In August, deep in the mountains of southwestern China, a beautiful waterfall cascades from the sky like a Milky Way, perfectly blending with the pristine pond beneath. The pond situated in a valley, surrounded by mountains, with a stunning landscape, and by its side, a stunning South China tiger takes its leisurely stroll.
Suddenly, the tiger stops. It swiftly turns its head, slightly lowering itself, growling menacingly, as if sensing extreme danger. The next second, it turns around and darts into the depth of the valley, effortlessly escaping.
In the valley, rarer to human footprints, three figures emerge; a middle-aged man dressed in a purple robe with a square face, a handsome young man in a white robe, and a woman with an exceptionally sexy and mature figure in a red skirt.
All three have a solemn expression, no words exchanged. The young man in the white robe abruptly swings his hand, releasing two whiffs of white from his palms, one directed at the waterfall, the other towards the pond.
The air in the valley drops suddenly, freezing the waterfall and pond simultaneously. Almost at the same time, the lady in the red skirt opens her red lips and breathes out a ball of fire!
As the flame hits the frozen pond, it swells instantly in the wind. It engulfs the entire iced pond within moments, leaving it dry and converting to a massive pit a few meters deep.
A lightning bolt cracks from the sky, striking directly at the bottom of the pit. Following the first, countless other bolts strike down, leaving the pit bottomless after the lightning fades.
"Charm, your turn," the lady in red skirt utters softly.
By the side of the pond, a woman clad in skintight leather mysteriously appears. Over her shoulder, a transparent ice coffin revealing a sleeping beauty exuding elegance and nobility—dressed in a yellow dress—inside.
The leather-clad woman jumps into the pit with the coffin. Almost after a minute, the woman reappears, but the coffin was gone. The young man in white waves his hand, swiftly raising the temperature. The waterfall resumes its cascade, and the pond refills swiftly.
The four figures stand quietly by the pond, their faces solemn and eyes filled with undisguised sorrow.
A few minutes later, the lady in the red skirt softly says, "It's time to go."
The four pay homage together with a bow to the pond, rise, and turn to leave. However, at that moment, the young man in white heedfully utters, "Watch out!"
"If you can't bear to part with your leader, then stay behind and accompany her!" booms a somewhat awkward Mandarin voice, and simultaneously, a tall, blond man comes into their line of sight.
The woman in leather vanished in a flash, and at the same time, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky, aiming for the blond man.
The lightning suddenly shifted its direction, appearing abruptly over the head of the man in the purple robe, then striking him. His hair stood on end in an instant, left a dreadful mess. Following that, a muffled grunt was heard as the previously vanished leather-clad woman reappeared mid-air, flying towards the edge of the pond.
Both the young man in the white robe and the beautiful woman in the red skirt had a drastic change in their expressions. The strength of their opponent was beyond their expectation!
"Who are you?" The young man in the white robe asked coldly.
"I am the demon that will send you to hell," chuckled the blond man, "It's an honor to die by my hand. What a pity, your leader has missed such an honor."
"My heavenly flame is a demon slayer!" the woman in the red skirt spat out a ball of flame from her mouth.
Just then, violent flames suddenly rose from the red-skirted woman’s body, as if she was set on fire.
The man in the white robe’s expression changed yet again. He hastily waved his hand, and a deluge of clear water appeared above the woman's head, extinguishing the flame on her body. Even so, she still appeared rather disheveled.
"You are truly deserving of the title of the strongest special-abilitied demon in the West. But our China, it's not a place where you can run wild!" The white-robed young man glared coldly at the demon, then waved his hand again, sending out a white puff of air at a high speed.
The white air vanished abruptly, and the temperature around dropped rapidly. Astonishingly, the man in the white robe was suddenly encased in ice!
"This world, eventually, will belong to us demons," declared the blond man with a dazzling smile on his face. He slowly walked towards the edge of the pond, "Please do pass my regards to your leader when you see them."
A powerful aura emanated from the blond man. It was the aura of death and at that moment, the woman in the red dress felt the proximity of death. She was overwhelmed with an incredible sense of sorrow. It turned out that they, the four most powerful special-ability-users of China, were no match for this opponent.
Once they were dead, who would be able to stop this demon from slaughtering the rest of China's special-ability users?
"Demons should stay in hell," came a calm voice, drifting in like it was from the sky.
The woman in the red skirt had an incredulous expression on her face. It seemed that she couldn't believe that she was hearing this familiar voice. Subconsciously, she turned her head, and there stood a man who seemed both familiar and stranger at the same time.
The man was in his twenties, roughly 180 centimeters tall, with a slim rather than muscular build, and was not particularly handsome. His current dress was in stark contrast to his surroundings; he was dressed in a black tuxedo, shiny leather shoes, and an exquisite bow tie. At first glance, he appeared to be attending a high-end banquet.
