound immediately stopped bleeding, the flesh knitting together at a visible pace.

“Let this be a lesson,” he hissed through grit teeth.

The pain sharpened his focus. His eyes cleared.

“From now on, I must calculate every risk. I must be cautious.”

He paused, then shook his head.

“No. That’s not quite right.”

“I am a rat. I should act like a rat.”

“Treachery, cunning, bloodlust, viciousness—these are my species’ traits. I am no longer human; I am a beast.”

“Human morality is a shackle here. In the wild, claws and fangs are the only language that matters.”

In the darkness of his burrow, Wu Yuan’s humanity and his beastly nature finally achieved a preliminary fusion. He was no longer just a man trapped in a rat; he was developing a true Demonic Nature.

Reflection complete, Wu Yuan turned his mind to the problem at hand: The Great Horned Owl.

His eyes darted around, calculating. A plan began to form.

Wu Yuan poked his head out of his burrow. He flared his nostrils, channeling Demon Power into his olfactory nerves. The world exploded into a tapestry of scents.

He sniffed, filtering through the noise until he locked onto a specific target.

His eyes lit up. “Found you.”

He didn’t dare run above ground. Instead, he began to dig. It was slow, grueling work, but it was safe.

After tunneling for half the night, Wu Yuan finally breached the surface at his destination.

A Wolf Den.

Inside lay the same Lone Wolf he had encountered on the night of the full moon.

The wolf was a magnificent specimen of grey fur and lean muscle. Despite being alone, it wasn’t starving; its frame was thick and powerful. Its fur had a new, glossy sheen—likely a benefit from the Lunar Essence it had absorbed.

At that moment, the wolf was gnawing on a rabbit. With a casual crunch, it shattered the prey’s bones and swallowed them whole.

This wolf was clearly the apex predator of the immediate area.

Wu Yuan’s plan was simple: Lure the Wolf to the Owl’s nest. Let the two titans clash, and fish in the troubled waters.

He wasn’t entirely sure the Wolf could win. After all, the Wolf had no Demon Power, whereas the Owl did. But the Wolf was the strongest piece on the board.

Distant water cannot quench a nearby thirst. This wolf would have to do.

Wu Yuan looked up at the moon. He activated his breathing technique, pulling down a stream of Lunar Essence.

But instead of refining it into Demon Power, he directed the energy into his digestive tract. He compressed it, mixed it, and stored it.

Then, he squatted.

Plop.

He produced a single pellet of rat dung that glowed with a faint, silver light.

Wu Yuan admired his handiwork. “Silver-plated shit. Genius.”

This was a new application of his breathing technique—infusing objects with Lunar Essence. He chose feces deliberately. It carried the alluring scent of moonlight, mixed with his own unique, infuriating musk.

“Last time, I stole your power,” Wu Yuan whispered to the sleeping wolf. “This time, I’m giving you a chance for revenge.”

It is well known that wolves are creatures that hold grudges.

Wu Yuan laid a trail of glowing droppings, spacing them out carefully. He didn’t drop them right at the den; he placed them just close enough for the wolf to stumble upon them naturally.

The next morning.

The Lone Wolf stretched, shaking the dew from its grey coat. Its stomach rumbled.

Despite the strength it gained from the full moon, its metabolism had spiked. It was hungry.

Hunger brought back memories of that detestable rat. If not for that thief, the Wolf might have gained the black power like the Alpha of its old pack.

Thinking of that power, the Wolf felt a mix of envy and fear. It shook its head, prioritizing breakfast over regrets.

It trotted out of its territory. Suddenly, it froze.

It lowered its head, sniffing the air.

That scent.

It was the smell of moonlight. And underneath it… the unmistakable stench of that disgusting thief.

The Wolf let out a low, vibrating growl. It abandoned its hunt immediately, locking onto the trail. It sprinted into the forest, driven by pure spite. It would catch that rat and play with it until it stopped squeaking.

From a distant hole, Wu Yuan watched the grey blur disappear.

“Brother Wolf, don’t let me down! Be aggressive!”

Wu Yuan dove back underground, racing toward the Owl’s tree.

When he arrived, the stage was set.

The standoff had already begun.

The male Owl stood on a high branch, wings half-spread, issuing a guttural hoo-hoo threat. It was agitated, desperate to protect its nesting mate.

Below, the Lone Wolf paced, ignoring the bird. Its nose was glued to the ground, tracking the scent of the rat. It sniffed around the base of the massive tree, growling.

The scent is strongest here, the Wolf realized. The rat is under this tree.

Underground, Wu Yuan huddled in the roots, projecting his thoughts. Brother Wolf, I’m right here! Come and get me!

The Wolf stepped closer to the trunk.

That was the breaking point.

The Owl screeched. It launched itself from the branch like an arrow, talons extended. The claws glowed with a sinister grey light.

The Wolf had underestimated the bird. It expected a nuisance, not a missile.

When the Wolf saw the grey light on the talons, panic flared in its eyes. It tried to dodge, wrenching its head to the side.

Slash.

The Wolf yelped as one of its ears was torn clean off.

The Owl landed heavily, flapping its wings to regain altitude for a second strike. But the Wolf was a veteran killer. It knew that if the bird took flight again, death was certain.

Ignoring the pain, the Wolf lunged. It tackled the Owl, pinning it to the forest floor. Its jaws clamped down on the bird’s wing.

Crunch.

Feathers exploded. The Owl’s Demon Power softened the blow, preventing the bone from snapping instantly, but the Wolf’s weight was overwhelming. The bird was grounded.

The two beasts began a brutal, rolling death match in the dirt.

High above, inside the tree hollow, the Female Owl poked her head out. She looked down at her mate fighting for his life, torn between guarding her eggs and joining the fray. She was weak from laying, her vitality drained.

She peered over the edge, distracted.

Now.

Wu Yuan, hiding behind the trunk, saw his opening.

He didn’t climb. He surged with Demon Power, launching himself vertically up the bark. Covered in a shroud of black light, he hit the Female Owl like a cannonball.

The impact knocked her backward, tumbling them both deep into the dark hollow of the nest.

She shrieked in panic, thrashing beneath him.

Wu Yuan’s eyes flashed with cold, predatory malice.

He channeled every ounce of his Demon Power into his jaws.