Enlightening the Gray Rat Demon!

Sun Hangchun finished looking through the account books and raised his head, a fawning smile on his face:

"Fellow Daoist Shi, about these resources..."

"Stop."

Shi Jian raised a bear paw, signaling the old geezer to shut up. Sun Hangchun froze, the lengthy speech on the tip of his tongue caught in his throat, unable to come out or go back down.

"Don't talk to me about the bigger picture, and don't paint me a pie-in-the-sky picture of the Lineage's future."

Shi Jian lazily shifted position, rubbing his enormous bear body against the animal-hide mat. "I only want two things."

"First, Spirit Stones."

"Fifty percent of the Sun Clan's annual income, paid quarterly. No delays."

"Second, Cultivation Methods."

"Your Sun Clan's library is to be open to me. I want to be able to read the Jade Slips for every Cultivation Method, spell, and formation whenever I please."

Sun Hangchun's smile froze.

The Spirit Stones were easy enough; they had already agreed on fifty percent.

But the Cultivation Methods...

"Fellow Daoist Shi, our inherited Cultivation Methods concern the very foundation of the Lineage..."

"Foundation?"

Shi Jian cut him off, his tone flat and unruffled, as though stating a fact. "Right now, the Sun Clan's greatest foundation is me!"

With that one sentence, he blocked everything Sun Hangchun had to say.

The old man fell silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and cupped his hands in salute. "I understand."

"I'll have people organize the library tomorrow, so you can consult it whenever you wish, fellow Daoist."

"Good."

Shi Jian nodded slightly in satisfaction, settled back down, and closed his eyes to practice breathing and regulate his Qi.

Sun Hangchun left the back mountain, his footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

Only after confirming that no one was around did Shi Jian open his eyes again, his gaze finally settling on a pile of weeds in the corner...

A gray-furred rat was peeking out from behind them, its beady eyes darting about shiftily. It seemed quite intelligent.

"Come here."

The rat went rigid, instinctively wanting to flee.

But the next second, an invisible pressure descended upon it, leaving its limbs weak and limp. It collapsed to the ground, trembling.

Shi Jian beckoned with a claw, and a surge of spiritual power lifted the rat and carried it over to him. In the blink of an eye, a pungent stench spread through the air.

"Don't be afraid, little fellow. I won't eat you."

Shi Jian stared at it and brought up the system's screen in his mind.

[Enlightenment]: 1

[Use Enlightenment on the target?]

"Confirm."

The screen flashed, and an invisible wave surged out of Shi Jian's body and entered the rat.

The rat shuddered. A trace of clarity suddenly flashed through its formerly clouded little eyes. It stared blankly at Shi Jian and opened its mouth, speaking in the Demon Race's language, its words indistinct:

"G-great King?"

"All right, stop calling me that. It gives me the creeps."

Shi Jian raised a paw and pressed it lightly on the rat's head. "From today onward, you'll be my eyes and ears."

"Whatever anyone in the Sun Clan says or does, come here every evening and report it to me."

Shi Jian paused, then added, "Especially Sun Hangchun. Where he went, who he met, what he said-don't leave out a single word. Understand?"

"Y-yes."

The rat agreed in a daze. Its voice was still indistinct, but much clearer than before.

"Very good."

Shi Jian was quite satisfied. He opened his mouth and breathed out a wisp of pure Yao Qi, which slowly entered the rat demon's body...

"This is a breathing method I improved myself. Figure it out and cultivate diligently. Don't let a fine place like this Spirit Vein go to waste."

The little rat shivered as a warm current suddenly surged through its body. Its once-scrawny frame gained a faint hint of strength.

It raised its head, its tiny eyes full of fervor:

"Great King... I... I'll work hard and serve as your spy!"

"Go on."

Shi Jian waved a paw.

The gray rat darted into the grass and vanished.

Shi Jian settled back down, a cunning smile curling at the corners of his mouth. The Enlightenment System wasn't just for his own use...

