A Single Withered Leaf

Dharma Court.

Clouds of black evil energy covered the sky and continued to spread widely out in all directions as it enveloped the entire Shaolin temple. All the Shaolin disciples who were attacked by the evil energy became confused and quickly lost their consciousness soon after.

Deep within the jet-black plumes of evil energy, a faint heavenly light glowed. Its tiny light seemed as small as candlelight as it burned slowly. The heavenly light dimmed as it struggled to resist the jet-black evil energy around it.

It was obvious that the heavenly light would not have been able to hold on for much longer. Once the heavenly light was extinguished, the Shaolin temple would have become a demon domain on earth. 

"Ignorant fool Hui Wen, give up now! You'll never be able to comprehend how terrifying the power of the Demon Buddha is!" drawled Zhen Xing slowly.

At that moment, all the court heads of the Shaolin temple lost the ability to continue fighting. Plus, abbot Hui Wen was not able to hold on for much longer. Zhen Xing started feeling confident that victory was in his grasp.

"I'm glad I lured all you temple court heads and abbot to the Dharma Court. Otherwise, if any one of you managed to escape and use the hidden resources of the Shaolin temple, my plan to destroy the Shaolin temple wouldn't be as successful!"

Zhen Xing's expression flashed with smugness. 

The Shaolin temple with its position as one of the greatest martial arts sects in the world may not have had a presiding Divine Master Abbot. However, with their foundations and resources, they might still have been able to stop Zhen Xing.

However, no matter how strong their foundations and resources were, it was completely pointless if there was nobody to use them. Right that moment, everyone in the Shaolin temple who could use the hidden resources was trapped and completely under his control.

Right as Zhen Xing was about to strike and completely defeat abbot Hui Wen, his expression suddenly changed. 

"What's this?" Zhen Xing said as he lifted his head and looked toward the Scripture Pavilion. He felt a powerfully-balanced and positive aura. It was like a sharp blade that could have easily cut through the swirling black clouds of evil energy. 

The endless clouds of jet-black evil energy and the power of the Demon Buddha combined, appeared as mere illusions in the air. Yet, even a second-rank martial artist could have fallen prey to it easily if they made a single mistake. 

However, that aura seemed to have sliced through the evil energy easily like it was butter. It shredded as it was touched. 

The next moment, the powerful aura seemed to have traveled across thousands of meters to arrive instantly in front of Zhen Xing.

"This is bad!" exclaimed Zhen Xing. He was so afraid out of his skin that he was ready to flee and hide.

The darkness had fallen.

The positive aura charged straight through Zhen Xing's brow and collided with the thousand-year-old ancient bell behind him with a loud clang.

Clang! The majestic bell's ringing resounded through the air. 

"I…" Zhen Xing's eyes widened in panic and his entire body exploded!

After losing its source, the swirling clouds of evil energy that enveloped most of the Shaolin temple began to disappear rapidly. 

Abbot Hui Wen, who was just about to self-detonate and take Zhen Xing down with him, was stunned. Never in a million years would he have thought that Zhen Xing would self-detonate before he was able to…

"This isn't right. He didn't self-detonate…Someone did this!" Abbot Hui Wen was a vastly experienced second-rank martial artist and of course, he noticed something odd about the situation right away.

Right at that moment. 

Whoosh!

Faint evil energy began to congeal together at one side to form a brand new Zhen Xing!

"I died?" Zhen Xing said aloud as cold sweat trickled down his forehead. If it were not for the Demon Buddha Death Replacement technique that he inherited, he would have died for real.

Despite that, Zhen Xing was not lucky because the Death Replacement technique could only be used once in the lifetime of each Demon Buddha successor. It was their second and last life.

Zhen Xing looked pale. He stared at the ancient bell in the distance and all he could see was a single, yellowing and shriveled leaf sticking out of the thousand-year ancient bell. 

"A single withered leaf!? I was defeated at the hands of a single withered leaf!?" 

Zhen Xing was unsettled. If he died at the hands of a magical weapon, he might have been able to accept it. However, a single withered leaf!?

What kind of being existed that could have used such an ordinary object like this withered leaf to kill him? It was hard to imagine.

