Wayfarer

Chapter 679: Fooling a Child

On a pavilion high up in the mountains in the Yuqing holy land, Sage Green Lotus and a few other cultivators were observing what was happening by the foot of Chiyang Peak far below them.

"Sage Green Lotus, is it really alright for you to have allowed the Demon Child to cause problems for Xiao Nanfeng?" a cultivator standing behind him asked.

Sage Green Lotus nodded firmly. "Very. The best-case scenario would be forcing Xiao Nanfeng out of the Yuqing holy land, so we can arrest and question him as to Xia Yu'er's whereabouts."

The cultivators frowned, but nodded.

Afar, the Demon Child looked down toward Xiao Nanfeng from high above. Energy billowed from him in shockwaves that sent the Yuqing disciples flying. Howling winds raged over the plaza on which Xiao Nanfeng was situated, causing dust to swirl up into the air.

"Haha, Xiao Nanfeng, I bet you can't believe that I'm a Golden Immortal now! I'm going to take revenge for the humiliation I suffered at your hands!" the Demon Child shouted, laughing.

Before Xiao Nanfeng could speak, the Demon Child began to attack him with his demon-subduing golden hoop.

"Holy Child, please control yourself!" a group of Yuqing disciples shouted as they attempted to rush forward.

"Control myself? I'm a holy child of the Yuqing holy land! I set the rules around here. If you don't make way, I'll beat all of you up too! Demon-subduing golden hoop, go!" the Demon Child commanded.

He tossed out his golden hoop, which suddenly duplicated itself thousands of times over. The copies of the hoop smashed into the Yuqing disciples, sending them flying.

Just then, twelve beams of golden light shot toward the Demon Child.

"You lot again? Come on, then! All of you ought to die!" the Demon Child shouted.

The countless copies of the golden hoop flew back toward him and smashed into the twelve golden cultivators, sending all of them flying as well.

"Haha! You can't even take a single blow from me anymore," the Demon Child said, laughing.

With a wave, all those copies of the golden hoop combined into one and flew toward his hand.

Just as he was about to catch it, Xiao Nanfeng reached out in a flash of red light. The demon-subduing golden hoop leapt through space and suddenly appeared in his hand.

"What? Where did my demon-subduing golden hoop go?!" the Demon Child exclaimed.

He turned to see that it had landed in Xiao Nanfeng's hand.

"When did you steal that away? Return it to me!" the Demon Child shouted.

He beckoned at the relic, trying to reclaim the golden hoop, but Xiao Nanfeng held the hoop tightly in his hands and refused to let go. It trembled violently, then radiated with golden light, but was unable to free itself from Xiao Nanfeng's clutches.

"Demon Child, your cultivation has risen to a considerable extent, but you're still nothing more than a child. Charging at me so recklessly will make you embarrass yourself regardless of whether you win or lose. You claim you want to take revenge—do you really dare?" Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

"I'll beat you to death!" the Demon Child shouted, charging forward.

Xiao Nanfeng drew his divine undying blade and slashed at the golden hoop.

The clash between the two relics produced a huge wave of flames.

Everyone was taken aback. They didn't understand what Xiao Nanfeng was attempting to do. Shouldn't he have been on guard against the Demon Child? Why was he attacking his golden hoop?

"No! My demon-subduing golden hoop!" the Demon Child cried out in fear.

Xiao Nanfeng had destroyed his Taiqing red sash; he was worried Xiao Nanfeng would do the same to his golden hoop too.

Xiao Nanfeng slashed at the golden hoop, then tossed it far into the distance.

The Demon Child hurriedly rushed off toward it as if he had forgotten about Xiao Nanfeng altogether.

"My golden hoop!" the Demon Child shrieked.

Many of the spectators watched on in confusion, but Xiao Nanfeng relaxed. He was all but certain that the Demon Child was nothing more than an eight-year-old child in truth now. His lack of maturity was something that would make him easily manipulable.

An adult would hardly have cared for the relic, but what about a child? Fighting might have been important, but so were his toys!

The Demon Child caught the demon-subduing golden hoop and hurriedly inspected it for any damage. Only when he was satisfied that it was still in good shape did he sigh in relief.

Then, he belatedly remembered that he was trying to seek revenge on Xiao Nanfeng.

"Xiao Nanfeng, how dare you trick me?!" the Demon Child thundered.

"I'm not tricking you. I simply didn't use my full strength. If I had, that hoop of yours would already have been ruined. If you don't believe me, come at me again," Xiao Nanfeng said coolly.

"You!" The Demon Child hugged his golden hoop tightly.

Then, perhaps thinking that even that wasn't safe enough, he shrunk the golden hoop down to the size of a bangle, which he put on. He shouted, "I can beat you up even without my golden hoop!"

"Ha! You can't even beat Ye Dafu and the others up. What makes you think you can challenge me?" Xiao Nanfeng called out disdainfully.

The twelve golden cultivators flew back toward him, striking battle poses.

"Who says I can't beat them up? I just did!"

"Why don't we make a bet? If you can make them surrender to you, I'll give you a relic no inferior to the Taiqing red sash. If you can't, you'll give me your demon-subduing golden hoop."

