"Kekekeke! You've lost your mind! No—this one is completely mad! Hiekekeke!" Mo Haryun cackled as he escorted me to the appointed grounds for my duel with Ma'wang.
"I nearly lost my mind when Matheus said you dared challenge the Divine Demon! To provoke such a monster… kriekekekhek!" He circled around me like a vulture sizing up its prey.
"Tsk, I know you're a powerful, master… but this is madness. You're challenging the Divine Demon, of all people…" He finally stopped circling and resumed walking like a normal person.
"Silence! How dare a dog open its mouth to its master! And while you're at it… sew it shut." I replied coldly.
This was the peak of my strength—both in my past life and in this one. So how could I back down now? How could I feel fear when I had finally found a worthy opponent?
And the fastest way to conquer this world was to stand with these lunatics of the Heavenly Demon Cult. My plan was perfect. All I needed was to emerge victorious from this duel.
At first, we set the duel at the training grounds, but later decided to change it. I judged that if we went all out, even the main base would crumble. And how could I allow that to happen when it was destined to be mine?
I suggested to Ma'wang that we fight on the vast plains near the base—somewhere we could unleash our full strength without restraint.
Ma'wang looked at me with amusement, then nodded in agreement. Perhaps, like me, he had never found a worthy opponent after reigning at the top for so long. How could he possibly pass up the chance for a proper fight?
Mo Haryun and I arrived at the designated location. Seventeen figures were already waiting. At the front stood Ma'wang Cheonma, my opponent, and beside him, his disciple, Matheus.
The fifteen people who would witness this duel were the five generals of the Heavenly Demon Cult and the one in charge of each pavilion. Each of them had brought along two outstanding disciples, which made the number fifteen.
As we arrived, they bowed respectfully. After all, I was still the direct disciple of their previous leader. These fifteen veterans were not like the lower members of the cult, who had once seen me as a mere child not yet in full bloom. These people had already seen much, and judging someone's strength by their age alone was simply foolish. It was always better to overestimate an opponent than to underestimate them—doing so improved your chances of survival here.
A beautiful girl who appeared to be in her early twenties stepped forward.
Do not be fooled by her innocent and lovely appearance—this girl was the strongest pavilion master, overseeing the Poison Pavilion, which also served as the cult's medicinal hall. Though she looked barely twenty, her true age was well past sixty, and she had recently undergone a body reformation after reaching the Pinnacle of Poison Arts. It was said that even her sweat was a deadly poison.
She bowed respectfully and introduced herself. "I am Yao Lian, also known as the Poisonous Empress. We are the Generals of the Heavenly Demon Cult and will act as overseers for this duel to determine the next cult leader." She spoke while the other generals simply nodded in agreement.
After the introductions, the seventeen—including Matheus and Mo Haryun—stepped back and gave space. After all, this was a duel to determine the leader, not a casual gathering.
After stepping back to observe us, one of the pavilion masters of Iron Wrath, Han Zhe—also known as the Fist Emperor—spoke. "Hehehe~ who do you think will win, Yao Lian?"
"Isn't that why we're here? To find out?" she replied coldly, then fell silent.
On the duel grounds, Lucian and Ma'wang faced each other.
"Such a beautiful sight… it feels wrong that it won't look the same afterward." Lucian said suddenly, gazing at the vast plains of grass and wildflowers.
Ma'wang tilted his head slightly. "Shouldn't you be worried about your own life instead of such worthless things?"
Ma'wang couldn't understand why this brat kept rambling about the beauty of nature. To Lucian, who had spent his life on battlefields after his parents died, all he had ever seen was blood, death, and corpses rotting under the sun. So of course, being granted a second life made him appreciate the small things he had been blind to in his past world, when rage and insanity for blood had consumed him.
Lucian didn't reply. He simply let out a genuine smile. He knew Ma'wang wouldn't understand. If it had been him in his past life, he would have dismissed this as nonsense too. But now, having taken countless lives and witnessed the world in its harshest form, even these small, fleeting moments brought relief to his madness.
"It seems you're in a good mood. A perfect way to die!" Ma'wang said, drawing his sword and pointing it at Lucian.
Lucian grasped the Blood-Soul Eating Demon Sword, which twitched and shrieked as if delighted—it had finally been given action after these past few days.
The two clashed. Each strike was met with a perfect block, and with every collision, it felt as if heaven and earth themselves trembled.
Far away, the generals watching wore shocked expressions. They knew Ma'wang was strong—after all, he is the Heavenly Demon—but never had they imagined he was this strong. And what's worse? Lucian was on par with him. Both had gone all out from the very start.
"OH HEAVENS! THEY'RE ACTUALLY THIS STRONG!"
