A Demon's Path Chapter 81

Yang Chao who reached the top 10 in the newcomers tournament was also a valiant individual on the battlefield. He sulked in regret over losing to Ling Xiao's crafty plots and machinations for most of the newcomers tournament. But that changed when he watched the final match. Even Li Yuanchong lost to Ling Xiao! Only then did he understand the true disparity of power between them. He hardened his resolve and focused his thoughts solely on tempering himself during this excursion, so as to shrink the gap with Ling Xiao as much as possible.

It was worth noting that his dual whips were second only to Li Yuanchong in terms of how eye-catching they were. Yang Chao's dual whips danced about freely, sending out shadows bearing the power of his orange soulforce. They resembled ropes which he lassoed around the necks of all those who opposed him. Those demonic beasts would breathe their last breath when he pulled on the whips.

"Open!" Yang Chao ferociously shouted out. The ground around him exploded. Bloody flowers exploded from the demonic beasts by his side.

There was another newcomer on the battlefield who was performing especially well. That was Guan Chui, the lucky youngster who had obtained sixth place. His hammer whistled with power as he rapidly spun it over his head. He sent the demonic beasts near him flying, breaking their bones and muscles.

Finally, the last of the most dazzling fighters on the battlefield was none other than Zheng Hao. He was, of course, the Crazy Rat. Even the demonic beasts were somewhat afraid of him as they saw the crazy fighting style he adopted. His choice of weapon was a pair of gloves. He got up and personal with the demonic beasts. They violently surged toward him like a tide, while he met them with open arms. Bang! Poof! Pow! Boom! A series of rapid fire fist shadows flew out. Zheng Hao sent tens of demonic beast corpses flying like bullets from a gun without suffering a scratch.

"Awesome! We've got ourselves a batch of violent people!" Ling Xiao clicked his tongue in praise. But that was all. He didn't have the slightest intention of partaking in this battle. Since they were having such a jolly time fighting, he let them be. He wasn't going to steal their show! Besides, he was still injured and moving about would be inconvenient. Standing here atop the city walls and being a spectator to their fight, that was giving them face enough, wasn't it?

Liu Xintang repeatedly nodded in approval of the situation at hand. The newcomers this year were much stronger than last year's batch. His Celestial Soul Masters would normally protect the newcomers in previous years, but the reverse was true this time.

The Celestial Soul Masters employed by Seadragon City were driven by their elevated spirits. Their morale surged and in a short moment, so did their combat strength. They were so aggressive that the demonic beasts retreated in defeat, crawling back into the sea.

"Don't chase after them!" Liu Xintang quickly ordered. They regrouped immediately and returned to the city, although they were yearning for more.

"The Celestial Soul Ward doesn't extend to the sea. It's too dangerous to rush outside," Liu Xintang explained.

Everyone understood the reasoning. That didn't mean, however, they were happy with it. They craved battle, yet this battle did nothing to quell their insatiable hunger.

"Alright. Let's prepare the corpses for a proper burial," Liu Xintang issued his order. The Celestial Soul Masters jumped back down the city walls and started cleaning up the corpses of their comrades.

Ling Xiao was staring blankly at the scene before him. He asked with slight curiosity, "Castellan Liu, didn't you say we humans are food for demonic beasts? How come they left the corpses behind this time?"

"Oh. There are times when they suffer such tragic losses they don't have the time to take the corpses back with them. It's normal."

"Is that so?" Ling Xiao watched as the corpses were carried back into the city, a hint of unease nagging at the back of his mind.

Bang! Bang! Sounds of corpses exploding suddenly resounded over the beach. Blood-curdling shrieks were heard next as Celestial Soul Masters dropped to the ground left and right. Their bodies were covered in blood and their skin and bones were rapidly corroding and rotting away!

"Fuck! There's Corpse Blood Poison here too!" Ling Xiao did have his good points. He always compounded antidotes to dispel a large variety of poisons and prepared large amounts of them in the event they were needed. Right now was exactly such a time.

Ling Xiao immediately jumped down the wall when he saw that the Celestial Soul Masters were poisoned by Corpse Blood Poison. He sprinkled some medicinal powder over their injuries and instructed, "Don't scratch it. It'll get better in a little while! The rest of you, don't touch the corpses of the demonic beasts!"

Thankfully, Ling Xiao was nearby. If not, there would be several dozen more corpses as a result of the Corpse Blood Poison.

After taking care of those infected, Ling Xiao sprinkled medicinal powder over the beach where the corpses of demonic beasts lay scattered about. The threat was neutralized. Even if these corpses wanted to explode, they simply couldn't.

