"Holy Lord, must you speak to me in this repulsive form?"
Bai Qi, in order to blend in with the crowd, had maintained his human form. Even as he stealthily approached Zhong Su for a conversation, he remained in this guise. However, Zhong Su, already disgusted with humans, felt even more displeased upon seeing Bai Qi's human appearance.
Bai Qi, unfazed, retorted, "What business is it of yours? Give me back my fire qi, and I'll leave immediately."
Though displeased with Bai Qi's tone, Zhong Su was no fool. He knew he wasn't Bai Qi's match at the moment. If they were to fight, he would likely lose and still be forced to hand over his fire qi. It was better to hand it over willingly than to be beaten and forced. This would not only ease the current tension between them but also prevent his future palace from being destroyed in a battle between two powerful demons.
"Fine, take it."
Zhong Su extended his right hand, his fingers tightening. Gradually, Zhong Su's blue palm began to heat up, emitting white steam and turning fiery red, as if scorched by flames. Finally, after Zhong Su uttered a series of complex incantations, a small, orange fire dragon materialized in his hand.
"Here, take it and leave quickly. Don't delay me from renovating my palace."
Upon seeing the fire dragon in Zhong Su's hand, Bai Qi's gaze intensified. With a gentle wave of his small hand, the fire dragon flew towards Bai Qi as if summoned, and was then swallowed by Bai Qi in one gulp.
"Ah, I feel my strength returning."
The return of a portion of his fire qi source boosted Bai Qi's power once again.
Logically, Bai Qi should have left after retrieving his fire qi. However, this time was different. After leaving, Bai Qi didn't rush off. Instead, he took out a blank watch dial and handed it to a shadowy ninja. The ninja, upon receiving the watch dial, immediately moved, melting into the shadows. He reappeared next to Zhong Su, activated the watch dial, and discreetly placed it on Zhong Su. However, Zhong Su, eager to regain his strength and renovate his palace, did not notice the small device the shadowy ninja had secretly placed on him.
"I am still too weak."
With this thought, Zhong Su forcefully ripped open a large door and entered the building, placing his hand on a computer. Power from the entire building rapidly converged towards the top floor, being continuously absorbed by Zhong Su. In an instant, all the electricity in the building was depleted by Zhong Su.
"Human constructions are simply inadequate."
For some reason, after absorbing the electricity of the entire Stark Tower, Zhong Su didn't feel his strength restored. On the contrary, it seemed to be regressing. Puzzled, Zhong Su attributed the reason to humans.
"Never mind, human things are unreliable. I'll go back and absorb more lightning power."
With this thought, Zhong Su turned and walked towards the helipad. However, after only two steps, a shadow appeared at the entrance to the helipad.
"A human?"
Zhong Su's brow furrowed. Without further ado, he casually waved his hand, sending a bolt of lightning towards the intruder. As the saying goes, "Coolness doesn't last three seconds," and this was a prime example. Initially, the shadow stood still, and under the moonlight, it looked quite imposing. But as the lightning struck, its true form was revealed, and it scrambled to dodge the descending bolt.
Under the moonlight, the person's face was revealed – it was Chen Long. If possible, Chen Long wouldn't have wanted to be here. Facing a demon head-on was terrifying enough just to hear about, but there was no other choice. The Old Man was currently concocting a spell to send demons back to hell, and Chen Long, being a mere mortal, couldn't assist. All he could do was take on the thankless task of distracting the demon. After all, no one could guarantee that this newly appeared demon wouldn't be as timid as the Holy Lord. If it also escaped, it would be difficult to find it again in such a vast world to send it back to hell. With the Holy Lord's precedent, even with the immense danger, Chen Long had to come and draw the demon's attention, holding it here until the Old Man completed his spell.
Dodging the lightning, Chen Long was filled with fear, but he maintained a calm expression and spoke against his will, "Great Blue Demon, would you be willing to lend me your ear?"
"Hmm?"
Chen Long's slightly flattering words had an effect. After millennia in hell, all he saw were rocks or other demons. He never encountered any other living beings. Demons, being inherently arrogant creatures, would never submit, even if there were slight disparities in strength. They wouldn't even utter a single word of flattery. Now, to suddenly hear a compliment, even if it came from a human, was surprising.
"Human, what words do you wish to convey to the great Lord Zhong Su, the Demon of Lightning?"
Chen Long scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and said, "Well, could the great Demon of Lightning, Lord Zhong Su, please return to hell?"
After hearing Chen Long's words, Zhong Su's eyes narrowed slightly. He re-examined the human before him and then unleashed another bolt of lightning towards Chen Long.
"As expected, humans should be exterminated!"
It wasn't surprising that Zhong Su became enraged. Chen Long's words sounded like a blatant provocation. Chen Long had anticipated such a situation, but it was acceptable. This way, he could keep the demon here, buying time for the Old Man to prepare the spell. Perhaps Bai Qi's resurrection had given Chen Long the false impression that newly resurrected demons were easy to deal with. Zhong Su, unlike a transmigration, would show no mercy to Chen Long, especially after being provoked by his words.
Chen Long managed to dodge a few bolts of lightning, and Zhong Su grew increasingly impatient.
"A mere human should simply be killed by me."
Zhong Su placed his hands flat in front of his chest, palms facing each other, as bolts of lightning converged in the center. After a brief charge, he forcefully pushed them towards Chen Long.
"It's over!"
The bolts of lightning covered almost the entire platform, leaving no room for Chen Long to dodge. As the white light grew increasingly blinding, he knew that if he were hit, his current body would be utterly annihilated in an instant. Having no other choice, Chen Long ran towards the edge of the platform and, gritting his teeth, leaped off. It was more likely to survive by jumping off a building than by enduring the lightning.
At this moment, the protagonist's halo made its appearance. For an ordinary person, whether enduring the lightning or jumping off the building, it would have been a certain death. The only difference was the duration of their remaining life. However, Chen Long was different. As a protector of the Saint Seiya, righteousness would not allow him to die so easily. In other words, until a new Saint Seiya grew strong enough, righteousness would not let Chen Long die. As he descended closer and closer to the ground, Chen Long had exhausted all possible escape routes to no avail. Just as Chen Long was about to give up struggling and accept his fate, a figure suddenly ascended from below and caught him.
"What makes you want to jump from such a height?"