Proofreader: Papatonks

Huff~

Thousand Faced Devil panted hard with a wane and sweaty face, a clear sign of weakness.

Sword Child and Bali Yuyu flinched, only to relax the next moment upon seeing he picked Zhuo Fan of all the targets.

Not registering the casualness the others had, Thousand Faced Devil roared, “Give me the Nether Sea map or it’s off with his head!”

He gripped Zhuo Fan’s neck tighter.

The Luo clan didn’t seem to care much.

“Did you not hear me? Even in the Bone Tempering Stage, isn’t he still your steward? Don’t you care if he lives or dies?”

“Splitting Art, so you’re a former assassin, senior.”

Thousand Faced Devil grew tense at the unexpected reactions, or lack thereof. The one to finally give him any attention at all was the same one who he held hostage, “Splitting your spirit into many to confuse the enemy then snatching victory amidst the chaos. It must be quite the skill indeed for not even I to pick up on it. It also gives the enemy the chance to break them down one at a time. Knowing the spirit is exposed, even at the Spirit King level, it’s still very fragile. Showing such weakness can be fatal in an Emperor Stage battle.”

The devil met Zhuo Fan’s taunting eyes and snapped, “What do you know of such a high level battle? Shut your trap or I’ll snap your neck!”

“Ha-ha-ha, you should’ve done that from the start, when you had the chance. A shame an assassin should be focusing on speed and killing, not on taking hostages. You doomed your assassin profession the instant you left killing aside.”

Thousand Faced Devil gave him a long look, clueless about where he was getting at.

[I’m an Emperor and I’m supposed to kill a bug like him from the start? I control his life and can take it whenever I want. Why…]

Crack!

The snapping sound made Thousand Faced Devil shiver, feeling his hand going numb and him being unable to move it. His eyes grew wide as he saw Zhuo Fan’s right hand glowing red and gripping the same arm tight like clamps.

“H-how can…”

Thousand Faced Devil’s face twitched, wanting to squeeze his fingers and crush Zhuo Fan’s neck. A shame his hand was frozen, unable to budge. It was, in fact, pulled away by an incredible force, out of his control.

“Y-you…”

Thousand Faced Devil gawked at the hand gripping his, then at Zhuo Fan’s creepy smile. Fear took its hold on his mind, roaring, “How can you have such power? A Bone Tempering cultivator…”

“Ha-ha-ha, I told you, your assassin career is at an end.”

Zhuo Fan’s eyes grew cold and he snapped his Qilin arm to the side. Thousand Faced Devil’s weakened body snapped from the shoulder as he flew away without his arm, leaving a bloody trail.

Whoosh!

Before he got to taste the agony of having his arm yanked out of his socket, something black flashed in front of his horrified eyes, a sword slash.

Whoosh~

A head rolled in the air, falling in a small hand. Thousand Faced Devil’s headless body spurted blood for a few moments, then plopped.

His men saw their boss offed like nothing and lost all courage, flying away in panic.

Zhuo Fan’s group let them go, holding them in disdain.

[Of all the people here, taking Steward Zhuo hostage is like signing your own death warrant!]

“Dad, here’s his head.”

Sword Child presented the shocked and terrified head to Zhuo Fan. He nodded and put it in his ring before signaling the others to resume their journey.

Minutes after they left, many men in black appeared at this bloodbath, before vanishing once more.

In a manor in Mist City, the city lord heard the scout’s report and turned pensive, “You’re telling me the Luo clan had an easy time dealing with Thousand Faced Devil’s team? They definitely aren’t a normal group to not care about the Demonic Emperor’s opinion. Have you found anything about them?”

“City Lord, we’ve long since sent people to Joy Town, and there is such a clan there. But with the location being so remote, it’ll be hard to find anything from their past. From the passing traders, we did find that the town has been around for thousands of years, far from the secular world and from the power struggles of the Sacred Domain.”

“Why would this monster rise up now of all times, after thousands of years? And so flashy too…”

The city lord paused, “I’ll need to report this to the Gambling Emperor. Something isn’t right about this group, messing with the Eight Emperors’ people and even stealing their things.”

Two months later, in a dark hall, only a pair of eerie eyes were seen coming from the seat of honor, with the city lord kneeling below, reporting Gambling Town’s events.

A bright smile appeared below the eyes, “Ha-ha-ha, how amusing! Of all the famed Eight Emperors, none won my gamble. The victor turned out to be some unknown clan from nowhere.”

“Gambling Emperor, the Luo clan has many people of great talent. Their steward, Zhuo Fan, has low cultivation yet holds such a position. His conduct is calm and calculative, while the guards are firm and resolute. They’re more than meets the eye!”

“Of course, while life is a constant fight and luck plays a large role, by lacking strength as well, luck can only get you so far. I could never look down on such a clan. Ha-ha-ha…”

The Gambling Emperor smiled, “So they killed the Demonic Emperor’s men, inciting the butcher. What will his reply be? If they hold an Emperor’s power, they have no reason to fear. Otherwise, their choice is to seek their backer or find shelter with the other seven. This will make the next owner of the map known. Where will they go then?”

The city lord bowed, “Gambling Emperor, the scouts following them say they’re going toward Devil Mountain!”

“What?”

Gambling Emperor finally showed a reaction, the eyes stunned for a moment, “Having killed his men, the Demonic Emperor is bound to hunt them down till the end of days and yet they’re knocking at his door. What’s the Luo clan up to? They believe that they have the power to fight with the Demonic Emperor and settle it?”

The Gambling Emperor frowned, with the city lord unable to provide an answer…

Meanwhile, a lavish and jaded jar crumbled as it met the hard floor. An imposing youth wore a scowl in anger as he jumped to his feet and stared down at the shivering men in black below.

“Not only did you not get the Nether Sea map from Gambling Town, but of those I sent, one is missing and the other got killed by some nameless and unknown little group, no less?”

“D-Demonic Emperor sir, the Luo clan is a mystery that we can’t deal with…” One man ventured, shaking like a leaf.

Unlike Zhuo Fan’s calculative and deceitful nature, Zhao Chen was more of a petty and impulsive prick. Once in power, he never stopped lusting for more, expanding his domain. His handling was cruel as well, worse than Zhuo Fan.

His reckless reputation sent fear in his enemies but also his men.

Zhao Chen gave them a sinister smile, “Can’t deal with it? Thousand Faced Devil took a hundred Spirit Kings yet couldn’t handle one lousy clan? What use do I have of you then?”

“Garbage!”

Zhao Chen roared and the one who reported got split into bloody chunks with a splat. The others trembled in terror, “Sir, please calm down!”

“Humph, everyday I hear the same thing. You only had to show a bit of courage and do what I told you to and I wouldn’t have to take my rage on you.”

Zhao Chen flicked his sleeve, “What of the Luo clan? Where are they?”

“Uh, we… don’t know…”

“You don’t?”

“Demonic Emperor sir, they killed Thousand Faced Devil and we didn’t try…”

“Garbage!”

Zhao Chen threw his hand and more than ten people went splat, covering the floor in blood and gore. The rest cowered back.

A voice came from outside, “Demonic Emperor, someone’s here to seek an audience bearing gifts.”

“Gifts?”

Zhao Chen was curious, “Bring it here!”

Two boys walked in with two exquisite boxes and placed them on the ground. Zhao Chen flicked a finger and two bloody heads were revealed…