Seeing the vast amount of medicine Ling Xiao used without reserve, everyone couldn't help but wonder, Has he brought all the medicine of the Sunken Wind Valley with him? They simply couldn't wrap their heads around it. Never before had they seen someone sprinkling medicinal powder as though they didn't need money to buy it.

Only Ling Xiao knew it was going to be an extremely difficult task for him to use up all the gems and medicinal ingredients Ancestor Qi Mo left him.

Liu Xintang looked pensively at Liu Yue. "Yue'er, do you still think Elder Ling is nowhere near as good as he's made out to be?"

Liu Yue was awfully ashamed of himself. "Elder Ling is right. Your child really shouldn't judge people by their appearances alone."

Like a father proud of his son, Liu Xintang seemed gratified. He smiled and said, "You should learn from Elder Ling more in the future."

After he dealt with everything, Ling Xiao lengthily breathed out. Finally, it seemed like this war had temporarily come to an end. He still, however, felt something nagging at the back of his mind. It was as though something was amiss. He just couldn't figure out what it was.

…

Far off across the sea, a girl named Qin was standing barefoot on a small blue whale. She was watching Ling Xiao and the rest clean up the beach. Next to her, floating above the water's surface, was a man wearing a green mask. It was none other than Elder Qing from the Seven Devils Cult!

"That boy really does give one a headache, hehe." Elder Qing's laughter was filled with a faint air of refinement. It was ill-matched with his terrifying green mask.

Qin disdainfully glared at Elder Qing. "Well, I'll say. No matter how cunning he is, he still can't see through your plans. Isn't that right?"

"You can't say that for sure," Elder Qing said with a smile. "Even the cunning Hua Que fell to his death in that boy's hands. I wouldn't dare to have any contemptuous thoughts against him. After all, I too, like Hua Que, am only a blue ranked Chain Soul Master!"

"That boy heavily relies on his treacherous plotting and shameless disposition. His true abilities don't extend past having a slightly above average mental strength. Ao is a musclehead. Only an idiot like him would try and fight that guy with his mental strength alone." Qin clearly looked down on her comrade who'd previously gotten injured.

"Whether he is a donkey, a horse, a dragon, or a worm, the result will become apparent tonight," Qin slowly said. "He never was our match, nor will he ever be. This is something I firmly believe in. Especially so since we formed an alliance between the Demonic Clan and the Seven Devils Cult."

Elder Qing sinisterly chuckled. "Maiden Qin, there's nothing more of interest to see here. Let's return to your Melodious Pavilion."

…

A luxurious palace stood within a concealed area on Myriad Demon Island. Tang Yingying was dressed in splendid clothings from head to toe. She was restlessly pacing back and forth on a luxurious carpet in the middle of the palace. She was so anxious it looked like she was about to cry.

The woman clad in red was leisurely sitting on a chair placed right in the center of the palace. She had a sneer on her face as she watched her daughter behave like a cat on a hot tin roof.

Tang Yingying finally couldn't stop herself from imploring, "Mother, let me see Elder Brother Xiao. Let me warn him, so he can leave that place as soon as possible!"

Her mother looked at her with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Oh? Are you anxious? So much so you're even beseeching me? You're not going to run away this time?"

Tang Yingying's eyes were red. Her tears were like dewdrops forming on a lotus leaf at dawn. They were about to roll down her fair cheeks. "Mother, I've already admitted my wrongdoings. Is that not enough? I beg you. Let me see Elder Brother Xiao! Please, I'm begging you!"

The woman's expression didn't change, still ever cold. "Little Ying, didn't you go and see him only yesterday? Didn't you hear his answer? He's not going to sacrifice himself for you. He's not your fated person!"

Tang Yingying silently shed a tear. "You don't understand Elder Brother Xiao. You don't understand… you don't understand what Elder Brother Xiao's biggest dream is…"

"Cease your talks of dreams!" Her mother's anger flared up when she heard the word dream. "Men only use such flowery language to trick women! Please, you're a demon. And already hundreds of years old at that. How can you fail to see through such a ruse?!"

"Master, Ao requests an audience with you," a servant girl interrupted the mother-daughter pair as she walked in with small quick steps. If mortal men were to lay their eyes on her, their imagination would run wild and they'd forget all about themselves.

But this was the woman in red's territory. Those who knew who she was wouldn't dare to have improper thoughts about her servant.

"Bring him in," ordered the woman in red slowly.

"Yes." The servant took her leave. Soon, the muscular boy entered. He was the person who suffered Ling Xiao's mental attack to the point his complexion was deathly pale. Ao respectfully kowtowed toward the woman. "This subordinate pays his respects to the Demon Lord."

Chapter end