"WHAT KIND OF TECHNIQUES ARE THESE?! HEAVEN AND EARTH ITSELF SEEMS TO WEEP IN RAGE!"
"It's… like watching two Divine Demons clash in a single era…"
It was true—heaven and earth seemed to weep, sensing that the balance of the world had been broken. Not by one, but by two individuals. Fury from the heavens began to stir: clouds darkened, and the rumble of thunder rolled across the sky. The earth shook visibly, as if showing its own rage, silently demanding to know who was responsible for this chaos.
Yet, the world's anger went unnoticed. The two continued their duel, laughing as they clashed, fully immersed in each other. A strange, indescribable happiness stirred within them. They were beings unmatched in their own worlds; even without speaking it, they had grown bored of everything, accustomed to achieving all with little effort. This was the first time they truly felt threatened—a sensation they had never known. But how can one recognize fear when one has never experienced it? To them, it manifested as an exhilaration.
Their fear became excitement, fueling a frenzied battle. Ultimate techniques tore through the plains, unleashed here and there, as both fought with the joy of finally meeting a challenge worthy of their strength.
"HEAVENLY DEMON ART, FIRST FORM! LIFE DEVOURER!" Ma'wang roared, his qi surging from his body and shaping into an eerie, skull-like aura. It hovered behind him like a death omen as he charged, his sword slicing through the air with a roar that shook the plains.
Lucian's eyes narrowed. He tightened his grip on the Blood-Soul Eating Demon Sword, which twitched violently, as if sensing the surge of Ma'wang's deadly aura. The instant their swords met, a shockwave erupted, sending dust and grass flying for dozens of meters. Lucian coughed, blood spattering from his lips. The force of the strike pressed down on him like a mountain, crushing his chest and straining his organs—just from blocking the first form.
Sparks of qi flew with every clash, and the ground beneath them cracked from the sheer pressure. Lucian spun, dodging a spinning slash that left a deep groove in the earth. The sword in his hand seemed alive, shrieking and pulsing, hungry for blood as it met Ma'wang's unstoppable assault.
Each attack was a test of body and soul. Ma'wang's strikes weren't just physical—they carried the weight of a Heavenly Demon's might, capable of tearing both flesh and spirit. Lucian countered, calculating the trajectory of each swing, redirecting some blows, absorbing others, but each move cost him more energy than he expected. He could feel his muscles tearing under the pressure, but the thrill surged in him—this was the fight he had waited for, the first true challenge in centuries.
Around them, the wind howled, stirred by their rapid movements. Wildflowers were shredded into petals, grass bent and snapped, and dust clouds rolled across the plains like waves. Their qi collided mid-air in bursts of light and sound, creating shockwaves that made distant trees sway violently. Even the generals observing from afar were forced to take a step back, feeling the raw energy threatening to shatter the natural order.
And still, they fought on, laughing amidst the destruction. Every strike, every block, was a conversation of death. Every collision brought a strange thrill neither had felt in ages—the rare exhilaration only warriors of true strength could feel, when danger and excitement were indistinguishable.
"W-What?! That's the Heavenly Demon Art—only the cult leader is allowed to learn?! And to think…it's this powerful…"
"No wonder… that's why every cult leader relies on their own martial arts technique instead of the Heavenly Demon Art. This… this is outrageous…"
In the Heavenly Demon Cult, only a handful of leaders had ever mastered this art, so it was not widely known. Members understood it was powerful, but assumed it carried a massive drawback in exchange for its strength, which is why the cult leaders rarely used it. Even the generals had neither seen it nor knew its true power.
Now, however, they were witnessing the reason why. The first form alone revealed the truth: there was no need to use this art casually—no one was truly worthy of it. Cracks spiderwebbed across the ground, and within a ten-meter radius, all grass and life began to wither and die. Hence the name… Life Devourer.
If not for Lucian's abundant qi, nourished by Jeonglak's remnant will, he would have surely died from simply blocking the attack.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! GOOD!!! GOOD!!! THIS IS HOW A FIGHT SHOULD BE!!!" Lucian laughed maniacally, his body drenched in blood flowing from all seven orifices. Every breath he took was ragged, yet his eyes burned with a wild, uncontainable thrill.
"NOW, TASTE MINE AS WELL! HEAVEN'S DESTRUCTION SWORD TECHNIQUE, FIRST FORM: HEAVEN'S FURY!"
As Lucian swung the Blood-Soul Eating Demon Sword, the heavens themselves seemed to roar in response. Dark clouds churned above, and lightning cracked from the sky, striking Ma'wang with every slash. The air sizzled with raw energy; the ground beneath them shook violently, fissures spreading like spiderwebs across the plains. Grass, flowers, and small creatures were vaporized instantly within the radius of their clash.
