Chapter 653: Great Demon Task

However, killing someone within the Golden Academy had a truly terrible impact, and the matter reached Dean Sun Boxiu's ears; he immediately contacted Li Yi the next morning.

At this moment, Li Yi was resting quietly in his cultivation chamber, replenishing his lost blood and qi by consuming large quantities of elixirs, then continuing to nurture divine blood to fill his acupoints.

But Sun Boxiu's phone call jolted him awake instantly.

Seeing the call, Li Yi guessed its purpose and answered immediately.

"Li Yi, it's me—Dean Sun Boxiu." A familiar voice came from the other end.

"Dean, why are you calling me so early? I need to focus on my cultivation—I don't have time to chat. If you're bored, go find some female students at the Golden Academy to talk to." Li Yi spoke bluntly.

"Li Yi, you know why I'm calling. You're a top-tier expert—even within the Golden Academy, you're beyond discipline; rules don't apply to you. But you can't openly kill a student inside the academy." Sun Boxiu spoke with irritation: "Rules were hard-won. If we break them casually, what will happen next?"

Li Yi replied: "Dean Sun, don't speak like that. Back then, I nearly died at the hands of Du Bai Zhi in the Golden Academy—I hadn't committed a capital offense, yet she still attacked me. Later, in the Base of World Six, I nearly died again at the hands of that expert Hu Hong. Where were you then, Dean? Now that I've acted, suddenly you're policing me."

"Is there any logic to this?"

Sun Boxiu immediately said: "Though you suffered many injustices before, to be blunt—if you didn't die, the matter wasn't serious, and I couldn't intervene on your behalf. Now, it's the student Xu Jie who's dead, so I must act."

"Fine. If you want to punish me, I'll just leave the Golden Academy." Li Yi said.

"Li Yi, don't be impulsive. I'm here to resolve this properly, not to drive you away." Sun Boxiu hurriedly said—he couldn't afford to lose such a powerful expert.

Moreover, he knew several honorary professors in the Golden Academy—Wu Yong, Li Yue—seemed deeply connected to Li Yi.

If Li Yi left, those honorary professors might leave too.

That would be a massive loss for the Golden Academy.

"Dean Sun, how do you propose to resolve this?" Li Yi asked.

"The Demon God Realm has been extremely chaotic lately—great demons frequently invade Earth, causing heavy casualties. Many of our top experts have been dispatched to Tianchang City. I recall you're from Tianchang City, aren't you? How about this: eliminate one great demon, and this matter is settled. What do you say?" Sun Boxiu said.

"Eliminate a great demon?" Li Yi's expression darkened.

Great demons of the Demon God Realm were terrifyingly powerful—they could fight evenly with cultivators of the Three Flowers Realm. Back when he was at the Golden Academy, Master Wu had fought one; at the time, he was a One Flower cultivator and was defeated.

Only Xuan Yue Zi, a Two Flowers cultivator, managed to defeat it.

But if a great demon wielded a divine weapon—like the divine wood bow in his own hands—even a powerhouse like Xuan Yue Zi could be killed.

Though his own strength had improved greatly, slaying a great demon by crossing a realm was no small challenge.

Perhaps only when he reached the Chaoyuan Realm, with his sixty major acupoints, overwhelming magic power, plus a dao artifact and divine bow, could he even attempt to face a common great demon.

But now, this was clearly a death sentence.

"Dean, if you want me dead, just say so. You know how powerful great demons are—they nearly destroyed the Golden Academy before. I only killed a student who deserved it, not committed a heavenly crime. I can't do this. Honestly, I'd rather fight you than a great demon—I might accidentally defeat you and become dean myself." Li Yi said.

Between a great demon and the dean, he unhesitatingly chose to kill the dean.

"Li Yi, I'm only making a suggestion—I'm not demanding you do it now. You can cultivate for years before taking it on. If you can't manage it alone, bring several strong experts to surround and kill the great demon together. The head counts as yours. Just give me, your dean, some face. What do you say?"

Sun Boxiu pleaded earnestly again.

No time limit? No limit on numbers?

Li Yi stroked his chin. If put that way, killing a great demon didn't seem impossible—if he summoned Xuan Yue Zi, Master Wu, the Bald Daoist, Qian Dao Ren, Liu Guizi, and a few other Three Flowers experts, the great demon would flee in terror.

"Li Yi, I'm not making things hard for you—I'm just smoothing things over. You don't want Tianchang City destroyed by great demons, do you? If you protect Tianchang City, you'll inevitably face great demons eventually. So this 'punishment' is harmless to you—it's just for appearances."