"Xia Zhi?" the white-robed youth uttered in disbelief. Likewise, both the man in the purple robe and the woman in leather wore bewildered expressions.
They all recognized the young man but all knew one strange fact - he wasn’t supposed to be here, but now, here he was.
"Kid, you seem to be in the wrong place," said the blonde man known as 'The Devil,' with a hint of mockery in his tone.
"Xia Zhi, what are you doing here?" The woman in the red dress couldn’t help but ask, her eyes showing a complex expression, with a tinge of concern in her voice.
"Shouldn't I be here?" The young man responded, looking at the woman in the red dress, an indifferent expression in his eyes.
"But how did you get here? You don’t have…" The woman in red began but was interrupted.
"Oh? Xia Zhi? Are you the prodigious psychic Xia Zhi? The person who became China's strongest psychic at seventeen, code-named 'the Emperor'?" The Devil exclaimed in surprise.
"Correct, I am Xia Zhi," replied the young man, looking at the Devil, "Since you’re not willing to stay in hell, I'll send you back there today."
"Ha ha ha..." The Devil burst into derisive laughter, which lasted for a good while before it gradually subsided, "Is everyone in China an idiot like you? All you guys know is to boast. Send me to hell, you say? With your strength? Ha ha ha..."
"Xia Zhi, do you know what you’re doing? Even the four of us together can't defeat the devil. How can you possibly beat him now? You're not the same as you were four years ago!" The woman in the red dress couldn't help but speak, including herself, everyone present thought Xia Zhi was merely talking in his sleep, there was no way he could defeat the powerful Devil.
Yes, Xia Zhi was once the most powerful psychic in China, but four years ago, Xia Zhi lost all his psychic powers. The prodigious psychic once known as 'the Emperor' now wasn’t even as good as an ordinary person!
"I’m indeed not the same as I was four years ago." Xia Zhi calmly replied, sweeping his eyes over the four of them, "So now, I can easily send the Devil to hell."
As soon as the word 'hell' fell out of his mouth, the Devil's laughter abruptly ceased, and Xia Zhi, without warning, appeared in front of the Devil, clutching his throat as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The woman in the red dress was stunned, her face full of disbelief, and the other three were no different. Their eyes were filled with incredulity. How... how could this be possible?
"You...you actually..." Fear filled the Demon's eyes, but he was unable to complete his sentence.
Crack!
A crisp sound echoed in everyone's ears as Xia Zhi crushed the Demon's throat and then, released his grip. The Demon's body collapsed onto the ground.
The silence in the valley was almost frightening. The red-dressed beauty and the others seemed to struggle with the reality before them. Xia Zhi, who supposedly had lost all his abilities, had just crushed the strongest western power bearer, the Demon, like squashing an ant?
"You four, can leave now," Xia Zhi slowly said, turning to look at them.
"Xia Zhi..." The red-dressed beauty tried to say something.
"Scram!" Xia Zhi suddenly yelled in fury. A terrifyingly powerful aura emanated from him, carrying an intense scent of slaughter and mercilessness that left the four feeling suffocated.
They exchanged glances and then quietly turned around, ready to leave.
"Take the Demon's corpse with you. Remember, don't mention me to anybody. The Demon was killed by the four of you, it has nothing to do with me!" Xia Zhi's icy voice rang out again.
In less than ten seconds, the four-person party, along with the Demon's corpse, vanished from the valley.
The aura on Xia Zhi completely faded. He slowly made his way to the edge of the pond.
"Master, I'm late." Grief was writ large on Xia Zhi's face. His eyes welled up with tears and eventually, one rolled down his cheek and merged with the clear pond water.
After a long moment, Xia Zhi's face returned to calm, but a photograph suddenly appeared in his hand. In the photo was an exceptionally beautiful girl.
"Master, I know you can't let her go. I will find her and stay by her side," Xia Zhi softly said, "There will come a day when she will come to see you."
As he put away the photo, Xia Zhi suddenly vanished from beside the pond.
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it's the beginning of September.
In the southern coastal region, Qing Port City, Tomorrow High School.
Xia Zhi quietly stands at the school gate, gazing at the large characters spelling out "Tomorrow High School." However, an image of an elegant and beautiful figure unconsciously surfaces in his mind, and a flash of barely concealed sorrow flickers in his eyes.
"Teacher, this time, I am not late," Xia Zhi murmured, his voice barely above a whisper, "I will protect her well."
Suddenly, a radiant smile appears on Xia Zhi's face. Then, he steps forward, walking into the entrance of Tomorrow High School at a unhurried pace.
A few minutes later, in the principal's office, the beautiful and sexy but cold as frost young female principal, Qiu Tong, is looking at the young man opposite her with suspicious eyes. "Are you sure you want apply for the position of the PE teacher?"