Descent of the Demon Master

Li Xiaoyu wasn't quite sure how to describe his current feelings.

Overwhelming joy? Pure satisfaction at finally receiving the reward for his perseverance and patience? Usually, the emotions felt in this kind of situation should be close to happiness.

However, Li Xiaoyu's current feeling was not even in the same postal code as happiness.

All the conditions to be happy were in the place. First of all, Li Xiaoyu had finally witnessed the descent of the demon emperor, an existence he had been waiting for decades!

The younger-generation demonic cultivators had no idea... No idea how rough the roads the older generations had walked to get this far!

The hatred toward the demonic cultivators by the rulers of the martial world, the martial artists of the orthodox factions, easily exceeded human imaginations. At least that hatred had lost its edge to some degree these days. As little as less than half a century ago, martial artists didn't hesitate to torture and tear apart any demonic cultivators they came across.

With the progress of modern civilization and technology, martial artists were forced to give up some of their privileges and status, but that helped the demonic cultivators with their survival instead. If those barbaric days had continued for longer, all demonic cultivators would've become nothing more than a footnote in history books.

The older generation had survived those troubling times to get this far. And finally, they got the chance to witness the demon emperor's descent with their own eyes!

Wasn't that enough, then? Indeed, this should be more than enough to regain the meaning, the purpose, of enduring all those years.

On top of that, the demon emperor easily exceeded Li Xiaoyu's expectations by a wide margin. He wouldn't have minded even if the demon emperor was nothing more than a depository filled with ancient demonic arts.

However, the demon emperor actually became enraged at the current state of the demonic cultivators. That should've filled Li Xiaoyu's heart with warmth and satisfaction. But...!

For some unfathomable reason, Li Xiaoyu's heart was being filled with ominous foreboding instead. And it wasn't any ol' foreboding, either!

Just how long had he been alive? Obviously, Li Xiaoyu had experienced countless moments of foreboding. However, this foreboding filling his heart was in another dimension compared to the bits of emotions he was already familiar with.

This primal emotion hidden in the deepest part of his soul crept and crawled along his legs, his spine and even his skull like some kind of an insect.

At least Li Xiaoyu knew what was the culprit for this emotion. It was the demon emperor's demonic qi!

Li Xiaoyu's heart was filled with this dreadful foreboding beyond his ability to control as soon as he saw Kang Jin-Ho emitting the demonic qi that resembled a river of burning lava.

No, forget lava, it looked more like thick, sticky tar!

Obviously, those cultivating in demonic arts were intimately familiar with demonic qi. After all, it was the source of their strength and the natural enemy that drove them mad. Regardless of how one viewed demonic qi, it was an indelible part of a demonic cultivator's existence, like a part of their body.

However, Kang Jin-Ho's demonic qi was different. That thing was not something Li Xiaoyu was familiar with. This qi was something else, something that happened to be a bit more ominous, noticeably more evil and far more destructive.

So dense and heavy! The emitted demonic qi was as dense and thick as black tar. So much so that, compared to black smoke-like demonic qi emitted by the demonic cultivators, Kang Jin-Ho's qi could legitimately be called the origin of all demonic qi!

'...Scraps!'

Li Xiaoyu suddenly gained an understanding of what Elder Chang Min meant when he said the demonic cultivators of the modern era only got to master scraps fallen from the true demonic arts.

Until now, Li Xiaoyu had trouble understanding what Chang Min wanted to say. The truth was, though... His brain had figured it out, but his heart was unwilling to accept it.

Wasn't it obvious, though? Could the worm crawling in dirt understand the concept of the wide-open sky, never mind the expense of space? Of course not.

By the time Li Xiaoyu set off on his martial journey, the demonic arts had already declined to the point of being utter trash. The teachers kept saying that the cause of this decline was the demonic arts losing their essence. However, to someone like Li Xiaoyu, who had never witnessed the true demonic arts until then... Their words were nothing more than empty complaints of disgruntled boomers. At least Chang Min was there to display a glimpse of 'true' demonic arts.

Elder Chang Min was a unique individual within the demon cult.

He had lived for longer than anyone in the cult, which meant he was stronger than anyone in the 'organization'. Even Li Xiaoyu's master was like a little kid compared to Chang Min.

