Chapter 94: Just A Fist
“Zen is smiling?! He can laugh in the face of a terrifying demon!?”
“It's no big deal! He just passed through the first and second circles.”
“Do you want to take a try? Look at the those people. Who dared to laugh like Zen is doing now? Not even Henry is snickering!”
Henry's face paled at their words.
To confront the demon, he would force a smile if necessary. Still, it was clear that in this situation, it would be less embarrassing to smile than to cry. Deep down, he decided he had to find an appropriate time to teach Zen a lesson since Zen kept showing him up. As he schemed, Henry's mood improved.
The gossiping reached Zen too, who felt a bit self-conscious. To circumvent more misunderstandings, Zen changed his expression when he entered the second circle, scowling seriously.
Once he was in the second circle, Zen became more threatened, but, he could still withstand the evil spirit.
Zen kept moving forward, and soon enough, he had progressed through the third, fourth and fifth circles.
After he advanced into the fifth circle, the demon's tremendous torso shook, as it perked its ugly head up, roaring at Zen.
An ordinary beast's roar wouldn't intimidate Zen.
But, this demon was somehow more menacing.
On hearing the roar, Zen felt his heart racing and he writhed in fear.
“Thump! Thump!”
Zen's heart raced faster as the evil spirit circled him, eyeing him as though he was the only one alive, on earth or in heaven.
Feeling fear was a natural reaction if a person was trapped by a monster.
Apart from his heart thumping harder and faster, Zen reacted with an involuntary shiver.
Humans instinctively avoided calamity and sought more comfortable venues instead. Sense made them shy away when faced with a risk or threat.
Zen was human too, so, naturally, he felt the instinct as well.
Likewise, he could be afraid and flinch. Like anyone, he was bothered by negativity, which impacted him.
“Although the evil spirit in the demon is weird, this threat means nothing at all to me!” Encountering the demon, Zen's eyes gleamed, reflecting his unyielding courage.
Feeling courageous, Zen stepped toward the demon resolutely.
“Growl! Rawr!”
Demons were similar to human beings, and intelligent enough to understand that they would be killed if caught. In spite of that, the demon still felt the need to torture weak humans spiritually.
Before this encounter with Zen, the demon felt that its evil spirit effectively scared humans trashless.
But this guy now seemed unaffected by its evil spirit. Given that, the demon was furious and roared very loudly.
The fierce evil spirit rushed at Zen, surging like tides of water and tightly enveloped him.
The evil energy gripping Zen fettered him, like invisible chains, pulling and tearing into Zen. His courage waned, hindering his progress as he headed to the circle ahead.
As Zen stepped into the seventh circle, he had to stop and close his eyes because he felt the pressure and found it a little difficult to endure the evil spirit.
“Zen has done very well reaching the seventh circle, but, why has he stopped?”
“His eyes are closed. What on earth could he be thinking about at such a time? If he makes it to the eighth circle, he will be tied with Henry.”
“Ah, but, I believe it'll be impossible for Zen to reach the next circle. See how he's standing there in a daze. What's wrong? Is he scared senseless?”
Outer disciples murmured amongst each other.
Noting that other outer disciples either passed through each circle at a fast pace or had the trash scared out of them marching into the first few circles, they thought Zen was an extraordinary exception, making him stand out from other disciples. How was he able to stand there, eyes closed, pondering his life while within the seventh circle?
How was it possible for Zen to contemplate anything at a critical time like this one?
Deep in thought, Zen reminded himself again and again that the demon in front of him posed no threat to him, and that his surreal fears that rose from deep inside were imaginary.
As he reminded himself, Zen heard another voice within his head, telling him not to move forward. The demon was conquerable in Zen's opinion. Once he took a step forward, the demon would tear itself apart and fall into an abyss where reincarnation would be impossible for it.
A battle was waging silently, deep inside Zen, as his will and instincts struggled against each other.
When the demon realized Zen's struggle, it roared louder.
Its entire body grappled frantically, as though it were trying to free itself, to propel itself at Zen and swallow him whole.
The onlookers had already stood back at a distance, but, watching the demon's incessant roaring as it strove to unleash more evil spirit made them flinch and step back again.
Only Zen stood still and silent.
“To confront a demon, one must keep his mind absolutely calm,” reminded Aura. She was standing close to Zen. Aura added, “Just remember, this demon is equal to a nature creature. Can a nature creature scare you that much?”
'A nature creature?' Zen thought, Aura's question gave him a measure of understanding. Searching his heart, Zen was undoubtedly not frightened of strongmen in tier eight or nine at nature level like Fren.
Realistically, the demon Zen faced now shouldn't frighten him either.
