The atmosphere inside the grand hall of the Myriad Demon Cavern, headquarters of the Demonic Sect, was so oppressive it felt almost solid.
Genichi sat upon the black jade throne, looking down at the Demonic Sect's leaders from above.
His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest, producing a steady, rhythmic sound.
Each tap struck the hearts of the Demonic Sect's leaders like a hammer. They stood on either side of the hall with their heads lowered, none daring to meet Genichi's gaze.
Over the past two months, they had thoroughly experienced just what this young man was capable of.
He didn't kill them. He didn't beat them. He rarely even cursed at them.
He simply maintained that calm, almost indifferent attitude as he pushed them, step by step, into a corner from which there was no escape.
Every act of resistance ended with someone being devoured by the Human Sovereign Banner. Every objection dissolved into silence. Every attempt to test him only brought deeper fear.
Over the past two months, several thousand more soul slaves had been added to the Human Sovereign Banner.
They weren't disciples of the Demonic Sect, but the impostors from those female-oriented worlds.
Demonic Sect disciples captured them from every corner of the cultivation world, threw them into the dungeons, and then Genichi personally sent them into the Human Sovereign Banner.
Their souls struggled, twisted, and screamed within the banner, transforming into streaks of golden patterns that became part of it.
Those patterns grew more numerous and denser by the day, turning the once brilliantly golden surface of the banner into a vast sea of dark gold.
Whenever another soul was added, Genichi could feel the Human Sovereign Banner growing stronger. It felt as though some enormous slumbering beast were slowly awakening.
This female-oriented cultivation world truly hadn't disappointed Genichi.
Every one of those impostors seemed to have absurdity running through their veins.
They could abandon their families over love at first sight, betray their sects over a single promise, or slaughter innocents for the sake of some doomed romance.
Their love stood above everything else. Logic meant nothing to them, and reason had long since vanished from their minds.
Genichi killed them without the slightest hesitation.
Not because he was cold-blooded, but because they deserved to die.
Every lovesick man and resentful woman brought before him had innocent blood on their hands.
They had hurt far too many people in the name of love, destroyed far too many families under the excuse of sincerity, and trampled far too many rules while blaming everything on fate.
If they didn't die, even Heaven itself would not tolerate it.
In two months, Genichi had not only increased the Human Sovereign Banner's power considerably, but had also completely unified the Demonic Sect.
The Demonic Sect's leaders, who had once ruled their own territories and slaughtered one another at every opportunity, had now been twisted into a single rope under his control.
Not because they wanted to cooperate.
Because they didn't dare refuse.
Genichi had planted Schrifts deep within their souls, giving him complete control over their lives and deaths.
They could rebel against anyone else.
But they couldn't rebel against Genichi.
Because rebelling against Genichi was the same as rebelling against their own lives.
"Every member of the Demonic Sect will attack the Taixuan Holy Land."
Genichi's voice was quiet, yet it echoed clearly through the hall, cold and unmistakable.
"Spare no one."
The hall fell silent for a moment.
Then the expressions of the Demonic Sect's leaders changed.
The Taixuan Holy Land was one of the oldest and most powerful orthodox factions in the cultivation world.
It had stood for thousands of years, possessed an unfathomably deep foundation, and had countless powerful cultivators among its ranks.
It was even said that an ancient monster of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm still watched over the Taixuan Holy Land.
And he wanted the Demonic Sect to attack it?
Wasn't that the same as ordering them to their deaths?
The Grand Elder raised his head, his wrinkled face filled with hesitation and fear.
"Master, the Taixuan Holy Land has a Tribulation Transcendence Realm expert guarding it. Even if all of us joined forces, we still wouldn't be a match for them. Perhaps... perhaps we should consider another approach?"
Genichi looked at him without the slightest emotion in his eyes.
"Are you teaching me how to do things?"
The Grand Elder's body trembled violently. He immediately lowered his head until his forehead nearly touched the floor.
"This subordinate wouldn't dare! I'm only... only worried that... the Taixuan Holy Land is simply too powerful. Even if we throw everyone we have at them, we might not..."
"Might not what?"
Genichi interrupted him. His voice remained calm, but there was a blade hidden beneath that calm.
"Might not conquer the Taixuan Holy Land?"
"Or might not come back alive?"
The Grand Elder's lips trembled, but no words came out.
The other Demonic Sect leaders lowered their heads as well, not daring to make a sound.
Of course they knew they couldn't conquer the Taixuan Holy Land.
Of course they knew going there was practically suicide.
Of course they knew Genichi was pushing them straight into a pit of fire.
But what could they say?
That they refused?
That they wouldn't go?
That he had no right to send them to their deaths?
They didn't dare.
Genichi held their lives in his hands more easily than he could crush an ant.
He didn't need a reason.
He didn't need to explain himself.
He didn't need anyone's permission.
He only had to give the order, and they had to obey.
Refuse, and they would die.
Go, and at least there was still a sliver of hope.
Genichi rose from the throne and descended the steps.
His footsteps echoed through the vast hall.
One.
Two.
Three.
Each step seemed to land directly upon the hearts of the Demonic Sect's leaders, making their breathing quicken and their scalps go numb.
He stopped before the Grand Elder and looked down at him.
"Don't tell me you actually thought you still had a choice."
Genichi's voice was quiet, yet carried a chilling coldness that left them in despair.
"I'm giving you an order. I'm informing you of what's going to happen. I'm not discussing it with you."
The Grand Elder's knees went weak, and he dropped to the floor.
The other Demonic Sect leaders immediately followed, kneeling with their foreheads against the ground and their bodies trembling.
They finally understood.
Genichi wasn't trying to reason with them.
He wasn't weighing the advantages and disadvantages with them.
And he certainly wasn't bargaining with them.
He was simply telling them one thing.
They had to go.
Whether they lived or died once they got there was their problem.
Genichi had only one objective.
The Taixuan Holy Land had to be destroyed.
Genichi turned around, returned to his throne, and sat down.
His fingers once again began tapping against the armrest in that steady rhythm.
"Go. In three days, I want to see the gates of the Taixuan Holy Land broken open. If you can't do that, then don't bother coming back."
The Demonic Sect's leaders rose to their feet, lowered their heads, and withdrew from the hall.
Their steps were heavy, as though they were walking on cotton, or perhaps along the edge of a blade.
Their hearts were filled with regret and anger, but they didn't dare speak of it, didn't dare let it show, and barely even dared to think about it.
Because Genichi could sense their emotions through the Schrifts, through the Human Sovereign Banner, and through that invisible, omnipresent pressure surrounding them.
Only after they had left the Myriad Demon Cavern did the Grand Elder finally lose control.
He viciously kicked a nearby stone pillar. The pain made his face twist, but it did nothing to relieve the suffocating frustration inside him.
"Damn it! The Taixuan Holy Land isn't something you can casually provoke! He moves his lips once and suddenly we're the ones being sent off to die!"
The Second Elder sighed, his sinister face filled with helplessness.
"What else can we do? You want to enter the Myriad Souls Banner instead? Fighting the Taixuan Holy Land to the death means dying at worst, but if the Myriad Souls Banner turns you into a banner slave, you'll reach the point where you can neither live nor die."
"If you die normally, you can still reincarnate. Enter the Myriad Souls Banner, and you'll never escape for all eternity."
"So which one would you choose?"
(End of Chapter)
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