One day, Li Xiaoyu was compelled to ask Chang Min why the latter was not leading the cult's believers. If he was so powerful, why was he turning a blind eye to his fellow cult members experiencing such pain and misery?

Instead of hibernating inside a dingy cave and waiting for the descent of the demon emperor, couldn't Chang Min simply claim the position of the demon emperor?

When he heard that question, Chang Min smiled apologetically back at Li Xiaoyu.

“I'm not qualified, Li Xiaoyu. I simply am not. The title of the demon emperor isn't reserved for someone strong, you see? No, the demon emperor is salvation. That position represents our hope. I can only be a small candle illuminating the darkness, but what the demonic cultivators require is a bright sun. That is why you need to be patient, Li Xiaoyu. And endure. If you remain patient and keep enduring... The demon emperor will eventually come for us. Once that day comes, my role will be over.”

Li Xiaoyu couldn't understand those words back then. Only after putting some years behind him did he finally figure it out, though.

Chang Min's attainment in martial arts wasn't achieved by cultivating diligently in an orthodox fashion. His strength was the result of the protectors of the demon emperor directly transferring their cultivation.

Which meant Chang Min's actual attainment in martial arts was limited, thus precluding him from passing down more advanced demonic cultivation methods to other demonic cultivators.

Even if Chang Min stepped up to lead the demon cult, things would still crash headlong into a wall of limitation if none of the cult members could become stronger. Imagine what might happen if he suddenly passes away; after experiencing the demonic cultivators' resistance, martial artists from the orthodox factions would grow even more heavy-handed in their discrimination and persecution of the demonic cultivators.

That was why... Despite having the necessary strength, Chang Min couldn't fight back. Who could guess the pain in Chang Min's heart as he found himself stuck in such a situation?

“You must be patient, Li Xiaoyu. Patience. What you see in me isn't hope but an illusion of one. Don't worry, as you will find out for yourself. Once the demon emperor appears before us... When the noble being who stands tall above all things demonic finally appears before the world...! You shall see the true depths of the demonic arts that you have been disparaging and insulting all this time.”

Only now could Li Xiaoyu understand what those words meant.

The source of all things demonic...! Yes, that demonic qi had to be literally it!

Compared to Kang Jin-Ho's dense demonic qi... Calling the current-day demonic cultivators' demonic arts nothing more than scraps... No, discarded crumbs were completely deserved. There was absolutely no questioning it.

The only fitting thing to do now was... worship! Even though no one ordered him, Li Xiaoyu kissed the dirt on the ground in a deep kowtow. He simply had to offer his unreserved worship to the demon emperor who had finally descended to the current era!

There was another thing. Li Xiaoyu couldn't help but grab at his legs.

With the support from his hands gone, the weight shifted over to his head, but he still didn't have much choice in the matter. He had to hold his thighs.

They were powerfully trembling, after all!

The demon emperor had finally descended. The one Li Xiaoyu had been waiting for all this time had come, so he should be ecstatic about witnessing his arrival. He should be celebrating this momentous day, but... What he felt right now was fear.

Fear gushing out from the deepest part of his soul!

Like a sinful man clapping his eyes on the divine judge descending from the heavens, Li Xiaoyu's entire body trembled and shivered pitifully from the demon emperor's rage he'd never dare oppose.

Li Xiaoyu desperately forced his head to turn just enough to get a good view of the situation behind him. As he thought, things weren't any different back there.

Li Xiaoyu hadn't been the only person feeling this way. Every demonic cultivator prostrated on the ground, pitifully shivering away when Kang Jin-Ho displayed his rage. Their behavior was akin to mere mortals encountering the King of Hell! Such was the spontaneity of their actions that it seemed like they had planned it beforehand!

'So, this is... the demon emperor!'

Li Xiaoyu gained another understanding just then. He now realized why Chang Min was so confident of uniting the scattered demonic cultivators under one banner with nothing but the appearance of the demon emperor.

No demonic cultivator could reject or repel this power to dominate!

Anyone who was a demonic cultivator... Any demonic cultivator who hadn't lost their sanity to the demonic qi... Any demonic cultivator who still held some vestiges of self-control... They would never be able to reject the demon emperor's dominion over them!

Just as Li Xiaoyu's thoughts reached that far, the demon emperor suddenly raised his languid-sounding voice. “Vator.”

BOOM!

