My stats are higher than yours!!

The demon army, unable to break through the enemy lines, dispatched demon generals to the front lines, but they were successfully held back by powerful figures hidden within the kingdom, thus preventing the demons from shrinking their territory and bringing new hope to the human race.

Bai Shuodong is still cultivating.

...

兩年後

The human and demon races ceased hostilities, creating an eerie atmosphere of peace.

The Demon King believed that the root of human unity lay in war and the threat of life and death. Therefore, he abandoned any thought of a direct attack and instead tried to use safe ground to allow new corruption to flourish among them.

The demons also need a lot of time to recuperate. The heroes had killed too many people before, and the continuous war over the years had taken its toll on them.

Bai Shuodong is still cultivating.

...

five years later

The human kingdom has entered a period of peace and prosperity, and the martial spirit is flourishing. Bards are telling stories about war and demons.

Bai Shuodong is still cultivating.

...

Ten years later

A demon general was beaten to a pulp while trying to cross the border into the human kingdom. He was later discovered by the demons, and the demon king demanded compensation.

The human race responded at lightning speed, with their vanguard taking the lead and capturing three cities in quick succession, thus igniting the war.

Bai Shuodong is still cultivating.

...

Nineteen years later

The old village chief's back became increasingly hunched, his once-white hair thinned, his clear eyes became cloudy, he ate less and less, and his memory deteriorated.

At this moment, he could no longer help Bai Shuodong cultivate, but Bai Shuodong still took him along.

Bai Shuodong's image has also changed from the initial boy to a middle-aged man with long, flowing hair, bearing various traces left by his cultivation, and his overall attributes have been elevated to the extreme.

restaurant

'He's dying.'

Bai Shuodong looked at the old village chief opposite him, stroking the mithril ring on his hand, which the old village chief gave him on his third birthday after he came to this world.

This old guy is annoying. He always says he's pitiful, has no relatives or friends, and only thinks about how to cultivate himself. He doesn't celebrate his birthday all year round. I really don't know how he used to live. I kept pestering him until I finally got his birth date.

Then, they kept sending gifts for 18 years.

But this old thing probably won't last past nineteen years.

"Boom!!"

A deafening explosion rang out, and a terrifying shockwave swept through the street. A demonic body, five meters tall, gradually unfolded in the center of the smoke, its face bearing a ferocious smile.

Someone nearby recognized him and muttered in fear, "This is... a Mountain Demon General. How could someone of this level appear here?"

The mountain demons wreaked havoc in the city, with countless demons surging out from the corners. Human powerhouses rushed forward, and the sounds of battle were incredibly loud, as if they were about to destroy the entire city.

The old village chief watched the battlefield, where Bai Shuodong would occasionally kill two attacking demons at will.

He stood up and walked forward, but his movements were unsteady. His emaciated body no longer possessed vitality, and even basic movements were difficult.

"Old man, what are you doing?"

"I...I have to stop them."

"Why are you suddenly showing kindness now?"

"I'm dying."

The old village chief's eyes cleared a bit. He turned to look at Bai Shuodong, stretched out his hand, and said, "Lend me your staff... I don't want to die in obscurity. In the end, people always want to pursue some meaning, even if it may be meaningless."

Bai Shuodong handed over the Red Heart Staff, his hand trembling slightly.

The old village chief smiled, his wrinkled face surprisingly handsome. He pulled out a letter, a letter he had been writing for a year, the contents of which he would never let Bai Shuodong see, but now he was handing it over.

This is... his will.

The old man walked forward step by step on the battlefield amidst the raging flames of war. His originally hunched body gradually straightened up, and a radiant light of spiritual energy burst forth from his body. However, as he released this energy, blood also spilled from the corner of his mouth.

He straightened up, his staff lit up, and fierce flames danced around him, naturally rippling outwards with destructive energy.

A powerful demon attacked, but they were all forcibly restrained by the human race.

Bai Shuodong followed behind him, watching quietly.

The envelope was wrinkled.

"Listen to the roar of the flames, the fiery spirit awakened from the scorched earth of chaos..."

As the chanting began, the old village chief's voice suddenly stopped abruptly, as if he had forgotten what to say next. Bai Shuodong continued from behind him, "Using my will as a guide, I gather fire into flames."

The old village chief's lips curled slightly as he continued reciting, "With my will as the guide, I gather fire to form flames."

"Carrying the heat of burning all things, it transformed into the body of a dragon."

Bai Shuodong continued.

"Carrying the heat of burning all things, it transformed into the body of a dragon."

The old village chief repeated it.

The flames around him formed a dragon shape, and the power they unleashed became increasingly terrifying, but the blood flowing from his mouth also increased, and cracks appeared on his body.

The old village chief had said long ago that he had been crippled and was no longer able to use much spiritual energy.