"What? You want my golden hoop, don't you?" the Demon Child exclaimed.

"Do you dare?" Xiao Nanfeng asked again.

The Demon Child was, at his heart, a child. He didn't think to question Xiao Nanfeng's intent; given what he knew of Ye Dafu and the others' strength, he was confident he would win.

"I accept! I'll beat you up once I kill them!" the Demon Child shouted.

"Don't kill them—beat them up until they surrender, until they're on their knees begging you for mercy," Xiao Nanfeng corrected.

"Begging me for mercy? I like the sound of that! I'll pay them back for humiliating me!" The Demon Child glanced at the twelve golden cultivators eagerly.

"Ye Dafu, all of you can go have fun with the Demon Child," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Ye Dafu and the other golden cultivators were elated. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The Yuqing disciples watching the scene from afar were astounded. What were they so excited about? They were only True Immortals; the Demon Child would obviously give them a thrashing!

Sage Green Lotus, watching the fight from afar, was likewise shocked. "This isn't right. What's the Demon Child doing? Didn't we say he was going to cause Xiao Nanfeng trouble? Why is he fighting Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates now?"

Ye Dafu and the other golden cultivators flew into the air and taunted the Golden Child.

"Hey, kid, bring your hula hoop over and let's go fight over there! Don't bother His Majesty!"

"We'll beat you up until you're kicking and screaming!"

"My hands are itching—it's been too long since we last gave you a beating. Let's go!"

"Let us know when you're hurt. Don't sniffle and make us look like we're bullying you, alright?"

Given the Demon Child's personality, these taunts were shockingly effective. He hated Xiao Nanfeng, but he hated the golden cultivators equally as much—perhaps more. Anger welled up in his heart.

"I'll beat you all to death!!!" the Demon Child shouted.

He chased after the twelve golden cultivators, sending them flying.

The Yuqing cultivators scattered around Xiao Nanfeng gaped at him. "Senior Brother Xiao, will your subordinates be alright?"

"It's fine. He's just a little boy. There's no need to worry about him," Xiao Nanfeng replied breezily.

"That's the Demon Child, a calamity in living form! What's more, given his aura, he must be a Golden Immortal now. Isn't this dangerous?" another cultivator asked.

Xiao Nanfeng thought for a moment, then turned and shouted at Ye Dafu, "Ye Dafu, bring the Demon Child to the mountain pass. Don't disturb the Yuqing disciples from cultivation!"

"Understood!" Ye Dafu shouted back from afar.

"No, no, that's not what I mean," the Yuqing disciple said. "The Demon Child doesn't have a good sense of his strength, so..."

"It's fine. There's no need to worry about them. We'll continue with the discussion. Where were we?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

The Yuqing disciples: ...

As a result, two brand-new attractions had been unveiled in the Yuqing holy land: the first, Xiao Nanfeng's lectures; the second, the Demon Child's fight against the twelve golden cultivators by the mountain pass in the distance, which drew the attention of countless disciples.

After finishing that day's lecture, Xiao Nanfeng prepared to retire to his rooms. By then, the fight by the mountain pass had ended.

Ye Dafu and the others were beaten black and blue, their faces long having swollen up, whereas the Demon Child was lying on his back like a dead dog, exhausted beyond belief.

"Kid, come back and fight us tomorrow if you dare!"

"We'll be taking revenge on you for beating us up to this extent!"

"Your wrists and legs are far too thin! You're not strong enough to dole out more than one or two good blows. Do you really think you can take on His Majesty? What an embarrassment!"

"Do you dare fight us again tomorrow?"

The golden cultivators continued to taunt the Demon Child.

The Demon Child glared at the twelve golden cultivators, unable to understand why none of them were willing to submit despite the extent of their injuries. His wrists were about to break!

"I'll come back tomorrow and beat you all to death!" the Demon Child howled.

"See that you do!" Ye Dafu shouted.

"See that you do!" the Demon Child retorted.

"Senior Brothers, would you bring us back to Chiyang Peak?" Ye Dafu called out.

A group of disciples from Chiyang Peak escorted Ye Dafu and the others back toward their residence, while some from Taiyi Peak brought the Demon Child back to his.

Once the Demon Child was back on Taiyi Peak, Sage Green Lotus gave him a pill to replenish his reserves.

"Disciple, you've been tricked. There's no need for you to mess around with Ye Dafu and the others. Just take Xiao Nanfeng on himself—and fight them to the death! Why waste your energy with what you're doing?"

"None of that nonsense, old geezer! Bring me your best pills so I can heal up. I'll beat them up again tomorrow. I won't let them call me a coward!"

"I'll lend you a spear tomorrow so you can kill them all," Sage Green Lotus suggested.

"That's not good enough! I'm going to beat them up with my golden hoop until they beg for mercy. I won't let Xiao Nanfeng look down on me!" the Demon Child replied stubbornly.

"Forget about that bet! You're a Golden Immortal. What's the point of wasting your energy on Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates? Just take him on yourself!"

"I won't! I'm going to make his subordinates submit to me. Any more of this nonsense, and I'll burn Taiyi Peak to the ground!" the Demon Child shouted.

Sage Green Lotus glared at his prodigal disciple—he had no respect for his master at all!