High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 440: Chapter 278: Charging into the Demon Realm

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The entire Blue Star, from the zenith of the heavens to the cities on the surface, fell into a dead silence.

The cheers, prayers, and shouts of the Human Race; the roars, hisses, and desperate wails of the Demon Race—all sounds vanished.

Only the whimpering of the wind remained as the energy storm gradually subsided.

Everyone, no matter where they were, stared blankly at the sky as if frozen in place.

After a brief silence—

”ROAR—!!!”

”VICTORY!!!”

”LONG LIVE THE HUMAN RACE!!!”

”CHANGNING SAINT VENERABLE! THE SAINT VENERABLE IS INVINCIBLE!!!”

It was as if a volcano, dormant for eons, had finally erupted!

Across the entire Blue Star, the billions of humans released emotions that had been suppressed for far, far too long!

A tidal wave of ecstasy erupted from the Li Manor in Changning City, sweeping across every corner of the globe at the speed of light!

Tears blurred countless eyes like a bursting river.

These were not tears of sorrow, but tears of joy, of surviving a catastrophe.

This was the glorious victory for the entire Human Race, finally achieved after more than two hundred years of humiliation, sacrifice, and struggle!

「...」

The three massive demonic corpses of the Bone-Eroding Demon Emperor, the Tiger Emperor, and the Shadow Claw Demon Emperor, still emanating a terrifying residual pressure, were in freefall toward the surface of Blue Star, watched by countless gazes of shock, ecstasy, and awe.

Yet Li Wen, the man who had ended it all, didn’t even spare them a glance.

’They are my spoils of war. No one would dare touch them, and there is no need to be hasty.’

He had dealt with the four Demon Emperors, but the battle was not over.

Li Wen’s figure flickered, and space itself seemed to shrink beneath his feet.

In an instant, he appeared at the boundary where the world projection, thick with the aura of the Demon Realm, met the skies of Blue Star.

The energy here was chaotic, and the structure of space was exceptionally fragile, corroded by the Law of the Demon Realm.

His gaze pierced through the chaotic streams of light at the boundary, precisely locking onto the body of the Talisman Emperor, which was falling back toward the Demon Realm.

He made a grasping motion in the air, and an irresistible suction force surged forth.

The Talisman Emperor’s massive demonic body was caught as if by an invisible hand and shot back at high speed, pulled right before Li Wen.

A sweep of his divine sense confirmed it: on the Talisman Emperor’s scale-covered finger bone was a black Space Ring of ancient design, etched with strange demonic runes.

The accumulated wealth and secret treasures of a Demon Emperor who had lived for countless ages and wielded power in the Demon Realm were enough to move anyone.

Even with Li Wen’s resolute will, a flicker of anticipation crossed his eyes.

But now was not the time to inspect it.

With a thought, the ring slipped off the Talisman Emperor’s finger and into Li Wen’s possession. He then stored the Talisman Emperor’s corpse in his own spatial bracelet.

After doing all this, the space around Li Wen rippled slightly, and nine figures materialized silently beside him.

These nine figures, whether in appearance, aura, or the abyssal depth of their Primordial Spirit power, were identical to Li Wen’s true self.

These were the nine great Primordial Spirit clones he could manifest after reaching the Ninth Layer of Primordial Spirit.

The moment the nine clones appeared, they didn’t hesitate, transforming into nine brilliant streaks of light that tore through the void.

They charged fearlessly into the depths of the world projection, which was suffused with demonic energy.

Li Wen’s true body, however, remained standing firmly at the boundary, his deep gaze fixed on the direction in which his clones had disappeared.

It was not that he feared the remnants of the Demon Realm, but rather a matter of absolute caution.

Although the Demon Realm no longer had any Demon Emperors, it was still the Demon Race’s lair, managed for countless ages. There was no guarantee they didn’t have other extreme measures.

If his true body were to enter rashly, and the core of the Array maintaining the world projection was destroyed by the desperate demon remnants, the passage connecting the two realms would instantly collapse.

At that point, even with his world-shaking Divine Techniques, returning to Blue Star from the distant Demon Realm would be no easy feat.

Sending his Primordial Spirit clones, whose combat power was comparable to an ordinary Saint Realm expert, was more than enough to sweep away the remaining obstacles.

Even if all nine clones were unfortunately destroyed, for his true body, it would only cost him a few years to re-condense and recover them.

In the grand scheme of completely eradicating the threat of the Demon Race, this was a price he could completely afford.

「...」

「Demon Realm, core area of the world projection Array.」

The image of countless demons following the four Demon Emperors, their power overwhelming, seeming to promise the imminent destruction of the Human Race, was still fresh in their minds.

However, from the moment they had charged out of the projection full of arrogance to when they fled back like stray dogs, and then were successively annihilated by Li Wen as if he were snapping dry twigs—the entire process was suffocatingly fast, taking no more than a minute from start to finish.

The few Demon Saints left to guard the core of the Array had not even fully recovered from the exhilaration of seeing their Demon Emperor lords march to war.

They only saw their countless kin, who had charged into Blue Star full of momentum just a short while ago.

Now, they were like fugitives pursued by an invisible specter of death, filled with unprecedented terror and despair.

They scrambled to escape from the boundary back into the Demon Realm, letting out incomprehensible roars.

”What’s going on? What happened?!”

”Why are you running?! Where are Their Majesties, the Demon Emperors?!”

A hot-tempered Demon Saint grabbed a fleeing Demon King and demanded fiercely.

