Chapter 50

Translator: Rosana

Editor: PlayerProphet

Huh? He’s not actually angry?

“Since you aren’t doing anything else, come help me pour tea and grind ink.”

What?

Bai Yang was dumbfounded. Pour tea and grind ink?

The Demon King raised his eyelids and gave him a light glance. “Li Yu is gone and there are no other servants around. You can serve as his replacement.”

What kind of joke is this? He wants me to stand here every day and face such a devil? Wouldn’t I be trembling in fear all day? I’ll lose all my hair to stress!

“Your Highness, this subordinate is too dumb to do it well.”

“If you can’t do it well, you can learn. Or are you unwilling to serve me?” The Demon King raised an eyebrow.

Could Bai Yang dare say he wasn’t willing?

Of course he couldn’t! All he could do was hold back his grief and accept. Thus, he was forced to give up his leisurely lifestyle in order to act as an a.s.sistant to the Demon King in the palace’s main hall.

If he knew this was going to happen, he would have been more diligent from the start. Compared to facing the Demon King of Eternal Darkness every day, the Guard Commander position wasn’t that bad.

Although he didn’t want it, Bai Yang couldn’t think of an excuse, either, so he could only take office filled with dread.

He’d been a rich kid since birth, so he’d never waited on someone else before. What if he didn’t do well and the Demon King decided to kill him?

With his heart steeped with deep worry, Bai Yang began his career in the palace of serving tea and pouring water in the main hall. It was only after a while that he noticed that the Demon King was very easy to wait on. He didn’t have any special requests. The Demon King only reviewed official doc.u.ments every day and talked to his courtiers about business. He was too busy to die or live.

Bai Yang stood beside him, his only responsibility being to pour tea. Most of the time, he just dozed off. At first, he was quite diligent, but he couldn’t copy ancient people who always maintained a careful att.i.tude. After a while, he relaxed and just napped peacefully off to the side.

The Demon King only had others in to discuss business. Regardless of how confidential it was, he let Bai Yang listen in. At first, those who came to talk were shocked that Bai Yang was there as the Demon King’s tea servant. Bai Yang was one of the Four Demon Generals after all, and he was also the Guard Commander. Making him serve tea was overkill, even insulting. Yet, after a while, they came to realize that Bai Yang didn’t come to serve the Demon King, but the Demon King was serving him.

How doesn’t he even know how to grind ink? The Demon King would impatiently wave him off and do it himself.

A bowl of mediocre tea, one that could almost be called disgusting, would be served, but the Demon King would steel his nerves and drink it.

Sometimes Bai Yang would fall asleep, so the Demon King and those he was talking to would have to lower their voices, or move to another room in fear of waking him up.

The Demon King would even consult Bai Yang on things he was unsure of. What did Bai Yang know about government affairs? He’d often just say some nonsense, yet the Demon King had never gotten angry, not once.

Most importantly, when the Demon King was discussing confidential matters, he would never tell Bai Yang to leave.

And thus, everyone came to know that Xie Ze Tian was the Demon King’s dearest confidant, the most favored courtier in the Demon Realm.

Other people saw which way the wind was blowing, so they began to pay more respect to Bai Yang. Even if Bai Yang never did anything, a lot of credit was still shoved onto him.

Bai Yang could only helplessly sigh toward the sky.

In the blink of an eye, a whole year pa.s.sed. Bai Yang never had a moment where he didn’t want to return to the Human Realm. However, the Demon King had been holding him back, always keeping Bai Yang where he could see him. Once the Demon King made a decision, he wouldn’t shy from anything. That meant that when Luo Jian Feng came to report, Bai Yang was there, listening.

In addition to managing manpower and materials, Luo Jian Feng had two other reasons for being in the Human Realm. One was to destroy the Boundary Pillars, and the other was to find the Son of Destiny.

Before, everyone focused on the Male Lead as the Son of Destiny, but after Bai Yang pulled that move, many fake Sons of Destiny appeared. Thus, the Demon Realm no longer knew which one was real or which was fake. To avoid any fish from escaping the net, Luo Jian Feng sent back information regarding the Son of Destiny on a regular basis, focusing on the most likely options.

Presently, the Male Lead was a suspect, but he was less suspicious compared to the other options. The only reason people were so focused on him was because his body was connected with the Dragon Blade. Everyone knew that if you wanted to steal the Dragon Blade, you’d have to wait until he reached the Nascent Soul Stage, so most of Luo Jian Feng’s news on him concerned how advanced he was in his cultivation.

