It was a palace carved out of a cave.

Decorated in a crude and ancient style, fire basins hung for illumination on the walls. In the center stood a long stone table spanning over ten meters. Four chairs were set on each side of the stone table, with a huge stone throne in the middle. Chiseled on the wall behind the throne were two enormous ancient symbols, looking like dragons and phoenixes dancing in the air – War God! The lower part of the "God" symbol connected with the upper part of the "War" symbol, encircled by a black ring of flames, forming the unique symbol of the Evil Martial Association. Although Guard Ying and the others relentlessly referred to themselves as part of the Evil Martial Association, in more formal settings, they claimed to be part of the "War God Alliance". Surrounding the "War God" symbol were various strange patterns. Lu Yuan inspected them carefully and identified the abstract symbols of an eagle, elephant, bear, and spider—they seemed to be associated with the Guardians of the Evil Martial Association.

Kind of gives off an 'arch-villain's lair' vibe.

Lu Yuan, looking around at the dimly lit, cold-toned expansive hall, casually pointed at the central throne and asked Guard Ying, "Is that the Evil Emperor's seat?"

"Yes." Guard Ying nodded, then watched as Lu Yuan walked forward, climbed onto the raised platform, and casually sat on the throne.

"Add a cushion underneath when you get the chance." Seated on the Evil Emperor's throne, hewn from solid stone, Lu Yuan complained about the discomfort and instructed Guard Ying, who quickly nodded in acknowledgment.

Though the view is decent.

Sitting on the throne and looking down, Lu Yuan had a commanding view of the entire hall from this high angle. The conference table below was much lower than he was. He could imagine that if a meeting were to be held here, those seated at the long table would normally only see his feet. To see his face, they would have to tilt their heads upwards, a subconscious assertion of the Evil Emperor's supreme status.

"Has the message been sent?" Sitting on the Evil Emperor's throne, Lu Yuan asked Guard Ying casually.

"Yes, it has been sent," Guard Ying replied. "Demon Emperor, rest assured. The remaining Guardians will definitely come once they learn about the Evil Emperor's treasure."

"Good." Lu Yuan nodded then instructed, "Tell me what you know about the other Guardians."

"Yes." Guard Ying seemed well prepared. He stood below Lu Yuan and swiftly replied, "Of the five remaining Guardians, Demon Emperor, you need to pay close attention to two. One is Guardian Lei, and the other is Guardian Rou. The former has served three Evil Emperors and controls the Thunder Evil Power from Creation Mountain. Controlling the Thunder Evil Power is much more difficult and dangerous than ordinary Evil God Power. If not handled carefully, one can easily die from its backlash. However, its power is much greater than that of ordinary Evil God Power. Therefore, successive Guardian Leis have held a high status in the Alliance, second only to the Evil Emperor..."

"Successive?" Lu Yuan's brow twitched. "The position of Guardian is hereditary?"

"Not always. Only powers as potent as the Thunder Evil Power are worthy of hereditary succession. Generally, the Evil Emperor keeps the relics of the Guardians and grants them to trusted individuals..."

Listening to Guard Ying's explanation, Lu Yuan gradually understood some of the succession system within the Evil Martial Association. The several Evil God Powers specifically passed down to the Guardians within the current Evil Martial Association were established by the first, second, and third Evil Emperors. Guardians who obtained this kind of inheritance were considered the orthodox Guardians of the Evil Martial Association. On the other hand, individuals like Guard Ying and the horse-faced Guardian Lin, who joined later and were then promoted due to their strength, were considered unorthodox Guardians. This led to a significant difference in strength among the Guardians of the Evil Martial Association. Generally, orthodox Guardians were much stronger, while the later-joining unorthodox Guardians tended to be weaker, though this wasn't absolute.

Just as Guard Ying mentioned, Guardian Rou, who was as renowned as Guardian Lei, was a new Guardian who joined during the reign of the Evil Emperor two reigns prior. This person's history was quite unique; he was a defector from a cult called the "Glutton God Sect." Originally a follower of the ancient "Glutton God," for some unknown reason, he suddenly came to believe that the combination of Ancient Martial Arts and Evil God Power represented the ultimate path. He then happily followed the Evil Emperor from two reigns ago back to the association. Having heard many stories of Evil Martial artists degenerating into cultists, it was quite legendary to suddenly hear of a case in reverse. It must be said, that Evil Emperor was indeed a talent; he was even able to sway followers from an Ancient Evil God.

"Creation Mountain... Glutton God Sect..." Murmuring the names of these two Evil God Sects, Lu Yuan's slender, fair fingers rhythmically tapped on the armrest of the stone throne. He had previously checked the stone slate inscribed with "Sky Evil Feathered Serpent God" that he received from the three men. It turned out to be related to 'Sky Evil,' one of the nine Legendary Level Secret Realms recorded by the Yellow Bear. Adding these two Evil God Sects to his knowledge, Lu Yuan felt it was safe to say this contact with the Evil Martial Association had proven quite useful.

"Continue." Lu Yuan raised his eyes, motioning for Guard Ying to continue.

Nodding, Guard Ying went on, "...since the turnover of Guardians isn't as frequent as the turnover of Evil Emperors..."

At this point, Lu Yuan's brows slightly twitched. It seemed to be commonly acknowledged within the Evil Martial Association that being an Evil Emperor was a "high-risk profession."

"...therefore, each Guardian's loyalty to the reigning Evil Emperor varies..."

