??On the Devil Continent, on the highest peak in the land, a black tower pierced into the dark clouds above, its sharp spires like claws reaching towards the heavens. On the top floor of that tower gathered a group of Holy Manifestation powerhouses, each more sinister and grotesque than the last.

The nine figures sat on thrones facing inwards, the thrones forming a circle. Three of the thrones were higher than the others, with two lower seats on either side of them, forming nine seats in total.

Two of the figures on the highest thrones had Late Holy Manifestation cultivations, with the the six on the lower seats having Middle Holy Manifestation cultivations, the gathering of the pinnacle powerhouse of the three Devil powers; the Titan Devils, the Blood Devils, and the Abyssal Devils. The last of the nine, a devil who sat on the highest seat of all, had a Half-Step Astral King cultivation, the strongest of the nine.

Looks of consternation and contemplation appeared on each face figure, their mouths snarled, revealing sharp teeth.

“Impossible! These accounts are utterly impossible!” a deep voice growled, slamming his fist on his armrest. The figure, a member of the Titan Devils, was the largest of the nine. His figure hulked over the others, standing thirty yards tall.

“It is impossible, and yet, our sources indicate that everything is true,” another voice, a female Devil with a blood red face, a beautiful face and an alluring figure spoke, her sharp nails strumming against her armrest. Compared to the Titan Devil nearby, she was like an ant, her height comparable to that of a normal human.

“The death of the Yang-Sovereign is good,” another male said, his voice deep but not as deep as the first. All fell silent as they looked towards this figure, another male devil. He wore pitch black armor that covered his chest and lower body, leaving his bulging arm muscles to be revealed to all. 𝘳.𝑐𝘰

His skin was a dark maroon color, like that of dried blood, while his eyes were bright red. Most eye-catching of all were the spikes on his shoulders and arms, with two small scythe-like protrusions on the backs of his elbows.

This Devil had a commanding presence, one that none of the others dared to look down on. When he spoke, all devils listened. When he gave commands, all devils obeyed. Such was the power of Mal’Kezath, the leader of the Abyssal Devils, the Half-Step Astral King powerhouse of the Devil Race.

“Mal’Kezath is right. Had the Yang-Sovereign succeeded in his plan to reach the Astral King Realm…” the woman said, her voice trailing off, filling the chamber with silence.

“The Yang-Sovereign failed,” Mal’Kezath said, his eyes sweeping over the others. “We need not pay him any more attention. Our focus must fall on the boy, this John Fenix.”

“He is too dangerous to be left alive,” the alluring woman said, her lips drawn to a line. “We must move to eliminate him before he grows to a level that threatens us. Based on his talent and combat prowess, it’s a matter of when, not if, he reaches the Astral King Realm.”

“Hmph, you’re always taking the safe option Sanguinia. To kill the boy is a waste,” the hulking figure sneered.

Sanguina scowled at the hulking figure, her sharp nails still strumming on her armrest. “Then what do you suggest, Bal’Rameth?” Sanguinia asked. “That we let him live and grow stronger, waiting for him to cut us down?”

Bal’Rameth scoffed, his deep voice making the entire chamber rumble. “Did you not listen to the details of the battle? Of the boy’s powers?”

“So what of them?” Sanguinia asked. “He’s still human, and humans cannot be trusted.”

“The boy revealed a form that we can all guess as to its origins,” Mal’Kezath said, the others falling silent as he spoke.

“How is such a transformation possible?” Sanguinia asked, her face scrunched with confusion.

“I do not know,” Mal’Kezath said, his voice like a constant growl. “All that matters is, as far as we can tell, the boy can use the powers of the Asuras.”

That line made the room fall silent, a silence that lasted for quite some time.

“Then, if we don’t kill the boy, what do you propose?” Sanguinia asked, her gaze on Mal’Kezath.

All eyes fell on Mal’Kezath, who fell silent for a moment, contemplating the next moves. After a short time, he spoke.

“This boy can use the powers of the Asuras. We cannot afford to kill him, not right away at least,” Mal’Kezath said, his eyes sweeping over the others to make sure they knew the weight of his words, his commands. “We must do what we can to obtain the boy, either through coercion or force.”

“Coercion?” Sanguinia scoffed. “How can we convince a human to come to us willingly?”

“The boy, when he assumed his transformed state, was told to be unstable,” Mal’Kezath said. “He lashed out at the Sword-

Saint and others, stopping only because his body could no longer withstand the strain of his powers. If the stories are to be believed, then his mental state must be quite chaotic, tainted by the Asura powers he uses. It’s not impossible that such a human would join us if given enough incentives.”

“But the humans surely know this, and will shower the boy with every single resource to keep him loyal to them,” Sanguinia said, not convinced.

Mal’Kezath glanced at her, his bright red eyes seeming to look into her very soul. “First, we will try coercion. If that fails, we will use force to bring the boy here. The secrets to using the powers of the Asuras lies within his blood, and we must do everything we can to obtain those secrets.”

This answer seemed to convince Sanguinia and the others. First, they would try to entice John to join them. If that failed, then they would use force, the thing they were best at.

“And if we are unable to capture him?” Bal’Rameth asked.

“Then we kill him, and bring his corpse back, if possible,” Mal’Kezath growled like that of a primordial beast, while wide, agreeable smiles appeared on the faces of the others.

“When will we take action?” Sanguina asked, her smile fading into a thoughtful frown. “The boy will be guarded by the collective powers of the human race. We cannot barge into their lands to grab the boy. Doing so would be suicide. The only way we could guarantee success is to do a full-scale invasion of the human continent, throwing every ounce of our powers at it. But if we did such a thing, our victory would be costly, and we would open ourselves to counterattack from the Beasts.”

The others looked at Mal’Kezath, waiting for his answer, as Sanguinia was right. They couldn’t afford to invade the human race, even with the Yang-Sovereign now dead. The humans not only had home field advantage, but also the Prime Shadow and Sword-Sovereign. Those two alone would cause much of their invasion horde to perish, a cost they were unable to afford while the Beast Race lurked, waiting for an opportunity to strike and gain supremacy of the Nine-Dao World.

Mal’Kezath leaned back in his seat, eyes studying the others.

“We will have an opportunity to capture the boy appear before long,” Mal’Kezath said.

“What opportunity?” Sanguinia asked curiously, to which Mal’Kezath gave his answer, a snarling smile appearing on his face.

“The Continent of War!”.

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