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Chapter 534: Challenge
🕑 Added 2024-11-18 14:00:12 +0000 UTCIn the void of the Divine Beast Pseudo System, humans and demons stood across from each other. Their numbers blotted the space and brought color to the void. A battle of this magnitude would cause catastrophic damage to the adjacent realms from the sheer numbers of participants at the true immortal level and above.
The demons would have preferred to engage in a much less populated area where the realm beast can run amok. Unfortunately, they were the defenders. The Demon Clan could choose and wait in the void for the humans, but the humans would just conquer their home base, and leave them like rootless duckweeds.
No matter what preparation they made, demons needed to absorb the spiritual qi of heaven and earth to survive. Once they lost the three ancestral realms, the Demon Clan would eventually wither and die. Even if they descended into lower realms, the amount of spiritual qi they needed was far from what lower realms could produce.
No matter what, it was a battle the Demon Clan could not afford to lose.
Demon Emperor Redraco stared at Minister Everpast with guarded eyes. The elderly immortal minister was the only immortal sovereign on the human’s side, but he wasn’t the one that Demon Emperor Redraco placed the most importance on.
No, it was the immortal emperor that resembled a sword. According to the Demon Clan’s intelligence, he was Bao Ling, the rising star of the Numinous Sword Sect. No, the title rising star no longer suited Bao Ling. He was a new pillar of the Numinous Sword Sect.
When he stared at Bao Ling, he saw an unsheathed blade. When their gazes connected, Demon Emperor Redraco felt his soul tingle, as if something was scratching it. Just that alone sent alarm bells off in his head. Bao Ling’s gaze alone was akin to a soul attack.
There was one more that he paid attention to: Nine Heavens Emperor Xi Tianyi. If Bao Ling was the new pillar of the Numinous Sword Sect, then Xi Tianyi was the new pillar of the Buzhou Immortal Court, formerly the Buzhou Immortal Sect.
In sharp contrast to Bao Ling, Xi Tianyi gave off zero aura at all. It was to the point that even if he used his demon sense to see Xi Tianyi, he would get nothing. Normally, that meant the holder of the demon sense automatically ignored the target because they were too insignificant, but Demon Emperor Redraco knew better. Even if he tried to lock onto him, he would sense nothing. Not even a soul aura.
As the direct perpetrator of Demon Emperor Blacktiger’s death, Demon Emperor Redraco knew better than to underestimate him.
Not just Bao Ling and Xi Tianyi, but Demon Emperor Redraco lamented at the human’s large pool of talents. Though they couldn’t threaten him, he had already made note of the outstanding performances.
World Link Monarch
Monarch Thrallsong
Transient Wing Monarch
Seven Star Sword Monarch
Tyrant Sword Monarch
From birth, demons had an innate advantage over humans. Not only were they born with powerful bodies, but they possessed longer lifespans than humans on the same level. The lifespan advantage disappeared when humans reached the immortal level, but outstanding demons still possessed innate abilities that gave them an edge over their human counterparts.
That said, it couldn’t make up for the smaller population of the Demon Clan, resulting in them having less talent. Demons with innate talents were also increasingly rare due to the insufficient environment and weakening bloodlines.
All advantages disappeared at the Divine Realm. It was one of the reasons why the humans defeated the Demon Clan after the fall of the Immortal Court led by Di Jun. The Demon Clan had missed the opportunity to conquer the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System, right after the destruction of the Primordial World.
Demon Emperor Redraco blinked. Now was not the time to confide in his own musings. Right now, he had to tilt the scales in the Demon Clan’s favor.
The demons were prepared to defend the three ancestral realms to their dying breath, meaning that their morale was at an all-time high. Still, that didn’t mean it would remain that way. Once the battle started, morale would fluctuate all the time, so he needed to raise it and stabilize it as much as possible before the battle started.
“Spineless invaders,” Demon Emperor Redraco shouted, his voice carried by his demon sense filled the void battleground. “Do you dare to duel against us one-on-one?”
When the grand commander of the humans, Minister Everpast, refused to answer his challenge, Demon Emperor Redraco released a ridiculing smile. “Hmpf, as expected of you weak humans, only knowing how to use numbers to defeat your enemies. Fine, I can’t help it if you don’t have the courage to face us one-on-one. It’s why you need to ally up to match up against us superior demons.”
