Chapter One

"Sky Nine, how long has it been since I last killed someone?"

On a stormy night, atop the Huihao Tower in Jiangzhou City, two figures stood one behind the other.

The man in front was Chu Tianhe, Lord of the Pantheon, under whom the twelve mighty generals known as the Celestial Fiends swept across the land, unrivaled and awe-inspiring—a cadre of warriors whose mere names struck fear into the hearts of their enemies.

Standing behind Chu Tianhe was his personal bodyguard, Sky Nine, one of the twelve Celestial Fiends.

At this moment, Chu Tianhe’s voice was icy, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon. Each word dripped with a chilling intent to kill.

“It’s been… many years now,” Sky Nine replied, his body trembling and a cold sweat beading on his forehead.

He knew that within Chu Tianhe, that dormant murderous intent was about to awaken once more.

All of this had been set in motion by a series of voice messages received earlier.

“Tianhe, I had no choice… They forced me into this!”

“My family cast me out. Our daughter is gravely ill. I needed money. I truly had no other way!”

“They made me take out loan after loan, took photos, recorded videos… In the end, more than a dozen men locked me in a room and took turns humiliating and tormenting me for three days!”

“I am filthy now. I’m no longer worthy of you. I can’t go on… Please, just take care of Yaoyao and save her!”

These messages were from Qin Xiaorou, Chu Tianhe’s fiancée. At the time, Chu Tianhe was stationed on the northern frontier. He rushed back to Jiangzhou as soon as he received the news, but he was too late. Qin Xiaorou was already gone.

“It was from here that Xiaorou jumped, wasn’t it?” Chu Tianhe stepped forward into the driving rain, his eyes bloodshot. Years of suppressed bloodlust surged back into his heart—the awakening of a slaughterous demon inside him.

Sky Nine knew Chu Tianhe was desperately suppressing his rage, holding back the madness that threatened to erupt at any moment.

Because if that urge to kill broke free, the entire city of Jiangzhou would become a living hell, blood would flow in the streets, and not a soul would survive. All would be buried alongside Liang Xiaorou.

With a thud, Sky Nine, unable to withstand the suffocating aura of impending carnage, dropped to one knee behind Chu Tianhe. Even a battle-hardened killer like Sky Nine could not stop himself from trembling.

Perhaps others could not imagine what it meant for Chu Tianhe to harbor murderous intent, but the twelve Celestial Fiends who had followed him closely knew all too well.

There was that year when, in a fit of fury, Chu Tianhe stormed alone into the enemy camp and, single-handedly, annihilated an entire division—thirty thousand men.

Most terrifying of all, not a single corpse was intact. When the Celestial Fiends arrived, they found Chu Tianhe seated atop a mound of bodies, calmly smoking, his blood-soaked form more like a demon risen from hell than a man.

“I once believed this world held light, and I was willing to become that light to illuminate the paths of others. But where there is light, there must be shadow. Beneath brightness lies endless darkness.”

Chu Tianhe spoke, perhaps to Sky Nine, perhaps to himself. He slowly stretched out his hand, letting the rain fall into his palm.

A moment later, Chu Tianhe reached for his right wrist.

Seeing this, Sky Nine’s expression changed drastically. He cried out, “My lord, don’t!”

“Let me avenge Lady Xiaorou! I will make those people wish for death. Please, do not remove your restraining band!”

Terror shone in Sky Nine’s eyes.

This man, a legend on the battlefield, who had slain countless foes and stood at the pinnacle of power, now found himself utterly at a loss over this single motion of Chu Tianhe’s.

The wristband was a suppressor—an instrument designed to restrain the overwhelming inner force of ancient martial arts.

With the rise of martial arts, the streets of the Great Xia Nation were lined with monitors detecting martial energy. If anyone’s energy exceeded level 30, an alarm would sound and officers would be dispatched. If it surpassed level 60, they’d be classified as extremely dangerous and the Divine Guard of the War Department would take over, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

And if the energy exceeded level 90, unless the person was affiliated with the state, they would be immediately subdued—either conscripted into the military or forcibly controlled and fitted with a suppression band.

Chu Tianhe’s band, however, was not forced upon him. He wore it willingly, for the sake of the woman he loved, to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

Sky Nine dared not imagine what would happen if Chu Tianhe removed it.

“No one is allowed to interfere with avenging Xiaorou,” Chu Tianhe replied coldly to Sky Nine’s pleas, turning his head with a gaze of utter chill.

In those terrible eyes shimmered murderous intent so potent that it seemed to drag souls into the abyss; a single glance was like the wailing of a thousand ghosts, enough to terrify even the bravest. Sky Nine’s whole body shook as he hastily looked away, not daring to meet his lord’s gaze.

“My lord, please reconsider!” Sky Nine remained kneeling, begging in vain.

With a crisp snap, Chu Tianhe crushed the suppressor band.

A cascade of explosions rang out across Jiangzhou as, from that rooftop, the ancient martial monitors throughout the city overloaded and burst in quick succession.

The highest level these monitors could detect was 999—a number only a handful in the entire Great Xia Nation could ever reach. Yet Chu Tianhe’s power far exceeded that limit, overwhelming the system and causing every monitor in Jiangzhou to explode.

With the restraining band removed, the bloodthirsty demon sealed within Chu Tianhe finally awakened.

In the darkness, his eyes glowed with a ghostly blue light, brimming with murderous intent.

“Have you found those responsible for driving Xiaorou to her death?”

A peal of thunder split the sky as lightning illuminated the hideous, terrifying expression on Chu Tianhe’s face.

“Yes, it was Li Chengze, the eldest son of Huihao Corporation!” Sky Nine reported without delay, not daring to hesitate.

“And where is he?”

“At the Tianhong Club!”

“Prepare the car.”

With these simple words, Chu Tianhe set the slaughter in motion.

The demon had awakened. Jiangzhou was about to become a living hell.