In that moment, he felt the conviction within the Ten Collapse Fist, a belief emanating from the Left Wing Demon General. It was a conviction forged in countless battles, a certainty of victory born from the blood of countless foes fallen beneath its power, a culmination of the despair of all those defeated before!

The sheer force of this belief far surpassed Wang Lin’s comprehension. His body had already weathered the rending power of the Fourth Collapse, but his very soul was now assaulted by the psychic wave of the fist’s conviction.

“The Ten Collapses are said to be the limit, yet this fist intent seeks to evolve into an Eleventh. The Left Wing Demon General seeks to break me, to absorb my own conviction and thus elevate the power of his technique.”

“The strength of the Ten Collapse Fist lies in belief. The more it slays and defeats, the greater its power becomes!” An overwhelming sense of helplessness began to rise within him, but Wang Lin crushed the nascent feeling before it could fully bloom.

His body was thrown back as if by a colossal hand, landing a thousand feet away. As he fell, he twisted, his left fingers digging into the earth, carving a furrow through the ground for dozens of feet before he could halt his slide.

At that moment, Wang Lin’s entire body was almost completely covered in runes originating from his brow. These runes, having absorbed the brunt of the Ten Collapse Fist’s power, shattered, dissolving into motes of ash that vanished into the void. Only half a rune remained upon his brow, radiating a dim, ashen light.

The Brand of Life, cultivated through the Slaughter Immortal Arts, was now only half-formed, clinging precariously to his forehead, the remainder extinguished.

“With your cultivation at the Nascent Soul mid-stage, to withstand the Fourth Collapse is already a feat. You shall withdraw,” the Left Wing Demon General said, his piercing gaze fading slightly. “The position of Grand Unifier is beyond your grasp. Even a mere lieutenant’s post is not yours. Your place is only as a Long Rock Soldier.” Though his face held no overt disdain, his words dripped with it.

Wang Lin’s eyes blazed with an inner light. The Ten Collapse Fist was an extreme manifestation of the spirit, an apotheosis of a cultivator’s Dao Heart. When merged with the Primordial Soul, it allowed the Soul to evolve, becoming one with the Dao Heart, leaving only a singular, unwavering belief within one’s being. This belief was unshakeable, capable of influencing everything, of altering the very fabric of existence.

“This,” he breathed, “is the divine power of conviction!”

“The divine power of conviction…” Wang Lin slowly raised his head, gazing at the Left Wing Demon General in the distance, his eyes deep and unfathomable, holding both wisdom and realization.

His gaze grew brighter and brighter. Slowly, he raised his right hand, extending his index finger. The same gesture, the same prelude to the Demonic Transformation Finger, but this time, the power he unleashed was utterly transformed!

The Left Wing Demon General noticed the change instantly. A soft gasp escaped his lips, and the light that had faded from his eyes surged back, burning brighter than before.

“This…” The Demon General saw the subtle shift in an instant, a glint of interest appearing on his face.

Far away, Yao Xixue’s expression turned grave. She stared intently at Wang Lin, a tempest raging within her heart as she recalled the words of her father.

Her father, the Blood Ancestor, had taken a great interest in this Wang Lin.

A wave of demonic energy erupted from Wang Lin, forming a faint, dark mist that swirled three feet around him. Within the swirling haze, his eyes gradually took on a sinister, somber light.

That somberness radiated a chilling coldness, a pure, unadulterated demonic nature!

“The divine power of conviction… The spells I cast are but hollow shells, lacking the conviction within them to unleash their true potential,” Wang Lin murmured to himself. He gazed at his right index finger and suddenly, with a resolute flick of his wrist, pointed it toward the heavens!

“One Finger to Question the Heavens!”

Above, the vortex within the palace’s void instantly dissipated. The whole world seemed to be enveloped by a dark shroud, becoming even more dim, as if countless wandering souls were howling within it.

“One Finger to Become Demon!”

Demonic energy raged. The Immortal power within Wang Lin, without reversal, was quietly and secretly transformed into demonic energy!

This demonic energy was vastly different from that which was created by the reversal of Immortal power!

Wang Lin’s hair grew rapidly, extending down to his knees in the blink of an eye. The man was no longer gentle and refined but was now full of tyrannical intent. Above his brow, a six-striped demonic rune slowly appeared.

The demonic energy around his body intensified in an instant, spreading outwards like a wildfire, reaching a hundred feet in every direction.

The demonic energy became so dense, so heavy, that it transformed into flickering green flames, raining down upon the ground in a circular pattern.

Completely consumed by demonic energy, Wang Lin suddenly lifted his head and let out a long howl, a sound filled with savage, domineering power, a cry of unbridled slaughter!

At that moment, the half-formed Slaughter Rune hidden beneath the six-striped demonic rune on his forehead, as if resonating with Wang Lin’s current state of mind, began to rapidly grow, transforming in an instant back into a complete Brand of Life!

As soon as it was complete, the Brand began to spread, covering Wang Lin’s entire body.

Wang Lin took a step forward, his pace unhurried, yet he moved towards the Left Wing Demon General suspended in the air above the palace!