The cultivation world’s concept of time wasn’t the same as Bai Yang’s from the 21st century. With just one cultivation session, it was possible to pa.s.s ten days, or even half a month in a blink of an eye. It was even possible to cultivate for ten years. Bai Yang had been forced to stay by the Demon King’s side for a year. In his eyes, a year was a long time, but to the eyes of this realm’s people, it wasn’t long at all.

Once you step onto the path of celestial cultivation, your lifespan will stretch to incredible lengths. What’s one year’s worth of time, anyway?

Luo Jian Feng has heard news of the Male Lead’s cultivation fast approaching the late Foundation Building Stage. It was terrifying for someone to reach the Foundation Building Stage within his first year of cultivation. In the Cultivation World, reaching the Foundation Stage while you’re still young was usually caused by Sects forcing development with pill supplements. Otherwise, you’re either a genius, extremely lucky or both.

In this world, the Foundation Building Stage was extremely long. The Beginning, Middle, and Late Stage were all pretty long as it was the period in which the immortal pract.i.tioner was first introduced to, and entering the ranks of, cultivation. At that point, their physical and mental quality wasn’t important. What was important was that the body’s meridian channels had been properly established for cultivation. It took an overwhelmingly long time to develop them.

As soon as Bai Yang heard the news, he was relieved that the Male Lead was safe and that he’d taken the Sun Sky Pill Bai Yang gave him.

After listening to Luo Jian Feng’s report, the Demon King asked: “Xie Ze Tian, don’t you think Zhong Ying’s cultivation is going too quickly?”

Bai Yang was shocked. The Demon King was very keen to be able to spot the suspicious information.

“Your Highness, Zhong Ying isn’t rising the fastest among his peers,” Bai Yang replied, attempting to mislead him. “It’s possible that someone’s been trying to speed him up with pills.”

The Demon King narrowed his eyes. “So you’re saying there might be someone deliberately trying to speed his cultivation in order to steal the Dragon Blade?”

“Yes. If he cultivates too quickly, even a moment’s distraction could cause future improvements to become difficult. He might even damage his spirit root, which would prevent him from rising further. If Zhong Ying is being mentored by a master, they wouldn’t let him rise so fast.” Bai Yang a.n.a.lyzed.

Taking a pill would speed up cultivation, but the amount taken had to be precisely controlled, or else it would be counterproductive. This was especially true during the Foundation Building Stage. It was important not to give too many elixirs to freshly sprouting seedlings. Thus, although many sects used cultivation pills, they were careful to not use it too much.

Of course, that excluded the Sun Sky Pill, which was very safe to use. That’s why it was considered a priceless treasure to everyone. Bai Yang gave the Sun Sky Pill he received from the Demon King to the Male Lead, which is the reason why his cultivation was rising so fast. The Demon King probably wouldn’t guess the cause.

After listening to Bai Yang’s insight, the Demon King pondered for a moment, before nodding and saying, “That makes sense.”

Bai Yang didn’t want him to linger on the topic any longer because he knew the Demon King wasn’t easily fooled. If he deliberated the matter for too long, he would find some discrepancies, so Bai Yang tried to change topics. “Your Highness, are you done with your governmental affairs?”

“Almost.” The Demon King raised his head, “Is something wrong?”

“Your Highness,” Bai Yang quickly answered, “my cultivation hasn’t been improving much recently. I wanted to discuss with you what the problem might be.”

The Demon King laughed, a laugh that sounded sincere. Even if Bai Yang believed he was as straight as a steel pole, the Demon King’s laugh made him soften a little.

It’s scary that a man could become so beautiful. Fortunately, he doesn’t smile often, and he’s so strong that no one would dare to l.u.s.t for him. If he was even a little less imposing, with his beauty, I’m afraid the Demon Realm would have shred him apart.

The Demon Realm has a savage culture. At least the Human Realm valued courtesy, honesty, and shame. The Demon Realm… if they like something, they’ll rush up and take it by force.

No, no, stop thinking. Why are my thoughts getting more and more crooked?

Bai Yang reined in his thoughts and heard the Demon King say, “You’ve stayed by my side for a year, yet this is the first time you’ve asked for anything.”

Bai Yang froze, thought about it carefully, and realized it was true. He had been by the Demon King’s side this past year, acting like a pig. He didn’t talk, he slept after eating, and ate after he slept. He even might have gained weight.

