The Heavenly Demon Had It Rough

Feng Yunjie's wrists trembled despite himself.

He stared at Du Ge in horror, as if he'd seen a ghost. The shock was even greater than when he'd watched the wounds on Feng Qi's face heal.

After a long moment, he finally came to his senses. A trace of fear flashed in his eyes as he stammered, "Seventh Master, your... your strength is growing... isn't it a little too fast?"

Only then did he understand Feng Shiren's concern. Heavenly Demons grew too quickly. Would they really be able to keep Feng Qi under control in the future?

"I have our family head's wisdom to thank. If he hadn't made up his mind to change things, my strength wouldn't have grown this quickly." Du Ge swung his fists a few times, savoring the thrill of becoming superhuman. "Now that I think about it, it's a little hard to get used to having so much strength all of a sudden! Are your wrists all right? I didn't hold back just now..."

Only then did Feng Yunjie feel the intense pain in his wrists. They felt as if they were broken. Grimacing, he rubbed them, still staring at Du Ge, his mind completely blank. In less than an hour, a gravely wounded man had become immensely strong—almost the equal of ten years of my hard work. It's simply unfair.

"Seventh Master, is there any chance a human could become a Heavenly Demon?" Feng Yunlu asked hopefully, so envious he was practically drooling.

"Probably not." Du Ge glanced at him and sighed. "Fourth Brother, you've only seen how much I've grown. You haven't seen what I've suffered. Heavenly Demons are born in the barren Demon Realm, spending their whole lives waiting for a rift in space and time to appear.

"After finally getting the chance to escape the Demon Realm through a rift, we still have to risk Soul Possession. Choose the wrong host, and we could die in an instant. Even if we're lucky enough to possess someone successfully, we still have to work hard to maintain our Keywords if we want to achieve anything. We can't afford to make a single wrong move.

"If we encounter a good opportunity, we might get the chance to grow. If not, we're still doomed to have our souls extinguished. This time, if I hadn't been sharing a room with Feng Jiu, I'd have had no one to look after me. With my injuries, I probably wouldn't have lasted long before dying along with Feng Qi's fading life. The world might never even have known that a Heavenly Demon had once been here..."

As he spoke, Du Ge seemed to understand what those rapidly vanishing numbers meant.

Most likely, they'd failed at Soul Possession.

He'd been kicked out of the Simulation Field right at the start because of Soul Possession. That Simulation Field seemed very different from what he'd imagined before. Most likely, it wasn't just a game...

Feng Yunlu pressed his lips together and said sourly, "That may be true, but you grow far too quickly. If I could grow that fast, I'd gladly take any risk rather than painstakingly practice Martial Arts!"

Du Ge knew that his astonishing rate of growth had aroused the Feng Family's suspicions. Suspicion would undermine teamwork and hinder his growth, so he had to put them at ease as soon as possible. His gaze swept over them. "Fourth Brother, have you ever considered what might happen if I can't protect the Feng Family in this chaotic world?"

"What would happen?" Feng Yunjie asked.

"If one prospers, they all prosper; if one suffers, they all suffer. If the Feng Family declined because of me, it would mean I hadn't done a good enough job protecting you, and I'd grow weaker right along with you, at the mercy of others." Du Ge sighed and looked around at them. "This is where you humans have a great advantage. The abilities you've mastered—whether Martial Arts or Internal Energy—will always be your own. They won't change because of outside circumstances. So don't envy me. Being a Heavenly Demon is miserable. If I could, I'd rather be human. I could succeed through my own efforts, but Heavenly Demons are far too constrained..."

At this, the three Feng brothers let out a breath of relief in unison.

They had no choice but to believe him.

After all,

they'd watched Feng Qi change as the Feng Family's decisions changed, and they'd also seen Feng Jiu recover by eating.

It wasn't possible that the Heavenly Demon rules constrained Feng Jiu but not Feng Qi. As long as Feng Qi was bound to the Feng Family, they wouldn't have to worry about him turning on them.

The stronger the Feng Family became, the stronger Feng Qi would grow. Others would be less likely to provoke the family, which was like having an extra Guardian Deity.

This was wonderful news!

Feng Yunjie was filled with emotion. Fortunately, Feng Qi's Keyword was "protect."

Heaven bless the Feng Family!

"Are you reassured now?" Du Ge looked at them, a hint of bitterness on his face. "If you still have doubts about me, you can have the family head recall those who went to look for Heavenly Demons and keep the news of their appearance under wraps. You could even kill Feng Jiu and wait a while longer, until the other Heavenly Demons in the world grow stronger, then see whether I grow weaker along with them..."

