Published at 10th of September 2026 7:12 am

Chapter 2273: Envy

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[Congratulations! You have formed a bond with ???!]

That was the same notification when Tang Shaoyang picked Greed, Wrath, Pride, and Gluttony. That was a companion bond, more than just a pet and master bond. That was what it wanted, and he was surprised that the creature became smart enough to know about this.

It seemed even the System didn’t know the bird’s species, as it displayed three question marks. That was a good thing, meaning his future enemy would not know how to fight this mysterious Demonic Calamity bird.

Tang Shaoyang could sever the bond if he wanted to, but there was no reason to. It didn’t really matter as long as he had it under his authority.

"Alright, since that’s what you want, then you will be part of the family now! From now on, your name is Envy!"

The giant bird cooed, its voice resounded in the air, and traveled far. There was happiness and excitement in its voice.

’Thank you, Master!’

Tang Shaoyang heard a female voice in his head, but the voice was foreign, and he had never heard it before. But he quickly discovered whose voice it belonged to. He looked straight at the big bird.

Her voice didn’t sound childish, yet cheerful and playful. She didn’t turn into a child like Ophelius and Ophelia, but the voice was young.

But then he was at a loss, as this was not in his plan. Should he send her back to Arnain? Or maybe Earth? Before he made the decision, Envy made the decision for herself.

Envy slowly shrank, matching Zephyr’s size before landing on his left shoulder. That was the decision, she wanted to follow him. The surprise was that she didn’t seem to remember her fight against five spirits.

"Don’t you remember them?" Tang Shaoyang asked curiously.

If she remembered Baccara, Xiyue, Malki, Jet, and Zephyr. She must hold a grudge for beating her so hard, beating her enough to barely survive.

"I remember them," She answered directly instead of using their telepathic communication.

"Don’t you hold a grudge against them?"

Envy shook her head, "I don’t. In fact, I am grateful for the beating. Their beating allowed me to meet you and go through the transformation, cleansing the sinister voice in my head. On top of that, I become stronger..."

Envy looked up at the two Phoenix and Jet, then she looked at Zephyr and Malki.

"If we fight again, I think I can take three down with me this time."

She added with her casual, cheerful voice, yet she was talking about killing the other birds.

"You can try, kid! Let’s see if you can prove your words this time!" Baccara was offended by the remark. That was the same as calling her a weakling, which she didn’t appreciate.

Envy looked up, shaking her head, "You don’t need to get mad, Sister Phoenix. Fact might be hurtful, but you can’t run away from it. Just accept it, make peace with it so you can grow stronger."

Tang Shaoyang spluttered in laughter. Her words didn’t sound less hurtful just because she said them with her cheerful voice. In fact, her cheerful tone just made it worse. It sounded like she was mocking Baccara, or maybe she was.

"Unless your words are not a fact. I don’t think we need to take a loser’s claim seriously," Xiyue made a better comeback than Baccara.

Tang Shaoyang realized that this might be the rivalry between birds. But why didn’t it happen before? He didn’t remember something like this happening between Baccara, Jet, Zephyr, and Xiyue.

"That’s enough with this childish banter. Lead us to the next location, Zephyr!" Tang Shaoyang stopped before another stupid rivalry formed.

The rivalry between his spirits and the Skelly Family was enough to make him hectic. Their banters were getting worse and worse. What was supposed to be a friendly rivalry had turned into a serious rivalry, as if they were nemesis.

Zephyr launched herself away from the group, but she gave a look at Envy before departing. The look that said, "I will be watching you."

Tang Shaoyang just shook his head, waiting for the next report from Zephyr or other spirits so he could start to work on his project. He had turned Calamity into Demonic Calamity, but none of them had used the portal gate yet. He glanced at Envy, who stood proudly on his shoulder.

Weirdly enough, he didn’t feel her weight or her talon. It was as if she were not there at all. This reminded him of the Absolute Ranking Leaderboard. Sox entered the top ten after registering under him, and he was curious about Somi and Envy. He checked the leaderboard and was surprised by the change.

