Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100 Chapter 1282 Ancient Secrets

"Are you the leaders of the demon race?" Max questioned, his voice remaining level and calm. "Did your invasion yield the prize you were hunting for?" His words hit a sensitive nerve among the demonic host. A chorus of angry snarls erupted from the ranks as several demons recognized the stinging truth behind his inquiry.

Balthazar moved forward aggressively before the elder demon could offer a reply. He marched directly to the front of the four three-horned demons, dropping to one knee with profound reverence. After the demons behind him gave a silent nod of acknowledgment, he stood back up and turned to Max with a distorted, mocking smile.

"How do you dare address our demon kings with such insolence?" Balthazar bellowed. His shout echoed across the battlefield, dripping with malicious pride. "Max, you should feel honored. You are standing in the presence of the four demon kings of our race."

Max merely lifted an eyebrow, looking entirely unimpressed. "Four demon kings?" he echoed slowly. "What grants them such a title? Is it simply that extra horn growing from their skulls? If their Cultivation is merely at the peak of the Divine Rank, then that title is utterly hollow."

A surge of fury rippled through the demon legion, but Balthazar raised a hand to keep them at bay. His sneer grew even wider. "You are truly ignorant, human. These four demon kings were the very first of our kind to descend upon this world. They arrived in pursuit of the drop of True Origin Devil Blood that plummeted into your realm. Their original power was beyond compare, but the laws of this mortal world suppress their true strength. They are restricted to the peak of the Divine Rank. If not for the interference of this world, insignificant mortals like you could never even conceive of the true power they wield."

"The first demons?" Max murmured, and for the first time, his nonchalant expression hardened into something far more grave.

A slight furrow appeared between his brows as various pieces of information began to lock together in his mind. If these four were indeed the original demons to descend, then they were the ones responsible for the annihilation of Acaris's spatial domain.

It was they who had shattered the Ascension Tunnel of his world in the distant past, cutting off the link between realms and marooning countless souls on the mortal plane. This realization sent a chill of understanding through his veins, and he began to observe the four demon kings with a new, sharp intensity.

The first demon king stepped out, radiating a heavy and primordial aura. His voice was like the rolling of distant thunder as he asked, "Human, do you carry the bloodline of those four divine beasts?" His eyes narrowed, appearing as though he intended to peer directly into Max's soul.

He felt a certain conviction that Max possessed something far exceeding ordinary human potential—something linked to the ancient powers that coincided with their own arrival in this world.

Max blinked, appearing genuinely puzzled. "A descendant of the four divine beasts' bloodlines?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. "Are you talking about the Four God Nation and those who claim to be their progeny?" He showed no fear, only a growing curiosity, as he had heard various myths and legends about those primordial creatures. However, hearing demons discuss them with such gravity made the topic feel far more substantial than simple folklore.

"Precisely, the so-called Four God Nation," the second demon king answered. His voice sounded just as ancient but was smoother, possessing a contemplative edge. "When we first descended to this mortal world to find the True Origin Devil Blood, we sensed immediately that we were not the only ones. Four other entities had arrived at nearly the same moment. They wielded terrifying power and took forms that you mortals refer to as divine beasts. They were the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Black Tortoise, and the Golden Phoenix. Their presence ignited a conflict, and because of them, we failed to claim the True Origin Devil Blood we came for."

The third demon king took up the tale, "Those creatures attacked us without hesitation, viewing us as nothing more than corrupting invaders. Their interference completely derailed our objective. They shattered the pathways we had constructed and forced us to hide within the depths of the mortal world for millennia. Their meddling is the sole reason our demon race did not conquer this realm sooner."

Max’s heart thudded heavily in his chest as he absorbed this. This wasn't just a history lesson; it was a revelation. He had always known the Four God Nations claimed descent from divine beasts, and he was aware of the tales saying such creatures once walked the earth.

However, the majority of people dismissed those stories as grand legends told by elderly narrators. Not even the most learned scholars of the Middle Domain could confirm if the divine beasts actually descended or if they were merely symbols representing powerful ancestors.

But now—this was the proof.

The progenitors of the Four God Nations were indeed entities from a higher world, genuine divine beasts whose strength matched or even eclipsed the highest-ranked demons. The realization caused a tremor to pass through Max's mind, born not of terror, but of pure wonder.

Though his outward appearance remained calm, these truths were rewriting his entire understanding of world history. The concept that these divine beasts had descended alongside the demons thousands of years ago was perfectly logical. Their bloodlines, though thinned by countless generations of mortals, still contained the remnants of divine power that dictated the martial and political landscape of the current era.

Max shifted his gaze back to the four demon kings. The link between their arrival and the ruin of Acaris's Ascension Tunnel was now undeniable. If they had been locked in combat with beings as mighty as divine beasts, the collateral damage from such a war could easily have obliterated spatial tunnels and severed the path to the higher world.

The truth settled deep within his mind. The past was far more convoluted than he had ever suspected, and the bond between the divine beasts and the demons was forged in blood and conflict from the very start.

"So, was the True Origin Devil Blood taken by the four divine beasts?" Max asked. His voice reflected a blend of amazement and intrigue as he continued to assemble the puzzle of ancient history being laid out before him. If the divine beasts had arrived at the same time as the demons, it was highly likely they were the ones who had secured that terrifying source of power.