Shendu stood at both the beginning and the end of this world’s main storyline—a dragon king revived after absorbing the power of all twelve Talismans.
There was no doubt about Shendu’s strength.
The instant he revived, the pressure of his Black Chi far surpassed the fragmented Oni General soul Luke had always needed to suppress with all his strength.
After Shendu’s return, he effectively became the center of Black Chi in this world.
Vast amounts of it began gathering toward him from across the world.
Luke could clearly feel the fragmented Oni General soul bound to his own becoming weaker.
Compared to a fully revived Shendu, the Oni General’s remnant simply wasn’t on the same level.
Luke pursed his lips.
“Looks like Jackie still didn’t manage to protect the Talismans. Honestly, no matter how carefully they collect and guard them, they always end up back in Shendu’s hands.”
Luke looked up at the sky.
He had come to understand something very clearly about this world: neither the protagonists nor the demons would ever be allowed to dominate completely.
He shook his head.
“Good fortune hides disaster, and disaster hides good fortune. When something reaches its extreme, it reverses. In this world, the Balance will always make sure the winner can lose everything in an instant.”
“Good thing I handed all my Talismans over to Jackie’s group in time. Otherwise, Shendu would probably be coming after me right now.”
Luke chuckled.
He withdrew his gaze from the window.
He had no intention of going out to take on Shendu himself.
According to the world’s Balance between Good and Evil, a Shendu who had grown overwhelmingly powerful would eventually be dealt with by Jackie and the others anyway.
Whether Luke went or not wouldn’t change that outcome.
“Instead of joining the excitement, I might as well keep researching how to make Good Chi accept Black Chi, then convert Black Chi into Good Chi.”
He rubbed between his brows and returned his attention to his own training.
However, after several more attempts to convert the two forces, every single one ended in failure.
The conflict between Good Chi and Black Chi was simply too intense.
“Where exactly is the problem? If this world allows Good Chi and Black Chi to coexist, why can’t my body become a place where both can exist together?”
Luke scratched his hair in frustration.
After repeated attempts, he still couldn’t find a way to make the two forces inside him accept each other.
Whenever both existed together, they simply fought and suppressed one another.
There seemed to be no possibility of mutually reinforcing coexistence.
Luke exhaled heavily.
“If I can’t make Good Chi accept Black Chi, then converting Black Chi into Good Chi is impossible from the start.”
His brows remained tightly furrowed as he thought.
“How do I make them work like a taijitu, each containing the other? If I can’t do it through myself alone, maybe I can use some kind of external pressure…”
“External pressure…?”
A flash of inspiration suddenly struck him.
Luke abruptly looked in the direction Shendu had disappeared.
A plan had already formed in his mind.
…
San Francisco, Chinatown, Uncle’s Antique Shop. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Jackie had only recently escaped with his life from Shendu’s dragon fire.
Looking rather battered, he reported the situation to Uncle.
“Uncle, the worst thing happened. Shendu has been revived.”
The moment Uncle heard that, he grabbed his head with both hands.
“Aiya! Didn’t Uncle tell you to protect the Talismans and never let Shendu come back? That demon will bring disaster to the whole world!”
Jackie scratched his hair awkwardly.
Jade quietly tried to defend him.
“Uncle, how were we supposed to know Bad Jackie would steal all the Talismans and hand them over to the Black Hand? Uncle Jackie and I almost managed to get them back.”
Uncle put one hand against his forehead.
“The most important thing now is finding a way to defeat the demon. Shendu has the power of all twelve Talismans. Uncle needs to look through the books.”
There was no time left to complain.
Uncle turned and walked into his magic workshop.
Jackie lowered his head and sighed.
“I just hope Uncle can come up with something.”
The loss of all the Talismans and Shendu’s resurrection really had been largely Jackie’s responsibility.
His evil half had personally handed the Talismans over to the demon.
Jackie was still blaming himself when the bell over the door suddenly rang.
Without even opening his eyes, he answered tiredly,
“Sorry, we’re closed today. Please come back another time.”
Jade saw who had entered and quietly warned him,
“Uh-oh. Uncle Jackie, you’d better look. Someone who used to give us a lot of trouble just walked in.”
“Who is it…?”
Jackie opened his eyes groggily and immediately saw a familiar face.
“Luke? What are you doing here?”
He shot to his feet.
Luke walked into the antique shop wearing a hood, with a bandage wrapped over his right eye to hide the demonic features beneath it.
The moment he saw Jackie, Luke folded his arms and immediately put pressure on the group.
“Jackie, you completely screwed this up. I gave you the Talismans and even told you the demon’s name, and you still let Shendu revive. Now things have reached the worst possible outcome.”
“Uh…”
Jackie awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
Whatever the reason, the Talismans had been lost while they were in his hands.
That was an undeniable fact.
He could only lower his head and admit it.
“Sorry. Uncle and I are already trying to find a way to deal with the demon.”
Luke raised an eyebrow.
“You? An archaeologist? And an old man with one foot in the grave? You two are going to fight a demon?”
“That’s Shendu with all twelve Talismans. Can you guarantee you’ll stop him before he destroys everything?”
Luke’s doubt was perfectly reasonable.
The Ox’s strength, the Rabbit’s speed, the Dog’s immortality, the Horse’s healing, the Dragon’s explosive power, the Snake’s invisibility… This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
All twelve powers were gathered within Shendu.
Even Jackie had difficulty imagining how they were supposed to defeat a demon like that.
The only promise he could make was that they would do their best.
Jade, however, didn’t like seeing someone put this much pressure on the uncle she respected.
She stepped in front of Luke with an unhappy expression.
“If you came here just to make sarcastic comments, save it. We’ll figure out a way to beat the demon and get all the Talismans back.”
“If you’re scared of Shendu and his Talisman powers, then you can stay here and be a coward. We’re not scared. We’re willing to go after him.”
Jade pouted.
Luke tilted his head, then laughed.
“I’m afraid of Shendu? Did you misunderstand something?”
“Heh. I came here to deal with him.”
Jackie froze, then immediately looked delighted.
“You came to help us fight Shendu? You were the one who told us his name, so you must know a lot about him. Can you help us?”
His tone and attitude were completely sincere.
Luke lowered his gaze and looked meaningfully at Jade.
So this was the girl who had just called him a coward.
“Uh…”
Jade’s face turned red.
She immediately lowered her head and apologized, taking full advantage of her ability to act cute.
“I apologize for what I said earlier. Please accept the most sincere apology of an ignorant young girl.”
She smiled awkwardly and looked at Luke expectantly.
The attitude was acceptable.
Only then did Luke nod.
“Of course I have a way to deal with a demon. After all, I’m one of the good guys now.”
He smiled faintly, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.
What should he do if Good Chi and Black Chi rejected each other?
Simple.
Give them a common enemy and force them to unite against an external threat.
Luke had thought it through clearly.
As long as he was fighting an overwhelming evil that disrupted the Balance, then with the higher-level will of the world supporting him, the Good Chi and Black Chi inside him might finally have a chance to accept one another.
Joining the protagonist group was an essential part of that plan.
Seeing how eagerly Jackie and Jade wanted him to join them—and were even asking for his help—Luke knew the plan was already halfway successful.
Then something unexpected happened.
Uncle walked out carrying several books.
The moment he sensed the Oni General’s Black Chi radiating from Luke, he let out a sharp cry.
“Aiya! There’s a demon in Uncle’s shop!”