If someone asked me "Where are you right now?"
I would definitely answer:
"In the deepest pit of hell."
After receiving the message through Zhang Hao, I issued the command for an assembly.
And now… here I am, sitting on a marble throne raised above a horde of demons with vicious faces, draped in black-and-red robes.
More than twenty of them stood in two opposing rows, and a long red carpet stretched from the entrance all the way to my feet.
It felt like I was inside some giant dungeon—
Huge but dark.
Only the center, where the meeting was held, was illuminated.
Everywhere else was pitch black.
So dark that I didn't even dare to glance around.
A voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Your Excellency, we are truly glad that you have returned safely from your meditation."
A middle-aged man with black-and-white hair and a ponytail beard said this.
I had to act cold and distant.
So I only nodded slightly.
He began talking.
"Your Excellency, ever since you went into meditation, as per your orders, we placed our finest and most talented soldiers on the defensive lines. And all the paths that lead into our territory are currently guarded by—"
I wasn't listening.
At all.
Because my eyes were glued to his ridiculous ponytail beard that wiggled every time he spoke.
I almost burst out laughing.
I bit the inside of my cheek, desperately trying to keep my composure.
I gave Han (Zhao) a sideways glance.
That poor soul looked even worse than me.
His face was as red as a tomato, and his lips were trembling.
Under my breath, I kept swearing at him:
"Don't laugh, you idiot. If you laugh, we're both dead."
I let out a small cough to hide the chuckle crawling up my throat.
I could NOT risk losing control here.
With a voice deep enough to sound like it came from the bottom of a well, I said loudly:
"Enough."
My voice echoed through the chamber.
A heavy silence swallowed everything.
No one dared make a sound.
Not even a breath.
Only my own heartbeat pounded loudly in my ears from pure anxiety.
Guess that alone was enough to show Lu Wang's authority.
I narrowed my eyes and, in a tone I had never heard myself use before, I spoke:
"As ruler of this land, I am responsible for resolving both internal and external issues."
"And internal issues always take priority."
I shot them a harsh look and continued:
"So tell me—how do you expect me to focus on external matters when the problems within our own territory remain unresolved?"
Someone from the third row on the right stepped forward.
"Forgive my insolence, Your Excellency, but contrary to your words, there have been no internal issues—neither before nor after your meditation."
I smirked.
"You sure about that?"
He nodded. "Yes."
I leaned back slightly and said:
"Then let me remind you of something.
The punishment for anyone who betrays me… is death."
The man immediately dropped to his knees, trembling.
"I—I have always been loyal to you! I swear!"
Ignoring him completely, I called out:
"Li Shang… step forward."
A short, relatively young man from the fourth row on the left approached and bowed.
"Your Excellency."
I didn't have much memory of him.
In the novel, he was only mentioned as the head of the intelligence committee.
According to Zhao's memories, Han told me he was the one who hid the identity of the person destined to kill Lu Wang—and leaked that information to others.
I said in a cold, accusing tone:
"Li Shang… you are the man who hides nothing. Every event inside or outside our realm—you are the first to know."
Li Shang, still showing no fear, replied:
"It is the position you granted me. It is my duty not to overlook anything."
I snickered.
"And it is also your duty not to hide anything from me."
Li Shang bowed. "I would never dare."
I continued:
"I've learned about something extremely important…
something more important than every single one of your lives."
I narrowed my eyes.
"So explain this to me—why was such a crucial matter never reported to me?"
Li Shang's face drained of color.
He collapsed to his knees, voice trembling:
"Forgive me, Your Excellency… I—I don't know what matter you're referring to."
I leaned forward and spoke calmly, but sharply:
"Really?
Not even about the individual destined to end my existence forever?"
A wave of murmurs erupted among the demons.
Li Shang stared at me with his mouth hanging open, looking like his soul just fled his body.
Poor guy.
Guess I scared him more than expected.
Serves him right.
After a moment, he stuttered:
"N–no… Your Excellency, this… this is not true… I know nothing…"
I glared.
"You know nothing?
Or did you pretend to know nothing because you wanted to witness my destruction?"
Li Shang's voice cracked:
"That's not true! Someone framed me!"
"Framed?" I mocked.
Han.
I extended my hand toward Han (Zhao), signaling him to hand me the letter containing the exposed information.
Han bent down, gave me the letter, and whispered through clenched teeth:
"You idiot, do you want to get us killed?"
Understanding what he meant, I realized how badly I had messed up.
So as I dramatically opened the letter, I said loudly:
"Commander Zhao—this title suits you well."
(I shot him a pointed look.)
He replied through gritted teeth,
"You honor me."
I grabbed the letter and threw it at Li Shang's feet.
