Prevent Trouble Before It Happens

After Dug demonstrated to the Feng Family what efficient growth and loyalty looked like, they could delay no longer.

Speed is of the Essence.

Not long after breakfast, the Feng Family prepared travel gear for Dug and the others.

Dug, Feng Yunjie, Feng Shiyi, and a direct disciple named Zhang Han—four riders in fine clothes atop spirited horses—set off into the martial world. Under the guise of traveling, they planned to visit the major sects, seek out other hidden Heavenly Demons, and either recruit or eliminate them before anyone else could use them.

Feng Shiren watched them leave.

Standing among the people seeing them off, Feng Jiu watched Dug depart. The weight in his heart finally lifted, and he felt inexplicably relieved.

Gnawing on a piece of jerky, Feng Jiu's eyes unconsciously flashed with mockery. There was no denying that Feng Qi was skilled at using Keywords, but he was far too arrogant. He actually believed he could control everything in the Simulation Arena. What family had raised such an idiot? He was laughably naive!

Farewell, my dear Seventh Brother!

Later, I'll send you a gift.

That gift is called a lesson. It will make you see the cruelty of the Simulation Arena clearly. Consider it repayment for the kindness of not eliminating me. Just like your Theory of Extremes, it will benefit you for the rest of your life. After all, setbacks are the most precious wealth in a person's life...

Only after Dug disappeared from view did Feng Jiu turn around and look at Feng Shiren. Smiling, he said, "Family Head, let's go back. Seventh Brother has left. From now on, I'll protect the Feng Family..."

Smack! Smack! Before Feng Jiu could react, Feng Shiren moved like lightning and tapped several points on his chest, sealing his acupoints.

Feng Jiu's voice came to an Abrupt Stop. He asked in panic, "Family Head, what are you doing?"

"Ninth Master, forgive me. Seventh Master said you have a rebellious bone at the back of your head. Once he left, you would surely cause trouble, so he told us to restrain you early and prevent irreparable losses," Feng Shiren said.

"..." Feng Jiu froze, then his face turned ashen. Fine beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he forced a smile. "Family Head, is there some misunderstanding? Yes, I wanted to escape the Feng Family before, but after receiving the Feng Family's kindness, I already swore to protect it. You cannot listen to Feng Qi's slander..."

"Seventh Master said you are too extreme in everything you do. For the sake of growth, you could eat until your stomach burst, even eat while relieving yourself on the toilet, enduring what ordinary people could not endure. If someone is so cruel to himself, would he treat the Feng Family well after growing stronger? Right now, you are merely gluttonous. But when your greed grows great enough to swallow the Feng Family, it will be too late to act against you..." Feng Shiren shook his head, a trace of pity in his gaze. "Ninth Master, blame it on your attribute being Taotie!"

"..." Feng Jiu's pupils abruptly contracted, and his entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.

He knew.

He knew everything.

He knew about his disguise. He knew the true meaning of Taotie! What naivety? What kindness? It was all fake. So he was the truly naive one...

Still unwilling to accept it, he said, "Family Head, Feng Qi is crazier than I am, and he does things just as extremely. He was the one who proposed the Theory of Extremes. Aren't you afraid he'll turn against the Feng Family?"

Feng Shiren said, "His extreme is protection. Who wouldn't want an extra guardian deity in their home?"

Feng Jiu nearly exploded. After steadying his emotions, he said, "Family Head, have you considered that he is deceiving you? We were never reincarnated Heavenly Demons. There was never any Demon Realm. Your world is fundamentally an illusion. And his Keyword might not be protection at all—it could be deception. Fooling all of you could make him grow just the same..."

"Just as Seventh Master predicted. To drag him down with you, you would deny everything about him from the very root." Feng Shiren chuckled, the pity in his eyes turning to contempt. "Deception or protection, as long as it benefits the Feng Family, I do not care. I do not even care whether the Demon World exists. Seeing you people is enough for me to know that this martial world is truly about to fall into chaos. This will not be chaos caused by one more martial arts manual or one more treasure vault opening. It will be chaos from the roots. Troubled times will sweep up everyone in the martial world. With the turmoil approaching, self-preservation is the worst strategy. I am not senile yet. Ninth Master, you are still too young..."

"Fuck!" Feng Jiu cursed. His face instantly turned livid as he swallowed. "Family Head, can you give me one chance? Let me prove that Feng Qi is truly setting you up. Let me prove that I am more useful than Feng Qi. They have not gone far. There is still time to undo this."

"There is no need." Feng Shiren said, "Seventh Master said Taotie is a good Keyword. We can keep you in captivity and control your diet to test your growth rate, using you to find methods to restrain Heavenly Demons. Then, when we deal with other Heavenly Demons in the future, we will not be caught unprepared. Ninth Master, I must say, your vision falls far short of Seventh Master's."

Despair instantly filled Feng Jiu's heart. He flew into a rage. "Seventh Master said this, Seventh Master said that! Feng Shiren, you believe everything he says, don't you? You are an idiot. One day, you'll regret this..."

Feng Shiren smiled. Looking at Feng Jiu, whose mind had been consumed by fury, he said softly, "Ninth Master, don't panic. We can cooperate as well. I am very interested in the other version of the world you mentioned. And since Feng Qi has harmed you like this, we can discuss how to restrain him. How do we identify the Keywords of other Heavenly Demons? I do not like putting all my eggs in one basket..."

Feng Jiu felt a chill run down his spine.

At that moment, he suddenly understood why his teacher had said, "Hide yourself as much as possible. Do not try to change the world. The more you expose, the faster you die."

The natives in the Simulation Arena were far too clever. Every one of them was an accomplished actor.

It was all Feng Qi's fault, that idiot. He had dragged everyone down with him!

His stagnant attributes began to rise again, and by quite a bit.

Sure enough.

Keywords had a more obvious effect when used on players.

Dug reached a new conclusion: this setup in the Simulation Arena existed specifically to make players kill one another! A cruel battle royale game! Perhaps Feng Jiu was not as bad as he had imagined, but if he did not Backstab him before leaving, Dug would feel uneasy. He decided to trust his instincts.

As the saying went, once suspicion arose, guilt was established.

The Simulation Arena was designed to screw people over. Suspicion was enough; evidence was unnecessary.

After all, Backstab was his character setting. The role he played was bad to the bone. There was nothing wrong with maintaining his character setting. Who would challenge human nature in a Simulation Arena that decided one's fate?

In a battle royale game, being kind to an enemy was being cruel to oneself.

Feng Jiu could only blame himself for being too naive. Giving him a lesson would hopefully help him walk more smoothly through the rest of his life!

Dug looked at the gleaming first place on his personal ranking and curved his lips into a smile. Things were so much better this way. He had Backstabbed Feng Jiu, protected the Feng Family, and increased his attributes.

Three birds with one arrow. All it cost was Feng Jiu's freedom. It could not have been more worthwhile.

As for what would happen to Feng Jiu?

Whether he would ruin Dug's plans was outside Dug's consideration.

After leaving the Feng Family, he had never planned to return.

The sky was vast for birds to soar, the sea boundless for fish to leap. Like Guo Jing leaving the Great Desert or Yang Guo leaving the Ancient Tomb, even if he truly returned one day, his Martial Arts would already be beyond measure. A mere Feng Family would no longer be capable of suppressing him.