Rise of The Demon General

Yao Ai had lost several altered limbs when Ling Dau almost killed her. She lost one of her horns, her two wings, and her left arm. Her one horn remained broken. Her wings had been replaced with new ones, stronger than her previous ones. They were made of parts from the Nether Blood Bat, a Higher Primordial Beast. The wings were crimson, but darker than her previous ones. The most striking change was her left arm. It was covered in bright red scales, and it had a long claw instead of a hand. The air around that arm occasionally combusted.

These new alterations were installed by Dao Su, under Amon’s order. The left arm was transplanted with parts made of a combination of Thien Huo’s claw and scale. Unlike Xin Wuming, Yao Ai was strong enough to resist the ferocity of a Salamander Dragon’s energy. This left arm was Amon’s gift, which surprised her.

Tian Kuo observed Yao Ai. He had heard about this domain lord. She was the weakest among the three, with a cultivation level at the Beginning Unholy Monarch Stage. His Intermediate Sovereign God Stage was supposedly half a stage stronger.

"You are one ugly bitch," Tian Kuo said. "An abomination like you would have been burned on the stake in the upper world."

"Now, now. There is no need to insult one’s appearance. Are all the upper world’s men as foul-mouthed as you?" Yao Ai returned.

Tian Kuo looked around. The green fog poison had decimated most of his force. The lower world’s force was now using its numbers to gang up on the survivors. While it appeared like he was reviewing the situation, he was not. He was looking for three individuals: Hai Di, Lang Man, and Mo Wang. If he saw either of these three, he would flee.

He didn’t see them among the lower world’s forces, so he stayed. He returned his attention to Yao Ai. "Neither Mo Wang nor you domain lords ever joined the purge directly. Now that you do, you double-cross us. Have you been planning this all along? Is Mo Wang in on this?"

"Hehe, the whole lower world is in on this," Yao Ai answered.

"You should know this will doom your world."

"We will see," Yao Ai replied with a grin.

Tian Kuo looked around again, ensuring Mo Wang and the other two domain lords were truly not around. He then told Yao Ai, "You have the guts to face me. You might be a domain lord in the lower world, but you are nothing when compared to cultivators of the upper world. I will first take you down before eradicating your insolent force."

"Hehe, I accept your challenge," Yao Ai declared.

"This is not a challenge! This is a punishment!" Tian Kuo brandished his weapon. He never thought that he would need it during this purge. It was a hammer that looked like a large crucifix. It was a standard weapon for his order. His was silver, and its grade was mid-tier ancient.

Tian Kuo channeled his aether into the crucifix hammer, and it shone brightly with a golden light.

"Be vanquished, demon! You face a cardinal of the Holy Temple!" He exclaimed and swung the weapon forward. He executed an arcane art with the swing. A massive wave of water poured forth. The golden light from the hammer blanketed the water.

"Haha!" Yao Ai laughed. This was the first time she fought someone from the upper world. She felt excited! Her right fist slammed into the golden water. She executed Wind Cannon with the punch.

A powerful blast resulted from the collision. It was Yao Ai who was thrown away. The power gap was clear from this clash.

"Stupid demon! I have heard that the lower world lacks the expertise and materials to forge high-grade weapons. It seems this is true. You will never win without a weapon. You will regret this decision of ever challenging us."

"I never regret a challenge!" Yao Ai exclaimed. She rushed forward. This time, she punched using her left arm, the one with the oversized claw.

Her punch collided with Tian Kuo’s crucifix hammer.

"Stupid fool!" Tian Kuo exclaimed. To think someone would use their bare hand to clash directly with his weapon. This fight would be over soon.

To his consternation, the impact’s knockback force sent him hurtling back. Yao Ai’s power in this punch was much greater than before.

"Who says I don’t have a weapon? My left arm here is my weapon. Taste my salamander claw!" Yao Ai slashed her left claw. It was a new martial art she created by utilizing her new left arm. Her clawing motion generated three fiery slashes that hit a distant target.

