Zaire's form was a different kind of beauty, a more sinister, deadly type. The fusion of his mother and father's bloodlines had created a creature that stood above all else. Sometimes, Esmeralda even believed her son had surpassed the so-called supreme grade ranking to become something entirely different.
He had the tall, majestic antlers of his father, as well as the powerful, black furred paws instead of his mother's hooves. But, he did can tufts of spiraling white fur from his mother.
His coat alternated between beautiful, lustrous black and white fur, interrupted by dark scales of black that exuded a demonic aura.
Though Zaire's cultivation was far lower than Damaris', middling around the lower celestial realm, this wasn't because he was slow. Firstly, Damaris was far older than Zaire. Secondly, anyone who called an individual with such high quality celestial blood a slow cultivator was a fool.
The more intriguing part about Zaire's cultivation was that although he had never beaten Damaris in battle, that didn't mean he was completely incapable of doing so. While the abilities of the celestial were rooted in purity, the abilities of the Demon Qilin were the exact opposite.
Humans used Demonic Will to strengthen their Presence and bodies, however beasts had no need to use it for such a thing, especially not dragons who had Dragon Souls instead of Presence.
The demonic path of the Demon Qilin Clan was a completely different animal entirely.
Many years ago, when Dyon was still fighting his battle against The Cathedral, he accidentally tapped in his Demon Qilin humanoid manifestation, created by using the Florence Clan's technique to catalyze his Martial Uncle's blood essence. Back then, he learned of a very special Dao Heart of the Demon Qilin Clan, known as the Demon Heart!
The Demon Heart allowed one to burn their blood essence without severe penalty. While others might lose cultivation levels, or talent, Demon Qilins would only be fatigued for a short period of time. However, this was only one aspect of the Demon Heart. Its most often used ability was that of emotion.
Emotions were an odd part of cultivation. Most often, clearing one's mind and remaining calm even in the face of strong emotions made one more powerful. However, the Demon Qilin Clan took the exact opposite approach. The heart they cultivated was fueled by rage and destruction! The more they desired murder and blood, the stronger they grew! This was the secret of the Demon Qilin Clan.
However, Dyon learned something else after his stint against The Cathedral. After he lost his own dao heart and had his talk with the entity, he learned about the Nine Supreme Dao Hearts and how every other lower form Dao Heart was actually just a lesser form of one of these nine.
The Immortal Heart… The Samsara Heart… The Sovereign Heart… But the only one that matter now was the Chaotic Heart. The Demon Heart was precisely a subordinate dao heart of this Supreme Dao Heart!
Why was Zaire's cultivation so low despite his ungodly talent? Why was it so low despite the fact he never had to face tribulations as a celestial beast? It was because he spent much of time cultivating his own Supreme Dao Heart!
How could Zaire ever bring out his full strength to fight Damaris? Although they were rivals, she was still his dear friend and a person who took care of his little sister. How could he ever bring out the rage and want for murder that was necessary to stir his Chaotic Heart? How could he sharpen his will for blood and gore in the face of someone he had no intention to kill? It was impossible!
However, today, that was all he wanted to do.
He thought about how these people came to claim the life of his big sister. He thought of how his big brother was likely fighting for his life on the edge of death's cliff. He thought about how this bullshit Sapientia Clan actually believed that the Sacharro Clan was a family they could stomp upon whenever they felt like it.
The more he thought, the more a bloody, seething, black-red aura coalesced around him.
His dormant Chaotic Heart suddenly pumped.
BADDUM
The sound tore through the battlefield. It felt as though Zaire's rhythm was forcefully taking control of their own, pulling on the strings of their hearts to orchestrate his play.
It was only now Damaris understood just how much Zaire held back. His aura wasn't even aimed toward her, but she felt as though her heartbeat was quickening erratically. She felt that if she tried to reach the state of calm needed to execute [Nature's Breath] right now, she would, without a doubt, fail.
Maybe only Madeleine and Lyla could smile now. To them, this was only natural. They expected no less from Dyon's little brother!
Half-step dao arrays began appearing one after another before Zaire's lips. A beautiful crystal array, a shimmering celestial array, a dark demonic array, and finally, a blazing red fire array.
When Zaire was just weeks old, his celestial will was already at the 7th will level. If it wasn't for him, many of the Demon Generals would still be in their mutated forms. This was the level of talent Zaire had. Now, even after slowing his comprehension of other things to comprehend the Chaotic Heart, he was still leagues above all others!
'[Demon Qilin's Rage: Bloody Annihilation]!'
A beam of red light erupted from Zaire's lips, concentrating itself and passing through all four half-step daos before blasting outward in a bloody red curtain of unstoppable force.
Screams of agony and despair drowned Lost Marsh, only to be overwhelmed by the sound of shattering barriers of space.
Zaire's eyes glowed a bloody red, his rage amplifying with every life he took. Instead of getting tired, he only seemed to grow more powerful. It had been too long since he allowed his Chaotic Heart to rampage.
Madeleine was worried for a moment, but Little Lyla stopped her. "It's been too long since he released. It's not good for him if we stop him too early. Let's just let the big dope be our vanguard."