Zhao Wuji

"Enough of this nonsense! Stand down!"

Xu Xiao glared and shouted the disciple down.

"Without the protection of the Mystic Universe Heavenly Palace, people like us would surely be reduced to slaves and servants, just like those outside!"

Though the disciples were dissatisfied, they still dared not defy their sect master's words.

"Sect Master, perhaps the young sect master simply doesn't know about this. If the young sect master knew, reinforcements would surely be brought here."

Someone offered the suggestion, and Xu Xiao's deeply furrowed brow eased slightly.

He nodded faintly, a jumble of emotions stirring in his heart.

"Xuan'er, will your father ever have another chance to see you in this lifetime?"

Meanwhile, outside.

Zhao Wuji arrived with several disciples, seven people in all.

The seven had slaughtered countless members of the Demon Race along the way!

None dared bar their path. Wherever the seven passed, demon corpses littered the ground!

"Who exactly are you?"

A snake demon slowly appeared, flicking his forked tongue as he stared coldly at Zhao Wuji.

"You've killed so many of our Demon Race. Don't you owe us an explanation?"

His expression darkened completely as he looked at the demon corpses before him.

He didn't care whether those demons lived or died. What he cared about was the Demon Race's honor. To him, demons being killed by humans was an unbearable humiliation!

"An explanation?"

Zhao Wuji had intended to ignore him, but those words made him stop and turn toward the snake demon.

"Oh?"

"What sort of explanation would you like?"

The snake demon pointed at the dead demons on the ground. "Were you responsible for their deaths?"

"If so, please give us a reasonable and satisfactory explanation. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll be staying here."

At his command, jackals, wolves, tigers, leopards, and all manner of other demons emerged, their icy eyes fixed viciously on Zhao Wuji and his six companions.

Yet Zhao Wuji and the others showed no fear. Instead, they regarded the demons with mischievous amusement.

"How interesting. He knew we were hungry, so he came to bring us food!"

At that, the other six burst into laughter, completely at ease.

They might not be able to slaughter all these demons at once, but with their relatives' abilities, leaving this place would be child's play.

Besides, Zhao Wuji still had a trump card he hadn't used.

"You're courting death!"

The snake demon flew into a rage. At his furious roar, the other demons finally lost restraint and charged.

They had never seen anyone so arrogant. He actually regarded them as food?

How could they possibly tolerate that?!

Watching the demons charge one after another, Zhao Wuji finally wiped the playful grin from his face.

"Heavenly Universe Palm!"

With perfect coordination, Zhao Wuji and his six companions formed a circle and simultaneously unleashed basic techniques of the Mystic Universe Heavenly Palace.

Yet even these simple, basic techniques packed formidable power.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The charging demons were struck down one after another.

Some of the weaker ones were killed on the spot.

Even those with slightly greater strength suffered grievous injuries.

"One look at you tells me you're brewing nothing but foul wind. Just die!"

Looking at the snake demon who remained, Zhao Wuji drew the sword at his side without hesitation and charged straight at him.

His cultivation at the ninth level of the talent realm was fully revealed!

"What? Such a powerful human!"

The snake demon's expression changed drastically, but before he could think further, Zhao Wuji's sword was already before him.

Finally sensing the threat of death, he hurriedly dodged without another thought. Even so, the sword still pierced his chest.

"Pfft!"

He spat out a mouthful of green blood and looked at Zhao Wuji with difficulty, making a rare show of submission. "Y-you can't kill me! My older brother is the Snake Emperor, a great Demon King of the purple mansion realm! If you kill me, you'll never get out of here!"

"Cough, cough..."

"Spare my life, please!"

At that moment, he cast the Demon Race's honor and dignity entirely from his mind.

At first, he had considered the Demon Race's honor and dignity paramount. Now, faced with life and death, he abandoned them without hesitation.

In the end, he chose life!

As long as he lived, and only if he lived, there would be endless possibilities!

He didn't want to die yet. He hadn't even broken through to the purple mansion realm!

"Those who offend humanity shall be slain, however far away they may be!"

"When you killed humans, did you ever consider their pleas for mercy? Human lives may be worthless in your eyes, but in mine, you're nothing more than livestock. In fact, even calling you a beast would be a compliment!"

With one final flash of sword light, the snake demon's head was severed.

"These demons are truly hateful. I just don't understand why those people at the Mystic Universe Heavenly Palace won't let anyone else take action."

One of them was deeply puzzled.

"If these demons are so hateful, why not kill them immediately?"

Zhao Wuji took a broader view, and offered a rare explanation. "Killing them would settle things once and for all, but don't forget that the Demon Race's descendants are endless!"

"Even if we kill these demons, there are still those supreme great demons. If we trigger a war between humans and demons prematurely, what will become of this continent? Blood will spill across the land, and ordinary people and cultivators alike will ultimately be forced into battle."

"At that point, it will no longer be something we can control."

"The elders presumably don't want to see that either, so they can only turn a blind eye and send a few juniors here at most. After all, from the Demon Race's perspective, those coming here to slaughter them are merely juniors. If the elders act, however, the implications are entirely different."

Zhao Wuji briefly dealt with the demon corpses before him, then continued his calm explanation.

"So that's how it is. Senior Brother Zhao really sees things clearly."

"All right. Elder Mo sent us here only to drive all these demons into one place. Judging by his intentions, he probably wants to use them as a trial for the disciples!"

"Only disciples who have truly fought life-and-death battles can be considered to have truly grown!"

Zhao Wuji privately pondered Mo Tianji's intentions.

"The commotion here has probably already drawn their attention. Let's leave first. Once they've gathered together, we'll strike again!"

"Yes!"

Everyone nodded, then swiftly left the area.

Inside the Snake Emperor Hall.

"Lord Snake Emperor, your younger brother has been killed."

A female snake slithered inside.

"What?"

The Snake Emperor, who had been drinking human blood, instantly flew into a rage.

"Who? Who dared kill my younger brother!"

"Your Majesty, a few humans did it."

"Humans?"

The Snake Emperor didn't believe her. He sneered. "Those humans are nothing but sickly weaklings. My younger brother may have been ignorant and unskilled, but he was still stronger than an ordinary Demon King. His cultivation was at the seventh level of the heavenly abode realm, too. How could humans have killed him?"