Chapter 345: End of the Simulated World

"When I reach the Saint level, the Golden Blood Academy will be completely safe." Jeanka forced a smile and patted Sheman on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go back. Didn't you say you wanted a midnight snack? I'm starting to get hungry too…"

Bang!

At that moment, the door was kicked open.

Jeanka and Sheman, who had just experienced something unbelievable, were already on edge, and the sudden noise sent a shiver down their spines. They turned their gaze toward the door in unison.

In the moonlight, Rhett's shadow stretched long and ominous.

The two of them froze under his cold gaze, fear exploding in their eyes. Sheman stammered, "G-good evening, Lord Vilas…"

Jeanka swallowed nervously, one hand hidden behind his back, clenched into a fist, with cold sweat dripping from his palm.

Rhett's expression was indifferent as he stared directly at Jeanka's face and asked coldly, "Where is the pearl?"

"I-I ate it." Jeanka's heart raced, and Rhett's gaze felt like a sharp arrow, placing immense psychological pressure on him.

"Oh? Weren't you going to use death row inmates as test subjects? Why did you eat it yourself?"

"Well…" Jeanka's mind was in chaos, and he hesitated, unable to answer.

"Because I borrowed his test subjects two days ago without telling him," Sheman interrupted quickly, sensing Jeanka's struggle. "I used them up, and I forgot to remind him in the lab."

"Y-yes, that's right," Jeanka quickly nodded in agreement.

"Is that so? How does the Blood Source Pearl taste?" Rhett asked in a calm voice.

"I... I couldn't really taste it, but the pain afterward was intense," Jeanka stammered, clearly uneasy.

"Heh… I wasn't asking you. I was asking… the Blood Demon!"

As soon as Rhett finished speaking, his gaze sharpened. The earth elements around them suddenly became violent, and the dilapidated room exploded into splinters, filling the sky with floating debris.

In the midst of Sheman and Jeanka's terrified gazes, the earth elements rapidly converged around them, forming a distorted space that enveloped everything within several hundred meters.

The overwhelming pressure crashed down like a tide, squeezing every pore, suffocating them, and preventing them from exerting even an ounce of strength. Any attempt to manipulate elements or spiritual power was immediately crushed into oblivion.

The terror of a Saint-level powerhouse!

"Lord Vilas… I-I don't know what you're talking about… Blood Demon… what?" Jeanka's face twisted in fear, his body trembling as he tried to deny it.

But Rhett's next words shattered Jeanka's delusions:

"Blood Demon fragment, I could tell right away that you're not human. No matter how cleverly you hide, even the slyest fox falls into the hunter's trap. If you come out willingly, I might spare your life and discuss cooperation…"

"But if you continue hiding inside Jeanka's body, I'll have no choice but to sacrifice this vessel for the sake of this world…"

Before Rhett finished speaking, Sheman suddenly felt the pressure around him lift. Seizing the opportunity, he slipped out of the gravitational field and stood on the grass at a distance, shouting desperately, "Lord Vilas, please spare Jeanka's life! He's innocent, he's been forced! Don't harm him!"

At that moment, Jeanka was still suffocating under the pressure, unable to speak. His eyes filled with despair—he didn't want to die...

Suddenly, a sharp pain surged through Jeanka's head. His eyes bulged, his mouth opened wide, but no sound came out. His body convulsed violently as if all the blood in his body was rushing upwards, as if his very soul was being ripped away.

From the outside, a cloud of blood mist began to rise from Jeanka's head, like steam rising from an ice block. It floated three meters above, coalescing into the familiar form of a blood-colored bat…

Jeanka, who had been enduring intense pain, fainted as soon as the blood mist fully left his body, his legs twitching weakly.

Not far away, Sheman tried to rush forward to check on Jeanka, but with a casual wave of Rhett's hand, Sheman was struck on the back of the head and collapsed, unconscious.

The scene fell into an eerie silence.

