Descent of the Demon Master

“Stand straight, you fools!” Chang Min's obstinate boomer-like voice resounded like a loud boom. “You useless idiots! If you lot somehow disappoint the demon emperor today, I swear to personally kill all of you! Can't you get in line properly?!”

Chang Min acting this way was deeply unfamiliar to these demonic cultivators. Not just the younger-generation demonic cultivators, who didn't know much about Chang Min to begin with, but even the elders who grew up learning things from the oldest living man among the demon cult members were flustered by Chang Min's anger.

Chang Min was fundamentally a kind, benevolent man. By the demonic cultivators' standard, he was so much stronger than anyone, yet he still knew how to lower himself to others' level to talk to them as equals. Despite possessing the authority and power to acquire everything if he wanted, he still chose to work as a gatekeeper of the Asura's cave instead.

Didn't he always worry and pity demonic cultivators suffering under the unfairly sharp blades of the world?

The reason for the demon cult's continued existence to this day despite its near-collapse was down to Chang Min's existence. Because Chang Min was there to care for and look after them like a father, the demonic cultivators had been able to stay strong until now.

But today? This Chang Min was not the person they used to know.

“The demon emperor is on his way! The true master of us all is on his way here as we speak! That is why we must prepare a grand welcome fitting this glorious occasion!”

Chang Min's voice sounded powerful. Sharp and dignified. That alone was enough to tell everyone that he must've been waiting for this moment his entire life.

Chang Min continued to inspect and then re-inspect the preparation. He made sure not one person was straying outside the line or relaxing too much. As a result, countless demonic cultivators were standing in rank and file according to Chang Min's loud roar.

Even those known for regularly voicing their displeasure didn't dare open their piehole this time. Anyone with a functioning brain could tell that whining to Chang Min right now would only be good for getting their head bitten off.

That was how serious and intense Chang Min was.

“Elder Chang Min?” Someone raised a hand and cautiously asked.

“What is it?”

“Is the... demon emperor really headed this way?”

“Yes.”

“Then... Is he fine?”

“You dare!” Chang Min roared as demonic qi began gushing out of his figure. “Who in the world would dare leave a scratch in the noble existence that is our demon emperor! He's the only noble and almighty existence under the sun! Holding such a sacrilegious thought is an affront to the very authority and majesty of the demon emperor! How can you not understand that!”

“...My apologies, sir.” The demonic cultivator hurriedly lowered his head. 'In that case, why did you send all those people as reinforcement?'

It hadn't been all that long ago when Chang Min was up in arms at the news of some bastards targeting the demon emperor and urgently organized people to go and provide support. So... Why was he saying that now?

“The day our future finally begins has arrived! After eons of waiting, our demon emperor has finally come to grace us with his presence. All of you must prepare yourselves to serve him with your heart and soul!”

The response Chang Min got just then was tepid, to say the least. However, that made some sense when one thought about it.

None of these people had met Kang Jin-Ho before. No wonder all these talks about the demon emperor's descent and devotion this and heart-and-soul that sounded like an empty echo that went in one ear and came out the other. Who would understand or agree with the notion of offering absolute and unquestioning loyalty to someone they had never met or seen before?

Even to the Chinese people, who still harbored some level of instinctive fear of authority figures, such a notion would be hard to accept.

The only reason why these demonic cultivators were 'manning' their spots like this was because they were scared of the white-haired old coots and their sharp glares. Not because they wanted to witness the 'descent' of this mysterious demon emperor!

However, judging from how the situation was unfolding... It seemed those old folks were getting dissatisfied, too.

“Elder Chang...!” One of the elders cautiously called out to Chang Min. Although they nominally held equal positions as elders, Chang Min was a special existence among them. Technically speaking, he should be called the Supreme Elder or another similar title, but Chang Min refused to be called that. So people had to settle for regular 'elder' for now.

Chang Min glanced at this elder. “What's the matter?”

“Is there a need to go this far, sir?”

“What did you just say?!”

