"Xiaolu, how did you meet that uncle?"
"I met him at kindergarten. He told me to go home and find my mommy."
Xiaohui and Xiaolu were hiding in a nearby convenience store, with the door shut tightly as they quietly waited for Kei to return.
During the wait, Xiaohui asked Xiaolu a few more questions.
"That uncle… is he a good person?"
"Yeah! Uncle's a good guy. He even made sure I was okay on the way here."
Xiaolu fished in her pocket and pulled out a piece of candy. Holding it up, she offered it sweetly.
"Big sis Xiaohui, do you want some candy?"
"No need. You keep it for yourself."
Xiaohui smiled warmly at the little girl offering to share, reaching out to pinch her soft cheek.
Meanwhile, Kei was still clearing the outskirts of the city. He encountered only a few straggling Corpse Brothers—likely the rest were already swept up in the earlier horde.
Suddenly, Kei spotted a pale-faced magician in a tall hat walking out of a pharmacy. His clothes were bloodstained and his appearance was suspicious.
Silently, Kei approached and tapped him on the shoulder.
The magician jolted, immediately whipping out a dagger from his sleeve and stabbing backward without hesitation—but Kei effortlessly blocked it.
"I thought I might've mistaken you at first. But that reaction? No doubt about it—you're the Dark Sun Magician from the EU's Dark Council."
"Aren't you supposed to be playing hide-and-seek with those demon hunters and the church in Europe? What are you doing in Huaxia?"
Kei casually crushed the dagger with one hand.
"I-I'm here on vacation… you believe that?"
The magician cursed himself—why did I try to fight back?! I should've just walked away!
"Nope." Kei answered plainly.
"You lot can mess around in Europe all you want. But here? This is my turf. You don't get to stir up trouble."
In one motion, Kei's arm swung—and the magician's head was cleanly severed. Complete domination.
He then turned to the dog that had been trailing the magician.
"Whimper…"
The dog immediately rolled over, exposed its belly, and flashed a flattering smile.
"Hellhound Hamm. You can speak human language, right?"
"Whimper…"
The dog made an innocent face: I'm just a cute, helpless, harmless pet! I don't know any hellhounds!
"I won't kill you. Go back and give your people a message: Either leave Huaxia and go back to playing tag with your hunters and priests in Europe…"
"Or I'll hunt them all down. One by one."
H City was already chaotic enough. Kei didn't need the EU's lunatics making it worse.
"Woof!"
Hamm still pretended he didn't understand, but once Kei left, he immediately bolted.
He ran and ran, twisting and weaving through the streets. After making sure no one followed, he dove into a sewer.
Deeper and deeper, he finally emerged in a shadowy lair.
"Bark! We're in trouble!"
Blood-red eyes lit up in the dark. A vampire stepped forward.
"What happened? Where's the magician?"
"Council Leader, we've got big trouble—we ran into him! The Demon King!!"
The entire space fell silent, as if unseen hands had gripped everyone's throats.
"Damn it! You didn't tell me the Demon King was here! I'm out—I'm going back to Europe!"
A werewolf stepped out, visibly terrified.
"Me too! I still want to live!"
A giant troll appeared next, echoing the sentiment.
"We're out too!"
Even a pair of twin wraiths turned to leave.
"You're all pathetic. Just one human and you're all scared stiff?"
A young girl blew a bubble with her gum and sneered.
"You don't get it!" the werewolf snapped. "You weren't there when the Demon King first came to Europe. Every step he took was over our corpses!"
"He's strong. He's ruthless. He's a demon in human form. Anyone—human, monster, demon—who gets in his way gets hunted down, to the ends of the earth."
The werewolf trembled as the memories came flooding back.
"Our clan had over a thousand werewolves. We ate a few humans who had contact with him. Next thing we knew, he wiped out our whole tribe."
The vampire explained:
"Lola, you don't know his terror. Even the Church and demon hunters aren't as frightening. Demon King Kei is the last person you want to provoke."
The other creatures gave apologies and quickly departed, eager to flee Huaxia as fast as they could—far away from the Demon King.
The vampire turned to the few who remained. "Our target is the Corpse King. As long as we stay quiet, he might not find us."
"Whimper…"
Seeing their nervousness, Hamm was even more rattled. Just the mention of his name sent everyone running! Maybe I should flee too… this place is way too dangerous!
"Hamm, from now on you're with me," the vampire said.
"…Woof. Okay."
Hamm was on the verge of tears. I want to go home! I never should've followed that magician to this damned place!
The remaining members of the Dark Council retreated into the shadows, and silence once more returned to the sewers.
Meanwhile, at the Huaxia military headquarters—
"Commander! We couldn't reach Mr. Kei. He's completely undetectable—even our advanced tech can't track him."
"Experts like him know how to avoid electronic detection."
Commander Lin rubbed his temples, utterly exhausted. Corpse Brother outbreaks were happening everywhere. He had to work nonstop.
"How's the Special Ops Team?"
"They entered the library and engaged with the Corpse King's forces. Result…"
"…The Chameleon died. The Monk died. Only Hong Fudu made it out."
"He's currently resting at the nearest evac zone."
That report made Lin's headache worse. The Corpse Brothers were evolving far too fast. They used to be just slightly stronger than regular people. Now, even elite soldiers couldn't handle them.
"Did Ghost Rod report any power estimates?"
"Yes, he recommends sending a Heaven-tier expert. Only the Special Ops can handle it now."
"Commander, what about missiles?"
"No. Too many civilians in the area. Small blasts won't help. Large ones will kill them indiscriminately."