Rats were thieves of the earth, perfect for surveillance and spying.

Once he had one rat demon, it would soon gather a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand eyes and ears. When every rat and rat descendant in Hongtian City was at his disposal...

He would know the moment anyone in the Sun Clan so much as farted.

When that time came...

"Old Sun, you'd better not disappoint me."

Early the next morning.

Sun Hangchun personally brought Shi Jian to the Sun Clan's library and presented him with eight hundred Spirit Stones.

The library was a small, three-story building.

A simple protective formation had been laid around it, and two library-guarding disciples at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining stood at the entrance. When they saw Sun Hangchun and Shi Jian arrive, both hurriedly saluted them.

"From today onward, Fellow Daoist Shi may enter and leave the library whenever he wishes."

"There is no need to announce him or register his visits."

"Yes, Ancestor."

Sun Hangchun gave the instruction, and the two disciples nodded their assent. Such was the authority of the Lineage's sole Foundation Establishment cultivator...

Shi Jian stepped into the library.

The first floor held basic Cultivation Methods and spells, most of them used by Qi Refining Realm cultivators. They were of little use to him, though they could broaden his horizons.

The second floor was where the important things were.

Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivation Methods, spells, various arts and crafts, and Jade Slips on miscellaneous subjects collected by generations of the Sun Clan filled three neatly arranged bookshelves.

Shi Jian casually picked up a Jade Slip and sent his Divine Sense into it.

The Azure Wood Everlasting Spring Art was the Sun Clan's primary Cultivation Method. A wood-attribute method, it emphasized restoring vitality and prolonged combat, while its offensive power was average.

He picked up another.

The Withered Wood Meets Spring Technique was a wood-attribute spell that could stimulate plant growth and also draw out vitality.

Shi Jian narrowed his eyes. This Cultivation Method was interesting.

The human race's Cultivation Methods were indeed far superior to the Demon Race's crude ways. Demon Race cultivation relied entirely on instinctively absorbing and expelling Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

It was inefficient and extremely likely to damage one's foundation.

The human race, by contrast, had broken cultivation down into a complete system of inheritance. From Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, every step had a clear path.

"This is what I wanted!"

Shi Jian spent the entire day in the library.

Sun Hangchun came twice, but seeing him absorbed in the Jade Slips, quietly withdrew without disturbing him. Only when night fell...

Did Shi Jian finally put down the last Jade Slip and walk out of the library, thoroughly satisfied.

When he returned to the back mountain, the gray rat was already waiting there.

"Ancestor!"

The little rat ran over excitedly, gesturing with its tiny paws:

"Today I heard that Sun Hangchun went to the Ye and Lin ancestral homes, counted everything in both their storehouses, and had all the Lin and Ye families' spiritual fields plowed!"

"Mm."

Shi Jian nodded, making no comment.

"And there's more!"

"Tonight, Sun Hangchun summoned several of the clan elders and said he wanted to redistribute the spiritual fields. He also said... he also said he wanted to build you a great big cave abode!"

Shi Jian raised an eyelid. "Build a cave abode?"

"Yes! He said he'd use the best materials and build it where the Spirit Vein was most concentrated!"

"Heh."

Shi Jian gave a cold laugh.

Build a cave abode?

It sounded nice, but all he wanted was to pen Shi Jian in a fixed location, draw a line on the ground and make it a prison, so he could keep watch at any time.

But none of that mattered.

"Keep watching."

"Especially Sun Hangchun. Pay close attention to who he meets in private and where he goes. If anything unusual happens, report it promptly."

"Understood!"

The rat darted back into the grass.

Shi Jian looked up at the night sky. He didn't care about Sun Hangchun's little schemes, as long as the offerings were sufficient and posed no threat to him.

All that surveillance was of no consequence.

Besides, they had sworn a Heart Demon Oath. At most, Sun Hangchun would be wary of him, but he wouldn't actually try to deal with him.

Unless the old geezer no longer wanted to live.