Demon Monarch Wu Jie

Three years ago, when he was only three, he had a full billion Federation Credits in pocket money. There was simply no way he could spend it all.

So he asked his teacher to find a team of people and poured a fortune into developing a modified 5v5 competitive game: Douluo Glory.

As expected, Douluo Glory took the Federation by storm as soon as it launched. This year, it had even expanded to the Star Luo and Spirit Douluo regions, opening overseas servers.

Qian Renxue was a hero who combined beauty with strength, and she had long held the top spot on the popularity rankings.

Ever since the game launched, he had relied on his exceptional mechanics and a few official perks to hold on to the title of the Federation's number one Qian Renxue, under the ID "Five-Year-Old Prodigy Jungler."

That was until a year ago, when the newly crowned Federation number two Qian Renxue, "Praying for Snow in Shangling," began challenging him at every turn and publicly accused him of cheating on the forums.

Though he'd been falsely accused, An Lan wasn't the sort to ban people on a whim, so the two agreed to settle things with a one-on-one match in the game.

They say you don't know someone until you've fought them. After a few matches, they gradually grew familiar with each other.

He thought the ID "Praying for Snow in Shangling" wasn't suited to a jungler, so he recommended she try playing Meng Hongchen in the mid lane.

From then on, one of them jungled while the other played mid, and they often teamed up to climb the ranks.

It wasn't until three months ago that he learned his skilled gaming buddy, "Praying for Snow in Shangling," was actually Yuanen Yehui.

They both lived in Shangling City, not far from each other, so the two kids, neither yet six, finally met in person in spectacular fashion.

That was the whole story of how he and Yuanen Yehui had met.

After sending Yuanen Yehui a message, An Lan called someone and told them to come upstairs and clean up the "aftermath."

Next time, he'd have to remind his two masters that the windows could be opened. There was really no need to be so rough.

Meanwhile, deep in the mountains where the Yuanen Family lived in seclusion.

"Roar—"

High above, a slender figure clutched her head and howled.

Demonic horns sprouted from her head, and Fallen Angel wings stretched from her back. The power of her Fallen Angel Martial Soul had completely saturated her long wine-red hair, turning it a sinister dark purple. A dense aura of darkness radiated from her entire body.

Dark energy, thick as if it were solid, surged madly into her body.

In just moments, she had shed her original appearance completely.

Her body swelled several times over, and madness and brutality churned in her deep purple eyes.

Desire, slaughter, corruption, destruction, depravity... wave after wave of negative emotions poured out like a tsunami, sweeping across the entire mountain forest.

At last, the ninth Soul Ring around her slowly took shape. All nine Soul Rings had been dyed a stifling purple-black.

"Darkness shall descend! Only through depravity can we be free!"

Now fully transformed into a Fallen Angel, Yehui's ninth Soul Ring suddenly erupted in dazzling black light. Her ninth Soul Skill burst into action.

Ninth Soul Skill, Demon Passage! A gateway to the Demon Plane!

The light gate stood three zhang tall at first. As its power gradually solidified, it transformed in an instant into a gigantic portal, twenty meters high and fifteen meters wide.

Space around it twisted and trembled violently. The will of the plane fiercely resisted the foreign power, but the purple light pouring from within the gate neutralized it again and again.

That purple light wasn't merely countering the plane's resistance. It continuously flooded into Yehui, driving her power higher and higher.

"Roar!"

Yehui threw her head back and howled again. Her body swelled once more, transforming in an instant into a demon ten meters tall.

She swept both hands toward the light gate. Nine gigantic Demon Gates burst open, and a deep, imperious roar rolled out from beyond them:

"Descend, my demon army!"

"Kehehehehe..."

"Demons shall rule the world!"

Hellhounds, Demon Men, Flying Demons... countless grotesque demons poured out of the gates. In a matter of moments, there were more than ten thousand.

The portals flickered visibly, drained by the enormous expenditure of energy.

Just then, nine great demons, each ten meters tall with enormous wings on their backs, strode out. Their power stabilized the nine gateways.

More demons surged forth: imps skilled in dark magic, and Nightmare Ram-Horn Demons, pitch-black from head to toe, who strode through flames...

A vast, mighty demon army had taken shape.

At last, the nine wavering light gates abruptly merged into one, forming an even more magnificent portal.

A gaunt figure slowly emerged from beyond the gate.

He wore a tattered, dark robe, and dense shadow power coiled around him. His face was hidden beneath the hood, leaving only a pair of eyes that gleamed with a cold, ghostly green light.

Demon Monarch Wu Jie gripped a twisted staff carved with strange markings. A terrifying pressure, surpassing that of every other demon, swept in all directions.

It was the bloodline suppression unique to a Demon Monarch.

"The great Demon Monarch—Wu Jie—has descended!"

A hoarse, icy voice, as if from the depths of the nether abyss, rang across heaven and earth. Countless demons present prostrated themselves, not daring to move.

"Demon army, conquer this world!"

"Attack!"

Freed from the Demon Monarch's bloodline suppression, the countless demons present erupted into a frenzy.

"Gah gah gah..."

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Humans! The smell of fresh flesh!"

Among Wu Jie's forces, a Shadow Demon General shrouded in black robes and dark mist suddenly fixed its gaze on a human woman fleeing in panic.

She was Yuanen Yehui's second aunt.

Before losing control and falling into depravity, Yehui had used the last of her reason to put as much distance as she could between herself and the family's territory. She hadn't expected her aunt to return from the Spirit Ascension Platform and run straight into her.

A swarm of Flying Demons shrieked as they gave chase. Her two-word Battle Armor instantly covered her as she dodged and charged in every direction, yet she still found herself surrounded by layers of demons.

Yuanen Yehui's second aunt was a Soul Douluo, but even so, under the demons' tide-like assault, she remained in constant peril.

Just as her Soul Power ran dry and she was on the verge of death, two powerful auras tore through the air.

Both newcomers were Three-Word Battle Armor Masters. One of them had even reached level ninety-five, a Super Douluo.

"No—!"

"Sister-in-law!"

Both men roared at once.

Yuanen Tianshang's eyes nearly split with rage. He was locked in a life-and-death struggle with a great demon at the Super Douluo level, and all he could do was watch his wife fall.

The moment the Demon Passage opened, Yuanen Zhentian sensed the disturbance. He immediately led every powerful member of the family at the Titled Douluo level or above toward it, racing to follow the aura.

Unfortunately, they were still one step too late.

Wu Jie and his demon army had already fully descended.

The Yuanen Family's powerful fighters clashed with the demon army. The family's Soul Saints and Soul Douluos arrived in succession and joined the battle.

The flames of war swept across the entire mountain range. Trees toppled, rocks shattered, and outside the family's territory, rivers of blood flowed.

Yuanen Tianshang was consumed with worry for his wife. Thinking she had already returned from the Spirit Pagoda, he felt dread rising in his heart and fought his way toward the mountainside without hesitation.

Seeing his younger brother charging ahead alone, Yuanen Tiandang couldn't bear to let him go by himself, so he followed at once.

And that was how they had ended up here.

"Die!"

Yuanen Tiandang roared and unleashed all his Soul Power. His ninth Soul Skill blasted one of the Demon Commanders surrounding him into a cloud of blood. But the other, a Shadow War General, instantly teleported far away, evading his killing blow.

His heart ached with grief and guilt. Yehui had lost control before, and though he hadn't found her, he'd guessed the source of this catastrophe the moment he saw the demons.

If his sister-in-law had fallen because his wife had lost control, how could he face his younger brother?

So many members of the family had been caught in this undeserved disaster. How could he answer to their families?