I Take Life Seriously 102: The Formidable Demigod (Part 1)

Zhang Mingjing was astonished to hear this. "Oh! Changed by fifty percent... is it really that exaggerated? ...So, have I changed for the better or for the worse compared to who I used to be?"

"You've changed for the better to a fault," the True One replied.

"Better to a fault? ...What does that mean?"

"Your kindness and concern for everyone have increased manifold."

"Is that not a good thing?"

"It is 'better' to an excessive degree, which is why I am worried."

"How exactly is it excessive? And what are you worried about?"

"According to my data analysis, there is a specific type of person prone to such sudden personality shifts."

"Oh! Which type?"

"Those suffering from terminal illnesses or those who are about to depart from their friends and family."

"Damn it! Don't try to scare me. Is being kind to you guys now considered a symptom?"

"I am only worried about you, which is why I shared my empirical data based on the facts."

"Where did you get this empirical data?"

"From movies, television dramas, and novels! When a protagonist suddenly becomes significantly more considerate, the ending is that they are about to kick the bucket over eighty percent of the time."

Zhang Mingjing naturally had to retort, "Damn! You’re actually using these made-up stories to diagnose me? You really take the cake!"

"But aren't these stories written by you humans? Don't the materials originate from real life?"

"Sigh! Regardless, you’ve got me feeling a bit disoriented early in the morning. Let’s not talk about this anymore. But rest assured, I am perfectly fine—I am definitely not part of that eighty percent."

...

Following the upgrade and optimization of the Post-Heaven Bagua algorithm, the strength of the "Poor Daoist" team increased substantially. Over the next two months, they easily wiped out four demigods and three magical beasts, leaving everyone feeling full of confidence.

Yet, just at this moment, a second space-time monster was converted into two-dimensional form and released by the Elders of the fifth-dimensional space onto the surface of the sun to decode its seal. Consequently, fragments of the second batch of space-time monster cognitive model encodings were generated. This time, over two hundred fragments fell to Earth, while the rest scattered into other cosmic spaces and alternate dimensions, including some that reached Rainbow Star.

After the second batch of cognitive model encodings entered Earth, the Poor Daoist team not only faced no rivals for several months, but they often annihilated monsters and magical beasts before they could even complete their mutations. The future seemed bright indeed!

However, good luck always has an end. A demigod from Rainbow Star arrived. Ten thousand meters above Southeast Asia, a space the size of a soccer field was being twisted and torn apart. A beam of blue light shot forth from it, descending into Indonesian territory.

This time, it was truly a formidable character.

Twenty minutes after entering Indonesia, he flew toward a small southern city clad in golden battle armor. Zhang Mingjing and his team were already on their way to intercept him.

This demigod was named You Yan. He stood two point two meters tall, with green hair and a green beard—the hair slightly curled and the beard bushy—and a pair of red eyes. He was incredibly sturdy and looked like someone not to be trifled with.

Xiao Ba had long since transmitted the information to Zhang Mingjing. The fifth-dimensional cognitive model calculated that this guy’s power was the strongest encountered so far. It estimated the energy of the space-time monster encoding within him and told Zhang Mingjing, "The guy you least wanted to meet has finally arrived."

"You mean the space-time monster encoding within him belongs to the higher-energy fragments?"

"Not just higher, it is absolutely among the most powerful class of fragments."

"Damn! So, what is his actual strength?"

"I can only say he is very powerful. Remember that Godzilla-class magical beast? He is more than four times stronger than that."

"Damn! ...How strong is that?"

"So, you must be careful."

Zhang Mingjing immediately notified every team member, and everyone was seized with dread.

...

After the three satellites were implanted with the Post-Heaven Bagua algorithm, they were further optimized by the fifth-dimensional cognitive model. In particular, the model helped establish an entanglement between the satellites and the Post-Heaven Bagua within Zhang Yidao’s consciousness. Thus, they could transmit the images they captured to Zhang Yidao in real-time. Because of this, Zhang Yidao and Xiao Nuxia had already deployed the Post-Heaven Bagua Formation against the demigod before Zhang Mingjing and his team arrived.

At this moment, Zhang Yidao tried to trap You Yan using the Qian trigram of the Bagua Formation, but he kept slipping away.

Zhang Mingjing, reading the situation, said to Zhang Yidao, "He is too fast, and he seems sensitive to the Bagua Formation, which is why you can’t catch him with the Qian trigram."

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yidao replied, "Heh, when the devil rises a foot, the path rises ten."

Having said that, he enlarged the Bagua Formation by more than tenfold, and the Qian trigram expanded accordingly, easily trapping the demigod You Yan.

Zhang Mingjing, Catherine, and Jeremy praised him in unison, but the fifth-dimensional cognitive model was not optimistic.

It said to Zhang Mingjing, "The size of the Bagua Formation is determined by the energy each person can control. The previous formation was already approaching Zhang Yidao's control limit. By making it this large, he has greatly exceeded his own capacity. I don't think he can sustain it."

Sure enough, before the fifth-dimensional cognitive model had even finished speaking, Zhang Yidao realized he could no longer command this super-sized formation, and You Yan finally broke free with ease.

