A Demon's Path Chapter 82

Ao appeared to be half dead and devoid of life. Seeing this, the Demon Lord coldly smiled. "You can't even handle a red ranked Celestial Soul Master. Ao, you certainly do all green ranked demonic beasts proud!"

Ao was deathly pale. He didn't dare try to defend himself. "The Demon Lord's teachings are right and just. This subordinate vastly underestimated the enemy."

"Ten days. Either you die or he dies." The Demon Lord didn't give Ao any leeway. "You're a proud demonic beast of the seas. You can only use your opponent's life as testament to your strength."

Tang Yingying's face resembled death itself. She knew the matters her mother decided upon were absolute. Saying anything more would be for naught.

Ao kowtowed in respect. "Your wish is my command, Demon Lord."

"Get up," The Demon Lord lazily commanded. And so he did. "Qin and that Demonic Soul Master-" He wanted to say something, but hesitated.

The Demon Lord's gaze froze over. "I will deal with others myself. You need not worry about that. You'd best worry about yourself!"

"Yes." Ao trembled violently as he left the palace.

After Ao left, the Demon Lord gazed straight ahead at the hall. She was there alone, with only her daughter to her side. She slowly said, "He, watch that masked fellow closely. If he makes a wrong move, kill him without question!"

"Your wish is my command, Demon Lord!" the voice of a little girl rang out. Sounds of wings flapping followed soon after before rapidly disappearing into the distance.

Tang Yingying stood up and walked out.

"If you dare to take so much as half a step out of the Flame Weaving Palace, I won't get Ao to take action. Oh no I won't. I'll personally take action. I'll detach that boy's soul from his body," The Demon Lord spoke very slowly. It was as though she wanted to let Tang Yingying hear her every word with extreme clarity.

Tang Yingying turned her head around and coldly stared at her mother. Her gaze was filled with anger. "I don't need you to remind me. I won't leave! I believe the day will come when Elder Brother Xiao will take me away from this godforsaken place!"

The mother-daughter pair were really two peas in a pod. Both of them were endlessly stubborn.

The Demon Lord revealed a mocking smile. "That is, if he has the courage and ability to walk over my cold corpse. Daughter of mine, you're the hope of our Demonic Clan. I won't let you leave with a guy who's not willing to give his life up for you. Give up already!"

Tang Yingying walked off without giving her mother so much as a second glance. Elder Brother Xiao, you mustn't give up, ever! Yingying is waiting for you here! she thought to herself.

Far away, in a room in Seadragon City, a warm current flowed through Ling Xiao's heart. It brightened up his mood incomparably. "It's her, Tang Yingying, hmm?" he mumbled. A smile formed on his face, wiping off all traces of loneliness.

…

One side of Seadragon City faced the sea, while vast plains formed the scene on the other side. The corpses of the Celestial Soul Masters were placed in coffins. They would be transported with carts along a desolate street paved for the dead and brought to the fields outside the city.

There was a messy burial ground somewhere on the plains. This was where all the corpses of Seadragon City's Celestial Soul Masters would find their peace.

The sun set in the west, wiping away the last hint of red the shade of blood from the horizon. The sky gradually darkened. The Celestial Soul Masters from Seadragon City piled the hundreds of corpses from the battle earlier in the day on the carts in preparation for the cremation. From dust they were born and to dust they would return. This was a Celestial Soul Master's final destination.

It was a miserable ending. Just last night they were spending time talking together, laughing together. Yet today they parted forever. Little Zeng looked at his older brother's corpse. His head was spinning. For some reason, he felt his brother wasn't dead yet. Although Big Zeng's eyes were tightly shut, a smile still played on his face. It was as though he was trying to convey something to his younger brother.

Little Zeng went delirious. He thought he noticed his big brother talking to him, but he couldn't make out the words. His voice was too soft. Since I can't hear him, why don't I scoot a little closer to him? With this thought in mind, he approached his brother and placed his ear to his big brother's lips.

"Brother… Do you want to go back to our hometown… with your Elder Brother? We… we promised. One day, we would return…" Little Zeng could finally make out what his brother was saying. An ecstatic smile surfaced on his face. His elder brother really wasn't dead!

"I do! Of course I do!" Little Zeng excitedly exclaimed. "When we left our hometown that year, we even promised Little Que and her older sister we'd come back and take them as our wives when we were rich enough. Together, the four of us would live a blessed and happy life!"

