Heavenly Demons Ravage the World

Council Hall.

Feng Shiren, the family head, and many important members of the Feng Family had gathered together, watching Feng Jiu eat as though he were a monkey. From time to time, someone came over to feel Feng Jiu's pulse and check the changes in his injuries.

Dug pinched Feng Jiu's cheeks and took charge of stuffing food into his mouth, domineering and brooking no refusal.

Feng Jiu's cheeks were puffed up like a squirrel with its mouth crammed full of food. His eyes were red-rimmed as he glared at Dug, who was feeding him. His teeth ground audibly, as if he were chewing Dug's flesh. Bastard, this was too humiliating. Once I grow stronger, I'll bite you to death piece by piece...

"Ninth Brother, yes, just like that. Chew in big bites and swallow hard. Only when you're full will you recover faster, and only after you recover will you have the strength to hit me!" Dug paid no mind to Feng Jiu's cannibalistic glare. Like he was coaxing an unruly child, he kept stuffing pastries into his mouth, stubbornly safeguarding their friendship while enjoying the pleasant sensation of his physical abilities rising.

At this moment, Dug could no longer tell whether what he was doing counted as safeguarding or Backstabbing, but the rapid improvement in his physical abilities did not lie.

Dug sighed. He really was a born actor. With talent like this, he should have applied to film school back on Earth.

After seeing that ordinary food really could work wonders on Feng Jiu, everyone clicked their tongues in amazement and no longer doubted the matter of possession.

Listening to the whispers around him, Dug stopped feeding Feng Jiu and seriously suggested, "Family Head, if you're still worried, you can beat Feng Jiu into a grievously injured state and verify it again."

With that one sentence, Feng Jiu, who had been struggling to maintain his expression, finally snapped. He struggled and shrieked hysterically, "Feng Qi, you bastard! Why don't you use yourself as the experiment?"

"Ninth Brother, don't be angry. It's only because your Keyword takes effect faster than mine." Dug flicked away the food crumbs that had fallen on him, unbothered. "For the team's benefit, what's wrong with making a small personal sacrifice? Just endure it for a while. You'll recover after eating a few more bites anyway..."

"Endure my ass! I'll kill you..." Veins bulged across Feng Jiu's forehead, and his face turned bright red. If his acupoints had not been sealed, he probably would have lunged at Dug's throat by now.

"Ninth Master, please calm down. Seventh Master was merely joking with you." Family Head Feng Shiren coughed and naturally changed how he addressed them. "Since you two masters chose to possess members of our Feng Family, then you are now members of the Feng Family. You should support each other..."

As he spoke, he walked over to Feng Jiu, personally unsealed his acupoints, and had a servant bring him hot tea.

Feng Jiu lifted the teacup and swallowed its contents in one gulp. He looked coldly at Dug. Having regained his freedom, he was actually less impulsive than before.

Dug did not turn around, but his Third Eye remained fixed on Feng Jiu.

At that moment, he felt Feng Jiu was somewhat like a dog tied to a leash and then suddenly released from it. For some reason, it made him want to laugh.

It had to be said that this guy's performance was a little exaggerated. His acting relied entirely on glaring and shouting. If there really were an acting school in the real world, he would probably be one of the poor students! Of course, perhaps he was deliberately putting on such a show to lower Dug's guard.

Feng Jiu had formal training and definitely knew more about the Simulation Arena than Dug did. His current impulsiveness was completely different from how he had behaved when he had first awakened.

Under the present circumstances, an impulsive and irritable personality would clearly be more likely to win the Feng Family's favor.

Everyone knew that a simple-minded, impulsive person was easier to control.

No one could be underestimated.

But regardless of which it was, Dug was not particularly worried. Although Feng Jiu possessed his original memories and Martial Arts, he had not eaten much and had yet to fully recover from his injuries. Meanwhile, Dug had developed Sacrifice for Righteousness and Third Eye, and his physical abilities had soared. He did not need to worry about Feng Jiu suddenly attacking him.

Dug had also discovered that when he sincerely safeguarded the Feng Family's interests, safeguarding did more than heal his injuries. It also strengthened all his attributes, such as strength and the five senses.

Only then did Dug's doubts truly clear up.

If Keywords could only help people recover and provide some unreliable skills, there would be no way to navigate the game world at all.

Take the current world as an example. There were only six months left until the Martial Arts Convention.

Even a genius could not possibly contend with Martial Arts masters who had trained for years in a mere half year, unless they possessed a Martial Arts master.

However, judging by the examples of himself and Feng Jiu, Dug guessed that the odds of directly possessing a Martial Arts master were probably extremely low.

But Keywords could enhance one's physique and five senses, and coupled with skills, they could erase that gap...

Feng Shiren looked at Dug again and asked with a smile, "May I trouble Seventh Master to explain the matter of possession in detail?"

"Yesterday, a spatial rift appeared between this world and the Demon Realm. The Demon Realm is barren, so three thousand Heavenly Demons entered the human world through it, seeking to enjoy the prosperity of this world." Dug smiled, swept his gaze over the crowd, and threw out the backstory he had long prepared. "Heavenly Demons have no physical form. To gain a foothold in this world, their first step is to possess someone and be reborn..."

"A spatial rift?"

"The Demon Realm?"

"Heavenly Demons from beyond the realm?"

The Feng Family members all changed expression, deeply shocked.

The more timid ones looked at Dug and the others and instinctively took a step back. It had to be said, the changes in Feng Qi and Feng Jiu truly did seem demonic.

It would have been one thing if they were wandering ghosts possessing others...

