His voice was vast, echoing in the ears of every single being.
Perhaps because a sun had been eaten, everyone on Can Star felt a chill run through their bodies.
They looked up, trying to see the terrifying giant clearly.
Regrettably, they could not make out the full figure at all. All that met their eyes was an endless expanse of blood-red.
Standing before them, he was too colossal to perceive in full with a single glance. He was limitless and boundless—how could anyone ever fight him?
The seven satellites guarding Can Star, which formed the most powerful Starry River Defense Line in this starry sky, shattered at this moment like seven battered marbles in a scrap heap.
The Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord trembled all over. His mind was blank as he stared at the endless, immeasurable expanse of crimson.
Even a Yin God of the Upper Realm probably wasn't this powerful, was he?
"My, my. You lot are so small, yet where did you get such enormous guts?
"To dare obstruct the Martial Arts Tournament—who gave you the nerve?
"Those cuties from the Myriad Demons Realm?"
Qi Yuan lowered his head. A single one of his eyeballs was larger than Can Star.
Everyone on Can Star held their breath.
Even the pet dogs shivered in fright, not daring to let out a single bark.
A certain pot-bellied man on Arch Star collapsed straight to the ground in terror upon hearing this.
As an official holding an important post, he was required to submit useful proposals to higher-ups every three years.
He had always muddled through his duties. Unwilling to offend anyone, he had casually proposed canceling the Martial Arts Tournament.
Well, he had proposed it several times.
Higher-ups had never approved it.
Now... he practically wet his pants in fear.
As for Martial Lord Heilu, gazing at that majestic figure, he was filled with sheer dread.
Most likely, even a true Martial God form was not this enormous?
The legendary true Martial God form was supposedly... only about the size of a sun?
Yet Qi Yuan... had swallowed a sun whole!
"Why aren't you speaking? Feeling guilty?" Qi Yuan grew a little angry. "If you don't give me an explanation today, I wouldn't mind being 3.1-tenths full!"
Though Can Star was small, it was still good for 0.1 of his appetite.
"Mercy!"
"It has nothing to do with us!"
"It really isn't our fault!"
"I don't know anything!"
"Wuu wuu, the Myriad Demons Realm forced us to do it!"
Cries of lamentation broke out across Can Star.
Most ordinary citizens were scared out of their wits, not even understanding what was happening.
Most nobles knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.
Those of the pro-war faction were scared out of their wits.
As for the demons, they were terrified beyond measure.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you planning to stubbornly resist?" Qi Yuan said in dissatisfaction.
He was simply too gigantic.
The voices of these people on Can Star—well, he couldn't hear them.
Unless he listened with full concentration.
"Since that's the case, I'll teach you a lesson first!
"Oh... you'll do!"
Qi Yuan was all too familiar with the aura of the demons from the Myriad Demons Realm.
Back in the Liufeng Realm, these demons had colluded with the demoness Shang Yanran to bully him together.
If not for Qi Yuan being clever and resourceful, striving with all his might, and grinding the game painstakingly, it might have taken him ages to beat it.
"Boundless Heaven and Earth, by my command: Die!"
Simple words, without a single complex character, legible even to a child in kindergarten.
Yet these simplest of words were like universal truths.
Across the starry void, an inexplicable power surged.
Heaven and earth were drenched in blood-red.
Down on Can Star, how could the demons of the Myriad Demons Realm retain any trace of their past arrogance?
"No!"
"Spare us!"
"I want to go home!"
At this moment, they were full of regret and terrified to the extreme.
Unfortunately, any action or thought of theirs was utterly futile now.
Qi Yuan's words were like decrees of cosmic law.
*Crack!*
The body of a Divine Infant-level great demon shattered, and the protective talisman left by its ancestor was wiped out as well.
"No!"
A Purple Mansion great demon that had retreated behind the crowd let out a shrill scream at that very moment.
He had always been the most cautious, fleeing the moment the winds blew the wrong way.
Yet now, before this supreme might, his caution served no purpose at all.
Across Can Star, blooms of blood burst open like the most resplendent fireworks in the world.
In a single breath, three thousand demons were completely wiped out.
"Can you give me an answer now? Do you still dare cancel the Martial Arts Tournament?" Qi Yuan spoke again.
His voice rolled across the void, louder than thunder.
"We don't dare!"
"We wouldn't dare!"
"O God, whatever you say goes!"
Out in space, Qi Yuan's eyes widened.
"What is going on? Do you really have such huge guts?
"Or did I kill too few?
"Why is no one answering?"
Qi Yuan only felt that the vast universe was dead silent.
The people on Can Star were trembling violently.
Some screamed, some shouted through megaphones, and some knelt and begged for mercy—there were people doing everything.
The princess clenched her teeth, her face filled with grief and despair.
Such a being was simply incomprehensible, impossible to measure with common sense.
The Purple Mansion cultivator who had interacted with Qi Yuan and Arch Star was also fraught with anxiety.
"Oh, I forgot. Even if you shout at the top of your lungs, I won't hear you unless I listen carefully."
