Legend of the Great Sage

A battle demon!

The Unraging monk leapt in fright inside. As the first successor of the Demon Suppression Statuary, he had once investigated the origins of the powerful demonfolk through the convenience that came with watching the Demon Suppression hall. He possessed a much deeper understanding about the Demon domain than any regular person.

Demonfolk seemed to come in all shapes and sizes, especially when they demonified. If they could be imagined, then they basically existed. There were even ones that existed beyond imagination. However, they were actually divided into many clans of different sizes. The powerful demonfolk who created the Demon Suppression Statuary originated from the Battle Demon clan renowned throughout the Demon domain.

The battle demons served Qiangliang of the twelve Demon Gods. They were renowned for their violence and battle-hungriness, and their demonified forms were vastly different from any regular demonfolk. They would condense a colossal battle demon behind them, which bore some resemblance to the golden avatars of buddhism, just like what Li Qingshan had condensed right now.

“Is this also the Demon Suppression Statuary?” the Dauntless monk said in doubt.

The Dauntless monk had not practised the Demon Suppression Statuary before, but even he could tell that Li Qingshan was basically even more fierce and brutal than regular Demon Kings. There was not a buddhist nature in him. There was only demonic nature on full display.

“This…” The Unraging monk was rather hesitant. He never imagined that not only would Li Qingshan fail with the Demon Suppression Statuary, but he would even embark on the opposite path and become a king among battle demons instead.

“Monks are forbidden from lying. This has to do with the entire Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga!” the Dauntless monk said fiercely. They were the mighty Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga, yet they had actually produced a Demon King as a disciple. That was basically a colossal joke!

“It’s not.” The Unraging monk was compelled to say that. He was also aware of the possibility for an original version of the Demon Suppression Statuary to exist, but he did not understand how Li Qingshan had managed to deduce the Demon Suppression Statuary to such a point in such a short time. It made absolutely no sense.

“He’s your disciple. Don’t forget about what you said earlier. Buddhism is vast, but it cannot allow the existence of a Demon King!” the Dauntless monk said.

“I’ll head down.” The Unraging monk entered the Demon Suppression hall.

“Don’t alarm him. Bring One Lamp back first.”

 ……

The rumbling continued. Li Qingshan tested his new-found powers as he continued with deducing the Battle Demon Statuary.

“Blade!”

Li Qingshan waved his arm and closed his fingers, and the battle demon swung its arm as well. The demon qi gathered over and condensed into a huge blade, swinging down with it.

Clang! With a thunderous boom, it left behind a deep mark in the ground. Fierce winds swept out in all directions.

Li Qingshan shuddered inside. Sure enough, it was much more powerful than the Chains of Demon Suppression, and he had only deduced around sixty or seventy percent of the Battle Demon Statuary so far. If he deduced it completely, it would definitely be even more powerful. If he faced an opponent like Si Qing again, he could easily emerge victoriously even if he did not use the Nine Transformations of the Demon Suppression at all.

Not only was this because the Battle Demon Statuary placed a much greater focus on destruction than the Demon Suppression Statuary, the Battle Demon Statuary suited his personality much more too. The murderousness and malice from the tiger demon was enough for him to unleash a hundred and twenty percent, or even a hundred and fifty percent of this cultivation method’s power. However, it was inconvenient for him to try it in the Demon Suppression hall.

“Y- you’ve become a Demon King?”

The One Lamp monk’s robes were swept up by the fierce wind. He even began to stutter slightly. He had no idea what to be more surprised about, that he had undergone the third heavenly tribulation, or that he had become a demonfolk!

“That’s how cultivation is supposed to be. It’s supposed to be fast. How else do you kill the Soaring Locust King?”

Li Qingshan smiled. His voice was relatively gentle and calm, but the battle demon behind him roared away instead, filled with murderousness and fighting spirit as if it was expressing how he felt inside. The two voices overlapped and formed a strange rhythm.

“Kill the Soaring Locust King!”

