Mo Haryun successfully became the first subordinate Lucian acquired in the Murim world and would soon become the feared right-hand man of Lucian.
How they formed their relationship might not sound special and seemed abrupt, but to Mo Haryun, Lucian was like a god after he showed him his technique. Mo Haryun did his best to defend himself but still got heavily injured by Lucian.
After their duel ended, Lucian became the obvious winner, and while waiting for others to finish their fights, he sat on the chair prepared for the candidates. Beside him were Matheus and Mo Haryun.
Mo Haryun was curious about something since he heard Lucian telling him that he didn't like being on par with others when fighting, and he couldn't stop this curiosity, so he asked Lucian:
"You are already unmatched beneath the sky… so why do you still aim beyond it? You've already ascended beyond what it means to be human… is it not boring and lonely at the peak? After all, those below will never see you the same way. So tell me, why do you still yearn to rise even higher? Is reaching the heavens truly so enticing?"
He asked with genuine curiosity as he truly couldn't understand Lucian. To him, after being on top since he was a child, it was boring and lonely. After all, his previous sects saw him as their hope and a deity that would raise their own sect. They saw him as an object that would fulfill their dreams or greed and never as who he really was. So, he despised being on top and find it boring.
Lucian, for the first time, expressed emotion in his eyes. Yes, his dull eyes had a hint of sadness in it. He seemed to ponder something, then answered:
"Because no one has the answer I seek. If I wish to understand this world… if I wish to grasp the truth, I must climb higher than anyone else. Strength is the only path that might lead me there. Whether it is lonely or not doesn't matter—so long as I can finally find what I'm searching for."
His answer had a very deep meaning behind it that no one would be able to understand except him. He was a being who had been transmigrated to this world. He witnessed and experienced a truly unbelievable phenomenon. Although he said that he'd live for himself this time, that was all a lie. Since he experienced that, a bold question appeared in his mind: "Is it possible that my parents experienced this phenomenon too?" And then another bold question appeared: "If so, is there someone at the top of this world to answer my question? If I ever surpass the heavens and reach that being… can my questions be answered?"
So, in this life, he focused only on achieving greatness. "If I conquer the world, and my parents are here… wouldn't they hear of my name? Or if they're not here… if I conquer the world this time again, will I be able to experience that phenomenon again?… And, what if I surpass the heavens itself, will I be able to question the being that resides there? If there isn't… isn't that worth the try?" This was what he was thinking. Thus, achieving greatness and being unmatched was what he sought. He wanted to be so exceptional that the heavens would have no choice but to notice him again. But of course, they wouldn't understand him. After all, they hadn't experienced being transmigrated to another world and given another chance at life.
Mo Haryun suddenly started laughing maniacally like the lunatic he was.
"A question only the heavens can answer, you say? KEHAHAHA! Splendid! I'll join you! I want to see it! See if you can truly reach the heavens or fall screaming into despair! KEHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he said, as if he too had found a goal to chase.
"Naturally. You are my subordinate, after all. Now still that irritating laugh… before I sew that cursed mouth of yours shut!" Lucian said, actually wanting to sew his mouth shut already.
Matheus, who heard the both of them, came to only one conclusion: "So.... there are different kinds of lunatics too?" It was what he also wanted to ask these two, but he just shut himself up. After all, he wasn't as insane as these two.
The second match was about to begin, and Yeon Sol immediately retreated since Yeon Wol was much stronger than him. As they were brothers of the same faction, whoever won wouldn't matter—so why exhaust themselves?
So, for the second battle, Yeon Wol was the winner.
The third battle ended in Seo Hwa-rin's favor. Since her opponent was from the demonic cult, she didn't kill him. Why? Why would she poke a wasp's nest? There was no need to aggravate those lunatics of the Heavenly Demon Cult. After she finished fighting, she also sat in the chair closer to Lucian.
Unlike Yeon Sol, who surrendered immediately to his older brother since they came from the same faction, Seo Woon and Hwang Jichan were different. They were both from the Heavenly Demon Cult, yet neither surrendered and went for each other's head. The final victory was Hwang Jichan's.
She laughed. "Oh little Woon, you dare fight your senior? Pfttt— you deserved that!" she said, laughing at the heavily injured Seo Woon before helping him down the stage.
