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"Ling'er, get down there and take out that arrogant demon with the sword."
Ignoring the desperate cries of the other dragonkin, Shendu gave the order, his voice cold and commanding.
Ling'er froze for a second at the command but quickly bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty, Dragon King!"
Before she could move, her sister Xue'er stepped in and protested, "Your Majesty, Ling'er's not strong enough. I'm afraid she can't beat that demon. Maybe we should reconsider—"
Shendu's expression darkened. "Xue'er, you're talking too much."
He didn't bother continuing the scolding. Instead, with a snap of his fingers, the dragon-shaped brand on Xue'er's forehead lit up, and in the next moment, flames erupted all over her body. She screamed in pain, but the fire stopped just short of killing her.
After letting her relive a small taste of her past, Shendu spoke again, voice eerily calm:"No one questions my orders. No one. Especially not you."
"I know you've used my charms and magical tools to kill quite a few demons, and that's made you bold enough to speak out."
"But don't forget where you came from. Compared to other humans, your current life is a luxury. Do you want me to jog your memory?"
His eyes flashed dangerously. Xue'er trembled and quickly dropped to her knees on the dragon's back, head bowed, silent.
Ling'er saw it all. Her heart ached, but something told her that not stepping in was the best way she could protect her sister right now.
Shendu looked down at the unmoving Ling'er and said calmly, "Go. Take him out."
He pointed toward the loudmouthed demon below—Li Yan. A flicker of flaming demonic energy shot down, wrapping itself around Ling'er's silvery-white body.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Ling'er responded and immediately launched herself downward.
As she flew off, a cloud floated in to take her place near Shendu and the kneeling Xue'er.
"Demon-Sealing Array, huh? Interesting… very interesting. So the magic circle I created actually got recorded in the Chronicles of Time and is now being used by this so-called demon lord."
Shendu stared at the familiar patterns carved into the ground below. There was no more doubt in his mind—someone had definitely stolen his magic formation.
But it made sense. The Chronicles of Time recorded everything, and any magic listed in the Grand Codex of Spells would show up there too.
Down on the battlefield, countless illusions of blazing Pure Yang swords tore through the air, shrieking like banshees. They sliced through over fifty fireballs hurled by the demon dragons like they were paper.
One by one, the ghostly swords pierced through the dragons' bodies, leaving behind gaping holes. The sword energy raged inside their corpses, killing them instantly. They fell from the sky like raindrops—thud, thud, thud.
Watching the massacre unfold, Li Yan burst out laughing."Ha! A bunch of oversized lizards like you think you can match me?"
"One swing of this sword, and nothing survives! That's the power of the weapon that seals demon lords!"
As he roared triumphantly, the surviving demons around him, though still licking their wounds, saw that the dragons were all dead and broke into cheers:
"Lord Li Yan! Your power is unmatched!"
"Lord Li Yan! Strongest in the world!"
"Lord Li Yan! Supreme among demons!"
All the praise echoed across the battlefield, so loud and over-the-top that even Li Yan himself almost felt bad about devouring them for strength.
But then he reminded himself—he hadn't actually fought the Demon King yet, just his minions. These bootlickers still had their uses.
Time to move on.
"Silence, all of you."
Li Yan raised his Pure Yang Sword, about to speak again, when suddenly—a terrifying pressure crashed down on the battlefield. His eyes shot up toward the sky.
Hovering above was a dragon—over twenty meters long, its scales a dazzling silver-white. The sunlight reflected off her body, making her shimmer like a blade.
"ROAR!"
With a deafening roar, Ling'er dove down. Her razor-sharp claws swung through the air with brutal force.
She moved like lightning—barely a blink, and she was already right in front of Li Yan. Her claws tore through the air so fast they caused a sonic boom.
Li Yan barely had time to react. He knew he couldn't dodge, so he raised the Pure Yang Sword in front of him, releasing a protective shield of sword energy.
BOOM—!
The sound echoed like a giant bell. Li Yan was slammed into the ground so hard that the earth trembled and dust flew everywhere.
When the smoke cleared, he was still standing—barely. Sword in hand, feet planted deep in the crater his body had just made.
"Shit…" Li Yan sucked in a breath. That dragon's strength was insane.
He looked up at Ling'er floating above and shouted, "Who the hell are you?! Are you the Demon King of Fire?!"
Ling'er didn't answer. She just gathered her divine power again, aiming to finish this fight in one blow.
Seeing that she had no intention of talking, Li Yan realized there was no point trying to reason with her.
Fine. If that's how she wanted it, he'd just unleash his secret weapon.
"Die!!"
Memories of this dragon wreaking havoc in Huomu City—slaughtering humans like it was a game—flashed through Ling'er's mind. Her rage boiled over.
She opened her mouth wide, and a massive water dragon burst out from the mist surrounding her. It roared down toward Li Yan.
Li Yan was startled by the attack's sheer power, but quickly glanced at the demons nearby, who were still just standing there watching.
He shoved the Pure Yang Sword into the ground and chanted in a deep voice:
"Gajana Snichiwa! Gajana Snichiwa!"
The chant activated the Demon-Sealing Array.
The moment the words left his mouth, 99 beams of light exploded upward from the land around Demon City—right where Li Yan stood.
The entire magical formation lit up across the continent of Old Asia. Every demon and even Ling'er the dragon found themselves trapped inside it.
"Demon-Sealing Array… activate!"
With a furious roar, Li Yan pulled his sword from the ground. Glowing threads spread out from the formation, wrapping themselves around every demon within the area.
When the threads reached Ling'er, a powerful shield flared up around her, blocking them from touching her or draining her magic.
The other demons weren't so lucky. No matter how they struggled or what spells they used, they couldn't break free.
"Lord Li Yan! What are you doing?!"
"Let us go!"
"Why are you doing this to us?!"
Their shouts filled the air, but Li Yan just smirked.
"Becoming fuel for my power boost? You should feel honored."
Panic spread like wildfire. The demons realized they were trapped and would soon be consumed. They fought harder—but it was useless.
One by one, they were drained dry. In just moments, their bodies shriveled into husks, like dried leaves. Then they dissolved into glowing orbs, just like the former Seven Demon Lords had, and were swallowed whole by Li Yan.
Even Ling'er's massive water dragon attack met the same fate.
Meanwhile, far away on Blue Star, Zhou Lan had just arrived. She immediately sensed the magical upheaval sweeping across the continents—but what was happening on Shendu's continent? That surge was way too massive.
Without hesitation, she manipulated gravity and shot toward the source.
At the same time, the other six Demon Kings across the continents also noticed the strange energy.
But they had their own problems to deal with and couldn't afford to investigate what was going on in Shendu's domain.
"....."