Has My Reputation Spread to the Demon Clan

Seventy-two auxiliary peaks trembled simultaneously, countless array patterns shattered, and the foundation of the mountain-protecting grand array let out a mournful wail.

The grand array that the Kunlun Sect had maintained for ten thousand years could not even withstand three breaths against this single hand.

Jiang Tianchen's face was as pale as paper.

As a half-step Martial God, he could sense the cultivation of the hand's owner—a Demon God. This was not someone who had just entered the Martial God realm like Jiang Cangyun, but someone at the mid-stage of the Martial God realm, or perhaps even higher. And there was more than one. In the black rift, the hand slowly retracted, replaced by five figures.

The five figures walked out from the rift and stood above Tianxu Peak, looking down condescendingly at the thirty thousand cultivators on the white jade plaza.

In the center was a middle-aged man wearing a dark green robe. His face was so handsome it seemed inhuman, and his eyes had vertical slits with ghostly green flames burning within his pupils. He did not exude any demonic aura, yet just by standing there, the spiritual energy of the entire Tianxu Peak seemed to shy away from him, as if encountering a natural predator.

Behind him stood four figures.

The first on the left was a giant standing thirty feet tall. His skin was dark cyan, his muscles knotted like the twisted roots of an old tree, his eyes were scarlet, and two tusks curved upward from the corners of his mouth.

The second was a woman draped in white feathers. She was extremely beautiful, but her eyes were pure black without pupils, looking like two bottomless dry wells.

The third was a gaunt old man with a hunched back and his hands tucked into his sleeves. The wrinkles on his face were deep enough to pinch a pair of chopsticks, but the demonic aura radiating from him was even more sinister and cold than the previous two.

The fourth was a young-looking man dressed in red. He had a wicked charm, a cynical smile hung on his lips, and he toyed with a folding fan made of white bone in his hand.

Five figures, five auras of Demon Gods.

Amidst the deathly silence of thirty thousand people, the entire Tianxu Peak was as quiet as a grave.

Wang Hao leaned back in his cyan jade chair, crossed his legs, and peeled another Fire Spirit Fruit.

"Elder Wu Gu," he said slowly, "didn't you just ask what I meant? This is what I meant."

Wu Gu's lips trembled. He had lived for three hundred years and had seen many powerful experts of the demon race, but he had never witnessed a scene where five Demon Gods descended at the same time. Any single existence of this caliber could flatten the thirty-six nations of the Southern Border, and now five had appeared together—

"Your, Your Majesty." Wu Gu's voice was a bit dry. "Did you already know about this?"

Wang Hao smiled but did not speak.

Of course he had known all along.

Last night, when the system's check-in intelligence refreshed, he obtained two key pieces of information. The first: the five great Demon Gods of the demon race would descend on the day the Kunlun Mystic Realm opened, using force to compel the Sixteen Holy Lands into opening the realm to the prodigies of the demon race. The second: the sect masters of the Sixteen Holy Lands were conspiring to make a move against the Ten Great Prodigies of the Eastern Wasteland inside the Kunlun Mystic Realm, intending for them to suffer an accidental fall.

Combining these two pieces of intelligence, a complete chessboard formed in Wang Hao's mind. The Sixteen Holy Lands wanted to kill his people in the mystic realm, and the demon race wanted a piece of the pie in the mystic realm. Both sides harbored ulterior motives, and he, Wang Hao, happened to be caught right in the middle.

This position was very dangerous, but also very interesting.

Therefore, he stayed up late last night to do two things. First, he had Wang Wudi lead fifteen Air-Walking Realm ancestors and an army of seven hundred thousand to retreat toward the Reception City. With the demon race arriving, the Sixteen Holy Lands would definitely push the armies of the four regions forward as cannon fodder. His soldiers were not meant to be meat shields for the Central State. Second, he called all the Ten Great Prodigies of the Eastern Wasteland into his tent and held a special training session on how to scheme against people in the mystic realm. The training covered thirty-two practical skills, including poisoning, sneak attacks, setting traps, shifting blame, framing, baiting, and sowing discord, with each skill accompanied by real combat case studies.

After listening to the training, Xiao Chen remained silent for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, and then said one sentence: "Your Majesty, I feel that my cultivation still needs refinement. But I feel that my path of scheming against others needs even more refinement."

Ye Guyun rarely spoke up, but he said, "Your Majesty, are you sure you are the Emperor of the Great Zhou, and not the biggest underworld boss in the Great Zhou?"

