After breaking up with my girlfriend, I became a Great Sage of the Demon Clan.

“Benefactor, you are a worthy opponent.”

Xuanwu descended from the roof of the apartment building. As he walked down, icy steps flew out from under his feet, making it seem as if he were descending a ladder to heaven, displaying great poise.

"I am more than just a good opponent."

Xuanwu began to clench his fists.

"I'm still a good Grim Reaper who sends you to hell."

……

Dingxiang City.

Zhou Yan returned to the municipal government, said goodbye to Wu Yuan, and took Yang Meixin back to Luomen City in Dongyang Prefecture.

It was already night when I returned. In the entire city of Luomen, only the city government building, the power plant, and a few factories were still lit; other places were rarely lit.

Zhou Yan brought Yang Meixin to Wei Youde, who was expected to work overtime until the next morning. After finding Yang Meixin a civil servant position, he went back to his single apartment.

Zhou Yan's suite has a private bathroom with 24-hour hot water and a closed-circuit telephone so that government officials can deliver groceries or other daily necessities to him.

Of course, there's no need to do any of that now. Zhou Yan, who had just returned from Dingxiang City, stretched a few times in his suite. After stretching, he was inexplicably sleepy.

Zhou Yan rubbed his eyes, took a shower, and then lay down on the bed.

Darkness enveloped Zhou Yan's consciousness, and he didn't know how much time had passed before he saw a light appear in the darkness.

The light unfurled, revealing a patch of cyan in front of Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan squinted as he looked around. He seemed to have arrived at a mountain on the outskirts of a city, and the surrounding environment was truly pristine.

"what……"

A red bird, about thirty miles long, flew out from mid-air and landed on Zhou Yan's shoulder. Zhou Yan turned his head and saw the red bird calling out.

"You've been swam into a dream, no, it doesn't seem to be a dream."

Zhou Yan looked at the red-feathered bird—no, the Vermilion Bird—with a strange expression.

The Vermilion Bird clone on Zhou Yan's shoulder stroked its chin and asked in confusion.

"This feeling is unlike anything I've ever experienced before..."

Zhou Yan inquired.

"Lord Suzaku, what brings you here?"

The Vermilion Bird opened its beak and said proudly.

“I noticed a strange force appearing in your dream, so it came in with you. Don’t worry, if anything seems wrong, I’ll wake you up immediately and make sure you don’t get hurt.”

Zhou Yan: "..."

how to say?

He was immune to illusion and perception skills. If someone could harm him with mental skills in his dream, Zhou Yan really didn't believe that Zhuque could protect him.

After all, the Vermilion Bird, which was arrogant and violent outside, was compressed into a small bird of thirty centimeters in his dream. Zhou Yan knew that the Vermilion Bird must have been suppressed by him.

Within this dream, Zhou Yan sensed that he had not suffered any harm, and that he was omniscient, all-seeing, and that all things were illusory and permissible.

However, when using his omniscient ability to scan the surroundings, what he saw were fragments of a dream, a composite of images from Zhou Yan's memories.

"Namo Amitabha Buddha".

A Buddhist chant came from afar, and Zhou Yan and Zhuque instantly turned their heads toward the sound.

About half a kilometer away, under a hundred-meter-tall old tree, a long-bearded old monk sat cross-legged. The old monk's compassionate and kind eyes reflected Zhou Yan and Zhu Que, and then he smiled.

"Two benefactors, this old monk is Da Mi."

Zhou Yan and Zhu Que's expressions changed.

Zhou Yan dispersed his spiritual power. He hadn't noticed it before, but after the old monk appeared, he clearly felt as if an ant had entered his spiritual body. However, the ant was only crawling in the shallow layer of his consciousness, so Zhou Yan felt that he could crush the ant immediately if he wanted to.

The Vermilion Bird flapped its red wings and cried out loudly.

"Old monk, is that Wusheng monk your disciple?"

The old monk Da Mi remained silent.

The Vermilion Bird's eyes were narrowed.

“你倒是好胆2，我们几个9到处搜你4们，你们不躲0也罢了，现在4居然3敢到我的5面前！”6｛·4→√

The Vermilion Bird inhaled and opened its mouth. It originally intended to spew out flames large enough to evaporate a great river, but when it reached its mouth, the flames that came out were only the size of a lighter.