———————————————

[Absolute Ranking Leaderboards]

1. Tang Shaoyang - Tang Empire

2. Envy - Tang Empire

3. Ophelius - Tang Empire

4. Ophelia - Tang Empire

5. Hemlin - Tang Empire

6. Forlan Camden Vanderbilt - Tang Empire

7. Wrath - Tang Empire

8. Lunea - Tang Empire

9. Sox - Tang Empire

10. Somi - Tang Empire

-> (More Ranking)

———————————————

Three names were pushed out from the top ten. Kalliyan, the Kirin, the mother of dragons, was pushed out. She was originally in tenth place in the rankings. Getting pushed out early by Sox.

The second person was his Marshal in Tarrior and also his father-in-law, Moonsong. And the third one was his Vice Supreme Commander, Alton Scheider Kelsen. Those were three that pushed out from the top ten.

The System deemed Somi weaker than Sox. That was not a surprise. The surprise came from Envy, who took second place. She was the first one to take the spot from Ophelius.

[This is unacceptable! How can a bird surpass a dragon?]

That was another surprise coming from Avyn. He didn’t expect her dragon wife to care much about the ranking. But then it made sense since she regarded Ophelius and Ophelia as her children.

[I have arrived at the next location.] Zephyr’s report came at the right time.

He was about to leave until Sox and Somi appeared before him from the black snow. They seemed to be capable of blending into the black snow, maybe becoming one with it. He was not really sure about their ability since a fight never broke out with how the Skeleton Army subdued them.

"We have spotted another pack coming toward us. What do you want me to do, Master?" Sox came back with a report.

The instruction was to guard the portal gate, but there was no further instruction on whether they were to meet another pack of calamity fox.

"Kill them. I am not going to use Demonification on Calamity Fox anymore. I already have you guys. If you deem your pack is lacking, then it’s your job to breed and increase your population!"

That sounded cruel, but he didn’t see them as his own people yet. If he wanted to regard them as his own, he started from the wrong ground. He started them because he wanted a weapon, after all. However, he would not restrict them.

"You have your freedom, how you are going to handle your pack, whether you want to form a kingdom or a tribe, or maybe you are already satisfied as it is. The decision will be in your ha— paw.

"Your current task is to protect the portal gate and kill whoever caused any calamity that approached the portal gate!"

Tang Shaoyang was interested in another experiment, something he wanted to try.

What if he used the energy in his dantian to activate the Demonification? Would it affect the transformation? He could only see the difference if he used the same calamity, which was the calamity fox.

But he was really behind schedule right now and wanted to focus on hunting the Rank 10 and Rank 11 Calamity first. The experiment could wait for later. At least he thought so until Vandir interrupted him.

[Try it now and find out which one is better. If using the energy inside your Dantian provides a better result, a stronger Demonic Calamity, you will regret not trying early.]

Vandir’s argument was quite convincing as well. The Death King truly had a point there. Using the energy in his Dantian provides a better result. He would truly regret not trying it earlier.

"Wait, Sox!"

He called out as Sox was about to leave. The duos stopped their track and turned toward their Master.

"Capture their pack leader and kill the rest!"

Sox and Somi didn’t question their Master. That was not his place to ask, as he was true to his words. His Master’s order was his purpose.

Tang Shaoyang watched Sox and Somi disappear. Their ability was similar to Lu An’s shadow move, where he moved within the shadow.

Zara had finished her work earlier, creating a hundred-meter-tall portal gate. That was bound to attract attention for sure, especially the calamities around. She had finished earlier, but realized she had more time. She decided to polish her portal even more, making it more stable, trying to strengthen the portal further and consolidate the connection to Arnain.

He thought it might take a while for Sox and Somi. But then the couple appeared before him, carrying the small pack leader in his mouth. He dumped the pack leader in front of him.

"Good work."

That came out naturally from his mouth, happy that he didn’t have to wait that long. It was good to have a dutiful subordinate like Sox and Somi. Especially if he had to compare them with his spirits.

Tang Shaoyang directed his right hand toward the unconscious pack leader and activated the skill. But this time, he channeled the energy in the dantian inside his energy whirlpool.

He did so effortlessly as the pure-chaotic energy filled his channel and sent it toward the unconscious pack leader. Changes started to take place, and again, he was right that a different type of energy affected the transformation.

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