"Also…" Zhen Xing stroked his brow. Even though he managed to come back to life with the Death Replacement technique, he felt a faint sense of that powerful aura in his brow. It felt shapeless like a shadow. Yet, it seemed to have been constantly neutralizing the evil energy within his body.

As he was suppressed by the positive aura, Zhen Xing's power was less than a tenth of what it used to be. In that state, he might not have been able to defeat even a third-rank martial artist. 

"So it appears that the Shaolin temple cannot be underestimated…" Zhen Xing met the eyes of abbot Hui Wen who wore the same expression of shock as him and knew that he needed to escape right away. If he did not leave, not only would he have failed to destroy the Shaolin temple, but he might have also ended up dead.

As he concluded, Zhen Xing transformed into a Demon Shadow and fled.

Abbot Hui Wen saw him leave but could do nothing to stop him. Zhen Xing's power may have been weakened, but why would he test his luck?

When he was attacked by Zhen Xing, his body was infiltrated by evil energy. Hence, abbot Hui Wen's injuries were far greater than that of Zhen Xing's.

Outside the Shaolin temple. 

A Demon Shadow fled frantically into the distance. 

"Sh*t sh*t sh*it! I was so close! Just a little while more!!!" 

Zhen Xing was furious. A successor of the Demon Buddha was able to achieve a second-rank or first-rank in a short amount of time due to the strengthening qualities of the evil intent. However, each Demon Buddha successor's character would have been completely twisted until their lifetime goal of destroying the Shaolin temple was succeeded. 

Apart from that, the lifespan of a Demon Buddha successor was very short. They would all age and die within five years. 

"The person who attacked and killed me with a dead leaf must be a first-rank grandmaster at the very least! Also, he must be one of those unbelievably powerful first-rank grandmasters! Isn't there no Divine Master Abbot presiding in the Shaolin temple right now?"

Zhen Xing took a deep breath and turned around to gaze at the Shaolin temple. "That first-rank grandmaster wouldn't have followed me right?"

However, just as Zhen Xing had started to relax, a quiet and calm voice spoke up beside him. "Looking for me?"

Bang!

Zhen Xing trembled in fright as he turned to look in the direction of the voice. All he saw was a person dressed in a gray monk robe staring back at him.

"Who are you?" Zhen Xing asked. He thought Su Qin looked familiar when he saw him. Before Zhen Xing went down the Evil Way, he may have been the genius in Luohan Court, but he still entered the Shaolin temple at the same time as Su Qin. However, since Su Qin was just a lowly temple sweeper, Zhen Xing ignored him. 

"So it's you!" 

Zhen Xing racked his brain and finally recalled who Su Qin was. After all, Su Qin was a disciple of the same Zhen generation as him. When they entered the Shaolin temple together, Zhen Xing even recalled having a brief talk with Su Qin. 

However, once Su Qin was assigned to the Miscellaneous Court and was made a temple sweeper, Zhen Xing never interacted with him. For Zhen Xing, they were two completely different people. They would never have been the same, not ever. 

That was more true especially when Zhen Xing became the Demon Buddha successor. He scorned and looked down on Su Qin.

"When did you get here?" Zhen Xing asked as he grew more astonished the more he looked at Su Qin.

Even though Su Qin looked like a normal person, there was no stirring of Internal Force within him. Yet, Zhen Xing grew uneasy. Who was he?

As the Demon Buddha successor, even though his powers were weakened, it would still have constantly diffused a strong evil aura that would have made any typical martial artist quake with fear. It should have been more than enough to terrify an ordinary person like Su Qin!

'Since Su Qin's an ordinary person, he should be terrified out of his mind by now, shouldn't he?' thought Zhen Xing.

Zhen Xing felt doubtful and unsure about the situation. Su Qin then said with a serene expression, "Being the Demon Buddha's truly impressive! I mean, you're not dead even after receiving the blow from me." 

Whoosh!

Zhen Xing's expression froze as his figure retreated explosively more than a hundred meters away. He looked like he was facing a terrifying enemy or being in the presence of death itself. 

"Who on earth are you?"