Chapter 65: The Daily Life of the Monster Leader, Part Two

“Over there…”

Huang Gui’s face was taut with anxiety as he glanced at the swirling black mist at his feet, then quickly pointed in a direction. Lu Fei nodded, feeling the drain on his demonic energy as he carried Huang Gui, and immediately urged his power to fly toward where Huang Gui had indicated.

Watching his leader soar off with Huang Gui, the Crow Monster turned, put his arms around the shoulders of the Wild Donkey Demon Madman and the Yellow Ox Demon Clumsy, and declared loudly, “I’m the sworn brother of the chief—you all can call me—”

Before he could finish, he finally noticed the smallest figure at the back—the Ant Demon Blacktooth—and was startled by the latter’s unsettling appearance. “What in the world are you?”

But the Crow Monster quickly regained his composure, sensing the weak demonic aura around the little one. Just as the chief had said, this was a demon who had only recently gained a humanoid form—albeit one with a frightful countenance.

Steadying his voice, he asked, “I mean, what creature did you become a demon from?”

Blacktooth responded, “Brother Crow, I was once an ant. Now I’m Blacktooth.”

“An ant…”

Hearing Blacktooth’s respectful answer, the Crow Monster nodded with satisfaction and replied offhandedly, “I’ve seen others of your kind ascend before, though that was a long time ago… So your name is Blacktooth? You’re clever…”

Then, turning to the other four young demons, he announced, “Just like Blacktooth, you can call me Brother Crow…”

“Let’s go—it’s nearly mealtime. I’ll take you to eat first…”

“Once you’re full, I’ll tell you what you need to know about Wild Mountain…”

With that, the Crow Monster strode off in the opposite direction, the five new demons trailing eagerly behind.

“By the way, what are your names?”

“Brother Crow, I’m Madman…”

“I’m Old Clumsy…”

“I’m Pockmark…”

“Brother Crow, I’m Kun…”

Watching the Crow Monster lead the five young demons away, Redskin withdrew his gaze, reflecting to himself that it was indeed the right decision for his chief to put the Crow Monster in charge of training the newcomers.

He scratched his rear, then gave his short, stubby tail a shake and headed down the mountain.

When Lu Fei returned with Huang Gui to the stone cave on the mountain opposite the main peak, dusk had already fallen.

“Big brother, you’re back…”

Redskin, who had already lit a fire and was roasting rabbit meat, greeted them as soon as they entered.

“Mm.” Lu Fei nodded, and casually asked, “Where’s Blackmane?”

“He took the young demons up to the kitchen at noon. I haven’t seen him since… He’s probably still teaching those new ones.”

Redskin flipped the meat on the rack, with Huang Gui assisting.

“Oh, looks like we didn’t pick the wrong person this time.” Lu Fei laughed, not at all surprised. The Crow Monster always enjoyed playing the mentor and showing off; guiding the new demons was indeed the perfect role for him.

“Big brother, did Huang Gui’s matter work out?” Redskin asked, glancing at Huang Gui, whose eyes sparkled with joy.

“Mm.” Lu Fei nodded, waving his hand to draw some firewood over to the fire from a short distance away. Before he could say more, Huang Gui couldn’t help but chime in, “Third Brother, you have no idea how warmly my old chief welcomed our big brother. He agreed to everything I asked, and even invited him for drinks.”

Redskin’s eyes lit up as he looked at his elder brother. They shared a bond; any honor or respect shown to the chief reflected on them all.

“It was just a coincidence,” Lu Fei replied lightly, not elaborating. Seeing Redskin pull out a roe deer to skin and roast, he stood up and said, “I’ve already eaten. You go ahead.”

With that, Lu Fei returned to his bed, sitting cross-legged.

It was rather amusing, he thought; this seated posture for meditative breathing seemed more like a human practice than one of the demon clan. Only after asking the Crow Monster had he learned the reason: the reason demons, upon awakening their intelligence, initially transformed partially into human shape was not merely for convenience of limbs. The main reason was that humans were uniquely blessed with spiritual wisdom, favored by heaven and earth, and taking on human form made cultivation much easier.

Thus, this human-style cultivation posture had been passed down among demons for generations.

Seeing their chief preparing to meditate, Redskin and Huang Gui immediately quieted down.

At that moment—

“I’m back…” The Crow Monster’s voice sounded at the cave entrance.

Redskin and Huang Gui quickly turned and made a shushing gesture at him. The Crow Monster immediately turned, saw the chief sitting quietly in meditation, and covered his mouth with his hand.

The three brothers gathered quietly around the fire, chatting in hushed tones.

In front of Lu Fei, lines of pale, ink-brushed virtual data began to appear:

[Host: Lu Fei]
[Realm: Early Demon General (0/2000)]
[Experience: 147/300]
[Soul Power: None]
[Techniques: Demonic Breathing Method (Small Mastery) (9/1000)]
[Skills: Spearmanship (Novice) (43/100); Archery (Novice) (21/100); Harpoon Technique (Novice) (26/100)]
[Divine Abilities: Heavenly Wolf Devours the Moon (Proficient) (185/500); Between Inches (Novice) (23/100); Surprise Attack (Novice) (57/100); Whisper (Novice) (8/100); Earth Escape (Novice) (7/100); Inch Step (Novice) (1/100)]
[……]

“Two thousand experience points…”

Seeing the number in the realm column, Lu Fei’s heart skipped a beat. He had expected the required points to rise sharply upon advancing to Demon General, but not by this much.

Still, considering how difficult it was to advance at this stage, he wasn’t too surprised. After all, no matter how slow or hard it was, his progress would be far faster than other demons. Having a visible progress bar was a tremendous advantage over fumbling blindly in the dark; it was more motivating, too.

Isn’t there a saying? “As long as there’s a health bar, even gods can be slain!” The real-time efficiency feedback of the experience bar gave an unparalleled drive to those taking action.

Turning his attention back to the virtual panel, Lu Fei scrolled further.

Beyond the unchanged numbers, he quickly noticed that his spearmanship proficiency had increased by five points. He hadn’t practiced with the spear recently—so the only explanation was the spear technique imparted to him earlier that day by the Wolf Captain.

Sensing the technique in his mind, Lu Fei realized he couldn’t devote all his time to breathing meditation anymore. He needed to allocate time to practice spear techniques, train his divine abilities, and attend to his new responsibilities as a leader.

In short, much lay ahead.

Reading further, Lu Fei soon noticed a new divine ability, “Inch Step,” had appeared in the list. This was the ability he had comprehended upon breaking through to Demon General—a skill for rapid movement within a short range.

But in Lu Fei’s own understanding, it was more akin to “Blink.” Another auxiliary ability—practical and powerful. The only drawback was its relatively high energy consumption.

Yet compared to its utility, that seemed a minor flaw. If his spear techniques reached mastery and he combined them with Inch Step, his prowess—whether in direct combat or ambush—would be truly terrifying.

……

The next morning, sunlight bathed the land.

Lu Fei was up early, and by the time he arrived at the mountainside gathering point with the Crow Monster, Redskin, and Huang Gui, the field was still sparsely populated.

None of the other Demon General leaders had arrived yet, either.

Not that Lu Fei minded—he was newly promoted, so arriving early was only proper. He stood at the leader’s position, eyes closed, conserving his strength.

The Crow Monster, Redskin, and Huang Gui, together with the five eager young demons, waited below him, chatting animatedly.

Time passed, and as the ground filled with young demons and all the Demon General leaders finally assembled, the Black General once again appeared in midair.

Three days in a row—what important news could there be today?

Lu Fei and the other leaders immediately gathered their wits, ready for what was to come.