CH 412

'What a grand scale...!'

Thanks to his senses sharpened through the demonic cultivation, Wang Yuan knew the cramped passageway had been going deeper underground. That meant this humongous space was a basement of some place.

'Huh. Didn't know such places even existed…’

Wang Yuan could scarcely believe that a space this large could exist below a crowded city. This place was spacious enough to fit several soccer fields, with room to spare!

But Wang Yuan's surprise didn't stem from the sheer size of the space or its existence. No, what stunned him was the number of people filling up this huge space.

All of them were demonic cultivators!

It felt like every individual persecuted by society for mastering demonic arts had congregated in this place. So many of the rare-as-they-get demonic cultivators that couldn't normally be found in any other circumstances had shown up today!

Since these people were technically Wang Yuan's comrades, he should've been comforted, at least by a little, by the sight of so many of them here. But all he could feel right now was this unmaskable bitterness instead.

The order these cultivators had received should be the same as the one Wang Yuan got. The fact that so many people decided to show up because of a random message that could be nothing more than chasing clouds... It could only mean the situation was desperate enough for these people to chase after those illusory clouds.

'Ah. So… is this what the gathering of the defeated looks like?'

Wang Yuan could only chuckle hollowly. With a gathering of this many people, things should've been quite lively, but this underground space was eerily quiet. Everyone had gloomy expressions while scanning their surroundings, and some had their eyes closed while waiting for something to happen.

Their shoulders were slumped, dissatisfaction barely hidden in their faces.

If the CCP got wind of this spectacle, it'd label this meeting as a gathering of dissidents trying to sow discontent in society and try to arrest everyone!

What saddened Wang Yuan was that he was in the same boat as everyone here.

Wang Yuan wordlessly stood at the back of this massive crowd.

'I wonder what will happen…’

With this many people, nothing of note happening would be some miracle. However, even a dummy could tell that something major was afoot with how the organization's executives had broken their decades-long silence like this.

Thanks to this… vague anticipation, the huge underground space was filled with an unexplainable buzz and noises of heavy breathing.

And so… How long had it been since Wang Yuan entered here? Just as his patience was about to run after one solid hour of waiting, the last person to walk through the cramped passageway cried out. “The doorway is sealed shut!”

That man's voice echoed in the space, prompting several men kitted out in matching black robes to step up on the raised platform.

The speaker scanned the crowd and addressed them in a loud voice. “Thank you for coming.”

“...”

However, no one responded. They simply pressured the man to get the meeting going already with their silent glares.

The man continued to scan the crowd before contemplatively nodding away. “Listen to me, my brothers!”

His voice echoed loudly within the underground space.

“We have long been persecuted for no other reason than our identity as demonic cultivators!”

Wang Yuan's expression crumpled. He didn't take valuable time out of his busy schedule to come here and listen to that crap. Who cared about sympathy when all he wanted was a realistic solution!

“Just because we walk on the path of demonic cultivation, we've been murdered for no reason. We've been treated less than human!”

The robed man's voice grew louder and louder. However, Wang Yuan was already turning his phone on. He had no desire to listen to or humor that man.

This part of the speech might be necessary for someone addressing such a large gathering, but Wang Yuan wasn't interested. He figured he'd pretend to pay attention for a bit before slipping out of this place.

However, just as he began thinking about his escape…

“Listen, my brothers! Our opportunity has finally come!”

...Opportunity?

Wang Yuan looked up from his phone's screen.

“Only one thing kept us going strong throughout all those years of persecution and hardship! And that was… The promise of the Demon Emperor descending to our land once more!”

Wang Yuan bit his lower lip.

'How can anyone be that stupid? Seriously now...!'

Did these old fogeys think anybody would be gullible enough to still believe that nonsense?

Many moons ago, Wang Yuan's father would make him sit down and listen to various tales. One of those stories was about the return of the Demon Emperor to the modern era to lead all the humiliated, tortured demonic cultivators to a new land. To their promised land!

Unfortunately, all persecuted races and religions had a story of a savior descending from some imaginary heavenly place to save them. It was nothing more than a sweet-sounding way to comfort those who could barely survive the hardships of life.