Wang Hao had laughed out loud at the time, patting Ye Guyun on the shoulder and saying, "Sword cultivators and the underworld are essentially the same—they both make others die so they can live. The only difference is that sword cultivators use swords, while the underworld uses cunning. My Ten Great Prodigies must know how to use swords, but also how to use cunning. Only by mastering both the sword and the mind can one be truly invincible."

At this moment, high above Tianxu Peak, the Demon God wearing the dark green robe spoke.

His voice was not loud, yet it exploded like thunder in everyone's ears. "I am one of the Twelve Great Holy Kings of the demon race, the master of the Dragon Emperor Hall—Holy King Canglong. Today, I have brought four of my fellow Demon Gods here solely to discuss one matter with the Sixteen Holy Lands of the Central State."

He paused, a playful smile flashing in his vertical pupils.

"For the Kunlun Mystic Realm, our demon race also wishes to send a few children inside to broaden their horizons. I wonder what the sect masters think of this?"

Jiang Tianchen took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the shock in his heart, and said in a deep voice, "Holy King Canglong, the Kunlun Mystic Realm was left behind by a human Martial God ten thousand years ago, and it has always been open only to the human race. It is unreasonable for the demon race to enter."

"Unreasonable?" Holy King Canglong smiled. "Sect Master Jiang, your choice of words is too refined. Let me use a different term—your fists aren't hard enough. The Sixteen Holy Lands of the Central State have suppressed the four regions and monopolized providence for ten thousand years. Did you rely on reason? You relied on your fists. Today, the five of us Demon Gods stand at the peak of Mount Kunlun, and what we are discussing with you is not reason, but fists."

He extended a finger, pointing at the shattered Ten Thousand Dragons Demon Suppression Array beneath his feet.

"Is this reason hard enough?"

Jiang Tianchen's face turned purple. Behind him, the expressions of the other fifteen sect masters were equally ugly. They had ruled the Central State for ten thousand years and had always been the ones using their fists to reason with others. Today, however, someone else was pointing fists at their noses to reason with them. This feeling was ten times worse than yesterday when Wang Hao pointed at their noses and cursed them on the white jade plaza. After all, no matter how arrogant Wang Hao was, he was still human, whereas the person before them was a demon.

Right at this moment, a voice rang out from the cyan jade seats on the third tier.

"Holy King Canglong, is it? I have a suggestion, do you want to hear it?"

Everyone's gazes simultaneously turned toward Wang Hao.

Wang Hao was still sitting with his legs crossed, peeling a new Fire Spirit Fruit in his hands, wearing that smile that made people want to punch him but unable to do so. He cupped his hands toward Holy King Canglong, his tone as relaxed as if he were haggling with a vendor in a vegetable market.

"It's not easy for the five of you Demon Gods to travel all this way, covered in dust from the journey. It's also not easy for the sect masters of the Sixteen Holy Lands to stubbornly guard their ancestral rules. We all have it rough, so why resort to killing and fighting? Let's sit down and talk."

Holy King Canglong looked at the young emperor with great interest. "You are that Wang Hao from the Eastern Wasteland?"

"That is indeed me. It seems my reputation has already reached the demon race?"

"The person who killed Night Fiend in the Eastern Wasteland and injured Jiang Cangyun with a single sword strike in the Central State would find it hard not to be famous." A trace of scrutiny flashed through Holy King Canglong's vertical pupils. "What is your suggestion?"

Wang Hao popped the Fire Spirit Fruit into his mouth, chewed twice, swallowed, and then pointed at the high platform of the Sixteen Holy Lands.

My suggestion is very simple. You demons want ten spots, and the Central State does not want to give them, so let us all take a step back. The Demon Race can send ten supreme talents into the secret realm, but deduct those spots from the sixteen sacred lands' quota. Do not touch ours from the Four Regions. After all, our Four Regions have few spots to begin with; if you deduct more, we will have none left.

As soon as these words came out, the sixteen sect masters collectively lost their minds.

Jiang Tianchen shouted angrily, Wang Hao! Are you even human? You are turning against your own kind!

Turning against my own kind? Wang Hao looked innocent. Sect Master Jiang, I do not like hearing that. It is true that the Demon Race are outsiders, but when did your sixteen sacred lands ever treat the Four Regions as your own? When you cut down the Eastern Wasteland's destiny, why did you not say you were turning against your own kind? When you wanted us from the Four Regions to act as cannon fodder to resist the ominous entities, why did you not say you were turning against your own kind?

