Supreme Emptiness

Chapter 595: Chapter 595 Facing the Heroes of the Demon Race Alone Chapter 595: Chapter 595 Facing the Heroes of the Demon Race Alone Moonlit Demon’s expression shifted slightly. She said, “Jiang Fan? It can’t be him, can it?”

If the one captured was indeed her “husband,” Jiang Fan…

With the disgrace Jiang Fan had brought upon the Demon Race—

He would undoubtedly die.

And if he died, how could Moonlit Demon possibly survive?

Spirit Sound said coolly,

“The Demon Emperor wouldn’t bring back just any Human Clan member named Jiang Fan.”

She raised her eyes and looked beyond the valley.

Softly, she said, “Very well, I’d like to see just who this Jiang Fan really is.”

“To force my woman to resort to using the Heart Connection Worm.”

“He must be quite extraordinary.”

She began walking forward slowly.

As she passed, flowers bloomed in full splendor,

Rainbows stretched across the sky, and birds crowded around in reverence.

A hundred miles away,

Countless tribal camps dotted the snowy plains like scattered stars across the night sky.

At the center, surrounded like the moon among the stars,

Stood a magnificent, resplendent palace complex, towering on the snowy plain.

The highest of them, the Demon Emperor Palace,

Reached directly into the clouds.

Standing atop it, one could issue commands to the Demon Race’s champions close at hand or survey the vast heavens and earth from afar.

As the Demon Emperor returned,

The Demon Kings, War Generals, and War Kings had all come to pay their respects.

“Welcome back, Demon Emperor! Welcome back, Consort Yunxia!”

Representing the mightiest power of the Demon Race, they all saluted with awe and reverence.

Only the Sea Charm Demon King

Felt an intense unease beneath her outward respect,

Because—

The Demon Emperor hadn’t just brought back Consort Yunxia.

The Demon Emperor had also brought back Jiang Fan!

Looking at Jiang Fan, standing off to one side with his hands and feet bound, the Sea Charm Demon King could hardly believe her own eyes.

Jiang Fan had actually been captured by the Demon Emperor.

Her heart lurched with anxiety.

“Rise.” The Demon Emperor sat high upon the throne, casting his gaze down upon the crowd.

“I have two matters to announce.”

“First, the Secret Realm exploration has failed. The legendary killing device cannot be activated, so prepare for direct war with the Human Clan.”

Consort Yunxia’s eyes glimmered with guilt.

Leading the Secret Realm exploration had been her assignment.

For it, she had taken more than two hundred drops of the Demon Emperor’s essence blood.

In the end, not only had she failed to find the legendary killing device, but she had barely escaped with her life.

The crowd wore expressions of regret.

The crushing defeat at Boundary Mountain had left them with a deep sense of humiliation.

And yet, they had still not launched a decisive battle to avenge their disgrace.

The reason lay in their need to await Consort Yunxia’s success.

Prior to all this, a Human Clan martial artist who had passed away within the Demon Race’s borderlands

Had left behind not only a beast skin scroll but also a handwritten note.

The note mentioned,

Within that Secret Realm lay a killing device left by the Dayang Clan of the Demon Race a thousand years ago.

Initially crafted to combat the Ancient Giants,

The Dayang Clan Demon Race had suffered catastrophic losses before they could ever wield it.

Later, as that great war concluded,

The killing device gradually faded into the mists of time.

Had the handwritten note not surfaced, that killing device would have remained buried beneath the sands of history.

According to the note,

The device had been left behind by a sage of the Dayang Clan Demon Race.

It required a tremendous amount of the Demon Emperor’s blood to activate.

Once unleashed, it could easily turn the tide of war and obliterate Human Clan powerhouses.

Such a momentous, confidential mission was entrusted by the Demon Emperor to his most trusted Consort Yunxia.

Now that she had declared the mission a failure,

Many could not help but sigh in pity.

“Demon Emperor, if war is what it comes to, so be it.”

“Our Demon Race does not harbor cowards who cling to life and fear death.”

“Even without the killing device, our Demon Race will prevail!”

…

The frustrations that had weighed on their minds were now spoken aloud.

Every member of the Demon Race was brimming with battle intent to wash away their humiliation.

The Demon Emperor nodded in satisfaction.

Their morale remained intact, and this war gave the Demon Race a fair chance of victory.

He smiled faintly and looked toward Jiang Fan.

At that moment, Jiang Fan’s value became crystal clear.

He could add another spark to the Demon Race’s morale.

“The second matter—take a guess. Who do you think this young Human Clan member is?”

The Demons turned their puzzled gazes toward Jiang Fan,

Having noticed him long ago.

However, they could not quite understand why the Demon Emperor would bring a young man of the Human Clan to the sacred Demon Emperor Palace.

Even as a prisoner, it seemed unseemly to bring him here.

