"What? Want to fight with me?"
Yang Jian said with a light laugh. The more relaxed his laughter, the more Nine-headed Insect wanted to battle.
Both were dominant beings of the same rank, but Nine-headed Insect had previously been thrashed by Yang Jian when they were an entire major realm apart. Now, with both at the same realm, Nine-headed Insect naturally refused to accept this.
"Just a friendly spar," Nine-headed Insect said with a wicked smile, licking his lips.
Yang Jian had always been the strongest under Qin Jun, and now Nine-headed Insect also wanted to be the strongest.
"Hey, do you two even realize I’m here?" Qin Jun walked between them, speaking irritably.
Seeing this, the others tactfully left.
The confronting auras of Yang Jian and Nine-headed Insect made their scalps tingle; the farther away, the better.
"Your Majesty, let us fight a battle, otherwise this guy won’t be convinced," Yang Jian said with a light chuckle. Nine-headed Insect maintained his smile, saying nothing more.
Qin Jun couldn’t help but rub his forehead, then spoke solemnly, "If you must fight, stay far away from the Law Ship. Remember, no killing blows allowed. You’re both not hotheaded kids, you understand my words. And don’t worry, I have others under me who are even stronger than you both, just not with me right now!"
At these words, Yang Jian and Nine-headed Insect both frowned.
Qin Jun was not lying; once he restored the Nine Spirits Yuan Sheng and Li Yuanba to their peak God and Demon state, he would show Yang Jian and Nine-headed Insect that there were always others stronger.
Among the demons ranked in the ’Journey to the West,’ the Scorpion spirit, Nine Spirits Yuan Sheng, and the Giant Bird were top three, with Nine-headed Insect lagging far behind.
The Scorpion spirit was a demoness who had once given Tathāgata a hard time, which was more impressive than Sun Wukong, who was utterly defeated in the face of Tathāgata.
Moreover, Sun Wukong had also been defeated by the Scorpion spirit.
Seeing Yang Jian and Nine-headed Insect seemingly cowed, Qin Jun waved his hand, "Hurry up and come back soon; dinner won’t wait for you!"
Yang Jian and Nine-headed Insect twitched the corners of their mouths and, after exchanging a glance, they flew off.
Soon, booms echoed over the sea, churning it into tumultuous waves within a hundred miles, frightening the slaves on the eighth-grade Law Ship.
"Why don’t you stop them?" Liu Ruolai asked Qin Jun, her face full of worry.
In the group, her relationship with Nine-headed Insect and Yang Jian was not considered close. In her view, both were untouchable beings, and she had not expected them to actually start fighting.
She couldn’t imagine who would lose and who would win.
"Stop what? They’re men. A loss is a loss. If they don’t fight it out, they’ll feel even more stifled," Qin Jun said, shaking his head with a smile.
Liu Ruolai heard this and pouted, leaving Qin Jun in a momentary daze.
The more he looked at this girl, the more she reminded him of Shouxin.
For a moment, Qin Jun felt unwell, as Shouxin had become an ailment on his heart. Recalling her made Qin Jun feel anxious and guilty.
Thinking this, he said to Liu Ruolai, "Come here, I will teach you cultivation."
Finishing his words, he turned and walked toward the deck.
Shouxin was once under his tutelage, and now with his mood troubled, he felt a sudden urge to teach Liu Ruolai cultivation, hoping it would make him feel better.
As soon as Liu Ruolai heard this, she became ecstatic, jumping around happily and lively.
Qin Jun had just broken through the sixth layer of the Immortal Realm, surpassing even her father, and with his various Divine Powers, how could she possibly refuse?
"Has the sun risen from the west today?"
Liu Ruolai pondered to herself, recalling the tender look Qin Jun had given her earlier that almost melted her heart.
And so, Qin Jun began to instruct Liu Ruolai in cultivation. Although her cultivation method was not bad, it didn’t catch Qin Jun’s eye.
Having fought and adventured this far, Qin Jun had collected countless cultivation methods, and picking out something better and more suitable for her was not difficult.
The sunlight shone on the two of them, creating a harmonious scene that Tang Sanzang, sitting not far away on the rooftop, remarked upon, "Ah, such childlike romance in this mortal world. Who can truly comprehend its fate, Amitābha."
Zhu Bajie was chatting with Jiang Ziya, curious about the commander of the Investiture of the Gods battle.
As for Diting, he was sunbathing on the deck with the elaphure.
"System, begin summoning God and Demon!"
After Qin Jun finished imparting the cultivation method and gazed at the rumbling waves on the horizon, he said inwardly.
He had to summon stronger ones sooner, otherwise who could suppress Yang Jian and Nine-headed Insect?
And they needed to have a good temper, too.
"Ding! Beginning random summoning of God and Demon..."
The system prompt followed, announcing the reward for completing the mission to advance the Imperial Dynasty—even though he hadn’t done it personally. It was the most satisfying reward he’d ever had, shooting up ten levels. He doubted there would be such a chance again in the future.
Come on, bring in the powerhouses!
Currently, he could only summon beings up to the Mysterious Immortal Realm, so who could overtake Yang Jian from the Daluo Realm?
Liu Ruolai, who was next to him, was concentrating on meditating and did not notice Qin Jun’s odd behavior.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for summoning..."
"Ding! System malfunction... Please host wait..."
Two system prompts sounded in succession, leaving Qin Jun standing there, stunned. The system malfunctioned?
Could it actually have bugs?
Qin Jun cursed inwardly. In his mind, the system had always been perfect, and he hadn’t expected such an error to occur.
"The system is repairing itself; please wait patiently, host..." The system’s voice rang out again, this time with a helpless tone.
"Why is this happening?" Qin Jun’s mouth twitched.
"It may be related to this God and Demon, or other reasons. Don’t worry, just wait," the system quickly replied.
Related to this God and Demon?
Qin Jun’s body shook. Damn, had he actually summoned some big shot?
His feelings were a mix of tension and restlessness.
When dusk arrived, Nine-headed Insect and Yang Jian finally returned, both covered in blood, a frightening sight that made Liu Ruolai hide behind Qin Jun, too scared to approach them.
"Yo, who won?" Zhu Bajie asked, unafraid of stirring things up.
Yang Jian’s expression was still proud, even with his armor stained in blood. Nine-headed Insect’s forehead bled profusely, looking no less dire than Yang Jian, but his complexion didn’t seem bad.
"A draw?" Tang Sanzang asked with a smile.
Hearing this, Jiang Ziya looked at Nine-headed Insect with surprise.
He knew Yang Jian came from a different time and space, with greater strength; Yang Jian had been his greatest warrior during the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods, and it was unexpected that this demon could tie with Yang Jian.
Qin Jun was still frustrated about the system not being repaired yet, so he didn’t pay much attention to the outcome between Yang Jian and Nine-headed Insect.
In his view, it made sense regardless of who won or lost, and whoever lost could find an excuse not to accept it.
"Let’s call it a tie," Yang Jian snorted coldly, but his expression seemed very much like that of a victor.
"Hmph! I lost, and I admit it! I’m not a sore loser!" Nine-headed Insect turned his head away, causing the others to exchange puzzled glances.
It seemed Yang Jian had the edge!
"The gap between us isn’t significant. If it were a life-and-death battle, it’s yet uncertain who would lose or win," Yang Jian said, waving it off with a laugh.
In ’Journey to the West,’ Yang Jian had once joined forces with Sun Wukong to fight Nine-headed Insect, but at that time he hadn’t gone all out, only giving the Jade Emperor and Sun Wukong a favor.