Only Rhett and the Blood Demon fragment remained, locked in a tense standoff. The blood-colored bat floated in midair, staring intently at Rhett. "Human, I admit you have great skill to push me to this point! Why not join me? I'll grant you boundless rewards and power far beyond what you possess now…"

"Oh? Like what?" Rhett wasn't in a hurry to fight. Since this was a simulation, he thought it would be beneficial to extract more information about the Underworld.

"Hehehe, don't you want to break through the Saint-level bottleneck and reach even higher realms? This world is too small for you, like a tiny pond incapable of raising a ferocious shark! The Underworld, on the other hand, would be a vast stage where you could climb to unimaginable heights…" The blood bat's voice rasped, and its blood-red eyes gleamed eerily in the darkness.

"So, you're saying that as long as I go to the Underworld, I'll be able to surpass the Saint-level?" Rhett asked.

"Easily…" The blood bat let out a chilling laugh. "If you accept my help, I can transform you into one of my blood descendants. Even in the vast Underworld, you would wield formidable power. And even if you decline my direct guidance, you would still obtain power many times greater than what you have now…"

"And can I break through to realms beyond the Saint-level in the Underworld?" Rhett asked the question that weighed most heavily on his mind. "Or rather, is there a path beyond for me there?"

The blood bat fell silent for a moment before replying in a deep voice, "Why cling to elemental power? The Underworld has countless powerful forces. Take my blood source power, for instance—it could grant you near-immortality! Moreover, the Underworld's limits are far higher than what this world can offer. Here… there is no future…"

Rhett's eyes gleamed with understanding.

In this brief exchange, combined with his previous knowledge, he had pieced together the truth. Just as there are no two identical leaves, different worlds contain different sources of power, resulting in diverse power systems.

For example, the elemental power of his world, which contains various mysteries, would differ in strength and type even if other elemental worlds existed…

"The Underworld… sounds like a much stronger world," Rhett mused silently. "At least the powerful beings there can traverse worlds, while our world hasn't even fully explored its own power system. The gap is clear…"

"What do you think… human?" The blood bat, noticing Rhett's hesitation, reminded him again. "My goal is simple—once I harvest this world's source, my strength will rise to new heights, and few in the Underworld will dare oppose me! Follow me, and you too will bask in endless glory…"

"You talk too much…"

"What did you say?" The blood bat's face contorted, clearly unused to being so casually insulted.

Rhett had already gleaned all the information he needed. His expression turned cold as he spoke. "I said… I will never go to the Underworld with you, so give up on that!"

"Why?" The blood bat's wings seemed to freeze, its disbelief palpable. Hadn't it offered enough power to tempt him?

"I was born here, raised here, and I've grown by drawing strength from this world, step by step. No matter its imperfections or weakness, this is my home…" Rhett's voice was resolute, echoing into the night sky. "I will never abandon it—I'll perfect it, build it, and grow alongside it!" His voice rang out. "You, on the other hand, want to destroy my homeland, leaving it scarred… That is unforgivable!"

"Die, Blood Demon!"

Rhett's voice grew more powerful until it became a roar. The earth elements within the gravitational space became violent once more, and the binding force reached its peak!

The blood-colored bat struggled, its already weakened form further disintegrating under the intense pressure. It could no longer maintain its shape.

Its blood-red eyes flickered with disbelief and resentment. "Curse you! You'll regret the choice you made today!"

Rhett's expression remained cold. "If I had accepted your offer and helped destroy the world, that's when I'd have regrets!"

"What does it matter if you destroy this world? You'd have so much more in the end!" The Blood Demon fragment roared, its blood-red light flickering like a dying flame, on the verge of vanishing.

"Hahaha, Blood Demon, who would've thought you'd end up like this!"

A mocking voice echoed from the night sky. The Shadow Demon, its figure even more distorted and eerie in the dark, emerged from nowhere. Though its form was dim, its tentacles whipped about wildly, showing its excitement.

"It's you, Didala! You worm dare mock me?" The blood-colored bat glared at the Shadow Demon. "If I return to the Underworld, I'll find your true body and destroy your source!"

