Inside the Heavenly Devil Hall, people gathered in twos and threes. Each blazed with demonic might and an overbearing presence, and all were notorious demons of the Cangwu Continent.
The four hall masters, twelve Demon Kings, and eight elders were all present. Even the grand elder, who had remained in seclusion, had appeared and was resting with his eyes closed. No one present had a cultivation below the Martial King realm, and there were plenty of Martial Emperors. The grand elder was even a Half-Emperor.
"Tiger King, I heard you went to the Ten Thousand Demons' Cave recently. Did you find any treasures?"
"Hall Master Wan, how have things been with the Demon Race lately?"
"Fifth Elder, your cultivation improved again during this seclusion. Congratulations."
"What exactly did the Cult Leader summon all of us here for?"
"Ahem." Liansheng, standing beside the demonic dragon throne, cleared his throat softly, and the hall instantly fell silent. Everyone knew he was Zhou Qiong's trusted confidant.
"The Cult Leader naturally summoned us to announce something important. Just wait."
The grand elder, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and looked toward the demonic dragon throne. A trace of surprise flashed through his eyes before he closed them again. The others also noticed that a figure as unfathomable as the sea had appeared on the throne, his entire body exuding a presence that suppressed everything.
"Greetings, Cult Leader."
There was no reply. Instead, the oppressive presence in the air grew heavier and heavier. One after another, members of the twelve Demon Kings could no longer withstand it and circulated their cultivation techniques to resist with all their strength. Just as even the grand elder began feeling the pressure, it vanished.
"How are things in the East Sea?"
Two people stepped out from the crowd. "Reporting to the Cult Leader, the East Sea Demon Race has been very quiet lately. They only occasionally encroach on our territory, and all such incursions have been easily suppressed."
Zhou Qiong looked at the two below him: Li Changsheng, master of Azure Dragon Hall, and Wan Li, master of Black Tortoise Hall. Both had mid-stage Martial Emperor cultivation.
"Mm. You may withdraw."
"I hear people from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect have been slaying demons and exterminating devils in our territory lately."
"Reporting to the Cult Leader, we have confirmed they are merely disciples of the Jade Dragon Sword Sect, a subordinate sect of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect." A shadow guard responsible for intelligence stepped forward from the rear.
"Tiger King, Monkey King."
Two more people emerged from the crowd, one with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, the other with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks. "At your command."
"I order you two to go to the Jade Dragon Sword Sect and slaughter the sect to extinction."
"As you command."
Someone suddenly stepped out from among the Elders' Council, dressed in a blue-green shirt. "Cult Leader, you absolutely must not! Our cult has been resting and gathering strength these past two years. Striking the Jade Dragon Sword Sect now could very well draw in the Ten Thousand Swords Sect!"
The Monkey King bared his teeth in a sneer.
"Third Elder, I see you've grown more timid with age. Would our mighty Demon Sect fear a mere Ten Thousand Swords Sect? If they dare bristle at us, I'll be the first to wipe them out."
"Enough. I will not change my decision."
"Cult Leader, please reconsider! The former Cult Leader went to great lengths to build this vast foundation. You must not-"
Before he could finish, Zhou Qiong extended his right hand from the demonic dragon throne. In an instant, a pitch-black hand that spanned the heavens seized the third elder. No matter how he struggled, he could not break free.
The third elder suddenly bit the tip of his tongue and shouted, "Heaven-Dominating Demon Physique!" Light rose from his body, but the huge hand merely tightened its grip lightly, and the light instantly vanished.
"Grand Elder, save me!" He could only cry out urgently.
Everything happened so quickly that by the time everyone reacted, the third elder was already at death's door in the huge hand.
The grand elder, who had kept his eyes closed, opened them as well. Disbelief appeared in his eyes. "Cult Leader, I hope you will give him another chance."
"For the grand elder's sake, go face the wall and reflect on your mistakes in the rear mountain for a year." The huge hand waved lightly, and the third elder vanished in an instant. When he reappeared, he was already at Reflection Cliff in the rear mountain.
"Remember, from now on, no one may contradict my words."