Wang Yuan had no desire to humor that pathetic attempt at feeling better about themselves.

'F*ck. I've wasted my time.'

It seemed quite a few people held the same view as Wang Yuan. Several had broken away from the crowd to head toward the exit.

The executives seemed to be thinking of reorganizing and starting something big, but a gathering of demonic cultivators like this was risky.

How would the martial artists of the orthodox path respond when all the… 'cockroaches' they failed to stamp out—because of how well-hidden and spread out they were in Zhongyuan—had gathered in one spot? Even a moron could tell what they would do.

And so, just as Wang Yuan let go of the final vestige of hope in his heart and turned toward the exit…

The robed man's next words slammed into his hearing like a thunderclap.

“The elder guarding the Demon Emperor's land, Elder Chang Min, has asked us to bring you all here today.”

'...Chang Min?'

This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Although the term Demon Emperor meant little to Wang Yuan, the name of Chang Min definitely was the opposite.

All the demonic cultivators filing out of the underground space stopped and turned around.

'He's still alive after all these years?'

Everyone here knew that name. After all, Chang Min was famous for standing up for the demonic cultivators and fighting for their sake during the era of the harshest persecution of the demonic cultivators. Their thoughts of leaving were momentarily stopped by that famous name.

And then, an old man leisurely stepped on to the raised platform.

“...Ah!”

Wang Yuan's jaw fell in astonishment and awe. He could sense it. He could sense the pure and intense demonic qi coursing through that old man!

Not the turbid and low-grade demonic qi coming off from the demonic cultivators nearby, but the kind that brought tears to Wang Yuan's eyes simply by sensing it… Such demonic qi was overflowing from that old man.

That was when Wang Yuan instinctively knew. That old man was Chang Min! Although his appearance was beyond pitiful and shabby, a book shouldn't be judged by its cover.

A demonic cultivator that made Wang Yuan wonder how anyone could reach such heights was standing on the platform, looking back at the crowd.

'Maybe… Just maybe!'

Expectation bloomed on Wang Yuan's face again. If it was Chang Min taking the lead...!

With Chang Min stepping into the leadership role, the demonic cultivators might not need to hide in darkness any further. Just like how countless martial artists had gathered under the banners of the Three Kings ruling Zhongyuan, the name of Chang Min might serve as a shelter where demonic cultivators could gather for safety.

However, what Chang Min said next was completely out of Wang Yuan's expectations.

“I have…” Chang Min scanned the crowd and muttered gravely. “...Witnessed the noble being's descent!”

“...?”

The noble being? What?

How could someone like Chang Min say stuff like that? No existing demon cultivator would be good enough to be called by that title by Chang Min, so just how…

“...N-no, wait. Could it be?” Wang Yuan's face quickly dyed in shock.

What the black-robed man said overlapped with Chang Min's words in Wang Yuan's mind. Since they were basically the same, it could only mean that…

“Indeed, I've witnessed him with my own two eyes. I've heard his voice with my own two ears. And I've witnessed his strength with my own body!”

When Chang Min's voice loudly echoed in the underground space, the gathered demonic cultivators grew tense.

The legend! The tale passed down only as a legend, a myth, among the demonic cultivators...!

However, Chang Min was saying that a tale so tall and unrealistic that it could never become a reality was real!

Chang Min loudly declared to the crowd, “Yes, the Demon Emperor has descended to the current era!”

Wang Yuan staggered on his feet. Not because he was awestruck, though. No, he was too shocked to stand straight.

“And he told us to gather. He said he needs all of you. All of us! The noble being, who raised the divine swords to prove he's their rightful master… has taken pity on us and wishes to open a brand-new world for our sake!”

Wang Yuan's sight grew blurry from all the warm tears.

'Son of a b*tch...!'

He was definitely not happy or moved by what he heard. His tears were nothing more than his accumulated sorrow threatening to burst out.

“The era of hardships for us is nearing its end! Now that the legend has become a reality, we shall gather under his banner and recreate the world... ruled by the demon cult!”

