The Demon with Holy Radiance Chapter 55

From the moment Yang An struck to the moment the Jade Elephant Daoist died, the entire process took less than a single breath.

Looking at the slender, handsome young man, who could have imagined he was so ruthless and decisive? He struck without a moment’s hesitation, like a viper hidden in the shadows, delivering a sudden, fatal blow.

Before they could even react, the Jade Elephant Daoist had already suffered a series of devastating blows and perished.

’So ruthless!’

The crowd had expected to see a brutal, drawn-out battle, with both sides stopping at nothing to survive.

After all, this was Elder Life Crane’s long-standing tradition. On the surface, it was an initiation banquet for a new disciple, but in reality, it was a test.

Anyone who had offended Elder Life Crane was given a single opportunity for forgiveness at this banquet.

They had to show up during the initiation banquet for a new disciple. If they could kill the new disciple, they would earn Elder Life Crane’s pardon, and all past grievances would be forgiven.

If the offender didn’t take the initiative to appear, the initiation banquet would proceed as planned. But as for what Elder Life Crane would do afterward... no one knew.

The Life Crane Sect had been relatively quiet in recent years. Many other sects in Han State had risen to prominence, their names far more renowned.

But the Life Crane Sect’s fame had never rested on the Sect’s collective might. The one person who struck fear into everyone’s hearts was Elder Life Crane himself.

In the eyes of the crowd, the old man was a cruel madman, capable of anything.

You could offend his disciples, even kill them, and he wouldn’t spare it a single thought.

But if you offended him in a matter concerning him and failed to seize the chance to beg for forgiveness, he would retaliate with unimaginable cruelty.

A reckless fool had made that mistake once. In the end, his entire sect—more than one hundred and forty Cultivators—was consumed by a sea of fire. Not a single person escaped.

These bloody lessons from the past were precisely why everyone was so familiar with Elder Life Crane’s rules.

In fact, before Yang An, four consecutive new disciples who had held initiation banquets had all been killed. Their challengers had easily earned Elder Life Crane’s pardon.

But no one had expected the Jade Elephant Daoist to be so unlucky. He had run into a man so insidious and cunning that his ruthlessness almost rivaled that of Elder Life Crane himself.

He didn’t give his opponent a single moment to breathe. His actions were swift and decisive, his strikes utterly merciless. Every move was a killing blow.

’Poor Jade Elephant Daoist.’

’Then again, a guy this vicious is a perfect fit for a disciple of Elder Life Crane.’

’They’re cut from the same cloth. A pack of wolves and tigers—a match made in hell!’

If Yang An knew what these people were thinking, it’s hard to say how he would react. But for now, he was quietly awaiting Elder Life Crane’s response.

After killing the Jade Elephant Daoist, he had once again raised the cup of clear tea. A full breath had already passed.

Elder Life Crane stared at him, silent. His piercing gaze made Yang An’s heart pound.

’But I didn’t break the rules. The old man told me to act, and I acted. It can’t be called a sneak attack. At most, I was just a bit faster than expected.’

At this thought, his confidence returned. He continued to hold the cup steady.

’So, are you going to drink it or not?’

The Golden Sun Pavilion fell silent for two seconds before two distinctly different laughs suddenly erupted.

Elder Life Crane roared with laughter, clearly delighted and quite satisfied with Yang An’s performance.

Meanwhile, the He Tou on his shoulder was also cackling, giving Yang An a meaningful look. Its laughter was different from its usual bizarre cackle; this time, it sounded pleasantly surprised.

"Good! Excellent! Truly worthy of being the disciple I chose. I am very satisfied!"

"From this day forward, you are my true disciple, the Thirteenth Young Master of the Life Crane Sect!"

With that, he took the offered cup of tea from Yang An’s hand and downed it in one go.

The He Tou’s laughter cut off abruptly. It glared at Elder Life Crane, its face a mask of fury, and began to curse.

"You old bastard! I’m his master, too! You drank the tea, so what am I supposed to drink? Are you looking down on me?!"

Yang An was speechless.

From the looks of it, the He Tou was angry enough to start a fight with Elder Life Crane right then and there.

Yang An reacted in a flash. He immediately poured another cup of tea and respectfully offered it to the He Tou, calling it "Master" as well.

