Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Never Changes
Arc: The Great Guerrilla War
Scarlet King spoke in a calm voice, smooth as flowing water:
"Come… it's time for the meeting."
Lin Yuan frowned in confusion.
"What do you mean by starting the meeting?"
Scarlet King replied while pulling a flying jade slip seemingly from thin air.
The slip glowed faintly with green light, its surface covered with delicate Dao inscriptions.
"I used a jade slip
to summon the members to gather at the primary headquarters."
Ikalath's eyes widened slightly.
(Even I didn't sense him sending the jade message…)
(This man truly is a demon.)
Scarlet King adjusted his military cap and asked Lin Yuan:
"How many members does the faction currently have?"
Lin Yuan answered hesitantly, his voice trembling.
"Less than five hundred…"
He clenched his teeth as he spoke.
Scarlet King stopped walking.
He turned toward Lin Yuan.
"What? Did members leave the faction?"
Lin Yuan answered angrily:
"This is because of the Dragon Gang.
They intimidated our members…
and half of them fled."
Scarlet King exhaled slowly. His breath carried a chilling coldness.
"Fine.
And why are you angry?"
"Those members were weak from the beginning."
"It is better that we lost them now…
before they became weak vertebrae within the strong bones of the faction."
Faction Headquarters
At the center of the sect stood a gigantic circular structure.
This was the headquarters of the Inky Rebirth Darkness Faction.
The building was enormous.
Its length stretched nearly one million kilometers across the east and south,
and its width nearly five million kilometers toward the east and north.
Scarlet King, Ikalath, and Lin Yuan entered the structure.
Heavy silence filled the hall.
Their footsteps echoed across the stone floor.
Members whispered among themselves.
"Who will become the faction leader?"
"If Scarlet King becomes the leader, I'll leave…
I won't follow a nine-year-old child, even if he's a genius."
"I'll stay at the back and listen to the speech first."
The hall was immense.
Its emptiness caused every whisper to echo like sound reverberating inside a deep cave.
Roughly three hundred members stood scattered throughout the hall.
The walls were decorated with slogans.
"Glory to the faction!"
Another banner read:
"Sacrifice your life for the faction!"
Various ornaments filled the chamber.
Rows of chairs were arranged carefully.
At the front stood a massive elevated stage—nearly five hundred meters high.
Flags lined the hall.
Each carried the faction's emblem:
An ink pen drawing across a sheet of paper.
Scarlet King and Lin Yuan stepped into the preparation area behind the stage.
Lin Yuan asked nervously:
"So… what do we do now?"
Scarlet King placed his hand on Lin Yuan's shoulder.
"I will become you."
Suddenly—
His body dissolved into liquid darkness.
Like living ink swallowing light.
Strange markings crawled across his skin.
The darkness shifted.
Reshaped.
Until a new figure stood before Lin Yuan.
Long blue hair.
White skin.
Golden eyes.
A golden imperial robe.
Scarlet King had become a perfect duplicate of Lin Yuan.
He smiled.
A toothless, demonic smile.
His pupils widened as he spoke in a voice like ink scratching across paper.
"It is time…
to turn the members into slaves of the faction."
Scarlet King began walking.
The wide golden robe flowed behind him.
Lin Yuan watched nervously.
(One mistake…)
(And everything will collapse.)
Scarlet King stepped onto the stage.
He placed his hand upon its surface.
Silence spread through the hall.
All eyes turned toward the platform.
Some members smirked mockingly.
Others waited silently.
Scarlet King raised his voice.
"Honored members…
We are gathered here today to discuss the faction's goals,
its rank structure,
and the path of advancement within it."
A young member shouted from the crowd:
"Prove that you deserve to be the faction leader!"
Scarlet King answered with cold arrogance.
"Can you build an entire faction with hundreds of members…
within a few short weeks?"
"Answer that yourself."
Scarlet King released a faint aura.
Suddenly—
The air grew heavy.
Everyone felt pressure crushing their chests.
Breathing became difficult.
Then he spoke again.
"The answer… is no."
"I am the one who, within weeks,
built this faction…
confronted Long Wei…
stood against the sect itself…
and defeated them."
The pressure vanished instantly.
Then he continued.
"So now…
do I deserve to be the leader?"
He paused.
"But the real question is…
do you deserve to be my followers?"
The members stared at the stage.
No one dared speak.
Because suddenly they understood.
The question had changed.
It was no longer:
Does the leader deserve it?
It had become:
Do they deserve to remain here?
Scarlet King opened his arms.
"Anyone who does not wish to join the faction…
the door is open."
Then his voice rose sharply.
"But—
If you wish to become strong…
If you want power…
wealth…
women…
and authority that makes others kneel before you…"
Some members shifted uneasily.
A few stood and walked toward the exit.
But the overwhelming majority remained.
Some girls blushed slightly at his words.
Others frowned.
(What does he mean by women and power?)
(Another arrogant man… I'm leaving.)
One girl stood and left the hall.
Meanwhile, many male members grinned.
Scarlet King thought coldly:
(Fools…)
(Believing anything spoken by a stranger.)
(Humans always follow the loudest voice.)
A man raised his hand.
He was a Qi Condensation cultivator — Level 3.
His brown hair was cut extremely short.
A large scar stretched across his face.
His aura was powerful.
"My name is Meng Ling."
"I challenge you to a duel…
for the position of faction leader."
Scarlet King laughed internally.
(I am weaker than him right now…)
(There is a five-level difference between us.)
(It's Ikalath's turn…)
(Qi Condensation — Level 5.)
Scarlet King smiled coldly.
"You are not worthy of fighting me."
He pointed behind him.
"But…
if you defeat my brother Ikalath…
I will make you the faction leader."
Then he added calmly:
"But the fight will be tomorrow.
In the sect's Blood Arena."
He glanced around the hall.
"After all…
we cannot fight inside the faction headquarters, can we?"