The Demon Race's World! A Vast Race That Subverts Cognition!

The moment those four words entered Zhongwu's mind, they were no different from a death warrant.

Once a demon beast reached the eighth rank, it was equivalent to a human cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage. Not only could it speak human language, it could shed its beastly form and take on a human shape.

For a lowly steward at the early Foundation Establishment stage to encounter a shape-shifting great demon equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator was like a rat meeting a fierce tiger.

Run!

That was the only thought left in Zhongwu's mind.

He did not even think of retrieving his magical artifacts. He directly burned the essence blood within his body, transforming into a dazzling streak of bloody light as he tried to flee into the sky.

"Can you get away?"

A mocking sneer curled across the green-robed woman's lips.

She did not even use any magical treasure.

She merely slowly raised one fair, jade-like hand, curled her index finger slightly, and lightly flicked it in the direction Zhongwu was fleeing.

"Whoosh!"

A strand of green light no thicker than a hair shot from her fingertip.

It moved so quickly that it was impossible to catch with the naked eye.

In an instant, it pierced through the air and passed effortlessly through the indestructible turtle-shell artifact behind Zhongwu.

As easily as cutting tofu.

With a soft pop.

The bloody streak fleeing through the air came to an abrupt stop.

Zhongwu's body stiffened in midair for an instant.

Then his head, along with the terrified soul within it, exploded from his neck into a cloud of blood mist.

A headless corpse fell straight from the sky, smashing heavily into the dirt.

Instant kill.

There was no flashy clash of spells, nor was there any suspense in the confrontation.

One moment, the Foundation Establishment cultivator had driven Xiao Wu into a desperate corner.

The next, he had become a corpse.

Inside Shrek Academy, everyone stared in stunned silence.

Tang San's mouth hung open. The nerves wound tight within him finally relaxed, and he dropped to the ground on his backside.

He gasped for breath, his clothes already soaked through with cold sweat.

"Saved... Xiao Wu is saved."

Over in the Star Dou Forest, Da Ming and Er Ming were also stunned for quite some time.

Then they erupted in cheers of relief after surviving a disaster.

"Could that senior also be a soul beast who cultivated anew?"

Er Ming scratched his head. Looking at the scales between the green-robed woman's brows in the light screen, his eyes were filled with gratitude.

In the scene, the green-robed woman casually beckoned, drawing the storage pouch at Zhongwu's waist into her hand.

Only after doing so did she turn around and shift her gaze toward Xiao Wu, who was sitting on the ground, still shaken.

Her bewitching vertical pupils examined Xiao Wu's rabbit ears.

"Half human, half demon, yet there isn't the slightest trace of demon power forming a core within you."

"What a strange little thing."

The green-robed woman slowly walked over to Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu swallowed and bravely rose to her feet.

She could sense the aura of their kind from the other woman, and it eased much of the fear in her heart.

"Th... thank you, Senior, for saving my life."

Xiao Wu imitated humans and gave her a bow.

"Senior, are you also a soul beast with a hundred-thousand-year cultivation who took human form to cultivate anew?"

The green-robed woman was momentarily stunned by Xiao Wu's words.

Then she covered her mouth and laughed softly.

"A hundred-thousand-year cultivation? Soul beast?"

"Little girl, your terms are rather novel."

"In the mouths of those human cultivators who call themselves orthodox, the ones they tame are called spirit beasts, while the wild ones are called demon beasts."

The green-robed woman stopped smiling, and a trace of pride flashed through her eyes.

"But we call ourselves the Demon Race!"

Demon Race.

Those two words passed through the heavenly screen and reached the ears of every soul beast on Douluo Continent.

Deep within the Star Dou Forest.

Upon hearing this term, Di Tian's eyes erupted with a dazzling gleam.

On Douluo Continent, though they were powerful, they had always been called "beasts."

That word inherently carried the derogatory implication of being inferior, of being treated by humans as prey.

Yet now, this senior within the light screen had openly and proudly spoken the word "race."

This meant that in that world, they were no longer humanity's dependents or mere materials, but a vast race with its own true civilization and heritage!

In the scene, Xiao Wu was equally stunned.

"The Demon Race..."

She looked at the woman in the green dress before her and asked curiously.

"Senior, are there many of us demons in this world?"

Seeing Xiao Wu's utterly clueless expression, the woman in the green dress could not help finding it amusing.

With a casual wave of her hand, she conjured a chair woven from green vines on the ground and lazily sat down.

"Many?"

"Little girl, that question is far too childish."

The woman in the green dress pointed at the sky overhead, then at the distant void.

"In this vast Human Realm, while human cultivators occupy the fertile lands of the Central Plains..."

"When it comes to territory and numbers, our Demon Race is the true master of this world."

