A single offhand remark instantly escalated the hostility in the reception hall to its peak.
The Nine-Headed Wyrm froze completely. He understood exactly what Monkey meant by those words. No matter what his real relationship with the Six Demon Kings was, at this moment Monkey had already decided he was deeply connected to them.
To risk your life to save someone—who would believe the bond wasn’t deep?
In an instant, the Nine-Headed Wyrm realized he had made a colossal mistake: appearing at the worst possible time and in the worst possible place.
Clearly, Monkey’s mind was far deeper than he had imagined.
Perhaps Monkey hadn’t known they were nearby before, but the moment the battle ended and he appeared, Monkey must have realized the Wyrm had been watching all along.
Why watch the battle from the shadows without revealing yourself?
Thinking it through, there really wasn’t any friendly reason for that.
Sunlight streamed through the open door on the side balcony, illuminating the polished floor.
With his back to the eighteen thousand South Heaven Gate troops kneeling at the horizon, Silverwood sat calmly on the meditation cushion, still brewing water as if nothing had happened. The reception hall was utterly silent.
......
Inside the room, Anna Yang’s expression had turned extremely grim.
Carefully watching Erik Yang and Skyhowl out of the corner of her eye, Louis Quickpaw whispered, "Who exactly is this Nine-Headed Wyrm?"
"A powerful demon king. Most importantly, he’s connected to the Six Demon Kings—and their relationship seems anything but shallow."
Louis Quickpaw was immediately taken aback.
Among the Six Demon Kings is the Drake King, once the evil dragon of Dragon’s Pool. He and Blossom Mountain share a feud that will never end—a blood-deep grudge. Every core demon of Blossom Mountain knows this history.
Before Louis Quickpaw could recover from his shock, Anna Yang had already strode out the door.
Seeing this, Louis Quickpaw shot a glance at the still-composed Erik Yang and hurried after Anna.
"I’m heading to the barracks. You—go find Shortbeak immediately. And hide General Lee." Anna Yang ordered coldly.
Louis Quickpaw nodded quickly and dashed out of the alchemy hall.
On the top floor of the alchemy hall, Princess Marina Azurewave was quietly watching them through a gap in the curtains.
At this moment, all the curtains of the alchemy hall’s spire were drawn, and she had deliberately suppressed her spiritual aura to its lowest.
As a dragon princess, Marina Azurewave had connections with other dragon maidens. Though she didn’t know the exact relationship between the Nine-Headed Wyrm and the Azurewave Pool Dragon Palace, she had met the Wyrm once before. Coincidentally, from her spire’s balcony, she could see directly into the reception hall.
Right now, the whole city was still celebrating, oblivious to the fact that a foe even more dangerous than South Heaven Gate was already at their doorstep.
Soon, Anna Yang arrived at the bustling barracks. As she appeared, the soldiers greeted her with nods or formal salutes.
On Blossom Mountain, Monkey was the unquestioned commander, with Shortbeak as his appointed deputy. As for Anna Yang, she held no formal military rank.
Yet in practice, Anna Yang’s authority often surpassed Shortbeak’s. If their orders ever conflicted and Monkey didn’t intervene, most officers and soldiers would choose to obey Anna.
Nodding to the soldiers, Anna Yang walked straight to the signal officer and whispered, "Go—assemble all units."
"All units?" The signal officer was taken aback.
"Yes. Execute immediately." With that, Anna Yang turned and entered the command tent.
"Understood!" The signal officer bowed deeply.
The soldiers present were left stunned, unable to make sense of the situation.
Soon after, Shortbeak hurried over.
"What’s going on?"
"General, Anna asked to assemble all units."
Shortbeak paused for a moment. "Carry out her orders."
"The signal officer is already on it."
By now, the scattered post-battle units were already returning to the camp, and the warships in the sky were slowly turning.
When Anna Yang parted the tent’s curtain and reappeared before them, she was clad in full battle armor.
......
From afar, the Six Demon Kings outside the city were all taken aback.
They saw Demon City’s entire army moving in disciplined order, the warships in the sky slowly turning. Gates in all four directions swung open as countless troops poured out, among them many demon soldiers flapping black flesh-wings.
"Flesh-wings? He’s already reached this stage?" Even King Bullhorn was shocked.
The other demon kings were all dumbfounded.
Implanting wings like the Celestial soldiers meant a huge boost in the combat power of demons below the Spirit-Refinement Stage. There was no longer an unbridgeable gap between demon troops and Celestial soldiers.
It wasn’t actually that difficult, but only demons below the Spirit-Refinement Stage needed such enhancements. To matter, it had to be as widespread as in the Celestial Army—otherwise, it was pointless. Demon kings had never considered this strategy before: for most demons, mastering the Path of Awakening was simply out of reach.
But Blossom Mountain had already begun implementing it—and with impressive results. Step by step, in every aspect, they were closing the gap with the Celestial Army.
This simple scene was so shocking to the Six Demon Kings that they began to imagine what other resources Blossom Mountain might be hiding.
King Virūḍhaka, on a distant warship, was also watching this unfold.
Slowly lowering his Far-Seer, his eyes narrowed to slits. "What are they up to? Attacking us? Impossible."
