Descent of the Demon Master

Everything felt dreamy.

The world around Kang Jin-Ho was dark and blurry.

Even though his eyes were open, he still felt like floating weightlessly on the drifting clouds. Instead of fighting against this irresistible weightlessness, Kang Jin-Ho entrusted himself to this state and dazedly drifted away.

“My lord.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s gaze slowly shifted to his side. With that, the weightlessness dissipated, only to be replaced by… confusion.

“My lord? Sir? What’s the matter?”

“…?”

Kang Jin-Ho confirmed who it was, then cautiously rubbed his face.

‘It’s… Azure Demon?’

Even though they interacted with each other every day, why did it feel like they were still strangers? Kang Jin-Ho thought it was weird.

“My Lord? Perhaps you are feeling unwell? Your complexion seems paler than usual.”

“No, it’s nothing,” Kang Jin-Ho… No, Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

Azure Demon still seemed puzzled but didn't pursue this matter. Understandable, since the one and only Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor had dismissively waved his hand. Going against the cult leader's wishes was a great taboo, after all.

“My lord, everyone is waiting for you.”

“Waiting for me?”

“Yes,” said Azure Demon while sneakily scanning the surroundings.

It seemed he had noticed Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor was not himself right now, and began wondering how to break the news without angering him.

“The sun has risen on the day of our mobilization, my lord. Everyone is waiting for you. However, if you require a little more time to prepare, we can always…”

Azure Demon immediately stopped talking and bowed while backing away when Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor furrowed his brow ever so slightly.

‘That’s right…’

Kang Jin-Ho remembered. The demon cult was about to go to war.

The orthodox faction bastards dared to invade the cult's territory. And no, it was no accident. A determined force boasting serious numbers had broken through the defenses, but the invaders hadn't marched deeper into the territories.

This was their way of testing the waters, to see if they could come to a compromise with the cult at this exact spot.

Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor slowly got up from his taishi chair. That prompted Azure Demon waiting for him below the platform to bow deeply.

Clomp…

Clomp!

Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor slowly descended the staircase. The crimson carpet was left slightly disorderly and crooked from his steps.

Clomp…

Clomp…!

Inside this massive audience chamber fit for an emperor, only Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor and Azure Demon existed. The echoes of the footsteps rumbled around the empty space before returning to the point of origin.

He crossed the audience chamber and reached the grand doorway, prompting the maidservants on standby to silently open the door. Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor exited the chamber and strode heroically through the corridor. His every step overflowed with charisma and confidence. Wisps of demonic qi wafted and drifted away like smoke from even the simple flick of his hand.

His long hair danced in perfect sync with his steps.

Here was the embodiment of kingly might! The mighty martial spirit! And… the true descendant of the ‘demonic’!

His aura was so overwhelming and powerful that all the adjectives and titles seemed too inadequate.

Even the second-in-command Azure Demon, the man feared by everyone for a good reason, had to stay two steps behind, his head politely bowed, as he cautiously followed. This sight was a good indicator of the status Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor held within the demon cult.

Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor walked through the corridor lit on both sides in unwavering steps until reaching the exit where daylight poured in from. Once he reached outside, a truly vast plaza spread out before his eyes.

The sight of one hundred thousand demonic dao!

There was no other description more suitable than those words for what he could see.

People after people stood there, waiting. Behind them were even more people. It almost felt like the entire horizon was filled with an endless number of people.

Most people bearing witness to this sight would clutch their chests and suck in deep breaths before forgetting to breathe entirely. Demonic qi emitted by all these demonic cultivators gathered here billowed to the heavens like pitch-black smoke rising from the conflagration destroying the world!

Tens of thousands of demonic cultivators held their breaths, waiting. Their gazes intensely locked on Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor's figure. People with weak constitutions would've pissed themselves and plopped on their butts by now.

However, Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor arrogantly dealt with their intense gazes. From the get-go, he was the demon emperor standing at the top. In other words, he was already used to the neverending gazes of respect and even worship.

