Demon (Please Vote for Recommendations!)

Black Mountain.

The entire mountain was pitch-black, with few trees and jagged strange rocks twisted into all manner of terrifying shapes.

In truth, this place had originally been the holy land of Hestings County. The First Earl Hestings had been a pioneering knight from some western nation. After the First Yanhan Empire fell, he marched in to pick up the spoils, expanded his territory, and established a county.

Most of the western nations were native powers of this world, with small states standing shoulder to shoulder. Back then, there had even been colossal empires capable of confronting the Yanhan Empire. It was said that their customs differed greatly from Yan Han's, as did their races.

Su Daozhi did not know much about this.

He did not even know what bizarre and fantastical sights the western world beyond the borders truly held.

For between East and West lay not only an immense distance, but also a terrifying barrier—Black Mist!

The dreadful Black Mist seemed to be unique to this world. It was also said to be a product of the First Yanhan Empire's downfall. It shrouded the borderlands of the Second Yanhan Empire, was difficult to purify, and had shattered Yan Han's frontiers into scattered fragments.

From time to time, all sorts of dangerous, disgusting Monsters would even emerge from the Black Mist.

When enough such Monsters gathered, they would form a "Demon Tide" at regular intervals!

Hestings County had been destroyed partly because it was too far from the western nations and too close to the Second Yanhan Empire.

Another reason was that it stood too close to the Black Mist. Wave after wave of Monsters had battered it, exhausting its cultivators and soldiers alike!

Zhong Shenxiu gazed into the distance at Black Mountain, information continuously surfacing in his mind, and could not help feeling somewhat moved.

"Woof!"

Beside him, Huang Xie, the Dog Rong, stuck out his tongue. "There are no unfamiliar scents nearby. We can rest here for a while... Be careful not to approach that fissure in the canyon. It is said to be where generations of earls sacrificed to Demons. Evil and terror still linger there..."

The moment this was mentioned, it felt as though a valve in Zhong Shenxiu's mind had been opened.

He covered his forehead as a layer of memories surfaced.

The Twin Moons in the sky turned scarlet, while before him stretched a black, immense canyon.

A youth's arms trembled slightly as he climbed along the edge of a cliff.

Thick darkness surged from the fissure, which seemed to lead straight into the depths of the earth. Within it, something appeared to be stirring, eager to move.

Heh heh... Is this where you came from?

Zhong Shenxiu pressed a hand to his chest and murmured inwardly.

The reason Hestings County had managed to linger on in desperate survival for so long was that it had relied on worshipping the evil thing within Black Mountain!

It was said that the First Earl Hestings had signed a contract with some bizarre existence in pursuit of power and immortality, even undergoing a change in his own form.

That kind of bizarre existence... was called a Demon!

The "Demons" here were not the chaotic, silly ones from Zhong Shenxiu's memories. They were far more terrifying, far more evil beings!

Or rather, they could be regarded as... gods that existed in a higher-dimensional space!

But when you think about it, that makes sense... In our Eastern system, don't ghosts that accumulate enough merit get deified too? Why discriminate against Western Demon Vengeful Spirits...

Zhong Shenxiu silently snarked to himself. They're just... a teeny tiny bit more powerful...

Even now, he still did not know exactly what the thing inside his body was.

This world has a Twin Moons Full Moon once every fifteen days. Blood Moons occur at irregular intervals, anywhere from three months to a year... Those are all times when it goes crazily berserk. I might not survive them. And even ordinarily... it will gradually erode this body, constantly wearing away at my vitality...

Zhong Shenxiu looked at his palm. Perhaps it was an illusion, but his skin seemed slightly paler than yesterday, as though it were gradually losing warmth and becoming cold and stiff...

He knew that he was slowly dying...

Not only that, the thing inside him was constantly influencing his mind.

Gradually becoming cold-blooded and cruel was already the mildest symptom.

Even if he turned into a murderous fiend the next moment, Zhong Shenxiu would not be too surprised... My ass!

What kind of hellhole opening is this?

Zhong Shenxiu kept grumbling inwardly. This is forcing me, forcing me to show off!

Compared with this crisis, being disliked and targeted by Company Commander Tian Bufeng was utterly child's play.

It's time to show some real skill.

Zhong Shenxiu silently sat down and began eating the dry rations he carried.

Black Mountain Fortress had issued them specialized Grain Bricks, made by compressing powder from various cooked crops under high pressure. They claimed one brick could kill a mountain-splitting tiger, and even the hardest teeth would shatter against it.

Even when barely boiled apart in hot water, the resulting paste had an unbearable, gritty texture like sand.

But Zhong Shenxiu did not care about that. He was considering how he ought to show off.

Based on his experience from his previous world, Heavenly Show Points were not so easily obtained.

First, he had to show off brilliantly and spectacularly. That was the prerequisite.

Then, he also had to do so under the gaze of a crowd—the more people, the better.

It seemed that the more "spectators" there were, the better the feedback he received.

Otherwise, he had not been some show-off maniac in his previous life, so why had he needed to stick his hand into every matter and specialize in putting on displays before crowds?

Even so, after one grand show-off performance, he might not gain even a single Heavenly Show Point. Fortunately, the progress could be accumulated continuously.

After giving it some thought, Zhong Shenxiu secretly activated the Silly Top System.

Lines of data visible only to him emerged:

[Hundred Refinements Martial Arts: Level 5]

[Zither Arts: Level 3]

[Go Arts: Level 3]

[Calligraphy and Painting: Level 4]

[Xiantian Qi Gong: Not Initiated]

[Profound Yin Soul Control Fragment: Not Initiated]

[Heavenly Show Points: 0 (0%)]

...

Martial arts and miscellaneous arts are what I accumulated in my previous world... But the martial arts from that world might not be particularly strong in this one... I never expected the Xiantian Qi Gong I created to still be here. As long as I have Heavenly Show Points, I can level it up... This world even allows cultivation, so it can definitely accommodate Xiantian qi refinement...

Unfortunately, Heavenly Show Points are hard to come by. Some skills even require more than one Heavenly Show Point to advance in the later stages...

According to experience, an outstanding face-slapping show-off can probably earn one Heavenly Show Point, but that is difficult. Most of the time, I can only get twenty to seventy percent...

This is simply too horrible to look at. I finally swallowed my pride and got ready to show off, yet the rewards are this stingy...

Zhong Shenxiu wore an aggrieved expression as he silently complained inwardly.

Huang Xie beside him had already finished gnawing his dry rations. He came over and said, "Lord Su, my employment term is up, and I will be leaving Black Mountain Fortress in a few days... The Company Commander intends to target you. Take care of yourself..."

"Tian Bufeng? Don't worry..."

Zhong Shenxiu shook his head.

Patrolling Black Mountain was no easy task. It was all too easy to run into strange evils. His repeated assignments here were naturally deliberate targeting.

That was simply how the world was. You never knew when you would encounter malice.