Give Him a Slap

Ye Chuan casually handed him a pair of chopsticks and asked in passing,

"Seeing as you travel around a lot, you must be pretty familiar with this continent, right? With the demons running rampant lately, aren't you afraid of getting robbed on the road?"

"Demons are quite cruel, after all."

"Oh?" Kassiel took the chopsticks, his fingertips pausing slightly before he calmly picked up a piece of tender, boiled fatty beef and placed it in his mouth.

The spicy and savory aroma exploded on the tip of his tongue. His eyes lit up, and he spoke with a smile,

"Afraid... Now that the demons control vast areas of the continent, divided among the Eight Great Demon Lords, each governing their own territory—the Hellfire Demon Lord of the West, the Frost Demon Lord of the North, the Corrupt Heart Demon Lord of the South... Every single one of them is a notorious figure."

He slowly listed off a string of Demon Lords' names.

Yet he made no mention of who controlled the eastern occupied zone. Finally, he added,

"Hehehe, having traveled for many years, I've picked up some means to protect myself. Though these Demon Lords are strong, they cannot stop my footsteps. Human things, on the other hand, are truly fascinating."

He picked up a piece of green vegetable, a hint of amusement flashing in his emerald eyes.

"Whether it's people or food, they always give me a sense of novelty. Unlike the things in the abyss, which have tasted the same for thousands of years. It's incredibly boring."

As soon as he said this, the chopsticks in Kalisia's hands suddenly fell to the ground with a clatter.

The little girl's face instantly turned as pale as paper. The terms Eight Great Demon Lords and Kassiel echoed repeatedly in her mind.

She remembered. She remembered everything.

The supreme ruler of the eastern occupied zone, holding three great authorities of the Demon King, ranked third among the Eight Great Demon Lords—his name was exactly Kassiel!

He shared the same name as the man right in front of her!

"You... You are Kassiel, one of the Eight Demon Lords?!" Kalisia stood up abruptly, stumbling back two steps. Pointing at Kassiel, her voice trembled uncontrollably.

"The Demon Lord of the eastern occupied zone?!"

Having his identity exposed... No, strictly speaking, he never intended to hide it at all. At this moment, Kassiel put down his chopsticks, picked up a napkin, and slowly wiped the corners of his mouth.

He still wore a gentle smile on his face, but that smile was now laced with a biting coldness.

Despite his appearance as a noble young master, it was hard to connect him with the infamous Eight Demon Lords.

"Ah, yes. I forgot to tell you two," he spoke slowly, his gaze sweeping past the deathly pale Kalisia before finally landing on Ye Chuan.

"This entire eastern occupied zone is under my jurisdiction. I am Kassiel, ranked third among the Eight Great Demon Lords."

He waited to see Ye Chuan panic and go on high alert.

After all, even the Pope of the Church of Light would exercise extreme caution upon hearing his name, let alone an unknown human mage.

But as a result, Ye Chuan had absolutely no reaction.

He simply picked up a mouthful of chewy hotpot noodles, sprinkled a packet of spicy chicken noodle seasoning over them, and slowly slurped them up.

It was as if the person sitting across from him wasn't a Demon Lord holding the power of life and death, but just an ordinary passerby sharing a table.

Let alone being afraid, he didn't even bat an eyelid.

The smile on Kassiel's face instantly froze. A thick flash of astonishment crossed his emerald eyes. Raising an eyebrow, he asked,

"Oh? Your Excellency hears my identity and isn't afraid at all?"

Not afraid of me?

Are you really not afraid of me?

That can't be right, can it?

Ye Chuan swallowed the noodles in his mouth and glanced up at him. "Afraid of what? You're just a slightly larger ant."

"We have an old saying where I come from: eat a hearty last meal before hitting the road. This hotpot isn't even finished yet, what's the rush?"

A last meal?

The gentle smile on Kassiel's face vanished without a trace.

He finally realized that this man in front of him had recognized his identity the moment he walked in!

It wasn't that he hadn't noticed his identity; he simply didn't take this Demon Lord seriously at all!

"Interesting. Truly fascinating."

"You humans are just too amusing! Hahahaha!"

Kassiel let out a low chuckle. The magical power around him instantly surged. His originally elegant aristocratic temperament was instantly replaced by a piercing coldness and brutality.

"This is the first time I've met a human who dares to speak to me like this. You are even more arrogant than I imagined."

Before his voice faded, he raised his hand toward Ye Chuan. A pitch-black magic cannon instantly coalesced in his palm, and terrifying magical power exploded in a flash!

"Boom!!!"

A deafening roar echoed throughout the entire desert!

The pitch-black magical power swept out like an out-of-control tsunami. Hard rocks were instantly crushed into powder by the shockwave, and the entire valley beneath their feet was completely leveled to the ground by this apocalyptic strike!