"Your Majesty, should we prepare a response?"
"No. Hold our position. Go summon King Northmore."
"Yes, sir."
By now, Shortbeak was already standing atop the city wall, scanning the horizon from behind the parapet.
Below him, the demon troops streaming from the gates were spreading out, as if searching for something—especially in the direction where the Nine-Headed Wyrm had just appeared.
As the demon army drew closer, King Roc said in puzzlement, "Seems to me they’re looking for us."
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"Looking for us? Is that necessary? Just have the Nine-Headed Wyrm call out and we’ll come."
"I know, but I really think they’re searching for us."
Standing alone a short distance away, King Jiao’s face had grown extremely grim.
Soon, two demon soldiers landed at the spot where the Six Demon Kings had just been standing, flapping their wings. But the six had already slipped away to a distant hiding place.
Soon, Shadow was summoned. Having reached the Spirit-Refinement Stage, he didn’t need wings and was much faster.
Landing on the ground, Shadow crouched, rubbed the sand and leaves, and shouted, "They just left—keep searching!"
"Are they really looking for us?" Even King Bullhorn was more confused.
At King Bullhorn’s feet, King Jiao shivered, wondering if he should leave first.
......
Inside the city, the army surged along the streets like a black flood.
The non-military demon residents had already sensed something was wrong when the army started moving. Now, as demon soldiers signaled, they began to evacuate in an orderly fashion toward the underground city.
Anna Yang landed on a rooftop not far from Monkey’s tower, with most of Blossom Mountain’s top commanders, including Rhino, standing behind her.
"What now?"
"Wait." Anna Yang said calmly, her gaze fixed on Monkey’s tower.
......
Inside the reception hall, the Nine-Headed Wyrm quietly sharpened his senses, soon hearing the clatter of armor.
A large force had already surrounded the building; he could even hear wings flapping and bowstrings drawn tight—the city was a net, mobilized around this tiny room, even the warships in the sky included.
Large beads of sweat rolled down the Nine-Headed Wyrm’s forehead.
He suddenly felt that this Monkey was extraordinary—not just powerful, but cunning and strategic, nothing like an ordinary demon.
Monkey picked up the untouched teacup, warmed the porcelain lid with his breath, took a sip, and smiled: "Now that you mention it, the tea does taste much better. No wonder others covet it. Seems I’ve taken my blessings for granted."
At this moment, the Nine-Headed Wyrm’s face was extremely grim.
"What do you mean? If the Six Demon Kings are outside, plus me, do you think you and your soldiers can handle us?"
Monkey laughed: "I like to rehearse before battle, so I’m prepared when the fighting starts. Most times I don’t get the chance, but if I can, I prefer to analyze everything in detail."
"What are you trying to say?"
Since we have time, why not play a little battle rehearsal game?
Huh?
Just suppose—just suppose—the Six Demon Kings are outside the city, plotting with you against us. If I’m not mistaken, your cultivation is near the peak of the Grand Celestial Stage. Heh, feathered creatures really are something. Let’s assume you’re at the peak. Coincidentally, so am I. My advantage is speed, so I should be able to hold you off alone.
The Nine-Headed Wyrm fell silent, staring at Monkey, all trace of his former flippancy gone.
After all these years, only this Monkey could push him this far.
Of the Six Demon Kings, all but King Jiao are listed as Grand Celestials in the Heavenly Court’s wanted records, but none are at the peak. The source is the Tianhe Navy—rarely mistaken. If Blossom Mountain faced them alone, even our full force might not prevail. Right? Monkey smiled. "But—"
Monkey slowly turned to the window, peering past the tall wooden city walls to the Southern Gate Fleet hovering on the horizon.
He sighed and continued, "You know, Nine-Headed Brother, I have a good bargaining chip—Li Jing. If I offer his release in exchange for the Southern Gate Fleet’s help against the Six Demon Kings, they’ll jump at it. Hunting demon kings is their job, so it’s not even a trade. They could easily drive all the demon kings from Blossom Mountain. As for you..."
At this, the Nine-Headed Wyrm was utterly shocked.
Monkey had been with him all along, just drinking tea and chatting, yet Blossom Mountain had finished all its deployments against the Six Demon Kings—including his own.
A chill ran down the Nine-Headed Wyrm’s spine.
This really is a city built for battle—and their leader, a demon born for war. Compared to him, all other demon forces seem like children at play.
Let’s get acquainted, Nine-Headed Brother. We’re all demons under the same sky, all facing the Heavenly Court—it’s good to know each other. But I’m not sociable, and if I make friends, I start with caution. If the Six Demon Kings aren’t outside, I hope you’ll forgive me.
Monkey turned his head to look out at the balcony.
Following Monkey’s gaze, the Nine-Headed Wyrm saw a demon fly off in the distance, flash a "six" sign to Monkey, nod, and then flap away.
Does that mean they’ve found the Six Demon Kings?
The Nine-Headed Wyrm shuddered, staring wide-eyed at Monkey.
Monkey remained calm, finishing his tea and setting the cup down, fiddling with the porcelain lid instead of asking Yisu to refill it.
He lazily glanced at the Nine-Headed Wyrm and said, "Have you heard of the ‘Hongmen Banquet, cup as signal’?"