He stood up, brushed some fruit peel crumbs off his cuffs, his smile still as bright as ever.

I am a very fair person. Whoever treats me well, I treat well. Whoever schemes against me, I will not just sit around waiting. The Demon Race came today to cause trouble for your sixteen sacred lands, not me. Why should I take a knife for you? The sect masters of your sixteen sacred lands all have profound cultivation. If you want to fight, fight yourselves. I will cheer for you from the back.

After speaking, he actually sat back down, crossed his legs, and peeled another fire spirit fruit.

The entire venue fell dead silent.

Then, someone laughed.

It was not just one person; it was a whole group. Elder Wu Gu from the Southern Border was the first to lose control, laughing so hard he was rocking back and forth. Zen Master Du'e from the Western Frontier lowered his head, his shoulders twitching. Tuoba Xiong from the Northern Region laughed out loud directly, the sound like a bear rolling around. Hundreds of representatives from the Four Regions laughed until tears came to their eyes. The laughter echoed across the peak of Tianxu Mountain, mixing with the demonic aura of the five Demon Gods, creating an incredibly absurd atmosphere.

Holy King Canglong laughed as well.

His laughter was louder than anyone else's, shaking the floor tiles of the white jade plaza.

Good! What a Wang Hao! I have lived for three thousand six hundred years, and I have never met anyone like you. He stopped laughing, the playfulness in his vertical pupils turning into seriousness. I will consider your suggestion. But before that...

He turned his head to look at the high platform of the sixteen sacred lands, his tone suddenly turning cold.

Jiang Tianchen, I will give you the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Either agree, or I will trample the seventy-two peaks of the Kunlun Mountains flat one by one. Choose for yourself.

Cold sweat seeped from Jiang Tianchen's forehead.

He was the sect master of the Tianque Sacred Land, a half-step Martial God, and a top-tier figure who had held power in the Central State for hundreds of years. But facing the simultaneous pressure of five Demon Gods, he felt powerless for the first time. Jiang Cangyun was in closed-door cultivation again, and the other Martial Gods of the sixteen sacred lands were either wandering outside or in a deep slumber, unable to rush back in a short time. And every one of the five Demon Gods before him had the strength to crush him.

He needed time. He needed to drag this out until reinforcements arrived.

Holy King Canglong, Jiang Tianchen said through gritted teeth. This matter is of great importance and cannot be decided by me alone. Please allow the sixteen sacred lands to discuss it together...

One stick of incense, Holy King Canglong interrupted him. The countdown starts now.

With a sweep of his large sleeve, a cyan incense stick appeared out of thin air above Tianxu Peak. The tip of the incense ignited with a dark green flame and began to burn slowly.

Jiang Tianchen turned around and urgently discussed with the other fifteen sect masters. The content of the discussion was very simple: What should they do?

We must awaken the slumbering Martial Gods, Perfected Crimson Flame said in a low voice. Even if we have to pay a price, we must awaken them.

Li Tianxing gritted his teeth. The price of awakening a Martial God is too great. Every Martial God slumbers to extend their lifespan. Forcibly awakening them will cost at least a hundred years of their life...

If we do not awaken them, we will all die today, Su Muzhe said coldly. Do you want them to lose their lifespan, or do you want to lose your life?

No one spoke anymore.

The sixteen sect masters simultaneously crushed the emergency communication talismans of their respective sacred lands. Those were talismans that could only be used when the sacred lands were on the brink of destruction. Once crushed, no matter where the Martial Gods were or what they were doing, they had to respond immediately.

Three breaths later, a long, drawn-out vibration came from deep underground beneath Tianxu Peak.

That vibration was not an earthquake; it was the rhythm of a slumbering heart starting to beat again.

After another three breaths, a second heartbeat came from deep within the main vein of the Kunlun Mountains.

Two auras of Martial Gods awakened from the depths of the earth, like two giant dragons raising their heads from the abyss, their auras shooting straight into the clouds. The demonic clouds above Tianxu Peak were actually dispersed by a third upon clashing with these two auras.

Holy King Canglong raised an eyebrow, a playful smile appearing on his lips. Interesting. Jiang Cangyun is injured, the others are traveling far away, yet these two old things are actually willing to climb out of their coffins. It seems your Central State is truly backed into a corner.

The four Demon Gods behind him took a step forward simultaneously, their demonic auras surging. The auras of five Demon Gods and two Martial Gods collided in midair, forcibly tearing the sky above Tianxu Peak in half—one half golden, the other half dark green.