The people in line were stunned. Who was that young man? Was he really crazy?
Everyone felt it when Darian moved, a strong spiritual power in his attack, together with frightening spatial control. In that instant, they were sure he was a rare soul cultivator. This type of power was quite unusual and could affect even someone much stronger when they were caught off guard.
The leaders of each group of disciples belonged to the older generation. Their cultivation levels were, at the very least, at the late Celestial Sovereign Realm, the sixth cultivation realm. And yet that young man dared to attack such a terrifying demon!
Not even the three girls expected Darian to be bold enough to attack. As for Gildor and the Queens, they didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The only one with a satisfied smile was Minril; dragons really did share similar tastes, and they loved ferocity and dominance.
The person Darian attacked wasn't just any Elder, but precisely the leader of the Spiritual Demon Alliance.
He was thrown backward and, while spinning in the air, stars also spun before his eyes. He couldn't tell east from west, north from south.
When he finally recovered, the demonic leader extended his claw forward, with an aura of madness burning from his body. His entire figure was covered in pulsing black runes.
That was the core power of the Spiritual Demon race. They didn't have normal bodies, but something ethereal that could be greatly enhanced. Throughout their lives, they cultivated runes with pure Yin, fusing them into their bodies.
Besides Celestial Cultivation, they also had a kind of extra body cultivation that gave them tremendous power. Because of this, they were the greatest power among the middle-tier forces in the universe.
"Brat, you are courting death!"
"Senior, it wasn't me—!"
By a lucky coincidence, there was a man in red robes with a height similar to Darian standing in front of him. Seeing the demonic leader almost attack him, the man screamed in terror, nearly pissing himself in fear.
That demon was startled. He was facing the wrong direction, and he was still so dazed that he didn't even recognize the right person. Almost everyone watching burst out laughing.
When he realized he had chosen the wrong person and noticed the strange looks from everyone around, the demonic leader grew even more furious. He turned and saw Darian staring at him with a mocking expression. His eyes instantly became even redder.
However, just as he was about to attack, Gildor stepped forward and intervened, saying coldly:
"You should know who I am and understand my temper. I don't want to waste time with words. If you dare touch the disciples of my sect, you won't see the sun rise tomorrow."
Gildor stood there with an impassive gaze. But his words shocked countless young people in the line. Who was this person? He was so strong that he dared to say he would kill the leader of the Spiritual Demon Alliance.
They didn't recognize Gildor because they were young, but that old demon certainly did. Even though he was the leader of an organization many times larger, the power of Gildor and his wife was shocking.
The demonic leader became so furious that it looked like flames might burst from his body. As for the disciples behind him, they had already drawn their weapons.
"Both of you should stop before things go too far. This place is not your territory. If anyone at the Celestial Sovereign Realm or above starts fighting here, it will involve the young disciples. As a consequence, your disciples will lose the right to participate in the Celestial Tournament."
A voice echoed from inside the city. The disturbance had also caught their attention.
Hearing this, the demonic leader's rage turned into restrained fury. As for Darian...
"My younger sisters don't like you. As for me, I still haven't heard your apology!"
*BANG!*
The demonic leader had restrained his anger because of the warning and, not expecting an attack, was thrown into the air by Darian once again.
Before, everyone had only heard of Darian's attack. But this time, they witnessed it personally.
Everyone let out cries of shock. That old demon was shaken violently like a dead dog. On top of that, Darian's movements were almost supernatural in their speed.
"Darian…"
Not even Gildor expected Darian to do something like that. What was he thinking?
"Unacceptable!"
The demonic leader stood up and roared, a terrifying pressure emanating from him. Seeing this, everyone around hurriedly fled in fear. He looked like he had gone insane.
"Who gave you permission to shout like that out of nowhere?!"
While everyone else retreated, Darian smiled and stepped forward. Suddenly… he disappeared!
*BANG!*
Another violent strike hit the demonic leader's face. Darian's blow, using only his natural physique, was not something a mortal could endure without going all out.
"AH!"
The demonic leader's roar of pain left everyone stunned. He flew through the air, then rolled across the ground several times; when he finally stopped, his face was completely swollen and disfigured.
Meanwhile, Darian had an excited smile on his face. Only then did people notice that he was strangely clenching his fist; then a subtle glow appeared in his spatial ring.
When that old demon stood up and his entire power erupted, Darian calmly spoke:
"That Elder said no cultivator at the Celestial Sovereign Realm or above can attack. If you attack me, the disciples of your Spiritual Demon Alliance will lose the qualification to participate in the Celestial Tournament. Let me ask you: if I keep attacking you, do you still dare to fight back?"
He spoke and then gave a soft laugh. That laugh echoed in a sinister way, like that of an insane maniac, openly challenging someone far stronger to come beat him.
"You… pfft!" The demonic leader suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, not because he was injured, but out of pure anger. A wave of dizziness made him stagger. If the disciples behind him hadn't supported him, he might have fainted.
Faced with this situation, and the fact that he couldn't truly unleash all his power, he still hadn't noticed something very important that was wrong with his body.
