“Master, this is the one who killed my parents! You must avenge me!”
The teenager’s eyes were filled with grief. Clearly, he wasn’t lying; his parents must have been killed by this Sea Tribe Demon General.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of bringing his master here for revenge.
But these two were too reckless. Coming for vengeance without understanding the situation—did they really think a Celestial Realm expert could act without restraint?
Not to mention, the teenager was only at the First Line Heaven Realm, barely stepping into the Celestial Realm.
Though nervous, the Sea Tribe Demon General didn’t flee. The strange lantern above his head flickered again, but this time, instead of soul ripples, it released a blinding white light aimed directly at the old man and the teenager.
“Soul attack?”
The old man frowned, sweat beading on his forehead. Resisting this soul attack was clearly straining him.
If he was struggling, protecting the teenager beside him was impossible.
The teenager let out a piercing scream and collapsed to the ground.
The old man was furious. Though his soul power was inferior to the Demon General’s, his cultivation and strength far surpassed him.
With a roar, a sword light shot from his blade, transforming into a massive sword aura that enveloped hundreds of square metres, including the Sea Tribe Demon General.
In an instant, all the trees within that range were obliterated by the sword aura. The Demon General coughed up blood repeatedly, fortunate to avoid a direct hit, or even with his Half-Step Heavenly Venerable strength, he would have been doomed.
Such was the terror of the Celestial Realm.
The gap between the Celestial and Mortal Realms was vast, far beyond what soul power could bridge.
“Who are you, and how do you know the secret arts of the Soul Clan?”
The Sword King Sect elder’s face was grim, visibly worried.
“You don’t need to know! Because you’ll be dead soon!”
Another powerful aura approached from a distance.
“Fortress Lord!”
The Sea Tribe Demon General’s face lit up at the sight of the newcomer.
“Work with me to kill this old fool!”
The Fortress Lord of the Demon Fortress, with a cultivation of ninety percent Half-Step Heavenly Venerable, was no match for the Sword King Sect elder alone.
But with the Demon General’s assistance, things were different. The elder was in trouble!
“Kill me? With you?”
The Sword King Sect elder sneered with disdain.
“Heh, you old fool, still clueless on the brink of death. Lantern Puppet! What are you waiting for?”
The Sea Tribe Demon General smirked and shouted. The teenager, who had collapsed unconscious, suddenly stood, swiftly placing a strange secret art scroll on the elder’s back.
“Yin-Yang Reversal, Memory Swap, Control!”
At that moment, the Fortress Lord roared. The scroll on the elder’s back emitted black-and-white light, enveloping his entire body.
“No—!”
The elder panicked, frantically channelling his true essence to break free. But under the scroll’s control and the Demon General’s soul attack, he couldn’t focus his energy.
Moments later, the elder’s eyes flashed with a blood-red light, then returned to normal.
“Congratulations, Fortress Lord, a triumphant start!”
The Sea Tribe Demon General grinned.
“This old man was tough. Without the secret art scroll from the Yin-Yang Demon King, controlling him would’ve been impossible. Of course, your pre-prepared Lantern Puppet played a key role.”
The Fortress Lord laughed heartily.
The so-called Lantern Puppet was likely the teenager. Only now did Ling Xiao notice a strange glowing orb at a hidden spot on the teenager’s neck.
That was what controlled the teenager’s every move.
“Go back. Once you’re at the Sword King Sect, don’t act rashly. Await orders.”
The Fortress Lord waved his hand, and the elder and teenager from the Sword King Sect vanished in a flash of white light.
Ling Xiao sensed it was some kind of formation.
And the only one who could control it was the Fortress Lord.
No wonder the Sea Tribe Demon General said only the Fortress Lord could let others leave this place.
“Fortress Lord, you’re brilliant! Luring that old man here and setting this trap—now we have another puppet in the Twelve Sects, and a high-ranking one at that.”
“I’ve expended too much energy. I may need to seclude myself for a few days. That Ling Xiao—handle him. No problem, right?”
The Fortress Lord stood and asked.
“Rest assured, Fortress Lord. A mere early Ninth Layer Mortal Realm martial artist? I can deal with him easily. No need for you to worry.”
The Sea Tribe Demon General said confidently.
“It’s in your hands, then.”
The Fortress Lord nodded, then leapt away, vanishing into the dark forest.
The Sea Tribe Demon General sat cross-legged, intending to recover from his injuries.
The elder’s sword aura had wounded him badly.
But at that moment, a sword light sliced through the air from the forest.
The Demon General was shocked.
He had scanned the surroundings and detected no one—how could he be ambushed?
In his shock, he forcibly activated his soul lantern, generating a powerful soul shockwave that deflected Ling Xiao’s sword light.
The strike, meant to pierce his throat, only grazed his neck.
Yet blood still poured out.
“Damn you, sneaking an attack on this general! Show yourself!”
The Demon General was furious. To be ambushed in the Demon Fortress—if word got out, he’d be humiliated.
A figure emerged from the forest.
The Demon General eyed him warily. Based on Xu Dao’s earlier description, this was Ling Xiao!
“Well done, kid. Sneaking into the Demon Fortress undetected—I underestimated you.”
The Demon General snorted coldly, his soul lantern flashing again, sending a white light toward Ling Xiao.
Huh?
As the light struck Ling Xiao, the Demon General realised something was wrong.
That wasn’t a person!
It was Ling Xiao’s sword soul clone!
“Too late to realise now!”
A cold voice sounded behind the Demon General, and an icy sword pierced his throat.
“Condense Water!”
A freezing aura instantly spread through the Demon General’s body. He was merely a ten percent power Half-Step Heavenly Venerable. Without his gifted soul lantern, he likely couldn’t even defeat the Sword King Sect teenager.
Let alone Ling Xiao!
Against a ten percent power Half-Step Heavenly Venerable, Ling Xiao was utterly dominant!
Crack!
The ice shattered, and the mighty Demon General died on his own turf.
Ling Xiao searched the body, finding some spirit stones, a martial arts manual, and the Demon General’s soul lantern.
