"Destroying the physical body with wind is actually quite simple. All I need to do is turn every strand of wind into a blade. That way, I can disintegrate my opponent in an instant!"
Ren thought of an advanced version of the Rasengan: the Rasenshuriken.
Its principle was to transform wind into countless tiny needles capable of destroying every cell in the enemy's body.
"Yeah, this will be the direction of my future cultivation."
Tushan was peaceful, with everyone busy attending to their own affairs.
Meanwhile, at the One Qi Alliance, the atmosphere was extremely tense.
Wangquan Baye, who sat at the head of the meeting, spoke up.
"According to reliable information, Dongfang Qinlan, another surviving member of the Divine Fire Manor's Dongfang family, is currently in Tushan. She also has a son."
His gaze swept across everyone present, sharp as a drawn sword. Under that gaze, they felt as though they were being pierced.
"Furthermore, you've all witnessed Tushan's strength. Jin Renfeng betrayed his master and stole the power of the Dongfang family, yet he was still no match for Tushan Honghong. She killed him with a single claw, and his corpse is still lying outside Tushan's gates. I hope none of you will follow in Jin Renfeng's footsteps."
"Don't worry, Alliance Leader. We know what to do."
"Good. In short, don't provoke Tushan without a reason. Several Demon Kings are stationed there, waiting for their fated partners to reincarnate so they can continue their bonds. If we really provoke them, humanity in its current state won't stand a chance against the demons," Wangquan Baye warned.
Humanity was in a terrible position. The generation of exceptional young talents that should have served as its backbone had all been killed by Wangquan Baye. Although he hadn't intended to kill them, he was the one who had done it.
As a result, humanity was weaker than it had ever been. Any conflict with the demon race would only end in devastating defeat.
As for Jin Renfeng, Wangquan Baye had been quite happy to see the man die…
After warning everyone, Wangquan Baye dismissed the meeting and returned to the inner residence. He saw Fugui practicing and, for an instant, his gaze softened.
But the next moment, his expression became stern again.
Everything had been decided long ago. Nothing could be changed!
Unnoticed by Wangquan Baye, a little golden-haired spider was carefully keeping itself hidden.
Father and son exchanged no words. Wangquan Fugui was being raised as a weapon of the Daoist sect, so there was no need for conversation. All he had to do was become stronger.
If the overpowered Third Young Master of Aolai Kingdom found out about this, he might very well wipe out the entire Wangquan family.
I personally destroyed the emotionless Dragon Clan, and now you're raising the descendants of the Dongfang and Wangquan families to be emotionless weapons?
Are you kidding me?
Time passed.
Several years had gone by since Jin Renfeng had attacked Tushan.
One day, fierce winds howled across the mountain where Ren lived. White specks of light flickered within the wind, shining like stars in the Milky Way.
Eventually, the wind died down, and Ren emerged from his room with a delighted expression.
Although it had taken him quite a long time, he had finally mastered the first stage of his divine ability. Once the gale arose, everything in its path would be reduced to dust.
He was still working on the second stage. For now, he could only slightly affect an opponent's soul. He couldn't yet make it disintegrate completely.
However, his cultivation had already reached the Demon Emperor realm.
Ren estimated that he wasn't weak among Demon Emperors. He would only know his exact strength after sparring with Honghong.
"Oh? You're finally out of seclusion."
At the entrance, Dongfang Yuechu, now a teenager, was lying on the grass with a troubled expression.
As a family that lived and ate for free in Tushan—and even managed to earn some money through livestock farming—the Dongfangs had a comfortable life. Yet even Young Master Dongfang had developed his own troubles this year.
"What's wrong? Instead of pestering your fox-fairy sister, why are you sitting around outside my door?" Ren asked with a smile.
Over the years, Dongfang Yuechu had shared quite a few amusing experiences with the fox demons of Tushan. For instance, he had fallen for one of them and had spent the past two years pursuing her relentlessly.
Unfortunately, she kept rejecting him because of his age, leaving him utterly helpless.
Whenever he had nothing else to do, Yuechu would lie on the grass, gaze at the sky, and ponder the meaning of life.
"Life is always full of unexpected twists and turns," Yuechu sighed.
"You're still so young. Why are you pretending to be an old man?" Ren shrugged. "Besides, if you really want to fall in love with a demon, I'd suggest you figure out your lifespan problem first."
"Lifespan…" Yuechu fell silent.
The greatest difference between humans and demons was the enormous gap in their lifespans.
Even a low-level demon could easily live for hundreds or thousands of years.
Humans, on the other hand, would eventually turn to dust after a century, even if they were powerful cultivators capable of slaying Demon Emperors with their swords.