Yet, the evil spirit had almost penetrated into Zen's entire body, making his will struggle against his natural impulses.
With that assessment, Zen decided to use his willpower to suppress his instincts.
Common belief held that it was more challenging to conquer oneself than to transcend another.
Suddenly, Zen was struck by a brilliant idea to counterattack the demon.
“The state of forgetting myself!”
Zen pushed his soul into a state of forgetting himself.
To lose himself completely, Zen isolated his consciousness from his material form.
Now, even if Zen feared the demon, he was able to control the reaction of his body calmly without the evil spirit affecting him at all.
In the blink of an eye, Zen's negative emotions were dispelled, and with them, his fear vanished.
Zen's eyes shot open, where neither courage nor fear was reflected. Instead, his eyes were bright and pure with no emotions whatsoever.
Mentally and emotionally prepared now, Zen headed through the eighth circle.
On taking two to three more steps, Zen was in the ninth circle.
“Look, Zen has made it to the ninth circle. He has surpassed Henry's record!”
“Can it be possible that he doesn't fear the proximity of the beast?”
“I would be terrified if it were me out there...”
As disciples exchanged comments, they watched in awe as Zen would approach the demon if he took another six or seven steps ahead.
The closer Zen got, the more it infuriated the demon. Piercing eyes blazed red, as it gnashed its sharp teeth in rage and postured as though it would devour Zen once he was near enough.
Unaffected by the demon's display, Zen advanced unhesitatingly. He passed from the ninth circle to the tenth one. As he was nearer, Zen calmly looked the demon up and down.
Despite the savagery of the demon, Zen had left his ego and serenely gazed at the demon before him like it were nothing more than a small cat or dog.
“Well done, Zen. You passed the trial by reaching the tenth circle, and therefore, you shouldn't endanger yourself by drawing nearer to the demon,” mentioned Aura.
Aura reminded Zen because, although the demon was restrained, it could attack Zen if he were to get too close to it.
Despite Aura's gentle reminder, Zen proceeded towards the demon as if he hadn't heard her.
Zen's motion to continue getting closer shocked the demon. This human being was actively resigning himself to death.
'But, how is this human being able to continue? Shouldn't he be only half-step into the nature level?' the demon wondered. Long before, the demon had lost count of how many weak human beings like Zen it had killed and eaten.
'So be it human, since you resign yourself to death, I will fulfill your desire and swallow you whole!' the demon mused as he watched Zen slowly approaching.
“Zen, my brother, come back! You've reached the innermost circle. You don't need to go any further!” yelled Nory anxiously. His browline was furrowed with apprehension and sweat rolled down his face, terrified for his friend.
“Did Zen become so scared that lost his mind? Has he resigned himself to death?” questioned another disciple.
Turning a deaf ear to what people said, Zen continued advancing, getting closer to the demon.
When he was a mere foot from it, the demon tilted its head to the side, as it opened its big mouth baring its razor-sharp teeth and clamping down on Zen's head.
Screams of horror and shock filled the plaza at the horrific sight.
As the demon was about to bite him, Zen swung a fist at the demon.
Instantaneously, a dragon scale came alive, lighting up inside Zen's mind.
Seven dragon scales exerted considerable force, making Zen far more potent than any disciples at the same refining level.
So, how impressive would the strength be with over a hundred dragon scales lighting up simultaneously?
“Slam!”
Before the razor-like teeth could sink into him, everyone heard the sound of Zen's fist crashing into the demon's head as it resonated through the place.
When Zen punched the demon, he hadn't yet tapped into any life vitality.
It was solely his physical strength.
Nevertheless, his fist was as destructive as a tsunami crashing ashore.
In a flash, the demon disappeared.
“Glub!”
The demon gurgled as it transformed into vaporous blood in the blink of an eye because Zen's mighty force extended into its body.
Its flesh turned to ashes as it disintegrated, and bones shattered into tiny bits.
Standing there, with mouths agape, the other outer disciples were shocked at the horrific scene.
Since the demon had been sealed and controlled, many of them were capable of killing the demon as long as they kept some distance from it.
Where those disciples failed was in the difficulty of overcoming their inner demons.
While some performed exceptionally well by reaching the seventh circle and a few even managed to make it to the eighth circle, but, none of those disciples could overcome their deepest fears.
Being more courageous than ordinary individuals, they could temporarily suppress fears, making it possible to reach circles as close to the demon as they could.
That wasn't the only stratagem Zen used though. He was unaffected by the evil spirit after he employed the forgetting himself tactic.
Zen's method made it possible for him to confront the demon and annihilate it with just his fist.