This year's Martial Arts Conference felt cursed—there wasn't a moment of peace. Every day brought some new commotion, but the final day was on another level: pure chaos...
First, during the competition, someone from an unknown sect killed their opponent with a single punch on the stage. Immediately after, Fortress Lord Ling—who was trying to keep order—heard a servant whisper something in his ear, his eyes widened, and he fainted on the spot.
This set the crowd off; everyone surged forward, desperate to know what had happened.
Linden Ling rushed to his father’s side and called for the doctor to check him, only to realize the old doctor had already gone up the mountain early. He had no choice but to seek out Serena Feng.
Serena Feng arrived and checked his pulse: “He’s overwhelmed by rage. He’ll wake up soon.”
“My father was perfectly fine—how could rage attack his heart? What happened?” Now that he knew his father was safe, Linden calmed down, helped Fortress Lord Ling into a chair, and finally questioned the servant who’d brought the message.
The servant was already terrified, and dropped to his knees with a thud. Just as he was about to speak, Prince Damien of Southlyn interrupted: “If Young Master Ling wants answers, why not ask me instead?”
“Who are you? You have no right to speak here.” Linden wasn’t stupid—one look at Prince Damien’s arrogant, domineering posture told him this was no harmless guest.
The others present were also startled. By now, nobody cared about the man who died on stage; all eyes were on Prince Damien and Linden, everyone guessing at the truth and praying the trouble wouldn’t touch them.
The moment Prince Damien spoke up, Serena Feng knew he was about to make his move. She quietly slipped behind Nolan Dongling, seeking his protection.
Seeing everyone’s eyes fixed on him, Prince Damien was very satisfied—like a peacock showing off, he strutted up to Linden Ling and said in a pitying tone, “Young Master Ling, I’ve got two pieces of bad news for you. Which do you want to hear first?”
“Does it matter?” Linden shot back.
“Of course it does. One will make you furious, the other will make you want to kill.” Prince Damien was like a cat toying with a mouse, teasing him right up to the moment of death.
Linden didn’t want to play Damien’s pointless game, but he needed to know what this man was hiding. He relented: “Fine. Tell me the one that will make me angry first.”
"Alright, that’s also why Fortress Lord Ling fainted. You do deserve to know." Prince Damien spoke as if granting a favor: "The bad news is—your Ling family’s Skyvault Fortress has been burned to the ground, and the ones who set the fire were Nolan Dongling and Serena Feng."
Damien, that bastard, never misses a chance to stir up hatred for Nolan Dongling and Serena Feng.
“What did you say?” Linden exploded, lunging forward to grab Damien by the collar, but Damien evaded him. “Don’t get worked up, Young Master Ling. I wasn’t the one who burned your fortress—if you want revenge, go after Ninth Royal Uncle.”
Linden and the crowd followed Damien’s gesture, turning to look at Ninth Royal Uncle, whose face was perfectly calm, betraying no emotion.
What kind of mess is this? Why can’t anyone make sense of it anymore?
Ninth Royal Uncle burned down Skyvault Fortress? Why on earth would he do that?
Serena just let out a light laugh, completely unconcerned by the crowd’s stares. Her open, straightforward attitude made people start doubting Damien’s story.
Damien hadn’t expected a single sentence to convict Nolan Dongling and Serena Feng—he just enjoyed seeing them startled. Too bad neither gave him the reaction he wanted. How boring.
“Nolan Dongling?” Linden’s gaze darted between Nolan Dongling and Serena Feng, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe it. Just then, Greenshine stepped forward and said humbly, “Young Master, this hero still hasn’t revealed the other bad news.”
Smart girl, Serena thought to herself. Compared to Ruby Redsleeve, who was just sobbing helplessly on the side, Greenshine was far more capable.
No evidence, just one sentence—offending Nolan Dongling like that would be foolish. Hearing Greenshine’s words, Linden took a deep breath, eyes red, fists clenched tight. “And the other bad news?”
“Such a pity.” Damien didn’t answer. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Greenshine. Who knew if he meant the girl herself, or that Nolan and Serena had dodged disaster?
“So what’s the other bad news?” Linden pressed, growing even more skeptical of Damien’s claims.
He might have his grudges with Nolan Dongling and Serena Feng, but he refused to believe Nolan would do something as childish as burning Skyvault Fortress.
“Young Master Ling, you’re awfully impatient. Your father’s awake now—perfect timing for you both to hear it together.” Damien’s sharp eyes had spotted Fortress Lord Ling’s first flicker of movement.
Linden turned and saw that Fortress Lord Ling was indeed awake. He rushed over. “Father!” His concern was written all over his face.
“Tian’er, I’m fine,” Fortress Lord Ling said, now calm. He brushed off Linden’s supporting hand and stood up. “Since you dare to toy with father and son, hero, why not show your true face?”
“My face is ugly—I’d only scare you.” Damien snapped his fingers, and someone immediately brought over a large chair. He sat down arrogantly. “Looks like Fortress Lord Ling already knows the other bad news, so I won’t repeat myself.”
“I’ve guessed some of it, but there’s one thing I don’t understand. Please enlighten me,” Fortress Lord Ling pressed.
“Ask away…” Damien was in excellent spirits.
“You…are colluding with Lyndaria?” Fortress Lord Ling’s gaze fell on Princess Royal Helena of Lyndaria at the back of the crowd.
The crowd had been confused, but the word ‘colluding’ cleared everything up. Damien’s identity was suddenly obvious: “You—you’re the demon ringleader who’s been stirring up chaos across the martial world lately?”
“Demon ringleader sounds so ugly. You can call me Demon Lord.” Damien, still not satisfied with the shock, kept teasing them.
The crowd gasped, furious and aghast, staring at Damien as if they could eat him alive.
“What about Princess Royal Helena? Is she your accomplice? Or is all of Lyndaria working with you?” Just thinking about being played by these two made Fortress Lord Ling want to spit blood.
He was always the one tricking others—when had he ever been tricked so badly? If it weren’t for Princess Royal Helena, he’d never have doubted this man’s identity.
Typical dog-eat-dog—former allies now at each other’s throats. Nolan Dongling and Serena Feng watched coldly, faces full of sarcasm.
Princess Royal Helena never expected Damien to be so brazen. As she considered how to escape, Fortress Lord Ling’s question came, and she instantly shook her head: “No, I had no idea he was a demon lord.”
No way she could admit it. Just as Damien said, Lyndaria wouldn’t send troops to save her, and most of the kingdom’s military was in Crown Prince Titus’s hands—her dear nephew wouldn’t lift a finger for her.
“Didn’t know? Princess Royal, you claim ignorance and yet chose him as your bodyguard, letting him escort you up Skyvault Mountain. That’s some nerve.” At a moment like this, neither Ninth Royal Uncle nor Serena could speak up, but Storm Cloud Bu was different.
Storm Cloud Bu stepped forward, using his status as a Heaven’s First Consortium representative to expose Princess Royal Helena and unmask Damien’s identity...