That made love between humans and demons unequal from the very beginning. The demon was inevitably the one destined to suffer.
Ren was often grateful that he had become a demon after transmigrating into this world. At least he didn't have to worry about his lifespan.
Otherwise, even if he became the strongest human in the One Qi Alliance, he would still have to find ways to prolong his life.
He would probably end up risking everything to study outsiders and use their strange abilities to extend his lifespan.
Or, in an even worse scenario, he might turn himself into a spiritual entity just to ensure that he never disappeared.
That was why Ren disapproved of Yuechu falling in love with a demon.
It would be torture for both of them!
Yuechu sighed. "If only I could live as long as a demon…"
Ren couldn't help him with that. This world was fair to both humans and demons in its own way.
Humans had short lifespans, but they could wield powerful magical treasures. In the hands of someone who could unleash their full potential, those treasures could even surpass the power of a Demon Emperor.
Demons, on the other hand, enjoyed remarkable longevity. They could live for tens of thousands of years and watch the world change around them. The trade-off was that their strength increased very slowly. Sometimes, it took hundreds or even thousands of years to make the slightest improvement.
After successfully making Dongfang Yuechu feel even more depressed, Ren left his mountain and headed toward the Tree of Acknowledgement.
"Sister Yaya! Come out of seclusion and play!"
"Shut up! I'm cultivating!"
"Come on! It's not a big deal just because you're weaker than me and your cultivation speed is slower, is it?"
The moment Yaya heard Ren's infuriating voice, an enormous block of ice shot out of her cave!
Rustle…
The sound of shifting sand rang out. As soon as the ice block approached Ren, it disintegrated into a pile of ice crystals.
"Thanks, Sister Yaya! This is exactly what I needed to cool off!"
Ren took out some strawberry jam he had prepared earlier, poured it over the crushed ice, and happily began eating his strawberry shaved ice.
Inside the cave, Yaya sensed what was happening outside and ground her teeth in anger.
"You stinking tiger! Just you wait! One of these days, I'll turn you into shaved ice!"
Ren chuckled indifferently outside the cave. He was a Demon Emperor now. Did little Yaya really think she could turn the world upside down?
"I'm not the naive young boy I was ten years ago! I'm a Demon Emperor now, just like Sister Honghong! If you don't work harder, Sister Yaya, we'll leave you far behind!"
Several more blocks of ice flew out of the cave. After that, everything went quiet.
It seemed Ren's taunts had finally motivated Yaya. She was probably devoting herself entirely to cultivation now.
A fox-woman with upright ears and white clothing approached him with a smile.
"Lord Mountain Monarch, you're teasing Miss Yaya again."
Ren replied, "When did I tease her? I'm just telling the truth~"
The fox-woman shook her head, set down Yaya's lunch, and turned to leave.
Just as Ren was considering helping Yaya lose some weight, a white-haired woman named Kongqing approached.
Facing Ren, a Demon Emperor, Kongqing greeted him with a faint smile.
"Lord Mountain Monarch."
"Aunt Qing! Just call me Ren or Mountain Monarch. Calling me 'Lord' makes me sound far too important!" Ren quickly replied with a smile.
Kongqing was the twin younger sister of Fengxi, the former Queen of Tushan. She was now the chief instructor of the Silver Moon Guards, a position similar to the captain of the Anbu in Naruto.
Kongqing smiled and didn't dwell on the form of address.
"Mountain Monarch, I've been watching your actions over the years. You clearly have no ill intentions toward Tushan," she said.
"Of course! Coming to Tushan feels just like coming home. Everyone here is talented, and they're all so pleasant to talk to. I absolutely love this place!"
"Heh. That's why I have something I'd like to ask you to do…"
"Sure. I refuse!"
"You've already agreed, so—what? You refuse?!" Kongqing's eyes widened as she stared at Ren in disbelief. "I haven't even told you what I want you to do yet! How can you refuse already?"
Ren nodded. "Exactly. I'm the Mountain Patrol King now! I genuinely don't have time to take on anything else. Aunt Qing, you need to understand the pressure I'm under!"
Watching Ren shovel strawberry shaved ice into his mouth, Kongqing gritted her teeth.
"What pressure? You have absolutely no pressure!"
Ren shook his head. "Sigh… You'll understand when you're my age."
Kongqing stood there taking several deep breaths, forcing herself to suppress her anger. She had to resist the urge to kick him.
After all, he was a Demon Emperor now. Besides the three Tushan sisters, she couldn't think of anyone who could land a direct hit on him.