Clomp…

Clomp…!

Tens of thousands of demonic cultivators filled up the expansive plaza, but none of them dared to act arrogantly. That was because Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor stood so tall and majestically even within all these powerful demonic cultivators.

They shivered with every step Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor took. They shrunk back whenever Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor lightly shook his hands.

Eventually, Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor stood in the center of the plaza to scan the demonic cultivators surrounding him. His eyes capable of seeing through everything were too much for the demonic cultivators to handle, so they hurriedly lowered their gazes.

The leader of the demon cult!

To the demon cult, the cult leader was a sacred and extremely important position as it represented all the demonic cultivators. The cult leader also possessed absolute control over the life and death of every demonic cultivator.

However, the leader's position also happened to be dangerous. Unlike other sects and clans where their future leaders were chosen through more traditional methods, the demon cult allowed only one method when choosing its leader.

It was… strength!

Only the strongest could become the cult leader. As long as the current leader could be killed regardless of the method, the killer had the right to become the next leader. Even Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor standing before everyone had done exactly that—killed the previous leader and took over that position.

As such, to the view of the demonic cultivators, the cult reader deserved to be respected. However, this man before their eyes was different from all the previous cult leaders.

This man wasn’t respected because of his position as the cult leader. He was strong, and that demanded obedience from everyone.

Even if Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor was not the cult leader, his fellow demonic cultivators would've still respected and worshiped him. Because his strength had reached a realm that others couldn't even hope to touch!

Laws? Manners? Justification? Only those who lacked strength required protection from such things. A man who relied only on his strength to suppress every demonic cultivator of the demon cult didn't have to care about any of that.

His words soon became laws. His actions would become the truth.

The man who changed the demon cult's laws, shook up the cult's mindsets and trampled on the very soul of the cult with nothing but his words and actions! That was Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor in a nutshell!

In that case, how could these demonic cultivators not respect him? How could they not worship this awesome individual?

Once Kang Jin-Ho stood on top of the lofty podium, the demonic cultivators finally started moving. They stopped standing like a highly-trained army and knelt down in perfect sync before planting their foreheads on the ground.

BANG!

The world rumbled as if an earthquake had erupted when tens of thousands of demonic cultivators knelt and banged their heads on the ground at the same time. It was as if the world itself wanted to pay its respect to the cult leader, too!

“Eternal glory to the demon emperor! We ten thousand demons kowtow in exaltation!”

The shouts of respect and worship cried out by tens of thousands of demonic cultivators rocked the world. The massive audience chamber shook precariously. Even the mountainside seemed to scream alongside them!

This was the moment when the splendor of man had overwhelmed nature itself. Even the heavens had to squeeze their eyes shut at this awesome might!

Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor silently observed this scene.

Pure arrogance! He cut such an arrogant and haughty figure. However, no one was sickened by this display of arrogance. After all, such an attitude perfectly suited him as if he was born with it.

His hands were relaxedly dropped by his side, visible just below the attire where crimson and black intermingled in perfect harmony. And those hands were pockmarked with various scars. The sword scar running horizontally across Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor's face demonstrated how much he fought and struggled to get here.

His thick eyebrows and sharp but clear jawline forced all who saw him to nod reflexively in acknowledgment. The burning light visible within his eyes, subtly obscured by long hair, fully justified why he was called Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor.

Countless demonic cultivators pursued the extreme heights of the 'demonic'. However, no one managed to reach this realm. As it seemed impossible to reach such a realm through demonic cultivation, most had already given up by now.

But then, Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor ruthlessly mocked them by reaching the True Demon realm. He didn't stop there, though, and even broke past this realm to stand alone at the extreme peak of cultivation no one had touched until then.

So, could the arrogance displayed by such a man be called arrogance?

Being arrogant only applied to weaklings and have-nots. Labeling a person who had attained everything ‘too confident’ didn’t make much sense.

Azure Demon kowtowed before Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor, below the tall platform.

That man was the demon cult’s second-in-command. The one the entirety of Zhongyuan’s orthodox faction wanted to kill!

