Zhu Lie remained seated in the same spot, having not moved an inch, but his dragon aura had been pushed to its absolute limit. The numerous Demon Kings standing before him were drenched in sweat. Those with slightly weaker cultivation were trembling all over, their faces deathly pale, their chests feeling as though an enormous mountain was pressing down on them, making it difficult to breathe.
Yang Kai's battle with the Blood Demon had ended in the blink of an eye, but without Zhu Lie's intimidation, the other Demon Kings would never have stood by and watched. After all, they were all of the Demon Race — standing by and letting someone die was not something they could bring themselves to do.
In truth, the moment the Blood Demon had made his move, several Demon Kings had wanted to step in and help. But before they could act, Zhu Lie had pinned them in place.
The pressure this red-haired young man exerted on the Demon Kings was far greater than that of the human. None of them were confident they could survive against him, so under duress, they had no choice but to wait obediently, secretly praying that the fire wouldn't spread to them.
Now that the dust had settled, the Blood Demon had been gravely injured. Though still clinging to life, he was no more than a walking corpse — a sight that filled them with even greater dread. Chills ran through their hearts as they wondered what fate awaited them.
"What exactly do you intend to do?" Zhu Lie frowned, watching Yang Kai with an impatient expression.
First, the man had come to Demon Fury City to interrogate a group of Demon Kings for information. Then, when words failed, he had erupted into violence. If he had simply killed the Blood Demon, that would have been one thing — but instead, the man had left him half-dead and barely alive. It was utterly baffling.
"You'll know soon enough," Yang Kai replied flatly. In his field of vision, Zhu Qing was already flying over, with Li Jiao trailing behind her. Li Jiao lingered half a step back, bowing and scraping with an obsequious grin plastered across his face, though Zhu Qing completely ignored him.
Once the two of them arrived, Li Jiao hurriedly stepped forward to greet Yang Kai, fawning over him with exaggerated eagerness.
"What happened here?" Zhu Qing gazed around in puzzlement, curious about what had taken place. There were traces of a recent battle, though it had clearly been extremely brief.
"Nothing much," Yang Kai answered dismissively. He looked at the small black puppy in her arms. "How is it?"
"A bit better, though it still seems rather weak." Zhu Qing reached out and gently stroked the puppy's head.
It really had improved. When Yang Kai had left earlier, the little black dog had been frozen solid in a block of ice. Now, though some frost still clung to its fur, it was clearly in far better condition than before.
Moreover, at this moment the creature seemed to have caught the scent of something utterly delicious. It craned its head upward, staring at the Demon Kings with drool trailing from the corners of its mouth — a thoroughly disgusting sight.
The Demon Kings, upon receiving that gaze, all felt as though they were facing a mortal enemy. Their hands and feet turned ice-cold, and their eyes darted away in every direction.
"Want to eat?" Yang Kai asked with a grin.
"Woof!" The little black dog instantly perked up, struggling free from Zhu Qing's embrace.
"Don't eat things indiscriminately," Zhu Qing scolded with a frown. She had wanted to say something the first time she saw A-Wang swallow two demons whole, but the conversation had been steered elsewhere. Now, seeing the puppy reverting to its old habits, she immediately rapped it on the head.
The little black dog whimpered aggrievedly.
Yang Kai reached out, plucked the small black dog from Zhu Qing's arms, and said, "Qing'er, if we want to get out of here, we might actually need to let it eat a bit more."
"What?" Zhu Qing frowned, not understanding what he meant.
When she looked up, she saw Yang Kai had already hurled the little black dog through the air — directly toward the Blood Demon, who stood there in a daze.
Mid-flight, A-Wang's spirit soared as though reborn into a new spring. Its pair of gleaming black eyes blazed with a terrifying light. Its mouth suddenly split open, stretching to the size of a door, and in a single gulp, it swallowed the Blood Demon whole.
"Hsss..."
A chorus of sharp, drawn breaths rippled through the crowd. The Demon Kings stood there with jaws agape, staring at the small black dog's sudden transformation, their eyes nearly bulging out of their skulls. The horrifying information that Yang Kai had just drilled into their minds churned relentlessly, gradually aligning with what they now witnessed before them. A single, liver-shredding conjecture seized their brains.
"Guixu!"
The Succubus Demon's piercing shriek could have torn through the heavens. The color that had only just returned to her face drained away once more, turning paper-white. As though every ounce of strength had been ripped from her body, she collapsed to the ground in a heap.
The other Demon Kings, while not quite so pathetic, were clearly struck by terror as well. Panic spread among the Demon Kings like wildfire, leaving every one of them unsettled, their minds a churning fog.
A legendary beast long thought to be extinct had suddenly appeared before their eyes — it was something they simply could not accept. In the history of the Demon Race, Guixu occupied a monumental and dreadful chapter. It was an existence that embodied annihilation and destruction. Nearly a third of the entire Demon Realm had been obliterated by its maw, and even now, the Demon Realm's hostile environment was largely its doing.
None of them could fathom how Guixu could still be alive. Hadn't the Great Demon God killed it long ago? Could the rumor that had just been mentioned actually be true — that Guixu had merely feigned its death in order to escape, biding its time for a day of resurgence? And when that day came, it would undoubtedly seek vengeance against the Great Demon God. The already-ravaged Demon Realm would not survive another round of its destruction.
With so many Demon Kings present, there was no chance of misidentifying Guixu. Though at first glance it appeared utterly ordinary, the moment it underwent its transformation, its defining characteristics were unmistakable.