The elder nervously gulped his saliva down his dried throat. He still couldn't get used to Chang Min's stiff, angry face. "Yes, we get that the demon emperor is headed this way. And we also understand now how noble and important he is. Since you told us, it must be true. Even so, do we really have to go this far to..."

The elder blurred the end of his sentence.

“Go this far?! What do you even mean by this far?!” Chang Min growled as anger filled his expression.

“Elder Chang, over five thousand people have come already. What is the point of holding a welcoming ceremony with so many people, sir?” The elder raised his voice while turning his head toward the massive underground space.

This underground shelter, created by the demon cult during the ages of unrest and persecution in the past, was currently filled to the brim with over five thousand demonic cultivators standing in rank-and-file. Five thousand might not sound like a lot, but getting so many people in one place was no easy feat.

“Five thousand, you say?” Chang Min snorted derisively. “Why are you raising such a fuss when it's only five thousand? If I could, I would have summoned every demonic cultivator under the sun here!”

“...!”

“Fine! Yes, I understand what I'm talking about is impossible. However, what is so wrong with telling the already-gathered people here to show some respect?”

“The era has changed, Elder Chang,” said the elder, Wei Zheyang, sighed deeply. Ceremonies like this were only acceptable in the days of Mao Zedong. Not even the current era's top politicians would dare force the citizens to line up like this. “Elder Chang... Mobilizing our people this way will only earn their ire instead. We must consider the era we live in.”

“What are you implying? That I'm too old now?”

“You know that's not what I'm saying, sir. We all respect and look up to you. If this event was for you, we'd have gladly participated. However, how can we show our respect to the demon emperor whom we never even met? You can't expect us to genuinely serve him like this.”

“It's fine,” Chang Min tutted.

“But, elder...!”

“I said, it's fine,” Chang Min dismissively waved his hand. Although, it wasn't out of annoyance. He seemed more bothered by people worrying about nothing. “I'll shoulder all responsibilities. And I'll also shoulder all the dissatisfaction, too.”

“...But, elder!”

“If you hold even a speck of gratitude toward me...”

“Elder, please don't say that. Of course we are grateful. Everyone in the cult sees you as our father figure.”

“I see. Thank you. In that case, do try to humor this old man's whim, at least this one time. You will soon come to understand that my unreasonable demands had not been misplaced, anyway.”

Wei Zheyang sighed again. What could he do when Chang Min put it that way? “Understood, Elder Chang. However, please do consider the points I've raised.”

“I will,” Chang Min nodded, then scanned the underground space once more. His booming voice containing qi spread out to all corners. “All of you, listen up!”

Five thousand pairs of eyes instantly followed Chang Min's figure.

“I know that you all think we're wasting time with something unnecessary. And that you're annoyed and dissatisfied,” Chang Min spoke in an honest manner, and that prompted the irritation among the crowd to ebb away. “It won't take too much of your time. The demon emperor will soon arrive. Once he arrives, you can do whatever you want. That is why... I ask of you to humor this old man's wishes for now.”

He was the demon cult's oldest surviving member. A man who was already an elder even before most of the cult members were born... No, even before their fathers were born!

He worried and thought about the welfare of the demon cult and its members while deliberately occupying an insignificant position. In that case, who would brazenly refuse to humor his earnest request?

Of course, after seeing how earnest Chang Min was, they couldn't help but get curious about who this demon emperor could be. Just what kind of a man was he for Elder Chang Min to lower his head like this?

Once irritation and annoyance were gone, the resulting void was rapidly filled up by curiosity.

That was when someone urgently cried out. “Elder Chang!”

Chang Min quickly turned his head. “What is it?”

“It's the demon emperor! I received the news that he's here! And he's about to come down the entrance!”

“Oh, ohhh! Finally!” Chang Min's eyes powerfully quaked. “All of you, get ready! Our master is about to arrive!”

Taut tension one could cut with a knife quickly descended into the underground space. No one dared to raise their voice—which included those who knew about the demon emperor and those who didn't. All they could do was stand stiffly at attention and wait.

Their tense, nervous gazes were locked to the front of the underground space. Which was a bit troublesome, since the entrance was behind them.

