Although the magistrate was shocked beyond measure, he could not be bothered to question whether it was true or false.
Right now, he only wanted to find someone to take the blame and dissipate the Rat Demon's anger as much as possible.
That way, he might be able to muddle through for a while longer, and when the time came, he could pat his backside and leave.
With that thought, the magistrate bellowed, "You brazen madman! You actually slaughtered innocent demons—your crimes are heinous! Why have you not dropped your weapon and submitted to judgment!"
"Innocent demons"? What a phrase!
That talent for coining terms could rival the experts from Li Xuanxiao's previous life.
Li Xuanxiao glanced at the magistrate. "Lord magistrate, what wrong have I committed?"
"On the contrary, you indulged demons in massacring the people."
"And now you tacitly allow demons to prey upon martial artists."
"With demons right before us, instead of wanting to kill them without delay, you are in a hurry to hand your own kind over to smooth things over."
"Between you and me, who is the criminal?"
The magistrate was furious. It was one thing for the Constables under him to defy him, but this unknown brat dared to speak so insolently too!
"You dare defy your superior and disregard rank and status! Are you trying to rebel?!"
"Men! Seize him at once!"
The magistrate shouted, yet not a single constable obeyed.
Wang Debiao even secretly cast Li Xuanxiao an approving look.
He only felt that this kid had clearly never read much, so why did everything he said sound so damn pleasing?
When the magistrate saw that no one was moving, he turned his head to look around. He was so enraged that he laughed. "Fine, fine, fine! You all want to rebel, is that it?!"
"If you will not act, then I will do it myself!"
Though the magistrate was cowardly and afraid of battle, he truly possessed the cultivation of the eighth layer of the Profound Realm!
When he made a move, he still carried considerable imposing force.
The Rat Demon folded its arms before its chest. Instead, it was in no hurry now; it would certainly avenge this grudge.
But before that, watching a show of their own kind slaughtering each other was rather entertaining.
"You stammer and hedge before demons, but strike hard against your own kind."
"And you call yourself fit to be magistrate?"
The magistrate sneered and drew his blade. "Sharp-tongued brat! I may not be able to deal with demons, but do you think I cannot deal with you?"
Classic!
Li Xuanxiao nearly laughed aloud. This magistrate really was a rare specimen!
Seeing the magistrate slash at him without holding anything back, Li Xuanxiao's smile faded as well.
He drew his blade and returned the favor!
"Aaaah—" In the next instant, the magistrate's sword-wielding arm traced a graceful arc through the sky, scattering a rain of blood.
At the same time, Li Xuanxiao's indifferent voice rang out.
"This blade is for those common people who had nowhere to report their grievances and died unjustly!"
Another slash shot forth, piercing through his body.
"This blade is for those martial artists you sold out with a single sentence."
Then another horizontal slash swept out, sending a head flying.
"This blade is for the fact that, with demons before you, you drew your blade against your own kind!"
After three strikes, the magistrate's head hit the ground, and his body toppled to one side.
Everything happened in the flash of lightning and spark of flint. While the Constables were still hesitating over whether to intervene, it was already a settled matter.
Three strikes, and a martial artist at the eighth layer of the Profound Realm had been killed cleanly and decisively!
Not a single martial technique had been used in the process!
Such strength left the Constables staring, dumbstruck.
Even the Rat Demon's eyes revealed a rare trace of gravity.
"Good lad! No wonder you could slaughter so many of my descendants. I truly underestimated you!"
Li Xuanxiao chuckled. "I am rather curious why you still have not run."
"The current situation is extremely unfavorable to you. There are five martial artists on our side."
"Are you really so confident that, under these circumstances, you can still kill me and avenge your descendants?"
The Rat Demon burst into laughter. "Unbelievably foolish! Do you think having more martial artists means you can defeat me?"
"I see you still do not understand the difference between you and me!"
In the next moment, the Rat Demon no longer concealed its full cultivation, instead revealing it without restraint. In an instant, a pressure several times more terrifying than before descended.
Every constable's expression changed drastically!
"A-Apex Realm!"
"No wonder it dared to come alone to seek revenge—it has become an Apex Realm Great Demon!"
"It is over... If it were at the peak of the Profound Realm, we might still be able to fight, but now..."
The Rat Demon was very satisfied with the Constables' reactions. It had hidden its cultivation precisely for this moment!
Playing the pig to eat the tiger, showing weakness to the enemy.
A performance you humans often put on—now it was this Lord Rat's turn to recreate it!
Fear! Despair! Tremble! Beg for mercy!
Then, I will crush all your hopes beneath my feet!
It turned to look at Li Xuanxiao, already thinking about what it could say later to make itself seem even more impressive.
Yet it discovered that Li Xuanxiao was not affected in the slightest. Instead, he was looking at it with the gaze one reserved for a fool.
What was going on?
I am this formidable, and you are not even afraid?
Do you not know what the Apex Realm means?
Do you understand what a dimensional strike is?!
The Rat Demon had wanted to put on a grand display, yet Li Xuanxiao was so ignorant that he did not understand what the Apex Realm represented.
It felt like punching cotton—its strength had nowhere to go.
"Forget it. Ignorance is not so bad. After all, dying without understanding anything can be considered a kind of happiness."
Li Xuanxiao pursed his lips. "I do not understand..."
Here it came!
The Rat Demon immediately grew excited. He was definitely about to ask what the Apex Realm meant.
"I do not understand. Since you have already entered the Apex Realm, why go through so much trouble negotiating with the magistrate and forcing him to compromise?"
The Rat Demon froze. It had not expected him to ask that.
Damn it, are you the Ten Thousand Whys?
The Rat Demon's whiskers trembled with anger, but considering that Li Xuanxiao was about to die, it did not mind explaining.
"That is naturally for balance..."
"Do you think only the human race and Demon Race stand opposed to one another? Sometimes, when one's own kind tears each other apart and tramples one another, it is far more cruel!"
"If I revealed my Apex Realm cultivation, I would disrupt the balance of power among the demons in this region."
"If that happened, the various demon clans could no longer unite. Instead, they would become deeply wary of our Rat Demon clan."
"At that time, we would face equal vigilance from Ning'an City and the other demon clans!"
"Therefore, the best strategy is to hide our strength, then establish a common enemy—namely, your Ning'an City!"
"Only then, with our interests bound together, can we pull in the same direction, allowing my descendants to grow up safely into rats..."
Li Xuanxiao raised a brow. He had not expected a mere Rat Demon to possess such insight. "I have learned something. You must read quite a lot in your daily life, right?"
The Rat Demon smiled proudly. "Not bad. Perhaps a hundred or eighty books or so. That said, humans truly surpass us by far in matters of wisdom."
"Thank you!"
"You are welcome!"
The Rat Demon paused, suddenly remembering that it had come here for revenge.
Damn it, what the hell was this?
How had things turned into this mess?
"Brat, you killed so many of my descendants. Hand over your life!"
Li Xuanxiao was stunned. Were demons all this fickle?
One moment it was having a friendly conversation, and the next it was drawing its blade against him?
But facing the Rat Demon's attack, Li Xuanxiao did not dare be careless.
After all, since they were both in the Apex Realm, it still deserved at least a little respect.
His Apex Realm aura erupted in an instant, its oppressive force not inferior to the Rat Demon's in the slightest—if anything, it was even greater.
The Rat Demon was utterly dumbfounded. "Squeak squeak squeak?"
"You were playing me?"
Before you continue