Sun Boxiu continued: "If others in the Golden Academy hear you've been assigned to hunt a great demon, they'll see our rules are strict. They won't dare break them again."

"But regardless, you're getting the better end. I kill one person and get assigned to hunt a great demon—so if others kill someone in the Golden Academy, will they also be sent to hunt great demons?" Li Yi said.

"Earth's situation is changing rapidly—I can only focus on the present. Who knows what the future holds? Li Yi, help me out. I'll owe you a favor. How about that?" Sun Boxiu said.

Li Yi paused, thought it over, then said: "Since you've put it this way, what can I say? I accept the great demon task. I was planning to return to Tianchang City anyway."

"Good." Sun Boxiu visibly relaxed: "I won't disturb you further. Goodbye."

He hung up immediately.

Li Yi shook his head.

Being dean of the Golden Academy clearly wasn't easy. Sun Boxiu held high rank and power, and was immensely strong—yet he still had to lower his dignity and beg me. It was pitiful to see.

But he understood: Sun Boxiu was doing everything he could to maintain the current order.

At least the Golden Academy couldn't fall apart. It was where cross-realm experts were cultivated—the last hope.

That's why, after every external invasion, the Golden Academy rebuilt itself immediately.

"Still, I'm too easygoing. That's a great demon we're talking about." Li Yi muttered, surprised. Though the task wasn't urgent, the difficulty remained immense. Without connections, completing it might take decades.

But through this, he realized Dean Sun Boxiu had likely guessed the true identities of Master Wu, Xuan Yue Zi, and others.

After all, they used dao arts—though they disguised themselves as Earth people, their bodies bore no traces of the Evolution Method. Exposure was inevitable; Sun Boxiu simply hadn't called them out.

With Earth's experts scarce, any expert who stood with Earth was an Earthling.

After accepting the task, Li Yi suddenly felt restless.

He wasn't thinking about completing it—he wanted to see what was happening in the Demon God Realm. Tianchang City was dangerously close, easily affected by incursions; when a great demon attacked, it could devastate hundreds of miles.

"I'll go back to Tianchang City."

After thinking, Li Yi stepped out of his cultivation chamber. He decided to take the Tianyi Palace—the cultivation chamber it had become—with him. Originally, Tianyi Palace had been left behind to help Master Wu and others recover after crossing realms.

Now, after so long, their strength must have fully recovered. Keeping Tianyi Palace here served no purpose—it was better to carry it with him.

!

He'd have a safe place to stay wherever he went.

"Cloud Soar."

A blessed cloud appeared beneath Li Yi's feet, lifting him slowly into the sky, then transforming into a streak of light, hurtling toward Tianchang City at an unbelievable speed.

With his increased strength, his Cloud Soar speed now surpassed the original Thunder Fighter. Though Tianchang City was over a thousand kilometers away, he arrived in moments.

Tianchang City hadn't changed—it remained bustling, with no signs of damage.

Moreover, since its last reconstruction, the city had continued expanding.

The former ruins were now inhabited; the old danger zones were no longer hazardous.

Li Yi first went to the location of the former Ghost Street.

It had been the cross-realm portal to the Four Seas and Eight Provinces. Now, the danger was gone, and more cultivators frequented the area.

But he noticed the region had been enclosed.

Not by human hands—by dao art.

A tall wall, along with several high-rises and the entire Ghost Street, had been enclosed, guarded by a powerful monstrous beast. Any cultivator approaching was warned away; those who tried to force entry were attacked.

"It's Shan Yi."

Li Yi saw the massive monstrous beast crouched atop the abandoned building.

It was Shan Yi—the one he had tamed before.

When he crossed realms, he hadn't taken Shan Yi along, leaving it to recuperate inside Tianyi Palace.

But when he returned, he hadn't seen Shan Yi at the Golden Academy—he hadn't expected it to return to Tianchang City.

Perhaps it had sensed Li Yi's aura.

Shan Yi let out a cry and soared toward him, moving with astonishing speed, accompanied by thunder and wind.

Compared to before, Shan Yi had grown—its body now stood over eight zhang tall, like a small building, yet it moved with incredible agility, not the slightest hint of clumsiness.

"No wonder it's a creature of the Wildlands—its life force is tenacious, its potential staggering. Even now, it's still in its juvenile stage, with enormous room to grow." Li Yi reached out and stroked Shan Yi's massive head, thinking silently.

"I remember besides Shan Yi, there was also Niu Niu. I wonder where it went."

He looked around but saw only Shan Yi—no sign of Niu Niu.

Indeed, untamed monsters were never obedient.

Niu Niu was unruly, but fortunately, it was clever and never caused trouble—so Li Yi had simply ignored it.

(End of Chapter)