Chapter 476 - Demon General Strongman

The Clear Shallows Pavilion was situated in the eastern section of the Ancient Demon Domain, not far away from the entrance.

The Ancient Demon Domain had seven royal pavilions controlled by the seven Demon Kings scattered throughout mountains. There was also a royal palace that was the true heart of the Ancient Demon Domain; it was where the Demon Emperor lived. However, the average person did not know where it was.

Ten of the seventy new disciples had joined the Clear Shallows Pavilion. One of them was Huangfu Qi, who was now the Clear Shallows King’s direct disciple. Long Chen and the other eight would become regular disciples. Since they had just arrived and were relatively weak, they would be the lowest-ranked disciples in the Clear Shallows Pavilion. They would have to slowly work hard to become outstanding.

Of course, Long Chen was the exception.

The other disciples who followed the Clear Shallows King cast Long Chen occasional glances. They were shocked that Long Chen was acting so nonchalantly even though he had lost his right to be a direct disciple, though they were more so impressed by his attitude.

Long Chen may look like he had less potential than the rest, but he was the strongest among the seventy people. If he could increase his cultivation level, he would be the person the rest could only wish to become.

Along the way, the Clear Shallows King showed great concern and care for Huangfu Qi, but completely forgot about Long Chen and the rest.

Very soon, they arrived at the Clear Shallows Pavilion.

The Ancient Demon Domain was situated on a group of gray mountains, so the Clear Shallows Pavilion’s environment could only be considered moderately decent as far as aesthetics went. However, it was indeed better than the other pavilions despite the fact that not many plants could grow here.

“There must be a strange item beneath the Ancient Demon Domain that is sucking all the life force out of this place,” said Little Cat from the Primordial Realm.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

“What is it?” Long Chen asked curiously.

“I don’t know either. The masters of the Ancient Demon Domain are too strong for you, so you should focus on increasing your cultivation level for now. If you can’t get the Emperor Flame Pearl, no matter how powerful I am, I will not be able to plant the Golden Crow’s power in your body.”

This was indeed an urgent matter.

“Don’t worry. My current combat abilities far exceed my actual cultivation level. This means I can kill beasts several levels above me. As long as I can find a place where beasts gather, my cultivation level will skyrocket,” Long Chen said confidently.

Usually, blood from beasts three levels above him would allow him to ascend by one stage. Long Chen only had as much Qi as a First Passage Stage cultivator, but killing Category Four Heaven-tier beasts was not a problem to him. Even Category Three beasts would greatly progress his cultivation, let alone Category Four.

During his conversation with Little Cat, the Clear Shallows King suddenly turned around and looked at the new disciples. “After you all have entered the Clear Shallows Pavilion, you will be under one of the Demon Generals, Demon General Strongman. Demon General Strongman is in charge of the training and development of regular Clear Shallows Pavilion disciples. When you meet him, you will refer to him as ‘Lord Demon General!’”

“Yes!” Long Chen and the rest nodded.

The Demon Kings were the only ones in the Ancient Demon Domain who had the right to take in disciples. The normal disciples like Long Chen were like soldiers and the Demon Generals were their superiors. The difference between regular and direct disciples was like heaven and earth. Of course, he knew that even direct disciples could be demoted to regular disciples if they did not perform well.

The Clear Shallows King led them into the Clear Shallows Pavilion’s martial arena. Long Chen could already feel an immense and violent aura ahead. This was an aura generated from a hundred experts training together, which was enough to intimidate Long Chen.

When they approached, Long Chen saw more than a hundred young disciples training in the vast training grounds. They were all wearing simple black training armor, so they looked like normal soldiers with gigantic “demon” characters on their chests.

About seventy of the one hundred disciples were quietly cultivating in a corner while the others were sparring. It was a good system to train and grow through sparring.

The Ancient Demon Domain’s system was strict and dense, completely adopting a military-style management system. Based on the vigor of the regular disciples and their pouring sweat, it was clear just how intense competition was. Long Chen guessed that this strict military-style system was the reason why the Ancient Demon Domain had managed to become a large faction in the Divine Martial Empire.

“You have just left the qualifiers, but you all must have felt it, right? The Ancient Demon Domain has a strict reward and punishment system. As long as you work hard and are talented, you will be adequately rewarded and will be outstanding one day. If you do not work hard and do not produce results, you will be surpassed one day no matter how talented you are. Two of you have received a huge reward just now. Everyone, I hope you will work hard from today onwards,” said the Clear Shallows King before turning around.

