Lanqi's Favored Optimist, Tata

After parting cordially with Rosalinda and Etio, Lanqi and Tata stepped out of the magnificent office. "Tata, change back to your original form," Lanqi said to Talia beside him. Talia had spent the entire afternoon taking the Platinum-rank card maker exam. Recalling her would allow Lanqi to slowly recover his mana. Talia shot him a glance without a word, but nonetheless vanished on the spot, merging back into Lanqi's soul space. She couldn't shake the feeling that he had truly begun to treat her like one of his magic cards. He rounded a staircase landing, and soon only Lanqi was left. He walked along the corridor, flanked for dozens of meters by murals of a lost empire and aged plaster niches. The thick carpet swallowed his footsteps, leaving the hallway in profound silence. "I'm going to rest, then. Call me if anything comes up," Talia's voice echoed in his mind. "Sure, sure. Get some rest," Lanqi replied mentally. Just a moment ago, Talia had stuffed herself, finishing off an entire box of coconut crisps. Naturally, it was time for a nap. "..." Talia started to speak, then stopped herself. After hearing Boss Cat's words earlier, she was no longer sure whether scolding Lanqi was a punishment or a reward. Although leaving Lanqi unbothered made her feel suffocated, she figured she might as well try switching tactics and see how it went. Faint clamor from visitors drifted over from a distance now and then. As he reached the end, the heavy walnut double doors swung wide, revealing a straight flight of steps leading outside the pavilion. Having already assumed his brown-haired, green-eyed guise, Lanqi descended the stairs. The lights grew brighter against the dim night until he finally reached the outdoor plaza of the Sacred Silver Vine Arena. He looked around and quickly spotted a figure clad in black standing on the plaza. The man was dressed in a tailored black suit under a light overcoat. Beneath neatly cropped dark brown hair, his features were sharp, his jawline firm and resolute. He stood slightly in profile, one hand shoved into his coat pocket, the other holding a long, straight-handled black umbrella. Today, Executioner Nigel was not in uniform; he was dressed more formally, as if on his way to an official banquet. Spotting Lanqi walking over, he gave a slight nod in greeting. "Where's Tata?" Nigel knew that Tata had been inside the Sacred Silver Vine Arena just a moment ago. In the blink of an eye, Lanqi was alone—and of course, he had shifted back into his Rocky persona. "She's nearby, just not visible to us. If there's any danger, she'll show up," Lanqi answered as he walked up to Nigel. "Good." Nigel had absolute confidence in Tata's strength. By now, he even suspected that Lanqi and Tata might actually be the same person—either two bodies sharing one soul, or two souls sharing one body. "Tonight might hold some uncertainties. Could I trouble you to look after this for the night?" After a moment's thought, he handed a crystal key pendant to Lanqi. "No problem," Lanqi murmured, taking the crystal key into his grip. He could tell it was a key-type magic mechanism capable of opening or locking something, yet even as a magic craftsman, he couldn't immediately decipher its specific function. Since Nigel didn't offer any details about what the key operated, Lanqi refrained from prying. Most likely, Nigel felt it was safer in Lanqi's hands, allowing him to fight with all his might without worries should unexpected trouble arise. "That curse spreader you mentioned last time—have you crossed paths with him again over the past couple of days?" Lanqi asked Nigel as the two set off toward the Posen Demon Realm to the north. When Nigel had found him and Tata after the second round of the Platinum exam a few days earlier, they had only deduced a high probability that the curse spreader would make a move tonight. But seeing Nigel's grim expression today, it seemed he was no longer confident of victory. "Quite a few colleagues were murdered in the Posen Demon Realm again. He's very strong, exceptionally adept at curses and disguise. That deep blue fire of his is also exceedingly dangerous—once tainted, the attached curse is nearly impossible to purge." Nigel found it difficult to gauge the curse spreader's true strength. Tracking him down was extraordinarily difficult, as he could disguise himself as anyone—human or demon, man or woman, young or old. Only when he struck could his unique mana signature be