Ma'wang countered with the Heavenly Demon Art, his sword leaving trails of eerie, skull-like qi in the air. The impact of each strike sent shockwaves rolling outward, lifting dust, dirt, and fragments of earth into the sky. Lucian was slammed backward with one particularly vicious swing, tumbling across the cracked ground, but the Blood-Soul Eating Demon Sword shrieked in rage and leaped back into his hand as if it had a will of its own.
Sparks of qi collided midair like miniature storms, each clash echoing like thunder. The pressure was so intense that Lucian felt his chest compress, organs straining, and ribs threatening to crack—but he welcomed it, laughing all the while. Ma'wang's face was a mask of grim determination, yet even he could not hide a flicker of exhilaration.
They moved faster than the eye could follow, striking, parrying, spinning, and leaping, leaving afterimages in their wake. Every blow altered the battlefield: craters formed, trees were ripped from the ground, and the air itself seemed to warp under the weight of their qi.
Both fighters were beyond human limits; each strike carried enough force to fell mountains, yet neither could land a decisive blow. Amid the chaos, a strange thrill coursed through both of them—fear, excitement, and the pure joy of meeting a true equal all merged into a single, maddening sensation. They laughed, shouted, and roared, letting the battle consume them as their ultimate techniques collided repeatedly, each explosion of qi more violent than the last.
"WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT TECHNIQUE?!!! IS THAT ALSO FROM THE PREVIOUS DIVINE DEMON?!"
"ARGHHH! THIS IS MADNESS!!! THIS IS NOT A FIGHT FOR HUMANS… THEY'RE MONSTERS!"
"THE TWO OF THEM HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE LEADER AT THIS POINT!!!"
The generals could do nothing but stare, dumbfounded. Simply witnessing this battle was beyond belief—this was a scene no one in the cult had ever imagined. It was truly unprecedented.
Thanks to Lucian's overwhelming qi, Ma'wang staggered backward after blocking the strike, his body battered and broken. Blood poured freely from multiple wounds, streaking down his face, arms, and chest. His ribs felt crushed, each breath a sharp agony, and his muscles trembled violently under the strain. Attempting the second form of the Heavenly Demon Art was impossible—his body simply refused to obey him.
Even though his technique was theoretically stronger than Lucian's, power alone meant nothing if one could not wield it. Every strike, every clash of qi had left its mark: the ground beneath them was fractured with deep fissures, the grass and wildflowers within dozens of meters scorched or flattened, and the air hung thick with dust and the scent of blood.
Ma'wang collapsed, lying sprawled across the plains, barely able to lift his head. His chest heaved in ragged, shallow breaths, sweat and blood mixing into a crimson sheen. His sword lay discarded beside him, its tip sinking into a gouge in the earth. Even for a Heavenly Demon, surviving this encounter was a near impossibility.
Lucian stood over him, chest rising and falling, a thin smile of satisfaction playing across his blood-streaked face. The thrill of finally meeting a true opponent surged through him, yet there was no time to linger. With a single gesture, he called for Yao Lian. Around them, the generals remained frozen, unable to look away, stunned by the sheer scale of the destruction and the unstoppable aura of the victor.
"I, LUCIAN, AM NOW THE DIVINE DEMON!" His victory declared, it was obvious—he was now the leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
He cast a glance at Ma'wang, who was receiving emergency treatment from Yao Lian. "As for Ma'wang, the previous cult leader… I will not kill him. He shall become my subordinate! I, Lucian, value those who are strong!"
With that, he strode away alongside Mo Haryun, leaving the battlefield in the wake of his overwhelming presence.
The people present were shocked. They thought Lucian would feel threatened by Ma'wang's prowess and kill him immediately. If it were them, after seeing an opponent that strong, they would definitely kill him so no one could ever threaten them again.
But Lucian… he actually let Ma'wang live, even knowing all that. Isn't he just crazy?
And how could they even question him or suggest anything? He's their Leader now. Except for Mo Haryun, of course.
While Mo Haryun followed Lucian and the others remained stupefied, he asked,
"Hiekekeke! Isn't it too dangerous to leave him alive, Master?"
"Dangerous? That's the mindset of the weak and the cowardly. I am neither weak nor a coward to kill a useful subordinate with strength comparable to mine just to ease my worries." Lucian declared, making sure the other generals heard him before he and Mo Haryun left the scene.
After that fight, Lucian ordered the members of the Cult to spread rumors about the duel and its outcome to every corner of the world, whether in the territories of the righteous or the evil factions, letting everyone know the name of their ruler. It was undeniably arrogant—perfectly fitting for the new leader of such an insane sect.