When he spoke of ‘chaotic-blood demons’, there was a hint of embarrassment in Lei Chuang’s narrowed eyes, which was soon replaced by excitement. Waving his paws, he roared, “The Primeval Lord of Heaven established the three thousand rules of the Great Dao. He prized order and stability. The things that represented the three thousand rules of the Great Dao were classified into diffident levels and duties.
“The demons, according to the different purposes of the Great Dao, are divided into four classes, namely saint-blood, silver-blood, bronze-blood, and black-blood.
“The saint-blood demons are the most honorable and sacred ones. They do not need to care about the daily trivia and need only communicate with the gods. The powerful saint-blood demons can even wield the strength of the ancient demons such as Zhurong, Gonggong, and Kuafu. They can move a mountain, drain an ocean, or even destroy a planet easily!
“The silver-blood demons are in charge of governing all the demons and managing all the worlds as assistants of the saint-blood demons.
“The bronze-blood demons are the most excellent warriors. They do not need to participate in the arduous labor work, and their sole responsibility is to better their combat skills to kill and to protect!
“All labor, basically the farming and the hunting, is taken care of the black-blood demons, who need to think about nothing and just obey their commands dutifully.
“The demons of the four classes have their designated duties. Only by maintaining the order of the Great Dao can the harmonious functioning of the world be ensured. It is a matter of course.
“Other than that, the demon race is also classified into different species such as the Feather Clan, the Sea Clan, the Horn Clan, the Claw Clan, the Insect Clan, and so on. The Feather Clan defends the sky, the Sea Clan is responsible for the water areas, the Claw Clan and the Horn Clan govern the plateaus, the mountains, and the forests, and the Insect Clan manages the soil and the rocks. Billions of creatures have their own arrangements and duties that they need to fulfil.
“This is a perfect world.
“Now that the Great Dao has been settled, it should live on to all eternity and never be changed. The descendants of the saint-blood demons will always be saint-blood demons, and those of the black-blood demons will always be black-blood demons. How could they be mixed together?
“By the same logic, the posterity of the Claw Clan will always be the Claw Clan. I am a tiger demon, and my children and grandchildren will absolutely be tiger demons, too.”
His whiskers shivering violently, Lei Chuang gnashed his teeth. “However, just as the Primeval Lord of Heaven stood for the Great Dao and order, Chaos represented disorder and pandemonium. After the Primeval Lord of Heaven fell asleep, Chaos took the opportunity to confuse the demons with its strength.
“Bewildered by Chaos, many demons who were less determined grew lustful and more ambitious than they should have.
“Some of the members of the Horn Clan and the Claw Clan did unspeakable things, and some black-blood demons even tried to transform their descendants into bronze-blood demons and even silver-blood demons. Therefore, they did whatever they could to hide their bloodline and to steal the life seeds of high-level demons!
“Slowly, many hybrids that carried the features of multiple species were born during the thousands of years of development of the demon race. They are us, the chaotic-blood demons.”
Many young demons lowered their heads in shame. Some of them even cried sadly.
Lei Chuang coughed for a moment and continued. “There are three thousand rules of the Great Dao, but none of them are fit for us. So, we are at the bottom level of the world of the demon race. It is our own fault. Nobody else is to blame.
“However, don’t give up on yourselves yet. Right now, we have the best opportunity ever to wash away the sins and disgrace that we were born with!
“It is the war!
“Before, the lowly chaotic-blood demons who have mixed bloodlines were absolutely not qualified to join the war.
“But do you know what human beings, our enemies in the war, are exactly?
“Human beings are a brand-new species that the Nuwa Clan created by integrating the essence of the twelve ancient demon clans. If we get to the bottom of it, human beings are a kind of chaotic-blood demon, too.”
“Ah!”
It was the first time that many of the young demons had heard such a theory. They could not help but exclaim.
Lei Chuang sneered. “Now you see. Human beings are the traitors among the chaotic-blood demons. Therefore, the Pantheon of Demons specially granted us permission to join the war. We now have the chance to participate in the greatest war in history!
“All that probably sounds dull and boring. So, let’s talk about something more practical.
“Because of the identity of the chaotic-blood demons, not only are we charged with the heaviest taxes, we are also despised everywhere. Many of you have been to the towns outside before, haven’t you? Are you not clear how other demons treat us?
“Now, the chance to change our fate has come!
“The Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector are about to merge. An earthshaking final battle is going to break out soon!
“Therefore, the Pantheon of Demons has issued a call to arms and even bestowed the right to be part of the war upon the chaotic-blood demons.
“As long as you fight valiantly and make contributions to the war, your taxes will be waivered, and your family will no longer starve. We will never struggle to make a living by reaping the Ghost Teeth Flowers anymore!
“If your accomplishments are distinguished enough, it is not unlikely that territory that solely belongs to us in the Heaven’s Origin Sector will be granted to us. If so, we will be able to establish a town whose residents are exclusively chaotic-blood demons. Or, you may be appreciated by a high-level demon who will take you as a servant. Even better—”
Lei Chuang paused for a moment. His eyes full of hope, he went on. “For the chaotic-blood demons who have made the most contributions, the twelve demon emperors of the Pantheon of Demons will work together to cleanse their blood and purge the dirty constituents in their veins so that they will become the purest demons!