She was referring to Long Chen and Huangfu Qi.

At this point, the people who were training had already sensed their arrival. Since the Clear Shallows King was the head of the pavilion, everyone obediently bowed despite their current ranks. Even the Demon General, who had just emerged from the group, did the same.

This Demon General was abnormally muscular. Standing at over two meters tall, his body’s shape was even more noticeable than his height. He had a stocky figure, so despite his height, his thick muscles made him look short. Long Chen was privately shocked by his bare arms.

This Demon General is so muscular. I wonder what he did to get that body ...

Long Chen was speechless.

He did a quick comparison and realized that this person’s arm was almost as thick as his own waist.

After taking a few glances, he did not dare to look again because the man was a Demon General at the Ninth Passage Stage. Long Chen did not have the right to eye him boldly.

Everyone also averted their gazes obediently.

Long Chen knew that the muscular man was Demon General Strongman, the one he would have to follow from now on. Demon General Strongman had a mature and solemn countenance, as well as a cold glare in his eyes that was very intimidating. If there was a bit more violence in his eyes, he would be almost like a violent beast.

Just based on his looks, he was the kind of person most suited to be a general. Following his training regime, the regular disciples were all energetic and ambitious with sharp glares. Every person radiated a thick killing intent.

Back in the Heavenly Demon Palace, Zhao Qingyun associated the term “demon” with freedom. However, the Ancient Demon Domain encouraged competition and violence, lining up perfectly with what most people thought of when they heard the word “demon.”

Demon General Strongman greeted the Clear Shallows King.

“Strongman, these ten are the new disciples. Qi Qi here will be my direct disciples, and the others’ cultivation, talent discovery, and improvement in combat will be up to you as usual,” said the Clear Shallows King with a smile.

“Yes, Ma’am! I will do my best to complete this task. I will not give up on any prodigy, nor will I allow any trash!” Demon General Strongman saluted sincerely. His gaze swept across the ten people, but he did not spot the person he expected to see, so he asked, “I will accept these disciples. They will undergo the Demon Light Bath tomorrow and will start their training the day after. Forgive me for asking, but may I ask if my nephew, Zhao Wuji, has been taken in by another Demon King?”

Then he looked at her expectantly.

Long Chen froze before the Clear Shallows King answered. What were the odds? He had merely followed Huangfu Qi to the Clear Shallows Pavilion, and now the person who would control his life and schedule was going to be Zhao Wuji’s uncle? Long Chen knew very well how much he had humiliated Zhao Wuji during the qualifiers. Once Demon General Strongman found out about it, wouldn’t he be finished?

There was no use in regretting at this point. Long Chen could only try his best to keep his guard up in this terrible environment and strengthen himself. If he got killed before he retrieved the Emperor Flame Pearl, none of this would be worth it.

“Zhao Wuji has been taken in by the Red Ghost King as his direct disciple. Don’t worry, the Red Ghost King acted as if he had picked up a treasure. He might even personally come to talk to you about this,” said the Clear Shallows King with a smile.

Demon General Strongman sighed in relief with a bright smile on his face. He then said, “My nephew is indeed talented. I watched him grow up, and I know his strengths very well. As long as he can grow safely, his future will be infinite. He once told me that he could easily become the three-time-champion. May I ask if he did it?”

“Three-time champion?” The Clear Shallows King froze and instinctively glanced at Long Chen. She was smart, so she knew that if she told him what had happened, Long Chen would become his enemy and would probably be killed. Then again, Demon General Strongman was likely to learn about it sooner or later. Since Long Chen did not have much potential and wouldn’t be very useful to the Clear Shallows Pavilion, the Clear Shallows King thought that it would be better for him to die because he could end up being an obstacle to Huangfu Qi’s growth.

“Three-time champion? Zhao Wuji is indeed talented, but he fell just short of becoming the three-time champion.”

“He didn’t do it?” Demon General Strongman was a little sour. “Which round did he not get first place in? Was it the first round? His body is not tough; he did not inherit my strength.”

The Clear Shallows King looked at Long Chen and shook her head. “Not just the first round. He did not win the second and third rounds either. He was not even in the top seven in the third round. He only became a direct disciple because the Red Ghost King broke the rules to take him in. To be honest, someone else became the three-time champion, and he is standing in front of you!”