After receiving Lucian's insane declaration:
Inside the meeting room.
"INSANE BASTARD!!!!! HOW DARE HE!!!!!"
The leader of the Evil Faction roared, his palm slamming down so hard the table split with a sharp crack, spiderweb fractures racing across its surface.
"Hah… hah…"
His breath was ragged, eyes bloodshot.
"To think that I once considered such a lunatic as my successor…"
His fingers trembled, slowly curling into a fist.
The killing intent leaking from his body made the air feel heavy, suffocating.
The room fell into silence.
No one dared to breathe.
"Why don't we just surrender, Leader~? In our faction, only you have reached the True Immortal Realm, while the Demonic Cult has two. Is it really worth provoking such insane people?"
A girl with striking beauty and an innocent face spoke, but not a single one of her words matched her sweet appearance.
Her voice was soft, almost playful — yet the meaning behind it was cold and merciless, as if she were discussing the weather rather than the fate of their entire faction.
"THEN WHAT?!! ELDER SEO HWA-RIN?! ARE YOU SAYING I SHOULD SURRENDER WITHOUT A FIGHT?!!!"
The leader slammed his palm onto the table, veins bulging across his neck as his aura flared violently at the girl.
Yes, that girl was Seo Hwa-rin — second place of the Dragon and Phoenix Competition, also known throughout murim as the Crimson Flower.
"Who knows~ my group will hang their banner regardless~" she replied lightly, a lazy smile on her lips.
Her tone was teasing, but the words themselves were a blade.
"SEO HWA-RIN!!!!"
While in the Righteous Alliance, a meeting was also being held.
"The demons are finally moving…" His voice was gentle and composed, yet it carried a weight that silenced the entire hall. Even the most senior leaders straightened unconsciously.
"As those who walk the righteous path, it is now our responsibility to eliminate these threats to humanity. Gather all your sect and clan members. We must act."
His eyes slowly moved across the room, calm but unwavering.
"This is not only our duty… but also our chance to answer for what was done to our disciples and bloodline during the Dragon and Phoenix Competition."
A quiet anger surfaced in several clans and sects leaders expressions.
"We shall repay the humiliation we endured — not with hatred, but with justice."
No one raised an objection. Because in that moment, it truly felt as if the fate of the world rested in their hands.
Alliance Leader Zheng Tianlong, also known as the Righteous Heavenly Dragon, spoke with absolute righteousness. As someone who had reached the True Immortal Realm, he had full confidence in his own strength.
And among the three factions… the Righteous Alliance possessed overwhelming numbers, nearly ten times that of the Heavenly Demon Cult's forces.
With such power and advantage, how could they not feel confident?
Although their future indeed suffered greatly during the Dragon and Phoenix Competition, their real strength is still intact. They are still alive, after all.
The ones who truly suffered were the later generations. Their future may be dimmed, but their present remains unharmed.
All nine great sects and five great clans agreed. Especially the Kunlun Sect leader, who had lost his promising disciple — the future leader of their sect — to those demonic bastards, and the Baek Clan leader, who had lost his beloved grandson to the Evil Faction during the competition.
This served as a strong justification. After all, even if the Demonic Cult and Evil Factions combined, the Righteous Alliance still held the advantage in numbers. Their confidence was understandable.
From their perspective, they truly were stronger than the combined forces of the Evil and Demonic groups. After all, the Wudang Sect leader, Zhang Xianwu — also known as the Daoist Heavenly Immortal — had just recently broken through to the True Immortal Realm.
Even if the Demonic Sect also has two True Immortal Realm warriors, they were still doubtful if that was truly the case. It was possible that this was just a scheme by Ma'wang to spread their viciousness.
And if it was really true that Lucian had now reached the True Immortal Realm, they judged that with Zhang Xianwu, who was now in the True Immortal Realm himself, they could still win. After all, to them, compared to Lucian, Zhang Xianwu still had more experience.
They were not Demonic Cultists. To them, who hadn't grown up in a harsh place that only allowed the strong to exist, they didn't have the mindset to always overestimate their opponent, even if they were just a child.
This was the difference between them. After all, they were old monsters, not greenhorns like their members who perished in the Dragon and Phoenix Competition.
Even the smaller sects and weaker clans in the Central Plains or under the Righteous Alliance thought the same way.
After gathering people for a week, they finally gathered everyone in one place. People were conversing here and there in the crowd, those gathered to prepare for war talking among themselves. They were mostly from the smaller sects, who would inevitably become the cannon fodder in this war, forced to fight either the Evil Factions or the Demonic martial artists.
"Did you hear? The Divine Demon really declared war on the whole world…"
"They say his letter made even the elders sweat."
"Tch, I don't buy it. Two True Immortals? Sounds like bluffing to me."
"Bluff or not, the Heavenly Demon Cult is moving. My senior saw their banners near Mount Tianluo."
