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"A city… even back in the age of the Eight Demon Lords?"
Shendu gazed down at the massive, fortified city walls in front of him.
To ordinary humans, those walls would be an impossible barrier. But to Shendu, they barely reached his chest.
"The demons guarding this place reek of darkness, but their power… they're nothing but ants," he muttered as he glanced up at the city wall, where some small, trembling demons had already noticed him.
"Halt! State your name and rank, demon lord!"
One of the demons—a winged creature baring its fangs—forced himself to step forward and shout, clearly trying to hide his fear.
"Demon lord, huh?"
Shendu narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. A demon lord…? This city actually has a ruling demon?
If that were true, he had to give credit where it was due—the dark energy that birthed the Eight Demon Lords really was something else.
Shendu had assumed he'd have to conquer the world using brute force, bringing an end to the chaos and ruling over everything himself.
According to the ancient memories passed down to him, demons once ran wild and there was no such thing as order.
But now? That memory might've been off—but only just. In fact, things were turning out better than expected.
If he could take down this city's "demon lord," the rest of the demons would fall in line.
And the few stubborn ones? They could be sent to meet the dark energy that created them.
With that thought, Shendu spoke calmly, "I'm no demon lord. Just a wandering little demon from the wastelands. Not worth mentioning."
"I just came to Huomu City to take a look around."
The demon guarding the gate silently cursed to himself.A little wasteland demon?With that towering body?And all that dark energy swirling around him?He's clearly a terrifying powerhouse!
And he calls himself a little demon?!
But since he was no match for Shendu, the trembling demon guard forced a respectful tone, "My lord, you jest. Huomu City welcomes you."
Before he could finish, another demon guard leaned over and whispered into his ear.
"Hey, bro. Lord Huoyuan gave us strict orders: no demons from outside the city are allowed in."
"You're not planning to go against Lord Huoyuan's command, are you?"
The first guard froze, then seemed to realize something and whispered back in rebuttal.
"You idiot. The Eight Demon Lords have appeared in the world again. We just don't know what they look like yet."
"Look at this guy—dragon head, human body. Okay, not very intimidating on the outside... not scary at all, honestly."
"But think about it—his dark energy feels just like Lord Huoyuan's. Maybe even stronger!"
"The Eight Demon Lords are destined to be our rulers. That's been decreed by the dark energy itself—no debate!"
"Even Lord Huoyuan, once the dark energy's favorite, would be nothing but a firefly compared to the moon in front of the Demon Lords!"
After that little speech, the guard who was about to stop Shendu just stood there, stunned.
His partner actually made a good point. The Eight Demon Lords were meant to be their future masters.
Watching the two guards whispering to each other, Shendu frowned in annoyance.
"You done whispering yet? Move—or die."
That shut them up real quick. The two guards scrambled to speak."No problem, my lord, of course not!"
"It's just… your body's way too huge to fit through the city gate…"
"Hmph."
Shendu gave a cold snort. A fierce gust of wind swept past the guards.
In a flash, Shendu activated his powers—floating mid-air and teleporting with terrifying speed. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from their sight.
The two demon guards blinked, rubbed their eyes, and wondered if they were hallucinating.Where'd he go?
Only when the smaller demons under their command pointed it out did they realize—Shendu was already inside the city.
The moment he entered, Shendu's eyes glowed red. He immediately sensed where the dark energy was most concentrated—it was obvious.
A massive and extravagant palace stood at the city center. The thing was at least a thousand meters long and over fifty meters tall—like it could scrape stars from the sky.
"My lord, would you like a quick tour of Huomu City?"
The two demon guards—now acting like clingy leeches—had abandoned their posts and flown to Shendu's side, bowing respectfully with their bat-like wings fluttering behind them.
Shendu replied coolly, "Go on, then."
He didn't stop walking as he spoke. Step by step, he headed toward the towering palace.
"Wait up, my lord!"
"No need to rush! You're new around here—it's always better to have a guide!"
The two demons rushed to catch up, then started explaining as they walked.
"My lord, Huomu City was built by Lord Huoyuan himself!"
"Sure, we're not as flashy as some other places, but this is still the strongest—and also most humble—demon city around!"
"That area over there? That's where the slaves live. We also use it for entertainment—classic demon fun."
"Just over there is the market where we trade slaves and goods. Demons go there every day to blow off steam!"
"You wanna check it out later, my lord?"
"Say something, my lord!"
"Huomu City is super welcoming to visiting demons. If you need slaves to help build your palace or estate, no problem!"
"We've been living here for years. There's almost nothing we don't know about this place!"
They kept rambling, but Shendu wasn't hearing what he wanted. He finally cut them off with a cold voice:
"So, this Lord Huoyuan you keep mentioning—how powerful is he? Can he destroy the world?"
The two demons froze. They'd never actually seen Huoyuan fight, but world-destroying power? That seemed… a bit much.
Still, hearing Shendu toss around that kind of language so casually made them wonder—was this newcomer even stronger than Huoyuan?
If so… could he be the next lord of Huomu City?
"What are you staring at? I asked you a question."
"Y-Yes, my lord!"
"Our Lord Huoyuan might not have the power to literally destroy the world… but he is the ruler of the top-ranked demon city. If he went all-out, maybe he'd be close to what you're talking about!"
Their answer made Shendu pause for a moment—then a smile crept across his face.
"Interesting."
He hadn't expected that, aside from the Eight Demon Lords, there were other demons who could reach such heights of power.
Sure, to the Eight Demon Lords, world-destroying strength was child's play. A flick of the wrist, and it was done.
But for a demon to get that strong on their own, just by absorbing dark energy—without any divine tools or authority?
That was rare.
Maybe… with a bit of help, this Huoyuan could become a useful pawn when the time came to face the Eight Immortals.
"....."