He also didn’t have any requests, out of character for someone who seeks ‘power and fame.’

Alarm bells rang in Bai Yang’s heart, and he decided that he’d try to be more greedy.

“Your Highness?”

“Alright, let’s go.”

The Demon King stood up, motioning for Bai Yang to follow. They soon arrived at the training grounds.

The Demon King stood in the middle of the field, his hands readied as he spoke. “Come.”

As it was his first time sparring with the Demon King, Bai Yang was quite excited. He clasped a fist in a salute and said, “Your Highness, then your subordinate won’t hold back.”

The Demon King nodded with a faint smile.

Now that he had the Demon King’s approval, Bai Yang attacked without holding back. The two began to fight, one attacking and the other defending.

As they fought, Bai Yang realized that the Demon King would only need to use one hand to defeat him, but was probably refraining out of respect and fear of hurting Bai Yang’s pride. The Demon King was still fighting seriously.

The more they fought, the more Bai Yang realized how terrifyingly skilled the Demon King was. Of course, Xie Ze Tian’s skill couldn’t be underestimated either. Originally, Bai Yang only wanted to spar in order to change the subject, but he became increasingly excited and serious.

The Demon King probably saw Bai Yang’s excitement, as his smile grew wider. They fought furiously in the field. Bai Yang didn’t know how long they’d been fighting, but in a moment of carelessness, he fell from the sky. The Demon King appeared at his side and caught him by the waist.

This position seemed a little ambiguous.

Bai Yang had been at the Demon King’s side for a year, during which the Demon King never made any excessive actions. There was no ambiguity between them at all. The Demon King also never asked anything of Bai Yang, only wanting to keep him by his side. As for his work… Bai Yang was used to being a young master and didn’t know how to serve other people. When they were alone, the Demon King did everything himself.

“Are you okay?” A deep voice sounded by his ear and Bai Yang felt as though an electrical current was running through him. His ear felt numb from the shock.

The two were close, the Demon King holding Bai Yang against his chest. His lowered head gently rested on Bai Yang’s and his lips brushed against Bai Yang’s ears as he talked. The Demon King’s warm breath tickled the tip of his ears and the skin there quickly burned red.

Bai Yang’s heart thumped and he jumped away.

The Demon King let him go, yet his dark eyes followed him as he moved.

Bai Yang blinked a few times, forced his strange throbbing heart to quiet, before straightening himself. “I’m fine. Thank you, Your Highness.”

Over the past year, the Demon King never said any unnecessary words, though it might have been due to Bai Yang’s quiet obedience.

The Demon King smiled. “It’s good as long as you’re fine.”

Thinking of something, he spoke in confusion. “Seeing as you’ve taken the Sun Sky Pill, your cultivation shouldn’t be so low…”

Bai Yang, having recovered from the strange atmosphere, lied without blinking. “That’s exactly why I’m confused.”

The Demon King pondered for a moment. “The Sun Sky Pill might not suit your physique. If you want to improve your cultivation quickly, you’ll have to find another method.”

Bai Yang didn’t care about improving his cultivation quickly, but his act needed to be convincing, so he spoke in a frustrated tone. “If even the Sun Sky Pill didn’t work, I don’t know what other method there is to rapid improvement.”

Seeing his frustration, the Demon King raised his hand to pat his shoulder… or pat his head? Finally, for whatever reason, he stopped and let his arm fall.

“Rest a.s.sured, there are other ways.”

Bai Yang pretended to be excited and asked, “What other ways?”

“Wait for me here, after three days,” The Demon King said with a smile. “Let’s end it here for today.”

After successfully diverting the Demon King’s attention and thereby completing his goal, Bai Yang didn’t want to continue his own beating and agreed.

“Your Highness, Commander Xie!” The guard who had been standing by the training field jogged over once he saw their conversation had ended.

The Demon King motioned for him to speak.

“Deputy Commander Zhang wanted to talk with the Guard Commander.” The guard spoke with a slight tremble in his voice.

Bai Yang, the Guard Commander, had handed off all his work to his subordinates. Nearly all the Capital Guard matters have been handled by the two deputy commanders, yet his subordinates were all too scared to speak out.

This time, Deputy Commander Zhang was inviting him to talk, probably to pa.s.s some work onto him.

“You may go,” said the Demon King.

Relieved, Bai Yang left with the guard in a hurry.