’Bowing to one master or two, what’s the difference? These two old-timers are basically the same person anyway.’

Seeing how quick-witted Yang An was, the He Tou’s eyes narrowed into a smile. Like a dragon drinking from a river, it inhaled the tea from the cup in a single slurp.

"Clever boy! Not bad! You know how to handle things much better than these useless fools. If any of them bully you in the future, I can help you by eating them!"

Its gaze swept over the disciples on either side, sending a chill down Yang An’s spine.

He was afraid the old creature was telling the truth, but he was also afraid it was lying.

Not daring to say anything more for fear of offending both sides, Yang An silently stepped back.

Now that the masters had drunk the tea, the ceremony was essentially complete. The next logical step was the start of the banquet.

An initiation banquet should, by definition, have a feast.

But as this thought crossed his mind, Yang An couldn’t help but glance at his Second Senior Brother, Fu Ming, his thoughts drifting elsewhere.

’The Life Crane Sect has no Children or servants, only a few Corpse Slaves. Even my own meals are prepared by them. I wonder how Second Senior Brother arranged the food for this banquet?’

’Is he going to have the Corpse Slaves put on a culinary performance?’

’If so, could these Cultivators from all the different sects stomach that kind of mess hall food?’

’The image of all these esteemed Cultivators gathered around, eating slop from a communal pot...’ Yang An almost lost his composure.

’Can’t think about it. Just can’t.’

In any case, what happened next probably had nothing to do with him. He’d just have to see how they handled it.

Just then, as expected, Second Senior Brother Fu Ming stepped forward. After receiving a nod from Elder Life Crane, he announced in a loud, solemn voice:

"Thank you all, our honored Seniors, for traveling so far to bear witness. The ceremony is now complete, and my Life Crane Sect has a new disciple!

And now, honored Seniors, let the feast begin!"

’Here it comes!’

Yang An looked toward the entrance of the Golden Sun Pavilion, curious to see what his Second Senior Brother had arranged.

But as soon as Second Senior Brother Fu Ming finished speaking, none of the Cultivators seated below sat down to wait for food. Instead, as if they had been prepared all along, they each reached for their Storage Magical Artifacts.

The next moment, upon seeing what the Cultivators were doing, Yang An was dumbfounded.

"Congratulations to the Life Crane Sect on gaining a fine disciple! I, Shi Quan Daoist of Jinfeng Ridge, present a pot of Mud Dew Dragonfly Spirit Spring for the Thirteenth Young Master. Please, Young Master, have a taste!"

The first to speak was an old man with white hair and a youthful face. He took a pot from his Magical Artifact and bowed toward Yang An with his hands clasped.

"Congratulations to Elder Life Crane on gaining a fine disciple! I, Quan Ji Daoist of the Distant Mountain Sect, present a Marvelous Spiritual Object for the Thirteenth Young Master: one Blood Monkey Fruit. Please, Young Master, have a taste!"

Another Cultivator produced a fist-sized, bright red fruit, its surface glistening with a viscous liquid.

"...I have brought our Sect’s prized treasure for the new Young Master—Blood-Nurtured Earth Dragon Silk. Young Master, please!"

Yet another Cultivator produced several thumb-sized, intertwined red, soft objects. The things were still squirming slowly in his hand; they appeared to be alive.

"..."

’So this initiation banquet isn’t a feast for them... it’s a feast for me?!’

Yang An watched as they produced one bizarre item after another, their gazes all turning to him. He swallowed hard, his Scalp tingling with dread, and instinctively took two steps back.

But just then, a hand clamped down on his shoulder from behind.

Yang An turned to see his Second Senior Brother, Fu Ming.

For the first time, Fu Ming was sporting a faint smile. Even the color seemed to have returned to his face.

"Junior Brother, go on, have a taste," he said. "These are all tokens of our Seniors’ goodwill. Every single one is a potent Spiritual Object. You mustn’t disappoint them, nor can you let them go to waste!"

"..."

Yang An was stunned. He then realized that behind him, all his other senior brothers and sisters were staring at him, their faces full of schadenfreude.

Their expressions seemed to say, ’We all went through this. Don’t think you get to escape!’

Even Elder Life Crane and the He Tou were looking at him with benevolent expressions. Nothing needed to be said.

It seemed he had no right to refuse.