The Hope of the Demon Race

The sky was filled with green light dots that broke apart.

Despair filled Huo Huan’s expression as he turned his head, looking at the handsome face before him. “Is this… the technique of the Emperor of Qingzhou?”

In his mind, Huo Huan sifted through memories, uncovering the knowledge of the emperor. Only the Emperor of Qingzhou, as recorded in ancient books, had ever used such an illusion technique that could fool him.

“Illusion realm fist,” Qin Huai lightly spat out, withdrawing his fist. Then, he targeted Huo Huan’s kidneys, his firm palm piercing through Huo Huan’s body as easily as a sharp saber.

Puff!

Huo Huan spewed another mouthful of blood, feeling his life force rapidly depleting. “I didn’t expect that the sect master would indeed have such a profound plan… to allow your demon bloodline to gain the inheritance of the Emperor of Qingzhou.” He coughed, laughing as blood continued to spray from his mouth. “If the undefeated emperor knew the truth, I wonder if he’d be so angry he’d crawl out from the Netherworld.”

Huo Huan continued, “Our sect master has quite the ambition.” He laughed again, his voice carrying a bitter edge. “Let me guess… He was definitely coveting the position of the Eight Virtuous Kings. All of my Kun Peng clan’s hopes rest on you.”

Huo Huan’s gaze shifted from Qin Huai, his expression transforming from previous hatred to something softer. Before death, seeing a descendant of the Kun Peng clan reclaim their rightful glory might not be such a bad thing, even if it meant stepping over his own bones.

“Those wings are really beautiful,” Huo Huan admired, fixating on the wings on Qin Huai’s back. “Pure-blooded Kun Peng wings, both in terms of skeletal structure and aura, are far beyond what I can compare to.”

As Qin Huai took in Huo Huan’s words, he noted that while their Kun Peng wings were similar, they were not identical. There were many differences in the details.

“The strong prey on the weak. It’s the survival instinct of the demon race,” Huo Huan declared. “We relied on our instincts to evolve into human form and control the human world.”

As soon as Huo Huan finished speaking, he abruptly thrust his hands into his own chest.

Bang!

Fresh blood sprayed onto Qin Huai’s face. Startled, Qin Huai quickly withdrew his hands and stepped back. However, the expected self-destructive blow that Huo Huan should have delivered did not come.

Huo Huan, bereft of Qin Huai’s ‘support,’ swayed in the air. He slowly turned around to face Qin Huai, his blood-stained hand pulling out from his chest, carrying with it a ball of blood that radiated a strange power.

“This is the blood essence of our demon race. Only those who have cultivated to the peak of the visceral prefecture realm have a chance to cultivate it,” Huo Huan explained. “To cultivate this ball of origin blood means that you can step into the next realm. This is the recognition of the bloodline.”

Huo Huan offered the ball of origin blood to Qin Huai. “I have no use for this now, so I give it to you.”

His face held a smile, the kind an elder might wear, showing humility and satisfaction. Looking at Qin Huai, the one who had ended his life, he didn’t show hatred but rather satisfaction. It was as if his earlier intent to die together with Qin Huai had been completely forgotten.

“Recast the glory of our Kun Peng clan!” Huo Huan roared. The next moment, he fell, like a kite with a severed string, descending into the sea of blood.

Qin Huai watched Huo Huan’s fall with an impassive expression. “I really am not a demon,” he muttered to himself.

This clan leader seemed to believe that he was the secret weapon of the pure-blooded Kun Peng clan leader, closely related to the Kun Peng ancestor. He even thought that Qin Huai had somehow tricked the emperor’s inheritance.

Yet, Qin Huai did not refute. If this could provide some comfort to the dying demon, he would not mind telling a white lie. Perhaps this was what Buddhism referred to as compassion.

“Ding! You have collected a [Kun Peng Seed (Fragment) x233!”

A notification echoed in his mind. He withdrew his gaze from the falling Huo Huan and focused on the origin blood in his hand. A potent power radiated from it, warming the surrounding area like a ball of fire.

With a wave of his hand, Qin Huai absorbed the ball of origin blood into his body.

Boom!

An incredible heat engulfed him, as if his body had been set aflame. Tiny flames flickered around his body, and his gray wings began to burn. The tiny flames quickly turned into a roaring fire, and in an instant, his gray Kun Peng wings had morphed into flaming wings.

Whoosh!

Qin Huai stood mid-air, his blazing wings flapping, sending waves of heat around him. His white hair floated about, and his eyes shone with white light as he overlooked the world below. He resembled a deity descended upon the human realm.

“Brother Qin!” Hearing the worried shout from not too far away, Qin Huai snapped back to his senses and looked in Wang Kun’s direction.

Qin Huai noticed that his mysterious comrade had already killed all enemies around him, with the corpses of Kun Peng demons still falling into the sea of blood.

Whoosh!

With a flap of his wings, Qin Huai instantly appeared in front of Wang Kun.