Chapter 86 – A Daemon’s Awakening

But now, the dead were dead, and the crippled were crippled. They could no longer oppose Feng Zhang. At the same time, they were afraid that Feng Zhang would turn against them mercilessly.

Xiao An did not flee. He knelt on the ground. Currently, all of his bones were riddled with cracks. Looking at the sea of fire, two streaks of bloody tears ran down from his eye sockets. He opened his mouth, but not a single sound was emitted. However, everyone could sense that he was sobbing.

Feng Zhang turned around as a sunken smile stretched from ear to ear. “At the end of the day, it looks like I still need to do it personally!”

His smile suddenly froze. A terrifying feeling appeared from behind him, as if a terrifying beast was awakening in the fire.

A wild roar pierced the sky.

It was not a sound a human could make. Feng Zhang turned around and saw a black figure rise up from the fire, shaking off the flames. It was ten feet tall with a pair of horns that stabbed towards the sky.

Two specks of red light suddenly lit up!

Li Qingshan laid in the fire without moving at all. Before the danger of death, things went as he anticipated. His Tiger Demon’s Fist of Bone Forging had finally broken through to the first layer!

There was not a surge of strength like he had imagined. He felt his body undergo an extremely strange transformation. Everything ripped apart, transformed and remoulded. The flames gradually stopped being as scorching and discomforting as before, but he was still afraid of opening his eyes.

The words of the black ox rang through his ears once more. Only when you reach the first layer with both fist styles will you truly be regarded as having learnt this ability.

Although his eyes were firmly shut, he seemed to be able to feel the small skeleton rush over through the flames. He seemed to be able to hear his sobs.

Xiao An!

An indescribable feeling rose up in his heart, turning into a roar at the sky.

Li Qingshan stood up in the fire and snapped open his eyes. The shining red light was no longer hidden in the depths of his eyes. Instead, it was completely exposed now. He took a step forward, and an iron hoof crushed the mountain god’s head.

Under the invisible pressure, the flames bloomed in the surroundings like a lotus flower. He emerged from the sea of fire, step by step.

All those still alive on the mountain peak held their breaths as their eyes widened.

The colossal figure was as tough as a steel tower. The pitch-black skin seemed to be forged from black iron, and mysterious patterns extended from the top of his head to his four limbs. His feet had turned into iron hooves, while his hands had become sharp claws.

The pair of ox horns were so sharp that they seemed to pierce the sky. The fiery-red hair, or perhaps fur would be more accurate, hung from his body in a messy manner, dancing about under the firelight.

Daemon qi surged into the air. The legend began here.

Feng Zhang reached into his bosom. A violent gust of wind swept past him. The scarlet hair had even brushed past his face, making him seize up as his teeth chattered and his body trembled.

He no longer possessed the intention of resisting. Only a single thought remained, Run! A daemon, even a low grade daemon beast, was not something a second layer Qi Practitioner like him could fend off. Apart from the standard issue Wind-entwining blade that came from the Hawkwolf Guard, he did not possess another proper spiritual artifact to support him in a battle against a daemon.

Li Qingshan’s target was not Feng Zhang. When Lü Tingrui saw Li Qingshan emerge from the fire, she turned around and fled without the slightest hint of hesitation. The effects of the talisman remained, so she actually moved extremely quickly.

As she was mid-air, a huge claw reached over from behind and grabbed her head. Li Qingshan said, “Tell me, who’s the monster!” His voice was deep and hoarse like the thrum of metal. It was filled with cold killing intent.

His sharp, protruding teeth were pale-white as the red light in his eyes shone!

Lü Tingrui opened her mouth, but she discovered that the only sounds she could let out were mindless gibberish. She had been a first rate-master who had roamed the jianghu for quite some time now, but she had never seen a real daemon before. She felt like a mouse in a cat’s paw, having come across her natural nemesis. Under the weight of endless fear, what she felt was even more terrifying than death.

Cling clang! Countless hidden weapons landed on Li Qingshan, creating a series of sparks. Li Qingshan turned around and said, “Piss off!”

The sound wave that had been infused with daemon qi was like the strike of a heavy hammer. Chu Xin was launched over twenty meters away. His head tilted to one side, and he could not be more dead than that.

A second-rate master who laid on the ground suddenly leapt up high into the air. He stuck a talisman on his sword, coating it in a layer of sword aura. Originally, he had been playing dead, but now, he wanted to use this opportunity to launch a sneak attack against Li Qingshan.