”Dead... They’re all dead! Their Majesties... Their Majesties are all dead!”

A King Level Leopard Demon at the head of the retreat stammered, its voice warped by fear. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

”Nonsense! Their Majesties the Demon Emperors are invincible! How could they...”

”It’s true! His Majesty Bone-Eroding, His Majesty Talisman Emperor, His Majesty Tiger Emperor, His Majesty Shadow Claw... they were all killed by that human... with one finger... just one finger...”

Another returning Demon Saint Level giant ape said in a hoarse voice, its massive body trembling uncontrollably at the memory.

The rebukes of the guarding Demon Saints died in their throats, as if they were being strangled.

Every demon that fled back, regardless of their rank, was conveying the same message.

The four supreme Demon Emperors had been instantly annihilated in an extremely short amount of time by a single human expert.

The news was utterly preposterous, like a fairy tale.

However, faced with the unanimous accounts of all the escapees, each tinged with a bone-deep terror, the unbelievable truth began to coil around their hearts like a cold viper.

Amidst this immense shock and disbelief, the spatial entrance began to ripple violently.

Nine figures, radiating a blazing divine might with an aura that made the entire area around the Celestial Fox Palace tremble, suddenly descended!

The terrifying Primordial Spirit fluctuations were like nine scorching suns in the sky, mercilessly searing the soul of every demon!

The few remaining Demon Saints instantly felt as if they’d been plunged into an icy abyss, their demonic blood nearly freezing solid.

’If Their Majesties the Demon Emperors were still here, how could they possibly allow a human expert to set foot in the core of the Demon Realm so easily?!’

”Quick! Destroy the Array! We can’t let the passage remain open!”

The leading Giant Lizard Demon Saint was the first to react, letting out a shrill roar.

Its massive claws instantly gathered destructive Demon Power, and it recklessly blasted toward the core foundation of the Array that maintained the world projection.

The other Demon Saints also reacted immediately, lunging for the Array’s foundation.

This was their only chance of survival, and the only way to cut off the enemy’s path.

However, now that Li Wen’s nine Primordial Spirit clones had arrived, how could they possibly be given such an opportunity?

”Hmph.” The nine figures, their minds linked, simultaneously let out a cold snort.

HUMMM—!

Nine waves of Primordial Spirit pressure, vast as a Star Sea and condensed as if tangible, instantly merged.

They formed an invisible, terrifying shockwave capable of crushing the will of stars, and it swept precisely toward the Demon Saints lunging for the Array’s foundation.

”URGH—!”

There was no suspense.

Before the absolute suppression of the Ninth Layer of Primordial Spirit, the consciousness seas of these ordinary Demon Saints were like fragile glass.

They couldn’t even last a single breath before shattering and collapsing under the irresistible spiritual assault.

Their core Primordial Spirits were utterly annihilated, reduced to nothingness, without even a chance to struggle.

The Demon Saint bodies, filled with powerful Demon Power, instantly lost all signs of life and collapsed rigidly.

This was only the beginning.

The invisible Primordial Spirit shockwave spread out rapidly from the Array’s core like a ripple of death.

The nearby King Level demons and Great Demon Kings’ eyes dimmed the instant they were touched by the shockwave, the flames of their souls mercilessly extinguished.

Dense throngs of demonic bodies stiffened and fell in swathes, like wheat being reaped.

They plummeted from the sky, hitting the crimson earth of the Demon Realm with dull thuds.

Within a few short breaths, the once chaotic and noisy sky was completely cleared, leaving only the thick stench of blood and dead silence.

The nine Primordial Spirit clones hovered above the Array’s core like nine deities, their cold gazes sweeping over the area.

After confirming there were no more threats, two of the clones immediately began to inspect and stabilize the world projection Array, ensuring the passage remained open.

The other seven shot off like arrows loosed from a bow, scattering into the deeper parts of the Demon Realm. Their mission was far from over.

Sweeping the core area for remaining demon experts, gathering intelligence, searching for valuable resources, and so on.

「...」

「Blue Star, at the boundary of the world projection.」

Li Wen’s true body still stood there quietly.

His gaze pierced the distorted spatial entrance, perceiving everything happening within the Demon Realm.

The scene of his nine clones instantly killing the Demon Saints and clearing the obstacles was clearly reflected in his sea of consciousness.

At this very moment, from within the Demon Realm projection, two figures, instead of fleeing in terror like the other demons, flew toward his position at the boundary line with resolute speed.

Of these two ”demons,” one had a lithe build like a cheetah, its body covered in dark gold scales.

The other was as burly as a mountain, its skin a rocky, grayish-brown, and its head resembled that of a tiger or a bear.

Their appearances were purely that of the Demon Race, yet their posture as they flew toward the Human Realm was filled with the anticipation and excitement of ”coming home.”

They finally stopped a short distance in front of Li Wen, hovering in the border zone between the roiling demonic energy and the clear energy of the Human Realm.

The figure covered in scales, resembling a Leopard Demon, was the first to bow deeply, followed closely by the rock-like giant.

They raised their heads, their gazes toward Li Wen filled with reverence and irrepressible excitement.

What came from their mouths was, shockingly, clear, fluent human speech, filled with the unique emotion of the Human Race:

”Lingya, disciple of the 147th class of Torchbearer University, greets the Changning Saint Venerable!”

”Tie Zhan, disciple of the 165th class of Torchbearer University, greets the Changning Saint Venerable!”

Their voices were not loud, but they clearly penetrated the howling wind and residual energy fluctuations.