"Hah, so it's the Jade Emperor himself leading the army. Looks like he hasn't forgotten the ruckus I caused with Ye Tian at the Heavenly Court last time. Clearly, he remembers the pain of defeat, but not the lesson it should've taught him!"

Di Jun's eyes were already bloodshot with fury. This time, at least a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals had been dispatched. The sheer number wasn't an issue—after all, the demon race also had its fair share of troops. What was troubling were the many immortals among them.

Especially with the Jade Emperor personally coming this time—Di Jun sensed that this wasn't going to be easy.

What should he do now?

If he couldn't come up with a clear plan of action, things would likely spiral into an even bigger mess.

"Could it be that Heaven truly wishes for the extinction of the demon race?"

He shook off the thought. He knew he couldn't afford to be so defeatist. Right now, the most important thing was to face the crisis at hand.

As the leader of the demon race, he had to shoulder his responsibilities.

He looked up toward the sky and shouted, "Jade Emperor, you've mobilized such a massive force and crossed into the territory of our demon race. What is your intent?"

"My intent? Isn't it obvious?" the Jade Emperor replied coldly. "I've come to wipe out your demon race!"

"Wipe out the demon race? Such arrogance!"

Di Jun glared at him and demanded, "Are you seriously going to pretend that we've always been at odds? We've never interfered with each other's business. Now you come here with all your troops and talk about wiping us out? If word of this gets out, don't you think it'll reflect poorly on you?"

"Your demon race has run amok, killing countless innocent people. I've brought the immortals of the Heavenly Court here to rid the world of this plague. What's so hard to understand about that?"

"Oh, what a noble cause—'ridding the world of evil,' is it now?"

To Di Jun, this was nothing but an excuse to pin false charges on them. This so-called righteous cause was just a convenient justification for their attack. It was truly a case of "give a dog a bad name and hang him."

Since the Heavenly Court was set on exterminating the demon race, Di Jun knew this calamity was unavoidable.

Still, his fury only burned hotter. "You say you're here to rid the world of evil, but what about you? Do you even realize how many wrongs you have committed?"

"I've committed wrongs?" The Jade Emperor frowned. "What wrongs could I possibly have committed?"

"The suffering of the common people has never been due to the demon race. The real cause is you gods and immortals!"

"We immortals?"

Now it was the Jade Emperor's turn to look stunned. He didn't quite understand what Di Jun was getting at and asked, "You'd better explain yourself. What exactly have we done to make the common people suffer?"

"For example, your immortals ignore the hardships of the people. In some regions, droughts go unchecked for years. People live in misery, and in some places, they can't even harvest food—they starve! Do you even know that?"

"Hmph, those are natural phenomena. Even as the Jade Emperor, I can't interfere with everything. And now you dare to pin all that on me? Do you think that's reasonable?"

"Hah! That's rich. So it's fine for you to slap false accusations on me, but when I do the same to you, it's suddenly inappropriate? Where's the justice in that?"

Di Jun was simply turning the tables on the Jade Emperor—what he dished out, Di Jun returned in kind. He saw nothing wrong with that.

"Hmph. Clearly, there's no reasoning with you. But let me warn you: if your demon race surrenders now, I can promise you a painless death. But if you resist, then don't blame me when you all die miserably!"

"Are you threatening us now?"

Di Jun looked the Jade Emperor straight in the eye. He knew full well this was nothing but a threat. And to think the Jade Emperor had the audacity to talk like this after barging into demon territory—it was utterly outrageous.

"So what if I am?" The Jade Emperor sneered. "I know your strength, Di Jun. Last time, even with Ye Tian by your side, you couldn't do a thing to me. And now that Ye Tian's not here, tell me—who's going to save you?"

"Hmph. Don't assume I'm afraid just because Ye Tian isn't here. I've been training with him these past days, and my strength is no longer what it used to be. If you think you can bully me now, you're sorely mistaken."

"Well, well, you've got some backbone now," the Jade Emperor chuckled. "Very well. Then today, I'll raze this place to the ground and see how long you can keep acting tough!"

With a wave of his hand, the heavenly soldiers surged forward, charging toward them. Chaos erupted across the mountaintop.

"Attack!"

Di Jun shouted without hesitation. He knew the demon race could not afford to be trampled upon. Since they had come to their doorstep with open aggression, there was no way he could back down.

If he did, the consequences would only be worse.

The entire demon race mobilized in response.

But most of the demon soldiers weren't properly trained. When it came to facing the disciplined heavenly troops, they lacked both technique and experience. Before long, they began to fall behind.

Di Jun's heart sank. If this continued, the demon race would suffer immensely. He didn't know how long they could hold out.

And if they couldn't… then what?

"Chief! Bad news—several of our positions have already been taken by the heavenly troops!"

A report came in quickly, confirming Di Jun's worst fears: parts of the mountain had already been overrun.

"What should we do now, Chief?"

"This isn't working… I'll send a signal to Ye Tian. He needs to get here immediately!"

"Really? Then hurry!"

"Mm."

Di Jun didn't hesitate. He immediately sent the signal—one that Ye Tian had left him with last time. Back then, Ye Tian had made it clear he preferred not to get involved in the conflict between the demon race and the Heavenly Court.

But Di Jun knew—if he didn't ask for Ye Tian's help now, he wouldn't be able to handle this situation on his own.

Even if it was a little embarrassing, he had no choice.

At that very moment, while Ye Tian was in the middle of his cultivation, a flash of red light suddenly appeared in the sky.

It was the signal Di Jun had sent.