Chapter 36: New Divine Power

“The other side might just make a move against me tonight…” Watching the bear chief turn away, Lu Fei’s heart suddenly grew wary.

Think about it. The little demons, usually half-starved, now at a feast where meat is unlimited and the precious liquor flows freely—what creature could resist such temptation? Surely, all would be beside themselves with joy. Just now, upon hearing the wolf leader announce tonight’s banquet, they hadn’t even begun yet, and the excitement had already erupted, everyone cheering madly.

Add wine to the mix. Though these small demons are far hardier than ordinary folk, alcohol cares little for one’s constitution. With only one chance a year to drink, many newborn demons have never even tasted wine—their tolerance is, at best, uncertain. After eating their fill and drinking themselves senseless, they’ll be sprawled everywhere, drunk and defenseless.

Isn’t that the perfect moment to strike? Afterwards, simply toss the victim off a cliff, claim it was a drunken misstep, and no one would question it.

At this thought, Lu Fei even considered using the opportunity to deal with that old rat demon, Hui Pi. All the more so for the bear chief, who harbored a deep hatred against him. In the bear’s eyes, killing him would be easy—the only thing required was the right opportunity. Tonight’s banquet could be just that.

“Big brother, what are you thinking about?” Amid the cheers, the crow demon saw Lu Fei’s serious, contemplative expression and quickly asked.

“Nothing…” Lu Fei shook his head at the crow’s inquiry. What could he be thinking, if not how to handle the bear chief tonight?

First, he must drink sparingly, perhaps not at all. Even a little alcohol clouds the mind, and with the bear chief’s threat looming, overindulgence would be suicide.

Second, he must avoid being alone; the more demons together, the safer.

Third, he was only three cultivation points away from advancing to Third Level Demon Soldier. He would begin breathing exercises as soon as he returned, hoping to break through before tonight’s banquet.

He didn’t know the true strength of a demon general, but yesterday, in the valley, the bear chief survived losing an arm and being besieged by two demon leaders from Snake Coil Mountain—his power was undeniable. Every bit of improvement counted for survival.

He also had the system, allowing him to quickly learn other demons’ supernatural abilities. His third brother, Little Red Bristle, possessed a skill—nurturing pig bristles and then firing them as an attack. Lu Fei could try to learn it himself, see if it was useful.

Finally, he must keep his eyes and ears open, ready to act as the situation demanded.

One by one, these thoughts crossed his mind.

When Lu Fei snapped out of his reverie, he realized the morning meeting had ended. The gathered demons had dispersed, leaving only the crow demon and the little pig demon, Red Bristle, standing by him.

“Let’s go…”

“Why didn’t you call me?” Lu Fei started toward his cave dwelling.

“I saw you were deep in thought, so I didn’t disturb you…” The crow demon quickly said, “But big brother, you’ve just broken through—you’re already ahead of us and many others. Tonight there’s a banquet, with meat and wine. We should be happy! Why are you so troubled, thinking so intently?”

Lu Fei shook his head at the crow’s question, “A demon without foresight will surely face imminent danger…”

Such words, more profound than usual, left the crow and Red Bristle dumbfounded as always.

The crow demon blinked in confusion, “Big brother, what are you talking about?”

“Nothing…” Lu Fei shook his head again. “Let’s hurry back. The effect of last night’s ox demon meat is still lingering. We need to practice our breathing exercises, not waste it.”

Hearing this, the crow demon immediately chimed in, “Right, right, I was too tired last night—today I must really practice. Third brother, what about you? Did you practice yesterday?”

Red Bristle shook his head, “I was covered in wounds yesterday. After eating, of course I had to rest to heal faster.”

“Alright…” The crow demon, hearing Red Bristle’s matter-of-fact reply, looked a bit deflated. “Seems I was the only one who wasted it…”

They returned to their stone cave dwelling.

Lu Fei called out to the little pig demon, “Third brother, I want to learn your supernatural skill…”

They had discussed this last night. Red Bristle nodded, “What should I do?”

“That’s simple…” The crow demon, experienced in this, stepped forward, “Third brother, just guide big brother’s demon energy through the area in your body where you nurture your pig bristles. Let him feel the flow of energy there.”

“As for big brother, he needs to memorize the structure and the energy route in the place where you nurture the pig bristles…”

“If he can’t remember in one go, then do it a few more times…”

“That way, he’ll eventually learn…”

The crow demon paused, remembering that Lu Fei had already learned other demons’ supernatural skills easily, without needing instruction.

He quickly changed his tone, “Big brother, you know what to do. I’m saying this for third brother.”

“Third brother, do you understand now?” the crow demon asked.

Red Bristle nodded, “Got it…”

“Let’s begin, then…” Lu Fei reached out; Red Bristle placed his hand on his, and began guiding Lu Fei’s demon energy.

Before long, after Lu Fei’s energy had passed through the area in Red Bristle’s chest where the pig bristle skill was nurtured, a virtual prompt appeared before him:

[You have learned the skill: Assault]

“Big brother…” Seeing Lu Fei’s thoughtful expression, Red Bristle asked, “Need to do it again?”

It was convenient for brothers to teach each other skills—if once wasn’t enough, try twice. With other demons, you’d need to offer enough benefits just to get a taste, and if you didn’t learn, tough luck.

“Let’s do it again…” Lu Fei, seeing the prompt before him, reached out to hide his skill, pretending to need another attempt.

After the second round, Red Bristle asked again, “Big brother, one more time?”

This time, Lu Fei smiled and shook his head, “No need, I’ve more or less got it. Now I just need to work on it myself…”

He retreated to the innermost small cave.

After carefully sensing the new skill “Assault,” Lu Fei discovered that not only pig bristles could be nurtured—other materials such as leaves, teeth, small stones, steel needles, even hair could be used as weapons for Assault.

The harder the nurtured material, theoretically, the greater the power during Assault. Lu Fei could nurture his own hair like Red Bristle, but his white fur was too soft—unlike Red Bristle’s coarse pig bristles. Even after nurturing, the power would be limited.

Of course, the item shouldn’t be too large; otherwise, the nurturing pool in the chest wouldn’t hold it. The right size was best.

Thinking of this, Lu Fei immediately thought of embroidery needles. But at the moment, he had nowhere to find such needle-like objects.

Moreover, the Assault skill required the weapon to be nurtured in the pool for at least three days to gain initial power. The longer the nurturing, the stronger the effect.

But tonight, Lu Fei might need to face the bear chief’s threat. Since Assault would not help immediately, he set it aside.

He sat quietly on the ground.

First, he sensed the location of the long-nosed white rat.

Then he began practicing his breathing exercises.

Time was short, and every bit of strength meant greater safety.

Lu Fei dared not delay.