"Dragon Flames Burn the Sky."

"Dragon Flames Burn the Sky."

As soon as he finished speaking, the fire dragon came to life, soaring with surging flames and crashing into the mountain demon general.

The flames exploded in an instant.

"Boom!!!"

The firelight illuminated the old village chief's face as he smiled and opened his arms. His thoughts seemed to drift back to a distant past, transforming him into the young boy he once was, a time when he was still warm-hearted and kind, undeterred by reality.

Those were his happiest times, but also very difficult days.

He collapsed.

He fell into Bai Shuodong's arms.

He shakily reached into his pocket, when a blind demon charged at him with a sword. Bai Shuodong turned and glared, unleashing a [Lion's Might] that was completely different from before.

"Get out!!"

The demon warrior trembled, then collapsed to the ground, utterly lifeless.

"Joey, this is my last birthday present. Happy 19th birthday."

The old village chief handed out a token with the character "Qiao" engraved on its surface. He stammered "Xin" but couldn't form a complete sentence.

Then, his body suddenly lost all strength, and he died completely.

"What trash magic? It scared me!"

The mountain demon general rose from the smoke with a relaxed smile on his face. As the most defensive of all the demon generals, the old village chief's final magic could not defeat him, leaving only some burn marks.

Bai Shuodong picked up the old man's body, carried him to a safe place, and said to a boy:

"Take good care of him."

Then, he slowly turned around.

He grinned, then suddenly burst into laughter, a laugh that seemed to start out of nowhere.

"hehe..."

"Hahaha..."

"Hahahaha!"

"It's fake! It's all fake! This is all fake, haha! It's all fake!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Chapter 51 Use the Flame Fist on him!

The Trial of Courage has the following characteristics.

Firstly, the difficulty of the trial varies depending on the individual's strength.

Secondly, the changes within the trial have no effect on the real world; death has no impact.

Thirdly, there is no time limit. You can stay inside as long as you like. No matter how long you stay inside, only a little over an hour will pass outside.

Bai Shuodong had long concluded that the trial of courage was fabricated and fake.

But even so...

...

[Note: You have successfully achieved perfect resonance with the Laughter Factor; the Laughter Factor effect has been upgraded.]

[Laughter Factor (Passive)]

Level: first level

Skill Quality: Special

Skill Level: None

Skill Source: Laughing Mask

Skill effect: Increases base health regeneration speed by 100% and base stamina regeneration speed by 100%. After activating the Laughter Factor, restores 1% of maximum health per second.

"hehe.."

Bai Shuodong smiled as he stepped through the ruins, the sounds of battle and screams echoing in his ears. His lion-like eyes were fixed on the distant demon general, like a lion locking onto its prey.

He stomped his foot hard on the ground, and the solid earth instantly cracked open, shooting out like a cannonball.

"What is this...?"

The mountain demon subconsciously raised his hand to block, but it was too late to stop the attack.

A hand, tiny in comparison to his enormous body, pressed down on the mountain demon general's head.

"Boom!!"

The mountain demon's head was pressed firmly into the ground, and the five-meter-tall giant crashed to the ground, overwhelmed by pain and confusion. He tried to resist, but then he heard a maniacal laugh, a sound that was both crying and laughing, both divine and demonic, yet not human.

Immediately afterwards, an extremely terrifying force came from the hand that was pressing him down.

"Boom! B ...

Bai Shuodong pressed his head down and dragged him along the ground as they ran wildly through the city. Countless bricks were crushed to pieces by the Demon General's body, and the Demon General's blood flowed everywhere.

He looked at the demons on the road and roared with laughter, "Eat my steamroller!!!"

The mountain demon general's body crushed the demon warriors on the road, blood splattering everywhere. The battle, which was originally evenly matched, now turned into a one-sided affair.

Bai Shuodong single-handedly crushed countless demon warriors.

This is physical crushing.

...

One hour later

Bai Shuodong casually tossed aside the broken toy he had played with until it was ruined. Looking at the devastated city, he took out the envelope the old village chief had given him from his pocket. He hesitated for a moment before opening it, but finally opened it decisively.

“Joey, by the time you read this letter, I will probably be dead.”

"You should have realized long ago that I am not an ordinary old man, but you didn't ask. You just followed me in cultivation. In the very end, let me tell you what I have been doing all these days."

"I am the tower master of the Tower of Radiance. On the surface, the Tower of Radiance is just a loose organization of mages, but in reality, it is the place where I protect and gather human geniuses. There are many people like me in it."

"Over the years, I have used the power of the Tower of Radiance and the influence of war to constantly change the kingdom's high-ranking officials, sending corrupt nobles to the gallows and replacing them with our people, making the human kingdom appear prosperous."