The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

His pupils contracted slightly. He turned around and looked up with Anna behind him. They saw Ye Wang riding the Black Chick down from the sky and hovering on the lake not far from the beach, with an inscrutable smile on his face.

"It's you!?" Yoh Asakura's expression instantly turned serious. He stepped in front of Anna, warily asking, "What are you doing here? Checking my strength?"

“That’s right.” Ye Wang looked down at him and smiled. “Although you are still not worthy of my half-body, your magic power is finally barely acceptable this time. I originally wanted to let you grow a little more, but there is a guy who is too stubborn and can’t be killed no matter what, so Ye… now merge with me.”

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Before Yoh Asakura could speak, Anna stepped forward and said coldly, "Yoh is my property. How can you eat her?"

"I knew it wouldn't go smoothly, but it doesn't matter..." Ye Wang's smile remained unchanged, but his eyes were filled with icy indifference and coldness, "because I have never cared about your wishes."

boom!!

With a deafening explosion that echoed through the mountains, the battle, which was almost entirely one-sided, began.

Just as Dao Helian, who had cultivated for a year, was no match for Su Qi, even though Asakura Yoh was just as talented as Yoh, and had been cultivating diligently day and night for more than a year, he was still completely overwhelmed by Yoh in the battle.

There is no other reason for this; it is simply that the gap between the two is too great to be bridged by short-term training.

After all, there are limits to the method of increasing magical power by experiencing death. The stimulation brought by death will gradually become a habit, and the speed of magical power growth will gradually slow down after the initial burst. The trials they endured were far less than the pain Su Qi suffered when his soul was torn apart a thousand times in the Shikon Jewel—a difference of a thousand years is not something that can be easily erased.

However, his hard training was not in vain, and his efforts so far have not been wasted. Although Ye Wang completely dominated the situation, with the magic power he had cultivated over the past year, the Rain Spirit, and Anna's help, Ye finally managed to withstand the opponent's first few waves of attacks.

But this only prolongs the time until death. Yoh hasn't even used his full strength yet, and his magic power is almost exhausted. Realizing this dire situation, Yoh Asakura once again deeply understands his lack of strength.

That's not enough! I still can't protect the people I care about; I need more power! I can't die here! I must become the Shaman King and resurrect everyone! At the very least… I must keep Anna alive!

His mind raced, desperately searching for a way to break free from the predicament, but to no avail. Just as his magical power was about to run out and the situation was deteriorating further, a massive figure suddenly descended from the sky.

"A deafening roar echoes through the sky, and the hero makes a dazzling entrance!"

boom! !

With someone's announcement, Ye Wang was slapped away from mid-air by a large hand, and Su Qi landed in front of Anna and Asakura Ye.

"Hey Anna, Ye, long time no see. Looks like I've come at the right time."

He raised his hand with a hearty smile.

"It's you!?"

Yoh Asakura was completely astonished, utterly bewildered by the situation. Why was it that Yoh's men had knocked Yoh away?

"We're too late."

Anna remained expressionless and spoke in a harsh tone, but her tense nerves involuntarily relaxed... Although she disliked this guy, she had to admit that his strength was undeniable, and his presence was advantageous to her side.

"No, we've arrived too early, Daocheng."

Ye Wang was completely unharmed and flew back in the blink of an eye. His face was cold, and his tone was no longer as calm as last night. It was faintly revealing a chilling killing intent. "I haven't finished preparing the surprise for you yet. It's not good to be too impatient."

"On the contrary." Su Qi turned to look at Ye Wang. "My surprise is almost ready, so I couldn't wait to show it to you. What do you think?"

The latter turned his head and looked at the giant-like Earth Spirit standing beside him, coldly saying, "A fragment of a great soul, just like my Fire Spirit? Is this what you rely on to stand here and confront me head-on?"

“That’s right. With its help, I’m confident I can block your will-o’-the-wisp. That way, even if I can’t win, I won’t have any problem getting away.”

Ye Wang remained silent. He understood that the other party was right. With a spirit that could fully unleash its magical power, even if the other party couldn't defeat him, temporarily holding them off and restraining him wouldn't be difficult. He knew all too well how troublesome the other party was, having pursued them for a year without success.

