âFaced with everyoneâs doubts and opposition, Mo Geilian immediately sought out Ye Yu and asked what he should do.â
Ye Yuâs sole reply was, âAs long as youâre happy, thatâs fine. If any problem arises that you canât solve, just come to me!â
Buoyed by this, Mo Geilian that very day slaughtered over seventeen hundred dissenting demons. He then publicly declared, âBig brother doesnât care whether my demon mate is a fairy or notâwho are you to voice your opinions? If anyone dares to grumble again, weâll settle it in a fightâif I donât kill you, Iâll admit my incompetence!â
By the next day, the story had spread throughout the Demon Realm. All the demons in Lotus Flower Prefecture learned not only that Ye Yu was formidable in battle, but that Mo Geilian was equally fearsome. Among those seventeen hundred-plus casualties were many renowned powerhousesâand theyâd all fallen in a single night. Such overwhelming might sobered most demons: after all, this business of choosing a fairy demon mate didnât concern them directlyâwhy make a fuss? With that thought, they found it much easier to accept. Most ceased to pay attention and returned to their cultivation. A small minority still harbored resentment but dared not speak openly, whispering only in privateâmere jesters, nothing more.
Mo Geilianâs brutal display once again showcased Lotus Flower Prefectureâs strength, catching the attention of the Demon Realmâs greatest figuresâand of the smallest prefecture.
The second incident also involved Lotus Flower Prefectureâbut this time the actor was Ye Yu. In the Battle of Ascension, the greatest blunder wasnât the defeat itself, but that nearly every Demon Lord had been killed by friendly fire.
Who could stand for that?
They had counted on their Demon Lords to withstand the Celestial Realmâs elite forcesâyet almost as soon as they entered battle, they were mistakenly slain by Lotus Flower Prefectureâs Demon Lord, Ye Yu. Such a fact was unbearable.
The survivors who returned to the Demon Realm gathered and inevitably spoke of the Celestial Realm. âThat battle was brutalâmany never came back.â
âIndeedâif our Demon Lord hadnât been accidentally killed, we wouldnât have lost so many!â
âWhat? Your Demon Lord was also accidentally killed?â
âHow could that beâyours too?â
âExactlyâmy Demon Lord was âaccidentallyâ slain by Lotus Flower Prefectureâs Ye Yu!â
âSame here, same here!â
As the walls have ears, the truth soon emerged: aside from Ling Qiansha of Qintian Prefecture, all the other Demon Lords had been âaccidentallyâ slain by Ye Yu.
This was richly ironic. Killing one by mistake might be plausibleâbut seven? Impossible to believe! After reflection, the demons reached a unanimous conclusion: the true culprit for the failed Ascension was Ye Yu. Had those seven Demon Lords survived, they might have fulfilled their predecessorsâ aspirations and settled peacefully in the Celestial Realm. The thought only fueled their fury.
A host of demons stormed into Lotus Flower Prefecture, demanding answers from Ye Yu. They unfurled banners proclaiming him âCriminal of the Demon Realm,â creating an uproarfit for war. The entire prefecture braced for an attack.
By contrast, Ye Yu remained calm. He strolled out of the Demon Lord Hall and, faced with the throng of accusers, asked them to send a single representative to speak with him.
A late-stage Demon Sovereign stepped forward. No sooner had he opened his mouth than Ye Yu struck him down on the spot.
At this, the gathered demons froze in shock. Ye Yu met their gaze and spoke in a gentle, measured tone: âIf you believe it was an accident, come speak to me directly. But my control over my body isnât perfectâI sometimes make strange movements. So I advise you all to protect yourselves. If you donât leave, youâll die too.â
His words were soft, yet every demon heard them clearly. Only then did they realize this was no pushover, but a merciless warrior who had slain seven Demon Lords in a stroke. When he said he would kill demons, he meant it.
Within ten breaths, nearly ten thousand demons fled, leaving â NĐŸvĐ”lŃĐłht â (Donât copy, read here) Lotus Flower Prefectureâs skies clear and peaceful once more. This farce went down in history as the âLaughingstock of the Fearfulâ: arriving with thunderous force, departing like rats from a sinking shipâa stark contrast that even Ye Yu recalled with amusement. He smiled, shook his head, and vanished in a flash, returning to the Demon Hall of Eastern Yao Prefecture.
There he presented Xu Nanqiao with two supreme
Nightmare Demon
cultivation manuals. Surprised, she placed a hand on the books and quietly asked, âWhat does this mean?â
âA token of gratitude for saving my life. Study them wellâthey include some of my insights, which should help you,â Ye Yu said, glancing up at the ceiling. âHmm, the big hole Mo Geilian made has been repaired nicelyâgood craftsmanship.â
Xu Nanqiaoâs expression turned peculiar. âSuch innocent attentiveness... Surely youâre serious now?â
Ye Yu frowned. âSerious about what?â
Believing he was feigning ignorance, Xu Nanqiao strode forward. âI heard you donât like sturdy types, but prefer someone... gentler. Is that right?â
âNoâthatâs
graceful
, not
fragile
. Mo Geilian told you that, didnât he?â
Ye Yu felt exasperated. Mo Geilian really couldnât keep his mouth shutâsharing such private views with others!
Xu Nanqiaoâs face suddenly darkened. âYou equate graceful with fragile. Why do you think Iâm fragile? Just because I canât beat you?â
Ye Yu instinctively took half a step back. âWhen did I ever call you fragile?â
âYou dare deny it? Look at this!â
Xu Nanqiao pointed to a corner of the Demon Hall, where lay vivid demon flowers and an opened envelope.