"Are we really getting dragged into this? I just joined my sect last year…"
"Hah, you think you have a choice? If the big sects fight, we fight. That's how it always goes."
"You know the Kunlun Sect leader lost his successor to those demonic lunatics in Dragon and Phoenix Competition two months ago. I tell you! He's still furious."
"And the Baek Clan too… their young master died in that competition too, right?"
"Then this war was bound to happen sooner or later."
"But it was their fault... They're the one who provoked them first, why must we need to be sacrificed for their mistakes?!!! Righteous my ass!!!"
"Hey, hey!!! Do you have a death wish or what?! Don't say that too loudly!!!"
"Hmph! Whatever!"
"Still… that Lucian is just a kid, isn't he? How strong can he really be?"
"A kid who sits on the Divine Demon Throne."
"…"
"Fair point."
"They say Zhang Xianwu just broke through to the True Immortal Realm. With him around, the Righteous Alliance should be fine."
"Yeah, yeah… but Ma'wang is still alive. That old monster doesn't die easily."
"I don't care who wins, I just hope my sect survives."
"Survives? In a war like this? Dream on."
"Heavenly Demon Cult, Evil Faction, Righteous Alliance… all of them are crazy. We're the ones who'll die first."
"Shh! Lower your voice! Do you want someone to report you?"
"Tch… as if it matters. If the Divine Demon wants us dead, we're dead."
"But… if the Righteous Alliance really has ten times their numbers…"
"Numbers don't mean much in front of monsters."
"…You think this will become another era of blood?"
"Not another. Worse."
The voices overlapped endlessly — fear, arrogance, denial, excitement, resignation.
No one truly knew what would happen.
But everyone could feel it.
Murim was already standing on the edge of something irreversible.
Back in the present time.
The cult began to march. Lucian divided them into two groups.
Two hundred thousand low-ranking demonic martial artists, one hundred thousand elite-ranking demonic martial artists, five hundred peak masters, and one Heavenly Realm expert were sent toward the Evil Factions with only one command:
"Attack anyone without our banner on their gates and wipe them out. Run wild."
Those people were at the front.
The ones heading toward the Evil Factions were the loudest. The noisiest. The most feral. In this group, many of them were still stuck in the crude stages of demonic cultivation — their eyes bloodshot, veins blackened, saliva dripping from their mouths.
"I can already smell it… fresh hearts…"
"Hurry up. If you're slow, I'll eat your share too."
"Don't waste the blood this time. Drink it all. The technique won't stabilize otherwise."
One man tore open a pouch hanging from his waist — inside were dried human hearts, preserved like rations. He bit into one mid-march, blood soaking his chin.
"Disgusting… but effective."
A woman beside him laughed, her tongue unnaturally long.
"Effective? This is the best part. You feel their fear flowing into you."
"Last village I consumed, three children were still alive."
"So?"
"So I refined better than ever."
They laughed like it was a joke.
"Kill fast or kill slow?"
"Slow. Always slow. The heart tastes better when they're screaming."
"Evil Faction elders… I wonder how many meridians I can open if I devour one whole."
Some were trembling, not from fear — but from excitement. Anticipation that through this war, they can finally advance in the higher stage. After all, the more you advance the technique, the less you need to consume hearts. But for now, their bodies needed blood. Their techniques demanded flesh.
"I just need a few more hearts… then I'll break through…"
"Break through? If you fail, I'll eat you instead."
No one cared. To them, even their comrades were just future nourishment. This group didn't march like soldiers. They surged forward like starving animals finally released from a cage.
Toward the Righteous Alliance, Lucian sent the remaining demonic martial artists up to the Peak Realm with the exact same command.
Meanwhile, the rest — along with Lucian's own group — were stationed in the middle, between the directions of the Righteous Alliance and the Evil Factions, acting as a backup so they could respond to any type of emergency.
The ones heading toward the Righteous Alliance were… different. Although there are still those in the lower realm, as the majority, they can't speak carelessly here since this group consists of many martial peaks also their superior.
Their eyes were calm. Their breathing is steady. Their killing intent compressed so tightly it felt heavier than the air itself. These were the ones who had already passed the crude stage. The ones who no longer needed to drink blood or eat hearts — because they had already understood their techniques.
"Remember when we still had to consume people?" one man said lazily.
"Disgusting phase."
"Yet look at us now."
They smiled faintly. Not excited. Not emotional.
Just… confident.
"The Righteous Alliance still thinks we're beasts."
"They're not wrong. We just learned how to wear human skin again."
A woman adjusted her gloves, completely clean.
"I don't miss the blood. I miss the look in their eyes when they realize resistance is pointless."
And Behind those people, in the middle formation, even worse monsters stationed there. Lucian and his direct followers. They didn't talk much. They didn't need to. They weren't going to eat anyone. They were going to erase them.