Original God, But Chat Group

"Which fiend dares show its face here? Show yourself at once!"

With that, he kicked out, sending the Wolf's Gravestone flying.

Owww—

The moment Wolf's Gravestone was kicked away, Andrius jolted awake. A layer of white mist appeared, and a massive Great Wolf, colored in white and pale blue, slowly emerged from the totem ahead. Its blue eyes glared at the bald man who had kicked the sword away.

"Human, prepare to face—"

"Monster, I could tell with one look you're not human!"

Before Andrius could finish his imposing speech, Li Yue cut him off.

What the hell? Do I look human to you?

Andrius, interrupted, looked bewildered, but he still spoke patiently.

"Human, mind your tone—"

"Just a mere wolf fiend, daring to be so arrogant!"

Li Yue flung open his kasaya, revealing the Golden Dragon on his back.

"Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon!"

Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon~~~

Li Yue's voice echoed throughout the entire Trial Domain. The Golden Dragon tattoo on his back peeled off, transforming into a real dragon that coiled around him.

"Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon, World-Honored Ksitigarbha, Prajna of All Buddhas, Prajna Bamakong!"

Li Yue swept his hand, and the Golden Dragon instantly swelled to ten times its size, then lunged at Andrius.

Andrius was dumbfounded. What's going on? Who is this guy? Aren't you here for the trial? At least let me finish my lines! Why did you suddenly summon some badass-looking dragon?

Confused, Andrius backstepped to dodge the Golden Dragon. It slammed into the ground, blasting a crater.

"Who are you?!" Andrius eyed Li Yue warily.

"Amitabha. This humble monk is Master Fahai, passing through and sensing demonic aura. I've come specially to exorcise it." Li Yue held his right hand upright, palm facing Andrius, and spoke slowly.

"Wolf fiend, your demonic aura is so dense—clearly you're a great demon who's cultivated for many years. You must have brought countless calamities to this land!"

"What did you say?!" Andrius was furious. How dare he claim Andrius had brought harm to Mondstadt? He protected Mondstadt with all his might!

"Human, I forgive your insolence—if you can endure my trial!"

Enraged, Andrius prepared to ramp up the trial's difficulty. In his view, this human had some skill but little knowledge, mistaking him for some Inazuman monster. Andrius wasn't known for his patience, so being mistaken for a demon infuriated him, and he wanted to teach Li Yue a harsh lesson.

"Hmph, you talk big!" Li Yue sneered at Andrius, his face radiating invincibility.

"Your demonic aura is so thick—you've clearly cultivated for at least a thousand years. A millennium-old great demon—capturing you will boost my merit and strengthen my dharma power!"

"Monster, I want you to aid my cultivation!"

Li Yue pointed his right index and middle fingers like a sword at the Great Wolf.

"Take this! Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon!"

46. Wolf Fiend, I Want You to Aid My Cultivation!

"Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon! Go!"

"Owww~~~"

The Golden Dragon appeared again and lunged at the Great Wolf. The Great Wolf roared, and icicles materialized out of thin air, colliding with the charging dragon. The icicles shattered, but the Golden Dragon emerged unscathed and kept charging. The Great Wolf wrapped itself in gale-force winds, entering its second phase, and began moving rapidly. Its massive body dragged a series of afterimages as it sped around.

Already in the second phase?

Li Yue was a bit surprised, but his face still radiated invincibility.

"Hmph! Mere parlor tricks, daring to show off before an expert!"

"Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon, World-Honored Ksitigarbha, Prajna of All Buddhas, Prajna Bamakong! Flying Dragon in the Sky, go!"

The Golden Dragon appeared again, this time two of them, charging at the Great Wolf.

The Great Wolf used wind to accelerate while summoning several Ice Wolves to meet the Golden Dragons. The Ice Wolves exploded on contact with the dragons, halting them, and the Great Wolf seized the chance to rush straight at Li Yue.

"You overestimate yourself! Breaking two of my Golden Dragons doesn't mean you can face me—you've clearly underestimated me!"