Tian Kuo twirled his hammer. A swirling water shield enshrouded in golden light appeared before him. The fiery slashes struck the water shield. To his surprise, the fire slashes destroyed his water shield, and the residual fire energy continued toward him. He was forced to block directly using his hammer.

He felt intense heat and a strong impact. He staggered. A thin light shot at a dazzling speed and struck his left shoulder.

"Grrhh...!" He gritted his teeth. His armored robe protected his shoulder from getting pierced, but judging from the pain, the bone inside his shoulder must have broken.

"You are right. The upper world’s equipment is truly impressive," Yao Ai said as she released a barrage of quick attacks with both her arms.

Tian Kuo did his best to block the attacks using his crucifix hammer. He couldn’t move his left arm properly now, so he was having difficulty keeping up with the fast barrage. Not to mention, each impact with Yao Ai’s left claw produced a fiery combustion. The fire burst burned him even when he successfully blocked her attacks.

As the clashes continued, Tian Kuo was alarmed to find that his opponent’s power seemed to rise.

"Haha! Come on, cardinal. Is this all you have? It is not much of a challenge," Yao Ai mocked.

Tian Kuo was bewildered. The power Yao Ai unleashed was not weaker than his. He wasn’t aware that it was her Law of Challenge that bridged the gap. Moreover, all her altered parts were like weapons. They were as hard as metal and had no problem clashing directly with his weapon, especially her left arm. That left arm was as if a high-tier weapon that discharged flame with every swing and clash.

"What’s the matter, cardinal? You seem to be having trouble. I thought you said I am nothing compared to the upper world’s cultivators?" Yao Ai continued to taunt.

"Shut up, demon! You will not win against a holy warrior. The Divine protects me...!"

"Hahaha...!" Yao Ai continued to laugh as she increased her barrage. Tian Kuo finally failed to keep up. Yao Ai smashed his hammer away before delivering a kick that struck his side and broke his bone. He was sent tumbling in pain.

Yao Ai focused her aether into her salamander arm. A fierce flame blazed from that arm. The flame even burned her other body parts.

"Grhh...!" Yao Ai gritted her teeth as she endured the searing pain. The blazing fire enlarged, vaguely forming the shape of a dragon.

"Let’s see how you deal with this Hell Firestorm, cardinal!" She thrusted her arm forward, and the flame exploded into a storm. Her wind power created a tornado that carried the raging fire.

The firestorm covered a large area, and Tian Kuo lost his balance from the last kick. He couldn’t escape. He put his hammer before him in a desperate attempt to shield himself as the firestorm engulfed him.

His large crucifix hammer couldn’t stop the firestorm. The winds and flames were everywhere. The sharp winds cut through his armor while the flames burned through his defense. He channeled all his energy to augment his protective aura, but it was futile. The pressure was too great.

"Ahhh...!!!" His scream reverberated in the sky as the winds and flames finally dug into his body. When they finally died down, his body was no longer in one piece. It was in pieces, all scorched to char. Even his hammer was filled with cuts and bent beyond recognition. Its silver color was also gone, blackened by the intense burning.

"Ugh...!" While Yao Ai had won, she was not unharmed. Her body was full of burned marks. Using the full power of her salamander arm had injured her main body. She could still not fully control the arm.

Nevertheless, she was satisfied with the result. Her injury was self-inflicted. Her opponent never managed to hit her. She had always heard that the upper world’s cultivators surpassed the lower world. She was glad she had challenged that opinion. Of course, she understood Tian Kuo was not among the top echelons, but he should be high enough to lead the purge. Hence, this was an achievement she could be proud of.

She looked around. Diu Cay had joined Du Ji in fighting Guo Fen. The other upper world’s soldiers were being slaughtered. Their number had become too few thanks to Mo Wang’s Calamity Fog Poison. They couldn’t resist or even flee.

As for Mo Wang and Amon, she didn’t know where those two were. Amon surprised her when he came with Mo Wang. After leaving her with instructions, the battle puppets and the altered beasts with the poison canisters, the two went away.