'Did I get him?'

A member of the Vermilion Blood Squad, Li Hong, gripped his sword's hilt even tighter. He could sense that his sword had broken through the veil of demonic qi to penetrate something, although all he could see was the pitch-black darkness.

'Yes, I thought as much!'

Despite the appearance of this

thing

looking like it was solely made out of darkness, something else must be inside it. If all this demonic qi had been a result of emission, then someone must be responsible.

No matter how demonic the bastard was, he should not be able to live after getting stabbed like this!

Li Hong was now convinced and twisted the sword even more... All the while crying out in elation inwardly at the weighty feeling transmitted to his hands.

"Kkuuuuuhk..."

A strange-sounding gasp registered in Li Hong's hearing. That gasp didn't sound like one made in pain but... But it sounded more like an inflated lung getting punctured and air leaking out from it. Yes, that gasp sounded crushed and distorted like that.

That gasp made Li Hong even more impatient. Endorphin crazily dyed his mind. Even if this result was a bit of a letdown, the fact that he personally killed this scary monster was something to be proud of for the rest of his life.

Squalch...!

When Li Hong twisted the sword even more, the sensation of internal organs entwining with the blade clearly registered in his fingertips.

'Yup, you're a human just like us. In the end, you won't live after your organs are cut into pieces!'

A cruel smirk formed on Li Hong's lips. He could see the thick and dark curtain of demonic qi gradually getting thinner. It was as if its vitality was ebbing away.

Li Hong's ecstasy grew leaps and bounds as he watched the demonic qi gradually vanish. Unfortunately, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when the pitch-black curtains finally dissipated.

"Kkuh-uuuuurhk...!"

"Jia... Jia He?!"

Li Hong's sword had indeed perfectly penetrated through a person's body. It had stabbed cleanly through the victim's solar plexus all the way to the hilt. The problem was that the victim turned out to be someone else and not Kang Jin-Ho.

'B-but, how?!'

The man with crimson blood flooding out of his mouth was Li Hong's comrade. More specifically, another member of the Vermilion Blood Squad named Jia He! And Jia He's disbelieving bloodshot eyes painfully looked away from his wound to Li Hong's horrified face.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Li Hong gasped in shock and confusion. "Ah, ah...?!"

What was he supposed to do here? Should he pull the sword out? But that would mean Jia He would die. However, Li Hong couldn't just leave the blade as it was, still entwined with Jia He's internal organs...!

"Looks like you're in a dilemma."

That was when a cold voice suddenly crept into Li Hong's hearing. Almost at the same time, Li Hong felt his blood freeze in his veins.

"Don't worry. I'll resolve your dilemma for you."

Then, a hand appeared. It was a pure-white hand. So white and frail-looking, and not scarred or blemished in any way, that no one would believe that hand actually belonged to the monster. And this slightly small hand brushed slowly past Li Hong's ear to reach out to his front.

POW!

Jia He's head unceremoniously exploded. Li Hong's eyes clearly and vividly witnessed this scene, albeit in excruciatingly slow motion.

"Euh...!"

The hand responsible for blowing apart Jia He's head now rested on Li Hong's shoulder next. He thought it'd feel as chilling and creepy as a snake licking at his skin, but no. He actually sensed warmth from the demon king's hand instead!

Shouldn't this feel strange? No, not really.

After all, the road leading to Hell was supposed to be paved with good intentions. The devil always seduced its victims through sweet and warm-sounding words, gifts, and inviting gestures. Just like how this hand felt so warm on Li Hong's shoulder!

Crunch!

Li Hong's shoulder was crushed. The gripping force breaking through that warmth quite literally turned Li Hong's shoulder into powder.

Li Hong's jaw fell, but no scream escaped from his mouth. Then again, no sound could be generated by a mouth that had opened on its own from the pain transcending past his imagination. All Li Hong could do now was spasm and shiver like a seizure patient.

Death seemed so obvious at this point. Failing to kill a monster meant said monster would kill him instead. Wasn't that such an obvious way of things?

The monster's hand finished crushing Li Hong's shoulder, then grabbed Li Hong's throat next. And then, it slowly raised him off his feet.

"Huh-urhk...!"

A noise similar to air escaping a balloon leaked out of Li Hong's mouth. At the same time, his eyes opened wider in shock.

He now could see Kang Jin-Ho. With the cloak of demonic qi gone, Kang Jin-Ho had returned to the appearance of a normal, plain-looking young man commonly found everywhere.

