Rise of The Demon General

High up above the Saintly Sin City, the Vermillion Vulture surveyed the city with its two heads. Though its four eyes looked lazy, they were alert enough to detect deaths. It especially loved to nest atop the Carrion Tower. This was because it was directly above the colosseum, where deaths were abundant. It was excited whenever high-level cultivators or strong spirit beasts fought. That was when it could feast on their carcasses after the matches were over. It had no interest in low-level carcasses.

Its two heads, which watched in opposite directions, suddenly turned in the same direction, downward at the colosseum.

”Oh? Did you smell something interesting?” Yao Ai asked. She was sitting on her private viewing platform, which was at the edge of the Carrion Tower’s roof. Like her pet, she was also bored. She looked down at the arena below, following the Vermillion Vulture’s gaze.

She had an eye art that allowed her to look at distant objects. Her gaze was on the central arena, which was reserved for special matches. He saw two people entering that arena. One of the people caught her attention.

”Hm… Where have I seen him before…?” She muttered. After a few seconds, her face displayed an expression of remembering something. She grabbed the stack of paper on a small table beside her seat, threw away many pieces, and only stopped after finding the one she was looking for.

Two assistants stood ready behind her seat. The two fumbled to catch the papers she threw away. Some caught the wind and flew away. The two assistants were Monster Realm cultivators. They hurriedly chased the papers in the air and caught them before they flew too far.

”Ho… I don’t remember wrong,” Yao Ai said as she stared at the portrait on the paper. She looked down again at the central arena. ”That’s the guy who helped Wi Zhuang defeat Xia To, the one who can summon an army of battle puppets out of thin air. Hm… Oh, right. The report also mentions he has a special constitution that allows him to cultivate two cultivation paths. Interesting, hehe…”

*

Amon and Lu Kang weren’t aware that they had caught the attention of the strongest being of this domain. They stood opposite each other in the arena. Spectators had filled the seats to watch the fight. A barrier was erected to prevent the battle from hurting the spectators. Additionally, four Fiendish Stage guards stood ready at four corners of the arena, in case the barrier failed.

The voice of an announcer reverberated through the arena, ”Ladies and gentlemen, you are here to spectate a battle to the death between two of our faction members. The match, as usual, will be conducted without the use of weapons, armor, or any other tools. The fighters must rely solely on their own body and skills. Now, let me introduce the participants.

”On the East side is a distinguished Slayer with many years of service, a Peak Fiendish Stage cultivator who has fought in this arena plenty of times. He even got his Slayer rank from a fight in this very arena. I’m sure most of you are aware of him. He is… Sir Lu Kang!!”

One side of the spectators roared to live. This was where Lu Kang’s crew sat. Many audiences were influenced by their fervor and joined the roaring.

”Such a fiery support. Marvelous, simply marvelous,” the announcer continued. ”Now, on the West side, his challenger, Amon!!”

Booing voices were heard. This, of course, came from Lu Kang’s crew. Wi Zhuang and Wi Yin were also in the spectator seats with their crew. They tried to counter the booing with their supporting cheer, but their voices were drowned out by the sheer number of the opposition.

Inside the arena, Amon’s face was neutral. The booing did not affect him. Lu Kang, on the other hand, was grinning with satisfaction. He said, ”Even your supporters lose to mine. What hope do you have?”

Amon snickered. ”You are talking like our supporters are competing. Don’t be ridiculous. This fight is between you and me. Don’t expect your supporters to save you.”

Lu Kang bared his teeth. Their grinding caused a crunching sound. ”I won’t let you die fast. I will give the audience here a show they will remember for life.”

Amon continued to sneer, but no longer bothered to respond.

The announcer continued his announcement while the two participants talked, ”The challenger is a fast-rising rookie. In only five years, he has become an Enforcer. Now, he wishes to break the record and become the fastest faction member to achieve the Slayer rank by taking the rank from another faction member. Ambitious, or foolishness…? We will find out by the end of this match!

”As for his cultivation, hm… This is interesting. Apparently, our challenger here possesses two cultivation paths. His infernal cultivation is at the Intermediate Malicious Stage, while his divine cultivation level is at the Beginning Lord Stage…”

One of Lu Kang’s crew members shouted, ”So what if he has two cultivation paths? Both are still weaker than Lu Kang’s Peak Fiendish Stage!”

Another chimed in, ”Right! All he gets from having two cultivation paths is simply a larger pool of energy. He can fight longer. That’s all. Lu Kang should have ended this fight long before he ran out of energy.”

”Hehe, you hear that?” Lu Kang grinned.

Amon sighed. ”If I heeded the words of fools, I would have perished long ago.”

”Tch!” Lu Kang turned to the announcer and yelled, ”Just start the match already…!!”

The announcer was reporting the list of the two participants’ past successful missions when he heard Lu Kang’s yell. He stopped with a choke before chuckling, ”Hehe, it seems our participants are eager to fight. Very well, then. Two fighters, but only one will leave this arena. Who will it be? Let us find out, ladies and gentlemen. FIGGHHTTT…!!!”

The ground under Lu Kang exploded upon the announcement, and he vanished.

Amon sensed the danger right before Lu Kang vanished. He swayed back, just as Lu Kang’s leg reappeared, sweeping the spot where his head had been a moment ago.

’He is faster than the report,’ Amon thought.

It was not difficult to get the information about a renowned faction member like Lu Kang. From the report Amon gathered, Lu Kang excelled in speed. He frequently used a large cleaver as a weapon, but most of his martial arts focused on using fast kicks.

While Amon was surprised that Lu Kang’s speed exceeded his expectations, Lu Kang was also surprised that Amon managed to dodge his abrupt first strike. Amon had a lower cultivation level than him. Even most people with the same cultivation level as him could not pull this off.

Lu Kang wasn’t perturbed. He specialized in rapid, repeating combos. His right leg stomped into the ground. With that leg as an anchor, he pivoted himself without losing speed. His left leg performed a second sweep.

This kick also missed. Amon never stopped moving, because his danger sense continued to blare. The fast exchanges repeated. Lu Kang never stopped kicking, and Amon never stopped dodging. Still, with Amon’s inferior speed, there was a limit to how long he could keep this up. One sweeping kick finally landed from the side.

Amon put up his arm and leg to block. He also activated the Elder God Veil at that instant. Lu Kang’s kick was faster than Amon donning the shadow suit, so Amon focused the initiation of the shadow suit at the spot where Lu Kang’s leg hit. The forming shadow served as a shield that cushioned the blow.

The force from the kick sent Amon crashing into the barrier, but he didn’t fall. He kept his balance and landed on his feet. He felt stinging pain in the arm and leg he used to block. His shadow shield couldn’t completely negate the blow.

”As I thought,” Amon uttered. ”No wonder you like to fight in this arena where weapons can’t be used. You have an advantage that others with a normal body don’t have.”

Lu Kang looked at the leg he had kicked Amon with. The shoe and the pants’ fabric of that leg had eroded, revealing a leg and foot that was anything like a human’s. The leg was covered in hard scales, and the foot ended with a large hoof.

He grinned. ”Hehe. It is common knowledge that the arenas in this colosseum have more altered humans for participants than normal ones. If you are not satisfied, then get your body altered before entering this arena. Remember, it was you who challenged me. You have yourself to blame.”

Amon grinned back. ”Didn’t you hear what I said? I said I already suspected that this was the case. You are still not my opponent even with those altered legs.”

The shadow suit spread over his body as he talked. In a short instant, he became a humanoid being wholly covered in shadow. However, the Elder God Veil didn’t stop there. Amon groaned as if exerting force, and a pair of long tentacles sprouted from his back.