Chapter 5: Demon Teacher

……

"But the respect you speak of is merely a vague and illusory promise," Shendu said.

"So?" Lv Cheng shrugged.

"Shendu, so-called respect is mutual. If you respect me, then naturally I will respect you."

"I am no Saint who hates evil with a passion; you know this very well. Otherwise, I wouldn't have agreed to release you dangerous Demons just to obtain the power of Demons."

"Moreover, restraining Demons is not something that can be done in a single word. You could completely use an installment plan, or even provide me with incomplete methods, forcing me to rely on you to restrain those Demons."

"As long as I still need you, I will have to respect you."

"Achieving this step shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"

"……"

Shendu's eyes narrowed slightly.

Such a strange feeling; how is this kid so much like a Demon tempting humans?

No! He is the Demon!

"You want more than just this, don't you?" Shendu said.

"Of course," Lv Cheng admitted.

"I need your wisdom, great Demon Wizard."

Shendu was not only a Demon, but also a powerful Wizard!

He mastered countless powerful Magic!

Although it wasn't shown much in the plot, that was because it wasn't necessary. Compared to Shendu's own power, he simply didn't need to use those spells that required preparation to cast.

In battle, one naturally uses the simplest and most direct means; with a casual wave, there is Explosive Flame, along with various types of Divine Power. Naturally, Shendu had no need to use those things.

But he was interested!

"You want to learn Magic from me?" Shendu asked suspiciously.

"Compared to the power of Demons, those Magic are simply not worth mentioning."

"And yet, you are defeated again and again by the very Magic you call not worth mentioning," Lv Cheng retorted.

Shendu's face darkened, "That was an accident!"

"You may know much of my past, but from your attitude, you don't know how powerful I originally was!"

"If I hadn't been sealed into Hell by those Immortal Gods, and my wisdom and power worn down by those endless years, those humans! Including the Saint Warriors who sealed me, they could never have been my opponents!"

"I believe that," Lv Cheng nodded.

In the worldview of Jackie Chan Adventures, the Eight Demons ruled the world for thousands of years, and the only ones who could defeat them head-on were the Eight Immortals.

As for how strong Shendu's power was, the finale made it very clear: Xiao Long, having obtained all the Demon Qi, could easily trigger the end of the world.

However, after Shendu took back all his power, he easily put on a show of a father beating his son.

The power of Demons is very buggy; if they weren't brainless so much of the time, humans could never have defeated the Demons.

Even the so-called Spellbook was just Magic once used by the Eight Demons.

However, having experienced the wear and tear of Hell, the Eight Demons—aside from Shendu—not only forgot those things, but their wisdom had also all but vanished; they basically had no brains left.

"So, are you willing to cooperate with me?" Lv Cheng asked.

"Great Demon Wizard?"

"……"

Shendu fell into silence.

He didn't know how much this human understood about him. Furthermore, this guy had a very good brain. His brothers and sisters had lost too much wisdom to the wear of time and often had no brains at all. If he refused to cooperate, this guy would very likely find a way through the other Demons.

Demons are all selfish!

If this guy offered enough temptation, other Demons would also betray him...

"I agree to your cooperation," Shendu raised his head.

Rather than waiting for other Demons to betray him, it was better to strike first!

He couldn't do anything about this human, so if he wanted to secure enough dignity and freedom, he had no other choice.

At least for now, he had no other choice.

"Very good." Lv Cheng stood up, walked solemnly to Shendu, and extended his right hand.

"Hello, I am Lv Cheng, 'Cheng' as in sincerity. From today on, we are friends."

Shendu also stood up, "If you want to obtain my wisdom, then you should call me teacher."

"No problem, my respected Demon teacher," Lv Cheng smiled.

"So, happy cooperation?"

Shendu paused, then reached out and shook Lv Cheng's right hand, "Happy cooperation, my cute apprentice."

An Immortal God Descendant had voluntarily become his apprentice!

How interesting!