This shocking disharmony tightly choked Li Hong's throat. No, wait. He was wrong. It was Kang Jin-Ho's hand that was choking him!

Li Hong's body shivered. From the tip of his fingers all the way down to his toes, not a single part of his body was spared from this convulsion. His body had already escaped his control by then to convulse all on its own.

"No need to quiver," said Kang Jin-Ho, his lips curling up in a smirk. "You'll die, anyway."

When Li Hong heard that, his body abruptly stopped spasming. Kang Jin-Ho was right. What was there to be scared about? He was destined to die, anyway!

"Death can be a truly scary thing. However, sometimes it's better to die, right? Don't you agree?"

Crunch!

Kang Jin-Ho didn't bother to wait for a reply and crushed Li Hong's throat. Without saying anything, he stared at the lifeless corpse before letting it go.

Plop!

Li Hong's body crumbled to the ground. What was he thinking about as death came for him? Was he resentful for dying? Or was he relieved that death could finally liberate him from this terror?

No one would know. A dead man couldn't talk, after all!

"Amateurish," Kang Jin-Ho muttered while raising his head to look around him. Everything had come to a standstill.

All the martial artists who got penetrated by the demonic qi collapsed on the ground unconscious while convulsing violently. Those who initially wanted to pounce on Kang Jin-Ho were now standing some distance away, clearly hesitant to move.

Whether it was a martial artist or a demonic cultivator... None of them dared to move. Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly at this spectacle.

'Even if they all learned martial arts, things aren't the same as in the past...'

Kang Jin-Ho could sense it. The martial arts of these people calling themselves the 'Vermilion Blood Squad' weren't all that different from the martial arts of the orthodox faction warriors back in ancient Zhongyuan. Some aspects had changed, most likely due to time, but the fundamentals were the same.

However, martial arts were mastered by humans at the end of the day. Whatever technique it was, its power would depend on who mastered it. These people's techniques were obviously more refined and modern compared to their ancient counterparts. So much so that Kang Jin-Ho could finally appreciate how much martial arts had evolved over the years.

However, did that make these martial artists stronger than their ancient counterparts? No. Definitely not. Actually, these people were weaker. So, so much weaker!

These people didn't exude the venomous will, this obsessive desire, to kill their enemies once the fighting began even if it meant their bodies might get ripped apart in half. But that vibe was always present with the martial artists in the past. Right or wrong didn't matter in their pursuit of victory.

'These people have gotten too used to peace.'

Although that wasn't such a bad thing... Maybe the old era was the screwed-up one since everyone back then burned in the passionate desire to kill their opponents in a fight.

In a way, Kang Jin-Ho should be envious of this mindset. Since these people lived their entire lives in a peaceful era, they could think about the ifs and buts of their actions. Even if they didn't seem consciously aware of it.

Still, nothing changed the fact that these people were weak. Frail. And knowing this irritated Kang Jin-Ho for some reason.

"Is this all you have?" Kang Jin-Ho grunted, his gaze locked squarely on Cai Kechang. "...I asked you if this is all you have!"

"...!" Cai Kechang glared right back at Kang Jin-Ho with bloodshot eyes.

At the man who was mocking him but also lamenting this situation.

The demon king finished his advent to the mortal realm and easily turned the defenders' efforts into a futile waste of time. All of the defenders' preparation became meaningless.

Just a casual flick of the demon king's hand, and just one attack from him... were enough to break the defenders' will to fight and bathe the entire world in despair and terror.

"No, of course not," Kang Jin-Ho declared to himself. "If this is really all you have to offer, I wouldn't have people keep telling me about the might of the Crimson King's faction. Now, show me what you have prepared for me. You surely must know that this isn't enough to kill me. So, show me what you've got. Entertain me a little more!"

The response didn't come from Cai Kechang but from someone else. And not through words but with their swords, too!

Paaaahaat!

The noises of the feet powerfully kicking the ground were followed by the figures of the Vermilion Blood Squad, who had been keeping their distance and warily glaring at Kang Jin-Ho, suddenly charging straight at their target.

The first blade to reach Kang Jin-Ho's position gleamed eerily with the visibly azure sword qi permeating it. There was no need to explain how sharp that blade was at this point.

CLAAANG!

Unfortunately for the sword's wielder, though, such sharpness was still not enough to pierce Kang Jin-Ho's skin. The sword clashed against Kang Jin-Ho's hand and bounced away while making a harsh metallic noise.

