Volume 1 Volume 7 Chapter 24

Volume 7 Chapter 24: The Return of the Demons (Part 2)

"Wang Li, before we start, I want to ask you again. If I want to take you as my student, would you be willing?"

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Wang Li was surprised. Over the past few days, through his conversations with Xu Qingfan, he had come to understand the fate he would face after gaining such incredible power. The phrase "not tolerated by heaven and earth" seemed to describe it best. In Wang Li’s view, after granting him this power, Xu Qingfan should have kept a distance from him and distanced himself from their relationship while secretly controlling things. Yet, Xu Qingfan clearly asked to take him as a student. In the future, when Wang Li was revealed to the world, and everyone learned of the connection between him and Xu Qingfan, Xu Qingfan would inevitably find himself in a difficult position.

Could it be that Xu Qingfan had never thought of all this?

Wang Li looked at Xu Qingfan with confusion and asked, "Why?"

Xu Qingfan calmly replied, "I originally planned to only contact you secretly in the future and clear my relationship with you in the eyes of others. But I’ve thought about it. Many people know about the time I killed that monster. Once you are revealed to the world, they will inevitably think of me. Instead of that, it is better for me to take you as my student now. Then, if something happens to you in the future, I can punish you as your master, either sealing you, finding a way to separate this power from you, or at least… I won’t let you fall into the hands of outsiders."

After a moment of silence, Wang Li suddenly knelt down before Xu Qingfan and said, "Master, please allow your disciple to pay you my respects."

Xu Qingfan helped Wang Li up and gently said, "From today onward, you will be my seventh disciple, and also my last disciple. The path ahead of you will be much harder than you can imagine. I do not ask much from you; I only hope that after you seek revenge, you will not be controlled by hatred. Before you take your revenge, try to restrain yourself and do not let your hatred harm innocent people."

Wang Li silently nodded.

"Let’s get started," Xu Qingfan sighed.

While speaking, Xu Qingfan led Wang Li to the center of the cave where the formation was set up.

"Go in, lie down in the center position, don’t think about anything, I will take care of everything. The process may be a bit painful, I hope you can endure it."

Wang Li nodded and walked towards the center of the formation, but halfway there, he suddenly turned to Xu Qingfan and asked, "Master, does Shen Gang know about my gaining this power?"

Xu Qingfan shook his head and said, "If he knew, he might not be able to train peacefully for decades. It would also cause trouble when he sees you, so I told him I brought you to a senior expert who can teach you cultivation."

Hearing Xu Qingfan say this, it was the first time Wang Li showed a look of gratitude since Xu Qingfan met him, saying, "Thank you, Master. Shen Gang often overthinks, so it’s better that you don’t tell him."

With that, Wang Li turned and entered the formation, quietly lying down in the center.

A hint of sadness flashed in Xu Qingfan’s eyes; it seemed that Shen Gang’s care for Wang Li over the years had not gone unnoticed by Wang Li, but because of the grudge, he was unable to respond.

With a sigh, Xu Qingfan raised his right hand, and a ball, like an eyeball, suddenly flew from his hand, silently floating above Wang Li’s head.

At that moment, the ball was very different from when Xu Qingfan first got it; its color was a bit dimmer, and a strange light seemed to flicker around it.

Although Xu Qingfan hoped Wang Li could control himself in the future and had been working hard to deepen Wang Li’s connection to him and the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, after what happened with Zhang Hualing, Xu Qingfan understood that human willpower has its limits. So, he did not place all his hopes here. For the past few months, Xu Qingfan used all his energy and training to place a hidden restriction on the ball, ready to activate it under his control without affecting the ball’s function. He then had Scholar Beihai and other Medicine Pill Masters create a potion called "Guanghan Silk," which was infused into the ball. As long as Xu Qingfan shot another potion, "Cold Dragon Grass," into Wang Li, his body would soon be frozen by "Mysterious Ice Coldness," unable to move freely.

Although all of this was just a precaution, Xu Qingfan sincerely hoped he would never have to use it.

Under Xu Qingfan’s control, the formation around Wang Li slowly brightened, and as the light moved, a halo surrounded Wang Li, gently lifting him into the air.

Then, the floating ball in the sky suddenly turned into a black light and shot into Wang Li’s body.

"Ah!"