The One Lamp monk was astounded. He had overcome his inner demons, and the third heavenly tribulation was in sight, but he really did not have the courage to say kill the Soaring Locust King. The difference between them was far too great.

“Have I said all that for nothing? Why do you want to become stronger? Isn’t it just to kill powerful enemies and achieve revenge? Don’t you even have that bit of determination in you?”

Li Qingshan waved his hand, and the huge blade in the battle demon’s hand pointed at the One Lamp monk.

The One Lamp monk blanked out. He had not adjusted himself to Li Qingshan’s principles of life just yet, but his hatred for the Soaring Locust King was extremely deep. He said loudly, “I do!”

“Don’t listen to his nonsense. Becoming stronger is for the sake of finding your true self and upholding justice, not for revenge!” The Unraging monk suddenly appeared and placed one of his huge hands on the One Lamp monk’s shoulder.

“Senior uncle Unraging!” The One Lamp monk bowed in a hurry.

“I'm glad that you could overcome your inner demons, but don’t let hatred blind you, or it’ll become another inner demon!” the Unraging monk said sincerely.

“I have taken the advice to heart!” The One Lamp monk reflected on himself in a hurry. Now that was the saying he was accustomed to.

“What’s the difference? Finding your true self is possessing hatred. Upholding justice is slaughter.” 

Li Qingshan disagreed as the battle demon roared away.

“That’s a complete inversion of the truth!” The Unraging monk scolded loudly, immediately drowning out the battle demon’s roars.

Li Qingshan was mildly stunned. He had known the Unraging monk for all this time, but never had he seen him so furious. It really was a shocking sight. As it seemed, this eminent monk of buddhism still had his principles no matter how casual he seemed normally. However, Li Qingshan had never been a fan of verbal bickering, so with a clang, the battle demon placed its huge blade over its shoulder.

“Reason doesn’t side with who’s louder. What’re you yelling for?”

“Li Qingshan, I told you to practise the Demon Suppression Statuary. What did you end up practising?” The Unraging monk pointed at the battle demon. That was truly an inversion now.

“This is my understanding of the Demon Suppression Statuary. What’s wrong with it?”

“Reverse the cultivation method immediately and return to the correct path!” The Unraging monk ordered.

“Let me warn you. I might call you master, but I hate it the most when others tell me what to do!” Li Qingshan said in dissatisfaction.

“How dare you! I’ve spent my days being too tolerant of you, which is why you ended up falling into the demonic path. I’ll teach you a lesson today, damned disciple!”

The Unraging monk swung his hand and tossed the One Lamp monk onto the eighth floor before taking a step forward. A colossal guardian king appeared behind him, scarlet-red all over like he was forged from bronze. He stood over six hundred meters tall with a crown on his head and a floating sash around his body. He was bare-chested with a protruding belly, standing upright and solemnly. Although he had been condensed from demon qi, he had a faint halo behind his back.

The Unraging monk had once been known as the Raging monk. Now, he was known as the Unraging Guardian King!

The guardian king wielded a crescent monk’s spade, also taking a step forward with the Unraging monk. With a great boom, the entire Demon Suppression hall seemed to shake.

“Damned fatty, you’re crazy!”

Li Qingshan had guessed that his conversion to the Battle Demon Statuary would make the Dauntless monk frown heavily—that old monk had always been trying to make things difficult for him—but he never expected the Unraging monk’s response to be so violent.

The Unraging monk bellowed out, “Fury of the Guardian King, Subduing the Four Demons!”

The guardian king widened its eyes into a glare and erupted with a holy glow.

Li Qingshan immediately felt restrained and repressed. He knew that the Unraging monk’s Demon Suppression Statuary had already reached a realm of mastery, which was particularly effective against demonfolk, but he refused to back down. The battle demon pointed out with its blade. “Teach me a lesson? I’m afraid you don’t have that ability!”

Only the master and the disciple remained on the ninth floor of the Demon Suppression hall, confronting one another. The battle demon radiated with violence while the guardian king shone with fury.