Chapter Seventy-Three: The Powerful Human-Demon

The demon race—for humans, this is a name as forbidden as any taboo: ancient, terrifying, formidable. The demons are not a single race but a vast category, encompassing countless sub-races. Among them, the Asura demons, Blood demons, Heart demons, and Monster demons are particularly infamous to humankind, their names echoing like thunder, their crimes against humanity so numerous they defy description.

The leader of the Black Dragon Society, himself the head of a covert guard unit within the Heavenly Wind Empire, had acquired considerable knowledge of demonkind. Precisely because of this, he understood that whenever a demon was encountered, it was the duty of humans to exterminate them without mercy. Those humans who turned traitor and allied with the demons were especially despised, hunted down to the last member of their clan. Such traitorous half-demons, having forsaken their own kind, became even more ruthless and monstrous toward humanity.

In the distance, Yi Tian had just arrived. His gaze was immediately drawn to the enormous dragon pearl, the size of a millstone, carried in the hands of two covert guards from the Black Dragon Society. Its radiance flowed with an air of nobility and flawlessness. Yi Tian was instantly captivated. He could sense the immense energy contained within the dragon pearl, and the Stardust Clay at his wrist pulsed with greedy longing, as if desperate to devour it.

Yet Yi Tian quickly shifted his attention to the powerful figure suspended in the air. “A human-stage powerhouse has appeared!” He was surprised, realizing that this venture would be fraught with unexpected dangers.

“Kill!”

The Black Dragon Society’s leader, upon discovering that the Dark Demon Sect’s master was a half-demon, knew that battle was now inevitable and that everyone present would be swept up in the conflict. He unleashed a sword aura dozens of yards long, tearing through the void as it slashed toward the Dark Demon Sect's master, the sky roiling with turmoil.

The Dark Demon Sect’s master gave a cold laugh. In the past, he might have been flustered by such an attack, forced to meet it with all his strength. But now, transformed into a half-demon, he met the soaring sword aura with a single palm, which manifested as an enormous, solid hand, every line and whorl on its surface distinct.

Boom!

With a single blow, he shattered the sword aura, shards of energy scattering in all directions. The palm did not dissipate—though it dimmed, its momentum was undiminished as it descended upon the Black Dragon Society’s leader.

Boom...

The spot where the leader had just stood was instantly transformed into a massive crater, dozens of yards across, bearing the imprint of a palm. Several covert guards from the Black Dragon Society, too slow to escape, were crushed beneath that blow, left as little more than mangled remains in the pit.

“Kill!”

Dodging just in time, the Black Dragon Society’s leader witnessed this carnage and his murderous intent soared. He launched another assault on the Dark Demon Sect’s master in midair. Waves of peerless sword aura slashed across the void, blooming like lotus flowers, engulfing the master within.

Suddenly, the Dark Demon Sect’s master erupted with a terrifying demonic force, instantly obliterating the endless sword aura. Beams of dreadful demonic light shot from his fingertips, blasting toward the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The earth seemed to suffer some apocalyptic calamity as each beam drilled gaping holes into the ground, each several yards in diameter and plunging dozens of yards deep. The Black Dragon Society’s leader, employing exquisite footwork, narrowly evaded each of the master’s attacks. It was worth noting that these were not ordinary attacks: demon essence force from a half-demon was even more powerful and fearsome than the true energy of a human-stage master. A single strike could kill or cripple even a peak ninth-stage martial artist.

Though the Black Dragon Society’s leader narrowly escaped again and again, others on the battlefield were not so fortunate. The Dark Demon Sect’s master rained down annihilating beams of demonic light, slaughtering any martial artist too slow to dodge, blood and flesh flying, the ground transformed into a scene of carnage worthy of Asura’s realm.

The Dark Demon Sect’s master was utterly unmoved by the slaughter. Like a cat toying with a mouse, he played with the Black Dragon Society’s leader, watching his struggles with morbid amusement. Even the covert guards of the Black Dragon Society suffered heavy losses.