The Nine-Sect Masters, Supreme Elders, or the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Master—they were the kinds of figures typically qualified to enter the Demon Emperor Palace.

But a young Human Clan member like this?

Seeing that no one could answer, the Demon Emperor smiled slightly and turned his gaze toward the Sea Charm Demon King.

“Sea Charm, you tell us.”

Sea Charm’s heart pounded furiously. Why had she been singled out?

Could the Demon Emperor have seen through something?

After pondering briefly, she cautiously ventured a guess: “For the Demon Emperor to personally capture him and bring him back to the Demon Emperor Palace—”

“He must be none other than the famed Jiang Fan of the Human Clan, who has recently gained much renown.”

The Demon Emperor chuckled and said, “Correct!”

“Behold—this is Jiang Fan, the very one who caused the Dead Spirit Army to crumble, the Jiang Fan of the Human Clan!”

What?

The Demon Emperor’s words struck the hall like a boulder crashing into a tranquil lake.

“He’s *that* Jiang Fan?”

“The one who brought unprecedented disgrace to our Demon Race?”

“So this is what he looks like!”

“Kill him! Avenge the honor of our Demon Race!”

“Quarter him. Tear him limb from limb!”

“How dare such an insignificant junior inflict such losses on our Demon Race? Killing him is too kind!”

“He should suffer torment for all eternity!”

…

As the furious cries grew louder and louder,

The Demon Emperor was quite pleased with the effect.

Killing Jiang Fan publicly would inspire the greatest morale boost.

Consort Yunxia quietly worried.

Sea Charm bit her red lips, unsure what to do.

“Heh, what a pathetic rabble.”

Jiang Fan finally spoke up at this moment.

Though his hands and feet were shackled, his figure stood tall and proud like a spear.

Even amidst the strongest figures of the Demon Race, his sharpness was unyielding, his courage undeterred.

“You lose a battle, yet you seek no honor on the battlefield.”

“You vent your wrath on a mere Human Clan youth.”

“You don’t reflect on the reasons for your failure.”

“You heap the blame onto a single Human Clan youth.”

“You dare not admit your defeat.”

“You wish to kill to assert dominance, to bolster your own courage and morale.”

“Pathetic! Stupid! Cowardly!”

“With such shameful behavior, how do you expect to rival the Human Clan? How can you hope to triumph over the united hearts and minds of the Human Clan?”

“Look in the mirror and take a good look at yourselves!”

“Does this look like the image of victors to you?”

His words were ironclad, passionate, and full of righteous fervor.

Their reverberations left the Demon Race’s champions’ ears ringing.

Like a sword, they struck deep into their hearts, filling them with sharp pain.

Those who had been shouting the loudest moments earlier now felt their faces burning with shame.

*That’s true.*

*Not seeking revenge on the battlefield but sulking over a Human Clan youth instead?*

*Is this fitting for a great and powerful race?*

*How is this any different from villagers losing a fight and, instead of confronting the elders responsible, bullying a child from the opposing village?*

Such words, coming from the lower ranks of the Demon Race, might have been tolerable.

But spoken from the mouths of the Demon Race’s upper echelon?

It was downright disgraceful.

And so,

In the Demon Emperor Palace, where moments before voices raged for violence,

An eerie silence fell over the hall.

All they could hear were the labored breaths of those standing there.

No one dared to utter another call to kill Jiang Fan as a means of intimidation.

Consort Yunxia stared in awe.

Her enchanting eyes reflected Jiang Fan’s imposing figure.

Was this the same mischievous, sly young man she knew, the one who had even teased her?

Now he stood alone, proudly facing the strongest the Demon Race had to offer,

His resounding words silencing them all,

Imbuing his presence with an almost unparalleled aura among thousands.

She couldn’t help but recall the moment Jiang Fan had descended from the heavens, rescuing her from Lu Liang’s humiliation.

Once again, his powerful presence had shielded her from the storm.

At that thought, her gaze, fixed on Jiang Fan’s back, grew soft and rippled with emotions.

“What’s the matter? Have you all gone mute?”

Jiang Fan, brimming with momentum, shouted once more:

“Weren’t you going to kill me to vent your anger?”

“Come on then, kill me! Let the Human Clan and the outer realms laugh at you pathetic cowards!”

“Let the world witness just how useless the great Demon Race truly is!”

Smack—

A Demon King, unable to endure any further, stomped his foot fiercely upon the ground. “Enough!”

“Demon Emperor, this brat insults our Demon Race.”

“I propose we execute him now and offer his head to the heavens as a sacrifice!”

The Demon Emperor’s face darkened to a shade of pale blue.

He had gone through great trouble to capture Jiang Fan, intending to rally the Demon Race’s morale.

But Jiang Fan’s unyielding rhetoric had instead chastened their spirits.

He didn’t respond directly but instead turned his gaze toward the others.

“What do you all think?”