Someone in the crowd suddenly yelled loudly, “Do you expect us to believe that?!”

“Do not doubt my testimony!” Chang Min loudly roared. “I've personally witnessed the noble Demon Emperor opening the hidden secret cave! And that area cannot be accessed unless one is the Demon Emperor! He has forgiven me… And he has forgiven all of us!”

Weighty silence descended in the underground space.

This was an unbelievable story. However, the demonic cultivators had to believe it.

'The Demon Emperor...?'

Wang Yuan furiously rubbed his face. According to the legends, the Demon Emperor was strong enough to trample Heaven and Earth. Of course, those stories seemed too good to be true.

However, the fact that the secret cave had been opened seemed to point to the Demon Emperor's descent. The method of opening it had been lost to history, after all. Simply put, an individual possessing the lost cultivation techniques of the demon cult had appeared. Wang Yuan finally realized what that signified, and his body began shuddering powerfully.

“Do not doubt this truth!” Chang Min roared once more. “And our Demon Emperor is not a merciful person! The Demon Emperor demands your absolute subordination! Anyone daring to earn his wrath shall experience the most wretched death imaginable on this Earth! Our noble Demon Emperor lords over all things in creation. He is the lord of demons. The lord of every one of us!”

Wang Yuan nervously gulped. Once the demonic qi of a martial artist reached the limit of their threshold, they would lose their humanity and become an incomparably cruel and violent monster. That was the story for 'regular' demonic cultivators, so how much worse would the Demon Emperor be? How much crueler and despicable would the Demon Emperor be compared to them?

Ecstasy and fear washed over Wang Yuan to take over his senses.

Someone in the crowd nervously asked, “W-what are we supposed to do, sir?”

“The Demon Emperor wishes for us to assemble. And he declared he shall demonstrate to us all what the true demonic cultivation is, not the shabby third-rate methods you were forced to master!”

“W-where is the Demon Emperor right now, sir?”

“He is…”

Wang Yuan chuckled hollowly. Who cared about where the Demon Emperor was? What really mattered was Chang Min's declaration of the descent of the Demon Emperor, their master. If this individual truly was the lord of all things in Heaven and Earth, blood and death should accompany him, regardless of where he was.

Without a doubt!

***

“Kyah~hahahahaha~!”

Kang Jin-Ho quietly addressed the little girl. “Seon-Yeong?”

“Ah?”

“...It's not nice to yank and pull at my hair, okay?”

“Kyah~hahahaha!”

Kang Jin-Ho securely gripped the legs of Seon-Yeong riding on his shoulders and yanking at his hair. He couldn't help but sigh under his breath, though!

“Oppa! That! I want that!”

“...You want what?”

“Cotton candy! I want cotton candy!”

“Mm? Didn't you have some already?”

“Cotton caaaaandy! I want cotton caaaaaaaaaaaandy!”

“Don't shout, okay? I'll buy it. Come on.”

“Hurry! Hurry!”

Kang Jin-Ho ardently stared at the heavens above.

'Why can't it rain today?'

This place had to be Hell. This so-called 'amusement' park had to be a hell designed to test a man's endurance and patience! Not even the infamous demon cult's jails were this torturous!

“Wait! Wait!” Kang Jin-Ho cried out. “You mustn't separate from the group! You're going to get lost!”

“Kyahahahaha!”

Kang Jin-Ho hurriedly chased after the running kids that had clearly lost their minds and herded them to the center of the road, all while silently holding back his tears.

“Waaaaah! It hurts! Waaaaah!”

In the middle of this chaos, one of the children tripped and fell to the ground and began wailing where he sat.

'...I'm the one who wants to cry here!'

Dealing with young kids in a normal setting was already a heavy burden, to begin with, but… But! Why did it feel like the energy levels and enthusiasm of these children had doubled, nay tripled, as soon as they stepped into the amusement park?!

Kids continued to scream “Kyah!” as they ran around seemingly everywhere. Kang Jin-Ho groaned constantly while trying his best to control the unruly children.

“Mister Jin-Ho!”

That was when someone called out his name, and Kang Jin-Ho quickly turned his head to find out who it could be.