Li Yue roared and charged directly at the Great Wolf.

"Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon, rise!"

The Golden Dragon suddenly erupted from the ground, tripping the running Great Wolf. The massive wolf tumbled like a blue-white ball, rolling straight toward Li Yue.

"Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon, bind!"

Before the Great Wolf could get up, another Golden Dragon emerged from the ground and seized it. Two dragons coiled around its limbs and torso, then expanded, pinning it firmly to the ground.

"Bastard, let me go!"

Andrius struggled furiously, gales erupting from his body, laced with shards of ice that shot toward Li Yue. The ground began to freeze rapidly, aiming to force him back.

Yet Li Yue stood his ground.

"A paltry trick like this thinks it can harm me?"

The ice shards passed straight through Li Yue, striking the ground behind him, leaving him completely unscathed—as if the attack had never touched him. Even the swiftly spreading frost on the earth failed to affect him in the slightest.

"How is that possible!"

Andrius's eyes went wide.

"Could it be... you're not human!"

"How dare you, fiend!"

Li Yue's eyes blazed.

"I was born with innate wisdom and profound mastery of the Dao, and you have the gall to insult me! Watch as I suppress and slay you!"

An overwhelming pressure descended from above, and Andrius, pinned in place, felt a tremor deep in his soul.

It was Reiatsu—Li Yue was using Reiatsu!

Though he had once been a Demon God in life, now he was merely a lingering soul, far from his former strength. Even an Abyss Herald could bind him with the power of the Abyss, let alone Li Yue's sudden burst of Reiatsu at Kensei Muguruma's level, which naturally crushed his spirit.

Damn it, he's going to kill me!

Andrius's instincts screamed that this bald man could destroy what remained of his soul. He immediately dispersed his form, dissolving into spiritual energy to retreat back into the earth.

"Wolf fiend! Where do you think you're going? Watch my Great Golden Alms Bowl!"

Li Yue raised his right hand toward the Great Wolf, and a golden alms bowl materialized out of thin air, forcibly drawing in Andrius's scattered soul energy.

"No!!!"

With Andrius's anguished cry, all the green soul energy was sucked into the bowl.

"Amitabha, how virtuous, how auspicious. Many thanks, wolf fiend—my merit has grown a little more!"

Li Yue pressed his palms together, bowed toward the wolf totem on the wall, then spun around and leaped out of the trial pit, landing beside Aizen, who had been watching the whole time.

Aizen looked at Li Yue, still feigning piety with his hands clasped, and suppressed the urge to mock him as he asked, "Li Yue-kun, what's with this appearance?"

"Master Fahai—a monk who loves nothing more than slaying demons and monsters. The kind who kills any fiend he sees."

Li Yue shifted back to his original form.

"Extremely vicious, with a massive temper. In short, a real brute. But he's also a huge show-off—the complete opposite of you, Godfather."

After all, that was a man whose face screamed "invincible." No matter who you were, he'd take you on. Even if the Buddha himself showed up, he'd eat a Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon to the face.

"I can tell. This person's temper really isn't good."

Aizen had watched Li Yue's entire fight, especially the words he'd spoken—every line radiated self-worship and utter disdain for others. Even Aizen felt his blood pressure rise.

"And besides, I had a reason for using this image to pick a fight with the Great Wolf."

Li Yue grinned slyly, but Aizen cut straight to the point.

"It's to make taming this Great Wolf easier, isn't it?"

"As expected of Godfather!"

Li Yue raised an eyebrow and gave Aizen a thumbs-up.

"First, I use Fahai's image to fight Andrius, humiliate him, and then capture him. Right now, he thinks he's been caught by Fahai. Once I absorb his remnant soul into my Inner World, I'll show him my true face, reason with him, and appeal to his emotions. He'll be much more willing to listen to my request and lend me his power. After all, staying in the Inner World of a righteous partner who saved the World Tree is way better than being caught and killed by some crazy monk of unknown origin."