The Celestial Soul Masters of Seadragon City watched as Xiao Zeng talked to himself like a lunatic. They thought he had gone mad, unwilling to part from his brother. "Such a pitiful child," they commented, shaking their heads.

Xiao Zeng was unaware of everything around him. He was engrossed in listening to his brother speak. "Hehe, little brother, we can go there together, soon. Open your soul and let me in. Let me be one with your soul. In the future, you will be me, and I you."

"Yes." Xiao Zeng's eyes were blurring. The soul chain on his neck started radiating with a strange crimson glow.

His friends finally realised something was amiss and shouted, "Xiao Zeng, wake up!"

"Haha, hahaha…" Xiao Zeng stood up beside his brother's corpse. His eyes had turned blood red and were now fixated on the Celestial Soul Masters who were transporting the corpses. "Die… You have to die… You all have to die!" he roared out with such power his voice went hoarse. The sound was ear-piercing, forcing the others to cover their ears. But Xiao Zeng wasn't going to let them do so. He rushed up to the Celestial Soul Master closest to him, suddenly twice as fast as he normally was.

The Celestial Soul Master in question had just taken out his long sword. But it was too late, he couldn't block in time. Xiao Zeng hacked half the side of the Celestial Soul Master's head open with his axe. It was a terrifying way to die.

"Kill him!" The other Celestial Soul Masters were shocked and angry. They never expected that one of their own would so viciously attack them out of nowhere. They took out their weapons and moved to surround Xiao Zeng.

Before they could brandish their weapons, movements behind them sounded out. In the blink of an eye, the corpses they were transporting got up one after another. They pounced at the Celestial Soul Masters, madly biting and tearing them apart.

The wails of ghosts and the howls of wolves filled the air of the messy burial ground not long after. The cries of the dying Celestial Soul Masters rang far off into the distance. Unfortunately, they were too far away from Seadragon City. Their cries fell on deaf ears.

It only took the corpses three minutes. At the end, there were only corpses strewn about on the messy burial ground, all of them drenched in blood. It seemed as though wild beasts had tore their teeth through the bodies of the Celestial Soul Masters. Not a single patch of skin was intact. Fresh blood flowed out of their bodies, seeping downward and painting the ground red.

…

"Why haven't they returned yet?" Liu Yue felt uneasy. It all felt wrong. Was something about to happen? But no matter how he tried, he couldn't place his finger on it.

Liu Xintang had a poor complexion too. He didn't worry something might happen. Rather, he was certain something had already happened.

"We'll go take a look. I'll bring ten of my brothers," Yue Mingming suggested, voluntarily standing up. He had was one of the top ten in the newcomers tournament. Alongside him, Yang Chao and Zheng Hao also stood up.

Liu Xintang shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous. We'll split the troops into three groups. Little Brother Li Yuanchong will take the first group and lead the newcomers from the Sunken Wind Valley. Follow the street of the dead to the edge of town and wait there. If there's anything off, send a signal immediately. Liu Yue will lead the second group of 5,000 people. This group is to keep watch over the other side of the city gates. If something has really happened, I reckon there'll be an enemy attack from that end, too."

Liu Xintang gradually came back to his senses. "I will lead the last group of 5,000 and guard the city walls along the beach. Elder Ling, Young Master Shen, what about  the two of you?"

Shen Xuan smiled. "I'll follow Uncle Liu and guard the beach."

Ling Xiao yawned, a tired expression on his face. "I still have to rest. You guys go on ahead. One person won't make a difference."

Everyone gradually got used to Ling Xiao's unsociable attitude. They also knew he wouldn't idly stand by and watch them die, so they couldn't be bothered to voice any complaints. The three groups went their separate ways, each with their own duties.

Liu Xintang glanced at Ling Xiao. He had this nagging feeling Ling Xiao knew something he didn't and wasn't telling him. For that, he felt a little upset. "Elder Ling, is there perhaps something you want to say?"

Ling Xiao looked at a wisp of red lingering over the darkened horizon and shook his head. "For now, I don't know what the situation is like either. But we can't be optimistic. I'll make preparations for what's to come. If you guys lose control of your area, do remember to bring everyone back here to the Castellan's Mansion."

Liu Xintang was somewhat shocked. It wasn't Ling Xiao's usual style to talk in such an earnest manner. From the sound of it, they really were facing a serious problem! The only thing Liu Xintang couldn't understand was why Ling Xiao was so certain of the outcome. If they couldn't even hold the enemy off at the city gates, what difference would it make if they retreated to the Castellan's Mansion?

Chapter end