Jackie Chan adventures: Demon Lord's New Life

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In the massive palace of Huomu City's Eastern District—

"Shendu, I really think you should attend the Demon Council in your demon form. A human body is way too fragile for this kind of thing!"

Zhulang couldn't help but frown at Shendu's current human form, his raspy voice filled with annoyance.

"Fine."

After a moment of thought, Shendu shifted back into his demon form.

"Let's go," Zhulang said calmly when he saw the transformation.

He then closed his eyes, summoning a faint gravitational shield around his body—just in case of danger, so he could wake up immediately.

"Divine artifacts... humph."

Shendu snorted coldly, and his consciousness slipped into the demon realm.

At the same time, six other Demon Lords—still fuming over their recent defeat—felt the familiar energy of Zhulang and Shendu calling to them.

They all stopped venting their rage, and instead followed the summoning force, letting their minds enter the demon space too.

With a quick flash of transition, all eight Demon Lords had gathered.

"My fellow demons, I assume you've all felt the power that's capable of threatening even beings like us?"

Zhulang's deep voice cut through the room. He'd clearly noticed the fury still burning in the eyes of the other six Demon Lords.

"Damn flower! Dai Gui hates flowers!" Dai Gui roared, snorting hot air in rage.

"A flute—some stupid human instrument!" Ximu's eyes glowed red as his teeth clenched audibly.

"A drum!" Bo Gang crushed a floating rock in his hand, shouting furiously.

"Castanets—horrible little things!" Zhong Su spat, unleashing a blast of lightning that cracked through the air beside him.

"A folding fan!" Xiao Feng snarled, grinding his teeth. "That damn thing actually blocked my unstoppable hurricane!"

"A gourd!"

Basha's hoarse voice was filled with fury. "I was about to flood the continent, and that thing sucked up half the ocean!"

The six Demon Lords all burst out in rage, their power making the demon space shake violently, as if it were about to collapse.

As their fury erupted, the space began to reflect their powers—earth, mountains, wind, thunder, sky, and water all surged around them chaotically.

Clearly, what had them so furious was that each had been slightly overpowered or countered by the divine artifacts made specifically to seal them.

For proud Demon Lords like them, being restrained—even a little—was an unbearable humiliation.

"Alright, enough! If you keep this up, you'll tear the whole demon realm apart!" Shendu shouted, finally stepping in to calm things down.

A few moments later, the demon space settled. The chaos subsided, but several visible cracks remained in the air.

The realm was hanging by a thread. If even one more Demon Lord lost control, their natural link to this space could be severed.

"Shendu, Zhulang—divine artifacts that directly counter our powers have started appearing, and you two don't seem bothered at all!"

"We've all been hit by these annoying powers. Don't tell me you two haven't?"

"Stupid flower! Dai Gui will tear it to shreds!"

"My plan to flood the continent got delayed again—because of that damn gourd!"

One by one, the Demon Lords turned their gazes toward Zhulang and Shendu, their words filled with suspicion and challenge.

"Zhulang didn't encounter any problems," Shendu finally said calmly. "But I did come across a weapon that directly countered me—the Fire Demon Lord. It was a sword."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "But I bet you all don't know where these divine artifacts actually came from."

"They're from the far future—summoned by demons of this era, used against us."

"This is power drawn from time itself. They've altered time, bringing objects from the future into the past. That kind of tampering won't go unpunished."

"Right now, those time-bending demons have crossed into Zhulang's territory."

"This council was called so we can travel to that continent together—and destroy them completely. Wipe them out before they cause even more trouble!"

Shendu paused.

Among the seven others, Ximu had the strongest magical talent—second only to Shendu himself. He picked up on the implication in Shendu's words but still had doubts.

"If they've tampered with time, shouldn't we wait for time to strike back? The backlash from that kind of thing is bound to be fatal—it's probably better to let them destroy themselves."

"Exactly," Basha added with a low voice. "Even we Demon Lords wouldn't survive the full consequences of time manipulation, let alone lesser demons."

"We should just wait for the backlash to kick in. Why risk anything by confronting them directly?" Xiao Feng nodded in agreement.

"Zhong Su demands that damn castanet be destroyed. That thing is never allowed near my domain again!"

"No more drums in Bo Gang's lands either. And for the record—I support Ximu's plan."

"…"

Just like last time, no one could agree.

Only Shendu and Zhulang supported action. The other six had no intention of getting involved.

Seeing this, Shendu turned toward the laid-back Zhulang and said, "Zhulang, destroying the artifacts was your idea in the first place. You should be helping me convince them."

Finally, Zhulang spoke.

"My fellow Demon Lords, these eight powers come from the distant future. Instead of sitting back and waiting for them to die, why not go see for ourselves?"

"Besides, we don't know what that future era looks like."

"If we find out who created the artifacts designed to counter us, we might be able to stop it from happening in the first place."

His words sparked hesitation in several of the Demon Lords' eyes.

Sensing their wavering, Shendu decided to go all in. They'd have to know this info eventually—might as well use it to sway them now.

"By the way," he said, "I bet none of you know where those time powers actually came from, do you?"

That got everyone's attention. Even Zhulang turned his eyes toward Shendu.

Zhulang had thought about this question for a long time, and still hadn't figured out how those demons had gotten their hands on time manipulation.

Now, hearing Shendu offer the answer directly piqued his interest.

His desire to destroy the artifacts remained—but now he had a second goal: find out how those demons got access to the power of time.

He'd asked Liyan about it before, but got no response.

Who would've thought the answer would come from Shendu, another Demon Lord?

This Shendu... he's clearly not as simple as he seems.

Even his own brother, ranked above him, didn't know—but Shendu, the sixth-ranked Fire Demon Lord, did.

"....."