This was quite understandable. For instance, the most ambitious within the association now were Guardian Lei and Guardian Rou. The former was a confidant of the Evil Emperor three reigns prior, from whom he inherited the Thunder Evil Power. The latter was won over by the Evil Emperor two reigns prior. Therefore, after those two Evil Emperors passed away, these two were not very submissive to the most recent Evil Emperor, becoming two old thorns in the side. Now, Guardian Xiang, who was with Lu Yuan and his group, was the confidant of the previous Evil Emperor, and the Power of Elephant God he inherited also came from that Evil Emperor. So when Pei Ye obtained the previous Evil Emperor's legacy relic, Guardian Xiang loyally tried his best to assist him in his ascension.

"The position of Evil Emperor hangs vacant, and the various guardians have formed their own factions. Lei and Rou are extremely ambitious and have coveted the seat of the Evil Emperor for a long time. Guardian Lin, Guardian Xiang, and I have tried our best to stop them, but we are outmatched. Thankfully, Demon Emperor—you—have emerged! Long live the Demon Emperor! The War God Alliance will surely usher in an unprecedented golden age!" As Guard Ying spoke, his expression became fanatical, and he vigorously flattered Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan rested one hand on the armrest of the Evil Emperor's throne, propping up his chin, and listened to Guard Ying's fawning words with blatant boredom. The strength of a Martial Artist who follows the path of Evil Martial primarily involves two aspects, he mused. One is the Evil God Power they control, and the other is their proficiency in Ancient Martial Arts. As far as I know, before Guard Ying and the other two transplanted their Evil God Power, they were all top-tier Fighters at the zenith of True Intention, only one step away from becoming Grandmasters. So, no matter how mediocre their Evil God Power is, their strength can at least be ranked S-level or higher.

By this calculation, Guardian Lei and Guardian Rou, these two standouts, could possibly reach SS-level? If I subdue this force, it would indeed be a great help for me on my way to Penglai.

As Lu Yuan was pondering this, he suddenly felt the Elephant God's curse mark on the right side of his chest burn frighteningly hot. Fragmented images of Demon Mountain, a colossal boulder, and a three-headed, Six-Armed Elephant Man flashed incessantly in his mind.

"It seems the curse is near..." Lu Yuan pinched the bridge of his nose, frowned, and said, "What bad timing."

Suddenly, BOOM! A huge roar erupted from outside the hall.

Guard Ying, who was incessantly heaping praises, abruptly stopped. Guardian Xiang and the horse-faced Guardian Lin, who had been recuperating, also emerged from within, their expressions grim.

Lu Yuan sat up slightly, squinting in the direction of the sound. It seemed he could see through the heavy doors and observe the situation outside. The curse mark on his right chest continued to burn. Lu Yuan reached out and gently touched it; the frown on his face suddenly relaxed. He murmured to himself, "If I think about it from another perspective, this curse... is actually arriving at the perfect time."

「...」

"Damn it! They called us here but won't open the door! Do they really think they're backing the next Evil Emperor?!"

Outside the mountain, at the exposed stone hall gate, a burly man resembling a black bear, now swollen to over two meters tall, roared. The muscles beneath his fur bulged, his eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was as ferocious as a wild beast. He was continuously smacking the stone door in front of him. On his two massive, bear-paw-like hands, red and white lights interweaved. Every smack he delivered was infused with considerable palm technique, clearly derived from an extremely sophisticated Pure Martial art. The old man in a suit and Guardian Zhu stood quietly to the side, watching the black bear-like man attempt to break down the door.

Each smack from the black bear-like man was heavy, causing large chunks of stone to fall from the door. The force radiating from the impacts even made the surrounding mountains tremble slightly. However, despite his efforts, the stone door remained unbreakable; it was unknown what material it was made of.

"Save your energy..." After the black bear-like man had been striking for a while with no success, Guardian Zhu, standing not far away, couldn't help but mock, "All the entrance doors of the branch bases are forged from high-purity Rainbow Steel, capable of withstanding an impact of up to three hundred tons of force. Don't you know your own strength? You might as well just shout; maybe the people inside can hear you..."

The black bear-like man stopped his assault upon hearing this and glared at Guardian Zhu. "If you're so capable, you do it."

Guardian Zhu smirked and took out a mobile phone from his pocket. But just as he was about to contact the people inside, suddenly, the eyes of the old man in a suit, Guardian Lei, who stood before them, flashed with electric light. In an instant, a dense shadow swept over them. The hearts of the black bear-like man and Guardian Zhu pounded. Following that, they heard a tremendous BOOM! The ground beneath their feet and the mountain rocks above their heads rumbled violently, and countless rocks tumbled down outside.

When the dust settled and the noise subsided, the two saw an additional figure in the hall, over four meters tall, a veritable mountain of flesh. This figure had snow-white skin and was covered entirely in fat. He casually pulled an arm out of the now-smashed stone door. Turning his head, a face almost featureless due to the layers of fat beamed at Guardian Lei, who was wreathed in faint electric light. He said leisurely, "Well, well, Guardian Lei, why are you being kept waiting outside? The people inside are truly audacious; they deserve to die. I've opened the door. Guardian Lei, please, come in, come in..."

The mountain-like man had a beaming smile, and as he moved, the fat on his body rippled like waves. The terrifying pressure emanating from his sheer size and strength washed over the three men present like a tidal wave.

Guardian Lei remained expressionless.

But the black bear-like man and Guardian Zhu, now looking at the ruined gate—once claimed to withstand three hundred tons of Fist Strength—and the mountain of flesh before them, turned pale. In hushed, fearful tones, they uttered the newcomer's name: "Bodhi Rou, Guardian Rou...."

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