Looking at Xiao Wu, she began to explain patiently.

"Our Demon Race has many branches, mainly divided into the Sea Clan, the Feather Clan, and land demons like us."

"Take the Sea Clan, for example."

"The boundless seas occupy more than seventy percent of the Human Realm, and within them live hundreds of millions of deep-sea great demons."

"Their king is the level-ten great demon of the Chaotic Star Sea, the Golden Flood Dragon King."

"He is a terrifying existence comparable to a great human cultivator at the late Nascent Soul stage. With a casual gesture, the tsunami he raises can drown dozens of human kingdoms."

As those words fell, the enormous body of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, deep in the oceans of Douluo Continent, suddenly trembled.

The Sea Clan!

The Golden Flood Dragon King!

What had he just heard?

In that world, marine soul beasts had actually formed a unified race, and were even led by a supreme king equivalent to a late Nascent Soul cultivator?

Thinking back to the level-eight venomous flood dragon Shi Nian had encountered earlier, that had only been a descendant of the Golden Flood Dragon King.

The Demon Whale King was so excited that the seawater began to churn.

He felt that being a lone commander here on Douluo Continent was simply pathetic.

If he could go to that world and join the Sea Clan, then even if he were merely a soldier charging into battle beneath the Golden Flood Dragon King, it would still be far more satisfying than living here in daily fear of the Sea God.

The explanation within the light screen continued.

"Besides the Sea Clan, there is also the Feather Clan, which commands the endless heavens."

A trace of reverence appeared in the green-dressed woman's eyes.

"Deep within the distant Mulan Grassland lives the royal lineage of the Feather Clan."

"Thin traces of the ancient true spirit Sky Phoenix's bloodline flow through their bodies."

"Once the Feather Clan's royal bloodline reaches adulthood, a single flap of their wings lets them soar ninety thousand li. Their feathers are harder than top-grade magical treasures, and they are born with control over the great tribulations of wind and fire."

"If they become enraged, even the great human cultivation sects would not dare provoke them lightly."

Upon hearing this, Bai He, the Agility Clan's patriarch, and all the soul masters possessing avian martial souls stared with their mouths agape.

Sky Phoenix bloodline?

Soaring ninety thousand li with a flap of their wings?

Bai He glanced at his Needle-Tailed Swift martial soul. He had always taken pride in his flying speed.

But compared to the Feather Clan...

What kind of bird was he? At best, he was just a little sparrow fluttering about on the ground!

"As for us land demons..."

The woman in the green dress tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Most of them live in seclusion within remote mountains and marshlands, far from human habitation."

"For instance, the famed Ten Thousand Demon Valley. Its valley lord is a shape-shifting great demon who has lived for several thousand years, commanding over a million high-ranking demon beasts."

"If the three major branches of our demon race joined forces..."

"Those human cultivation sects, even with old monsters guarding them, would have to keep their distance."

As the woman in green spoke at length, a grand and magnificent panorama of the cultivation world, where countless races stood side by side, slowly unfolded before the people of Douluo Continent.

This was not merely a world where humans cultivated immortality.

It was also a higher-dimensional universe where countless races fought for supremacy, and power determined everything.

Within the Star Dou Forest, the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python exchanged a glance, each seeing the shock and longing in the other's eyes.

This was the golden age that truly belonged to soul beasts.

There was organization, there were kings, and there was top-tier strength and heritage no weaker than humanity's.

By comparison, the soul beasts of Douluo Continent were like livestock penned up in a pigsty, waiting for humans to harvest their soul rings at any time.

After hearing all this, Xiao Wu remained unable to calm herself for a long while.

She took a deep breath and looked at the woman in green before her.

"Senior, what about you? Are you from Ten Thousand Demon Valley as well?"

The woman in green smiled and shook her head.

"I've always traveled alone. I don't like being bound by those rules."

She rose to her feet and walked over to Xiao Wu, a trace of curiosity flashing through her eyes.

"Meeting is fate."

"Although I don't know what's going on with that strange power inside you, since you don't possess the sinister intentions of humans, come with me."

"The territory of Spirit Beast Mountain isn't somewhere a little girl like you, who lacks even the ability to protect herself, can wander around recklessly."

Having said that, the woman in green did not care whether Xiao Wu agreed or not.

With a sweep of her sleeve, she summoned a gust of green demonic wind, wrapped Xiao Wu within it, and vanished from the spot in a streak of light.

Seeing Xiao Wu taken away by a powerful senior of the demon race, Tang San of Shrek Academy let out a long breath of relief.

The heart that had been hanging in the air finally settled back into his chest.

At least for the time being, Xiao Wu no longer had to worry about being used as alchemy material.

Yet at the same time, a deep sense of loss and inferiority rose within Tang San's heart.