In Zhou Yan's dream world, even someone as powerful as the Vermilion Bird would be subjected to extremely strong suppression.

The old monk Da Mi shook his head slightly, then slowly closed his eyes, two teardrops gathering at the corners of his eyes and slowly sliding down.

Then the dream scene changed drastically.

Zhou Yan and Zhu Que arrived in an unknown city. The two stood on the roof of a building. About three kilometers away from the building, two earth-shattering sounds collided and separated. The storm and explosion continued to spread outward, but when they reached Zhou Yan and Zhu Que, they couldn't even stir a strand of their hair.

All of this was fake, an illusion created by Da Mi using Buddhist supernatural powers. Since it did not harm Zhou Yan, Zhou Yan's instincts did not retaliate.

"This is... Lord Xuanwu and... Monk Wusheng?"

Zhou Yan looked at the figures colliding and separating three kilometers away.

Those two were none other than Xuanwu and the monk Wusheng.

The Vermilion Bird touched its chin with one of its small wings.

"Hmm, we've run into each other so soon?"

Zhuque knew long ago that Dongdou Xingjun had figured out the whereabouts of Wusheng Monk by breaking several magic treasures, but she didn't expect that Xuanwu was so proactive and had already engaged in battle with Wusheng Monk.

Si Yilu, Jiuling; 7∞ Ba◎Sou★Qun: "Bang!"

"coax!"

"Boom!"

Three kilometers away, Xuanwu and Wusheng were like high-yield artillery shells, causing houses to collapse and the ground to crack wherever they passed. The massive storm and the spillover aftershocks of the battle easily destroyed houses within several kilometers, and the earth continued to sink.

Zhou Yan and Zhuque stood there for less than ten seconds before half the city, which had been sealed by Xuanwu with absolute zero ice, was smashed into powdery ruins.

A highly awakened demigod can easily destroy a city with a population of one million, while a highly awakened true god, if they really get into a fight, can destroy a continental shelf. Therefore, in order to prevent the aftershocks of the battle from spreading, Xuanwu first sealed half of the city with an ice layer of absolute zero before taking action.

Under these circumstances where no major destruction was expected, Xuanwu unleashed its full power, its fists, capable of easily overturning rivers and seas and sinking mountains, relentlessly pounding on Wusheng, who possessed the golden body of an Arhat.

The golden light on Wusheng's body that could block the Heaven-Burning Evil Fire was struck by Xuanwu's fist, and layers of frost began to spread out.

This is Xuanwu using his control over the degree to which he controls water molecules to freeze Wusheng's body.

Even though he was an Arhat who had attained the Arhatship, after being punched a few times by Xuanwu, Wusheng's body slowed down at a visible speed, and large swathes of Buddha light were frozen, shattered, and fell away.

The golden body of the Arhat, which had not yet been born, was covered with cracks and was about to collapse.

But Wusheng was not in a hurry. After taking a few punches from Xuanwu, the Arhat made a mudra with his hands. The next moment, an image of the Immovable King, carrying fierce fire on his back and holding a sharp sword in his right hand, appeared behind Wusheng.

Acala is the command body of Mahavairocana Buddha. "Acala" refers to the firm and unshakable compassion. "Ming" means the light of wisdom. "King" means the one who governs all phenomena.

Therefore, Acala is the king of all Vidyarajas and the principal deity of the Five Great Vidyarajas.

As soon as the Immovable King, who was tending the fire behind him, appeared, the broken golden light of the Arhat on the Unborn Arhat's body quickly healed and filled in, and the layers of frost softened, as if trying to break free from the near absolute zero temperature controlled by the Black Tortoise.

Behind the Arhat of No Birth, the Immovable King swung his sword of severing afflictions at the Black Tortoise.

Xuanwu stepped back, touching the ground with its toes, while the ground beneath Wusheng Monk's feet cracked open, spewing out a massive amount of water.

Xuanwu controls this water, reducing the movement of its water molecules to zero, that is, absolute zero.

The gushing water was like chains of absolute zero, binding the monk Wusheng. Behind him, the Immovable King was also bound by layers of chains of absolute zero. As the Immovable King who controls all phenomena, He was also qualified to control water.