"..." Feng Jiu looked at Du Ge with a wounded expression. He was at a loss. Why was he dragging me into this again? I know you're using reverse psychology, but you can't keep picking on me! What if they actually do it?

"Seventh Master, you jest." Feng Yunming came in and cupped his hands to Du Ge. "You've devoted yourself tirelessly to the Feng Family. How could we not trust you? Yunming and the others are young and inexperienced. Please don't hold it against them." He turned and glared at Feng Yunjie and Feng Yunlu, scolding them. "Third Brother, Fourth Brother, apologize to Seventh Master at once."

"Seventh Master, we're sorry." Feng Yunjie and Feng Yunlu hurriedly bowed to Du Ge. "We shouldn't have doubted you."

"It's all right. We're all doing this for the Feng Family. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't casually trust a Heavenly Demon from the Demon Realm either." Du Ge smiled and helped them up. "Now that we've cleared things up, we're family. Don't worry that I'll hold a grudge. My Keyword limits what I can do. No matter how badly I'm wronged in the Feng Family, if you're in danger and someone needs to take a blade for you, I'll do it."

"Seventh Master, you're vital to the Feng Family's future. If anyone should take a blade, it should be us protecting you," Feng Yunming said with an ingratiating smile. "Whatever happens, you must be safe."

"Eldest Young Master, you can't put it that way. If you take a blade for me, you'll be doing me harm." Du Ge looked at Feng Yunming seriously. "Don't forget my Keyword. Taking a blade is protecting you, and protecting you helps me grow. There's no one better suited to be a bodyguard than me."

They were even arguing over something as small as taking a blade for him. This time, there was no problem. The three Feng brothers exchanged looks, finally feeling at ease.

"Seventh Master, do you mind if I tell my father how strong you are?" Now that Du Ge's strength had greatly increased and he was so loyal to the Feng Family, Feng Yunming treated him with much greater respect.

"Of course not," Du Ge replied. "Letting the family head see how much stronger I've become will build his confidence and boost the Feng Family's morale. But, Eldest Young Master, there's something else I'd like to ask of you."

"Please, go ahead," Feng Yunming said.

"Ask the family head if I can learn the Feng Family's Martial Arts," Du Ge said. "It'll take time for the Feng Family to rise. My strength can't keep increasing as rapidly as it did today. Besides, the boost from my Keyword only gives me speed and strength, and that's far from enough. If I can learn a few of the Feng Family's techniques, we'll have a better chance of succeeding."

"That won't be a problem. I don't even need my father's permission to decide that." Feng Yunming smiled. "In a little while, you can have Yunjie teach you. He's mastered all the Feng Family's Martial Arts."

Feng Yunjie nodded.

"Seventh Master, is there anything else you need?" Feng Yunming asked.

"Not for now," Du Ge replied. "If Yunjie's going to teach me Martial Arts, there's no need to stay at the Feng Family estate. Let's travel and learn along the way. I know more about Heavenly Demons than the Feng Family does, so I'll be better at identifying them. Like I said, the sooner we act, the better..."

Now that he'd arrived in a martial arts world, of course he had to go out and make a name for himself.

Only a fool would stay in one place and practice. There were more opportunities out in the world, and the Feng Family was too weak to have much potential for growth.

They couldn't even deal with the Iron Palm Sect. They had neither people nor influence. Was he really supposed to count on them to go out and bring back a whole group of Heavenly Demons?

By the time they found them, it'd be too late...

"I'll ask the family head," Feng Yunming said, looking at Du Ge and nodding. He turned to leave.

Feng Jiu hurried after him and called out, "Eldest Young Master, wait. There's something I need, too."

Feng Yunming turned around.

Before Feng Yunming could speak, Feng Jiu urgently said, "I need the digestive medicine and laxatives I asked for. Please hurry Doctor Hu along. Eldest Young Master, my Keyword may not be 'protect,' but I'm still a Heavenly Demon. If I grow stronger, it'll only benefit the Feng Family."

Beside Du Ge, he was nearly invisible. And he was the one who envied Feng Qi the most. He wanted to take on ten people at once, too!

Feng Yunming looked at Du Ge.

Du Ge nodded at him, looking confident. "Go ahead and prepare them. Within Feng Family territory, I can suppress any Heavenly Demon weaker than me."