But Heavenly Demons! Among those in the martial world with "demon" in their nicknames, whose hands were not stained with blood?

As he listened to Dug fabricate nonsense, Feng Jiu drank tea by himself without saying a word. He did not refrain from attacking Dug because he had suddenly developed a conscience, but because he had discovered a terrifying fact.

That fact had even made him temporarily forget his hatred for Feng Qi.

His stomach hurt a little.

The stomachache itself was not important. It was probably an aftereffect of chewing on the straw mat.

The crucial thing was that he was full!

Earlier.

When Feng Jiu had chewed the straw mat, he had not thought it was much of a problem.

But the Feng Family had kept forcing him to eat in order to test his abilities, leaving him so stuffed that his stomach was about to burst. He could barely drink any more tea.

Taotie had given him an easy way to improve, but it had not given him a matching appetite...

What the hell! How could this happen?

If he could not keep eating, how was he supposed to surpass Dug? Watching Dug speak eloquently to the crowd, Feng Jiu felt sour inside. Such an excellent Keyword as safeguarding—how had it ended up with such a scumbag of rotten character?

"Are all three thousand Heavenly Demons from beyond the realm like you two masters?" Feng Shiren raised an eyebrow, not appearing to take Dug's words too seriously.

As the head of a family, he would not believe whatever others said. Even if Dug was telling the truth, he would need to verify it before taking action.

"More or less." Dug said.

"Will Heavenly Demons harm the world?" Feng Yunjie was young, at an age when he was curious about supernatural matters, and could not help asking.

"Some will, and some won't. How should I put it? Heavenly Demons care more about enjoyment and improvement." Dug smiled. "Heavenly Demons sound frightening, but they are not as complicated as humans. Every Heavenly Demon has their own attribute, and that attribute is the Keyword Feng Jiu mentioned before. We can only grow by aligning with our own attributes.

"For example, my attribute is safeguarding. Everything I say and do must consider others and preserve and protect their interests. Once my words or actions contradict safeguarding, my abilities will be greatly weakened. Therefore, my attribute is support-oriented and harmless. Feng Jiu's attribute is much simpler. He can grow quickly by eating, so it is neither good nor bad.

"If it were an evil fiend with an attribute such as brutality or treachery, then it truly might harm the world..."

Damn it! Hearing Dug continue exposing his secrets, Feng Jiu shot him a vicious glare and gritted his teeth. Taotie was such a good Keyword. If not for this bastard, how could he have ended up in this state?

Right.

It was not that his Keyword was bad.

Taotie was a Keyword that came into its own later. As long as he hid somewhere and ate to his heart's content, one day he would surely make a stunning rise. Now that Feng Qi had exposed all his secrets, he was being constrained at every turn. It was all Feng Qi's fault.

He had to find a way to break the deadlock...

After pondering for a moment, Feng Jiu did not expose Dug's fabricated lies. Instead, he interrupted him. "Family Head, I've thought it through. I will sincerely cooperate with the Feng Family. You've all seen it—Feng Qi is two-faced. Today he safeguards the Feng Family, but tomorrow he may safeguard others for greater benefits. With me here to restrain him, it will be more beneficial to the Feng Family..."

Feng Shiren looked at Feng Jiu in surprise, then secretly shook his head. Heavenly Demons were something he knew nothing about, with far too many uncontrollable factors.

The simplest solution would actually be to kill them both and be done with it. But if they fought among themselves, things would become much easier. He could use them to keep each other in check and profit from it.

Dug smiled and shook his head. "Family Head, don't listen to his attempts at sowing discord. Safeguarding is my instinct. If I abandon those I safeguard, my divine abilities will be severely weakened. I would not do something so foolish. Besides, I am a member of the Feng Family. If I rashly went out to safeguard others, they would have to believe me first. Safeguarding the Feng Family gets twice the result with half the effort; safeguarding others gets half the result with twice the effort."

"Feng Qi, search your conscience. Haven't you betrayed me? You sold me out in exchange for the Feng Family's support. In the future, you may sell out the Feng Family for even greater benefits. As long as the person or force you safeguard is stronger than the original one, your weakness will not show." Feng Jiu retorted sharply.

Taotie faced too many restrictions in the early stages, and Dug was too scheming. He had to ensure his own survival first before considering anything else.

Moreover, since he could not keep eating endlessly, ensuring the quality of his food became the prerequisite for his growth. Drinking Feng Qi's blood worked much better than chewing a straw mat. In that case, staying with the Feng Family was an excellent choice.

After all, the Feng Family was wealthy and powerful. It was safer than venturing out alone. If he randomly ate something outside, got gastroenteritis, and died, that would truly be a waste.

"Ninth Brother, don't you feel ashamed? I chose a broader path, one with a starting point countless times higher than the plan you made to flee the Feng Family. That was to safeguard our shared interests. How can you call it betrayal?" Dug said. "No matter who judged it, they would say the path I chose was better than yours. Fleeing the Feng Family would be the real betrayal of trust for me. It would bring the Feng Family's pursuit, and I might not even survive from one day to the next. Safeguard for one day, safeguard for life. If I became accustomed to betrayal and kept changing sides, how could I ever grow?"

"..." Feng Jiu snorted coldly. "Silver-tongued."

Dug smiled. "Ninth Brother, your understanding of safeguarding is narrow, while mine is broad..."

Feng Shiren stroked his beard as he watched the two argue, amusement in his eyes.

Argue!

The fiercer the argument, the better.

The more fiercely they argued, the more information they would reveal.