The Demon Lords
Chapter 47 - 33 Upgrade Method!_1

Chapter 47: Chapter 33 Upgrade Method!_1

"If we kill our lord, will our restrictions be lifted?"

The pavilion at that moment was chillingly cold. After Fanli’s voice faded, there was a long silence.

This silence was also an indicator of a terrifying fact, a fact that would bring feelings of shame and self-reproach to the six people present. Because no one stood up immediately to refute Fanli’s treasonous suggestion. No one called out to quickly chastise Fanli for his dangerous thoughts! Silence meant everyone was contemplating. And to contemplate meant everyone was hesitating. And to hesitate meant that everyone... was tempted. Everyone genuinely weighed the pros and cons in their hearts, wondering whether such an approach would succeed. If they had stayed silent at first, they had already revealed their thoughts. Any words of loyalty now, any talk of division—who were they deceiving? The people present had lived together in this world for half a year, even if they weren’t originally from the same comic book. Who didn’t know the character of the others? But someone had to break this silence; otherwise, it would cause a rift within the team. And the one who spoke was not Blind Bei or Siniang, but Liang Cheng.

"I used to lead soldiers and fight wars. Setting other things aside, I’ve committed many acts similar to this incident where the Earl of North Border’s household used the lives of thousands of civilian laborers as bait—and I’ve even done things far worse. But no matter what, when dealing with my subordinates and soldiers—even if I led them into a last stand or sent them to their deaths—I always told them straight. A general can deceive his enemies, even the monarch of his own country, but if he deceives his subordinates and fellow soldiers, he loses his reason for existence."

Liang Cheng picked up the wine cup before him, slowly raising it.

"We are not virtuous or compliant. By worldly standards, we are all utterly wicked demons. We see through many things. We can be more cheerful, freer, and pursue the feelings we desire more freely. Blood, life, cruelty, violence—we can find joy in these. We can be unrestrained. But ultimately, we are still ourselves. We remain ourselves because we have characteristics, edges, unique traits, and pursuits, instead of becoming simply profit-maximizing machines. Otherwise, we could all change our names. Why would we need any names? It’s just like a bubble: it appears for the sole purpose of floating up, and once it surfaces, it bursts.

Truly, it’s really laughable. When we were once ordinary people, we promised him a choice—between a simple life of wealth or the pursuit of excitement. At that time, we were ready to guard him as he lived out his life in wealth. But now, we have regained some of our power, albeit very little, yet our hearts have started to always desire more! I am ashamed of myself. Honestly, I know I have no right to speak of such things, as I’m not innocent.

Let’s have this toast together and then... let’s forget about Fanli’s words just now, as well as the thoughts that moved us."

A Ming raised his wine glass, Xue Three raised his wine glass, Feng Siniang raised her wine glass, Fanli raised his wine glass, and Blind Bei raised his wine glass. Then, everyone drank up.

The temperature in the pavilion rose a little.

Blind Bei smacked his lips and began to speak again, "Actually, there’s one thing that should be clear to everyone. If a player’s account is deleted, their mount... No, their pets, would they still exist? If things were that simple, why didn’t the Monkey King simply behead Monk Tang during the journey to the west, pickle his head, and take it to the Thunder Sound Temple? So, let’s close this topic for now. Let’s get back to the main topic.

Based on my guess, there are two major things we need to handle next. One is the development of economic wealth and power, including the formation of the three hundred cavalrymen, their training, their equipment, and how our lord, with his somewhat inflated title of Protector-Captain of Merchants, can strive for authority and influence in this small patch of land that is Hutou City. The other is to find ways, at any cost, to enhance our lord’s power! This world has magic, Battle Qi, cultivators, fighters, and so many systems, and they are all uniformly divided into nine ranks. What we need to do is to help our lord increase his rank, step by step!"

The second task was the most important because only by enhancing the power of all seven of them, and having that power in their own hands, could they truly establish a strong foundation for future development, without having to resort to too many tactics or making alliances. The principle was clear: a fist hard enough to break the enemy with one punch. This was the most straightforward way to progress.

"So, which path should we choose for our lord?" Siniang murmured. "The Zombie said our lord has a bit of strength."

"What about Battle Qi?" Xue Three suggested.

"We should stick to martial arts," A Ming said. "Battle Qi is, after all, slightly Western. It’s a bit hard to learn."

"Yes, we should adapt to local conditions," Blind Bei added. "With our current conditions, it’s difficult to truly get to grips with the Western power systems. Reportedly, magicians and fighters exist in Yan State, but they are few in number, and most of them are exchange students in the academies of Yan’s capital or serve as military officials in places like embassies. Right now, we lack the ability to go to the capital of Great Yan and kidnap a teacher."

"Kidnap a teacher?" Feng Siniang took a deep breath as if finally realizing something. She asked, "Blind Bei, you summoned us here tonight to kidnap a... no, to invite a teacher for our lord?"

Blind Bei grunted in agreement.

A Ming, growing speechless, asked, "So, it’s been decided?" That devious Blind Bei, playing coy and causing Fanli, that simple-minded fool, to blurt out those words and make things so awkward for everyone late at night.

