"Speak."
"Who are you?"
My eyes glowed with a deep purple light filled with hatred.
For a brief moment...
It almost looked as though I had been possessed by an inner demon.
How amusing.
I was already the Demon King.
Would the Demon King himself develop an inner demon?
Pathetic.
Still...
The hatred inside my heart had grown so fierce that even I wondered whether such a thing was possible.
No...
Not yet.
I was only at the Orbit Realm.
An inner demon would not form so easily.
"Who sent you?"
I asked coldly.
"The... the Obsidian Sect..."
The masked man gritted his teeth.
"The head of the Obsidian Sect sent me..."
I narrowed my eyes.
"And why were you sent?"
The spy immediately shut his mouth.
Not another word escaped him.
"You dare stay silent before this king?"
"You think I have no other way to make you speak?"
"How insolent."
I struck his forehead lightly with my palm.
His body stiffened.
His eyes immediately became dull and unfocused as the restriction on his mind shattered.
Then he began speaking without resistance.
"The Sect Master of the Obsidian Sect sent me to investigate rumors of a powerful demon."
"There are whispers that the Demon King may have returned."
"They suspect the recent incidents are connected to his resurrection."
I quietly organized the information in my mind.
So...
They were beginning to suspect.
Not enough to confirm it.
But enough to investigate.
I looked down at the spy.
This man...
He could not be allowed to return with the truth.
Then I paused.
No...
Killing him would only make the Obsidian Sect even more suspicious.
If their spy disappeared, they would immediately know something was wrong.
A slow smile spread across my face.
Much better...
I would alter his memories.
Then I would send him back.
From this moment onward...
The Obsidian Sect’s spy...
Would become this king’s spy instead..
I placed my hand on his forehead and used one of my soul techniques.
A faint purple light flashed inside his eyes before quickly disappearing.
From today onward, he would faithfully report everything to me while feeding false information to the Obsidian Sect.
"Go back," I ordered.
"Tell them there is no sign of the Demon King’s resurrection."
"The rumors are false."
"There is only a Messenger of God traveling around, saving innocent people and doing good deeds."
The spy nodded stiffly before activating his movement technique and disappearing into the darkness.
I dusted off my sleeves.
Even though my enemies now possessed cultivation realms far above mine, I, the Demon King, still had countless tricks hidden up my sleeve. My Hellfire, along with the demonic arts I had cultivated over thousands of years, was enough to deal with many situations.
After everything was settled, I slowly walked away.
It was painful.
No...
Being weak was far more painful than I had imagined.
I couldn’t help muttering to myself as I wandered into the quiet garden.
Darkness surrounded the entire place. Moonlight filtered through the trees, casting long shadows across the stone paths.
"So weak..."
I sighed.
"My enemies must have already reached the Stellar Realm."
Once...
I had stood at that very realm.
I had been only one step away from immortality.
But everything had been stolen from me.
Betrayed...
By the very people I had trusted.
I already knew the names of several of my enemies.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t strong enough to face them yet.
Letting out another sigh, I continued walking.
Just then, I heard whispers coming from behind a row of bushes.
Not because I cared about human gossip...
I was simply curious about what foolish thing these mortals were doing now.
Silently, I approached the voices.
Concealing my presence, I stood behind a tree and looked ahead.
A young man and a young woman were standing together.
The girl had long dark hair tied into a neat bun, while the young man wore luxurious embroidered robes that immediately revealed his noble status.
"Hm..."
"A romance between a servant and a young noble."
How cliché.
The young man gently held the girl’s hands.
"Oh, Elisa..."
"I love you."
"I love you so much."
"I wish I could marry you."
"If you give yourself to me, I promise I’ll make you my concubine. Even if you can’t become my main wife, you’ll remain by my side forever. You’ll even bear my first child."
The girl looked at him with tearful puppy-like eyes.
"Oh, Chen..."
"I wish I hadn’t been born a servant."
"I wish I had been born into a noble family."
"Maybe then we could truly have been together."
"But no..."
"I’m only a servant who accidentally caught your eye."
"No."
The young man cupped her cheeks and gently wiped away the tears rolling down her face.
"You are not just a servant."
"You are the love of my life, Elisa."
"Even if I marry someone else..."
"My heart will always belong to you."
The two slowly leaned closer.
Their faces drew nearer and nearer, about to kiss.
What a disgusting sight.
How dare they behave so shamelessly in this king’s presence?
With a flick of my finger, I sent a strand of Hellfire between them.
Boom!
The flames burst into existence.
Both of them screamed and jumped apart as smoke filled the air.
The girl cried out as though she had seen a ghost.
The so-called noble prince stumbled backward, his expensive robes covered in soot.
"Elisa!"
He hurried over to her.
"Are you alright?"
"Where did that fire come from?"
"I-I don’t know..."
Elisa looked around nervously.
"I feel like someone is watching us."
"I need to go, Chen."
Without waiting for his reply, she turned and ran away dramatically like the heroines in those ridiculous human romance stories.
"Elisa!"
Chen stretched out his hand toward her retreating figure as though his heart had been shattered.
After standing there for a while, he sighed, dusted off his robes, and started walking away.
Then...
Right before my eyes...
I watched him walk straight toward another young maiden.
I rolled my eyes.
Pathetic humans.
Anyway, if this king isn’t happy, then nobody else has the right to be happy either. I felt absolutely no regret for ruining the moment between those two lovebirds.
After everything was over, my mood improved considerably.
This king had just committed another demonic act by destroying the happiness of mere mortals. I was a demon, after all. Doing something like this strangely amused me and lifted my spirits.
I continued strolling through the quiet night.
Before long, I heard another round of chatter coming from somewhere nearby. Curious, I wondered what those foolish humans were doing this time.
Following the voices, I quietly approached the source of the noise.
Peeking through an open window, I saw Ella sitting stiffly while several maidservants surrounded him.
"Young lady, look at this wedding dress!"
"The young master is so eager to marry you tomorrow."
"See this red gown? It’s decorated with gemstones, gold embroidery, and precious jewels. It’ll look absolutely beautiful on you."
One maid eagerly held up an elegant red dress.
Another quickly stepped forward with a different one.
"Young lady, feel this fabric. It’s as soft as silk."
"The color is bright and vibrant, and the golden embroidery makes it even more beautiful. It’ll perfectly match your angelic face."
Ella remained seated the entire time without saying a word.
Although his face stayed expressionless, I could clearly see the despair and helplessness hidden in his eyes. He obviously wanted to refuse, but he knew exactly what I would do if he ruined this king’s plan.
So, he obediently allowed the maids to dress him up like a doll.
Eventually, the maidservants finished helping him change clothes.
Satisfied with their work, they bowed and quietly left the room, leaving Ella alone.
The moment the door closed, Ella grabbed a rag doll from the bed.
He wrapped both hands around its neck and squeezed with all his strength.
"Die! Die!"