Apotheosis

"Zen is smiling?! He can laugh in the face of a terrifying demon!?"

"It's no big deal! He just passed through the first and second circles."

"Do you want to take a try? Look at those people. Who dared to laugh like Zen is doing now? Not even Henry is snickering!"

Henry's face paled at their words.

To confront the demon, he would force a smile if necessary. Still, it was clear that in this situation, it would be less embarrassing to smile than to cry. Deep down, he decided he had to find an appropriate time to teach Zen a lesson since Zen kept showing him up. As he schemed, Henry's mood improved.

The gossiping reached Zen too, who felt a bit self-conscious. To circumvent more misunderstandings, Zen changed his expression when he entered the second circle, scowling seriously.

Once he was in the second circle, Zen became more threatened, but, he could still withstand the evil spirit.

Zen kept moving forward, and soon enough, he had progressed through the third, fourth and fifth circles.

After he advanced into the fifth circle, the demon's tremendous torso shook, as it perked its ugly head up, roaring at Zen.

An ordinary beast's roar wouldn't intimidate Zen.

But, this demon was somehow more menacing.

On hearing the roar, Zen felt his heart racing and he writhed in fear.

"Thump! Thump!"

Zen's heart raced faster as the evil spirit circled him, eyeing him as though he was the only one alive, on earth or in heaven.

Feeling fear was a natural reaction if a person was trapped by a monster.

Apart from his heart thumping harder and faster, Zen reacted with an involuntary shiver.

Humans instinctively avoided calamity and sought more comfortable venues instead. Sense made them shy away when faced with a risk or threat.

Zen was human too, so, naturally, he felt the instinct as well.

Likewise, he could be afraid and flinch. Like anyone, he was bothered by negativity, which impacted him.

"Although the evil spirit in the demon is weird, this threat means nothing at all to me!" Encountering the demon, Zen's eyes gleamed, reflecting his unyielding courage.

Feeling courageous, Zen stepped toward the demon resolutely.

"Growl! Howl!"

Demons were similar to human beings, and intelligent enough to understand that they would be killed if caught. In spite of that, the demon still felt the need to torture weak humans spiritually.

Before this encounter with Zen, the demon felt that its evil spirit effectively scared humans shitless.

But this guy now seemed unaffected by its evil spirit. Given that, the demon was furious and roared very loudly.

The fierce evil spirit rushed at Zen, surging like tides of water and tightly enveloped him.

The evil energy gripping Zen fettered him, like invisible chains, pulling and tearing into Zen. His courage waned, hindering his progress as he headed to the circle ahead.

As Zen stepped into the seventh circle, he had to stop and close his eyes because he felt the pressure and found it a little difficult to endure the evil spirit.

"Zen has done very well reaching the seventh circle, but, why has he stopped?"

"His eyes are closed. What on earth could he be thinking about at such a time? If he makes it to the eighth

he was a mere foot from it, the demon tilted its head to the side, as it opened its big mouth baring its razor-sharp teeth and clamping down on Zen's head.

Screams of horror and shock filled the plaza at the horrific sight.

As the demon was about to bite him, Zen swung a fist at the demon.

Instantaneously, a dragon scale came alive, lighting up inside Zen's mind.

Seven dragon scales exerted considerable force, making Zen far more potent than any disciples at the same refining level.

So, how impressive would the strength be with over a hundred dragon scales lighting up simultaneously?

"Slam!"

Before the razor-like teeth could sink into him, everyone heard the sound of Zen's fist crashing into the demon's head as it resonated through the place.

When Zen punched the demon, he hadn't yet tapped into any life vitality.

It was solely his physical strength.

Nevertheless, his fist was as destructive as a tsunami crashing ashore.

In a flash, the demon disappeared.

"Glub!"

The demon gurgled as it transformed into vaporous blood in the blink of an eye because Zen's mighty force extended into its body.

Its flesh turned to ashes as it disintegrated, and bones shattered into tiny bits.

Standing there, with mouths agape, the other outer disciples were shocked at the horrific scene.

Since the demon had been sealed and controlled, many of them were capable of killing the demon as long as they kept some distance from it.

Where those disciples failed was in the difficulty of overcoming their inner demons.

While some performed exceptionally well by reaching the seventh circle and a few even managed to make it to the eighth circle, but, none of those disciples could overcome their deepest fears.

Being more courageous than ordinary individuals, they could temporarily suppress fears, making it possible to reach circles as close to the demon as they could.

That wasn't the only stratagem Zen used though. He was unaffected by the evil spirit after he employed the forgetting himself tactic.

Zen's method made it possible for him to confront the demon and annihilate it with just his fist.