Chapter 1: Nightmare Devil Island

Looking down from high above, through the thin clouds, one could see the deep blue ocean beneath the white mist. From this view, the entire vast sea looked like a curved mirror, reflecting the whole beautiful sky.

In the endless ocean, many lush green islands were scattered. Underneath a patch of dark clouds, one island, about twenty kilometers across, seemed particularly special.

This was a somewhat regularly shaped diamond-shaped island. At its very center stood a straight, steep mountain. From afar, it looked like a sword plunged upside-down into this vast island.

All four sides of the island were sheer cliffs. There was not a single flat sandy beach.

The waters below the cliffs were turbulent with fierce waves. One could often hear the angry roar of the sea pounding against the jagged reefs.

This special structure at the island’s edge meant it was a completely closed-off island where ships simply could not dock!

…

On the southern side of the island, at a cliff ledge that jutted out, a young boy around fifteen years old sat on the outermost rock, wearing thin clothes. He gazed at the unknown Bi’an beyond the horizon. In his longing eyes, there was also a hint of a profound sadness.

It was a face too melancholic for his age, yet he kept this expression all the time, with no pretense—it was a true reflection of his heart…

The furious waves crashed against the cliff, occasionally splashing high. The biting sea wind swept in, rushing through the boy’s thin clothes and lifting his somewhat messy hair.

The boy was like a statue sitting quietly on the sea cliff, his tiny figure facing the vast and turbulent ocean…

…

An unknown amount of time passed. Then, a horn-like sound came from deep within the island’s jungle.

“Ooo~!”

When he heard this horn sound, the boy showed a flash of disgust, but he slowly stood up anyway and walked toward the direction of the sound.

…

The boy was thin and wiry, but his movements were agile. He moved freely through the complex island jungle and soon reached a clearing within the forest.

The clearing was only about a hundred meters across. The area was surrounded by a thick wooden wall made of sharpened logs thirty meters high, forming a village-like camp.

The camp had only one main gate. Standing by the gate were four men dressed in blue clothes. They all looked to be in their thirties and had no particularly outstanding features.

What was worthy of attention, however, were the terrifying fanged, wolf-like creatures beside these four men!

“Grrr! Grrr!”

“Grr-woof!”

When the four Fang Wolves saw the boy approaching, they immediately bared their ferocious intent. They opened their long mouths wide, fully exposing their pale white fangs, ready to pounce on the thin boy at any moment.

“Hurry up and get inside! What’s with the slow pace, do you want to die? Hmph. That body of yours wouldn’t even be enough for my Fang Wolf’s midnight snack!” one of the men with messy hair said fiercely to the boy.

The boy fearfully dodged the Fang Wolves that always wanted to pounce on him and quickly entered the camp.

Watching the boy’s back, the man with messy hair spat contemptuously and said, “Whoever brought this kid here, he looks weak and fragile. How could he possibly withstand the hardships of our Nightmare Devil Camp?”

“It was Lord Xia, I heard…” another man, referred to as Red Hair, deliberately paused, then said in a deep voice.

“He is already a dead man.”

“Already a dead man, hmph, aren’t all the little ones here dead men already?” Gu Lei said dismissively.

“You don’t understand. This kid used to be the young master of some family. Who knows who he offended. Someone paid people from our Nightmare Demon Palace to get rid of him.”

“Lord Xia was in charge of this mission. After successfully capturing the kid, he figured since the kid was going to die anyway, why not make him sign a Soul Pact with a White Nightmare Devil, then throw him here to provide our Nightmare Devil Island with another servant.” Red Hair said.

When White Nightmare Devil was mentioned, the other three men couldn’t help but gasp. One man deliberately lowered his voice:

“How does Lord Xia have something like a White Nightmare Devil? And is that kid really that special, able to withstand a White Nightmare Devil?”

“No way. If the kid had that ability, he would have been sent to the White Nightmare Devil Island long ago, he wouldn’t be here with us.”

“How Lord Xia got a White Nightmare Devil, I don’t know. But I know Lord Xia simply assumed this kid would definitely die and used him for an experiment. I believe it won’t be long before this kid is completely devoured by the White Nightmare Devil.” Red Hair laughed, seeming completely unconcerned about the boy’s death.

“Ha, so that’s it. Good that he dies, I’ve been annoyed by this kid for a while. Speaking of which, Lord Xia doesn’t seem simple at all. To actually have a Nightmare Devil like the White Nightmare Devil that we’ve never even seen. You know, leaders on other Nightmare Devil islands are lucky to have one or two Blue Nightmare Demons at most.” Gu Lei said.

“That’s for sure… Oh, it’s almost time. Close the gate. Tonight, we can listen to the screams again, hehe…” Red Hair laughed cruelly.

The other three men also laughed in agreement, showing a scornful attitude toward life.