Qi Yuan reflected that he was too large.
These people were too small; their voices couldn't even reach outer space.
He had to focus to hear them.
But focusing... was a bit tiring.
And so, he simply withdrew his dharma idol body, turning into a young man clad in blood-red robes.
The sky above Can Star seemed to darken slightly at that moment, bathing the world in a crimson hue.
Qi Yuan's figure landed on Can Star.
He stood atop the very seat where the Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord had originally sat.
"Alright, I'm here. Let's have a proper talk."
Inside the palace hall, everyone heard the familiar voice, and their gazes involuntarily fell upon Qi Yuan.
"God!"
"It's God!"
No matter how high their rank or how unyielding their pride, they all knelt in unison.
Only kneeling seemed capable of expressing their submission.
The old king prostrated himself on the ground, his voice hoarse. "The decree of war was signed by me. O great deity, I shall atone with my death. I beg you to spare these innocent subjects!"
This king, who had lived a muddled life, finally showed courage for once.
He raised a gun and fired a bullet straight into his own head.
The king died, his demise abrupt and unceremonious.
Yet that was normal; most people in this world died unceremoniously.
The gathered nobles knelt on the ground, trembling so violently that none dared utter a word.
"Dead? Who is in charge here? Someone step up!" Qi Yuan stood before the throne, his expression calm.
Gritting her teeth, the princess finally stood up. She had a touch of baby fat and looked youthful, but her eyes were resolute.
"Great deity, I am the Eldest Princess."
Qi Yuan's gaze landed on her face.
*Mm, a youthful face.*
Just as the legends said, a youthful face rarely came alone—it was quite eye-catching.
Indeed, she also had white hair.
"Are you still going to cancel the Martial Arts Tournament?" Qi Yuan asked softly.
He had traveled thousands of miles across time and space from the Origin Land solely for this purpose.
"No!" The princess nodded vigorously, her eyes cast downward, unable to even see her own feet.
She dared not look directly at Qi Yuan.
"Great deity, your will is Can Star's will.
"Anyone who defies your will shall be completely purged within three days—no, within one day!" the princess said with a bowed back.
"What if you're lying to me?" Qi Yuan muttered.
The princess's body trembled. For the first time, she felt what it was like to serve beside a tiger.
"I would never dare deceive you, great deity!"
"It's simple. We'll sign a contract. You must have every single person on Can Star sign their name, promising not to cancel the Martial Arts Tournament.
"If anyone violates it, each person must compensate me one hundred... billion Can Star coins."
Qi Yuan spoke placidly.
Compared to human promises, he trusted contracts more.
Of course, what he trusted most was his own fist.
Without a strong fist, these people might break their word and violate the contract anyway.
Hearing this, the baby-faced princess found it incomprehensible.
Yet... the being before her was a terrifying entity who had swallowed a star whole.
Whatever he said was the supreme truth of this star system.
"Your will is the truth of Can Star!" the princess pledged her allegiance once more. "Unconditional support for the Arch Star Martial Arts Tournament will be written into the constitution!"
After all, if even a slight misstep occurred, Can Star might be swallowed whole.
Then there would be no future left for this world.
"Not bad. Decent," Qi Yuan nodded.
Today's business had gone fairly well.
The people of Can Star were quite reasonable.
He hadn't even needed to waste much breath before convincing them.
However, recalling the demons that had died, Qi Yuan felt a twinge of guilt.
Even though they deserved to die, still...
He had killed them thinking they were defying him.
That was a tiny bit awkward.
"I'm feeling a little hungry," Qi Yuan said self-reproachfully. He felt he ought to hold a banquet for them, sharing a meal to ease his conscience.
The princess's legs went limp.
Several kneeling nobles even burst into tears.
The purple-robed Purple Mansion cultivator knelt on the ground as well, not daring to speak.
They thought Qi Yuan intended to eat Can Star.
Qi Yuan looked at the people on the ground with interest, unable to help sighing. "When it comes to wailing in mourning, the folks from Shijia Village are still the real pros. Your crying is completely amateurish.
"Hurry up and prepare a banquet. Make it lavish—ten dishes and three soups.
"So many demons just died; how could we not have a banquet?
"Oh, right. You go ahead and prepare. I'm going to take a look at the Myriad Demons Realm.
"After all, I need to see for myself who the mastermind is—who could be so devoid of conscience, harboring such sinister designs, concocting the universe's most venomous plot to cancel the Martial Arts Tournament just to target me!"
As Qi Yuan spoke, his figure vanished.
He left behind only the kneeling nobles and the baby-faced princess.
These ten dishes... were they ten planets?
And the soup... how were they supposed to make that?
Unfortunately, Qi Yuan had already departed, leaving no one to give her an answer.
***
In the Myriad Demons Realm.
Within the Demon Court.
Ten thousand peaks stood tall.
Upon every single mountain peak resided at least one Purple Mansion cultivator.
One of the peaks soared straight into the clouds.
