The demonic dragon resting in the rear mountains suddenly opened its eyes and pulled the Demon Dragon Flying Carriage into the sky. The Twelve Demon Kings, the two hall masters, and the great protectors also soared into the air, heading toward the Demon Dragon Flying Carriage.
The flying carriage was as large as a palace, with a couplet flanking its entrance. The left side read, "With sun and moon in my grasp, I pluck the stars," and the right read, "None in this world is like Wuwо." It was truly showing off taken to the extreme.
The Demon Sect members in midair were astonished as well. They had never expected their sect master to possess such imposing grandeur. Holding the sun, moon, and stars in his palm-such an air of invincibility truly inspired admiration.
"Set off," a voice came from inside the flying carriage.
"As you command," the Demon Sect members answered.
Inside the flying carriage, Zhou Qiong scanned himself.
Character: Zhou Qiong Position: Demon Sect master Cultivation: mid-stage Martial Sovereign Martial arts: Demon God Scripture, Firmament Life and Death Hand, Gods and Devils Eye, Heaven-Devouring Demon Art, first level. Mount: Demon Dragon Flying Carriage.
Indeed, in half a year, Zhou Qiong had already returned to his prime and even broken through a minor realm.
The Demon Dragon Flying Carriage swept across the continent. Countless people below fell straight to their knees at the sight, calling them immortals.
Linhai City was near the East Sea and also close to the Demon Race, so many hunters came here to earn money by hunting demonic beasts. It also served as training, and practically every renowned power on the continent had a branch in the city.
In a restaurant, several people sat eating around a table. One man spoke quietly to the others. "Did you know? There's going to be a war soon."
The others looked unconvinced. "What war? This is Linhai City. All the major powers have branches here. Who would dare wage war here?"
Seeing that they did not believe him, the man immediately grew agitated. He stood up and slammed the table. "You'd better believe it! I received word that the Demon Sect is already on its way to the East Sea to fight the Demon Race to the death. Linhai City will definitely be caught up in it."
Before the man could continue, he felt someone grip his shoulder. Turning around, he saw a man in long white robes with a sword on his back, his eyes seeming to hold sword light.
"What can I do for you, sir?"
"Tell me everything you know about the Demon Sect in detail."
"I only heard from someone else that the Demon Sect has already dispatched its troops and is on its way to the East Sea. Their sect master, Zhou Qiong, is coming too. I heard he's riding in a Demon Dragon Flying Carriage."
The white-robed man frowned upon hearing this, then turned and left. Only after taking a long while to recover did the man sit back down. The others were all curious at the sight.
"Wait, what was that about? Who was that guy? He scared you that badly?"
"Who? That was Zhao Li!"
"What? He's Zhao Li, the Demon-Slaying Sword ranked first on the Human Ranking?" someone beside him exclaimed upon hearing this.
The Human Ranking had been established by the righteous sects, bringing together all the experts on the continent except those of the Demon Race and the Demon Sect. The Human Ranking was restricted to Martial King Realm experts under forty. Above it were the Earth Ranking and Heaven Ranking, corresponding to the Martial Emperor and Martial Sovereign levels respectively.
Half a year ago, a man named Zhao Li had suddenly appeared, dressed in long white robes with a sword on his back. He challenged the experts of the Human Ranking one after another, climbing to first place in less than half a year. As for why he was called the Demon-Slaying Sword, it was because whenever Zhao Li encountered anyone from the Demon Sect, he never left them alive. As time passed, he gained the title Demon-Slaying Sword.
"Disaster! Disaster! A beast tide is attacking the city!" A group of people ran through Linhai City, shouting as they went. Everyone immediately stopped working and ran to the city walls.
By then, large numbers of people had already gathered on the walls, and the senior members of the major sects stationed in Linhai City had all appeared. Dense masses of beasts were assembling outside the city.
Many of those with low cultivation began trembling at the knees as they looked outside.
"How could this happen? It hasn't even been five years since the last beast tide! This shouldn't be happening. I don't want to die!"
"Shut up! How could we die? Don't you see all these great figures here too?"
"Look, Master Liaofan, the Dustless Monk ranked third on the Human Ranking, is here too, along with Wang Meng, the Gale Saber ranked ninth. Even Zhao Li, the Demon-Slaying Sword ranked first on the Human Ranking, is here."
"Holy Monk Wutian, ranked eighth on the Earth Ranking, is over there too. Everything will definitely be fine."
The crowd grew clamorous. The monk known as Holy Monk Wutian gave a soft cough, laced with a trace of a lion's roar, and the scene immediately fell silent.
Clad in a red kasaya, Holy Monk Wutian pressed his palms together. "Amitabha. Benefactors, there is no need to worry. The beast tide will not last forever. This humble monk has already sent word out. Reinforcements will arrive in half a day."
The senior members of the other sects also stepped forward one after another, saying they had notified those outside and help would arrive in half a day.
Linhai City had a city-protecting formation, so the demonic beasts would not be able to break in anytime soon.
The beast tide began its assault. The experts leaped down from the walls one after another to hunt the devil beasts. One figure stood out among them. He was not the strongest, possessing only peak Martial King cultivation, but he was highly efficient.
He struck with all his might every time, sword light flashing incessantly through the beasts, reaping corpses from the tide. Whenever he was about to exhaust his strength, the ring on his right hand would flicker softly, and his vitality would immediately recover, allowing him to unleash powerful moves without pause.
Those on the walls could not see the ring flicker and merely thought he possessed astonishing stamina and profound power. "As expected of the Human Ranking's number one. He truly lives up to his reputation."
"The Human Ranking's number one really is formidable. Look, Master Liaochen in third place and Wang Meng in ninth have already come back to rest several times."
Even Holy Monk Wutian noticed Zhao Li, and the demonic beasts noticed him as well.
"Watch out! Dodge!" The ring on Zhao Li's hand suddenly flashed with blue light, carrying him three meters sideways.
A massive claw slammed into the spot where Zhao Li had just stood, smashing out a pit five zhang deep. A white tiger roughly twenty zhang tall revealed itself.
"This is bad, Zhao Li! This is a demonic tiger at the late Martial Emperor stage. You're no match for it. Run!" Uncle Fu shouted from inside the ring.
Zhao Li immediately ran toward the city walls. Behind him, the tiger sent another massive claw flying toward him. In the distance, Holy Monk Wutian and the others wanted to help, but their opponents kept them occupied.
"Uncle Fu, what do I do?"
"With your current strength, you can't withstand it. I can only use my soul power to shift you directly onto the city walls. Afterward, I'll fall into slumber for a while," Uncle Fu said from inside the ring with a sigh.
Just as Uncle Fu was about to use his soul power to shift Zhao Li away, a demonic dragon's roar rang out from the sky. A crushing pressure swept over them. All the demonic beasts stopped attacking the city, and the low-level beasts even fell flat on the ground, not daring to raise their heads. Even the demonic tiger at the late-stage Martial Emperor Realm attacking Zhao Li withdrew its claw and looked toward the distant sky, where a black speck was gradually growing larger.
When everyone could see it clearly, they discovered a hundred-zhang demonic dragon pulling an enormous flying carriage, with a couplet displayed on its two sides.
The left side read, "With sun and moon in my grasp, I pluck the stars."
The right side read, "None in this world is like Wuwо."