“Run!”

At that moment, all the various factions and martial artists, their souls chilled with terror, scattered in all directions, desperate to escape this place of extreme peril. As for the two covert guards carrying the dragon pearl, they were slain by two beams of demonic light from the master, leaving the pearl lying untouched on the ground—no one dared approach it, all wishing only to sprout wings and flee.

It was at this moment that the Black Dragon Society’s leader produced a low-grade talisman. Instantly, the talisman burst to life, summoning a gigantic flaming hand in midair.

“Perish!”

At his mental command, the flaming hand struck toward the Dark Demon Sect’s master, turning the sky a brilliant crimson. The master was taken aback; the fiery hand radiated an intense sense of danger.

“Break!”

His entire body surged with overwhelming demonic energy as he unleashed punch after punch against the flaming hand. In the end, the hand engulfed him and exploded, flames scattering in all directions, burning the land into countless scarlet points and incinerating countless weaker martial artists.

Yi Tian, however, slipped easily past the surging fire.

“You will die for this!”

When the flames finally faded, the master’s wretched form reappeared in the sky. His black robe was riddled with holes, his hair burned to a crisp, his skin charred black. The aloof, formidable air he once exuded was completely gone. He had underestimated his opponent.

Never had he imagined that the Black Dragon Society’s leader would possess such a powerful talisman. He’d believed that, as a half-demon, nothing could injure him; even talismans, he thought, could only unleash attacks equivalent to a human-stage master—nothing he could not handle. Yet reality had proven otherwise.

After all, his power had been forcefully elevated by the demon lord, and he had yet to truly master his abilities or the various human-stage combat skills. The force of those low-grade talismans was comparable to sixty or seventy percent of a genuine human-stage master’s attack—no wonder he struggled to withstand it.

“It seems I underestimated you,” the Dark Demon Sect’s master finally admitted, his demeanor turning serious. He was, after all, a genuine half-demon, the equal of a human-stage master—even if the weakest among them, still far beyond the threat of a mere low-grade talisman.

“Damn it!” The Black Dragon Society’s leader’s expression turned grim. He had not expected that his greatest trump card—the talisman—would inflict so little harm. If only he could unleash two, or even three, talismans at once, perhaps he could have slain the master by surprise. But for him, even activating one talisman demanded immense energy; there was simply no way to use two at once.

“Die!”

Now the master dispensed with any pretense of toying with his foe; murderous intent radiated from him. He descended to the ground, crossing dozens of yards in a breath, appearing before the Black Dragon Society’s leader.

Boom!

A punch blasted forth, the demon essence in his fist erupting with such force that faint cracks appeared in the very fabric of space. The leader mustered all his strength and slashed with his sword.

Clang...

The sword was knocked aside, fragments shattering from its edge. The leader was sent flying, blood gushing from his lips as he crashed to the ground, utterly unable to withstand the terrifying onslaught. Such was the power of a half-demon.

That he survived at all was a testament to his own strength—he was surely superior to most peak ninth-stage fighters, or he could never have withstood that punch.

Just as the master moved to finish him off, he caught sight of Yi Tian, calmly observing the battle, neither fleeing in terror nor attempting to seize the dragon pearl or join the fight. The master glanced at the great pearl lying a few hundred yards away, still untouched. Yi Tian had made no move for it.

What he failed to notice was that Yi Tian’s Stardust Clay clone, now transformed into an ordinary little snake, was stealthily creeping toward the dragon pearl. Yi Tian knew that if he tried to seize the pearl openly, it would bring endless trouble and disaster, putting his entire tribe at unprecedented risk. Therefore, he planned to let the Stardust Clay devour the pearl in secret, invisible to all.

Yi Tian’s actions aroused the master’s displeasure—and murderous intent. Abandoning his pursuit of the Black Dragon Society’s leader, he turned and charged toward Yi Tian.