The first time Yang Kai had heard the name Mo Sheng, something had struck him as off. The naming conventions of the Demon Race were quite different from those of the Human Race in the Star Boundary—carrying a distinctly exotic flair—but even Yang Kai, who knew precious little about how demons chose their names, could tell that "Mo Sheng" was a rather inappropriate one.
It was far too similar to "Mo Sheng"—Demon Saint. Back then, Yang Kai had even marveled that this fellow had managed to survive all this time without being beaten to death by other demons. That took extraordinary luck.
If that had been all there was to it, Yang Kai would have drawn no further connection than the Demon Saints. But given the circumstances he now found himself in, he couldn't help letting his thoughts run further.
Mo Sheng, Demon Saint, Demon God—they all sounded rather alike.
It had started as a casual remark, and Yang Kai had even felt he was reading too much into it. Yet to his surprise, Mo Sheng simply waved his hand and said, "Demon God this, Demon God that—that's just what others call me. My real name is Mo Sheng."
Yang Kai took two instinctive steps back before remembering that this was his own world and there was nothing to fear. He steadied his gaze and said, "So you really are the Great Demon God?"
If that were true, then all the oddities before could be explained. It was precisely because he had sensed something not quite right about him that Yang Kai had kept his eye on this man all these years.
Mo Sheng offered a faint smile but did not answer, radiating an air of unfathomable mystery.
Yang Kai didn't know what expression to wear. The demon realm and the Star Boundary were locked in a bitter war between their two races, casualties numbering beyond counting, hatred between humans and demons running deeper than the sea—yet here stood a being who was quite possibly the legendary Great Demon God, right before his very eyes. Even with Yang Kai's famously steady composure, he found himself at something of a loss. What unsettled him even more was that this wasn't at all the scene he had imagined.
This self-proclaimed Great Demon God was nothing like the hideous, bloodthirsty, savage monster he had pictured. On the contrary, he carried himself with an air of leisurely ease and even gave off an oddly approachable impression.
"So you really are the Great Demon God?" Yang Kai asked again.
Mo Sheng considered for a moment, then replied, "Yes and no."
"What do you mean?" Yang Kai furrowed his brow in confusion, but before Mo Sheng could answer, realization dawned on him. "A doppelganger?"
If this being truly were the Great Demon God in the flesh, Yang Kai would have no right to even converse with him—he'd most likely be obliterated in the span of a casual exchange. Besides, how could someone with the cultivation of a mid-tier Demon King possibly be the Great Demon God?
It reminded him of his own Avatar. If he himself possessed such an existence as the Avatar, then given that the Great Demon God's martial cultivation surpassed his own by who knew how many orders of magnitude, having a doppelganger was hardly surprising.
"More or less," Mo Sheng said, neither confirming nor denying, effectively accepting Yang Kai's conclusion. He then regarded Yang Kai with a smile. "You took something of mine."
Yang Kai thrust two fingers toward his own eyes. "You mean these?"
Mo Sheng nodded. "Those eyes were originally mine."
Yang Kai flashed a grin. "They weren't yours—they were the Great Demon God's. And besides…" He paused. "They're mine now." At last he could be certain that this was indeed the Great Demon God's doppelganger, and that the one who had fought the Emperor of Years in this ancient battlefield in the primordial age had been none other than the Great Demon God himself.
Mo Sheng was not angered. After a moment's thought, he said, "Fair point. What's lost is lost." He then sighed wistfully. "You humans are truly remarkable." It was unclear what memory had surfaced, but that look of nostalgic reminiscence appeared on his face once more.
Yang Kai couldn't care less whether this was the Great Demon God's doppelganger or not. The man was merely a mid-tier Demon King, and they were on Yang Kai's own turf—naturally, he felt no fear whatsoever. Seeing how agreeably the other party was speaking, his curiosity was piqued, and he said, "I saw quite a few things here before."
Mo Sheng nodded. "That you could see them—that is your fortune, and your capability."
"But I couldn't quite make out how things ended in the end. Could you tell me? What was the final outcome of that battle?"
Mo Sheng smiled at the question. "What else could it have been? He was beaten to death, of course. That's why I say—you humans are truly remarkable."
He didn't specify who had been beaten to death, but Yang Kai knew he could only be referring to the Great Demon God. In that instant, Yang Kai's heart surged with emotion. Even though he had long since guessed at this outcome, hearing it confirmed from Mo Sheng's own lips filled him with a sense of shared pride.
The one who had slain the Great Demon God was the Emperor of Years!
"If he died, then how are you still alive?" Yang Kai frowned at him.
If the main body was dead, there was no reason the doppelganger could survive. In Yang Kai's estimation, if anything were to happen to him, his Avatar would certainly perish along with him.
Mo Sheng replied, "The flesh may be destroyed, but the soul endures. That fellow Years was passably strong, but he was far from capable of annihilating my soul."
Yang Kai suddenly understood. Setting aside the Great Demon God's heaven-defying cultivation, even an ordinary Emperor-realm Demon King—given the opportunity—could escape with his soul even if their physical body was destroyed.
However, the way Mo Sheng spoke about it irked Yang Kai slightly. He had clearly been defeated by the Emperor of Years and had his physical body destroyed, yet the way he spoke now sounded as though he were looking down from some lofty perch and evaluating the battle of old—as if the Emperor of Years had been inferior to him.
Mo Sheng seemed to read his thoughts and said evenly, "My injuries had not yet healed at the time. Had it been otherwise, things would not have come to such a pass."
Yang Kai's expression turned solemn. Though this was his first encounter, he knew that a powerhouse of the Great Demon God's caliber would hardly deign to lie. If he said his injuries hadn't healed, then they truly hadn't. Yet even in that state, he had fought the Emperor of Years to mutual destruction. And that was with his injuries still unhealed—what would it have been like at the height of his power?