"Well… Although Senior Wan has indeed offered me to join the Demon Sealing Grotto, I have not decided to join them yet. As for the Demon Sealing Clan, I would also like to think about it some more." Yuan responded to Tang Zheng's offer.
"Of course. Take all the time you need." Tang Zheng nodded with a relieved smile on his face.
As long as Yuan doesn't accept Wan Yu's offer, he still has a chance to recruit Yuan into the Demon Sealing Clan.
And while some might think Tang Zheng was exaggerating the Demon Sealing Clan's situation to trick Yuan into joining them, it is a fact that the clan has been in a straight decline ever since their founder disappeared.
As for their reason for decline, it is actually much simpler than one would expect.
The Demon Sealing Clan was created for the sole purpose of fighting demons, and after killing or sealing most demons and chasing the rest into hiding, the Demon Sealing Clan became less relevant as they were no longer needed due to the lack of demons.
In the end, the downfall of demons was also the downfall of the Demon Sealing Clan.
'I am the reincarnation of the founder of the Demon Sealing Clan, so I should join them and save them from their ruin. However, I am no longer the Divine Paragon, and I shouldn't let my past affect my current life…'
Yuan was in a predicament. On one hand, he wants to help the Demon Sealing Clan that he'd created in his past life. However, on the other hand, he didn't want to let his past lives to continue affecting his current life, as he fears that he might lose his personality and become someone unrecognizable.
After pondering for some time, Yuan temporarily stopped thinking about it to step onto the stage to fight the artificial demon.
"What's that kid doing? He's not using any demon sealing techniques."
Since it was a new day, there would naturally be new people in the area that didn't know about Yuan.
"Who? Oh, him? He was also here yesterday doing the exact same thing as he is doing right now. I guess he just wants to experience fighting demons without actually sealing them. A waste of our time if you ask me. After all, what's the point of fighting demons if you don't seal them?"
Someone there recognized Yuan and explained to those asking.
Eventually, the artificial demon began mocking Yuan for not being able to seal it.
"Haha! What's wrong, demon sealer? You can't even seal a fake demon? How will you survive if you encounter a real demon that is far more powerful than a fake? You should give up and just return to being a normal cultivator!"
Of course, Yuan ignored the artificial demon's taunting and continued to slice its body with the Empyrean Overlord.
Once Yuan was satisfied with his workout a few hours later, he stopped fighting the artificial demon.
"Finally! I thought he was going to stay up there for the entire day!" The people there sighed in relief when they noticed that Yuan was finally leaving, allowing them to fight the artificial demon.
Tang Zheng, who'd just come back to the area from eating lunch, noticed Yuan and quickly approached him.
"Yuan, are you free right now?"
"Sort of. Why?" Yuan asked.
"I'd like to show you something."
"Okay."
Yuan didn't question Tang Zheng and followed him to another area within the Grand Library, arriving at another empty square shortly after.
However, the place was empty in the sense that there was a lot of space in this area, since there were actually a lot of cultivators scattered around this place with most of them seated around this domineering statue.
Yuan's eyes widened with surprise when he saw this statue that was located at the center of this empty square, as he'd seen the face of this statue before, mostly in his dreams.
"That's… the Divine Paragon?" Yuan mumbled in a low voice.
When Tang Zheng heard it, he smiled and said, "That's right. He is the founder of the Demon Sealing Clan and the idol of every demon sealer in existence— Divine Paragon, also known as the Bane of Demons."
"When I was a young cultivator, I happened to overhear a legend about him, and because of this legend, I decided to become a demon sealer. I never looked back nor have I ever regretted my decision. Do you want to hear it?"
"Sure." Yuan nodded.
"When demons were still rampaging in the Nine Heavens, millions of demons dwelled within this impenetrable stronghold in the Demonic Realm that was deemed impossible to conquer by all cultivators."
"However, the Divine Paragon, all by himself, entered the Demonic Realm for a total of 66 days. The world thought the Divine Paragon had died inside the Demonic Realm, but to everyone's shock, the Divine Paragon returned from the Demonic Realm, and that's when everyone learned the truth— that the Divine Paragon had been killing demons nonstop since he entered the hellhole."
"In just two short months, he'd conquered the Demonic Realm and killed every single demon inside, something everybody had deemed impossible. Nobody has entered the Demonic Realm since then, as the Divine Paragon had sealed the Demonic Realm just in case he missed a few demons."
"Demon sealers nowadays would have trouble fighting a single demon even in a group, yet the Divine Paragon had killed millions of demons all by himself in two short months. If you ask me what a real demon is, I would, without hesitation, say it's the Divine Paragon… in a good sense."
Yuan was speechless after hearing this legend.
'No wonder why demons are terrified of him… He's actually more devious than demons!' He sighed inwardly.
"Hmm?" Tang Zheng suddenly raised his eyebrows at Yuan, almost as though he'd realized something.
"Yuan… Now that I look at you closely, you look awfully similar to the Divine Paragon's statue over there, almost like you're a younger version of the Founder himself."
"Eh?"
When Yuan heard Tang Zheng's outrageous yet accurate claims, Yuan's body froze, almost as though he'd been sealed.