“Intriguing! You are the first to have gained such insight beneath my Ten Collapse Fist. Let us see if you can withstand the Fifth Collapse,” the Left Wing Demon General said, his eyes burning brightly.

The Fifth Collapse, as the words left the Demon General’s lips, descended from the void in an instant. It was tenfold more powerful than the Fourth, and its arrival instantly triggered thunderous roars, like those of heavenly tribulation, echoing within a thousand-foot radius. The entire Ancient Demon City could hear the earth-shattering sound.
Wang Lin’s face was a mask of grim determination. He now channeled the forbidden art, the Demonizing Finger, summoning its power to meet the onslaught of the Fifth Collapse, which surged toward him from all sides. With a swift, decisive thrust of his right index finger, the demonic energy within him erupted, coalescing at its tip into a searing blaze of demonic flame!

The true and terrible might of the Demonizing Finger was unleashed for the first time in Wang Lin’s hands. With this single gesture, the demonic fire at his fingertip swelled, expanding into a raging inferno that engulfed the air around him, a sea of demonic flames!

Wang Lin stamped his feet upon the earth and rose into the air, his right index finger a bolt of black lightning, hurtling toward the demon general.

The Fifth Collapse descended with terrifying speed, but the demonic flames, newly born, stood as an unyielding barrier. In the clash, as the two forces strained against one another, Wang Lin pierced through the heart of the maelstrom. He emerged unscathed, standing a mere ten paces from his foe!

Then, as swiftly as it had vanished, the Sixth Collapse materialized!

Words could scarcely capture the sheer destructive power of the Sixth Collapse. Upon its manifestation, the ten-pace stretch of space between Wang Lin and the demon general buckled and contorted, rent by fissures that tore through reality without pattern or reason.

The dreadful power of the Sixth Collapse descended.

Yet, Wang Lin’s expression remained an unyielding mask of shadow, his eyes burning with a chilling, ruthless light. He did not retract his finger. Instead, he took a single step forward, defying the very force that sought to obliterate him. The Sixth Collapse, like an invisible ring of energy, solidified from the void, tightening its inexorable grasp upon him.

But as it grazed Wang Lin’s outstretched finger, he uttered a single word: “Demonize!” A surge of pure blackness erupted from the fingertip, spreading with impossible speed, consuming his entire right arm in an instant.

The encroaching darkness continued its relentless advance, cascading down his arm and across his body. In the blink of an eye, just as the invisible ring of the Sixth Collapse closed in, Wang Lin’s entire being was shrouded in an impenetrable blackness.

He was now a living shadow, and with a single stride, he passed through the collapsing ring. In that instant of transit, the Sixth Collapse itself shattered and dissolved into nothingness!

The left-wing demon general’s eyes blazed with newfound intensity. He roared, “Well done, outsider! I admit, I underestimated you! I await you here; only four collapses remain! Your ten-collapse conviction is built upon the confidence of certain victory, born of the countless souls who have fallen before this technique. To break it with mere cultivation is beyond my power, but the key to shattering your conviction lies not in strength, but in belief!”

“To break your conviction, I wield the Demonizing Finger. This belief is infused within the art, as though I have breathed a soul into the very spell itself. This is no longer a contest of cultivation, but a battle of convictions!” Wang Lin declared, his voice calm despite the surging power around him. He took another step forward.

The Seventh Collapse arrived!

As the Seventh Collapse began to coalesce, Wang Lin’s eyes flashed with an inner fire. He bellowed a single word: “Yield!” And as the word echoed, the Seventh Collapse, as if possessing a tangible form, crumbled and dissipated. A fierce determination burned in Wang Lin’s eyes, a flame ignited by his unwavering belief.

He held firm to the soul of the Demonizing Finger, his pronouncements imbued with an undeniable conviction.

This conviction was not born of bloodlust or the arrogance of victory, but from the very essence of the demonic:

The demonic is defiance, the transgression of all that is sacred. To plunder wisdom, corrupt the divine, and walk a path of self-appointed righteousness is to be truly demonic!

The demon general’s face finally betrayed a flicker of fear. From the moment he first laid eyes on Wang Lin, he had dismissed him as insignificant. The outsider’s feat of overcoming the first three collapses had earned him only a passing glance.

Even the failure of the Fourth Collapse was unsurprising; the general had deemed the outsider’s journey to have ended there, concluding he was not the one whom the Demon Emperor sought.

But never could he have foreseen that after the Fourth Collapse, the outsider would experience such a profound awakening. The sudden metamorphosis had immediately piqued his interest, the awakening to the art of the Demonizing Finger!

Still, it was mere curiosity, not alarm. He believed that this enlightenment, though impressive, would only carry the outsider as far as the Seventh Collapse.

But now, the outsider’s word banishing the Seventh Collapse had shaken him to his core, filling him with astonishment. He understood, with crystal clarity, that he had made a grievous error from the very beginning: He had underestimated his opponent!

His attention, so easily captured by the events, had been given up to countless others. It was, in fact, the first in countless years!