The people around inhaled sharply. The grand master of the Spiritual Demon Alliance, a supreme expert capable of moving mountains and empty seas with a wave of his hand, had truly been enraged to this extent. What a pitiful sight.
"Brat, you're causing trouble. Although there's no explicit rule preventing disciples from attacking figures at the Celestial Sovereign Realm or above, if you don't control yourself, I can still cancel your qualifications for disturbing the peace." The elder's voice echoed once again from inside the city.
This tournament had its own rules, but those rules explicitly forbade disciples from fighting, and the powerful figures who led the groups from fighting each other, as well as attacking the disciples. Obviously, there was a history of conflicts, which was why these rules were created.
But… no rule forbade disciples from attacking those powerful figures of the older generation.
Throughout the history of the Celestial Tournament, no disciple had ever dared to do such a thing. But today, Darian had set the precedent. Since it was a precedent, that person could only receive a warning, without any real punishment.
"Is that so? I see. Thank you very much."
Darian replied politely, with a slight smile. In other words, things would end there.
That old demon had taken three punches for free. At that moment, the disciples who had come with Darian couldn't hold back their laughter.
"You attacked first. Apologize to the other side," said the elder's voice coming from the city.
"Apologize?"
Darian's gaze turned cold for a moment, but right after that, he smiled. He walked up to the leader of the Spiritual Demon Alliance and, when he stopped, he gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder.
"Kid, my apologies. But you can't blame me. Who told you to have such a filthy mouth that keeps spouting bullshit? You scared my three younger sisters. That's why you should take this lesson seriously and brush your teeth properly. Wash your heart and renew your face. Become a new person. After all, you're still young and have a long road ahead of you. Every loss you suffer is actually a gain in wisdom, and that's good for you. But there's no need to thank me. After all, this is the tireless and sacred mission of an Elder…"
That demon's blood was boiling in his veins. Finally, Darian's apology made that blood rush to his head and his energies spin chaotically through his body.
"!"
At that moment, his eyes bulged. He noticed something very wrong with his body. But… it was too late. He then coughed up a mouthful of blood and fainted.
The people around stared at Darian in silence, stunned. Where did this person come from to be this shameless? He dared to punch the face of a terrifyingly powerful ancient demon, and even made him faint from anger?
"Say your name! I challenge you to a battle to the death!" one of the disciples of the Spiritual Demon Alliance roared, with demonic light and pulsing Yin runes erupting from his body.
Darian smiled indifferently. He walked up to him with an air of superiority and tilted his head, looking him up and down.
"My name is Darian. I'm from the Golden Crow Sect, but I'm also an honorary disciple of the Bakunawa Abyssal Triarchy. If anyone wants to fight and die right now, I don't mind. In fact, anyone who wants to, please form groups and come together; it'll save me a lot of time."
Darian had completely changed compared to his earlier discreet behavior. Gildor and the three Queens were perplexed. Was that really the Darian they knew?
"Crazy idiot! Just because you're a soul cultivator, you think you're invincible?!"
"Be careful not to ruin yourself chasing fame!"
"Hahaha, what a stupid, arrogant fool!"
Before the members of the Spiritual Demon Alliance could even speak, people in the crowd began mocking Darian's words.
If it weren't for the rules, they probably would have already attacked.
After all, every single person there was an exceptional genius in their own right. Who didn't have a bit of arrogance? None of them considered themselves inferior, so Darian had essentially challenged everyone.
"You think this is arrogance? What a trivial thing. Don't worry. Soon enough, I'll show you what real arrogance looks like," Darian said, his disdainful gaze sweeping across the crowd.
At first, Darian had only been pretending to be arrogant on purpose, to make the young people he brought along feel more relaxed. But now, he discovered that acting this way was actually refreshing.
"Man, I spent all this time watching others act arrogantly. Finally, it's my turn." Darian muttered, understanding why there were so many Young Masters in the world.
"Big brother is powerful and domineering!"
The three girls spoke almost in unison, respectfully, but with amused smiles on their faces.
Everyone in the line looked at Darian with contempt and responded with all sorts of provocative gestures and expressions. However, Darian simply continued to look down on them, driving them crazy.
At one point, Vymara couldn't help but ask why he was acting so arrogantly. Darian answered calmly:
"My motto in life is to never bully the weak. But I do have to bully the strong. And look at that, there are so many strong people here. If I don't bully them now, then why am I even alive?"
Countless sharp gazes stabbed into him. If looks could kill, he would have already turned to dust long ago.
As for the people he brought with him, they were speechless. But thinking about it carefully, Darian had never shown arrogance toward them. However, here he seemed to be losing control. It was as if he wanted to challenge all the geniuses of the universe by himself. It was as if he felt that this world couldn't contain him.
Darian ignored everything and continued standing in line. Those demons clearly didn't dare attack and lose the chance to participate in the Celestial Tournament.
At that moment, the mood of the 87 disciples was completely different from when they arrived. If Darian could act so boldly, what were they afraid of? Everyone started chatting and laughing, as if they were in their own territories.
However, while they laughed, the others stared at Darian with anger. The veins on their foreheads were throbbing.
"This young man…"
The three Queens didn't know what Darian was doing. But with the knowledge they had of him, they knew he had his own objectives.