identified. Every hunt came at the cost of heavy casualties. Yet their foe acted as though he were merely toying with them. That mocking gaze seemed to say that their true clash was just around the corner. "Do you have any point of reference? For instance, how would you compare him to your teacher?" Lanqi watched Nigel's clenched fist, sensing the deep-seated rage Nigel harbored toward the curse spreader. "The oppressive pressure coming from him is roughly on par with my teacher's... Perhaps my teacher could handle him, or rather, if even my teacher can't, then there's practically no one in the Posen Demon Realm who could keep him in check." Nigel pondered for a moment before answering. "How strong are the various demon lords in the Posen Demon Realm?" For now, Lanqi had only met Lord Astross of Sector 7 and Lord Etio of Sector 9. He knew nothing at all about Nigel's teacher, Perlman, Lord of Sector 10. "I don't really know how to describe or compare them. When I sparred with my teacher back then, I hadn't reached the seventh tier yet. He felt like a deity to me—no matter how many of me there were, I couldn't stand against him. Besides, I haven't returned to the inner reaches of the Posen Demon Realm in a long time. I only know for sure that my teacher is the strongest, followed by Etio, and then the lords of Sectors 7 and 8." Nigel shook his head. "..." Lanqi thought for a moment. He needed a rough estimate of the Posen Demon Realm's overall power; otherwise, if they ran into the curse spreader, he might make misjudgments in their tactical choices. He then pulled out his communication magic card and began contacting his information broker. "It happens to be the weekend, so this information broker should be open for business," Lanqi said to Nigel. Nigel was slightly surprised, not expecting Lanqi to know an information broker in Palieu, the City of Flowers. By now, they were drawing closer to the border of Sector 6. The Sacred Silver Vine Arena was only about a kilometer away from the entrance to the Posen Demon Realm. Gusts of chilling wind swept through, whipping up grit and pebbles that forced the patrolling guards to squint as they braced against the swirling dust. On this late August evening in Palieu, layers of dark clouds blanketed the sky, leaving the air heavy and muggy. At last, the call connected. "Mr. Zefa, do you happen to know the power levels of the demon lords currently in the Posen Demon Realm?" Lanqi asked immediately. "..." Silence came from the other end. Meanwhile, Nigel stared at Lanqi with wide, shocked eyes. The information broker you mentioned is the police chief?! As an institution of long history tasked with maintaining public safety and order in the city of Palieu and its suburbs, Palieu Police Headquarters was directly subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior as one of the Kingdom of Posen's most vital security apparatuses. Its mandate was entirely distinct from that of the Senate's enforcement forces, and it genuinely possessed an immense wealth of intelligence. Yet the communication card remained dim, with no reply coming through. Along both sides of the street, the sycamore leaves had already begun to turn yellow; a single torrential downpour might strip them bare. Pedestrians pulled their coats tight around themselves and hurried along, hoping to reach home before the rain broke. "Mr. Diviner, could you perhaps divine the strength of the demon lords in the Posen Demon Realm for me?" Lanqi tried asking again. "73, 72, 80, 84." The voice on the other end gave only four numbers. Lanqi didn't press further; he caught Inspector Zefa's meaning. This followed the level system that had spread from the Hutton Kingdom a year ago, which offered a clearer breakdown of strength within the same tier. Lord Astross of Sector 7, who had fought them earlier, was likely level 73. Meanwhile, Lord Etio of Sector 9 was level 80, having just advanced to the eighth tier. According to another common standard of combat power, levels 80 to 81 were considered ordinary eighth-tier, 82 to 84 were stronger eighth-tier, 85 to 86 were quasi-cardinal eighth-tier, and 87 to 88 were cardinal-level, acknowledged among the world's strongest. Levels 89 and those infinitesimally close to 90 could be regarded as beyond cardinal rank. "By the way, if you're touring the Posen Demon Realm, you'd best conceal your human aura. Otherwise, you might run into demon protestors or extremists. Over the past couple of days, several violent