Such an outcome should be enough to fluster the wielder, but the members of the Vermilion Blood Squad seemed rather experienced in the events of a battlefield. From the way the attacker calmly retrieved his weapon and dodged back, it was obvious how experienced this warrior was in working together with his comrades.

Four blades simultaneously aimed at Kang Jin-Ho's leg, side, spine, and the back of his head and closed in rapidly. A strange light flickered in Kang Jin-Ho's withdrawn eyes just then.

Wuuuooong...!

Demonic qi flooded out of Kang Jin-Ho's dantian to instantly reach his baihui point before coursing throughout his entire body. Demonic qi engulfed Kang Jin-Ho, and in less than a blink of an eye, it explosively stretched out in every direction.

"Kuh-hut?!"

This demonic qi!

One of the attackers, Jie Lun, watched with wide eyes as demonic qi strands writhed and wiggled like living entities while shooting toward his position. The sight of demonic qi strands thicker than tree logs writhing like snakes would make anyone freak out and nearly wet their pants, never mind even thinking about fighting back!

Jie Lun's complexion paled instantly. His instincts were screaming at him. They said,

'Get out of here! Run away, now!'

However, humans were humans because they could overcome their instincts. Those who had lived through countless life-threatening moments knew something others didn't. Being faithful to one's instincts could save a person's life, but sometimes, listening to the screams of one's instincts could be the worst thing imaginable.

Humans were supposed to flee at the first hint of danger. However, martial artists sometimes must overcome the danger and keep charging ahead!

"Uwaaaaaht!"

Jie Lun roared loudly. His sword qi grew even sharper to the point of physically changing the hue of his sword! The blade couldn't withstand the pressure after he shoved every ounce of his qi into it, and the whole weapon vibrated noisily. It seemed almost poised to explode into a million pieces while making screeching noises!

Jie Lun fiercely brought the sword down with all his might. Its target: the tendrils of demonic qi surging toward him!

The sword strike made with his entire being gifted him a favorable result. The surging demonic qi split apart to left and right as if it encountered an impregnable wall. If Jia Lun continued to push ahead like this...!

That was when this happened. The demonic qi splitting into two acted like a living being and changed its direction... to target Jia Lun's unguarded back!

"What?! That can't be...!"

STAAAB!

The pointy end of the demonic qi tendril penetrated into Jia Lun's back and broke out of his solar plexus. Jia Lun forced his trembling head to look down and was rewarded by the sight of the demonic qi tendril jutting out of his gut. As thick as a child's forearm, this ominous-looking tendril writhed and danced like a snake.

Jia Lun forced his head up. Something as simple as making his drooping head listen to his command proved to be extraordinarily tough.

Kang Jin-Ho was emotionlessly staring at his victim even as demonic qi continued to gush out of him.

Blood freely flowed out of Jia Lun's mouth. The horrifying pain he felt indicated his innards must be all crushed to mush. Even as he suffered from this crippling pain, Jia Lun directed his eyes filled with hatred and terror toward Kang Jin-Ho. "You... Mon... ster...!"

Even as life left him, Jia Lun shot a glare of undying resentment and hatred at Kang Jin-Ho.

"Monster, is it...?" Kang Jin-Ho smirked while retracting the demonic qi tendrils. "Really? Only with this much?"

Kang Jin-Ho heard that a lot in the past. Not just monster, but things like the demon king or the abominable devil, too.

He had seen and experienced far too many things to get triggered by such lame insults. Unfortunately for everyone else, Kang Jin-Ho's life had been far too cruel and cold for him to feel guilty from such resentful glares.

"That's not enough to call me a monster, though," Kang Jin-Ho muttered, his smirk deepening.

'Allow me to demonstrate what a real monster looks like.'

Kang Jin-Ho extended his hands to his left and right. The space wavered like ripples spreading on a calm lake's surface. And he unhesitantly shoved his hands into the rippling space, then yanked out his favorite weapons—the two unmistakable swords. After tightly gripping the Crimson Destiny and Azuremourne, Kang Jin-Ho's smirk evolved into a full-on toothy grin.

"I guess this must be the first time in a millennium," said Kang Jin-Ho as dark crimson energy rapidly enveloped the two swords. "Consider it an honor."

Kang Jin-Ho dashed forward without a moment's hesitation.

On this night, when even the moon hid itself behind the clouds... Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor crossed a thousand years to descend to this place.