-----
-----
"Now that the order of seniority is settled, it's time we discuss how to divide up the territories in this world."
"Phew!"
The other demons, who were about to leave the demon consciousness space, suddenly stopped in their tracks, stirred by those tempting words.
A gentle breeze blew, making the Blue Star instrument spin non-stop. Thick black smoke then merged into it, projecting a huge, boundless map.
On the map, the locations of the Eight Great Demon Lords were clearly marked.
"Xiaofeng's right."
"We, the Eight Demon Lords, with Big Brother Zhoulan giving up the continent of this world, now have eight continents. The seven of us demon lords need to seriously discuss how to divide them up!"
The Thunder Demon Zhongsu rubbed his hands together, conjuring lightning that struck straight onto two continents—almost claiming more than half of them.
"Zhongsu! There are eight continents—such a vast land—and you just go ahead and grab two for yourself? What kind of logic is that?!"
As Zhongsu's thunder authority touched the continent that belonged to Zhoulan, Basha's eyes misted. The ocean shown on the map suddenly surged with gigantic waves, washing away Zhongsu's thunder power and even swallowing that whole continent.
"The seas of this world are so vast, almost wrapping around everything. Since Big Brother is willing to give up his territory, it should go to me, the youngest sister, Basha."
"The demons here are cunning and fickle. Humans are weak—just a little bit of power can crush them."
"If the water is merciless, why not let the sea swallow them whole?"
But the ocean waves only briefly swallowed the land before a furious hurricane rose up, blowing Basha's raging seas right back.
"This continent belongs to me, Xiaofeng."
Just as the hurricane was about to claim the continent, countless mountains rose up to block the storm's destruction.
Crackle crackle!
"This continent is so big it'd take Bogan forever to eat it all. I'm the oldest sister, Bogan. You younger brothers and sisters should step aside for your elders!"
But just as Bogan was feeling proud, the continent suddenly cracked and shattered—massive fissures tore the land apart.
In a blink, the once-whole continent was split into countless tiny islands.
Watching all this, Zhoulan frowned, then raised a hand. The moon's gravity appeared, pulling the scattered islands back together to reform the continent.
Then Zhoulan turned to Shendu, who had barely spoken and wasn't even fighting for territory.
He said with meaning:"Holy Lord, all our brothers and sisters are fighting for this land, yet you stand aside. Big Brother doesn't quite understand you."
With a long sigh and the air of an elder concerned for the group, Zhoulan had already seen through most of the demon lords' true natures—except for this Fire Demon Lord. He couldn't figure him out.
"Zhoulan, stop acting like some wise old man caring about me."
"Don't think I don't know. We were all born from the black smoke, so naturally we have to fight for territory in this world—but you're different."
"You were born on the Moon, and you hold the Moon's authority. The Moon is your true home, so whether Blue Star has land or not probably doesn't matter much to you."
Shendu's cold words cut straight through Zhoulan's thoughts.
In the original Jackie Chan Adventures story, Zhoulan was known as the oldest demon lord.
While the other seven demon lords were just starting to figure things out, Zhoulan had long seen everything clearly. Otherwise, how could he be called the eldest demon?
Maybe it takes years of ruling over humans and demons before a demon lord's nature truly matures.
Hearing this, Zhoulan's face stayed calm, showing no sign of change—but inside, his mind was shaken to the core.
Still, out of respect for his elder brother, Zhoulan said nothing.
He just glanced back at the six demon lords still fighting over territory.
Among them, Xiaofeng, Zhongsu, and Ximu shared similar attributes and naturally teamed up against the other three demon lords.
Meanwhile, Bogan controlled mountains, and Dui the Earth ruled the land, so those two worked together to resist.
Basha, the Water Demon, didn't fit in with any of them. Alone, she stirred up tsunamis on the shadow map, trying to swallow that continent whole.
Meanwhile, Zhoulan's moon gravity kept the continent stable, stopping it from breaking apart again.
"Brothers and sisters, listen to me," Zhoulan said. "None of you have fully taken control of your own land yet. Why not secure what you already stand on, then we can all fight over the continent that belongs to me?"
With a slight raise of his hand and a focused thought, Zhoulan's gravity froze everything—the lightning, the hurricane, the mountains, the land, the ocean waves, the wind and rain, the thunder—all stopped under his power.
When he finished, the six demon lords finally paused.
Only now did they realize that besides Zhoulan, the Holy Lord hadn't joined the fight over land.
"Since Big Brother has spoken, little sister will give him face."
Basha pulled back her power, and the ocean calmed.
She alone had been fighting the other five demon lords and was beyond frustrated.
Among the others, the Fire Demon was naturally opposed to her element, while the Sky Demon, who controlled weather including rain (which is also water), could be a potential ally.
But Ximu had already allied with Zhongsu and Xiaofeng. Although earth and mountain elements didn't conflict much with water, it didn't really matter here.
This left Basha the Water Demon stuck in a place where she didn't fit well with anyone—neither fully hostile nor truly friendly.
"Since Big Brother said it, let's take our own lands first, then fight over the continent later."
Basha spoke first, and Ximu and the others nodded along, not wanting to argue.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
Shendu, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke, expressing his intention to leave.
As soon as he finished, his form dissolved instantly—no one else even had time to react.
"Since Sixth Brother's gone, I, Ximu, should leave too and claim my territory!"
With that, Ximu vanished from the demon consciousness space just like Shendu.
The other demon lords exchanged glances and then silently left the space one by one.
Zhoulan watched all his younger brothers and sisters leave, then lowered his head to glance at the map of Blue Star.
Each continent reflected the demon lord controlling it: fiery storms, flashing lightning, roaring waves, howling hurricanes.
These all represented the unique powers of the seven demon lords.
But the map was missing one thing—Zhoulan's moon gravity.
"Sigh."
Zhoulan sighed quietly and then exited the space himself.
Now he regretted giving up the land that belonged to him, all for some empty title.
The Holy Lord's coldness, plus the faint disregard from the other demon lords, made Zhoulan feel like this move had cost him.
But it was done—the situation couldn't be reversed.
"....."