But Asakura Yoh and Anna weren't weaklings who could be easily killed. With them holding him back, achieving his goal today would be extremely difficult. It was just... unbelievable! After preparing for over a thousand years, ruling this era with absolute magical power, he was actually unable to accomplish what he wanted to do because of insufficient strength.

Power! I need even greater power! Unstoppable power!

Having made a decision in his heart, Ye Wang stared at Su Qi and the others with his deep eyes for a while, then suddenly sneered, "Let's see if you can keep protecting my other half."

Having said that, he turned and flew away decisively.

"What's going on!?"

Watching the nemesis leave, Asakura Yoh frowned deeply and finally couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering him, "Michishige, aren't you Yoh's subordinate? Didn't you destroy the Asakura family on his orders? Why are you fighting against him now and protecting me?"

Su Qi put away his super spirit body, turned to face him, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Ye, actually... I'm an actor."

Chapter 42 If I strike you with this knife, you might die.

"Huh?! So everything before was just an act? You were lying to me!?"

After hearing Su Qi and Anna's explanation, Asakura Yoh's face showed a look of utter disbelief.

"I'm sorry that my personal selfishness caused you so much pain. It's okay if you want to resent or blame me, but if it happened again, I would probably make the same choice."

Su Qi sincerely apologized, but did not admit his mistake. Different perspectives lead to different levels of importance; if he believed something was wrong, he wouldn't have done it in the first place.

"Really? I see..."

The latter muttered to himself for a moment, then shook his head and smiled faintly, "It's alright, no, it should be said that it's great! Daohe, Daolian, and Daocheng, it's so good that you're not really bad people!"

"leaf……"

"Please don't blame yourself." His smile was completely genuine, as gentle and warm as the winter sun. "Daocheng was doing it for me, wasn't he? I understand. I can understand what you did back then now. Besides, you saved us just now. I should be thanking you."

Undoubtedly, Asakura Yoh, with her tolerant nature and reluctance to get angry unless her bottom line was crossed, easily forgave Su Qi. However, this did not make the latter happy; instead, it made him feel genuinely guilty.

After all, he wasn't some kind of demon, and he would feel guilty for deceiving such an honest person, but this level of emotion wouldn't affect his decision.

"How cunning." After sending Yoh Asakura off to train, Anna stared coldly at Su Qi and said, "You figured out Yoh's personality, so you were able to do this without any burden, right?"

The latter shook his head slightly, "On the contrary, it is precisely because of Ye's personality that I have an extra burden."

He then changed the subject, saying, "Ye Wang has already set his sights on Ye. What are your plans next?"

Anna glared at him and said irritably, "Be glad, although I really want to say that it's all your fault for forcing Ye to become stronger, my pride prevents me from saying such shameless things."

"I'm so glad, so glad..." Su Qi patted his chest, his face full of exaggerated gratitude, and said, "Thank you so much, Queen Anna, for your mercy."

"Enough, stop pretending." Anna gave him a disgusted look, took a deep breath, and said awkwardly, "From now on, I hope we can work with you."

"Ok?"

"What? Is that not allowed?" Her expression, which had just softened, turned sinister again. She stared at Su Qi and said, "The Asakura family and the Dao family are allies, aren't they? Does the Dao family intend to break their alliance?"

"Of course not," the latter smiled and said, "You're welcome anytime."

A mischievous grin spread across his face. The plan was complete! The main force for defeating Hao was assembled; now they just awaited the opportune moment. But surely Hao wouldn't just sit idly by and wait to be killed?

……

Several hours later, in Tokyo, on a riverbank under a bridge.

A large campsite and self-built wooden huts were set up on the river, and a large group of people dressed in strange clothes, who seemed to have gathered from all over the world, lived there.

This is a temporary settlement for Ye Wang's followers. Because Ye Wang dislikes modern creations and money, his followers also follow his style and live in cramped conditions on this riverbank.

"The great man is back."

The curly-haired black boy, who was sitting on the riverbank in a daze, suddenly looked up and saw Ye Wang descending from the sky and landing on the riverbank.

