Chapter Thirty-Six: The Beginning of the Slaughter

"Little Jin, go and tell their emperor to come out and face his death."

At Yuan Wuji’s command, Little Jin dutifully stepped onto a conjured cloud and soared toward the city. The cloud beneath Little Jin’s feet was shaped from Yuan Wuji’s magic and could move with Little Jin’s will.

"The Divine Ape King stands here! Dog emperor, come out and meet your doom!" Little Jin shouted at the top of his lungs.

"You must be looking for death," sneered the officer stationed above the city gate. Hearing the taunt, he raised his weapon and rushed straight at Little Jin.

As the officer reached Little Jin, Yuan Wuji’s aura surged forth—a suffocating sense of death the officer had never known before. Without a shred of dignity, he fled back to the top of the city wall.

"Go at once and report to His Majesty—an enemy is at our gates!" he barked at the nearest soldier, barely regaining his composure.

"Hah! Such cowardice! He ran at the mere sight of me!" Little Jin, unaware that it was Yuan Wuji’s presence that had terrified the officer, burst into wild laughter, thinking himself the cause.

The stationed officer, at the mid-stage core formation realm, was considered formidable within the city. Yet now, being mocked by a mere demon soldier who hadn’t even formed a demon core, his pride was unendurable.

"Loose the arrows!" he ordered.

The soldiers atop the wall drew their bows, aiming a hail of arrows at Little Jin and Yuan Wuji.

A hundred arrows whistled through the air, descending upon them.

Can’t deal with the big one, so go for the small? Seeing the fear flicker across Little Jin’s face, the officer sneered coldly to himself.

But he had only noticed Little Jin’s fear, forgetting entirely about Yuan Wuji behind him.

"Are you all seeking death?" Yuan Wuji stepped before Little Jin, his right hand outstretched toward the city, palm open. Channeling the Demon Heart of Ten Thousand Beasts within, a horrific sight unfolded atop the wall.

One by one, the hundred soldiers exploded into scarlet mist, their blood painting the battlements red. Only the officer remained, spared intentionally by Yuan Wuji for his next plan.

Not a single soul or spirit escaped; every one was devoured, vanishing utterly from the world. The officer fell to his knees, paralyzed with terror.

"The human race truly has Heaven’s favor," Yuan Wuji mused. The blood essence within these soldiers was pure, unlike the demon race, whose essence required constant refinement. The Devouring Demon Heart never hesitated when feasting on human blood; indeed, it refined in harmony with the Demon Heart of Ten Thousand Beasts. However, under Yuan Wuji’s control, the cultivation power from the soldiers’ essence was channeled directly into Little Jin.

Yuan Wuji himself could not break through, but he would not let the soldiers’ cultivation go to waste—it would strengthen Little Jin instead. The combined cultivation of over a hundred soldiers forced Little Jin’s realm to rise abruptly to the middle stage of the Celestial Flower level.

After pouring this force into Little Jin, Yuan Wuji realized for the first time that Little Jin was a tiger, not a cat as he had thought. But now, it hardly mattered.

When Yuan Wuji reached to place his hand atop Little Jin’s head, Little Jin, though uncertain of his intent, trusted him implicitly and opened his heart—accepting Yuan Wuji as the one he trusted most.

Yuan Wuji was quietly moved by this gesture. Beyond gifting cultivation, he also helped Little Jin refine his body.

"King, I feel stronger than before," Little Jin said in awe.

"Wait a bit—you’ll be even stronger," Yuan Wuji replied, ruffling his head.

The officer still knelt, unable to believe what had happened, until a thunderous boom behind snapped him from his stupor.

"I don’t know who you are, but if you kneel and beg now, you might still live," thundered a new voice.

"Your Majesty!" The officer immediately prostrated himself to the newcomer.

This man was accompanied by two demons at the peak of the demon core realm. One was a cobra Yuan Wuji had seen before beside the former Python King; the other, a tiger demon unknown to him.

"Kneel to you? I’ll see you dead first," Yuan Wuji sneered. This so-called emperor of the human race, only at the early Celestial Immortal stage, dared to be so arrogant?

Before the tiger demon and cobra could react, Yuan Wuji rushed the emperor and struck with his fist.

Yuan Wuji’s physical strength now rivaled the Taiyi realm; his punch sent the emperor flying back several yards, blood streaming from his mouth.

The tiger demon and cobra broke into a cold sweat, hastily retreating to support the half-kneeling emperor.

"I dislike repeating myself. Hand over all your territory atop Mount Wuzhang, or I’ll send you all to the underworld," Yuan Wuji declared, letting his aura surge. The emperor, just helped to his feet, was forced down once more; the cobra and tiger demon cowered, not daring to move—for the officer, kneeling was nothing new.

"May I know your name?" the emperor asked with difficulty.

"Our king is none other than the legendary Divine Ape King," Little Jin announced boldly. With Yuan Wuji’s power bolstering him, Little Jin felt no pressure and answered on his king’s behalf.

Ordinarily, the emperor would have been enraged—a mere demon soldier daring to address him so. But now, the circumstances were different.

The Divine Ape King—he had slain both the Bear King and Python King eight years ago. What a fearsome reputation!

Upon hearing Little Jin’s words, the cobra and tiger demon trembled all the more. They had sought shelter here to preserve their lives, but could they survive now?

"Divine Ape King, you bring only one demon soldier and dare to boast so wildly? Are you not afraid we will overwhelm you with numbers?" The emperor, proud and accustomed to command, could not stand kneeling before another and could not help but threaten Yuan Wuji.

"You’re welcome to try," Yuan Wuji replied coldly. "But I promise, your death will be anything but peaceful."

"Let it be as you say! Tiger Jiu, Cobra, bring all your nearby demon soldiers here. I want to see how he dies. General Liu, assemble all our forces at once," the emperor snarled.

Yuan Wuji did not stop them. He had his own plans.

"King, should we go call for reinforcements as well?" Little Jin asked quietly.

"No need."

Within moments, the city’s surroundings were teeming with demon soldiers and human troops. Some had even formed inner cores—demons and humans divided about equally.

"Divine Ape King, your death is at hand!" The sea of troops restored the emperor’s confidence. Even the tiger demon and cobra dared puff out their chests before Yuan Wuji, though the officer’s eyes still flickered with dread.

"This can’t be, it’s impossible," the officer muttered to himself, trying to stave off the memory of what had happened on the wall. But tens of thousands of troops—such a massacre could not happen again.

"Attack!" the emperor roared, his face twisted with malice. The cobra and tiger demon echoed his command.

Like a swarm of ants, the tens of thousands surged toward Yuan Wuji. Little Jin, witnessing such a sight for the first time, was terrified, but did not retreat—he remained steadfast at Yuan Wuji’s side.

"I’ll make you weep," Yuan Wuji said, not a trace of fear on his face.

He spread his arms, palms open to the sky, and unleashed the full power of the Demon Heart of Ten Thousand Beasts within him. Tens of thousands of troops—this would make forging the Myriad Demon Golden Core all too easy.

With the Demon Heart’s frenzied operation, the Devouring Demon Heart joined in.

The emperor and his officers had already left the wall; the cobra and tiger demon had retreated as well.

But as the tide of troops neared within ten paces of Yuan Wuji, it began.

One after another—human or demon—soldiers burst apart, blood mist billowing outward. Centered on Yuan Wuji, the earth was stained crimson. Those behind tried to flee, but the blood mist spread ever faster.

Tens of thousands of soldiers were reduced to

Thirty thousand...

Ten thousand...

One thousand...