clashes have already broken out along the border of Sector 6 in the City of Flowers." The communication magic card flashed again as Inspector Zefa gave a warning. "How did that happen?" Lanqi brought the card a little closer and inquired. "Because the Senate's searches in the Posen Demon Realm have grown increasingly heavy-handed, many demon residents are disgruntled, believing the Senate is staging a farce. Rumors have even begun to circulate that the magic engineering artifact, Record of Palroni's Resentment, is actually in the Senate's hands, and that the reason the curse has remained unbroken for nearly a century is that the Senate is up to something nefarious." Hearing the inspector's revelation, Lanqi couldn't help but glance at Nigel. "..." Nigel remained silent, his hand clenching tighter. A century ago, after Archmage Palroni was executed, the whereabouts and details of his cursed magic artifact were gradually expunged. Yet over the past century, the curse had never truly vanished, only dropping to an extremely low frequency. To the demons living on this land, it was like a terminal illness: once contracted, death was certain. Years ago, Nigel had slain his teacher's second daughter with his own hands precisely because she had succumbed to this curse and gone berserk. "Come to think of it, why are only the demons of the Kingdom of Posen afflicted by this curse? The demons in Herrom never had cases like this," Lanqi mused inwardly. "Indeed. Over the past century, whether in the Northern or Southern Continent, I've never heard of demons going berserk from such a curse anywhere else. Based on my analysis, it shouldn't be contagious," Talia affirmed through their mental link. While the Northern Continent had no autonomous demon territories like the Kingdom of Posen, it still had a small remnant of demons and half-demons, such as in the Protos Empire Lanqi had visited. It seemed both agreed that this curse-induced berserk state did not exist in the Northern Continent. Nor did it resemble an infectious disease; it was more like an unseverable source of contamination. "My apologies, I don't have much I can offer as payment this time," Lanqi said to the communication card once he regained his train of thought. "Don't worry about it. Doing Countess Rosalinda a favor is good enough." With that, Inspector Zefa hung up. He was already an acquaintance of Countess Rosalinda; a favor from a Platinum-rank card maker was something he was more than happy to accept in exchange. "Your teacher, Perlman Quelston, really is formidable," Lanqi remarked. He hadn't expected Palieu to house such a powerful demon. Lord Perlman could go toe-to-toe even with a quasi-cardinal-tier powerhouse. Generally speaking, the greatest advantage of a long-lived species was time, which allowed them to cultivate at their own pace. If their talent was good enough, looking at the payoff curve, challenging shadow worlds—which offered rapid growth but required staking one's life—was terribly inefficient. With ample time, cultivating and researching spells on one's own, engineering magic apparatuses, or earning resources to trade for magic cards offered far superior expected returns compared to obtaining natural magic cards from shadow worlds. Of course, if a member of a long-lived species urgently needed to grow stronger or harbored immense ambition, they would still choose to enter shadow worlds. Lanqi couldn't help but think of a certain demon senior. Even the new generation of demons was on the verge of surpassing her, a veteran of old. "?" Talia immediately sent back a non-verbal response. Even without Lanqi uttering a word, she could hear his relentless, high-intensity mental commentary: We're all demons, so how can the gap be this wide? Granted, higher levels are harder to train. Still, you can't just stagnate for a whole hundred years. Among the living great demons, you're only slightly stronger than Antanas. And never mind that Antanas was suppressed in prison for a century—she's a noble shielder-healer. Even a tier below you, she's still more useful. "Iphatia is definitely not stronger than me," Talia asserted with conviction, holding back her irritation. She told herself repeatedly that since Lanqi had painted a portrait of her today, she would let him off the hook for now. Back then, the high officials of the Demon Realm had said that as long as Iphatia became a great demon, they would no longer bother her with things like royal decorum or princess duties. And