Inside Li Yue's Inner World, only Enma's Blade—who held administrative authority—could see the outside. Greater Lord Rukkhadevata inside had no clue what was happening. As long as Enma's Blade spun a story for her, she'd unwittingly become Li Yue's accomplice, helping to fool Andrius.

You don't trust me, Li Yue? Fine. But can you not trust the most benevolent and virtuous Greater Lord Rukkhadevata?

"First you give him despair, then you offer him hope—and both acts are done by you, Li Yue-kun, yet he doesn't know it. It seems you're quite skilled at manipulating others' minds."

Aizen smiled at Li Yue.

"Not at all, not at all. Compared to you, Godfather, this is just a petty trick. After all..."

Li Yue transformed in a flash, taking on the appearance of the Fifth Division captain, Aizen, and adjusted his glasses.

"Admiration is the furthest distance from understanding."

"..."

Aizen's mouth twitched. He was wrong—this guy wasn't good at playing with people's hearts. He was just looking for entertainment!

"Alright, Godfather. I'll start absorbing Andrius's soul here. I'll trouble you to keep watch."

"Sure. I'll look after you."

Though Aizen was terrifying as an enemy, when he was on your side, he radiated absolute security.

Li Yue sat down on the spot and began absorbing Andrius's soul from the Hōgyoku. The Great Golden Alms Bowl used to drain Andrius's soul energy was actually the Hōgyoku itself, just skinned to look like a bowl.

The fight just now had mostly used Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's power. The Golden Dragon was actually a Wood Dragon, with a golden dragon skin slapped on by Li Yue using his Dream Authority. That was why the dragon first appeared behind Li Yue but later burst up from the ground—but Andrius couldn't tell. In his remnant soul state, he was completely ensnared by the illusion.

As soon as he closed his eyes, Li Yue reappeared in the Inner World. The moment he entered, he saw Enma's Blade with an arm draped over Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's bare shoulder, the two of them sitting together on white plastic patio chairs at the edge of this Inner World, gazing out at the sky beyond.

???

Instantly, a string of question marks popped up over Li Yue's head.

47. I Want to Be a Partner of Justice!

"So, you've been filling Aci in on everything about Nahida?"

"Yeah, I mean, I just briefly mentioned that you'd taken Nahida in earlier. The specifics still needed a proper rundown, didn't they?"

"And this...?"

"Oh, it's just—after she heard that Nahida had been locked up for five hundred years, she got a little upset and leaned into me for comfort. I couldn't exactly refuse, so I just held her a bit to soothe her. I'm the passive one here—I didn't do anything else."

Watching Enma's Blade explain with an utterly matter-of-fact expression, Li Yue wore a look that screamed Yeah, sure, I totally believe you.

You think I don't know what you're up to?

And one more thing, my cute little Enma—you've always overlooked this: no matter how much you mess around, you're still just my Zanpakuto.

A Bleach wielder has absolute control over their Zanpakuto, especially since you're literally built to my exact tastes! Sure, my Inner World is managed by you, my Zanpakuto, but I'm still the ultimate master here! Even if you manage to win over Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, it doesn't matter—because in the end, you'll end up in my hands!

Don't forget, your master here is a gacha game player. With Yifu Aizen around, a sword-waifu isn't out of the question in the future!

And when that happens, once you're in my grasp, won't you obediently hand over Greater Lord Rukkhadevata too? Hell, maybe even both at once~ I'll tell you sincerely: you and your wife are both amazing!

Li Yue grinned and patted Enma's Blade on her smooth shoulder.

"Have fun with that. And by the way, you should know why I'm here."

"Pfft~ Come on, it's you and me. I know whether you lean left or right when you draw the blade."

As the manager of Li Yue's Inner World, Enma's Blade sensed a sudden spike in the world's pleasant atmosphere. Cheerfully, she patted Li Yue on the shoulder, then pointed toward the soul energy gathering not far away.

"When the Husky came in, its soul energy was scattered, so it's still coalescing. Let's head over and wait."

"Bring Aci along too."