In that world, Xiao Wu had found her own kind and found powerful beings capable of protecting her.

And what about himself?

He did not even have the ability to protect her, and could only worry helplessly through the screen.

Just as Tang San was quietly grieving, the scene in the heavens began to shift once more, and the viewing window changed.

Amid a flicker of golden light, a new announcement appeared on the screen.

[Current livestream perspective locked: Star Luo Empire, mortal, Hu Yingjun.]

[Teleportation destination: Mortal Cultivation World, Human Realm, Mirror Prefecture of the Yue Kingdom, an ordinary mortal town.]

Seeing these lines, many people on Douluo Continent were stunned.

Someone from the Star Luo Empire? And a mortal without even a trace of soul power?

Inside the imperial palace of the Star Luo Empire, the Star Luo Emperor sat upon his broad throne, his brows slightly furrowed.

The Star Luo Empire had always revered strength and regarded soul masters as supreme, while ordinary citizens held extremely low status.

He had not expected the heavenly screen to choose an ordinary person from his empire.

"Hu Yingjun? Look into which province he's from," the Star Luo Emperor casually ordered.

Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun beside him also wore looks of utter disdain.

"Father, he's just trash without even a martial soul."

"In a world that devours people, he probably won't survive even half an hour. What's there to watch?"

It was not just them. When soul masters across all of Douluo Continent saw the word "mortal," a hint of contempt arose in their hearts.

Although Zhang Tiezhu had been a mortal before, he at least possessed spiritual roots. He'd simply lucked into it.

What was there to see in this Hu Yingjun?

In the scene, the light gradually faded.

What came into view was a rather bustling ancient town.

All kinds of shops and taverns lined both sides of the bluestone-paved street.

The air was filled with the meaty aroma of steamed buns and the faint scent of rouge and face powder.

Hu Yingjun was a burly man with a face full of flesh.

He usually worked as a butcher in a small city within the Star Luo Empire. After slaughtering pigs and selling meat year-round, he had developed considerable strength; three to five ordinary strongmen could not even get close to him.

At that moment, he stood dumbfounded at the mouth of a narrow alley.

He was even holding a pointed knife meant for trimming bones.

"Th-this... where am I?"

Hu Yingjun swallowed, looking at the crowds on the street dressed in long robes and mandarin jackets, their hair grown long. He felt like an oddity.

Just as he was about to leave the alley and find someone to ask for directions.

A terrified scream suddenly erupted from the once-noisy street.

"Murder!"

"The Wild Wolf Gang and the Seven Mysteries Sect are fighting over territory again! Run!"

Amid the crowd's cries.

The townspeople who had been buying and selling goods scattered in panic like ants whose nest had been disturbed, abandoning their stalls as they fled.

Hu Yingjun jumped in fright and hurriedly shrank farther into the alley, only poking half his head out to peek.

At the end of the street, two groups were charging into each other with swords and sabers in hand, looking utterly ferocious.

One side wore black fitted outfits, with a wolf's head embroidered on their chests.

The other wore gray cloth garments, with several mysterious patterns embroidered on their cuffs.

Blades flashed, and blood and flesh flew.

In just one exchange, several people fell into pools of blood.

Even Hu Yingjun, who had been a butcher for half his life, could not stop his legs from trembling at such a brutal fight.

Yet that was not what shocked him most.

From among the men in black, a bald, burly man suddenly leaped out.

The man released no martial soul, nor did any soul rings light up.

He merely took a deep breath, and his muscles instantly swelled as a faint metallic sheen appeared across his skin.

"Golden Bell Shield!"

The bald man shouted and charged into the crowd in gray like a raging bull.

Two single-edged steel sabers struck his shoulders, yet they only produced two sharp clangs and failed even to break his skin.

The man threw a backhanded punch.

Carrying a fierce gust of wind, it directly shattered the breastbone of a Seven Mysteries Sect disciple, sending him flying backward into a thick wooden pillar by the street and snapping it in half.

On the Seven Mysteries Sect's side, a lean swordsman immediately sprang forth as well.

The swordsman lightly tapped the tip of his foot against a nearby stall.

Like a weightless bird, he soared three or four meters into the air. After borrowing momentum several times in midair, he stepped across the roof tiles lining both sides of the street as though walking on level ground.

"Lightness skill! It's the Seven Mysteries Sect's Swallow Skims Water Three Times!"

A knowledgeable passerby below cried out in alarm.

The swordsman drew his long sword in midair, and a faint layer of white air currents actually coiled around its blade.

"Armor-Piercing Sword Qi!"

A dazzling flash of sword light swept out.

The bald man's prized Golden Bell Shield was torn apart like paper the instant it came into contact with that sword qi.

One of his arms was severed at the shoulder, blood spraying forth in torrents.