Watching from the Sidelines (21)

After the Dragon-Han Primordial Tribulation, the Primordial Wilderness temporarily returned to peace. But wherever there were "people," there would inevitably be conflict. As time passed, factions naturally emerged, just as the saying went: "All under heaven, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide."

During this period, four factions took over from the Dragon-Phoenix-Qilin Tribes in a "changing of the guard." These four great factions represented the strongest powers in the Primordial Wilderness. Though they had yet to reach the strength of the three overlords of the Dragon-Phoenix Era, they were not to be underestimated.

Even before Hongjun's first sermon, these remained the four strongest factions in the Primordial Wilderness. Aside from the two widely known overlords, the Witch Clan and the Demon Clan, the other two were the Purple Mansion Faction led by Eastern King Duke, and the last and weakest of the four, Kunpeng's Northern Sea Faction.

In other words, the Demon Clan had not yet "truly" united at that time. It was split in two: the Sun Palace Faction led by Dijun and Taiyi, and the Northern Sea Faction led by Kunpeng. Only later did Dijun and Taiyi use a scheme to "subdue" Kunpeng and truly unite the Demon Clan. That had not happened yet; the Demon Clan was still divided.

As the leader of the Northern Sea Faction, one of the four great factions, Kunpeng enjoyed far greater glory then than he would later as the "Demon Master." After all, however one looked at it, the "Demon Master" was merely third in command—and perhaps not even that. The Demon Clan then had supreme experts such as Nuwa and Fuxi, its great Sages. Though they seldom concerned themselves with the clan's affairs, their influence within it remained immense. Sometimes, even Kunpeng, the clan's "Demon Master," could not