“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”
Ye Yu, seeing Bai Qingsong about to make another over-the-top move, kicked him dozens of meters away before he could react.
Fortunately the hall was vast; otherwise the kick could not have sent him so far.
Several breaths later, Bai Qingsong regained consciousness and began to hack and cough violently.
“B–Big Brother, what are you doing? Cough cough cough!”
He reflected: Ye Yu felt far more like a demon than a cultivator, such strength was impossible for an immortal!
“I warn you, stay away from me. You’re not worthy to be near me. Damn bastard—who drags on their own belt like that?”
Ye Yu kept as much distance as possible, ready to slay demons at a moment’s notice. If Bai Qingsong had any other intent, Ye Yu wouldn’t hesitate to cut him down here and now.
“Big Brother, you’ve misunderstood. I pulled off my belt because all eighteen storage rings were hidden on its inner side. I only wanted to give them to you—all items looted from the Celestial Realm.”
Bai Qingsong raised his belt in both hands, unwilling to move a muscle. He had felt killing intent just now—any wrong move might cost him his life. His nerves were frayed.
Ye Yu examined the belt and indeed found many storage rings attached. Huh, returning Celestial Realm artifacts to a Celestial being—no harm in that.
With a wave of his sleeve, Ye Yu pocketed the rings and scolded, “Next time hide your stuff somewhere else. On a belt is too easy to misinterpret. Remember that!”
“I will, I will!”
Bai Qingsong nodded fervently, then whispered, “Big Brother, scouts report that Nie Wang’s rebel host may soon reach the Demon Lord’s Hall. Why don’t we go outside and kill him in front of all the demons?”
Bai Qingsong harbored his own small scheme. By striking Nie Wang in full view of the clansmen, he could prove he had not fled or abandoned them. And if a mysterious woman could appear, so could a mysterious man. Once Ye Yu slew both Nie Wang and his enforcer outside the hall, Bai Qingsong’s prestige would skyrocket and he would secure the Demon Throne. He could imagine Ye Yu regarding him as the ultimate loyal hound—just thinking of it made him giddy.
Ye Yu saw the roguish grin on Bai Qingsong’s face and knew this brat had naughty intentions. But whatever—since he had vowed to back him, he might as well see it through.
The two strode up onto the wall before the Demon Lord’s Hall. Seeing Bai Qingsong’s composed expression, the assembled demons felt reassured.
If the Demon Lord is not afraid, why should we be? Evil cannot triumph over justice!
Yet they wondered: who was this man standing by the Demon Lord? They had never seen him before. Without comparison, one could not appreciate how plain their lord looked next to this handsome stranger. Still, no one dared voice it.
At that moment, Chief Steward Jiao Tian’ao arrived quietly. Seeing Bai Qingsong make no move to dismiss him, he summoned courage to step forward.
“Demon Lord, Elder. Nie Wang’s rebel forces draw ever closer. In at most the time it takes one incense stick to burn, they will arrive. I have ordered our ranks to stand ready. Is there anything you wish to add?”
“No. Get lost—you’re blocking my good side, and I look best from this angle!”
Bai Qingsong sent Jiao Tian’ao a mental reprimand. The steward pouted in grievance but dared not linger.
Suddenly, a red light streaked down like a meteor and struck heavily before the hall. A middle-aged man in an ink-black robe appeared—it was Nie Wang himself!
Bai Qingsong spun to Jiao Tian’ao in disbelief. “Didn’t you say we had the time of one incense stick?”
“How was I to know he’d arrive early?” Jiao Tian’ao blurted, then bowed his head, embarrassed at his presumptuousness.
Nie Wang stood alone before the wall and called out, “Bai Qingsong, you coward—you actually stayed to fight? What a surprise! Now tell me, how do you plan to die this time?”
Bai Qingsong glanced at Ye Yu and felt emboldened. He clasped his hands behind his back and replied coldly, “Rebel Nie Wang, you are the shame of the Demon Realm. If not for you, the campaign to overthrow Heaven would have succeeded long ago! Though I lack talent, I swear to avenge our kind and slay you, this criminal!”
“Well said! Now let me see how you ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) intend to kill me!”
Nie Wang laughed arrogantly and swept out his sleeve. Yet the courtyard remained still. He narrowed his eyes and repeated the gesture. Still nothing stirred. Something was amiss—by the speed of his host, they should have arrived by now.
Sure enough, a clear voice sounded from the distance:
“Demon Lord Bai Qingsong, I am Li Changkong. To tell the truth, I despise you Demon Lords—you claim authority over a prefecture though your strength is nowhere near the highest. Were I not loath to weaken the Demon Realm’s overall might, I would have exterminated you all long ago. But this matter is different: you stood firm for right over wrong, and Nie Wang deserves ten thousand deaths! So my friend Sun Sun and I have come to block Nirvana Prefecture’s rebel host. As for Nie Wang, I leave him to you!”
All present froze. What was happening? Who were Li Changkong and Sun Sun? Alone, they had intercepted tens of thousands of demons—could they truly be that powerful?
Ye Yu’s expression shifted oddly. He had come to help, yet help had already arrived—and stolen his thunder.
Jiao Tian’ao, thrilled, stepped forward: “Demon Lord, we are saved! Li Changkong and Sun Sun have been renowned across the Demon Realm for hundreds of thousands of years. Ancient records list them as Demon Sovereign-realm masters. Some speculated they journeyed to the Divine Realm, yet here they stand. With their aid, we shall surely destroy Nirvana Prefecture’s rebels!”