so, Iphatia reached the eighth tier, breezed into the ranks of great demons, and never cultivated another day in her life. Therefore, going by Lanqi's level theory, Iphatia had surely remained an 80-level gatekeeper even after a hundred years. There was no way she was stronger than her older sister. "What if she suddenly had a good day and felt like cultivating a bit?" Lanqi challenged. "..." Talia turned the thought over and felt a slight pang of crisis. Without realizing it, was she on the verge of becoming the weakest great demon? "Impossible. Rosalinda herself said that after coming to the human realm, Iphatia became even lazier. She's definitely not stronger than me." While Talia admitted she had lived a rather dissolute, slacking life in Icorite over the past year or so, surely Iphatia—who had already been thoroughly slack back in the Demon Realm—would only be worse. She had even gotten married and started a family, so she would probably never cultivate again in this lifetime. Just thinking that made all the guilt in Talia's heart vanish. "Say no more, Tata. In some respects, your sister has already won by a landslide." "What do you mean?" "Tata, recommended examinee from the Hutton Kingdom, unmarried, age twenty-five." "Go drop dead, Lanqi!" Aside from bantering with Talia in his mind, Lanqi was chatting with Nigel as they walked, drawing near the entrance to the Posen Demon Realm. "A century ago, my teacher wasn't part of the Demon Realm Army, but a demon scholar from the Northern Continent. When the war between the Demon Realm and the human nations began, he held an anti-war stance. He sought to research and pursue peaceful coexistence between humans and demons, so after the demons were defeated, he was treated with great hospitality by the Kingdom of Posen," Nigel explained to Lanqi, his tone laced with unmistakable respect. Long ago, his teacher was a surviving demon scholar from the war era, and he was an orphan taken in by him. Though master and disciple had grown somewhat estranged today, he still could not deny that many of his own convictions were shaped by his teacher's influence. They cut through a narrow side alley and emerged by the side of an old church. Passing through a weathered oak door and pushing aside clinging vines, their view instantly brightened. By then, the two were walking through the spacious interior hall of a station checkpoint; just beyond the inspection gates lay the Posen Demon Realm. "I see. No wonder." Lanqi felt he could understand why Nigel differed from ordinary demons. Nigel was a demon who treated humans and demons alike, always maintaining clarity and resolve. It turned out he had received guidance from such a teacher since childhood. "It seems that after the Demon Realm was established, Perlman and the Kingdom of Posen mutually elevated one another. Over the span of a century, not only did he reach the eighth tier, but he also became a formidable presence among eighth-tiers. The prosperity of the Posen Demon Realm today is surely due in no small part to his contributions," Talia commented in Lanqi's mind. A scene of harmonious coexistence between humans and demons was, even in Talia's eyes, an almost unimaginably ideal scenario. Yet through a century of effort, Perlman had indeed achieved it to a certain extent. "Yeah. The conviction to hold onto an objective through long eras and see it through to the end is truly remarkable. Whereas..." Lanqi paused on a sigh, as if reluctant to continue. "Whereas what?" Talia's voice grew colder. "Sometimes learning to let go is also a form of wisdom. The stronger someone's obsession, the more terrifying and extreme they become once that obsession shatters. So I say, compared to that, a certain princess with a very mature outlook on life possesses a wisdom that is far more worthy of our emulation," Lanqi said to Talia with utter earnestness. "Are you being sarcastic with me?" By now, Talia had learned to see right through the master of sarcasm. "How could I be?" Lanqi replied with pure innocence in his thought. "...If the Demon Realm ever truly restores its nation one day, I'll make sure to confer on you the title of Grand Duke, no matter what. Let's see how the human history books will judge you then," Talia scoffed coldly and drifted into slumber, ignoring him completely. "You really are an optimistic girl, Tata," Lanqi chuckled merrily. To tell the truth, Tata's optimism never failed to bring him endless amusement and put a wide smile on his face.