The moment the shoulder plate came flying in, Shen Yi caught it with one hand and drove his right fist into the Junior Demon King’s skull.
Crack.
The bone lasted less than a breath under that blow before it gave way.
Another arm plate came surging up.
Shen Yi swung the plate he was already holding and knocked it aside, then dug his fingers into the wound on the Junior Demon King’s forehead and wrenched away another chunk of bone.
“AAGH!!”
The Junior Demon King let out a wretched howl.
Both of its massive hands reached up toward its own head. Shen Yi planted a foot on its brow, swung his right leg around in a sweeping kick, and tore through its palms with green light behind the blow.
He leaned down and drove his fist in again.
Each time he broke something open, he pulled away another piece of skull.
His body had already restored itself. His back was broad as a dragon’s, and every time he swung, golden beast-markings surfaced across his skin.
The Junior Demon King had shown its reserves.
Shen Yi was showing his. All things going as expected, the demon would shortly be contributing to them.
When he decided the opening was large enough, he finally stood up and formed a sword-seal with one hand.
Overhead, a crimson greatsword dozens of feet long slowly took shape.
Shen Yi turned, expression flat, and looked at the armor pieces swarming in around him trying to protect the bull demon. One punch each. He sent them all flying.
“…”
The two Gold-bell demon-hunters swallowed involuntarily as they watched.
The outwardly composed and quiet Shen Yi seemed to become an entirely different person when facing demons.
The formidable Junior Demon King had not even had the chance to resist.
“This time…”
When Shen Yi walked out of the golden light, Jiang Qiulan slowly unclenched her hands. He never seemed to need anyone’s concern.
She looked out toward the valley and asked, her voice quiet: “This time — may I be the one?”
Aqian glanced back without thinking.
Even without being told, the young woman had already understood.
Throw the table over. Drop the problem in the War Temple’s and the immortal sects’ laps. Qingzhou washes its hands of it entirely.
But there was one person who could never be washed clean of it — whoever struck the killing blow on the Junior Demon King.
The jade dragon took flight again, surging toward the Junior Demon King’s skull.
Shen Yi, standing on the bull demon’s face, had just hurled the armor pieces away — and punched straight through the jade dragon.
“…”
Jiang Qiulan watched with quiet resignation.
The crimson greatsword fell in an instant. Savage demon qi poured into the Junior Demon King’s skull. The dragon-tiger phantom tore through everything inside until nothing remained but pulp.
The great bull demon’s eyes went wide, then slowly dimmed.
The hand gripping the sword hilt went slack against the ground.
【Junior Demon King slain — Blood-Transmuted Demon Bull, Core-Nurturing realm. Total lifespan: 10,700 years. Remaining lifespan: 9,800 years. Absorption complete.】
As the panel notification cleared, the floating bronze armor pieces fell one by one, each shrinking back to the size of a palm and settling quietly on the ground.
Shen Yi gathered them all up, then walked a circuit around the bull demon’s body and found a wisp of red mist at its waist.
Then he opened the abdomen, took the core, and loaded the blood qi into his silver bell while he was at it.
“That—”
Aqian opened her mouth to say something.
You killed a demon with backing. Not destroying the evidence was one thing — but was he really planning to take the blood and claim a bounty from the court…
Then she watched Shen Yi load the entire bull demon’s corpse, along with the ring-pommel broadsword, into his pouch artifact.
“Move.”
Shen Yi glanced at the two Gold-bell demon-hunters still standing there in a daze. What were they doing, just standing around — did they want to wait for the Howling Moon to show up?
Even as he spoke, he grabbed Jiang Qiulan by the arm, dissolved into a breeze, and was gone.
Aqian and Wu Feng had no time to be astonished. They gathered up the gold-thread net and ran hard toward Qingzhou.
Somewhere beyond Qingzhou’s borders, inside a spacious cave dwelling.
Twelve demons with savage faces sat in two rows along the walls, each radiating a domineering demon qi, their expressions dark and their eyes full of menace.
In the main seat beside the elephant demon, the Howling Moon Demon King sat cross-legged. Lying prone before him was a heavily wounded dog demon.
His palms hovered gently above the dog demon’s back, and a thick, almost tangible stream of blood qi flowed back and forth between them.
“…”
The chaotic qi within the dog demon was gradually steadying. The dark ice killing-intent embedded in its wounds had been driven back considerably, and the injuries were slowly closing.
It had never imagined that the Howling Moon — this ancient demon — would actually intend to heal it.
Honestly, after leaving the waterfall that day, the dog demon had not expected to make it out of those mountains alive.
It looked ahead in silence.
Twelve demon lords stared back at it with murderous eyes, looking as though they would gladly swallow it whole.
“Enough.”
The Howling Moon opened its eyes, bared its teeth slightly, and swept a cold gaze across the assembled demon lords. “Keep quiet.”
Under that flat voice, the demon lords looked away in sullen silence.
The dog demon felt a measure of the wariness leave it.
It understood where their hatred came from. The Howling Moon had once had seventeen demon lords. Now five were missing — including the White Jade Rabbit. In all likelihood they had fallen in Qingzhou, lost while covering for the Junior Demon King.
A loss that size would test anyone’s patience.
The old wolf had real composure. Furious as it must have been underneath, it had not shown the dog demon so much as a trace of it.
“I hope this is the last time.”
The exhaustion in the Howling Moon’s eyes had grown heavier. Healing the dog demon had clearly cost it a great deal of what it had accumulated.
“There won’t need to be a next time.”
The dog demon rose slowly. Its manner remained stiff, but something of its former resistance was gone. “My king has extraordinary talent. A breakthrough was always only a matter of time.”
“I am grateful.”
The Howling Moon inclined its head slightly, its gaze settling on an empty seat across the room. Something like grief surfaced in its clouded eyes. Its voice came out rough, aged.
“…”
A twinge of guilt moved through the dog demon, then was pressed back down.
Getting tied to the Junior Demon King’s name — the old wolf had come out ahead on that arrangement.
It picked up its spear and straightened back into its usual proud bearing. “Do not worry. My king always keeps its word. Farewell.”
“Stay a few more days.”
The Howling Moon glanced at it. “We are the same clan, you and I — no need for such formality. Your wounds are not healed. Leave now and you will never break through to the next realm in this lifetime.”
A wolf, calling itself kin with a dog.
The dog demon gripped its spear, standing still, wavering.
Then its expression changed.
Something struck it — a sudden, deep dread, as though it had sensed something unthinkable. “Demon King!”
The exhaustion vanished from the Howling Moon’s face in an instant. It rose and roared: “What has happened?”
It did not wait for an answer. It seized the dog demon by the arm, burst out of the cave, and hurtled toward the waterfall.
Perhaps because it had spent so much blood qi — the Howling Moon’s steps were unsteady, its speed nowhere near what it had once been.
It reached the valley quickly enough.
And looked at the wreckage spread before it.
The dog demon’s face went blank. The strength seemed to leave its body entirely.
The Howling Moon’s expression twisted. Its very frame began to shake. A piercing roar tore out of it: “QINGZHOU! QINGZHOU!”
“HOW DID YOU LEAD THEM HERE — HOW DID THE DIVISION FIND THIS PLACE?! ANSWER ME! WHERE IS THE JUNIOR DEMON KING?!”
The Howling Moon seized the dog demon by the scruff and hauled it up, eyes blazing red, spittle falling from its jaws.
“I… I…”
The dog demon stood hollow, eyes vacant, feeling the empty space where a qi-bond had been — and its grip on the spear gave way. “Dead. The Junior Demon King is dead.”
(End of Chapter)