Chapter 354: The Belly Roars

“Boom boom!”

Thunder rumbled from the northern horizon, deafening in its volume.

But the demons of this nation were long accustomed to it; they knew it was the sound their king, Lei Chan, made when his stomach growled.

An endless hunger tormented him, yet seven hundred years had failed to kill this man-eater—he remained an immortal monster, serving as the final boss deep within the Demon King’s Castle.

The once ferocious and brutal aura had gradually faded under suffering; his immense power seemed to weaken continuously. The invincible being known as “Battle God” had become utterly frail within a cold, gray tower—yet as long as he lived one more day, no one dared lift a hand against him.

Days passed as if they could only be spent endlessly struggling against his own instincts, in torment and resistance.

Until today…

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Continuous thunder now rolled from the southern earth, drawing nearer and more terrifying, the two slightly different thunderclaps intertwining as if locked in battle.

A powerful pressure, wrapped in rolling thunder, sped toward them from ahead.

Why is Lei Chan weak?

Because he no longer eats humans—and thus continues to weaken.

Why is Lei Chan strong?

Because he no longer eats humans, even resisting his own species’ instincts, even facing death with calm acceptance.

The demons of Lei Chan’s nation wore expressions of astonishment; they didn’t necessarily dislike eating humans, but out of respect for Lei Chan’s ideals and loyalty, they willingly stood by his side, sharing life and death, gathering beneath his banner to oppose the other two nations.

They were truly loyal to Lei Chan—not cowed by his tyranny.

Now, facing this aggressive invader, they would not retreat; demonic energy erupted violently, and dozens of figures instantly appeared before the national border.

“Let them come.”

Lei Chan’s voice echoed across the entire nation.

…

The lord who ruled the northern demon realm stood only 190 cm tall—by demon standards, not particularly tall, and emaciated, his face bearing the frail appearance of a handsome youth, the black patch on his left cheek adding deep gloom and decay, making him seem even weaker.

He truly looked like he was about to die.

The human and the demon lord stared at each other; neither spoke first.

Lei Chan alone held the entire demon realm in check, causing all to dare not stir; his suppression of human invasions was ultimate, transcendent, absurdly perfect—the demonic equivalent of pulling water from a toilet under Huang Lao Han’s skin—demons didn’t necessarily like it, yet they still had to give him a thumbs-up.

And from the human perspective, these three should hold him in even greater admiration and respect.

But for Jia Qi, “Even if you’re Lei Chan, putting on a show and then running off? Can I tolerate that?”

Jia Qi estimated his battle aura, converted to demonic power, hovered around two hundred to three hundred thousand—unmatched among the “Furious Lower Tier,” reaching the absolute limit most elites ever achieved.

As for the demon lords in the demon realm with power levels in the millions, they had definitely reached the “Furious Mid-Tier”; Jia Qi knew that publicly, only three demons exceeded one million demonic power, but secretly, there were many more—including several with one point six or one point seven million.

In pure base combat power, he couldn’t even rank among them, let alone challenge Lei Chan himself—but then again…

“According to the contract—seal broken!”

Before Lei Chan’s stunned gaze, a ring-shaped shockwave spread through the air; golden radiance blazed vividly against the gray world, tearing through the heavens.

The dark clouds, thickened by centuries of demonic energy, were violently scattered; the sky cleared to endless blue, bathed in water-like light that illuminated the land—many demons had never seen such a clear sky in their lives.

It was power sufficient to challenge any elite.

—The challenger had proven his qualification.

Too bad…

“I have no time left…”

In the tallest tower of the nation, the ravenous man-eater sat slumped on the ground, offering the human before him a self-mocking smile. “Isn’t this ridiculous?”

“The Battle God dying of hunger? This is the ugliest sight imaginable.”

Precisely because he was an elite worthy of respect, Lei Chan understood: his current state could no longer satisfy his opponent’s battle intent; the chance was gone.

“My full strength can last only five seconds.”

Lei Chan, who had fought his instincts for seven hundred years, met at life’s end a human who dared challenge him—yet his condition could no longer satisfy that challenger.

Hu Yuli once transformed from human to demon out of fear of this very thing—yet even the strongest demon in the world now faced it.

Was it not absurd that a man-eater obsessed with satisfaction had fallen to this near-paralyzed state?

This was undoubtedly a tragedy—a heartbreaking missed opportunity.

If Jia Qi struck now, he could kill Lei Chan in less than five seconds.

“I have two good pieces of news to tell you.”

Jia Qi, standing before him, spoke in a calm tone devoid of any negative emotion.

“First, my name is Jia Qi. I am a fist warrior.”

“Second, I’ve come to help you!”

…Silence. The former “Battle God,” once obsessed with the title of strongest, endlessly pursuing battle, could now do nothing but remain silent.

Didn’t he want to?

Didn’t he wish to?

Wine, meat, and battle had once made up his entire being—but his body knew better than anyone: what stood here now was merely a corpse wrapped in the shell of “Lei Chan.”

Lately, illusions flickered before his eyes; his head often spun; strange noises plagued his ears, disturbing his mind; his body grew weaker day by day, his blood flow slower, his body temperature steadily dropping.

Aside from the torment of his mad hunger, all his functions were failing; his life had become a flickering candle.

“Hey, what if I told you I could let you unleash your full strength? Truly, your peak power?”

“Don’t joke!”

Lei Chan froze, then snapped his head up—Jia Qi’s casual tone nearly enraged him! The only solution was that one thing—betraying his seven-hundred-year principle: eating humans.

Was this human going to cut off two pieces of his own delicious flesh and offer them as charity to Lei Chan?

He wanted to sneer.

At this level of strength, especially nearing the end of life, one nearly comprehends fate—he knew clearly: there was no other method in all the world that could [save] him.

And the only one that could? He could never accept it.

“If I’m not mistaken, you can still hold on for another year…” Jia Qi chuckled, withdrawing the Holy Spirit’s power boost. “Just wait. Don’t get beaten too badly when the time comes.”

He turned, waving to Esdeus.

“Come on, Xiao Ai! Time to begin training!”

Battle God Lei Chan,

He is the sole outlier-class elite in the world of Yu Yu Hakusho.

Jia Qi does not seek to challenge the pitiful 1.32 million demonic power of this Lei Chan—he seeks to challenge the six-million-demonic-power Lei Chan of his prime!

Even with Holy Spirit power, he is still not strong enough to defeat or topple Lei Chan! So for the coming year, he will train in the demon realm, a land teeming with elites, growing stronger through battle. As for other unfinished side quests…

【Great Spirit: I’ll leave them to you for now!】

(End of chapter)