"Haha, just try! But all your hard-earned source power is gone, and when word of that spreads in the Underworld, I wonder how many will laugh at you!" Didala's laughter shook his body.

The blood bat let out a furious roar!

Swoosh! A blood-red arrow shot through the night sky, striking Didala, whose already dim form disintegrated completely.

But just before he vanished, his final words rang out: "Rhett, don't waste any more time! Kill it! I'll help you watch over Nicole in the Underworld!"

Boom!

A terrifying force of disintegration swept across the sky.

Fear flickered in the blood bat's eyes, and it shuddered, too weak to cry out. Under the devastating power, its already fragile form dissolved inch by inch.

Though it didn't vanish immediately, it broke apart into a cloud of blood mist, on the verge of dissipating into nothingness…

In the next instant, under the aftershocks of the disintegration force, the blood bat was utterly destroyed. The earth elements in the area gradually calmed, scattering into the night.

The ground lay in ruins.

A gust of wind blew through, and the night became still once more, as if nothing had happened.

Rhett gazed at the spot where the blood-colored bat had disappeared, murmuring, "A better world… so what? It's not the one I love…"

Having destroyed the blood bat, Rhett felt a sense of relief. Although this was only a simulation and he knew the real Blood Demon fragment would be much stronger, the experience had shown him that the Blood Demon wasn't invincible. As long as one had enough strength, it could still be defeated!

"If I can find someone who possesses the Purification Mystery, dealing with the Blood God Lord will be much easier…"

Rhett muttered to himself, glancing down at the unconscious Jeanka and Sheman. His expression was complicated.

Undoubtedly, in the original timeline, one of these two would become the future Blood God Lord, and the other a human traitor—a bane to the world. But at this moment, both seemed to retain their moral principles. It didn't feel right to kill them now.

Still, Rhett couldn't wait around for centuries, watching them slowly descend into corruption. Though he was curious about how it would unfold, the outcome was ultimately unimportant.

Once the Blood God Lord was defeated in the real world, he could extract all the information about the past anyway…

With one last glance at the unconscious Jeanka and Sheman, Rhett shook his head and left them behind. Turning to Manu, who had transformed into a beam of light on his shoulder, he asked, "Have you memorized all the alchemical knowledge from this world?"

"I can't speak for the entire world, but I've recorded every piece of alchemical knowledge from the Golden Blood Academy in my mind. Trust me, my memory is impeccable!" Manu's voice was brimming with confidence.

Rhett nodded. "And what about the human alchemy experiments…"

"I've mastered the method for creating the Blood Source Heart, but this point in history hasn't yet produced a concrete formula for the Blood Source Brain—just some guesses. But give me time, and I can research it. And as long as you provide the materials, I can easily refine the Blood Source Heart."

"Let's leave it for now. The side effects of the Blood Source Pearl are too severe. I hope we'll never need it, and I certainly hope it never spreads." Rhett shook his head.

"Hm, I could try to modify it, perhaps neutralize the side effects…"

"Do you have a way to eliminate the side effects of the Blood Source Pearl?" Rhett's eyes widened in shock, and his voice rose a couple of octaves.

"Not yet, but I believe it's possible. It'll just take some time and effort. Research requires experimentation after all…" Manu replied calmly.

"You're right," Rhett said, his lips twitching as he finally agreed. "I believe in you."

If anyone else had made that claim, Rhett would have ignored it. But coming from Manu, it was different. Manu had already achieved numerous alchemical feats that were beyond the reach of alchemists in this world. If anyone could do it, it would be him…

"So, what's your next plan?" Manu asked. "You've already uncovered the plans of both the Shadow Demon and the Blood Demon. You even identified the Blood God Lord's future identity. Staying here longer won't serve much purpose. And as far as alchemy goes, I've learned all I need from this era's Golden Blood Academy."

Rhett nodded in agreement. "That's what I'm thinking too. We might as well end it here. If necessary, I can always restart the simulation from this moment…"