Redemption of a Born Demon

Chapter 157 - 155: A God Descends to the Mortal World, a Figure Unseen in the Vast Crowd

Somewhere on a plaza.

Ding Huiyuan was bobbing and weaving, dodging the attacks of Aduvan, a Saint Expert from the Pusaka Country.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Although the man’s title was "Silent Heaven," his fighting style was anything but serene. His body was incredibly robust, his hair stood on end, and his furious eyes bulged like copper bells. His attacks sent terrifying shockwaves through the air, his killing intent immense.

Moreover, the influence of his True Intent was exceptionally strong. With each palm strike, a wave of Silent True Intent targeted his opponent’s Life Magnetic Field, disrupting their vital functions.

Life is motion. If all becomes silent, life itself must cease.

This was a Dharma Gate that could target the Life Magnetic Field.

Aduvan cultivated "Silent Yoga." This Cultivation Technique had two branches. The first focused on cultivating the mind, the path of asceticism. Through various methods, one tempered the body, and amidst the pain, brought the body and spirit to a state of silence, merging with the Void to become naturally impervious to all dharmas.

The second branch focused on cultivating the body. It was a demon-quelling path of strengthening the flesh, grasping the miraculous power in the instant the body transitions from silence to the thrum of life. This power was then converted into explosive bursts of personal Power and True Intent to annihilate all external threats, thereby allowing one’s own mind to return to silence.

To put it simply, the two branches could be summarized as:

Cultivating the mind: I become silent.

Cultivating the body: I make *you* silent.

Thus, Aduvan’s temperament in battle was incredibly fierce.

He had already unleashed dozens of attacks against Ding Huiyuan. And though his opponent seemed to be frantically scrambling for his life, neither Aduvan’s Fist Technique nor his True Intent had inflicted any real damage. It felt like punching cotton—incredibly frustrating.

"Are you going to fight or not?! If not, then admit defeat! How long are you going to keep dodging? Are all Donghua Martial Artists just rats scurrying through the streets?!"

Aduvan roared.

The spectators didn’t understand the subtleties of the fight, and upon hearing this, they couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed for their countryman.

’What on earth is this guy doing? He should at least trade a few blows head-on. Even if this is a tactical retreat, couldn’t he be a bit more graceful about it? Why does he look like a monkey?’

What no one knew, however, was that Ding Huiyuan was just stalling for time. A moment ago, he had locked onto the location of Devi’s aura.

"You’re a real hothead," Ding Huiyuan said, sighing as he looked at his opponent. "You don’t live up to your title. Not very ’silent’ at all."

"Cut the crap! Once you’re silent, I’ll be silent!"

Aduvan sneered, his attacks growing even more ferocious.

"You’re a lost cause. Oh well, my objective is complete, so I’m done playing with you. But before I go, let me help you experience what true silence is."

Ding Huiyuan said, dodging and shaking his head with a sigh.

In the next instant.

Before Aduvan could retort, Ding Huiyuan’s eyes flew open, a divine light seemingly bursting from within them.

Suddenly, a light flickered behind his head, and a seven-colored halo manifested, lending him the aura of an Immortal or a Buddha.

At the same time, a golden light flashed between his brows, and a brilliant golden "Ban" character materialized.

In a flash, his entire presence transformed, becoming utterly different from before.

OM!!

The sound of overlapping sutra chants emanated from his body, and Aduvan felt his surroundings warp and become unreal.

Just then, Ding Huiyuan formed a hand seal, and the "Ban" character between his brows began to spin in reverse.

"Eyes cannot see."

His words were like thunder, like a heavenly decree. Aduvan’s body jolted, the light in his eyes vanished, and his world turned into a vast expanse of white.

"Ears cannot hear."

"Nose cannot smell."

"Tongue cannot taste."

"Body cannot feel."

Each phrase left Ding Huiyuan’s lips like an irrevocable, sacred decree.

The myriad sounds of the natural world and the murmurs of the crowd over a hundred meters away vanished. His senses of smell and taste were likewise stripped away. Finally, even the sensation of touch on his skin disappeared completely.

It was an indescribably bizarre sensation. Aduvan frantically swung his fists, activating his True Intent and mobilizing his Life Magnetic Field to break free, but it was utterly useless.

Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body.

He, a mighty Saint Expert, had been stripped of his five senses with such ease.

But then, something even more terrifying happened.

Though he could no longer see or hear, a voice suddenly resounded in his mind.

The voice was immense and clear, becoming the one and only thing in his consciousness.

"Let the mind enter Nirvana!"

The words rang out clearly in his consciousness.

In the next instant, his turbulent sea of consciousness fell silent.

THUMP!

In the outside world, Aduvan, who just a moment before had been unleashing explosive, ferocious attacks, suddenly went limp and collapsed at Ding Huiyuan’s feet, unconscious.

"Enjoy your taste of true silence. I’ll be on my way."

Ding Huiyuan reached into his leather pants, pulled out a cigarette, and lit the tip with a flick of his fingers. He took a deep drag, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

The halo, the "Ban" symbol, and a post-battle smoke... better than being an Immortal.

He quickly retracted his magnetic field. The golden "Ban" character on his forehead vanished, the halo behind his head faded, and he turned to walk away from the plaza.

He was off to find his truly interesting opponent.

The plaza fell silent. Aduvan’s disciples and entourage, the Martial Artists watching the duel, and the distant enthusiasts and ordinary citizens all stared in stunned disbelief.

Aduvan had been so fierce just a moment ago. How had he simply collapsed in the next?

Ding Huiyuan hadn’t even touched him!

What kind of terrifying Divine Power was that?

His opponent wasn’t some nobody; he was a powerful Saint Expert, one of the top prodigies of the Pusaka Country’s younger generation!