Even with Wang Li’s strong will, when the ball entered his body, he could not help but cry out in pain, feeling as if every muscle in his body was being tortured by a terrifying force. His insides seemed to turn to dust in an instant, while the sense of pain increased many times over. Almost in a moment, Wang Li fainted from the pain, but the next moment he woke up again due to the excruciating agony, cycling between fainting and waking countless times within a few breaths.

At the same time, after the black ball entered Wang Li’s body, heavy black mist started to emerge from all over him, continuously wrapping around and transforming him.

"Wang Li, think about what your parents faced before they died. If you can’t hold on now, you will never have the ability to take revenge for your parents!"

At that moment, Xu Qingfan was also filled with shock. As that eyeball entered Wang Li’s body, a powerful energy surged from within Wang Li. At the same time, the Spirit Qi he used to control the formation increased several times. Wang Li’s painful expression was something Xu Qingfan had never seen in all his previous experiments, and he couldn’t help but shout.

As Xu Qingfan finished speaking, Wang Li instinctively began to recall the scene of his parents being killed. A strong feeling of hatred started to spread in his heart. The monster had originally transformed because of hatred, and the eyeball left at this moment was also controlled by hatred. As Wang Li’s heart began to fill with anger, the intense pain in his body suddenly lessened, and the various energies reshaping Wang Li’s body seemed to come under control in an instant.

After a long time, as the initial transformation of Wang Li by the eyeball was completed, Xu Qingfan called out softly, changing his hand signs. Suddenly, the entrance to the cave opened, and endless death energy flowed into the cave, but instead of spreading out, it rushed towards Wang Li’s position.

With a large amount of death energy supplementing him, the black mist around Wang Li grew thick. Not only did Wang Li’s power increase, but his pained roars, which had not been heard for a long time, echoed again. However, as time passed, these roars gradually became hoarse and quiet, eventually disappearing. It was not because the pain was gone, but because Wang Li’s throat had become damaged from all the shouting.

It’s hard to tell how long this situation lasted, but Xu Qingfan felt that with his peak strength, the Spirit Qi he controlled was nearing exhaustion. The black mist around Wang Li finally began to shrink, returning back into Wang Li’s body.

Although Xu Qingfan was extremely exhausted and Wang Li appeared to be in great pain during the transformation, the entire process went remarkably smoothly. The eyeball-like sphere finally integrated perfectly into Wang Li’s body, and the process was surprisingly easy, as if Wang Li were naturally the rightful owner of that eyeball.

After changing hand signs for what felt like an eternity, Xu Qingfan finally lowered his hands. He felt extremely tired despite his mastery, slowly returning to the stone chair in the corner, quietly watching the black mist in the formation gradually close in.

Finally, when all the mist had been absorbed into Wang Li’s body, he appeared before Xu Qingfan’s eyes.

This is a whole new Wang Li, or rather, he is a whole new Demon King Li.

Wang Li’s body is now over a foot taller, and the ball that looks like an eyeball is placed between his two eyes, almost like a third eye. His whole body is covered in green scales, and his hands have turned into fierce eagle claws with five fingers. On his head are three sharp horns twisted together, and behind him are three long, sword-like tails.

Besides not having strange eyeballs all over his body, he looks just like a simpler version of the demon Zhong Ling from back in the day.

However, according to Xu Qingfan’s observations, this Wang Li has only just reached the Golden Core Stage, which is worlds apart from Zhong Ling’s peak state in the early stage of the Astral Projection Stage. Furthermore, when Zhong Ling became a demon, he was already at the Nascent Soul Stage, with a much stronger foundation than Wang Li.

Most importantly, before transforming into a demon, Wang Li was a mortal who knew nothing about cultivation and had no idea how to use the powerful energy he had just gained.

Although this Wang Li has some shortcomings compared to the original Zhong Ling, he still possesses the ability to absorb others’ energy and powers, and his potential is just as great. The key point is that, through Xu Qingfan’s observations, after transforming into a demon, Wang Li still retains his original memories and intelligence, providing him with limitless possibilities for the future.

Of course, these possibilities are not entirely good. A demon with intelligence, once filled with malicious thoughts, can cause far greater harm than a more powerful demon without intelligence.

Zhong Ling quietly observed his new body for a moment and did not feel any unease or panic about his sudden change in appearance. Instead, he felt excited about the powerful energy he had obtained. After a moment, Wang Li lifted his head and looked at Xu Qingfan with snake-like eyes before silently walking towards him.