However, for Xuanwu, the innate god of Xuan water, the position of Fudo Myo-o, which is only a secondary position, is not qualified enough. He can only watch as the layers of water turn into absolute zero ice and seal it away little by little.

In just over ten seconds, the monk Wusheng and the Immovable King transformed into two giant ice sculptures covered in absolute zero ice.

Xuanwu, with its absolute dominance, won the battle.

Chapter Twenty-Four: All Those Who Have Feelings Suffer

"Crackling..."

Xuanwu, who had just agreed and was about to rest, suddenly heard a strange sound.

Xuanwu, Zhou Yan, and Zhuque looked up together and saw that the statue of Wusheng, which had been frozen by the absolute zero ice layer, had cracked. At the same time, the golden Arhat body on Wusheng's body shattered inch by inch, like meat that had been frozen and smashed to the ground.

The monk Wusheng looked at Xuanwu with compassion and said in a low voice.

"If I don't go to hell, who will?"

Along with the sculpture on his body, the monk Wusheng was reduced to fragments on the ground.

The scene ends there.

Zhou Yan and Zhuque saw the same suburban mountain area again. The master of the monk Wusheng, the Living Buddha Zhenkong, was still sitting under the tree. However, at this moment, a golden lotus flower appeared in his hand. Auspicious light rippled in the lotus flower, and a Buddha sat in the lotus bud, smiling with his fingers, full of Zen charm.

Zhou Yan stared at the lotus flower.

Name: Arhat Fruit.

Origin: It is a relic transformed from the golden body of an Arhat after his death, and is another form of relic.

Supernatural powers.

Suppress evil spirits: drive away evil spirits and demons.

Buddha's light: Wherever it shines, peace of mind prevails.

Killing: bestowing the power of death. (Hedgehog)

The old monk Dami, who was holding the lotus flower, stood up and then asked Zhou Yan a question. 4

"Benefactor Zhou, this old monk has a question I wish to ask. May you answer it?"

Zhou Yan remained silent, but Zhuque, with its large mouth, spoke up.

"You monks are all so talkative and full of nonsense! Ask me what you need!"

The monk Da Mi said with a sigh.

"Through my observations in the Great Mirror Wisdom, I witnessed the suffering of all beings. Among them was a wicked woman who, because of her pregnancy and her husband's inability to satisfy her, had left home. She encountered a female Bodhisattva who, seeing the wicked woman's difficulties due to her pregnancy, helped her walk and escorted her home. Later, the female Bodhisattva drugged the wicked woman and then went to the wicked woman's husband to rape her." (Part Two)

The monk Da Mi asked Zhou Yan, "What is the reason?"

"Is this a case of good and evil going unpunished?"

Zhou Yan nodded.

"Murder and arson bring wealth and power."

The monk Da Mi asked again. (Seek further information.)

"Another man, orphaned at a young age, grew up as a beggar. One winter, this beggar searched for leftovers outside a wealthy family's house. Finding none, he hid outside the house's wall, drawn by the aroma of cooked meat, hoping to eat it. The next day, the beggar froze to death."

"Is there injustice in this world? Why do the rich feast on meat and wine while the poor freeze to death on the streets?"

Zhou Yan hesitated. (缌)

"That kind of thing probably won't happen now."

Even if the Eastern Xia United States is bad, as long as you work for a day, you can eat your fill for a week without any problem, and you can eat plenty of meat and fish.

The monk Da Mi shook his head.

"And why is it that men and women in this world treat each other with sincerity, but cannot win the heart of a good person, while those who use sweet words can always deceive the heart of a beautiful woman?"

Is honesty laughable in this world, and lies prevailing?

Zhou Yan said unhappily.

"what do you want to say in the end?"

Zhou Yan felt like this monk Dami was going to give him a moral lesson. Although Zhou Yan didn't consider himself a good person, he felt that he had a clear conscience about what he had done.

So if this monk Dami tries to morally blackmail me, I can immediately retort.

The monk Da Mi said respectfully.

“Benefactor Zhou, perhaps I’m being too talkative. In all my years of life, every time I’ve walked through this world, I feel that moral people are dwindling, while sycophants and liars are in power. I always want to use my own strength to turn this world upside down and make everyone like and hate good.”

The monk Da Mi's eyes widened, and his voice boomed like a bell.

"This old monk wants to create a great and prosperous era."