Chapter 522: Diverting the Disaster

The forces of the Demon Race were spread throughout the Endless Mountain Range. They might have seemed scattered, but they all maintained incredibly close ties.

Furthermore, the Demon Race is known for holding grudges.

Now that the instructors from Gale Light Academy had killed one of their members, they were certain to face the Demon Race’s furious, storm-like retribution.

Fortunately, the Demon Race had only dispatched two Demon Kings this time.

"Lord, those human Martial Kings are about to catch up! Please, I beg you to lend me a hand."

When Ye Xuan didn’t respond, the Eagle-Roc Demon King grew anxious. He repeatedly glanced behind him as he spoke, his voice laced with panic.

"In that case, come down."

After a moment’s thought, Ye Xuan spoke nonchalantly. He then commanded his shadowy avatar to return to his location.

The Eagle-Roc Demon King hurried to follow the shadowy form.

Soon, the shadowy avatar had brought the Eagle-Roc Demon King to the entrance of the cave where Ye Xuan was hiding.

"Hmm?"

The Eagle-Roc Demon King was taken aback by the small size of the cave, but it reacted quickly. Its flesh rippled, and its body, originally over ten meters tall, shrank to a fraction of its size.

The Eagle-Roc Demon King moved slowly into the cave. When it saw Ye Xuan sitting cross-legged inside, a look of terror flashed in its dark gold eyes.

"A human? Why is there a human here?!"

Its demonic aura flared as it addressed the shadowy avatar with a mixture of shock and anger. It watched Ye Xuan warily, ready to lash out in a fury at the slightest provocation.

"You are in the presence of His Highness. Kneel!"

Just then, a thunderous roar echoed in its ears, making them ache. An intense pressure bore down on it—the terrifying aura of a high-ranking Profound Beast Demon King, so frightening it almost scared the soul out of its body.

It quickly looked up and saw a golden-haired young man standing proudly behind the human. His golden eyes emitted a cold, harsh light as he stared down at the Demon King with a scrutinizing gaze.

The intense aura of a Profound Beast Demon King compelled it to drop to its knees.

"I... Your Highness... What is...?"

The Eagle-Roc Demon King looked back and forth between Jin Lin and Ye Xuan, unable to process what was happening.

"Hmph. The one before you is the prince of my race. You are but a Tier Seven Demon King. Naturally, you must kneel."

Jin Lin snorted coldly.

He had been resting in the Spirit Pet Bag just a moment ago when Ye Xuan summoned him and gave him some instructions.

Naturally, Jin Lin didn’t dare to be careless in carrying out Ye Xuan’s orders.

’Your Highness?’ The Eagle-Roc Demon King eyed Ye Xuan suspiciously. ’No matter how I look at him, this fellow is clearly human. Since when can a human be a prince of the Profound Beast race?’

Its mind reeled with confusion.

"You need not be alarmed. This is merely a physical form I have assumed."

Ye Xuan opened his eyes and spoke calmly. As he finished, the black, human-like figure that was his shadowy avatar silently sank into the crown of his head and vanished.

"This..."

The Eagle-Roc Demon King’s expression was one of astonishment, and the terror in its eyes immediately faded.

It studied Ye Xuan for a long moment before exclaiming in shock, "Your Highness, your aura is so much like a human’s... It’s simply incredible. If it weren’t for the Soul Thought you just displayed, I would never have believed that the one sitting before this humble demon is a prince of the Profound Beasts."

Knowing Ye Xuan was also a Profound Beast, the Eagle-Roc Demon King was finally at ease and spoke in a more relaxed tone.

At the same time, it couldn’t help but study Ye Xuan and Jin Lin, trying to guess their origins.

Ye Xuan laughed to himself. ’Of course. I *am* human. It would be stranger if the Eagle-Roc Demon King *could* tell I was a Profound Beast just from my aura.’

Seeing that the Eagle-Roc Demon King was still on edge, Ye Xuan offered a faint smile. "Rest easy. As long as I am here, those humans will never find you."

He waved his hand, and an invisible wave of Profound Power spread out, immediately sealing the Eagle-Roc Demon King’s aura within the cave.

"Thank you for your help, Your Highness."

The Eagle-Roc Demon King was no fool. It quickly expressed its gratitude before asking, "Might I ask where you two lords are from? What brings you to the territory of my Wolf Emperor Hall?"

"This is the territory of your Wolf Emperor Hall?" Ye Xuan smiled faintly. "I was not aware. We come from the distant Floating Light Mountain Range. We are just traveling the world and happened to pass through here."

"Since this is the territory of your Wolf Emperor Hall, where is your master? Have him come out and greet my prince at once! Does he not understand the basics of hospitality?"

Jin Lin interjected with a cold snort.

The Eagle-Roc Demon King was still somewhat intimidated by Jin Lin and hastily explained, "My lords, my master is currently participating in a divine prayer at the Wolf Emperor’s summons. Please forgive this lack of courtesy."

"Divine prayer?" Ye Xuan didn’t know what the term meant, but Jin Lin’s eyes lit up.

"Your Highness, the ’divine prayer’ is a mysterious ritual where beasts use their Soul Thought to communicate with the Demon Gods of ancient times," Jin Lin explained via a private voice transmission. "Generally, this ritual can awaken the bloodlines of Demon Beasts and Profound Beasts. If one can feel the power of a Demon God, it brings immense benefits to their cultivation."

