Li Jue Tian lay sprawled upon the shattered stone, his once immaculate robes torn and smeared with dust. The blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, staining his beard in dark streaks.
For a long moment, he did not move. The humiliation weighed more heavily than the injuries, pressing upon his chest like a mountain.
At last, he slowly raised his head.
His eyes, once sharp and domineering, now trembled with something far less dignified. The two eyes were filled with shock and fear. And beneath both, a dawning realization that hollowed out his pride.
He lifted a shaking finger toward the mysterious expert and muttered hoarsely, each word scraping past clenched teeth.
"You… it's you… you did all that…"
The surroundings fell quiet again.
The mysterious expert tilted his head slightly, regarding Li Jue Tian as though he were observing a child who had finally pieced together a simple puzzle. Though most of his features were obscured, the faint curve of his lips was visible, curling upward into a playful, almost teasing smile.
"Oh?" He said lightly. "You finally realize it."
He took a slow step forward, hands clasped behind his back, posture relaxed and unhurried.
"Yeah, I'm the one who attacked your Xue Hun Manor. What? Do you really think you can bully my disciple's family?" His voice sharpened just a fraction. "What? Just because you're the Second Great Master, you can bully just anyone?"
Each question struck harder than the last.
Li Jue Tian's face flushed, whether from rage or shame, even he could not tell.
The mysterious expert snorted coldly.
"You've a son when you're over eighty years old. I can understand if you want to spoil him," He continued, his tone almost conversational. "But I've found a perfect disciple after thousands of years, so just imagine how much I'll spoil my disciple, who is like my child."
A faint ripple of killing intent seeped into the air.
"Let me tell you, if not because my temper has calmed down a lot, I would have ripped you into pieces. If you were born thousands of years ago…" He gave a dismissive hmph. "I would have taught you why I'm called the Demon Lord."
The words echoed heavily.
Lei Bao Yu and Bu Kuang Feng stood frozen.
Demon Lord?
The title alone carried an ominous weight, and coupled with everything they had witnessed today, including the World Cage, the casual mention of ancient eras, the disdainful reference to the Nine Nether First Young Master.
The pieces aligned with terrifying clarity, and they finally understood.
The reason behind the sudden rise of the Xuan Beasts of Tian Fa, the coordinated assault, and the chaos engulfing the continent.
This was not a coincidence.
It was retaliation.
And the cause of it all lay bleeding on the ground in the form of Li Jue Tian's foolish pride and his spoiled son's arrogance.
The two former Great Masters exchanged a glance. A storm brewed in their eyes as they turned toward Li Jue Tian. For a fleeting moment, they truly felt the urge to step forward and slap him themselves.
Because of his stupidity, they had provoked a monster whose age spanned millennia.
Lei Wu Bei and Shi Chang Xiao were no less displeased. Both men stared at Li Jue Tian with cold expressions, snorting softly. Their earlier sympathy had evaporated entirely.
Only Jun Mo Xie seemed unaffected by the oppressive atmosphere. He chuckled lightly, stepping closer to his master with an amused glint in his eyes.
"Master… are you really called Demon Lord?" He asked with exaggerated curiosity. "What an amazing title…?"
The mysterious expert threw his head back and laughed heartily, the sound rich and vibrant, as if the tension in the air were nothing more than a passing breeze.
"Hahaha… well, I've a very short temper in my young age," He admitted without the slightest embarrassment. "In that time, the cultivation was very different. Strength was everything, and killing was simpler."
His gaze drifted momentarily, as though peering across centuries.
"Only Nine Nether First Young Master was a little interesting. Even if he is a selfish and arrogant person, his insight into Dao is very deep… even far better than anyone I see after he left."
The place listened in rapt silence.
"There are twelve more Nine Nether people that appeared after him," He continued calmly, "but not a single one can compare to the First Young Master. He is a very talented and respectable opponent."
The acknowledgment carried no sarcasm.
It was genuine.
Lei Bao Yu and Bu Kuang Feng felt their hearts pound.
To hear someone of this caliber praise another so openly meant that the battles between them must have been earth-shaking events lost to time.
Jun Mo Xie studied his master thoughtfully, curiosity flickering in his eyes like a flame eager for fuel.
"Master," He asked, tilting his head slightly, "does the Nine Nether First Young Master really such an interesting person? Then, between you and him, who wins the fight?"
The question landed boldly.
Several experts gathered instinctively held their breath.
Asking such a thing required courage, or perhaps the privilege of being the Demon Lord's sole disciple.
The mysterious expert glanced at Jun Mo Xie, and for a brief moment, an unreadable expression crossed his concealed features.
He did not answer immediately.
Instead, he clasped his hands behind his back once more and looked toward the distant horizon, where clouds drifted lazily across the sky as if unaware of the legends being invoked below.
"When we fought," He said slowly, "the heavens cracked and the earth split... Mountains collapsed for hundreds of miles... Rivers reversed their flow. The world was not as fragile as it is now, but even then it trembled."
His voice held neither arrogance nor regret.
"We fought for many rounds... Sometimes I suppressed him, sometimes he slipped away, and sometimes neither of us gained anything but bruises and laughter."
A faint smile curved his lips.
"He was slippery, cunning, and infuriatingly brilliant. Killing him was never easy."
He turned his head slightly, his gaze resting upon Jun Mo Xie.
"If you're asking who won… then I will say this."
The air seemed to tighten.
"We both lived."
It was a simple answer, yet it carried a depth that silenced every whisper in the forest.
Jun Mo Xie's eyes shone brighter.
To survive against such a figure across multiple battles meant parity at the highest level of existence.
The mysterious expert stepped closer to his disciple and flicked him lightly on the forehead.
"Why? You want to surpass both of us?" He teased.
Jun Mo Xie grinned unabashedly. "If Master can fight him, why can't I surpass both?"
A ripple of laughter escaped the Demon Lord.
"Good," He said approvingly. "That's the spirit. If you want to be my disciple, then you must have such arrogance and confidence... work hard and surpass us both, hahaha..."
Behind them, the gathered masters stood in stunned quiet, startled by the laughter.
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