Li Qingshan was just about to turn around, but a tiger’s tail swept through the air like a steel whip, basically cleaving the second-rate master in half by the waist. Li Qingshan looked back at his own tail in surprise. Suddenly, he discovered that he had gained additional functions. His reactions were still faster than his head.

Li Qingshan closed his hand easily, and the head was crushed like a watermelon. In the next moment, he vanished from his current location.

He appeared beside the remaining second and third-rate disciples one by one and unleashed a massacre. In just a few seconds, not a single person was left alive on the mountain peak. The only one left was Feng Zhang, who was furiously fleeing down the mountain.

Li Qingshan bent his knees slightly. The ground cracked wildly, and he had already rushed into the air.

Feng Zhang was currently fleeing for his life as a black figure descended from the sky, landing on him with the weight of several tonnes.

Feng Zhang’s cultivation was impressive, but before Li Qingshan’s absolute strength and speed, he actually did not have the ability to fight back at all. Blood spurted from his mouth as he cried, “Daemon, you’re a daemon!” He gripped the ground with his hands, but there was no way he could oppose Li Qingshan’s current strength. Even if Li Qingshan lifted his foot, his organs and bones had all been crushed already. He only remained alive because of his innate true qi.

Li Qingshan bent down and growled. “I want to rip your limbs from your body, one by one.” The red light in his eyes was like blood. Possessing the hatred and fury of humans, he was much crueler and more brutal than regular daemons.

Xiao An tugged Li Qingshan’s hand. He casually tried to slap him aside in a violent matter. “Piss off!”

Seeing Xiao An, a sliver of rationality flashed through his mind, and Li Qingshan suddenly stopped his hand. The gust of wind he had kicked up had almost blown away Xiao An. He looked at Li Qingshan with surprise and fear as well as uncertainty.

“Xiao An, I’m sorry. I-” Li Qingshan covered his face as the red light subsided between his fingers.

Xiao Man approached him again, grabbing Li Qingshan’s hand, or perhaps claw would be more accurate.

Li Qingshan held back his various savage thoughts and crushed Feng Zhang to death with a stomp, giving him a quick death. He looked at his two hands that had become the claws of beasts as various wild thoughts rampaged through his head. He knelt on the ground and let out a wail at the sky.

The sky was pitch-black. The layered, dark clouds obscured the stars and the moon.

However, above the dark clouds were a sea of drifting clouds, stretching as far as the eye could see. Under the illumination of the moon and stars, it was tranquil like a paradise.

A white figure stood alone above the sea of clouds. Her clothes buffeted in the wind; she was just like an otherworldly immortal. Gu Yanying lowered her eyes as her dark pupils suddenly narrowed. They shone with golden light, piercing the clouds like the eyes of a hawk and landing on Li Qingshan.

Her feeling was right. When she met Li Qingshan below the pine tree, the smell he gave off was not because he did not shower. Instead, it was legitimate daemon qi. However, it was just too weak, so she was uncertain, which was why she made Li Qingshan drink the cup of Bodhi Brew. As a result, his true qi lost control immediately and amplified everything. Only then did she confirm her suspicions.

Not only did it make the daemon qi more obvious, but he did not break through to the second layer as a Qi Practitioner either, as the constitutions of daemons were different from humans. There was no such thing as second layer Qi Practitioners to daemons.

Some Explanations for the Recent Plot (From the Author)

First, there have been many people who have complained about falling in love at first sight. In reality, I myself had considered that part for a very long time as well. I wrote it, deleted it before adding it back.

Because I know there will be some readers who dislike it. I can understand their feelings very well. Compared to loving someone, being loved is still easier and makes people happier. Out of the novels I’ve read, just how long has it been since a main character has taken the initiative to love someone? The fixed trope is that the main character won’t love anyone. They’ll demonstrate their charms and attract all the beauties to them, and then there’ll be arcs of romance.

Let’s not talk about whether this pattern is reasonable or not. After all, just by existing, it’s reasonable. However, after hesitating for a long time, I still ended up adding this part, breaking out of this trope, because what I want to write is a person of exceptional ability, a great sage, someone who possesses great ambitions, or should I say wild ambitions, that exceed ordinary people. Just like how Xiang Yu saw the emperor of Qin on tour and looked him straight in the eye and said, “I can replace you.”