"Then tell me—what does THIS say?"
With trembling hands, Li Shang picked up the letter.
Han had found it in Zhao's secret hideout.
Zhao had been gathering evidence against treacherous officials, and Li Shang's name was on the list.
A voice broke the silence:
"No! Your Excellency! This is false! The letter is fake! FAKE!"
Oh for heaven's sake.
I'd been proving his guilt for an hour now, and he still insisted otherwise.
I was about to speak when Han stepped forward.
"After analyzing the letter, we can determine whether it's real or fake."
He gestured to one of the officials.
They placed their hand over the letter, and a black smoke-like aura wrapped around it—some sort of truth-detection spell.
After a moment, someone stepped forward:
"This… this letter is real. All codes and seals match those used by our immortal-realm spies."
Li Shang instantly changed his expression and shouted:
"YES, I knew it! I didn't report it because I WANTED you to perish and never return!"
He spun around and burst into loud, insane laughter.
I leaned back on the throne, trying to embody Lu Wang's icy composure, letting my fingers glide over the cold stone armrest as I spoke menacingly:
"The punishment for traitors is death."
The moment those words left my mouth—
A sharp sound sliced past my ear.
Then suddenly—
Li Shang's severed head dropped to the floor.
I swallowed hard and glanced at Zhang Hao.
His expression was completely calm.
Cold.
Emotionless.
As if nothing unusual had happened.
As if he wasn't the one who killed a man in the blink of an eye.
All the officials immediately fell to their knees.
"Great Lord, we shall forever remain loyal to you!"
Without turning my head, only looking from the corner of my eye, I stared at Zhang Hao in terror.
I never ordered him to kill!
Then it hit me.
Zhang Hao was the weapon of Lu Wang's annihilation…
and one of his command triggers was the exact phrase I said:
"The punishment for traitors… is death."
I looked at Han.
He looked no better—his eyes locked on Li Shang's head, and his left hand trembling uncontrollably.
I needed to end this meeting before Zhang Hao started suspecting anything.
I took a deep breath, glanced indifferently at Li Shang's corpse, and said:
"The traitor has been punished today.
I doubt there are any others left.
If there are… they will meet the same fate."
Everyone lowered their heads.
"Of course, Great Lord."
I was about to bring up the matter of stopping the battle when one of the princes stepped forward.
Judging by the scar near his eye, he had to be Lu Rang.
He bowed slightly.
"Great Lord, if the existence of such an individual is true, then your presence in the Immortal Realm would be dangerous."
My eyebrow twitched.
"Well, well… surprising. Aren't you the one who wished for Lu Wang's death?"
Then another prince—Li Rang—stepped forward and said:
"He is right. Forgive my insolence, but you must not appear in this battle. Without you, we cannot break the Immortal Realm's barrier."
I didn't understand these brothers' sudden kindness.
But hey—if it helped my plan, I'd take it.
I answered coldly:
"True. But I am not running away from this individual.
In fact, I intend to find them… and kill them."
Li Rang asked:
"So you intend to join the war and lure this person out?"
I shook my head.
"No.
There will be no war."
All eyes widened with curiosity.
I continued:
"By my command, I hereby declare a ceasefire… and propose a treaty of peace."
The hall erupted into whispers.
The officials kneeling on the ground shifted uncomfortably.
Instead of fear, anger spread across their faces.
I didn't understand why they were reacting like this until—
Lu Rang spoke:
"Your Excellency, since the dawn of the Immortal and Demon realms, no peace or friendship has ever been established."
Li Rang added:
"And the Demon Realm has never initiated friendship, nor has it ever accepted such an offer."
Soon, all the officials voiced their objections one after another.
I never imagined they'd oppose peace this strongly.
I rose from the throne and stared at them for a long moment.
Then I turned my back so they wouldn't see my stressed expression.
To intimidate them, I shouted:
"Silence!"
At the same time, I slammed my hand onto the throne's armrest.
The impact was so powerful the ground shook, and the throne cracked in several places.
I took two steps back, eyes wide with shock, and looked at Han.
He was equally stunned but signaled me frantically to keep acting.
Behind me, I heard the officials:
"Great Lord, please reconsider your decision!"
I spun toward them sharply.
"When I make a decision, it WILL be executed.
If you value your lives, do not oppose it."
Silence.
Utter, stunned silence.
I ordered:
"Commander Zhang Hao."
"Yes."
"Send a messenger to the Immortal Realm.
They are to deliver our offer of ceasefire and long-term peace.
Also remind them that if they do not trust our sincerity, they may place any conditions they wish."
Zhang Hao bowed.
"As you command."
A small, triumphant smile tugged at my lips.
"The demons are handled.
Now… I just have to wait for the Immortals' answer."