"My goodness! You're finally back!"

Overjoyed, he immediately ran over and hugged Ye Wang's legs.

"I'm sorry, Abagio, I was away for a little longer this time."

Ye Wang smiled and patted Abacho on the head. Because he had divined that there might be risks when he went to the Asakura family, he did not let the latter go with him, but even he himself did not expect that this trip would last for more than a year.

"It's alright, as long as Lord Ye Wang returns..."

Abachio snuggled against Ye Wang affectionately, but before he could finish speaking, he suddenly stopped, a strange look flashing across his face.

"what happened?"

He looked up and stared at Ye Wang's smiling face, which seemed exactly the same as before, but he felt that something was different. He couldn't find anything unusual even with his mind-reading ability, and said in confusion, "It feels like... Lord Ye Wang seems a little different."

"Really? It's probably because it's been a long time since we last met, this body has grown a little bit."

"Yeah……"

"Alright, Abachio, go and gather everyone together for me. I have something to announce."

"Is something wrong?"

"Hmm. I suddenly realized that everyone's strength is still too low. I need to personally guide everyone's training. Only in this way can we fulfill our wish and allow me to ascend to the throne of Shaman King."

"Yes! Abagio will go right away!"

Abagio responded loudly and ran out happily.

Ye Wang sat down on a large rock nearby, propping his cheek with his right hand, gazing at Abachiao's small figure, his dark eyes deep and unfathomable, like an abyss.

……

One month later, one morning in Tokyo, at the foot of Tatehara Hill, in a hot spring inn that had recently been renovated and named "Tenmei Circle" by Su Qi, Su Qi was practicing his swordplay in the courtyard.

Although swordsmanship is not very useful in this world, and most of his time is spent practicing skills related to psychics, he still sets aside time to practice his sword every day without fail, so as not to become rusty.

"It should be today."

Dao Lian, who was doing push-ups next to her, said this.

Currently, five people reside in the inn: Su Qi, Dao Lian, Dao He, Asakura Ye, and Osakayama Anna. This is for two reasons: first, to look out for each other and avoid being defeated one by one by the enemy; and second, to work together and prepare for their eventual showdown with Ye Wang.

"That's right, according to the revelation in the dream, the official battle of psychics begins today."

A month ago, on the night that Rahu streaked across the night sky, all psychics around the world who had ever slept with him received a revelation: the official psychic war would begin today in Tokyo.

At that time, Su Qi was watching the sunrise with Ye Wang, so he didn't receive it at all.

“I can sense it; recently, a lot of magical power has been gathering in this city.”

"According to the shikigami's reports, apart from the three major powers, most séances are not worth paying attention to."

As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated." Knowing the importance of intelligence, Su Qi had already begun his preparations within the past month. He not only subdued many ghosts as shikigami and planted them everywhere, but also used money and the power of psychics to pave the way, secretly bribing many insiders in the Japanese government. He noted down every single one of them, including those who entered the country through legitimate channels and those strangely dressed psychics on the streets.

"Three major forces?"

"First, there's Ye Wang and his followers; second, there's X-LAWS, the psychic organization led by Maiden Jeanne, whose sword is aimed directly at Ye Wang; third, there's Gandara, led by Satie, who also considers Ye Wang an enemy; and then there's the World Peace Team, composed of our Taoist and Asakura families. That makes four major forces."

"Wait! What the heck is the World Peace Team? Why do we have such a weird name?" Not far away, Daohe, who was doing a handstand against a tree trunk, couldn't help but complain.

"How about we call it the Savior Alliance?"

"Wouldn't that be even more shameful?"

"How dare you! Are you questioning my ability to name things? Would you like me to impart some life experience to you and personally explain the Eight Honors and Eight Shames of Taoism to you?"

"No, no, how could I dare to question you, who gave the hotel such an extraordinary name as 'Celestial Circle'?"

Ignoring their usual bickering, Dao Lian asked, "X-LAWS, Gandara? I remember you said before that you wanted to ally with these two forces to fight against Ye Wang, right? Is it them?"