The third elder's sudden opposition suited Zhou Qiong very well. He had been planning to find someone to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys, but the twelve Demon Kings were all people he had promoted later, so he could not use this move on them.
Among the remaining four hall masters and eight members of the elders' council, everyone except Li Changsheng of Azure Dragon Hall was an old follower of his father's. They did not hold him in much awe. The third elder's performance had given him the perfect opportunity.
Sure enough, both the Elders' Council and the four hall masters below bowed their heads deeply. After all, the third elder had mid-stage Martial Emperor cultivation. He ranked among the strongest in the entire Demon Sect, yet Zhou Qiong had subdued him just like that. The twelve Demon Kings looked even more excited, their gazes burning as they looked at Zhou Qiong.
At a Yuelai Inn on the fringes of the Heavenly Demon Cult's territory, a handful of men and women with longswords at their waists sat eating at a table.
A delicate-looking woman in a pale green robe said, "Senior Brother Wu, we've come out to slay demons and exterminate devils this time. We're carrying out justice on Heaven's behalf."
A thin man beside her in a white shirt picked up the conversation. "Of course. Those in the Demon Sect are the roots of calamity. Everyone would rejoice to see them eliminated."
"Senior Brother Jing, I heard you were accepted into the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. Is that true?"
"Of course! Senior Brother Jing is a once-in-a-century talent in our Jade Dragon Sword Sect. He's already reached peak Martial Master at such a young age and will soon break through to Martial Marquis. He's also achieved minor mastery of the Jade Dragon Sword Technique. He'll certainly become someone of standing after joining the Ten Thousand Swords Sect."
"But I heard the Demon Sect's leader reached the Martial Sovereign realm at only twenty-one."
The young man addressed as Senior Brother Jing had been enjoying the praise of his fellow disciples. He had not expected someone to mention the Demon Sect's leader. He had wanted to make a few harsh remarks, but did not quite dare.
"Hurry up and eat. We've been out for a month now. It's time to return to the sect and rest."
With a thunderous boom, the inn's doors instantly shattered. "It is time for you to rest. King Yama has been missing you."
A group entered through the doorway. Of the two leading them, one had a tiger's back and a bear's waist, while the other had a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks.
"How is this possible? This shouldn't-" The man called Senior Brother Jing was so frightened at the sight of them that he collapsed onto the floor. He recognized these two. Before coming here, he had deliberately studied portraits of the Demon Sect's higher-ups, thinking it would be best to be prepared. He had never expected to actually encounter them.
His group had only killed a few minor figures from the Demon Sect. How could they have drawn out these two big shots? These were the Demon Tiger King and Demon Monkey King of the Demon Sect's twelve Demon Kings, both peak Martial Kings. Even the strongest person in their Jade Dragon Sword Sect, its sect leader, was only a High-Stage Martial King. He was their only one, too; none of the others had even reached Martial King.
With their men, these two were enough to wipe out the Jade Dragon Sword Sect. Why would they come after nobodies like them? What he did not realize was that he had guessed correctly: they had come to destroy the Jade Dragon Sword Sect. Killing his group was merely something to do along the way.
"Senior Brother Jing, what's wrong? Are those people from the Demon Sect? Let's slay demons and exterminate devils right now." The woman in green looked at Senior Brother Jing with admiration.
Senior Brother Jing immediately rose from the floor, ran toward the people opposite him, and dropped straight to his knees.
"Lord Tiger King, Lord Monkey King, I didn't take part in this devil-extermination operation at all. It was all their doing!" He pointed back at his fellow disciples.
The others now realized something was wrong as well and knew they had encountered powerful figures from the Demon Sect. Tall, thin Senior Brother Wu shouted, "Jing Tian, you coward! All that praise just now was wasted on you. You're nothing but trash!"
"Demon Sect fiends, everyone has the right to kill you! Brothers, let's fight them to the death!"
They drew their longswords together and formed a simple sword formation.
The cultivation realms in the early part of this book: Martial Warrior, Martial Master, Martial Marquis, Martial King, Martial Emperor, Martial Sovereign.