“I am Bai Qingsong.
I once thought that the man before me—Ye Yu—was my worst nightmare. In his presence, I never dared lift my head. Even standing up was difficult; most of the time I remained kneeling. After all, I am the Demon Lord of an entire prefecture in the Demon Realm—did he think I had no pride? The answer was clear: I had no pride left! Pride wouldn’t keep me alive, but kneeling did, so I chose to kneel.
Yet today, Ye Yu suddenly asked if I wished to become Lord of the Demon Realm. In that moment, I hesitated. Becoming Demon Lord of the entire realm is surely every demon’s dream—mine included. But I am also realistic. Even if a powerhouse like Qu Zhengding perished, I would have no advantage before the other Demon Lords. To become Lord of the Demon Realm, I would have to deal with them all—and there was no guarantee I could.
When I voiced these concerns, Ye Yu replied offhandedly, “Then simply kill them all.” At the time I thought he was joking—but he wasn’t. He was ruthless. He had me contact each Demon Lord via the communication jade and then led me to eliminate them one by one. Before one was finished, the next target was already chosen. It was thrilling!
On the peaks of the Guyao Mountains, with a single punch from Ye Yu, the demon standing before him collapsed with a crash, veins of cracks running across his body like shattering glass. That was the fourth Demon Lord to fall by his hand. Counting heads, only three remained alive.
By rote, I removed each fallen Lord’s storage ring and presented it to Ye Yu. Though I gained nothing tangible, I felt indescribably pleased. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before all the other Demon Lords were exterminated. Then, who but me would claim the title Lord of the Demon Realm? The thought brought an unstoppable grin to my face.
I prepared to seek out the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» next Lord—but at that moment, I received a transmission from one of them.
“Old Bai, I’ve heard rumors: several Demon Lords have been slain by a mysterious figure. I suspect something’s wrong. I’ve gone into hiding—and you’d better do the same!”
I stamped my foot in anger. Hide? Why couldn’t he come out and die like a man? Of course, I couldn’t say that. I feigned shock: “What? Impossible! They’re so powerful—how could they fall? Tell me where you are and I’ll find you. We’ll be safer together!”
“Don’t come looking for me, and don’t ask where I am. I fear you’ll lead that mysterious killer to me. Goodbye!”
With that, the jade went dark.
Though furious, I had no better method to locate him. To maintain the pace, I contacted the other two remaining Lords—but their responses were equally disappointing. It seemed they had all agreed to hide—and refused to disclose their locations. They were on high alert. Infuriating!
Worried Ye Yu might grow impatient, I hurriedly reassured him: “Elder Brother, I’ll find them—I promise I won’t keep you waiting!” Then I picked up the jade to summon the next.
Half an hour passed before I admitted defeat. Some things—like tracking people, or solving complex sums—don’t go faster with haste. The three remaining Demon Lords were hidden so well that not even their closest subordinates knew their whereabouts. I was about to explode in frustration.
Ye Yu saw through my desire to become Lord of the Demon Realm and patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry. In the next few days, as long as they’re in the Celestial Realm, simply tell me their locations once you find them. I’ll push you into the seat.”
“Such great kindness. How can I ever repay you? From now on, I shall be your most loyal hound!”
In half a second, I had knelt and cupped my fists—muscle memory by now. I felt no shame; I was proud. Hua Tianjun couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up.
Ye Yu said no more. He tossed the jade pendant—fallen from Qu Zhengding’s body—to Hua Tianjun and recounted the false deity Hua Jiuming’s background.
“Are you saying that with this pendant alone we can summon him?” Hua Tianjun examined it carefully in his palm but saw nothing unusual.
“He’ll prove the truth of it,” Ye Yu replied.
Hua Tianjun nodded gravely and asked me to inject demonic energy to activate it. I looked to Ye Yu for permission; upon his nod, I channeled a trace of my energy into the pendant. It glowed instantly.
Hua Tianjun waited in silence for several breaths. Finally, he spoke: “It seems that worthless Qu Zhengding is already dead, yes?”
