The atmosphere on the scene grew extremely awkward in an instant.
The Heavenly Demon lineage being publicly lambasted — this was something the Demon Race had never witnessed before.
The Third Ancestor of the Heavenly Demons let out a soft sigh. "Everyone, we're all running hot right now. There are many things that can't be explained in the heat of the moment. If we could all calm down and think about it rationally, surely we could piece something together?"
"Oh? And what have you pieced together?" the Goldhowl Ancestor sneered, lacing his words with unmistakable sarcasm.
The Third Ancestor's expression turned solemn. "One change that should be glaringly obvious — the Human Race's top-tier fighting strength has surpassed even what it was in the Ancient Era. Many of the combat abilities the humans displayed in this war simply did not exist back then. Has nobody considered that?"
Those words gave everyone pause.
Several Demon Race ancestors who hadn't lost their reason nodded in agreement.
"True. Something is very off this time. That kid Jiang Chen is especially strange. So young, yet he seems even harder to deal with than old monsters like Lord Liuli."
"Those True Spirits — they didn't exist in the Ancient Era either. And even if they did, when did the True Spirit clans ever have such close ties with the humans? Weren't they supposed to be bitter enemies?"
"Then there were those bizarre rats — it was like something out of a nightmare. Don't tell me those were the Gold-Munching King Mouse clan?"
The name "Gold-Munching King Mouse" was the stuff of nightmares across the myriad worlds.
Even the Demon Race wanted nothing to do with them.
The moment those four words were uttered, many of the Demon Race ancestors blanched. Without question, the revelation had genuinely shaken them.
"The Gold-Munching King Mouse? Impossible! The Divine Abyss Continent is nothing more than an ordinary plane — how could it possibly host the Gold-Munching King Mouse, creatures renowned throughout the heavens?"
"This Divine Abyss Continent is deeply unsettling. The Four Divine Beast True Spirits — can an ordinary plane really possess such things?"
"And that Jiang Chen — I get the feeling his strength and his treasures have already surpassed the great sects of the Ancient Era entirely. He's operating on a completely different level!"
One after another, voices rose as the Demon Race erupted into heated discussion.
The Heavenly Demon Ancestor's face had gone ashen. He, too, was turning the problem over in his mind. In truth, he was just as bewildered as the rest. How had this backwater of a Divine Abyss Continent suddenly become so formidable? In the Ancient Era, the clashes between the Demon Race and the Human Race had been far more numerous and far more brutal than anything seen today.
The Demon Race's casualties back then had never been this severe. The ancestors, in particular, had rarely fallen in such numbers.
Yet this time around, the Demon Race ancestors seemed inexplicably fragile — every engagement brought news of another one killed.
It was as if the humans had suddenly discovered the key to dismantling the Demon Race. In every battle, they managed to slay at least one Divine Dao ancestor.
What on earth was the reason?
Nobody could make sense of it.
In the ancient age, the Human Race had possessed countless Divine Dao cultivators and a staggering roster of powerhouses, yet killing a Demon Race ancestor had never been easy.
Now, the Demon Race had only just broken free from their seals. True, they hadn't fully recovered their peak strength, but they weren't far off — and logically, the Human Race should have been weaker too, nowhere near their ancient-era prime.
And yet Jiang Chen's arrival had shattered that balance entirely. Every time he took action, another Demon Race ancestor fell.