“The winner is… Phantom Demon…”

“If this is all then I will excuse myself. I will also offer the remains of the Crimson Fiend to the wonderful host.”

Zhang Dong in his disguise performed a little two-handed clasp while slowly removing himself from the arena. His winning came as a shock to almost everyone here and mostly to the man that looked like a snake. There was nothing he could say though as the win was achieved fair and square. Also by giving up on the blood crystals that could be harvested from Crimson Fiend’s corpse he was showing his allegiance to the Chaos Sect.

“Brother Phantom, you have truly shown me something interesting today, I will gladly accept this offering…”

The man just nodded while the two nascent soul masters that threw poison needles toward him moved closer. Both of them were wearing black hoods over their faces but he could clearly tell that they were weary of him. All three knew that this old man before them wasn’t that simple and they had attacked him already.

‘It wouldn’t be strange if they attacked me now… but I bet they still believe that I won’t cause them any harm while in this city…’

Normally a fight would ensue as they had tried to kill him and he was aware of it. They also saw him repel the poison needles but for the time being, he needed to show proper decorum. This was the fate of people with less backing, even if another party was weaker they could not fully act against them. At most he could give them a slap or two to assert his dominance but leaving it like this allowed the other party to save face.

“My old bones are tired, I will have to rest.”

Zhang Dong was left alone for now but in the future, it wouldn’t be strange if the person called Phantom Demon got assassinated. The other party created a grudge that demonic cultivators liked to hold on to. All of them knew that if the power dynamic shifted then the people from the Chaos Sect would find themselves being chased down by the green phantoms.

‘They are letting me go for now at least… it wouldn’t be strange if in a few days they try organizing something though…’

There was no one stopping him as people moved their heads down as he floated towards his current cult members. The people from his own cult were quite surprised at the increase of people of their own master. Perhaps some of them were slowly realizing that there was something fishy. Then there was the danger of him being assassinated by the snake cultivator. The longer he remained in the city the harder it would be for him to act.

“All of you return to the hotel, I need to take care of a few things.”

“Cult Leader?”

The main servant looked toward him as if he wanted to say something but after one glare he slumped his head down. He would not allow this chance to get away from him. This was the time to sink away into the darkness of the night and sabotage the protective formation from within.

Thus the moment he found himself in a more secluded location he sank into the shadows. His face was already known but not like he needed to worry about being stopped by anyone. Word of his overbearing victory would probably reach the ears of other similar sects. They would probably keep their distance due to the spike in the power of the person called Phantom Demon. Everyone would have to re-evaluate his potential before approaching him again.

“...”

‘That’s about it and not too soon…’

Zhang Dong stepped out of an empty alley that was occupied by a rotting corpse. This was not of his doing as he had just used this passage to get back into the city. Only now when he was alone and going through these streets did he realize how bad of a state this place truly was in.

Only the main streets through which large clans or powerful cults went through were in a presentable state. Everything else looked worse than the slums that he remembered from all the cities he visited in the Empire. He was someone that liked to wander through his own city to see how his citizens were living so this was quite shocking.

‘Does that bastard's faction system not show him the state that this place is in?’

This was the big question, his points would plummet if he started treating his people like garbage. Only if the approval rating and happiness of his people were above a certain threshold would he be able to gain anything out of it. It didn’t look like Wang Long had the same problem which could originate from their personalities.

‘This system tends to change itself depending on the user…’

There was one explanation for the difference. While he wanted to play the good guy and help the people, Wang Long was the opposite. His system gave him a faction that he could nurture by good deeds. Wang Long on the other hand probably received the reverse of it, the more miserable his people were then the more power he acquired.

‘Maybe he gains points if people worship him instead of liking him?’

While Zhang Dong was receiving his own kind of worship it was more of the positive kind. It wouldn’t be that strange if Wang Long was supposed to be his opposite, an evil god that his people feared. It was a different kind of fanaticism that could be troublesome to deal with

The people that his side would be going up against were backed up against a wall filled with spikes. They probably didn’t really want to fight but the fear of death by the new Demon King was too strong. In their eyes, it was more likely to come out alive if they followed orders instead of trying to flee.

‘Yet if I manage to break their belief in their leader then they should quickly flee…’

While there were positives in using fear like desperation to survive there was a big drawback. If the faction led like this saw their leaders failing they would quickly abandon them. If they saw a way out of their predicament they would certainly take a chance to flee or even join the battle against their oppressor. It wasn’t strange when despots got stabbed in the back in their time of need.

‘I guess that just means that I need to quickly win that one-on-one to end this war quickly but will that guy be as stupid like last time?’

Zhang Dong looked back towards the remains and with a swipe of his hand set them ablaze. While watching the flames fill the dark alley he began to worry more. It would be fine if he could just end it all with just one fight but he had to consider other possibilities. Wang Long could tackle everything in many ways and there was also a chance that his enemy had become a lot stronger than before. He had rushed here but this didn’t mean that Wang Long couldn’t have gotten enough spirit points to reach new never before seen heights.

‘That takes care of the outer city, should I stay for that assembly or just cut my losses now…’

He was slowly returning to the hotel that he should be occupying without revealing his face. It wouldn’t be hard to escape from this place as the outer barrier had been altered from both sides by him and he could move out without a problem. The days in these demonic lands were mostly cloudy and shrouded in shade which made concealing techniques easy to use.

‘I should first confirm what I already know before making a decision…’

Within a few moments, he traversed the city’s shadowy alleys without anyone being the wiser. Even slipping back into the hotel he was occupying went unnoticed. Ever since his battle with the Crimson Fiend, he noticed an increase in guards and Chaos Sect presence. The snake bastard that started this farce was clearly watching his moves. Luckily the sentries he had sent weren’t all that great and he would be able to evade their gazes with a few easy tricks.

“Cult Leader, you called for me?”

“Yes, explain to me again, when will the assembly take place and when will we be allowed to enter the inner city.”

“Yes, Cult Leader! We will be able to enter the inner city in three days, the Chaos Sect will…”

While listening he confirmed the information that he already knew. The gathering of demonic cultivators would take place in the inner city in one of the old main sect buildings. This one had been taken over by the Chaos Sect that was now in power but used to belong to one of the other demons that was now dead.

The old buildings were trashed during the takeover but were quickly rebuilt within a few weeks following it. Everyone seemed to work quite fast when they were fearing for their life. Apparently, some of the builders had been killed to motivate the others that didn’t sleep all that well through the entire procedure.

This meant that he would not be entering the Demon King castle. Instead it would be hosted in the new inner sect courtyard where the announcement took place. Even these cultists had no idea what would happen. The man that he was talking to had given him some concerning information.

“That is all, you can leave, call me when the time to enter the inner city comes.”

“I obey, Cult Leader!”

The man left quickly which caused Zhang Dong to ponder his next move. Infiltrating further into the fortified sect was quite risky. For the time being, he was safe but the closer he got to Wang Long the more probable his discovery became. There was a possibility of him not being able to teleport out to safety even with a large number of points. If he was forced to engage his opponent on his home turf then he would probably be as good as dead.

‘The whole plan could go down the drain if I’m too cocky… it would be better to not push my luck anymore…’

It was the smart and more logical thing to do. He already was able to examine the inner city's barrier which would also help during the attack. Yet it still wouldn’t be easy and a lot of his own people might have to give their life for the cause. His somewhat inflated sense of justice and drive to save lives was somewhat pushing him to risk his own life instead of the sect members that he built up.

‘If I survive this then my wife will probably kill me herself…’