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Ancient Asia.
After years of isolation, the Divine Capital was shaken awake by an unexpected message. The Demon Lords connected through the demonic consciousness realm, and after some back-and-forth, they decided to hold a face-to-face meeting—right in the Divine Capital's territory.
The Divine Capital didn't mind. "If they want to come, let them."
The demon consciousness realm couldn't handle everything—some things had to be discussed in person.
Each of the Eight Demon Lords had their own take on the warning about the Black Aura. They weren't exactly on the same page.
So why choose the Divine Capital? Because, out of all the territories managed by the Demon Lords, it was the most suitable.
There was also Basha's territory, but her Atlantis was deep under the endless ocean. Some of the demon lords had spent so many years living on land that an underwater conference felt completely foreign.
Besides Basha and the Divine Capital, the rest of the demon lords' lands were either eerily empty like Curse Blue's, or hellish wastelands like the five others'. Basha absolutely despised those places where life was slaughtered by the millions.
Her Atlantis was the most advanced in terms of technology, so she naturally looked down on the other demon lords' backward lands.
So, after a quick discussion, everyone agreed—the Divine Capital was the only place that made sense.
In Basha's eyes, it was the closest thing to a real human world.
Curse Blue also preferred the Divine Capital and Basha's territories. He wasn't a fan of Wind Howler and the others' barbaric hellholes either.
To put it bluntly, Basha just didn't want to go to those primitive places. The Divine Capital was a better option.
In the end, it was decided: Three days from now, on the Ancient Asian continent, a meeting would be held in the Divine Capital to discuss how to deal with the warning of the Black Aura.
Back in the present, the Divine Capital exited the demon consciousness space and focused his senses—he could faintly sense where Ling'er was.
At the center of the palace, where all affairs related to demon territories were handled, Ling'er sat before a jade table, glaring at the huge pile of reports in front of her with a clear look of annoyance.
This was still the demon era, and the demons under the Divine Capital's rule were constantly in conflict.
All these so-called reports were just about their endless squabbles.
Just looking at the stack made her head hurt.
Her own territory mostly had humans and demons who weren't into senseless killing. Things were usually calm.
Plus, given her status, no one dared tick her off.
Just then, someone stepped into the hall. Sharp as ever, Ling'er immediately looked up.
When she saw who it was, she quickly stood and dropped to one knee. "Your Majesty the Dragon King! Weren't you still in seclusion?"
The Divine Capital didn't answer. He walked straight to the throne and sat down, frowning at the mountain of papers.
"What the hell is all this crap?" he asked coldly.
Ling'er looked up, clearly exhausted. "Your Majesty, these are reports from all the demon lords. All kinds of issues have been happening lately."
"Some even involve disputes over territory. I was just about to handle them..."
The Divine Capital picked up one of the reports.
It was just like the stuff ancient emperors dealt with in court. Why the hell was this kind of thing happening under his rule?
Demons were supposed to live by strength—why were they submitting paperwork?
Muttering to himself, he opened one of the reports, read a bit... and immediately blew up.
"Are these guys brain-dead?!"
"Ah?" Ling'er blinked.
"Sending reports for this kind of petty nonsense?!"
"Two demon lords fought yesterday and now you wanna send someone to mediate?!"
"What a bunch of useless morons!"
"If strength is what matters most, then what's the damn point of all these reports?!"
Enraged, the Divine Capital breathed fire—literal divine fire—and reduced the entire stack of papers to ash in seconds.
Then he glared at Ling'er, who was still kneeling.
"So you were gonna send someone to mediate, right?"
Ling'er stayed quiet, her body trembling slightly from the pressure of his rage. But she nodded.
"Useless," the Divine Capital said coldly.
"Ancient Asia is split between humans and demons. If humans can manage to live in peace, why the hell can't demons?"
"These demon lords actually follow human customs now—two demon lords get into a fight, and they submit a damn report and ask for mediation?"
"What, you can't start a fight without paperwork now?!"
The Divine Capital finally understood why ancient emperors didn't live long—they probably died from sheer frustration.
"Your Majesty," Ling'er said softly, "this was a suggestion from the human wizards."
"They recommended having the demon lords report all their internal issues. Since you were in seclusion, I didn't want to bother you."
"So I approved it. But if you don't like it, we can cancel it."
Hearing that, the Divine Capital finally got it.
It was probably because the Shadow Kingdom had taken over some land and started attacking the weaker demon lords.
The weaker ones couldn't handle so many wars.
Not all demon lords were created equal—just like the Demon Kings.
So the human wizards had suggested the idea to Ling'er, who was managing everything in his absence.
Maybe it worked once—the first time she sent someone to mediate, everyone bought it. And after that, no one dared start a fight without "approval."
Now that he understood, the Divine Capital didn't bother digging into it further.
Instead, he said, "Ling'er, in three days, the other seven Demon Lords will arrive. Go prepare some meat and blood-based dishes in the side hall—they've all got their favorites."
Ling'er nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. I'll get started right away!"
"Oh, and one more thing." The Divine Capital suddenly remembered something important.
"Have you seen the names Lü Dongbin, Iron-Crutch Li, or Royal Uncle Cao anywhere in your territory?"
Since the Black Aura had warned all eight Demon Kings, it meant some major crisis was coming.
And the only ones who could actually pose a threat… were those eight humans.
Later generations would call them the Immortal Gods—the Eight Immortals of ancient times—because they were the ones who sealed away the Eight Demon Kings and brought an end to the age of demon rule.
If the Black Aura had sent a warning, then those eight immortals had definitely reappeared.
Once they reached their peak, the battle between the Black Aura and the Force of Righteousness would kick off.
If the Eight Immortals won, they'd seal away the Demon Lords again, ending the demons' era. Righteousness would triumph, and the Black Aura would go dormant, waiting for another chance to return.
But if the Demon Kings won, the world would remain under demonic rule, the Black Aura would flourish, and the Righteous Force would go silent—until it could rise again.
The Divine Capital had thought about it—his territory, governed by the Lord of Fire, was the most suitable place for humans to live and grow.
Even though he was one of the Demon Lords, he never gave senseless orders to slaughter or enslave humans.
That's why his domain had become the best place for the Eight Immortals to quietly grow in strength.
No one in their right mind would pick the hellscapes ruled by the other lords.
"....."