"Demon God?"

Ye Xuan’s heart skipped a beat. Even in his past life, he knew very little about the ways of the Demon Race.

Of course, this wasn’t the time to ponder it deeply.

"Then why are you here?"

Ye Xuan asked.

The Eagle-Roc Demon King quickly explained, "It’s like this, Your Highness. Teras and I were sent here on a commission from Lord Jingang and Lord Kalu. This region is Lord Kalu’s territory. One of the Black Rock Poison Spiders under his command suddenly went out of control, so Lord Kalu had us come investigate. Who would have thought we’d run into so many human Martial Kings? Fortunately, you were here to help, Your Highness. Otherwise, this humble demon would have been in grave danger."

’So that’s how it is. If you’re talking about that Black Rock Poison Spider, its Soul Thought was likely erased by the Soul Refiner among those human Martial Artists.’

Ye Xuan thought to himself, ’Elder Dong, you can’t blame me for this.’

"So it was those humans! Damn them!" the Eagle-Roc Demon King growled, grinding its teeth. "I have no idea where they came from or what they’re plotting here, but they forced Teras and me to flee in disgrace. I hope Teras is okay."

Jin Lin said pitifully, "If you’re referring to the Liger Demon King, he’s already dead."

A look of fury appeared on the Eagle-Roc Demon King’s face. Just as it was about to speak, Jin Lin suddenly hissed, "Don’t talk."

The Eagle-Roc Demon King froze.

The next moment—

WHOOSH!

A terrifying pressure swept over its head and quickly vanished.

"It’s that human Soul Refiner."

Rage filled the Eagle-Roc Demon King’s eyes. "Damn it! If I weren’t injured, I’d kill him for sure!"

"Don’t be rash," Ye Xuan said. "That group seems to be from a sect called the Profound Mystery Sect. You alone wouldn’t even be a warm-up for them. It might be a different story if your entire Wolf Emperor Hall mobilized, though."

"Hehe. Your Highness, if you wanted to destroy a minor sect like that, it would only take a single word from you," Jin Lin added with a sly chuckle.

He spoke with a superior air, looking utterly disdainful of the humans. But the more he talked like this, the deeper the Eagle-Roc Demon King’s reverence for the pair grew.

’To be able to casually wipe out a faction as powerful as Wolf Emperor Hall... What force do these two belong to?’ The Eagle-Roc Demon King was secretly aghast.

Although Demon Kings possess considerable intelligence, they are still much simpler than humans.

"I don’t know what those humans are looking for, hunting Demon Beasts all over the place. They clearly have no respect for our Demon Race," Ye Xuan snorted. "If I didn’t have to keep my presence here a secret from the Human Race’s Profound Domain experts, those humans wouldn’t still be breathing."

’The Profound Mystery Sect, is it?’ The Eagle-Roc Demon King now had a target. A terrifying killing intent instantly surfaced in its eyes.

’They dare run rampant in the territory of Wolf Emperor Hall? The Wolf Emperor will never let them get away with this!’

The fury in its heart blazed like a fire.

"That human is gone. You should leave quickly. We’ll be leaving soon as well."

Seeing that his objective was accomplished, Ye Xuan made no effort to detain it further.

"Your Highness, but..."

Hearing Ye Xuan urge it to leave, the Eagle-Roc Demon King panicked. The memory of the brutal chase was still fresh in its mind, leaving it with lingering fear. If those human Martial Artists found it again...

"Jin Lin, see it out."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Jin Lin bowed respectfully, then said nonchalantly to the Eagle-Roc Demon King, "Come on, kid. Follow me, I’ll get you out of here. Honestly, are a few human Martial Kings really that terrifying?"

"Yes, yes."

Led by Jin Lin, the Eagle-Roc Demon King finally left the cave. The two of them quickly vanished over the horizon.

’Profound Mystery Sect, you’ve always opposed me, haven’t you? This time, I’m sending you a generous gift.’

A cold smile touched Ye Xuan’s lips. He’d had a perfect opportunity to kill the Eagle-Roc Demon King, but he had refrained for the sole purpose of redirecting the disaster toward the Profound Mystery Sect.

He wondered what the Demon Kings of Wolf Emperor Hall would do once they learned that a human sect was running rampant in their territory and had killed one of their own.

A cold, detached smile spread across Ye Xuan’s lips.

He had never been a merciful person. Anyone who provoked him had to be prepared to suffer his wrath.

A moment later, Jin Lin returned to the cave.

"Jin Lin, did you get it away safely?"

Jin Lin chuckled. "Your Highness, when have I ever let you down?"

"Good." Ye Xuan nodded. "Jin Lin, I have a task for you, but I’m not sure if you’ll be willing."

"Just say the word, Your Highness."

"Didn’t you say that this Endless Mountain Range makes you feel comfortable? From now on, you’ll stay here in the Endless Mountain Range."

"What?" Upon hearing this, Jin Lin’s face paled. "Your Highness, are you... getting rid of me?"

He began to sob as he spoke. "Your Highness, Jin Lin wants to follow you for the rest of his life! You can’t abandon Jin Lin!"

He looked as pitiful as could be, completely lacking the dignity of a Profound Beast Demon King.