Now, for the last fight, it was time for Gwan Seojin, known as the Drifting Immortal Blade, and Ma Yunseok, an unknown master of the demonic sect, to fight.
Before the fight started, Matheus used the whispering technique and asked Lucian, "That Gwan Seojin… do you take fancy in him, senior brother?"
"Why are you asking me that?" Lucian replied with the same technique.
"That Ma Yunseok is from our cult and is terrifyingly strong. He was supposed to be my master's disciple, but he rejected it, saying it was a bother… so, that Gwan Seojin might be done for." Matheus replied.
"Hmm?… If he's not that strong and can't even survive Ma Yunseok, why would I want him?" Lucian said out loud, no longer using the whispering technique, catching the attention of Seo Hwa-rin and Mo Haryun, who were seated closer to him.
Mo Haryun thought, "It seems leader isn't just picking anyone. Hehehehe~"
The fight started, and they were evenly matched at first, but Ma Yunseok used a forbidden technique! He used the Blood-Devouring Secret Technique—it was the lesser version of the Heart-Devouring Demonic Scripture, the cultivation technique of Jeonglak Cheonma. That caused his qi to double, and he defeated Gwan Seojin.
Lucian transmitted to Matheus: "That technique… is quite similar to what my master passed on to me. Why is that? He told me he never left any inheritance in the Heavenly Demon Cult."
"Ah, the previous leader of our cult tried to revive our predecessor Blood Sovereign Heavenly Demon's technique but failed. That is the Blood-Devouring Secret Technique, a lesser version of yours...." Matheus replied.
But then he realized something. "Wait, what?!— You have the Heart-Devouring Demonic Scripture????! So our predecessor is really your master and not some descendant of his?"
Matheus had thought it was just Jeonglak's descendant copying their ancestor, but since he also knew that Jeonglak hadn't left anything about his achievements and techniques in the Heavenly Demon Cult, then Lucian was definitely the real one! Matheus had already reported it to Ma'wang Cheonma, the current leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, and his master had simply told him to ask Lucian to visit them if he had time. Lucian promised to visit the cult after this competition.
"Heh! Look at you, calling me a liar in front of me. How bold of you, Matheus… bold enough to lose that tongue of yours, perhaps?" Lucian said, his killing intent concentrated on Matheus.
"I… I didn't mean that, senior brother…." Matheus replied, terrified after feeling this. Even his instincts told him this was a dangerous situation.
"Tsk, I was just joking. Idiot."
"...." Matheus just shut himself up, losing all mood to even reply to this unpredictable lunatic. Who knew if he was joking or not when he said that?
This time, only six of them were left. Since it was an odd number, they could now fight each other. An elder was about to hand them a box to draw names of their opponents when Lucian suddenly stood up.
"Tsk! Must we really do that? That's too time-consuming. Can't we just fight each other in a brawl? It's not like any righteous members are still here."
What Lucian said made the demonic sect and evil faction smirk. It was both an insult to the righteous faction while telling them that their rules were now ineffective since no coward was present. He said that while looking at a specific location. He knew someone powerful was watching him—and that someone was the Murim Righteous Alliance Leader, Zheng Tianlong.
Zheng Tianlong nodded to the elder and allowed these people to have a brawl instead, making the crowd excited.
Matheus, Seo Hwa-rin, Yeon Wol, Hwang Jichan, and Ma Yunseok knew they needed to eliminate Lucian first to win, so they cooperated with each other and started attacking Lucian simultaneously.
"Hmm… wise decision. Though… you seem to underestimate me!" He disappeared, and then…
"Bam!!"
"Whoshhh!"
"Boom!"
"Pow!!"
"Danggg!—"
Just like that, the five of them were unconscious after being struck at the back of their necks. How could they even defend themselves when they couldn't even see Lucian? They weren't Mo Haryun; they couldn't see Lucian's movements, so how could they defend themselves? So the final winner was Lucian, as everyone had expected.
And so, the title 'Peerless Little Demon Lord' the winner of the Dragons and Phoenixes Competition spread throughout the world of Murim, marking the fulfillment of Lucian's initial goal: that is to make a name for himself in this new world.