"We can't cross that line. Ever."
"Can we dispatch someone from Special Ops Unit 1?"
"No. Old Butcher is guarding the border. Foreign forces test us every day—kill one wave, another comes. Like wolves, they wait for weakness."
"If he leaves, the whole border will fall apart."
Lin was on edge. The Corpse Brothers were bad—but the international pressure was worse.
"What about Azure Dragon, the Guardian of Huaxia?"
"No. Azure Dragon is our trump card. Once we reveal him, the world will act. We can't afford that."
"Damn it! If only the old masters were still alive! Even if gods came, they could've fought them off!"
The old general cursed bitterly. Huaxia's martial arts had fallen. The older generation was dead or crippled, and the younger ones hadn't caught up.
Top-tier combatants were sorely lacking.
Lin finally asked, "What about Grandmaster Buxiu?"
"He's agreed to help. But his disciple, Miss Nima, told us he's not been well since his battle with the Blood Lotus Leader years ago. His head injury's gotten worse…"
"He's… not in a great state. But they'll try."
"If he comes, that's enough."
"Where is the Corpse King now?"
They began planning a decisive strike to end the crisis in H City.
Meanwhile, Kei returned to the convenience store and found Xiaohui and Xiaolu.
"Thanks for watching her. Stay here and wait for rescue."
"Xiaolu, do you want to stay with this big sister and wait?"
"No! You promised to help me find Mommy! You can't leave me!"
Kei gave them a few more instructions and left. Things in H City were worsening—he had to take out the Corpse King fast.
Xiaohui watched him go. She wanted to follow, but knew she'd only be a burden.
About a day later, the army arrived. They quickly set up an evac zone and gathered the civilians.
—
Elsewhere, Grandmaster Buxiu had arrived in H City. Under Commander Lin's direction, they lured the Corpse King into an ambush.
"Master, do you remember what the Commander said?"
"…Something about eating Sachima?"
"No! He asked us to defeat a monster!"
"Sachima's gone bad?!"
Nima stared at her master, devastated. He's alive, but he's no longer himself…
"Let's go back. There are enough masters in Huaxia. We don't need you to fight. We can return to Tibet."
"What?! The Wind Demon Princess from the East Islands is here?! Hand me my Vajra Rod! I shall battle her for 300 rounds!"
Nima's eyes welled up with tears. This is the worst pain—when someone's alive… but no longer themselves.
—
At that moment, the Corpse King had stormed the Sirius Base and was bearing down on Buxiu and Nima.
He struck, trying to kill them both—but Buxiu blocked it.
"Huh? This old guy… he's strong! And his arms—why are they so long?!"
The Corpse King instantly sensed something was wrong. Despite his weak appearance, this old man had terrifying strength!
"Such heavy bloodlust… this must be the monster the Commander warned about."
"Master, you're finally lucid!"
"My dementia's worsening—we must end this quickly!"
Buxiu tore off his robes. The sealing charms wrapped around his body burst open—his form shifted from a frail old man to a towering warrior.
He launched his attack, a phantom Vajra Rod forming over his fists.
"Let's test strength then! Old man, take this!"
The Corpse King countered, but as their fists met, his Xuanwu Armor was shattered. The Vajra power tore through his meridians.
A normal person would've been crippled instantly—but the Corpse King was undead. His body healed rapidly.
"Tengang Qi – Dual Burst!"
He sped up and got behind Buxiu in an instant, launching a kick—but it hit only an afterimage.
Buxiu was already behind him, smashing down with the Vajra Rod.
"Demon! Die!!"
"You're the one who's gonna die, old fossil!"
The Corpse King twisted his neck unnaturally and spat poison needles from his mouth.
"Hmm!"
Caught off guard, Buxiu's battle instincts kicked in. He roared, shattering the poison midair with his Vajra Shout.
But that momentary distraction gave the Corpse King a chance to grab Buxiu by the neck.
"Taste lightning!!"
He unleashed a jolt of electricity—Buxiu coughed blood!
"Amaye, Adore, Sidiye…"
"Oh? Praying for your own funeral now?"
The Corpse King increased the voltage, trying to shatter the old man's protective qi barrier.
But this was still a god-tier master. Even aged and senile—he couldn't be taken down that easily.
"Tantric Secret Art – Celestial Ascension: Immovable Wisdom King!"
A massive blue Vajra avatar erupted from Buxiu's body, launching the Corpse King away.
But it didn't end there. Buxiu chased after him, palm raised. The Immovable King's palm struck down.
It shattered the Corpse King's armor and crushed his bones and veins.
As Buxiu prepared the second strike, he sensed danger and dodged—just in time to avoid a blade.
Blood sprayed. A deep wound appeared on Buxiu's head.
"To break my defense in one strike… this must be the East Island's #1 sacred blade, 'Sakura Flame.' So, the Wind Demon is here too."
With blood in his eye, his vision blurred. Countless blades rose from the ground, surrounding him.
At the same time, a hidden enemy descended from the sky—an ambush from all directions!
"Invaders of Huaxia… die!!"
"I drove you all off once. I can do it again!"
Buxiu exploded with qi energy, forming a protective dome that blew away the ambush.
"Buxiu, such big words. With your body now, what can you fight us with?"
"Your Huaxia Unit 1 is tied up with the Indians and Europeans. What masters do you have left?"
"Our target isn't even you. Step aside and we'll let you live."
Buxiu ignored them. He sat cross-legged and began chanting sutras in a low voice.
(End of Chapter)
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