Blind Bei shrugged, seeming to realize the group’s disapproval. But there was nothing he could do—even he hadn’t anticipated anyone voicing such a thought.

"Yes, this is the real reason I gathered you all here tonight. Given our current circumstances and our lord’s situation, I think finding a martial arts teacher for our lord is absolutely necessary."

Blind Bei continued his analysis, "Liang Cheng has strong fighting abilities, but his methods are mostly dependent on his Zombie lineage. The same applies to A Ming. Unless you can perfectly transfer your bloodline to our lord, he can’t follow your path. Your direction doesn’t suit him. Xue Three’s movement skills and some abilities are largely based on experience and his understanding of how to apply power. My abilities and Siniang’s also rely on certain inexplicable fortuitous encounters; they aren’t inherently very replicable. As for the Mo Wan, that goes without saying. Its very existence, as set up by our lord, is like the Monkey King—peaking at its debut. How can that be replicated?"

Everyone is too special. It’s precisely their specialness that makes them unsuitable as models for Zheng Fan, who’s a blank slate. Because our existence largely arises from various accidents, how can one copy accidents? Would it be bad to have one of our own serve as our lord’s teacher? We shouldn’t let our fertile waters flow into others’ fields! And everyone would undoubtedly do their best and teach without reservation, but would it work?

"Hm," Siniang acknowledged, saying, "Yes, if our lord tries to emulate our path, he will only narrow his own."

"So," Blind Bei continued, "given that there are so many people and such rich cultivation systems in this world, it means that every mature cultivation system has been successfully validated by countless individuals. Therefore, these systems inherently possess strong replicability."

"So, we’re capturing a fighter, is that it?" Xue Three asked impatiently. "Do we have a target?"

"We certainly can’t go for any half-baked ones. Those who only know how to twinkle and glitter are definitely not what we want," Feng Siniang assessed.

Liang Cheng nodded. "At least, we ought to capture a genuinely ranked one, a true Ninth Rank martial artist."

"How strong is a Ninth Rank martial artist?" Feng Siniang turned to Blind Bei. "That woman who delivers talisman water—her husband, wasn’t he a City Patrol Colonel? A Half-step Ninth Rank fighter. How strong is he?"

Xue Three chuckled beside them. "Heh, Blind Bei is so secretive, he definitely didn’t get caught in the act."

"A Half-step Ninth Rank isn’t hard to deal with," Liang Cheng said, "but if it’s a true Ninth Rank martial artist, facing one alone would be very risky." As he spoke, Liang Cheng recalled the old swordsman by the side of the female general from the Earl of North Border’s household on the battlefield.

"So, first, we need to find a target. Once we’ve confirmed the target, the six of us must act together to ensure we capture him alive!" Blind Bei revealed the final plan.

"Um," Fanli raised his hand.

A Ming glanced at Fanli and said gruffly, "Ah Li, if it’s nonsense, then don’t say it."

Fanli thought seriously for a moment, seemingly analyzing whether what he was about to say was indeed nonsense.

"Go ahead, Ah Li," Blind Bei sighed.

"In the merchant caravan, I heard the barbarians say that the Royal Court has a sacrificial hall where talented barbarian masters can go for advanced study and learning. Yan State also has military schools and academies. Could our lord perhaps enter an academy to study? Wouldn’t that be more effective?"

Hearing this, Xue Three yawned and began to spout, his lips moving like a Maxim gun firing wildly, "Yes, our lord first goes through selections, barely managing to snatch a spot to enter the academy from the geniuses in Hutou City. Then, as a good-for-nothing, our lord is ostracized in the academy, suppressed, looked down upon. Any random Joe from who-knows-where will deliberately come before our lord to show off and stir up a wave of hatred. Don’t ask why; our lord is our lord, the most unique firework in this world. Then, when our lord is bullied in the academy, and we’re not by his side, he runs off to the back mountain. There, he either stumbles into a cave and obtains a secret manual, or meets the Heavenly Mountain Maiden who wants to impart her skills, or perhaps he picks up a ring, and inside the ring lives an old grandma. The old grandma opens her mouth and asks, ’Please state your dream!’"

As expected of the "Young Master" who had been a storyteller in the inn for six months, he rattled off all those words without a single pause, leaving Ah Li completely dumbfounded.

Xue Three picked up the wine pot, took several large gulps directly from its spout, then put it down, wiped his mouth, and said, "I support Blind Bei’s plan. This plan is definitely much better than sending our lord to some damn academy.

Let’s first capture a Ninth Rank martial artist. We can threaten him with his family or his own life to make him teach our lord. When our lord reaches Half-step Ninth Rank, we’ll see if our own strength has improved. If it has, great, the next steps are simple and clear. When our lord reaches Ninth Rank—the seven of us... no, the six of us—damn it, when is that lazy bum going to show up? Fuck! Never mind him. Continuing—when our lord reaches Ninth Rank, and our strength has also improved, we’ll go capture an Eighth Rank, torture him, and make him teach our lord. When our lord reaches Eighth Rank, and our strength has improved further, we’ll go capture a Seventh Rank, then a Fifth Rank, a Fourth Rank..."

After finishing, Xue Three slammed his hand on the table with a BANG, and yelled, "Is there any cooler way to level up in this world?"