Once she had calmed down, Kongqing explained, "I want you to take charge of the Silver Moon Guards and protect Tushan. Compared with your current mountain patrol duties, the Silver Moon Guards serve as security in public, but they're actually an organization of assassins operating in secret. If you take over—"
She hadn't even finished explaining the benefits when Ren raised his hand to stop her.
"That's enough. I'm not going to give myself more work. It'll only slow down my progress in comprehending my divine ability!"
This time, Kongqing turned and left immediately. She could see that Ren genuinely had no interest in the position.
Watching her retreating figure, Ren narrowed his eyes slightly.
Like Fengxi, Kongqing was working against Honghong and her sisters. Even if the position really were beneficial, Ren wouldn't agree to it.
Inside the Tree of Acknowledgement, in the place where Fengxi was imprisoned, Kongqing reported, "Sister, he refused."
"He refused? Didn't you tell him what the Silver Moon Guards are really for?" Fengxi asked, frowning in disbelief.
Kongqing nodded. "I did. He still refused, saying that such matters would only interfere with his cultivation."
"…"
Fengxi was speechless.
After a long silence, she ground her teeth and cursed, "Damn those bastards! So what if they're talented?!"
If Ren had heard her, he would certainly have laughed and told her that he wasn't merely talented. He worked harder than ordinary people, too. That was how he had achieved his current strength.
"Forget it. He isn't much of a threat to us. If we can't win him over, then so be it. Your fated bond has already begun. It's time."
Kongqing nodded and left.
Fengxi was once again alone inside the Tree of Acknowledgement.
Honghong probably never imagined that Fengxi could communicate with Kongqing and secretly scheme against her.
After leaving, Kongqing headed straight for the human Yang family. She transformed into a girl of about ten and followed Yang Tian around, quietly building up his affection for her.
That was why Yang Tian would fall in love with Kongqing in this life even before recovering the memories of his previous life.
Unfortunately, Fengxi had drained all of Kongqing's emotions. She was incapable of feeling romantic love.
Yang Tian was therefore destined for tragedy, with a woman manipulating him as she pleased.
Of course, Ren knew nothing about any of this. He wasn't interested in the schemes of Fengxi and Kongqing. Once he mastered the second stage of his divine ability, it wouldn't matter whether his enemies were Black Foxes or human prodigies. When his great wind rose, none of them would be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation!
In the end, Ren didn't eat Yaya's lunch. After confirming that she still wasn't coming out, he left her cave and happily resumed his mountain patrol.
"The King sent me to patrol the mountain"
Holding a large saber, Ren strolled leisurely through the forest.
The patrol was just a formality. Tushan had a barrier, and he could sense even the slightest disturbance within it.
His real reason for wandering around was that he had spent too much time cultivating lately and wanted to stretch his legs and clear his head.
Dongfang Yuechu usually accompanied him on these walks, but the boy was in low spirits today, so Ren hadn't invited him.
As he walked along, Ren suddenly stopped and frowned.
"That's an unfamiliar scent. Whoever you are, sneaking into Tushan without being noticed takes some skill. Why not come out and show yourself?" Ren said coldly, looking toward a thick tree.
If he hadn't caught that strange scent, he might never have noticed the intruder.
He waited several seconds, but there was no response.
"Hmph! You refuse a polite invitation? Fine. Let's do this the hard way. Rise, wind!"
A gentle breeze swept past, then suddenly erupted into a raging gale. In an instant, every tree within a hundred meters was reduced to fragments!
BOOM!!
A burst of fire erupted. A massive fireball shot out at incredible speed, escaping the range of Ren's attack in the blink of an eye.
As the flames faded, Ren saw a red sunflower.
The newcomer wore red robes, and his hair and enormous beard flared outward like the petals of a blooming flower.
"Who are you?" Ren asked with a frown.
The man standing before him was none other than Dongfang Bu, the head of the Dongfang family.
Ren had a reasonably good impression of him. After all, Dongfang Bu was a man of genuine courage.
Ren swept his gaze over the few people who hadn't managed to escape.
Three utterly ordinary-looking men. Not even one ten-thousandth as handsome as Ren himself!
After thinking for a moment, Ren understood why they had come.
I brought Qinlan all the way to Tushan, and the head of the Dongfang family still dares to come after her with a group of men. I don't know whether to call him persistent or stupid.
Dongfang Bu wore a grave expression. He didn't think the tiger demon before him was a match for him, but Tushan Honghong was another matter. He had no desire to face that Demon Emperor.
Looking at the three men on the ground, Ren considered another possibility.
Could that guy be Dongfang Dianliang? If I kill him, would that prevent the Dongfang family from being wiped out?
It wasn't as though the Dongfang family's survival seemed to matter much either way, but…
Since I've run into him, I might as well take care of it while I'm here!