The great snow drifted; the fierce winds whistled. Li Qingshan stood on the top of the grey stone tower alone with his arms crossed. His eyes shone as the corner of his eyes curled up like a monkey.

  The mantra of the Ape Demon Transformation was the Ape Demon Scoops the Moon, All to Null and Void, and its fundamental power was space. This was not void, but only “space” could contain earth, fire, wind, and water and form a world.

  The ox, tiger, turtle, and phoenix each took their positions. The qilin, with its hovering steps, allowed the plants to prosper.

  The importance of the Ape Demon’s Method of Moon Scooping went without saying, especially now, when the Ape Demon Transformation halted at the fourth heavenly layer.

  Because there was not enough “space”, the other transformations were unable to progress. Apart from the Qilin Transformation that still had room for growth, he could not even unleash the original power of the other transformations.

  The small world was still in a rudimentary form.

  Once the Ape Demon Transformation broke free from this shackle and reached the fifth layer, not only would all of the repressed transformations recover, but it would also mean a brand-new small world would take shape, no longer constrained by the Ape Demon Transformation.

  His various innate abilities would recover as well, and they would grow far more than ten fold in strength.

  And that was nothing. The Ox Demon Transformation, the Tiger Demon Transformation, and so on that had been lying in dormancy would easily break through to the sixth layer. Coupled with the new innate abilities he would comprehend, his strength would grow tremendous yet again.

  By then, the kind of power he possessed was even beyond his own imaginations.

  As a result, with a stroke of inspiration, he made another breakthrough with the Heavenly Tome of Liberty and comprehended a new move.

  “Err…” Li Qingshan tilted his head in thought for a good while. This Ape Demon Transformation is just a little too unreliable!

  From a certain perspective, the Ape Demon Transformation was even more difficult to please than the Qilin Transformation. He could not make any progress through it or through force. It completely depended on its mood.

  If he behaved like an unchangeable fool with the moon on his mind, then he could advance triumphantly without any effort. Otherwise, even if he racked his brain and spent all his time meditating, it would be useless.

  But fortunately, my nature is fantastic. I better eat some snow to calm down!

  Li Qingshan crouched down and made a snowball. With a crack, he took a bite, and the snow squeaked away between his teeth.

  As if someone had been disturbed, the window to the tower suddenly opened, and Hu Zhigang stuck his head out. He bellowed, “Li Qingshan, get your ass down!”
There were a lot of tall, stone towers like this in Black Cloud city, which served as the residences of the high-ranking officers. Clearly, his tower was not the only one.

  “So it’s you!” Li Qingshan glanced at Hu Zhigang before grabbing another clump of snow and rolling it together. He rolled it into a strip before coiling it up. “Look, what’s this?”
Hu Zhigang widened his eyes, thinking that he was hinting at something. “A snake?”
“You idiot, it’s poo! Eat shit!”
Li Qingshan’s arm suddenly lengthened, and the “poo” slammed into Hu Zhigang’s face. He leapt over to another tower in the meantime as his laughter rang out from the distance.

  Hu Zhigang fell back. His face reddened and melted the snow as blood poured out of his nose. A snowball made by Li Qingshan was obviously even harder than a rock.

  However, he did not chase after him for revenge. Instead, he trembled slightly.

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  In the eyes of others, it was only a mischievous slap to the face, but was he really cooperative enough to play the fool? The slap to the face felt like an avalanche to him, flooding the surroundings and filling his eyes. He could neither defend against it nor dodge it.

  At that moment, he basically thought he would be killed by that slap, yet it only led to a nosebleed in the end. He even felt like he had just survived narrowly.

  “I- is this kid… really this powerful?”
He struggled to accept it. He was a figure of some renown in Black Cloud city, yet he was actually so feeble against him.

  What he struggled to accept the most was this kid came nowhere close to the image of the strong in his mind. Just which person of great power would roll snow into the shape of a doodoo and throw it at someone’s face?

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  The Ape Demon Transformation’s breakthrough was merely a matter of time now.

  Li Qingshan pressed down on his forehead. “This should be the strongest move from the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, no, the path of great liberty! It doesn’t feel like something I should be able to comprehend right now.”
He could not help but glance in the direction of the Pure Land temple. He had lost the image of Maheśvara, which weakened many of his techniques, but this move alone could make up for it all.

  Heh, whatever. The martial arts competition is tomorrow. I can test it out there!

  The sun and moon interchanged among the black clouds. The world dimmed before brightening up again.

  Li Qingshan gazed beyond the city. A great, meandering valley lay there, like a huge dragon brandishing its teeth and claws as it moved through the mountains. Suddenly, it widened beneath Black Cloud city, which resembled the dragon’s head.

  That was the only path available if they wanted to attack Black Cloud city. Countless bloody battles had occurred there before. This area had not taken shape naturally. Instead, it was the result of war.

  The two sides of the great valley were littered with jagged rocks, forming steps. It was a natural stand for spectators. The martial arts arena was located here, which was also the result of a convention that had been maintained across many years.

  By now, the million-strong army had all gathered here. The wilderness was filled with people, yet they remained in a neat order. The Scorching Fire army and the Xuanwu army each took one side of the valley.

  Chao Tianjiao called out, “Li Qingshan, get over here!”
Her voice echoed through the valley, which led to a disturbance among the soldiers. All they heard was a single reply. “Coming!” Everyone looked at the sky together, and a black figure descended from above. With a thump, rocks were thrown into the air, and the figure landed in the centre of the valley.

  A whistle rang out from somewhere, and laughter spread out like a wave, rumbling and echoing through the valley.

  However, the atmosphere was rather different. Someone called out, “Crawling general, come and beat me up!”
Li Qingshan pointed at the crowd. “I see you! Just you wait!”
It led to another roar of laughter, but the laughter was no longer filled with mockery or malice. It was more like scoffing at an old friend, just like how friendships were built off disputes. His power to defeat an army of ten thousand, his spirit to acknowledge his defeat, his kindness to not be too heavy-handed, and even his arrogant, potent demeanour had won everyone over.

  Most importantly, he did not treat them like ants, nor did he try to befriend them by being fake.

  Li Qingshan laughed as well. It reminded him of the times when he led the asura army in the World of the Five Continents.

  Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo glanced at each other from across the valley, both surprised, even in some disbelief. He had actually won over the army in such a short time. Was it because the Upraised Light abbot had awakened?

  “Amitābha.”
The Upraised Light abbot brought his palms together and muttered, feeling great pity. He possessed the power to win other people over. If he could convert to buddhism, he would definitely bring great glory to the religion.

  When it came to winning people over by virtue, it definitely was not a lie.

  Chao Tianjiao interrupted them. “Are you ready?”
Li Qingshan clenched his fist. “Do you even need to ask? I’ve already run out of patience.”
“Very soon!” Chao Tianjiao smiled. With a wave of her hand, a golden talisman returned to her.

  Li Qingshan heard a roar from the depths of the valley as a foul smell filled his nose in the cold wind. The ground shook, and a vicious demonic beast rushed out. It resembled both a horse and a wolf. Its colossal figure was strange and twisted, while its blood-red eyes were frenzied and bloodthirsty. It noticed the lonely Li Qingshan standing at the centre of the valley at first glance.

  Chao Tianjiao said, “I hereby announce that the army-wide martial arts competition formally begins! The first battle will be Li Qingshan against the Demon Emperor beast!”