“At that time, we will be able to find our place in the three thousand rules of the Great Dao!
“Black-blood or bronze-blood, it is better than chaotic-blood, which absolutely belongs nowhere!”
All the young demons were fascinated by the story. They could not help but sit up or stand straight.
A young demon, who had pure white wings on his back but had a forked tongue, asked hesitantly, “Brother Lei Chuang, hiss, I’m told that human beings are quite strong. Hiss. They’ve defeated two enormous attacks on our side. We seem to have suffered heavy losses in the latest attack.
“After my father returned from the fair in town, he said that the demons in the fair were only half of those who came last year. The young demons of several villages have been entirely wiped out.
“Do you think we can win the war?”
Hearing his words, all the young demons were talking.
“Yes, I’ve heard that, too.”
“My uncle lives in the Broken Leaf Village. He said that twenty soldiers were called in their village but only three returned with their limbs or wings broken. Quite rough!”
“I’m told that the firepower of human beings is much fiercer than ours. When our army pushes forward like a tide, they will be blown out of shape and forced to retreat in less than half a day. Even the awesome silver-blood demons have been bombarded into piles of meat by the crystal warships of human beings.”
“What’s there to be scared of? Listen to me!” Lei Chuang bellowed to quiet all the young demons, before he waved his paws and said, “Of course, human beings are quite tough. Otherwise, they would not have been able to stir trouble again after being suppressed by us for thirty thousand years.
“Honestly speaking, we will not necessarily be the winners of the war. It is very likely that we will fail, die, and be obliterated!
“But failure is not important, death is not scary, and obliteration is certainly not our destination!
“As recorded in the ‘Mutation of Demons’, the demon race will have to be obliterated and reborn three times before we find immortality eventually!
“Zhurong, Gonggong, Kuafu, Nuwa… The fallout of the thirteen ancient demon clans was the first obliteration. Forty thousand years ago, they are reborn as the modern demon race!
“Ten thousand years ago, the Demon Beast Empire collapsed, and human beings restored their reign and established the Star Ocean Imperium. It was the second obliteration of the demon race.
“After ten thousand years of rest, we are reborn again today!
“We are very likely to experience the third obliteration, but it will the last obliteration we go through!
“After the obliteration, we shall be reborn again and embark on the real path of immortality!
“At the end of the path of immortality is the splendid, magnificent Pantheon of Demons, where all demons with a firm belief will be gathered!
“In the Pantheon of Demons, we will recover the perfect form of the thirteen ancient demon clans, or even the Pangu Clan in the very beginning, and destroy human being and Chaos!
“Do you understand now?
“The war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector is the beginning of the last obliteration!
“The outcome of the war is not important.
“We may die, and we may fail. But as long as we try our best to demonstrate the valor and courage of the demon race, we shall be reborn in the glorious Pantheon of Demons with the most perfect body and the most marvelous strength, which will destroy our enemies!
“When all the enemies are destroyed, all the demons will gather in the Pantheon of Demons and claim their rewards while they enjoy the eternal ecstasy. The bravest and most fearless demons will ascend from the identity of demons into existences of a much higher level!”
All the demons held their breath, hooked. After a long while, a young demon with a pig nose asked cautiously, “Brother Lei Chuang, what are the existences of a much higher level exactly?”
Lei Chuang smiled. “Gods. Real, eternal gods!”
All the young demons gasped and jumped to their feet in excitement, waving their hands and talking to each other.
“That explains a lot. No wonder the slogan of the Pantheon of Demons is ‘Obliteration! Rebirth! Immortality!’
“As long as we kill our enemy bravely, we will get fertile land in the Heaven’s Origin Sector and be freed from the identity of chaotic-blood demons if we win the war and make great contributions.
“Even if the war fails and we die, it does not matter because we will be reborn in the glorious Pantheon of Demons!
“Pantheon of Demons, Pantheon of Demons. What does the real Pantheon of Demons look like? Can they have two delicious meals every day in the Pantheon of Demons? Can they enjoy a bowl of the Sweet Root Water every day? I want to go there and look now!”
“Idiot, why are you drinking Sweet Root Water in the Pantheon of Demons? They certainly drink their water with candy directly! But you are too weak and timid to go to the Pantheon of Demons anyway. You will only be entitled to go to the Pantheon of Demons and die a hero’s death after you kill many evil human beings on the battlefield!”
Another young demon was amazed. “You do know a lot of stuff, Brother Lei Chuang. Then do you know what ‘Blade of Chaos’ is? I accidentally overheard my father and my uncle talking about it the other day. They looked worried and said that it was likely that our village would not be called for soldiers because of the Blade of Chaos. Is it true?”
The words ‘Blade of Chaos’ were like a whip that slapped Lei Chuang right on his face. His smile suddenly disappeared.
The simmering vibe suddenly turned weird.