This scene left Zhang Mingjing and his team stunned. Zhang Yidao felt embarrassed and immediately shrank the formation back to its original size.

Zhang Mingjing quickly consoled Zhang Yidao, "Just keep the demigod trapped in the formation for now, then have Xiao Ba, War God, and Defender launch their attacks. We will reach him in twelve minutes, and then we will deal with him together."

Zhang Yidao immediately complied.

...

Demigod You Yan was trapped in the center of the Post-Heaven Bagua Formation. The three satellites fired at him continuously, but his attacks were either dodged, blocked by the energy shield he raised, or diverted by the space-time monster encoding.

You Yan also launched several counterattacks, but the moment before he struck, the Bagua Formation would anticipate his intent, calculating the attack path in advance and allowing the three satellites to dodge his line of fire. Even though they only had three-thousandths of a second to react, that slight head start saved the satellites' lives every time.

You Yan soon discovered that the Bagua Formation was always one step ahead of him. Since his goal was not the satellites, he stopped attacking them.

Though trapped within the formation and occasionally having some of his energy drained, You Yan remained essentially unscathed.

At this point, even though the Post-Heaven Bagua Formation of Zhang Yidao and Xiao Nuxia had been upgraded multiple times, it still seemed inadequate against You Yan.

Although You Yan did not understand the Bagua Formation, he could perceive the trajectory of energy flowing through the space around him.

He read the distribution and flow of the formation’s energy and discovered sixty-four energy focal points within a two-kilometer radius around him, with a central focal point at the heart of it all. These points seemed to connect to numerous spaces, containing extremely complex information and energy.

He even discovered that each energy point had a different function, yet they resonated with one another. Once he stepped into one focal point, he risked being suppressed by the collective force of the others. Consequently, he avoided these focal points as much as possible while moving.

Were these energy focal points not exactly the sixty-four hexagrams of the Post-Heaven Bagua and the center of the Bagua itself?

It seemed that while You Yan did not understand the formation, his unique special abilities allowed him to reach the same conclusion through a different path!

He used his knowledge to discern the power of the formation. No wonder Zhang Yidao and Xiao Nuxia had tried so hard to give him a taste of their power, only to have him easily evade them. The two were quite dejected.

Reading this, Zhang Mingjing was shocked by You Yan’s power, but he continued to encourage them, "It’s alright! It’s normal to encounter a tough opponent. It’s a perfect opportunity to collect more data so we can optimize the formation to be even better next time."

While Zhang Mingjing encouraged them, he felt quite uncertain himself.

...

In the blink of an eye, twelve minutes passed. Zhang Mingjing, Catherine, Jeremy, and the two pets had met up with You Yan at an altitude of one thousand meters. They stood at their respective trigram positions, surrounding him in the center.

"These guys are indeed standing on those energy focal points," You Yan said to the space-time monster encoding within him. He did not seem in a hurry to act and remained very calm.

"Yes! It shows this is indeed a powerful formation, and it is ever-changing. We must be mindful of these energy focal points. I believe these people will constantly shift their positions within them," the space-time monster encoding replied.

"Indeed! And as long as it is a formation, these energy focal points must have relationships of mutual generation and restriction. Stepping into certain points will drain energy or suppress you, but stepping into others might provide energy."

"If that is the case... if we master this formation, we should not only be able to break it and finish these guys off, but also gain a significant amount of high-dimensional energy from it."

"Exactly! ...It just depends on how we formulate our strategy!"

"Very well! Go ahead and fight with peace of mind. Let me calculate the parametric characteristics of these sixty-four energy focal points." Once the space-time monster encoding said this, it began to continuously extract energy flow data from the sixty-four trigram positions within You Yan’s consciousness and immediately started calculating the changes in each data point and the relationships between them.

At this moment, Zhang Mingjing and his team did not rush to attack. He spoke first, using a classical inquiry, "Who goes there? State your name."

You Yan chuckled, then said with disdain, "I am You Yan, a high-level practitioner from Rainbow Star. You must be that 'Poor Daoist Death-Seeking Team,' right?"

"Hmph, we’ll see who’s seeking death!" Jeremy retorted angrily.

Zhang Mingjing said to the fifth-dimensional cognitive model, "This guy is a high-level practitioner. No wonder he’s so confident; it’s not just ordinary arrogance."

"Correct! A high-energy space-time monster encoding combined with a high-level practitioner is truly terrifying. And he seems to have found a way to deal with the Bagua Formation, so you must be especially careful!" the model responded.

"I’ll keep that in mind." Before Zhang Mingjing could finish, Zhang Yidao had already begun manipulating the Bagua Formation.

Zhang Yidao was suddenly inspired. He pulled the Bagua Formation into a cylindrical shape. Within the cylinder were eight circles, each containing eight trigrams, for a total of eight circles. You Yan was trapped in the center of this tube.

"Zhang Yidao’s move is excellent. It makes the Post-Heaven Bagua Formation more compact, and the battlefield more three-dimensional. It not only strengthens the power of the sixty-four hexagrams but also helps you dodge You Yan’s attacks," the fifth-dimensional cognitive model praised.

Zhang Yidao continued to manipulate the formation, causing Xiao Nuxia’s Bagua to overlap with his own, thereby significantly increasing the computational power of the formation.