Rumor had it that this mountain reached directly to the Upper Realm.
At this moment, an enraged roar echoed from within the peak.
"Who killed my son?!"
A peerlessly powerful aura permeated the highest peak.
The entire Demon Court shook, and countless dormant auras across all the peaks awakened.
"Lord Demon King, what happened?"
"Something happened to the young master? Who is so bold!"
"Please issue your order, Demon King! I will lead an army to avenge the young master!"
"For how many years has it only been our Myriad Demons Realm looking for trouble with others? No one has ever dared bring trouble to us! Outrageous!"
Thousands of Purple Mansion cultivators were shaken awake, standing like a sea of stars before the highest peak of the Demon Court.
The Demon King was a giant python, ten thousand zhang long.
With a slight shift of its body, the entire Demon Court trembled.
"I will swallow him whole!"
It was furious beyond measure.
The Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord was its only son.
He was also the next heir to the Demon Court.
This time, it had dispatched the Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord to Can Star in search of ancestral blood to nurture its offspring.
Yet... the Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord's soul lamp had actually gone out!
How could it not be enraged?
Not only was the Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord its son, but he had also caught the eye of an almighty figure in the Upper Realm, who had taken him as a named disciple.
As long as his son ascended to the Upper Realm one day, he could become that almighty figure's disciple.
The Demon King could have used that connection to curry favor with the almighty being.
And now, his son was dead!
How could it not be furious!
"To dare ruin my grand plans, I will swallow him alive!" the giant python hissed in fury.
Right at that moment, the sky of the Myriad Demons Realm abruptly turned blood-red.
A vast, boundless voice echoed across the firmament: "Who wants to swallow me alive?"
Inside the Demon Court, several thousand Purple Mansion experts involuntarily looked up toward the sky.
The ten-thousand-zhang-tall Demon King also raised its head to gaze at the heavens.
All it saw was an expanse of crimson.
Its pupils contracted sharply.
For it realized that this expanse of blood-red was merely the tip of the iceberg of a gargantuan entity.
"Oh, so it's a paramecium. You have quite the ambition, wanting to eat me."
The gargantuan entity spoke, his voice calm.
The Demon King was terrified out of its wits.
Never since its birth had it seen such a scene, nor had it ever heard of such a thing.
It didn't even know if this gargantuan entity was speaking to it.
"Exalted One..."
The Demon King swallowed hard and prostrated itself on the ground.
Before a being so mighty, so vast that its full form could not even be glimpsed, there was no choice but to kneel.
All the Purple Mansion cultivators knelt on the ground like ants at this moment.
Nevertheless, as the Demon King, it summoned its courage to speak to that "indescribable" presence.
"May I ask what business has brought the Exalted One to our Myriad Demons Realm?"
"There was a Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord who dared incite Can Star to invade Arch Star, aiming to execute the universe's most venomous plot of canceling the Martial Arts Tournament to target me.
"I accidentally killed the Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord, so I came to the Myriad Demons Realm to see who the mastermind is—who could be so malicious as to cancel the Martial Arts Tournament!" Qi Yuan was very reasonable.
Even when facing a paramecium, he was quite patient.
This time, he had also listened carefully to the voice of this realm's living being.
Hearing this, the Demon King's heart leaped into its throat.
This being... killed my son?
It was terrified to the absolute limit.
Especially considering that it had just declared it would swallow the culprit alive.
How... how could it swallow him?
Prostrate on the ground, its thoughts raced frantically as it said with great difficulty, "Our Demon Court never ordered him to cancel the Martial Arts Tournament."
"You mean there is no mastermind, and I overthought it?" Qi Yuan said displeasedly.
He had always been cautious.
When killing, one had to wipe out the whole clan to sever the problem at its roots.
"No!" Suddenly, an idea struck the Demon King.
For such a terrifying existence to be plotted against...
Could it be... that figure in the Upper Realm?
His son's master?
Yet, was his son's master... this powerful?
It could not fathom the Yin God realm at all.
Hence, it had no idea how powerful a Yin God truly was.
"Exalted One, please wait, I understand now!" the Demon King hurried to say. "It must be Thousand-Eyed's master who plotted against you! I will trick him into coming down right away; he is in the Upper Realm!"
The Demon King had no desire to die for nothing.
It was better to let the two of them clash.
Surely... the big shot in the Upper Realm could defeat this being, right?
"I'll give you a hundred breaths of time to call him down," Qi Yuan said softly.
"Understood!" With its head lowered, the Demon King swiftly flew toward the Heaven-Reaching Platform.
It lit an incense stick.
"Patriarch, my son has been brutally murdered by an expert! That expert is likely coming for you. Please descend to the lower realm and save us!
"Patriarch, you must be careful. That fellow... is a bit large."
This incense stick could not transmit much information, so it couldn't say more.
Meanwhile, in the Upper Realm, an old man opened his eyes.
"A mere inhabitant of the lower realm dares scheme against me?
"Hmph, a bit large? Just how large can he be? I'd like to see for myself!"
Chapter 371