Dust and rubble filled the sky, blocking out the sun.

Kalisia screamed in terror, instinctively closing her eyes and covering her ears tightly.

...

Thick smoke rolled out, leaving a massive crater hundreds of miles wide and deep in its place.

Kassiel stood amidst the dust-filled sky, patting the dirt off his robes, a cruel sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

"I thought you had some great ability, but it turns out you're nothing more than this," Kassiel said slowly.

"The human who dares to be arrogant in front of me hasn't been born yet."

Before he could finish his sentence, his voice abruptly stopped.

The thick dust in the sky slowly dispersed, and the sight before him made the smile on his face freeze instantly, his pupils contracting sharply.

Where everything should have been completely leveled, a faint black barrier stood steadily in place, unmoving, without a single crack.

Inside the barrier, the iron pot was still floating steadily over the magical flames. The red oil was still bubbling, the rich, spicy aroma hadn't dissipated in the slightest, and even the ingredients in the pot were still bobbing up and down.

Ye Chuan sat in his original spot, his chopsticks still holding a bunch of freshly scooped noodles, slowly slurping them. Not a single strand of his hair was out of place.

Beside him, although Kalisia was pale with fright, she was completely unharmed, merely hiding behind the barrier and looking at him in horror.

Let alone hurting Ye Chuan in the slightest, he hadn't even managed to make the hotpot cool down a fraction.

The smile on Kassiel's face completely disappeared, and for the first time, an extreme solemnity appeared in his emerald eyes.

His strike just now was something even the Pope of Light would have to fully activate a holy relic to block.

Yet this man before him hadn't even moved, casually blocking it with a barrier set up on a whim?

It seemed he did indeed possess the capital to be arrogant. This was the first time Kassiel had seen such a powerful human mage.

"Interesting. It seems I underestimated you." Kassiel took a deep breath, the demonic aura around him growing denser as the aura of the three great Demon King authorities slowly surfaced.

"However, the more formidable the toy, the more fun it is to play with, isn't it?"

This was an authority bestowed personally by the Demon King, capable of absolute control over any existence with lower magical power than himself!

Since the day he obtained this Authority, it had never failed him. In this fallen eastern zone, apart from the Demon King himself, no one was immune to it!

He could already foresee the sight of the man before him instantly falling under his control, reduced to a mere marionette in his hands.

But the next second, the scene he anticipated did not occur.

Ye Chuan remained seated there without much movement, simply continuing to eat his noodles. It almost felt like he was giving him the silent treatment.

The Authority... failed?!

Kassiel instantly froze in place. The crazed smile on his face completely vanished, replaced by unbelievable shock.

This is impossible!

"No wonder you are so fearless. So you are carrying a holy relic capable of resisting the Demon King's Authority?" Kassiel stared fixedly at Ye Chuan, but soon, he revealed a look of disdain.

"How many times can your holy relic resist my Authority?"

"Oh?" Ye Chuan finally put down his chopsticks.

"Is there a possibility that I don't have any holy relic, and simply put, my magic power is just higher than yours?"

"Hahahaha!" Kassiel burst into loud laughter, as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world.

"Your magic power is higher than mine? Do you know that my second greatest Authority is that my own magic capacity is more than five times that of anyone at the same tier! In the entire continent of Aether, other than His Majesty the Demon King, no one's magic energy can surpass mine!"

"Even the Pope wouldn't dare face me. What makes you think you can?!"

His laughter was still echoing in the air when Ye Chuan slowly raised his hand.

The next second, a terrifyingly extreme magic power erupted from Ye Chuan's body and shot into the sky like a tsunami!

The moment this magic power was released, the entire earth instantly began to tremble violently, and the dark purple canopy in the sky was forcibly torn apart!

The demonic aura spanning thousands of miles around melted away instantly in the face of this power, like snow meeting a blazing sun!

Kassiel's laughter came to an abrupt halt.

He froze in place, his body trembling uncontrollably. His legs gave way, and he was actually forced to his knees with a heavy thud, crushed by the terrifying pressure of this magic power!

His proud magic capacity, five times that of his peers, was like a single drop of water merging into a boundless ocean when faced with Ye Chuan's endless, abyss-like magic power! It couldn't even stir up a single ripple!

"No... impossible... this is impossible!!"

"What is this?!"

"What kind of magic power is this? How could you have such a massive amount of magic power?!!!!"

Kassiel looked up, his green eyes bloodshot, and his voice trembling madly.

"This power... how is it possible?! Even His Majesty the Demon King... couldn't possibly have such terrifying magic power! Just who the hell are you?!"

Ye Chuan continued to look at him calmly. After a moment, he simply let out a contemptuous smile and then said to Kalisia beside him,

"Go ahead, Kali. Give him a slap."