This kind of background was definitely on par with scions of peak level clans.
Not even Ye Zichen had realized he had such a powerful backing. As such, when he heard of it, he responded with just as much shock as anyone else.
No wonder his mom had someone like Xuan Ji for a best friend. So she was the Lord of Seven Stars!
Ye Zichen had lived so long, but now he had an opportunity to play scion of a powerful clan. He couldn’t help but feel exasperated, but also a bit excited.
Could he play the part of a spoiled rich kid in silk pants after this? Could he beat up whoever he disliked, just because?
Then, when things went wrong, could he have his mom and “aunt” back him up?
“I just knew that wherever someone as handsome as my nephew goes, he’d become the center of attention.”
Ye Zichen had stuck out his jaw and he was grinning foolishly. How could Xuan Ji not see right through him? He was lost in his own little world.
She thwacked him on the head. She didn’t use much force, but it woke Ye Zichen from his reverie.
When Ye Zichen looked up, he saw Xuan Ji gazing threateningly at him.
He wiped the silly grin off his face.
Xuan Ji hadn’t announced all that now of all times so Ye Zichen could exploit their names to bully others. She was just trying to instill fear in the hearts of the surrounding experts.
When they went back and told their superiors, even their superiors would have to think twice before targeting him.
Otherwise, they’d have to prepare to face the joint fury of the Profound Pavilion and Association of Saints.
Xuan Ji looked around and took in their expressions. She knew that she’d threatened them enough already. She smiled and stood beside Ye Zichen, narrowing her eyes at Sha Ke, the Demon God.
Xuan Ji’s big reveal of Ye Zichen’s background was like a bomb; Sha Ke was stunned too.
Despite Ye Zichen’s low cultivation, his connections were more than enough to instill terror in Sha Ke’s heart.
Especially the Association of Saints. They controlled all the stars of the night sky.
Every single one of their members was a saint-level talent.
Nevermind him, even the Demon Emperor himself would have to think twice before provoking such an entity.
It seemed that seizing Ye Zichen’s Xuan-Yuan Sword and Yao-Sealing Pagoda wouldn’t be as simple as he thought.
The Demon Emperor might very well have predicted this would happen when he chose to send Sha Ke. He might have even predicted that Sha Ke wouldn’t dare provoke Xuan Ji. This gave them a chance to find out just who was backing Ye Zichen.
“The Demon Emperor is worthy of his title. His plans are profound indeed.” All Demon Gods are as proud as could be. Not even the Demon Emperor himself had their absolute fealty. All of them thought they had the possibility of replacing him on the throne one day.
But now, the way Sha Ke saw it, the Demon Emperor’s schemes ran deep. Perhaps only the oldest and craftiest of the Demon Gods could compare to him.
Sha Ke instinctively glanced at Ye Zichen. His pupils constricted, and a skull battle axe appeared in his hands.
He looked ahead, only for a silvery steel pellet to cut through the air and hurtle towards him.
The pellet slammed into his axe, transmitting immense force up its handle and into his arm. He could no longer quite feel the afflicted limb, and he retreated several steps backward.
“Why are you still here? Weren’t you going to play with that dog?” Xuan Ji’s laughter emanated from afar.
She had several similar steel pellets in her hands. She was playing with them freely. Upon closer inspection, they were all identical to the one that had just forced Sha Ke back.
Lady Providence smiled faintly. The Demon God’s expression darkened, and he pushed off against the ground.
The pellet, which had embedded itself in the ground, flew up into the air. He swung his axe and sent the pellet flying back to Xuan Ji.
A grey and white Eight Trigrams Formation appeared in the palm of her hand. The steel pellet’s nigh-limitless destructive force faded upon contact with the formation. Then, the pellet reappeared harmlessly in Xuan Ji’s hand.
“Not bad! You even dare fight back. But since you’re awfully pitiful already, I won’t teach you a lesson. Hurry up and run off with that dog. Otherwise….” Xuan Ji smiled, but with her hands wide open, a dozen or so steel pellets were clearly visible.
It was obvious that, unless Sha Ke went looking for that dog, that first pellet wouldn’t be the last.
Sha Ke had just flung that first pellet back because he didn’t want to drag his reputation as a Demon God through the mud in front of so many other demons. But when he did and he saw that Eight Trigrams Formation in her palm, he knew the gap between him and Xuan Ji was only getting larger. He would struggle to so much as fight with her, nevermind win.
Sha Ke said nothing and looked away despite his towering fury. He intended to vent his anger on that black dog.
But…..
When he looked at the black dog, it bared its teeth at him, then turned and shook its butt and tail at him.
“….” Sha Ke’s face was incomparably ashen.
Enduring Xuan Ji’s insults were one thing, but now, even a dog dared provoke him.
“Ha ha ha, Sha Ke, it looks like being a Demon God is depressing indeed. Even dogs look down on you!” Her insult had hit him right where it hurt, adding fuel to the flames of Sha Ke’s already-towering fury. His anger reached its upper limit.
“Retreat!” The Holy Maiden seemed to anticipate something. She led the demon elites away, ensuring at least a hundred meters of distance.
Boom!
The instant they retreated, demon power exploded out of Sha Ke. The resulting purple smog seemed to proclaim his sovereignty as it spread relentlessly into the surrounding space.
“So, you’re not stupid after all. You know that’s no ordinary dog, and you were even wise enough to activate your domain.” Xuan Ji snorted from the sidelines.
Beneath the purple smog, Sha Ke was in absolute control. This was a “domain,” a power accessible only to rulers.
This was what made rulers so strong!
Whenever a ruler broke through, they’d condense their own unique “domain.”
Domains were separate from the space around them and weren’t subject to the realm’s laws and limitations. They were like each ruler’s personal miniature worlds.
Within his domain, a ruler was the Law and the creator. If he wanted water to flow in reverse, it would flow in reverse. If he wanted the lands to bloom with greenery, the life within would flourish. If he wanted the beings within to die, nothing could survive.
Within his domain, rulers ruled supreme over everything.
If a ruler used his domain continuously, he could truly achieve eternal life.
General, when a ruler broke through, a reasonably talented new ruler could control an area of around fifty meters. Those with worse talents were restricted to a few dozen meters at best.
Then, as a ruler’s cultivation and comprehension of heaven and earth improved, their domain would expand.
Only a high-level ruler could use a domain like Sha Ke’s. No Demon God was an ordinary talent. Although he’d suffered a loss at Xuan Ji’s hands, when he released his power, it was absolutely enough to make the people of the Upper Three Realms tremble.
This naturally wasn’t his limit, either, but against a mere dog…
One hundred meters was enough!