“Shut up, you lowly demon!”
Normally, Demon Emperor Redraco would have struck down the insolent true immortal that dared to address him as such, but the offering gave the perfect opportunity for him. Although he didn’t know the true immortal, he appeared young from his aura. Since he didn’t carry a sword and the trace of dissatisfaction Demon Emperor Redraco saw in Minister Everpast’s eyes, he judged that the true immortal was a newly ascended immortal from the Buzhou Immortal Court.
“Oh? Then do you dare to duel against one of my progeny?” Demon Emperor Redraco asked, arrogance imbued in each word.
His words agitated the true immortal even more. “Hmpf! Even if a Demon King appears, I, Lord Shi, can defeat them!”
Demon Emperor Redraco didn’t answer. In his stead, a jiaolong accepted Immortal Lord Shi’s challenge. Also known as a hornless dragon or flood dragon, the jiaolong dwarfed his human counterpart.
With the participation of both of them, the Demon Clan and humans implicitly agreed to Demon Emperor Redraco’s challenge.
Immortal Lord Shi, as his title implied, was one step away from mastering a worldly law. Unfortunately, it was just that, one step away. The difference between not mastering and mastering a worldly law was enormous. If he had mastered a complete worldly law, he would have already become a seamless immortal instead of staying as a true immortal. Especially in the face of war.
Part of the reason why he accepted the Demon Emperor Redraco’s challenge was to temper himself. Although the duel to the death was implied, it should still be far safer than a chaotic battle, where life and death could be decided in an instant without warning. Unfortunately, he failed.
The jiaolong’s mastery of a worldly law was inferior to Immortal Lord Shi, but his physical flesh made up for the difference. And he cinched the victory when he activated his innate ability and killed his foe.
Upon his victory, the demons cheered, while the humans became discontent. Although the morale was raised, both sides knew one battle couldn’t decide everything. The Demon Clan was still outnumbered, and the humans did not think the demons were superior to them in single combat.
The second representative from the humans was a member of the Numinous Sword Sect. Although the sword immortal hadn’t mastered a worldly law, he was close to the late Immortal Lord Shi, so he was a sword lord. The jiaolong did not retreat and continued to battle.
The sword lord offered the Demon Clan to have the jiaolong retreat and switch him out, lest they claim he only triumphed over the hornless dragon because his foe was tired from the previous bout. The jiaolong rejected, and the two duelists took action.
The sword lord’s attack exceeded the immortal lord from the Buzhou Immortal Court. The jiaolong’s scales shattered upon the impact, but it did not change the end result. It was a closer match than before for sure, but the jiaolong still triumphed over the sword lord. It caused the Demon Clan to cheer and a grim air to wash over the humans. After this time, the jiaolong retreated when the third human stepped forward. Having used his innate ability twice already, the jiaolong could not use it again in a short period.
The humans sent out another sword lord. This time, the human won, but at substantial cost. His arm lost and his body infected, the sword lord would not be able to contribute to the upcoming battle in a short time. It would take at least a month to heal his injuries unless the humans were willing to use precious resources, which could be better spent elsewhere.
Thirteen duels at the true demon and true immortal level occurred between the Demon Clan and humans. Of them, the demons won the majority. If possible, Demon Emperor Redraco would be happy to continue whittling down the human’s numbers, but the humans were having none of that. Both because if their losses continued, it would lower the morale, and true demons had too much of an advantage over true immortals.
So, the humans sent out a monarch. At this level, the innate abilities no longer had an absolute advantage. And only a few innate abilities could be considered supreme, like the innate abilities of the Four Divine Beasts. Demon Emperor Redraco’s eyes glanced toward a demon king with golden fur and black stripes. His aura was far stronger than the other demon kings, almost reaching the level of a demon emperor.
He glanced away and stared at the sword monarch. In order to keep morale, Demon Emperor Redraco sent out his granddaughter, Honglin. Although she wasn’t the strongest demon king, she inherited his blood and her innate ability suppressed martial immortals like the sword monarch.