This time, the Immortal God Descendant is truly too interesting!

……

"So, back to my initial question: Yin-Yang Balance. Right now I am Yang, but what if one day I become Yin?" Lv Cheng asked.

"If it were my original world, you would be abandoned by the Immortal Gods and become one of the Demons," Shendu said.

"Then, a new Yang would be born, and this new Yang would correspond to the Yin, including you."

"But this world is different. The power of the Eight Immortals does not exist here, and there is no law of Yin-Yang Balance here. If you become the Yin part, then the Yin-Yang Balance Contract we previously set will automatically become invalid."

"You will no longer be able to obtain power from Demons."

"Zhou Lan's plan is to guide you into falling into darkness and becoming one of the Demons. That way, except for me, they will all obtain true freedom in this world!"

The Godly Token in Lv Cheng's hand is only useful to him!

Even if this guy falls to the side of the Demons and the Contract is broken, Lv Cheng still possesses the ability to banish him back to Hell!

But for other Demons, without the corresponding Godly Token, they are invincible in this world without the Eight Immortals!

That is why he was unwilling to accept this plan at the beginning!

Demons are all selfish!

And he is an unavoidable sacrifice in this plan!

"That's not all, is it?" Lv Cheng asked skeptically.

"If it were just that, would they have been so worried at the time?"

He saw it very clearly; when Zhou Lan and the others were discussing the plan, the other Demons all showed obvious fear!

Shendu picked up his teacup and took a sip, "Of course, this plan has a huge risk."

"Your fall, and the freedom of the Demons, are highly likely to lead to the Immortal Gods returning to the human world."

After sealing the Demons, the power of Yin declined; to avoid the birth of new, more powerful Demons, the Eight Immortals chose to leave the human world and went off to who knows what hellish place.

However, if all the Demons returned to the human world and regained their former wisdom and power, the Eight Immortals would very likely reappear to fill the void of Yang.

"Hmm... since you know the principle of Yin-Yang Balance, why do you still insist on being the Yin side? If you stood on the side of Yang, perhaps you could break free from the shackles of Hell, right?" Lv Cheng asked in confusion.

Shendu wore an expression of looking at a fool, "Why do you think Demons are called Demons?"

"Demons are Yin itself, and the Eight Immortals are Yang itself; this is our essence, and it cannot be changed."

"As for the result, your short human lives last only a hundred years and are destined to end in death, so why bother living at all?"

Lv Cheng nodded, "Then what about me?"

"Didn't you say I am an Immortal God Descendant? Then how can I become Yin?"

"Because you are human," Shendu said.

"The power of the Immortal Gods will only guide you toward them, but this is not mandatory; you can choose to give it up, or even choose the opposite path."

"Then what is the use of me being an Immortal God Descendant?" Lv Cheng asked in confusion.

"Except for being somewhat special to Demons, in the human world... it is of no use," Shendu said.

The corner of Lv Cheng's eye twitched, "No use at all?"

Shendu paused, "It's not entirely useless."

"After all, Gods love to test, so you will experience more suffering and tempering than ordinary people. If you successfully pass the tests, you will obtain the great power of the Immortal Gods—though, of course, it can only be used to deal with Demons."

"In the human world, you will always only be an ordinary person. Once you harbor thoughts of using Divine Power for your own selfish gain, the Divine Power will distance itself from you, and Righteous Magic will no longer protect you."

"To use your human words, an Immortal God Descendant is one of those true Saints who possesses powerful strength but is always thinking of being righteous and noble."

"..."

"A sucker?" Lv Cheng looked strange.

He had thought his status was so badass, but it turns out he's just a sucker?

Shendu nodded, "I think so too, but those true Saints wouldn't care whether they are suckers or not."

"Even if they are betrayed and abandoned by the humans they trust and protect, they will still choose to protect humanity."

"A bunch of paranoid lunatics."

"That's why I said, you don't look like an Immortal God Descendant."

"You are smarter than them."

"..."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

(End of chapter)