I Will Kill You

"It’s so early in the morning! Stop all that shouting, are you trying to get killed?"

"What's happening up ahead? Why is it so chaotic?"

"You little brat, get back here right now! Do you want to die?"

"Something must have happened. A lot of people from the enforcement team are coming..."

"Old lady, hurry and close the door! People are going to die."

In the Outer City, everything suddenly became noisy. The crowds were packed, and the murmurs were endless.

Some people were there for the spectacle, squeezing through to get a better look, while others feared being caught in the crossfire and hurried away. Some slammed their doors shut, and others leaned out of their windows to watch. It was absolute chaos.

Under the dark gray sky, streaks of light flashed across the air as demon falcons circled above. At the command of the enforcement team, the streets were cordoned off and inspections began.

"Intercept everyone above the fourth-rank lesser demon master stage. Check them one by one!"

"Understood!"

"The audacity! To dare run wild in the Nether Capital..."

"Move this way! You there, I'm talking to you. Come here! What's your name?"

To be able to set up a two-mile trapping formation in the Nether Capital without anyone noticing, one would need the strength of at least a greater demon king stage to break it. This person was definitely not simple, and their intentions were completely unknown.

The enforcement team, as the only law enforcement agency in the hands of the Demon Court, functioned much like the constables of ancient magistrate offices or a modern police department. They were responsible for the public security and crime prevention of the entire Nether Capital. They were a massive organization filled with experts, and their highest commander was a powerhouse who was infinitely close to the demon god stage.

Of course, their primary duty was to maintain the status of the heavenly demon race. After all, in the Demon Abyss, it was impossible for a heavenly demon to break the law, because the laws were written by the heavenly demon race themselves.

In the crowd, Xu Xian wore ordinary black clothes and a bamboo hat he had just "borrowed" to hide his cultivation as he blended in. He carefully navigated the throng of people, walking right past the eyes of the enforcement team as if he hadn't seen them. Because he showed no cultivation, he wasn't questioned, making it through without a hitch.

As the noise behind him faded and the crowds thinned, the youth stopped in an alleyway and looked back. A deep pain was visible in his eyes.

"What a waste."

"Eight hundred thousand spirit stones..."

The little book spirit, Little Book, rolled its eyes so far back they almost reached the sky. What time did he think it was, and he was still worrying about money? He was truly hopeless.

Xu Xian raised his hand to press down the brim of his hat, turned into a small alley, and headed toward the outskirts of the Outer City. As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is often the safest. Xu Xian planned to hide right under their noses.

Those people would surely assume he had fled the city. But he wouldn't.

Xu Xian had looked into it before; outside the Outer City of the Nether Capital, there was a gathering place for vagrants—the slums of the Nether Capital. Many wandering beggars gathered there. Usually, neither the enforcement team nor the heavenly or earthly demon race were willing to go to such a place.

It was the perfect spot for Xu Xian to hide until his demonic cultivation reached mastery and he could skillfully control his demonic qi and learn the Nether Fire Secret Art. Then he could make further plans. It was also a good way to lay low and avoid the heat.

However...

Not long after Xu Xian started walking, a purple light flashed in his eyes, and the little book spirit became alert. Xu Xian quickened his pace, darting through the alleys. He intentionally veered into a street that was rarely frequented by people.

The dim sky remained heavy. The houses on either side were dilapidated, with falling stones and broken tiles. There were no five-colored great trees or beautiful flowers like those found on the main streets. There were only scattered purple weeds along the roadside and on top of walls, along with thin patches of red moss in the damp corners. The light was extremely faint.

Hardly a soul could be seen.

The world was eerily quiet. In the entire alley, it seemed only the light echoes of the youth's footsteps remained. Occasionally, the sound of something falling would occur, followed by a dark shadow darting past at high speed.

It was a cat. It was a rat. It was a cat chasing a rat.

However... a rat daring to block a cat's path, and doing so alone, was truly a rare sight.

A wind blew toward him, whistling as it carried a single broken tile. With a piercing sound, it landed precisely half a step in front of the youth.

Crack!

The tile hit the ground, piercing through the mottled stone slabs and adding another crater to this already potholed and ruinous alleyway. Xu Xian remained calm. He stopped and slowly looked up.

Under the bamboo hat, a pair of eyes flickered with a cold light. At the end of the alley, sitting on the eaves of a low stone house, was a person.

The man wore green robes, his hair tied up with a hairpin. He was covered in stubble as stiff as halberds. He was dressed like a young scholar in green, yet he had the face of a scruffy, middle-aged man. The jarring contrast made anyone who looked at him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Xu Xian didn't consider himself a judgmental person when it came to looks, but he was still appalled by how ugly the man before him was. Fortunately, the sun hadn't risen yet in the Demon Abyss.

However, despite his looks, this man's strength was not weak; he was a solid seventh-rank lesser demon king stage. The green-haired, green-clad man with two horns was casually picking his nose while tossing a broken tile up and down in his other hand.

With a flick of his finger, he looked toward the youth and said with an arrogant air, "Hey! Kid, how about it? Want to fight?"

Xu Xian said indifferently, "Here?"

"You don't dare?"

Xu Xian narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone freezing. "I never just 'fight.' I only brawl."

The man licked his lips with interest. "Oh? Is there a difference?"

Xu Xian shrugged and said calmly, "There's no special meaning. Fighting is to decide a winner; that's boring. Brawling is to decide life and death; that's where the fun is."

Hearing this, the man laughed heartily, threw away the tile in his hand, and leaped down from the low eaves. Standing in the middle of the street, he cracked his neck from side to side and said excitedly, "Interesting, interesting! Fine, then let's decide life and death."

At some point, a seven-foot staff appeared in his hand. He spun it with one hand like a circus performer while continuing, "It's been a long time since I met such a wild mortal demon. To be this arrogant at the sixth rank... you must have some skill. Come, come, let's start."

Xu Xian was amused and gave a kind reminder, "I will kill you."

The man stopped spinning the staff and gripped it tightly, flicking it upward with one hand.

Whoosh!

A wave of air surged out, the wind tossing the youth's white hair and the hem of his clothes. He pointed the staff at the youth and tilted his chin up in a display of pure arrogance. "I'm waiting."

Xu Xian didn't waste any more words. He reached out to his side, and a long spear appeared in his hand. Its red tassels fluttered, and its immortal resonance surged. He gave a mocking laugh. "You really are a glutton for punishment."

Seeing the spear in the youth's hand, the man became even more excited. "It’s actually the Crimson Flame Gilded Spear! Interesting, too interesting! Good, very good! Fighting like this will be truly satisfying! Hahaha!"

Xu Xian held the spear in one hand and beckoned with his left, taunting him. "Come!"

The man, seeing how bold the youth was, didn't hesitate and charged forward with his staff. He went from a walk to a run, and then to a sprint, finally moving as fast as the wind. When he was a hundred paces away, he suddenly stomped his foot.

His lesser demon king stage cultivation was fully released, and the impact of his step created a large crater in the alley street. He leaped into the air, raising his staff high with both hands and swinging it down. His beard fluttered in the rushing air as he descended with the force of a falling meteor. He let out a great roar, "Take a strike from your grandpa!"