As Demon Emperor Redraco expected, his progeny triumphed. And with far greater ease than he expected. He hadn’t had the time to guide her growth because of the war, but it did not stop him from preening with pride. Despite her victory, he ordered her to retreat when he saw her next opponent.
It was the Tyrant Sword Monarch.
Demon Emperor Redraco knew him, all the true dragons did. After the humiliation the Dragon Emperor doused them under, they made a point to remember anyone accomplished in the Dragon Emperor Fist, so that they may extinguish the user. Many times, the dragons aimed for the Tyrant Sword Monarch, but through luck or his own abilities, he survived. Not only that, he was a key player in the human’s assault on the Void Continent and the exposure of the realm beast.
After many battles, the true dragons called him the Tyrant Sword Monarch Ye Chen.
If he wasn’t already a dragon king, Demon Emperor Redraco would have wanted Donghai Longzi to take action. Thankfully, the Dragon Clan was not absent of talent.
He was known as the Waterdrop Dragon Lord, a Demon King Realm true dragon. Unlike other true dragons, countless wings sprouted down his back. Also known as winged rain dragons, the yinglong were the descendents of the dragon that allied with the Yellow Emperor to take down Chiyou.
The battle started without fanfare.
The Tyrant Sword Monarch sped towards the Waterdrop Dragon Lord, intent on ending it in one swing. But how could the dragon lord allow him to do as he wished? His myriad wings flapped, each deploying a water drop with each movement. Soon, the battlefield was filled with the drops of water, making it seemed as if the battle took place in the midst of rain.
The sword monarch grunted as he slowed his approach. Although each drop of water seemed light and harmless, he would feel a great impact upon crashing into them. One or ten might be fine, but hundreds would harm him. Not much, mind you, but it would add up.
He raised his sword and swung. Black sword light ran rampant, bursting the water drops. Still, the water drops seemed endless. For each drop he destroyed, two more would take their place. Their infinite forms distorted the sword monarch’s vision until he lost sight of the true dragon.
The Tyrant Sword Monarch released his immortal sense, but he discovered that the water drops interfered with it, causing it to fail. Well, not exactly. In his senses, each water drop was the Waterdrop Dragon Lord, but that was obviously impossible.
After a moment of hesitation, the Tyrant Sword Emperor deployed his Destruction Sword Realm. A black bubble exploded with him at the epicenter, shrouding the surrounding hundred kilometers in a dark tint. Once encompassed by the domain of destruction, ripples appeared on each individual water drop. Not a moment later, they deformed and disappeared into mist.
Still, there were some water drops that were not destroyed by the Tyrant Sword Emperor’s domain. It was only about ten percent, but it was enough to mask the Waterdrop Dragon Lord’s true location. In addition, the mist created from the broken water drops remained, continuing to bewilder the sword monarch’s immortal sense.
The water drops moved faster and faster until they turned into icy comets. They spun around the Tyrant Sword Monarch in all directions. Then, they curved, all flying toward him.
The Tyrant Sword Monarch snorted. He gripped his sword and slashed at the tiny water drops. However, the impact sent a shock through his arm. Instead of slicing through water or ice, it felt as if he had slashed at an incoming meteor.
Tens of water drops later, his sword was knocked back, leaving his torso defenseless. The water drops ravaged his body, like meteoric impacts on the land.
The Waterdrop Dragon Lord formed from the mist surrounding the Tyrant Sword Monarch. His eyes widened when he saw the azure scales covering the sword monarch’s body and the deer-like antlers growing out of his head. Rather than a human, he resembled a humanoid dragon.
The dragon lord recognized this technique. It was a favorite of those that practiced the Dragon Emperor Fist. The more blood they absorbed, the stronger and more draconic the transformation. Dragon Scale Mail.
The Tyrant Sword Monarch also saw the Waterdrop Dragon Lord. The sword in his hand, which had been forced away, sliced toward the blue-scaled dragon.
The Waterdrop Dragon Lord knew that he had fallen for his opponent’s ploy, but he did not back down. Blue energy coated his claws, and he struck the Tyrant Sword Monarch with both hands. One to deflect the sword, and the other to claim his life!
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