They obviously couldn't witness the demon emperor's entrance like this! However, who would dare turn their head in this situation? So, they could only stare at what was in front of them in the distance, which was a massive throne built on top of a tall podium... And Chang Min respectfully bowing by the foot of the throne.

Not too long after that...

Creaaaaaaak...!

A ghost's wail-like metallic noises dug into everyone's hearing, indicating that the heavy steel door was opening up loudly behind them.

'Here he comes!'

No one knew why such a fuss had to be raised, but the time for all the gathered demonic cultivators to shine had finally come.

“Ohhh! My liege! My dear demon emperor! The master of all things demonic! We, the servants of the demon emperor, offer our unreserved exaltation!”

Chang Min immediately prostrated on the floor, his loud voice reverberating within the underground space. His voice echoed raucously against the walls. And when his roar died down, another set of noises clearly registered in everyone's hearing.

Step.

Step...!

Those had to be someone's footsteps. But martial artists tried to mask their presence. It was the basic of all basic knowledge to quieten down any potential sounds... Including the rustling of fabric and, yes, even one's footsteps.

None of the demonic cultivators knew when this so-called tradition had begun. And they didn't know if everyone in the martial world also masked their presence as much as possible. Even before they had grown aware of it... The demonic cultivators became used to keeping themselves under the radar, well out of others' glare.

To them, that person's footsteps sounded so... foreign and shocking. This demon emperor was not hiding his presence. He didn't even bother to quieten down his footsteps, either. Just on this evidence alone, everyone here could already tell how arrogant the demon emperor was.

Step...

Step...

The noise of quiet footsteps echoed within the underground space seemingly endlessly. Among all these echoes... The demonic cultivators finally saw it. They saw the back of a young man walking past them.

A man who couldn't be described as the biggest man in the world was leisurely making his way toward the throne. His steps were unhurried, yet never slow.

'...Really?'

Every demonic cultivator who saw that man's back felt that confused question pop up in their mind. Was that man really the demon emperor?

The demon emperor was someone so... plain?

Obviously, it was not possible to determine what kind of a person this man was while looking at him from behind. However, as far as what everyone could see, this man didn't seem special in any shape or form.

He seemed like a young man commonly found everywhere.

The noise of his steps continued to ring out and served as background music to hints of disappointment creeping into everyone's heart. There were also hints of rueful regret mixed in, too.

However, their disappointment rapidly transformed into a different kind of emotion.

'...What's that?'

Their gazes, forcibly fixed to the front, finally began picking up the sight of something bizarre. That something was dark and opaque, flickering and wavering. Initially, everyone who saw it thought their eyes were playing tricks on them.

However, no matter how many times they blinked, those blurry, opaque things didn't disappear from their view.

'Wait. Isn't that...?'

The demonic cultivators finally realized what it was. Pitch-black demonic qi was eerily leaking out from the demon emperor's back! And this black demonic qi resembled a vigorously burning flame.

The initially blurry demonic qi grew more intense and dense with every passing second.

The black flame! That seemed like the only fitting name for it. And when the demonic cultivators saw that black flame, the demonic qi slumbering away within their dantians abruptly woke up to violently tumble and circulate.

'W-what is going on?'

The temperature within the underground space rapidly cooled down. Even though nothing had changed from before, the air seemed to have instantly lost all warmth. Goosebumps broke on the skin of demonic cultivators.

They finally understood something just then. They now knew why that man was called the demon emperor!

They now knew... Why that young man was the rightful ruler of all things demonic!

Step...

Step...

The demon emperor leisurely climbed up the podium and reached the throne. He slowly turned around and scanned the demonic cultivators standing in rank and file below.

He leisurely settled down on the throne before crossing his legs. And then...

“I'm Kang Jin-Ho.”

He proceeded to briefly introduce himself. Maybe he thought that was too short, because he also added something else.

“No... I should use my other name with you. I am Crimson Demon. The one you used to call Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor.”

Finally, after what seemed like eons of time... The one and only Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor had returned to the demon cult.

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