…

The boy sitting quietly on the cliff was named Chu Mu. He should have been a vibrant youth, but he had been tempered like a hidden cold blade.

Chu Mu appeared on this island precisely because he had been captured. And the only reason he wasn’t killed was because of the devilish experiment that Lord Xia, mentioned by those men, performed on him!

In fact, within this entire island, apart from those few Stewards just now, all the other children around Chu Mu’s age had undergone this devilish experiment—signing a Soul Pact with a Nightmare Devil!

This world was a world of Soul Pets. Those with talent could become Soul Pet Tamers.

Soul Pet Tamers could sign Soul Pacts with Soul Pets, making the Soul Pets fight for them.

The relationship between Soul Pets and humans was one of master and servant. Humans could command Soul Pets to do anything.

But here on Green Nightmare Demon Island, it was different. This was a place completely cut off from the world.

Every so often, many boys like Chu Mu were sent to this completely isolated world to undergo these inhumane, evil experiments.

Nightmare Devils were the evil Soul Pets they spoke of. Evil Soul Pets were a very special exception among Soul Pets. They could also sign Soul Pacts with humans and fight for them.

However, they possessed the terrifying ability to devour their master’s soul!

The children trapped here were all forced to sign Soul Pacts with Nightmare Devils on their very first day.

After a certain period of time, the Nightmare Devils growing inside their hosts would eat the master’s soul as food. A human who lost their soul meant death!

And the only way to avoid having their soul devoured by this Nightmare Devil was to increase their own strength, to make their cultivation powerful, to make their soul strong.

In other words, they had to always remain stronger than the Nightmare Devil to possibly survive!

…

This was the cruelest hell. The children here didn’t face the earnest teachings of teachers, but rather vicious, cruel individuals who could take their lives at any moment!

Here, the weak would quickly become food for the evil Soul Pet, the Nightmare Devil. The strong would be chased relentlessly by the Nightmare Devil, chased and chased…

It was like a nightmare from which one could never wake up!

…

Tonight there was no moon. The sea wind lashed the low-hanging dark clouds in the sky, driving them to more distant waters.

The trees swayed wildly in the fierce wind, always making whimpering sounds, like a woman weeping in utter grief.

Inside the camp, on the empty flat ground, a hundred boys and girls around ten years old stood trembling in the howling wind. Their clothes were very thin. Their faces showed a numb sort of toughness and resolve. Their blank eyes also revealed a beast-like sharpness.

The hundred people formed a ten-by-ten formation, standing in neat rows.

Around them, leaning against the log walls, were ten adult Stewards.

These Stewards stood in place. From their faces, one saw only coldness and indifference. Their eyes were fixed on the hundred boys and girls, constantly watching them.

Near the log gate stood three men in dark long coats. All three wore extremely cold expressions.

The tall, burly middle-aged man in the center took a few steps forward. His gaze swept coldly over the group of children, and a cruel smile appeared on his face as he spoke:

“Today is physical training. Today, you will face ferocious Soul Pets on your own.”

“Let me tell you, we will only keep fifty people here for the next phase of training. This means half of you will die during today’s test!”

“Haha, enjoy this pleasure of death. Only those forged between life and death are qualified to enter our Nightmare Devil Hall!”

After hearing these words from the middle-aged man, panic immediately appeared on the faces of the hundred children. They looked around uneasily at the ten adult men.

One hundred people, only fifty could survive, meaning each person’s chance of survival was only fifty percent. How cruel!

But these villains had no pity whatsoever for these children. As soon as the middle-aged man gave the command, the ten Stewards standing along the inner side of the log wall immediately began to recite strange series of Incantations.

Each time their lips moved, a strange, semi-transparent glowing symbol would appear around them. The symbols were like characters, projecting a blue pattern on the ground. The patterns flashed with beautiful veils of light…

“Awooo! Awooo!”

“Awooo! Awooo awooo!”

Suddenly, chilling wolf howls rang out. A foul wind carrying the stench of fierce beasts instantly swept through the not-so-spacious camp, fiercely striking the bodies of the seemingly frail boys.

Pale white claws dug into the muddy ground. Grey hair stood on end. Fangs exposed beyond vicious mouths looked grim and sharp!

After the ten Stewards finished their summoning, ten predators—Fang Wolves!—appeared prominently inside the camp. These were the ferocious Soul Pets famous for their sharp, terrifying fangs!

Seeing these ten snarling Fang Wolves howling constantly around them, the boys’ faces turned pale and bloodless. A few girls even bit their lips, tears streaming down their faces.

Whether for Soul Pets or for these powerless children, Fang Wolves were extremely terrifying creatures. For food, they would attack any creature they could handle without hesitation, killing it.

In most regions, even adult Soul Pet Tamers found it difficult to deal with a single Fang Wolf without a Soul Pet, let alone these unarmed boys who hadn’t learned any skills.