The man renowned for possessing the brain of a devil and feared for being too cruel and cold-blooded! So much so that he was feared more in the demon cult than in Zhongyuan!

Absolutely no one would dare to rebel against this second-in-command of the demon cult, yet even he didn't dare stand on the same lofty heights as Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor. The only place he could stand was among other demonic cultivators… Down by the ground!

“Oh, the master of all things demonic!”

Azure Demon used his qi to transmit his thunderous voice to all corners of the plaza.

“Those who do not know about the demonic, those who refuse to accept the demonic… Those pitiful fools have invaded our cult’s sacred lands! This is the result of our grave sin of failing to convert them to our ways! It is my fault for not letting them understand the unquestionable majesty of you, the one and only demon emperor! Please punish this worthless servant for failing you. Please cut off my head and send my soul to the depths of Hell’s eternal fire so I can repent!”

“You are forgiven,” said Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor flatly.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Azure Demon slammed his forehead on the hard surface three times in a row. Blood trickled down from the split skin. However, he didn’t seem to care and began crying out again.

“My lord! We are simply too uneducated, too lowly, and too foolish to spread the majesty of the demonic to the rest of the world! As such, this servant implores you! Please demonstrate the truth to them! Show them what the true demonic is, what the true terror is! This servant dares to request you, our glorious cult leader!”

Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor silently nodded once.

“Eternal glory to the demon emperor!”

“Ten thousand demons exalt the demon emperor!”

Roars loud enough to agitate and excite the land utterly deafened the plaza. The chilling noises of demonic cultivators slamming their heads to the ground rang out like war drums.

Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor silently observed this scene, then slowly turned around. There was no need for a grand speech here.

“Bird Demon,” said Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor as he strode gallantly.

“Yes, my lord!” The demonic cultivator called Bird Demon shot up to his feet.

“Take the lead.”

“Eternal glory to the demon emperor!”

Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor continued to walk gallantly forward, his voice a little languid now. “Fire Demon.”

“Yes, my lord!”

“Lead the Ghost Soul Squad and Blood Ghost Squad to attack the enemy camp from the rear.”

“Eternal glory to the demon emperor! We ten thousand demons exalt the demon emperor!”

With every step Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor took, waves of demonic qi eerily gushed out. The only term appropriate for him now was… the Demon King!

“Azure Demon.”

“Yes, my lord!”

“You will take command.”

“I shall risk everything to disintegrate the enemies!”

“No, not them,” said Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor.

Azure Demon’s head shot up.

“You shall head to Zhongyuan. Punishing the fools daring to intrude on the cult's territory is a given. However, your job is to teach others. Teach them that when they dare enter a sacred land they are not permitted to… They won't merely lose their feet, but their heads will also go flying!”

Azure Demon planted his head on the ground and roared loudly. “We ten thousand demons exalt the demon emperor!”

Once Azure Demon joined the others in kowtowing, Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor leisurely nodded.

“Then, Demon Flames…!”

This time, there were no spirited replies. Instead, several figures instantly filled the space behind Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor like pitch-black shadows rising up from the eerie darkness. As if all sorts of terrifying ghosts and demons had begun a dance of terror!

Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor didn’t bother to issue them with new orders. He simply said, “...Time to leave.”

Without any verbal confirmation, the Demon Flames closely followed their leader from behind. And this group, led by the one and only Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor, leisurely strode past the massive gate of the thousand-year-old demon cult.

The sun quickly hid behind cloud covers in fear. Darkness blanketed the world as if to welcome Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor’s descent!

The man who dyed Zhongyuan in terror had personally led the Demon Flames into war!

Less than three days later…

Blood from over a hundred thousand dead bodies flowed and flowed some more to stain the Yangtze River crimson.

Corpses formed mountains, while blood formed oceans!

No one like him had existed before. And no one would be like him in the future. The unprecedented, unmatched sovereign of all things demonic!

This was the moment when the name of Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor had been carved deeply into the very soul of the world.