High Martial: I Grind Professions

Li Wen’s gaze returned to the deep Star Gate, which seemed to lead into an endless abyss. A grave expression flickered deep within his eyes.

He had slain five direct descendants of Demon Emperors in one fell swoop, and each of them was backed by a colossal power.

The storm brewing beyond this gate was far from over.

...

In the core region of the Demon Realm, at the other end of the Xilin City Stargate.

A middle-aged man with a noble, silver-gray beard and hair stood beside the Stargate, his hands clasped behind his back. Behind him, five long, fluffy tails swayed of their own accord.

His aura was unfathomably deep, and the very space around him seemed to warp slightly from his presence.

He was none other than Fu Ye’s direct ancestor—the Great Demon King Fu Yan, a Five-tailed Celestial Fox.

Fu Ye was a once-in-centuries genius of his bloodline. His purity was astonishing, and Fu Yan had placed immense hope in him, viewing him as the Celestial Fox Race’s greatest chance to produce a second Demon Emperor.

To ensure Fu Ye’s "trial" in the Human Race’s territory was a success, he had spared no expense, personally overseeing the operation from behind the scenes. He had mobilized vast resources and connections, pulling strings to guarantee the attack on Xilin City would be foolproof.

Fu Yan even felt a secret flicker of anticipation as he waited for his pride and joy to return, laden with glory.

However, as the seconds ticked by, the fluctuations from the other side of the gate were not those of the expected triumphant return.

Suddenly!

A sharp, ear-piercing CRACK echoed from within his robes without warning, like an icicle plunging into his heart.

Great Demon King Fu Yan’s body went rigid, a flicker of panic flashing in his eyes.

With a trembling hand, he drew an object from within his robes—a smooth, pure white jade tablet inscribed with intricate demonic patterns.

Now, a deep, hideous fissure had split the tablet’s center. The faint glow that had wreathed it—a light intrinsically linked to Fu Ye’s life—had completely dimmed and gone out.

A shattered life tablet!

All composure and anticipation on Great Demon King Fu Yan’s face vanished, instantly replaced by sheer shock and utter disbelief.

He stared at the shattered life tablet, frozen in place as if petrified for a full thirty seconds.

The sudden, devastating blow left even a King-level being like him reeling and distraught.

"Ancestor! Ancestor!" A frantic cry, accompanied by a stumbling figure, broke him from his daze.

Several bedraggled Bright Moon Realm demons, their auras weak and listless, came tumbling and crawling out of the Stargate.

Great Demon King Fu Yan snapped back to his senses, his eyes flashing scarlet.

He appeared before the first escapee like a phantom. A hand wreathed in dark cyan flames clamped around the demon’s throat like iron pincers, lifting him into the air. His voice was bone-chillingly cold. "Speak! Where is Fu Ye?!"

The Bright Moon Realm demon’s eyes rolled back in their sockets as he was choked, his entire body trembling in terror. He struggled to squeeze the words from his throat.

"D-Dead...! Lord Fu Ye... a-and Lord Lingfeng, Lord Panyan... they... they were all killed... by a human... a blade-wielder at the Great Sun Realm!"

"Great Sun Realm?" Great Demon King Fu Yan’s voice shot up, filled with a rage that bordered on disbelief.

"Nonsense! How could a mere Great Sun Realm cultivator kill Fu Ye? The five of them together could hold their own even against a Marquis!"

He simply did not believe it—or rather, he refused to believe it.

He flung aside the nearly suffocated demon, then violently seized the other escapees, hissing as he interrogated them.

The answers he received were all identical.

"A human with a silver blade..."

"He was too fast..."

"His power... was ridiculous..."

"Just a few slashes... it only took a few..."

These desperate fragments of information washed over Fu Yan like an icy tide, extinguishing the last shred of hope in his heart.

Grief churned within him like magma, instantly transforming into a venomous hatred and killing intent strong enough to incinerate everything.

"Li—Wen—!" Great Demon King Fu Yan finally pieced the name together from the escapees’ descriptions. It was the same one mentioned in the intelligence reports: the rising star guarding Changning City.

He forced the name through his clenched teeth, every syllable dripping with a blood-soaked venom.

"How dare you slay the future cornerstone of my royal Celestial Fox clan!" Great Demon King Fu Yan threw back his head and let out a horrifying shriek that pierced the clouds, making the surrounding Low-Tier demons tremble and fall to their knees.

His five Celestial Fox tails flared out violently as his Demon Power erupted like an uncontrollable volcano, causing space itself to groan under the strain.

"I will tear you to shreds! I will offer up your flesh, blood, and soul to avenge Fu Ye!!!"

The towering hatred and the terrifying might of the King-level Great Demon King sent a soul-deep chill through every living being for miles around.

...

「Meanwhile.」

Li Wen, who stood guard before the Stargate, seemed to sense something.

His Divine Sense spread out like an invisible net, quietly crossing the spatial barrier and probing cautiously beyond the Stargate.

Aided by the astonishing perception granted by his Primordial Spirit at the Third Layer, a blurry scene from across the dimensional barrier faintly materialized in his sea of consciousness.

He "saw" a terrifying and chaotic surge of Demon Power gathering on the scorched earth of the Demon Realm that lay beyond the gate.

At its center, the space around the Five-tailed Celestial Fox Demon King warped from his extreme grief and rage, exuding a terrifying pressure that could make one’s heart seize.

Innumerable demons were prostrated on the ground, trembling in terror, not daring to make the slightest move.

The Demon King’s low roar, like rolling thunder, penetrated the spatial barrier, carrying with it an omen of destruction.

"The bloodline of a Demon Emperor... is not to be trifled with... Human Li Wen... I will have you join him in death!"

That spiritual intent, saturated with hatred and murderous thoughts, was enough to shatter the Divine-Demonic Will of an ordinary Great Sun Realm cultivator.

Li Wen’s expression remained impassive. Deep within his sea of consciousness, the golden radiance of his Primordial Spirit flowed, easily neutralizing the aftershocks of the spiritual assault that had crossed worlds.