Vator went down on one knee. His usual attitude of mercilessly teasing Kang Jin-Ho was nowhere to be found now. With his expression stiff and unyielding, he was the very model of a henchman loyal only to the demon emperor and no one else. “Give me your command, my master!”

“Sweep them all away.”

“Yes, master!”

Uncharacteristically, Kang Jin-Ho decided to add something else. “Teach them... Teach them what the price is for daring to mutter things they should not have!”

“I will obey!”

Vator didn't say anything else. He simply dashed forward at a speed that couldn't possibly have been generated by a gigantic physique like his.

The big man exuded danger simply by standing still, so the sight of him charging at his targets like that was shock-inducing at its most extreme. It was as if a massive brown bear with its fangs bared was pouncing on hapless prey.

After reaching his destination, Vator punched the first Japanese martial artist before his eyes. And then... Disintegration!

Something totally unbelievable unfolded when a human flesh collided with another human flesh. The two 'main' components of the human body, flesh and bone, separated right after the impact, and the fragments of still-disintegrating human meat pelted the unfortunate souls behind like a barrage of machine gun fire.

“Aaaaaaahk?!”

“Aaaaah!”

Screams from the pain of unknown something piercing right through their bodies resounded out from seemingly everywhere.

Unfortunately for them, that wasn't the end.

KA-BOOOOM!

Vator kicked the car blocking his way. A vehicle weighing well over a ton flew back like a piece of discarded toy. And the flying vehicle swept the Japanese martial artists aside in the blink of an eye.

The God of War! The man seemingly born to fill that role, Vator, roared loudly into the night sky.

Maybe his master's rage had also infected him, because Vator mercilessly swept aside martial artists foolishly standing before his eyes like a mother bear that lost its cub. Even his expression was cold, stiff.

What a shocking spectacle this was. Anyone who saw it would instinctively realize something had gone terribly wrong. However, Morigawa Atsushi couldn't make any moves.

Of course he knew. He knew that unless he did something now, the expeditionary force would get wiped out in the blink of an eye!

That was what warfare was like. 30% of the forces being destroyed would equal the annihilation of an army. Total annihilation didn't indicate the deaths of every soldier. No, it only needed one-third.

If one out of three people died, humans would instantly be swept up in the atmosphere of fear. And the battle they could have won by fighting with everything on the line would be lost.

When one lost their composure and fell into panic... Confusion and chaos would instantly rule over them. They wouldn't be able to think clearly. And then... The only thought left in their mind would be to flee.

That was the current situation. And in moments like this, people needed a commander. Morigawa Atsushi came here to play that role. Unfortunately...

He didn't dare turn his head away. He couldn't even squeak a word out right now!

All he could do was mobilize every cell in his body and remain on guard against the monster right before his eyes!

Step, step...

The monster in the human form leisurely walked toward Morigawa Atsushi. His steps were unhurried, never fast.

Yes, that man was a monster. There was no doubt about it!

Compared to this insane, inhuman monster, Vator was definitely a human being. Thick demonic qi flooding out of the monster like burning tar enveloped his body. And a pair of crimson glows continued to leak out from where his eyes should be among all the darkness.

The devil! Yes, this appearance could only belong to a devil! A creature of darkness and evil that Morigawa Atushi and the rest of humanity had only seen inside their imaginations!

That evil creature had borrowed the form of a human male to descend to the world of men!

Morigawa Atsushi's drooping katana swayed precariously about, unable to find its stability.

He was taught that the tip of a sword was a mirror to one's mind. How many times did he hear that maintaining a stable sword tip was the beginning of martial arts? Despite all the teachings engraved to his soul, his sword tip still swayed and quivered in search of a balance of mind.

The leisurely-approaching monster, Kang Jin-Ho, finally broke his silence. Rather than his lips moving, though, the location where his mouth should be in the darkness seemed to distort ever so slightly.

“Now, answer me.”

That... was clearly laughter. Laughter of ridicule, that was. As if to mock Morigawa Atsushi!

One of the hardest things for a martial artist to endure was ridicule. Even then, Morigawa Atsushi couldn't get angry. Because he had realized the severity of the trouble he was in.

This battle... It couldn't be called a battle between martial artists. As a matter of fact, this entire situation had stopped being 'normal' a long time ago!

The devil grinned. Then, he addressed Morigawa Atsushi once more. “So... Who is the weak trash now?”

The devil slowly extended his hand.

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