TL: Emperor of Qin refers to the first emperor of China, who united the lands of China for the first time in history. Xiang Yu refers to this historical figure: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiang_Yu

Regarding what many people have mentioned, that Gu Yanying’s description was insufficient, I think this is the most direct description there is. If you see her and you don’t fall in love with her at first sight, you can’t call her a beauty of startling talent and ability. And if you do see a beauty of startling talent and ability, but you don’t have the wild ambition of conquering someone like that, you wouldn’t be a great person of exceptional ability and ambition.

All I want to write is some relatively ‘normal’ feelings, as there are many novels, perhaps due to the influence of real life, where liking a woman seems to be groveling to them, falling head over heels for the woman and willing to do anything for them. However, with Li Qingshan’s resoluteness, how would that be possible? When he faced Gu Yanying, who was countless times stronger and more noble than he was, Li Qingshan only wanted to take her as a wife on equal footing. Instead, you’ve all placed yourselves on a pedestal that’s far too low right from the start.

Next is the battle of the mountain god temple.

I feel like I’ve already written it clear enough. Li Qingshan still hasn’t joined the Wolfhawk Guard yet. Wang Pushi only gave him a promise. He clearly dislikes Li Qingshan very much, which was why Hua Chengzan told Li Qingshan to run. That’s because they could all foresee this battle happening. Even Gu Yanying could foresee this. She wanted to probe out Li Qingshan’s true form. There’s also another detail that many people might have missed. Wang Pushi told Li Qingshan to report to Zhuo Zhibo in Jiaping city, yet it was exactly Zhou Zhibo who had sent Feng Zhang here.

Li Qingshan originally wanted to lure Feng Zhang into battle alone, but Feng Zhang’s craftiness had basically taken him by surprise, using the spiritual ginseng and the pills to entice a few fire-rate masters into his plan. In the face of such a critical situation, Li Qingshan could try to flee, but he would very likely fail and it would weaken his bearing, the awe he struck into the hearts of people, making him lose half the battle already. As for fighting, he was not exactly without confidence, and there was a chance for him to break through. As a result, he went with the wisest choice.

The last issue has to do with the levelling system.

I’ve said before that this is only a tool, but not a tool that’s absolutely necessary. I have considered making my own system before, which wouldn’t be too difficult. All I have to do is come up with a few names. However, I’ll definitely have to make many complicated introductions when I do so. I’ve hesitated over this for a long time. This system that platinum author Wangyu created was just perfect. It was concise, and it got to the point. There is no point, or should I say, no need to give up on the tools readily in my grasp and go create a set of tools that don’t suit me.

TL: Yes, Wangyu, as in the author for Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality. The author is deriving his cultivation system from RMJI.

However, I’m not copying outright. I’ve adapted and added a lot of things myself, making it more suitable for this novel. These aspects will all be presented one after another later on. If there are readers who dislike the names, I can only request you to set aside your prejudice. I don’t plan on turning this into a mortal stream fantasy novel. This will be a completely new story.

TL: Mortal stream fantasy novels are like Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality, Demon’s Diary, and Portal of Wonderland. Mortal stream fantasy is characterised for their realism regarding cultivation, given that the main character starts off as a mortal, without any particular knowledge regarding cultivation. It vividly paints a picture of the struggles that the main character goes through for cultivation. Wangyu is the progenitor of this genre, and he solely writes in this genre, but many other authors write it as well now, thus making a stream in Chinese fantasy novels.

You can count this novel as my work where I seek novelty and change. Many problems will arise with that, so I welcome you all to point it out. However, I do hope you can accept and understand as well. At the very least, I’m writing this novel with great sincerity. So far, the change has been successful. Compared to my previous novel where it became more strenuous the more I wrote, I have absolute confidence and motivation right now because the fascinating parts have yet to come. A magnificent world, a touching story and charming characters are waiting for me to write them.

There are many parts where it’s my fault for not explaining clearly. However, I want to make my writing as succinct as I can, with less explaining for me to do. It’ll mostly be expressed through the details or the actions of the characters. The way Li Qingshan treats Gu Yanying in the future will obviously show he’s not someone who loses his mind at the sight of a beautiful woman. And as the world expands, it’ll obviously demonstrate whether I’ve been copying or not. But what can you do about the fact that this is webnovel? I can only take one step at a time. I’ve decided to avoid explaining so much in the future. Those who will understand will obviously understand.