When the crowd looked again in the direction Ding Huiyuan had gone, he was already nowhere to be seen.

「General Command Headquarters.」

Seeing the outcome of the duel between Aduvan and Ding Huiyuan, a look of relief washed over everyone in the room.

Yi Beidou had defeated Yuri. Zhou Qingchen, though heavily injured, had defeated Ulysses. And now, Ding Huiyuan had defeated Aduvan.

Nearly all the foreign Saint Experts who had come to Donghua had now been defeated by Donghua Martial Artists. The crisis was fifty percent resolved.

It was only fifty percent, however, because the most troublesome opponent had yet to make an appearance.

"At this rate, we just need to defeat Devi Punk from the Starry Sky Country, and this whole affair will be more or less over," an older Saint Expert remarked.

"I wouldn’t say that. This is no time for optimism. For one, our intelligence suggests that ’Sky’ from the Starry Sky Country is far stronger than the other two and will be extremely difficult to deal with."

"Besides, the ones fighting now are just the younger generation. There are old-timers from Secret Organizations still lurking in the shadows, watching like tigers. If Devi is defeated, they’ll be the next to act. That’s when the real life-or-death battles will begin. That will be the truly dangerous time."

"If things go badly, a true ’Ancient One’ might even appear."

Wei Cheng’s expression remained grim; he hadn’t relaxed in the slightest.

"Sirs, report! We just received a message from Ding Huiyuan! He’s found Devi Punk from the Starry Sky Country and is heading to his location now!" a staffer reported.

"What?!"

The room was stunned into silence.

"Quick! Pull up all surveillance along his route!" Wei Cheng ordered in a low voice.

Devi Punk. The strongest of the three Saints known as Sea, Land, and Air. A man shrouded in mystery. No one knew the true extent of his power.

Now, they would finally get a glimpse.

「Modu, Jinling Street.」

This old street was a popular photo-op spot in Modu. It retained many old-style buildings and was a hub for street photographers. Occasionally, certain areas would be cordoned off for film crews.

Ding Huiyuan appeared at the start of the street, walking along while smoking a cigarette.

His hair was unkempt, his face covered by a full beard. He wore a leather jacket and leather pants. He was tall, and as a Saint, possessed a "crane among chickens" quality that made him stand out. Combined with his melancholic style, his appeal to young women was off the charts.

The last handsome, decadent man to look this cool was Brother Xiaoshuai.

He had barely set foot on the pedestrian street before he attracted the attention of numerous street photographers, who immediately began snapping pictures of him.

"Huh? Why are my shots so blurry? Is my lens broken?"

"Yours too? Mine are blurry as well. Maybe it’s an exposure issue?"

"..."

However, the photographers quickly realized their photos were blurry and marred by strange, colorful light spots. It was very odd.

They adjusted their camera settings and tried again.

The pictures were still blurry.

One photographer, on a whim, stopped taking pictures of Ding Huiyuan and instead snapped a shot of a beautiful woman in leggings walking past.

This time, the image was perfectly clear.

"Hey, I don’t think it’s the camera... I think it’s *him*."

The photographer whispered, goosebumps rising on his skin. A chill ran down his spine. "This is creepy," he added, his voice trembling slightly.

"What’s wrong with him? It’s broad daylight. You think you’re photographing a ghost?" his chubby friend scoffed.

The photographer was about to retort.

Just then, they saw two fashionable girls, who had clearly dressed up for a photoshoot, walk up to the decadent-looking man. They asked for a photo together, flanking him on either side.

The man didn’t refuse. He took one of the girls’ phones, held it up high, and snapped a selfie with them. The two girls leaned in to look at the screen, seemingly complimenting his photography skills.

"See? They can take a picture just fine," the chubby photographer said. "It’s probably just a bad spot. Let’s find a place with better feng shui."

He patted the dust off his pants, stood up, and moved to another spot.

The first photographer’s mouth hung open in disbelief. Unconvinced, he aimed his camera at a different part of the crowd to test it one more time.

The resulting photo was even stranger.

The colors of the surrounding pedestrians and buildings were inverted, like a bizarre, oily photo negative. Amidst this warped image, only one figure appeared in normal color.

But this normal figure was shrouded in a hazy white mist, like a phantom, standing out with chilling clarity against the distorted background.

"Holy crap, I really did see a ghost!"

The photographer felt his scalp crawl. He was one hundred percent certain that when he had looked at that spot with his own eyes, there had been no one there!

’What the hell did I just take a picture of?!’

’Am I really seeing a ghost in broad daylight?!’

He tried to scramble to his feet and leave, but his legs felt like jelly, and his heart was pounding so hard he couldn’t even stand.

"Mister, can we get your contact info? Maybe we can hang out later?"

One of the girls who had asked for the photo was now clinging to Ding Huiyuan’s arm. She gazed up at his ruggedly handsome face, her eyes full of adoration.

He was exactly her type.

You never know how forward a girl can be.

"We can talk about that later," Ding Huiyuan said with a smile. "A friend of mine just arrived. If you don’t leave now, you might have a rather unpleasant experience."

With a slight shrug, he freed his arm and looked straight ahead.

"Devi Punk?" he asked.

The two girls followed his gaze, confused. There was no one there.

’Is this guy crazy?’

The two girls exchanged a strange look.

But in Ding Huiyuan’s eyes, there was most certainly someone standing before him.

A tall, blond-haired man with a face as handsome as a god’s. His eyes held a cold, arrogant disdain, looking down upon all creation.

He was standing right in the middle of the bustling crowd, yet no one seemed to perceive his existence. He was like a deity descended to the mortal plane; unless he willed it, no mortal could behold his true form.

Though he occupied the same physical area, it was as if he and everyone around him existed in different dimensions.